ã€ŠNaruto In Marvel Universeã€‹


 1 A Marvelous Beginning

    Drip¡­drip¡­drip

    "Hello¡­Naruto."

    "What am I doing here Kurama? Seriously, I don''t have time right now. I need to get back to help fight Kaguya."

    Naruto Uzumaki was standing in front his partner Kurama, the Nine Tailed Fox, looking up at him in confusion. Naruto looked rather worse for ware, his usual orange and black jumpsuit was ripped and torn from hours of constant battle with the sleeves shredded up to the forearms, and the zipper destroyed forcing the jacket open showing his mesh shirt underneath. Kurama was a massive sized fox with burnt orange fur. His arms and legs, while folded underneath him as he lay down, were rather human like in appearance with his ears longer than usual as well, looking more like rabbit ears than anything. His slit crimson eyes looked at Naruto with a mix of sternness and pity.

    Sitting behind a row of thick dark red bars that represented his seal, Kurama sighed, "You are unconscious boy. That tends to happen after falling several thousand feet."

    Naruto''s eyes widened in shock, "What?!"

    "That Uchiha brat used some kind of jutsu on you when the Old Man''s mother tried to kill you."

    Like a crashing wave it all started coming back to him. He and Sasuke had been in the middle of their fight with Kaguya Otsutsuki when the Mother of Chakra tried to kill him with her instant kill technique, All Killing Ash Bone. He remembered Sasuke trying to use his Amenotejikara teleportation technique to get him out of the way of getting skewered, only instead for him to be sucked into what looked like a purple version of Obito''s Kamui. The next thing he knows, he''s free falling towards the ground, his chakra shroud gone and unable to use his chakra, just about to crash land hard into a grassy mountainous area. The rest is a blank until he found himself in his mindscape.

    The blond rubbed his hands in his hair frantically, "I-I need to get back! Without me they can''t seal Kaguya away like the Old Man said!" Naruto shouted desperately.

    "I''m sorry Naruto." Kurama said, "But I have no idea how to return to your world. The only thing I can think of is the Uchiha boy using that same technique to come get you, but it''s been five days since your arrival here. If he was going to get you, he''d have done it by now and I''d have felt his arrival. Say what you want, but the brat''s got a monstrous amount of chakra¡­for an Uchiha." While blunt, Kurama knew that being blunt was the only way to get through his partner''s thick skull.

    Naruto felt as though his entire world had shattered. Every one he knew, everyone he loved¡­was gone. The blonde collapsed to his knees, making a loud splash as he held himself up with his hands, "Five days¡­I''ve been stuck here for that long?"

    Kurama didn''t say a word, not really knowing what to say in a situation like this. Finally, he grumbled, "I''m sorry Naruto. I truly am."

    Naruto just looked down at the ankle deep water below him, staring into his reflection as ripples slowing moved along the pool. As he noticed how ragged he looked, his mind slowly began to drift, remembering why he looked so terrible to begin with. From his arrival to the battlefield, to his fight with the revived Nagato and Fourth Raikage, the shocking reveal that Tobi was in fact Obito Uchiha, then the seemingly climactic showdown with Madara, and finally the arrival of Kaguya. He began to think about Sasuke, and how they were just beginning to get along again. He thought of Sakura and the promise he made to her, picturing her crying face three years ago. He thought of Iruka, Kakashi, Tsunade, Hinata, Shikamaru, Gaara, Killer B¡­everybody that he considered his precious people. Suddenly, a realization came to him.

    "I can''t give up."

    "What?" Kurama asked.

    Naruto looked up, a massive grin on his face, his eyes squinted shut, "I can''t just give up! I have so much unfinished business. I have to seal away Kaguya, I have to make sure Sasuke comes back to Konoha, I have to get Sakura to go on a date with me, and I have to become Hokage! I don''t care if I''m in some strange new world, I''m gonna find a way back¡­BELIEVE IT!"

    "You just had to ruin it¡­didn''t you." Kurama said, a sweat drop sliding across his temple, "You had a good thing going there, and you ruined it."

    Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about that. Couldn''t resist."

    Kurama was about to say something when he suddenly looked up. Taking a moment, Kurama finally looked back down at Naruto, "We''ll have to save this for another time Naruto. It seems you''re about to wake up."

    "Wha-"

    -x-

    In Kamar Taj

    -x-

    Naruto''s eyes began to creak open, only to slam shut once again due to his eyes not being adjusted to the light. Squinting up, Naruto saw a figure sitting down next to him. As his vision cleared, he found that it was a woman. She looked to be around forty years old, but she could be younger considering she wasn''t wearing any make up. That and her being bald didn''t help much either. Seeing clearly now, Naruto could see that she was wearing what he recognized as monk robes. The robes were yellow in color with a dark red waste wrap that held it together with the robes going down to her feet.

    Sitting in a seiza postion with her hands in her lap, she smiled down at him before she said, "It''s good to see you''re awake." Her voice had a melodious, soothing ring to it. Sadly, the words she spoke were lost on Naruto, who couldn''t understand her (to him) strange language. Seeing his confusion, the woman reached into her sleeve before pulling out and handing him what looked like monk prayer beads. On further inspection, Naruto saw that each bracelet held a different symbol. Seeing that she was motioning him to put it on, Naruto hesitantly slipped the bracelet along his wrist.

    "Is that better?" There was that calming voice again. Only this time, Naruto could completely understand her. But how? Looking down, Naruto realized that it must have been the bracelet''s doing, "Those are the Prayer Beads of Saraswati, a magical relic that allows the user to understand any language, and speak the language of the person he is talking to. You can use it until you learn some of the main languages of this world."

    Naruto filed away that she knew he wasn''t of this world. Licking his dry lips, he was temporarily distracted at how thirsty he was before saying, "Where am I?" His words were choked out in a raspy voice.

    The mysterious woman kept her calming smile, "You are in Kathmandu, Nepal. This is the temple Kamar-Taj. You''ve been out for five days my friend. However, considering why it was you were unconscious in the first place, you shouldn''t be awake at all." Her voice held the same tone, only with a hint of teasing to it.

    Naruto nodded, slowly getting up and into a sitting position, "Yeah¡­I''m special I guess." Naruto, not knowing how this woman would react to learning of the abilities he had, tried to be as discreet as possible. Kinda hard considering he survived a fall from several thousand feet.

    Her smile only got bigger, "Yes. It was the fact that you are so¡­special, that I took the liberty of bringing you here after it was apparent you survived in Bir Hospital. From what the doctor said they didn''t have to really do anything as your body mended on its own." The woman leaned forward slightly, "Quite special indeed."

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "Who are you?" As he said that he began to gather as much Natural Energy as possible in case he had to fight his way passed this woman.

    "I go by many names." She said, "the Master, High Lama, the Mystic. But you may call me the Ancient One." She finished her introduction with a slight bow.

    "And why exactly have you brought me here?" Naruto asked, slightly perturbed by the Ancient One''s strange name.

    "Five days ago I felt a sudden flash of intense power before it just as quickly disappeared. One of my students then heard word of a man that appeared to have survived a fall no mortal human could survive. The media of Kathmandu covered it up, saying they believed you to be a victim of a skydiving accident. But I knew better. It was you that power spike. So, I sent some of my top Masters to make sure you''d survive before bringing you here should you be of the world conquering entity variety where you would then be¡­taken care of." Her own eyes narrowed, "So the question is, are you of that variety?"

    Naruto stared into the Ancient One''s eyes for several seconds before throwing his head back in a burst of laughter. The Ancient One leaned back, her face relaxed as she waited for Naruto to finish. Slowly but surely, Naruto calmed down. Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto gave his patented smile, "Sorry about that. To answer your question, I wouldn''t really say I''m of the world conquering variety. More of the world saving actually." He finished with a chuckle.

    "Well I suppose you wouldn''t mind me asking as to why a world saving man such as you is here?" The Ancient One asked.

    Naruto sighed, "I''m not exactly here for a reason. My arrival here was entirely accidental¡­at least I hope so anyway." Naruto said as an afterthought.

    "So what where are you from then?" She asked.

    "The Elemental Nations." Naruto said immediately, a flash of hope entering him at the possibility of this Ancient One being able to return him home.

    Ancient One seemed to ponder his answer before saying, "I''m sorry but I''ve never heard of that dimension."

    "¡­that was the name of the continent I lived on. I don''t actually know what the name of the dimension is. Or the planet for that matter." Naruto said scratching his cheek with his cheeks red from embarrassment.

    "Your planet most be rather primitive for it to not even have a name given to it by its occupants."

    Naruto felt his stomach drop, "So I''m gonna assume that that means you can''t help me."

    The Ancient One nodded with what looked like a sad smile on her face, "I''m sorry for the poor news¡­I''m sorry, I never learned your name."

    "The name''s Naruto Uzumaki."

    -x-

    A Week Later

    -x-

    "You do realize that I can kick your ass right?"

    Standing across from Naruto, who was now wearing a set of his own monk robes of a white long sleeve shirt sat underneath a grey robe that went to his knees and was held together by a leather waste wrap, was a man named Karl Mordo. Mordo wore a set of similar robes as his only with a green color scheme. The man was of what he learned to be from African descent, and haled from a place called London. According to the Ancient One, Karl had been a member of the Masters of the Mystic Arts for ten years, and an official Master for nearly seven.

    "Perhaps, but the Master wants me to try and keep my skills sharp and believes that you are perfect for that. Besides, you have to do your part around here somehow considering you''ve refused to learn any of the mystic arts."

    A couple days after his awakening the Ancient One had offered to teach him in the mystic arts. Naruto had refused, saying that he had enough on his plate own physical training along with using his clones to learn as many Earth languages as possible, starting out with Chinese, English, and French. He had enough of a headache sorting through all that information. And don''t even get him started when they saw him use his Shadow Clone Jutsu for the first time.

    "Whatever Mordo, let''s do this already¡­unless you''re scared." Naruto said, sliding into a defensive stance.

    Mordo didn''t hesitate to activate his Vaulting Boots of Valtorr, using the magical relic to skip through the air to get to Naruto before aiming a downward haymaker towards the blonde''s temple. Naruto easily deflected the punch, only for Mordo to send several more punches while using his boots to stay air born. The Uzumaki deflected all of them, staying on the defensive even as Karl sent a midair roundhouse kick to his face that was easily deflected. Having enough with being on defense, Naruto used his speed to get into Mordo''s guard, punching him square in the jaw. His boots deactivated due to loss of attention, Mordo back peddled away as he rubbed his jaw.

    "Is that all you got?" Mordo taunted.

    Naruto scowled, "You asked for it!"

    That was the only warning Karl got before Naruto was once again in his face, his body going almost on automatic as he tried to dodge the otherworldly man''s barrage of attacks. His defense was quickly broken, as Naruto sent a double punch to his stomach and chest before backhanding him away. The blonde Uzumaki then swept Mordo''s legs out from under him, putting him on his back. Hearing what sounded like swirling energy, Karl opened his eyes after bracing himself for the fall and saw that Naruto was kneeling over him with a strange ball of spinning blue energy in the palm of his hand. Before Karl could surrender, the sound of clapping echoed along the training arena. Looking to their right, the two saw the Ancient One standing on the stairway several yards away.

    "Most impressive. What is that technique Naruto?" She asked, analyzing the technique that had just dissipated in Naruto''s hand.

    Naruto smiled at the woman that had taken him in, "It''s called the Rasengan. It was created by my dad and taught to me by my godfather. It''s my go-to attack, but I''ve got a lot of way stronger versions too." Naruto then reached a helping hand out for Mordo, helping the man up from his back. "Pretty good Mordo, if you had something with a little more kick I''d say you''d be a force to be reckoned with. Not enough to take me on¡­but still."

    Mordo scoffed but nodded, "I agree, but it''s not like you can just pick up a relic with heavy attacking power, the relics choose you. That''s how I got ahold of the Vaulting Boots."

    The three were interrupted by the arrival of another Master. This man was rather tall and lean, with a handsome face and long grey hair pulled back into a tight ponytail, "You should consider yourself lucky Master Mordo, not all of us get chosen by a mystical relic after all."

    "Master Kaecillius is correct Master Mordo, you''re very fortunate to have such a versatile relic. Given enough training and you will become powerful enough to take on even myself."

    "But not me." Naruto butted in.

    Kaecillius gave Naruto a slight glance before looking towards his master, "I''m sorry for interrupting Master, I only wanted to inform you of my return. I also wanted to inform you of a possible new pupil, a man named Jonathan Pangborn. He is a man seeking help with his paralysis. I believe he is worth your time."

    The Ancient One nodded as she walked off with Kaecillius following after her, "Let me see for myself then Master Kaecillius."

    Naruto turned to Mordo, "So who the hell was that guy?"

    Mordo, who eyes followed after the leaving Kaecillius, said, "That is Master Kaecillius. He has been under the Master''s tutelage for nearly twenty years. The man came to her after the death of his wife and son, completely devoting himself towards her and her teachings. He is one of the most powerful masters in the world, and one of her most trusted students."

    "Sounds like you look up to the man." Naruto observed.

    Mordo nodded, "He is a man to be respected. I know for a fact that there are several masters here that would follow that man no matter what, even if death were a certainty."

    "Sounds like a hell of a guy I guess." Naruto then shifted back into his stance, "Alright what do you say for a round two?"

    -x-

    A Couple Days Later

    -x-

    Naruto, who was wearing what this world considered normal clothes consisting of a dark blue jacket with a grey hoodie underneath and simple jeans, walked through the bustling streets of Kathmandu, Nepal. Expertly swerving through the people going about their own business, Naruto looked up into the sky where he''d arrived on Earth. Naruto sighed at the fact that Sasuke hadn''t made an appearance yet, knowing that he''d be able to feel the last Uchiha if he ever arrived, especially considering he''d be the only other user of chakra on the planet.

    Walking up to a business window, Naruto saw that a television was viewable with the local news on. One of the news anchors was talking as a headshot of a middle aged man with spiky dark brown hair with a rather strange looking goatee was in the top right corner. Suddenly a video of what looked like a man in red and yellow armor popped up, with the armored man taking down what appeared to be a terrorist group. After that, the story shifted to some local fluff piece, spurring Naruto to walk away.

    "Are we ever going actually try and find a way home Naruto, or are we just gonna wait for that Uchiha brat with our dicks in our hands?"

    "We''re not exactly just sitting around Kurama, since we''ve been here my mastery of your chakra is top notch. I can channel it to a single hand without going full shroud, that''s some pretty good progress if you ask me." Naruto thought as Kurama contacted him from his mindscape, "As for finding a way home, I feel like if there was a way the Ancient One would''ve told me."

    "''The Ancient One.'' I don''t trust that woman Naruto, that woman is hiding something. And what kind of woman advertises the fact that she''s fucking ancient? At least she''s not like that Senju woman and her Genjutsu." Kurama grumbled.

    "Well she''s the reason we''re not wondering around like a bunch of idiots." Naruto thought.

    "Whatever. This planet is so boring though. If these fools freak out over some green monster demolishing a part of a city, just imagine what would happen if they ever saw me. And then that Steel Man they''re blubbering about. You''d have been able to rip that guy apart when you were a practically useless twelve-year-old."

    "Thanks for the compliment Kurama."

    "Your welcome you fucking brat. But seriously, do you ever actually plan to leave this place? The world is a big one, maybe you should take the time you''re taking to wait for the Uchiha to check out the sights."

    "And how exactly would I be able to go anywhere? I know that this place has flying machines, but last I checked that costs money, money that I don''t have."

    "Did you seriously forget that you can fly you fucking idiot?"

    "¡­no?"

    -x-

    A Month Later

    -x-

    "Hey Master Mordo, Naruto, did you hear the news?"

    Naruto and Karl looked over at Jonathan, who was wearing what Naruto learned was the usual trainee robes, rolling over in his wheel chair towards the two as they read in the Kamar Taj Library.

    "Ssshhh." Hissed the librarian Master Ezra, looking scathingly at Jonathan for being so loud in a room of study causing him to bow as best as he could towards the stern librarian in apology.

    "What news could possibly be so interesting to interrupt my studying of these ancient texts?" Mordo asked testily.

    Naruto straightened up from the book on Earth culture, cracking his back after being bent over for so long, "I actually wouldn''t mind the distraction, what''s the news Pangborn?"

    "Tony Stark just came out and said that he''s the Iron Man, isn''t that crazy?" Jonathan asked in a hushed excitement.

    Naruto looked towards the paraplegic with a blank stare, "I have no fucking clue as to who that is¡­" He knew that Iron Man was the red and yellow guy from the news, but Tony Stark wasn''t ringing any bells.

    "Oh yeah that''s right, well he''s an American billionaire businessman/philanthropist/playboy. His company is one of the major weapons supplier for pretty much every war America''s been involved in since World War II."

    Naruto scratched his head, "And by America you mean the United States of America¡­right?" Seeing Jonathan nod he continued, "And World War II was the one where Germany killed over six million¡­Yews?"

    "They''re called Jews, and yes." Mordo clarified, "And why would I care what happens to an American weapons maker? Perhaps he had what was coming to him, I''ve heard he''s not a man to introduce your wife to if you get my drift."

    "Ah come on he''s not that bad, he''s like a real life Bruce Wayne." Seeing Naruto''s confused face Jonathan said, "He''s a comic book character."

    Naruto made an oh motion with his mouth, "So how''s the training going?"

    Jonathan smile, "Master says that if I keep up the good work I should be able to get my legs back before no time." He then began to roll back, "Well I''m gonna go get some dinner, I''ll talk to you later Naruto, Master Mordo."

    Mordo sighed as he flipped the page to his book, "What a waste of time."

    Naruto shrugged as he put away the book he''d been reading, "The guy''s not too bad." Walking over, Naruto put the book back where he''d found it. Silently he began to skim through the rows of book before coming across one that caught his attention, "The Singularities?" Grabbing the book, Naruto began to look through it, as he read the tome, he looked up, his eyes wide at what he had learned.

    -x-

    With the Ancient One

    -x-

    "Hello Naruto."

    "Why didn''t you tell me about the Infinity Stones?" Naruto asked, his face stern as he faced the Ancient One. Said woman sighed as she poured tea into two clay cups.

    Handing Naruto a cup she motioned for him to sit next to her. Sitting down in a seiza position, Naruto waited for her to speak, "The reason I didn''t tell you was because you said you were waiting to see if your friend came to find you. However even if you hadn''t I wouldn''t have told you until I knew I could trust you. While your company here has been pleasant, I''ve only known you for over a month, not nearly long enough for me to trust you with the knowledge of the Stone''s existence."

    Naruto sighed but nodded in understanding, "Every day I make a clone whose sole purpose is to sense for Sasuke''s arrival. Before I deluded myself into believing that he would come even though it had been days since I came here. Now I know for sure that if Sasuke could have done it by now he would have. That means I have to figure out how to get home myself." Naruto wasn''t even thinking about stopping Kaguya. Right now his sole goal was getting home. After that he''d look into taking care of the Rabbit Goddess. One step at a time and all that.

    The Ancient One sighed, "Well it''s not like it matters now anyway since you''ve found that book. I didn''t expect you to pick up Chinese as well as you have for at least another year." Gathering her thoughts, she continued, "There are a total of six Infinity Stones each made up a different aspect. These are Space, Mind, Reality, Power, Time, and Soul. The one you want is the Space Stone, which grants the user instant access to any location throughout the universe. If given enough power, the Space Stone can even allow you to travel to different dimensions. If you want to return home, the Space Stone is the key."

    "And where exactly would I find the Space Stone? Be pretty convenient if you had it on you. Please have it on you." Naruto said, getting excited at knowing that there may be a way home.

    "No it isn''t. The location of the Stone is unknown, all that I know is that it is here on Earth after it was given to us after being lost by the Asgardians."

    "Asgardians?" Naruto asked, "You mean like Thor and Odin right?"

    "The human race would come to call them the Norse Gods, which were worshipped mainly in the Germanic area. We Masters of the Mystics Arts allowed the Stone, now called the Tesseract, to be kept in Norwegian hands. The last we heard, the Tesseract went into the care of a church in Tonsberg before it was lost during World War II."

    "Well it seems like I''m going to Tonsberg, Norway." Naruto said getting up from his sitting position.

    The Ancient One got up as well, "You''re leaving now?"

    Naruto nodded, "Sorry for leaving so soon, but I gotta get home as soon as possible. Thank you for your hospitality."

    The woman across from him slipped a two fingered ring, "Well, as a parting gift, allow me to send help me in your travels." Moving her ringed hand in a wide circular motion, a fiery ring began to form in front of her. Looking into it, Naruto saw that in the ring was looked like shopping district along a dock.

    "What the fuck is that?!" Naruto asked in surprise and awe.

    "Tonsberg, Norway. Your destination." The Ancient One clarified.

    Taking a hesitant step forward, Naruto stuck his hand through the portal, felling it go through seamlessly, "Well¡­thanks AC. I''ll make sure to come visit if I can." Naruto then stepped through the portal completely.

    "Good luck Naruto Uzumaki.

 2 Give me a Reason

    "You wouldn''t think the whiskers would be such a put off. No one said a damn thing about it back home." Naruto grumbled as he walked through the Norwegian village''s streets. As he walked along the sidewalk, every few people would give him a bewildered look upon seeing his face.

    ["You''re forgetting that in your world the whiskers on your cheeks weren''t exactly the strangest thing. When people can walk on walls and breath fire like its nothing, you tend to not give a shit if someone has whisker marks."] Kurama said in his mind.

    Naruto sighed but couldn''t help but concede his point, still scowling when a mother steered her child away from his path, "I''ve been here for a week and I still haven''t found the church the Ancient One told me about. Everyone I ask looks at me like I''m an idiot." Naruto stuffed his hands into his jean pockets. Due to the nice weather outside Naruto only wore a simple red t-shirt that read "I Heart Tonsberg" emboldened on the chest.

    ["First of all, you are an idiot. Second of all, has it not occurred to you that perhaps that ancient woman is only leading you astray? For all we know this is all but a wild goose chase."]

    As Naruto was about to answer he started to walk past a quant looking caf¨¦. Looking over, Naruto made brief eye contact with what looked like an employee walking inside. The girl looked only a couple years older than him, and had dark red hair that reminded him of his mother''s. Walking passed her, Naruto walked several feet before coming to a stop. Looking back at the shop, Naruto decided he could use a drink. Walking into the small caf¨¦ Naruto saw that he was the only one inside at the moment.

    Heading up to the counter to order something to drink he continued his conversation with his partner, "Even if you''re right, I can''t take that chance. This is the only lead we got on how to return home, no matter how slim it is." Seeing that the girl from before was ready to make his order, Naruto walked forward, switching to a Norwegian dialect, "Hello, I''d like to order a caff¨¦ mocha please."

    The girl couldn''t seem to take her eyes off of him as she put his order in, causing Naruto to sigh inwardly thinking she was looking at his whiskers. Giving her the correct amount of money needed he then, without really looking, got his change and receipt as he walked over to a table to wait for his order. Sitting down, Naruto gave a quick glance around the shop, seeing that people were now beginning to file in and make their orders and sit down. Giving a final glance at the receipt as he was about to stuff it in his pocket, he stopped upon seeing that the girl had given him what looked to be what human''s called their "telephone numbers."

    ["Seems that the girl is interested in you, brat."] Kurama said with a chuckle.

    Naruto looked up and over at the girl that had given him her phone number, the two making momentary eye contact before she looked down with a slight smile and blush, "Why would she give me her telephone number though?"

    ["So she can talk to you I guess. Isn''t that what those contraptions are for anyway?"]

    "But why wouldn''t she just talk to me face to face? Talking to each other on the telephone just seems so stupid." Naruto said, looking back down at the number in wonder.

    ["How am I to know the inner functions of these week little worms? For such an advanced race they sure are boring. If it weren''t for that little brawl you had earlier, I''d be dying of boredom.]"

    At the mention of said brawl, Naruto was forced to remember a fight he had gotten into on his first night of arrival. He''d been minding his own business when somebody mistook him for an average tourist and tried to rob him with a flimsy little knife. Naruto then proceeded to break his nose and then steal his wallet, which just so happened to carry several hundred dollars in it.

    "Well I don''t really want to put too much attention on myself, I''ve done that enough what with the whole arriving in a wormhole that gave off a supposed staggering amount of power. If The Masters could find me, who''s to say other groups on this planet can''t as well?" Naruto said.

    ["If anyone ever tried to kill you on this planet you''d obliterate them."] He could practically feel the scoff in Kurama''s words, ["But I suppose you have a point. The more covert we are the better."]

    Naruto heard his order called out, and looking up he saw that same girl smiling at him as she held his drink. Getting up Naruto thought, "It''s not like I''d be able to call her anyway, I don''t have one of those telephones. Though, now that I think about it, everyone else on this planet seems to have one, it might be a good idea to get one of my own." Reaching the counter, Naruto gave one of his smiles at the girl, thanking her as she gave him his coffee, causing said girl''s face to light up like a flash light.

    ["We''ve got company."] Kurama warned.

    Naruto nodded, having felt a presence make its way to his table. Looking over where he had been sitting, Naruto saw that a man as sitting across from where he had been. Walking over to the table, Naruto saw that he seemed to not even be paying attention, looking down at the phone in his hands, a rather new looking touch screen one to be exact. And iPhone 3G if he remembered the television commercials right. The man seemed to be of the same African descent as Karl Mordo going off of his darker skin tone and features. The man was as bald as the Ancient One with a groomed goatee and an eyepatch covering his left eye. The man wore all black, with the long leather trench coat giving him a rather bad ass vibe.

    The mysterious man looked up from his phone, looking him in the eye as he said, "You''re a hard kid to track down, you know that?"

    Every single alarm in Naruto''s head was going off right now. Sitting down across from him, Naruto set the hand holding his coffee on the table and used his other hand to discreetly finger the kunai hidden on his person. Naruto didn''t say a word, didn''t touch his coffee. He only sat there, waiting for the man to continue his thought.

    The man reached into his jacket, taking a moment to see if Naruto tensed at his possibly hostile gesture, only to see the kid acting as cool as a cucumber, and pulled out a file with the label reading, ''UAE12.'' The man sat the file down between them, "April 3rd of this year, a massive surge of energy appears in the Earth''s troposphere over Kathmandu, Nepal. An hour later, Kathmandu paramedics pick up the mangled yet still alive body of what looked to be a 15-year-old American boy who seemed to have injured himself from what was presumed a skydiving accident. When taken to a nearby hospital, said boy upon inspection has already begun to heal, his shattered bones and damaged organs mending on their own. In two days'' time that boy has healed completely with no outside help from any of the local doctors and suddenly disappears from his hospital room. Around a month and a half later, he pops up in Tonsberg Norway, asking around town for an old Norse church."

    Naruto''s eyes were narrowed dangerously, "Who are you?" His voice as sharp as a razor''s edge. He wasn''t as stupid as some people liked to think. Naruto could now sense a massive amount of negative emotions surrounding this shop. Taking a few glances around the room, he could see several people paying way too much attention to his table. Looking back over at the girl that had been at the counter, he saw that she was now missing. This guy knew who he was, and he was prepared for a fight if he didn''t hear what he wanted to hear.

    The man leaned back into his seat. Suddenly, the girl from before sat down next to the mystery guy, no longer wearing her work uniform, but instead sporting a rather tight body suit that showed off her curves rather nicely. Her curly red hair that had been kept in a neat bun was now hanging loosely down her back and shoulders. Naruto allowed a momentary sliver of surprise to enter his face before schooling his features, not really expecting the girl to be a part of all this. In fact, on further inspection Naruto could now say this girl was no girl at all. No, she was a woman. What he thought at first to be at least an 18-year-old was had to in fact be around 24 years in age.

    The man didn''t seem to acknowledge the fact that she sat down next to him, keeping his eye on Naruto, "My name isn''t what''s important right now. What isimportant is why a person such as yourself is on my planet. In case you don''t watch the news, I''ve already got my hands full with an armor wearing man child, and a guy that if mad enough can level half of Harlem in ten minutes."

    Naruto moved his eyes back and forth from the red headed woman and the man who appeared to be in charge before saying, "My being here is temporary. I don''t want to be here anymore more than you do, trust me."

    The man scoffed, "And why exactly should I trust you? How do I know that you don''t plan on leveling this city after you find whatever it is that your looking for?"

    It was Naruto turn to scoff. If he wanted to level this city, he didn''t need an Infinity Stone to do it. Hell, he didn''t even need his Chakra Shroud, just some good ole Natural Chakra and a handful of Shadow Clones. But this guy didn''t need to know that, "You don''t even know what it is I''m looking for, seems a little stupid to jump to such a conclusion when you don''t even know me."

    "No. What''s stupid is not jumping to that conclusion when I don''t know who, or what, you are. So, I''m going to ask one more time," almost as though that were the signal, every single "costumer" got up out of their chair and pointed what he learned were called guns in his direction, including the woman who had given him her number, "what are you doing on my planet."

    Naruto''s eyes, which were at first a striking blue, were now a powerful orange with his iris''s shifted into what looked like a strange looking cross, "If you don''t want these people to die, I suggest you have your men lower their weapons." Naruto finished his words by exerting his chakra outwardly, causing a pressure to enter the restaurant.

    The only sign Naruto got that the man had reacted to his show of power was the sweat beginning to build along his temple. Slowly, the man raised and waved his hand. With his signal, everyone holstered their weapons but kept standing at the ready in case anything went down.

    Seeing that everyone had holstered their weapons, Naruto spoke, "I''m sorry for that, but I''m sure you can understand me not liking having weapons pointed at me. So, let me to introduce myself. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. The planet I am from is none of your business, along with the way I got here. I can tell you however that I have no intention of destroying this city. My only motive for being here is to find a way back to my home. Now I don''t know about you, but where I''m from, when someone introduces themselves to you, it is only right to introduce yourself." Naruto finished with an expectant look on his face.

    The man took a moment as he thought over Naruto''s words before saying, "My name is Nick Fury, and I am the Director of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division." Motioning over to the woman sitting beside him he said, "This here is Agent Romanoff."

    Naruto nodded his head, "Well, I wish our meeting could''ve gone a little better, but I gotta go. The faster I find a way home, the quicker you can stop worrying about whether I''ll destroy your planet or whatever."

    In the middle of him getting up Nick said, "You''re looking for the Tesseract, aren''t you?" Naruto froze in his place for a moment before sitting back down. Knowing he had his attention, Nick continued, "The Tesseract is the only known supernatural item in Europe, period. It was also well known for its Norse origin, believed to have been found in what is now Norway."

    "And let me guess, you know where it is." Naruto guessed.

    "No." Nick answered, "But I know where it was."

    Naruto gave him a deadpan look as the three sat there, "Well that''s not really helpful." Naruto said.

    "On the contrary, I believe what I can tell you is quite helpful." Nick said.

    Naruto narrowed his eyes once again, "What do you want?" It was pretty obvious this man wasn''t just going to tell him where a powerful mystical item was, even if he didn''t actually know how powerful said item really was.

    Nick leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table with his hands folded together, "I''m fairly certain that you''re powerful, the show you put on earlier proves that. The question here however isn''t whether you''re powerful enough, it''s whether I can trust you enough to walk around my planet unsupervised."

    Naruto could understand that. He didn''t like it, not by a long shot, but he understood it. This planet had only just been introduced to people with out-of-the-ordinary abilities, he couldn''t expect them to jump on board with the idea of him being here right away. It was at this moment Naruto almost regretted leaving Kamar-Taj.

    "If I''m going to trust you, I''m going to have to see just exactly what you''re capable of. And what better way to do that than a little¡­field test." Fury said.

    Naruto eyed Nick up and down before looking him dead into his last remaining eye, "Before I agree to anything you have to answer one question," seeing Fury nod Naruto said, "Was the Tesseract here in Tonsberg."

    Fury nodded, "Yes it was. If you want any more information, you''ll do this mission. Agreed?"

    ["Just kill everyone here and torture it out of him Naruto. This man isn''t trust worthy, he reeks of deceit and lies."] Kurama said, finally speaking since he spotted Nick before.

    "While I agree with you that I can''t trust this man, I can''t just torture him. He reminds me of Ibiki Morino, and a guy like that won''t just give up information. No, I''ll play along with whatever this guy wants, and if he tries anything I''ll obliterate him and this whole organization of his." Naruto thought. Giving another exaggerated sigh, Naruto said, "Agreed. What''s this ''field test'' of yours?"

    Nick reached across the table and flipped the file open, showing that the first couple of papers contained pictures of him. Looking at them, Naruto couldn''t help but feel a little queasy at the sight of his broken body after his crash landing. The next picture was of him lying in what looked like a hospital bed, looking way better than he had before with bandages wrapped around his temple. The final picture was of him from what he recognized was just a few days ago. Fury flipped the papers over, revealing that his file had been sandwiching a different file inside. The file''s label read, "HB26" and was much thicker than his own.

    "If you''re interested, we can go over everything somewhere more secure."

    "And if I wasn''t interested?" Naruto asked.

    Nick leaned forward in his seat, his face stern, "Well let''s just say, I hope you''re interested."

    Naruto smirked, while this guy reminded him of Ibiki and Danzo from back home, he couldn''t help but like the guy. He was ballsy as hell.

    "Alright. I''m interested."

    -x-

    Miles away in a SHIELD Safe House

    -x-

    Naruto stood resting his shoulder against the wall to the safe house he was taken to. The building was using its appearance of a laundry mat as a front, with there being a back room that could only be entered through a secret door that required an eye and fingerprint scan. Sitting down across from him was Nick with Agent Romanoff standing near the closed doorway.

    Nick flipped the HB26 folder open, "I know you''ve only been on Earth for a short time, but what do you know of its history, war wise?"

    Naruto shrugged, "Only a bit. I know that the area you call Europe was the heavy hitter for pretty much as long as it was around, with the Roman, British and French Empires being pretty big. Other than that I know that there have been two World Wars that happened pretty close each other."

    Nick nodded, "The second World War started thanks to the aggressive nature of a Nazi Party controlled Germany, who were systematically taking over their neighbor countries, including Norway. The Nazi party was a Socialist totalitarian dictatorship led by a man named Adolf Hitler. Their racist, mislead beliefs and views lead to the genocide of over eleven million people, most of whom were Jewish. Eventually, a splinter group within the Nazi Party arose who called themselves Hydra, which was headed by one of Hitler''s most trusted men, Johann Schmidt. This Hydra group was initially in charge of weapons research and development, then eventually scientific research, and before long, on the insistence of both Hitler and Schmidt himself, started to look into the occult. After the tide began to turn against Nazi Germany, Schmidt withdrew Hydra from the Nazi Party entirely to become its own separate entity. Eventually Schmidt made a power play and, using his advanced weaponry, planned on attacking the key cities of the United States. His plan was stopped by the American soldier known as Captain America-"

    "Wait¡­Captain America?" Naruto asked incredulously.

    It was Agent Romanoff who responded, "He was a genetically engineered super soldier."

    "That''s not what gets me about Captain America. What kinda name is that?"

    The two''s side conversation was interrupted by a loud cough from Nick. Seeing that the two''s attention was on him again, "His plan was stopped by Captain America, with both the Captain and Schmidt dying in the process. With Hydra leaderless and crippled they quickly fell apart. Eventually however, Hydra has begun to resurface, with small cells popping up all along the world." Fury flipped a page over in the file, revealing a picture of an old looking military base. "This is one of Hydra''s Weapons Research facilities. It is near the Austrian village Sankt Georgen an der Gusen. We''ve recently gotten intel that there has been heavy activity there. We believe that they are restarting their weapons research program." He then flipped it over to the next couple pages. "This is Eric Williams, aka the Grim Reaper, who is a known Hydra Agent. A month ago he was spotted entering the facility along with men carrying in large containers and equipment."

    Naruto pushed himself off the wall, turning fully towards Nick, "And what exactly is it you want me to do? Infiltration? Assassination? Demolition? All of the above?"

    Both Nick and Romanoff looked at Naruto strangely, "What exactly did you do on your planet?" Fury asked.

    Naruto weighed the options of telling him what he was before sighing, "I guess the easiest way to explain it would be a mix between a samurai and a ninja from your world. We called ourselves Shinobi. We were essentially soldiers, whose main financial support was partaking in missions that varied in variety and difficulty. These missions go from protection or escort details, assassination, information gathering, and so on."

    "How old were you when you became a¡­shinobi?" Romanoff asked with a hint of trepidation.

    "12." Naruto said, not really seeing the big deal.

    "You were sent on assassination missions when you were 12 years old?" Romanoff asked in shock.

    Naruto shook his head, "No, that was saved for the more experienced." At hearing that Romanoff seemed to calm down.

    Fury began to look at Naruto in a new light. This boy, he''d been a child soldier. The way he responded as though it wasn''t a big deal. The way Naruto discreetly scanned the caf¨¦ both before and after Fury arrived. The subtle signs he had seen so many times before. This boy had been through war.

    "We cannot allow Eric Williams to continue with his weapons research. You''re to infiltrate the Sankt Georgen base and destroy it along with making sure Williams is taken out. As you''re doing that, you will be accompanied by a team of my agents who are going to ''acquire'' whatever information they can on what''s going on in there. Understood?"

    Naruto nodded, "And who''s on this team?"

    Nick nodded to Agent Romanoff, who stepped forward, "I will be leading the team. You''ll meet the others later on our way out."

    Naruto raised an eye brow at her but shrugged, "Alright whatever, when are we leaving?"

    Fury stood up, "We just need to wait on the explosives you''ll be using and for your teammates to arrive."

    Naruto smirked, "Trust me, I''m not gonna need explosives."

    "Damn straight."

    -x-

    On Quinjet Heading to Sankt Georgen

    -x-

    Naruto couldn''t help but marvel at the technology this world had. While his was nowhere near primitive, they were far from reaching what this planet has. This thing was seriously going fast, with him having to hold onto the strap to brace himself having never gone so fast while standing still inside something. Looking around Naruto saw that his teammates didn''t seem to be having as much trouble as he was. Agent Romanoff, or Natasha as she later introduced herself, was sitting rather calmly. Next to her was a middle aged man named Phil Coulson, and across from him was Brock Rumlow. Coulson was pretty average looking, even though he was wearing a suit compared to everyone else''s more tactical uniforms. Rumlow looked rather gruff, and from the little he''d seen of him he was pretty cocky. That and he could feel a good amount of negative emotions brimming under the surface.

    Looking over at Natasha, Naruto said, "So¡­was it real?"

    Romanoff looked over at Naruto, "Was what real?"

    "The telephone number."

    "Who calls their phone a telephone anymore?" Rumlow asked, looking at Naruto as though he were an idiot.

    "Well what am I supposed to call it?" Naruto asked, genuinely wanting to know.

    Romanoff smirked, "It''s called a cellphone, but most people just call them phones." She then flipped her hair slightly as she batted her eyes, "And of course I did."

    Naruto gave a nod of understanding, "So what''s the point of it¡­exactly?"

    It was Coulson who spoke, "You use it to talk to people."

    "I know that, but what''s the point when you can just talk to someone face to face?"

    "Well you can talk to people far away or if you can''t do it in person also."

    "Just seems like a waste of money to me."

    Coulson turned to Natasha, "You actually gave him your number?"

    "No."

    "Well why the hell would you tell me you did then?!" Naruto asked animatedly.

    Natasha smirked again, "Why not?"

    Suddenly the pilot began to speak over the intercom system, "We''ll be flying over Sankt Georgen in five minutes."

    The three agents got up and made their way to the four bags sitting near the rear door. Looking at them in confusion Naruto asked, "What''re those?"

    Once again Rumlow looked at Naruto as though he was an idiot, "They''re parachutes." Seeing Naruto was still confused he added, "They''re for slowing your fall. Here." He then handed him the last parachute.

    Naruto held it and looked it over as he said, "So we''re jumping out of the plane right?" Everyone nodded, "Okay yeah, I don''t need this then."

    The three didn''t get to argue because the rear door opened, the wind making it impossible to talk any longer. Naruto walked forward before stopping at the edge and turning around. Giving a quick salute, Naruto dived from the Quinjet, going into a freefall towards the Hydra base.

    "You ready Kurama?" Naruto thought, the high velocity wind whipping his hair back and forcing his eyes into a squint as he felt his cheeks begin to flap.

    ["Hell yeah!]" Kurama thought, pushing his chakra into his partner.

    In a yellow flash, Naruto was surrounded completely by in a yellow chakra shroud that was seemingly made of flames. Around his torso and shoulders looked to be an incredibly intricate seal. Naruto smirked as he was coming in like a searing meteorite, seeing that he''d land directly in the center of the base. Bringing his arm back, his hand extended like a claw, Naruto expanded the size of his chakra hand.

    All the agents slowly descending to the ground saw was the flash of yellow and what looked like a shooting star smack smack dab in the middle of the base, causing a massive explosion. Thank God it was in the middle of the night so they wouldn''t be spotted. Now all they had to do was sit back and watch the show.

    "Holy shit!" Brock shouted, in total shock as what looked like a white colored energy disk with a blue center collided into the side of the building before exploding out in a sphere of pure energy. Suddenly the base became surrounded by several bright yellow dots, each doing their part in destroying the building.

    "How are we supposed to get any information with this guy destroying everything before we get there?" Coulson wondered, he himself in shock at seeing this show of power. He was shocked even further when he saw Naruto jump back into the courtyard, avoiding getting disemboweled by what looked like Eric Williams who was using a strange looking scythe that was attached to his hand like it was a prosthetic attachment.

    Finally, the three reached the ground, Natasha pressed her finger into her earpiece, "Naruto, I know we said to destroy the base, but we''re gonna need you to take it easy for a bit so we can get what we need, understood?"

    "Yeah, I got it. I''m kinda having fun anyway." Naruto responded.

    Naruto ducked down below the scythe swing, smirking as the guy was pretty pissed off at him destroying his base. The man wore a simple long sleeve black shirt, with matching colored combat pants and boots. The man was clean shaven with cropped short length black hair with a slight widows peak and soul patch on his chin, giving him a rather douchy appearance. The shirt he wore had a big skull and cross bones across the whole front, not really making him look any better in Naruto''s eyes.

    Keeping on the defensive, Naruto ducked and swerved around the Grim Reaper''s slashes, easily able to read his movements with his rather obvious and telling body language. Seriously, this guy was low chunin at best when it came to hand to hand combat. That''s like having a slug race a cheetah, it''s just not fair. At all. Every twitch of the elbow, the shifting movement of his eyes, the flexing of his wrist. Naruto could read this guy like a book. Hell, he didn''t need the Shroud, he didn''t even need any jutsu. But here was here to impress. So. Time to impress. With his enhanced abilities, deflected the next scythe swing with his forearm, to Eric''s surprise, and then used his other arm the slam his open palm into Williams'' chest sending him tumbling back several yards away until Eric eventually ended up in a kneeling position while clutching his chest tightly in pain, probably sporting a few broken ribs.

    Naruto moved his legs back and forth, his fists moving in an exaggerated jogging motion, "Is that all you got, Eric? I''ve been pretty disappointed with this planet so far, don''t make it any worse."

    Eric growled for a second, before smirking, "Alight, let''s see how you like this, freak." He then put his remaining hand on his scythe nub, pressing a bottom on the side. With a loud hum, the blade to the scythe began to spin at a rapid speed, turning it from a scythe to a high speed propeller like buzz saw.

    Naruto smirked, "Alright, I''m always down for the ace in the hole showdown." Extending his hand out, a blue sphere of chakra began to form in the center of his palm. Looking back at "The Grim Reaper," Naruto waited for him to make a move in a Mexican standoff like scenario.

    "We got what we need Naruto. Go nuts." Natasha said over the radio.

    Almost like that was a signal, Eric ran towards him, his propeller blade aimed to blend Naruto into a fleshy liquid. Naruto gave him a moment, letting him think he won, before disappearing in a flash of yellow. Grim Reaper didn''t have time to stop and ponder where Naruto went, his next feeling being the pain he felt. It was like having a dull drill buried into his side, only said dull drill was five times as powerful as a normal one.

    "Rasengan!"

    With that shout, the compressed energy in Naruto''s Rasengan burst forward, sending the Grim Reaper flying forward in a rapid spinning motion before slamming into one of the few remaining walls left standing in the area. Looking around, Naruto saw flames, rubble, and his clones streaking by reeking mayhem on the Hydra base.

    "Kurama. I think we should pull out one of the big guns." Naruto thought.

    ["Are you sure Naruto? I thought you were wanting to keep your abilities under wraps as much as possible?]" Kurama asked, making sure his partner really wanted to show part of his hand.

    "I''m not saying I go Six Paths Sage Mode, just Tailed Beast Mode. I don''t want to just give Fury a message, but everyone on this planet that I am not someone to mess with."

    ["Tailed Beast Bomb?"]

    "Tailed Beast Bomb."

    "Naruto? What''s going on?" Natasha asked.

    Naruto pressed his finger into the ear piece he was given, "I''m about done. You guys need to get out of here, as far as you can."

    Natasha didn''t say anything for a moment, probably relaying what Naruto had said to the rest of the team, "Alight, we''ve gotten ahold of an SUV. Should I ask why though?"

    "I''m doing what Fury wanted me to do. I''m gonna blow this shit up."

    "¡­that sounded really cheesy."

    "Yeah¡­sorry about that."

    "We should be a couple miles out in a few minutes. How''re you going to catch up to us exactly?" Natasha asked.

    "Right." Naruto stopped when he heard the Grim Reaper grown in pain, "And don''t worry, I''ll get to you." Naruto then began to walk towards Eric Williams.

    Williams looked up, blood gushing down the side of his head, his organs and ribcage shifting with each pain inducing breath, "Wha-what the hell¡­are you?!" Eric finished by spewing blood from his mouth, his teeth stained crimson.

    Naruto didn''t say anything at first only kneeling down in front of the man stuck in the wall, "I''m gonna be honest with you, I don''t really like killing. But knowing what you people have done, and what you represent as a group, I can''t let people like you walk around, even if I''m not from here." Naruto, who''s eyes were orange in color again raised his closed fist to his chest before his body flashed a bright yellow again. Only this time, Naruto''s appearance changed as well, as he was now sporting a trench coat with a turned up collar that had black seals made to look like pattern designs from the shoulder down the arm and the collar. His torso was now black, with a yellow circular seal running along it. Eric couldn''t think it was possible, but this kid seemed even more powerful.

    Naruto then jumped high into the air, extending his arms out as he outwardly exerted his partner''s chakra. Once again there was a flash of yellow, only this was massive, covering the area like a miniature sun. When the light disappeared, Naruto was revealed to now be covered in what looked like the titanic avatar of a nine tailed fox. It''s nine tails swinging viciously, each barely holding back the power a single swing of those tails could produce.

    "It''s good to be out, Naruto. Feels good to stretch my legs for a bit." Kurama bellowed.

    Naruto, who was inside the avatar of Kurama''s head, chuckled, "Good to hear body. Alright, let''s do this!" Naruto finished by clapping his hands together.

    Kurama gave a quick chuckle before getting serious. Rearing his head back, Kurama opened his jaw as he began to build chakra in a massive amount, forming it into a sphere. As the sphere began to build in power, Kurama built the pressure even more, making sure that the attack was as tight as possible. When the Biju felt the attack was strong enough, Naruto had Kurama jump high into the air before releasing his attack.

    "Tailed Beast Bomb!" Naruto shouted as his partner''s signature technique was fired towards the remains of the building below.

    -x-

    With the SHIELD Agents

    -x-

    "H-O-L-Y shit." Agent Rumlow said, looking at where the Hydra base had been before it had been obliterated by what looked like an off brand nuclear bomb.

    A dome of pure white energy reached up dozens of stories tall, the force of it clearing the clouds in the sky revealing the moon that had been hiding behind them. Eventually, the after effects of Naruto''s attack finally dissipated, revealing that Naruto''s monster form was gone, along with the building they had just been in almost ten minutes ago.

    Coulson wiped the sweat along his brow, "How exactly are we gonna explain this to Director Fury? I don''t believe it and I''m here."

    Natasha was still staring at where Naruto had obliterated the Hydra base, "All Director Fury has to do is see the crater in the ground and he''ll know what this guy is capable of."

    "Yeah well, who gives a shit what Fury thinks?! This is above Fury! Just imagine when Secretary Pierce hears about this, or the World Security Council for that matter?! This guy is a fucking monster!" Rumlow yelled, obviously frightened by what he just saw.

    "A fucking monster huh?"

    The three turned around in complete surprise to see the person they were talking about, leaning up against their commandeered vehicle. Naruto looked absolutely unscathed, almost like he hadn''t just gotten back from raiding and eviscerating an entire military base.

    "What did you do back there?" Agent Coulson asked, "What the hell are you?"

    Naruto got up off the car, "Looking back at it, I bet you guys are second guessing trying to pick a fight with me when we first met. That move I just used, that''s not even my strongest. Hell, it could''ve been way stronger, but I didn''t want you to get caught in the aftermath." Turning to the one in charge, Natasha, Naruto continued, "Now, I believe we had a deal?"

    Natasha stared Naruto in the eye, gaging whether he was telling the truth about his powers, before answering, "You''re right, we do. Get in the car, I''ll call in a Quinjet."

    "Where''re we going?"

    "The Triskelion."

    "What the hell is that?"

    "SHIELD Headquarters."

 3 You scratch my Back I scratched yours

    Location: Washington D.C.

    Date: July 18, 2008

    -x-

    "So what exactly are we dealing with here?"

    Nick Fury was standing in a rather large office, the back wall acting as a large window giving Fury a clear view of the country''s capital. Across from Nick was a man in his late 70''s. The man wore an expensive looking business suit, his combed blond grey hair rather thick for a man of his age. This man was Alexander Pierce, Secretary of the World Security Council. Secretary Pierce was the middle man between the WSC and SHIELD, making sure that both parties were kept up to date with the other.

    Nick took the seat across from Pierce, "You''ve seen the pictures I''m guessing?"

    Pierce snorted, "Along with the entire Council. They''re not exactly pleased that we have a literal walking nuke roaming around unsupervised."

    Fury sighed, "Well from what I''ve seen, the kid has experienced war. And I''m not talking about as a civilian, but as a soldier. That and according to him his home world is quite liberal with using child soldiers, him being one of them. When I debriefed him on his mission, the kid didn''t even flinch at the prospect of enemy casualties."

    "Is he stable?" Pierce asked.

    Nick closed his eye, "He hasn''t shown any signs of instability, or at least he''s more stable than most people I''ve dealt with in this kind of situation."

    The Secretary leaned back in his chair, "Give me a full assessment, from you''re point of view."

    "Name: Naruto Uzumaki. Age: 15-17. He''s humanoid in appearance, with his only distinctly inhuman characteristics being the whisker marks on his cheeks. The boy seems intelligent, but hides it behind a mask of naivety. From what footage we could recover, the boy is very adept at hand to hand combat, being able to disarm and disable with very little effort on his part. In the Sankt Georgen Raid, he demonstrated several strange abilities, from producing spinning spheres and disks of energy, to his body being covered in a yellowish flame with strange markings surrounding his arms and torso. He is also able to create a massive avatar like construct around himself in the shape of a fox like creature with nine tails. In said avatar state, Uzumaki was able to fire off an attack that when set off is similar to an atomic bomb only smaller in size and lacked any kind radiation aftereffects. According to Agent Romanoff, the attack he used wasn''t at full strength, apparently holding back to keep it from reaching Romanoff and her team."

    Secretary Pierce rubbed the side of his head, his age momentarily catching up with him, "I know this is probably redundant but I''ll ask anyway. Threat Level?"

    Fury didn''t hesitate, "Threat Level: Omega."

    Pierce sunk deeper into his chair, "That''s two people to become Omega Threat Levels in two months Nick. What the hell is going on?" He asked in exasperation.

    "I think this is the universe telling us that something is coming, and its giving us the pieces to fight whatever it is. First, Tony Stark builds an incredibly technologically advanced exo-suit and uses it to combat terrorist cells in Afghanistan. Then, the scientist Dr. Bruce Banner turns himself into a real life Jekyll and Hyde, only his Hyde is a massive rage machine that can demolish a prepared military unit and later destroy an entire city block as though it was nothing. Now, we have an alien from another dimension that''s so powerful you''d think he was some kind of comic book character brought to life. We''ve been given these men for a reason Alex." Nick reasoned.

    Pierce shook his head with agitation in his eyes, "Would you drop the Avenger Initiative Program already? The Council doesn''t support it, and neither do I. The idea of having those three alone is bad enough, but together? Imagine the damage they could do before they''re taken out, if we even could take them out!"

    "And image the good they could do as a team working to make a difference." Nick argued.

    Pierce sighed, "Even if the Council approved of your program, you''d never be able to get them to work together, Tony Stark being a good example. Sadly, the man is nothing like his father." Leaning forward, Pierce looked at Naruto''s file that was sitting on his desk, "He may be powerful, but he''s still young. And young means malleable, impressionable."

    Fury shook his head, "I already said that the kid is smart, even if you do succeed in manipulating him, he''d eventually figure it out and turn the Triskelion into a parking lot."

    The Triskelion was the main public headquarters of SHIELD. The building itself was rather strange in appearance compared to most, with it being on an isle in the middle of a river, the building built along the main outline of the isle. The top floors of the building were set to the side, going up in a cylinder shape only the sides divided up into thirds. It was the pride and joy of the SHIELD founders, it being their last project before the majority of them retired sans Howard Stark.

    "Do you think you can control him then?" Pierce pressed.

    Fury folded his arms across his chest, "Control him? No. Keep an eye on him? Yes." He then got up from his seat, "Tell the Council that I''ll keep a close eye on him. That should sate them until he does something stupid."

    -x-

    With Naruto

    -x-

    "What the hell is taking so long?! This place is so boooring." Naruto whined, leaning his head back in his chair in the room he was waiting in.

    Agent Coulson sighed, "Director Fury is having an important meeting right now. He''ll get here when he gets here." Phil was standing near the window, looking outside at the monuments on the horizon.

    Naruto leaned his chair back on its back two legs, resting his legs on the table to keep his balance, "So exactly do you do?"

    "That''s classified."

    "Where''s Natasha at?"

    "Black Widow''s location is none of your concern at the moment."

    "¡­Black Widow?"

    "Agent Romanoff''s codename."

    "Do you have a codename?"

    "No."

    "Why?"

    "I don''t know."

    "I feel like you do but you''re not telling me."

    "¡­"

    Seeing that he was getting the silent treatment, Naruto sighed, "If it''s any conciliation I never had a codename back home."

    Coulson didn''t get to respond since Fury walked briskly into the room, "I''m sure you''re ready for me to give you my side of our bargain Naruto, so I won''t waste time with small talk." Fury sat down in the chair next to Naruto, another folder in his hand, this one labeled, "S. Rodgers." Sitting the folder down on the table, Nick said, "According to one of the founders of SHIELD, Howard Stark, the Tesseract is capable of sustaining an infinite amount of energy. As I told you before, it was once in Tonsberg, Norway where it was kept safe for thousands of years. However, during World War II, Hydra Commander Johann Schmidt discovered where the Tesseract was and used Germany''s invasion of Norway as a way to find and acquire it. It was with the Tesseract that he broke ground in his weapons research, using it as a power source for his new state of the art rifles that are advanced even now. Schmidt then enacted his master plan of flying a titanic sized aircraft powered by the Tesseract to fly over and bomb the United States. In a last ditch effort, Captain America sacrificed his life after defeating Schmidt by crashing the aircraft into the Arctic."

    Naruto sat there, his stomach dropping further and further as Fury finished, "So what happened to the Tesseract? Did you find it?"

    Nick sighed, "The Tesseract was in the aircraft with Captain America. By the time we figured out the general area Rodgers crashed, it had been frozen over countless times."

    "So it''s lost." Naruto concluded.

    "I''m sorry Naruto. I know you had your hopes up for this to work out." Kurama said, feeling the disappointment rolling off Naruto at the moment.

    Nick nodded, seemingly thinking something over before he said, "I''d like to make a deal with you Naruto."

    Naruto got up from his seat, "Sorry Fury, but I''m not going to work for you and your ''shield.''"

    Nick got up himself, walking behind Naruto as he spoke, "I don''t want you to work for me. I to work with you. We both have a common interest, the Tesseract. Why not work together here?"

    Naruto stopped before turning around, "What''re you suggesting Fury?"

    Nick put his hands in an almost pleading gesture, "What I''m saying is we work together, SHIELD has several teams working extensively to find Captain America and the Tesseract. We''re going to find the Tesseract eventually. The question is, are you going to be here when we do?"

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I thought what I did to that Hydra base was warning enough. Don''t try and manipulate me Fury, or you''ll live to regret it."

    Fury raised his hands in a placating manner, "I''m not trying to manipulate you, I''m not trying to trick you. This is a legit offer, you work with us until the Tesseract is found, and you''ll be allowed to use it to get home."

    Naruto kept his eyes narrowed at Nick as Kurama said, "He''s telling the truth brat. No matter how much I loath to admit it, it would probably be a good idea to stay close to these guys until you get what you want. And it''s not like you can''t take care of them if they prove to be too much trouble."

    Naruto sighed, "Fine." His face then became rigid, "But there are gonna be some rules." He then stuck out his hand out with four fingers out, "First, I''m not gonna be your dog on a leash. Second, if I don''t want to do something, I won''t. Third, when you find the Tesseract, I''m the first one you call. Not that Pierce guy, not the World Council or whatever. Me. And fourth¡­well I haven''t really thought of a fourth. But when I do you''ll know." Seeing Nick nod in confirmation, Naruto extended his hand forward in a closed fist.

    Fury looked at the fist with confusion at first before it turned to understanding and humor. Reaching his own fist out, he bumped fists with the strange alien. And just like that, a deal was made.

    -x-

    Location: Malibu, California

    Year: May 30th, 2010

    -x-

    "I still don''t get why I''m here." Naruto said as he sat next to Phil in a SHIELD SUV. In the two years on Earth Naruto''s appearance had taken on a change. His usually eye length hair was now more cropped and groomed, brushed to the side yet still maintaining its messy look. Whatever baby fat Naruto had on his face was now gone, looking more lean and mature than he had two years ago. Speaking of his face, his whisker marks that had been such a key part of his life were now missing. Thanks to some kind of artificial skin thing over his cheeks, the official name of it going right over Naruto''s head when they told him what it was, allowed him to blend into human society perfectly. The decision had been a tough one, his whisker marks had been a part of him his entire life, it just didn''t seem right to hide them. But, he knew that it would make his life easier on Earth if they were hidden, as with them on people''s attention was immediately placed on him, along with the fact that if people ever asked around about him, his abnormal appearance would make him easier to remember thus be found.

    Similar to Coulson, Naruto was sporting a tactical business suit, with the jacket and pants a standard black, with a white button up t-shirt and an orange neck tie. Usually he''d wear something more comfortable but Phil had insisted.

    Naruto could hear his partner sigh in his head, "You''re here because you owe Fury a favor you fool. You can''t be mad that he''d want collect." Kurama grumbled, sick of his partner''s complaining,

    "Director Fury wants us to watch over Tony Stark as he is working on a cure for his ailment. We''re to make sure he doesn''t leave or get side tracked." Phil said for the third time in the last hour.

    "It just seems like a waste of my skills. I''d much rather be out with Natasha or Clint doing a field mission. At least then I can get my monthly quota of violence and mayhem."

    "And you wonder why they gave you the codename ''Maelstrom.''" Coulson said, probably still sore over Naruto getting a codename while he still didn''t have one.

    Naruto scoffed, "I still think that it''s a stupid name. Orange Flash is way better."

    "No it isn''t."

    "It really isn''t Naruto." Kurama added.

    Naruto decided to change the subject, "So this Tony guy, what''s he like?"

    "His personality is thoroughly examined in his file." Seeing Naruto rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment he sighed, "You didn''t read the file." He stated.

    Naruto folded his arms across his chest indignantly, "I''m not one of you SHIELD toadies, I don''t gotta do shit."

    Phil sighed but knew that Naruto was right. The only reason he was hear was because Naruto needed some spending money to buy an apartment in D.C. so Fury told Naruto he owed him a favor, this mission being said favor. Any other time, the only reason Naruto did anything was because he wanted to, which usually involved field missions with Agent Barton and/or Romanoff, the former of whom taking Naruto under his wing so to speak on matters such as Earth culture and activities, showing the blonde things like videogames, movies, sporting events, and the internet in general. The Council hadn''t been to happy learning that tidbit about him not taking orders, but were placated by the fact by the fact that he wasn''t roaming around doing God knows what but was instead under the watchful eye of Fury.

    Looking out the window, Coulson saw that they were pulling into Stark''s mansion driveway, "We''re here."

    Getting out of the SUV, Naruto couldn''t help but marvel at the Malibu mansion. The all white building had a square theme, with multiple intricate levels jutting out every which way. Walking towards the double doors, Coulson didn''t bother knocking, instead barging right through. Naruto couldn''t help but be unimpressed by the inside of the house, but that probably had something to do with the fact that it looked like Rock Lee had just got done with one of his usual training session in there. In the middle of all that mess sat Tony Stark, looking out the large window acting as a wall into the beautiful ocean view

    Giving Tony a look over, Naruto could see that he didn''t look any different from the pictures he''d seen. He dark brown hair spiked up at the front, with a rather unusual goatee that had a rather sharp and pointed design. The man looked kinda pathetic at the moment, his usual bravado he''d seen on TV gone, in place of a man looking to be on his last leg. The fact that he was still wearing a robe in the middle of the day didn''t help much either.

    Sitting next to Tony was Fury, the two of them seeming to have just gotten done with their conversation. Looking over at Coulson and Naruto, Fury said, "I believe you''ve already met Agent Coulson, and this is Agent Uzumaki." Naruto held back a scowl at being called an agent, he seriously couldn''t wait for this favor to be payed and done with, "they''re going to stay here, watching over you until you''re done."

    "Babysitters, really?" Tony cracked, "The blond one looks young enough to be in high school."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes at Tony but kept his mouth shut. For now.

    "Agent Uzumaki is more than qualified to make sure you stay here to finish your work Tony. If you''re really concerned you can put your armor on and he can give you a demonstration." Fury said before making his way towards the door, "Get it done Tony, we''re gonna need you."

    Naruto rolled his eyes at Fury and his constant references to the ''Avengers Initiative.'' He''d lost count how many times he''d tried to get him to get involved, with Naruto ignoring him as much as possible when asked.

    Natasha, who''d been in the other room, also made her way towards the door after Fury as she said, "We''ve disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world." Looking over at Naruto she said, "Good luck."

    "So this is where Natasha''s been." Naruto thought.

    Tony, who thought Natasha had been speaking to him, said, "Please¡­alright, first things first I need a little body work, then I''ll put some time in the lab. Hey Junior, make yourself useful and go on a Starbucks run. Please and thanks."

    Coulson stepped in between Tony and Naruto, probably thinking Naruto might attack the inventor, saying "We''re not here for that. Director Fury has authorized us to use any means necessary to keep you on the premises. If you attempt to leave, or play any games, I will taze you and watch ''Supernanny'' while you drool into the carpet, understood?"

    Tony nodded in understanding, "Yeah, uh¡­I think I got it."

    -x-

    Later That Night

    -x-

    "Do you really think we''d never notice you leaving?" Naruto asked as he walked into Tony''s workshop, the entire area covered from wall to wall in equipment.

    Tony looked up from his level measurer, "I don''t remember you trying to stop me Agent Uzumaki, and where''s Coulson anyway?"

    Naruto walked around the room stopping at the displayed sets of Iron Man armor, "Agent Coulson was called in on an urgent matter by Fury. As for me, despite what Fury says, I''m no ''Agent.'' I don''t have to really do what the man says. So I let you leave to do your business, but kept an eye on you in case for whatever reason you tried to make a break for it. I''m only here because I owed Fury a favor. That and I wanted to meet you." Naruto finished by turning to face the Stark fully.

    "And why exactly would you want to meet me? You want an autograph or something. Last I checked I charged twenty bucks for those."

    Naruto smirked, "No, I just wanted to meet the other member of Fury''s possible ''Avengers Initiative.'' You''re all the man talks about nowadays, that and Bruce Banner, but that guy''s gone ghost after Harlem."

    Tony couldn''t help but be shocked at hearing that this kid was in the same group as himself, "So what makes you so special that they''d ask you to join?"

    Before Naruto could answer, Phil walked down the steps into the lab, "I heard you broke the perimeter."

    "Aahh yeah. That was a while ago, where you been, junior and I have already discussed this." Tony said, dropping the previous subject for a later time, "I heard you''ve been busy."

    Phil gave Naruto a pointed look, "First you let him leave, then you tell him where I went after I told you to keep it under wraps. I thought you said you''d do as you''re told today."

    Naruto shrugged, "I''m a rambunctious little scamp, what can I say? Besides it''s not like I didn''t keep an eye on him. That and it looks like he actually got something out of his little field trip." He said, seeing that Tony seemed rather reinvigorated.

    Phil''s attention was however on something else entirely. Walking over towards what looked like a table full of scrap parts, Coulson pulled out what looked like a shield that someone started to craft but gave up half way through. The shield was circular, with three layers of color and the center circle holding a white five-point star. The first and third layer were red, the middle layer white, and the center circle blue.

    "What''s this doing here?" Phil asked, his voice holding a hint of excitement.

    A realization hit Tony, "That''s it." Walking towards Phil he said, "Here, give it to me."

    "Do you know what this is?" he asked in disbelief.

    "Yeah, it''s exactly what I need." Tony then took the scrapped shield into his hands, "Lift the coil."

    Coulson seemed to still be in a daze as he lifted up the thick coil as Tony stuff the shield underneath it, leveling the once slightly dropping coil. Placing his level measurer back on the coil, he took a step back say, "Perfect." Talking the level off he said to Phil, "I''m busy, what do you want?"

    "Nothing." Coulson said, "I''ve been reassigned, Director Fury wants me in New Mexico."

    "What about me?" Naruto asked.

    Coulson turned to the blonde, "You can leave anytime you want, Director Fury wants to meet with you though whenever you get back to DC."

    Naruto took his jacket off, unbuttoned his shirt, and loosened his tie, as he walked up the stairs, "I''ll think I''ll stay for a bit. I here there''s an expo tonight, might as well give it a look. Might just see what Natasha''s doing while I''m at it."

    -x-

    At Stark Industries

    -x-

    "What''re you doing here Naruto?" Natasha asked, wearing her ''assistant'' clothes consisting of a grey blouse and business skirt and heels. The two were standing outside Pepper Potts'' office, Natasha having pushed him outside after he barged in.

    Naruto gave his megawatt smile, "Just wanted to see Black Widow the assistant in action. You''re pretty good at it actually."

    Natasha calmly drove her fist into Naruto''s stomach, "Don''t call me that here. Got it?" She asked harshly.

    The blonde was hunched over as he wheezed out, "Got it."

    The Black Widow pushed some stray hair behind her ear, "Seriously Naruto, what are you doing here."

    "Coulson''s been reassigned, didn''t stick around long enough to find out where, so I figured I''d come help you out since I have nothing better to do." Naruto said straightening up.

    Natasha scoffed as she made her way back into the office, "Go bother Clint or Rumlow then." She opened the door and walked in, "I''m sorry Ms. Potts, that was m-" she was cut off by the door closing behind her.

    Naruto sighed before making his way to the exit, "I guess I''m going to that expo by myself then."

    -x-

    Later that Night at the Stark Expo

    -x-

    Damn this place was crazy. The atmosphere didn''t feel like an expo, it felt like a massive concert event, with each stage presenting some new tech, from holograms to hover-boards, the things this world came up with was fucking crazy. Walking around, Naruto was now wearing a plain dark red jacket, a blue t-shirt underneath, and some simple jeans, with the blonde feeling way better getting out of that monkey suit.

    Walking towards a what looked to be the main stage, Naruto could see several signs advertising the upcoming event, "HAMMER INDUSTRIES Presents: In Defense of Peace." Naruto read off, "This better be good."

    Walking into the stands, Naruto realized he arrived just in time, as a music began to play with a man in an all grey suit began to dance/walk out to center stage, slowly but surely reaching the glass podium.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, for far too long this country has had to place its brave men and women in harm''s way. Then the Iron Man arrived, and we thought the days of losing lives were behind us. Sadly that technology was kept out of reach. That''s not fair, that''s not right, and it''s just too bad. Regardless, it was an impressive innovation, one that grabbed headlines the world over. Well today my friends, the press is faced with quite a different problem. They''re about to run out of ink." An awkward silence entered the arena, with Naruto watching in amusement as people began to give the man a pity clap, "Ladies and gentlemen, today I present to you the new face of the United States Military!"

    Then, with a wave of his arm, he introduced one by one what looked like an Iron Man rip off in the version of militarized drones, each one representing the separate branches of the United States Armed Forces. The Army drone being a greenish brown in color with what looked like the large rifle barrel holstered on their backs. Drones for the Navy were a dark blue, with a duel set of rocket launchers on their shoulders and forearms. Airforce Drones were grey in color, with them not having any noticeable attachment on the body. Finally, the Marine Drones were a dark green with brown camo stripes running along it, and similar to the Airforce Drones had no outward attachments added to them. In total, there were thirty-two drones on that stage.

    "But as revolutionary as this technology is, there will always be a need for a man to be present in the theatres of war. Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to present to you the first prototype of the Variable Threat Response Battle Suit and its pilot, Airforce Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes!" With another wave of his hand, the center of the stage floor opened up, before a trap door began to rise up, revealing what looked to be a grey and silver version of Tony''s Iron Man suit, only this was decked out for heavy combat. Heavily armored, with the forearms holding what looked to be high powered automatic weapons, and a Minigun holstered on behind him on the shoulder.

    After coming up the stage fully, Rhodes saluted the crowd, with all of the drones following suit.

    "For America and its allies HAMMER INDUSTRIES is-" the rest of the man''s speech was interrupted by the sight and sound of Tony coming in hot towards the stage before landing in a kneeling position in front of Rhodes. As Iron Man rose up, so did the crowd, the arena exploding in a wave of cheers. Tony walked up to Rhodes, standing next to him and giving the crowd a wave. His armor was slightly different, with the usually circular arc reactor dock now triangular.

    Tony then began to walk towards the man on stage, the guy''s mic picking up Tony''s voice as well, "Where is he?" Tony demanded.

    "What?" the man asked.

    "Where''s Vanko?"

    "Wha-what''re you doing here man?" the guy stuttered.

    Suddenly, the Minigun on Rhodes'' armor sprung to life, taking aim at Tony. Naruto didn''t waste a second jumping into action, as Tony flew off into to avoid getting turned into swish cheese by his friend. About to jump into action, Naruto stopped when the Airforce and Navy Drones flew after them, with the Army and Marine Drones beginning to open fire on the crowd below. Naruto''s body flashed yellow as his body took on his Nine Tails Chakra Shroud and bull rushed towards the Marine unit who were the closest to the crowd. Shoving his fist into the first one he could, he then expanded his arm out, ripping the Drone apart. Looking over, Naruto stood there as the Marine Drones began to open fire on him. To Naruto in his Chakra Shroud he could barely feel he bullets at all, simply allowing them to ricochet and bounce off uselessly.

    When the Drones finally stopped firing Naruto said, "You done?" Suddenly, seven translucent arms sprouted from his body, smashing into each of the Marine Drones, the massive hands grabbing ahold and crushing them as though they were empty soda cans. The hands retracting back, Naruto then raised both hands, with two small hands sprouting from each wrist, before he began to form two miniature sized Raseshurkinens in his palms. Naruto then threw them at the remaining Army Drones, one making contact that obliterated three of the drones in an explosion that was only a sixth of the size of the usual attack, with the other being shot at by one of the drones, causing it to explode prematurely taking out only one of them. In the confusion of Naruto''s attack, the Uzumaki was revealed to have formed four Rasengans along his back, before once again sprouting chakra arms to pick up the Rasengans and drive them into the remaining drones, the attacks finishing them off instantly.

    "He-hey! What the hell man!" the guy that introduced the weapons yelled, having seen the whole thing while ducked under the stage, "Do you have any idea how much those cost?!"

    Naruto''s Chakra Shroud flickered as he said, "Not enough apparently." He then disappeared towards the sound of gun fire where he knew Tony and Rhodes were. Appearing in what looked like a Japanese garden, Naruto saw that Iron Man and whatever Rhodes was calling himself seemed to just get done destroying the rest of the Hammer Drones.

    "Hey Tony!" Naruto yelled, "You good?"

    Tony looked up, shocked to see Naruto is his Nine Tails Chakra Mode, "Is that you Junior?"

    Seeing Naruto nod, Rhodes looked back and forth between the two, "Tony, who the hell is this guy?"

    "Junior, meet Rhodey, Rhody, meet Junior."

    Suddenly, the three looked up as they heard what sounded like another drone landing in the clearing. The drone landed in a loud thud and puff of dirt. This drone looked different however, as it was heavily armored, appearing as more of a juggernaut than anything. The mask split open and apart, revealing the face of a man Naruto could honestly say he didn''t recognize. The man had a tan complexion, his long hair slicked back with a thin soul patch and moustache.

    "Good to be back." The man said in what Naruto recognized as a Russina accent.

    Rhodey seemed just as confused as Naruto was, "Well this aint'' gonna be good."

    The Russian man crossed his arms across his chest before whipping them outward, causing a pair of long electric whips to appear at the end of his hands, with lightening arcing between the two whips.

    "I got something special for this guy." Rhodey said, "I''m gonna bust his bunker with the ''Ex-Wife.''"

    "The what?" Tony asked.

    From the shoulder that didn''t have the Minigun on it, a rocket began to emerge, the rocket began to tick down before flying off towards the Russian whip guy.

    Ting¡­

    "Well that was disappointing." Naruto deadpanned.

    Tony looked at Rhodey, "HAMMER tech?"

    "Yep."

    Iron Man stepped forward, "I got thi-"

    Before Tony could finish his sentence, Ivan was sent flying by a massive flaming yellow fist curtesy of Naruto. The blonde than walked forward, "Sorry to interrupt Tony, but I really just want to get this over with." Naruto then extended his hand forward towards the still downed Ivan, "Let''s see how your armor stands up to my Wind Style Rasengan." Slowly, a Rasengan began to form in his palm, with sharp wind chakra whisping around the sphere. As Ivan got up and was about to lash out with his whip Naruto once again extended is hand forward with Wind Rasengan in hand.

    Boom!

    -x-

    Days Later in SHIELD Malibu Safe House

    "-and then I saved Pepper from the self-destructing drones."

    "I know what happened Tony¡­I was there." Naruto drawled.

    The two were in a warehouse like building used by SHIELD operatives as a safe house. Tony was sitting down in one of the two chairs available, a table next to him with two folders sitting on top of it. Surrounding Tony and the table he was sitting at were five screens each showing something different, with Naruto standing next to one of those screens.

    "This man is grinding my nerves Naruto." Kurama growled.

    Naruto smirked as he thought, "I don''t know Kurama. He kinda grows on you."

    "It''s good to see that you two are getting along so well."

    The two turned to see Nick Fury walking into the warehouse walking over and sitting at the table Tony was at. As Fury began to sit down, Tony went to grab the folder saying "Avengers Initiative Program" on the front with the SHIELD emblem emboldened on the front, only for Nick to stop him by placing his hand on the file.

    "I don''t want you looking at that. I''m not sure that it pertains to you anymore." Fury said leaning back in his chair, "Now this on the other hand, is Agent Romanoff''s assessment of you." Heading the file over Nick said, "Read it."

    "Augh¡­Personality Overview: Mr. Stark displays compulsive behavior¡­In my own defense that was last week." Seeing Nick giving him a look to keep reading he continued, "Prone to self-destructive tendencies-okay, I was dying, I mean please isn''t everyone? Text book narcissism¡­agreed. Okay, here it is. Recruitment Assessment for Avenger Initiative: Approve¡­you know, I gotta think about it."

    "Read on." Fury said.

    Looking back at the file, Tony continued to read, "Tony Stark not¡­not recommended. That doesn''t make any sense. How can you approve me, but not approve me?

    Fury got up from his seat, "We believe that in this juncture we''d only like to use you as a Consultant."

    Tony himself got up, reaching his hand out for a handshake with Nick, "You can''t afford me." Stark said

 4 The Bourne Treachery

    Location: Washington D.C.

    Date:January 1st 2011

    -x-

    Beep beep beep

    Creaking his eyes open, Naruto looked over at the alarm sitting on the night stand. Groaning, Naruto flipped over onto his stomach, sliding his head under his pillow and attempted to use it to muffle out the noise preventing him from his much needed sleep. Next to him in the bed, a figure under the covers turned over to face away from the alarm in a futile attempt to drown out the noise.

    Under the covers a woman spoke, "Nathan¡­alarm."

    It took a second for Naruto to remember that that was the name he used when he went out last night. Arching his back as he looked up, Naruto looked over to see a mop of dark brunette hair that covered its owner''s face. Groaning once again, Naruto got up as he pressed the snooze button on the alarm. Giving his arms a few testing stretches and cracking his back with a sound that resembled bubble wrap, Naruto looked around the unfamiliar room he was currently butt naked in. It looked rather expensive, with pricey looking furniture littered with coordination around the room. Looking down at the floor, Naruto could see the trail they had made last night, with his and her under ware jumbled at the foot of the bed. Picking it up, Naruto slipped it on before following the clothing trail. One by one, Naruto put on an article of clothing before finding himself fully clothes sans his left sock. Scratching his head, Naruto looked around the room, peeking under furniture, peering between any crevice.

    Making his way back to the bedroom, Naruto saw the woman sitting up in her bed, covering modesty with her covers. The woman was rather beautiful, with a healthy tan that looked natural, great cheekbones, and rather full lips, Naruto wouldn''t be surprised if she were a model of some kind.

    Smiling awkwardly, the woman said, "Happy New Year."

    Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto gave a stiff smile of his own, "Yeah uh¡­"

    "Her name is Jennifer, you idiot." Kurama muttered in his head.

    "-Jennifer, Happy New Year." Looking around the floor once again, Naruto asked, "Hey uhh, have you seen my sock?" Seeing her point up, Naruto looked up and saw that she was pointing at her ceiling fan, and on said ceiling fan was his sock along with Jennifer''s panties.

    -x-

    The sizzling of bacon and eggs could be heard as Jennifer stood behind her stove shuffling the man around to make sure the food was cooked evenly. Naruto, who was sitting behind the kitchen island, watched the woman do her thing as he pieced together what happened last night. He had just returned from another false lead on how to get home when Natasha had suggested he take a break and go to out and enjoy the New Year''s celebration. Several drinks later, Naruto eventually met Jennifer, telling her his name was Nathan for simplicity, and before long the two were all over each other in the bar and then her apartment which was half a block away.

    "One sip of that drink and you were acting like a fucking idiot¡­well, more so than usual anyway."

    "I''m not exactly proud of myself here Kurama. I don''t even know this woman." Naruto thought.

    As Naruto thought this, he couldn''t help but take in the woman''s form with her tight fitting shirt obviously used for sleeping only, that cut off just above her belly button. Then there was the fact she wasn''t wearing any pants, only a pair of tightly fitting panties that didn''t do a very good job covering her ass, giving him a pretty good view. Not that he hadn''t gotten an even better one last night.

    "I hope you don''t mind bacon and eggs, but it''s all I could come up with at short notice." Jennifer said apologetically as she looked back at the blonde she''d spent the night with.

    "It''s fine." Naruto said reassuringly, "This is a lot better than what I usually make for breakfast." Which was usually a bland cereal drenched in a bowl of milk.

    The two entered into a somewhat comfortable silence as Jennifer pulled out a pair of plates from the cabinet above her and then bringing out a couple forks from the drawer a few feet to her left. Scooping the food into each plate, Jennifer gave Naruto his before walking around the island so that she could sit down next to him.

    "Thank you." Naruto said with a slight head nod before digging in to the food. Not the best food he''d ever eaten, but it was good. Especially so considering it was free.

    Jennifer smiled, "You''re welcome." Taking a few bites Jennifer looked at Naruto as she swallowed her food, "So Nathan¡­I never did ask you what you do, for a living I mean."

    "Bodyguard." Naruto said after not being able to come up with anything better.

    The brunette raised an eyebrow, "Really? Did you ever work for anyone famous?"

    "Yeah uhh, Tony Stark every so often." Naruto said with a shrug.

    That got Jennifer''s attention, "You protected Tony Stark, as in ''Iron Man'' Tony Stark? Seems kind of redundant don''t you think?"

    "Yeah, it was mostly to keep his girlfriend off his back I''m pretty sure." Naruto said with a shrug, remembering how worried Pepper would get over Tony''s safety, "So what do you do?"

    "I''m a lawyer." Jennifer said, "I actually live in L.A., I''m only here in D.C. for a long term case."

    Naruto nodded, "So what kind of case would drag you all the way to D.C. from Los Angeles?"

    Jennifer smiled, wagging her finger in front of her face, "Attorney-client privilege, couldn''t tell you even if I wanted to." She said teasingly.

    Naruto was about to respond when his phone went off. Reaching into his pocket, he saw a picture of Natasha on the screen. Looking up at Jennifer he said, "I''m sorry, I have to take this." He said apologetically. Getting up from his seat, Naruto walked into the hallway, "What?"

    "I thought I said to take a break, not let off some steam. There''s a clear difference." He heard Natasha say over the phone.

    Naruto sighed as he rubbed the side of his face in agitation, "Why does that matter, exactly?"

    "There are multiple reasons for why it matters. For all you know this woman could be a Hydra spy. You''re not exactly their favorite person right now."

    "We both know you did a background check the moment she sat down next to me in that bar."

    Natasha was silent over the phone for several seconds before speaking, "¡­Jennifer Walters, attended UCLA, she is currently a lawyer working for the law firm Ryu, Barber, Zucker & Scott. She''s clean." Natasha said after a moment.

    "So what''s the problem here exactly?" Naruto asked in slight annoyance at his part time partner''s prying.

    "The problem is her cousin, Bruce Banner."

    Naruto almost dropped his phone at hearing that, "Are you serious?" He asked in shock.

    "We can talk about this later. Meet me outside, I have a mission I need your help with." Natasha said before hanging up the phone.

    "Dammit." Naruto cursed under his breath as he stuffed his hand in his pocket. Walking over to Jennifer, he saw that she was washing off the dishes they used, "Hey Jennifer, I don''t mean to eat and go, but that was my boss that called. Apparently we got some new client that''s a big deal or something." Naruto said, making sure to sound regretful as he made his way to the door.

    Jennifer quickly washed her hands before making her way over to the leaving Naruto, "Hey, wait." As she caught up to the now waiting blonde, she reached into her purse that was sitting on the coffee table and pulled out a white card. Reaching him she handed him the card as she leaned up and pecked him on the lips, "Call me."

    Looking down at her and then the card in his hand, he saw that it was her business card that had both her work and personal phone number etched in black under her name. Looking back at her, he forced a smile, "Okay."

    -x-

    Naruto stepped out of the apartment building, pulling the collar to his coat up to help guard against the cold air. His feet scrunched along the snow covered sidewalk, looking out for what he dubbed the ''Widow-mobile.'' Almost on que, a black Corvette pulled up in front of him, the window facing him rolling down to reveal Natasha, wearing a red parka and wool stocking cap over her now chin length red hair.

    "You getting in or what?" She asked with a smirk.

    Naruto opened the door before plopping into the passenger''s seat, "So, what''s this mission that ''Black Widow'' couldn''t handle by herself?"

    "It''s not seducing a middle aged lawyer, that''s for sure." Natasha quipped.

    "That was a solid burn brat." Kurama added.

    Naruto scoffed, "She wasn''t middle aged. She''s 30, at most."

    "And you''re 20." Natasha said, "Which leads to the question of how exactly you got into a bar to begin with."

    Naruto gave Natasha a deadpan look, "Do you really think I wouldn''t be able to get my hands on a fake ID?" Naruto out the window at the passing buildings, "What''s your deal Natasha, it''s not like you to stick your nose in my business."

    Natasha didn''t say anything at first, simply watching the road. Giving him a quick sideways glance she said, "I don''t want to pry, but you''ve been spiraling Naruto. If you''re not turning over every rock on the green earth, you''re looking for said rocks. And now you''re having one night stands, drinking. We''re worried for you, that''s all."

    "One thousand and three."

    Stopped at a stop light, Natasha could now look fully at Naruto as she said, "What?"

    Naruto didn''t stop looking outside, "One thousand and three. That''s how many days I''ve been stuck on this planet. That''s how long I''ve been away from my home. From my friends." Naruto then looked back at the red head, "I realized a while ago that my friends are more than likely dead. Without me, there was no way to defeat Kaguya, no way to seal her away for good. Without me, there''s no chance that my friends are alive right now. It was too late the moment I entered Earth''s atmosphere." The entire time he spoke, his voice was flat, dead.

    "Naruto¡­"

    "Then why are you still looking for a way back? Why not just give up, live as normal a life as you can?" Natasha asked him.

    Naruto turned his head forward, "I just do Natasha."

    HONK

    Looking forward, Natasha saw that the light had turned green, spurring her to drive forward.

    -x-

    At the Triskelion Helipad

    -x-

    Naruto stood next to Natasha as they waited for their Quinjet to get prepped and ready. Natasha had her arms folded across her chest as she said, "Last week, the NATO. anti-terrorist cell Omega Strike were sent on a mission to recover a terrorist hijacked plane. The squad was killed, with the only survivor being a man named James Bourne. Later intel suggests that Bourne had betrayed his squadron, along with killing the terrorist that hijacked the plane along with the passengers of said plane."

    Naruto looked at Natasha, "Why would he betray his teammates, only to turn around and kill the terrorists he betrayed them too?" He asked.

    "That''s where things get interesting. According to our intel, Bourne was setting up his own terrorist cell in West Germany. It''s our belief he was killing two birds with one stone by taking out his team and killing a rival group while he''s at it."

    "Even still, this isn''t SHIELD business. NATO should be the one taking care of this considering it was their man that went turncoat." Naruto said.

    "And that''s where things get interestinger. The agents of Omega Strike were all implanted with cybernetic chips directly to the brain, linking them to their adrenal glands. Those that survived were given the ability of mild teleportation." Natasha said as the door to their Quinjet opened up, allowing the two to walk in.

    Naruto walked over to his equipment locker, pulling out a pair of combats pants and boots, a tight black shirt, and a grey leather coat jacket with black highlights along the zipper and collar. Taking his clothes off as Natasha got behind the wheel, Naruto said, "So how mild is his teleportation?"

    "He can jump short distances in a frequent pace and is able to jump up to several miles but is incapable of doing so simultaneously due to fatigue." Natasha explained, "It''s kind of like your Body Flicker technique."

    Naruto nodded, "So, I''m assuming he''s been spotted. SHIELD doesn''t do wild goose chases."

    Natasha nodded back, "He''s been spotted in Queens, visiting his childhood home." Natasha said, "Novice mistake for someone on the run."

    Naruto zipped the jacket up, finishing his ensemble, "You think there might be more to it?"

    Natasha shrugged, "Why would a man wanted for treason and terrorism go back to his neighborhood home, in a city that is one of the most vigilant and thorough terrorist surveillant cities in the world? Why the obvious risk?"

    "There could be something there he needs, something he couldn''t get anywhere else." Naruto suggested.

    Natasha nodded, "Or, he doesn''t know he''s a wanted man."

    Naruto walked toward the cockpit, sitting down in the copilot''s chair, "That''s a pretty big claim Natasha."

    Natasha shrugged as she pulled the Quinjet up, the jet rocketing forward in the direction of NYC, "NATO had been in the middle of investigating another member of Omega Strike named Gabriel Gant for possible treason himself before his death by Bourne''s hands."

    "Well that''s suspicious." Naruto said. Looking into the bright blue sky and the clouds passed them by and parted around them.

    "Exactly."

    -x-

    In Queens, New York City, New York

    -x-

    Naruto and Natasha stood in the frigid Queens air, Naruto using Transformation technique to cover his mission wear for a more civilian outfit consisting of a thick black coat and average form fitting jeans. Across the street from them was a small two story home that was white in color and a light blue in trim, James Bourne''s childhood home.

    "It''s a nice neighborhood." Natasha observed.

    "There''s a drug deal going on a block away." Naruto said matter of factly, using several of his clones to scout out the area. Every few moments, a clone would make a clone of themselves before dispelling, giving him the things they encountered. The next street over, six kids were playing a pickup game of basketball. Another block away, a woman having sex with a man inside a car. And three houses over, a father was laying into his son with a belt. This neighborhood may have been a nice place to live, a nice place to grow up, once. But it wasn''t anymore.

    "Show off." Natasha said, "Just tell me if Bourne''s here."

    "He is." Naruto said nodding, "My clone could see him in the kitchen window."

    Natasha began a brisk walk forward, "Let''s go then. You take the front; I''ll take the back."

    Nodding, the blonde walked towards the front door. Walking up the steps as he dropped his transformation, Naruto made sure to extend his senses out to make sure no one was behind the door before Spartan kicking it open. The wooden door flew off the hinges, breaking apart into four uneven pieces as they flew to the floor. Hearing a scream, Naruto could see that a woman that appeared to be in her late 60''s jumping to her feet in absolute shock, her hands covering her cowering face.

    Placing his hands in a hand sign, Naruto said, "Sleep." With a quick Genjutsu, Naruto put the woman to sleep, her limp body falling back into the chair.

    Storming into the kitchen, Naruto leaned his head back to avoid getting his head decapitated as a man jumped from behind the kitchen doorway, holding a sharp kitchen knife in his hand. Taking another step back, Naruto dodged a downward slash then horizontal slash. Seeing that the man matched James Bourne''s description of reddish brown hair and deep brown eyes along with a rather handsome appearance of an almost super hero level jaw line, Naruto got into a fighting stance.

    "What the hell did you do to her?!" Bourne yelled, flipping the knife into a reverse grip before lunging at the blonde. Dodging and sidestepping every swipe, Naruto finally grew tired of it by jabbing at Bourne''s elbow mid swing, stopping it in time to open up his guard enough for Naruto to give two quick jabs at the man''s jaw and sternum. Flipping into him, Naruto grabbed the knife hand with one hand and backhanded Bourne in the nose with the next. The red head stumbled back, letting go of his weapon as he did.

    Grabbing ahold of the knife after it slipped out of Bourne''s hand, Naruto threw it behind him so that it stuck into the living room wall, "All I did was put her to sleep, Jason Bourne."

    Holding his now bloody nose, Bourne muffled out, "Its James jackass." Charging towards him, launching a left handed jab at Naruto''s face that was easily parried before sending two righted handed strikes towards his ribs and sternum. Naruto saw the punches coming a mile away, slapping away the first before blocking the next, using his hand to lift his arm up enough for Naruto to send two jabs of his own at Bourne''s elbow and tricep. James'' guards down, Naruto then slammed his open palm into the man''s upper stomach.

    Seeing James take a few stumbling steps back, Naruto smirked, "I know."

    James looked at Naruto in confusion before he felt a pair of legs wrap around his neck and torso in a double-leg grapple. Said legs flipped him forward onto his back, with him eventually looking up to see a hot red head looking down at him just as she drove her fist into his jaw.

    Taking the blow like a champ, Bourne shoved Natasha off of him as a yellow portal opened up underneath him, swallowing him before closing up. A portal then opened up next to Bourne''s unconscious mother, before he jumped out, grabbed her, and then opened another portal and disappearing.

    "Aaand he''s gone." Naruto said as he looked around at the mess they made, "We probably could''ve been a bit quieter on our approach."

    Natasha straightened up, "Not really considering what he can do, besides," pulling out her phone to show it had a city grid on the screen, with a yellow dot blimping in the center of said grid, "No he''s not."

    Naruto smirked, "Putting a tracking beacon on him in the middle of a take down. Nice."

    "Of course, look at who you''re talking to."

    -x-

    Bourne silently skulked towards his hotel room. Slowly opening the door, he peaked inside before checking behind the door. Walking towards the small closet, he slid the door open to reveal a body suit with a green color scheme hanging on a single hook. Under the suit were a pair of large suitcases. Pulling them out, James heaved them towards the bed. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a key and unlocked the two briefcases. Clicking open the latches, Bourne threw them open to reveal that they were stocked to the teeth with guns. Glocks, AK''s, M1911''s, MP5''s, G3''s, FAL''s. Bourne looked over his small arsenal before turning around towards his body suit, only to see Naruto and Natasha standing next to the closet.

    "Green really isn''t your color." Natasha said.

    Bourne didn''t bother answering, instead reaching for his Glock behind him. Just as he was able to reach it however, a massive yellow hand grabbed ahold of him before slamming him into the ceiling. Looking over, James''s face was filled with shock at the sight of Naruto''s extended arm being covered in a yellow flame, with a fiery arm extended out and holding him. His gun hand free, he pointed his weapon of death and destruction at the blonde before opening fire. The flames quickly covered Naruto''s entire form, just in time to prevent the bullets from piercing his skin.

    Seeing that the bullets weren''t doing anything to Naruto, and his gun now clicking from being empty, James lowered his gun as he gazed at Naruto and Natasha in fear and wonder, "I didn''t know Gant had an Inhuman working for him."

    "We don''t work for Gant, Bourne. And even if we did, how exactly does one for a dead man?" Natasha asked as the chakra shroud around Naruto receded back to just his arm and hand.

    Naruto however couldn''t help but ask, "Wait¡­Inhuman? What the hell is that?"

    Bourne raised an eyebrow, "Wait¡­so you''re not one of them? But your powers¡­"

    "Are all natural." Naruto said.

    James now looked at Naruto in a new light, "Amazing."

    "This guy has an eye for awesome shit I see." Kurama chuckled.

    "Let''s get back to what important boys." Natasha said, giving Naruto a pointed look, "We''re here because you Mr. Bourne are currently wanted for treason against your country and terrorism."

    Bourne looked at her in bewilderment, "What the hell are you talking about?! I was betrayed by that bastard Gant! We went on that mission to stop those terrorists, only for them to turn around and kill everyone one that plane, terrorist, civilian, the rest of our team. Then he teleports away like a coward after I nearly beat him to death!" He finished with a gruesome snarl.

    "Then why did you run?" Natasha asked, her theory starting to prove correct.

    Bourne closed his eyes as he gained his composure before opening them again his face taking on a calmer fa?ade, "I had to make sure my mother was safe from him. She''d have been the first one he''d go after, to use her as bate against me."

    Natasha looked at Naruto, the man knowing what she wanted, "He''s telling the truth." Kurama said.

    "He''s telling the truth." Naruto repeated as his chakra hand let Bourne go, "Looks like your theory was pretty spot on, Agent Romanoff."

    Bourne gave Natasha an appraising look, "So you''re the infamous Black Widow of SHIELD? I thought you''d be taller." He then closed and locked his weapons cases before going over to his suit, folding it as he said, "So, now that my name''s been cleared, I can take care of my business."

    Naruto put his hand on Bourne''s shoulder, "We''re more than influential enough at SHIELD to convince our higher ups of your innocence off this encounter alone. But NATO is a whole other issue. They''re not gonna believe the word of a one-time KGB agent and her handsome sidekick that one of their men isn''t actually the traitor or terrorist they believe."

    Bourne brushed his hand off his shoulder, "Then don''t tell them. I don''t care what people think of me. All I care about is getting that bastard back." He then went towards the door.

    "You can at least tell me what the hell you meant by Inhumans." Naruto said.

    Bourne turned from the door, "The Inhumans are a society of superhumans, kind of like those mutants you read about in those comic books, only these guy aren''t known to the public. Supposedly they''re holed up somewhere in Asia.

    Naruto and Natasha looked at each other, before Natasha spoke, "And why is it we''ve never heard of this secret society of superheroes before? Seems like something SHIELD would know about."

    Bourne sighed, "Because they''re as high up on the secret food chain as it goes. Hell, one of the only things higher is where it is they live exactly. The only reason I know about them is because their leader, a man named Black Bolt, came to NATO for some kind of conference. We were a part of the protection detail in case things got violent. Supposedly the guy''s whistle can cause concrete to split open." Bourne then turned the door handle, about to open the door, "You guys may be influential in SHIELD, but I''d imagine that only your Director knows of them, and I doubt he''d ever tell you, even if you brought it up." With that he opened the door, both suitcases now in hand, backpack on his shoulder, and then walked away, leaving the door wide open.

    "We''re gonna capture him, right?" Naruto asked as he let the man get a head start.

    "Of course."

    -x-

    Back at the Triskelion, In Director Fury''s Office

    -x-

    "Congratulations on your recovery of James Bourne, Agent Romanoff." Fury said behind his desk, hands folded in front of him as he leaned back in his chair, "NATO now has him in their custody. It has also come to their attention that the body of Gabriel Gant was never found anywhere near the scene of the plane crash. They currently have a new investigator on the case, one who is going to be much more thorough."

    "Yeah¡­not like I did anything." Naruto said, arms folded across his chest, looking at Fury with fake annoyance. Shifting gears, Naruto''s face grew more stern, "There''s something I need to speak with you about Nick. Something important."

    Natasha got the hint, giving a nod towards her boss before walking out of his office. Seeing they were alone, Fury leaned forward resting his elbows onto his desk, "Go ahead."

    "When Natasha and I cornered Bourne in his hotel room, I used my shroud to restrain him. He then asked if I was an Inhuman. After more questioning, Bourne told me about them, the fact that they''re a secret superhuman society hidden away in the Himalayas. So, my question for you is, why didn''t you bring it up when I asked you about possible ways home. One of these people could have the power to send me home Nick! The fuck were you thinking?!" Naruto''s voice was slowly raising before he finally ended at a firm yell, his eyes wide with rage at Fury''s need to know basis mentality.

    "Naruto¡­calm down." Kurama''s warning was ignored by Naruto as Fury spoke

    "I was thinking that the last thing I need is an Omega Level being, who at the time I''d only known for a short time, coming into contact with the Inhuman society, a Presidential Class Secret. I don''t know about you, but knowing a person for only three years on this planet may be long enough to get say engaged, but it sure as hell isn''t long enough for someone to tell someone else something that would label them as a traitor of not just their country, but everything they believe in!"

    "I thought we were friends Nick. I thought we''d learned to trust each other by now." Naruto growled out in a low voice.

    Nick turned around in his chair, looking out the window, looking out into the countries capital, "Sometimes it''s not just about trust or friendship. Sometimes, it''s about what''s best."

    -x-

    "Where''re you going Naruto?" Natasha asked as she sped walked behind the now determined Naruto, "What the hell did you say to Fury? What the hell did hesay to you?" The two were now in his apartment building. Natasha having driven him home, the blonde not saying a word, seething the entire time.

    Naruto came up to his door, driving his apartment key into the door lock, "Don''t worry about it Nat."

    Natasha looked at him in wild bewilderment, "Don''t worry? Don''t worry?! You look like you''re about to walk on a war path!" Following the blonde as he flung his door open, she continued, "If you go to war with SHIELD, we won''t be able to help you! We''ll be your enemies dammit!"

    Turning towards Natasha, Naruto towered over her, "There wouldn''t be a war if it came down to it. I would obliterate that stupid base, and I would sink that flying boat of yours, both in a single move. So, if I ever ''go to war with SHIELD'' you''d fucking no it!" Taking a breath, Naruto put his hands on Natasha''s shoulders, "Bourne was right, Fury knew about these Inhumans all along. He knew of people that might be able to send me home. I have to find them Natasha. I have to."

    "But why?" Natasha asked, "If there''s nothing back home for you, why are you still trying so hard to go back there?"

    Naruto looked Natasha in the eye an internal struggle occupying his mind as Kurama said, "Tell her Naruto."

    Letting go of Natasha, the blond plopped down on his couch, he leaned forward as he spoke, "The reason¡­the reason I''m trying so hard is because I have to know for sure. To know if I failed. To know that everyone one I''ve ever loved, everyone I''ve ever known, is gone. If I don''t, I won''t be able to live with myself."

    Natasha looked at Naruto for a moment, before slowly sat down next to him, placing her hand on his leg in comfort, "I understand."

    Looking at her with skepticism, "How could you?"

    Natasha smiled sadly, "The reason I left the KGB was because they killed my mother and father after I failed a very important mission. They couldn''t afford to kill me, because I was too valuable to them as an asset for them to simply kill off over a botched mission. So¡­they killed them, to teach me a lesson of what happens to those that bring the shame of failure to the home country. All I did however was push me into the arms of SHIELD after an olive branch was given to me through Clint. But even after my betrayal, I had to make see my family for one last time. So, against Clint''s order''s I returned to my home, much like Bourne did, and went to the morgue they were being kept at so I could say my good byes." Pausing for a moment, Natasha closed her eyes to calm herself, "No matter how stupid it was, I needed to do it. I needed the closure of seeing them that it would bring me." She moved her hand from his leg to his face, her palms touching his cheek, "So trust me when I say, I understand."

    Naruto and Natasha''s eyes met, his blue meeting her green. It was then that Naruto truly realized how beautiful this woman was. To most men, her beauty was nothing more than a trap, something to watch out for or else they''d be drawn into the Black Widow''s deadly web. But to him, her beauty wasn''t an omen, it wasn''t something to be afraid of. It was something to embrace. To hold. Feeling a magnetic pull towards the woman sitting next to him, Naruto''s face drew closer to Natasha''s, and Natasha''s drew closer to Naruto''s. Eventually, it became inevitable before their lips touched, melding together perfectly.

    -x-

    "Wow."

    "Yeah."

    "I''m sorry¡­for yelling at you earlier." Naruto apologized.

    Natasha sighed, "It''s fine." She looked up at him, "We both got a little heated."

    "No shit." Naruto laughed.

    The blonde was laying down on the floor of his living room, in the middle of catching his breath. His left arm folded behind his head, looked over at Natasha, who was laying on top of his other arm comfortably, the woman trying to catch her breath also. Looking over at her, Naruto couldn''t help but admire her form, from her smooth porcelain skin, to her long athletic legs and backside, to her heaving breasts.

    Wrapping her leg around his own, Natasha said, "So¡­is this gonna be another one night stand like it was with Jennifer Walters?" She asked, her voice a teasing tone, hiding the sincerity of the question.

    Looking up at his apartment''s ceiling, Naruto spoke, "I don''t know¡­do you want it to be?" He asked.

    "¡­what if I don''t?" Natasha asked, her voice less confident than usual, "What would you say then?"

    Naruto looked Natasha in the eye, "If you don''t mind, I don''t." He said with a smirk, before moving his head forward so that his lips met hers again.

    Lips separating, Natasha smirked as she said, "I don''t mind." She then moved on top of Naruto, her pelvis sitting on his abdomen, "Ready for round two?"

 5 An Anomaly

    Location: Somewhere Unknown

    Date: January 3rd 2011

    -x-

    Dark. That''s what would best describe the room. No lights were on inside; no light came in outside. The only sound made was that of a computer engine werring. Suddenly, the door opened, allowing light into the room that revealed it was a simple room with a computer and a monitor on a simple flimsy table. Stepping inside, a man closed the door allowing darkness to fill the room once more. Making his way to the chair, the man sat down before pressing the power button to the computer tower. A bright fluorescent light invaded the darkness, showing the man sitting in front of the now on computer screen. The clacking of computer keys could then be heard, as a video popped up in the middle of the screen. The man watched avidly as the video showed a blonde in his late teens, fighting a group of men, taking each out with quick precision. As more men came in, the blonde suddenly caught fire, yellow flames licking his form, surrounding him completely as he moved faster than the camera could ever hope to follow. One second he was there, the next he wasn''t, the group of men now dead or unconscious on the floor. The man took a moment as the video ended, before playing it again, only this time in slow motion.

    -x-

    Location: Kansas City, Missouri

    Date: March 23rd, 2011

    -x-

    "So now Clint''s being dragged into the mess in New Mexico? Before you know it they''re gonna be asking us to head down there." Naruto said as he sat in the upper tier of the Kauffman Stadium, his voice slightly drowned out by the sound of the cheering audience. The blonde was wearing a recently bought royal blue jersey with the word ''Royals'' emboldened across the chest, "I still don''t see the big deal about this ''war hammer that can''t be picked up.''"

    "The big deal is that nothing can pick it up. That''s pretty impressive considering the kind of tech SHIELD has for that kinda stuff." Sitting next to him was Natasha, herself wearing a light blue t-shirt with a yellow crown decorating the chest. The top of her head was covered by a plain blue baseball cap, her hair pulled into a short ponytail. Her legs crossed in her small, and rather uncomfortable seat, she sipped at her large cup of lemonade before saying, "and Director Fury hasn''t contacted you in almost four months, I doubt he''s gonna call you any time soon"

    Naruto took a sip of his soda, "Yeah well, I needed this vacation anyway." Putting his soda between his feet, Naruto propped his legs on top of the vacant seat in front of him, "I can''t seem to find any leads on finding the Inhumans anyway. I''ve got more clones scouring the planet than I''ve ever had before and I''m still coming up empty."

    Suddenly one of the men at bat socked the ball, sending it hurtling in a high arch towards the right side of the field. When the ball passed the fence and landed in a lucky fan''s grasp, the crowd, including Natasha, jumped up in a massive cheer as the man rounded the three bases before making back where he started, a few of his teammates there waiting for him. As the crowd calmed down, Natasha sat lowered to her seat, looking at Naruto as she did, "You were supposed to get to your feet and cheer. Now everyone''s looking at you like you''re an idiot."

    Naruto was about to respond before a sudden invasion of memories bombarded his head, "Dammit." He cursed.

    "Well damn. I honestly didn''t see that coming¡­like at all." Kurama said in bewilderment.

    Natasha looked at Naruto in confusion, thinking Naruto was mad about what she said, "I was only joking Naruto, jeez."

    Naruto blinked before shaking his head, "No, no. It''s not that. A Shadow Clone popped and gave me some information I didn''t want to hear, that''s all." He finished his sentence by leaning back in his seat, rubbing the side of his face in agitation.

    Natasha clapped her hands along with the crowd when another player hit the ball and made it to first base, "What kind of information?" Natasha asked.

    "The out of this world kind."

    -x-

    Earlier with the Shadow Clone in Kamar Taj

    -x-

    "It''s been a while, Naruto." Sitting in a seiza position, the Ancient One didn''t bother looking up from her cup of tea, "I thought the day you left would be the last I would see you."

    The clone rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah¡­I''ve been pretty busy." Looking around the room, it looked the same as it had three years ago. The only difference being the new students he could see walking around, each soaking in the information they were receiving.

    "Mmm." She hummed with a nod, "I''ve heard of your little exploits around the world. Quite the interesting abilities you have." Her words held no hostility, rather only as smooth and tranquil as usual.

    Giving her one of his smiles, Naruto said, "Yeah¡­I''m pretty interesting."

    "What''re you doing here Naruto?" The Ancient One asked, "It''s obviously not about the creature you''re harboring in your body." The woman spoke with a tone as though she were talking about the weather.

    The clone''s lackadaisical expression tightened at the mention of his inner Tailed Beast, "And how exactly do you know about that?"

    "Let''s just say I''m well versed in the topic." She said before taking a long and exaggeratedly loud sip of her tea, "It''s obvious that the creature doesn''t hold any evil intent. Otherwise I would have never allowed you in this temple."

    "I swear, if that woman calls me a creature one more time, I will reach out from this seal and rip her spine out with my teeth." Kurama growled out in anger.

    The clone looked at her with a flinch, "Yeah he doesn''t really like being called a creature. I guess you can call him Kyubi." Naruto knew how sensitive Kurama was about his name. It was one of the few things the guy had left, and he wouldn''t share it with just anyone.

    The Ancient One looked at him in slight surprise, "So he''s not only sentient, but you can communicate with him on a whim as well." Taking a moment, the woman then said, "Well allow me to apologize to this Kyubi."

    "Apology not excepted." Kurama grumbled.

    "He''s says thank you and that he excepts your apology." The Naruto clone chuckled with slight apprehension.

    Taking another sip of her tea, the ancient woman said, "So why are you here Naruto? It''s quite clear that you''re not here for small talk and tea." As she finished her sentence, she reached over to an empty cup and the pitcher of tea before pouring the tea into said cup. The now full cup of tea was then handed to the blonde chakra construct.

    "Yeah I have a couple questions. Honestly, I never planned on coming to you to begin with, but I''m at the end of my rope here." Naruto said, his game face on as he continued, "Have you ever heard of the Inhumans?" he asked.

    She didn''t look up from her cup of tea as she said nonchalantly, "Oh, you mean those people on the moon?"

    Staring at her for several seconds, waiting for her to show some sign of her having made a joke, the clone eventually blurted out, "What?"

    She looked up, eyebrow raised, "The Inhumans are a race of superhumans who live on the Blue Area of the Moon."

    "You''re shitting me right?" When her face remained its usual calm he asked, "How the hell do you know this?"

    "My title of the Ancient One isn''t for show Naruto. I have lived a very long life, and in this long life I have learned many things. Is it really that hard to believe that I would know of these Inhumans and where it is they live."

    Standing there with a completely dumbfounded look on his face, the clone finally said, "Dammit." Before popping out of existence.

    -x-

    Back with Naruto and Natasha an Hour Later

    -x-

    Naruto and Natasha were driving along the busy streets of downtown Kansas City. The towering buildings to their left and right stood tall just under the clouds. The city may not have been as big as say New York City or Boston, but it was still rather nice in appearance. Not that that could hide the city''s rapid increase in violence and murder, but that wasn''t why they were there. They were there to have a good time until the eventual time came when Natasha would be called back into SHIELD''s services.

    As the two came to a stop light, Natasha looked at Naruto from her spot in the passenger seat, "That was fun, I''ve never been to a baseball game to actually watch the game." When Naruto didn''t answer, only looking forward with a distracted look on his face, Natasha reached across the car and snapped her fingers sharply in front of his face, "Hello?"

    His eyes widened in slight shock, Naruto looked at Natasha as he said, "Were you saying something?"

    The red head sighed, "What''s going on with you? You''re acting really weird."

    Moving forward when the light turned green, Naruto said, "I''m sorry Natasha, I just got a lot on my mind."

    "Anything you want to share?"

    Naruto shrugged, "You know those Inhumans I''ve been looking for?" Seeing Natasha nod he continued, "Well, turns out they live on the moon."

    Natasha chuckled, thinking that he said some kind of joke. As her laugh died, she saw that Naruto''s face was completely serious, "You''re not joking? Seriously?"

    "Nope."

    "Well¡­what are you gonna do?"

    Naruto once again stopped as the next light they came across turned red, "I''m gonna go talk to the person who talked to my clone, get as much information as I can, then go from there. Maybe if I can find a way up there, or get one of them to come get me. I don''t know, I''ll figure it out. I know that."

    "Can''t you just use your chakra cloak to get up there? You can fly, you use your wind air breather thing you use to breath underwater so you should be able to do in out there, and your cloak can protect you from the dangers of space itself."

    Naruto sighed as he started to go forward, "Yeah, I thought about that, but I''d have to test it out firs-"

    "Naruto, watch out!" Kurama bellowed in warning.

    Naruto looked to his left as his danger senses went ballistic just in time to see a massive box truck steam rolling towards him, slamming into the upper left side of his car. Out of instinct, he reached his arm over Natasha protectively as the car spun violently, glass flying everywhere, pelting his face and upper body with the sharp shards. The car finally coming to a stop, Naruto could feel his head spinning as he looked around before looking at Natasha, who was looking at him as well. Blood was steaming down the side of her face, dripping down and staining her shirt. Looking around, Naruto could see that the windshield, while not broken, was surrounded by thick and thin spider web cracks, with it probably only taking a tap to cause it to shatter. Looking around further, Naruto could see people looking at the wreck in shock, yet no one seemed to want to come to their help. The sound of a door opening caught his attention, with a man jumping out the box truck that smashed the crap out of his rental car. The man was wearing tactical SWAT gear, with a plastic Halloween like skull mask covering his face. The man then pulled out a M29 Assault Rifle, before walking over towards the back of the truck.

    Lifting up the latch, the man threw up the back door. With four quick thuds one after the other, four men came around the corner, each pointing their own M29''s at Naruto''s car. Suddenly, another person jumped out the back of the truck. When he revealed himself fully, the man wore similar tactical gear as the others, only his had a grey and white color scheme rather than the other''s simple black, with a hood pulled up over his head and a mask only metal rather than plastic covering his head and face. On the man''s right arm was a circular shield that covered most of his arm and side, with an Arming Sword strapped to his back. In his left hand, pointed at Naruto and Natasha, was a M319 Grenade Launcher.

    "You''ve gotta be fucking kidding me." Naruto muttered as he unbuckled his seatbelt. Leaning forward, he unbuckled Natasha''s before grabbing ahold of her in a hug.

    Thump!

    BOOM

    In an earth shaking explosion, the car was enveloped in flames, the force of it sending metal, glass, and fire flying in every which direction. Lowering the grenade launcher, the leader of the group waved his shield occupied hand towards the ball of metal and fire, signaling the rest group to begin to unload their guns at the car in a chorus of rat a tat tats

    With the sounds of gun fire and explosions came the screams of civilians, all running away as fast as they could from the mayhem. Eventually, the men ran out of bullets, causing them to eject the empty magazines and reload their guns with new ones.

    As this was going on, Naruto looked up from his hunched over position on top of Natasha, saying, "Who the hell are these guys?" The two were several yards away from the car and the hit squad, with Naruto now looking at the men''s backs. Getting up and helping Natasha to her feet as well, Naruto turned the still stunned woman around as he said, "Nat, you gotta get outta here, call Fury, make sure these guys don''t target civilians. Do you hear me?"

    The red head seemed to finally get her bearings as she said, "I can help you Naruto, don''t think I can''t help you."

    Naruto smiled before planting a firm kiss on her lips, "I know." Suddenly, bullets began to crack against the sidewalk besides them, "Just go, I got this!" The red head didn''t need any more incentive, sprinting away from Naruto as she pulled out her now cracked phone.

    Naruto, knowing Natasha was safe for the time being, Body Flickered towards the assholes that were shooting at him. Appearing behind the first guy he saw, Naruto gave a great heave before slamming his fist into the man''s mid-spine, sending the man flying into the side of the box truck, his body hitting it with so much force the truck tipped over at its side with a loud, resounding boom. Turning towards the rest of them, the group could now see that his eyes were yellow in color, with his iris the shape of a rectangle. The color along his eye lids had changed as well to a burnt orange.

    "Who''s next?" Naruto demanded, loving the power Sage Mode gave him.

    "Why don''t you just use my Cloak, brat?" Kurama grumbled, wanting this to be over with.

    "I''ve been using your chakra too much lately Kurama, I haven''t really challenged myself, just bulldozing through every fight with a power that is to be honest just plain over kill on this world." Naruto thought.

    "Fine, whatever. Don''t come crying to me when these men nearly kill you."

    Naruto didn''t have time to respond, to busy was he Body Flickering away as the men opened fire on his position. Appearing above the men, Naruto extended both hands out as Rasengans began to form in each hand. Gathering wind chakra at his foot, Naruto used that as a push off to send himself flying towards the ground, the two balls of pure chakra drilling into the back of two unsuspecting men, driving them into the ground with enough force to create two human shaped craters. Raising his arm up, Naruto caught the butt of a rifle, before pulling it out of the man''s grasp. Straightening his body, Naruto inspected the M29 for a moment before using his strength to twist and bend it into itself, rendering the weapon useless. Seeing the man he took said rifle from, Naruto dashed forward in a burst of speed, bringing his body parallel to the ground as he kicked the man square in the face with a Dynamic Entry, snapping his neck on contact.

    Landing on his feet, Naruto turned to see the last two men standing, the last crony pointing his gun at Naruto wearily, and the other standing back away from the group, looking at the scene before him with a nonchalant stance.

    The man in charge looked at his last man as he said, "The task is still at hand. Do not hesitate. All that matters is that we finish the task given to us. Nothing else."

    The man nodded quickly, pointing the gun more firmly as he said, "I understand." Before firing off a set of shots at the blonde juggernaut. Said blonde disappeared in a dash of speed once again, appearing right inside the man''s guard as he palmed his face before slamming the back of his head into the street bellow, bursting his skull open like a watermelon as blood sprayed across the ground.

    Seeing he was now alone, the leader of the group adjusted his arm so that the shield was positioned in front of him, before drawing his sword out from behind his back, crossing the blade in front of his shield.

    "You''re fighting skills are very impressive, supernatural even. But no matter how powerful you are, I must complete the task that was given to me." The hooded modern knight said.

    Naruto looked at him with skepticism, "What the hell are you, some kind of taskmaster?"

    The man bent his knees in preparation, "That''s exactly what I am."

    -x-

    With Natasha

    -x-

    "Who the hell is this guy, sir?!" Yelled Natasha as she weaved through the crowd of panicking people, forced to yell over the yelling and screaming from everyone around.

    Nick''s voice through the phone could barely be heard over noise, "From the description you gave, I''ll have to say it''s Tony Masters. He''s the only one I know who could pull this off that uses a sword and shield in combat."

    "Tony Masters?" she asked, "As in, Ex-SHIELD Agent, Tony Masters? Why the hell would he want to kill Naruto? The guy''s a legend, but he has to know he''s out gunned."

    She could practically feel Fury''s head shake in a negative as he said, "Once the man is given a ''task'' he doesn''t stop until said task is completed. It''s the reason we gave him his codename. That and his abilities."

    "What ''abilities?''" Natasha asked as she looked back where she came from, a pillar of smoke peeking out over the top of the buildings.

    "He was born with ability to absorb knowledge instantaneously, whether it be language, mathematics, scientific theory, even physical movement. The man is capable of watching you fight once, and learn your style and copy immediately. You give him something to know or learn, and he''ll have it mastered in an hour. These reasons are why we gave him the codename, ''Taskmaster.'' Sadly, his abilities come with the drawback that should he learn new information, he will immediately forget something else. Say he learns to speak French, he may then forget where he was born, or how to speak English, or hell, even his name." Fury explained, a slight tinge of admiration and pity in his voice.

    Natasha, her eyes still on the cloud of smoke, said, "You better win, Naruto."

    -x-

    With Naruto and Taskmaster

    -x-

    Naruto dodged the swing from Taskmaster''s sword, before using his hand to press against and stop the man''s bum rush using his shield. Tony swung his sword again, with Naruto catching his wrist mid swing, causing a dead lock between the two that quickly turned to a battle of brute strength. Naruto was surprised at the hooded man''s strength, being much stronger than any Earthling he''d fought before, but even without his Sage Mode he''d still be able to out strengthen him. Naruto slowly but surely began to press forward, causing Tony to take steps back as his arms began to stress under the pressure. Having enough of the deadlock, Naruto used his Natural Chakra enhanced strength to throw the man up like a rag doll, sending him flying in the air, with Naruto keeping ahold of the shield in his hand before chucking it away from the fight.

    Taskmaster flipped in the air, sheathing his sword mid-flip, just in time to intercept Naruto, blocking each punch and kick with ease before giving a spin kick to Naruto''s side, causing him to block and be pushed away towards the ground. As his feet hit the ground, Naruto charged at the near the ground Taskmaster. Just as Tony''s foot touched earth, Naruto''s fist was in his guard heading towards his chin. The hooded man easily swatted the punch away, before the two entered a vicious dance of fists, elbows, knees, and kicks. No matter what Naruto tried however, Tony kept pace with him, dodging and evading any move he made and vice versa. Seeing that they weren''t getting anywhere, the two jumped back from each other, the strange color draining from Naruto''s eyes as he caught his breath.

    "It''s been a long time since someone has been able to keep up with me." Naruto said, "You''re pretty damn good." He complimented, getting back into his stance.

    Taskmaster nodded as he said, "You''re the most challenging task I''ve had to complete. Your style actually took a while for me to read." He then got into his own stance.

    It was when Taskmaster got into his stance that Naruto realized something. The bastard was using his freaking fighting style, "How the hell do you know my style?! No one on this planet knows that style but me!" This was the Toad Kata, taught to him by Grandpa Sage Fukasaku. There''s no way this guy could know it. Suddenly a thought struck him, "Do you have the Sharingan?!" He yelled dramatically as he pointed an accusing finger at Taskmaster.

    "The Sharingan?" Tony asked in confusion.

    Seeing that Taskmaster had no idea who he was talking about, Naruto sighed in relief, "Oh thank God." Wiping the sweat that had begun to build along his temple, he continued, "But seriously, how the hell did you poach my moves?"

    "Perhaps if you weren''t a task I would tell you. But there''s no point in telling a task when said task needs to be completed."

    "Can you say task one more time?" Naruto drawled as Nature Chakra once again entered his system completely, entering Sage Mode. "Let''s see if you dodge this you fucking bastard." Naruto thought.

    Naruto then charged towards Taskmaster, the two once again starting their dance. Swatting the double punch sent towards his chest, Naruto threw a couple punches of his own that were dodge as well. The two taking a pause, Naruto and Taskmaster sent two identical hay makers towards the other''s face. Time began to slow to a lull, Naruto swerving his head out of the way of Taskmaster''s punch, and Taskmaster doing the same. Naruto could feel the wind off the missed punch as his pass his head, his own fist clearly missing Taskmaster as well, the man thinking they were about to enter another stalemate before he was sent flying violently. Taskmaster''s body lodged itself into a nearby car door, the car metal contorting around his body, the glass shattering and digging into the back of Tony''s head and neck. Taking several aggressive steps towards the downed Taskmaster, Naruto got in front of him as he began to get up. The man drew his sword and took a desperate swing at the blonde, only for said blonde to punch the side of the blade with his open palm, snapping it in half, before Spartan kicking him even further into the car.

    "Doubt you saw that coming asshole." Naruto muttered as he looked around the mayhem they had caused. Cars on fire, smoke everywhere, bodies littering the ground around them. Naruto looked back at Taskmaster, the man getting up from his body sized dent, "Was all this crap worth it? Your men getting killed, the civilian causalities, the property damage, fighting me in general, all that so you could complete whatever ''task'' you were given. Let me guess, it was to kill me wasn''t it?" He hypothesized.

    Taskmaster stumbled as his body was hunched over in pain, "The task was never to kill you." He muttered as his body straightened.

    "Then what for? Why cause all of this destruction if it wasn''t to kill me?" He demanded.

    Taskmaster got back into the Toad Kata, "To test the anomaly that is Naruto Uzumaki."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes at Taskmaster, "So you tried to kill me, you nearly killed Natasha, and you killed and hurt all these people¡­to test me?" When Tony nodded, Naruto growled, "I''m going to kill you."

    Naruto then charged at the still Taskmaster, his fist drawn back and filled with Natural Energy. As he came closer, Naruto realized something was wrong. Taskmaster hadn''t moved since Naruto''s exclamation of his intent to kill, his body as still as a statue. Slowly coming to a slow yet on guard walk, Naruto finally made his way in front of the hooded man. Waving his hand in Taskmaster face, he was perturbed to see the man make no motion of acknowledgement, not even as he began to snap his fingers an inch away from his eye. Looking around them, Naruto was astonished to see that time seemed to have stopped around him completely. Birds were frozen in midflight, flames that were usually in constant motion were now motionless, and people still running away from the fight were caught in midstride.

    In a flash of purple light, a figure in the shape of a human appeared, completely covered in said purple light. The light eventually died down, revealing a man that looked to be around Naruto''s height. His appearance was very strange, the strangest he''d seen while on this planet so far. The man wore a loose green shirt that was held to his body by a pair of purple shoulder pads that was connected to a matching utility belt. The loose shirt sleeves were tapered off by the same color of purple gloves that went up to his lower forearms, and along his legs were thigh high boots that match the gloves in material and the outfit''s purple color. The man''s head was covered by a purple helmet, with circular grooves where his ears would be, along with on top of the helmet itself. The only part that showed his skin was his face, which was a metallic blue in skin tone, with two lines running down his forehead to his cheeks, then ending at his chin. His irises were missing, leaving his eyes an eerie white all the way through.

    "Well, if it isn''t the anomaly." The mystery man said, "You''ve been making quite the ripple in this timeline."

    "Anomaly¡­" Naruto said, testing the words as he looked at Taskmaster, the man having called him that not that long ago, "So you''re the one who sent this asshole and his crew." He declared.

    The man smirked, "You''d be correct. Tony Masters, aka Taskmaster, has proven to be a very reliable mercenary in several different timelines, this one being a bit more serious than the others."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, "So what do you want?"

    "I simply wanted to observe you, I''ve seen what you can do with that fire armor of yours, but I wanted to see what you would do against someone that was your equal in hand to hand combat." The man said, folding his arms behind his back as he spoke, "You truly are interesting, Naruto Namikaze the alien from another dimension. In no other timeline have you appeared or even mentioned. It''s truly rather vexing."

    "Who the hell are you?!" He demanded. This guy knew way too much, and was talking about things that went completely over his head.

    The man extended his arms out from his back in a dramatic motion, "I go by many names and many titles, but you may call me Kang, Kang the Conqueror. It''s truly a pleasure to meet you."

    Naruto dashed in front of Kang''s face, throwing a punch with all his might at the man''s face. Kang''s smirk stayed in place as he caught the punch with ease, the force of it however causing the ground behind them to quake and split open with a solid boom. The pause on time was still in play however, as the debris froze in midair. Naruto looked Kang in the eye in complete shock as the blue skinned man''s grip on his hand tightened, causing Naruto to actually flinch from the pain. Suddenly, the gloves around Kang''s hands glowed a strange purple before the glow enveloped Naruto, causing his to suddenly feel weightless. The green and purple man then threw Naruto away from him with a single hand, the glow around Naruto disappearing allowing Naruto to feel the weight of his own body once again as he crashed into one of the buildings, his body bursting through the wall, the debris and smoke eventually freezing in time.

    "You''ll have to do better than that, ''Maelstrom!''" Kang called out, resting his hands on his hips as he did, "You''ll be fighting people stronger than me in a few years."

    A flash of yellow flashed out from the hole Naruto made, before he landed on the ground in front of Naruto in a crouch, the ground cracking under the weight of his fall. Looking up, Naruto said, "Don''t call me that." Giving his arm a testing flex, he continued, "And trust me, I can do better."

    "Oh I know you can. The feats you will perform in this timeline''s future are quite amazing." With the snap of his finger, a purple barrier appeared around the block they had been fighting on before flickering away. With the flickering away of the barrier, time began to move forward again. Birds began to move, fire began to flicker, and people began to run, as the sound of chaos surrounded them once again. Taskmaster moved his arms to block the punch that had been aimed at him earlier, only to be thrown off by Naruto not being there. Looking around, Tony saw that is employer was facing off against a now chakra cloak using Naruto.

    "I''m sorry to say that the task hasn''t been completed yet, Mr. Kang." Taskmaster said, almost sounding apologetic as he did.

    Kang smirked, "It''s fine, consider the task completed, I''ve seen all I wanted to see. Thank you."

    Taskmaster nodded, before turning towards Naruto, "Perhaps we will meet again." He then turned around, limping away as he did.

    Naruto scowled, "Do you really think I''m gonna let you get away after all you''ve done?!" Just as he was about to dash towards Taskmaster, Kang pointed his hand at Naruto, a bolt of energy shooting from his fingertips. The energy bolts plowed into Naruto''s chest, the force of it sending the blonde flying back in a massive tumble.

    "It''s not Mr. Masters'' time, Naruto Uzumaki." Kang then extended his right arm out as he cracked the knuckles in his hand, a portal opening up to reveal an average looking car as he did, "Here''s your transportation Mr. Masters."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes as Taskmaster got in the car, turning it on as he shifted the gear into forward, "No-" He then disappeared in a burst of speed as another bolt of energy cracked the pavement behind him. He then appeared behind the interfering Kang, a Rasengan in his hand. Naruto shoved the ball of chakra towards the blue man, only for a purple force field in the shape of a sphere appearing around Kang, neutralizing the attack effectively, "You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Naruto yelled in frustration as he saw Taskmaster''s car driving away in a mad rush from the scene of the crime, disappearing around a sharp corner.

    "I''m not here to kill you Naruto Uzumaki. My role in this timeline is only as an observer." Kang folded his arms behind his back once more, a circular pad appearing below his feet, lifting him up off the ground as he looked down at Naruto condescendingly, "However, should you prove to be the catalyst to this dimension''s demise, I will travel to the day you first arrived, and eradicate you."

    "What the fuck are you talking about, what is happening right now?!" Naruto asked, pulling at his hair in frustration.

    "Nothing, Naruto Uzumaki. Nothing at all. You just continue your search for a way home. Look for a woman by the name of Magik. She is an Inhuman living as an outcast in Russia. She is an important key to your journey." With that, his body was surrounded by a purple light before disappearing in a bright flash, "Good luck¡­" His voice echoed out.

    The cloak around Naruto disappeared as he thought, "What the hell just happened. Who the fuck was that guy?!"

    "An anomaly Naruto. An anomaly."

 6 Yousve Been Thunderstruck

    Location: Dmitrov, Moscow Oblast, Russia

    Date: June 4th, 2011

    -x-

    "Are you sure this is where she''s at?" Natasha asked, "You said her ability was teleportation, so she could literally be anywhere at any time." Natasha was wearing a cotton padded long coat, with the fur lined hood raised up over her head to protect her from the cold weather. While it was usually in the upper 50''s in this village at the time, the weather today was at a chilly 30 degrees. The town they were in was very small, with probably only 800 people living in it at the moment. While the weather was cold, there was no wind or snow, and the shine had begun to dip into the horizon.

    Naruto was wearing a simple blue coat with a black hoodie underneath. Over his head was a brown stocking cap, keeping his blonde hair from view. The only major change in his appearance was that Naruto had begun to grow a beard, the facial hair having filled out completely but wasn''t very thick yet. The two were walking down one of the town''s streets, making a slow pace past the neighborhood houses. From what they could see, there wasn''t really anything important going on in the town, with the only major buildings being the hotel and apartment buildings, and the large cathedral in the center of the town.

    Naruto sighed, his hot breath visible in the cold air, "After my clones found out she mainly travels around Russia, I''ve had hundreds of clones scouring the country to pinpoint where she goes most often. After a couple months, I can officially say that Dmitrov is her go to place to stay." Looking down at Natasha, Naruto smiled at the woman that had her head resting on his shoulder with her arm wrapped around his own, "So, how does it feel to be back in your home country?"

    He could feel Natasha shrug her shoulders, "I''ve had several missions in Russia since my desertion. In fact, I might have a long term mission in Moscow coming up soon."

    "How long is long term?" Naruto asked.

    "A couple months, six at most." Natasha said, "If it happens, it won''t happen till the end of the year."

    Naruto smirked, "Well, we''ll just have to make the most of our time together till then."

    "It''s only for a few months, not like we won''t see each other ever again." Natasha said with a smirk, "But I don''t mind a little bit of ''making the most of our time together,'' if you''re catching my drift." She hinted.

    Naruto''s smile stretched as far as it could, "Yeah, I get what you''r-"

    "Sex." Natasha interrupted, speaking in Russian as she did, "I was talking about us having sex." She clarified needlessly. Her smile was a strange combination of mocking and seductive.

    Naruto looked around them, seeing that the few people walking the sidewalk were looking at them after Natasha''s rather loud comment, "God dammit." He laughed out, "You just can''t help yourself can you? You have to embarrass me wherever we go don''t you?" His face rather flushed as an older looking couple looked at them, judgement in their eyes. The couple shook their heads before continuing their slow walk.

    He felt her shrug again, "Whatever, you love it."

    "I''m so gonna get you back." Naruto said with a smirk, "I always get you back."

    The couple finally left the neighborhood, walking into what looked to be the town''s business area. From a small grocery store, to a cheap looking clothing store, to several quant little restaurants littered around the area.

    "So, where are we going exactly?" Natasha asked, confused with their random walk in some random direction, "I figured you''d be biting at the bit to find that woman."

    It was Naruto''s turn to shrug, "The woman is going by Illyana Rasputin, she lives in one of the cheaper apartment complexes in town. She''s does a magic act to make enough money to scrape by."

    "Let me guess, it''s a disappearing act."

    "Probably."

    -x-

    Naruto and Natasha were sitting across from each other in a restaurant called Pelmesto. It was a nice place, with dark brown and tan checkered tiles, several small tables littered the dining area, half holding four chairs, half holding two, with a nice mellow lighting. Across the dining area was a simple bar area. It was rather small in size, only able to hold four people at a time. Having just gotten their food, the two began to dig into the Afghani cuisine.

    "So, I don''t think I''ve ever asked you about what your home is like." Natasha said as she took a sip of her pinot noir.

    Naruto finished a mouthful of qabuli palaw before he said, "Well, I guess I don''t really talk about it all that much." He said after some thought, "Well, my home village was about twice the size of this town. Its weather was pretty similar to somewhere in Mid-Western United States, with really nice spring and summer seasons, and pretty cold winters. The forest surrounding the village was green, full, and beautiful, each tree full grown and aged. The village itself was destroyed a month before I came here, so it was still under reconstruction during the war. But when it was still standing, it was really awesome. I guess it kinda looks like a village in Japan, only more colorful¡­I guess." His face then lit up, "But my favorite part about the village was the Hokage Monument. It''s pretty much my world''s version of Mount Rushmore, with the face of each of my village''s Hokages sculpted into the mountain side looking over the village."

    "It sounds beautiful." Natasha said, trying to picture the village he described, "I wish I could see it all someday.

    Naruto smiled fondly, "Yeah, when I was a kid I''d look up at it if I was having a bad day, which was pretty often back then. My favorite one to look at though was the face of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze. Every time I looked at him, I''d always feel a little bit better. I guess it''s kinda poetic cause I''d later find out he was my father."

    "Wait." Natasha interrupted, "You didn''t know who your father was? Your family didn''t tell you?"

    The blonde''s smile fell, "I didn''t have a family. My mom and dad died when I was a baby, and their parents died when they were young, so I was alone for most of my life." Naruto smiled again, "But, the Hokage when I was a kid always looked after me. He was a good man. An old pervert, but a good man."

    "What happened to him?" Natasha asked, hearing the way he referred to him in past tense.

    "He died."

    "Oh." She said awkwardly, "I''m sorry."

    Naruto shrugged, "He was killed when I was 13, so I''ve had plenty of time to get over it. He was like everyone''s grandpa in the village, so everyone kinda helped each other handle his passing. I was lucky I had my team and my teachers to help me."

    Natasha couldn''t help but notice that he made no mention of having friends, "Well I''m glad you had people there for you growing up. It can be tough growing up alone." Swirling her wine glass slowly, Natasha looked into the spinning liquid as she said, "I was separated from my parents when I was young, and the place I was trained didn''t allow you to make any kind of connections with anyone else there. I guess it was to keep us from connecting with people who would probably die in the line of work they were training us for."

    Naruto nodded, "I know the feeling."

    "Why weren''t you told who your father was though?" Natasha asked, "He sounds like an important person if his face was on a mountain."

    "I wasn''t ever told why, but I assume it was because he killed a lot of people in the war he fought in. Like¡­a lot of people. Enough that the old man Hokage didn''t want anyone to know he had a kid in case people wanted some post-mortem revenge." Naruto guessed.

    Hearing Naruto mention that his dad fought in a war, Natasha remembered that he said that his village had been destroyed before a war, "So there was a war going on when you got sent here?"

    Naruto nodded slowly, "Yeah, the Fourth Great Shinobi War. It was started by the same group responsible for destroying my village, led by a man named Obito Uchiha."

    "Why did they want to start a war?" Natasha asked.

    "Okay, well first of all, I''ve told you about Genjutsu right?" Seeing Natasha nod, he continued, "Well their plan was to revive an ancient primordial being called the Ten-Tails so that they could use its vast chakra to use a powerful Genjutsu that would reflect off the full moon so that the illusion would cover the entire world, putting everyone in a trance that would make it seem like they were in their perfect world. It later turned out that Obito was the prot¨¦g¨¦ of one of the most powerful Shinobi in the entire history of my planet, a man named Madara Uchiha. Madara was then revived, with the two teaming up to complete the revival of said Ten-Tails, with Obito becoming the creatures host." Taking a breath, Naruto remembered how powerful Obito had been before getting back to the story, "Eventually, my former teammate Sasuke and I defeated him, with one of Obito''s subordinates, a creature called Zetsu, betraying him and forcing him to give up the power of the Ten-Tails to Madara. Madara proved to be too strong for us to defeat, even after getting a power boost from the spirit of the Sage of Six Paths, our version of Jesus I guess, and managed to activate the Genjutsu, ensnaring everyone on the planet except for me and my team. Madara was then betrayed by Zetsu, who took over Madara''s body and converted him into the Mother of All Chakra, along with being the Sage and Zetsu''s mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, by using the chakra of all those trapped in the Genjutsu. Sasuke and I then tried to fight Kaguya, with the woman nearly killing me. I would''ve died had Sasuke not used a new technique of his to transport me away from the attack, only for it to take me here by accident." Naruto took a deep breath after the long explanation, "And, three years later, here we are."

    "Wow." Natasha said in bewilderment, "That sounds¡­intense."

    Naruto laughed, "You think I''m crazy don''t you?" Seeing Natasha giving him a mocking grimace he said, "Well, after saying it out loud, I can see how you would think I''m crazy."

    "Well still, war is war. I''m sorry you had to deal with that so young. I guess I just had to be there for the last part."

    As Naruto was about to respond, a woman walking into the restaurant caught his attention. The woman was about his age, with a long fur coat, and a stereotypical Russian winter cap. Her creamy blonde hair was styled in a hime cut, similar to Hinata''s from back home, and reached down to her mid-back with the bangs just above her eyes. Her piercing blue eyes met his for a moment before she turned to sit down at the bar.

    "-Naruto?" Natasha asked, seeing his attention was behind her she turned to see a woman sitting at the bar, "Who''s that, do you know her?"

    "You could say that." Naruto said, "That''s her."

    "Who?"

    "The woman I''m looking for. Magik." Naruto answered, "Cover me." He said before getting up as cool as he could.

    Making his way over to the woman''s position, Naruto stopped at the bar resting his arms against it standing several feet away her. Making sure not to make eye contact, Naruto waited for the bartender to come get his drink order.

    "Can I help you, sir?" The man drawled in Russian.

    "What kind of whiskey do you carry?" Naruto asked, using his learned Russian dialect.

    The bartender nodded, "Yes sir, we carry Altai Whiskey."

    "Sounds good."

    The bartender nodded before reaching down to the bottle under the bar while also bringing out an average sized whiskey glass. Dropping a handful of ice cubes in, he then began pouring the drink into the glass, and then handed the drink to Naruto, "Here you are sir."

    "Thank you." Naruto said. Gripping the whiskey in his hand, Naruto brought it to his lips and took a good sized sip, swallowing the bitter drink and savoring the burning sensation he felt as the drink make its way down his body. Lowering the drink, Naruto gathered his thoughts as he gave a quick glance towards the woman seated next to him.

    The woman took a sip of her vodka tonic before saying, "I doubt your girlfriend would appreciate you eyeing another girl as you drink at a bar during your date."

    Naruto shrugged, "She went to the bathroom, I figured I''d get a drink." Turning towards her he said, "And sorry if I was staring, but I swear I recognize you from somewhere." He said with a friendly smile

    "Oh really." She said, turning towards Naruto herself, "And what exactly do you recognize me from?"

    Taking another sip of his whiskey, Naruto swallowed it, "You''re a magician right? I think I saw a poster of you somewhere advertising your act."

    The woman nodded, "You''re right, have you ever seenmy act?"

    "No, but I heard about it. A disappearing act right?"

    She smiled, "Well, my next show is this weekend, you should go. Might make a good date for you and your girlfriend." She said, nodding towards Natasha who was walking from the women''s bathroom.

    "Maybe, what''s your stage name?" Naruto asked as he finished the last of his drink.

    "I don''t have one. My name is Illyana Rasputin." Reaching her hand out, she gestured for a handshake, "Nice to meet you."

    Grabbing her hand, he gave a quick shake, "Naruto." Letting go of her hand he said, "But, that''s not what I heard."

    Raising an eyebrow, Illyana asked, "Oh?"

    "I heard you went by a stage name. Something like Magic or something." He said, his eyes narrowed, "Wit think."

    Illyana narrowed her eyes dangerously, "And where did you hear that?"

    "A friend of ours." Natasha said, having made her way stealthily behind Illyana. Her hand was resting on the handle to the gun holstered at her side.

    Illyana didn''t take her eyes off of Naruto, not really seeming to care that Natasha was standing behind her with a gun in her hand. Her eyes narrowed further, "And what else has this friend told you?"

    Naruto got up from his leaning position, before making his way over towards the blonde haired woman, "That you''re an Inhuman. With the ability to teleport." He finished as he took the seat next to Illyana, "We''re not here to fight, only talk."

    Illyana''s face relaxed, looking at Naruto with slight scrutiny until she turned back towards the bar as she grabbed her glass. Swinging her head back, she drank the rest of her vodka tonic. After a quick cringe, Illyana took a moment to gather herself. Then without warning she swung her hand towards Naruto''s face, empty glass still in hand. Naruto didn''t blink, catching her wrist just as the glass was about to make contact with his temple.

    Natasha quickly withdrew her gun, a 9mm Glock, and pointed it at the back of Illyana''s head, drawing back the hammer with an audible click, "Don''t do that." She said, each word coming out aggressively.

    No one was allowed to say anything else, as white circular energy disk appeared bellow the three of them, causing all of them to fall into it. The three were forced into a free fall, with Naruto surprised to find that they were several hundred feet above the ground, with a vast field of desert dunes making its way towards them at rapid speed. The three became separated in their fall to their deaths, with Natasha looking at Naruto with shock and fear in her eyes as her arms and legs began to flail wildly. Looking at Illyana, Naruto saw that she didn''t seem to mind their freefall, instead simply pointing her hand bellow her to open up another portal.

    "No!" Naruto shouted, the wind blowing past his body nearly muting his voice as he watched Illyana fall into the portal. At the last second, the woman looked Naruto in the eye as she gave a mocking salute, just as her head passed through, her presence disappearing completely.

    "Naruto!" Natasha shouted, reaching her hands out in desperation towards Naruto. Naruto shifted his body into a straight line, diving towards Natasha before hugging her tightly.

    "I''ve got you Natasha. I''ve got you." He said into her ear. He felt Natasha grab ahold of him even tighter, hugging him with all her might, "I''ve got you."

    "What the fuck happened brat?!" Kurama shouted in his head, "I fall asleep for a couple days and I wake up to this!"

    "Just get out here dammit!" Naruto shouted out loud. A second later, Naruto and Natasha found themselves in the head of the Kurama avatar. The next thing the two knew, they hit the side of a sand dune with enough force to flatten it completely, sending up a massive cloud of sand into the air.

    "You''re welcome brat." Kurama grumbled. With a flicker, the chakra avatar surrounding Naruto and Natasha disappeared, causing the two to fall to the ground with a thump, "What the fuck happened?"

    "I ran into a teleporter. She sent us here." Naruto thought. Looking around, all he could see was what looked like an endless desert, "Where the fuck are we?" He asked out loud. Hearing no response from Natasha he looked down to see that she was still sitting on the desert floor, "Natasha, you okay?" He asked in worry.

    Natasha nodded, "Yeah¡­I''m fine." Getting up slowly she said, "Just give me a second."

    Helping her up he said, "Okay, well do you have any idea where we are?"

    Looking around, Natasha used her hand to shield her eyes. Eyes squinted she said, "No, I can''t see any landmarks or cities or villages."

    "Well shi-" He was interrupted however by the sound of a phone ringing. Digging into his pocket, he pulled out his phone. Looking down at the screen he saw that it was a blocked number, "How the hell am I getting any service out here?" Pressing the answer button he brought the phone to his ear, "Hello?"

    "Why is it that the trackers in Natasha and your phones say that you two are in the Sahara Desert?" Fury said over the phone, "One second you''re in Dmitrov, Russia, the next you''re in the Nile Valley."

    "We''re in the freaking Sahara?!" He demanded, "She sent us to the fucking Sahara!" He angrily clarified to Natasha. He frustratedly rubbed the side of his face before taking a calming breath. After a moment of clear thought, he said, "Why the hell are you tracking us Fury?"

    "Who sent you to the Sahara?" Fury asked.

    Naruto almost threw his phone, "Don''t dodge the question Nick, seriously why are you tracking us?"

    "I was planning on picking you up in Dmitrov. I have a problem I need your help on."

    It took all of his will power not to yell in frustration, "The first time I talk to you in months, and it''s for a fucking favor. Classic Nick Fury. Fucking classic."

    "This isn''t just any kind of favor. Both Agent Coulson and Barton may be in danger due the appearance of a man we believe is not of this world. Similar to you in fact." Fury said, "The being is currently in our custody, but that may not last much longer. We need you in case things go south."

    "If you''ve already got him in your custody, you should be able to take care of him again. I''m not your errand boy Nick." Seeing Natasha give him a stern look her waved her off nonchalantly.

    "Do you remember why Agent Coulson and Barton were on that mission to begin with?" Fury asked, his voice strained with annoyance.

    Naruto sighed, "Yeah, something about a hammer that no one could pick up."

    "Right." Fury said, "Well we have reason to believe that this hammer belongs to the man in our current care. The man broke into our New Mexico research facility, taking out any agent that crossed his path, and then tried to pull the hammer out of the ground, acting as if he found something he''d lost."

    "So, did he pull the hammer out?" Naruto asked.

    "No." Fury answered, "But we believe that this hammer is the source to his power."

    "Why do you think that?"

    "Because his energy reading matches the hammer''s. Only his is nearly nonexistent while the hammer is teeming with it. According to our research and the research of an¡­outside group, we have reason to believe that two portals ripped through to our dimension. One for the hammer. The other for him."

    "So you want me to be there in case he somehow gets ahold of the hammer and proves to be a hostile." Naruto clarified. Sighing, he said, "Fine, but I get to ask him some questions."

    "Deal. We''re on our way."

    -x-

    Location: Puente Antiguo, New Mexico

    -x-

    "So¡­you and Natasha huh?"

    "Yep." Naruto said, arms crossed as he stood in front of a computer screen, watching Phil interrogate the man that tried to the take the hammer that was currently in SHIELD''s custody. The man a very thick, muscular dude, his veins bulging along his arms and neck even as he sat their lackadaisically in his chair. The man had blonde hair similar to his own that reached down to his neck, along with a full but short beard. His blue t-shirt and black pants were both plastered in dry mud, due to his brawl with one SHIELD''s security agents.

    "Totally saw that coming." Said the man next to him. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties and had short length brunette hair that was spiked at the front. His physically fit body was hidden by his combat jacket and pants.

    Naruto smirked, "Sure you did Clint, I''m sure your eagle vision picked it up right away."

    "So, do you think this guy is as big a deal as they''re making him." Clint asked, eyeing the screen as Phil began to ask where he got his training.

    "I saw the security footage, and he''s good. He''s slow. Like, way slow compared to a lot of the people back home. But, he''s strong. Like juggernaut strong. He took out several of these guys with a single punch. But no, I don''t see the big deal." Naruto answered. Seeing Phil walk out of the room, he walked towards him. Ignoring the fact that he was on the phone he said, "I''m gonna take a crack at him."

    Phil hung up the phone, putting it back in his pocket, "Director Fury informed me that you wished to speak with him. You have five minutes."

    "What if I need six?" Naruto asked.

    "You have four."

    "Seven." Naruto haggled.

    "Two. And that''s final." Phil said back, "Actually make it one and a half."

    "Five it is." The blonde concluded.

    "Sounds good, now if you''ll excuse me, I need to call Director Fury." Phil said as he walked down the hall into another room.

    Stepping in front of the room, Naruto waited for the security to open the door. Stepping forward, Naruto was about to speak only to stop when the man spoke.

    "Goodbye."

    Looking at the blonde giant in confusion he said, "Not even gonna let me get a word in? Pretty rude man." As the man looked up at him, Naruto said, "You know, you''ve made quite the commotion around here. Enough that they had to call me in."

    "And who are you exactly?" The man said in a baritone British accent, "You have the stance of a warrior."

    "So do you." Naruto said, "You also have the appearance of a man who had more power than he does now." He smirked as he continued, "Much more power."

    The man looked at him in confusion, "How do you know-"

    "Trust me. I''ve seen it before." Naruto walked forward so he was right in front of the man, "The name''s Naruto, what''s yours?"

    "¡­" The man was silent for a moment, "Why are you here? The other one wanted to know how I could defeat his soldiers with such ease. What is it you want mortal?"

    Naruto chuckled, "Mortal huh." Rubbing his chin in thought he said, "You and I are very similar, you know that?"

    "I doubt that puny man."

    "You''re stuck here on this planet, aren''t you? And that hammer is a way back home, or something like that." Folding his arms across his chest he finished, "I''m I hitting the nail on the head."

    "Hitting the nail on the head? What is this?" the man asked, "And how do you know all of these things about me? Are you of Asgard?!"

    "Asgard?" Naruto questioned, "Is that the name of your planet? At least you know yours. As for the whole hitting the nail on the head, it''s a saying on this planet. Do you have sayings on your planet? Anyway, as for me knowing about you not being from this planet, let''s just say I''m pretty qualified on the subject."

    The man''s confusion only increased, "Are you not of this realm as well? Which realm are you from? Nidavellir? Alfheim? How did you get to Midgard, is there any way you can get me to Asgard?!" He asked in near desperation.

    "I don''t know what any of those things are." Naruto said, "There are other realms? Do you know about a place called the Elemental Nations?" His voice was beginning to sound desperate as well.

    Thor shook his head, "Nigh, I have never heard of this place you speak of. And I have visited all nine of the realms." He then said, "You''re home must note be connected to the Nine Realms."

    "Is that strange?" Naruto asked.

    The man shrugged, "I cannot say. I know that there are some realms not connected to Asgard, but I know not what they are."

    "Well, thanks for the info. I hope you make it back to your home¡­whatever your name is." The blonde Shinobi said as he made his way towards the exit.

    "Thor."

    Stopping, Naruto turned to make eye contact with the now named Thor, "Thor? Is that your name?" When the giant blonde nodded, the smaller one said, "Well, I know what it''s like to be away from your home. So, I hope you get there as quick as you can." As the door opened, he saw Phil standing on the other side."

    "You''re five minutes are up." Phil said matter of factly.

    -x-

    Naruto stood alongside Clint as they watched Thor walk away with a man named Erik Selvig, "Can you believe that ''Donald Blake'' crap?" Clint asked.

    "I don''t know." Naruto said with a shrug, "The steroids bit was pretty good."

    Phil walked up to the two, folding his arms in front of his chest, "We having him tailed. Should he cause any trouble, we''ll be sending you to take care of him. Permanently."

    Naruto shook his head, "I''m not just gonna kill the man. He''s like me, I''m not gonna kill him unless I have no choice."

    "Director Fury-"

    "I don''t give a shit about whatever order Nick or his council has given." Naruto said before walking away, "I''m not a part of SHIELD Phil, so it doesn''t matter to me if you''re Fury''s number two." With that, Naruto walked out of the room before leaving the facility itself. Body Flickering away completely, Naruto found himself several hundred yards away. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Naruto decided to go on a night time walk through the desert.

    "Another possible lead down the drain." Kurama mumbled, "And this guy might have actually been able to bring you home had he known where your world was."

    "Yeah, maybe I can visit his planet, or realm as he called it, one day and talk to someone that actually knows what they''re talking about." Naruto thought, "But I still have the Magik lead."

    "I thought you lost her after she ditched you in that African desert?" Kurama asked mockingly.

    Naruto shrugged, "I have thousands of clones looking for her. I''ll find her again. And next time I''ll come at her hard instead of softballing it like last time."

    "Softballing it, sure." Kurama said, "Just don''t come crying to me when she drops you off in the middle of an ocean or something."

    "You are a very strange creature, Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto turned around to see a woman standing behind him. Said woman wore a long dark green cloak that covered her body completely, with a hood covering most of her head, her face the only visible part of her body. The woman was beautiful, probably one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen, this planet and his own. Her full pouty lips were turned up into a seductive smile, "I can feel the power you hold, a power so dense it outweighs even the All Father himself. Truly, truly strange."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Who are you?" Looking around for a moment, he looked back at the mystery woman, "Where did you come from¡­exactly?"

    "I come from the same place as our friend Thor. As for who I am, I am simply a servant of the new king, Loki." The woman lowered her hood, allowing her thick light blonde hair to fall passed her shoulders and down her back, "And my name is Amora."

    "And what exactly do you want from me, Amora?"

    Amora stepped towards Naruto, entering his personal space as she did, her face mere inches from his own, "My king needs your help in the coming conflict."

    "I don''t give a shit who you''re king is-" He was interrupted when Amora slammed her lips to his, his mind immediately becoming clouded.

    "Naruto! Naruto, snap out of it¡­-" Kurama''s voice bellowed out. Naruto couldn''t help but wonder as to who''s voice that belonged to as he looked down at the most captivating woman he''d ever seen.

    Amora placed her hand on the enchanted man''s cheek, stroking it soothingly as she said, "My beloved, I have a task for you. Can you do this task for me?" She whispered seductively.

    Naruto rested his head against Amora''s, "Of course, what do you need me to do?"

    "Kill Thor."

    -x-

    Thor stood, his powers back and Mjolnir in his hand, in the middle of the pattern carved into the earth by the Bifrost. The Asgardian prince was looking into the sky, screaming for someone named Heimdall to open said Bifrost. Next to him was a woman named Jane Foster and behind him was the Warrior Three and Sif the Maiden along with Dr. Selvig and Jane''s assistant Darcy Lewis.

    Suddenly, the clouds above them darkened and began to swirl, signaling Thor''s companions to enter the pattern along with Thor. As Thor looked down at Jane, a boom was heard several miles to their left. Looking over, Thor didn''t have time to think before he was bum rushed by a blur of yellow. The blue carried Thor several miles away before letting him go, causing him to tumble before coming to a hard stop. Looking up, Thor saw that Mjolnir had slipped from his grip after being tackled. Looking at said yellow blur, Thor was shocked to see Naruto standing across from him, his body covered in a black body suit with nine yellow tomoes along the collar and a yellow circle at his stomach. Over his body was jacket that looked to be made of yellow fire with black circular shoulder pad designs. Nine balls of intense of chakra were floating behind him the nine of them forming a circle behind him.

    "What are you doing Naruto, I thought thigh was my friend?" Thor asked as he straightened up.

    Naruto nodded his head, "We are. But I must do what my beloved asks of me. It''s nothing personal." Reaching his hand out, Naruto allowed one of his Truth Seeking Balls to form into a thin bo staff. In a burst of speed, Naruto appeared in front of Thor before slamming his staff into his jaw, sending the god of thunder flying, his body breaking the sound barrier from the force. Thor''s body slammed into the ground, his body flopping and tumbling several times until Naruto appeared above him before driving his foot into Thor''s stomach, stopping his momentum but drilling his body into the ground hard enough to form a massive crater. Naruto didn''t give Thor time to breath, bringing his leg up to slam his foot into the blonde giant''s throat.

    Thor managed to catch the foot, his arm shaking from the strain, "I won''t allow you to push me around mortal, no matter how strange your powers are." Throwing Naruto off of him with a heave, Thor got up as he wiped the blood leaking from his mouth. Using one arm to hold his side and the other extended outwards, Thor called forth Mjolnir. The wait was too long however, as Naruto extended his hand out to grab ahold of Thor. Lifting him up, Naruto slammed the man in his grasp back towards the ground harshly.

    "And I won''t let you summon that hammer of yours. I had several clones watching your fight with that machine, so I know a little bit about your powers. Nothing to scoff at. But nothing I can''t handle for my beloved Amora."

    "Amora?" Thor asked, "You mean Amora the Enchantess? Does she have you in her snare? You must fight it Naruto! She''s using you because my brother demands it of her!" The grip around him got tighter as he tried to get his arm loose, "Please Naruto, I need to get back Asgard!"

    "-Naruto¡­please¡­snap out¡­.of it¡­.you damn¡­brat." Naruto heard in his head, causing him shake it and hold it as he felt like he was spinning. This slip up of concentration allowed Thor to get his arm loose, once again summoning Mjolnir to him.

    Finally, he could see his trusty hammer flying towards him like a speeding bullet. With a clang, Thor''s hammer for destroying armies and building kingdoms entered his grasp once again. Raising his hammer up, Thor summoned the element that made him a god on earth. In a flash of light, an arc of lightning cracked down towards him and was absorbed into Mjolnir. Pointing his hammer at Naruto, he fired a beam of the absorbed lightning at the blonde.

    The lightning struck Naruto in the chest, the only thing saving him was the cloak around his body. The Shinobi was sent flying from the blast of electric energy, eventually landing on his back in a hard crash. Putting his hand to his forehead, Naruto massaged his scalp as he got up.

    Getting up, Naruto was straightened his body from his hunched over position just in time to see the hammer heading towards his temple. The force of Mjolnir nearly splitting his skull caused the ground beneath them to crack and separate. Naruto was on the ground once again. One would think his mind would be even more clouded after getting brained by a war hammer wielded by a Norse god. But no, his mind couldn''t be clearer.

    "Fucking bitch." He muttered as the cloak around his body disappeared. Getting up, Naruto felt the area he''d been hit feeling a warm liquid running down his temple, "That motherfucking BITCH!" He yelled at the top of his voice. Getting up from the ground, Naruto looked at Thor, "Thanks man, I needed that."

    "No shit you fucking idiot. You allowed that woman to enthrall you to her will. You always sucked at illusions but this was just sad," Kurama shouted in his head, "I will admit that the allusion was very powerful, it took a lot from me to get to you. Sadly, this seal doesn''t work like Killer B and Gyuki''s where they are in perfect sink which allows Gyuki to break any Genjutsu used on his container."

    "Yeah, I''ll have to work on that." Naruto thought, "I''ll have to look at the seal later so that fucking bitch doesn''t do this again."

    "I''m sorry Naruto my friend, but I must return to my comrades so that Heimdall can return us to Asgard." With that, Thor twirled Mjolnir rapidly before blasting off into the air.

    "I''m sorry for tricking you my dear. It was an order from my king."

    "Kill her Naruto. I''m not joking. Kill her now. Brutally."

    Naruto blitzed towards Amora, grabbing her by the neck as he said, "Why shouldn''t I snap your neck right now."

    "Because you need me." She choked out.

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, "And why exactly do I need you?"

    "You need to find a way home. I can help you!" She said as she felt the hand around her neck tighten its hold, causing her to choke out the last of it.

    Naruto took a calming breath before letting her go. Amora dropped to her knees, holding her throat as she coughed violently, "I don''t need your help, why don''t you go back to your king?"

    "Because Thor will defeat him, that is inevitable. And when he''s gone, I''m next-"

    "I DON''T CARE!" Naruto yelled at her, "You used me! You used me to fight a man I''ve come to respect! I don''t like being used, so how do I know you won''t use me, or aren''t using me now because your king ''demands'' it of you."

    "Please!" Amora begged, "They''ll kill me-"

    "If I ever see you again, I will kill you." Seeing that Amora was looking up at him still, he said, "Leave!"

    Amora looked down at the ground, her shoulders slumped as she disappeared in a slight flash of energy.

    "You should have killed that woman brat."

    "I know."

 7 From Whom The bell tolls

    "Naruto¡­wake up."

    Said blonde man was laying in his bed, arms and legs spread out as he was on his back. Snoring silently, he didn''t hear the voice calling his name.

    "Naruto. Wake up." The voice said sternly.

    This time, Naruto heard the voice. His eyes creaking open stiffly, he looked up to see a blurry figure standing above him. Scrambling up, Naruto reached instinctually for the kunai hidden behind the head board of his bed frame. Spinning it in a reverse grip, Naruto wound his arm back to slit said person''s throat if they proved to be hostile. His vision finally cleared, Naruto was shocked to see who was standing beside him.

    "Ji-Jiraiya?!" He stuttered, looking into the eyes of his passed mentor.

    The man smiled down at his student, "Hello¡­brat." Sitting down on the bed he looked Naruto up and down, "But I suppose you''re much of a brat anymore."

    Sitting up straight, Naruto looked around the room and saw that he was in a danky hotel room. The room was rather simple, with an eating and kitchen area, a small lounging couch and coffee table, and the small twin bed he was laying upon, "What''s going o-"

    "I''m so disappointed in you Naruto."

    Looking back at Jiraiya, he was floored to see that he was no longer the same. His usual horned forehead protector was missing, allowing his hair to fall down in front of his eyes, and the rest of his hair was no longer in a ponytail, flailing out like a lion''s mane. Blood began to spill everywhere, from the missing left arm, to the holes drilled through his back, to the red life liquid that was openly spilling down his jaw from his mouth. His clothes and face were scoffed, his throat was purple and bruised, and a look of strong disappointment was on his face.

    "I''m so disappointed in the man that you have become."

    Naruto gasped as his body jerked violently, his breathing heavy as he looked at the dark ceiling above him. Slowly regaining his breath, Naruto looked over at the alarm clock on the night stand beside him to see that it was only 4:37 in the morning. He didn''t have to wake up for another couple hours.

    Wiping the sweat that had built along his temple with the palm of his hand, he whispered out, "Dammit." Looking over to the other side of the bed, Naruto sighed as he saw that the place Natasha spent most of her nights was empty, the pillow and comforter cold from the lack of her presence. It had been a couple weeks since she went on her special covert mission, the specifics left out of all conversation.

    "You alright brat?" Kurama asked. The dream had been a recurring theme since the incident with that blasted Amora woman.

    Getting up from the bed, Naruto rubbed his scruffy beard as he spoke out loud, "Yeah, I''m good. I thought they would stop after I told Nat about you, but it only stopped for a couple days. It''s starting to piss me off."

    Kurama nodded, "Yeah it seemed like a good idea at the time. It was long overdue anyway."

    Stepping into his bathroom, Naruto calmly turned on the sink as he leaned up against it, looking himself in the mirror. It truly was fascinating that the layer of prosthetic skin covering his whisker marks still allowed him to grow facial hair, with Natasha doing her best to explain it to him. Most of it went over his head. Thinking of Natasha, Naruto couldn''t help but think about what she had told him after his little revelation the last night they were together.

    "The things she described remind me of Root back at Konoha. Fucking sick." Kurama growled out, "You never did say what you thought about it." The fox said after some thought.

    "What''s there to say?" Naruto said as he sprayed a palm full of shaving cream into his hand, "The place she was trained took the chance of bearing children away from her. There''s nothing I can do. It''s terrible. It pisses me off. But that''s not something I can heal. It happened over a decade ago."

    "I know that idiot. But what does this mean for you two as far as the future goes? You''re always droning on and on about having a family. Might be pretty hard when your mate can''t have kids."

    Naruto''s hand froze as it began to spread the cream along his cheek for only a moment before continuing the routine taught to him by Jiraiya, "There''s always adoption Kurama."

    "That''s not the same Naruto." Kurama said softly, "It''s a solution sure. But it''s not the same."

    "I know."

    -x-

    Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York

    Date: December 5, 2011

    -x-

    Naruto, face clean shaven and wearing an orange long sleeve shirt and weathered light blue jeans, stood next to Nick Fury as they looked through a one-way mirror into what was once an interrogation room, but was now more of a strange class room. With a single desk in the middle of the room, and a large projector resting on the wall, it would look rather strange to an outside eye. Sitting behind the desk was a man, his blonde hair slicked over nice and tight to he left, giving the man a rather dated look. To say the man was muscular was an understatement, the dude was the pinnacle of human fitness. The guy''s muscles had muscles. Hunched over the desk, the man wrote down notes vigorously as a thin woman by the projector clicked through slide after slide.

    "So how''s he doing?" Naruto asked.

    Nick sighed, "He''s still experiencing some culture shock. But that''s to be expected. He''s better off then you were, at least he has some things he can go off of. You had to start from scratch."

    Naruto nodded, "And what about the Tesseract?" he asked, "How''s the search going for that?"

    Fury took a moment, "No luck so far. But we''re close. I can feel it."

    "Naruto...something''s off." Kurama warned.

    "What is it?" Naruto thought.

    "I don''t know. I can sense that he''s lying, but he''s also telling the truth at the same time. It''s strange. Be careful brat."

    Naruto gave a mental nod, "So, any news on Natasha?"

    "You know I can''t tell you anything Naruto. She shouldn''t have told you as much as she did to begin with."

    Naruto sighed before saying, "So why did you call me over here Nick? I''m thankful for telling me about Mr. Rogers, now I know that it won''t be long before you find the Tesseract. But if it''s a favor you want, I''m sorry to say but it''s gonna have to be a no. My schedule is pretty full."

    Nick rubbed his goatee, watching Steve as the man lost in time began to take notes on the Bay of Pigs Invasion, "Do you know what makes this man so amazing?"

    Shrugging, Naruto said, "His peak human abilities? His skill in throwing a giant Frisbee?"

    "What makes him so amazing is that before he ever attained his peak human ability, before he was able to throw ''a giant Frisbee,'' he was nothing more than a 90 lb. kid with asthma. He had no family and the only friend he had in the world was going off to a war where the chances of him coming back were incredibly slim. All his life, all he ever wanted to do was serve his country. And when he saw what was going on in Europe, he didn''t see a country of foreigners to kill. He saw a bunch of bullies that needed to be stopped. But because of his lack of physical health, he was kept out of the war. No matter how many times he tried, no matter what name he used, that kid was determined to make a difference for his country, no matter how small. And when he got the chance, he took it. And that chance turned him into the man you see before you. A hero."

    As Naruto listened to Nick, he couldn''t help but see the similarities between himself and the man he was looking at. Both grew up with no family, hardly any friends, and weak. Both tried their best to serve the place they lived, but due to physical difficulties were kept from doing so, no matter how hard they tried. With Steve it was because of his sickly body, for Naruto it was because of the Biju trapped in his body keeping him from using the Clone Jutsu, one of the things required to know for graduation. When he was a kid, he didn''t care how strong someone was, or how influential of a person they were, if they were a bully, if they did wrong, he''d put a stop to it. Zabuza, Gato, Neji, Gaara, Orochimaru, the Akatsuki, Madara¡­Sasuke. He went out of his way to stop them.

    "From what you''ve told me, you and Steve were pretty similar. But when I see you now, all I see is a man experiencing tunnel vision. All you care about is going home, that''s the only thing you seem to focus on anymore. Lead after lead, disappointment after disappointment, it gets worse each time." Fury said, "If it weren''t for Natasha, I fear you''d have lost yourself completely by now."

    Naruto suddenly start to feel a defensive frustration, "And what the hell would you know about it?!" He turned towards Fury fully, grabbing his collar as he said, "I''m sorry that I''m not acting like some kind of generic hero, who just let''s things slide, who just goes with the flow, but I''m not! Did you ever think that maybe I''m tired of thinking about everyone but myself, that I''m sick of always having to be the good guy?! Why can''t I be angry? Why can''t I just go home!"

    "And go home to what? You''ve been gone for nearly four years! If your even find a way back to your world, that evil goddess you told me about will have laid waste to your planet! I know you know this, so this isn''t about going home! No, this is just some sick desire, a twisted fantasy!" Nick grabbed ahold of Naruto''s collar, "And for what?! To make sure your friends are dead? No, that''s not it. Oh no. It''s because you want them to be alive. You want them to have won the good fight, so they can give you the warm welcome you''ve wanted for the last four years."

    "Shut up. Just¡­just SHUT UP!" Naruto shouted as his eyes flashed orange, a surge of power pressing down on the room for a split second, causing the two-way mirror to crack from the pressure, "That''s not it at all!"

    "What about Natasha?"

    Naruto''s eyes widened in surprise, "What?"

    Nick narrowed his eyes, "What was gonna happen with Natasha if you found a way home? Were you just going to say, ''it''s been fun'' and leave? Or will you take her with you to your planet that might have been eradicated of all life?"

    His grip on Fury''s collar loosening, Naruto stammered, "I-I¡­we would''ve figured something out."

    Fury threw Naruto''s hand off of him, "If your so determined to go home, then you might as well end it now. Don''t drag it out and make it harder for everyone. She deserves better than that." Nick let go of Naruto, "No if you''ll excuse me, I''m busy."

    Naruto huffed angrily through his nose as he looked at Nick''s back, "Fine." He said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

    -x-

    Location: Anian, Symkaria

    -x-

    Naruto, floating in the air as he looked down at the city bellow him, scowled as the memories of his clone''s conversation with Fury entered his mind. The cold air didn''t seem to bother him, his coat flapping in the wind. His eyes were the orange associated to him using Six Paths Sage Mode, with the blonde using the ability of Magnet Release granted to him by Shukaku. Naruto, while having a group of clones train, had discovered that he still had the abilities given to him by the other Biju. For now, Magnet and Lava Release were the only ones he had mastered. But there was only so much a group of clones could do before the destruction they caused got someone''s attention. Using his recent mastery of Magnet Release, Naruto was able to use it to connect himself to the magnetic field of the planet itself, enabling flight even without using the full cloak offered by the Six Paths Sage Mode. Thank this world''s God for Shadow Clones.

    "Naruto¡­perhaps he has a point."

    "Kurama, just¡­not right now." Looking down at the city bellow, he watched as a fire fight began to break out in the streets. From the research he found, the country of Symkaria was currently undergoing a revolution against the rule of the current king. Looking passed the city itself, Naruto saw that the building he was looking for was surprisingly still intact. Dropping down with a slow grace to the ground, Naruto began to make his way towards the apartment building. The distant echoing pop of gun fire filled the city, with the stench of smoke and rotting corpses hanging in the air.

    "Are you not going to do anything about these revolutionists? From what we''ve seen on TV, they''re known for their indiscriminant killing of soldier and civilian, man or woman¡­children."

    "Kurama¡­Magik will only be here for a couple days, at most. She''s still jumping around after last time and this has been the first time I''ve actually gotten a pin on her since. Besides, SHIELD will eventually deal with it."

    "And how many innocent people will die until they ''deal with it?''" Kurama asked.

    Before Naruto could argue further, a man suddenly dashed out of the alleyway in front of him. Holding his blood oozing shoulder in pain, the man looked behind him in his frantic sprint away from whoever was chasing him. The sound of clanking guns and battle gear echoed out from the alley, followed by two men dressed in military garbs holding standard assault rifles in their hands.

    One of the men shouted out in Symkarian, "Stop or we will shoot you!"

    The wounded man tripped over himself causing him to tumble to the rubble filled street. Turing on his back, he looked up waving his good arm frantically, "Plea-please! I don''t speak Symkarian! Please understand me! I-I have a family!" The man pleaded in clear English, the man speaking with a thick British accent.

    The two men pointed their guns down at the wounded Brit, "What did he say?" The first one asked.

    The second one scoffed, "How would I know? I don''t speak British or whatever it''s called."

    "He said he doesn''t speak Symkarian."

    The two soldiers turned their attention on Naruto, who was standing behind them with his hands raised calmly, "Civilian get down on your knees, now!"

    "He also said he has a family. He''s probably telling the truth. I don''t have my way of knowing active so I couldn''t tell you for sur-"

    "Shut up! On your knees, hands locked behind your head! NOW!" The second soldier screamed.

    Naruto sighed, "Look, just let us go guys. I really don''t wanna have to do this."

    The men raised their guns up, fingers pressed against the trigger, "To do what?" The first asked mockingly.

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "This." Raising his hands up, Naruto used his Magnetic Release to attract the rifles in the two soldier''s hands towards his own. The men weren''t prepared for their guns to jump out of their hands, and were even more surprised to see them fly into the grasp of the mystery man. The guns now in his hands, Naruto used his Lava Release to melt the guns into red hot molten. Dropping the now dripping guns to the ground, Naruto stuffed his hands back into his pockets.

    The two men looked back and forth from each other and Naruto in shock. Taking several steps in fear, the two eventually made a run for it back into the alley they came from.

    Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto walked towards the still downed man. Kneeling down next to him, Naruto covered his hand in Six Paths Chakra, before making to place it on the man''s shoulder, only for him to try and move back in shock and fear.

    "Wa-wait! Who are you? What are you?!"

    Naruto smiled his signature smile, "Name''s Nathan Ulrickson, and I''d like to think I''m somewhat human."

    "Somewhat?" The man asked.

    "It was a joke."

    "You''re so full of shit."

    "Then¡­how can you do all of¡­that?"

    "You ever read an X-Men comic?" Seeing the man nod, he continued, "Well it''s kinda like that."

    "So you''re a Mutant?" The man asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "Eh, that seems a little obnoxious. I like to call myself ''Gifted'' if anything."

    "Isn''t that a little obnoxious also?"

    Naruto chuckled as he got up, his hand no longer glowing, "Well what would you call someone like me?"

    The man shrugged, "Evolved I suppose." Looking down at his shoulder, he was surprised to see his shoulder was healed, "When¡­how?"

    Naruto put his hands in his pockets, "One of my many gifts. And I did it while you were distracted." Turning around, he made his way to the building he knew Magik to be, "I''d advise staying indoors until things calm down."

    The man got up, "Wait! Where are you going?"

    Naruto didn''t bother turning around, "Sykani Hotel."

    "Wa-wait! That''s where I''m staying!"

    Naruto stopped. Looking over at the man as he began to walk towards him, "Oh really?"

    "Yes! Can¡­can you help me get there? I can''t pay you¡­but I can let you stay with my family, free of charge!"

    "And how do you know I haven''t been staying there for a while now?" Naruto asked.

    The man shrugged, "My family has been stuck there for several months now, and we''ve met everyone there that hasn''t died or somehow gotten out of town before the blockades went up. Which means you''re either moving from where your hiding out, or you somehow snuck in the city and are looking for a place of refuge."

    "And how do you know I''m not here for¡­nefarious reasons?"

    "If you were¡­would you have bothered saving me?"

    "Probably not." Naruto said with a sigh, "So¡­who are you exactly?"

    The man made his way in front of Naruto, "My name is Charles Valid." Reaching his hand out for a handshake he said, "It''s a pleasure to meet you Nathan."

    "The pleasure is mine."

    -x-

    Naruto stood behind Charles as they waited for the door he had just knocked on to open. After several seconds, Naruto could hear someone walk up to the door. The two could see someone look into the eye hole for a second before Naruto heard the sound of three locks unlatch one after the other. The door opened to reveal a pretty woman with curly red hair and fair complexion.

    "Charles!" She grabbed him in a tight embrace. Taking a step back, the woman saw that there was blood all over Charles''s shirt, "You''re bleeding!"

    Charles stroked the woman''s cheek soothingly, "No no I''m fine Gabrielle. This man healed me."

    "He¡­he healed you? How is that possible?!" Gabrielle asked Charles as she looked at Naruto in bewilderment.

    Naruto took a small step forward, "Yeah¡­can we take this inside? Prying eyes and ears and stuff."

    Charles, seeing Gabrielle''s reluctance, held her face with his hands softly, "This man saved me Gabby. We can trust him."

    Gabrielle took a second of thought before saying, "Okay."

    With that, the three entered the hotel room. The room itself was rather nice, from what he could see it was a two bedroom, not including the separate kitchen, dining area and living room. In the living room sat a fairly large flat screen television, the local news playing with English subtitles rolling underneath. Sitting in the love seat across the TV was a boy that looked to be around five or six years old. The boy had short yet curly reddish brown hair, with his face resembling his father''s sans the similar freckles he had to his mother. The boy wore an Adventure Time t-shirt, with brown jeans and child Sketchers on his feet.

    The boy looked up to see his father walking into the room, the boy looked at Naruto quizzically, "Dad, who''s that?" He asked Charles.

    Charles smiled down at his son, walking up to and sitting down next to him, giving him a tight hug. Letting him go, he motioned towards Naruto, "This is my friend, Nathan Ulrickson." Looking at Naruto, Charles said, "Naruto I''d like you to meet my son, Herald."

    Naruto nodded towards Herald, "Nice to meet you kid."

    "Charlie." Gabrielle said, "Can we talk¡­alone?"

    "Uh, yeah. Right." Getting up from the couch, Charles walked towards his wife as she made towards one of the bedrooms, "We''ll just be a second." He said to Naruto.

    Seeing the two walk into the kitchen before the sound of hushed whispering could be heard. Sighing, Naruto walked over to the recliner next to the love seat before sitting down. Looking at the TV, Naruto could see them covering the fire fight that had occurred not long ago. Looking at Herald, Naruto could see that the kid was watching, his eyes moving with the rolling subtitles.

    "Are you actually reading that?" Naruto asked. When Herald nodded, he said, "Impressive." The two sat in an awkward silence for several seconds before Naruto sighed, "Do you think it''s a good idea for a kid your age to be watching this kind of stuff? I bet this place picks up cartoons or something."

    "What''s your name?" Herald asked, looking Naruto in the eye as he spoke.

    "Nathan." Naruto said in confusion.

    The boy took a weirdly long time to respond, "No it''s not."

    Naruto wasn''t able to respond, as Charles and Gabrielle walked out of their bedroom, Charles sporting a different shirt than before, "Sorry about that Nathan. Can we offer you a glass of water?" Charles asked.

    Naruto looked back at Herald before shaking his head, looking at the still skeptic Gabrielle, "I''m sure you guys have some questions."

    Gabrielle nodded, "I-We do. First of all, we''d like to know what you''re doing in Aniana? It''s no secret that the revolution is going on to the outside world, so why would you risk coming here, no matter how powerful you may be."

    Naruto looked Gabrielle in the eye, "I''m here looking for a certain woman. She''s going by the name Illyana Rasputin; some people call her Magik¡­with a k."

    "And why are you looking for Illyana?" Gabrielle asked.

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "She is in this building. Good to know. As for why I''m looking for her, I need her help for a¡­personal reason."

    "Do you swear you''re not going to hurt her?" Gabrielle asked.

    Naruto nodded, his face serious, "I swear."

    Gabrielle sighed, "Alright¡­I''ll tell you where she is, after you answer my questions." When Naruto nodded, she asked, "My husband told me you are ''Gifted,'' where did you learn how to control your powers? Are there¡­others?"

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I taught myself how to use my powers. Why?"

    Gabrielle looked at Charles for a second before saying, "No reason."

    "Is that all?" Naruto asked.

    Charles spoke, "Is there any way you can help us escape?" Seeing Naruto''s confusion, he clarified, "We came here just a couple days before the Revolution started. You see, my colleagues and I had been invited by the Aniana Scientific Research Facility for their Research Convention for our help in their research of gamma radiation. The convention was only supposed to last a couple weeks, but then the revolt occurred and we weren''t able to escape before the blockades were built up, and the revolutionists began their guerrilla warfare twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. We''ve been stuck here in the hotel ever sense."

    "Then why were you out in the city?" Naruto asked.

    Charles rubbed his once wounded shoulder, "I had heard that some of my colleagues were holed up in one of the buildings a couple blocks over. I just had to make contact with them. It wasn''t long after I made it to them that that scuffle happened. When the smoke cleared, all my coworkers were dead, with me only getting a bullet to the shoulder. I made a run for it but those two guys ran after me. I''d have died if it weren''t for you." He said to Naruto.

    Naruto absorbed Charles''s story before turning back to Gabrielle, "I''ll do my best to get you out of here. But only after I find where Illyana is."

    Gabrielle nodded, "She''s one floor below us. I thought she managed to escape when the revolution started up, but I saw her leave her room yesterday morning." She began to run her fingers through her hair nervously, "She''s in room 6B."

    Naruto nodded, "She more than likely left after everything went south, but must of come back for some reason. Maybe she left something here she needed?" He thought. Getting up from his seat Naruto said, "I''ll be back. I''m gonna go talk to her."

    The other two adults got up as well, "Do you want one of us to go with you?" Gabrielle asked.

    Naruto shook his head, "No I''m good."

    "I have one more question." The red head said, "What is it that you do, exactly?"

    "I suppose you could say I''m ex-military." Naruto said with a shrug, "What do you do?"

    "I''m a Professor of English Literature at the University of Oxford." Gabrielle said, "We''re on winter vacation right now, this was supposed to be a small getaway."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow at hearing what the woman in front of him said, "Alright," he said as he made his way to the door, "I''ll be back in a few minutes, thank you for the hospitality." The last part was an afterthought, closing the door behind him as he gave a sigh of agitation.

    "That boy¡­you felt it didn''t you?"

    "Yeah." Naruto thought as he made his way to the elevator. Pressing the down button, Naruto waited, "He invaded my mind. The brat''s a psychic."

    "A powerful one at that. After you loosened your seal, I''ve put up a powerful barrier in your mind scape to keep you from falling for illusions or mind control. Even the Uchiha slayer would have trouble getting in. It only took the little shit a couple seconds to slip in and see that you were lying about your name."

    With a ding, the elevator door opened up with a hushed swish, revealing the small compartment for him to stand. Naruto stepped inside, pressing the closing button as he took off his winter coat, revealing a black jacket underneath. The jacket was zipped all the way up, the high collar tight against his neck. Unbuttoning the end of each sleeve, Naruto began to roll them up calmly, "Well it''s not like it matters. Magik should be here, and when I get a hold of her, I doubt I''ll see the Valids ever again."

    "Right, and how exactly are you going to keep her from escaping like last time?" Kurama asked.

    Drawing from the fountain of power granted to him by Shukaku, Naruto extended his hand out as strange markings began to spread along his hand, "Like this."

    "¡­That didn''t explain anything."

    "Oh¡­I''m going to you Shukaku''s binding cursed seal to keep her from moving. Then I''ll just keep her in constant contact with me so she can''t get out of my sight."

    "Was that so hard?"

    "Shut up."

    Ding

    -x-

    Room 6B was rather small, a simple one bedroom with an average sized kitchen and living room area. The lights were off, with the only light coming into the room being the slightly opened curtains, a thin beam of sunlight revealing an open ''People Magazine'' on the coffee table. The room was slightly messy, with a pair of shoes and socks littered on the floor, a purple jacket thrown half hazardly on the love seat, and random pieces of trash littering the couch and coffee table.

    Click

    With an audible click, the lock in the doorknob unlocked.

    Click

    In another click, the latch to the door slid open. The door now completely unlocked, the doorknob slowly turned before the door itself began to creak open, revealing Naruto standing on the other side. Calmly walking inside, Naruto looked around, his eyes an orangish yellow with his irises rectangular and what looked to be orange eyeshadow around his eyes.

    The blonde sighed as said eyeshadow faded, closing his eyes as he said, "She''s not here." Opening his now blue eyes, Naruto scanned the room. Walking towards the living room, Naruto picked up the bowl with potato stew licking the bottom from the coffee table, "It''s cool." He observed. Putting the bowl down, he looked down at the magazine. Flipping it over to the cover, Naruto saw that the actress Demi Moore was the cover picture, with the caption, "Inside the Final Days" whatever that meant, "This magazine just came out today." Putting the magazine down, he looked at the couch to see an indent in the couch, with a television remote next to it. Walking up to the TV, Naruto pressed his hand on the side of it feeling that it wasn''t warm to the touch before he said, "TV''s been off for a while, so she didn''t just leave."

    "That''s if she was watching TV at all." Kurama said.

    Naruto shrugged, "The remote''s on the couch, right next to the butt imprint where she''s probably been sitting all day."

    "Weeell. Look at the modern day Cherlok Homes figuring shit out with a glance." Kurama muttered.

    "First of all, it''s Sharlock Helmes. Second of all, when you do enough missions with Clint you pick up a few things." The blonde said as he pushed open the bedroom door. The room held a queen sized bed, the bed spread and sheets sloppily splayed out along the bed, with a few shirts and a pair of pants resting at the end of the bed. Next to the bed was a night stand, a lamp sitting on it uselessly along with a framed photo of a younger Magik and an older woman with short whitish blonde hair. On further inspection, it was like looking at an older version of Magik. Walking towards the small closet, Naruto slid the door open only to see that no clothes were in hung up on the rale. Looking down, the Shinobi saw a duffle bag tucked in the corner. Unzipping the bag, Naruto saw that it was stuffed with various types of clothes and undergarments, "She left her clothes here."

    Walking out of the room, Naruto said, "She must have left a couple hours ago, but she''ll be back."

    "Unless she left in a hurry after somehow figuring out you were in town."

    "Doubtful, she left all of her stuff here. That picture looked like a family photo or something, I doubt she''d just up and leave without taking it with her." Putting his hands in a cross hand seal, a puff of smoke appeared next to him. When the cloud of smoke dissipated, another Naruto appeared before once again being swallowed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke went away once again, a magazine similar to the one on the coffee table took its place. Picking it up, he walked over to the coffee table as he switched the magazine on the table with the clone in his hand, "There, I''ll just have to wait her out. If she doesn''t come back in a few days, I''ll call it quits."

    "Whatever smart guy. God I miss when you were stupid."

    "Same here."

    -x-

    "So, do you like to read Nathan?"

    Naruto and the Valids were sitting around the round dining table, the four eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Naruto sipped at the hot broth before saying, "Uh, not really. That ''Hunger Games'' book is pretty good though."

    Charles smirked, "Don''t get Gabby started on those books, she''s obsessed with them she is."

    "It''s a good read Charlie, excuse me for trying to get you interested in something other than your research or those silly comic books."

    "Watchmen is not silly Gabby, The Dark Knight Returns isn''t silly; Alan Moore and Mark Miller are bloody geniuses."

    Herald looked up from his bowl, "I like comic books mum."

    Gabrielle sighed, "I know dear, I know."

    "Professor X is the best." Herald said.

    Naruto smile, "I don''t know, Gambit''s pretty cool. So''s Deadpool."

    "Herald, I''ve taught you better." Charles said, "Batman is the best superhero."

    Gabrielle sighed, "Here we go."

    Naruto laughed as he saw the family interact in front of him. Looking over at Herald, Naruto could see the boy sneaking glances his way. Feeling a push on his mind, Naruto allowed the kid to enter, "What''s up kid?" He thought.

    Herald''s eyes widened as he looked at Naruto in shock. Taking a second, the boy had a pensive look on his face as he spoke telepathically, "You¡­you know?"

    Naruto looked back down at his bowl of soup, "Act normal brat. If you want your parents to keep from learning about your abilities, you need to learn how to act normal when using them."

    Herald looked back down at his soup, his face looking as though he''d just gotten in trouble, "I''m sorry." The boy thought.

    "It''s fine. So, who else knows?"

    "No one¡­but you I guess."

    Naruto looked at Gabrielle and Charles who seemed to still be talking about comic books, "So how did you learn how to use your powers then?"

    "From X-Men comics mostly."

    "Of course¡­So what can you do other than read and communicate with people telepathically?"

    "Um well, I can move things if I try really really really hard."

    Naruto mentally scoffed, "So can I kid."

    "You can move things without your hands too?" Herald asked in wonder.

    That got Naruto''s attention, "So you have telekinesis too huh? Damn, it''s like you''re a living comic book character or something. How long have you been able to do this?"

    "As long as I can remember. I could always hear people''s voices even when they weren''t actually talking. I learned how to drown it out a couple years ago."

    Naruto thought, "Wow, that''s pretty impressive for a kid so young. But, seeing your parents it''s not hard to see where you got your smarts from."

    The two''s conversation was cut short by Gabrielle, "So, what''s your favorite book Nathan?"

    Naruto looked at Gabrielle, "Huh?"

    Gabrielle looked at Naruto quizzically, "I asked what your favorite book is. Didn''t you hear Charlie say his was ''The Hobbit?''"

    "Oh ahh¡­sorry spaced out there for a second." Naruto said in embarrassment. After a moment of thought, Naruto spoke, "I guess I''d have to say ''And Then There Were None.'' My girlfriend made me read it."

    "Well your girlfriend has great taste, that was one of my father''s favorite book as well." Gabrielle said.

    Naruto looked at Gabrielle, "What''s yours? Your favorite book I mean."

    "''Devotions upon Emergent Occasions'' by John Donne." Both Gabrielle and Charles said at the same time, with Charles giving his wife a teasing look, "But if I had to choose my favorite novel? ''For Whom the Bell Tolls,'' by Ernest Hemmingway."

    "I don''t know what either of those are." Naruto said with a bit of a dead pan.

    Gabrielle laughed, "Most people don''t. In fact, most people who do don''t like it at all. But Mr. Donne''s words have helped me through many trying times. Even now, I find myself reading it more than I do the bible." The woman, seeing that her son had finished his bowl of soup, got up from her seat as she spoke, "Come on Herald, time to wash up."

    Herald groaned as his mother picked him up, "Do I have too?" He whined.

    "We can''t have you stinkin'' up the place." Gabrielle said as she held her son in her arms, "Your father does enough of that as it is."

    The room grew quiet, the only sound being the bath running in the bathroom. Charles, who had finished off his bowl, got up from his seat, grabbing Gabrielle''s and Herald''s bowls while he was at it. Taking the dishes to the sink, the man began to rinse them out as he said, "We''re lucky this building is owned by the government, being the place where most foreign politicians stay while in Symkaria, so they''re making sure the appliances stay on in case a handful of big wigs got stuck in here. Otherwise we wouldn''t be able to go to the bathroom, much less take a shower." Getting a rag out of a nearby drawer, the man began to dry the bowls, "That and when everybody left, we and the rest of the tenants scoured their rooms for any food they might''ve left behind."

    Naruto nodded, "I was wondering how your fridge and cupboards are stocked full even though you''ve been stuck here for a month."

    Charles laughed, "Yeah well, I wasn''t always a renowned Radiologist. Post-University was mostly made up of me eating ramen and hotdogs every night."

    "So¡­gamma radiation huh?" Naruto said.

    Charles raised an eyebrow, "You''re familiar with the subject?"

    Naruto, remembering the videos of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, decimating everything and anyone in its path, nodded, "A little bit."

    The British man looked Naruto up and down, "Were you involved in the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project?"

    Naruto recognized the name as the project that Bruce Banner was in charge of, which was the successor to Project Rebirth, the very experiment responsible for creating Captain America, "No, but I had heard what happened to one of the scientists after a failed experiment."

    Charles nodded sadly, "Yes, your talking about Bruce Banner. It''s truly terrible what happened to him, he was a great scientist and an even better man."

    "Was?" Naruto asked.

    With a sigh, Charles said, "Aye, I had heard the man died after trying to perform the gamma radiation procedure on himself, but that wasn''t before the radiation turned him into some kind of¡­creature. Thank God your army killed it before anyone got hurt or worse killed."

    "Aren''t you worried that something like that might happen again with your research?"

    Charles shook his head, "For one, Bruce''s research pertained to duplicating the serum used on your Captain America. Our research is leading the charge in finding a cure for diseases such as cancer. Second of all, Bruce used an incredibly lethal amount of gamma radiation on himself. His death was inevitable, the only variable being his transformation. We plan on only using a small fraction of what he used. I suppose you could compare it to a shot glass to a pool of water."

    Naruto nodded, "Well good luck with your research."

    "Thank you."

    -x-

    The next two days went by rather slowly, with the only thing available to do inside was talk, play a board game, talk, watch TV, talk, or sleep. In the two days, Naruto had learned quite a bit about the Valid family. As it turned out, Gabrielle had a PhD in Literature and was apparently distantly related to Judi Dench (whoever that is) and was in the beginning stages of writing a novel of her own. Charles was a man obsessed when it came to comics, showing him pictures from his phone of his collection at home, along with his pride and joy, an original 1942 ''Captain America'' vol. #1. According to Charles, it was a gift from his father, who was a pilot during World War 2. Apparently the man only had that comic to read in his four years of duty, and had read that book thousands of times before eventually passing it on to his youngest son, Charles, which was what spurred his passion for all things comic book. It was Herald that he seemed to spend the most time with, seeing as the two continued their telepathic communication. Their conversations ranged from how to control/use his powers, to Naruto''s powers and how learned to control them, to what cartoon shows are the best. Herald leaned towards ''Adventure Time'' while Naruto was more of a ''Futurama'' kind of guy. The blonde couldn''t help relate to the show''s main character Fry, and his total lack of knowledge in a practically different world. Due to the fact that he couldn''t really keep anything from the kid, Naruto had told him his real name and the fact he had powers, keeping out the fact he wasn''t technically human.

    "Naruto¡­why don''t you save people?" Herald asked through their telepathic connection, "You have all these powers, but you stay up here instead of helping people who need it."

    Naruto, who was sitting across from Charles at the dining table as the two played a hand of 31, sighed, "I don''t know. Just don''t have it in me I guess."

    "What does that mean?" Herald asked.

    If Naruto could give a mental shrug he would, "All my life, all I''ve ever done is save people. At first it was people that were precious to me¡­but eventually I learned that all life should be held precious, even thoughs that walk down a darker path then my own. In fact, it was those that were walking down that path that I tried to save the most, and not from some dark calamity or anything like that¡­but from themselves. In the end though, I couldn''t save anyone."

    "But¡­you can still save people. Mum said that even if I fail¡­even if I fail I can''t just give up. I have to keep trying and learn from my failure." Herald said.

    Naruto drew a card from the deck between him and Charles, "Sometimes it''s not that easy." He thought. Putting his hand down, Naruto said, "31."

    "Dammit." Charles cursed, "How the hell are you so lucky? That''s the third 31 you''ve gotten in a row." He said in agitation.

    Naruto was about to respond when a sudden wave of memories entered his mind. Getting up from his seat, Naruto grabbed his jacket off the coat rack. Putting it on, he looked at the startled Charles and Gabrielle, "I just remembered I have to go somewhere real quick. I''ll be back in a couple hours."

    Gabrielle walked forward, "Don''t tell me you''re going outside? It''s dangerous out there!"

    Naruto looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, but it''s very important. Don''t worry, I can take care of myself."

    The woman looked back and forth between Naruto and her husband, who was looking at her with an ''I don''t know what to do either'' look. With a sigh, she quickly walked into her and Charles''s room. The sound of a drawer opening and closing could be heard before Gabrielle walked out, a small handgun in her hand, "Here, take it." Seeing Naruto''s reluctant look she said, "Please."

    With a sigh, Naruto gingerly took the gun from her hands. Giving it a quick look, Naruto withdrew the clip to see it was loaded. Flipping the safety off and on, Naruto stuffed it down the back of his jeans, the cold steel of the gun sending a quick chill up his spine, "Thanks."

    "Good luck Naruto."

    Looking over at Herald, Naruto could see the boy looking at him before turning back to the TV.

    "Thanks kid."

    -x-

    Room 6B was slightly different then it was two days ago, for one the lights were on giving the room a homelier look. All the articles of clothes and foot wear was picked up, along with any trash littered along the coffee table. The TV was on, showcasing what looked to be a Symkarian version of ''The Office.'' The sound of water hitting against a plastic curtain filled the entire hotel room, signaling that the shower was on. Inside said shower was Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, standing stark naked as the hot jet of water pressed into the back of her head, soaking her hair thoroughly. Turning around and taking a step back, Magik allowed the water to hit her chest, soaking her cleavage, the water cascading down her breasts and flat stomach. Grabbing a bar of soap, Illyana began to lather herself completely, making sure to get every nook and cranny before rinsing herself off with the water, using her hands to help get the excess soap off her body. Taking the tube of cheap shampoo off the shower counter, the Inhuman squirted the fruity smelling jell into the palm of her hand before rubbing her hands together. Pressing her now soapy hands into her scalp, she began to run her fingers along her hair, making sure every strand was covered. Giving the shampoo a moment to settle, the woman stepped forward before dipping her head and hair into the stream of scalding hot water. Running her hands threw her hair once again, she silently pressed out all the soapy shampoo. Her body now clean, Illyana relaxed her shoulders for a moment as she allowed herself to melt due to the pleasure that was the hot shower. With a sigh, Magik turned the nozzle, shutting the water off.

    Sliding the curtains upon, Illyana stepped onto the shaggy carpet next to the shower as she grabbed a towel hanging on the rack. As she began to dry her hair, the blonde walked over the fogged over mirror. Pressing her hand against it, Illyana wiped the fog off causing the mirror to squeak loudly as she did. Looking herself in the mirror, Illyana calmly began to wrap her towel over her head. Bending over towards the sink, Magik opened the sink cabernet before grabbing one of the other towels inside. Straightening up, Illyana looked at herself once again as she began to dry off her body. Her body now dry, the woman wrapped the towel around her body before opening the door to her room. Stepping inside, Illyana walked towards the duffle bag of clothes, unzipping it as she removed the towel on her head. Pulling out a pair of match bra and panties, Illyana threw them on top of the bed as she continued to rifle through her bag. Pulling out a pair of leggings, she threw that behind her as well before bringing out a thin AC/DC t-shirt and a green hoodie that was a couple sizes too big for her that had ''Ozcorp'' emboldened on the chest.

    Walking over to the bed, Illyana but the t-shirt and hoodie down before unwrapping the towel around her body. Slipping on the pair of black panties, she then walked back into the bathroom to look in the mirror as she put on her bra, clipping the strap with relative ease. Walking back into her room, she quickly put on the shirt and then slid on the leggings before throwing on the Ozcorp hoodie that she got while visiting NYC.

    Now fully dressed, the woman calmly opened her bedroom door into the rest of the hotel room, walking towards the kitchen to get a class of water. She was halfway there when a voice said, "I''ve been waiting."

    Turning around, she was about to use her powers to get the hell away from whoever had broken into her hotel room, only to have a fist wrapped around her neck. Looking down, she was shocked to see that coming from the hand was a stream of strange markings, wrapping around her body, paralyzing her more and more as the seal stretched along her entirely. Her body now completely paralyzed, she began to panic as she began to channel her power, a disk of light forming underneath her causing her to fall in. The only problem was that her captor still had his grip on her, the two of them landing on a layer of snow.

    Naruto looked around at his new environment, the two of them now surrounded by a vast forest, snow falling around them covering the everything it touched. Looking Magik in the eye, Naruto said, "I''ve got you in my binding seal. You can''t move, and as long as I''m holding you, wherever you go I go. So, I think the only thing left for us to do here is talk. I don''t want to hurt you, but I will." Naruto said the last part with a heavy edge to his voice.

    Magik looked at him in complete disdain, "Why should I talk to you, huh?! Who the fuck are you?! Are you with AIM?! Did that bitch send one of her ''Acquired'' after me?!"

    Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "What the hell is AIM? Is that like an off-brand of SHIELD or something? What what''s an Acquired? Look, you know what? My name is Naruto Uzumaki and for the last time, I just want to talk to you."

    "You¡­you seriously don''t know what I''m talking about?" Illyana asked, "You''re an Inhuman though, aren''t you? That''s how you can do¡­this." She said as her eyes looked down at the seal stretched along her body.

    Naruto shook his head, "I''m not an Inhuman. I''m not an Acquired. I''m not from AIM."

    "Then why have you been stalking me for the past year?!" She screamed at him.

    A vein pulsated along Naruto''s forehead as he looked at his fellow blonde in frustration, "BECAUSE I WANT TO TALK TO YOU! Holy fuck, what is so hard to understand about that?!"

    Magik looked at Naruto in confusion, "What could you need to talk to me about that is so important that you had to go globe-trotting looking for me?"

    Naruto sighed in relief that they were actually getting somewhere, "Can we take this back to your hotel room? We''ll need to talk in private."

    "Will you release these¡­seals off of me if I do?"

    "Yes¡­but you''re going to be in constant contact with me so you can''t just teleport away. Deal?"

    Magik took nearly half a minute to make a decision, "Deal."

    -x-

    Naruto sat on the love seat, facing Illyana who was sitting next to him, the blonde haired man resting his hand on the woman''s shoulder awkwardly. The blonde had just gone over the fact he wasn''t from Earth, but rather another planet, or possibly even a completely separate dimension and had been trying for the last three and a half years to get home. He explained that a man by the name of Kang had directed him to her, with Naruto figuring out her abilities later on.

    "I''ve never met this Kang the Conqueror, maybe he''s an Inhuman from Attilan? That''s the only thing I can think of." Magik said with some thought after hearing Naruto''s description of Kang.

    "Whoever this Kang guy is isn''t important, what is important is if you can get me home." Naruto said firmly.

    Magik sighed, "My teleportation ability does allow me to travel between space and dimensions. Hell, if I really concentrate I can travel through time."

    "So you can-"

    "The only downside is that for me to travel anywhere I need to either have been there before, or to know where the place I''m going looks like. So, say I''ve never been to Paris, all I have to do is Google a picture of Paris, and then I can use that as a means to get there through visualization. So unless you have a picture of someplace in your world, I can''t get you there."

    "What if I were to describe it to you? Or draw a picture?" Naruto asked desperately.

    "Unless you have photographic memory, that won''t work. I need to picture it in detail."

    "If only you were any good at casting Genjutsu, then you''d just have to put her under an illusion showing her Konoha and she''d be able to send you back." Kurama grumbled.

    "Maybe if I''d never gotten the power boost from Grandpa Sage or the other Biju, but my chakra''s too vast for me to perform a Genjutsu of that detail. My control was shitty before." Naruto thought dejectedly. For Naruto to perform Genjutsu, he''d have to spend years fine tuning his control. The only reason he could use Shukaku''s cursed seals was due to the Biju''s chakra subconsciously guiding him on how to use it and the fact he had twenty clones a day training with it.

    Seeing Naruto''s face, Illyana sighed before saying, "But there may be someone who can help. Actually, I know he can help. It''s getting to him that''s the problem."

    Naruto perked up a little, "Problem how?"

    "The man taught me how to use my powers. Only, unlike mine that rely on needing to have seen my destination visually, he isn''t hindered by that at all. Not only is he one of the most gifted teleporters in Inhuman history, but he is also a natural born psychic. Using both abilities together, he is able to find anywhere he wants to go using his vast telepathic range, and then use his abilities to go there. Even if he can''t find it, all he''ll have to do is go into your memories and go about it that way."

    Naruto looked at Illyana in wonder at what she told him, "Wha¡­what''s this guy''s name?"

    "He never told me his Inhuman name, but he goes by the title, Gateway." Illyana frowned, "There''s only one problem."

    "What?"

    "Gateway doesn''t like being on Earth very much, too many bad memories he says. The old hermit only ever stays on Earth for a week every handful of years. And the time it takes him to come back varies. It could be anywhere between two to six years before he shows up again."

    "When''s do you think he''ll come back this time?" Naruto asked.

    Illyana smiled nervously, "He''s already here on Earth, you''ve got a day before he leaves."

    Naruto shot up out of his seat, "Can you take me to him?"

    Magik nodded, "Yes I ca-"

    BANG BANG

    Naruto''s head jolted up in the direction of what sounded like a gun going off, the origin sounding like it came from a couple floors up. Naruto was midway turning back to Illyana when a sudden wait fell on his body, causing him to shake from the stress. It lasted only a couple seconds before disappearing, allowing Naruto and straighten up and Illyana to catch her breath.

    "What the hell was that?!" Magik asked as she got up from her seat.

    Naruto''s eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Herald!" Making a mad dash for the door he flung it open before rushing into the hallway, Illyana trying to keep up with him. Running up to the elevator, Naruto mashed the button over and over again, only to see that the elevator had already passed going down.

    "Naruto!" Illyana yelled causing Naruto to look at her. The woman was running towards the end of the hall, pointing at a sign that said, ''Stairs.'' Naruto ran after her, catching up quickly as she said, "Which floor?"

    "F!" Naruto yelled, blasting up the stairs with gusto passing the signs for C, D, and E in a blur before smashing into the door with the sign that read ''F.'' Stumbling into the hallway, Naruto looked towards the room he knew the Valids were staying in, only to see that the door had been kicked off its hinges, "No." He whispered before he dashed towards the open door.

    Looking inside, he felt his stomach wrench at the sight before him. The walk way floor was no longer visible, now completely painted over by a thick pool of blood. The puddle of liquid life led to two bodies, both were wearing armor that was heavily padded, similar to the two revolutionist soldiers he saved Charles from a few days ago. The two soldiers were laying in a puddle of their own blood, bone and brain matter. Where their heads used to be was an open neck, still squirting out blood like a fountain, the sickening sound of blood squelching out of the neck wound clearly heard. Stepping over the two bodies, Naruto''s feet pitter pattering along the lake of blood as he made his way into the hotel room, his eyes following his ears as he heard the sounds of Gabrielle crying in anguish. Looking into the kitchen area, Naruto felt a lump form in his throat at the sight before him.

    There, sprawled out on the kitchen floor, was Charles, his lifeless body being held by his now widowed wife. The woman was gently pushing the hair out of her husband''s lifeless eyes, not caring for the blood she was smearing all over herself or Charles, the nickel sized hole drilled in his forehead still gushing out a fair amount of blood. Tears were streaming down Gabrielle''s cheeks, mixing with the blood she had inadvertently smeared all over her face.

    Naruto slowly made his way to the couple, his feet once again stepping in a pool of blood, only this time it was from a man he considered a friend. Kneeling down next to Gabrielle, Naruto saw that there was another bullet wound inflicted on Charles in his abdomen, his blue shirt now purple from the blood.

    "Gabrielle¡­what happened? Where''s Herald?" He asked gently.

    If possible, Gabrielle sobbed even harder, "The-they¡­they¡­took him."

    "Who did?"

    "I-I-I¡­I don''t¡­" She couldn''t finish her sentence, to busy sobbing over her husband''s corpse. After a moment, she calmed down just enough to whisper, "They¡­they came¡­for you." Looking up, her eyes red from the tears and rage, "They killed him because of YOU! They took my BABY because of you¡­"

    "¡­why did they take Herald? Who took him?"

    "I¡­they were revolutionists¡­but there were two of them¡­the-they were different. They were asking questions about you, and when we told them the truth¡­that we didn''t know anything. The revolutionists the-they¡­they shot Charles." She sobbed out, "Then, Herald h-he¡­he just started screaming. And then I felt this huge pressure before¡­"

    "Before what?" Naruto asked gently.

    With a shaky hand, Gabrielle pointed at the two headless bodies by the open door, "That." She whispered. Naruto closed his eyes, wishing for a moment he never met these people. Wishing for a moment that none of this had to happen. Looking down at Charles, he couldn''t help but feel an intense guilt.

    "You know you can''t bring back the dead¡­right?" Kurama asked softly.

    "¡­I know." Naruto thought.

    "Please, Nathan¡­please bring him back to me!"

    Naruto looked down at Gabrielle in shock, looking at the sobbing woman, her eyes pressed shut as she hugged her corpse of a husband as close as she could to herself. For a brief moment, he didn''t see Gabrielle. He wasn''t in Symkaria. He wasn''t on Earth. He was home. He was in Konoha. And in front of him was Sakura, pleading him to bring Sasuke back to her.

    "PLEASE!" Gabrielle continued her pleading, her voice filled with anguish as she whispered over and over, "Bring him back to me¡­please bring my baby back to me."

    Without thought, Naruto gently placed his palm against Gabrielle''s cheek.

    "I''m so sorry." Naruto whispered.

    Getting up, Naruto looked down at the blood that was now staining his jeans. Looking over at the door, he saw Magik standing in the doorway, her face pale from the sight before her. Walking over to the door, stepping over the bodies as he did, Naruto stopped as he made his way to the doorway.

    "I''ll bring back your son." Naruto said, his voice as hard as steel. Turning his head back, Naruto made eye contact with Gabrielle one last time as he said, "It''s a promise of a lifetime."

    With that, Naruto disappeared from view, with Magik hurriedly following after him. Now alone, Gabrielle looked down at Charles, looking into his lifeless eyes. Still sobbing she said, "I''ve just sent that man to his death¡­no matter how powerful he is, he can''t take on an army¡­no matter how many men he might kill, he will die." Brushing Charles''s hair out of his face she continued, "Just now¡­just now I''ve caused so much death. So many people are going to die, because I sent that man after them." Closing her eyes, she felt her hot tears continue to cascade down her face, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own or thine friends were. Each man''s death diminishes me." With a sob, she opened her eyes looking her husband in the eye once more before reaching up with her free hand, pressing her fingers along with eye lids before bringing them down, closing them forever.

    "For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls." Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed from across the city, as a massive pressure was felt, causing the blood around her to ripple from the pressure.

    "It tolls for thee."

 8 Take everything

    N-Naruto, where are you going?!" Magik yelled out, running after the blonde man as he walked towards the elevator door.

    As the blonde pressed the down button, he spoke, "I''m going to save Herald." As he spoke he kept his eyes in front of him, looking at the closed elevator door.

    When it opened, he stepped inside, turning around to face Illyana as she spoke, "And if he''s dead already?"

    "If you don''t want to come, stay here and make sure Gabrielle is safe. If you are, then get in."

    With a ding, the door began to close. Just as the door closed fully, Illyana''s hand stopped it just in time. Pushing the door open, the blonde haired woman looked Naruto in the eye, "What about Gateway? He''ll only be here for another day; after that you''ll have to wait for years for your next shot home."

    Naruto looked Illyana in the eye, hesitating for only a moment before saying, "I''ve been trying to get home for nearly four years, and in those four years I''ve stopped giving a damn about anything else. I could have left a Shadow Clone here, I could have taken them out of the city when I met them, I could have stopped this rebellion the day I got here. But I didn''t. I didn''t give a damn about this world or these people." Closing his eyes, Naruto said, "I''ve been so busy trying to get home, I never realized to think about what happens after. After I go home, after I see for myself the destruction my absence has caused. After I come back, a man without a home." Opening his eyes, he looked Magik in the eye once again, "It''s time I started giving a damn."

    Illyana stared into Naruto''s eyes, seeing his unwavering will and determination. With a sigh, Illyana walked inside the elevator, "Fine. I''m going with you." Smirking at Naruto she said, "Someone needs to get you outta there if shit hits the fan."

    Nodding, Naruto crossed his fingers in a cross hand sign. In a puff, a perfect replica of Naruto appeared, "Stay here and take care of Gabrielle until we return. Help her pack up her things, we''re leaving as soon as we can." As the clone left, the elevator door closed, with Naruto pressing the button for the bottom floor.

    When the elevator began going down, Illyana said, "So¡­what can you do exactly?"

    "I can control the elements, magnetism, and an energy called chakra. I can also fly, clone myself, and can cover myself in multiple levels of a chakra shroud. Going all out, I have the powers of what you might call a god." Naruto said with a straight face.

    Illyana''s eyes were twitching as she gave a sideways look at the blonde man, "¡­is that all?"

    "I used to be able to summon sentient toads, but I haven''t been able to since coming to Earth." Suddenly, the sound of an explosion ripped through the elevator, sending vibrations all around the metal box just as the elevator reached the bottom floor. Stepping outside into the lobby, Naruto could see through the window that the building a block over was on fire, with several soldiers and revolutionists fighting it out, a good number of them lying dead on the ground.

    In a brisk pace, Naruto walked out into the street. Reaching into his reserves, Naruto began to leak his power out into the world, causing an intense pressure to press down on everyone within the city of Aniana. The fighting before him stopped, some passing out from the strain that was Naruto''s chakra, others looking at the source in fear.

    Speaking in Symkarian, Naruto said, "Drop your weapons." Seeing that the men were still stunned by his show of power, Naruto spoke with steal in his voice, "Now." With that, the guns in the soldiers'' hands flew towards Naruto before stopping several feet in front of him before each of them began to bend into themselves before eventually becoming softball sized clumps.

    "What the fuck?!" One of the Symkarian soldiers shouted in shock, "Who are yo-"

    Naruto interrupted the man, "I have no business with you. Leave." With another burst of his chakra, the men began to leave, only for Naruto to appear in front of the three revolutionists in a burst of speed, "Not you." The blonde didn''t allow the three to say a word, instead kicking one in the stomach with a Spartan kick, back handing the second across the face, and then grabbing the third by the throat hard enough that the man nearly passed out before Naruto relaxed his grip enough to allow the man to speak, "Who were the men you sent into that building?" He demanded as he pointed towards the building he and the Valids had been staying.

    "I-I-I don''t know!" The man coughed out, "Please, I-"

    "DON''T LIE TO ME!" Naruto shouted, his grip causing the man to make a struggling gurgle, "If you lie to me again, I''ll kill the other two. If you lie after that, I''ll snap your back in three different places. And if you lie a third time, I will throw you out of Earth''s orbit into the vacuum of space." He threatened, his voice a vicious growl.

    The soldier fought uselessly against Naruto''s grip, trying with all his might to pry the blonde''s hands from his neck. Seeing he was trapped in the Shinobi''s grasp, the man choked out, "The-their names were Sergey and Dm-Dmitry! Prime Minister Limka gave the order!"

    "Who were the other two, the ones that were in charge of the questioning!" Naruto asked, loosening his grip as the man began to talk.

    "I don''t know! I don''t I swear!" The man screamed out.

    "And where do I find Prime Minister Limka?"

    The man looked around before pointing west, "He''s staying in a camp several miles outside the city limits."

    Naruto, sensing that he was telling the truth let the man go. Looking down at the still recovering men, he then looked back at the man he had just interrogated, "Leave the city. If I run into you again, I''ll kill you. Understood?" The three men nodded their heads as quickly as they could, stumbling up as they did, before running away.

    "So what now?" Illyana asked as she walked up to Naruto.

    "We see the Prime Minister. Can you take us outside the city?" Naruto asked.

    Putting her hand on his shoulder, a white energy disk appeared bellow them. As they sunk into the disk, they landed in the middle of a wheat field, rows of wheat stocks surrounding them. Looking east, Naruto could see Aniana in the distance a couple miles away. Taking in the Natural Energy of the area, Naruto allowed himself to enter Sage Mode.

    Extending his senses outward, Naruto searched the area, "I found them. The camps a could miles west, a couple hundred people there at the least."

    "A couple hundred?!" Illyana asked in shock, "The man''s got a legion of men with him! What are you going to do, knock?"

    Naruto nodded, "Something like that." With that, he began his trek towards the revolutionist camp site.

    "But what''s the plan here?" lllyana asked, "We can''t just walk in and confront this Limka guy. These revolutionist are freaking fanatics, they''ll shoot first ask questions later if you even look at them wrong, just imagine what they''ll do when we go after their leader, on their home turf!"

    Naruto looked at Magik, "I''ll be the distraction, you pick up Limka. Take him somewhere secure, then come get me."

    "You make it sound so easy."

    -x-

    "So¡­what now?"

    Naruto and Illyana were standing in the tree line half a mile away from the revolutionist camp site. The site itself could fill up a football field, with several tents varying in size scattered around the area. Littered around were various tanks, all-terrain vehicles, and a few bi-planes for some reason. The entrance to the camp was guarded by four men, two on each side of the dirt path leading in, all four checking any vehicle or person that came in. In the center was a massive tent, like a firework tent almost, with a couple dozen guards walking the area keeping out anyone not wanted. This monster tent was obviously the camp headquarters, so it was safe to say Limka was inside considering he was in charge.

    Naruto looked up at the setting sun for a moment as he said, "It''s about 6 o''clock. I was going to say we wait till night fall, but we don''t know if Limka stays here at all times of the day, or if he has his own personal quarters. It''s still light out, so I''d say he''s still at work in the camp headquarters, but if not it would be hard for us to find him at day time, let alone night. Do you know what this guy looks like?"

    "No, but I can." Illyana said. Pulling out her phone, the blonde began to pulled up the search engine on her phone before she began typing, "Here we go." She said before showing Naruto her phone, the picture of a middle aged man, with a¡­circular physique, and balding blonde hair with a thick mustache.

    "Alright. It''s time."

    Illyana gave Naruto a confused look, "What does that mean?"

    Naruto didn''t answer, instead, he began to walk down the dirt path towards the camp site, his Sage Mode active as he began to gather his chakra. It had been awhile since he''d decided to actually go all out. Sure, he''d used his Chakra Shrouds, he''d used some heavy hitting jutsu, but he''d never actually pushed himself. He''d just gone for the insta-kill moves and went on his way, not bothering with actually putting any other effort into it. But today? Today he''d use everything he''d needed to get to this guy. He needed to be aggressive, but still subtle enough to not outright kill Limka in the aftershock. So that meant no Rasenshurikens, no Tailed Beast Bombs, no Truth Seeking Balls.

    "Naruto, what''s the plan here?" Kurama asked.

    "You can sit this one out Kurama. I''ll only need Sage Mode for this." Crossing his fingers, Naruto created three clones each scattering to the distance to gather the necessary Nature Chakra for when their creator needed the boost.

    "But do you have a plan for after this? There were two others in that room, two others who could have nothing to do with these revolutionists. What if that boy is dea-"

    "If he''s dead, I''ll kill them all."

    "And if SHIELD were involved in this somehow? You and I both know of their interest in the people with out of the ordinary abilities."

    "And if SHIELD is involved¡­I''ll kill them all."

    "Even Clint?...Natasha?"

    "They wouldn''t-"

    "You and I both know that they would!" Kurama shouted in his head, "They do whatever Fury or their council asks! Kill, steal, spy¡­seduce."

    "Clint or Natasha wouldn''t do that. She wouldn''t do that to me."

    "Naruto, I don''t want to ruin what you have with this woman, trust me I don''t. But you can''t look at them with preconceived sentiment just because you like them¡­or even love them." Kurama said softly.

    "Now really isn''t the time for this." Naruto thought just as he began to get near the camp. The guards had taken notice of him as he made his way up, all four pointing their rifles in his direction.

    "Leave now or we will put you down!" The guard that appeared to be in charge shouted, his trigger finger itching as he spoke.

    Naruto didn''t say a word, only raising his hand up and out in front of him, his index finger pointed outward towards the lead guard, his hand in the form of a gun. Channeling wind chakra to the tip of said finger, Naruto continued his stride.

    "Turn around now! I will not repeat myse-" He was interrupted by the fact that a bullet made of wind drilled through his skull from the place between his eyes.

    The bullet zoomed out of the man''s skull and lodged itself into the guard behind him, flying through his shoulder as he cried in pain. As the dead and wounded guard fell to the ground, Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed, appearing in between the guards that were still standing. Slamming his foot into the back guard''s knee cap, snapping it in the process, he pressed his finger at the back of the last guard''s nape, the wind bullet leaving his finger in a silent swoop, causing the front of the guard''s neck to explode in a gush of blood, flesh, and muscle. As the man with a hole in his shoulder began to get up, Naruto shot him in the face without looking as he grabbed the now crippled man by the collar of his flak jacket.

    "Where''s Limka?" He demanded as he pressed his finger against the man''s temple.

    The man was grabbing his shattered knee cap, his face filled with agony as he whimpered out, "The big tent in the middle of camp!" He screamed.

    Naruto nodded, "Does he have a personal tent, somewhere he sleeps or goes for privacy?"

    The man shook his head, "I don''t think so!" Those were his last words, as Naruto blasted a wind bullet into his skull. Then, without looking, Naruto reached out and caught something just as it was about to hit him square in the head. Looking at it, he saw that it was a clicking hand grenade, the clip pulled out.

    BOOM!

    A fiery explosion lit up the area, sending clumps of dirt and human body parts flying everywhere. Covering his face was the man that threw the grenade, having heard shouting at the entrance of the camp, he went to investigate only to see a man kill one of his comrades with his finger. Without thinking, the man threw the grenade he had clipped to his belt, seeing as how the man hadn''t seen he was there. To his surprise the man caught it without looking, only for it to be for naught considering it blew up in his hand. The debris having settled, the revolutionist looked over to see the smoldering crater, his four dead comrades mutilated bodies sprawled out in random directions, but it was the fifth body he couldn''t find. His thoughts were interrupted by pain, as the feeling of a thousand volts of electricity entered his body just before a hand covered in lightning burst out of his chest.

    Naruto, stood behind the now dead man in his arms, his hand sticking clean out of his chest, "Thanks for the move Sasuke." He muttered as he pulled his hand out of the guy''s chest.

    Thack Thack Thack

    Naruto was forced to take a step forward from the force of getting pelted by gunfire, his jacket beginning to shred and tear but his skin otherwise fine. Looking over, he swiped his hand up, causing the guns in the men''s hands to fly in the air. The men surrounding him then going for their side arms, but Naruto wasn''t having any of it, pointing the guns at their owners before opening fire, shredding them.

    Dropping the guns, Naruto began to fly threw a set of hand seals. Finishing on the Tiger seal, Naruto took a deep breath as he thought, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" His mouth puffing out slightly, he bent backward before releasing his breath, a thick stream of fire leaving his lips as he did before extending out to form a wide wall of intense flames. While not as powerful as Madara''s, it was still strong enough to wipe out every living creature in front of him, engulfing everything in its path causing whatever that was swallowed to disappear completely. Naruto made sure that the wall of fire only passed over the right side of the camp, leaving the left and center areas relatively untouched.

    Releasing his breath, Naruto watched as the fire began to settle, with the only thing left behind was the fire itself and the melted bodies the attack created. Naruto then ejected the kunai stashed in his sleeve, grabbing it as he flipped it into a reverse grip. Using his mastery of chakra, he mixed the elements of Fire and Wind into the edge of his kunai blade. The sharp wisp of fire and wind extended three feet outwards from the blade itself, creating a blade, "Fire and Wind Combination: Scorching Blade."

    He then charged forward towards the sea of men in front of him. Some saw him coming, others were more preoccupied with the fact their friends and comrades were nothing more than black smoking husks. It didn''t matter either way, as he was indiscriminate of who he cut down. Decapitations. Bifurcated. Amputation. Disembowelment. Bisection. The brutality of Naruto wasn''t lost on the men, some trying to run away in fear, only for another Naruto to appear and cut them off, or a wall of earth to rise up and keep them where they were. Those that were brave or stupid enough to fight back, whether with their guns or their hands, were stunned at the agility of the blonde, the man jumping, twirling, and flipping around the area, each step with a purpose.

    Naruto, having just completed a triple back flip, sprang up from his crouch to find three men in front of him. Without blinking Naruto once again flipped the kunai into a reverse grip, swing his arm from shoulder out, hitting the man directly in front of him with a scooping cut, the fire blade driving all the way through his naval before swinging out, his blade coming out of the guy''s side. Naruto wasn''t finished, driving his Sage Mode enhanced fist into the man''s cheek, snapping his neck from the power of Naruto''s punch. It was then that Naruto''s Sage Mode faded, his eyes returning to normal. He didn''t take much notice to it. Using his Magnetic Release, Naruto connected to the guns the other two men''s hands before pointing them away from him and instead towards each other, before having the gun''s fire, the two men lighting the other up with their own guns.

    He then took that moment to create a Shadow Clone only to have it explode in a puff of smoke, signaling the clones gathering Nature Chakra he needed a hit. As he dived towards another victim, Naruto could feel the power of Nature enter him, and just in time too, as one of them managed to get a lucky shot off, the bullet smacking him right in the forehead. Other than his head jerking back slightly from the force, he didn''t show any sign of injury, only looking at the fool who dared shoot him in the first place. Forming a Rasengan in his hand, Naruto threw it at the man, the ball of spinning chakra hitting him in the sternum, sending him flying into several other people behind him just as the Rasengan couldn''t contain itself any longer, expanding out in a miniature hurricane of energy.

    BOOM!

    The ground next to Naruto exploded, sending him flying as it did. Tucking his body in, he rolled as he landed, eventually coming to a crouched stop as he looked for the source of the explosion only to see three tanks heading his way, each of their barrels pointed in his direction. Clapping his hand together, Naruto began to gather Earth Chakra as he flew threw a set of hand seals before slamming his hands down on the ground as he shouted, "Earth Style: Great Moving Earth Core!"

    "What the fuck?!" One of the revolutionists screamed as the ground beneath them began to shake and break apart just as a ground beneath the tanks burst upward, sending the tanks into the air, flipping them on their back just as they landed on the ground, squashing anyone unlucky enough to be underneath them. Naruto then created three Shadow Clones, each jumping high into the air, all three forming massive Rasengans the size of the tanks themselves in their hands before slamming them into the massive war machines, the resulting explosions wiping out any bystanders.

    Naruto looked around, seeing that there were only about 30 soldiers left. The blonde was about to continue his massacre when a disk of energy appeared next to him before Illyana jumped out.

    "Na-Naruto¡­dear God, are you okay?!" She asked, seeing the blood covered man in front of her. The man was literally dripping with it, from head to toe, some had dried over, most was still fresh as it shined in the setting sun light.

    Naruto nodded, "I''m fine. Is Limka secure?" He demanded.

    Illyana was taken aback by Naruto''s brushing off of her question, nodding none the less as she said, "Yeah, I got him. All of his guards left when you burnt down half the camp. You weren''t lying about the elements thing."

    "Take me to him."

    Illyana didn''t hesitate, flicking her hand out in front of her she created another portal, allowing Naruto to jump in first. Following after him, Magik found herself once again in the middle of a small ranch house. The house was very Spartan, with a very small living room and an even smaller kitchen and dining area. The stairs led to a hallway that held two doors, both small bedrooms with a single twin sized bed in each and nothing else.

    "Where are we?" Naruto asked.

    Illyana turned towards him, the blonde man looking around the small cottage, "We''re in Great Britain, this cottage belongs to my mother''s family."

    "And where are they?"

    "Out of town¡­I think." Illyana said.

    Naruto didn''t respond, only walking over to the sink in the corner of the kitchen. Looking himself in the mirror, the Jinchuriki could hardly recognize himself with the blood caked all over himself.

    "Are you sure you''re alright? The adrenalin should be wearing off soon¡­are you sure some of that is your blood?"

    "Trust me, I''m fine." Naruto said weakly. He jumped as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Jerking his head over, he saw Illyana looking him in the eye, worry marking her face.

    "Are you sure?" She emphasized.

    "Those people¡­they were so evil. I could feel it. I could feel just how vial so many of them were, the things they''d done just because they could. But¡­I still feel terrible. Back home¡­back home I always tried my best not to kill, only as a last result. But back there, I just lost it. I didn''t care."

    "You''re not a monster Naruto. You may have killed those men, but they were the monsters." Kurama said.

    Illyana looked away for a moment, perhaps in thought, before looking Naruto in the eyes again, "I can''t say I understand, because I really really don''t. But I don''t think you''re a bad person. You''re just a guy trying to do the right thing...even if how you do it is a little wrong."

    Naruto couldn''t help but chuckle a little, closing his eyes as he did. Looking back in the mirror he said, "Thanks¡­I guess."

    "You''re welcome¡­I guess."

    "So where is he?" Naruto asked, "Limka I mean."

    "He''s upstairs, I knocked him out and tied him up."

    Naruto nodded, "Is there a shower anywhere?" he asked.

    "Yeah, over there." Illyana then pointed over to the door next to the kitchen.

    The blonde began to take off his ruined jacket, "I''m gonna wash this blood off, bring him down here and keep an eye on him, it''ll just be a minute." He didn''t wait for a response, having already entered and closed the bathroom door. Peeling off his shirt, he looked at both articles of clothing to see that they were torn, and bullet riddled, with the blood of multiple men having crusted over all along them. Reaching behind his back, he pulled the gun given to him by Gabrielle out from his pants. Looking at it, Naruto couldn''t help but feel a wave of guilt wash over him once again.

    "What if they had this? Would things be better? Worse?" Naruto thought.

    "Probably worse. And that''s if they would''ve even had time to get it, and if they had, it probably would''ve only led to both of their deaths. I doubt the soldiers would''ve taken too kindly to the fact that their targets had a gun."

    "Maybe." That thought aside, for the moment, Naruto set the gun on the sink with a ''clink.'' Taking off his pants he could say the same thing. Now completely naked, Naruto turned the shower on. Immediately after stepping under the soft jet of cool water, blood began to swirl calmly down the shower drain.

    -x-

    Stepping out the shower, Naruto came out wearing the ruined shirt and jeans, having nothing else to wear otherwise. Looking over at the dining table, Naruto could see Illyana sitting down, her attention on the man sitting to her left. Said man saw him enter the room, anger clearly on his face, "Who are you¡­people?! Do you know who I am?! Huh?"

    Naruto made his way over to the table, sitting down next to Limka, facing him completely as he spoke, "We know who you are. That''s why you''re here."

    "Why exactly am I here?" Limka demanded, "Who are you dammit!"

    Placing the gun given to him by Gabrielle on the table in front of him with an audible ''clank,'' Naruto spoke, "I''m the one that killed most of your men. I''m the one that destroyed your tanks, and burnt down half of your camp. I''m the one that was staying with the Valid family." Naruto said calmly.

    "Who? I don''t kno-"

    "Contrary to my recent actions, I''m not much of a fan to the concept of killing. In my entire career, I''ve somehow managed to keep out of situations where murder, intimidation, and torture were needed. I knew that it would happen. Eventually. It''s what I was trained to do since I was five years old after all. Today I killed more people than I have in my entire career as a Shinobi, and I will come to regret their deaths. Eventually. But right now¡­right now I have little patience for you people. I will do whatever I have to do to get that boy back."

    Limka was beginning to sweat, the man loudly swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, "I don''t know what boy you''re talking about."

    Naruto closed his eyes and sighed, shaking his head as he did, "Yes you do." Looking Limka in the eye, Naruto said, "If you lie to me again, and I''ll know when you do trust me, you''ll regret it."

    "And what exactly would you do to me¡­that''s to say if I were lying." Limka said tentatively.

    "I won''t kill you if that''s what you''re wondering." Naruto reassured. As a look of relief graced Limka''s face he continued, "I will end your rebellion by the end of this night. I will slaughter your soldiers. I will draw and quarter your political compatriots. I will level this city, and plunder this country of all things it holds dear. And after I find the boy and as everything you love is good and gone, after you watch as I destroy your very ambition, then and only then will I release you to wallow in the despair that is your life." With each word Naruto said, he leaked out killer intent that grew thicker and thicker, all pointed at the man sitting next to him. By the end of Naruto''s speech, Limka began to see visions of the very things Naruto spoke of. His city, his country¡­gone. All by the monster that was Naruto.

    "I-I¡­I had nothing to do with the taking of the boy." Limka said, "When my men told me about you, she was there. She demanded that she send some of her men along to apprehend you. The-they¡­they were like you." Stealing a glance at Illyana he said, "And her."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Like us how? As in they had powers?"

    "Yes." Limka said, "She¡­she has a whole group of them working for her."

    "Who is she?"

    "Monica Rappaccini, Scientist Supreme of AIM."

    Naruto was surprised to see Illyana''s face grow pale, "Did you say¡­Monica Rappaccini, of AIM?"

    "Do you know her?" Naruto asked.

    Illyana nodded shakily, "She''s the one I thought you worked for. That woman has been hunting me for years now, it''s the reason I never stay in one place for too long. She''s in charge of the science division of AIM."

    "And what''s AIM exactly?" Naruto asked, "Some kind of SHIELD off-brand?"

    "Kind of. The Advanced Idea Mechanics, aka AIM, are a covert group of soldiers and scientist, all dedicated to discovering the secret behind the "Metahuman" and the overthrowing of world governments to help fund and support their operations. Rappacini is in charge of AIM as the acting Scientist Supreme, and has dedicated herself and her organization to discovering how to give humans super powered abilities through scientific means. She''s the bane of all Inhumans, her torturous experiments infamous in our society."

    "That''s explains why they took the kid. Anyone else would''ve just killed him after making those two guys'' heads explode." Kurama muttered.

    Naruto looked at Limka, "So this Rappiccini has him?" he asked. Seeing Limka nod he continued, "Where are they?"

    "They took him to their base in Sokovia, they''re currently funding the rebellion going on there."

    "Busy people." Naruto said. Looking at Illyana he said, "If you don''t wanna go I understand. Just drop me off and I''ll meet you back here."

    Illyana nodded slowly, "I''m not going anywhere near that woman¡­but I''ll drop you off I suppose." She said reluctantly.

    "Now wait a minute!" Limka said getting up from his seat, "Are you going to let me go or not? I told you what you want to know!"

    Naruto shrugged, "Sure. You can go." Limka looked at Naruto with strong suspicion in his eyes, only for Naruto to look back at him with a face as straight as a ruler. Taking a few testing steps back, he slowly picked up his pace to a frantic walk towards the door, "But before you go, there''s something you might want to know."

    Limka stopped right at the door, his hand on the knob as he spoke softly, "And that would be?"

    "From the moment I attacked the camp, to now, I''ve had a score of Shadow Clones fighting your men in Aniana. I''ve also had them killing off any politicians that were backing your upbringing, and have talked to your king and given him the proof that it has been youin charge of the rebellion all along." Naruto spoke in a calm matter, leaning back in his chair as he looked at Limka over his shoulder.

    Limka''s face began to grow red, hoarse with rage as he spoke, "You¡­YOU BASTARD!" The man then charged at the seated Naruto, with the blonde extending his leg out at the last minute, his foot slamming into the charging man''s crotch, causing the man to slump over in pain, clutching his package as he fell to the floor.

    Getting up, Naruto spoke, "See yourself out Prime Minister whenever you wish, my friend and I must be leaving." With that, Naruto made his way to the door, Illyana hustling after him.

    As the door slammed behind them, Limka got up from the floor, tears forming in his eyes, "Everything¡­He took everything from me. My men. My rebellion. My country¡­My pride." Slamming his hands against the table top he sobbed, "I have nothing!" As his hands slammed into the table, the gun clinked and clanked as it rattled from the vibration. Looking up, Limka saw the gun in front of him, the silver steal gleaming in the light. Reaching a shaking hand out towards it, he picked the gun up and brought it up to his face for further inspection. Twisting the gun around, tears continued to flow as he looked at the small hand gun in his hands. His face relaxing into one of absolute acceptance, Limka pulled back the cocking handle with an audible ''click.'' The gun shaking in his hand, he placed the barrel of the gun under his chin, the bottom of the gun resting on top of his quivering Adam''s apple. Slipping his finger against the trigger, he took a moment before firmly pulling down on it.

    Click

    "Huuugh!" Limka breathed out shock, nearly dropping the gun after hearing the sound of the gun not going off. Hurriedly pulling the magazine out of the gun, Limka was shocked to find that the magazine was empty.

    "No¡­" Throwing the gun away he screamed, "NO!"

    -x-

    Naruto and Illyana were standing in the mountainous countryside of Sokovia, the two looking down at what looked to be a military base/research facility, with a fifteen-foot barbed wire fence keeping out anyone not wanted, and several guard towers sporting lookouts and searchlights littered all along the fence line. Several living barracks were littered throughout, along with a good handful of vehicle garages. The research building was three stories tall, and was the size of your average high school. Several people were walking in and out, most wearing strange hazmat suit-esc attire that was yellow in color and covering their entire bodies from view. Even the visor going to the masks were tinted a dark blue, keeping you from looking anyone in the eyes. At first Naruto thought these guys were all scientists, that was until he saw the various assault rifles most of them were sporting.

    "So¡­what''s the plan?" Magik whispered, the two crouched down behind a massive boulder, keeping them out of view from the soldiers below, not that they''d be able to see them considering night had just befallen the area, "Please tell me you''re not gonna pull the same stunt as last time."

    "Don''t worry, this will be way more subtle." Naruto said calmly.

    Illyana smiled nervously, "Are you even capable of subtle?"

    "Not really." Naruto shrugged, "Worth giving it a shot though."

    "Alright well I''m out of here. This place gives me the creeps." With that, Illyana sunk into one of her white portals, "Good luck." She said just as she disappeared.

    "Right. Thanks."

    Getting up from behind the boulder, Naruto put his hands up behind the nape of his neck. With a slow, calm walk, Naruto made his way towards the base. As he came into view, it only took a moment for him to be spotted, the crack of gun fire splitting the air as the ground in front of him exploded in a tiny burst of dirt and grass. The spot light had shifted on his being, covering him in a thick beam of white light, forcing him to cover his now squinting eyes with his hand.

    "Halt!" The man in the guard tower shouted out in Sokovian, "Do not move, I will not miss twice! This place is off limits to all civilians, state your business or you will be placed under arrest!"

    Naruto, not able to speak Sokovian quite yet just understand it, shouted out in English, "I''ve come to surrender myself! My name is Nathan Ulrickson!"

    The guard looked at Naruto for a moment, obviously understanding him from the lack of confusion in his face after hearing a language he hadn''t spoken earlier, before pulling on the radio strapped to his vest and speaking into it in a hushed voice. It only took a moment before someone responded, with the man lowering his gun as he spoke, "Stay there!"

    With a loud rattle, the double fence doors opened up, with four men all dressed in the same yellow hazmat suit marching out towards him in a simple diamond formation. The man upfront made his way behind Naruto, grabbing his wrists aggressively before slapping a pair of hand cuffs on, clamping them tightly, the metal digging into the blonde''s wrists. One of the men then began to pat him down, checking for any weapons he may have had. His hands making their way to his wrists, he quickly found and confiscated his concealed kunai. Pocketing them the man that searched him gave the squad leader a nod.

    "Move." The man behind Naruto ordered, pressing his gun into the Shinobi''s lower spine.

    Naruto obliged, walking forward at a fast enough pace so that the gun was no longer in his back, but slow enough that the man wouldn''t pull him back if he got too far ahead. The walk was brisk, the five of them heading straight towards the research facility. Walking inside, Naruto had to squint his eyes at the florescent lights as the temporally blinded him. His vision cleared, the blonde made sure to keep track of each twist and turn the five of them made towards the destination, his eyes sharply collecting as much info as he could.

    Finally, the five of them arrived at a pair of thick steel double doors, with the squad leader walking towards the panel to the side. Naruto watched as he put in the numbers 476-954 before the doors opened with a resounding ''whoosh.''

    Walking inside, Naruto couldn''t help but be a little disappointed by what was in front of him. Nothing. The large room was completely empty, with the only thing being a single woman. Suddenly, lights turned on, revealing the room to be some sort of arena. Inside the arena, Naruto could see a rather pretty woman with long thin black hair. She looked to be of Hispanic or Italian decent, going from her complexion, and had very womanly figure that was being shown rather well by her form fitting green dress. The dress itself didn''t reveal any skin, completely covering her chest, shoulders, and arms, with yellow gloves covering her hands and forearms. The skirt to her dress went down to her ankles and was black in color, with her yellow boots peeking out from bellow.

    "Hello Mr. Ulrickson. My name is Monica Rappaccini, it''s quite the pleasure to meet you." Monica said, introducing herself with a kind smile, "I''ve heard quite a number of things about you."

    "I''m sure you have." Naruto said, his face dead serious as he looked the woman in the eye.

    Monica continued to look at Naruto for a moment before looking at the man behind him. Giving the man a slight nod, he then began to unshackle him. His hands now free, he gingerly began to rub his chafed wrists, even if the chafing had already practically healed.

    Monica hadn''t taken her eyes off of him, though she was paying more attention to his healing wrists now more than anything, "Self-Regenerative as well." Monica said, "My, aren''t we just full of surprises? First that buffoon''s men say you had control over metal and could melt the guns with your hands, and now you can heal yourself, even if said wounds were minor? Impressive." Walking forward she continued, "Almost as impressive as our friend Magik. Or the boy, Herald. Truly, those two''s capabilities are endless. I can only imagine the things I would do if I had either one of their powers."

    Naruto didn''t say a word, allowing the woman to circle him, her eyes raking over him appraisingly, "I''ve always had an admiration for those gifted with such powers. The things I''ve seen that I once thought impossible. Pyrokinesis, Cyrokinesis, Telepathy, Trans-dimensional Teleportation, Flight, Aquatic Resperation. And don''t get me started on these Inhumans, those that have figured out a way to gift themselves with superhuman capabilities, and are too selfish to share said knowledge with the rest of humanity." Now only a few feet away she stopped in front of the Shinobi, "So, if they will not share the next step towards evolution, I have made it my mission to find it myself."

    "Even if that means kidnapping these Inhumans, and experimenting on them?" Naruto asked, "Even if that means kidnapping innocent children, who have no stake in your stupid bid towards power."

    Monica''s smile grew, "But of course. How else am I to discover how it is done? I need to see what it is that makes them different, the X-Factor that makes gives them their power. Once I find that, I can replicate it." Her smile then fell for a moment, "Believe me when I say that this was our last resort. All other methods have ended in failure and death. From trying to replicate the serum that created the Captain America, to trying to copy the method of which Bruce Banner became the hulking monster that he is now. We''ve even attempted to use cybernetics in an attempt to at least mimic superhuman abilities, both attempts while succeeding, failed in meeting the bar set by the Inhumans."

    "Human experimentation should be a step at all." Naruto said firmly, memories of people like Orochimaru and Kabuto coming to the forefront of his mind, "What you''ve done is unforgivable in every sense of the word." His eyes narrowed as he began to leak out chakra, "If you''ve done anything to that poor boy, I will kill you."

    "And how are you gonna do that, hmm?" With a snap of her fingers, four doors around the arena opened. Monica began to walk backwards as she spoke, "Allow me to introduce you to my ''Acquired.''" With a wave of her hands, a figure began to walk out of each doorway. The first to appear was a middle aged looking mad with combed back brown hair and a thin beard wrapped around his jaw line. The second was a woman that looked to be in her late fifties, her greyed hair tied back in a tight bun behind her head. Third was a girl that was in her mid-teens, her curly red hair reaching her shoulders. And finally, came out Herald himself, bags under his eyes and his pupils dilated and unfocused. All four were tight yellow body suits, the elastic material hugging their bodies tightly.

    Naruto took a step towards Herald, "Herald! Hey-"

    "He won''t respond Mr. Ulrickson." Monica said. "Remember when I told you about our ''failed'' cybernetic experiment? Well, while his body had become horribly grotesque and crippled, his mind is still as active as ever. Which is good, because his control over the mind is incredibly useful when dealing with our super powered¡­guests. Keeps them a bit more mild mannered then they would be otherwise, that and when you find a Metahuman, who better to capture one than another of their kind?" Looking at Herald she said, "This is your field test dear, so if you would, please sedate our friend."

    "Yes ma''am." Herald drawled out. It didn''t even take a second for Naruto to suddenly feel Herald break threw his mental barriers, entering his mind scape as he did. Naruto followed after him, finding himself before the caged Kurama, Herald standing just a few feet in front of him.

    Naruto quickly tried to walk towards the boy, only for him to a sold force of psionic energy to his him in the chest, sending him tumbling backwards as it did. Looking up, Naruto said, "Dammit Herald, I''m trying to help! Fucking snap out of it!" Not wanting to attack the kid, Naruto hoped to get through to him mentally, "Your mom is worried sick about you Herald. Come on, let me help you. Let me take you home."

    "Why should I, huh?! Because of you my daddy''s dead! You-you could''ve taken us away; you could''ve done something!" Herald yelled out, his dilated eyes watering, "I HATE you!" With a yell, Herald threw his arms out, another blast of psionic energy heading towards Naruto''s direction. The blast blew Naruto away, the force of it shaking Naruto''s very mind scape.

    "Dammit kid." Naruto muttered, getting up with a slight sway, "You''re right. I should''ve done something to help you guys. Nothing I can do, not even saving you from these people, can make up for what happened to your dad. And if you wanna hit me some more, I''ll let you. But dammit kid, can we please do it after I get you away from these psychopaths?!" He yelled out.

    "No." Herald said, "I''m not going anywhere with you."

    Naruto sighed, "Fine." Then, in a burst of speed, he appeared behind Herald before chopping him in the side of the neck, effectively knocking him out. Catching him just before he hit the ground, Naruto watched, remorse in his eyes, as Herald''s mental avatar faded away. Looking over at the attentive Kurama, Naruto said, "I''ll probably need your help in a bit."

    "Right." Kurama said, standing at attention as he watched his battle partner disappear.

    Snapping out from his mind scape, Naruto saw that barely a second had gone by outside. Looking over a Herald, he watched as the boy collapsed in on himself. Once again appearing next to him in a burst of speed, Naruto caught the boy. Creating a clone, Naruto put Herald in its arms, "Take him to his mother. Stay with them until I return." The clone nodded, hugging the boy tightly to his body before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

    "Well well." Monica said, "You''re getting more and more interesting by the second."

    "I don''t really care." Naruto said, his body straightening out as he looked Monica in the eye once again, the three Metahumans surrounding him in a triangle as he spoke.

    "Firstly, you obviously have some sort of mental blocking ability to be able to keep a psychic of that boy''s caliber out of your head and knock him out from the backlash. He had to keep him under constant sedation just for MODOK to get in his head. But just then, Superhuman Speed, Self-Replication, some form of Teleportation? Just what can''t you do?" Monica didn''t seem to care that this man had left with one of her acquired metahumans, only carrying about the fact that he showed more of his abilities, "I have to see just what else you can do. Perhaps you are the key." Looking at her three acquired she ordered, "I want you three to go all out, but don'' kill him. Understood?"

    "Understood." The three said at once, their voices echoing after each other''s. Then without warning the three charged forward towards the blonde. The bearded man pulled his hand back, his hand enveloped by fire. The older woman didn''t actually come at him at all, instead levitating upwards a couple dozen feet about them all. The girl was open him first, her body now completely enveloped by ice, her hand and forearm forming into a spiked club. Swinging her ice club towards his face, Naruto ducked the swing rather easily, sending a quick jab towards her face that she swerved out of the way of. Naruto was then forced to skip to the side to avoid the flaming fist heading towards the back of his skull. Giving a donkey kick back towards the fire guy, Naruto caught him in the stomach. Swiftly twirling around, Naruto caught the ice girl in his foot, sending her sprawling back. Naruto wasn''t expecting however to be bum rushed by the flying bat, the woman flying him up, more than likely to give him a pile driver from up in the air. Naruto wasn''t having any of it, cupping his hands together as he beat his hands into the woman''s back like a drum, causing her to let him go from the sudden blow. Naruto, in midair, then gave a backwards kick into the woman''s chin, more than likely shattering her teeth in the process. The woman officially knocked out, Naruto quickly grabbed ahold of her, steadying himself in the air as he did. Creating a Shadow Clone, Naruto handed her off to him.

    "Take her away, then create a handful more of yourself and scour the building of innocents. When your done let me know." Naruto ordered, with the clone giving a mocking solute before Body Flickering away. The blonde was then force to dodge as a torrent of fire soon came his way, nearly swallowing him whole.

    Looking down, he saw the fire guy was now completely covered in fire. The man began to gather more fire, probably gonna try and shoot him down again. Naruto, not wanting to play a game of fire tag, Body Flickered towards him. Now behind him, Naruto quickly went through several hand signs thinking, "Wind Style: Expanded Vacuum Sphere." Extending his hands out towards the fire guy, wind quickly began to surround and envelope the man, quickly rotation around him, creating a sphere devoid of all air around him, thus cutting off any oxygen he might need to breath or produce his fire. The man quickly losing the ability to breath, he quickly lost consciousness, and was quickly arriving on Satan''s door. As the jutsu had been going on, Naruto was dodging around the arena, doing all he could to keep from being touched by the ice girl, seeing that everything she seem to touched froze on contact. Releasing the jutsu, the Shinobi created another clone to get the man before it too disappeared. Looking over, he saw that Monica hadn''t left the arena for some reason, more than likely still wanting to see for herself what he could do.

    "Fine." Naruto thought, "If she wants a show, let''s give her a show."

    His attention now fully turned towards the ice girl, Naruto allowed himself to enter his Six Paths Sage Mode, the shroud of chakra covering entirely. The sudden shift in his power level caused the wind around him to displace for a moment, and the ground bellow him to crack under the pressure that was his power. Seeing no point in running any longer, Naruto came to a stop allowing the ice chick to take a swing at him. The club of ice made contact, only it did nothing. The force of it, while usually strong enough to crack concrete, didn''t even cause Naruto''s head to budge an inch. And while usually, anything she touched froze over on contact, this time, she herself began to melt, her arm peeking out now that her ice armor had been melted.

    "So you don''t actually turn yourself to ice, you just cover yourself with it as an armor." Grabbing ahold of her he continued, "Then I don''t have to feel bad about his then." With that, a blue ball of fire surrounded his hand, before in a quick burst in covered the girl completely, effectively melting the ice covering her and giving her a bit of a sun burn while he was at it. Then similar to what he did with Herald, Naruto gave the girl a swift knockout.

    Creating a final clone, Naruto allowed it to leave with the girl. Turning around, Naruto saw that Monica was still there, a look of absolute admiration on her face.

    "If only I''d known. If only I knew that I was in the presence of such a¡­such a superior being." Monica said, "This¡­this power is suffocating. I can barely stand it!" The woman finished her sentence with a mad cackle, an unhinged look in her eye as she looked at Naruto, "Just image what I could do with you!"

    Once again, the feeling of someone trying to invade his mind was felt by Naruto, the being once again making its way to his mindscape, forcing him to return to confront this person. Once again in front of the caged Kurama, Naruto looked over to see a strange sight in front of him. The being before wasn''t like anything he''d seen before, which was saying a lot. From what he could see, it was practically a massive body sized head with arms and legs. The head was covered by a strange helmet/armor, it''s yellow motif matching that of what was worn by every AIM member he''d seen so far. The arms and legs were covered as well by a purple exoskeleton looking armor, with the only skin showing being the creatures face, which was a sickly greyish purple.

    Its wrinkled face looked Naruto up and down before speaking in a raspy tone, "So¡­you are the creature Dr. Rappiccini is so fascinated with. From what I saw threw the Metahumans, you''re much more powerful than we could have ever expected. It''s a shame you will be forced to become that wretched woman''s slave. Given your appearance and the gleam of attraction I got from her when I entered her brain, it wouldn''t shock me if she forced you to mate with her." Turning towards Kurama he continued, "But perhaps just as strange is the creature you keep within you. Is he the source of your power, or merely a small factor? I can''t seem to enter your mind, this being the final blocker. It''s truly impressive that you''ve been able to keep me out the way you have, it truly is, but it''s inevitable that you will fall under my power, for I am MODOK."

    Naruto didn''t say a word, only allowing one of his Truth Seeking Balls to extend outwards in the form of a spike, striking the creature in front of him directly between the eyes.

    "That guy was annoying. He was blabbering like since he got here." Kurama grumbled.

    Naruto chuckled, "I was honestly tempted to just open up the cage and let you go to town on the asshole."

    "Now that would''ve been fun." The Biju said excitedly.

    Opening his eyes once again, Naruto looked Monica in the eye, the woman obviously thinking MODOK had succeeded in his mind control attempt, "Good work MODOK. Send him to the Rehabilitation Room, oh and tell him to have his replications bring back the Acquired." Monica then got up into Naruto personal space, bring her hand up to his face in a gentle caress, "Such a handsome man." The woman was shocked however when Naruto then grabbed ahold of her by the neck, the air effectively knocked out of her, "AAAHck!"

    "I want you to watch." Naruto growled out, his chakra causing the room to shake, the ground and walls to buckle and crack, and the observation glass to break. The lights above them began to burst, sending glass and sparks flying down below as the room was once again enveloped in darkness, the only saving grace being Naruto himself, his Chakra Shroud light the room in an eerie glow, "I want you to watch, as I burn this place to the ground. As I make sure, that your every ambition, that your every desire, becomes dust beneath your feet." Explosions began to rock around the building, followed by various screams and gunfire, "I want you to watch as I make sure that no one will be forced into your depraved experiments, you greedy, narcissistic, monster of a woman!" Then, with a burst of chakra, the two were surrounded by the avatar of a massive nine tailed fox. The two finding themselves in the avatar''s head, Monica looked around frantically as the avatar straighten up, it''s massive body having already destroyed most of the building upon arrival.

    Looking at Naruto, her grip grew tighter, "Please Naruto, please! DON''T DO THIS! This is all for the good of man kin-"

    "How did you know my name was Naruto?"

    "Wha-what?" Monica asked in shock.

    "How do you know my real name!" Naruto yelled, "The only person I told was Hera-" Realization struck Naruto, a dangerous look of rage on his face, "What did you do-"

    Realizing where he was going, Monica screamed out, "We didn''t hurt him I swear! MODOK found out when he entered his mind, he saw all his memories! That''s all I swear!" Her voice was overrun with panic, preying the blonde believed her.

    Naruto, sensing that she was telling the truth looked away, looking down at the destruction he had caused, "Good."

    "You ready kid?" Kurama said, his voice booming over the sounds of the screaming soldiers below them.

    Naruto nodded, "Yeah. Let''s do this." The blonde had been meaning to try this out for a while but just hadn''t had the chance. Well, might as well now. His face scrunched up in concentration, Naruto jumped out of Kurama''s avatar head, Monica in tow. As he jumped out, he quickly began to levitate above Kurama, looking down at him as he spoke, "You good buddy?" He yelled down.

    After a second, Kurama looked up at him, giving him a thumbs up, "It''s official kid. We can fight separately now. We''re gonna be so badass." He bellowed out, a large smirk on his face as he continued, "And I so know how to celebrate this achievement." Extending his arm out, two other arms sprouted from his shoulder and rib cage. His original arm forming a massive Rasengan, the other two began to channel a massive amount of wind chakra into it, "Better get back kid¡­Wind Style: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken!" With a heave, Kurama hurled the massive Rasenshuriken towards what was left of the AIM base.

    BOOM

    The massive explosion of wind and chakra completely engulfed the entire base underneath them. In classic Rasenshuriken fashion, it didn''t take long for it to dissipate, leaving behind a massive crater the shape of a perfect circle, dust and debris still not having settled.

    "I''ve always wanted to do something like that." Kurama said proudly.

    "Thanks for the help Kurama. You can go now."

    Kurama grumbled, "Yeah yeah, I''m going. Jeez, I''m only ever allowed out once a year nowadays, you''d think I''d be allowed to enjoy myself a bit longer." With that last complaint, Kurama''s avatar flickered away. His partner now gone, Naruto slowly began to descend down to the ground, his destination crater his tenant had just created. Finally landing smack dab in the middle of it, Naruto allowed the still gob smacked Monica go, the woman falling to her knees as she looked at what was left of her life work.

    "This isn''t the first time I''ve ruined someone''s life today, taking away their very reason for living. In fact, I drove that Limka to the point that he tried to take his own life. It didn''t work obviously; the gun was nothing but a Shadow Clone transformed. And I didn''t do it because I thought death was too good for him. I did it because that was something I wanted to take from him too. Took away his life, and I took away his death¡­if only for a moment." Looking down at the still form of Monica, he could see that she wasn''t crying, or begging. She was just sitting there, staring down at the ground. Reaching into the back of his jeans, Naruto once again pulled the gun given to him my Gabrielle, "But you though¡­you treasure your own life. I can see it now, your trying to figure out how you can recover from this, how you can continue your great work." Looking down at the gun in his hand, Naruto pulled back the cocking handle. Pointing the gun towards Monica, his steady hand making sure that the bullet would go right between her eyes, his finger slipping up against the trigger.

    "I won''t let that happen."

    Bang!

 9 Low key

    "You call that low key?!"

    Those were the first things to leave Illyana''s mouth as Naruto entered the room. Said room was the Valid''s hotel room, the blood that had once lay in a pool in the hotel doorway was now gone, cleaned up by Naruto''s clones. The blonde man walked past the agitated woman, walking into the living room to see Gabrielle, her sleeping son scooped up into her arms. Looking over into the open bedroom door, Naruto could see that Charles was laying on the bed, his body covered by the bed spread. A sudden wave of memories flooded into his head, the clone''s experience of dropping off the Acquired and the other AIM experiments at a hospital allowing him to relax knowing that those poor people were now in good hands.

    "Hey!" Magik said in a harsh whisper, "Don''t ignore me! Do you have any idea what''s going on because of your little show? You''re all over the news for God''s sake!" The blonde finished by pointing at the television, the local news covering the breaking story of a how the city wide war was now over, the rebelling side having been picked off by what reports were calling a ''One Man Army.'' The story then shifted over to the coverage going on in Sokovia, the reporter stating that what many believed to be a freak explosion to have gone off in a privately owned military base. The owner of the company running said base, a man named Aldrich Killian, gave a brief statement just moments ago saying that the reason behind the explosion is just as unknown to him as it is to the general public, and that he and the remains of his organization are doing the best they can in their investigation.

    Naruto ignored her however, his attention completely on the still balling woman kneeling down in front of him. Crouching down next to her, Naruto hesitated several times before gently placing his hand on Gabrielle''s shoulder, "We should go."

    Gabrielle''s eyes slowly opened, revealing her eyes to be red and puffy from her constant tears of sadness and now happiness. After a moment of thought, the red head nodded slowly, slowly standing up, making sure not to wake her exhausted son, the boy just having fallen asleep in her arms.

    Naruto then walked over into the bedroom, slowly walking up to the corpse laying in the bed. Tucking the sheet to where it was under the body, Naruto gently lifted the body bridal style, the sheet nearly spilling onto the floor. Entering the living room once again, Naruto heard Illyana ask Gabrielle where she wanted to go.

    "I¡­I just want to go home." Gabrielle croaked out.

    Illyana nodded, "Do you have a picture of it?" Gabrielle nodded, reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone. Unlocking the lock screen, she then began to scroll through her photos before stopping on one in particular. Gabrielle seemed to hesitate for a moment, a small smile spreading across her face for only a moment before she seemed to collect herself. Clicking it so that the picture expanded outwards, she then showed it to the blonde woman in front of her.

    It was a family picture, with a younger Charles and Gabrielle standing in front of your standard suburbia household. Upon closer inspection, you could see that Gabrielle looked to be rather far along in a pregnancy, six months at least, with Charles gently caressing her bloated belly, a wide smile on his face as he looked forward.

    "Alright, that should be enough. Thank you." Illyana said. Closing her eyes, Magik began to reach out towards the house. Finally, after several seconds, a large portal opened up behind her. Stepping aside, Magik allowed Gabrielle and Herald to walk through first. The red headed woman looked at the portal with slight trepidation before taking a tentative step forward. Feeling nothing abnormal happen to her foot on the other side, Gabrielle then decided to go for it, walking through the portal completely. Illyana and Naruto followed after her, with a handful of clones following after him with the Valid family''s luggage in their hands.

    As Naruto walked through the portal, he saw that they were now in a British suburbia, each house identical to the other, with the houses stretching on down the neighborhood endlessly. The luggage set down next to the small stairway leading up to the house entrance, Naruto walked up after her. Opening the door, the three walked in. If Naruto was honest with himself, he was slightly surprised with the messiness of the house. Toys were scattered all along the floor, with several different types of books and magazines scattered along several varying table tops. Dust had begun to settle, leaving the house in a rather musty state, as they could see the flying dust particles dancing in the sunlight. Seeing a nearby couch, Naruto walked over towards it. As he made his way in front of the couch, Naruto looked down that the covered face of the man he considered a friend.

    "I''m sorry Charles¡­I truly am." He whispered. Gently he then rested his friend on the couch, making sure the sheet covering him stayed in place as he did.

    "I''d like for you to leave now."

    Turing around, Naruto could see Gabrielle standing behind him, her left hand holding her right elbow as she looked at the blonde with a slightly scathing look. Naruto looked at Gabrielle for several moments, pondering the right words to say before eventually deciding that it would be best for everyone if he said nothing. Slowly walking past her, Naruto began to walk out the door when he felt someone press against his mental barrier.

    "Goodbye¡­Naruto."

    The Shinobi stopped for only a second before continuing his stride down the stairs, "Goodbye, Herald." He thought. Walking towards Illyana he looked up to see that the sun had begun to peek out, showing that a new day had just begun, "Would your friend still be here?" He asked.

    Taking a second to look at her watch she said, "Probably not, we can go check though if you want."

    Naruto gave a slow nod, "Alright." With that another portal opened, with the two blondes walking through it towards their new destination. Stepping out, Naruto saw that they were now in what looked to be the Australian outback. Looking around, Naruto could see that they were standing next to a small cabin.

    "Hey old man! You here?!" Illyana called out, her hands cupped around her mouth to project her voice out a little further. Walking up to the cabin, the girl didn''t bother knocking, instead barging in as though she owned the place. Naruto followed after her, the two coming into what looked to be a now abandoned quarters, "He''s gone." Illyana said with a sigh, "Sorry."

    Naruto didn''t respond at first, instead plopping down on a nearby chair. Running his hands through his hair, Naruto said, "Don''t apologize."

    "So¡­what''re you going to do now?" Illyana asked as she walked up to him, sitting in the chair next to him.

    Naruto looked up at the woman, a thoughtful look on his face as he said, "I¡­don''t really know to be honest. All the time I''ve spent here I haven''t really made any plans for what I''ll do if it turned out I''d be stuck here permanently. Which in hindsight was pretty stupid. What am I gonna do for money? How am I gonna get a job, I don''t have one of those diplomas you people value so much. I''m sure as hell not working for SHIELD. And what about Natasha? We''ve always had this understanding that I might leave eventually, but now I don''t know what we''re gonna do."

    "Natasha?" Illyana asked.

    Naruto nodded, answering the woman absentmindedly, "Yeah, she''s my girlfriend. We''ve been going out for a nearly a year now." The realization of that seemed to dawn on Naruto, "Holy fuck¡­we''ve been going out for nearly a year now."

    "Is that a bad thing?"

    Naruto shook his head, a small smile on his face, "No¡­no not really."

    "Oh. Okay." Illyana said a little awkwardly.

    With a sigh, Naruto got up from his seat, "I do know one thing though. It''s time I got back in the swing of things, I think it''s time I introduced the world to a new kind of hero." Looking down at Magik he smirked, "My kind of hero."

    "And what kind of hero are you, exactly?" Illyana asked inquisitively.

    "The kind that does what''s right¡­or whatever." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully.

    Magik got up as well, "Maybe that''s how you can make some money, be a hero for hire¡­or whatever." She finished her sentence with a mocking tone.

    "Hero for hire huh?" Naruto asked, an impressed look on his face as he nodded his head approvingly, "I mean¡­I was a Shinobi for hire back home. Yeah¡­yeaaaahhh. This is all starting to come together!" Naruto said excitedly, rubbing his hands together slowly as a plan began to form in his head.

    "You''ll need a hero name, like Iron Man or the Human Torch." Illyana said.

    "Human Torch?" Naruto asked.

    "Yeah, you know¡­the superhero from the 30''s and 40''s? Him and Captain America were really big back then. Them and Namor the Sub-Mariner. Those three are considered the golden age of modern heroes."

    "There are ages? I thought these guys popping up now were the first heroes."

    Illyana shrugged, "Nah, these guys are bronze age. First you had the golden age like I said, then you had the silver age."

    "It seems like you''re making this way more complicated than it should be by labeling these things." Naruto said with a bit of a deadpan face.

    "I''m not the one labeling things, these are established terms for the different superhero ages." Illyana argued.

    "You know what, whatever. I feel like we''ve lost our train of thought."

    "Which was?"

    "¡­I don''t know."

    -x-

    "So¡­you survived. If only barily."

    "Yo-you¡­you dare mo-mock me?" Someone stuttered out, the pain in their voice obvious, "I-I¡­am the great MODOK¡­I am the next evolution of computer technology, I am the-"

    "You are a weak fool MODOK. So weak that you couldn''t even stand up to that creature''s attack¡­pitiful."

    MODOK, the strange cyborg now a scrambled mess, his arms torn and shredded, the device carrying his massive cranium nearly fallen apart as well, and blood splattered all over the area, a massive gash on the side of his head gushing out the life liquid like a fountain.

    "You¡­you dare talk down to me Korvac? You are nothing but a failed experiment¡­something that Killian had almost decided to be thrown out like the garbage you are. You are lucky Ms. Rappaccin took such a liking to you..."

    "Yes¡­I owe much to Monica for what I am today. For without her, I would have never evolved into the higher being that I have become. But now¡­my savior is gone. Because of that man." After a moment, Korvac continued, "You should have protected her. But your weakness prevented you from doing what you were created to do¡­"

    "That man was more powerful than anyone could have expected! Ho-how coul-¡­how could I have predicted¡­What are you doing Korva-" MODOK''s sentence was interrupted by the fact that a wave of energy suddenly enveloped him, wiping him out of existence entirely.

    "Prepare yourself¡­Naruto Uzumaki. I shall come for you, soon."

    -x-

    Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York

    Date: May 3rd 2012

    -x-

    Dank. That''s what would best describe the apartment building a handful of drug dealers found themselves working in. The four of them were littered all throughout the room, each doing some kind of task as the radio off in the corner blasted the Jay Z/Kanye West collaboration Watch the Throne. One of the drug dealers, a massive black man whose shirt was still three sizes too big, was sitting on the couch in the middle of the room, a Smith and Wesson revolver being polished in one hand, and a good size pile of various handguns, assault rifles, and shotguns resting next to him. Two others, one a very skinny white man with bleached yellow cornrows and a tight wife beater that was plastered with various colored stains and the other was a man that appeared to be of Asian descent with a New York Mets hoodie that seemed to be experiencing some wear and tear. The two of them were busy counting the stack of wrinkled cash in their hands. Finally, the last dealer was another black dude, his long dreadlocks tied back in a loose ponytail, with a thick curly beard wrapped around his face and a green t-shirt that read Richmond Hill High School, showing that the guy was from Queens. The man was kneeling in front of the coffee table in front of the couch, a scale in front of him as he placed a bag full of white flour like powder on top of it, the number flashing on the screen showing that the bag weighed just over two pounds of cocaine.

    "This is about 18 G''s; Cottonmouth''s gonna dig this man." The man with the dreads said, looking at the massive man on the couch, "What''s the name of this supplier again?"

    "Don''t worry about no ''supplier,'' shit whatchu think this is, Breakin'' Bad or some shit? Yo'' job is make that shit there into chalk and that''s it, you gettin'' me Grad?"

    The now named Grad nodded his head, putting his attention back on the key of cocaine in his hands, "My bad T." As he was about to take the key into the kitchen, a knock echoed through the room. The sound of someone knocking on the door stopped all activity in the room, all four of them looking at the door incredulously. It was no secret what activities were going on in this room, so who''d be stupid enough to knock on the door?"

    "Is it the Five-O?" The man in the wife beater asked, getting up from his seat as he reached for the gun stashed in his pants just above his ass.

    The Asian man looked at the man that spoke, "Who calls a pig ''Five-O'' anymore?"

    "Shut up!" T harshly whispered before tossing the revolver he just got done cleaning to Grad, "See who it is."

    Grad held the revolver in his hand, looking it over tentatively as he said, "Me¡­for real?"

    "Yes you!" T said harshly, pointing towards the door harshly before reaching down for one of the assault rifles on the couch.

    Grad looked around the room, hoping someone would speak up for him so that he wouldn''t have to be the one to deal with it, only to see the other two looking at him expectantly, obviously wanting him to answer the door as well. Slowly skulking towards the door, Grad raised the revolver up at the ready as he put his hand of the door. Looking through the peephole, he couldn''t see anyone on the other side causing him to sigh in exasperation. Giving a silent curse, he slowly unlatched the door lock before ever so carefully opening the door and peeking out through the crack to see who was on the other side.

    Seeing who it was however, caused Grad to release a sigh of relief, opening the door wide open to reveal a man of Hispanic descent, the man having a shaved head with a dark brown hoodie on over his body, a wicked Mike Tyson-esc tattoo stamped right next to his left eye socket.

    "Hector, you dipshit." T said in agitation, "Why didn''t you fuckin'' say it was you? We thought you were a pig or something.''"

    "Sorry man, kinda just slipped my mind." Hector said, entering the room to see the guns on the couch, "Jesus that''s a lot of heat." Walking over towards the guns he picked up and began to inspect a 20-gauge shotgun.

    "Yeah bitch, Coppermouth just promoted up to dealin'' arms. Just made a couple big sales a couple nights ago." The Mets fan said, the man taking notice to the fact that No Church in the Wild began to play, "Oh shit, turn that shit up man." Something that the wife beater was more than happy to comply to.

    "Yeah." Hector said, holding the gun out in front of him as he inspected the gun''s barrel, "Yeah I know." Bringing the gun up to himself, Hector then grabbed the bottom of the barrel. Then, without warning, he swung the 20-gauge into Grad''s temple, cracking it open as he bashed the man''s head in with all his might. Grad fell to the ground with a loud thump, the cocaine in his hands falling with him, bursting open sending the white powder flying everywhere.

    "Da fuck you doin'' nigg-" T was interrupted by the butt of the shotgun slamming into his mouth, sending back into the couch as he grabbed his mouth in pain, blood spilling out from between his fingers.

    Hector then turned towards the other two, the wife beater pulling out his revolver as the Mets fan ran towards the Glock sitting on the window sill. Waiting till the very last second, Hector side stepped out of the way as the wife beater fired off a shot, allowing the bullet to zoom by as he threw the shotgun like a spear, slamming into the man''s nose, sending him flying back into wall before sliding down to the floor unconscious. Vaulting over the couch, Hector then made his way towards the Mets fan, just as he got ahold of his Glock. As the man swung around, Hector grabbed the gun just as it reached around towards him. Suddenly, steam began to emit from the gun, the dark grey metal of the gun turning an angry bright red before it began to bend into Hector''s grip, rendering the weapon completely useless. Hector didn''t allow the man any time to retaliate, driving his fist right into the guy''s forehead, sending him into the window behind him, cracking the window on the glass pane with the back of his head, effectively knocking him out cold, blood spilling from the back and front of his head.

    "Ah..ah guck!" T mumbled out, blood still seeping out of his mouth as he sputtered out, "I fink you cracked my teef you-" The big man was interrupted by the fact that the radio that had been blasting music slammed into the side of his head, smashing the radio as it cracked his skull open with a loud crunch, silencing the room with the only sound being the TV that was still playing.

    On the TV was WHiH World News, with the anchors Will Adams and Christine Everhart covering a story, "Today marks the 24th anniversary to the disappearance of Peter Quill. Most of you I''m sure remember the story that took over the late 80''s of the boy from Springfield, Missouri who disappeared the very night of his mother''s death due to complications with skin cancer. The boy''s grandfather, Andrew Quill, lead a state wide search for the missing boy. The boy''s story touched the nation''s heart, with hundreds of thousands of people volunteering in what would later be called the Search of the Century. Even still the elder Quill holds an open line for any kind information pertaining to his grandson''s location." Christine said, her voice a perfect mix of professionalism and empathy, showing her skills as a reporter.

    The camera then focused on Will, with a picture of Kurama holding his massive Rasengan in his hand popping up in the top right corner, "In global news, videos have begun surface of what many believe to be the cause of the Sokovian based AIM Research Lab explosion, with amateur footage showing what appears to be a strange, massive creature being the cause, with many questioning the video''s validity. The question I believe we need to ask, is if the video is real, just what this could mean for the world as a whole over the revelation that a creature like this may roam around our planet undeterred."

    "Truly scary stuff." Christine said, shaking her head as the camera switched over to the both of them, "In more global news, the return of Captain America has been the main headline of the day. His triumphant, if mysterious return, occurred last night ironically in Stuttgart, Germany, when the Good Captain helped apprehend a mysterious attacker during a gala event in a Stuttgart museum. Captain Rodgers was assisted by Tony Stark in his Iron Man armor, the two of them taking the attacker to a currently unknown location."

    Will nodded, "Welcome back Captain."

    Hector shook his head, "Of course, of course someone had a camera. Why not?" The man was then enveloped by a puff of smoke. As the smoke dissipated, Naruto stepped out as he walked over to the television to turn it off, "And when did Fury start letting Rodgers stretch his legs? I figured they''d keep him cooped up there for another couple years."

    "I''d apologize for stirring so much shit, but Goddammit if wasn''t so much fun." Kurama said, chuckling at the end.

    "Whatever Kurama, it''s not like I wasn''t gonna get shit for it eventually. I''m honestly surprised Nick hasn''t brought it up yet."

    "It is pretty odd, I figured Fury would have gotten on your ass months ago. I mean¡­we caused a shit ton of damage."

    As Naruto was about to respond, he felt a sudden presence enter the room. It was a thick feeling, similar to Thor''s but weaker, looser almost. While the massive blonde man''s could be described as loud and flashy, this one was allusive, intelligent. Turning around, Naruto saw that he wasn''t the only one conscious in the room anymore. The man was standing behind the couch looking around the room at his handy work, an impressed expression on his face. Said stranger was very handsome in appearance, with an angular, lean face that reminded him of an Uchiha, only much¡­much paler. His slicked back black hair reached down to the nape of his neck, giving him a sophisticated look. His clothes were rather lavish, a dark brown overcoat that went down to his upper thigh covered a sage green button up dress shirt. Wrapped loosely around his neck was a striped green and yellow scarf, the material making it look more expensive than all the clothes Naruto was wearing at the time. The most interesting thing about him however, was the staff resting in his left hand. The stranger seemed to be using it as a cane, though it looked like some kind of weird weapon, seeing as how the staff was made out of what looked like a fairly sturdy metal and the fact that there was a glowing blue gem at the top, the stone humming with barely restrained power.

    Finally making eye contact with Naruto, the man spoke, "My my¡­what a fascinating creature you are." Gesturing around the room he continued, "Barton truly was telling the truth about just how gifted you are. To think that such power would lie in a brittle being such as yourself."

    Naruto''s eyes were narrowed at the man in front of him, consciously leaking out his chakra as he spoke, "I know for a fact that Clint doesn''t have any friends outside of SHIELD, and you''re not a member. Nobody there dresses like¡­that." As Naruto finished his sentence his eyes roamed up and down the man''s attire with a look of mocking on his face, "So who the fuck are you?"

    The man chuckled, "I believe the enchantress may have told you a little about me, I believe she may have tried to contact you after my little¡­excommunication. Did you kill her? I haven''t heard a peep out of her since that day."

    "Enchantress?" Naruto asked before realization struck, "You mean that Amora chick?" Seeing him nod he said, "No¡­no I didn''t kill her. She asked me to take her in after Thor got sent back to his home world or realm or whatever. She told me you ordered her to take control of me, that true?"

    "But of course." The man drawled, a cocky smile on his face, "That woman is so willing to please. So desperate for love¡­true love, that she''d do anything you ask of her if she thought she could get it. It''s sad really."

    Naruto was beginning to grow impatient with this man, flaring his chakra as he demanded, "Just who are you exactly?"

    Spreading his arms out in a grand gesture, the man spoke, his voice thick with narcissism, "I am Loki, new ruler of this world. And I come with great tidings."

    "And what would that be?"

    Loki began to walk around the couch, making his way towards Naruto before stopping just a few feet away from him, "That you''re going to work for me now." He said menacingly, his walking cane soon becoming enveloped in a flash of light before it transformed into a much longer spear like weapon. Raising his spear forward, Loki then made to gently place the tip of its blade in the center of Naruto''s chest.

    Only for Naruto to grab ahold of the spear''s shaft just before it touched him, "I don''t know what the fuck you think you doing." Naruto started out, "But I can tell you right now that it''s not gonna fly."

    "Oh really?" Loki challenged as he began to put some muscle into it, trying to force his spear to make contact with Naruto, only for Naruto''s grip to stay true, not budging even in the slightest.

    Naruto simply stood there, looking at the new ruler of Earth with a bored expression on his face, "Is that really all you got?" Feeling no change in Loki''s attempt, Naruto decided to put an end to it, "All right, my turn."

    Forcing the blade away from him, Naruto then grabbed the bottom of the spears shaft, before forcefully pushing Loki back, "You''re almost as much of a brute as my brother." Loki said, the strain in his voice obvious, "Perhaps I''ve been going about this all wrong." Looking up, Loki made eye contact with Naruto a wicked smirk on his face as he said, "After all, why would I need to get control of your mind¡­when I have the very thing you''ve been searching for oh so desperately." Leaning forward, he then whispered in a brutally seductively tone, "The Tesseract."

    If Loki expected anything, it wasn''t getting slammed into the wall behind him, his body forming a dent in the foundation with a heavy crack, "What the fuck did you just say?!" Naruto yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.

    Loki smirked, his voice a slight wheeze, "The Tesseract...the Cube¡­whatever you want to call it, is in my possession."

    "How¡­how did you get it?!" Naruto demanded.

    "From SHIELD of course."

    "¡­what?"

    Loki''s smile grew, his crooked mouth giving him a malefic appearance, "I took the Tesseract from SHIELD, just a few days ago. According to Barton and Selvig, they''d been trying to figure out how it works for decades now. How strange that they wouldn''t let you know about it."

    "¡­decades?"

    "How does that make you feel?" Loki asked, his staff glowing as he spoke, "Angry? Furious? Betrayed? How does it feel to know that the people you''ve been working with for years now have lied to you? Telling you that they only thing that could send you home is lost¡­when it''s been in their hands for nearly fifty years. Or, about you flame, your woman¡­Agent Romanoff." Seeing Naruto''s confused face, his smile only grew even more vile, "Oh, that''s right¡­you didn''t know. How could you?" Leaning closer, his lips nearly gracing Naruto''s ear he softly whispered, "Her¡­affections¡­towards you¡­are only orders given to her by her superiors. The love you share¡­are orders. All to watch you¡­to make sure you stayed in line. To make sure you could be controlled."

    "Kurama¡­you were right." Naruto thought. "You were fucking right."

    "All this betrayal¡­all these lies. Please, allow me to be the first to give you some truth. This planet¡­these earthlings, are ants. They scurry along the ground, gathering what they can to survive, building their cities, gathering their food, but in the end, their lives matter little in the eyes of us. Those that have the power to squash these ants under our heel. And yet they question us, condemn us as monsters, as untrustworthy. And when they try and bite us out of a preemptive fear of extermination, who is to blame when we crush them for their insolence? Not you or I, that I assure you." Leaning back, he looked at the seemingly broken Naruto, "Join me Naruto, help me conquer these ants. Do this¡­and you can finally go home."

    "Naruto¡­"

    "I have already defeated this world''s protectors, the metal man, the soldier, the monster. That just leaves¡­the last piece to the puzzle. I had planned on including you in their demise, but after all the juicy gossip Barton shared with me¡­and the fact that I''ve lost so many pieces already, I knew that I had to have you on my side¡­one way or another." Feeling Naruto''s grip loosen, Loki jumped at the chance, pressing the tip of his scepter into Naruto''s chest, allowing the power the staff held to enter the blonde man''s body.

    "¡­"

    "And now you''re mine." Loki said triumphantly, "Release me so that we can leave, I believe it''s about time the invasion started. Selvig should have opened the portal up by now."

    "¡­"

    "Did you not hear me? Let go of me fool!" Loki demanded, growing impatient that his new slave wasn''t obeying his order.

    "Was that supposed to do something?" Naruto whispered.

    Loki looked at Naruto in utter shock, the god about to try and cast him under his spell once again, only for his body to be forcefully ejected from the wall. The two of them didn''t stop however, their forward momentum only increasing, with the only thing Loki could see being blurs and pain as Naruto continued to slam his through wall after wall. Finally, after what felt like a nonstop moment of being body slammed through wood and foundation, Loki found himself outside, the two of them flying outside the building heading towards the ground below them. He didn''t have to wait for an impact long, the two of them slamming into the concrete, sending a cloud of debris and smoke bursting into the air. If he thought he''d get a reprieve he was mistaken, as Naruto''s fist began to bounce off Loki''s face.

    "YOU THINK. YOU. CAN. FUCK. WITH ME?! Naruto screamed, his words punctuated by his fist slamming downwards into the man''s face, the force of his head smacking into the ground causing the concrete to crack and splinter, "You think¡­by telling me all that shit, that I''d work for an asshole bastard like you?! Huh?! I know you weren''t lying¡­I could feel it." A tear began to form at the corner of his eye, slowly cascading down cheek as he continued to speak, "But even then¡­even then, I would never do the shit you''re talking about. I would kill myself before I became the very monsters I nearly died fighting against." His fist was about to come down once again, only this time it was being pumped with chakra, his full intent being to end this miserable man''s life then and there.

    THUM

    His body seemed to freeze at the sound that boomed across the city, his head instinctively looking up at the source. He was shocked to see what looked like a portal in the middle of the sky, with a beam of energy seeming to feed it coming from Stark Tower. After several moments of nothing else happening, a wave of creatures began to fly out of the portal, descending down to the city below, opening fire at the buildings as they reached them, igniting the city in a hail of laser fire.

    Looking down at Loki, Naruto saw that the man was sporting a bloody grin, "It has begun."

    Rage filled Naruto as he looked down at the insufferable man before him, "Stop it! Stop it NOW!" He demanded.

    "Now that it has begun, there is no stopping it." As Naruto was about to decapitate the man with his fist, a wave of laser beams washed over the area, blasting the cars around them, the resulting explosions causing panic and havoc as people began to scramble in fear, cars trying to swerve around each other only to be blasted to bits by the strange creatures and their chariot like flying machines. Looking back up at the portal where hundreds of aliens were still spilling out of, Naruto could see what looked to be Tony in one of his armors flying up towards the portal taking out as many of them as he could, the resulting flow of explosions reminding Naruto of a fireworks show.

    Forced to jump out of the way, Naruto scoffed as he saw Loki jump on board of the hover crafts, the god zooming away from him towards Stark Tower. Naruto was about to give pursuit when several more blasts of energy came hurtling towards him, forcing him to evade once again. Looking above him, Naruto saw a pair of aliens rushing towards him on their chariots. Anger still in his mind, Naruto had little patience for the soon to be dead creatures. Reaching out, Naruto took ahold of their chariots with the use of his Metal Release before slamming the two aliens into each other. Now on a role, Naruto began to do this with any alien that came his way, taking control of their hover crafts before sending them into each other.

    An explosion in the corner of his eye catching his attention, Naruto looked back over towards Stark Tower¡­well, more like Sta Tower, seeing as how the R and the K had been blasted off. Bright flashes of light could be seen on top of the building, with Naruto assuming it being Loki doing the fighting. He then noticed that what appeared to be a Quinjet hovering near the source of the flashing lights, the jet opening fire on whoever was standing on top of it. The effort was for not, as the jet was quickly shot down causing the plane to spiral down to the ground below.

    Naruto was about to activate his Six Paths Sage Mode when a ground shaking roar split across the city, shaking Naruto''s very bones as he looked back up at the portal. Out of the portal slinked out a strange worm like creature the size of your average battle toad, the likes of which could only be matched by Gamabunta or Gamakichi. The worm seemed to be wearing some kind of golden armor, with the mouth of the creature resembling a whale only with very, very sharp teeth.

    "You gotta be kidding me."

 10 No one man should all the power

    Chaos. That was the best way to explain what was going on. Lasers zipping past overhead, explosions ripping apart the pavement and various vehicles scattered along the streets. Glass crunched and cracked under a woman''s feet as she sprinted across the sidewalk, ducking her head under her arms as she tried to avoid getting pelted by debris. Looking up, she nearly screamed in horror at the sight of the giant flying monster as it flew just a couple blocks away from her, with what looked to be several aliens ziplining down to either the streets below or the side of the buildings themselves.

    "Joy get inside, NOW!"

    Joy looked over to see her brother, his usually slicked back hair splayed out in a mess, his face scoffed with several bruise marks and a trail of blood leaking down his forehead. Quickly nodding her head, Joy ran towards the building, a Starbucks to be exact, ducking into the doors as she ran past her brother just before he slammed the doors shut. Looking around, Joy saw that everyone in the room was in a state of either panic or disbelief at the events going on outside.

    Walking over to her brother, she harshly whispered, "What the hell is going on Ward?!"

    The now named Ward slicked back his hair agitatedly, "Do you really think I''d know what''s going on?"

    "Well what are we supposed to-" Joy was interrupted by the fact that the side of the building exploded in a blast of fire and glass, the force of it blowing Joy and Ward backwards, the two landing on their sides in a heap.

    RRRRIINNNNGG

    Slowly, Joy raised up her head, her vision swimming as she looked up to see what looked like couple aliens enter the Starbucks, the rifles raised up as they began to fire upon anyone still alive. Blast after blast, pained scream after scream, the aliens executed the people who tried to take shelter. Finally, the aliens pointed their rifles towards Joy and Ward.

    "Joy¡­Joy," Joy heard, the ringing in her ears finally beginning to wane before she finally clearly heard Ward screaming out, "JOY!"

    It was then that the alien closest to her suddenly flew forwards, its body lodging itself into the opposite wall. In the alien''s place was a man, his leg stretched out from the kick he used to send the creature flying. Lowering his leg, he threw his fist outwards, a visible force leaving his hand that slammed into the second alien which caused it the fly back as well in a sickening crunch. Relaxing his stance, the man looked around. Joy quickly made eye contact with him, unable to look away from the bright blue eyes the man held. Her own brown eyes roaming the man''s form, she saw that he wore a simple brown jacket with an orange t-shirt underneath that read, ''WTF: Where''s The Food.'' She''d have laughed at the absurdity of it if it weren''t for the glass lodged in her side. As the man kneeled next to he began to help her sit up, only for her to loudly wince in pain.

    "Where does it hurt?" The blonde asked, his voice sounding younger than she expected it too.

    Wincing once again, Joy spoke, "My¡­my side."

    Nodding, the blonde''s hand was enveloped in a yellow fire. Joy, seeing that he was reaching for her sigh, grabbed him out of instinct. The blonde man smile at her soothingly as he spoke, "Don''t worry, this won''t hurt you. I promise."

    Joy didn''t know why; this man was a stranger¡­emphasis on strange. But¡­but she felt she could trust this utterly strange man. So, with slight hesitation, she nodded. Seeing that she was giving the go ahead, the blonde man put his hand just above her side. After a moment, she felt a sudden warmness enter he being, only for that to end when the pain of having glass eject from her body over took that warmness.

    "Auughh!" She screamed out, blood leaking heavily through her blouse, the glass that was once in her side clinkling to the floor.

    "He-hey!" Ward yelled out, "What the hell are you doing to my sister asshole?!" Slowly getting up, he made his way towards the two of them, "Get the hell away from her, now!"

    Raising his hands up defensively, the man said, "Alright, alright. I''m backing off." Getting up, the blonde took some steps back, allowing Ward to take his place. Joy looked down, raising her blouse up to look at the wound, only to be shocked to find that the cuts had closed up completely. Ward looked up at the man to see that he was putting in some kind of ear piece, pressing it as he spoke, "Hey Tony, It''s me. Yeah¡­yeah, I''m on 33rd Street. Alright, I''ll try and meet up with everyone else."

    Looking up, Joy stuttered out, "Ho-how?"

    The man shrugged, "I''m¡­evolved. Or so I''ve been told." Walking over he looked out the window, "Do you guys have somewhere you can go, somewhere safe?"

    "Now wait just a second!" Ward yelled out, getting up as he glared at the mystery blonde, "What the hell is going on?! What is going on out there?!"

    The man sighed, "As far as what''s going on out there, I have no clue. All I know is that I''m gonna end it."

    "Who are you?" Joy asked, still in shock over recent events.

    Turning towards Joy the man gave a wide smile, "Usually I''d lie and say my name is Nathan something or other. But today I''m going to just say fuck it." His body then became covered in a fire that had covered his hand, symbols splayed out along his torso and arms, the yellow fire licking out like a snake''s tongue, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, Genin of Konohagakure, The Child of Prophesy and the savior of my world." With that introduction, Naruto raised up off the ground, "And now, I shall be the savior of your world as well." Turning around, Naruto blasted off towards the battle, taking out a passing by alien as he did.

    Ward looked at Joy, utter confusion on his face, "Did you catch what any of that meant?"

    -x-

    Naruto was flying at top speed through the streets of Manhattan, his Six Paths Sage Mode at full power as he swerved and maneuvered around the city, blasting any chariot riding alien he came across. One of his Truth-Seeking Balls was now in his hand in the form of a bo staffs. Using his staffs, he obliterated anything that came in his path. Using his other hand, Naruto would channel tiny Rasengans into the palm of his hands before firing them off towards an alien too far away for him to bother killing up close.

    Seeing a squad of them terrorizing people on the ground, Naruto dropped to the streets below, the pavement cracking under his feet. As one of the aliens tried to impale him with their spears, Naruto easily deflected it with his Truth-Seeking Staff before backhanding it so hard across the face its neck broke with a sickening snap. Turning his attention on the rest, Naruto channeled his Magnet Release, taking ahold of the creatures'' armor and forcing them towards him, just as he created a clone who held up a massive Rasengan up, allowing the aliens to fly into their deaths. Jumping over his busy clone, Naruto then pointed his hand out in the form of a crude handgun. The monsters didn''t see the air bullets coming, the projectiles made of chakra and wind shredding through them like wet toilet paper. Finally, Naruto spun around, pushing wind chakra out of his hand towards an oncoming squad of invaders, his clone blowing out a stream of fire at the same time, allowing the two attacks to combine into a blazing inferno that swallowed up everything in its path.

    Even after his inferno attack, a good handful of them had managed to survive, twenty or so at the least. Giving an exaggerated sigh, Naruto flicked his wrist out, the hidden kunai ejecting into his hand. Grabbing ahold of his, the blond channeled a good amount of Wind Chakra into. Rearing his hand back, Naruto threw the kunai with all his might, the muli-use weapon blasting through four of the creatures like a hot knife through butter. Not done with that kunai, Naruto grabbed ahold of it with his Magnet Release. Quickly changing the throwing knife''s direction, Naruto sent it into the backs of three more aliens, before once again having in change trajectory into the direction of another unlucky alien. In the span of five seconds, all twenty-ish of the aliens were dead on the floor, all of the collapsing in a bloody heap.

    On the alert, Naruto saw another group of them land just a handful of yards away, and was about to finish them off when an arrow swooped in and stuck the middle one in the group, with the shaft of the arrow ejecting out several other smaller projectiles that killed off the rest. Looking over, Naruto saw Clint perched behind a car, his bow at the ready as he gave his blonde friend a nod, a nod Naruto ignored as he formed a Rasengan in his hand and threw it at the man, the ball of energy passing him by just an inch as it slammed into an alien that had made its way behind the sharp shooter.

    "Keep your eyes peeled Hawkeye."

    "Yeah¡­my bad." Clint shouted out, pulling back the string of his bow before letting an arrow fly, hitting one of the passing by chariot riders dead on, "Where''ve you been man? Nat''s been calling you!"

    Naruto didn''t answer, too busy swatting off more of the cockroach like aliens. Using his staff, Naruto impaled one of the aliens through before shifting the shape at the end of the staff and at the alien''s front, keeping it from flying off the end of the staff as Naruto then used him like a makeshift war hammer. Left and right, Naruto used his new hammer to plow through the aliens, tearing the alien he was using apart in his campaign to kill as many of them as he could.

    "Where. The hell. Do they. Keep. COMING FROM!" Naruto yelled out, finally letting the poor creature go as his staff reverted to normal. Hearing a growl, Naruto turned to his right to see another alien, only this one was twice as big as any of the others, his hulking size kind of freaking Naruto out. His only warning that it was going to charge at him was the snot ridden snarl it released. Not losing his cool, Naruto rearing his hand back, steam building at his elbow, building a huge amount of pressure before releasing it just as the alien got in his comfort zone, "Boil Release: Erupting Propulsion Fist!" The pressure released, Naruto''s fist zooming towards the creature''s torso like a rocket, the force of it sending a quick ripple through its body before it exploded in a shower of alien flesh and blue blood, showering Naruto in the liquid.

    "Was that really necessary?"

    Turning around, Naruto saw Steve Rodgers behind him, wearing a modified¡­skimpier version of his uniform, "Is that costume really necessary?"

    Looking down at himself, Steve used his free hand to pull at his duds, "It''s not that bad¡­is it?"

    "No¡­" Naruto said reassuringly, walking up to him as he patted him on the shoulder, "It''s just a little¡­tight, is all."

    "You''re telling me." Turning around, Naruto saw Natasha walking over to them, "Why bother asking SHIELD for a phone if you''re not going to answer it?" She demanded.

    Naruto was about to tell her to fuck off when Kurama said, "Save city now, chew her ass out later Naruto. Remember what''s important." Naruto paused before scoffing, turning around so he wasn''t facing the woman, much to her confusion.

    "Hey, what''s the matter-"

    Natasha was interrupted by the fact that a field of lightning struck down just a few yards away, wiping out a group of oncoming aliens, followed by the God of Thunder himself landing down just in front of where his lightning had struck. Getting up with a grimace as he held his side, he made his way over to the group as Steve spoke, "What''s the story upstairs?"

    "The power guarding the cube is impenetrable." The Asgardian explained.

    Tony zoomed by, chariot riders on hot pursuit, "Thor''s right, we gotta deal with these guys."

    "How do we do this?" Natasha asked.

    "As a team." The Captain answered.

    Naruto smirked at Thor as he slapped him on the shoulder, "This is gonna be awesome."

    Thor threw Naruto''s hand off his shoulder, "I have unfinished business with Loki."

    "Oh yeah?" Clint asked as he prepared an arrow, "Get in line."

    Naruto was about to speak when the Captain said harshly, "Save it." Walking over he continued, "Loki''s gonna keep this fight focused on us, and that''s what we need." He was about to start issuing orders when Naruto interrupted.

    "Hey uh¡­who''s the dork on the bike?" He spoke as he lazily pointed at the disheveled looking man that rode in on a motorcycle that seemed to have been found in a junk yard.

    Said dork got off the bike, walking towards them as the group made their way over to him, he looked Naruto up and down, "Who''s the new guy?"

    "A friend." Captain answered for him, Naruto giving Bruce a meaningless glare as the man looked around.

    "So¡­this all seems horrible."

    Naruto shrugged, "I''ve seen worse. When a single guy turns an entire city into a crater, call me."

    "Stark, we''ve got him." Steve said as he pressed his earpiece.

    "Banner?" Tony asked.

    Rogers nodded, "Just like you said."

    "Tell him to suit up¡­I''m bringing the party to you." It was then that Tony zoomed past a building, only to be followed by the massive flying whale with armor on. Tony dived down closer to the ground, the whale following after him as they came flying towards the group.

    Naruto grinned, "Now that is what I''m talking about."

    The ragged man then began to slowly walk towards the incoming monster, calm in the face of the massive beast. Steve stepped forward saying, "Doctor Banner¡­now might be a good time to get angry."

    Turning around, Bruce calmly smiled as he spoke, "That''s my secret Captain. I''m always angry." Turning around, his form began to grow, his muscles protruding outwards and his pasty skin tone turning into an angry green. Eventually his size became too much for his own clothes, as his shirt and shoes ripped off his being. Rearing his arm back, Banner swung his fist at the flying whale just as it was about to reach the group. The force of the punch was magnificent in Naruto''s eyes, the green rage monster hitting the alien whale so hard its very armor peeled off, and its sudden loss of momentum flung the back of its tale forward, causing the creature to become vertical with the ground.

    "Got it!" Naruto and Tony yelled out, the blonde flinging his arms out as chakra arms sprouted from his body, grabbing ahold of the creature to keep it in place as Tony released a hail of miniature rockets at it, causing the whale to explode in a blast of fire, flesh, and blood.

    "Holy shit!" Naruto yelled out as his chakra arms slunk back into his body, then turning around to look at the green hulking monster in front of him, stars in his eyes as he cried out, "That was awesome! Why didn''t anybody tell me this guy was the Hulk?!"

    The Hulk didn''t get to react to Naruto''s fanboyish reaction, too busy with the fact that the army of aliens were now booing at them in a strange chorus of growls and shrieks. Realizing the fight had yet to be won, the seven of them circled up, each one with their game faces on. Naruto summoned the rest of his Truth-Seeking Balls, Hulk gave off a massive roar towards the crying aliens, Clint notched back an arrow, Thor began to twirl his trusty hammer Mjolnir, Natasha quickly reloaded her pistol, the Captain secured his symbolic shield, and Tony finishing the ensemble as he landed down to complete the circle.

    A subtle thoom could be heard coming from the portal, causing the team to look up and see even more of the whale like creatures coming down to play along with dozens more of the chariot riders, prompting Tony to say, "Call it Captain."

    Steve took that in stride as he began giving out commands, "Alright listen up, until we can close that portal our priority is containment." Pointing up he said, "Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything more than three blocks out you turn it back or turn it to ash."

    "Get a lift?" Hawkeye asked.

    "Right." Stark nodded, grabbing the dead eye he quipped, "Clench up Legolas." With that, Tony and Clint went flying towards the building Steve directed them to head to.

    Turning towards Thor and Naruto, Rogers said, "Thor, you gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up." Thor nodded as he spun his hammer around in a windmill motion before flying off, "Naruto, do you think you can take on the big guys?" Captain asked, referencing the massive alien¡­whatevers, flying across Manhattan tearing apart any building they came across.

    Naruto nodded, "I got just the thing." Bending his knees, the Jinchuriki jumped up into the air, the Shinobi locking on to his targets as he headed towards them at top speed. Zooming past building after building, the blonde having to kill the occasional alien that got too close, Naruto placed his hands into a cross like hand sign, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" He thought. In a puff, eight identical Naruto appeared, each wearing the Six Paths Cloak minus the Truth-Seeking Balls. Coming to a stop, the nine Naruto''s raised their arms up above their heads, each channeling a different Biju''s chakra. Before long, each Naruto was holding a Rasenshuriken over their head, all nine varying in shape and appearance, from a sand, blue flames, steam, lava, water, scale powder, ink and finally wind.

    "Sage Art: Super Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!"

    BOOOOM!

    Simultaneous explosion went off one after another, each rocking the flying whale that it hit, blowing its head and torso to pieces, forcing it to crash land down in the streets below. Looking over, Naruto saw that there were three other monsters for him to take down. Hearing a boom spilt across the city, Naruto looked up to see Thor let loose a wave of lightning at the portal, keeping anymore of the freaky alien monsters from flying through. Looking over, Naruto saw Hulk smashing his way through building after building, tearing apart any aliens that crossed his path.

    Naruto smirked as he watched the green rage machine plow his way towards a building that was in the path of one of the alien whales, jumping out the window and keeping it from smashing into the building, pulling its head down and to the side, steering it away from the civilians. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Naruto blasted over towards Hulk and the whale, landing on the tail as Hulk made his way up the head. Looking around, Naruto saw that the aliens had noticed he had hitched a ride, the lot of them heading towards him and the angry Banner. Not deterred, Naruto formed two Truth-Seeking Balls into two bo staffs, twirling them around before cracking a couple of the aliens in the skull, obliterating their heads on contact. Keeping his stride, Naruto used his Truth-Seeking Staffs to keep away anything that came in too close, while at the same time using his left-over orbs to fend off anything from a distance, using his ability to control the orb''s shape to form them into pointed cone like projectiles.

    Looking over, Naruto saw that Thor had landed on the creature as well, assisting the Hulk in fending off the aliens in near perfect unison. The Shinobi watched as the Hulk ripped off a piece of the whale''s armor only to then shove the now blade like piece of metal back into the creature. Thor then channeled lightning to his hammer before bringing it down on the piece of scrap metal like a hammer to a nail, slamming the blade deep into the monster along with a large surplus of pure lightning. Not wanting to be left out of the fun, Naruto jumped up over the two of them, forming the Truth-Seeking Balls together to form a drill like cone underneath him as he spun at a rapid speed down on the nailed in piece of armor, further driving it in as Naruto blasted through the monster''s skull completely. Finding himself ejected from the monster and free falling to the ground, Naruto tucked his body into a cannonball, forming a sphere made of his dark purple orbs, landing directly on top of a squad of aliens as they made their way through the streets.

    Pulling himself out of the crater he created, Naruto looked up over at Sta Tower¡­well now it was A Tower after watching Loki get blasted by what he assumed was one of Hawkeye''s trick arrows. Smirking, Naruto was about to blast off towards the tower when a laser blast slammed into his torso, sending him tumbling back before he landed in a crouch. Looking up, Naruto saw that he was surrounded by several of the more hulking alien creatures, the lot of them seeing that he was one of the more heavy hitters of the group. Sighing, Naruto channel into his Truth-Seeking Balls, forcing them out towards the aliens surrounding him, each one expanding outwards, swallowing everything it touched. As the orbs retracted back to their normal size and made their place back at his backside, Naruto could see that his orbs had completely obliterated anything it touched, even those not completely swallowed by the attack were still effected seeing as the areas that were touched had now vanished.

    Turning towards the tower once again, Naruto flew up to the observation deck, peaking his head into what looked like some kind of lounging area. In the middle of the room stood the Hulk. Underneath him, Loki. Upon further inspection, Naruto could see that it looked like Loki had just been slammed into the ground multiple times by the green rage machine. Walking over, his hands in his pockets, Naruto kneeled down in a catcher''s stance next to the brutally beaten ''god.'' Looking him over, he saw that Loki didn''t seem to notice his presence, to busy giving out a pained whine.

    Poking him with one of his Truth-Seeking Staffs, Naruto said, "I think you broke him¡­" He finished his sentence by looking up at Hulk, who scoffed as he began to walk away.

    "Puny god." He growled out before turning around fully and jumping back out into the battle outside.

    Chuckling, Naruto looked around the room, seeing that it had gotten the shit kicked out of it due to the battle going on. It was as Naruto was looking at the shattered glass window that he assumed the Hulk threw Loki through that he felt the massive source of energy sitting just outside on the patio. Getting up, the blonde ninja walked through the hole in the glass, his eyes scanning the area for the power source. As a glow hit the corner of his eye, Naruto looked to his right to see Loki''s Scepter laying on the ground just a few feet away from him, the gem that seemed to power the weapon glowing a bright blue.

    Bending down, Naruto carefully picked up the bladed staff, feeling the energy pulsing in his grasp. It was then that he felt a sudden forceful pull on his subconscious, like how it feels when he enters his mindscape to speak with Kurama. After a moment of hesitation, Naruto allowed himself to be pulled through, immediately finding himself in a strange new place. Looking around, Naruto couldn''t help but find himself amazed at the fact that it looked like he was in space, sitting on what looked to be some kind of asteroid. Gazing up into the stars, Naruto found himself transfixed on the vast space above him, watching in wonder as comets flew by and the looming planets softly orbiting overhead. Taking a few steps forward, Naruto found a long column of spiraling stairs leading up to an unknown location. Feeling drawn to them, the Shinobi began the long trek upwards, the scepter in his hand and Kurama oddly quiet.

    As Naruto began to finally make his way to his destination, he began to make out what looked to be a massive throne made from stone, the chair fit for a king floating above the ground ominously. Walking calmly over to the throne, his path was stopped when a strange hooded being that blurred into his personal space. The creature was the definition of ugly, its wrinkled grey skin and crooked golden teeth almost causing Naruto to flinch in disgust. It''s face covered by a strange looking face mask that reminded him of a football player, with the rest being covered by a billowing hood.

    "Where is the Asgardian, mortal? Why is it you are wielding our scepter?!" The creature demanded, his voice a gravelly growl.

    Naruto didn''t respond, rather looking over the hooded creature''s shoulder at the mystery man sitting on the throne, the person obviously not feeling the need to reveal himself. Looking back at the hooded guy, Naruto couldn''t help but continue to feel a little disgusted by his gargoyle like looks, "You ever think about wearing a mask that actually covers that disaster you call a face? Cause I''m gonna be honest with you, that whole football mask thing you got going on isn''t working."

    "You dare mock me, you a pathetic mortal?! Do you not know whose presence you are in? This is the sanctuary of the Dark Lord Thanos, the most powerful being in the universe! Now, tell us who you are, and why you are here and not the Asgardian Loki, or we shall teach you what happens when you disrespect the Mad Titan!" The creature demanded.

    Naruto began to walk around, the two of them circling each other as he spoke, "So, I''m assuming you''re the one that gave Loki his little army and this scepter thing. Am I right? If so, they weren''t that tough."

    The creature took a moment, looking Naruto over before he began to chuckle, "So¡­Loki has failed. Not only that, but to fail to conquer such a¡­primitive planet such as this, how pitiful. Perhaps we should''ve sent Nebula or Gamora rather than rely on that week ''god.''" The man stopped his circling, Naruto following suit as the creature continued his thought, "However, from what I''ve seen, you and your companions are quite formidable. Perhaps Ronan would have been more well suited for such a task. You in particular have proven yourself to be a powerful being to be able to take down our Chitauri Leviathans. But no matter, for this slight, Thanos will plunder your planet to its very core-" The hooded creature''s monologue was interrupted by the booming voice that came from the throne.

    "Other¡­that is enough." With that, the throne began to spin around, revealing the being sitting upon it. The man was clad in a glorious gold and purple armor, giving the man a look of both that of a warrior and of a grand ruler. The man himself was massive, about twice the size of Naruto himself but just a head shorter than the Hulk, with obvious muscle mass showing even as it was hidden underneath his armor. The man''s skin tone was a light purple, with obvious signs of middle age showing on his face with the thin wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. Speaking of his eyes, the sclera to his eyes were black with his irises reflecting a glowing purple color. To finish off the man''s alien appearance, the man seemed to have lines running up his face from his chin to the scalp, the lines disappearing behind the man''s battle helmet.

    The now named Other immediately bowed his head in obedience, "Of course my master, I''m sorry my master."

    "¡­Leave us." Thanos demanded, his head resting on his chin as he stared down at Naruto, his voice an unwavering boom of power and authority.

    Naruto didn''t believe it was possible, but Other seemed to bow even deeper, "Of course my master, right away my master." With that, Other blurred over to the stair before descending down the stairs.

    Naruto turned to face Thanos, the two of them entering a stare off of sorts, neither one seeming to want to speak first. Finally, Naruto grew tired of the silence, "Why use Loki to get the Tesseract? Why not just come and get it yourself if you''re ''the most powerful being in the universe?''"

    Thanos simply chuckled, leaning back in his seat as he spoke, "Because I saw an easily manipulatable child that sought the glory of being king, even if it meant dealing with a being he knew could destroy him with a flick of his wrist. All I needed to do was provide him with a small fraction of my army, with my only demands being that he gives me the Space Stone in return." Chuckling again he continued, "To put it simple it was¡­entertainment."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes at the Mad Titan, "So your invasion of Earth was just for entertainment, with you getting the Space Stone simply being a bonus? Are you truly that arrogant to think that you could get the Stone at any time?"

    The Dark Lord smirked, "I have fought beings more powerful than you could possibly imagine boy. You and your band of ''avengers'' are mere playthings to me. If I felt the need, I could have simply taken the Stone the moment I felt its energy burst from across the cosmos. Be glad you haven''t pushed me so far that I would feel the need to retrieve the Stone myself. If it were to ever come to that, I would crushthis solar system under the heel of my power."

    "Well then¡­looks like I''ve found a new purpose."

    "And what would that be boy?"

    Naruto simply smirked as he rested Loki''s staff on his shoulder, "Stopping you of course."

    Thanos smirked a bloodthirsty smile, "I await your challenge¡­Naruto Uzumaki."

    With that, Naruto felt his subconscious get pulled back to the real world, his eyes blasting open to see that he was back outside of Stark Tower, the battle still going on around him, "-ruto! NARUTO!" Looking over next to him, Naruto saw Natasha standing there, a worried look on her face as she screamed out his name. The woman looked worse for wear, blood running down her lip and forehead, with scoff marks all over her person.

    "Naruto, we need the scepter to close the portal!" Natasha yelled out.

    Naruto looked at her for a moment, not really seeming to be paying attention to what she was saying, simply overwhelmed by the sudden feeling of betrayal he felt over the woman he loved, "Naruto, where the fuck have you been?! I''ve been trying to get through to you for like five minutes you goddamn brat!"

    "I''ll tell you later Kurama." Naruto thought, "Here." Naruto said dully as he handed the scepter off to Natasha, said woman looking at him strangely for his off behavior.

    "Naruto¡­are you alright? You''re scaring me." Natasha said, worry clear in her voice.

    Naruto turned away from her walking up the stairs towards the roof as he spoke, "We should finish this."

    The red head nodded slowly before following after him, the two of them making it to the roof where Erik Selvig was waiting for them. Having just finished his preparations, the man pointed at the device holding the cube, the spherical energy field protecting it with a loud buzz, "At the crown!" Selvig shouted out his instruction, pointing at the crown of the sphere, showing where he wanted Natasha to shove the scepter at. Naruto watched in interest as Romanoff shoved the blade of the scepter into the sphere, the forcefield doing its best to fight her off, but Natasha held strong, pushing the blade closer and closer till it was just inches away from the cube.

    "I can close it, can anyone copy?!" She asked frantically, "I can shut the portal down!"

    Steve could be heard over the radio, "DO IT!" He commanded.

    "No wait!" Tony interrupted.

    "Stark, these things are still coming!" said the Captain.

    "I gotta nuke coming in, and it''s gonna blow in less than a minute." Stark clarified.

    Naruto looked over where he last saw Tony fly off, "Who the hell ordered a nuclear launch?!"

    "The Security Counsel ordered the strike."

    Naruto immediately recognized the voice belonging to Fury''s, "And you didn''t do anything to stop it?! There are millions of civilians still in the city!" Naruto shouted out.

    "Don''t you think I know that?!" Fury harshly demanded, "I did my best to deter them, but they went over my head. There''s nothing to be done but stop it."

    "Yeah well, I know just where to put it."

    "Stark¡­you know that''s a one-way trip." Steve said, letting his comrade know there was no going back. It was too late however, as Tony was forced to push the rocket up at a sharp turn, forcing the missile to change its trajectory to vertical, just skimming A Tower and the machine powering and protecting the Tesseract.

    Zooming by them, Naruto could only look on and watch as a man he considered a friend sacrificed himself for the greater good. As he disappeared through the portal, a thought entered Naruto''s mind, the blonde unknowingly mumbling out loud, "The true measure of a Shinobi is not how he lives but how he dies. It''s not what they do in life but what they did before dying that proves their worth."

    "Naruto," Natasha said, "Did you say something."

    Naruto didn''t bother looking at her, his eyes on the portal above as the missile exploded, the ball of fire looking like a miniature sun. All around them, the remaining Chitauri and Leviathans fell to the ground uselessly as though they had been shut off.

    "Close it." They heard Steve say, regret in his voice as he made the call.

    Natasha nodded, shoving the blade of the scepter into the cube, shutting down the machine with the beam of light flickering away into nothingness. Soon, the portal began to close in on itself, the hole in the sky finally disappearing, but not before a tiny speck that resembled a person fell through it just in the nick of time.

    "Son of a gun." Steve laughed out, the lot of them realizing it was Tony free falling back towards Earth.

    Naruto, realizing Tony was unconscious, was about to jump and catch the man before he went splat all over the pavement, only to be beaten to it by the Hulk. Said rage machine caught the man with a single arm, the two of them flying into a building, with the Hulk using the side of it to slow his decent down to the grown below. Landing on his back, Tony laying in his grasp, the Hulk threw Stark off of him half hazardly. Naruto quickly flew down next to them, with Thor and Rodgers sprinting up to make sure the playboy was alive. Turning Tony over, Thor tore off the front part of his Iron Man helmet, revealing Stark''s face to the world. Steve quickly ducked his head down to check if he was breathing, only to raise himself back up with a look of remorse on his face. Naruto was about to see what he could do when the Hulk once again beat him to the punch, letting loose a mighty roar, startling the Iron Man back to the world of the living.

    "Dude, seriously?!" Naruto yelled out agitatedly, picking his still humming ear after having the rage monster scream right into it. The Hulk didn''t seem to care, pumping his chest with his fists like a gorilla.

    "What the hell?" Tony demanded, "What just happened¡­please tell me no one kissed me." He practically begged.

    Steve, still trying to catch his breath after the battle they had all just fought breathed out rather pathetically, "We won."

    Giving a sigh of relief, Tony rested his head down on the pavement. Lazily razing his arm up in a victory pump, he tiredly said, "Alright yaaaay¡­good job guys. Let''s just not come in tomorrow, let''s just take a day." Looking over at Naruto he said, "You ever had Shawarma? There''s a Shawarma place like two blocks from here. I don''t know what it is but I wanna try it."

    Naruto smirked, allowing his Six Paths Sage Mode to recede as he collapsed on his butt, resting his hands behind his back and allowing his legs to rest out in front of him, "If they sell ramen, I''m down. Do you have any idea how long it''s been since I''ve had some goodramen?"

    "There''s such a thing as good ramen?" Tony asked.

    Before Naruto could argue over the merits of ramen he was interrupted, "We are not finished yet." Thor said, looking up at A Tower.

    Tony looked around, "Then Shawarma after, right?"

    -x-

    Naruto watched as the group supposedly calling themselves the Avengers circled around inside the helicarrier, the lot of them celebrating a job well done. With Loki now safely imprisoned, the god''s scepter being kept safely away from, and the Tesseract now in Thor''s possession, the lot of them could now relax, if only for just a moment. The blonde ninja had decided not to participate in the fun, rather hanging back to watch. Feeling a strong hand clasp down on his shoulder, Naruto looked over to see Thor standing just behind him, two glasses of beer in his hand. Handing one over to Naruto, Thor took a long swig of his own before speaking, wiping his mouth of the foamy suds as he did, "Why do you not join in the celebrations my friend? You were a part of the triumphant battle as well!" Thor finished by clapping his hand down hard on Naruto shoulder once again.

    Naruto shrugged, taking a small sip of his beer before speaking, "Just¡­a lot on my mind." He said this while looking over at Natasha and Clint, the two of them chatting it up over at the table. Looking over at Thor he said, "So you''re planning on taking the Tesseract to Asgard?"

    Thor nodded, "There it can be kept safe from the likes of Loki."

    "And what of the people that helped Loki?" Naruto asked.

    Thor laughed nonchalantly, "Should they show their faces, we of Asgard shall smite them down."

    "But what if these people are more than you guys can handle?"

    Thor looked at Naruto with a look of suspicion on his face, "What are you saying my friend?"

    Naruto sighed, "I¡­I might have met the guy that gave Loki his army, and he''s no joke. His lackey called him the ''most powerful being in the universe.''"

    "And you believe this ''lackey''s'' words? That is quite the claim to make." Thor said.

    "Trust me Thor," Naruto said, "This guy is bad news. The power he was giving off was crazy high, a kind of power I haven''t felt in a long time." As Naruto said this, an image of Madara Uchiha popped in his mind.

    "Then what would you suggest?" Thor asked.

    Naruto took a moment before saying, "I think it would be safer in the hands of a single person, someone that can keep the Stone safe, out of sight out of mind, and can fight against anyone this guy sends their way."

    The Asgardian looked Naruto up and down, "And who would you suggest?"

    "¡­me."

    "My friend, surely you jest."

    "Better in my hands then off in some vault that can be broken into at any time." Naruto said, remembering the story told to him by Thor not long ago of what happened with him and Loki on Asgard.

    "And what would you do with the Stone, other than send yourself home with it." Thor accused.

    "¡­you''re right when you say I plan to use it to get home. But that''s just to see for my own two eyes what''s happened there. When I''m done, I will make it my mission to find the rest of the stones, and make sure that they are in safe hands, and if not I''ll put them in my own."

    "And when this man comes for you, and he will if you go through with these cockamamie schemes of yours, what will you do then?" Thor asked.

    "If I can''t handle it on my own?" Naruto asked. Seeing Thor''s nod, Naruto looked around at the celebrating team, a small smile on his face, "Then I know just who to call for help."

    Thor looked at Naruto for a long time, his once relaxed face now one of utter concentration, the man truly weighing the ups and downs of allowing Naruto to protect the Tesseract. Finally, he said, "I have your word you will protect it with your life?"

    Naruto gave a hard nod, his eyes filled with steely determination, "You have my word."

    "Then you have my word that I will come to your aid in you quest, should you require it." Thor said, raising his hand for a handshake, something that Naruto quickly grabbed, the two hands squeezing the other with nearly all their might. Letting go of his hand, Thor then extended his glass out, "To Colson."

    Naruto smiled a sad smile, still finding it hard to believe that his friend had died while trying to stop Loki. Had Naruto known of that, he doubted he''d have allowed the God of Mischief to live. Raising his glass up, Naruto sullenly toasted, "To Phil." With a clink of their glasses, the two blonde men swung back their drinks, each one finishing it off in no time, with Naruto setting the now empty glass off to his side. Thor then pulled Naruto into a quick bear hug before departing over to the group, the massive Asgardian pulling Bruce into a one-armed hug of his own.

    "So¡­your leaving."

    Turning around, Naruto came face to face with Nick Fury.

    Seeing Naruto wasn''t about to respond, Nick began to speak, "I hope I can trust that you''ll retur-" His sentence was thrown off by Naruto driving his fist into his face, sending the leader of SHIELD to the floor.

    Looming over Fury, Naruto calmly said, "That was for lying about the Tesseract." Kneeling down, Naruto grabbed him with by the collar of his trench coat. Bringing him up so that they were face to face, Naruto whispered out, "Why?" Naruto demanded, "Why would you lie about that, when you knew what was happening on my planet? I might have been able to do something, I''d only been gone for a week. But you had to lie, you had to make sure I was trustworthy, even if it meant that my people had to die." Tears were now rolling down his face, the party that had been going on before had stopped, with Steve making to possibly try and break it up, only for Tony and Bruce to hold him back, "And then¡­and then, you¡­you made Natasha spy on me¡­get close to me. You had her make me think she loved me, all so that I could be kept it line. Was I truly that untrustworthy, was I truly that much of a threat? After all I did to help you and your organization, all the people I''ve killed for you. Were any of the friendships I''d formed here genuine? Natasha? Clint?...Phil? Did any of them actually consider themselves my friend, or were they simply ordered by you to stay close to me?" Looking over at Clint he shouted, "HUH?!"

    Clint looked Naruto in the eye, his face as serious as ever as he spoke, "Of course you''re my friend. The same goes for Colson."

    The small feeling of happiness that was felt when Naruto heard that was overwhelmed by the feeling he got at seeing the look of guilt he could clearly see on Natasha''s face. Not bearing to look at her any longer, Naruto looked back at Fury. Taking a calming breath, Naruto whispered out, "I''m down with you."

    Dropping Fury to the floor, he walked out of the room.

    -x-

    Naruto was standing in the small research room, looking down at the Tesseract that was now in his hands. Naruto could feel the power that the Tesseract was holding, the stone in the center pulsing at Naruto''s touch.

    "I''m thinking it''s a container for the actual Stone, you''ll probably have to break it open." Kurama suggested.

    Naruto nodded, and was about to enter his Six Paths Sage Mode once again when he felt an all too familiar presence at the other side of the doorway. With a swoosh, the doors slid open, Natasha stepping in slowly. Her walk at a turtle''s pace, Natasha stopped just a foot away from Naruto, the woman starring at her lover''s back.

    For what felt like ages, the two of them stayed in a silence with enough tension that it was nearly palpable. Finally, Natasha spoke, "Naruto¡­Naruto I am so-"

    "Don''t." Naruto said firmly. Turning around, he said, "Was any of it real?"

    "Of course it was-"

    "Don''t lie to me!" Naruto shouted out, slamming his fist onto the table next to them. Taking a calming breath, Naruto looked at Natasha for a moment before continuing, his voice once again devoid of emotion, "I know that it was a mission, Clint told Loki while he was under his spell. And don''t try and pull the ''Loki could be lying'' bull crap because I know for a fact that he wasn''t."

    Natasha''s face was a look of desperation as she grabbed ahold of Naruto''s jacket, "Naruto please-"

    Resting his hands on her shoulders, he gently pried her off him, "Just tell me, was any of it true?"

    The agent known as Black Widow seemed to fight with herself for a moment before slowly saying, "Yes. But¡­at first¡­at first it was an order. Fury gave it to me so that I could gain your trust, so that I could report to him if you started showing any kind hostile tendencies towards us¡­and to give you a reason not to betray us. But¡­but after a while, things became¡­different. I started¡­to feel things¡­for you." Tears were now flowing freely down her cheeks, a look of utter shame on her face as she continued, looking him in the eye as she spoke, "My feelings for you are genuine, I swearto you. I haven''t loved anyone like I love you, please understand."

    "Did you still report to Fury about me¡­after that night?"

    "¡­"

    "I see." Naruto said, his eyes dead as he continued in a whisper, "Did you tell him about Kurama, about what I am?"

    "¡­"

    "I see."

    "Naruto please, you have to understand, they were ord-"

    "I''m going to say the same thing I said to Fury" Naruto said, now not only his voice, but his face as well had zero emotion, as though he were no longer human, but some kind of machine, "I''m done with you." Naruto then walked past her, the Tesseract in hand as he made his way out the room.

    "Naruto, please!"

    Naruto didn''t respond, his path set before him as he left the helicarrier, flying out into the sunset with his destination in mind.

    -x-

    Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

    -x-

    Naruto stood over the very mountain region he had crash landed, looking down at the crater his body had created, the hole in the ground now having begun to grown grass and other foliage around it. Sighing, Naruto looked at the Tesseract in his hand, the blue glow radiating from the cube lighting up the night sky around him.

    "Naruto¡­are you alright?" Kurama asked.

    "Yeah Kurama¡­I''m fine." Naruto said out loud, seeing no point in not doing it seeing as how he was alone at the moment.

    Kurama stayed quiet for a moment, "No you''re not."

    "Yeah Kurama¡­I know."

    Activating his Six Paths Chakra Cloak, Naruto squeezed down on the Tesseract, feeling the cube crack and break under the pressure of his strength. Light began to emit from the cracks, the energy the Stone was giving off humming loudly as more and more cracks webbed around the cubic container. Finally, the Tesseract shattered, the shining blue Space Stone floating in the palm of his hand for several moments before collapsing into it. A bright blue glow began to mix in with the yellow flames that accompanied his cloak, flickering at the tips of the flames. The sclera of his eyes was now a matching blue, with his eyes remaining their usual gold. Grinning, Naruto could feel the power the Space Stone gave him. Closing his eyes, Naruto began to picture in his head the Hokage Rock, something he did every day. He pictured the faces of all the past Hokage, Hashirama and Tobirama Senju, Oldman Sarutobi, his father Minato, and finally Granny Tsunade, all of their stone visages he could picture in his mind as clear as day. Naruto then felt a sudden pull, before a loud whoosh could be heard to his right.

    Opening his eyes, Naruto could see that a portal had opened up next to him, similar to the portal that had been opened during the Battle for New York. Looking inside, Naruto felt an overwhelming sensation of happiness as he found the thing he''d been looking for. Tears began to build along the corner of his eyes as he laid upon the stone faces of the people he looked up to the most, as he looked at the place he that gave him meaning.

    As he looked at home.

    -x-

    Chapter Complete

    -x-

    Author''s Note: For those that are probably concerned, this is NOWERE NEAR the end of the story. This is simply the end of Phase One. This story is not even half way over, and to help reassure you of that here are the names for the upcoming sagas that I''ve planned out after Naruto''s visit to his planet: the 1,000 Years War Saga, the Five Fugitives Saga, the Rolling Stone Saga, the Week of Ultron Saga, and finally the Sympathy for the Devil Saga. Some if not most of you can guess what the plot will be revolving around these Sagas, cough Ultron, cough Devil, some of the others though you might need to put your thinking caps on for. Now, if that''s about it for me, if you have any questions please PM me, but if you feel the need to let me know you''re dropping this story, bury that feeling deep down into your esophagus and remember these words, I don''t care. So yeah, please REVIEW! I''d love to break 500 reviews! Please FAVORITE, I''d love to break 1,000 favorites! And finally please FOLLOW, I''d love to break 1,500 followers! You guys are awesome, love me dammit!

    -x-

    Post Credit Scene

    -x-

    "So¡­the boy has left Earth."

    Standing before his master, the Other bowed his head as he answered, "Yes my lord, though we do not know where he has gone."

    Thanos simply chuckled, "The boy has power¡­I will give him that. I honestly don''t know how a fight between us would end."

    "Is he truly that powerful¡­my lord?" the Other asked.

    "Perhaps a¡­testing, is in order." Thanos said, resting his chin on his fist in thought.

    The Other looked up at his master, "But who could challenge him?"

    The Mad Lord''s smirk grew, his blood lust practically palpable, "I think I have someone in mind.

 11 Thanks for memories

    "Do you know why you are in trouble today¡­Naruto?"

    Naruto, at the tender age of 8, turned his head away from the Third Hokage, the young boy sitting down in front of the elder''s desk, his arms folded across his chest defiantly. His eyes squinted shut and his mouth in a wide pout he said, "I don''t know old man, why am I here?"

    Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed in exasperation, "I''ve brought you here Naruto, because of the little stunt you pulled this morning. Surely you know what I''m talking about."

    "Hmph," Naruto grunted, turning away even further, "That bastard Kibito deserved it!"

    "Naruto¡­language." Hiruzen huffed out.

    If possible, Naruto''s pout got even bigger, "You act like I care if I curse or not, it''s not I have any parents to punish me if I do."

    Hiruzen looked at Naruto for several second, seeing the slight break in the blonde''s fa?ade, seeing the just how vulnerable the little boy truly was, "Why did you punch Kibito, Naruto?" He asked.

    "Because he has a big mouth," Naruto answered, "And I just wanted to see if my fist could fit in it." He finished, looking at Hiruzen with a wide grin on his face.

    "What did he say to make you want to punch the boy?" Hiruzen asked.

    "I told you, he had a big-"

    "Naruto," Hiruzen said firmly, "Please¡­tell me why you punched that boy."

    Naruto hesitated for a moment, seemingly struggling over the prospect of answering, before he eventually exploded, "He called me¡­he called me a monster¡­okay?!"

    "¡­what?" Hiruzen asked in shock.

    Naruto looked away once again, this time a look of shame on his face, "He said that his dad told him¡­that the reason I''m alone, the reason I have no friends¡­or no family, is because I''m a monster."

    "¡­I see."

    Naruto and Hiruzen sat in the office, the two of them entering an awkward silence.

    -x-

    The five Hokage. Their faces emblazoned across the mountain top overlooking the Village Hidden in the Leaves, permanently keeping watch over the village they each loved dearly. Looking up at the third face on the mountain side, Naruto couldn''t help but smile fondly at the man who he considered family. Turning around, Naruto found himself looking at the village he had yearned for for so long. The village seemed to have been frozen in time, appearing to not have changed since the day he left it for Killer Bee''s training. His eyebrows furrowed together, he looked at the massive tree roots that were woven around the village.

    Jumping up to the branches, Naruto channeled chakra to his feet as he dashed to their underside, heading towards the cocoons that held the citizens of Konoha. It was as he got closer that he saw something strange. Each and every one of the cocoons¡­were empty.

    "What the hell?" Naruto asked. Quickly ceasing all motion, the blonde Shinobi quickly entered Sage Mode. Expanding his senses, Naruto searched the entire village for any life forms, only to come up empty, "Where the hell have they gone?" Naruto asked himself as he jumped down to the streets below. Dropping down into a meditative stance, his chin resting on his fist, Naruto began to think, "What the hell is going on?"

    "Do you think it''s at all possible that your team succeeded in defeating Kaguya, or at the very least got away from her and freed the people from their cocoons?" Kurama asked.

    Naruto shook his head, "Maybe¡­" Looking around, the Sage couldn''t help but take more notice of the city around him. The buildings were¡­decayed. Rust and foliage had begun to form and spread around, with several of the buildings having begun to fall apart. It was then that we noticed something else¡­it was quiet. Not just a lack of people, but a lack of¡­anything. No birds singing, no squirrels rustling through the trees, nothing.

    Getting up from the ground, Naruto formed his hand into a cross hand seal, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" The entire block was soon filled with Naruto''s with the original shouting out, "Search as many villages as you can, big or small, and see if you can find any survivors! Human, animal, anything!" His orders given out, the hoard of clones dispersed to do as their creator commanded.

    A thought suddenly entered his head before he brought his hand up to his mouth. Biting his thumb, the Sage drew blood before swiping it across his palm. Flipping through a set of hand seals, Naruto shouted out, "Summoning Jutsu!"

    "¡­nothing happened."

    "Don''t you think I know that?" Naruto asked agitatedly, rubbing his hands through his hair in aggravation.

    "Maybe you should go to the last place you were on this planet?" Kurama suggested, "Find some clues or whatever."

    Naruto nodded, channeling his Magnet Release and flying off into the direction of the Great Ninja War battlefield in the Land of Lightning.

    -x-

    Hovering over the area that was once called the Land of Lightning, Naruto looked in horror at the sight before him. The country was now a massive crater, lava boiling and spewing out over the surface, molten rock gleaming in the sun light, towers of ice stalagmites blasting outwards towards the sky, and in the center of it all, was the massive structure that was the God Tree. The bodies of hundreds of thousands of White Zetsus were littered all across the area, each and every one of them torn to shreds and obliterated. As he hovered, the memories of the clones he sent out to do recon invaded his mind sporadically, showing him that each village was no better off than Konoha, each and every one a ghost town.

    "What¡­what happened here?!" Naruto asked. The carnage that he saw below him couldn''t have happened long ago, there''s no way. Descending to the ground below, Naruto found a safe place to land as he inspected one of the White Zetsu splayed out before him.

    "It was the battle¡­to end all battles."

    Turning sharply, Naruto came face to face with the catalyst to everything that had happened in the Ninja World, Black Zetsu, third "son" of Kaguya. Emerging from the molten rock beneath him, Black Zetsu swayed halfway out of the ground, it''s black humanoid form hunched over and its olive-green eyes stared at Naruto in boredom. Coming out fully, Zetsu was forced to jump to the side to keep Naruto''s Kurama Cloak fist from driving into his face.

    "What happened here!?" Naruto shouted out, following after the back peddling Zetsu, "Tell me what you did!"

    "Me?" Zetsu asked, "This was not my work."

    Catching up to Zetsu, Naruto drove his knee into his stomach before bringing his fist down on the creature''s temple with the force of god. Grabbing him by the neck, Naruto lifted him off the ground, "Then whose?" Naruto demanded.

    Zetsu didn''t seemed to be bothered by Naruto trying to close his windpipe, not even trying to pry the blonde off of him, "Why do you think Kaguya was so desperate to activate the Nativity of a World of Trees? It wasn''t to bring ''peace'' or anything as trivial as that. It was so that she would have an army at her side when they came."

    "Who, when who came?!" Naruto demanded.

    "Kaguya isn''t the only of her kind¡­there were two others. Two others who have eaten a God Fruit of their own, and have gained the ultimate power said Fruits hold. Unlike Kaguya however, they were not satisfied with a single Fruit. After draining the Fruit and Tree of all their chakra, the two of them would go to the next world, and the next, and the next. Kaguya knew that they would come eventually and that she would need an army to defend against them. Hence, the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Nativity of a World of Trees." Zetsu explained. Sweeping his arm across the battlefield, he continued, "This¡­this is what happens when gods squabble. Destruction."

    "¡­what happened to Kaguya¡­to the others. To my friends?"

    "They killed each other. The others, Momoshiki and Kinshiki, killed off the army Kaguya formed with ease, and it was not long before the three titans ripped this country apart. And that was before Kaguya took them to her dimensions, similar to what she did with you and your friends. The fight lasted for years¡­decades, with Momoshiki killing Kinshiki and taking his chakra to become even more powerful. Eventually, Momoshiki finally managed to absorb the last of Kaguya''s chakra, what little there was left, killing her." Almost as an afterthought, he continued, "Her chakra, along with the chakra of the rest of the Biju."

    "Kaguya¡­is dead?" Naruto asked, stunned by the news, "What about this¡­Momoshiki?"

    "I killed him in his weakened state." Zetsu said, "It was rather easy, the man''s chakra was at practically zero, and after he came here to absorb the chakra within the God Tree, I took advantage of him having his guard down." The creature had a defeated look on his face, "It was the least I could do¡­for taking away my purpose."

    "Your purpose?" Naruto asked, "Your purpose?!" Slamming Zetsu''s body down with all his might, the ground exploding outward forming a crater around the all black creature, "What about everybody else''s purpose? Every man, woman, child that you killed, the countless innocent lives you''ve snuffed out, all for the sake of making sure some people don''t take that monster of a woman''s chakra! There''s nothing left!" Naruto began to bring his fists down on Zetsu''s head, the black chakra that made up his body splattering around his closed hands, covering his hands in the black liquid, "Iruka! Sakura! Sasuke! Kakashi! Hinato! Kiba! Shino! Tsunade! Shikamaru! Ino! Choji! Kurenai! Konohamaru! Shizune! Killer Bee! Gaara! Kankuro! Temari! Shukaku! Matatabi! Isobu! Son Goku! Kokou! Saiken! Chomei! Gyuki! EVERYONE! ALL GONE!" Each name he brought his fist down on Zetsu''s face, the creature reforming after each strike, "I HATE YOU!" Naruto brought his fist down a final time, with all his might, his hand driving through Zetsu''s head into the ground below, shattering both the earth and his fist on contact.

    -x-

    "Naruto¡­" Hiruzen said softly.

    Naruto looked at the elder, a look of defiance in his eye as he spoke, "You better not pity me old man, you hear me?!"

    "Do you think I pity you, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked.

    Naruto scoffed, "I don''t know." Looking Hiruzen in the eye he continued, "But I''ve gone my whole life without the pity of others, and I don''t need any of it now, believe it!"

    -x-

    Getting off of Zetsu, Naruto huffed as he tried to catch his breath, sitting down next to the still laying down monster. Eventually, Zetsu''s head reformed fully, with the creature slowly getting up from the ground, the two of them sitting quietly next to each other.

    "Your friends¡­they died quick deaths. The Uchiha put up quite the fight¡­but not even he could match her might. Hatake and the pink one fell soon after."

    "Do you really think¡­that that''s going to make me feel any better?" Naruto asked as he slowly made to stand up.

    "No¡­just thought you''d like to know they died honorable deaths. The least I could do for the man that will be ending my miserable existence."

    The two of them stood there for several minutes before Naruto spoke, "¡­and what about the toad summons? Or the rest of the summon animals for that matter?"

    "Dead as well. No living thing on this planet survived Kaguya''s technique, every last thing was turned into a White Zetsu."

    "Gamakichi¡­Grandpa and Grandma Toad¡­Gamabunta, all gone." Looking over at the tree looming over him, Naruto felt an overwhelming need to destroy something, "AUGH!" Naruto screamed out, forming a massive Tailed Beast Ball in his hand before firing it off, the beam of pure chakra rocketing towards the God Tree.

    BOOM!

    -x-

    "I do not pity you, Naruto." Hiruzen reassured.

    Naruto nodded, "Good." After that declaration, the blonde child seemed to mentally withdraw into himself, growing unusually silent.

    The two stayed in that silence for a long time, Hiruzen starring down at the boy in his care as he spoke around his pipe, "Naruto¡­you know that that Kibito boy is wrong, don''t you?"

    "¡­then why?" Naruto asked.

    "Hmm?" Hiruzen asked.

    "Why does everyone¡­hate me so much?" Naruto asked, his voice near desperation in his need to know why.

    With a sigh, Hiruzen leaned back in his chair, "People hate what they do not understand Naruto¡­and you Naruto are someone they do not understand."

    "But why?!" Naruto asked, "What''s so hard to understand about me?!"

    "¡­" A flash of sadness spread through Hiruzen''s eyes for only a moment, only to disappear as fast as it came, "That is something that not even I can answer."

    "I hate them."

    Hiruzen, startled by Naruto''s remark, said, "What?"

    Naruto got up from his seat, throwing his arm out as he yelled, "I hate them! The villagers, Kimito, his dad, everybody!" Now right in front of the Hokage''s desk, Naruto slammed his hands on the top of it, "All they do is ignore me, pretend like I don''t exist, treat me like I''m a monster! I hate them!"

    Hiruzen looked at Naruto for a long moment, "Is that how you plan on living your life, hating them just for the sake of hating, even though it is only a minority of them that truly see you as this ''monster?''" Leaning forward, he continued, "Would that make you no better than the people that call you a monster?"

    Naruto looked at Hiruzen in surprise, stepping back from the desk, "But¡­but," Balling his fingers up into tight fists, he continued, "But¡­"

    "Would you like to hear something my sensei once told me, Naruto?"

    Looking up at Hiruzen in surprise, Naruto asked, "Your¡­sensei?"

    Sarutobi nodded, "Yes, my sensei, the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju. A very wise man who, on my first day under his tutelage, told me, ''It doesn''t matter what you do, you may live or die as you like. However, no matter what road you may end up taking, remember to always protect the people that are precious to you."

    "Precious¡­people?" Naruto asked.

    Hiruzen nodded, "Yes, people who you love with all your being, people that you live and die for."

    "But¡­what if I don''t¡­what if I don''t'' have any precious people?"

    The Third Hokage gave a small chuckle, "Am I not precious to you, Naruto?"

    "What?" Naruto asked.

    "What of your friends at school, or Iruka-sensei, or the Ichiraku family? Are they not all precious to you?"

    The images of Choji, Shikamaru, Iruka, old man Ichiraku and Ayame popped up in Naruto''s mind. A small smile spread across Naruto''s face, "Yeah¡­they are precious to me."

    "Good."

    -x-

    "How long¡­has it been, since my battle with Kaguya?" Naruto asked, remembering that Zetsu had said that the battle between the Otsutsuki had taken decades.

    "...76 years."

    "That¡­long?" Naruto asked, nearly dropping to his knees in shock over hearing how long he''d been gone, "I''ve been gone for 76 years?"

    Zetsu nodded, "For nearly five decades I have waited for something to come along. An anomaly I hadn''t foreseen. Something that could finally bring an end to the era of the Otsutsuki." Turning to face Naruto, Zetsu''s face scrunched in a look of agitation, "So¡­what are waiting for?! End it! Kill me!"

    "Naruto¡­"

    "¡­because of you, this has happened." Naruto said slowly. Looking around, he smiled sadly, "Every war or conflict. My mom and dad. The Biju and their Jinchuriki. Madara, Obito, Itachi, hell the whole Uchiha Clan. So many lives lost. Because of you." Raising his hand out, the blonde enveloped himself in the Six Paths Sage Mode, a Tailed Beast Bomb. As the ball made of pure chakra grew in power, three identical but much smaller spheres appeared around it, orbiting around the original Tailed Beast Ball.

    "Planetary Tailed Beast Ball."

    The firing of the attack from Naruto''s palm sent a sonic boom, the ground beneath the blonde shattering outwards, forming a crater beneath him. Being at such close range to Zetsu, it only took a second for the attack to reach him, before a flash of white spread through the area.

    -x-

    "Naruto, get over here!"

    "Yeah, yeah Sakura, I''m coming!" Running over to the pink haired girl, Naruto came to a stop just a few yards away, stuffing his hands in his tracksuit pockets, "It''s not like Kakashi''s gonna show up soon anyway, we''ve got like another hour before he''ll be here."

    "That''s not the point Naruto." Sakura said with a sigh.

    "Hmph." Naruto said squinting his eyes as he did, folding his arms across his chest, "Whatever, what''re you in such a hurry for then?"

    "Here." Sakura said, pushing something out in front of the blonde, "Happy Birthday, Naruto."

    "You¡­you got me a birthday present?" Naruto asked in shock, gently grabbing the gift from the girl''s hands.

    "Yeah well, Sasuke and I did. We heard your birthday was today from that Ichiraku family." Sakura said, a gentle smile on her face.

    "You," Naruto said, "And Sasuke?" He asked, looking over at the Uchiha, the boy resting against a nearby training post, facing away from the duo.

    Looking over, Sasuke looked Naruto in the eye for a second before scoffing, "Hn, just open it loser."

    "Right¡­right!" Naruto said excitedly. Tearing through the wrapping paper, Naruto revealed a box underneath. Throwing the lid off, Naruto pulled the object out of the box.

    "A¡­a wallet pouch?" Naruto asked confused. The blonde remained quiet as he looked down at the frog shaped wallet in his hand.

    "Do¡­do you not like it?" Sakura asked worriedly.

    "No¡­" Naruto said, his voice a strange low. Quickly wiping his eyes so that the two of them didn''t see the tears that had begun to build, Naruto looked up, a wide grin on his face, "I love it!"

    -x-

    Minato Namikaze.

    Kushina Uzumaki.

    Obito Uchiha.

    As Naruto read threw the names of the Shinobi listed on the Konohagakure Memorial Stone, he quickly found the names of his mother and father, and the man that killed them. Kneeling next to the stone, Naruto ran his hand over the dusty marble, showing more and more names as he cleared off the stone''s surface. Forming two Truth-Seeking Balls in his hands, one forming into a stylus like shape, and the other as a simple blunt object.

    Clink

    Clink

    Clink

    -x-

    "Yo, Naruto!"

    Turning his head, Naruto looked over to see his Jonin Sensei, Kakashi Hatake, crouching in his open window sill. Giving a single fingered solute, the cyclops looked at the blonde with his usual lazy demeanor.

    "Kakashi-sensei, what''re you doing here?" Naruto asked, the boy having just put on his blue pajamas as he was preparing for bed.

    "Well," Kakashi drawled out, "I heard the other two gave you a birthday present, so I figured I''d do the same. What kind of sensei would I be otherwise?" He said, giving one of his iconic eye smiles at the end. Pulling out a small gift wrapped package, the silver haired ninja threw the gift at the blonde.

    "You too Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in shock. Giving a megawatt smile, the blonde began to unwrap the gift. Tearing through it quickly, the blonde held the gift out in front of him, "¡­Icha Icha Violence?"

    Kakashi gave him a thumbs up, "I haven''t even read it yet, so that means we can read it together, isn''t that great?!" the scarecrow asked in perverse excitement. The man was disappointed however when he found the book thrown into his face, the book bouncing off his forehead, sending Kakashi flying backwards.

    "What the hell is wrong with you, huh?!" Naruto yelled out, his fist waving angrily in the air, "I''ve freaking thirteen years old, I shouldn''t be reading that crap, especially with a creep like you!" Slamming his window shut, the blonde stormed over to his bed, angrily throwing the covers over himself as he laid down into the bed.

    "¡­creep?" Kakashi asked weakly.

    -x-

    Kakashi Hatake

    Sasuke Uchiha

    Sakura Haruno

    Looking at the names of his teammates he wrote on their names on the stone. Wiping the sweat that had begun to build along his brow, he continued to write the names of his fallen comrades. Hinata Hyuga, Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, Ten Ten, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, Kurenai Yuhi.

    Clink

    Clink

    Clink

    -x-

    "Surely you don''t think you can beat me, Naruto?" Standing in front of Naruto stood Iruka Umino, Naruto''s former Academy Instructor Iruka Umino, "Just because you spent a couple years training under Lord Jiraiya doesn''t mean you can take me on."

    His arms resting behind his head, eyes squinted shut, Naruto spoke excitedly, "We''ll see, Iruka-sensei. I''ve gotten pretty badass over the last couple years. Just ask Kakashi-sensei."

    Smirking, Iruka got into a taijutsu stance, "I heard about your fight with Kakashi. Rest assured when I say I won''t be holding back like he did."

    A tick mark spread across Naruto''s brow, "What was that?!" He shouted out comically.

    "Are we gonna do this or what?" Iruka asked, a confident look on his face.

    Naruto didn''t bother responding, rather charging towards his one-time teacher. Quickly creating a duo of clones, the triplet blondes began their barrage upon Iruka, said man back peddling as he blocked and parried each strike. Seeing he wasn''t getting anywhere with his assault, the original Naruto and one of his clones jumped back and allowed the remaining clone to continue his fun with Iruka. Seeing that Naruto was planning something by jumping back, Iruka knew he had to take out the clone quickly. Grabbing his incoming fist, the ponytailed man used the blonde clone''s forward momentum and pulled the duplicate towards him. Taking advantage of the clone''s unbalance, Iruka sent a flat palm strike towards its elbow, snapping the bone immediately and popping the clone in one fluid move.

    Iruka was then forced to lean his head to the side to avoid a fist emerging from the cloud of smoke the dispersed clone made, once again back peddling to avoid the last remain Naruto clone. Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka could see that Naruto had created another clone, said clone helping him form a Rasengan in the palm of his hand, "I forgot he could perform the Fourth Hokage''s technique." Iruka thought. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of the attack, Iruka made sure to make quick work of the Naruto clone, quickly deflecting a back hand, withdrawing a kunia from his weapon pouch, and driving the multipurpose blade into the clone''s side.

    "Gotcha!" Naruto screamed out, the blonde having jumped in the air and descending on Iruka. Jumping back just in time, Iruka was forced to bring his arms up to block the flying debris the Rasengan created.

    Naruto, trying to pull his hand out of the crater his attack had created, was forced to freeze when he felt the cool feeling of a kunai against his throat, "Yield, Naruto." Iruka said triumphantly.

    "Hehehe," Naruto chuckled, looking up at Iruka with his classic squinty eyed smile, he said, "I guess you got me¡­Iruka-sensei."

    "Hehehe, I guess I did."

    "Not."

    Iruka was surprised to hear those words not come from Naruto sitting next to him, but rather from what sounded like down below him. Dirt and grass exploded outwards as another Naruto jumped out of the tunnel he had created, grabbing Iruka in a full nelson, holding his former teacher with all his strength as the Naruto clone pulled out a kunai of his own, pointing the tip into Iruka''s jugular.

    "Yield." The two blondes said at once.

    "I¡­yield." Iruka said reluctantly.

    Two puffs of smoke swallowed him, showing that both of the Narutos had been clones all along. Hearing the blonde troublemaker''s laugh just a few yards to his right, Iruka looked over to see Naruto walking out of the tree line, his arms once again folded behind his head, "I sure got you, huh Iruka-sensei?"

    Walking over to his sensei, Naruto offered his hand out to give the still sitting Iruka a helping hand up to his feet. Chuckling, Iruka took his former student''s hand, allowing him to pull him up to his feet. Dusting himself off real quickly, Iruka couldn''t help but marvel at just how different Naruto was compared to his last day in the academy. He was like a totally different person.

    "Iruka-sensie¡­" Naruto said, seeing that his favorite sensei had been looking at him for several seconds now without saying a word, "Are you alright?"

    Startled by the question, Iruka shook his head clear before speaking, "Yeah Naruto, I''m fine."

    "Oh¡­okay then." Naruto was surprised to feel his mentor rest his hand on his shoulder. Looking at Iruka, he couldn''t help but feel an overwhelming warmth at seeing the look he was giving him. It was a look he''d seen before, a look he''d never really received. It was the kind of look he''d seen Shikamaru''s dad give him after the Sasuke Retrieval Mission. The look¡­of a proud parent.

    "I''m¡­I''m so proud of you, Naruto." Iruka said, his voice thick with pride, "of the Shinobi¡­of the person you''ve become." Both of his hands now on Naruto''s shoulders, Iruka looked Naruto in the eye, "and I want you to know that I believe you will make a splendid Hokage."

    "Thank you¡­Iruka."

    -x-

    Drip

    Clink

    Drip

    Clink

    Drip

    His shoulders shaking, Naruto wasn''t able to hold in his tears as he carved in the last name onto the Memorial Stone. Tears were spilling down from his eyes, descending his cheeks, and dripping off of his chin to the ground below. Naruto didn''t bother wiping his eyes, to busy finishing his work. The final touch carved in, Naruto leaned back to look at his handiwork.

    Iruka Umino

    -x-

    "Alright Naruto, enough jacking around!"

    Naruto, in the middle of trying to form a Rasengan in his hand without the use of a Shadow Clone, lost his concentration at Jiraiya''s words. The ball of chakra quickly destabilized in his hand, causing him to give his mentor a heated look, "Dammit Pervy Sage, I almost had it that time!"

    Chuckling, Jiraiya said, "Trust me brat, you''re still a couple years away from being able to form a Rasengan by yourself. Just consider it a blessing you can do it at all."

    Naruto scoffed, "I have to get stronger Pervy Sage, otherwise what''s this training trip all about?"

    "This trip was to focus on gaining control of the beast inside of you while keeping away from any kind of civilian population. Last thing we need is the people of Konoha freaking out because they think the Kyuubi has been let loose on them once again." Jiraiya explained.

    "I don''t think I''ll ever be able to master that chakra Pervy Sage, I can barely hold one tail, let alone nine." Naruto said, remembering his fight with Sasuke just a few months ago.

    "Is that the only reason why you don''t want to use that power?" Jiraiya asked.

    Naruto sighed, "Shikamaru and Sakura are already asking questions after my fight in the Chunin Exams¡­I just don''t think it''d be a good idea to use it as much, especially the amount I used against Sasuke."

    "Do you really think your friends will think differently of you if they ever found out? Do you really think so little of them?"

    Naruto looked away, unable to answer that question.

    "I don''t think if you''re honest with them about the circumstances revolved around you that they would hate you. If anything, I think that their respect for you will only grow. But that''s if you come out and tell them, rather than them finding out and coming to their own conclusions." Jiraiya said softly. A smirk spread across his face, "Especially that feisty pink haired girl, Sabura or whatever."

    Naruto gave a small smile, "Sakura¡­her name is Sakura."

    -x-

    Naruto stood in the middle of the Hokage''s office, running his hand across the table top that was covered in layer after layer of dust. Wiping the dust that had accumulated on the tips of his fingers, Naruto made his way around the desk. Grabbing ahold of the swivel chair, the blonde Shinobi gently turned it over to the side. Carefully, Naruto rested his body into the chair. Swiveling back around, Naruto sat behind the Hokage desk fully, finally fulfilling a lifelong wish. It seemed foolish, childish even. But ever sense he first stepped into this office as a boy, Naruto had envisioned himself sitting behind the desk, the Hokage hat resting upon his scalp. Running his hands over the chairs worn leather arm rest, Naruto couldn''t help but feel a small sliver of satisfaction.

    -x-

    "Come on granny, pleeease?"

    A blood vessel began to pulse along Tsunade Senju''s temple as she looked at the blonde boy in front of her, "What have I told you about calling me that Naruto?" Leaning back into her recently acquired chair, she sighed before saying, "Besides, only the Hokage is allowed to sit behind this desk. A dumb brat like you hasn''t earned the right to sit in this chair."

    "Yeah, yeah. Jeez, you''re as stingy as the old man." Naruto said, crossing his arms in a mild pout.

    "So¡­how''s your teammate, the Uchiha?" Tsunade asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "He''s alright I guess. Sakura''s been babying him ever since you woke him up, so I''m sure he''s fine."

    "You like that Sakura girl, don''t you?" Tsunade asked, hearing the slight jealousy in his voice when speaking of Sakura pampering the Uchiha boy.

    A blush spread across Naruto''s cheeks, "O-of course I do! She''s my teammate after all!" The blonde explained away.

    Tsunade smiled, the boy''s personality reminding her of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki. The little tomboy was her long off cousin, and had been rather close to her grandmother, "I don''t know Naruto." Tsunade started, "She might be a little too feisty for you. I think you need a¡­quieter girl." The Senju said this, remembering how the loud and boisterous Kushina had fallen for the quiet and reserved Minato. Their two polar opposite personalities melded so well together, it only made sense the same would work for their son.

    "A¡­quieter girl?" Naruto asked, "What the hell are you blabbering about granny, have you gone senile on me or something?!"

    "Why you little brat!"

    -x-

    Naruto chuckled at the memory. It was only after he met his mom and dad that he understood the woman''s words. The two of them were totally different from each other, yet they had fallen for each other, and at such a young age as well. It was kind of funny that his mother''s last words to him were to find a girl like her, considering his longtime crush on his pink haired teammate. Naruto couldn''t help but think how well those two would''ve gotten along. Looking over at the wall to his right, Naruto eyes couldn''t help but be drawn to the framed photograph of his father, the man wearing his costume Hokage jacket, his Kage hat resting loosely on his head, his hand pulling it down so that it covered his head slightly.

    Getting up from the chair, Naruto walked over to the photo, feeling compelled to give the photo a closer look. The frame was barely being held up along the wall, with the other photographs of the other Kage having fallen and broken along the ground. Gently, Naruto lifted the frame off the wall. Flipping the frame over, Naruto opened it up and slipped the photo out. Dropping the now empty frame, the glass shattering with a subtle crack, Naruto inspected the picture one last time before folding it to place in his pocket. As the photo was folded, Naruto could see the faint sign of what looked like scribbles on the back.

    "What the?"

    Unfolding the picture, he then flipped it over. Channeling chakra into the photo, a seal began to glow a bright blue along the back before a poof of smoke enveloped it. A scroll fell through the smoke, hitting the ground with a roll. Folding the picture back up and placing it in his pocket, Naruto kneeled down to pick up the scroll.

    Flipping it over so that he could see the label, Naruto read out loud, "Flying Thunder God Technique?"

    "Holy shit brat, do you know what that is?" Kurama asked the blonde, obviously shocked by the recent events.

    "This¡­this is my dad''s technique, isn''t it? The one that made him famous." Naruto asked, "But why is it here, of all places?"

    "How the hell would I know that brat? It was probably put there by the old man for safe keeping." Kurama guessed.

    "Maybe¡­"

    "Who gives a shit why it''s here?!" Kurama asked, "If you master that, you''d be able to go anywhere you wanted so long as you marked it beforehand, that means you could come back here without the Space Stone."

    "Yeah that could come in handy. I could keep the Stones here for safe keeping, seal them away somewhere safe, somewhere only I could reach them."

    "I think it''s training time, Naruto. With your Shadow Clone training method, you could get a lot of shit done before you start your little Infinity Stone endeavor." Kurama suggested, a savage grin on his face at the prospect of how strong his container could get, "I know we may have just gotten here Naruto¡­but I think it''s time we left. There''s nothing more you can do here."

    Looking down at the scroll in his hand, Naruto nodded as he said, "I''m gonna need some supplies."

    -x-

    Crack!

    With a loud crack the door was kicked open, the sun''s rays bathing into the room, revealing the place to be a weapons shop. Stepping over the shattered door, Naruto looked around the room. Various weapons were on display, from katana, wakizashi, kodachi, to numerous types of kunai that differed in size and shape. Walking in fully, Naruto created a group of clones, "Grab as many weapons as you can and seal them into a scroll. That means weapon holsters and pouches, scrolls, and anything else that might be useful." The clones all giving a solute, they began to do as they were told. Walking throughout the shop, Naruto went through the task of finding anything he could find on learning fuinjutsu and elemental ninjutsu. Looking through the various scrolls, Naruto a few of the scrolls he was looking for, but all of them pertained to fuinjutsu, with him finding a scroll on beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

    "Hopefully you''ll be as good at fuinjutsu as your mother was." Kurama said, "From what I could gleam off of her, that was one of the things she specialized in, her and the Fourth."

    "She was huh?" Naruto asked, "Well I hope I can live up to your expectations."

    "You rarely ever do¡­but miracles happen all the time I suppose."

    "Bastard."

    "Dumbass."

    "Love you too."

    "Yeah, whatever."

    In a puff of smoke, all the clones dispelled except for one, this clone holding the scroll that contained the majority of the weapons shop inside of it. Handing the scroll over, Naruto turned it over to see that it had been labeled "Weapons and Stuff."

    "Alright Naruto¡­time to go."

    "I just have one more stop."

    -x-

    "Alright, it''s picture time! Everyone pose." Kakashi commanded, the Jonin leader standing among his Genin squad. In front of them just a few yards away was a cameraman, prepping his camera as the team got together.

    "Why do I have to get my picture taken with this jerk?" Naruto asked, looking over at Sasuke accusingly.

    Said Uchiha huffed in annoyance, "That''s my line, loser."

    "What was that?!" Naruto yelled out in agitation, the boy raising his fist in as though prepared to start a fight with his raven-haired teammate.

    "Calm down Naruto, we have to take the picture. It''s tradition after all." Kakashi said, trying to placate with the hyperactive blonde.

    Sakura turned to face the cameraman, "I''m just happy I get to take a picture with Sasu-I mean the team!" she said excitedly.

    The blonde Shinobi''s personality took a complete one-eighty, now showing excitement as he said, "Yeah, isn''t it awesome we get to take a picture together, Sakura?" He asked, a blush on his face.

    Sakura looked at Naruto with mild annoyance, "Sensei, can we leave Naruto out?"

    "Aw, come on Sakura¡­" Naruto said in defeat, causing Sasuke to chuckle at the blonde. Hearing this, Naruto once again grew furious as he got face to face with the Uchiha, "Quit laughing!"

    Sasuke quickly matched Naruto in his annoyance, the two of them now literally butting heads, "Make me!" the Uchiha demanded.

    "Enough, you two." Kakashi drawled out, grabbing ahold of the two by their scalps and pulling them apart, "You''re annoying the cameraman...and me." He finished his sentence as though it were an afterthought. Said cameraman was giving the group an annoyed look as he waited for the squad to pose for the picture, "and I don''t know about you guys, but I actually want to keep this, so make with the smiles."

    "Now¡­say cheese!"

    -x-

    "What a¡­crappy picture." Naruto chuckled out. Looking down at the picture frame that seemed to be falling apart in his hands, Naruto couldn''t help but chuckle at the picture before of the original Team 7, "I looked like such an idiot back then." The blonde said fondly, looking at his younger self''s outfit, "I can''t believe I got away with wearing that."

    "I thought you liked this picture, Naruto. If I recall it reminded you of what your friends used to be." Kurama observed.

    Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, I guess it did." Looking at his angry expression, Naruto''s smile grew wider, "It''s funny¡­but now. Now when I look at it, all I see is how stupid we all used to be. Kakashi-sensei, who had no real clue how to teach a group of kids, let alone a group as messed up as ours. Sakura, and her constant admiration of Sasuke. The girl didn''t even train, more concerned with her looks than anything else. Then Sasuke, don''t even get me started on Sasuke." Flipping the paper over, Naruto opened up the frame before taking the photo out, "And finally, there was me, the biggest idiot of them all. All bark and no bite. Hell, I didn''t even know how to pronounce chakra when I started out."

    "Which makes your rise in power all the more impressive¡­wouldn''t you say Naruto?"

    "I suppose." Naruto said, folding the photo up and placing it in his pocket as he did. Then, a thought hit him, "Wait a minute¡­did you just compliment me Kurama?"

    "...we should probably be going now, I think." Kurama said, obviously trying to pretend that nothing had happened.

    Naruto couldn''t help but laugh for a moment before saying, "Yeah¡­you''re probably right."

    Setting the now empty frame on the bed, Naruto took a moment to look around his shoddy apartment one last time.

    -x-

    "This whole place is mine?! You''re kidding me, right old man?!" A young Naruto shouted out excitedly, running around the recently furnished apartment. Running over to the fridge, the young boy had stars in his eyes as he looked at the variety of food stocked before him.

    "That''s right my boy, this whole place is yours." Hiruzen said, a gentle smile on his face as he watched Naruto run over to the twin sized bed, the boy climbing on top of it and jumping up and down on top of the mattress, a look of utter joy on his face.

    "This is so awesome!" Naruto yelled out. The excitement however slowly left his face, with his jumping stopping along with it. Getting off the bed, he asked, "But how am I gonna pay for this old man, I don''t have any money?"

    Hiruzen walked over to the boy, resting his hand on his shoulder, "Don''t worry about lad, I have it all taken care of."

    "Really?" Naruto asked suspiciously, "No foolin?"

    The Third Hokage''s smile grew larger, "Really." He reassured.

    Naruto looked up at the Third Hokage, awe and admiration in his eyes, before he looked down, his hair covering his face from Hiruzen''s view.

    Confused by Naruto''s behavior, Hiruzen began to say, "Naruto, is something the matte-OUPH!" Hiruzen was interrupted by Naruto throwing himself into the older man, grabbing ahold of his waste as tightly as his little arms would allow it.

    "Thank you¡­grandpa."

    -x-

    "Thank you¡­everyone."

 12 over the hills and far away

    Vast. That was the only way to describe the endless void that is the cosmos. If one were to simply float along in the chilling emptiness, it would be easy to lose track of time. Hours would begin to feel like days, and days would begin to feel like years. If alone too long, no one could blame you for losing what remains of your mental fortitude and succumbing into a harsh madness. Luckily, Naruto was never along. Not really.

    "We are so lost."

    "¡­"

    "¡­I know you can hear me, brat."

    "¡­please Kurama, shut up."

    "¡­"

    "¡­"

    "I told you this was a stupid idea."

    "A ''stupid idea?''" Naruto thought incredulously, "If I remember correctly, you were the one that said, ''fuck it, we''ll find a planet eventually!'' Well guess what buddy, we fucking haven''t!"

    "We found four planets you little shit!" Kurama defended himself, "¡­it''s not my fault that no one was actually on any of them."

    "I hate you¡­I hate you so much."

    "I don''t see why we don''t just go back to Earth. At least there we can fight something. You haven''t had a good fight in a year." Kurama complained.

    Naruto mentally sighed, "I already told you Kurama, Earth is the last place I wanna go. Besides, we''ve had a lock on a large mass of life forms for a while now. Every time I activate my Six Paths Sage Mode the presence gets stronger and stronger. We''re getting close, you just actually have to patient."

    "Who the hell are you talking about being patience, Mr. ''I Gotta Get Home Now?''" Kurama asked impatiently, "You''re the most impatient person I''ve ever met, and that''s saying something considering I was sealed within your mother for thirty years."

    "¡­I hate you."

    The two of them entered a moment of silence, neither of them saying a word as Naruto rocketed through the void. His body was covered in his Six Paths granted chakra shroud that protected his body from the natural terrors of space while also using his mastery over wind to create a chakra incased breather of sorts, allowing him to safely travel along the stars. Naruto, for a moment, was allowed to enjoy a moment of peace.

    That is until Kurama spoke up again, "You know what I just thought of?"

    "¡­what?" Naruto thought tiredly.

    "When we eventually run into these ''life forms,'' how exactly do you plan on you know¡­speaking to them?"

    Naruto blinked several times, his mind replaying his tenant''s questions a few more times before it registered completely, "¡­Shit."

    "Exactly."

    Naruto stopped his flight, floating for a moment as he thought, "I can''t believe that didn''t cross my mind. It''s not like there''s some kind of ''common tongue'' or whatever. That''s stupid sci-fi stuff." The blonde began to rub the back of his head as he tried to think of an answer.

    Kurama sighed, "If only you still had that magical necklace or whatever that ancient woman gave you." The fox said suggestively, trying to drop the hint for his container.

    "¡­yeah. If only." Naruto said, rubbing his chin in thought.

    "Yeah¡­if only you had sealed in a scroll a few years ago."

    "Yeah, I know. I''m such an idiot."

    "Yeah¡­you really really are." Kurama thought to himself, "You sealed it in a scroll you fucking fool!" the Biju shouted in agitation.

    "You know¡­words can hurt." Naruto thought pathetically. Reaching into the pouch fastened to the back of his pants, Naruto pulled out all of the scrolls resting inside of it. Fumbling through them, the ninja finally found the one he was looking for. Opening it up, Naruto found the seal he was looking for before shoving a small amount of chakra into, a cloud of smoke enveloping him. Flying away from the lingering cloud, Naruto looked at the Prayer Beads of Saraswati given to him by the Ancient One when he first arrived on Earth. Smiling at the memory, Naruto wrapped the beads tightly around his forearm, "There, that should take care of that¡­I hope."

    -x-

    "Captain."

    Turning his head over his shoulder, Stakar Ogord looked at his first mate, "What is it, Martinex?" The man looked to be in his fifties, his greying black hair slicked back lazily along his scalp. Strapped over his body was a thick blue leather jacket with golden rings protruding from his shoulders, "If it''s Mainframe, tell her I''m busy."

    Martinex shook his head, his diamond resembling complexion shining in the dim cockpit lighting. Walking forward he spoke, "We''ve come across something¡­strange."

    "Strange how?" Stakar asked.

    Pulling down a tablet screen, Martinex swiped through several different sets of footage before selecting one, pulling up the ship''s hull camera feed. Swiveling the screen over to his captain, the first mate presented him with what he found so strange.

    Looking down at the screen, Stakar saw what looked to be a man on fire floating in the vacuum of space. Tapping on the figure, the captain checked on his life reading, "He''s¡­alive?"

    Martinex nodded, looking over his captain''s shoulder at the anomaly before them, "Not only that, but he''s giving off some massive energy readings. At first I thought he might be a Herald, but none of the energy I could pick up was cosmic in its makeup, but rather something I personally have never seen before."

    "Bring him aboard." Stakar ordered.

    "But sir," Martinex spoke, "What if he''s hostile? Even if his energy isn''t that of the Power Cosmic, he could still very well just be suppressing it somehow. I''ve never heard of any other being but a Herald or their master to be able to travel though space in such a way."

    Stakar lazily closed his eyes for a moment, taking several seconds before saying, "He''s not."

    "Not hostile? Did you have a vision, sir?" The first mate asked.

    The captain shook his head in exasperation, "They are not visions, for the last time."

    "Right captain, of course." Martinex said, silently rolling his eyes, "I''ll have Tiab activate the tractor beam at once. Are you coming along?"

    "Yeah, I''ll be there in a minute." Stakar said, seeing that a call was coming in. Waiting until Martinex had left the room he finally answered the call, "What is it Yondu? I thought I told you to never call this line."

    Yondu''s face could be seen on the screen in front of Stakar, his face one of mild trepidation. Placing his closed fist over the left side of his chest in a Ravager Solute, the blue skinned pirate spoke, "I know Stakar, and I¡­apologize. But I''ve heard some news that I feel you''d like to know."

    Stakar sighed in agitation, "And what news would that be?"

    "I''ve heard word that your score has been spotted on Hiberlac."

    "And where exactly did you get this information from?" Stakar asked.

    Yondu hesitated for a second before saying, "Quill and Kraglin heard it while taking a pit stop on a nearby port station."

    "Do you have his exact coordinates?"

    The blue skinned pirate nodded, "Of course." Yondu seemed to have an internal struggle before saying, "Stakar can we-"

    "Don''t ever call this line again Yondu, I won''t warn you a third time." Stakar said, steel in his voice as he cut off the feed, cutting Yondu off in the middle of his sentence.

    -x-

    A woman stood near the airlocked door, waiting patiently to be given the go ahead to open the door to enter and speak with the mysterious fire man. Looking at a screen that played the camera feed in the small room, the woman found herself fascinated by the man. Now that he was conscious and onboard the ship, he was no longer engulfed in the strange yellow flames, showing that he appeared to be in his mid to late twenties, though she could be wrong considering his face was covered by near shoulder length blonde hair that had a spiky mess too it, along with a thick beard that was a slightly darker blonde color. His clothes were rather strange in her opinion, with a black jacket that was buttoned up almost all the way, with the collar popped up and wrapped around his neck rather rightly. Around his right arm was a red arm band with an orange swirl in the center, along with another band tied around his left, only the clothe was blue in color with a metal plate in the middle. On the plate was a strange looking symbol that was scratched through the middle. His orange pants were tapered off by a pair of black combat boots, the heels and toes protected by visible plating. Upon even further inspection on the mystery man''s face, the woman could now make out strange marking that were hidden for the most part by his fascial hair, with three thin lines appearing to run along both of his cheeks.

    "Interesting." The woman summarized, just as a loud ring rang out on the intercom above her head, letting her know it was safe to open the door.

    -x-

    "You''ve gotta be fucking kidding me." Naruto mumbled, "You take a nap for a couple minutes and this is what happens." Looking around, Naruto saw that he was now somehow in a some kind of closed off metal room, with the sound of a loud alarm blaring in the background. Getting up, Naruto gave the room some further inspection. It was rather bland, with three of the walls being a dark rusted blue color, and the fourth wall being mostly made up of a thick looking class window, most it being fogged up for whatever reason, "I thought I told you to be on the lookout Kurama?"

    "And I thought I told you to fuck off?" Kurama grumbled with irritation, "Just be glad I kept the cloak going, otherwise you''d be here with your eyes popped out of your skull."

    "Touch¨¦." Naruto thought.

    It was then that a figure could be seen through the fogged-up glass. Standing at attention, Naruto prepared himself for whatever fucked up looking creature was waiting for him. With a loud ringing sound and a silent swoosh, the wall flew upward, revealing that the figure on the other side was in fact a woman. Looking to be in her early twenties, her small frame was covered by a dark blue leather ensemble that consisted of tight pants and a loose jacket. Under the jacket was a black shirt that looked to be made out of some kind of wool material. The girl walked towards him slowly, her hands raised up in what Naruto could now confirm was the universal sign of coming in peace. She was rather attractive, with straight black hair that when down to her shoulders, with a face that screamed natural beauty.

    "We don''t mean you any harm," The woman spoke slowly, "Do you know where you are, who we are?" She finished by pointing at the emblem on her left shoulder, the golden piece of metal resembling fire.

    Naruto shook his head, "Sorry¡­uh, whatever your name is, but I have no idea what''s going on here."

    "My name is Tara," She said calmly, "And you''re in the Virgo System, we picked you up after spotting you out floating adrift."

    "And who are you guys¡­exactly?"

    "We are the Stakar Ravagers Clan¡­welcome to the Starhawk."

    Naruto looked past Tara''s shoulder to see a rather peculiar looking¡­thing. It looked rather humanoid in stature, but its complexion was rather strange, even to Naruto, "Oh Martinex, this is Naruto." Tara said, giving Naruto its name. Looking back at Naruto, Tara continued, "So¡­if you don''t mind me asking, what were you doing out there?"

    "Taking a nap." Naruto said almost dismissively, to busy studying the thing in front of him, "So what are you made of exactly? I honestly can''t tell if that''s ice, diamond, or what. And if it is made of ice, how the hell aren''t you melting right now, cause it''s like seventy degrees in here."

    "My skin is made up of a silicon-isotope organic crystal¡­not that that''s any of your business." Martinex said, looking at the strange being before him with mild skepticism, "And how exactly could you survive out there long enough like that to ''take a nap?''"

    "Trade secret." Naruto said, still a focusing on how cool Martinex''s skin looked.

    "But-"

    "Son, there''s no point in questioning further. The kid isn''t going to tell you a damn thing." A deep voice boomed behind them, causing all three to look at the source. Stakar stood there nonchalantly, one hand in his pocket while the other held what looked like a cigar to his mouth, "I would like to know what it is you were actually doing out there. Not many beings in this universe can just fly around like that and survive."

    "And why exactly do you want to know?" Naruto asked, not really wanting to get into another situation similar to what happened with Fury years ago.

    Stakar gave him a long look, "I''m asking because I''m wanting to make sure I''m not harboring a Herald."

    "¡­a what?"

    The two men looked at each other for several seconds, one in silent judgement and the other in confusion. Finally, Stakar spoke, "You''re not very bright¡­are you?"

    "Oh I like him." Kurama said with a chuckle.

    Naruto rubbed the back of his head, sighing in agitation, "Sorry that I''m not fluent in your alien mumbo jumbo, I''ve only been at this whole exploring the Galaxy thing for a few weeks now."

    The four of them stood there for a second, no one really knowing what to say before a loud rumbling could be heard. The three Ravagers looked at the blonde, his cheeks blushing and his hand gripping his talkative stomach, "You guys wouldn''t happen to have any food by chance, would ya?"

    -x-

    "So¡­you guys are pirates?" Naruto asked, the blonde shinobi sitting next to Tara in what appeared to be some kind of dining hall. Stakar and Martinex had excused themselves a little bit ago to go talk in private about something, leaving the two to talk about what it was the Ravagers were, with Tara doing her best.

    Tara shrugged, "I suppose if you want to put on oversimplifying label on it, then sure we''re pirates."

    "Well, what exactly would you call yourselfs?" Naruto asked.

    "Honor bound mercenaries I suppose." Tara tried to explain, "Really, it depends on what Clan you belong to, and the captain that leads it. Some focus on the stealing aspect more than others. Others are hired guns like the Aleta Clan, or deal in smuggling like the Charlie-27 Clan. But all must follow the Ravager Code."

    "Which is?"

    "No Ravager is without Honor, Duty Bound to serve his Captain. If you wish to Thieve, Thieve. If you wish to Smuggle, Smuggle. If you wish to Bounty, Bounty. But we do not Kill the Innocent. We do not ****. We do not Deal in Children." Tara recited, having obviously memorized the code some time ago, "Those are the big ones, but there are other things that are frowned open, but like I said before it really just matters on what Clan you belong to and who your captain is."

    "So what do you guys deal in?" Naruto asked curiously.

    "That kid, would be Bounty Hunting." Stakar said, walking into the room with Martinex following after him. The man had taken off his jacket, his chewed up cigar still sticking out of his mouth.

    "We go after the biggest bounties we can find and turn them in to whoever will pay the most." Martinex clarified. The hard skinned man around the table, shaking hands and greeting all his crewmates as he did. The dining hall was rather full, with such a wide variety of alien species that Naruto felt really out of place. Most had given him long suspicion filled glares when he entered the hall, but had backed down at seeing Tara walking alongside him. When the crew realized their captain had entered, every last one of them raised up their glass and chorused out ''Captain!''

    Stakar waved his hand lackadaisically at his crew, this obviously being a common thing. Sitting down next to them, Stakar rested his elbow against the table top, "So¡­what system are you from kid?"

    "No clue." Naruto answered, "My planet is really far away from here. It took nearly four days of nonstop flying before I reached another planet."

    "Four days of flying isn''t that long kid." Stakar said with amusement.

    Naruto took a big bite of whatever kind of meat he was given. The food was pretty good, though he was a little put off by the purple color at first. His mouth still full he spoke, "It is when you''re going at the speed of light¡­or at least I think that how fast I was going. Just know that I was booking it pretty good."

    The room was quiet for a second¡­the three Ravagers not really knowing what to say after hearing that. After nearly minute, Martinex spoke, "How could you have possibly been moving at that level of speed?"

    "You know that fire cloak of mine?" Seeing everyone nod he continued, "Once I go into that form, I can do a whole lot of cool things, one of them being complete control over magnetism. All I have to do is propel myself from the magnetic field of say a planet or star, and boom. I can also fly through other means, but this is the fasted way." Naruto didn''t see any reason to not tell them. If he ever had to fight them, his Magnetic Release was only one of hundreds of abilities he had.

    "That''s actually very impressive," Martinex surmised, "Considering the fact that there are countless stars in the galaxy, let alone the universe, it wouldn''t be hard to pick up on one and simply use its magnetic field as a spring board. And I''m assuming that ''cloak'' of yours protects you from the harsh environment of space as well?"

    Naruto nodded, "Yeah, and I use a neat little trick with wind to help me breathe. I call it, Wind Style: Fuck You I''ll Breathe In Space If I Want To Jutsu, or FYIBISIIWT for short." He finished with a smirk, enjoying the look Martinex was giving him.

    "So where were you heading exactly?" Tara asked, changing the subject.

    Naruto shrugged, "I was heading towards a planet that I could feel had a lot of life forms on it and then go from there."

    "The only planet near here is Ego, which is has zero intelligent life forms." Martinex informed him, "The planet is considered inhospitable, you''d have probably died had you tried to go there."

    Naruto hummed, "Strange, I know I could feel life forms on that planet." Shaking his head he said, "Oh well, there''s probably some kind of dumb space logic to explain it that would probably go over my head." Looking at Stakar he said, "Good thing you found me then, otherwise I might''ve been a goner." He finished with a chuckle.

    Stakar shrugged, "It''s not every day you see a kid on fire floating around in space."

    "But that can''t be the only reason." Naruto persisted, "You had no idea whether I was a threat or not, but you helped me out anyway, why?"

    The burly man looked Naruto over for a second before shrugging again, "My people are born with the ability of precognition." When Naruto''s face scrunched up in confusion Stakar explained further, "It''s the ability of having foreknowledge of an event."

    "So you can see the future?" Naruto asked, trying to wrap his head around such an awesome ability.

    "In a way, though for me it''s more of a brief picture of something. I can use it at will, but whatever I see is random, so it''s not really all that practical."

    "So what did you see?" Naruto asked, "When you saw me I mean. You had to have seen something to let a total stranger on your ship."

    Stakar closed his eyes, "I saw you and Tara having¡­relations."

    Naruto''s eyebrows shut upward in shock, debating in his head whether Stakar was just messing around with him, and then at Tara to see her shaking her head at her captain, "How aren''t you freaking out about this?" He asked, mildly surprised to see that the woman wasn''t really reacting to the news.

    "Because that''s the problem with our ability. Fate isn''t something that is set in stone, it can be changed under the right circumstances, such as the involved parties knowing about it before hand. Now that my father has told us about our possible¡­relationship, there is now a chance it can be avoided."

    "Wait." Naruto said, looking back and forth at Stakar and Tara, taking note in the fact that they had a slight resemblance, "You guys are¡­"

    Tara sighed, "He''s my father, yes. Is that really that shocking?"

    "No¡­no I guess not." Naruto said, "It''s just kinda strange to see a man talk about his daughter''s possible sex life so casually is all."

    "Why?" Martinex asked, "What is so strange about a father wishing for his child to mate?"

    "I''m gonna pretend you didn''t just say that." Naruto grumbled.

    "And now that we''ve gotten that out of the way," Stakar interrupted, effectively changing the conversation, "We can now get down to business."

    "Which is?" Naruto asked.

    Reaching into his pocket, Stakar pulled out a small sized screen, "I can tell you''re strong kid, from what you''ve been saying I''d say you could take on a Nova Corps Centurion no problem. And seeing as how you have no idea where in Eternity you''re going, I''d say we could help each other out a little bit."

    "¡­I''m listening." Naruto said.

    Pulling up an icon on the screen, Stakar slid it over to Naruto, the blonde picking it up to see the picture plastered on it. Naruto raised an eyebrow at what looked like a wanted poster. The creature in the headshot was rather strange in Naruto''s opinion, with it looking as though it were a lion with a humanoid form. His long dark grey hair merged with his beard, giving it the look of a mane, with the end of the beard tied off in a ponytail. His dark grew skin was chiseled and hairy, his bare torso revealing his sculpted chest and abs, and his tree trunk arms were nearly bursting at the seams with blood vessels. His legs were covered by blue pants that was covered by various pieces of silver armor.

    Looking back up at Stakar he said, "And who the hell''s this guy?"

    "His name is Blastaar the Living-Bomb Burst, he is considered by the Nova Corps as a Universal Threat with a bounty of 3 Billion Units. After months of searching, we''ve been informed that he is currently hiding out on the planet Hiberlac." Stakar reached over and scrolled down on the screen, "As you can see however, he''s as much of a monster as his bounty would suggest. In the past thirty years since he''s been active, he''s destroyed dozens, if not over a hundred cities, along with killing millions of people during the war."

    "War?" Naruto asked.

    It was Martinex who answered, "The Xandarian-Kree War, or the Thousand Year War as it''s called now, has plagued the star systems for just over a thousand years. It is only now that talks of peace are happening between the two sides, but the Kree are an arrogant people, so there is much bluster in their negotiations. It may take decades for a treaty to be signed, if it gets signed at all."

    "The Kree have used Blastaar when they themselves can''t muster up the fire power to conquer certain planets, so they send the Living-Bomb to level a few key areas before they swoop in and do the rest."

    "And you guys are planning to go after this guy?" Naruto asked.

    Stakar shook his head, "At first no, we''ve been just trying to pick up a location and alert the Nova Corps, on the demand that they pay us half the reward, which is fair all considering." Leaning forward he looked Naruto in the eyes, "But with you I think we might actually have a shot at taking this guy on."

    "And let me guess, if I do this you''ll give me a ride to a livable planet." Naruto said.

    "We''ll take you to Xandar, that''s the perfect place to get your bearings. We''d have to go there to drop him off to get the reward anyway. That, and we''ll give you 25% of the take."

    "25%?!" Tara and Martinex asked at the same time, "Don''t you think that''s pushing it a bit Captain?" Martinex asked.

    "Of course not." Stakar answered, "We were gonna only take half the original cut anyway, three fourths of it isn''t a bad trade."

    Naruto began to think it over, truly weighing the pros and cons of the situation before him. On one hand, he could just say fuck it and ditch these guys here and continue what he was doing before. The problem with that being that he had no clue as to what he was doing or what he was looking for, case in point being the apparent source of life he was heading for was inhospitable and that he could''ve died had he tried to go there. On the other hand, he could catch a ride with these guys to a place that could help him figure out an actual plan of action, with the only drawback being that he''d have to fight an apparent living bomb, which really wasn''t even a draw back since he''d been looking for a good fight for a while now, along with the fact that he''d be getting paid a shit ton of money or units or whatever it was these aliens called their currency.

    "Just do it brat, jeez. Is there really any harm?"

    Smirking, Naruto couldn''t help but agree with the Biju, "Alright Stakar, you got a deal."

    -x-

    Being forced to watch all of the Star Wars movies by Clint, Naruto couldn''t help but have his own ideas of how space travel worked. When Martinex had told the blonde that Hiberlac was nine galaxies away, Naruto immediately figured that they were going to go into hyperspeed or warpspeed or whatever it was they used to travel. Which is why he waited, bouncing on his heels in excitement, for Stakar''s crew to set the coordinates in for the rocky planet of Hiberlac.

    "Boxia, what''s the approximate time of arrival?" Stakar barked out, lounging in his captain''s chair.

    Boxia, a strange looking creature with pink reptilian like skin and a pair massive lime green eyes turned towards his captain, his words in a low pitch, "TOA is approximately seven hours, Captain."

    "How many jumps?" Skakar asked.

    "Seventeen, sir."

    Naruto looked over at Tara, puzzlement on his face, "Jumps?" He asked.

    Tara didn''t bother looking away from her station as she spoke, "Jump Points are portals, meant to help with interdimensional travel. In the simplest way of explaining it, the Jump Point creates a small makeshift wormhole that shortens the distance between points A and B. It''s the quickest way to get anywhere in the galaxy."

    "Oh." Naruto said. After a moment of thought he continued, "So¡­no warpspeed or anything like that?"

    Tara looked up at Naruto, "You mean like traveling at the speed of light?" When he nodded, she said, "Don''t be stupid." Turning back towards her screen, she addressed her father, "Captain, the Jump Point is just over two hundred and seventy-five klicks ahead of us."

    Stakar looked down at his helmsman, a rather small creature, it''s face and body resembling that of an insect from Earth, "Hgsom, let''s get a move on."

    "My thoughts exactly, Captain." The man spoke in a thin raspy voice. Reaching his three fingered hand over to the throttle, Hgsom cranked it forward causing the ship to blast from her lazy cruise to a full speed zoom across the stars. Naruto made to instinctively grab ahold of something after the sudden increase of speed, only to realize that his body hadn''t lurched at all. Looking around, Naruto could see that no one else seemed to be effected by it.

    "The cockpit is stabilized thanks to anti-gravity, you shouldn''t ever feel the effects of how fast we''re going, otherwise we''d have all passed out by now." Martinex explained from his spot behind Stakar''s chair, the two of them being the only ones standing in the room.

    Naruto nodded, still taking a careful first step before making his way over to Stakar and Martinex, "So, what''s the game plan here exactly?"

    "You, Martinex, and myself will be going down to the surface. We''ll be having Tara waiting in her M-Ship to pick us up in case things go south. Martinex and myself are the only ones that could take this thug on long enough not to die after a few minutes, so there''s no point in sending down an entire squad. Should Blastaar be too much to handle, we retreat. There''s no point in killing ourselves when we can escape and just send in the Nova Corps to do it." Stakar explained, "And if we take him out, drinks are on me."

    "Jump point in ten klicks, Captain." Tara said.

    "Captain," Hgsom said, his eyes still up ahead paying attention to what was going on in front of him, "are you sure that it''s a good idea for only the three of you to take on the ''Living-Bomb?'' I feel that this entire endeavor is foolhardy."

    "I might not be in my prime Hgsom, but I can more than handle myself, the same goes for Martinex. As far as the kid, I feel like he''ll be doing most of the heavy lifting." Stakar said, almost dismissively.

    Naruto decided to speak, "Oh I can handle myself, trust me." Giving Martinex a friendly pat on the shoulder as he walked over to Stakar''s chair to get a better look at the person he was talking to.

    "Sorry if this comes off as rude," Hgsom said, his eyes still forward, "But I don''t."

    "We''re about to hit the Jump Point, Captain." Tara informed.

    Naruto looked out the front window in interest, waiting to see this "Jump Point." He was pleasantly surprised to see what looked like the opening of a honeycomb open up in front of them. Naruto could slightly see through the hexagon shaped wormhole to the planet on the other side. Just as they passed through, Naruto had to squint at the shocking change of darkness to daylight.

    "So this is Hiberlac?" Naruto asked, "It''s beautiful." He observed.

    Tara shook her head, "This is Berhert. Hiberlac is still another sixteen jumps away."

    Naruto deflated slightly, "Oh."

    -x-

    Naruto''s excitement over the fact he was traveling in space slowly died down. Jump Point after Jump Point. Klick after klick. Naruto eventually realized that as an observer, space travel lost its luster after a while. In hindsight that made a little sense, considering the fact that Naruto was practically the definition of a hands on kind of guy, and didn''t really enjoy just watching. Maybe when they got to Xandar he could buy a ship, but until then Naruto was forced to stand there and look pretty while the crew safely traveled through the cosmos.

    "Captain," Hgsom called out, "After this oncoming jump, we''ll have arrived at our destination."

    Stakar nodded, "Martinex, Naruto, let''s go. We''ll get off on the cargo ramp." Looking over at his daughter he ordered, "Prep your M-Ship Tara, and keep an eye out for us, you''ll be our bird''s eye view."

    "Of course, Captain." Tara said, giving a Ravager Solute as she did.

    The three men walked out of the cockpit, the two Ravagers leading Naruto to the cargo hold. The three could feel the ship blast through the Jump Point, and the intercom stationed throughout the ship blared out Hgsom''s voice, "Attention to all crew, we will be landing on Hiberlac in approximately fifteen minutes."

    The battle ship landed down on the surface with relative ease, with Naruto, Martinex, and Stakar making their way to the cargo hold. Stakar silently prepped his two hand guns, while Martinex simply stood off to the side with his hands folded over his chest, "So how exactly are we gonna find a single guy on this planet?" Naruto asked.

    "My contact sent me his coordinates, he''s a few miles away." Slamming his hand down on a large red colored button, an alarm began to blare with a flashing light swirling around. With a loud hiss, the ramp door began to swing down. Covering his eyes with his hand, Naruto couldn''t help but whistle in appreciation at the sight before him. The bright orange rocky surface contrasted beautifully with the purple colored sky and grey clouds. There didn''t appear to be any kind of foliage or bodies of water, reminding Naruto a little bit of Mars in that respect. Descending down the ramp, Naruto couldn''t help but notice that it wasn''t as humid as he would''ve thought, probably around 75 degrees, at the most.

    "So, lead the way Captain." Martinex said, standing at attention, waiting for his captain to give out his orders.

    Stakar began to walk forward, a small device in his hand, the screen showing what looked to be a map with a flashing blimp off to the left side, "We''ve got a six-mile trek ahead of us, that''s where he was supposedly spotted. Then we have to actually track him down. Which shouldn''t be too hard, probably."

    The walk was a quiet venture, the three of them not really in the mood to make small talk as they kept on the lookout for the Living-Bomb. Stakar lead the charge, one gun held at the ready, chumping quietly on a thick chekka cigar. Martinex stood at his captain''s right, which made sense what with him being his right-hand man. Naruto trailed slightly behind the group, taking in the sights more than anything.

    Finally making their way up a rather steep hill, the three of them finding themselves on a surprisingly flat plateau. In the middle of the plateau sat a single figure, obviously large in stature. "Welp¡­that was easy." Naruto deadpanned, the trio obviously having found their score.

    The figure seemed to have heard him, his once lax form now straightening in attention. Slowly he got up from his sitting position, standing up at his full stature. Turning around, the three could one hundred percent confirm that the being before them was Blastaar the Living-Bomb Burst. Even from twenty or so yards away, Naruto could tell that he towered over them. Looking all three over, Blastaar snorted out of his nose, causing a visible gust of steam to blast out.

    "You must either be very unlucky, or very suicidal. Either one, you all are going to die here today." Blastaar''s deep baritone voice ground out.

    Naruto smirked, "Oh yeah? Well, bring it on Mufasa." When Stakar and Martinex looked at Naruto in confusion he sighed, "Now I totally get why Clint would get so annoyed when I didn''t get any of his Earth related references. That would''ve killed on Earth." Having enough of the banter, Naruto charged towards Blastaar, his eyes glowing gold with his pupils taking on the form of a strange looking cross. His fist drawn back, Naruto appeared within Blastaar''s personal space in a near instant, his fist slamming into his jaw so hard that the impact sent a shockwave that crumbled the ground beneath them into a decent sized crater. The Living-Bomb was sent bouncing along the plateau, before collapsing in a cloud of dust.

    Martinex followed soon after running past Naruto as his hands began to glow in two different colors. His right hand enveloped in a bright orange haze, and the left was swallowed by a shining blue. Extending his left hand out, a blast of ice shot out with heavy force, slamming into the still downed Blastaar. Stakar made a sweeping run around the area, pointing both of his guns at the Living-Bomb, letting loose a barrage of laser bolts. Naruto didn''t want to miss out on the fun, his hands flipping through hand signs before taking a deep breath. With a great heave, Naruto released a bolt of lightning in the shape of a spear towards Blastaar, "Lightning Style: False Darkness!" He thought.

    The lightning spear slammed into the downed Blastaar, with Martinex and Stakar letting up on their attacks as the three waited for the dust to settle. They couldn''t help but scoff in annoyance at seeing Blastaar get up completely unharmed, dusting off any remaining debris on his shoulder rather nonchalantly.

    "Is that the best you have?" Blastaar asked, "I''ve seen Nova Denarians with more fire power than that."

    Getting in a battle stance, Naruto said, "You guys think you can keep him busy enough for me to get close?"

    Stakar nodded as he finished reloading his pistols, "Of course, we can handle that much." Quickly activating the jet pack strapped to his jacket, Stakar blasted up into the sky, giving him a bird''s eye view as he rained down fire on the Living-Bomb. Seeing that his captain was going high, Martinex decided to go low, pointing his right hand as a blast of heat shot out towards Blastaar''s kneecaps. The beast didn''t expect for the crystal man to shoot out a beam of heated energy towards him, but kept his ground as the attacks hit him. Growing tired of it, Blastaar slowing made his way over towards the one he perceived to be the bigger threat, Martinex. In a burst of surprising speed, Blastaar charged at the first mate. Jumping up into the air while clasping both hands together over his head, the beast made to slam them down on top of Martinex''s head.

    He was kept from doing it however when he was suddenly swallowed by a very thick wall of water. Looking around in shock, Blastaar found himself trapped and hovering in the air in a sphere of water, the ball being held by a smirking Naruto.

    "Water Style: Instant Water Prison." Naruto said triumphantly. Looking over at the shocked Martinex and Stakar he said, "Well¡­not so instant in this instance considering it took me forever to gather enough water from the particles in the air to use it, but still. I''d give him a couple more seconds before he passes out from lack of oxygen."

    Looking back at the now trapped Blastaar, Naruto was perplexed to find that the giant man was smirking at him. He didn''t have time to speak, as the Living-Bomb''s eyes began to glow a dangerous orange. The water surrounding began to bubble, steam emitting from the top of the sphere before the trapped beast released a mighty roar.

    BOOM!

    The explosion rocked the plateau, the flat surface collapsing in on itself and tumbling down several stories. The still in flight Stakar was sent spinning a short distance away from the force of the shock wave, and was forced to watch his first mate get sent flying into a nearby rock pillar. Dust and debris had only just began to settle when a figure began to make its way out of the cloud. Swooping his hand outwards so that the dust was pushed out of his face, Blastaar surveyed the damage he had caused. A smirk crept along his face when he saw the shocked expression of Stakar, who was hovering up above him.

    "Two down, one to go." Blastar bellowed. Suddenly, his hands began to emit the same kind of energy as his eyes had before, before twin beams of energy shot out from them into the ground below him, the force of it sending him rocketing upwards towards Stakar, who did the best he could to get out of the beast''s trajectory as quickly as possible. The Living-Bomb swooped past him, leaving a trail of orange energy in his wake. He wasn''t done however, pointing his left hand towards the Ravager Captain, another bolt of energy sent flying right towards his chest.

    He was once again thwarted by outside interference as a blast of ice intercepted his concussive beam of energy. Martinex followed after that with another blast, only this one being from both hands. The airborne Blastaar couldn''t maneuver around the attack in time, resulting him getting pelted and sent flying into another poor stone pillar.

    Stakar deactivated his jetpack, landing down with ease next to his right-hand man, "Thanks for the save son." He said, patting him on the shoulder as he did.

    Martinex nodded, "Of course Captain." Looking over at the now destroyed plateau he had just been standing on, he couldn''t help but grimace, "So what now? We''re a man down and I doubt he''ll just let us leave."

    The captain nodded, "Yeah, I know. We probably could''ve planned this better."

    "Yeah, probably." Martinex agreed.

    Their conversation couldn''t go any further, as Blastaar slowly made his way out of the dust cloud he had created with his landing. Once giving a snort reminiscing a bull, the beast growled out, "I grow tired of this. Time to di-" Blastaar''s death threat was cut off by the fact that Naruto had appeared in front of him in a flash of speed, his leg extended back with steam building along his leg and foot.

    "Boil Release: Erupting Strong Foot!" With a mighty swing of his foot, and an added burst of released steam, Naruto''s foot rocketed into Blastaar''s jaw, sending the juggernaut flying into a nearby cliff side. Not done with him, Naruto dashed towards him giving a quick open palm strike into his sternum as he reared his other hand back, said hand taking the shape of a tiger hand sign, "Daytime Tiger!" He roared, the air around his fist taking the shape of a tiger''s head.

    If anyone had been impressed by the destruction of his previous punch caused, then they''d have crapped their pants at seeing just how powerful the shock wave was, causing any nearby rock formation to crack and crumble into pieces at least a hundred yards out in diameter.

    Picking himself out of the pile of boulders he''d accidently buried himself in, Naruto agitatedly dusted himself off as he spoke to himself, "That was way weaker than what Bushy Brow-Sensei could do, but considering the fact that I don''t have to enter the Sixth Gate I''d say that it''s a pretty good off-brand."

    As he tried to shake out the numbness in his hand, Kurama spoke, "I''m surprised you haven''t entered your Six Paths Sage Cloak and just killed this guy."

    The numbness now having left his hand, Naruto thought, "Hey, I''m trying to dust off the cobwebs here. That and there''s a shit ton of stuff I''ve been dying to try out."

    His danger senses flaring, Naruto jumped over to the side as one of Blastaar''s beams of energy blasted into where he was standing. Using his agility, Naruto did a triple back hand spring before landing in a crouch several feet away, right in time as Blastaar landed down where he had been like a meteorite.

    Smirking, at the opportunity, Naruto clapped his hands together, "Earth Style: Sudden Quicksand!" Just as the ground beneath Blastaar spilt and cracked under the pressure of his landing, forming a decent sized crater in his wake, the dirt began to soften and loosen. Before long, Blastaar began to sink into the ground. As he struggled, the quicker it was he began to sink. Before long, the beast was neck deep in a pool of makeshift quicksand. Pulling his shirt sleeve up, Naruto applying chakra to his forearm, revealing a wide variety of different seals, each one different in size and makeup. Channeling chakra to a specific seal just under his wrist, a puff of smoke swallowed him. The cloud of smoke was quickly dispersed by a burst of Wind Chakra, revealing Naruto holding a blade in his hand. More specifically, and handless chokuto with black rectangular grip being gripped tightly as he began to channel Lightning Chakra into the single edged blade.

    "Why must you use that blasted sword, Naruto?" Kurama asked, obvious agitation in his voice.

    His old teammate''s Chidori Sharp Spear now activated, Naruto thought, "It''s a memento Kurama, simple as that." Pointing the electrified tip of the blade in the direction of Blastaar''s skull he said, "Let''s see you survive this blastard."

    BOOM!

    The Chidori surrounding the chokuto began to elongate, the pointed tip about to drive itself into Blastaar''s cranium when another blast rocked the area, this one however no way near as big as the previous one. Naruto jumped out of the smoke, sword still in hand but his jacket now in complete tatters. Looking down at the now flapping piece of cloth that was once his jacket, Naruto''s face scrunched up in mild anger as he carefully took off the headband given to him by Iruka. Quickly sealing, Naruto decided to take care of the rest of the pesky jacket. Ripping if off, Naruto shouted out, "You destroyed my jacket asshole! I liked that jacket!"

    Blastaar didn''t seem to care, having burst out the ground, his hands covered by thick balls of energy. He was obviously angry now, if his furious snarls were anything to go by as he charged towards Naruto. Flipping the sword into a reverse grip, Naruto drove the blade into the ground, "Chidori Current!" he shouted out. As the current of electricity sprawled forwards at the now back peddling beast, Naruto brought his hand out to the side slightly away from his body.

    "Are you gonna use that move? Kurama asked excitedly.

    "Yeah, I''ve been wanting to try this out on something other than a tree or a clone for a while now." Chakra began to spin and swirl around his forearm, similar to how the Rasengan forms around the palm. Eventually the swirling chakra began to take form along his arm and hand, forming a spinning cone like shape. Grinning, Naruto called out the name of his technique, "Rasenmori!"

    Blastaar was too busy trying to evade the persistent lightning attack to really pay attention to what Naruto was doing, being forced to use his concussive blasts to shoot himself upwards on top of a nearby cliff side. Now free from that infernal attack, Blastaar looked to see the blonde had formed some kind of spinning lance along his forearm. Seeing how dangerous that attack was, Blastaar prepped his concussive blasts to rocket him upwards once again once the blonde got in his personal space, thus forcing him to drive his attack into the wall situated behind him. His plan now set, the Living-Bomb waited patiently for Naruto to charge towards him.

    Naruto sprinted towards him quickly, his attack humming in anticipation for its use. As soon as he was an arm''s length away, the blonde shinobi drove his rotating lance into the beast''s chest. His attack was thwarted however as Blastaar propelled up once again into the air, the beast rocketing several yards up.

    Blastaar thought he had successfully dodged Naruto''s attack, only for that thought to be squashed when Naruto appeared out of nowhere. It wasn''t straight up speed. He''d just¡­appeared. Almost as though he teleported. His thoughts went no further as Naruto drove his Rasenmori into the beast''s chest.

    Naruto smirked as his attack landed. Unlike your run of the mill Rasengan slash most of its variations, the Rasenmori wasn''t a grind, drill, and burst. This was just a straight up drill and get fucked up. If the attack didn''t kill you from the impalement, it did when it grinded into whatever it was touching, say¡­organs, for example.

    The Living-Bomb Burst fell to the ground with a sickening crunch, blue blood flowing from the gaping hole in his chest. Naruto landed next to Blastaar in a silent crouch, giving him a quick once over before turning to look at the stunned Stakar and Martinex. At first he thought they were shocked at his show of prowess, only for that to be proven wrong after catching something in the corner of his eye. Time began to move in slow motion as he turned his head over to the still collapsed Blastaar, the Living-Bomb''s hand lifted up and pointing towards him, said hand covered in his signature ball of energy.

    Martinex was about to shout out in warning when he felt a sudden presence right in his personal space. Turning around with his hands glowing their respective energies, the first mate was surprised to find Naruto standing behind him, "Ho-how the hell?" There was no way Naruto would''ve had enough time to get from where he was to where he is, he''d have to have teleported or something. His attention was brought back to Blastaar, as a beam of energy rocketed out of his hand, the attack plowing into a cliff side a couple hundred feet away. When the attack hit, the blast blew the cliff to kingdom come, leaving a massive crater and cloud of dust and debris in its wake.

    "Trade secret." Naruto said with a smirk, "I''m glad I prepped beforehand, otherwise that might''ve gotten a little messy." He finished as he looked at the spiral shaped seal on Martinex''s shoulder blade. Stepping forward, Naruto said, "The bastard is harder to kill than I thought he''d be. I think it''s safe to say that he can only take one more hit though." As an afterthought he looked over at Stakar, "Are they wanting him dead or alive?"

    "Dead or alive, it doesn''t matter." Stakar answered, "Just make sure to leave enough for a DNA test."

    Naruto nodded, "I got just the thing." Channeling a precise amount of chakra into his fist, Naruto held out his unoccupied hand, using his control over magnetism to lift Blastaar up into the air. Bending his knees, Naruto jumped upwards towards the now floating Living-Bomb, his fist nearly overflowing with chakra as he reared it back. Once again in arm''s length, Naruto slammed his closed fist into Blastaar''s face, "Cherry Blossom Impact!"

    While the attack wasn''t nearly as strong as most of the others that had been thrown around that day, it was more than enough to finally knock Blastaar out, the massive alien slumping into unconsciousness as he flew through the air. Righting himself in midair, Naruto levitated silently as he waited to see if Blastaar was actually knocked out. Creating a clone, he sent the clone to give him a few testing kicks to the side.

    When the Living-Bomb didn''t even stir, Naruto threw the clone a sealing scroll, "Here, seal him up. And put a few paralysis seals on him while you''re at it, don''t want him causing a ruckus when we unseal him on Xandar."

    "What are you doing to him?" Stakar asked as the two Ravagers walked towards the clone.

    The clone shrugged, "Sealing him away. It''s pretty much a pocket dimension that will keep him in stasis until he''s unsealed again."

    In a huge puff of smoke, the hulking Blastaar disappeared, having been transported into the storage scroll. Wounding the scroll back up, the Shadow Clone tied it together in a tight knot before tossing it back at his creator. Giving a quick thumbs up, the clone dispersed in another puff of smoke.

    Descending towards the ground below, Naruto joined the Ravager duo. The three of them stood there, the three taking solace in the fact that it was quiet once again. Unsealing his old headband, Naruto silently tied it around his bicep. Looking back at the two, they could see their confusion over the piece of cloth, "It''s my Shinobi Headband, it shows my village affiliation." The two nodded in understanding, the Ravagers using a similar thing with their colors and the shape of their Ravagers Flame emblem, "So¡­what now?"

    Stakar holstered his pistol with one hand while running his hand thought his hair with his other. Looking at Martinex then Naruto he said, "Now¡­now we head for Xandar."

 13 Shes gone

    "Wow."

    Those were the only words Naruto could use to describe the city of Xandaria, capital city to the planet of Xandar. Unlike Earth, where a city lives in a county, which lives in a state or region, which lives in a country, which lives in a continent; Xandar wasn''t divided, but united under a single flag. This seemed to be a major similarity in several major world powers such as Hala or Skrullos. Tara had felt the need to inform him about the Xandarian way of life, with Xandar being ruled by their Empress, Adora Volt. The ruler is selected by a council of governors and military leaders, with the prerequisites being that they needed to have served at least ten years within the Nova Corps, with their ranking needing to be Denarian, they also need to have spent another ten years in a high government position, and finally need the backing of several dozen government leaders throughout the world. And that''s just to be nominated as a candidate, there was a lot more vetting that needed to be done, and then there was the world-wide vote that took place when it was narrowed down to two people. Usually, the Emperor or Empress of Xandar is in their late fifties at the youngest, but Empress Adora was in her early forties, described as a military prodigy went through the ranks with ease and became the Governor of some regent when she was twenty-five.

    Speaking of ranks, apparently their military''s ranking system is similar to that of the Elemental Nations. The Corpsman are Genin, the Millennians are Chunin, the Denarians was a go between, though Naruto supposed he could compare it to a Special Jonin, and finally Centurions are Jonins. Then you have the Nova Prime who Naruto could compare to the Hokage in several ways. Supposedly, all soldiers in the Nova Corps have access to the "Nova Force," a source of power created and sustained by the Xandarian government. The power however is kept under check, once again this is all hearsay, because the power can cause various side effects depending on the mentality of the user, from heightened aggression to full blown madness, with the Centurions are vetted heavily to ensure that they won''t succumb when given complete access to it.

    The city of Xandaria was incredibly large, with towering skyscrapers that eclipsed the buildings within New York City entirely, their structure however being more circular in shape. Set in the middle of a body of water, the city was shaped after the Nova symbol, a six-point star to be exact, whether it was natural or manmade unknown to Naruto, the blonde man to busy marveling at the shining metropolis. What impressed Naruto the most about the city was that it was massive, around the size of Rhode Island all together.

    "Impressive, isn''t it?" Tara asked, walking up next to the still flabbergasted blonde, "Though, I think that the city of Kreed is my personal favorite, a little less¡­snobbish."

    "Snobbish?" Naruto asked.

    Tara shrugged, "The Xandarian people are known throughout the galaxy for being a bit¡­self-righteous, Xandar is the wealthiest planet, with Xandaria being the wealthiest city in the system, along with having the most prestigious military slash police force in several galaxies."

    The ninja gave a slow nod, "So, you guys mentioned a war?"

    "The Thousand Year War." She clarified, "No one truly knows what the catalyst was, though the popular belief is that the war started when a Kree battleship destroyed a Xandarian transport unit carrying civilians. After that, Xandar declared war and they''ve been fighting ever sense. Sure, there''ve been lulls here or there, but for the most part this war has been a brutal mess."

    "So you''ve got two worlds fighting a war that has been going on for so long most of them don''t really know what they''re fighting for to begin with? Why not end it if that''s the case?"

    "Well, one of the major reasons for the Xandarian''s vast wealth is that they''ve made a massive profit off the war." Tara folded her arms under her bust, "Then you have the Kree people, most of whom are heavily militarized, with a good handful of their military leaders being highly fanatical in their belief that Xandar needs to be wiped from existence, Ronan the Accuser being the most outspoken."

    Naruto shook his head, "Still, for a war to last a thousand years. That''s just unthinkable to me."

    "They''ve been having peace negotiations for a decade now, but it''s a slow process. Hopefully it will end within the next few decades, but who''s to say."

    Naruto looked over at Tara, "Do you really not care?"

    Tara shrugged again, "War is good for business as far as the Ravagers go. Xandar or Kree will send out a bounty, or someone will need something smuggled in or out of somewhere, or something needs to be stolen for some strategical nonsense. Do I want the war to end though? I suppose."

    Naruto was about to continue when Martinex spoke up behind him, his head poking out from the doorway, "We''ll be landing in half an hour, from there I''ll have Tara and Stoveer take you to the Broker to get you a Unit Transfer Apparatus. From there we''ll get your Unit Account set up so that we can transfer to you your Units." His head retracted back, only to pop back as he spoke again, more than likely as an afterthought, "Also, the Captain would like to meet you down in the hanger before you depart."

    "Got it, thanks." Naruto said to the retreating first mate, "Stoveer?" He asked to Tara.

    The daughter of Stakar began to walk over to the door, "He''s pretty much our accountant. He''ll make sure you get a good Uta and that your payment transfers smoothly."

    Naruto followed after Tara, an eyebrow raised, "Uta?"

    "It''s what people call the Unit Transfer Apparatus. If you''re going to travel around the galaxy, you''re going to need to get a grip on the lingo."

    Scoffing, Naruto said, "I''m trying my best here Tara, give me a break."

    "Is that the same kind of ''trying your best'' as when I tried to teach you how to fly a M-Ship for the first time?" Tara asked, "Because if it wasn''t for me you would''ve crashed into that cliff side." Looking over her shoulder, she smirked at the now pouting blonde.

    Naruto couldn''t help but think about his first flying lesson, something Stakar had insisted upon. Tara had taken him out while they were fueling up the Starhawk, the woman sitting in the co-pilot chair, showing Naruto all the things he''d need to know. From the throttle positioned on his right, to the fuel gage, to the autopilot controls, and so on and so forth. What Naruto found interesting was that if programmed in, the co-pilot could take control of the ship at any point with a shift of their throttle, with the pilot being able to do the same as well. According to Tara, this was because there are somethings the pilot can''t see, and with how volatile the star ways are, it''s safer just to have the co-pilot take immediate control rather than give the warning verbally, have the pilot take notice, and for the pilot to then take action.

    So, as soon as Naruto had a pretty good understanding of where everything was, Tara handed him the reigns. Stupid decision on her part. He had almost immediately lost control of the ship, nearly crashing them into the side of a cliff before Tara took back control. Much to his consternation, Stakar and his crew were quick to let him know how poor his piloting skills were, claiming that Tara was a better pilot then he was at five years old. The rest of the month-long trip towards Xandar consisted of Tara and Naruto working on his piloting, with Naruto taking out one of their worse for wear ships out in case he decided to crash it. Once again, thank goodness for the Prayer Beads of Saraswati and its ability to not only allow him to understand every language verbally, but any written language as well, otherwise there would''ve been no way for Naruto to read the instruction manual given to him by Tara.

    "I''ll have you know your dad told me I was as good as Martinex." Naruto said, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

    "Martinex is one of our worst pilots." Tara pointed out.

    "¡­seriously?" Naruto asked weakly.

    "Is it really that shocking you suck at something brat? Last I checked, you weren''t exactly the greatest fighter around when you first started out." Kurama stated, "In fact, Genjutsu still isn''t your strong suit, even with your newer abilities."

    Naruto decided to ignore Kurama, staying quiet for the rest of the walk towards the hanger. When they finally arrived, the duo saw Stakar standing in front of a rather new looking M-Ship. The ship wasn''t actually shaped like a ''m,'' that simply being the English translation to the Arcturan word it really resembled. If Naruto were to describe it, he''d say it was more like a x with the center split and connected by a horizontal line (-). Anyway, the ship was lean and slick, with its main color scheme being red with purple accents. It was slightly smaller than the standard M-Ship, more than likely more suited for a small group rather than an entire crew of people.

    Stakar, his arms folded across his chest with his standard cigar slipped between his fingers, took notice of them, "You sure you don''t wanna join my crew kid? We could use someone as destructive as you, that''s for sure. That and we need a new pretty boy, my mugs gotten a little saggy in my old age."

    Naruto gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry Stakar, but I think I''m gonna have to turn you down¡­again." The captain of the Starhawk had been rather adamant that the blonde join his crew, the man obviously impressed with his show of power on Hiberlac. In truth, Naruto could see himself joining them, but he had things he had to do, and sadly hanging around these scallywags wasn''t one of them.

    Stakar shrugged, almost as though he didn''t care either way, "Well, I suppose I should leave you with a parting gift. That, and since you did most of the work in taking down Blastaar, I figure I might as well give you a little something extra." Patting the side of the ship, Stakar smirked, "Say hello to your new ship brat."

    Shock spread across Naruto''s face, the ninja honestly not having expected the man to give him one of his ships. From what Tara and Martinex had told him, you were only given a M-Ship when you had proven yourself as a Ravager. So, for Stakar to give him one of his ships, even Naruto could tell this was an oddity.

    "Tha-thank you, Stakar." Naruto said, truthfully thankful for this gift.

    Stakar patted Naruto on the shoulder, "Well, can''t have you taking anymore naps in space, now can I?"

    Naruto chuckled, "No¡­no I suppose not."

    Stakar then turned towards Tara, "Once you help him take care of his business, meet me back at the ship, we''ll be rendezvousing with a squad of Centurions in five hours." Turning back to Naruto he said, "You can either stay on the ship while we''re still here, or you can go ahead and find yourself a place to stay, either way, be ready for the fact that we are going to be called to meet some kind of bureaucrat either by the end of the day today or sometime tomorrow for our payment."

    Naruto nodded, "Right, I''ll probably just find a place of my own, get it over with I suppose."

    Stakar nodded, the man giving him one last pat on the shoulder before walking past him, his business with the group over with. It was then that someone spoke, "Nice ride Flame Boy, I hear she''s mighty fast when she wants to be."

    Turning around, Naruto saw a man resembling a hairless rat walking over towards them. The ninja had seen him periodically around the ship, the guy usually sticking to himself as far as eating in the mess hall and walking throughout the ship went.

    "Flame Boy?" Naruto asked incredulously, "And you''re Stoveer I''m guessing?"

    Stoveer nodded, "Right on the first guess, and that''s what the crew''s been calling you, what with you being on fire when we found you and all."

    "Super original." Naruto deadpanned.

    The rat man shrugged, "No one''s ever called a Ravager creative."

    -x-

    Naruto stood inside a rather small building, the place no bigger than your average fast food restaurant. Looking around, the blonde could see various pieces of expensive looking jewelry and trinkets, some truly confusing Naruto as to what their purpose was. Apparently, this Broker''s jewelry business was a front, his true business being more black-market in nature, with him being the go between in most dealings. Broker would be contacted by whoever, them wanting something valuable that was hard to obtain, Broker would then contact someone like the Ravagers for instance, the Ravagers would find and ''confiscate'' the valuable object, they would give it to Broker, he would pay them, then the Broker would sell the object to the employer. Standard stuff. Today however, such under the table dealings weren''t necessary, as Naruto''s group was looking for a cheap but durable Uta for the blonde warrior.

    Broker, who seemed to be of the same species as Stoveer, looked at the Ravager duo with slight apprehension, "You do realize just how incredibly unorthodox this is I hope? When you called me, I was under the assumption that you were looking to do business, not well¡­actual business."

    Stoveer scoffed, "You know damn well we don''t deal in ''business'' with you Broker, not after what happened with Yondu." Nodding over to Naruto he said, "We''re only here because you sell cheap Utas, which Flame Boy over here needs if he wants to survive."

    "Don''t make us regret coming here Broker." Tara spoke in, "Your lucky our Captain didn''t call in an embargo after he heard of the business you and Yondu were dealing in. He still deems you as useful, seeing as how a majority of our Clans use you and your business. But that can change."

    That subtle warning seemed to have cowed Broker, as he gave a quick bow, his voice quivering in worry as he spoke, "Of course, of course! My apologies, I''ll get what you''re looking for right away. Just a moment."

    Naruto stepped forward, his eyebrow raised in curiosity as he asked, "Embargo? Does Stakar really have that kind of power?"

    Stoveer turned to Naruto, "Stakar is the longest running Captain in the history of the Ravagers, with his original team being the most infamous among the Galaxy. And since every member of that team is now a Captain of their own Clan, all of whom are influential in their own right, Stakar''s word carries a lot of weight."

    "So what did this guy do to piss him off so much?" Naruto wondered.

    Stoveer faced away from him, "That''s Ravager business Flame Boy, and last I heard, you''re not a Ravager."

    "Seriously?" Naruto asked skeptically.

    "Naruto." Tara said, her voice firmer than usual, "Just drop it, it''s a personal issue."

    "Hmm¡­it seems this ''Yondu'' and Broker did something frowned upon, probably something to do with that Ravager Code of theirs." Kurama surmised.

    "No shit." Naruto thought, "That''s obviously what''s going on. I''m just curious as to what went down for Stakar to get that pissed off." The ninja decided to shut up, not seeing reason to continue a conversation that would obviously rather be ignored by the two Ravagers in his company.

    Broker came around from the back a few minutes later, a white object in the shape of an oval in his hands. Walking over towards Naruto, he held the device out in front of him, "Which is you nondominant hand?" He asked.

    "Left." Naruto answered.

    The rat man nodded, "Your left arm then please." He didn''t wait for Naruto to stretch his arm out, grabbing it and positioning it in front of him. Placing the white disk onto Naruto''s forearm, he positioned it just under his wrist so that it stopped a few inches before the middle of his forearm, "You''re going to feel a bit of a¡­pinch." He warned.

    "It''s going to wha-MOTHER FUCKER!"

    -x-

    "Thank you, come again."

    Naruto nodded with a smile on his face as he began to walk away from the stand, the blonde ninja now by himself as he walked around the shopping district. After getting his Uta, which hurt like a bitch when it was internally wired into his forearm. After that, the Ravager duo set him up with a hotel before going on their way, telling him that they had his contact information via his Uta, which could apparently make calls for some reason. Feeling kind, Stoveer lent Naruto a couple hundred Units to hold him over until he got his cut transferred over, the rat man feeling the need to tell him that he was taking it out of his portion, asshole.

    Now on his own, Naruto decided to walk around and see the sights, the other worlder having found cluster of shops forming a quaint little shopping district hidden in the massive city. His first stop being a small little clothing shack, Naruto bought a cheap grey jacket that was zipped up to his lower chest, the top portion of the open collar flipped up and over. Now looking for a bite to eat, Naruto looked through the various stands, his eye brows raised at the strange looking¡­things they were selling. He honestly couldn''t tell if they were fruits, vegetables, or something in between. He attempted several times to get assistance, but the place was so crowded it was hard to get a word in.

    A tap on his shoulder caused him to turn his head over to see a woman, her head mostly covered by cloth, similar to a hijab worn by Muslim women back on Earth only that it kept a bit more of her face from view. His eyebrow raised he said, "Yes?"

    The woman looked up slightly, more of her face coming into view. Her deep caramel skin tone was smooth, with full red lips that were pulled into a small smile. Amusement could be seen in her dark brown eyes. Strands of slightly wavy hair fighting to escape their confinement showed Naruto that she had dark brown hair that was almost black. She was truly beautiful. The rest of her cloths were pretty standard as far as he''d seen, with a faded green long sleeve shirt and grey pants.

    "You seem to be having trouble." She said, her voice having a surprising smoothness.

    Naruto chuckled, "That obvious?"

    She nodded, "Xandaria is a hub for all varieties of people, some from the edge of the known universe. That is why we have such a diverse collection here, so we of Xandaria can try different things, and so people from far away can have something a little familiar." Looking over Naruto''s shoulder at the stand closest to him she said, "This stand here sells fruit from Hala, they''re quite delicious."

    Looking over, he gave the stand a quick look over. Satisfied he turned back over, "Thanks a lot-" only to find that she was gone, "What the hell?" He sighed in exasperation.

    Buying the less weird looking fruit at the stand, Naruto left the shopping district, now fighting his way through a crowd through a narrow alleyway. All around him he could hear the sounds of bustling restaurants, sign spinners shouting out why you should visit their store, and fly vehicles zooming by hundreds of feet above. Finishing off the purple piece of fruit, Naruto thought, "That was actually pretty good. I''d prefer an apple or something, but whatever."

    "You''re lucky for that good Samaritan, otherwise you''d still be walking around like an idiot." Kurama chuckled out.

    "Yeah I know." It was then that he spotted something in front of him, "Speak of the devil."

    There, walking a few yards in front of him, was the mystery woman. Deciding to walk over and give him his belated thanks, something else caught his eye. A man, or what he was assuming was a man, was stealthily making his way towards the mystery woman. His head in the shape of a curved cone, with pointed ears and a skin tone that was a mix of grey and yellow. Wearing a dark grey jacket that was a few sizes too big, Naruto watched as the man bumped into the woman. The two of them stumbled, one a display of decent acting ability. Giving the woman a quick apology, the man went on his merry way. By the time the woman realized her bag was missing, he was already gone, submerged into the crowd.

    Naruto was already on the move, weaving his way as fast as he could through the ever thick crowd of people. Making his way next to the woman he said, "Did you see where he went?"

    Looking up in surprise, it took her only a second to recognize the man she had assisted earlier, "Uh, yes." Pointing over to the right, Naruto followed her finger over to an alleyway. Nodding, Naruto made his way over.

    "Excuse me!" He shouted, "Pardon me!" He bellowed, "Move dammit!" He finally screamed. He cries went unheard, the blonde ninja forced to practically swim through the sea of people. Finally breaking through, Naruto sprinted into the alleyway the woman told him the thief escaped into. As he entered, he immediately saw him walking casually, his hands in his jacket pockets. Just as Naruto was about to take the guy out, someone flew past him. The mystery woman, much to his shock. Showing a speed he honestly wasn''t expecting, Naruto watched in mild fascination as the man noticed her coming his way, and made a run for it himself.

    Running up the side of a building, the man grabbed ahold of a latter on the side. Scaling up the latter with the quickness of a spider, the man was quickly followed by the woman, pulling off the same moves he had, only with a grace and ease he''d only seen back on his planet. Not wanting to be left out, Naruto ran up and jumped on to the side of the building, sticking to the side with his chakra. Making his way up to the roof of the building just a few seconds after the first two, Naruto came to the site of them pulling off some impressive parkour, jumping and flipping over any obstacle that came in their path. Only, while the thief''s was a little more raw, his movements reeking of inexperience, the woman moved like a cheetah on the hunt, with a tamed grace that screamed decades of training.

    "Who the hell is this chick?" Naruto asked out loud as they both jumped across the ledge of another building, both landing with a quick roll before continuing the chase.

    "You know you could end this with a flick of your wrist, right?" Kurama asked testily.

    Naruto smirked, "Where''s the fun in that? This isn''t something you see every day Kurama."

    That was until the thief pulled out something from his pocket and turned around to face her, the object being what looked like a knife. Before the man or woman could move another inch, Naruto''s hand wrapped around the thief''s wrist, the sound of his bones popping out of place heard by all around.

    "Wha?" The man asked, his face scrunched up in pain as he looked at Naruto in surprise.

    "Anyone ever tell you it''s not nice to steal from a woman, force her to chase you across a set of roof tops, then pull a knife on her?" Naruto asked, his eyes narrowed dangerously.

    "Where did you come from?" The woman asked, "I had it handled by the way."

    "I''m sure you did." Naruto said, not taking his eyes off of the thief, "You were running and jumping around like a spider monkey. It was impressive honestly."

    "Spider monkey?" The thief asked.

    Naruto squeezed his wrist even harder, "I don''t think I was talking to you Hermey."

    "Hermey?" The woman asked.

    "From Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer?" Naruto asked only to shake his head, "Never mind, I keep forgetting I''m not on Earth." Looking back at her, he said, "What''s your name anyway?"

    "It''s Bogget." The thief answered, only to scream out in pain when the grip around his wrist grew even tighter, if that were possible.

    "Not you!" Naruto said firmly, "For fucks say man."

    "Gal."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Gal?" Seeing her nod he asked, "As in like Gal Gadot, from those Fast and Furious movies?" After a second, he realized what he said before shaking his head once again, "Sorry¡­Earth thing again."

    "You gotta stop doing that. You look like an idiot."

    "Duly noted." Naruto thought.

    Gal, tired of waiting, reached forward and grabbed the bag taken by the thief. Looking inside, she gave a quick nod at seeing everything was in order before walking away. Naruto, shocked said, "He-hey, wait!" Looking back and forth at her and Bogget, Naruto ended at the thief, "Usually I''d give a speech about the morality of whatever, and try and get you to change your ways¡­but I''ve gotta a woman to run after¡­that sounded weird." Naruto and Bogget took an awkward couple seconds before the blonde decided to end it by punching the cone head alien in the nose, knocking him out before he hit the floor.

    Running after Gal, Naruto caught up to her pretty quickly. Walking up behind her, Naruto once again raised an eyebrow (something he''d been doing a lot of today) as Gal jumped down the side of the building, grabbing ahold of the ladder before sliding down like a champ. Jumping down, Naruto landed on the ground in a slight crouch. Stuffing his hands in his pocket as Gal landed next to him.

    "Are you following me?" Gal asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "Not really. I''m just curious."

    "Of?"

    "You."

    Gal stopped in her tracks and looked over at Naruto. Eyeing him up and down she said, "And what about me are you so interested about?"

    "How about the fact that you pulled off some impressive parkour for a bag of whatever? Or the fact that a minute ago you were a super sweet lady then a super aggressive ninja the next?"

    A smile spread across her face, "Super sweet lady? Is that what you think of me?"

    Naruto gave a single shoulder shrug, "I suppose. I doubt anyone else would''ve helped me out like you did."

    "You make it sound like I helped you with something important." Gal chuckled out.

    Naruto laughed, "Hey, feeding the crevice that is my stomach is important." After a second of thought he asked, "So why were you all over that bag?"

    Gal looked at Naruto for several seconds before walking forward, "How about I tell you over drinks?"

    "Drinks?" Naruto asked, following after Gal as she lead him to the nearest bar.

    The hijab wearing woman nodded, "I was planning on having a drink before my bag got taken. And since it''s obvious you''re not going to leave me alone, I figure you might as well join me."

    Naruto gave thoughtful look, "I could go for a drink, how are the bars on this planet?"

    "They''re alright."

    -x-

    Location: The City of Cog on the planet Xandar

    -x-

    "Is this the place?"

    "Sadly, yes."

    Standing in the pouring rain were two men, their forms barely illuminated by various fluorescent lightings owned by the rinky dink bars and strip clubs. The tallest of the two wore a more militaristic uniform, with a dark blue flak jacket with three circular yellow lights with the top two connected to the bottom over a matching colored long sleeve shirt and combat pants. His face was covered by helmet that covered everything but the mouth that was grey in color with yellow highlights. In between the eyes was the Nova symbol, only it lacked the top two points of the star, showing that he was of Denarian in rank.

    "So are we gonna stand out here in the downpour, or are we going to go inside?" The Denarian asked.

    The shorter of the duo wore a dark green trench coat over a button up grey shirt only the collar was propped up with a long sleeve shirt that was a darker grey. A hat was perched rather lazily atop his head, covering his blue skinned face from the rain by at least a little bit. Pulling out a small package, the man opened it up and pulled out a piece of candy before popping it into his mouth. Taking several satisfied chews, the man took a deep sigh before making his way inside.

    The door was halfway open when he turned back towards the Denarian to say, "I''d watch my step if I were you Denarian Saal, one of the interns wasn''t watching where he was going and tripped on a limb."

    Saal rolled his eyes, not that the man in front of him could see it with his helmet covering his face, "I''m not one of your green horn interns Krag, my rank should tell you that."

    Krag shrugged, popping another piece of candy into his mouth, "You''d be surprised how many Denarians I''ve seen act like fools, promoted because of the blood in their veins rather than the blood they''ve spilt." A smile spread across his face, "And we both know which kind you are, Garthan of House Saal."

    "Did you ever actually fight in the war? Or were you too busy scrounging for gutter tramps?" Saal fired back.

    "Funny." Krag chuckled, "And I''ll have you know I did both."

    The two were now fully in the room, with Saal having to keep himself from gasping at the sight before them. The bar was flooded with various colors of blood, from green, blue, to purple, the colors were splattered all across the floor, walls, and furniture. Saal couldn''t help but be reminded of mixed paint, the colors spilling into each other. Laying in that pool of color was a mountain of corpses, none of them in one piece. Arms, legs, heads, various organ parts, it was a people salad.

    "I can''t believe he was here. Of all places." Saal said, kneeling down and turning over the corpse laying in front of him. It was a woman, wearing a what looked like a waitress uniform, her left leg cleaved off and her entrails spilling out onto the floor beneath her, "Poor woman. How could she have ever thought her life would end so painfully?"

    Krag shrugged, "She should''ve ran the second he entered the bar."

    "She was dead the second he entered the bar." Saal fired back, resting her back like she was before, "Was there security footage?"

    Reaching into his pocket, Krag pulled out a small tablet. Swiping through, the detective found the footage he was looking for before pulling it up and showing the screen to the Nova officer, "Of course we did, this is right as he enters."

    Saal took the tablet out of Krag''s hands. He watched with interest as a man walked through the bar door. He was tall, needing to duck under the doorframe in order to enter, with thick muscles that screamed strength. His blonde hair was tied into a tight little ponytail which was sticking out of a silver helmet that looked like something worn by the slave warriors of Sakaar. Strapped to his back was a mini armory, with a longsword, battle axe, shield, and a handful of other weapons placed in strategic places. Green armor covered his shoulders, forearms, thighs, and legs, leaving his chest and biceps bare. Walking over to the bar, the warrior took a seat, ordered a drink, and then proceeded to mind his own business. It wasn''t long until we was given his drink before he was confronted by one of the patrons at the end of the bar.

    "Is there any sound to this?" Saal asked.

    Krag shook his head, "Yeah, the button to the side."

    Saal nodded, pressing the button to turn on the volume, rewinding the clip to wear the patron first spoke.

    "-er heard of that guy ''The God Slayer?''" The patron asked, obviously drunk as he swayed in his place.

    The warrior said nothing, simply taking a sip from his drink. Finishing the glass, he motioned for a refill. The bartender complied, walking over and filling the fighter''s drink.

    "Hey!" The drunk shouted in agitation, slamming his fist on the bar, "Don''t friggin'' ignore me, you grey skinneded freak. I assed you, you ever heard of that guy ''The God Slayer?'' You''re propably wondering why I''m assing this, well let me tell you why I''m assing you this. I think you''re the God Slayer. You wanna know how I know? Cause you''re ugly as fuck, just like the God Slayer!" The patron slurred.

    The God Slayer remained silent, bringing his drink to his lips. Finishing it, he looked at his empty glass in admiration, "A good drink, thank you." He said, giving a nod towards the bartender, one that was returned with hesitation.

    The warrior didn''t return that hesitation however, slamming the glass into the patron''s face with a swift brutality. The man fell to the ground with a wild scream, clutching his face gently as he rolled around on the floor. Getting up from his seat, the fighter pulled out his battle axe and walked slowly over to the waling man. Kneeling down, he raised his weapon up looking the drunk in the eye as he ended his life with a quick hack to the forehead, splitting into his skull and wedging itself into the floor, his last words being a blood-filled gurgle. Getting up, the slayer looked around the room, drawing out his sword with his remaining hand.

    "Pray to your gods if you have them. For you will be visiting them soon." The slayer drawled, his voice pulling the attention of everyone else in the room towards him, their attention previously on the recently made corpse, "And when you meet them, warn them.Warn them that Desak the God Slayer and the Annihilator of Pantheons¡­is coming."

    -x-

    "So you''re telling me¡­that you ran after that guy because he took your bag full of fruit?" Naruto asked, leaning over a bar counter as he looked over at Gal, the woman in the middle of taking a sip of whatever kind of alcohol she had ordered for the both of them.

    Gal nodded, setting her drink down, "I''m not allowed out very often, but when I am I try my best to get fruit from the shopping district. There are things you can buy there you can only find galaxies away anywhere else. Fruit from Stakaar are truly delicious."

    "Still¡­seems kinda dumb to me."

    "Who are you to talk brat?" Kurama asked.

    "Shut up." Naruto thought. Taking a sip of the blue drink, the blonde cringed as it slid down his throat, "This shit is strong." Naruto coughed out.

    Gal smirked, "Too hard to handle?" She asked.

    Naruto scoffed, "To be honest?" He asked after he stopped coughing, "I''m pretty sure this is gasoline."

    "You''re a lightweight, aren''t you?" She laughed, finishing her drink while she was at it, "That''s adorable."

    "Adorable?" Naruto asked incredulously, "I am notadorable. I''m awesome¡­no amazing¡­no awe-inspiring! I put the wonder in wonderful, the excel in excellent, the¡­something in whatever."

    "Yep," Gal said with a laugh, signaling the bartender for a refill, "adorable for sure."

    Naruto couldn''t help but flinch as the bartender refilled his drink, peer pressuring him into taking a sip, and then cringing as the liquid fire went down his gullet. What the hell did these people drink, seriously?

    "So what is it that you do exactly that doesn''t let you get out?" Naruto asked.

    Gal''s face was a little stoic as she spoke, "I suppose you could call it a government job. You?"

    "I don''t really have a job. I''ve pretty much been wandering around for a while now. Hung around with some space pirates though¡­that was pretty fun."

    "Sounds like it." She sighed, "I can''t remember the last adventure I had." Gal said wistfully, resting her chin on her knuckles, a slight pout on her face, "You seem like you''ve had some crazy adventures."

    "Oh yeah." Naruto said, a thoughtful look on his face, "There was this one time I helped a princess take back her seat of power from her dick of an uncle when I was 13. Then when I was 15 I saved a priestess from a demon and his army of stone soldiers. Oh, and one time I got sent to an inescapable prison after I was framed for killing a village leader." Naruto laughed at the memory, "That was craaaazy."

    Gal looked at Naruto in amusement, "You''re something else." She chuckled, "Men like you are a rare thing here on Xandar." Her eyes raked over Naruto, looking him up and down, "Rare indeed."

    "Rare how?" Naruto asked.

    "Xandar men are rarely spontaneous. Few would have the gull to go out and fly by the seat of their pants. Things can get so dull after a while." Gal said, silently motioning for the bartender to fill Naruto''s drink.

    Naruto nodded at the bartender as he capped off his glass, taking a sip before saying, "All men on Xandar are like that? I kinda doubt that." Then a thought struck him, "But, then again I am one of a kind." The blonde said with a look of contemplation on his face.

    "Yes¡­yes you are." Gal said, a strange hint to her voice as she swirled her drink around in her glass.

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his drink as he felt his mental faculties slip away, "Yup¡­that''s what I said."

    -x-

    Saal stood in his office, typing into a holo-keyboard with gusto, his attention placed fully on the screen in front of him. Finishing his report, he leaned back into his chair and ran his hand through his hair, sighing in agitation as he did. His attention was drawn to a pop up that appeared on the screen, alerting him that he had an incoming call. Answering it, Saal came face to face with Nova Prime, Irani Rael.

    "What''s the word Denarian Saal?" the Nova Prime asked.

    Saal leaned forward in his seat, straightening his posture to be more presentable in front of his commanding officer, "Nova Prime, I just sent you my report madam." He said, his voice the embodiment of professionalism.

    "I want your report now Denarian Saal." Irani demanded.

    "Of course madam, my apologize. From what Detective Krag and I could gather, Desak is searching for someone, whoever that poor bastard is we don''t know. What happened at the bar seems to be an isolated incident, seeing as how he didn''t say more than a few sentences while there."

    Irani shifted in her seat uncomfortably, "Do you think he''s still here on Xandar?"

    "Possibly." Saal answered, "But we have every squad available keeping an eye out."

    The Nova Prime nodded, "Tell them to report, not engage. There''s no need in having anymore unnecessary bloodshed."

    "Yes madam. Of course."

    Irani gave a nod goodbye, "As you were, Denarian Saal." With that, the video feed cut out.

    A knock on his office doorframe caused him to look up and see Millennian Rhomann Dey standing in his doorway. "What is it Millennian Dey?" Saal demanded.

    Dey stepped forward, a tablet in his hands as he walked into the office, "I''m sorry sir, but we''ve made contact with the Stakar Ravager Clan."

    "And I''m assuming The Living Bomb was put into our custody without issue?" Saal asked, not bothering to look away from his screen.

    The Millennian nodded, "Of course, otherwise we''d have a Universal Threat level criminal destroying the city." When Saal gave him a sharp look he bowed his head apologetically before saying, "Due to such a high-profile bounty, one of our bureaucrats has requested to meet with them. They''ve requested that you attend."

    Saal leaned back in his chair, sighing in agitation, "Fine, who is it?"

    "The queen, sir."

    "¡­dammit."

    -x-

    "Ooooh fuck." Naruto drawled out, pressing the palms of his hands into this eye sockets, trying his best to keep his throbbing skull from bursting at the seams. Judging from the strong beams of sunlight, Naruto had to guess that it was around noon, probably later. He smacked his lips, feeling as though he hadn''t had a drink for day while wondering in the desert. The light streaming through his window curtains only made his headache worse, but he was too nauseas to move an inch to close said curtains. It was truly a paradox.

    "Bought time you woke up kid." Kurama said, causing Naruto to flinch at the Biju''s loud volume.

    Rolling over onto his back, Naruto thought, "Kurama¡­seriously, please be quiet." Only to flinch at volume of his voice, "Dammit."

    Kurama chuckled, "Do you even remember what happened after you got here?"

    "No¡­why?" Naruto thought.

    "Just give it a second." Kurama chuckled.

    Naruto sighed, rolling back over to his side, closing his eyes as he began to go over the night before. He''d met Gal, they did some running and chasing, she took him out to drink, they drank, then drank, then drank¡­and then drank. After that they had started to¡­started to¡­

    "Theeere you go."

    Naruto shot up into a seated position, ignoring the fact that his skull almost exploded from the motion. Looking over, he expected to find the naked form of Gal, her killer figure hidden behind a barely form concealing blanket. Piece by truthfully awesome piece, Naruto began to remember their activities from the kissing to started it all, to the articles of clothing taken off, to the foreplay, and then finally the finale itself¡­six times. The memories were halted however, as his brain shut down at seeing that the space next to him was empty.

    "Wha?" Naruto drawled out. Looking around, Naruto was slightly bewildered to find that Gal wasn''t actually in the single bed hotel room, a room that wasn''t hard to hide in considering it was a single room with the only area of privacy being a small bathroom. Getting up from the bed, Naruto slowly made his way over to the bathroom, pressing his ear against the door to see if he could hear anything on the other side. Upon hearing nothing, Naruto hesitantly opened the door, should it turn out that she used the facilities really really quietly, only to find himself disappointed when he found the small room empty.

    "Looks like she ditched you brat. Sorry, she seemed pretty cool." Kurama said, though Naruto knew he probably didn''t really give a shit.

    Naruto robbed the back of his head, "Huh¡­yeah. She must''ve left for some reason." His attention was drawn towards door as the sound of someone knocking racked through the hotel room, "There, I bet that''s her." Walking over to the door, Naruto swung it open only to find himself disappointed to find it was Tara and Martinex on the other side, "Dammit."

    Tara and Martinex walked inside, the daughter of Stakar saying, "It''s good to see you too Naruto." Looking around the room, Tara scrunched her nose in disgust at the clothes littered throughout the room, "Maybe you could pick up and put on your clothes so that we can go meet the bureaucrat. Chop chop." She finished by clapping her hands together twice.

    "Yeah yeah." Naruto said waving his hand at the woman dismissively.

    -x-

    "Wow."

    That was the best way to describe the room he was shown into by the Millennian escort squad. The room was massive in size, around half the size of a football field in length and as wide as the length of a basketball court. It''s color scheme being gold with red and blue highlights, with the roof being held up by rows of columns that were set against the walls. In the center of the room was the Nova Corps symbol tiled into the floor, the star gleaming in the golden lighting. Set in two single file rows was a hoard of Nova Corpsman, all of whom were Denarian in rank, the two rows of men were facing the other, not moving an inch as the three Ravager Clansmen and Naruto walked towards the throne. Naruto could feel their stares, all of them waiting for either one of four to make a wrong move. Finally, the four were ordered to stop by a trio of Centurions.

    The middle Centurion stepped forward, "Please join us in welcoming the Ruler of the Nova Empire and Empress of Xandar, Adora Valt."

    The sound of boots stumping on tile drew Naruto''s attention towards the doorway to the left. Naruto managed to count twelve Denarian soldiers surrounding a single figure in the center. Slowly the squad of twelve plus their escort made their way in front of Naruto and his three Ravager companions. Breaking apart, the men in front of the Empress split up along with the ones at her side, all of them lining up behind her single file, their hand at their sides as they waited for their ruler to speak.

    The empress now in full view, Naruto was able to actually get a look at her. Her dark brown hair, nearly black it was so dark, was kept together by a decent sized gold colored crown, the nova star resting on the top of the center point. Attached to the crown was a veil, covering her face at least somewhat from view, though Naruto could tell that she had a dark skin tone, mocha in color. Wrapped around her body was an intricate gown that was a dark gold in color, with the sides of the dress being various colors of red, the skirt of the dress reaching down to the floor, dragging across the tiles as she walked. Slowly, she began to walk forward, coming closer to the four men in her debt. It was as she got closer that something dawned on him. This woman seemed familiar.

    Stopping just a few feet in front of them, Adora spoke, "Captain Stakar and Tara Ogord of Arcturus, Martinex of Pluton, and Naruto Uzumaki of places unknown, welcome." She said this as she nodded her head at the four in front of her, "I feel I must give my thanks in you apprehending of Blastaar the Living Bomb. Soon he shall spend the rest of his days in the Negative Zone, there he can''t hurt anyone else under my protection again."

    And then it dawned on him, the realization hitting him in the face like a bag full of bricks.

    "Gal?"

 14 Radar love

    It''s hard to describe the feeling of being literally connected to another person. Limbs entangled, lips locked, hips connected in a series of gyrations. It was even harder to describe when the most coherent thought you could muster was, ''hhhhmmmmm.'' Running his hands up Gal''s sides, Naruto, with great joy, began to grasp her breasts. Her moan''s spurring Naruto on further, his hips bucking up into the woman sitting on top of him with even greater fervor. Gal, needing the much needed thing known as air, separated from Naruto, taking a savage breath in as she looked down at the younger blonde, the man bringing his lips onto her collar bone, her dainty fingers curling into his thick blonde hair.

    She was forced to squeal out in shock and joy as she was forced onto her back, the blonde warrior grabbing her thighs and bringing them around his hips his hips moving even further into Gal as she moaned out, "Aahhh¡­Naruto!"

    -x-

    "Gal?"

    Adora, or Gal as Naruto knew her, had made her way over to her throne, the massive chair towering over her person entirely. Looking down at them, the woman had obviously mastered the look of royalty, full of rightful condescension and self-righteousness. Her leg crossed daintily, she pressed her back into the chair fully with her arms laying along the arm rest with strength. She didn''t say a word, simply starring down at Naruto and his group with clear indifference.

    "Well¡­shit." Kurama mumbled, the beast honestly shocked by recent revelations.

    Naruto was looking up at her in confusion, blinking rapidly as he tried to process what was going on in front of him. Gal was Adora? Adora was Gal? What the fuck was going on?! He was about to speak again when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking behind him, Naruto saw Stakar shaking his head firmly, his eyes full of warning.

    The middle Centurion, the one that had introduced Adora, spoke, "You are a guest here Uzumaki. Remember that next time before you embarrass yourself by confusing our queen for whoever it is you think she is." He spoke firmly, a frown showing through the open piece of his helmet.

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I''m not confusing her for anybody¡­I think."

    The high-ranking Nova officer reached for the firearm at his side, "Watch your tone boy-"

    "Centurion Doon¡­enough." The room was a startling quiet, Adora''s voice echoing through the hall as she looked down at one of her highest ranking soldiers with scorn, "Remember where you are, and who it is you are speaking too. Not only is he a guest, but he is also responsible for apprehending the Living Bomb. Is he truly someone you wish to cross?"

    Doon bowed his head towards his empress, "My apologies madam." He then turned to Naruto, his eyes narrowed dangerously, "And you have my apologies as well¡­Uzumaki."

    Naruto didn''t respond, starring up at Adora, his face scrunched in confusion as he tried to sort through what was going on.

    "She''s¡­pretty badass." Kurama concluded.

    Stakar stepped forward, "I don''t mean to interrupt¡­whatever this is, but what about our payment?"

    Adora turned her attention to the Ravager captain, "Your payment has been sent to the account number you gave us. Thank you for the service you''ve provided my people." Looking over to the Centurion to Doon left she said, "Yar, please have your men escort Stakar and his men to their ship."

    Yar bowed to his empress before straightening upward, nodding towards a group of Denarians in the middle of the file. Said men stepped forward, the four Nova officers forming a diamond formation around Naruto, Stakar, Martinex, and Tara. Everyone began to walk towards the exit¡­everyone but Naruto. The blonde warrior stayed his ground, not taking his eyes off of Adora, the two starring at each other in a stubborn battle of wills.

    "Uzumaki." Yar said, nearly shouting, "Your business is done here. Please do not make a scene." The Denarian closest to Naruto walked over to and grabbed onto his shoulder, not that the ninja payed him any mind.

    "Leave him, Centurion Yar." Adora spoke, not taking her eyes off Naruto as she said, "Everyone is dismissed." The chorus of stomping boots on tile echoed through the throne room, each and every one of them soluting their ruler with a stance practiced millions of times before. Just as they started to make their way to the exit, Adora said, finally taking her eyes off Naruto, "Centurion Doon, who was it that you had working on the Desak case?"

    "Denarian Saal, madam." Doon answered.

    The empress nodded, "Denarian Saal, stay behind please. You as well Centurion Doon."

    The two Nova officers did as requested, the Denarian standing behind his commanding officer, hovering over his shoulder like a parrot. The four waited patiently for the room to clear, the silence heavily awkward. Taking a moment to look over at the retreating Ravager squad, Naruto made eye contact with Tara the two giving each other a quick nod before she disappeared from sight.

    His eyes on Adora once again he began to say, "So are you going to tell me what your deal is or wha-"

    "Centurion Saal," Adora interrupted, "Please inform Uzumaki of your report."

    Saal raised a questioning eyebrow, but after a sharp look from Doon, stepped forward none the less, his arms folded behind his back as he gave his report, his body facing Adora but his head turned towards slightly at Naruto, "On the previous day, a slum''s housed bar in the city of Cog was visited by Desak Sterixian, a man whom calls himself the ''God Slayer'' and the ''Annihilator of Pantheons.'' Despite his ridiculous aliases, that doesn''t prove him to not be dangerous. His kill list is quite vast, exceeding even Blastaar''s. This proves true, as every patron in that bar was slaughtered. While we don''t believe there to be any ulterior motives, we do find his arrival here to be¡­suspicious."

    Naruto raised a brow, "Suspicious how?"

    "Suspicious that he shows up the same day as you¡­actually." Saal answered, "Your exploits have already spread far and wide across the galaxy, along with the nature of one of your abilities." The Denarian shrugged, "Considering Desak''s title, it really isn''t that farfetched for him to come after you to see if the rumors are true."

    "Rumors?" Naruto asked.

    It was Doon who spoke, "That you have the powers of a celestial." A role of his eyes as he said it.

    Naruto shook his head, "I''m sorry, but I''m new to all of this." Rubbing the back of his head he said, "What the hell is a celestial?"

    "The closest thing that will ever come to a god. Beings so powerful they can manipulate the very fabric of the universe." Doon explained, obvious exasperation in his voice.

    "We should totally fight one of these ''celestials.''" Kurama said, "That last guy you fought was a light weight."

    "And what does this have to do with me?" The blonde asked.

    "We believe that Desak may be looking for you, to see if the rumors are true." Saal said.

    Naruto sighed, "You already told me that, I mean what exactly do you want me to do about it? Find the guy? Cause I have no idea how I''d even go about it."

    "Of course not. I simply felt that you had the right to be warned. The chances of you finding him are rather slim." Adora answered.

    "And if he kills more of your civilians?" Naruto asked.

    "We''ll take care of it Uzumaki." Doon said, "The Nova Corps is more than capable of handling him."

    Naruto nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he waited for the conversation to continue, only for the room to grow quiet. He waited and waited, looking around the room to see that Doon and Saal were shifting around just as uncomfortably. His impatience growing too much to bare, Naruto finally snapped, "Is that all?" He asked.

    "Yes¡­that is all." Adora said, her voice an example of perfect stoicism.

    "I see."

    That was all that needed to be said.

    -x-

    Naruto walked out of the throne room, his hands in his pockets and his head low as he came up to the Ravager trio, the three waiting patiently for him outside. He walked passed them without saying a word, forcing them to follow him.

    Tara was the first to speak, "So what did she want?"

    "Just letting me know that some maniac may or may not be looking for me. Standard stuff." Naruto murmured.

    "Who exactly?" Martinex asked.

    "Desak something or other."

    "Seriously?!" Tara and Martinex asked at the same time, the same kind of shock in their voice.

    Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, so?"

    "The God Slayer? That guy is crazy strong! They say he''s killed dozens of godly beings." Martinex explained.

    Stakar nodded, "He''s the kind of guy you ignore at all costs, no bounty is worth taking that guy on."

    The blonde ninja shrugged again, "Yeah, so?" He repeated, "If he comes for me he comes for me. I''ll take him on like all the rest."

    "Seriously?" Tara asked in disbelief, "How can you be so calm about the fact that one of the universe''s biggest boogeymen might be hunting you down?"

    "Cause I really couldn''t care."

    Tara''s disbelief only grew, "What the hell is your problem?"

    Naruto didn''t say anything, continuing his trek towards his ship. The walk to the docking bay took twenty minutes of silence, the blonde not really feeling like saying anything. Opening the bay door to his M-Ship, Naruto was halfway up the ramp when he stopped to turn towards the Ravager trio, "Well¡­I don''t really know what to say." Rubbing the back of his head his eyes squinted shut he grinned, "It''s been fun I guess."

    Stakar chuckled, walking forward to extend his hand out for a hand shake, a gesture Naruto quickly returned, "I hope this isn''t the last we''ll see of you, Naruto Uzumaki."

    "I can say the same, Captain." Naruto chuckled back, "If I need anything stolen I''ll make sure to get ahold of you."

    The Ravager captain nodded, "I know just the Clan."

    Looking over at Martinex he said, "See you later diamond guy."

    Martinex sighed, "It''s not diamond¡­"

    The blonde ignored him, turning towards Tara instead, "We''ll have to race sometime, when I''m not so mediocre of course."

    Tara gave a hesitant smile, "So I won''t have to expect a challenge for another couple decades I guess?"

    "Ha ha." Naruto said sarcastically. Walking fully into the ship, the bay door began to close, the blonde giving a final wave goodbye to the people that gave him his start in his latest adventure.

    The door closed, Martinex turned to his captain, "Do you think we''ll be running into him again sir?"

    Stakar smirked, "Oh yeah, I''d bet my stash of cigars on it. The kid''s just too interesting not to run into again."

    Tara watched as Naruto''s ship lifted off into the air, gliding forward in a swift motion, "Goodbye¡­Naruto Uzuamki."

    -x-

    Darkness had befallen Xandaria, the planet''s twin moons hovering above, lighting up the night sky. The cool, breezy air feeling incredibly soothing against Adora''s skin, the empress looking down on her city from her impressively big balcony. Her nightgown sweeping along her legs, riding the wind rather easily, the woman leaned against the railing, a chekka cigarette jammed in between her lips, her fingers gently caressing the thin blue cylinder. Pulling the cigarette away from her lips, Adora closed her eyes as she released a breath, smoke billowing out of her mouth like an agitated dragon. Looking down at the cigarette, Adora gave a heavy sigh before flicking it into the city streets below. Straightening upwards, the empress walked back into her room. Running her hand through her hair, Adora looked up only to jump in shock when she realized she wasn''t the only one in her room.

    "You know, your security sucks. Like really awful. But then again, when it comes to sneaking into and out of places, there''s no one better than Naruto Uzumaki." Sitting down on Adora''s bed, his legs crossed with his hands behind his back propping him up, Naruto tilted his head slightly, his face blank as he looked Adora in the eye.

    Adora crossed her arms under her breasts, "What are you doing here, Naruto?" She asked.

    The blonde got off of her bed, "You know what I''m doing here Gal."

    "That''s not my name."

    "It is to me."

    The empress scoffed, "You''re acting like a child."

    "Like a child huh?" Naruto asked, taking a step forward, his face now dangerously serious.

    "Yes." Adora said, just as serious, "Now, I suggest you leave. I don''t think you''d like to see what my security can do."

    Naruto was now standing just a few inches away from Adora, his nose at her forehead as his formed eclipsed hers, "And I don''t think they''d like to see what I can do."

    "¡­I''m pretty sure I''ve already seen what you can do."

    The two stood there, not saying a word as they allowed Adora''s words to float around for a while before Naruto finally burst out into laughter. Taking a few steps back, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "You know¡­I really wasn''t expecting that."

    Adora sighed, though a slight smile adorned her face, "What are you doing here Naruto?"

    "What I''m doing is trying to figure out what your problem is." Naruto said matter of factly.

    The queen of Xandar walked passed Naruto, "My problem?" She asked, "My problem is that I am the empress of this planet that is the capital to an empire that has been one of the universe''s most influential for thousands of years. From the mountains of paperwork, the constant political controversy, the endless number of soldiers who have died fighting a war I am now responsible for, no matter how hard I try to end it, and a sea of Kree soldiers who would like to see me dead, after a long and arduous session of torture, ****, and dismemberment of course." Turning around sharply she continued, "So excuse me for wanting to have a moment where I wasn''t a queen, or a ruler, or an empress. Excuse me for wanting to just be Gal."

    Naruto stayed quiet throughout her speech, his face a blank slate as he spoke, "So, just wanting to be Gal means getting a guy drunk enough that he won''t remember having sex with you the next morning?"

    "You''re taking this much too personally." Adora said, "I didn''t plan on what happened to happen. It was impulsive and foolish and I apologize if you feel like I used you."

    The blonde shifted on his feet uncomfortably, one hand resting on his hip while the other scratched the back of his scalp, "So what now?"

    "What do you mean what now?" Adora asked, "What happened last night was a mistake, simple as that."

    "Simple as that huh?"

    "Yes. If it makes you feel any better, I''m sorry."

    Naruto sighed, "Yeah, I didn''t really know what would happen here, but I was at least hoping it would go¡­I don''t know." Walking towards the balcony door, the ninja walked out onto the platform, resting his foot up against the railing. Turning his head back towards Adora he smiled, "See ya later?"

    "Perhaps." Adora said, her arm wrapped around her midsection.

    "Well, see ya later then¡­Adora."

    -x-

    Six Months Later

    Location: The Planet Interdis

    -x-

    The rustling of foliage being brushed aside along with the clicking of metallic equipment and weapons echoed through the uphill forest floor, a ten men squad of Nova Corps Denarian and Centurion officers trekking their way through as they scanned the area. None said a word, each knowing that their target was close to their location. In front of the pack was a female Centurion, who raised her closed fist up, signaling the officers behind her to stop. This was due to the sound of a tree slowly falling to the ground. The loud crash drew their attention toward it for a split moment. A moment too long.

    For the next sound heard was the blood curdling scream of the Centurion leader. Each soldier spun around to see that a sword was now buried in her back, the pointed tip sticking out of her abdomen, crimson blood dripping from the blade to the ground bellow. Standing behind her was Desak, his menacing figure towering over her, the warrior gripping his sword in a death grip. In one swift motion, Desak swiped his blade upwards, splitting her apart like string cheese, blood spraying out like a water fountain, splattering all over Desak in a shower of red, further enhancing his menacing appearance.

    Casually twirling his sword, Desak said, "I have no issue with the Nova Corps¡­yet you continue to hunt me like an animal. My eyes are on the ''Man of Flames'' only, not you Nova dogs." Pointing his sword towards the nine Nova Corps officers, he growled out, "Pray to your gods if you gave any¡­for you will be visiting them soon."

    And like that¡­he was upon them.

    -x-

    Location: Idinis Village of the Planet Interdis

    -x-

    The small village of Idinis was surrounded by forest and foliage, the tree leaves covering the village residents in a constant shade. The small town was made of the very forest surrounding it, the chopped down timber woven together into a variety of small sized huts. People were littered throughout the area, some wearing homemade clothes made out of whatever it is they could gather, others obviously not of that region, their mildly outlandish uniforms showing they were Kree soldiers. Their dark green armor creaked and groaned as they stomped through the village.

    Walking through the village was a man in a brown hooded cloak, the figure doing his best to avoid the attention of the patrolling troops circling around. Each step was meticulously planned to ensure that he didn''t in anyway get on their radar, his eyes set on the bustling bar several yards in front of him. Finally seeing a clear path, the man nearly charged forward, and was just two feet away before he reached the door.

    "Hold it."

    The cloaked man stopped in his tracks, holding his breath as he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. The hand pulling him over so that he was facing who spoke, the man saw he was facing three Kree soldiers, "Yes?" He asked.

    The middle soldier stepped forward, the one on the right being the one holding onto his shoulder, "Do you have you papers sir?"

    The man gulped, "Is there a reason you need to see my papers?"

    "Standard procedure." The soldier said simply.

    "Right¡­of course." Slowly, the man began to reach into his cloak, sweat building along his temple, "Just a second." His fingers wrapped around the handle to his pistol, desperation in his eyes as he knew there may be no way out of his predicament. Just as he was about to pull out his gun and open fire, an explosion echoed from a distance, getting the attention of the three Kree soldiers in front of him.

    The middle soldier pressed his finger into his earpiece, "Konar, what was that?" After taking a second, the soldier looked over at his comrades, "Nova officers 5 klicks out, let''s go." The three, seemingly forgetting about the cloaked man, ran after the sounds of the explosions and gun fire.

    Taking an incredibly powerful sigh of relief, the cloaked figure grabbed onto his chest, his heart vibrating in his chest. After several moments, the man finally managed to calm himself down. Straightening his cloak the best he could, he opened the door going into the bar, looking for the man that had contacted him. It only took a moment before he saw a man waving for him. The man had short yet spikey blonde hair, with a brown scarf wrapped around his neck and the top of his torso. His grey jacket was unzipped, a brown shirt that read ''I''m A Pacifist,'' with a pair of black cargo pants wrapped around his legs.

    Walking over to the table, the man plopped down into the chair, "I''ll have you know I almost go myself killed getting myself over here."

    Naruto rolled his eyes, "It''s not my fault that you don''t know how to be inconspicuous. Rule number one on blending in, cloaks stick out of a crowd like cancer on a CT Scan." After taking a quick sip of his drink he said, "Take the hood off, you''re indoors. Hoods indoors sticks out too."

    "Oooo, look at you, Mr. Serious trying to be all suave and cool. Good lord." Kurama said with a sigh, "If you need me I''m gonna take a nap for a couple days."

    "Good." Naruto thought, "You''ve needed one for a while now, you cranky old bastard."

    "You know¡­the sarcasm really isn''t needed." Taking off his hood, the man was revealed to be a man, his yellow skin tone making him kind of look like a Simpson''s character, "Now¡­where''s the Uni-"

    "Don''t." Naruto interrupted, "Now order a drink, can''t have you look any more suspicious."

    The man sighed, "I don''t think we''ll have to worry about that, I''m pretty sure all the troops have gone to investigate some Nova officers spotted nearby, I''d say we have an hour or so. Lucky us."

    "No such thing as luck Gog." Naruto said, taking another sip of his drink.

    Gog looked at him with skepticism, "Were¡­were you behind it?"

    Naruto''s face was blank as he spoke, "I have no idea what you''re talking about." Tilting his head, he continued, "Now¡­order a drink."

    "I don''t drink¡­"

    "Gog." Naruto said, an edge to his voice, "Order a drink."

    Giving a hesitant nod, Gog raised his hand up to get a waitress''s attention. Giving his order, the yellow skinned man turned back to Naruto, "Now what about-"

    "Don''t. This is supposed to be covert dude. Now, while I don''t usually do covert, these Kree soldiers skulking around makes it necessary. I sent what you want the moment you entered the bar. Now, let''s get down to brass tacks." Naruto said, slight agitation in his voice.

    Gog frowned, "Don''t forget about that there''s a second part of our deal."

    "Which is?"

    "You''ll know when it gets here."

    Naruto scoffed, "That doesn''t sound suspicious at all." He said sarcastically, "Whatever, you know what I''ll do if you try and double-cross me¡­or whatever." It was kind of hard of Gog to tell if the blonde was truly being threatening or joking.

    "Right." Gog said with a sigh, "You''re wanting to know about the Infinit-"

    "Call them gems." Naruto interrupted.

    "Right." Gog repeated with a nod of his head, "You''re wanting to know about the gems." He finished with a slight roll of the eye, "As far as their location, the only known location is on Terra, or Earth as the people on that planet call it, though I don''t know which one it is. The others are a complete mystery, though one was used in a war between the Asgardians and the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim though it was hidden away by the Asgardian ruler at the time, a place Eternity knows where."

    "That''s two gems, I need three more." Naruto said.

    "Three?" Gog asked, "But there are six gems, not five."

    "Let''s just say I know where one of them is." Naruto shrugged, a small smirk on his face.

    "Ahuh." Gog said, "Well, there is a rumor¡­"

    "A rumor huh, well in the words on a make-believe monster, ''facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing.''" Naruto said, quoting the character Hans Landa.

    The yellow skinned man sighed at Naruto, nodding none the less, "Well, I''ve heard around the waterhole that a certain purple giant has one in his possession, but like I wouldn''t put too much into it."

    "Hmm, interesting." Naruto said with a nod, cupping his chin with his hand, "Anything else?"

    "Well, this isn''t a confirmed gem, but there''s an object on Morag that is said to hold a lot of power. Could be one, though I kinda doubt it. The planet was practically destroyed during the war." Gog said with a shrug. He was about to continue when the waitress walked back over with his drink, causing the two to cease their conversation. Giving a quick thanks, Gog gave a quick sniff of his drink, his nose crinkling up in disgust as he set the glass down, "Anyway, I have no clue where the last two are."

    "So, that''s one unknown, there''s a thing that may or may not be on a destroyed planet that may or may not be a gem, then you got one on Earth which I''ll be heading to eventually, one that''s been hidden by some old god king, then one that might be in the hands of the guy whose name causes people to shit their pants when they hear it. Great." Taking a gulp of his drink, Naruto finished it off after he finished his run down of what Gog told him, "You know, for a guy that''s supposed to know a lot, you sure don''t know a lot about what I need to know."

    "The gems are old, older than just about anything. A lot of people don''t even think they''re real." Gog said, trying to defend himself.

    "Yeah yeah, whatever." Naruto said, waving his hand dismissively, "Now what can you tell me about the war?"

    "Now that I can tell you about." Gog said, "What exactly are you wanting to know?"

    "A quick overview will do for now."

    "Right." The man said with a nod, "The war started just a little over a thousand years ago. Kree High-Ruler Heevar and the Xandarian Emperor Staar both began expanding their borders, the two consolidating two planets each into their empires in just three decades. Tensions began to rise as their encroaching borders grew closer and closer, leaving little space for wiggle room for either of them. After Heevar''s death, his sister, Hele, was appointed High-Ruler, with her first act as ruler being a peace treaty between the two empires, a treaty the now aged Staar saw as a smart move to make. After nearly a year of negotiations, the Nova-Kree Treaty was formed, creating the largest joint empire ever recorded. It only lasted five years before things started to fall apart. Staar death lead to the Nova Empire being led by the previous Nova Prime, Teir, the first person to ever be called a Super-Nova. Tensions began to rise when Kree began to work on what would later be called the Terrigen Mist. It wasn''t until a year later that everything exploded, both figuratively and literally. A Xandarian transport unit, carrying Nova civilians, was destroyed by a Kree battleship."

    "Why would they attack a civilian transport?" Naruto asked.

    Gog nodded, "Most people have forgotten why, mostly because Xandar has made it their mission to do so." He smirked at seeing Naruto''s confusion, "I''m sure you''re wondering why they''d want people to forget why the war was started." Leaning forward he said in a hushed voice, "The reason why is because it was theirfault."

    That piece of news actually shocked Naruto, the blonde being forced to spit his drink out of his mouth back into his glass rather awkwardly. After coughing it off, he said, "What?"

    "That ''civilian transport?''" He asked rhetorically, "It was actually a cover. Those civilians? Spies. Kree was simply preventing them from stealing incredibly sensitive information. The people of the Nova and Kree Empires were furious of course, though for completely different reasons. While it was said by the Kree that they were simply doing what anyone else would do, Xandar officials spun the story as the Kree simply killing a dozen civilians in cold blood. War was inevitable."

    Naruto shook his head, "Holy shit."

    "Yep." Gog said with a nod, "And though Xandar has been trying to end the war for centuries now, the Kree are a vindictive people who don''t forget. Sure, there have been a several instances when they were close to peace, but something always happened that ruined it, always an atrocity or massacre of some sort."

    "What about now? There''s a treaty in talks now, what''re the chances of it passing through."

    "Slim." Gog said, "Kree fanatics like Att-Lass or Yon-Rogg are doing everything in their power to keep that treaty from happening."

    "So, if those fanatics were taken care of, the treaty would probably go through?"

    "Perha-"

    The sound of the bar door slamming open caused Gog to finish his sentence before it was complete. Rushing into the establishment was a man, his curly blonde hair drenched in sweat as he huffed and puffed, trying with all his might to catch his breath. Standing straight from his hunched position, he pulled at the collar of his blue jumpsuit, trying to cool his body the best he could. Looking around the room, he saw that everyone was looking at him in shock and confusion. Fixing his crinkled clothes, he tried to make himself somewhat presentable as he walked over to Naruto and Gog''s table.

    Taking the third seat, the man said, "Sorry it took me so long, there are like twenty Kree soldiers outside the village. Something about Nova officers disappearing in a cloud of smoke." He finished with a sigh.

    Gog shook his head, "It''s fine. Naruto, this is Speed Cater. Speed Cater, this is Naruto Uzumaki."

    Speed nodded his head towards Naruto, "Good to meet you."

    Naruto didn''t bother returning the nod, instead keeping his eyes on Gog, "Who the hell is this guy?"

    "I told you, this is Speed Cater-"

    "Gog¡­seriously." Naruto interrupted.

    "He''s¡­the second part of our deal."

    Naruto raised a brow, "How is that exactly?"

    "You will be transporting him to the planet Sovereign, one of the few planets in the system not a part of either empire, and is a neutral power." Gog explained.

    "And why would he need to go into hiding on a neutral planet?" Naruto asked.

    Gog looked to Speed, silently telling him to answer Naruto''s question, "I''m¡­kinda, being hunted by a squad of mercenaries who have been ordered to bring me in dead or alive¡­preferably dead."

    "Why?" Naruto drawled out.

    "Because I may or may not have stolen a Kree relic." Speed explained in a rather hurried manner.

    Naruto looked mildly impressed, "What kind of relic?"

    "The hydro-gun used by High Ruler Hele." He said, his voice nearly a whisper.

    "Hydro-gun?" Naruto asked, looking to Gog.

    Gog gave a side glance to Speed before saying, "They were the preferred weapon of choice used by the Kree. They''re outdated now, but back then they were pretty in demand. While nowadays you can buy one at any wrinky dink thrift store, this one is special for obvious reasons. The thing is priceless."

    "Yeah, that includes the black market. Not even the Broker from Xandar wanted to buy it. Too high-profilethey all say. Bunch of bull if you ask me." Speed said, finishing his sentence with a scoff, "You know what the funny thing is? The damn thing doesn''t even work."

    Naruto looked at Gog with doubt on his face, "Do you seriously expect me to help this guy out? Seems to me like he''s deserves what''s coming to him."

    "Hey asshole, I don''t deserve any of wha-"

    "This was the deal Uzumaki. While you werent aware of what it was, it''s not my fault you accepted it before you got a clear picture. We could''ve waited for him to show up, but you went ahead and started the transaction the moment I entered the bar. So, it doesn''t really matter if you don''t like it, you will do it. Or does your word truly mean so little?" Gog said, actual steal in his voice as he spoke.

    Naruto sat there for a while, his back leaned into the chair as he and Gog had a mild stare off. Finally, the blonde relented, giving an overdramatic sigh as he said, "You are so lucky I''m a man of my word. Otherwise I''d have slapped you across this room and then tell you to kiss my glorious ass." Leaning forward, Naruto asked, "Are you sure these guys won''t attack this Sovereign place?"

    "Of course. My planet may be neutral, but it is strong. Both the Kree and Nova empires know this, and both acknowledge they have enough on their plate without having to deal with us." Gog spoke, his voice holding a hint of pride towards his home planet.

    "Fine." Naruto said, crossing his arms over his chest, "We leave after this meeting. Though I still have a few more questions."

    "Of course."

    -x-

    "So what do you call this thing?"

    Sitting in one of the gunner''s chair, Speed looked around Naruto''s ship, an unimpressed look on his face. Naruto answered as he put in the coordinates, "Kushina."

    "Kushina?" Speed asked with a chuckle, "What is that your girlfriend''s name?"

    "It''s my mother''s." Naruto answered, turning to face him he continued, "She''s dead, in case you were wanting to feel like more of horse''s ass." Turning back around.

    "What''s a horse?"

    "Nevermind." The blonde ninja said with agitation. Finishing up his prep work, Naruto started the duel engines, revving up the ship before lifting off into the air. Looking over at one of the screens to his left, Naruto saw that he had to take 265 Jump Points to get to Sovereign, "So how do you know Gog, exactly?" He asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

    "I was about to ask the same." Speed answered, crossing his arms across his chest as he rested his feet on the control dash in front of him.

    "First off," Naruto said as he got up from his seat, the ship now on autopilot, "get your feet off my stuff." He finished by swatting said man''s feet, causing him to give the ship''s captain a scathing look, "Second of all, I asked first." Walking down into the lower deck, Naruto walked over to a locker door. Opening it he threw his scarf and jacket inside.

    Speed, who had decided to follow after Naruto, answered, "It wasn''t long after I stole the hydro-gun that I was forced to run from the Atlas Squadron. I tried to pawn it off anybody I could think of, but nobody wanted the trouble. So, I went to Gog for information on who might be interested. And while he might not''ve been able to help me sell the damn thing, he promised he''d find a way to get me to Sovereign." He explained.

    "And why would he do that exactly? Gog doesn''t seem like the kind of guy to help out a guy like you, not without getting paid anyway."

    The curly haired man shrugged, "Let''s just say we came to a mutual understanding."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You''ve lost me."

    "Good." He proceeded to follow Naruto back up to the cockpit, taking his seat back at the gunner''s station as he spoke, "So what about you, how do you know Gog?"

    "I''d heard about him about a month ago on Xandar. I sent him a message, we got in touch, we set up the meeting, we had the meeting, he fucked me over by making you my responsibility, and now here we are." Shifting the throttle forwards, Naruto took back control of his ship, piloting it up into the planet''s atmosphere.

    Speed scoffed, "If I remember correctly, you said you could''ve ''slapped him across the room'' when Gog told you about the second part of the deal. And from what I''ve heard about you, Naruto the Celestial, you''re more than capable of doing that. So, why didn''t you?"

    "Because I''m a man of my word. It''s my ninja way." Naruto said, "It''s my own damn fault not hearing what the second part of the agreement was. I''ve made my bed, now I gotta lay in it."

    The thief looked at Naruto skeptically, "You''re a strange man, Naruto Uzumaki."

    Naruto shrugged, a though crossing his mind a few seconds later, "And don''t call me ''The Celestial.'' I don''t know where people got that idea, but I''m most definitely not that."

    And so began the long ride to Sovereign.

    -x-

    "AAAHHHHGH!"

    "Brute¡­enough." The man that spoke was massive, standing just over seven feet tall, with muscles nearly slitting open his dark green leather uniform. His long black hair draped over his tan skinned head, his hair at the nape of his neck. Glimmering in the poorly lit room was his iron clad jaw, the thick piece of metal protecting the bottom half of his face rather snuggly.

    Growling, the man spoken too took a dangerous step forward. His head coming just under the other man''s impressive jaw line, he his entire body was covered by a dark blue fur, with sharp bottom canines poking out from his lips. His matching outfit covered the rest of his hairy figure, but it did little to prevent anyone from seeing his vast build, "I''m not done yet Ironjaw."

    "Enough." Stepping forward was a man of a rather slim frame, his body clothed by what could now be confirmed as their uniform, which consisted of a pair of dark green leather jacket and pants, with the Kree symbol for ''A'' plastered on the left shoulder, "I ordered Brute to continue with his fun Ironjaw. The fool deserves it." Now fully out of the shadows was a rather handsome man with thick blonde hair and handsome features, his looks were ruined by the rather sinister gleam in his eye.

    "But Hug-"

    "Ah ah ah." The man interrupted, "Remember Ironjaw, we''re in the middle of business. And during business what do we use?" He asked sarcastically.

    "Codenames." Ironjaw said rather testily.

    "And what is my codename?"

    "¡­Phoenix."

    "Good." Kneeling down in front of the once screaming man, a cruel smile stretched across his face as he cupped his chin, "We can''t have someone like Gog the Knowing learn our names¡­now can we?"

    Gog, his once unblemished yellow skin was now ruined completely. His left eye was now swollen shut, a massive purple knot covering it fully. His nose was broken with the right side of his temple split open, blood pouring out of both and dripping on to the floor. It got worse from there, from his trouble breathing and the black and blue spots along his sides, it was clear his ribs had been broken. His arms tied up above his body, the noosed rope forcing his body to hang several inches off the ground. Blood covered his hands entirely, his fingernails torn out and the skin around his fingers flayed off. His pants were left on, the wet spot running along his crotch showing that he had soiled himself.

    Light suddenly entered the dimly lit room, "Sir, Captain Att-Lass is here." His head poking out was a rather thin looking man, his turquois colored skin and fin on top of his head making him resemble a fish.

    Getting back up, Phoenix answered, "Thank you Man-Monster." Walking out of the room, the leader of the group was forced to shield his eyes from the Interdis sunlight. Walking passed a man with the build of your run of the mill professional athlete, he nodded towards the fellow blonde, the resemblance between the two rather striking, "Cougar."

    Cougar nodded back, "Brother."

    Phoenix sighed in agitation at the fact that his brother had revealed that fact, the door to their little torture chamber still open, but said nothing as he made his way to the Kree Cruiser. The ship was rather small made for two or three people at a time, like a Nova Star Blaster only that is was more circular in shape rather than that of a star. As the hanger door opened, out stepped a man with traditional Kree armor, only his was a lighter green in color and the armor around his neck and head was lighter and resembling more or a helmet, leaving only the bottom half of his face visible, similar to a Nova Corps helmet. His skin tone blue, much like most of his people, the man had a thin mustache on top of his upper lip. Walking in front of him was a Kree woman, her curly black hair resting on her shoulders, her uniform red in color, it being less armor and more spandex, with black shoulder paddings and gloves. Wrapped over that was a long and open green trench coat.

    "Welcome, Captain Att-Lass, Commander Minn-Erva." Phoenix said with a mild solute, "We''ve managed to obtain the information we need."

    Minn-Erva frowned slightly as she could hear screams coming from the shack a few yards away, "Then why does it sound like you haven''t."

    Phoenix''s face shifted into mild disgust, "The little vermin admitted to having relations with the little thief while he was in his care."

    The Kree commander gave a quick chuckle, "Leave it to a man from Paramater to have a problem with such a thing." Folding her arms behind her back she continued, "What did you learn, Lieutenant?"

    Looking at for Captain Att-Lass for a moment before looking back to his commander, "The thief''s name is Speed Cater, home world unknown, though he''s spent time of the Kyln. He''s a pretty standard thief, the fact that he hasn''t join the Ravager''s is a little shocking, though I doubt very many of the clans that specialize in thieving would accommodate his life style. He apparently landed on Hala where he learned that the High-Ruler''s hydro-gun was on now on display. He then formed a crew, all of whom were killed during the heist and their getaway. He came to Interdis about three weeks ago after all the buyers he contacted refused to take his score off his hands, mostly due to our pressure. Gog allowed Cater to stay with him and help him find refuge on Sovereign, his home planet, in exchange for sexual favor. Cater is now in the current care of one Naruto Uzumaki. They left three days ago."

    That got Minn-Erva''s attention, "That flash in the pan? I hear that certain planets have dubbed him ''The Celestial.'' He can supposedly manipulate the elements around him and can travel through space without the need of a ship. All stories more than likely, but his defeating of Blastaar is nothing to scuff at."

    Phoenix scoffed, "Please, that beast was overrated."

    "Could you have defeated him?" Att-Lass asked, speaking for the first time since his arrival.

    "By myself? No." He nodded his head behind him in the direction his team was at, "With them though? Definitely."

    "Good." Minn-Erva said with a nod. Looking over at the shock containing the still ongoing screams she said, "Deal with the Sovereign fool. His screams annoy me."

    -x-

    It had been four days since Naruto and Speed had departed for Sovereign, the long trip doing nothing to help the two blondes get along.

    "Will you shut the fuck up about the Kyln already! The way you make it sound it was a paradise compared to some of the places I''ve been!" Naruto screamed from the pilot''s chair. "Boohoo, there were murderers there! Boohoo, there were mean guards there! Boohoo, if you did get a room you were forced to sleep on the ground in a massive cuddle party! Boo-fucking-hoo!"

    Down below deck was Speed, the curly haired man got up from his seat, storming up into the cockpit, "Well, excuse me for trying to strike up an Eternity forsaken conversation! And what the hell you would you know about staying in a shitty prison?!"

    "I got sent to a prison that sealed off all my powers so that they open a box that sealed away the warden''s son, only for the unsealed son to be possessed by a demon that was also within the box." Naruto said matter of factly.

    "¡­Bullshit."

    Naruto was kept from continuing when Kushina''s left side was hit by what looked like a laser blast, the force of it rocking the ship slightly, the blast not doing much damage due to the shields activated around the ship. Pulling up one of the screens, Naruto looked to see who the asshole was that shot at him. From what he could see it was a pair of ships that weren''t much bigger than his, maybe a quarter bigger in overall size. Only while Naruto''s was more of a jet in shape, the shape of these ships reminded him more of a helicopter minus the propellers and more square in shape and design.

    More blasts began to bounce off the hull, forcing Naruto to go into an evasive maneuver. Pulling up, Naruto did a barrel roll, the ship moving like a top at the end of its spin, before straightening out, the ship now upside down before he pushed the throttle forward, causing the ship to tailspin down wildly. The maneuver proved useless however, as the attacking ship was still hot on Naruto''s tail.

    "Dammit!" Naruto cursed. Looking over at Speed, whose eyes were wide from the sudden move, he shouted, "Make yourself useful and man the torrent gun!"

    "Uh¡­right!" Grabbing ahold of the joystick to his left, Speed began to try and get a lock on the trailing shit, "You got anymore moves like that one?"

    "Not¡­really." Naruto said rather weakly, juking to the left harshly to try and get some distance, "That''s the most I''ve learned since I got this ship."

    "Great¡­just great."

    Naruto scoffed, diving down before entering another barrel role. Waiting for the ship to even out he asked, "Who the hell are these guys?"

    "No idea¡­could just be some pirates or something."

    "Great¡­just great." Naruto said, "Are you even trying to shoot there guys?!"

    "I''m trying, I''m trying!" Speed shouted, doing his best to at least skim one of the ships, "Die, die, die, die, die, die!" The curly haired man sprayed laser fire towards the two ships, each one missing by a fair margin.

    Pulling the throttle back, Naruto forced his ship upwards sharply when he saw that both of the ships hard fired some kind of missile towards him, "HOLD ON!" He screamed, forcing the ship into another barrel role, the missiles following the ship in a tight spin.

    "Come ooooooon!" Naruto yelled out, pushing Kushina to her limit as the missiles wove into each other tighter and tighter. In a moment of total epicness, the missiles collided into themselves in a silent thud.

    Naruto finally evened out, looking back where the missiles ''exploded,'' Naruto said, "Can I be honest?" He spoke as he dove down, "That wasn''t very satisfying." He ended the sentence by juking to the left.

    Speed was too busy trying to shoot down one of the ships, it being an honest act of some higher power that he finally landed a hit, the laser blast rocking one of the rear engines causing it to fall into a rapid tailspin, "Hell yeah!" Speed yelled out. Looking over at Naruto he smirked, "I don''t know, that was pretty satisfying."

    Naruto scowled as another laser hit his Kushina, "Yeah, I''m done." Creating a Shadow Clone, the ninja had the clone sit in the co-pilot seat, "Make sure these guys are as close as possible without them being able to get a good enough shot at us to take us out, got it?" The clone nodded as Naruto went below deck. Walking over to the hanger door, Naruto opened up a screen that showed the rear camera, showing that the ship was right on their tail. Activating his Six Paths Sage Mode, Naruto reached his hand out, his fingers making a grabbing motion as he searched for the ship through his Magnet Release. Finally finding it, Naruto watched on the screen as the ship stopped in its tracks for a moment before it suddenly began to crumble into itself. It wasn''t before long that the ship was nothing more than a giant metal beach ball. Closing the scene, Naruto walked back up to the cockpit, walking passed a flabbergasted Speed, his clone popping as he took the pilot''s chair, "Now thatwas satisfying."

    "Wha...what?" Speed stuttered out, "Ho-how¡­with the other you¡­and the ship." Now blinking rapidly he rubbed the back of his neck, "Wow."

    "Yeah¡­I know." Naruto said with a smirk.

    -x-

    "Why haven''t you come in to report Captain Att-Lass?"

    Att-Lass was sitting in his captain''s chair, now aboard his battleship as he headed for the planet Hala. Leaning in his chair rather lackadaisically, his chin resting in the palm of his hand as he looked at his fellow captain, "I was taking care of our little thief problem, Captain Kell-Varr." Said man was of a pale tan complexion, his wavy blonde hair flowing out just above his eyes. His uniform was very like Minn-Erva''s only more masculine.

    Kell-Varr raised an eyebrow, "I wasn''t aware you had apprehended the thief?"

    "I haven''t." The blue skinned man answered, "Though my squadron is on the cusp of doing it as we speak now."

    The blonde-haired man scowled, "You''d send those barbarians? They''d destroy the artifact before bringing it back here."

    "Perhaps." Att-Lass drawled, "But that isn''t the point, now is it? The point is sending a message to those that dare think of embarrassing our empire ever again." His eyes grew sharp, "Am I wrong?"

    Kell-Varr''s eyes narrowed, "Watch yourself Captain Att-Lass."

    "Oh I will Kell, I will." With that, Att-Lass cut out the feed.

    Minn-Erva raised an eyebrow at her captain, "Was it truly so wise to challenge Kell-Varr in such a way?"

    Att-Lass didn''t say a word, simply looking forward out into the passing cosmos before, his mind on something not even Minn-Erva could guess as to what. Finding the task pointless, the woman turned back to her station.

    -x-

    Three Days Later

    Location: The Planet Conjunction

    -x-

    The desert planet of Conjunction was rather a rather hostile planet, with its ever present and fierce sand storms making most of the planet inhospitable. The few places that you were capable of going into was always a beehive of activity, with most of them made up of fuel stations, bars, and casinos, making it the perfect stopping place for any space traveler, so long as you knew how to use a gun of course. The current hut Naruto and Speed were in was a rather busy bar, with such a wide variety of species it was hard to find two of anything.

    Having just walked into the bar, Naruto pulled down the scarf that was covering his mouth and nose before pulling up a pair of rectangular goggles. Patting the sand out of his hair, Naruto said, "I''ll get us a drink, go find us a table."

    Speed nodded, walking away into the crowd to look for an available table. Heading over to the bar, Naruto leaned against it as he waited for the bartender to notice him. It was as he waited that he noticed the door open, causing his attention to be drawn to whoever was walking in. It was two men, their sizes the polar opposite of each other. One was at least seven feet tall with a big build on top of it. The strange thing about him was fact that it looked like his jaw was made of some kind of metal. The man next to him was four feet tall at the most, his turquois skin tone and the fins on top of his head reminding Naruto of a fish. The pair walked towards the center of the bar, leaning against it much like he was.

    Looking over, he saw that the bartender was finally heading his way. Giving his order, he was once again forced to wait, thus causing him to look around the bar. It was then that he noticed that two other people had just entered, the two looking as though they were brothers with their matching blonde hair and facial features, the only difference being that one had a more athletic build.

    His attention was taken off of them when his drink was given to him, the blonde quickly transferring over the Units necessary. Walking over with the drinks, Naruto once again noticed an additional patron, this one walking over to the empty table next to his and Speeds. He was a big man, his body covered from hair to toe in hair, reminding Naruto of a werewolf in some ways.

    Taking a seat, Naruto gave Speed his drink, the two of them drinking in silence for a moment. It was as he was drinking that he felt several eyes on his person. As discretely as possible, Naruto looked around towards where he felt the eyes belonged too. Each set he found belonged to the people that had just recently entered the bar. Only they weren''t looking at him.

    They were looking at Speed. Or more specifically¡­the hydro-gun holstered on his hip.

    Naruto didn''t wait a second longer, a blue seal in the shape of a spiral forming in the center of his palm, slamming his hand onto Speed''s shoulder, the same seal now on the spot he''d slapped him. He then disappeared in an instant, almost as though he had teleported.

    -x-

    "What the hell?" Speed asked, looking around to see that he was now in the lower deck of the Kushina. He jumped in shock when he saw Naruto suddenly appear next to him, "Naruto, how the¡­what the?"

    "I''m not Naruto¡­technically. I''m a clone." The Shadow Clone clarified.

    "How¡­how did we get here?"

    "It''s a move called Hiraishin, or a variation of it anyway." The blonde clone explained, "We don''t have time for explanations, that bar was a trap and the boss is fighting the guys that are after you."

    That got Speed''s attention, "Seriously?! Well what''re we waiting for them, let''s go!"

    -x-

    Naruto was currently cursing his luck, the blonde finding himself on his back having been thrown out of the hut by the big hairy brute. Getting up, Naruto brushed the sand out of his hair and off his body, "That was a cheap shot, asshole."

    Stepping out of the hole he had created was Brute, a savage smirk on his face as he looked down on Naruto, "Not my fault you didn''t see it coming."

    "Hey, it''s not often you see a guy transform into¡­that." Naruto said, pointing towards Man-Monster, his once tiny frame now even bigger than Ironjaw''s, his once turquois skin now an angry red, "But that won''t happen again¡­trust me." His eyes closed for a single second before opening, his eyes showing that he was now using Sage Mode.

    Man-Monster snarled angrily as he tore off the remains of his shirt, "So says the dead man." No one in the group seeming to notice the change in color of Naruto''s eyes and eyelids.

    "Now, now Man-Monster, let the man have his delusions. These are his last moments after all." The voice belonged to the now smallest of the group, the wicked grin on his face matching the evil gleam in his eye. Looking over his shoulder he said, "Show him a good time, Ironjaw."

    Forced to duck to get through the hole much like Man-Monster had too, Ironjaw walked out with a massive sword in his hand, the double edge blade gleaming in the desert light. He didn''t say a word, simply charging forward with a speed that honestly surprised Naruto, him being the fastest guy he''d seen so far while out and about the universe. That didn''t matter though, as Naruto simply raised up his arm up in a rather lazy fashion.

    "Fool." Ironjaw mumbled, bringing down his weapon with an unbridled wrath. Upon impact, the ground beneath them cracked into the shape of a spider web, small fissures in the ground forming with a loud crack.

    Alpha Squad couldn''t help but be shocked at the sight before them. However, it wasn''t the show of strength used. It was the fact that Naruto had caught the blade as though it were a simple club or pipe, with no sign of injury, the blonde simply starring up into the other man''s eyes. Then, with one quick hand motion, Naruto broke the sword in half. If they had been impressed before, it could only be how they felt about the blonde grabbing ahold of the now air born blade. With a quick rotation and the simple addition of Wind Chakra, Naruto threw the bisected sword into Man-Monster''s throat, severing his head from his body all in one fluid motion.

    The ninja wasn''t done with that however, having continued his rotation he quickly began to gather Boil Chakra along his arm and elbow. Finally reaching a full three hundred and thirty-six degree turn and now fully facing Ironjaw, Naruto released the built-up chakra in his arm, "Boil Release: Erupting Propulsion Fist!" He called out.

    The only ones that didn''t jump back from Naruto''s attack was Ironjaw and Phoenix, the former because he simply didn''t have enough time to dodge, the latter because he knew the attack wouldn''t hit him. Right upon impact, the area on Ironjaw''s body that Naruto hit exploded outwards, the excess Boil Chakra shooting out of his back like a burst pipe, the chakra then exploding out in a vast jet of power, leaving the area covered in a vast mist. There was no blood, the life liquid evaporating upon contact with the boil release. This was much to Naruto''s relief, as all that was left of Ironjaw was his lower abdomen and legs, the lifeless body parts flopping to the ground in a sickening thud

    Cougar found himself surrounded in the thick mist, the squad member finding it near impossible to see a foot in front of him. Looking around wildly, he tried with all his ability to see anything, only to fail miserably. The feeling of his arm being cut open caused him to curse and jump backwards, holding his now bleeding arm in alarm, looking around with even more fervor.

    "Show yourself, you fucking coward!" He screamed out, trying to get a rise out of him so that he could pinpoint a location. He got his wish, only not in the way he was expecting.

    "You know¡­" Naruto echoed out, his voice sounding as though he were everywhere, "From what I can tell, you and I are the same body wise, so I wonder if you have the same eight kills points as I do." His voice echoed out, it shifting in volume so that Cougar couldn''t tell how close he really was, "Larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular, subclavian artery, kidneys¡­"

    Suddenly, the sound of what could only be described as a thousand birds chirping could be heard heading towards. And then, the next thing he knew, he felt a striking pain so great all he could do was heave from the force of it. A hot liquid began to build in his mouth, causing him to cough from the sudden intrusion. Looking down after his coughing fit, Cougar could only widen his eyes at the sight of a hand covering in what looked like lightning sticking out of his chest.

    "Heart."

    With a violent heave, Naruto pulled his fist out of the corpse''s body, the man once named Cougar dropping down in a wet splat. He wasn''t allowed to celebrate long, as the mist had cleared up for the most part, and Brute was now hot on his tail. He''d killed a good handful of clones that were meant as a distraction, but his Chidori had created a lot of noise, noise that was now bringing the man that lived up to his code name barreling down on him in a savage charge.

    Just as Brute was within an arm''s length away, Naruto''s arm shot forward with a speed never seen by the raging beast. He wasn''t allowed to ponder on it much longer, as his windpipe was now closed shot under the blonde warriors grip, said man bringing Brute up off the ground before slamming him back into it, leaving a massive crater behind.

    Naruto didn''t relent, pushing his arm down on Brute''s chest he said with a dangerous calmness, "Magnet Style: Journey to the Center of the Earth!" Brute quickly felt a massive pull on his body, the force of it so great his body began to dig into the ground before blasting off into the depths of Conjunction.

    "I suppose you don''t mind me asking what you did?" Walking into view, Phoenix stopping just a few yards shy of Naruto, his stance rather lackadaisical.

    "Simple." Naruto said, straightening up as he did, "I simply made him irresistible to the magnetic core of this planet. If the pressure doesn''t kill him, the heat eventually will."

    "You are impressive." Phoenix complimented, "Muchmore powerful then we could''ve possibly imagined."

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "How did you find us? No one knew he was with me except¡­" It was as he spoke that he realized it, "¡­Cog."

    "Bingo." Phoenix said, his wicked smile growing only in cruelty.

    Naruto was hesitant to ask, but knew he needed to, "What did you do to him?"

    "Oh you know, standard procedure. Torture, torture, torture, and¡­oh yeah, more torture." He said rather nonchalantly, "At first it was all business. But after he revealed his little¡­habit, well¡­then it was all pleasure."

    Naruto looked at him with confusion on his face, "Habit?"

    Phoenix shrugged, "His habit to make the beast with two backs with those that were of his gender. How else do you think the thief got within his favor?" His smirk, if possible, grew even bigger, "It''s too bad I was ordered to kill him¡­otherwise we could''ve had so much fun."

    Naruto was shocked by the revelation, but didn''t ponder on it too much as he said, "You''re insane.

    "I like to think of myself as a sociopath, in all honesty." Was his retort, his ever-present smirk still in place. That seemed to be the end of the conversation for the self-described sociopath, the man charging forward twice as fast as Ironjaw, his fist enveloped in an orange energy.

    His sense of danger flaring like crazy, Naruto jumped the side as Phoenix brought his fist down on the ground below, the resulting explosion of energy forcing him to take to the skies. Phoenix was hot on his tail, shooting out blasts of energy out at the blonde ninja. Naruto wasn''t having any of that, shooting off two blasts of wind from his fingertips, intercepting each energy blast with extreme prejudice. The eviler of the blondes came into the other''s safe space, the two of them entering a rather one sided and brutal brawl of fists, kicks, and elbows. While Phoenix could barely get a metaphorical word in, Naruto took over most of the conversation of fists. For each counter was a fist that nearly broke bone, for every strike was an organ that was almost burst from trauma, and for every block was another brain cell lost from the fact that his brain was constantly bouncing around in his skull from getting his face pounded in. After several minutes of this, Naruto grew tired and decided to finish his little massacre.

    Bringing his arm back, Naruto formed a Rasengan in the palm of his hand before swiftly bringing it down into Phoenix''s torso, drilling back into the ground below with a fierce velocity. He didn''t relent with that, as he was suddenly surrounded by a cloak of lightning. Raising his leg up over his head, Naruto allowed himself to descend onto the prone man below.

    "Guillotine Drop!" With an unrivaled ferocity, Naruto slammed his heal down on Phoenix, the force of it exploding out in a fierce explosion of debris and chakra. Jumping back, Naruto waited for the cloud of smoke he''d created as his Lightning Armor dissipated.

    Naruto sighed as he put his hands in his pockets, watching with a blank face as Phoenix pulled himself out of the crater his body had formed. Getting up with a wobbly step, Phoenix''s grin was still in face, blood flowing from his open mouth, "Heh heh heh¡­you-you''re strong." He nearly collapsed before catching himself, his body hunched over as he fought with all his will to stay on his own two feet, "But one of these days¡­you''re gonna attract something you can''t stop, something you can''t beat. And I plan to watch from wherever it is I end up after death, and laugh as you end up like I am now."

    Naruto''s face remained calm as he brought his hand up, his fingers forming the shape of a gun, "Whatever you gotta tell yourself, asshole."

    Phoenix began a slow chuckle that quickly became a maniacal squeal of laughter. This went on for several seconds, that is until a wind bullet found itself drilled into his skull.

    Naruto sighed, "Whatta mess."

    Kurama gave off a long yawn, "What I miss?" He drawled.

 15 Give me shelter

    The clomping of boots on tile echoed through the hall, accompanied by the clicking of heals, the two synched together in a chorus of a brisk walk towards their destination. His arms folded behind his back, Att-Lass had a rather stoic look to his face, seemingly not caring that he was meeting with a fellow captain and one of the current admirals of the Kree fleet over the recent failure of his Atlas Squadron. Walking behind him was his subordinate, Commander Minn-Erva, the woman''s face was the perfect display of professionalism, though a gleam of worry could be seen with the ever few but present twitch at the corner of her lips.

    Walking through the pair of double doors and the two guards stationed there, the two Kree officers walked into the middle of the office, stopping in front of the desk in the center. Sitting behind that desk was Admiral Cee-Zarr, the look on his standard Kree blue face as Att-Lass entered the room showed his age, his frown nearly reaching the patch of greying facial hair on the bottom of his chin. Standing to the side of Cee-Zarr was Captain Kell-Varr, his wavy green locks reaching down to his brow as he gave Att-Lass a hard look. The middle-aged captain was one of Kree''s top soldiers and Cee-Zarr''s right hand man, with many believing him to take the admiral''s place when he stepped down.

    "I assume you know why you''re here, Captain Att-Lass, Commander Minn-Erva." Cee-Zarr said, starting the meeting off rather slowly as he leaned back in his seat, the chair creaking loudly as he did.

    Minn-Erva gave a quick nod, "Of course Admiral." Giving a side glance at Kell-Varr "Captain." She said with a nod towards the man.

    Att-Lass sighed in slight agitation at his subordinate''s attraction towards his fellow captain, but let it slide for the moment as he said, "I do, Admiral Cee-Zarr."

    The admiral nodded, "You''re little¡­squadron, has caused quite a mess. Their battle with that Uzumaki fellow caused thousands of Units in damages, damages that have been demanded be paid for. Then you have the brutal torture of Gog ''The Knowing,'' a Sovereign citizen whom had strong connections with his home world''s government. Are you truly that thirsty for battle that you wish for us to start another war while we are at the cusp of ending one that has lasted for generations?"

    The captain under question scoffed, "Their ''Gold High Priestess,'' may be a proud woman, but not even she would dare attack us over an informant. Especially one with such loose lips from what I''ve heard. He was a liability; they know it and we know it. As far as their battle with ''The Celestial,'' they were simply trying to recover an important Kree artifact that had been stolen by some nobody and a rodent and its talking tree. Had he been captured along with them, or at least killed like the rest of his little group, this wouldn''t even be a problem." His shoulder grew tight with agitation as he continued, "Now, I don''t know about either of you, but to me this little incident has been nothing but embarrassing. An embarrassment I could not let stand. Or do you want our enemies to think of us as weak?" He asked rhetorically.

    "We are on the brink of peace captain. We cannot afford you to act so callously. This whole debacle could be considered just as embarrassing as the one you have been trying to rectify by some, some who we are trying to form a pact of peace with." Admiral Cee-Zarr tried to explain, "If you keep undermining these talks, you will ruin everything we have worked for."

    "We?" Att-Lass asked, "Don''t you mean you and your lapdog?" He said while looking pointedly at Kell-Varr, "I have been trying to win a war, not give up when things get monotonous. I''m trying to make sure that we never have to go to war again with these people. Not by putting a barrier of paper between the two opposing sides, but by taking one of those sides out of the equation entirely."

    Kell-Varr looked at Att-Lass in shock, "You can''t be serious? It''s talk like that that Morag was destroyed. Do you really wish to follow Roarok''s path? Is the fact that his son Ronan is following in his footsteps not enough for you to see how slippery of a slope that is?"

    Cee-Zar interrupted Att-Lass as he was about to speak, his voice holding a dangerous edge to it as he did, "If you endanger these talks of peace again, I will strip you of your rank and make you wish your fate is as quick as Roarok''s was¡­understood?"

    Captain Att-Lass narrowed his eyes, he and Cee-Zarr entering a battle of wills through eye contact for several seconds before the captain conceded, "And what of Uzumaki? He''s too dangerous to be allowed to roam free."

    Cee-Zarr sighed, "I agree. His capturing of Blastaar and his interference with the thief is too high profile for us to simply ignore him. I''ll request a bounty be put on his head, dead or alive for twenty million Units."

    "Is that all, sir?" Att-Lass asked.

    The Admiral nodded, "That is all for now, you are to stay grounded until further notice."

    "What about Zephyr? The battles there are still quite intense."

    Captain Mar-Vell answered that question, "The only reason the fighting on Zephyr continues is because Admiral Yon-Rogg has refused to stand down. Usually this would constitute a court martial, but almost every other high ranking official agrees with the admiral, with me being the black sheep in the situation. That means that the only way to get him to stand down is for me to send my troops, which are currently occupied. The last thing I need is you going off to make the situation worse. You''re to stay grounded until the armistice has ended, understood?"

    The now admonished captain didn''t bother to respond, simply turning around sharply before bursting through the door, Minn-Erva quickly following after him. The commander ran up to her captain''s side as she asked, "What now sir?"

    The man didn''t say a word at first, the two of them exiting the hall into the main part of the building before leaving it entirely. Now finally away from prying ears he spoke, "Contact Ronan the Accuser, see if he''s still in contact with the Titan, tell him where the thief is heading, but make it seem like the hit was his idea, can''t have it coming back to us, now can we?"

    "Of course not sir, right away."

    -x-

    Location: The Planet Sovereign

    -x-

    Naruto, looking out Kushina''s windshield, gazed out in wonder at the technologically advanced planet he had just landed in. Darkness had befallen the city, the golden glow of the shining buildings lighting up the city in a beautiful display. Rain pelted against the M-Ship with a rat-a-tat-tat, purple lightning dancing along the clouds, the wind scraping against the side of Kushina, forcing Naruto to steer against it to keep him from drifting. Bringing the ship down, he landed it onto one of the landing strips littered along the area.

    Getting up, Naruto walked down to the lower deck to one of the locker doors. Putting on a brown hooded coat that went just past his upper thigh, he zipped it up to his chest. Walking over to the seated Speed he looked at the screen he was watching.

    "Talks between Empress Adora and High Ruler Monn-Arrc continue, though several reports indicate that talks have hit a road block over the Battle of Zephyr. While most fighting has gone on hold, the conflict in Zephyr is escalating by the day thanks to the arrival of Admiral Yon-Rogg, with the Admiral reportedly refusing to cease his invasion of the now decimated moon." The Krylorian news man reported as images of destroyed cities, civilian casualties, and soldier skirmishes, "Civilian casualties count into the hundreds of thousands, and may eventually reach into over a million. The Kree invaded the moon for its strategic purposes nearly five years ago, and is now one of the most intense battles of the Kree/Xandar War. Several key moments including the de facto birth of Drax the Destroyer, who arrived on the moon and was responsible for the death of hundreds of Kree, Sakaaran, Xandar, and Zephyr soldiers before his capture, the massacre of 500 Zephyr civilians by Sakaaran soldiers, and the battle between Nova Centurion Guur and Kree Captain Mar-Vell that destroyed half of the city of Zen."

    "It''s crazy huh?" Speed asked, the man leaning back in one of the chairs with his feet propped up on the table, "The treaty to end the war of all wars hangs on a stupid moon on the border of the Nova Empire."

    "Why don''t they demand their people enter a cease fire?" Naruto asked.

    "They have." Speed answered, "And Yon-Rogg has ignored all orders to stop, with Nova Empire soldiers being forced to fight back in order to prevent them from taking over the moon all together."

    "And they don''t just take him out¡­why?"

    "Why don''t you just do it? I''m still pretty pissed I missed all the action a week ago." Kurama grumbled.

    "It''s a delicate situation. Most people don''t believe the treaty will go through, and that Zephyr is too great of a strategic post to simply give up just because it mighthelp the treaty talks go smoother." Speed said.

    Naruto sighed, "But it could help end the war. Doesn''t that make it worth the trouble of following the cease fire?"

    Speed shook his head as he got up, "Not really." Walking over to the bay door he said, "So are we going or what? We finally get to Sovereign and you wanna talk about a war you''re not even involved in? Are you gonna miss me that much?"

    "No." Naruto said, looking at the screen for a moment longer before turning it off, "You have no idea how happy I am to get rid of you, you curly haired asshole." Opening the bay door he was half way down when a swarm of golden dressed men with laser bolt rifles in their hands pointed at Naruto and Speed''s direction, "Well¡­fuck."

    "I say we blow ''em all away." The Biju said viciously.

    "Kurama¡­just shut up. Jeez."

    -x-

    Location: Idinis Village of the Planet Interdis

    -x-

    Heavy footsteps crunched against the dry dirt path that lead into the village of Idinis. The man''s dark brown cloak sweeped against the ground, with his hood pulled up to cover his head almost entirely. Looking into the horizon he could see the outline of the village, his trek coming to a halt when he felt a drop of water splash onto his shoulder. Raising his head up, he extended his hand out, just barely catching another drop hit his palm. It was almost immediately after that a downpour of rain came down hard, drenching the man in just a few moments.

    Giving a heavy sigh, the man looked around him looking for cover, with his eyes panning over to a small shack a few dozen yards away. With a slow pace, the man made his way to the shack, opening the door slowly. The smell of blood stung his nostrils almost immediately, the life liquid sprayed all over the inside of the shack, with the owner being a man that looked be a Sovereign citizenship, his body brutally beaten and dismembered, with his throat slit open so it deep he might as well of been decapitated. His body having begun to rot, with the local insects beginning to eat away at his flesh, their buzzing vibrating along the small shack.

    The man turned when he felt a presence behind him. There, he saw a man with deep orange skin behind him, with an intricate brown robe graced around his person. In his hands was a worn tome with the symbol for the Church of Vastiology carved into the cover.

    "Hello stranger." The newcomer said cheerfully, "What brings you to a place as¡­grotesque, as this?" He asked as he looked passed the mystery man into shack behind him, a look of mild disgust on his face.

    The man waited a moment before say, "Just looking for shelter."

    The robed gentlemen nodded sagely, "Of course, of course. Follow me, I have just the place." Turning to his right he began to take a separate path away from the village on the horizon. As the mystery man began to follow him he asked, "So what''s your name? Can''t be calling you stranger now can I?"

    The man was silent for several seconds before saying, "Desak¡­my name is Desak."

    -x-

    Naruto allowed himself to be thrown down onto his knees, along with Speed, as they were brought before the Golden High Priestess, Ayesha. The courtroom had a very symmetrical metropolis look to it, with a gold and dark blue color scheme. Sitting in her golden throne that reached up into the ceiling was Ayesha, her lower body seemingly connected to the chair itself, her hands resting gracefully in her lap, with her golden gown looking incredibly frivolous and expensive and her hair kept behind a tight golden helm. Naruto could admit to himself that she was rather beautiful, her unblemished face looking down at them with a perfect royally pampered stoicism.

    "May I ask what brings the infamous Speed Cater, recently renowned pest of the Kree Empire, and Naruto Uzumaki, the so called ''Celestial'' to my planet?" Her voice incredibly holier-than-thou.

    "You didn''t get the memo?" Speed asked, "I''ve been sent here by Gog the Knowing for refuge."

    "Is this guy an idiot or what?" Kurama asked, "This guy knows that this lady is the one that''ll pretty much decide his fate, right?"

    Naruto sighed at Speed''s brashness as Ayesha raised a single eyebrow, "Gog the Knowing sent you?" Her eyes then narrowed, "So you''re the one responsible for his torture and subsequent death."

    For once, Speed''s gusto dropped, "I¡­I never wanted him to die like that or anything. He was a good man, and I''m sorry if my getting involved with him is what killed him¡­I really am." Speed finished as he looked away.

    Ayesha gave a soft hum, "Involved¡­right."

    Naruto made to get up, only for several sets of rifles to swing over into his direction. Raising his hands in what he knew to be the universal sign of surrender, "Look¡­I''m trying to play nice since I''ve never been here and I''m not looking to make enemies, but I''m sure you''ve all heard of what I can do, thus making this show of force pretty stupid." After a quick standoff, the men lowered their weapons after a waving motion from Ayesha, "There we go." Lowering his arms he continued, "Now, I know that you have little to no reason to give this asshole refuge. But, just consider the fact that you''d be making the last act of Gog, a man who''s done your planet a huge service, well you''d be making his last act something actually meaningful."

    The Golden High Priestess looked down at Naruto, bringing her hand up to rest her chin on. What Naruto assumed was some kind of advisor leaned down into her ear, whispering nothingness before she swatted him away. Lowering her arm, she said, "I shall grant your request, in honor of Gog if nothing else." Her eye then narrowed, "But¡­should you break a singleSovereign law, I shall personally place you into Kree hands. Is that understood?"

    Speed nodded rapidly, "Yes, yes, thank you!" Getting up, he was then dragged away by one of the guards.

    As one of the guards made to take Naruto away, Ayesha said, "Wait¡­he stays for now." Looking over at Speed one last time she said, "Oh, and Speed Cater?" When Speed made eye contact with her she continued, "I feel I should let you know the most severe of Sovereign crimes." Her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Theft."

    With that, Speed was pulled away.

    Naruto stood there as this was going on, his hands in his pockets as he looked towards Ayesha. Giving a soft sigh he said, "So¡­what can I help you with?"

    "Is it true how powerful you are?" Ayesha asked, getting straight to the point.

    Naruto shrugged as he spoke, "I haven''t really paid attention to any of the rumors about me, mind filling me in?"

    Ayesha gave an almost delightful smirk, "The rumors that you control the elements themselves, that you can manipulate an energy never seen before, that you can travel in space like a Herald of the Great Destroyer. The most outlandish is that you''re either the spawn of a Celestial, or are one entirely."

    The blonde warrior shrugged, "I don''t know about the Herald thing, but I know for a fact that I''m not related to a Celestial in any way. As far as the manipulating the elements and an unknown energy goes, that''s true." He then smirked, "But that description doesn''t do any justice of what I can really do."

    "Could you¡­show me?" Ayesha asked, hesitating at the end as she looked at Naruto with clear interest.

    Naruto didn''t say a word, simply reaching down into his reserves and giving it a flex. The sudden exertion of his chakra out into the world caused a pressure to fall down on the shoulders of everyone in the room. Naruto let that weight rest for a minute, watching in satisfaction as the guards that had tried to manhandle him nearly fall to their knees. Feeling they''d had enough, the ninja finally let up.

    Ayesha needed to take a moment to collect herself, allowing one of her handmaidens to dab at the beads of sweat that had rolled their way down her cheek. After giving a silent gulp, she spoke, "That was¡­incredible."

    "Thanks." Naruto said, his eyes closing into his signature squint as he gave one of his megawatt smiles, "But the amount I used is like comparing a pool to a lake. A pool''s pretty big, bigger than average actually. But it''s nothing compared to a lake."

    Ayesha''s eyes scanned up and down Naruto''s form, "You are truly an impressive creature. Truly, truly impressive." Straightening her back she continued, "How is it exactly you came about such strength? Was it given to you or were you born with such gifts?"

    Naruto actually had to take a second to think about that before answering, "Well, I''d say it''s about half and half, some I was given some I was born with."

    "So, if you were to have an offspring, they would at least have some of your abilities?"

    With a raised eyebrow, he answered, "Um¡­yeah, I guess. Some of them anyway." Naruto put his hands in his pockets, "What''s with the questions?"

    Ayesha raised her chin up to improve her ability to look down on him, "I have recently come to the conclusion that I have reached the prime age for rearing a child of my own. Usually, we would artificially conceive the offspring, but I''ve pondered the idea of going about it the more¡­primitive method. The only problem with this is that I''m now in need of the other half of the equation, the paternal half to be exact."

    "Oh shit¡­" Kurama mumbled, catching what Ayesha was putting down.

    The priestess continued, none the wiser to Kurama''s musings in Naruto''s head, "And I think I''ve found that half." Batting her eyes slowly she finished, "That is if you except my offer of course."

    "Yeaaahh¡­" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his had awkwardly, "No thanks."

    The silence in the room was thick enough to be cut out with a knife, with Ayesha''s smile dropping like a ton of bricks, leaving her face in an ugly frown, "What?" She asked, her voice holding a subtly dangerous edge to it.

    "I said¡­no?"

    "No?"

    "Yup."

    "I see." Ayesha said, "Well if that''s the case, you are free to leave."

    "She took that rather well." Kurama said, "I figured she''d get all weird about it. Maybe try and force you into it or something stupid like that."

    "I know, right?" Naruto thought. Giving a small bow, he said, "Thanks for letting Speed stay on your planet when you didn''t have to. I owe you a solid, so long as it isn''t anything dastardly or whatever. You know what I mean?"

    The golden skinned beauty gave a small smile, "Of course, I''ll remember that Naruto Uzumaki. May you have safe travels."

    Naruto gave a slight nod before making his way to the door. As the doors closed behind, the handmaiden to Ayesha''s right said, "Pardon me madam, but can we really allow a man of such power to roam around unabetted?"

    Ayesha raised a calming hand, "It''s fine, a man such as him isn''t the kind to look for trouble, I have a feeling it is trouble that always finds him. And even then, I doubt we would be able to take on a man of his caliber without taking heavy, if not crippling, loses. No, that man is much better suited as an ally than as an enemy."

    A small smile graced the maiden''s lips, "An ally for you madam, or for Sovereign."

    The priestess''s eyes grew sharp, "Watch your tongue girl, do not forget what I do to those that offend me."

    The handmaiden backed off, "My apologies madam."

    Ayesha ignore, looking at the place Naruto had stood with great contemplation, the man''s show of power still fresh.

    -x-

    Desak sat in one of the several extra spare chairs, a cup of warm milk in his hands as he sat in front of the church leader. Taking a sip from his drink he waited for the other man to speak.

    It didn''t take very long for that to happen, "So¡­what brings you to Interdis, Desak of¡­" He let the sentence hang, subtly asking him where he was from.

    "Zephyr." He answered.

    The man nodded slowly, "I see."

    Desak shifted in his seat uncomfortably for a moment as they sat in an awkward silence. Finally, he said, "You never told me your name."

    A smile spread across the man''s'' face, "You never asked for it." He said in a joking manner. When Desak gave him a blank stare he decided to comply, "I am Hego, I am the head of this church here."

    "Hmm." Desak said with obvious disinterest as he took a long sip of his drink.

    "Are you a follower of a church or religion?" Hego asked.

    Desak finished his sip as he shook his head, "No."

    "Is this a cultural or personal thing?" Hego asked, "Must people in this region practice Vastiology."

    Instead of answering, Desak instead asked, "Why has that corpse been left alone for so long?"

    Hego raised an eyebrow, "And what makes you think we''ve left that body there?"

    "The shack is very close to the road heading into the village with the smell of blood and rotting flesh that most mortals are unable to ignore is very strong. That and it is clear the body had been moved around from where the blood splattered and where he was resting." Desak said, saying the most he''d said in a long while.

    The church head sighed, "I suppose there''s no point in hiding it now. Yes, we''ve intentionally kept from dealing with it."

    "Why?"

    "Because he was a man full of sin and malice. He took pleasure in other men. That is simply something we of Vastiology cannot condone, even in death."

    Desak raised an eyebrow, "So because your religion forbids it, you allow that to keep you from burying a man who''s obviously payed for his so called sins?"

    "I don''t make up the rules, and it is my duty to follow what my gods demand."

    "What your gods demand¡­" Desak said quietly.

    Hego began to get defensive, "And what would you know of what your god demands of you? You who have no god."

    Taking one last sip of his drink he began his tale, "I used to be like you. I too was the head of my church, my village praying to the god Kronnitt. I was a faithful follower. Daily prayers, followed any and all commandments, and punished anyone who didn''t with zero prejudice. Then one day, Kronnitt demanded that he get a yearly sacrifice. Then it became monthly, then dayly. Before long, he demanded my own daughter as a sacrifice. And for the first time, I questioned my faith. I debated with my wife, my friends, my community, all of them saying I must kill my only daughter. In my uncertainty, I was visited by a being who called itself The Designate. She offered me a choice, take her gift of power and slay Kronnitt, saving my daughter and any other villagers who would be sacrificed for his amusement¡­or do as my faith demands. And so, I did the thing I thought at the time was the right thing to do. I presented her to him with a smile on my face. But it wasn''t enough. It was never enough. And then¡­and then Kronnitt decided none of us were worthy, and that we all deserved to die by his hand. That was when I was confronted once again by the Designate. Again, she gave me two options. Take her power and slay the ones that have wronged the both of us, or be a good follower and allow myself to die by Kronnitt''s hands." Pulling out a necklace around his neck, Desak showed allowed the glowing yellow gem to shine in the dimly lit church, "The choice wasn''t difficult. I used the power trapped in this gem to become the man I am today.

    Sweat had begun to run down Hego''s temple as he asked the million-dollar question, "And what exactly is it that you became?"

    "The God Slayer...the Annihilator of Pantheons."

    -x-

    Speed sat in one of the various bars littered along the ghetto region of the city, the blonde-haired man sitting in his wet clothes, the heavy rain having drenched him on the way there, as he waited for his drink to be filled by the bartender. Taking the newly filled glass into his hands, he was about to take a sip when someone sat down in the seat next to him.

    Looking over, he gave a dramatic sigh at the sight of his ex-fellow traveler, "What are you doing in a place like this, Uzumaki?" He asked before taking a long sip of the golden drink.

    Naruto shrugged, "I just turned down a queen, or priestess, whatever the hell she is. I need a drink." Raising his hand up, he got the bartender''s attention, "I''ll have what he''s having." He ordered, pointing at the man sitting next to him.

    The thief raised an eyebrow at that bit of information, but let it go as he gave a snort, "That''s not what I meant." Gesturing behind him, he said, "Look around you idiot. You''re in a gay bar." Looking him up and down he said, "I didn''t know you swung that way. Makes sense if you turning down the priestess is true, even I thought she was hot."

    "Me gay? Yeah you wish." Naruto said with a slight laugh, "No, me turning down the priestess was a bit of a been there done that kind of thing, as far as hooking up with royalty goes." After taking a sip he continued, "But it was mostly cause she was wanting to use me as breeding stock. Not really into that to be honest." He said, the last part coming out with a thick layer of sarcasm.

    Speed shook his head, "I''ve said this before, and I''ll say it again, you''re something else Uzumaki."

    "Thanks." Naruto said with a smirk. Taking one last swing of his drink, he got up from his seat, "The main reason I came here was to tell you that I''m gonna be heading over to Zephyr, see what I can do over there." Turning around, he began to walk away, giving an over the shoulder wave as he did, "I''d say it''s been fun, but that would be a lie. See ya later Speed Cater, hope we never cross paths again."

    Speed raised his glass, "Cheers to that." He said sarcastically, bringing the glass to his lips before downing the drink in one go. Giving a quick grimace, he waved over at the bartender for another refill. Now sitting by his lonesome, Speed sat there for several seconds. After a moment, he reached towards the holster at his side, unclipping the latch before pulling out the hydro gun that''s started the whole mess to begin with. Looking it over, he mumbled, "I''m sorry Gog. I''m¡­I''m so sorry."

    "Nice gun there." The thief spun around quickly, on instinct pulling the ancient weapon away from the stranger''s line of sight. Looking at him, Speed could see that it was a Sovereign man, with standard golden hair combed back tightly on his scalp, with a thin beard wrapped around his jawline. Raising his hands up in surrender, the man gave an amused smile, "Sorry, didn''t mean to startle you. Just couldn''t help but notice that hydro gun you got there. Looks pretty old."

    The curly haired man gave the stranger a long look before saying, "Yeah¡­it doesn''t work though."

    "Yeah, I figured. Those things aren''t built to last very long, a few decades max." Nodding towards the empty chair he said, "You mind if I sit there?"

    Speed looked the man up and down for a second before shrugging, "Sure, why not."

    "Thanks." He said, sitting down he ordered a quick drink, "Names Tat."

    "Speed."

    "So, what brings you to Sovereign, Speed?" Tat asked.

    The man shrugged, "No reason really."

    "Really? Most people come to Sovereign to get away from the war, what with it being the closest neutral planet in most galaxies." Tat said matter of factly.

    Speed put down his drink, "Alright, what''s your deal? What''s with all the questions? I''m just a guy that wants to get a drink, get drunk, and maybe get laid. Is that too much to ask?"

    Tat smirked, "No¡­no that''s not too much to ask for at all." As he said this, a gleam in his eye appeared that caused Speed to blink, "So, you''ve had your drink, you look pretty drunk right now. That only leaves getting laid."

    The curly haired man shared Tat''s smirk, "And where exactly would I find a way to cross off that last item on the list?"

    "How about the alley way out back?" Seeing Speed''s eager smirk, Tat got up, "Meet me outside in two minutes." With that, he paid for his drink and then made his way to the door.

    Speed raised his hand up one last time, getting one last refill. Swinging his head back, he downed it in one gulp, feeling the liquid run down his throat with a sweet burning sensation. Looking at the hydro gun in his hand for one last second, he holstered it. Looking at the time on his Uta to see that two minutes had passed. Paying for his drink, Speed exited the bar. Walking into the ally way, he made his way to the back of the bar as he looked up to see that it had stopped raining.

    Looking around, he called out, "Hey, you here?" Thinking he heard something behind him, he turned around, only to see nothing there, "Hello?" Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned around sharply, pulling out the hydro gun as he shouted, "Hold it!"

    The person behind him stopped, with Speed seeing that it was a woman. In the golden haze of the city above, he could barely make out the woman just five feet away from him. She was beautiful, he could say that much, with flawless emerald skin and thick black hair with pink highlights that contrasted her skin tone amazingly. Around her body was a tight black body suit that showed off her curvy features nicely, with a variety of weapons scattered around her person. The woman didn''t even bother to raise her hands, instead looking at him with a stare that could freeze lava.

    The hydro gun began to click and rattle as his hand began to shake, taking a cautionary step backwards only to feel himself bump into someone. Quickly getting away from them, he saw it was another woman. This one''s skin was a royal blue, with the middle of her head having a darker color of blue run down her face like a stripe. Placed on top of her bald scalp was a piece of metal, with a matching piece running around her eye and the side of her head, giving her a cybertronic look. Her body suit was just as form fitting as the other''s, though hers was a dark purple.

    Paying attention to the second woman proved to be a fatal mistake for Speed however, as the first woman closed the gap between them with a surprising amount of speed. Quickly pulling out what looked like a cylinder, she flicked out the blade that was hidden inside, the metallic sheeng the blade made as it was extracted quickly being followed by the sound of flesh and bone being sliced through, along with the pained scream of Speed as he clutched the newly made stump that was his arm. As his hand and hydro gun fell to the ground, so did he, his knees hitting the wet pavement with a solid splat. He wasn''t allowed much time to mourn his lost appendage, as he felt the second woman grab ahold of his throat before he was picked up and slammed into the wall behind him. All he could do was gag in desperation, the woman''s surprising strength crushing his windpipe with brutal efficiency.

    This lasted several moments before the first woman spoke, "Nebula, stop playing around and finish him. We still have our other target."

    Nebula turned her head harshly, "Don''t you think I know that sister?" With that, Nebula twisted her hand, yanking the neck that was in her grasp at an angle, effectively snapping his neck like a twig. Releasing the corpse from her grasp, she didn''t bother to watch as it slumped to the ground in a heap. Reaching down, the blue skinned woman picked up the hydro gun. Thunder boomed across the sky as Nebula and Gamora walked out of the ally way, leaving the corpse they created behind.

    -x-

    Naruto couldn''t help but find himself amazed by the bustling city around him. As the storm subsided, the goings on of the city continued with even more fervor. Truly, it was amazing how advanced some of these societies were compared to his world or Earth. Sure, there were a few that were behind the curve, even by his standards, but places like this were a humbling place to be.

    "It''s funny to think that a good handful of people on Earth don''t even believe life elsewhere in the universe exists. And here we are, on a planet that is lightyears away from Earth as far as technology goes. Kinda makes me wish we had a camera, just to shove it in their faces when we get back." Kurama said, he himself impressed by the new world around them.

    "Yeah, I know right?" He thought with a smirk.

    The blonde continued his walk, his form sticking out of the crowd like a sore thumb on account of most of the people there being golden skinned. The walk was ended when Kurama spoke, "You feel it¡­don''t you?"

    "Yeah." Naruto thought, "I count two."

    "Same. One of them is spewing out killer intent like a faucet, it''s pretty hard not to ignore."

    Naruto nodded, slipping out into one of the various alley ways. Stopping in the center, he waited as he began allowed Sage Mode to activate. Checking the kunai strapped to his forearm hidden under his sleeve, Naruto let the two people following him get into their positions, one behind him and another in front, blocking both exits.

    Feeling he''d waited long enough, he called out, "I know that you guys know I know you''re there, there''s no point in trying to ambush me. Might as well show yourselves."

    He hadn''t even finished his sentence when the one behind him jumped out. Turning swiftly, he pulled out his kunai, raising it up just in time to block one of the blades that was swung down on top of him. Seeing that there was another in their hand, Naruto quickly caught the owner''s wrist, stopping the blade just as it was about slice out his stomach. With a quick Spartan kick, he drove his foot into their stomach and sent them flying back. The person attacking him proved to be rather nimble, as they landed in a roll before stopping at a crouch. Quickly turning around, Naruto blocked another blade, this time he was forced to hold his ground as the strength behind it nearly rivaled his own. The two struggled for a second, before she managed to slide her blade back before bringing it down on his torso, cutting him down. The look of victory on the attacker''s face quickly fell when Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

    "Gamora and Nebula, famed daughters of the Mad Titan. You know, it says a lot about a person if even Iknow who you are. So, what can I do for two of the greatest assassins in the galaxy?" Naruto asked, perched on the side of one of the buildings, looking down at the two assassins with a smirk on his face, "Has Thanos finally decided to send someone after the Naruto Uzumaki."

    Nebula narrowed her eyes up at Naruto, "I''ve never heard our father mention you, not once." She said, with Gamora nodding her head in agreement, "We''re here because of the contract put on your head."

    That caught Naruto''s attention, his eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Really? How much am I worth?"

    It was Gamora that answered, "Twenty million Units."

    That caused Naruto''s ego to deflate, "Seriously, that''s it? Well that''s disappointing." Seeing no reason to continue the conversation, he was about to jump down and finish them when Nebula spoke.

    "But it''s 200 Million if we bring in you and the thief, and we''re already half way there."

    That caused Naruto to pause, "So, Speed is¡­"

    "Dead¡­yes." Gamora answered, with Naruto able to see the regret that managed to worm its way onto her face, if only slightly. Nebula however, the blue skinned woman had a look of sick satisfaction on her face, looking up at Naruto with a bloodthirsty smirk.

    "I see."

    Nebula''s eyes widened as she heard Naruto''s voice right behind her, causing her to turn around swiftly, only to get a swift fist to the jaw. The force of it was enough to send her flying several yards away, causing her to land on her shoulder in a splat against the wet pavement. Quickly getting her bearings, she rolled to the side just in time to avoid the foot that came down where her head had once been. The pavement cracked and fissured from the force of the stomp, though Nebula didn''t pay it much mind as she was busy getting up to her feet and blocking Naruto''s barrage of attacks. Nebula did her best to dodge and strike back with her blades, but it was proving to be quite difficult as Naruto moved with a vicious speed she''d never seen before.

    Having enough, the woman gave a roar as she swung the blade in her left hand, with Naruto ducking under it to allow the tip of the sword to hit the metallic wall behind him, the blade carving into it in a flurry of sparks. As Naruto came up from his dodge, he sent two quick jabs towards Nebula''s jaw and cheek, the woman unable to block, the pair of punches causing her to stumble back. Naruto, about to keep up the attack, was forced to dodge to the side as Gamora swung down on his person. The woman gave a battle cry as she thrusted her sword into Naruto''s midsection, only for him to break apart in a vast burst of electricity thoroughly shocking Gamora and nearly driving her to her knees.

    Nebula, having watched the skirmish, was unable to look for the now missing blonde, as a pair of hands wrapped around her the underside of her jaw. Before she knew it, she was being picked up and thrown over Naruto, the blonde warrior then bringing her down head first to the ground below, the force of it driving half of her head into the pavement. Turning from his handy work, Naruto threw a spin kick into Gamora''s temple, nearly dropping her to the floor from the power behind it.

    Naruto smirked as he waited for the two of them to get up, "You guys are pretty good, I''ll admit. I haven''t had a fight like this a good while, feels good to cut loose."

    Gamora straightened up, holding her head gently as she said, "I can say the same."

    Nebula finally got up, glaring bloody murder at the blonde, "I''m going to take great pleasure in ending your life."

    His smirk getting wider, Naruto spoke, "You''re welcome to try, Smurfette."

    The woman didn''t bother looking confused at Naruto''s name for her, instead charging forward like a feral beast. With a renewed vigor, Nebula swung her blades around with barely contained skill, the air whistling off their edges as they zoomed passed the dodging Naruto, blocking what he could with his wind infused kunai. The sounds of clashing metal and flesh was all that could be heard in the alley way, echoing across the parallel buildings in a nearly hypnotic chorus. Naruto did his best to keep her at bay, going for places he knew would slow her down. But with each bone he heard brake, for each elbow or knee he felt nearly snap, the areas would seem to shift and fix themselves as she continued her barrage. Feeling he had to test just how durable she was, Naruto sent a strong kick to her abdomen sending her flying back. Forced to roll, Nebula came to a stop in a crouch, looking up as she was about to go back into the fray, only to seeing Naruto was already in her space with his fist drawn back with a blue energy wisping along his fist.

    The force from the attack sent a shock wave through the alley way, causing the various puddles littered along the ground to ripple harshly, with Nebula finding herself wedged in a wall. The metal warped around her, it helped her stay propped up inside preventing her from falling face first to the ground below. Gamora, who had watched the fight, looked at her sister''s prone body in complete shock. Nobody had ever beaten her sister so easily before.

    She raised as brow at Naruto, the warrior not bothering to try and finish Nebula off while she was down, "Why aren''t you going for the kill, surely you''re not that noble?" She pondered out loud.

    Naruto, who was currently stretching out his arms for the next fight, raised a brow at Gamora, "Do you want me to kill her?"

    Gamora narrowed her eyes at him before she charged, her sword poised to strike him down. As she swung it down, Naruto blocked it with his kunai. The two of them entered a sword lock, their faces just inches apart as they stared into the other''s eyes, "My father trained us to take every opportunity we could, to kill whenever the opening showed itself, to never show mercy not even to your allies."

    Naruto''s own eyes narrowed as he looked at Gamora, "It sounds like he''s trying to make you into a living weapon." He said, the image of Haku flashing into his mind.

    "That''s exactly what we are. The children of Thanos are the weapons of Thanos. We kill in the name of our lord, no matter who they are. We have no prejudice, no fear, no hesitation. We are an extension of his will." Gamora said, her words coming off almost as a recitation.

    "Is that really what you think of yourself? As some mindless tool?" Naruto asked, pushing into the lock causing Gamora to start taking steps backward, "That''s fucking stupid! Nobody is just a weapon, you''re a person, with your own desires and ambitions."

    With a surprising show of strength, Gamora shoved Naruto back, swinging her blade wildly, "You don''t know anything! The things I''ve done, the things I''ll do¡­I don''t deserve anything else! We are what our parents make us!"

    "But he isn''t your father, is he? Not really anyway." Seeing her shocked face he continued, "You want to know the thing about weapons?" Engaging her in another dance of clashing blades, Naruto blocked and parried as he waited for the opening he needed before throwing his hand out and catching her blade in between his thumb and the rest of his hand. With a quick twist of his hand, Naruto snapped the sword in two, "The thing about weapons is that when a weapon breaks, it loses its usefulness." Punching her in the face he continued, the woman sent sprawling to the ground, "And that''s exactly what will happen to you. One of these days, you''ll break. And when that happens, I can''t see a guy like Thanos keeping you around for very long. Is that really the kind of life you want? To fear the day you''re killed the moment you''re no longer a tool but a burden?"

    Gamora listened to every word, huffing as she mulled over Naruto''s words. As she was about to speak, she saw her sister move. Having gotten herself out of the hole she made seemingly unnoticed, she had snuck up behind Naruto with a dagger poised in her left hand. As she noticed Nebula however, so did Naruto, the grip on his kunai tightening as he began to add even more wind chakra to the blade.

    "Nebula, no!" Gamora shouted, raising her hand out towards her sister as she was about to bring her dagger down on Naruto''s neck. This proved fatal.

    "AAUGH!" Nebula screamed, clutching her left shoulder in pain as she fell to her knees in utter agony. Shaking from both pain and fury, she collapsed down on her good side, looking down at her now severed arm, the dagger that had been in her grasp now laying uselessly in her limp hand. Tears began to roll down her eyes, her mouth agape as the pain shooting through her shoulder finally caused her to pass out.

    Still poised from his strike, Naruto watched with a frown on his face at the downed daughter of Thanos. Looking over at Gamora he said, "I''m sorry about that, but this kind of thing has to be expected in this line of work. Hopefully she doesn''t hold a grudge." He finished as he robbed the back of his head, "Look¡­I meant what I said. You don''t have to be the daughter of Thanos. You can just be¡­well, Gamora. Think about it." With that, he disappeared in a Body Flicker, leaving behind the mess he had created.

    -x-

    The sound of a crackling fire echoed throughout the dimly lit forest, lighting up the area in an eerie orange hue. Inside the blazing inferno, among the cracking timber, was the body of Gog the Knowing. His lifeless body laying upon the bon fire as the fire ate at his flesh and bone. Standing next to the fire was Desak, the smell of burning flesh not seeming to bother him in the slightest as he gazed down at the deceased man.

    "May your travels through the other realms be lacking in burden and hardships. May your next life be free of pain or suffering. May your time among the gods give you incite and clarity." Desak mumbled as he clutched at the gem hanging from his neck.

    "Is that a prayer?"

    Not bothering to turn around, he said, "Yes."

    The person behind didn''t say anything at first, simply nodding at the other man''s answer. Before long they said, "I don''t mean to interrupt¡­but have you by chance seen a man named Hego? He runs the church not far away from here and we were supposed to have a meeting, but he wasn''t there."

    Desak spoke after a few seconds, "He''s dead."

    "Wha-what?" The man asked, clearly startled by the answer.

    "I murdered him." Desak clarified, still not looking at the man as he spoke, simply listening as he heard him stutter for a few seconds before running away, more than likely to inform the authorities.

    Giving one last look at the now falling apart corpse before walking away, continuing his quest to find the so-called Celestial.

 16 Ainst No Mountain High Enough

    "It''s hard to believe that it''s been three months since the Kree-Nova War ended with the Treaty of Andromeda, sighed by Xandarian Empress Adora, Nova Prime Rael, and Kree High-Ruler Monn-Arrk, including the dozens of other governing bodies within both empires. While Xandarian celebrations are only now just seeming to end, Kree protests have only gotten more intense. The most outspoken being the now infamous Ronan the Accuser, who has separated from his government and is committing massacres all across the cosmos in the name of his people, though how he''s gotten his military backing is still a mystery, as the Kree Ambassador has denied any connection to the rogue captain." A Krylorian anchor reported, a his face a stoic fa?ade as he read the teleprompter, "It''s almost unbelievable that the war wasn''t even close to ending not four months ago, thanks to fact that the War for Zephyr was still waging with increasing tensity. Progress was eventually capable of being made thanks to the outside interference of the man then only known as ''The Celestial'' or ''Maelstrom.'' The man''s tremendous power proved invaluable in what had been the slow grind that was protecting the moon Zephyr from Kree control." The video of a massive ethereal creature with nine tails that seemed to be made of golden fire appeared in the top left corner of the screen, the monster firing off a massive ball of energy into a Kree Warship, destroying it in one blast.

    The footage then cut over to what looked like a man made of the very same fire, the man decimating any and all Kree soldiers who dare get in his way, "It was thanks to him killing the then rogue Admiral Yon-Rogg that the Kree managed to get their men to agree to the armistice, giving both sides time to agree to the terms necessary to sign the treaty."

    The anchor was about to continue when the screen cut out, leaving the only noise in the room being the blaring of the song, ''I''m Not In Love.'' The psychedelic track vibrated across the room as the man that turned off the screen walked through it, grabbing the leather vest that was laying on the table. Walking passed the bed, where a beautiful Krylorian woman slept peacefully, he silently made his way up to the upper deck of his ship, walking over to the pilot''s chair where he then took the controls away from autopilot. Seeing that he was entering the atmosphere of his destination he hovered over the sea of clouds, the various mountain regions peeking out from under them giving the pilot an incredibly beautiful view.

    As he began to descend down, a call came through on the screen to his right, forcing him to sigh as he looked at who it was. Seeming to have a momentary internal struggle, he finally gave in and answered the call.

    He wasn''t allowed to say a word as the caller yelled out, "You there yet boy?!"

    "Yeah, yeah Yondu I''m here, I''m about to land now." The pilot answered.

    "Good!" Yondu said, a smirk creeping onto his face, showing off his crooked yellow teeth that seemed to be made of a golden metal, "Now stay there and wait for us, we''ll be there in an hour."

    "Well you see, that''s the thing Yondu, I figured I''d go ahead and scout out the area-"

    The feed was cut out, Yondu having ended the call in the middle of the pilot''s sentence. The pilot cursed as he leaned back in his chair. Giving a sigh he sat there, he silently flew the ship down to the surface. Quickly finding a landing spot, he leaned back in his chair, preparing himself for the hour long wait for Yondu. Rocking back and forth in the chair, he sat quietly for a few moments, the only sounds heard were the music still blaring in the background, the rapid pelting of rain on the still ship, and the sound of the chair creaking back and forth. Finally, he stopped.

    "Fuck this."

    Quickly getting up from his seat, he walked down into the lower deck. Grabbing his blaster and then his Walkman, he popped the cassette that was playing out of the radio. Looking for his trench coat, he finally couldn''t help but release an agitated breath at seeing that the woman was using it as a blanket.

    Walking over to her, he gently tried to pry it from her grasp while at the same time trying to keep her from waking up, a pointless endeavor it turned out as she almost immediately woke up, "Pe-Peter?" She tiredly stuttered, her thick Krylorian accent even worse in her drowsiness, "What''s going on?" Looking down to see he was trying to take the coat that was wrapped around her she then asked, "What''re you doing?"

    "I''m uhhh¡­" Peter said, grasping at straws as he tried to think of an excuse, "I''m getting us some breakfast¡­but''s it''s raining." Nodding down at the coat he continued, "So¡­I need my coat."

    "Oh¡­" She said, "Well¡­let me get dressed and I can go with yo-"

    "No!" Peter interrupted, only to wince at the volume of his voice, "I mean...no you stay in bed, you look exhausted."

    "Oh, well okay." The woman said tiredly, "Don''t take too long."

    He gave a weak thumbs up, "Sure thing, I''ll be back in a sec." With that, she let go of the coat, allowing Peter to fling it on. Walking over to the bay door, he looked over to make sure she was back to sleep before opening it up. Looking out into the raining planet, he gave a sigh as he pressed down on his earpiece. As he did, a helmet began to expand from the nape of his neck to the front of this face, covering most of his head while leaving his hair out in the open. The helmet was silver in color with gold highlights. The area where the mouth should be looked to be an intricate rebreather, more than likely allowing him to breath in places where oxygen was lacking. To finish off the design, the circular eyes to the helmet were covered by a red lens that glowed in the dimly lit area.

    "Welcome to Morag." He said, his muffled mechanical voice barely audible thanks to the vast downpour.

    -x-

    Three Weeks Later

    -x-

    Walking through a pair of wide open double doors, Naruto walked into the massive temple that seemed to have collapsed in on itself. Parts of the ceiling were gone, allowing beams of daylight to enter and the dripping rain to fall to the debris ridden floor. The only reason the top of the temple hadn''t fallen was because of the pillars that seemed to be held together by only luck. Looking around, Naruto couldn''t help but be reminded of a recently emptied fish tank, the golden motif of the temple plagued by vast amounts of coral and fungi.

    Taking cautious steps, Naruto said, "Welp¡­this is it."

    "And where is this exactly?" Kurama asked.

    "Kurama, you seriously need to stop taking such long naps. I''m getting tired of having to explain my adventures midway through." Naruto thought, kicking a weird looking rat that scurried up to him as he did, "What the fuck was that?!" He yelled out, looking at the freaky little monster.

    "Hey, it''s not my fault that all I have to do to keep me occupied is sitting here watching you and nap. You haven''t let me out in months."

    "That was during a fight. I can''t just let you out willy nilly, you''re a walking talking natural disaster." Seeing that there was a massive crevice in front of him, Naruto poured chakra into his legs before jumping, clearing the crevice like a champ.

    "Bah." Kurama said, "You make that sound like a badthing."

    "And that''s the problem." Naruto thought, "And this is the place that Gog told us about, the powerful object on the planet Morag."

    "And we''re looking for this ''powerful object'' why?" Kurama asked.

    "Because this is the only lead we have at the moment that I actually want to follow. It''s this or go to Earth, somewhere in the Nine Realms, or go and fight Thanos for his stone. Now, can we please continue this little quest of ours, or do I need to give more exposition?" Naruto said, his annoyance clear.

    "Whatever." Kurama said with a sigh, "This better be interesting though, or I''m gonna be pissed."

    Coming up to the end of the temple, he stood in front of a massive stone door, that like the front door, was wide open. Walking into the dark room, with the only source of light being the large wall towards the back of the room. Raising up his arm, he allowed his it to be enveloped by Kurama''s chakra. His arm now covered by a yellow fire, the room was now illuminated in a golden hue. Walking into the room further, Naruto could now completely make out that in the middle of the room seemed to be some kind of containment device, though it seemed to be deactivated.

    Inspecting it further, he sighed in agitation as he said, "Well shit. Whatever was here is gone." Scratching the back of his head he said, "That''s just fucking great."

    He was about to turn around to leave when he heard the sound of several people run up behind him. Turning around, he looked surprised at the squad of Sakarran soldiers. The insectoid men all had their guns raised towards Naruto, their dark brown armor gleaming the golden light, "Hold it!" The lead Sakaaran shouted, his voice a harsh hiss, "What are you doing here?!" He demanded.

    "I could ask you guys the same thing." Naruto said lazily, "You guys haven''t seen an object that''s supposed to hold a lot of power around here have you?"

    The Sakaaran''s looked amongst themselves, the leader hesitating for a moment before hissing, "What do you know of the orb?"

    "The orb? So that''s what it''s called." Naruto mumbled, "Well, all I know is it was supposed to be here. What do you know about it?"

    The leader didn''t say a word at first, simply looking Naruto over for a second before the soldier to his left said, "Korath ordered us to kill anyone that came here, remember?"

    Nodding, he said, "Aye, I do." With that, he raised his rifle up so that it was pointing right at Naruto''s forehead. He wasn''t allowed to pull the trigger however, as he found his airway nearly being crushed by the strange blonde man, his flaming hand squeezing his throat hard enough he thought he felt his spinal column collapse.

    Naruto didn''t waste any time, throwing the man to the side before giving a quick kick into the Sakaaran to his left, his foot driving into the man''s midsection. The sound of breaking ribs could barely be heard over the sounds of laser fire, the four other Sakaarans'' doing their best to hit the blonde. When they all realized that their target was no longer in front of them, they quickly began to look around. Quickly becoming confused, they each began to think he''d somehow escaped. The Sakaaran furthest to the right then heard a piece of stalactite fall to the ground, the rock nearly landing on his foot. Looking up, he gave a startled gasp, only for it to be interrupted by a kunai lodging itself in between his eyes.

    The remaining soldiers weren''t able to do a thing about their fallen comrade, as a wall of fire suddenly fell upon them from above, "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"

    Naruto, the lead Sakaaran under his arm, walked away from the chamber, whistling a jaunty toon as he went. Now a good distance from the blazing inferno he''d created, he set the insect man down, "This interesting yet?" Naruto asked his partner.

    "It''s getting there." Kurama said with a soft shrug.

    Propping the man up against one of the many pillars loitering around the temple, he fed Earth Chakra into the ground, controlling it into forming cuffs around his wrists and ankles. Taking off the Sakaaran''s helmet, he pressed his pointer finger up against the man''s temple. Shooting a quick pump of lightning into him, Naruto watched with an amused smirk as the man jerked awake. At first giving a struggled attempt to get up, he quickly realized he was bound. Giving the cuffs a test by giving them a swift jerk, he sighed in frustration as he looked over at the still smirking Naruto.

    "What do you want?" He hissed out harshly.

    Naruto shrugged, "Just tell me what that orb is, who has it, and who it is you work for."

    "And if I don''t?" He asked challengingly.

    "Simple." Naruto said.

    With that single word, the Sakaaran soldier''s mind was suddenly flooded with the sight of a massive nine tailed monster tearing him apart, stomping and chewing on him like a pet would with a chew toy. The sight of buildings burning, his loved ones lying dead on the floor, the blonde man standing over them with their blood splattered all over him. He saw planets imploding in on themselves, galaxies falling apart, and the universe itself being torn in twain. And just like that, as quickly as it came it went, leaving the man a sweating mess as he tried to catch his breath.

    "Wh-wha¡­.what are you?" He stuttered out.

    Naruto shrugged once again, "That depends on your answer. So¡­what will it be?"

    The Sakaaran soldier didn''t even hesitate.

    -x-

    Naruto sat in his ship''s cockpit, his hands folded under his chin as he thought over what he was told. Apparently, the soldier hadn''t been informed on what the orb actually was, only that his employer wanted it desperately. As far as who took the orb, all he knew was that it was a guy in Ravager garb who called himself ''Star-Lord.'' Really the only good information he gave was that he was working for Ronan the Accuser, who was then working with the Mad Titan in his quest to destroy Xandar, which answered the question of who was funding his little massacres across the galaxy. This bit of news was honestly perfect as far as Naruto was concerned. He was planning on confronting the Accuser soon anyway after he''d heard of the massive tantrum he''d been throwing the last couple months. Now not only could he get a hold of this orb, something that Thanos seemed to be interested in too, but he could also take on Ronan who he was sure was in the middle of the whole thing.

    Thinking of only one person who would know who this Star-Lord was, he quickly went through his contacts on his Uta. Selecting the person he was looking for, he waited patiently for them to answer. Finally, a face popped up on the screen in front of him.

    "Long time no see Naruto." The sweet melody of Tara''s voice meeting Naruto''s ears.

    Smirking, Naruto said, "It sure has, how''s the crew?"

    "Oh, you know," The captain''s daughter began, "Same shit as ever."

    Nodding, Naruto replied, "Yeah, I figured."

    "So, what do ya need Naruto?" Tara asked.

    "What makes you think I need anything?" The blonde warrior asked sheepishly.

    The woman gave Naruto a blank stare, "Cause you only ever call when you needsomething, that''s what."

    Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto gave his patented smile, "Yeah¡­I''ll make it up to you, I promise."

    "You promise huh?"

    "Hey, I never break my promises. So, just know that at some point in time I''ll be making it up to you. Besides, this isn''t even that big of a favor. I just need to know if you''ve ever heard of a particular Ravager." Naruto explained.

    Tara gave an exasperated sigh, "There are thousands of Ravagers in circulation at the moment Naruto, I doubt I''d know whoever it is your looking for."

    "Yeah, I know, but this guy has a ''codename.''" Naruto said, throwing out some air quotes as he finished the sentence, "He goes by ''Star-Lord. Apparently, he too-"

    "Did you just say Star-Lord?" Tara interrupted.

    "Uh¡­" Naruto murmured, "Yeah?"

    Tara sighed once again, pinching the bridge of her nose as she did, "Yeah¡­yeah I know him." Looking back up she said, "He''s one of Yondu''s, name''s Peter Quill. Their main intermediary is Broker, I''d start there."

    "Really?" Naruto said, "That''s awesome, I''m heading there now. Thanks for the help." With Tara giving a nod of acknowledgement, Naruto was about to cut off the feed, "Alright, next destination, Xandaria."

    "Hey wait!"

    Naruto paused, looking back down at the screen, "Yeah?"

    "More than likely, the idiot''s pulled a fast one on Yondu, which means that the blue bastard is going after him as well. If or when you see him, give him a good punch in the face for me." Tara requested.

    Naruto shrugged, "Sure, I guess."

    With that, Tara cut off the feed.

    -x-

    Location: Kree Warship the Dark Aster

    -x-

    The Dark Aster could only be described by one word: massive. Even compared to most other Kree Warships, this vast vessel was on a whole other level of size and power. The appearance of the ship was that of a massive skyscraper turned over on its side, with the corners twisted and turned like a twizzler. The dark behemoth loomed in the ever dark void that was the cosmos, the captain of said ship waiting patiently in his chambers for the ship to head for its next destination.

    "Sir, sir! We have news from Morag!" Korath shouted out as he entered the vast chambers, "One of our patrolling squadrons has been annihilated, with only one survivor." Korath was a man of dark brown skin that appeared to be part man part machine, with mechanical pieces sticking out of his head every which way.

    Perched upon his throne was Ronan the Accuser himself, the Kree fanatic wearing the traditional battle armor of his people, only his was a dark black in color. Unlike most Kree warriors, his skin was almost completely covered by a thick black war paint, giving his menacing appearance another extra oomph. Resting to his right sat his weapon of choice, the Cosmi-Rod. This powerful warhammer has ended many Xandarian lives, their dried blood clearly visible on the face of the hammer. And there, sitting to his left, was Nebula. The blue skinned assassin tweaking with her robotic prosthetic arm, a tool of some kind playing around with the insides of her forearm.

    His chin resting on his fist, Ronan allowed his baritone voice to echo across the chambers, "Bring him to me."

    Quickly nodding, Korath motioned for whoever was outside the chambers to enter. His pace was slow, as his limp prevented him from going at a speed any faster. Finally making his way to the center of the room. Looking up, the man gave a firm solute, "My lord."

    "Who was it that attacked you?" Ronan asked, his voice holding a dangerous edge to it.

    "Hi-his name I do not know. But he was powerful. He was fast, strong, and could breathe fire."

    "Sir¡­this sounds like-" Korath began to say.

    "Like the ''Celestial.''" Ronan interrupted, Nebula''s head shooting up at the mentioning of the man. Getting up from him seat, he grabbed onto the handle of his hammer, taking it with him as he walked closer to the Sakarran soldier, "And how is it that you managed to survive an encounter with that man."

    "He told me¡­to give you a message." Reaching into his breast plate, the man extended it out towards his master.

    Snatching the slip of paper from his grip, Ronan silently unfolded the paper. Looking it over for only a second, he growled angrily as he crumpled the paper into a little ball before throwing it to the side.

    "What did it say?" Nebula asked.

    "Nothing." Ronan said, "It was gibberish."

    "So¡­what now?" Korath asked, "If the ''Celestial'' is after the orb as well, that complicates matters."

    "It complicates nothing. Once I retrieve the orb, Thanos will annihilate Xandar and its little hero." Ronan said, his voice filled with absolute assurance.

    "Not if I don''t kill him first." Nebula said darkly, rubbing her shoulder tenderly as she did.

    Giving a cruel smirk, Ronan said, "Of course, I forgot about your little vendetta against him." Heading back to his throne, he sat down as he continued, "Rest assured you will have your chance with him, after we raid the Kyln."

    "Whatever you say."

    -x-

    Location: The City of Xandaria of the Planet Xandar

    -x-

    Naruto walked out of his M-Ship giving a few testing stretches. Giving an overly loud groan, Naruto whined, "Why did there have to be so many Jump Points in between Morag and Xandar? I mean 97 jumps seems like a bit of a stretch."

    "Would you shut the fuck up about it already?" Kurama demanded, "I get it, it was a long trip. For Sage''s sake, would you stop whining?!"

    Finally popping the knot out of his back, Naruto said, "Hey, I''m not whining. I''m just observing the fact that there were 90 jumps more than necessary. That''s all I''m saying."

    "You''re almost as annoying as Hashirama was, and that''s not a compliment."

    Naruto shrugged, not seeing the point in arguing further. Walking over to the side of his ship, he made to slap his hand on the cool metal, "Seal!" He shouted as a fuinjutsu marking appeared on the palm of his hand. Right as his hand made contact, the ship was enveloped in a massive cloud of smoke. Quickly exerting some wind chakra, Naruto blew the smoke away, revealing the Kushina to have disappeared. A satisfied smirk on his face, Naruto said, "Oh yeah, fuinjutsu is the fucking shit man, I''m telling you." After a moment, he thought, "No offence Kurama."

    "Some taken." Kurama mumbled, "You do know you did that if front of everybody else on the docking bay, right?"

    Looking around, Naruto raised an eyebrow at all the people that were staring at him in extreme levels of shock, a multitude of them pointing at him and whispering to each other not so discreetly. Rubbing the back of his head rather sheepishly, Naruto gave a rather weak wave, "Uh¡­hey?"

    Wanting to get away from the gawking public, Naruto quickly disappeared in a Body Flicker. Appearing on a rooftop several blocks away, the blonde looked around to get his bearings. Easily spotting the Broker''s building, Naruto began to skip along the various rooftops, dead set on getting their as quickly as he could without getting too much attention. After only a few minutes of maneuvering along the city, Naruto landed in the massive courtyard that the Broker''s building resided. Submerging himself into the sea of people, Naruto did his best to weave through the crowd seamlessly.

    Finally making his way to the building, Naruto walked through the open doorway. Seeing that the man had his back turned, the blonde walked up to the counter and began to wait patiently. As time ticked on, and Broker continued to look at whatever it was in his hands, Naruto grew more and more impatient. After nearly three minutes of waiting, the blonde finally gave a very loud cough into his hand. Startled, Broker nearly dropped the object, juggling it momentarily before finally securing it once more in his hands. Turning sharply, more than likely about to admonish whoever was so foolish as to startle him in the middle of his work, only to pale at the sight of Naruto ''Maelstrom'' Uzumaki.

    "A-ah¡­Mr. Uzumaki." Broker stuttered, "How¡­how may I help you today?" He asked as he gently rested what was in his hand on the counter.

    Giving a charming smile, Naruto said, "Just have a few questions for you, that''s all."

    "What kind of questions?" Broker asked suspiciously.

    "Oh, you know¡­the Ravager kind."

    That was all Broker needed to hear before he quickly rushed around the counter, heading towards the door. Swaying his arms hurriedly in front of the sensor, he shut the automatic doors before activating the locking device. Turning back around scathingly he said, "You should know better than to talk of such things when the door was wide open."

    "And you should know better than to leave the door open when you do this kind of business." Naruto countered.

    "An open door shows I have nothing to hide. The Nova Corps is already looking into my business transactions, I can''t have them think I look suspicious." The rat man said back.

    "Yeah, sure." Naruto said with a slight roll of the eyes, "I just need to know if you''ve done business with a guy calling himself ''Star-Lord.''"

    Broker looked at Naruto quizzically, "Star-Lord?" Seeing Naruto nod he continued, "I''ve never worked with a man going by such a ridiculous moniker, that I know of at least."

    Naruto sighed, "His real name is Peter Quill."

    The mention of that name immediately caused a chain reaction in Broker''s facial expression, the man almost instantly becoming shifty and nervous as he tried to walk passed Naruto so he could get back behind the counter, "I''m sorry to say that I''ve never worked with a man named ''Peter Quill'' either."

    "Oh really?" Naruto asked, "That''s not what Tara told me. She said that you work with him and his captain quite a bit." Leaning over the counter he asked, "Why''re you lying to me Broker?"

    "I-I''m doing no such thing! Surely Ms. Tara is mistaken, as I''ve never heard of this Quill in my life." Broker insisted.

    Naruto sighed, "Look man, I can tell you''re lying. I don''t need to sense it either, you''ve got more tells than a Catholic altar boy."

    "A what?" Broker asked.

    "¡­never mind." Naruto said as he rubbed his eyelid in agitation, "Now just tell me if he came in here with an orb like object so I can go about my freaking day."

    "I-I don''t know."

    The blonde warrior looked Broker in the eye, entering a momentary staring contest, before he finally backed off, taking several steps back as he did. Looking around, Naruto walked over to one of the cases loitering around the room. Opening one up, he took what looked like a very delicate golden figurine out, holding it out in his palm, "I''m gonna ask again, did you have a transaction with Peter Quill, aka Star-Lord?"

    "Please, no!" Broker begged, "That is worth over Three Million Units! It''s the last of its kind-"

    "And I''m gonna break it if you don''t tell me what I want to know." Naruto interrupted, "You have three seconds. Three. Two. O-"

    "I had nothing to do with the orb!" Broker screamed, practically on his knees as he looked at Naruto, "You have to believe me! I canceled my transaction with Quill as soon as I discovered who your boss was! I swear!"

    "My boss?" Naruto asked.

    "Ye-yes!" Broker said with confusion in his voice, "You''re working with the Accuser, aren''t you?"

    "You think I''m working with Ronan the Accuser?" Naruto asked. When Broker gave a frantic nod, he robbed the side of his face in frustration, "Dude¡­I''m notworking for the guy."

    "You''re¡­you''re not?"

    "No."

    "Oh." Broker said rather weekly.

    Pulling the rat man up to his feet, Naruto asked, "What the hell gave you that idea?"

    "I don''t know, I just assumed that-"

    "You just assumed that I was working for a homicidal maniac? You do watch the news, right? I''m the last guy you should assume is working with a someone like that." Naruto said, "Do you know where Quill might''ve gone after you kicked him out?"

    Broker nodded, "He got picked up by the Nova Corps a couple weeks ago, just a few minutes after our meeting. I don''t know what for."

    "¡­shit."

    -x-

    Location: Nova Corps Headquarters

    -x-

    "What do you mean you won''t let me in?" Naruto asked in clear agitation.

    The two Nova Corpsman guarding the entrance into the Nova Corps Headquarters looked at Naruto with an equal amount of annoyance, "Only authorized personal are allowed into this building. If you have an issue, take it to your local precinct." The Corpsman to the left said.

    The one to the right spoke up, "It doesn''t matter whoyou are, you have to follow procedure just like everybody else."

    "Look," Naruto said, "You obviously know who I am. Which means that you should know that the only reason I''d be here is if it''s super freaking important. So, if you would be so kind as to let me inside, I''d really appreciate it. Otherwise I''m just gonna sneak in. So, what''s it gonna be?"

    The Corpsman to the left began to reach for his baton, only for a voice to interrupt him, "You do know that you could''ve just called, right?"

    Turning around, Naruto was greeted by a Millenian ranked officer. The officer of the Nova Corps seemed rather plain as far as appearances went, with thick brown curly hair and a face that didn''t really jump out of a crowd. The middle-aged man walked up to the blonde, resting his hand on his shoulder as the man said, "Don''t worry, he''s with me."

    The arrival of one of their superior officers seemed to placate the Corpsman, the two of them giving swift solutes as the said, "Yes, sir."

    Walking passed the two guards, the Millenian waited until the doors were closed, "So, what brings the famous ''Hero of Zephyr'' to these necks of the woods?"

    "I''m sorry," Naruto said, taking a few steps away from the man, "but do I know you?"

    "No, no I suppose you wouldn''t." The man said, "We''ve never actually met in person, though I was there when you met with the Centurions stationed on Zephyr, after you killed Yon-Rogg. I don''t think I''ve ever seen them so browbeat." Reaching a hand out he said, "The names Rhomann Dey."

    Shaking Rhomann''s hand he said, "Naruto Uzumaki."

    "So, what''re you doing here exactly?" Rhomann asked.

    Remembering why he was there in the first place, Naruto said, "I''m here because I''ve been looking for a guy named Peter Quill. The last person who saw him said he got picked up by you guys a couple weeks ago."

    Rhomann gave a quick laugh, "You mean Star-Prince? Yeah, I''m the one that picked him up. The guy was fighting in the courtyard by Nova Park. Picked up him and a handful of others too, all of them wanted for a bunch of different crimes. Hell, one of them got me promoted up to the rank of Millenian."

    "Who did you pick up?" Naruto asked out of curiosity.

    Smirking, Rhomann said, "Here, let me show you."

    "Really?" Naruto asked.

    Turning to look back at the blonde, Rhomann said, "You saved a lot of lives when you ended that battle. You''re a big part of the reason the treaty got signed at all. It''s the least I could do." Beginning to walk towards the destination he finished, "Come on, follow me."

    -x-

    Walking into one of the processing rooms, Naruto sat down next to the Nova officer as he said, "So are you gonna tell me or what? The suspense is killing me." He finished as with sarcasm clearly in his voice.

    His smirk still in play, Rhomann pulled up four video feeds up onto the massive screen in front of them, "Alright, alright. Here''s the first one."

    Expanding the first feed, Naruto was gifted the sight of what looked like a bipedal racoon. Said creature wore an orange and grey vest that covered its torso and shoulders, with pants that allowed the tail to move around freely. As the video feed played, Naruto raised an amused eyebrow as it gave the camera a snarl before rebelliously hocking a loogy on the floor, "This is Subject: 89P13. It''s the result of illegal genetic and cybernetic experimentations on lower lifeforms. Wanted for multiple counts of theft, mercenary work, and arson. It has currently escaped from incarceration 22 times."

    Pulling up the next feed, Rhomann showcased what looked to be a humanoid tree, it''s lanky wooden body too tall for the camera, causing his head to peak over it by quite a bit. The thing that really peaked Naruto''s interest was that it seemed to be regrowing its arms, "This Flora Colossus is called Groot, a reference to the fact that the only thing it seems to say is, ''I am Groot.'' It''s been travelling around as 89P13''s personal house plant and muscle." As Rhomann finished his little explanation, the videoed Groot began to naively walk up to the camera, giving it a silly wave with its miniature arms.

    "Now this was the golden egg." The Millenian said excitedly, pulling up the third video.

    As soon as Naruto saw who it was, he leaned forward in shock, "Gamora?"

    This caused Rhomann to look at the blonde curiously, "You know her?"

    "Yeah." Naruto said, nodding his head as he did, "She and her sister tried to kill me a few months back." Looking over at Rhomann he asked, "You actually managed to capture her?"

    "Well," Rhomann started, "She was passed out when we got a hold of her." He admitted.

    "That explains how you''re alive then." Naruto said, "Her and her sister are fucking dangerous. Not to me of course¡­just people in general."

    Giving a silent grumble, the officer pulled back the video before bring the fourth and last one, "This is the guy you''re looking for." Naruto watched as a man that looked to be in his mid-twenties popped up on the screen. The man''s thick brown hair had a bit of a waviness too it, but not by much, with scruffy facial hair running down his jaw line to form a mild beard. His red leather jacket bore the Ravager symbol on the left breast, with a dark blue shirt underneath. Naruto smirked in amusement as he began to ''wind up'' his hand like a jack in the box, his middle finger raising slowly before he was eventually flipping the camera the bird.

    "Oh, I''m sorry¡­I didn''t know how this machine worked." The man said, sarcasm overflowing from of his voice.

    "Peter Jason Quill, from Terra. The guy was raised as kid by a band of Ravagers lead by Yondu Udonta. Record shows that he has one count of fraud, assault, and public intoxicatio-"

    "Wait a minute." Naruto said, "This guy''s from Terra, as in Earth?" He asked.

    "Yeah, why?"

    Naruto didn''t say anything, only leaning back into his chair as he thought, "Holy shit. What''re the chances of that?"

    "Pretty slim if you ask me." Kurama answered, "My question is how a brat from Earth managed to find himself all the way out here?"

    Looking back at Rhomann, he asked, "Did you happen to confiscate any of his stuff?"

    "Yeah we did." The officer answered, "But all his belongings got sent with him to where he''s being held."

    "Which is?"

    "The Kyln, that''s where all four of them got sent." Rhomann said, "A little harsh for the likes of Quill, but considering who it was he got arrested with, I suppose there really wasn''t any other option."

    Naruto scratched his scalp as he said, "So I''m going to the Kyln then."

    "Why''re you looking for Quill in the first place?"

    "He took something that I''ve been looking for. Something that Ronan the Accuser seems to have a similar interest in, not to mention Thanos, and now Yondu and his Ravagers. I''m hoping that it''s with the rest of his stuff on the Kyln."

    "Wait so Ronan is-"

    "Millenian Dey, please report to the Nova Prime''s office immediately." A voice broke out over PA system, interrupting the man in the middle of his question, "And please bring your guest along as well."

    Cursing, Rhomann got up from his chair, straightening his uniform as he did, "Come on, one of the higher ups most of heard you were here."

    "Oh ugh, alright." Naruto said getting up as well as he placed his hands behind his head, "I was gonna talk to the Nova Prime anyway."

    "¡­right."

    -x-

    Standing across Naruto and Millenian Dey was a woman that looked to be in her later years, late seventies or early eighties being Naruto''s guess. Wearing the female version of an officer''s uniform, only with a matching business jacket over it, the woman gave off a feel of total authority and control. This was Nova Prime Irani Rael, the second most powerful person on Xandar. Standing to her left was Denarian Garthan Saal, the man as regal as ever.

    "Is there a reason you kept the fact that Mr. Uzumaki had arrived here at Headquarters a secret from me?" Rael asked, her voice deathly serious.

    Rhomann had the curtesy to look admonished, his head down as he said, "My apologies ma''am, it was never my intention to keep his arrival a secret. I was merely showing him some of our recent arrests."

    "Recent arrests?" Rael asked, "Are you referring to the arrest of one of Thanos''s daughters?"

    "Yes ma''am."

    "And why did you feel the need to show them to him?" Rael asked.

    "Well¡­" Rhomann started, slight hesitating, "They aren''t classified documents ma''am, I didn''t see the harm in-"

    "Didn''t see the harm?" Saal interrupted, "Didn''t see the harm?! Do you have any idea how unethical it is to show a civilian Nova Corps documents, no matter what they are? You''ve only just been promoted Millenian Dey, it would be a shame if you got demoted after only three weeks."

    "Do be fair sir, you can''t really technify him as a civilian. He is after all the ''Hero of-"

    Saal interrupted him again, "I know exactly what he is. But we can''t simply break the rules because he''s a celebrity-"

    Rael raised her hand to stop Saal, looking Naruto in the eye as she spoke, said blonde not really looking all that interested in the conversation, "While you are right that we can''t break the rules when it comes to things like this, Denarian Saal¡­there are times when exceptions can be made." Looking to Dey she continued, "But the next time this happens, send him straight to me. No more detours. Understood?"

    "Yes ma''am."

    "Good." With a wave of her hand she said, "You''re dismissed."

    Giving a quick solute, Rhomann left the meeting room, Naruto watching after the man until the door was shut behind him, prompting the blonde to look back over at Rael, "He''s a good man, don''t demote him because of me."

    Rael sighed as she leaned back in her chair, "He won''t be getting a demotion, that I assure you. Millenian Dey is a hardworking officer, and like you said a good man." Resting her hands on her arm rest she said, "So, what brings you here Uzumaki? And please make it quick I have a bit of an emergency on my hands."

    Logging the emergency bit for later, Naruto said, "I''m looking for information on a Ravager named Peter Quill, aka Star-Prince¡­or Lord. I don''t know. Anyway, he''s in one of your high security prisons, the Kyln to be specific."

    "The Kyln?" Rael asked for clarification, "And you said his name is Peter Quill?" When Naruto nodded, she began to rub the bridge of her nose, more than likely trying to preemptively kill the headache that had begun to build up, "Well I''m sorry to inform you that Peter Quill has escaped the Kyln, him and four others. The five fugitives pulled off an escape the likes of which we''d never seen, and just in time to miss the arrival of Ronan the Accuser."

    "Wait¡­so Ronan the Accuser was there too?" Naruto asked, "Sage''s sake how am I so behind the ball on this one?" He said to himself, scratching his scalp in thought, "So is that you''re ''little emergency?''"

    Rael nodded, "We just received the transmission, we''re sending a fleet now."

    "Mind if I tag along?" Naruto asked.

    -x-

    Location: The Kyln

    -x-

    The stench of death hung in the air as Naruto leaned against the railing of the highest level, peering down into the open commons area where Naruto could barely see the floor, seeing how a majority of it was covered by either the massive pile of corpses or the lake of mixed color blood. Looking around him Naruto held back a grimace at the bodies littered around him. Some had their throats slit, others shot in the head, and a few were simply pummeled to death, their broken bodies lying lifelessly on the balcony.

    Walking over to him, Saal seemed to be wiping away a trail of vomit from the side of his mouth, "No matter how many times you see it, you never get used to this much death all in one place." He said, leaning against the rail as he did, "Every last prisoner and guard is dead, and all video footage after their arrival has been erased. They obviously didn''t want us to know why they were here."

    "Isn''t it obvious?" Naruto asked, "They were here for the exact same reason I am."

    "¡­Quill." Saal said.

    "More specifically what Quill has. Which means, if I find Quill I''ll find Ronan." Naruto mumbled getting up off the rail, "Where the security room? Maybe I''ll find something in the footage, assuming not all of it''s been scrubbed."

    Saal shook his head, "No, just when they were here." Getting off the rail himself, he said, "I''ll take you there."

    Finding himself sitting in front of a screen once again, Naruto rolled through the security footage, starting from Quill''s first day on the Kyln. Skipping the first few hours of Quill, Subject: 89P13, Groot, and Gamora getting processed through the prison, he let the footage play through as Subject: 89P13 and Groot claimed Quill as their ''booty,'' driving this fact home by Groot shoving his fingers into one of the more aggressive inmate''s nostrils and more than likely into his cranium. Fast forwarding further, he stopped when he saw Gamora get pulled out of her cell by a handful of inmates wielding makeshift knives and shivs. The inmates were interrupted from their attempted murder by a massive grey skinned man with angry red tribal tattoos all over his body. The man, later named Drax the Destroyer, staked claim on Gamora''s life, only to be stopped by Quill and Subject: 89P13. Fast forwarding a bit further, Naruto watched as Gamora, Quill, Subject: 89P13, and Groot talked about their escape, with the three agreeing to work together and split the reward for bringing the orb to Gamora''s employer.

    "Four Billion Units¡­holy shit." Naruto said as he leaned back in his chair, watching as the four planned out their escape, only for Groot to start the plan a little bit too early. Looking over at Saal he asked, "Who the hell''s able to pay that much money for something like this?"

    Saal watched with interest as the four plus Drax fought off the guards trying to prevent them from escaping, "Well¡­there''s only a few people I can think of who''d be willing to spend that much money at all, and only one that would do so for a little trinket."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow as the five convened on the watchtower, with Subject: 89P13 somehow managing to turn off the gravity everywhere but inside the room they were in, and then having the room detach from the rest of the tower and have several of the guard drones act as boosters to send them flying out of the prison area, "And who exactly would that be?"

    The Denarian couldn''t help but scoff as he watched Quill separate from the group in order to retrieve his music playing device, the man escaping the facility via escape hatch, "Tanaleer Tivan, aka the Collector." Turning off the footage he continued, "The guy''s based on Knowhere, the severed head of an ancie-"

    "Ancient celestial being where there are zero laws or regulations, where only the lowliest of the low reside. Yeah, I''ve been there a few times." Smirking he added, "And I just happen to have an express ticket."

    "A what-"

    "I''ll contact of you guys as soon as I get a hold of the orb or Ronan, whichever comes first." Getting up from his chair, he began to mentally search for the Hiraishin Tag on Knowhere. Eventually finding it, he gave a three-fingered solute to the Denarian sitting in front of him, "Thanks for the help Saal, maybe you''re not such an asshole after all." Naruto said with a smirk as he disappeared out of nowhere.

    "Yeah¡­I''m the asshole."

    -x-

    Location: Knowhere

    -x-

    Naruto stumbled as he flashed over to his Hiraishin Tag stationed on one of the various buildings on the lawless cesspool that is Knowhere. Gaining his bearings, Naruto looked around as he saw what looked like multiple Sakaaran Necrocrafts leaving the gaping exit that is the eyehole of the ancient head. Cursing, Naruto began to look around for any other Necrocrafts flying around, only to see a Mining-Pod beginning to land down just a few blocks from him. Knowing that those weren''t meant to just be flown around in open space, Naruto made his way over to its location.

    Skipping across the rooftops, Naruto finally arrived where the Mining-Pod was about to land, only to come face to face with the walking Woodstyle Jutsu known as Groot, the walking tree pulling Drax the Destroyer out of a vat of Celestial spinal fluid. Quickly seeing that the man wasn''t breathing, Naruto jumped down to give some assistance. Rushing over to the downed warrior and the barely articulate tree, Naruto knelt down at the grey skinned man''s side. Reaching his now flaming hand down to open up his air ways, he found his hand stopped by the wooden hand closing around his wrist.

    Looking up, Naruto saw that Groot looking at him warily. Giving a comforting smile, Naruto said, "Trust me."

    The walking house plant looked into the blonde stranger''s eyes for several seconds, obviously not trusting the man. After what felt like an eternity, Groot finally let go of his wrist, allowing him to rest his hand against Drax''s chest. Closing his eyes, Naruto focused his mind as he willed the excess liquid out of the Destroyer''s lungs. It only took a second, and before long the man started throwing up the yellow fluid, his eyes widening in shock as he coughed his way into consciousness. Getting up into a sitting position, Drax continued to catch his breath as the Mining-Pod landed.

    With a violent thud it skipped along the ground before eventually coming to a dead stop, the hatch door opening up to reveal Subject: 89P13 getting down to exit the pod, "Blasted idiots! They''re all idiots!" Jumping down to the ground below he continued, "Quill just got himself captured!" He shouted to Drax and Groot, seemingly not seeing Naruto at first. Pointing directly at the Destroyer he growled in anger, "None of this ever would''ve happened if you didn''t try to single handedly take on a freaking army!" Finally seeming to notice Naruto he then pointed at him, still looking at Drax and Groot, "And who the hell''s this guy?!"

    Drax, having just gained his breath, looked at the much smaller creature rather pathetically, "You''re right." His breathing still heavy, Groot soothingly rested a helping hand on Drax''s back, "I was a fool. All the anger, all the rage¡­it was just to cover my loss." Seeing the man''s pain, Groot silently placed his hand from the man''s back to his shoulder.

    This tender moment was interrupted by Subject: 89P13, "Ooohh boo, hoo, hoooo. My wife and child are dead!" He mocked with a fake cry, Groot giving a dramatic gasp at the racoon''s insensitivity, "Oh I don''t care if its mean, everybody''s got dead people! It''s no excuse to get everybody else dead along the way!"

    Groot didn''t respond, simply glaring at his angry partner, his hand still on Drax''s shoulder. It was then that Naruto spoke, "The thing I''ve noticed in this galaxy, is that I don''t think there''s a single person who hasn''t lost somebody to this war in one form or another. I knew a man like you, someone who had lost his whole family to a single man. His quest for vengeance drove him towards a dark path, a path I could barely save him from."

    Drax seemed to have finally noticed Naruto''s presence, the man looking over at the strange man curiously, "Did he ever get his revenge?" Drax asked.

    The blonde nodded, "He did." Seeing the satisfied look on Drax''s face he continued, "But by then the need for redemption had swallowed him whole. Killing the one that killed his family wasn''t enough. After that it was the man who gave the order, and then eventually the people that allowed that man to exist, until eventually his mission was to kill every man, woman, child of my village." Getting up from his kneeling position, Naruto finished, "I can see that you''re treading on the same path."

    Taking his hand, Drax allowed himself to be pulled up to his feet, "So, you would have me forget about the injustice brought upon my family?" He asked incredulously.

    Naruto shook his head, "No¡­but don''t allow that injustice to consume you. Move on. And should the opportunity arise for you to kill the man that killed you family? Well, I''ll leave that decision up to you."

    "This speech is very moving and all," Subject: 89P13 said, interrupting Drax before he could respond, "but who the fucking hell are you?!"

    Looking down at the racoon, Naruto smirked, "Me? Name''s Naruto Uzumaki." Extending a hand out he said, "Nice to meet you Subject: 89P13."

    Naruto was forced to withdraw his hand as the talking rodent took a quick bite at his fingers. Bearing his teeth, the racoon practically screamed, "What''d you call me?!" He didn''t allow the blonde to answer, jumping up to attack him only to be caught by Groot''s extended roots that sprouted form his hands.

    Holding back his volatile partner, Groot said with strength in his voice, "I am Groot!"

    "You heard what he called me!" The racoon argued, obviously understanding what the walking tree meant, "Nobody calls me that anymore! NOBODY!" Reaching out with his paws, he tried to swipe at Naruto, only to fail considering he was a good five feet away, "My name is Rocket, you understand? Rocket!"

    "Alright, alright jeez!" Naruto yelled, raising his hands up in surrender, "I didn''t know!"

    Giving a short growl, Rocket glared over at the man before scowling. Hocking a loogy at the ground, he said, "You can let me go now Groot, I''m done." Nodding, the tree man let his friend down to his feet, the little critter dusting off his vest as he did, "Now, I''m only gonna ask one more time. Who. The hell. Are you?"

    "And like I said before, the name''s Naruto Uzumaki, and I''m here for the orb." He said with a wide smile.

    His answer caused Rocket to snort in amusement, "Yeah well, good luck with that. The stone got snatched up by Ronan and his goons." Looking over at Drax and Groot he continued, "The only chance we got is to get to the other side of the universe as fast as we can and maybe, just maybe, we''ll be able to live full lives before that whack-job ever gets there."

    This wait got Naruto''s attention, "Wait, what stone? I thought it was an orb?"

    Rocket waved his hands at his impatiently, "Look, you''re a little slow on the uptake, so why don''t you just scuttle on back to wherever it is you came from." After a second, a thought seemed to dawn on the racoon, "Wait a sec¡­did you say Naruto Uzumaki? As in the guy who ended the freaking war? As the guy they call a freaking Celestial? As in the guy who they say is a freaking walking natural disaster? That Naruto Uzumaki?" Seeing Naruto give an embarrassed nod, he took several steps back to keep him from falling on his ass, "Holy shit. And you''re looking for an Infinity Stone? What the hell do you need that for?!" He asked dramatically.

    "Hold on¡­the orb is an Infinity Stone?" Naruto asked.

    Groot decided to answer, "I am Groot."

    Seeing Naruto''s confusion, Rocket clarified, "That means yes."

    "Jackpot!"

    "Jackpot!" Naruto and Kurama both thought/said at the same time.

    It then dawned on Naruto, "So that means¡­that Ronan the Accuser, one of the most infamous men in the universe, now has an Infinity Stone¡­"

    "Exactly, which is why we should all just get the hell out of dodge-"

    "Which is why we should get it back." Naruto said, giving Rocket a hard stare.

    Said racoon gave a flabbergasted look, "Are you freaking crazy?! Ronan has an army and the stone, I''m not dying for a-"

    "I am Groot."

    Rocket looked over at his partner, shaking his head weakly as he said, "Yeah, I know that Quill and Gamora still need our help-"

    "I am¡­Groot."

    I know they''re the best friends we''ve ever had, but their surrounded by an army of Ravagers and there''s only two of us!" Rocket tried to argue, obviously not wanting to be a part of a suicide mission.

    "No, you don''t." Walking over to Groot, Drax rested his hand on the walking tree''s shoulder, mirroring Groot''s action just moments ago, "You have three."

    Stepping forward, Naruto said, "Four, if it''ll help us get the Stone."

    Growling in what appeared to be pure rage and annoyance, Rocket balled his fists up and raised them, seemingly doing his best not to outwardly explode on the trio in front of him. Incapable of holding it in, the racoon finally let out his anger, kicking a patch of grass as he screamed, "You''re makin''¡­me¡­beat up¡­GRASS!" With each pause was another kick, blades of grass and clumps of dirt flying with each one.

    Taking several harsh yet calming breaths, Rocket finally collected himself. Straightening his vest, he looked over to the trio in front of him, "Alright, if we''re gonna do this, we do it my way."

    Shrugging, Naruto said, "Sure, why not?"

    "I am Groot." Groot said with a nod.

    "Good." Rocket said, a vicious smirk rolling across his face, "Cause I''ve gotta plan."

 17 O-H-H Child

    Listening to a racoon laugh maniacally as he prepped what he dubbed the "Hadron Enforcer" was something Naruto could honestly say was one of the strangest things he''d ever witnessed. Quickly strapping the massive cannon like weapon onto Drax''s torso, said man wearing the top half of a space suit to allow him to breathe while out in the endless oblivion.

    "Oh, this is gonna be good." Rocket chuckled out, having just put on the finishing touches. Making sure the weapon was securely strapped to Drax''s person, the intelligent racoon gave a quick crash course on how to use it, "When I tell you to, aim for the helm of the ship, and then press these buttons." He instructed, pointing towards the two triggers positioned to the sides of the weapon, "Once you do, it''s gonna blow the shit outta that ship, which means you gotta get back in here as quickly as possible, got it?"

    As Drax nodded in understanding, Naruto looked back from the co-pilot''s chair saying, "Are you sure this is a good idea? I could just sneakonto the ship and get them that way. Way cleaner than playing a game of chicken with a group of rogue Ravagers."

    Rocket looked over at Naruto agitatedly as he helped Drax get up to the top of the ship, "Yes I''m ''sure this is a good idea.'' It''s my idea." He said with condescension, "You drive the ship, I handle this." Giving Drax a quick push, the racoon said, "Now get a move on! We ain''t got all day airhead!"

    Drax looked down at the frustrated racoon, "My head is not filled with air, tiny creature." Continuing up the latter towards the top of the ship he mumbled, "Imbecile."

    Said ''imbecile'' ran his hands down his face in frustration, "Please get blown away in the explosion, please." He pleaded, hoping to whatever god was out there that they would answer his prayer.

    Shaking his head, Naruto turned back to continue driving the Milano towards Yondu''s ship, the Eclector, "This better work, last thing I need is to save your ass from this stupid plan."

    "I am Groot."

    Looking to his left, Naruto saw that Groot was seated behind him, his big build barely able to fit into the seat he was sitting in. Smiling over at him, the talking tree gave him an innocent smile. Keeping his eyes in front of him, Naruto asked rather weakly, "What?"

    "I. Am. Groot." It said back, putting emphasis on each word as though that would help Naruto understand him.

    Giving a weak smile Naruto said, "Yeah, didn''t catch any of that."

    "You feel the energy wafting off of that thing, right?" Kurama asked.

    "Yeah." Naruto thought, "As soon as I got close to him. He''s a walking talking tree, of course he''s gonna have a bit of Natural Energy coming off of him."

    Kurama nodded, "Makes me wonder if he''d ever actually be able to use it."

    Naruto gave a mental shrug, "More than likely all that energy is being used to keep him going, and heal him from any physical injury. Still, could be interesting to see what else he could do with a bit of training."

    "You''d just have to figure out how to understand a damn word he says first." Kurama chuckled out, "You would think it''d get old after a while, but I gotta admit it kinda grows on ya."

    "Yeah, I know what you mean." The blonde thought back.

    "He said it''ll work." Looking over to the pilot''s chair, Naruto saw that Rocket had plopped himself down as he took back the controls, "He''s been a part of every single plan I''ve come up with, and each one we''ve come out alive." Giving Naruto a wicked smirk he finished, "You just gotta trust me."

    "Was it your plan to steal the High-Ruler''s Hydro Gun?" Naruto asked, "Last I heard only three out of the eight people that pulled off that heist survived. You call that a plan that worked?"

    "Hey, we survived, didn''t we?" Rocket asked, "And besides, we got into that near the end. I didn''t have much say in what happened. If I had, none of those guys would''ve died." Looking over at Naruto he said, "And how do you know about it anyways? I thought the Kree government did a pretty good job covering that whole debacle up."

    "Speed Cater told me about it."

    "Speed?" Rocket asked, "How is that bastard? Still an asshole?"

    "No." Naruto said, "He''s dead."

    "¡­oh." After a few seconds, Rocket gave a weak shrug, "Well, the guy had it comin'' I suppose." Giving a slight chuckle he continued, "Hell, most of us in this group do."

    -x-

    "You betray me?!" The sound of Yondu''s fist bouncing off of Peter''s midsection shot over the sound of his cheering crew, the lot of them looking at the spectacle of their captain beating on their former comrade, the sight bringing satisfied smirks to their faces, "Steal my money?!" Yondu yelled out as he sent another punch into Quill''s side. Yondu was a strange looking man, with blue skin that made his origin possibly that of Kree, and a red metallic mohawk atop his head.

    "Stop it!" Gamora yelled out, the woman being held back by four of Yondu''s men, each struggling to hold the weakened woman back, "Leave him alone!" She pleaded.

    Yondu ignored her, glaring at the still defiant Peter, "When I picked up as a kid, these boys wanted eat you!" Roughly grabbing his face to keep Quill''s attention on him, he continued, "They ain''t never tasted Terran before. I saved your life!"

    "Oh, would you shut up about that?! God!" Glaring angrily at Yondu he struggled against the crew members keeping him up against the wall, "Twenty years you''ve been throwing that in my face! Like it''s some great thing not eating me. Normal people don''t even think about eating someone else, much less that person having to be grateful for it!" Quill stopped trying to break free from their grasp, instead looking Yondu in the eye, "You abducted me man. You stole me from my home and my family."

    The Ravager captain pointed his finger into Peter''s face angrily, "You don''t give a damn about your Terra! You''re scared. Cause you''re soft. In here!" Slamming his hands on his chest, Yondu then grabbed a hold of Quill''s shirt, right above his heart, "Here, right here!"

    "Yondu, listen to me!" Gamora yelled, getting Yondu to stop for just a moment, "Ronan has something called an Infinity Stone-"

    "I know what he''s got girl." Yondu interrupted.

    "Then you know we must get it back! He''s going to use it to wipe out Xandar!" This seemed to have gotten the attention of Yondu''s right hand man, Kraglin Obfenteri, a lanky man with a rather scruffy appearance, said Ravager looking at Gamora intently, "We have to warn them, or billions of people will perish." She pleaded.

    Yondu looked back over to Peter, an amused smirk on his face as he asked, "Is that what she''s been filling your head with boy? Sentiment?" With that he slapped him in the face, "Eatin'' away at your brains like maggots?!" Backing away from Peter, Yondu began to shake his head, "That''s it."

    With a sharp whistle from Yondu, an arrow flew from the holster at his side towards Quill, the arrowhead touching his jugular gently. Upon further inspection, one could see that the tip and end of the arrow were glowing a bright red, with the head piece on top of Yondu''s head glowing the same color.

    "No!" Gamora screamed, worry on her face as she tried to fight against the four Ravagers holding her back.

    "Sorry boy." Slowly turning around the room, the captain looked each and every one of his present crew in the eye, "But a captain''s gotta teach his men what happens to those that cross him."

    "Captain''s gotta teach stuff!" Kraglin added, helping those that lacked the ability to understand their captain''s vocabulary, with several nodding afterwards in understanding while giving the first mate a thankful nod.

    As Yondu puckered his lips to give the finishing whistle, Peter spoke, "If you kill me now¡­you are saying goodbye to the biggest score you have ever seen."

    A cruel smirk in place, Yondu turned back to Peter, "The Stone? I hope you got something better than that. Cause ain''t nobody stealing from Ronan."

    Quill looked up in thought quickly before saying, "We gotta a ringer."

    "Is that right?"

    Looking to Gamora, Quill said, "She knows everything there is to know about Ronan. His ships, his army."

    Yondu looked to Gamora, the woman''s face now confident, "He''s vulnerable."

    "Whatcha say Yondu, huh?" A friendly smile on Peter''s face, "Taking down marks side by side, like the old days."

    Slowly, a smile spread across Yondu''s face, his crew waiting in anticipation for his verdict. His answer finally came in the form of another sharp whistle, the flying arrow flying back into its holster as Gamora flinched, obviously thinking the arrow was about to bury itself into Peter''s neck.

    With that, Yondu let out a loud boisterous laugh with Peter quickly followed suit. The captain ordered Quill be let go as he pulled him in for a bear hug, "You always did have a scrote, boy! That''s why I let you stay on this rig in the first place!"

    The celebrations were soon cut off however, as the ship began to shake from a sudden attack outside.

    -x-

    THOOM!

    "Yeah¡­this is a really bad idea."

    THOOM!

    "Will you shut up already?! It''s gonna work."

    THOOM!

    Naruto ran his hands through his hair as he thought, "This racoon is fucking crazy." Perched in front of them was a massive ship around the size of your average battleship. The thing was simply parked there, taking the blasts Rocket sent their way, looking as though it was barely doing a thing.

    Feeling as though he''d gotten their attention, Rocket hacked into their PA system, allowing his voice to blare throughout the entire Ravager ship, "Attention idiots. The lunatic on top of this craft is holding a Hadron Enforcer, a weapon of my own design." Naruto couldn''t help but give a slight eye role at Rocket''s need to brag, "If you don''t hand over our companions now, he''s gonna tear your ship a new one. A very big new one. I''m giving you to the count of five." Rocket didn''t bother wasting a second to begin his count down, "Five!"

    Rocket had barely gotten the word out of his mouth when a man''s voice came over the Milano''s PA, "Rocket, it''s me! For God''s sakes we figured it out, we''re fine!" Silence reigned for several moments as both sides waited for Rocket''s reply.

    "¡­Oh hey Quill, what''s going on?"

    Naruto let out a sigh of relief as he mumbled, "Such a bad plan¡­"

    -x-

    "Who the hell''s this guy?"

    Naruto was standing with his back pressed up against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, "I''m here to help." He said, answering Peter''s question as he finally made his way to the cargo hold.

    Peter looked at Naruto like he was an idiot as he said, "Okay¡­but that doesn''t answer my ques-"

    "Naruto?"

    The two men looked over to see Gamora had entered the room. Smiling, Naruto said, "Gamora, it''s good to see you. You know, now that you''re not trying to kill me and all."

    Quill''s face was that of bewilderment as he said, "Wait¡­what?"

    Realizing his confusion, Gamora said, "Peter, this is Naruto Uzumaki. A few months back we had an¡­encounter."

    "Yeah," the blonde said with a chuckle, "If by ''encounter'' you mean you and your sister tried to kill me, there sure, we had an encounter."

    Gomora nodded, the blonde able to see a small amount of shame on her face as she said, "And Naruto, this is Peter Quill-"

    "I know who this guy is." Naruto interrupted, getting off the wall as he walked closer towards Quill, the two men now face to face, "He''s the guy I''ve been looking for. The guy that took the orb¡­an Infinity Stone as it turns out." His face grew more and more serious as he spoke, "The man who calls himself¡­Star-King."

    Peter''s face, which up until then had been as deathly serious as Naruto''s had been, immediately dropped in defeat, "¡­It''s Star-Lord."

    "Oh¡­" Naruto said, giving a sheepish grin as he said, "My bad." His eyes now on Gamora he said, "I''m here to get the Stone, and to kill Ronan while I''m at it."

    "You can''t possibly kill Ronan, not now at least." Gamora said, "With the Stone, he''s powerful enough to wipe out entire planets. That''s not something we can just fight, not even you, a man they call a Celestial. We need a plan."

    "I agree." Star-Lord said, before blinking as something seemingly just hit him, "Wait¡­you''re the guy they call the Celestial?"

    Naruto sighed, "Yeah, I really wish they''d stop calling me that. But by the time I heard about it, it had already spread too quickly. I''m trying to change it to ''Maelstrom,'' that''s what everyone called me back on Earth, or Terra as you like to call it."

    "Woe, woe, woe." Peter said, waving his hands around to stop the conversation, "Did you just say you''re from Terra?"

    Naruto raised an eyebrow before remembering, "Oh that''s right, you''re from Earth, aren''t you?"

    "And you are too? Oh man, you have no idea how awesome this is! I haven''t talked to another Terran since I got abducted! I have so many questions! Did they ever make a sequel to Back to the Future, or make another Star Wars movie? How many songs can a cassette tape hold now? Is Michael Jackson still a thing? Have people realized that WWF is fake yet, or is that still going on? Are John Hughes movies still awesome? Did they ever cancel Star Trek the Next Generation? Did America ever win the Cold War? Is Reagan still President? Has AID''s been cured? What about MTV, is that still on? Does Jane Fonda still work out? Do people still wear parachute pants-"

    "Dude¡­I don''t know what most of those things are." Naruto deadpanned.

    Peter blinked at Naruto''s interruption, "But¡­I thought you said you were from Terra?"

    "No." Naruto said, "I never said that. I was there for a little over four years though."

    "Why were you there?" Gamora asked.

    "It''s a long story." The blonde answered, "Pretty much I got sent there during an apocalyptic fight with a pseudo-god, spent four years trying to figure out a way home, managed to get back home thanks to an Infinity Stone, everyone was dead including the pseudo-god, and now I''m here exploring the universe looking for the other Infinity Stone." Shrugging he stuffed his hands in his pockets, "And now here we are."

    "All of your people¡­are dead?"

    Looking over to the other side of the room, the blonde warrior could see that Drax, Rocket, and Groot had just entered, more than likely hearing his quick description. Naruto didn''t bother speaking, simply giving a slow nod in response. All five of them seemed to be looking at Naruto in a new light, whether it was respect Naruto couldn''t say, but at least it wasn''t utter annoyance or confusion from Rocket and Quill.

    Still, Peter still felt the need to ask, "So how exactly are you going to defeat Ronan? I haven''t even seen you fight. And I''m not gonna believe what they say on the news, for all I know it''s all some weird trick."

    Drax made his way to Naruto''s left, resting a hand on the blonde''s shoulder, "I shall vouch for this man. He may look puny. And weak. Maybe even a little delicate. But I also see the makings of a warrior."

    "Gee¡­thanks." Naruto grumbled.

    The space bandit looked at Drax in indignation, "Well that''s all well and good Drax, but-"

    "I can vouch for him as well." Gamora said, looking Quill in the eyes with an unwavering stare, "He''s strong. Trust me."

    Sighing in agitation, Peter pinched the bridge of his nose for a few moments before saying, "So, how exactly do you plan on defeating Ronan."

    Naruto shrugged, sitting down on one of the various crates thrown around the room, with Drax following suit as he sat down next to him, "Oh I have a plan. I just want to see your plan. You have it all figured out, don''t you?" He asked, his face scrunched up in his signature fox like smile.

    "Right¡­" Quill said, scratching his scalp as Rocket and Groot to a seat to his right, the six of them forming a makeshift circle in the cargo hold, "Well as of this moment¡­we''ve decided we''re gonna take the Stone from Ronan before he lands on Xandar."

    The room was quiet for several seconds. No one bothering to say a word as they looked Quill with varying expressions, with Rocket looking at Peter disbelievingly, Gamora with complete stoicism, Naruto in amusement, Drax in boredom, and Groot not paying attention at all, more occupied with the leaf that had begun to grow on his wrist.

    Finally, the damn broke, "You call that ''figured it out?!'' We''re gonna rob the guy who just beat us senseless?" Rocket demanded, obviously not pleased with Quill''s plan thus far.

    "Oh, you wanna talk about senseless?" Peter demanded back, "How about trying to save us, by blowing us up?" He asked, his voice greased with sarcasm.

    "I told him it was a bad idea." Naruto said matter of factly, "I had a way better plan, but nooooo. We had to go along with Rocket, cause all of his plans are just so perfect."

    "Shut up blondie!" Rocket retaliated, pointing an accusing finger at him, "If your plan was so good, why didn''t you speak up sooner? Huh?!"

    Naruto looked at Rocket both stunned and bewildered, "I totally said something!" Looking to Groot and Drax he said, "Didn''t I guys?"

    Groot looked over at Naruto and said, "I am Groot."

    Seeing he wasn''t going to win the argument with Groot, he looked over to Drax. Upon seeing Naruto and Rocket looking his way, Drax mumbled, "What were we talking about? I wasn''t paying attention."

    "This conversation is pointless!" Gamora yelled, putting everyone''s attention on her, "What''s important now is that we get the Ravager''s army to help us save Xandar."

    As Naruto and Peter nodded in agreement, Rocket asked, "So we can just give the Stone to Yondu, who''s just gonna sell it to somebody even worse?"

    "We''ll figure that part out later." Peter interjected.

    "We have to stop Ronan." Gamora insisted, desperation clearly in her voice.

    "How?!" Rocket insisted back.

    "I have a plan." Quill answered.

    "You''ve got a plan?"

    "Yes."

    "First of all," Rocket said, lazily pointing towards Peter as he said, "You''re copying me from when I said I have a plan."

    "He wasn''t even there when you said that." Naruto said, a look of exasperation on his face, "Let''s at least hear how bad the plan is before we pick it apart."

    "Yes, thank you!" Quill said, gesturing to Naruto. Looking back to Rocket he added, "And it''s not that unique of a thing to say, everyone says it."

    "Secondly," Rocket continued, "I don''t even believe that you have a plan."

    Now getting thoroughly annoyed by the racoon''s attempt to demean him, Peter began to rebuff him only to pause half way through, "I have¡­part, of a plan."

    "What percentage of a plan do you have?" Drax inquired.

    It was Gamora''s turn to get annoyed, jabbing her finger in Drax''s face as she said, "You don''t get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere."

    "I just saved Quill." The Destroyer insisted.

    "We''ve already established that you destroying the ship that I''m on isn''t saving me." Quill said, his patience wearing thin.

    "When did we establish that?"

    "Like three seconds ago!"

    Drax scoffed, "Oh, I wasn''t paying attention to that either." This caused Naruto to shove his face in his hands and Gomora to sigh in exasperation at the man''s antics.

    "She''s right, you don''t get an opinion." Rocket said, for once agreeing with the green skinned assassin. Looking back to Quill he asked, "What percentage?"

    "I don''t know." Quill said, thinking quickly as he answered, "Twelve percent."

    "Twelve percent?!" The racoon yelled, amusement on his face as threw his head back, "Hah hah hah!

    Quill glared at the mocking Rocket, "That''s a fake laugh." He said in the middle of the racoon''s display.

    "It''s real!" Rocket bellowed.

    "Totally fake."

    "That''s the most real, authentic, hysterical laugh of my entire life, because that is not a plan." Rocket said, getting a nod from Groot and Gamora.

    "It''s barely a concept." Gamora said with a shake of the head.

    Peter turned his frustration on woman, "You''re taking their side?"

    Naruto looked over at Quill, "You gotta admit that that''s pretty barebones, even by my standards." Leaning back, he said, "I haven''t done that kinda shit since I was fifteen."

    Pinching his nose once again, Quill had to turn away for a moment to collect himself. Letting out a big breath, he turned to face them all, "Guys¡­come on. Yondu''s gonna be here in two seconds to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help." Looking at each and every one of them, Peter lazily pointed his finger around the circle as he said, "I look around at us, and you know what I see? Losers." Seeing that he''d lost Rocket and Drax, Quill corrected himself, "I-I mean¡­folks who have lost stuff. And we have, man we have. All of us." Looking at Naruto and Gamora he said, "Our homes." To Drax he said, "Our families." And to Rocket, "Normal lives." Putting his hands in his pockets he continued, "Usually, life takes more than it gives. But not today. Today, it''s given us something. It''s given us a chance."

    "To do what?" Drax asked as he looked up at Quill.

    "To give a shit." Peter answered, looking Drax in the eye as he did. Looking to the rest of them he continued, "To not run away, for once. I for one am notgoing to stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."

    "Look¡­Quill." Rocket said, his voice low as he spoke, "Stopping Ronan, it''s impossible. You''re asking us to die."

    "Yeah¡­" Peter mumbled, "Yeah, I guess I am." Peter broke away from the circle, the other five thinking over his heavy words.

    "Maybe not." The five fugitives turned their attention to their newest member the man standing up as he continued, "I know I haven''t been a part of your motley crew for long, but I can tell that each of you are good people, good people who are just trying to find some kind of purpose in this vast universe. Whether it''s fighting, stealing, whatever, you guys have done some pretty stupid, pretty fucked up shit before now." A small smile graced his face as he said, "Whether the universe brought you here or not, I don''t know. What I do know, is that we''re here, and we''re the only people that can stop a threat like this and survive. And with me on your side, well there''s just no way we can lose." Looking to Quill he said, "Whether these guys decide to join or not, I would be honored to join your fight, Star-Lord."

    The remaining four remained silent, all of them thinking over what Peter and Naruto had said. Finally, Gamora looked up from her feet, "I have lived most my life surrounded by my enemies." Getting up, she took a deep breath, "I would be grateful, to die among my friends."

    Drax was the next one to get up from his seat, his baritone voice speaking with a surprising softness, "You both are honorable men¡­I will fight beside you." Giving a sad smile he continued, "And should the end come, I will see my wife and daughter again."

    Groot followed soon after, the four others standing up forced to crane their necks to look the tree man in the eye, "I am Groot."

    The remaining five looked at the last one sitting, said racoon looking around the room in bewilderment. Closing his eyes, he gave a hefty sigh, "Oh what the hell, I don''t have that long of a life span anyway." Slowly getting up to stand upon the crate he''d been sitting on, he quickly straightened his vest as he said, "Now I''m standing, you happy? We''re all standing up now. Bunch of jackasses standing in a circle."

    -x-

    Looking down at the red leather Ravager jacket in his hands, Naruto couldn''t help but wince a little bit, "Do I seriously have to wear this. Leather isn''t really my thing."

    Quill looked up from strapping on his boots along with taking off his retro head phones, the man now wearing full Ravager garb, "We''ve gotta wear this if we want to be distinguished as the good guys by the Nova Corps. We''re all wearing it, even Rocket and Drax."

    "Not Groot."

    "That''s ''cause we don''t have anything that''ll fit Groot."

    Naruto gave an overly dramatic sigh, "Fine." Slipping the jacket on, Naruto gave a few testing stretches. "A bit restricting¡­but not as bad as I''d thought it''d be. I''m surprised your jacket actually fit me." He admitted, zipping the jacket up to his lower chest.

    Walking out of the boarding room, the two men descended down the hallway, the remainder of their group soon joined them, Gamora''s uniform rather form fitting, Drax only wearing a pair of Ravager pants with his knives strapped to his boots, and Rocket wearing a Ravager version of his previous vest. Entering the Eclector''s flight deck, the six of them were greeted by over three dozen of Yondu''s men, along with the man himself sitting in the captain''s helm.

    Turning towards them, Yondu said, "Took you long enough boy, do you need a few more minutes to powder your nose, or can we get on with little ''plan'' of yours?"

    Naruto, Gamora, and Peter stepped forward, with Rocket staying close behind and Drax and Groot sticking to the back of the crowd. Walking in front of the two men, Gamora was the first to speak, addressing Yondu and his present crew, "The Stone reacts to anything organic, the bigger the target the bigger the power surge."

    Quill stepped forward, "All Ronan needs to do is touch the stone to the planet''s surface and zap, all plants animals, Nova Corps-"

    "Everything will die." Gamora concluded.

    "That means Ronan does not make the surface." Quill said looking at Yondu eye to eye.

    Naruto stepped forward, "And that''s where I come in. The best course of action is to make sure Ronan is kept away from any kind of planet that can sustain life, otherwise he can obliterate it with the Stone. The only way to do that is to take him to a place where we can fight he safely, without worrying about endangering innocent life."

    "And how exactly do you plan to do that boy? Ask him nicely?" Yondu mocked.

    "No." Naruto said, raising up his hand to show the Hiraishin Seal, "I''m going to do it with this. This seal allows me to place a marker anywhere I choose: person, place, or thing, and teleport to it in an instant. I''ve places hundreds of these throughout the universe thanks to my Shadow Clones, which means I have the pick of the litter as to where our battleground will be."

    "Which is?" Kraglin asked.

    Pulling up a planet on one of the screens in front of them, Quill answered, "Hiberlac. The place has zero intelligent life forms, it''s the perfect place to secure the Stone and kill Ronan."

    "Well this is all fine and dandy." Yondu said, "But just how do you plan on getting on board Ronan''s Warship?"

    "The same way we''ll get to Hiberlac." Naruto answered, "I had an encounter with some of Ronan''s men on Morag, one of whom I spared to send a message to his master, that message being a Hiraishin Seal. Providing he didn''t destroy the note, four of us will teleport to the Dark Aster. From there we will separate, with Drax, Groot, and myself going to grab Ronan, while Gamora will go and shut down the ship and safely land it in the ocean below." Looking around the room, Naruto said, "While we''re doing this Quill and Rocket will be assisting you in making sure the Sakaaran Necrocrafts are kept at bay. I will call the Nova Corps and tell them everything that''s going on, including the fact that you all are helping in saving Xandar."

    "Just so we''re clear," Yondu spoke, his face deathly serious as he said, "How exactly are we getting paid for our services? Saving a planet ain''t cheap ya know."

    Quill hesitated for a moment, looking to Naruto who gave him a slow nod, "Your payment¡­is the orb."

    A crooked grin spread across the man''s face, obviously liking the sound of that. After a moment, he asked, "And if Ronan destroyed this seal of yours, if he got it?" Yondu asked.

    Naruto nodded over to Quill, "Then we use his plan for getting on there."

    "¡­Great."

    -x-

    Location: The Dark Aster

    -x-

    The Dark Aster''s captain''s chamber was devoid of all life. The dark room was surrounded in an earie quiet, the only sound being the distant thoom of the rear thrusters. That quiet was soon disrupted by the sound of four people appearing out of nowhere, one of whom looking around wildly with his daggers drawn as he prepared for battle. Said fight never came as he and the rest of his entourage realized they were alone in the room.

    Looking to Gamora, Naruto asked, "Is this place always so dark and gloomy."

    The assassin gave a light-hearted shrug, "For the most part."

    About to use a fire jutsu to light up the place, he was beaten to the punch by Groot. Lifting up his arm, pieces of his wrist and forearm began to slit and open up, allowing hundreds if not thousands of luminous spores to drift up above them, illuminating the chamber in a beautiful golden glow.

    "When did you learn to do that?" Drax asked in wonder.

    Naruto shrugged, "I doubt we''d understand, even if he knew. His translator isn''t here, remember?"

    Almost on cue, the Dark Aster shook from taking a heavy hit, the sound of multiple dog fights outside alerting the group that the fight for Xandar had begun.

    "Come on." Gamora said, "The flight deck isn''t very far from here, that''s where we''ll have split up so you can head to the observation deck."

    The three nodded, all of them making their way out of the captain''s chambers. As they made the short trek, Drax spoke softly, "I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance of my blunders. It is pleasing to once again have friends. You Naruto, you are my friend."

    Naruto looked at Drax with his trademark smile, "Same here big guy."

    Looking to Groot, Drax said, "This dumb tree, he is my friend."

    "I am Groot." Said dumb try replied.

    Walking closer to Gamora, Drax finished, "And this green whore, she is my fri-"

    "Oh, will you stop!" Gamora demanded, her ire pointed directly at the grey skinned man. Turning briskly back towards the front, she continued to lead the walk towards the exit.

    Blinking in confusion, Drax quickly caught up with the group, leaning into Naruto ear as he whispered loudly, "What''s the green whore''s problem?"

    Naruto leaned in to whisper back, "Probably the calling her a green whore part."

    The man''s confusion didn''t go away, "Is she not green?"

    "Well¡­yeah."

    Drax leaned back, a scoff on his face, "Bah, if she''s going to act like that, I don''t need her as a friend. I have the furry rodent as a friend. And Quill, the man that has slept with an A''askvariian, is my friend as well."

    "Sure buddy, whatever you say."

    The group went silent as they walked up to the massive double doors, Drax and Gamora walking up to a door each before pulling them open with a heave. With a loud creak, they flew open, only for the four of them to blink as they saw dozens of Sakaaran soldiers moving about in the halls in front of them. All the insectoid soldiers stopped in the tracks, each looking at the four intruders in shock.

    Naruto, Gamora, and Drax didn''t bother waiting for them to react, all three charging to the fray head first. Gamora was the first to make contact, pulling out her retractable blade as she bisected the poor man in front of her, not stopping in her movement as she kicked another with a roundhouse kick, and then finished off the combo by piercing the tip of her blade into a soldier''s skull that was too slow to even see it coming.

    Drax was no different, throwing the Sakaaran''s left and right, snapping necks with a single punch, and dismembering any who got in the way of his dagger''s blade. The Destroyer did all this and more, all while giggling like a kid in a candy store.

    Not wanting to miss on the action, Naruto summoned Sasuke''s chokuto from the seal positioned on his wrist, gripping the squared handle tightly as he channeled Wind Chakra into the blade. Darting into the fray, he flicked the tip of the blade along the chest of the first Sakaaran he came across. What should''ve been a simple scratch turned out to be a deep slash that nearly split it in two. Not losing his stride, he continued by slicing off the head of one and then literally disarming another, before sending a powerful kick into its other kneecap, snapping it in two and forcing the soldier to topple over in pain.

    Seeing a wave of Sakaaran''s heading his way, Naruto reared his arm back before giving a mighty slash, releasing a wave of slicing wind that was shaped like a crescent moon. The soldiers weren''t given much time to think on their upcoming deaths, as the wave zoomed into them slicing each and every one of them in two.

    Opening up his hand, Naruto allowed a ball of fire to combust in his palm. Running the fire over his wind incased blade, he allowed it to be swallowed up and absorbed, incasing his sword in a blazing inferno along the edge of the weapon. Giving it a testing twirl, Naruto allowed one of the Sakaarans to run up to him with a baton looking weapon in their hand. Swiftly sidestepping the strike, Naruto plunged his sword into the soldier''s midsection. Holding it there, Naruto watched as the fire along the blade covered it almost immediately, causing it to scream as its entire person was set aflame. It didn''t last long, as the intense heat quickly turned it to ash, its body crumbling to the ground in an ashy pile.

    Seeing that that there weren''t any soldiers near him, he took a quick look around to see that those that weren''t fight him were a good thirty yards away on each side of the hall, all of them with their guns pointed right at him. Driving the chokuto in the ground beside him, Naruto calmly extended his arms out so his body formed a ''T.'' Lightning Chakra enveloped his hands, the crackling energy causing every hair on his body to stand on end. Gathering the right amount he needed, Naruto said, "Chidori Senbon."

    The sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the hall, quickly followed by multiple needle like lightning strikes ejecting from his lightning incased hands, each one finding itself in the soldiers down both sides of the hall. All but one.

    Taking advantage of it being too distracted by the fact it actually survived, Naruto plucked his sword out of the ground and threw it like a spear into its forehead. Quickly Hiraishining to the seal stamped on the hilt of the blade, Naruto withdrew the sword before the Sakaaran began to even fall to the ground. Giving it a quick flick to get rid of as much blood as he could, Naruto resealed it.

    Turing his head over to his companions, he raised an eyebrow at their bewildered expressions, "What?" He asked.

    It was Gamora who answered, "You never did any of that when we fought..."

    Scratching the back of his head, he asked sheepishly, "Was it a bit much?"

    "A bit much?" Drax asked, "That was awesome!" He roared out before giving a bellow of a laugh, "We must do battle someday my friend, you are a true warrior indeed."

    Groot gave a nod in agreement, "I am Groot."

    "Enough." Gamora barked, "We don''t have time to dilly dally."

    "Right." Naruto said.

    "I am Groot."

    Drax scoffed, "The racoon was right, you just have to suck the joy out of everything."

    Gamora didn''t bother replying, leading the group down the hall as they sprinted to their destination. After several turns, a few doors, and a handful of other Sakaaran paper people as Drax called them, they finally made their way to a giant door, "This is it." Gamora said, "Prepare for a fight."

    The other three nodding, they each prepared themselves for another big battle. As Gamora tried to open the locked door, they were startled when the door seemed to open by itself. The door now open, Naruto couldn''t help but be startled at who was standing on the other side. Sporting her new arm, Nebula was equally as shocked, the two staring at each other for several seconds before the woman gave the mightiest battle cry the blonde had ever heard, pulling out a pair of lightning charged batons as she did. She was stopped however. Literally. Her body frozen midmotion, she looked at the blonde across from her in complete shock.

    Naruto, his hand out in front of him, gave a goofy smile, "Magnet Release. Gotta love it." Forcing her to drop her arms at her sides, Naruto said, "After our fight a few months back, it wasn''t hard to figure out you''d been modified quite a bit, which means you''d have quite a bit of metallic shit in you too. Now, could you please move aside? We got places to be."

    "You bastard! I will kill you, do you hear me?! Do you hea-" She wasn''t allowed to finish her sentence, too busy being thrown into the wall on the other side of the room.

    Gamora gave her sister a quick glance, hesitating for only a second, her attention then immediately on the ship''s controls. As she began go over the system, she said, "Alright, go ahead to the observation deck, it''s right above us."

    Pointing up, Naruto asked, "Up there?"

    "Correct."

    Smirking, Naruto said, "Oh, I got this." His hands going through a set of hand signs, Naruto thought, "Wisdom Wolf Decay!" Opening his mouth, the blonde heaved out a stream of reddish orange gas. As soon as the gas made contact with the ceiling, it began to erode and decay. Before long, the area it touched disappeared entirely, with Naruto using Wind Chakra to disperse the gas before it could harm the three behind him.

    His legs bent for the jump up, Naruto stopped at the sound of Nebula groaning awake, any injuries she gained mending with a mechanical snap. Giving a tired sigh, he raised his hand to finish the job, only for Gamora to say, "No. I''ll handle it."

    Not seeing any reason why she couldn''t, Naruto nodded back as he jumped through the hole. Quickly followed by Drax and Groot, the tree man extending his arms to pull himself up, the three entered the observation deck. And there, standing before them, was the man of the hour. Ronan the Accuser.

    -x-

    "Woohoo!" Cried Star-Lord, piloting the Milano along the skies, swerving through lasers and ships crossing his path. Pulling off a quick barrel roll, he let loose a wave of laser fire, blasting through the Necrocraft in front of him with ease. Pulling back, he leveled himself before letting loose another blast, the lasers just barely missing the Sakaaran craft, "Shit." He cursed. Locking on again, he was about to open fire, only for the Necrocraft to get shot out of the sky, followed by Rocket zooming by in his borrowed M-Ship.

    "S'' the matter Quill? Losing your touch?" Rocket mocked, blasting another craft as he did, the ship blowing up in a shower of fire and metal.

    Scoffing, Star-Lord said, "I''m just getting started, Rackety Coon." Chuckling at his own joke, he shot down a Necrocraft in front of him, the descending ship running right into another that happened to be under it, the two blowing up in an awesome display, "Ha! Beat that you goddamn woodland creature!"

    "It''s freakin'' Rocket, Star-Dunce!" After a moment of thought, and another Necromancer shot down, he asked, "And what the hell''s a woodland creature?"

    Quill was on the cusp of answering when Yondu spoke over the radio system, "I''m hit boy, I''m going down." After a few seconds of static, the man continued, "Don''t forget boy, you get us that orb, or you say goodbye to you and your friends, you hear?"

    "Yeah¡­yeah I hear." Peter answered, his response from Yondu being static before he cut off the feed.

    -x-

    Nebula''s battle cry echoed through the flight deck, the woman clashing one of the batons she managed to pick up against her sister''s sword, the two clashing in a mighty duel of strength. Her muscle''s straining, she cried out, "You work for that man, sister? You disappoint more and more. The fact you need him, only shows how weak you are!"

    "So says the one he nearly killed." Gamora shot back, "That man is more powerful than you could possibly imagine. I''ve seen it!" Pulling from her massive reserves of strength, she pushed forward, shoving her sister back enough to go for another, swing.

    Nebula quickly blocker it, "It doesn''t matter how powerful you say he is. He''s nothing compared to Ronan, not now. With that Stone, not even father can stand in his way."

    "You don''t know that Nebula! You''re walking a path that only has one destination!" The two entered a quick dance, both trying their best to outdo the other and land a finishing blow. Their weapons clashing once again, Gamora pushed her sister back into the ship''s control panel, the blue skinned woman''s leaning back against the table as she tried to keep her sister back, "Death!"

    Anger crossed Nebula''s face, the woman pulling an amazing show of strength by pushing back and flipping the two''s position, with Gamora now being the one with her back pressed against the control panel. The look of utter effort on her face showing how much she tried to press forward, Nebula looked passed her sister for a moment to look at the panel situated behind her. Giving an utterly evil smile, she grunted, "We all have to die sometime sister." With that, she gave another heave. This time, Gamora''s arms gave way. Only, the tip of her sword didn''t find its way into her, but rather, the control panel behind them.

    Desperately kicking her sister off of her, Gamora examined the panel, the display flashing a dangerous red. Turning sharply at her sister she screamed, "What have you done you fool?!"

    Her smile still in place, Nebula answered, "It''s like you said sister, my path has only one destination." Her smile grew even bigger, "And now, so does everybody else''s."

    -x-

    "So, you''re the guy everybody''s making a big stink about huh?" Standing across from Ronan, Naruto couldn''t help but give the man an appraising look, "I thought you''d be taller, to be honest."

    "And I thought you''d be bigger, Celestial." Ronan shot back, "How such a silly nickname came to be is beyond me. Though, after your little display on Zephyr, I suppose you are the closest thing to one anyone could be. Other than me of course."

    Naruto snorted, "You think having that stone makes you a god? Get real buddy."

    "I can kill life with just a thought. What else could I be?"

    "An average Tuesday?" Naruto asked, giving a slight shrug.

    "Enough of this!" Drax demand, stepping forward with his daggers drawn, "Let us end this Naruto!"

    Alerted to the fact the Destroyer had charged forward, Naruto shouted, "Drax wait!"

    But it was too late. Drax was already in Ronan''s personal space, the man''s daggers bouncing off the Accuser''s armor uselessly. Already done with Drax''s little attack, Ronan grabbed the man''s throat in a vice like grip. Whispering softly, the Kree fanatic said, "I was mistaken. I do remember killing your family. Their screams¡­were pitiful. And where were you to save them?"

    Drax began to beat on Ronan''s arm and body, trying his best to break the man''s grip so he could break the man, only to fail miserably, "Gagh!" Was his strangled reply.

    "If you were too weak to protect them, what makes you think you''re strong enough to avenge them?" Ronan asked, a second away from snapping the man''s neck, his action stopped when he was sent flying back several yards, landing in a roll before stopping in a crouch. Ronan''s face showed nothing but annoyance as he looked at Naruto, the man holding Drax over his shoulder, "And what ma when he was sent flying back several yards, landing in a roll before stopping in a crouch, an annoyed look on his face as he looked at Naruto, the man holding Drax over his shoulder, "And what makes you strong enough to defeat me?"

    Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed. Appearing next to Groot as he lied the nearly unconscious man on the ground, resting him against the wall, "Oh you know. Guts, stubbornness, and a lot of ramen. Sage, I haven''t had ramen in forever."

    "Are you seriously thinking of ramen right now brat?" Kurama growled out, "This is the fucking boss fight, and you''re thinking of that disgusting dish?"

    "Hey, it can''t be helped. What we should be talking about is the fact that you''ve been with me for nearly twenty-five years and you''re still shocked that I love ramen. I mean seriously guy, get with it." Naruto thought, giving a few quick stretches as he said a loud, "How about we take this outside?" In another burst of speed, Naruto appeared behind Ronan, his hand on his shoulder.

    "Take your hand o-"

    -x-

    Rocket raced along the Xandaria skyscrapers, blasting any and all Necrocrafts that tried to divebomb the city in a desperate attempt to distract the resistance against their attack. Saving a group of civilians just in time from getting plowed into by a descending craft, Rocket looked up to see that the Dark Aster was still heading towards the surface.

    Getting on the radio system connecting him and the others in his group, he shouted, "Hey Gamora, what''s taking so long, we can only hold these assholes off for so long!"

    Static was his only answer for nearly a minute, and just as the racoon thought she had lost connection, she spoke, "-ebula''s destr-ed -he control panel! The shi- -onna crash!"

    "Shit." Rocket cursed, "Quill did you hear that?!"

    "Yeah!" Quill answered, "That definitely wasn''t part of the plan!"

    "What''re the hell are we gonna do? The things gonna land in the middle of the freakin'' city, that''s millions of people Quill!"

    "I know, I know! Where''s the goddamn Nova Corps when you actually need them?!"

    "Right here."

    Rocket was about to answer when a squad of Star Blasters whizzed passed him. Looking up, the racoon gave a wicked grin as he said, "It''s about damn time!"

    Inside one of the said Star Blasters, Denarian Saal gave an annoyed eye roll, "Don''t worry squirrel, we''ll take care of the Dark Aster. If you''d be so obliged as to take care of the Necrocrafts, I''d greatly appreciate it."

    Flying up to the still descending Dark Aster, hundreds of Star Blasters began to line up side by side and top to bottom. As each one began to line up evenly with each other, a golden energy began to emit from the ends of the star shaped air crafts, the energy merging with the energy next to, above, or bellow it. Before long, each and every one of the Star Blasters were connected in the golden energy, creating a giant net like barrier. Catching the Dark Aster in their massive blockade, the ship''s descent came to a near lull.

    "Blockade engaged." Saal reported.

    Over the radio, the Nova Prime spoke, "Excellent work Denarian Saal, but we''re only half way done. Now we have to direct the ship safely away from the city."

    "Understood ma''am."

    -x-

    "-ff me fool¡­" Ronan''s declaration trailed to a lull as the man realized he was no longer on the Dark Aster. Looking around, he quickly realized he wasn''t even on Xandar. Looking around wildly, the Accuser finally found the blonde standing several yards off to the side, the man taking off his jacket with a rather laid back look on his face, "Where have you taken me boy?!"

    Opening his arms out invitingly, Naruto gave a cocky smirk, "Welcome to Hiberlac!" The rocky landscape was the same as it ever was, the contrasting colors of the orange rocky mountain side with patches of blue foliage and purple cloudless skies made for a rather beautiful sight, in the blonde''s opinion anyway. The lack of any animals made for a rather quiet experience, not counting his echoing voice of course, "It''s been a while since I''ve visited, but it''s as beautiful as I remember her to be." Naruto patted the thick tree to his right, said tree having a Hiraishin Seal emblazoned on the bark, "Good place to go and just think, ya know?"

    Ronan''s eyes narrowed, "Take me off this rock, and your death will be a quick one."

    Mild surprise crossed Naruto''s face, but that was quickly taken over by one full of mischief, "You know, one of my abilities is to sense negative emotions, helps me tell when someone''s lying to my face. And you sir, just gave me one hell of a lie. It''s practically wafting off of yo-" The blonde wasn''t allowed to finish his sentence, to busy being sent flying when Ronan used his Power Stone infused Cosmi-Rod to plow a powerful force of nearly invisible energy into his person.

    Ronan watched the warrior tumble after his attack, his scowl not letting up, "Your words agitate me boy."

    "Fine." The dust now settled from Naruto''s landing, the man got up as he dusted himself off, "No more banter." Flipping through a set of hand signs, Naruto said, "Water Style: Bubble Jutsu." Taking a quick breath, he blew out a gentle stream of air. It didn''t take another second before a large bubble began to spew from his lips. Before long it was the size of Naruto himself, the blonde finally relenting when it began to beat him height.

    Ronan raised an annoyed eyebrow as the bubble began to slowly drift his way, "Perhaps I didn''t make myself clear." Reaching his hand out, the man extended his pointer finger out, the appendage just an inch from touching the massive bubble, "I''m done with your games bo-"

    BOOM!

    As soon as Ronan''s finger burst the overly large bubble, a massive explosion blew him away. Naruto, forced to raise his arms in order to prevent the flying debris from hitting his face, didn''t bother waiting for the smoke to clear. The power of the Six Paths Sage Mode flowing though his person, Naruto rushed into the cloud of black smoke and fire and bum rushed the recovering Accuser. Sending him flying from the shoulder check, the man flying horizontally for a moment, Naruto appeared in front of him his body horizontal as well with his leg pulled back as far as it would go.

    The sonic boom created from Naruto''s foot connecting with Ronan''s torso tore open the earth around them, the ground splintering and shooting up in an angry roar. Dashing next to the crater he formed, Naruto created two Shadow Clones. All three quickly began to flash though a different set of hand signs, each one finishing at the same time as the chanted, "Sage Art: Elemental Collaboration Wholesome Trinity!"

    Each took a deep breath before releasing a different element. Wind, Fire, Lightning. All three forged into a trifecta of power that swallowed Ronan full resulting in an explosion, even bigger than before, with the real Naruto standing off to the side as he watched his clones'' handy work.

    "Quite the attack brat." Kurama complemented.

    "Thanks, though there''s no way that took him down." Naruto thought, "This is just a warm up."

    "You and your warm ups." The nine-tailed fox grumbled.

    Naruto smirked, "Don''t act like you love it."

    The Biju gave a smirk of his own, "Never said I didn''t."

    The sound of clinking armor warned Naruto that Ronan was on the move, the man stepping out of the crater as he wiped the blood from the side of his face. For the most part he''d survived the barrage of attacks undamaged, though his armor had a few pieces missing like the left shoulder pad and the area around the left hip. Looking down at his cracked and broken armor, Ronan murmured, "You managed to hurt me. Congratulations." His eyes now on Naruto he said, "Not many can say they''ve accomplished such a feat."

    Naruto didn''t say a word, simply looking Ronan in the eyes as prepared his next attack.

    Feeling that the blonde wasn''t going to answer, Ronan spoke, "Oh, that''s right. ''No more banter.''" Flexing his Cosmi-Rod, the weapon miraculously remaining in his grasp the entire fight, the Kree warrior sent another wave of energy at Naruto, though this one was much more powerful, tearing up the ground in its wake as it headed for the blonde.

    Dodging to the side, Naruto made for another mad dash for Ronan, only for another energy wave to be sent his way. Jumping to the left, the blonde began to go through a set of hand signs, but found himself intercepted by Ronan, the man showing a shocking amount of skill and speed by getting in his face so quickly. The Cosmi-Rod reared back over his head, the Accuser gave a mighty roar as he made to cave in Naruto''s skull with a single swing. There hammer''s head never met the blonde ninja, instead plowing into the ground.

    BOOM!

    -x-

    Drax stirred awake with a massive jerk, the man jumping to his feet as he looked around the room, only to find it empty minus himself and Groot. Looking to his only companion at the moment, the Destroyer said, "Stupid tree, where are Ronan and Naruto?!"

    "I am Groot!"

    The grey skinned man growled in anger, "I know who you are imbecile, now tell me what I want to know! Now!"

    "¡­I am Groot."

    Their conversation would have to continue at a later point however, seeing as how Korath the Pursuer and a band of Sakaaran soldier had just burst through the observation deck doors. Looking around the room, Korath shouted, "Where is Ronan and the ''Celestial,'' Destroyer?"

    It was Groot who answered, "I am Groot!"

    Korath looked at Groot, clearly puzzled, "Who?"

    "Enough of this nonsense!" Drax shouted, charging forward to slaughter the squad of Sakaarans in front of him, clearing looking to let out his building rage.

    In his rage, he let out a roar that shook the Sakaarans armor, the men opening fire on the charging juggernaut only for the bolts of energy to bounce off the man like they were nothing. Showing no resistance at all from the onslaught of laser fire, Drax quickly took out two of the soldiers by driving his fist into their jaws hard enough to snap their necks. Slamming hands into the chest of the next to cross his path, he felt their ribs crack from the force, this being quickly followed by a donkey kick into the fourth''s groin, dropping him on the spot. Coming onto the final Sakaaran, Drax gave a hefty back hand into their temple, knocking him off his feet and into the land of unconsciousness.

    Korath, who had stood behind during the entire exchange, said, "Do you really think you can kill me, Destroyer?"

    Drax didn''t say a word, simply charging towards the Kree cyborg with his patented battle roar. Engaging in a quick grapple, the two were locked arm in arm when they felt a sudden jerk forward. Looking behind them, they saw that water was quickly rising through the broken observation window, quickly reaching their ankles and getting higher by the second.

    Taking advantage of Korath''s distraction, Drax quickly grabbed ahold of the metallic pieces poking out of his head. His grip like a vice, he jerked with all his might. The cyborg didn''t get to say a word, simply dropping to the ground in a splat. Looking down at the still spasming corpse, Drax mumbled, "Finger to the throat means death."

    "I am Groot?"

    -x-

    Gamora jerked forward as she felt the Dark Aster crash into the ocean near Xandaria. The two sisters were taking a short reprieve, the duo breathing ragged breaths, sweat building along their bodies, their movements now a little slower thanks to the water that was beginning to build at their feet, the water falling from the hole Naruto had created not long ago.

    Feeling they''d taken long enough of a break, the sisters charged at each other at the same moment. Having lost their weapons just a few moments ago, they were forced to engage in a swift hand to hand. Fists bounced off flesh as they both tried to counter each other''s moves and move passed each other''s counters. Having trained with each other for so long, they knew the other''s skill set pretty well, making the fight even more intense as they tried to come up with a way around the other. Finally, Gamora managed to sneak her arm around Nebula''s neck for a head lock. The attempt was thwarted by the blue skinned woman kicking her sister''s feet from under her, sending them both to the wet ground.

    Gamora wasn''t letting up, even as Nebula repeatedly drove her elbow into the green woman''s side, her arm wrapped around the modified woman''s throat as she tried to choke the air out of her. Her arm shaking from the strain, Gamora gave a mighty scream as she felt the woman finally begin to let up. With one final heave, Nebula went slack in her sister''s arms, her unconscious body collapsing almost lifelessly.

    Huffing in the rising water, Gamora simply lied there, her sister in her arms as she tried to catch her breath.

    -x

    The destruction caused by Ronan''s Power Stone melded Cosmi-Rod was truly terrifying. Awe inspiring, really. It was like an atomic bomb had gone off. The wave of purple energy swept over the mountain landscape like some kind of plague, wiping out everything in its wake like the wrath of some kind of god. If one were to be looking at Hiberlac from space, they would be able to see a purple dot spread across the planet like a strange cloud, the dot swallowing only a slight chunk of the massive orb before finally coming to a stop.

    As the dust settled, Ronan''s figure broke through a cloud of smoke, his weapon of choice in hand as he looked upon the destruction he''d created, "Beautiful, isn''t it?" Looking to his right, Ronan gazed upon the glowing shape in the distance, "Your powers truly are frightening. To be able to survive such an attack is truly impressive."

    Naruto slowly came into view, the first part of his Kurama Chakra Cloak activated as he glared at the Kree warrior. Deactivating the cloak, Naruto revealed that he hadn''t escaped the attack unscathed. His shirt had been ripped from his body, with several cuts and bruises that had already begun to heal littering his body, blood pouring freely from a rather nasty wound on his left shoulder. His pants were barely any better, the left pant leg torn up to his knee cap with a large chunk torn out over his right thigh.

    "I didn''t expect that attack to be so big, otherwise I would''ve hightailed it out of here. I''ll be honest, you got me with that one." Naruto said. Flexing his muscles, steam began to emit from the open wounds around his body, the cuts healing at an amazing rate. After a few moments, Naruto was back to normal, rolling his left should as he said, "And it''s because of that, that I''m gonna give you this warning." In a flash of yellow light, the second part of his Kurama Chakra Cloak was activated, the cloak of chakra covering his scantily clad body.

    Ronan wasn''t able to respond, seeing as how Naruto''s fist was shoved into his jaw at super-sonic speed. Blasted off his feet, the Accuser wasn''t allowed a reprieve, the blonde appearing behind his back as he sent a round house kick into his lower spine, sending him flying in a new direction, only for the ninja to appear to his right and punch him in the stomach, sending him flying in another different direction. This continued. Again, and again. Over and over. It got to the point that Ronan no longer knew where he was, just that he was somewhere in the air getting the shit kicked out of him by a guy he couldn''t even keep up with. And just like that, it ended. Falling to the ground limply, Ronan couldn''t help but lie there for a moment, his Cosmi-Rod still in his vice like grasp, the man trying his best assess the damage done. Lifting his body up so he was on his hands and knees, he cringed as he felt a hot liquid rise up his throat. Giving a heavy heave, the Accuser began to vomit globs of blood onto the ground just below him, the life liquid splattering along the floor, the red color shining in the setting twin suns.

    "I''m gonna kick your ass."

    His eyes drifting over to the blonde standing to his left, Ronan''s eyes narrowed as he sent a blast of energy with his hammer, the blonde disappearing just as it was about to hit him, reappearing to his right with a swift kick to his ribs, sending him back to the ground as he coughed up even more blood.

    "Though, you already know that by now. Don''t you?" Naruto asked, rather nonchalantly as he looked down at the man, Ronan''s grip still as tight as ever on the Cosmi-Rod, "You''ve got quite the grip, huh? Most people would''ve let it go by now."

    Huffing, spittle and specks of blood flying from his mouth from how hard he was breathing, Ronan looked up at the blonde, "I''m¡­not done yet. Boy." If it were possible, his grip got even tighter on the war hammer, the Kree warrior giving a mighty roar as he took a swing at Naruto, the blonde jumping back to avoid getting vaporized by it. Getting to his feet, Ronan croaked out, "I''m¡­the most powerful man in the universe! I''m not going to die to the likes of you! YOU HEAR ME?!" Giving a mighty roar, Ronan reared his head back as he tapped into the Power Stone, his eyes glowing a dangerous purple as his muscles bulged outwards, what remained of his armor straining from the excess. The Stone itself was glowing even brighter than before, with the hammer being enveloped in a deep purple energy. The ground underneath Ronan splintered apart, resembling a spider web as he gave his energized body a quick flex. Looking his opponent in the eye, the Kree warrior didn''t say a word.

    With a crack, the sound barrier was broken as Ronan took off towards Naruto, the ground where he''d been standing collapsing in on itself. Seeing the attack coming, Naruto raised his hand up to catch the punch. When the two made contact, it was like a thunder clap, with the force of the shockwave forcing the ground to cave in.

    Naruto was the first to counter, plowing his free fist into Ronan''s jaw. The sound of flesh smacking flesh rang out across the destroyed field, Naruto fist pressed up against Ronan''s cheek, the man glaring into the blonde''s eyes, looking completely unaffected by the other man''s attack. Giving a glare of his own, Naruto threw another punch, then another, and another. Over and over he punch the Kree, his fist bouncing off his face every fucking time. Giving an angry roar, Naruto formed a Rasengan in the palm of his hand and drove it into the same spot he''d been hitting.

    As the gyrating ball of chakra grinded into Ronan''s face, the blonde finally let his control slip, allowing the condensed chakra to explode outwards, sending the Kree flying in a twirling motion. Giving an agitated sigh, Naruto thought, "This guy''s fucking tough, I mean fuck."

    "It''s that stupid Stone. As soon as he started drawing on its power he could keep up with you. I think it''s time you use that." Kurama suggested.

    Naruto scoffed, "No. That''s for when nothing else is working. My trump card to all other trump cards. I''m not gonna use it the first time shit gets tough. Besides," Closing his eyes, Naruto activated his Six Paths Chakra Cloak, a Truth-Seeking Ball appearing and transforming into a bo staff, "I''m not even close to desperate yet."

    "Is that so?"

    His eyes darting to where he heard the voice, Naruto saw that Ronan had pick himself, the armor around his head now completely gone, along with most of the top half of his chest piece. Smirking, Naruto said, "Yeah, believe it."

    Giving a smirk of his own, Ronan charge forward, his Cosmi-Rod pulled back for another epic swing. Waiting for him to be on top of him, Naruto disappeared just as the Kree took a baseball swing for his head. Appearing right above him, Naruto pointed his Truth-Seeking Staff at Ronan, the pole expanding and branching out, the ends of the branches as sharp as any sword. Seeing the attack coming, Ronan sent a quick blast of energy towards the incoming branches, effectively slowing them down enough for him to dodge, the branches burying their way in the place he''d been standing.

    Allowing the Truth-Seeking Staff to revert back to ball form, Naruto formed a set of rotating blades around like a Rasenshuriken, the Truth-Seeking Ball having been converted into a Tailed Beast Ball. As he hocked the attack at his enemy, Naruto called out his attack, "Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!"

    Ronan, his hammer drawn back once again, swung at the incoming attack with all his might, the Cosmi-Rod in his hands enveloped in a massive amount of energy.

    BOOM!

    A massive red ball of energy shook the area like an earthquake, tornado, and hurricane all struck at one single instance. Naruto was forced to attach himself to the ground with chakra, his arms blocking the turbulent winds that whipped along the decimated mountain, well¡­field now. As the winds died down, Naruto looked ground zero. Even from where he was, the blonde could see it. The ever present glow of the Power Stone, the light walking closer and closer before its owner emerged from the smoke.

    Naruto couldn''t help but wince at the sight before him. The once proud Ronan the Accuser was now a walking mess of a person. His once decadent Kree armor was practically gone, with just strips of it hear there, leaving the man practically naked sans the pair of pants he wore under the armor. But that wasn''t the worst part. The man''s right arm, his lead arm judging from how he wields his weapon, was gone. Blood poured from the stump, leaving a trail behind him as he limped his way to Naruto. Speaking of limping, a massive chunk of his leg was gone as well, the bone barely visible under the large amount of blood seeping out.

    Stopping just a few yards away. Ronan mumbled, "We''re ending this¡­now." Lifting the Cosmi-Rod with his only arm, he allowed the hammer to be encompassed by the Power Stone''s energy.

    "You''re right." Naruto said. Giving a slow breath in, he raised up his hand, "Magnet Release: Faithful Attraction."

    Ronan''s eyes widened in shock as he felt the Cosmi-Rod in his hand begin to pull towards Naruto, the force of the attraction pulling the Kree along, the man refusing to let go of his power. Digging his feet in the ground, he began to scream, "I will not lose my power! You won''t take it! You can''t! I am the most powerful man in the universe! After everything I''ve suffered, the family I''ve lost, I am the only one that deserves this power! Not you! Not Thanos! ME!"

    As Ronan finished his tirade, his grip finally slipped, the Cosmi-Rod flying straight into Naruto''s hands. Gripping the weapon that had caused so much trouble, Naruto felt the power granted by the Stone seep into his body. Ronan, the man having fallen forward after losing his hammer, looked up as he felt all his strength leave him, the adrenalin finally wearing off and the pain seeping in. Looking at the Stone imbedded in the side of the hammer''s face, Naruto ran his finger along the gem.

    His eyes on Ronan, Naruto said, "Sure, we could''ve clashed with our strongest attacks, or beaten the crap out of each other until you eventually submitted. But this way¡­this way I''m showing you that I could''ve beaten you at any time I wanted." Giving a weak smile he added, "But where''s the fun in that?"

    And then, with a hefty pull, Naruto palmed the Power Stone in his hand, the power of the Stone enveloping him completely, the sclera of his eyes now a deep purple, that same color flickering along the tips of his flaming cloak, similar to what happens when he holds the Space Stone.

    Ronan, his lip quivering, demaned, "Ho-how?! You''re mortal!"

    "Yeah¡­I am."

    With one swift motion. Naruto brought the hammer down on Ronan''s skull, the Kree''s skull splitting open like a watermelon, blood spraying everywhere as the corpse collapsed. Dropping the hammer next to the now lifeless body, Naruto allowed himself to fall on his ass. Remembering what he had in his hand, he gave an overdramatic sigh, lifting his ass up slightly so he could get to the scroll in his hip pouch. Quickly unfurling it, he placed the Stone in the center of the seal.

    Flipping through the designated number of hand signs, Naruto mumbled, "Seal."

    Releasing a massive breath, Naruto let the Six Paths Chakra Cloak fade. After a couple minutes of just sitting there, looking at the destruction he and Ronan had caused, "What a waste." He said aloud.

    Getting up, Naruto searched for the Hiraishin Seal he''d placed on Drax. Getting a pin on it, the ninja allowed it to pull him towards it.

    Appearing with a bit of a stumble, Naruto looked around to see he was on a beach. Looking around, he saw that the Dark Aster was now half way in the ocean, the top half of the Warship beginning to tear in half like that ship from Earth, Gigantic or Titanic¡­whatever. Panning his eyes behind him, Naruto scratched the back of his scalp at the dozens of Nova Corps looking at him in otter shock, obviously not expecting him to just appear, especially in his state of dress. Standing amongst the Corpsman was Peter and Rocket, the space bandit kneeling next to Gamora, the drenched assassin sitting on the beach with a tool wrapped around her. Lying next to the woman was her sister, the unconscious assassin looking like she''d gone through the ringer.

    Sitting right next to Naruto was Drax and Groot, the two facing the seeking ship, more than likely watching it descend into the deep ocean depths. Looking up at Naruto, Groot said, "I am Groot?"

    Naruto looked over at Rocket, the racoon rolling his eyes, "He asked if it''s done."

    "Yes." Drax said, "Is Ronan dead?"

    Dropping down next to Drax, he gave him a pat on the shoulder, "Yup."

    If anyone expected any kind of celebration, they were thoroughly let down, as everyone was too busy giving tired sighs of relief. Slowly, the crowd of Corpsman began to part, the Nova Prime Irani Rael walking out with Denarian Saal and a Centurion Naruto didn''t know.

    Walking up to Naruto, Irani gave a bright, thankful smile, "I can''t thank you enough for what you''ve done, not just for Xandar, but the entire galaxy. I''m sure I can think of a better speech to give after all this madness is behind us, but for now, let me say that you are truly the Guardian of the Galaxy."

    Naruto gave a sheepish smile, "Ugh thanks but¡­I think you got it wrong."

    "Pardon?" Rael asked.

    "Not ''Guardian.''" Naruto corrected, a playful smirk on his face as he gestured to Quill, Rocket, Gamora, Groot, and Drax. Looking each of them in the eye before he said.

    "We''re the Guardians of the Galaxy."

 18 Did u miss me

    A lingering array of floating asteroids hovered along the vast cosmos, the backdrop of colors lighting the area, allowing Other to walk along the rocky path as he practically glided towards his destination like the other worldly specter that he was. Climbing the spiraling staircase that lead to his master''s chambers, Other took each step with clear trepidation, each step taken with further hesitation. Finally, he reached the last step, his cloaked form stopping as he saw the Dark Lord had vacated his usual spot upon his levitating throne, his back facing him as he looked passed the asteroid field into the ever-expanding universe. Gone was his battle armor, the tyrant wearing a sleeveless lightly armored vest that was gold and royal blue in color, with military styled pants and golden combat boots that went up to his knees. The man''s awesome size seemed even more prominent, his muscular arms in a seemingly constant flex, his biceps looking like they were about to burst at the seams.

    "Well?" Thanos demanded, his throttling baritone boomed.

    Other nodded swiftly, his arms moving up defensively out of reflex, "It appears our sources are correct, the Maelstrom has the Stone in his possession. From what they have reported, the Xandarians ''allowed'' him to take it after Ronan''s invasion on the pretense he hide and protect it, rather than use it."

    The Mad Titan hummed, though whether it was out of anger or curiosity was unknown to his subordinate, "The fools. To trust something like that anyone but themselves shows how weak hearted they have become. Though, I suppose a thousand years of war can do that." Rubbing his chin, he continued, "Had they kept it our loss of the Stone wouldn''t have matter, as we could''ve taken at any point we chose. Now though, there''s no telling what that boy has done with it."

    The hooded figure nodded, "And there have been no reports of him using the Stone. No one knows where he has decided to keep it."

    "What of our asset?" Thanos asked, "The one we tasked with capturing him? The ''God Slayer?''"

    "He still struggles with finding him my Lord. His reports say that the boy has a knack for disappearing off the face of a planet and appearing on another two galaxies away." Looking up he asked, "Do you believe he is using the Stone within the Tesseract?"

    "Perhaps." Turning to face his subordinate, the Titan bellowed, "I tire of these games. I''ve allowed the Slayer to take so long because his killing of ''gods'' along the way amused me, but no longer will I allow his procrastination. Tell the fool if he doesn''t find the boy by the end of this yearly cycle, I will show him the power of a true god."

    "Yes, my Lord, of course my Lord."

    -x-

    Location: The Planet Haragon

    -x-

    "On your feet boy!"

    The man called boy gave a vocal scoff as he was pulled to his feet by the mountain of a man in front of him. The boy was wearing a thick brown fur coat under an orange armored vest with red highlights, a matching shoulder pad on his left shoulder attached to the vest. With his hood pulled up with a Sakaaran Scavenger mask covering his face, one could only guess his appearance.

    Pulling on the chains keeping his captive restrained, the giant wore a set of leather armor that was brown in color, fur strapped under the armor pieces to keep the man at least somewhat warm. While massive, he had the standard Haragonite look of what looked like a mutated turtle without their shell, his dirty green skin tone decorated with vengeful red tribal tattoos.

    The two trekked through the tiled hallway, passing cell doors one by one, their occupants peeking past the bars to see who was being summoned by the Exalted One.

    "Dead man walking." One of the prisoners hissed.

    "Don''t bother begging, he''ll only make it slower."

    "Lucky bastard was only here for a few hours before they called him to court."

    "Probably an Asgardian or something."

    "Or a Sakaaran. Look at the mask."

    The dead man didn''t bother to reply, keeping his eyes forward as he kept up with the Haragonite to keep him from pulling on the chains. Coming up on a pair of towering stone doors, the guard stopped in front of it as he gave it a single hard knock. The two waited for several moments in a patient silence. Then, a muffled, "Enter," was heard.

    It didn''t take a second before the stone doors to swing open with a loud echoing creak. With a mighty thoom the doors opened all the way, presenting the two with the wide courtroom in front of them. Dimly lit by a plethora of hovering lanterns, the stone tiled hall was filled with dozens of armed Haragonites, the types of swords and axes they were carrying varying from person to person. At the end of the courtroom was a massive throne carved out of stone, two Haragonites on each side. And there, plopped lazily on the throne, was the Exalted One. The man was rather large, though considering he was a Jotun his height wasn''t really all that special. His dark blue skin was covered by a dark grey robe, though it looked to be more for decoration than protection from the cold.

    His hand held up his chin as he gave the prisoner a chilling glare with his angry red eyes, "Bring him to me."

    With a sharp pull, the guardsman pulled the prisoner forward. Bringing him before the throne, the guard kicked out his leg to bring him to his knees. With a swift pull, his hood was brought down to reveal slightly spiked blonde locks. Grabbing the mask, he slid it up to show a man in his mid-twenties, his bright blue eyes drilling into the Exalted One, the whisker like marks on his face crinkled up as he smirked up at the man.

    "Frosty." Naruto greeted.

    The Exalted One''s glare grew even colder, "You should watch yourself, Maelstrom. It is by my mercy that you''ve lived this long."

    The blonde didn''t respond, instead looking up at the Frost Giant defiantly.

    "What are you doing here Maelstrom?"

    The blonde shrugged, "I was here to help out the villagers under your ''protection.''" Looking around he said, "And look at where that got me."

    His brow furrowed The Exalted One asked, "And what prey tell brought your attention to us? Is Xandar aware of our actions?"

    "Xandar?" Naruto asked with a scoff, "No. No, they''re still too busy tiptoeing around the Kree to pay attention to something as small time as you." Looking up at the Exalted One he said, "You in particular were hard to pin down. Every village I went to, none of your goons knew where you were staying at. Scarred Thor might come after you?" He asked with a smirk.

    "That oaf?" The Exalted One asked, "If the fool didn''t know I was here when he and his Asgardians were waging war with this planet, I doubt he''ll ever know."

    "That or you''re such a small fry he didn''t see the need to bother." Naruto shot back, "You were probably just a grunt when your king tried to invade Asgard."

    "Small?" He whispered harshly, "Small?! I am Lekey! Right hand man to King Laufey himself!" His arm swept across the hall, "I lead a militia of over a thousand Haragonite warriors, I have control of over a dozen villages in the region! I am the Exalted One!" Getting up from the chair he finished, "Should that oaf of a prince show his face to me, I will plant his head on a pike, and use his beloved hammer to bring Asgard to the ground."

    Naruto''s smirk grew into a full-grown smile, "Did you say Lekey?"

    Lekey gave a confused pause, "¡­Yes?"

    Giving a sigh of relief, Naruto swiftly pulled at his shackled hands, breaking the restraints as though they were butter, "Man, you have no idea how long I''ve been waiting on someone to actually use your name. Exalted One this, Exalted One that, leave it to a guy like you to give yourself such a name when all you''ve done is take over a few small villages." Pulling up his sleeve, he showed his Uta, a hologram of Lekey''s face popping up, his name and what looked like a bounty underneath, "Lekey of Jotunheim, wanted for mass murder on several planets, along with several counts of extortion. Current bounty set at fifty million Units, dead or alive."

    "What?" Lekey asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

    "Well, a friend of mine tipped me off that a guy with a big ass bounty was extorting several villages on Haragon for ''protection payments.'' He agreed to tell me where you were if I split the bounty with him. Sadly, none of your lackeys new your actual name, and since you moved around so much none of them knew where you were, I had to ''get captured'' so I could be brought to you. Standard stuff, not that complicated." Naruto said as he stretched out his wrists.

    Lekey''s grit his teeth as he hissed out, "Kill him."

    That was all his men needed to hear, the turtle like warriors drawing their weapons out as they charged the blonde in front of their master.

    Naruto, not taking his eyes off Lekey, said, "Come at me then."

    -x-

    Location: New York City, New York

    -x-

    "I''m Christine Everhart."

    "And I''m Will Adams."

    "And this is WHiH World News." Christine said, the duo sitting side by side at their pristine news desk. As the camera focused on the blonde woman, "Today marks the final day of a city-wide cleanup in Washington D.C. after the event now known as Project Incite, where it was uncovered that agents of the long thought disbanded terrorist cell, Hydra, had infiltrated the intelligence agency known as SHIELD. One such mole being Alexander Pierce, the Secretary to the WSC, who oversee all SHIELD activities. These events culminated in the death of SHIELD Director Nicholas Fury, the disbandment of SHIELD by the government, and tens of millions of dollars in damages to the D.C. area."

    The camera panned to Adams, "Last night, Tony Stark announced the building dubbed Stark Tower as the official headquarters of the Avengers. The team will act independently from any world government, and will act as a deterrent from events that are similar in nature to the Incident that occurred two years ago in New York City."

    "Speaking of Tony Stark," Christine said, "The billionaire has just finished giving his testimony against the scientific research and development agency known as AIM. The company is currently under investigation after it was revealed that they were connected to the Mandarin, a terrorist who took responsibility for the bombings that occurred throughout the world. Mandarin was shown to be a front, with AIM having been behind the bombings that occurred due to the volatile experiments dubbed Extremis. The organization has been shut down, and any surviving members are currently being investigated and charged."

    As Christine was about to speak, the television screen went mute. Remote control in hand, Illyana Rasputin got up from her seat. Setting down the remote, the woman leaned back so she was laying on the bed, releasing a heavy sigh as she did.

    "Long day?"

    Not bothering to turn her attention to the voice, Illyana mumbled, "What did I say about teleporting into my apartment?"

    In her bedroom was the Ancient One, the woman walking across the room with her arms behind her back in a stoic prance, "And what have I said about showing such disrespect to your teacher?"

    Illyana had the decency to look admonished, "I''m sorry."

    Reaching the blonde woman, the Ancient One said, "I''ve allowed you to stay outside of Kamar-Taj while you undergo your training, at the very least I should be allowed to make unexpected visits now and again." Sitting down next to Illyana, a cup of tea appeared in her hand. After taking a sip, she continued, "Your teachers say you''re progressing well, a true prodigy some claim."

    "Better than Strange?" She asked.

    "No." The Sorcerer Supreme admitted.

    "Is there a reason you''re here master?" Illyana asked.

    The Ancient One nodded, "There is."

    The woman nicknamed Magik waited several seconds for her master to continue, before finally saying out of impatience, "And?"

    "I have felt¡­a presence, these past few days. A presence that comes closer and closer to Earth. One that I don''t know if its current defenders can fight against."

    Illyana looked at the Ancient One in confusion, "And what does that have to do with me?"

    Looking at her student with a slightly pointed look, the master said, "I know that he gave you a way to contact him. A way to summon him."

    Magik gave the Ancient One her own look, "I''m not saying I don''t. But why can''t we help in stopping this ''presence?''"

    "We are charged with safeguarding the world from mystical threats. Threats such as these are not ours to meddle." The sorcerer explained, "Now how do we summon him?"

    With a shrug, Illyana got up from the bed and walked over to the dresser. Pulling open the drawer, she shuffled through the piles of socks for a moment before pulling out a bundle wrapped in clothe. Now back on the bed, Illyana carefully unraveled it to reveal a tri-tipped blade, "He gave me this a couple years ago. Said if I ever needed anything to throw the blade into a surface and he''d be here in a flash."

    As the Ancient One took the blade into her hands, she said, "Good. Because the presence has arrived." The sorcerer nodding to the television, the mute turning off with the motion.

    Illyana looked to the television, the news showing a breaking news announcement as what looked like an alien ship descended onto Kowloon Bay near Hong Kong, the water parting along the ships thrusters. The ship was unlike anything the blonde woman had seen before, with a diamond like shape with a dull grey color scheme with golden trimmings, she could safely say it wasn''t anything from Earth. Hovering just over the water bed, the ship became still. Then, it moved forward. Slowly it encroached upon the edge of Hong Kong, crawling closer and closer to the city''s harbor. Reaching one of the dozens of docks connecting to the bay, the ship came to another stop. As a door began to crawl up, a figure could be seen in the entry way. Walking into the light, a massive grey skinned man walked onto the dock, the heavily armored and armed creature walking with no real sense of urgency.

    In a baritone voice that was somehow easily picked up by the distant cameras, the man spoke, "I come for the Celestial. Bring him to me."

    -x-

    "What the hell is a Celestial?"

    Walking through the Stark Tower hanger, Clint Barton and Steve Rogers barreled towards the Avenger''s Quinjet, the Captain strapping his shield to his back as he said, "No idea. We have an idea if this guy''s hostile?"

    It was Maria Hill who answered, "He has yet to make any kind of move, he just keeps demanding to see the Celestial. The local police and military have been ordered not to engage, they''ve set up a perimeter and are waiting on our arrival."

    "Is Tony on his way?" Steve asked.

    "He called almost as soon as the ship entered our orbit, he''ll be there just a little before us. He''s bringing Banner along with him."

    Nodding, Steve and Clint entered the jet, with Clint heading towards the cockpit. Looking to the co-pilot seat, Hawkeye gave a quick nod to the one in the seat, "Ready?"

    Giving a cocky smile, Natasha replied, "Are you?"

    "Always."

    -x-

    "Bring him to me. I will not ask again."

    Tony Stark, the man wearing his Mark XLIII suit, looked to Banner, the two of them standing several yards away from the mysterious alien, "You have any idea what he''s talking about?" He asked, the face section of his armor raised up to reveal his face.

    Bruce shook his head, "No clue."

    The armored man sighed, "Yeah, me neither." Stepping forward, he said to the creature, "You gotta name big guy?"

    Looking to Tony, the ''big guy'' answered, "Desak."

    It was Bruce who said, "Well¡­Desak, we don''t know what you''re talking about. What is a Celestial, exactly?"

    "Not what." Desak said, "Who."

    "Okay, who exactly are you talking about?" Bruce pressed, "Maybe we can help you find them."

    Desak narrowed his eyes, "Do not play the fool with me. I know that the Celestial came from this planet before heading for Xandar." Slowly, the God Slayer reached for the axe strapped to his back, causing Bruce to step back and Tony to aim his Repulsors, "If you will not bring him to me, perhaps he will come on his own accord." And with that, he drew his weapon with a resounding thwang.

    A nervous looking Bruce eyed Tony, "Code Green?"

    The face section of his helmet came down hard as he said, "Yeah. Code Green."

    -x-

    Illyana watched as the alien fought back against Iron Man and the Hulk, the armored creature flinging the former across the city like a rag doll and matching the latter''s strength with surprising ease. Her attention was turned away from the television when the sound of a blade hitting wood, her eyes drawn to the three-bladed knife stuck in the wall. Giving her master an annoyed look, the blonde said, "Did you have to throw it in my wall? This apartment is a rental."

    The Ancient One didn''t seem to care about that, "I thought you said he''d be here in a flash? This isn''t a flash."

    "Maybe he meant a literal flash?"

    Giving an annoyed hum, the Ancient One folded her arms behind her back, "Are you sure there isn''t another step to it?"

    "Nope. He just said to throw it and wait."

    Closing her eyes while giving an agitated sigh through her nose, the master said, "Then we wait."

    Looking to the television, Illyana said, "Well it looks like the rest of the Avengers are there." True to her word, Captain America, Hawkeye, and Black Widow had just arrived on the scene.

    Her eyes still closed, the Sorcerer shook her head, "I doubt they''ll be able to hold him off for long."

    "Hold off who?"

    As Illyana jumped in shock at the new voice in the room, the Ancient One simply opened her eyes with a strange calmness, a small smile on her face as she turned to recently arrived blonde. The man had grown since the last time she''d seen him, the way he held himself was more mature, confident. Wearing a rather strange attire that looked slightly worn and torn, with rips and slashes littered around his person, with a green liquid that smelt like blood staining the brown fur. And in his hand was the head of a blue skinned creature, its lifeless eyes staring up at her as blood dripped from his gaping neck to the wooden floor below.

    "From him." The Ancient One answered, nodding her head towards the television.

    Eyeing the TV with a raised brow, Naruto saw Desak swatting at Captain Rogers, the super soldier raising his shield just in time to take the brunt of the blow, sending the man flying before landing in a roll. As the Annihilator reared back his battle axe to try and behead Tony, four arrows found themselves imbedded in his triceps before they each exploded in medium ball of fire. As Desak walked through the parting cloud of smoke, not looking damaged in the slightest.

    "Huh." Naruto mumbled, his eyes on the televised battle as he sealed away the head of Lekey, "He got a name?"

    "He calls himself Desak." Illyana answered, though most of her attention was on the blonde''s out of this world appearance, "He''s looking for someone named Celestial, thinks he''s from Earth."

    A dangerous edge came to Naruto''s eyes, "¡­Celestial huh."

    Illyana looked at her fellow blonde in confusion, "Do you know him?"

    Naruto didn''t bother answering, placing the scroll into his hip pouch as he stoically said, "I''m gonna help take care of this." Looking to Illyana he continued with a smile, "After that we can catch up."

    Illyana couldn''t help but look hopeful as she asked, "Does that mean¡­you''re coming back?"

    The ninja chuckled, "Yeah¡­yeah I think so. I''ve been gone long enough, don''t you think?"

    "Yeah, for sure."

    His smile getting a little bigger, the Uzumaki said, "I''ll see you in a bit then. Same with you AC." And with that, he was gone.

    -x-

    "Hulk¡­SMASH!"

    Desak jumped back as a giant green blur smashed into the ground in front of him, sending concrete and other debris flying in all directions. He wasn''t allowed a reprieve however, as he felt a beam of energy hit him in the back, the blue soldier''s shield slam into his jaw, and several arrows slice into his ribs, each blow forcing him to take a slight step back from the force of them. It wasn''t enough to keep his attention off the massive green rage machine, the Annihilator easily catching its fist without showing much strain, the ground underneath them exploding from the power of the impact.

    The God Slayer glowered at the Hulk as he grumbled, "Is that all you have, beast?" Yellow energy began to emit from around his body, his eyes glowing the same haunting color as he said, "Perhaps when I kill you, the Celestial will show himself to me."

    Faster than anyone of the Avengers could follow, Desak''s fist plowed into the Hulk''s face, sending the green beast into a high velocity propulsion into one of the parked police cars nearly fifty yards away, the Hulk''s impact nearly flattening the vehicle as he bounced up before skipping across the pavement. As he tumbled to a stop, Desak appeared above him in a burst of speed, his broad sword in a reverse grip.

    Realizing what the alien was about to do, Stark shouted, "Stop him, now!" With that order he fired off a beam of energy from the Arc Reactor centered in the chest piece of his armor, with his fellow Avengers throwing everything they had at the alien to keep him from plunging his blade into the Hulk''s head. That was a success, though only a minor one.

    "AUGH!" The Hulk screamed in agony as the broad sword''s blade sliced into his lower chest.

    "BRUCE!" Tony yelled in worry as Black Widow and Hawkeye desperately fired off their weapons at Desak to try and get him to back off their comrade. Desak brushed off the attacks however, pulling his blade out of the Hulk as he prepped the sword to finish it off.

    As he reared the sword back, a powerful presence seemed to make itself known, stopping him from separating the enraged beast''s head from its shoulders. Lowering the blade to his side, he turned his head to see Naruto standing amongst the team doing their best against him, all of them staring at him in shock.

    "Na-Naru-" Natasha stuttered, her body nearly shutting down from shock, "Naruto?"

    "Holy shit." Clint muttered.

    After giving Natasha a quick once over, Naruto turned his attention to Desak, "So I hear you''re looking for me."

    Desak nodded, "You took your time. I did not think that the man they called a Celestial was a coward."

    "I apologize for taking so long, but wouldn''t it have been easier to just give me a call? It wasn''t like I was hiding or anything." Walking forward, he continued, "But no. You had to make an asshole out of yourself by attacking a planet that would have zero idea as to where I was. It''s a good thing I left a way for someone to call me, otherwise you''d have probably destroyed this place." Stopping just a few feet away, he finished, "And that pisses me the fuck off."

    Like a viper, Naruto''s hand struck out at Desak''s chest, his hand resting on his skin for only a nanosecond before the two of them disappeared as though they''d never been there at all.

    -x-

    Desak stumbled back as he appeared in a vast desert dune field, the pounding heat beating down on his heavily armored form, a cloud of sand blowing into his face forcing him to guard his eyes with his hand, "Where have you taken me Celestial?"

    Naruto, placing the Sakaaran mask over his face to protect his face from the mild sand storm billowing around them, said, "They call this place Tadrart Acucus. No cities or people for miles." Summoning Sasuke''s chokuto into his hand, he got into defensive stance, "Well?"

    The Annihilator chuckled as he twirled the great sword around almost playfully, "Prey to your gods if you have them Celestial. For you will be meeting them soon."

    "I don''t have a god to prey to. All I have are people I consider precious to me." His blade poised he finished, "And you just tried to kill the some of the few I have left."

    As those words left his lips, he struck.

    CLANG!

    Their blades locked together, the sound of metal grinding on metal filling the air as the two of them glared into each other''s eyes. Naruto''s muscles strained and flexed as he tried to hold back the monster of a man from breaking past his guard. Little by little however, his feet began to skirt back against the sand. About to lose his footing, Naruto back stepped quickly before taking two testing swipes at Desak''s midsection, each one blocked with ease.

    Desak seemed to lose his patience with Naruto''s prodding, parrying the next slash with a hefty shove from the flat side of his sword before stabbing at an open blonde, said ninja forced to spin out of the way, only to get his legs kicked out from under him forcing him to become parallel with the ground for a moment. That moment was all Desak needed, bringing his blade down like a hammer on Naruto''s hips, splitting the man in half with one fluid cut.

    POOF

    Desak raised an eyebrow as his opponent disappeared in a puff of smoke. Looking around the desert dunes, the man was annoyed to find an unharmed Naruto standing not far away, his chokuto in a reverse grip, the blade incased in lightning, "I had heard you were full of cheap tricks."

    "Most of my people were too." Naruto said.

    Pulling out the shield strapped to his lower back, Desak got into a defensive stance, "They must have been a bunch of cowards then." Desak was barely able to get the last word out, forced to bring up his shield to block the incoming spear made of lightning, the man skidding back from the force. He then raised up his blade, just in time to block the blonde''s chokuto from splitting his head like a banana, a sonic boom escaping from the impact.

    "You don''t know a damn thing about them!" Naruto growled out, his eyes a dangerous red as he came at the Annihilator with a flurry of strikes and stabs, doing his best to end the ignorant fool in front of him.

    In the middle of his barrage of lightning fast attacks, Kurama yelled, "Calm down brat! This fool isn''t someone to lose your cool on!" When Naruto continued with his attacks, the Tailed Beast said, "If you weren''t so pissed off you''d notice that his shield is absorbing the chakra surrounding your blade every time you hit it! He can absorb energy you damn brat! That''s why neither of them are shattering from a single hit from your Chidori Blade!"

    Cutting off the constant flow he''d been giving the chokuto, Naruto gave his sword a testing swing into Desak''s shield. Almost as soon as the sword made contact, the lightning around Naruto''s blade disappeared, "Wha-what?" Naruto stuttered. His eyes narrowing, Naruto said, "That''s some nifty weapon you got there. It''s even able to absorb chakra."

    "So, you finally notice?" Desak asked, "I was wondering how long it would take."

    Jumping back, Naruto attached the sword to his back with Magnet Release. Flipping through a long set of hand seals, Naruto shouted, "Well, let''s see how you handle this! Lightning Release: False Darkness!"

    Opening his mouth as wide as his jaw would allow it, the blonde fired off a thick beam of lightning, the streak of electricity blasting off at the hulking warrior across from him. Desak simply readied himself, his shield raised to where the lightning bolt would hit.

    THOOM

    When the jutsu hit, the force of the explosion forced Naruto to shield his eyes slightly, but not enough that he couldn''t see the huge flash of energy as the ground around where Desak had been hit exploded, sending clumps of sand everywhere. As the sand settled and the dust cleared, Naruto narrowed his eyes when he saw Desak was no longer there.

    He wasn''t given much time to ponder it, as a massive fist soon found its way into Naruto''s jaw. Blood and spittle sprayed from his mouth as he took a step back to correct his balance. Then another fist came, this time slamming into the other side of his face, and one more right into his stomach, his body folding over Desak''s fist as more blood sprayed passed his lips.

    Desak looked down at Naruto, his face one of boredom as he brought his fist back from Naruto''s stomach, allowing the blonde to stumble back. Redrawing his great sword, the God Slayer withdrew the blade with one swift pull before bringing it down on Naruto''s head.

    Naruto, still stunned from the assault, could only watch as the sword came down on him.

    -x-

    "Where the hell did he go?!"

    Tony sighed in agitation as he heard Barton yell over the Quinjet''s engine, "If I knew I''d tell you Legolas."

    "Don''t call me that!" Clint shouted, pointing his finger at Stark in agitation, "Naruto just fucking disappeared with a guy that was throwing Banner around like he was nothing! We need to find them, and help him!"

    "We''re trying Clint." Steve said, trying to calm the agitated dead shot, "We''ve got Hill back at Stark Tower searching for any sign of them, we''ll get a hit eventually. You just have to be patient." He insisted, placing a hand on the man''s shoulder.

    Clint brushed off Steve''s hand as he turned sharply to Natasha, "Aren''t you going to say anything? The man is back after three years, and you haven''t said a thing! Don''t you lo-"

    "Shut up!" Natasha shouted. Blinking, the woman quickly calmed herself as she allowed her cold fa?ade to take over, "We''ve got to get Bruce to Stark Tower, thanks to the other guy the bleedings stopped, but he still needs to see Dr. Cho as soon as possible. Naruto can handle himself¡­he''s stronger than you think."

    Stark nodded, looking over at the unconscious Banner, his chest wrapped in bloody bandages, though his breathing had steadied and color had returned to his face, "She''s right. We''ll find Naruto, Clint, but first we have to get Banner to the Tower."

    -x-

    Naruto blinked, momentarily bewildered at the sight of the giant wall of sand that had sprung up and intercepted the sword just as it was about to carve into his skull, "Thanks for the save¡­Kurama." He thought.

    "No problem brat. Now get on your feet. You''re embarrassing yourself."

    "Right." He said aloud, jumping back several dozen yards as several spikes of sand shot out of the ground towards Desak, the man using his surprising agility to dodge each one, the warrior forced to back pedal several feet before the spikes stopped their assault. Closing his eyes in concentration, Naruto allowed himself to enter Six Paths Sage Mode, his eyes taking on the distinct color and shape to show his transformation. Taking a calming breath, Naruto got into a combative stance, waiting on Desak to make the first move, "He''s a lot faster than I thought he''d be. It''s like fighting a Kage back home."

    Kurama nodded in the seal, "He''s got some kind of power source. Didn''t you feel that energy spike?"

    The blonde frowned, "Not really¡­then again I''ve been a little preoccupied with getting my ass kicked¡­man that hasn''t happened for a while now has it?"

    "Well like I said, it''s embarrassing. So get your head in the game before you get us both killed."

    Naruto nodded as he called out to Desak, "You''re pretty good. The best I''ve seen so far outside my planet, that''s for sure."

    The Slayer raised his sword at the ready, "And you''re nothing but a disappointment. You''re no Celestial. No god. If it were any other circumstance, I wouldn''t even bother with you. It is only because of who you''ve angered that I seek your death today."

    If Naruto planned on asking who Desak was talking about, he never got the chance. With a quick duck, he felt the tip of his hair get chopped off as he drew his chokuto, parrying the next strike as it came with ease before sending a swing of his own. Naruto felt Desak not expect the strength in his swing, the warrior forced to reinforce his stance at the last minute when the blonde nearly broke it with a single strike.

    The two then engaged in a brutal dance of blades, the Annihilator blocking with his shield and attacking and parrying with his sword, and Naruto doing his best to get a good enough opening to give a fatal blow. No such open came, the two''s desert dance coming to a stop when they jumped back from each other, each assessing the other intensely.

    Extending a hand out, Naruto said, "Magnet Release: Faithful Attraction!"

    Desak looked down at his sword and shield, the two of them trying their best to pull away from him. Holding strong, the God Slayer held onto his weapons with a vice like grip. Suddenly, a yellow glow began to surround the brute of a warrior, the ethereal shade of yellow giving off a dangerous energy.

    Realizing he was getting nowhere with his Faithful Attraction, Naruto cut off the jutsu, just in time to cover his eyes as Desak gave a mighty battle cry, the sand splitting open and jutting out beneath him as he roared up to the heavens, the yellow energies presence becoming even greater.

    "Holy shit!" Naruto yelled, sending chakra to his feet to keep himself from blowing away, "The guys going Super Saiyan!"

    "No, you fool!" Kurama screamed, "He''s using that power source! This is rivalling a Tailed Beast in energy! Five tails, at the least!"

    "Big guns it is then." Naruto said as he was about to activate his Six Paths Sage Cloak. It wasn''t to be however.

    Desak blasted off towards him like a rocket, the already destroyed ground beneath exploding, destroying the dune he was on to make a giant crater.

    "Humph!" Naruto grunted as Desak barreled into him, taking him in midair with enough speed to keep them going before they slammed into a distant rock formation, "AAUGh!" Naruto screamed at the impact, the two of them drilling into the hard rock with extreme force and speed. Desak quickly took advantage of that, bringing his fists down on Naruto''s face over and over again, the blonde''s blood caking his knuckles as he tried to pound his skull in. Having enough with the punching, the Annihilator grabbed Naruto by the hair roughly.

    Blood pouring down Naruto''s face, nose, and mouth, the blonde muttered, "That all you go-" Desak didn''t allow him to finish his sentence, slamming his head so hard into the rock it left an indent. Bring his head back again, Desak repeated this. Over and over again.

    "So pathetic. Though¡­I suppose I shouldn''t be shocked you couldn''t stand up to the power of the Designate. Only one man has, and he''s the one that wants you dead. Consider it a blessing he sent me rather than coming himself. Though it doesn''t really matter either way, for you''ll be meeting him soon enough. So, allow me to once again give you this final curtesy. Prey to your gods, if you have them. For you will be visiting them soo-"

    "RASENGAN!"

    The sound of grinding metal filled the desert dunes. And the sound of an explosion of energy followed soon after. Desak flew away from the still down Uzumaki, the Slayer clutching his shoulder as he glared at the blonde. Naruto simply gave the glaring warrior a bloody smile, getting up from the ground, stumbling as he did, he said, "I don''t give a shit who I pissed off. I don''t give a shit who you are. I honestly couldn''t give a shit what your whole story is. All I care about is that you tried to kill people I care about. For all I care, you became a dead man the moment you stepped foot on this planet." The ground beneath him cracked as he allowed his Six Paths Sage Mode to activate. As he began to power up, so did Desak, the man''s strange yellow energy building up around him, his eyes glowing with flickers licking off like embers. As rock and sand began to lift from oversaturation of energy in the air, Naruto finished, "Well, let''s go then."

    Both men''s charge created simultaneous sonic booms, the sand and rock beneath them exploding outwards. But that was nothing compared to when their fists met in a mighty clash. They kept from continuing the clash, with Naruto throwing a mighty left hook into Desak''s chin, just as the Annihilator jabbed at the ninja''s temple. Blow after blow, the two went into each other with everything they had. The only problem was that Desak didn''t seem to feel any of the bone shattering blows Naruto was dealing out. The sentiment was not shared. Blood dripped from Naruto''s mouth as he heaved and huffed, weaving back and forth as he looked for an opening to strike. While the man opposite of him was bleeding and bruised as much as he was, he didn''t show it with his stoic fa?ade.

    Jumping back, Naruto flipped through several hand signs, "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" He thought, taking a deep breath before unleashing a thin stream of fire at the nearby Desak. The Annihilator quickly brought out his shield, raising the enchanted equipment just in time to intercept the jutsu from hitting his person. Just as the jutsu hit the shield though, the stream of fire expanded into a sea of inferno.

    Naruto didn''t finish at that, going through another set of hand signs as he thought, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" Taking another breath in, he released it with a might heave, producing a magnificent gust of wind into the field of flames.

    "Not done yet." Naruto thought, "Help me out here Kurama!"

    "Sure thing brat!"

    Holding his hand up, Naruto called out, "Big Ball Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken!" Extending two chakra arms from his back, Naruto and Kurama formed a massive Tailed Beast Ball over his head. Naruto quickly added an abundant amount of wind chakra into it, allowing a whirling shuriken like blade to wrap around the ball of Tailed Beast chakra. With a grunt, Naruto hurled the massive jutsu at the now smoldering aftermath of the fire jutsu, knowing that Desak was still in the middle of it all.

    Desak didn''t seem all too keen on waiting for the attack to come to him, jumping at the jutsu as it swept across the desert plain, swinging his energy incased sword at it with all his might.

    BOOOM!

    -x-

    "Found anything yet?"

    Agent Hill looked up from her tablet to say, "Not yet Captain. How''s Banner?"

    "He''s fine." Tony answered as he walked into the room, running his hand along his scalp, "And we just got a hit. They''re in the Sahara, Tadrart Acacus to be exact."

    "How the hell did they get all the way over there?" Clint asked, sitting over in the corner as he tweaked with a trick arrow, "Do you think he somehow used the Tesseract?"

    "Possibly." Tony answered, "Where''s Pointbreak when you need him?"

    "Ms. Foster said he left for Nidavellir two days ago, whatever that is." Hill said, not taking her eyes off of her tablet.

    "Note to self, get Thor a phone." Clint grumbled sarcastically.

    Looking over his shoulder at Natasha, the woman sitting over at the bar with a blank expression on her face, Steve asked Clint, "How is she?"

    Clint shook his head, "She''s shut herself off. There''s no getting through to her when she''s like this."

    "So, what do we do here?" Tony, "That guy was tearing us apart before Naruto showed up, we''ll need a game plan if we''re going to give him some backup."

    "He won''t need it." The group looked over at Natasha, the woman not bothering to return the favor as she continued, "I told you, he''s stronger than you think. He''ll win."

    -x-

    Slowly, Naruto picked himself up from the ground, sand spilling off his back as he got onto his hands and knees, looking up at the now huffing Desak, the man getting up himself, "We''ve gotta destroy that sword and shield. I mean¡­seriously." He thought.

    "I agree. A shield that absorbs energy and a sword that negates it? Fucking ridiculous."

    "The question is how. Jutsu are all out, and chakra enhanced strength is useless. So''s Nature Chakra, and Six Paths Chakra. My entire arsenal is pretty much gone."

    "There is that."

    Naruto sighed, "No, that''s energy too."

    "True."

    A light bulb went off in Naruto''s head, "Got it!" He said aloud. Pulling up his shirt sleeve, Naruto revealed several seals tattooed to his forearm. With a quick application of chakra, a puff of smoke surrounded Naruto. As a gust of wind blew the smoke away, Naruto''s new weapon was revealed.

    Desak raised an eyebrow at the object in Naruto''s hands, "What a strange weapon." He observed.

    Naruto''s smiled at the man opposite of him, his blood-stained teeth gleaming in the desert sun, "Say hello to Kabutowari, or as its victims knew it by, ''Helmet Splitter.''" The Bluntsword, as it was also known, consisted of a single sided axe that was connected to a massive hammer by a thick leather rope.

    "Hmph, fine." His yellow energy still covering him and his sword and shield, Desak charged at Naruto. His charge was intercepted by two Shadow Clones popping into existence, both wielding a kunai rather than a matching Kabutowari. Quickly dispatching the first, Desak engaged in a quick standoff with the second, the clone using wind to keep his kunai from breaking under the Annihilator''s strange energy. That standoff didn''t last long however, as the clone gave Desak a defiant smirk.

    "Boom." It said.

    BOOM!

    The explosion didn''t seem to faze the God Slayer, the man looking around for the real blonde with his shield and sword at the ready. Left, right, and even behind, the Annihilator looked for his opponent. Catching something from the corner of his vision, Desak looked up quickly to find Naruto coming down on him, the axe half of Kabutowari about to come down on his head. Quickly raising his shield, Desak caught the axe''s blade, the sound of metal slamming into metal ringing across the desert. Naruto didn''t seem to mind the block, if anything his smirk grew bigger.

    "Kiri Blade Technique: Defense Breaker!"

    With a mighty heave, Naruto slammed the hammer half of the weapon on the blunt end of the axe portion.

    The sound of splitting metal and tearing flesh was heard soon after.

    "AUUGH!"

    Green blood sprayed across Naruto''s face, his axes blade having just amputated Desak''s hand at the mid-forearm.

    "Humph!" Naruto grunted, getting a foot to the stomach, sending him rolling back from the now one- handed man.

    Clutching his stumped arm, Desak watched, rage in his eyes, as his precious blood spilled onto the sand below. Looking at what was left of his shield, the Slayer growled as he gazed at the cut in half piece of metal. Sliding it off his arm and throwing the now useless tool to the ground, Desak ground out, "You have no idea how lucky you are that the Other ordered me to bring you in alive."

    Naruto charged forward, thinking to himself as he did, "One down, one to go."

    "Be careful brat, he''s different from before." Kurama warned.

    "Right." Naruto thought back, coming onto Desak as he swung the hammer towards his knee cap. Quickly stepping away from the swing, the man swung his sword at the blonde''s neck, said blonde''s axe coming up to block it with the blunt backside. This kind of exchange continued for some time, with Naruto trying to use Defense Breaker to destroy Desak''s sword, and the Annihilator strategically keeping the axe and hammer as far from each other as possible, this proving difficult with a single hand.

    Finally, Naruto''s combos proved too much for Desak. His hammer coming in for a gut shot, Desak used the flat side of his blade as a guard. Taking advantage of the opening, Naruto swung the axe straight at Desak''s temple.

    Time seemed to slow down, the axe''s blade creeping closer and closer towards Desak''s skull. It never made contact.

    "AUUUUUUUGH!" Desak screamed, a massive amount of energy exploding outwards as he did, sending Naruto flying back from the force of it.

    Naruto, on his back, groaned as he tried to gather himself.

    "Naruto! NARUTO! Get up!" Kurama''s warning came too late.

    "FUUUUUCK!" Naruto screamed in pain, writhing in pain as Desak''s great sword plunged into his stomach, pinning him to the ground in the process. Looking down, Naruto could only widen his eyes in shock at the blood pouring from the gaping wound, the energy surrounding the blade burning his skin like a blow torch.

    Looking up at Desak, the warrior hovering above him, Naruto raised his hand in a rage, "Chidori Spear!" He called out, reaching into his reserves to summon the lightning jutsu.

    Naruto''s eyes somehow managed to widen even further in dread as he looked at his hand, the jutsu never appearing, not even a spark, "Wha¡­what?!"

    "This blade is enchanted to negate any energy it comes into contact with. It was a gift from the very being that gave me my Amulet. While the shield absorbs any kind of energy and converts it to the Amulet in the form of Godly Energy, the sword negates that energy entirely. A handy thing to have against beings who rely on their energy for combat." Desak grumbled, his Godly Energy swirling around him violently, "Look, even that form you took is gone."

    Looking down at himself, Naruto finally realized that his Six Paths Chakra Mode had disappeared, "Kurama?" Naruto thought, "KURAMA?!" He frantically screamed in his mind. And for the first time in a long time, there was no answer.

    "If you''re trying to channel that power, don''t bother. As long as this blade is in contact with you like this, you''re powerless."

    And for the first time in a long time, Naruto felt true fear.

    His mind racing a mile a minute, the blonde tried to think of a way out from under the blade. He had no chakra. He was quickly bleeding out. His strength was leaving him even quicker. Before long, he was gonna pass out from either the pain or from blood loss. He needed to think. Think. Think. THINK.

    But nothing came to him. Eventually, his mind began to slow down. His arms falling to his sides, his eyes drifting up the sky. And as he watched the blue sky, he saw a Quinjet fly overhead, just as patches of darkness began to encroach on his vision.

    He was going to die.

    -x-

    "Oh my God¡­" Even with the mechanical tone to his voice, anyone could hear the shock in Tony''s voice as he looked down at the sight bellow them. Naruto was down, a sword in his gut and Desak standing above him, defeated.

    "Get down there!" Natasha ordered frantically, "We have to save him!"

    Clint didn''t bother answering, having already begun to plunge the Quinjet down to the ground for a landing.

    Steve clipped his helmet on as he ordered, "Stark, Hawkeye, we''re distraction. Widow, you''re extraction. Get Naruto and get him out of here."

    Natasha nodded firmly in response.

    Rogers looked over to Tony, "Any chance Veronica is ready for action?"

    "No, Bruce and I were in the middle of finishing it up when this guy showed up. It''s not battle ready yet."

    "Damn-" Steve was cut off by a violent bought of turbulence, the Quinjet shaking violently, "What the hell''s going on up there?!"

    Clint struggled to keep the jet stable as he shouted, "I don''t know! Something''s going on with Naruto!"

    Steve and Tony quickly walked over to see what Clint was talking about, the two of them shocked to their core at what they saw. Down below, Naruto was covered in a strange purple energy none of them had ever seen before, the force of it sending hurricane level winds their way. The energy rocketed up into the sky, parting any clouds that were in its path, blowing passed the ozone layer on its way.

    "We''ve got to back off!" Tony ordered.

    "WE CAN''T!" Nat screamed back, holding on for dear life as she did.

    "If we don''t we''re dead!"

    Clint struggled with himself for a moment before cursing loudly, "Fuck!" Bringing the controls back, the dead shot pulled the Quinjet away from the ground.

    -x-

    Darkness. That was all Naruto could see when he opened his eyes. But this¡­this was a new kind of dark. This wasn''t like in space where he knew there were countless things there with him in the void. Here though¡­here he felt truly alone. There was no noise. No smell. Nothing. Just him as he floated along in the darkness. And then, echoing against the darkness, the sound of dripping water filled the void.

    Drip

    "Hello?"

    Drip

    "Where¡­am I?"

    Drip

    "¡­Kurama?"

    Drip

    "IS ANYONE HERE?!"

    Drip

    "¡­is this hell?"

    Drip

    "No."

    Naruto jumped as he turned towards the voice that was surprisingly close to him. Forcing himself to turn around he came face to face with what was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her porcelain white skin tone heavily contrasted with the dark void surrounding them, while her obsidian colored hair blended with it almost entirely. Draped around her 5''5 frame was what look like an evening gown made out of the universe itself, the fabric littered with twinkling stars and several clusters of spiraling galaxies.

    Naruto looked into the woman''s deep brown eyes, said orbs seemingly boring into his very soul, "Who are you?" He demanded.

    Taking a step on mid-air, the woman said, "Who do you think I am?"

    "Some kind of god, I''d have to guess." Naruto admitted, taking into mind the powerful presence she gave off.

    "Some have given me that title, yes." The woman said, taking another step forward, "Though I am so much more. Hades, Yama, Anubis, Hela¡­so many have used my name to further themselves. I touch everyone, everywhere." Now only several inches from the blonde Uzumaki, the woman slowly raised her hand, stopping just as it was about to touch Naruto''s cheek, "I am Death."

    Naruto could feel a chill roll down his spine, his voice a whisper as he said, "The Shinigami?"

    Death smiled, "That is one my avatars, yes." Naruto jumped when he felt the woman place her other hand on his stomach, right on the seal that holds back Kurama, "I can feel it, our connection."

    "Connection?"

    "Remnants of my energy helps hold the beast at bay." Death explained, a gentle smile on her face, "I have been with you from the very beginning. You''re such a stubborn boy, so set on avoiding me. And yet, here," Her hand gently rested against his cheek, "I can touch you now." She purred.

    It felt as though someone had dumped a bucket of ice cold water on his face, sweat building along his temple, "I''m dying?"

    "You are."

    "But¡­I can''t. Not yet."

    "Why? Your friends are dead. Your family. Your home. How long do you think this fa?ade you''ve put up will last?" Pressing up against him, she said, "This mask you''ve put up¡­is pathetic. Wise cracking, devil may care. It''s all a fiction."

    Annoyance began to fill Naruto''s mind, though for some reason he couldn''t move away from the beautiful woman, "You don''t know what you''re talking abou-"

    "You don''t know whether you want to move forward or backward. Just that you can''t stand still. You are a man filled with so much that I cannot comprehend. Pain, sorrow¡­you bury your thoughts deep inside. But you can''t hide such things from me. Your mask is useless here."

    Naruto simply stared into the woman''s eyes, his mild blank, incapable of saying a word. After a moment, he felt her hand move up his face, her thumb wiping something away from beneath his eye. It was then that he realized why.

    He was crying.

    And finally, the damn broke. Tears began to flow freely, the woman in front of him pulling him down for a tight embrace. At first, Naruto struggled, choking on his sobs as he did, but soon caved in to the woman, returning the hug with all his might, "I¡­I failed them. I failed them."

    "Yes¡­you did."

    "I miss them¡­I miss them so much it hurts."

    "I know." She soothed, rubbing the back of his scalp.

    His shoulders shook as he whispered, "I just want to see them again."

    They were silent for several moments, nearly five minutes as Naruto began to calm down, his tears having dried up and left streaks down his face, the blonde resting his head on her shoulder.

    Finally, Death broke the silence, "Is that really what you want?"

    "Yes." Naruto answered without hesitation.

    "Then all you have to do is give in to me, my beloved."

    Resting his hands on her shoulders, Naruto parted from Death, "¡­what?"

    "All you have to do, is give in to me. And then¡­and then you will see you precious people again."

    In that moment, Naruto could not help but feel ashamed of himself. Ashamed that he was truly thinking over the offer given to him. Ashamed that he was so close to give up. So close to breaking his nindo. His ninja way.

    "¡­no." Naruto finally answered, his voice a weak whisper, "I want to¡­you have no idea how much I want to. But I can''t. Not yet."

    Death smiled as she looked up at the blonde, "Such a stubborn boy." After a moment of hesitation, Death pushed herself up on her toes, pressing hers and Naruto''s lips together. Separating, she whispered, "Allow me to give you some assistance then."

    And all Naruto could see after was a sharp, never ending light.

    -x-

    "HUUUUGH!" Naruto gasped, his eyes flying upon only to cringe at the sudden intake of light. Looking around, Naruto could feel a vast amount of energy swirling around him. His eyes drifting to the sword that had been embedded in his stomach. Had been being the key word. The blade seemed to have shattered from the sudden burst of turbulent energy, leaving only the piece that was still in his midsection.

    "-uto! NARUTO! Can you hear me?!"

    "Yeah Kurama, I can hear you. You can stop screaming now." Naruto grumbled out loud, turning over to his side with a pained grunt. Taking several breaths in and out to prep himself, Naruto used Magnet Release to pull the blade out, the sound of slicing flesh and flowing blood causing him to flinch, "Fuck that hurts!" He shouted.

    "I''m healing it as fast as I can, but it''s probably gonna scar."

    Slowly standing up, Naruto muttered, "Of course it will."

    "What the hell happened to you brat? You were comatose for like three minutes then all of a sudden you started releasing that weird energy. It stank of death and destruction."

    "I¡­don''t know."

    "You know I can tell when you''re lying brat." Kurama said, an edge to his voice, "I''ll drop it for now, but I expect an explanation. You got that?"

    Deciding to change the subject, Naruto thought, "I think it''s time we use it, Kurama."

    Kurama gave a savage smirk, "It''s about damn time!"

    "I''m gonna need a minute though. You have any idea where Desak is?"

    "Yeah, he''s taking on the Avengers a half mile away."

    "Fuck." Naruto cursed.

    -x-

    "Hawkeye, aim for the eyes! Tony, go for the back! I''ll go for the knees!" Captain America ordered, throwing his trusty shield with all his might into the behemoth of a warrior''s knee cap. As he flung the shield, Clint released several arrows he had notched back and Tony fired a heavy-duty missile from his armor. The arrows were the first to hit, bouncing off the glowing alien''s face worthlessly. Cap''s shield was next, ricocheting of his knee back into the walking propaganda''s arms. The rocket was the last to hit due to the distance between the one that fired it and the target, said target not even taking a step forward as the rocket exploded into his back.

    Scoffing as the smoke parted around Desak, Natasha yelled out, "That energy around him is protecting him! We need something that can penetrate it!"

    "I got just the thing."

    Natasha jumped as she turned towards the voice that appeared next to her, her guns at the ready. Her eyes widened at who she saw, "¡­Naruto?"

    Naruto, his vest and jacket having been taken off leaving him bare chested, said, "Natasha."

    "You¡­I thought¡­" Natasha stuttered, "I thought you were-"

    Naruto gave a gentle smile, "I know. But I''m fine now." Stepping passed her he continued, "You guys gotta get outta here. This is about to get ugly."

    "Uglier than it already is?" Natasha asked.

    "Sadly." Naruto admitted, "I''ve got some clones prepping my next move, but it''s about done. You guys need to leave. Now."

    "Alright, just don''t die¡­again." Natasha finally submitted, giving the blonde one last look as she pressed into her ear piece, "Steve did you hear that?"

    "Every word." Captain said over the radio, "Are you sure about this Widow?"

    Natasha, her eyes still on Naruto, said, "Yeah, if he says we should go, we need to go."

    "Got it. Clint, Tony, we''re making a tactical retreat. Head for the Quinjet."

    Naruto, didn''t bother listening in on their response, stepping toward Desak, the man still incased in his Godly Energy. His stump of a hand seemed to have healed over, leaving an ugly scab where his hand had once been. In his other hand was his battle axe, the weapon prepped to go as he looked at the blonde, "Welcome back, Maelstrom."

    Naruto gave Desak a questioning look, "What, no more calling me a Celestial?" He asked, looking around the area to make sure Natasha and the others were retreating.

    "No, you''ve proven to me you aren''t one. There''s no point in giving you such a title. It''s disappointing."

    "Yeah, you''ve been picking me apart this whole fight. From your weapons that negate my abilities, to your overwhelming power, you''re the most powerful person I''ve fought in a long time. But now, all you got is that power." Naruto said, watching from the corner of his eye as the Quinjet lifted off the ground.

    "This power is the energy I''ve absorbed from centuries of combatting beings who called themselves gods. Beings like the Asgardians that frequent this planet. I have more power in the hand you cut off than that pathetic form you took on."

    "Yeah, I noticed that. If I''m being honest with myself, it''s very impressive. I took on a primordial god in that form after all. So, I guess I''ll have to try something new." Naruto said, his face filled with concentration. Feeling one of the clones'' memories flood his brain, he closed his eyes in concentration. Feeling the energy his clone had gathered entering his body, Naruto breathed through his nose as power filled his body to the brim. Slowly, he opened his eyes, revealing they had turned into a dark purple, with the area around his eyes taking on a golden hue, with a matching dot in the center of his forehead.

    Raising his hands, Naruto gave them a testing flex, "I call this Cosmic Sage Mode."

    Desak looked at Naruto in clear shock, "How are you able to use that power? Are the rumors of you being a Herald true?"

    Naruto suddenly disappeared, the sand beneath him not even shifting after his sudden burst of speed. Desak didn''t even have time to register he''d moved, not before he found a fist slamming into his face. A sonic boom reverberated off the blow, pushing the two back from each other. Naruto landed on his feet after a quick flip. Desak hit the ground on his face, his body burying itself in a desert dune. Said dune exploded as the Annihilator zoomed into Naruto''s comfort zone, the man now enveloped in even more energy. Naruto didn''t seem to care, too busy looking up at the man as he tried to drive his raised axe down on his head.

    CLANG!

    Desak looked down at the blonde underneath him, his eyes scrunched up in disbelief.

    Standing there, a single arm raised up, was Naruto. And in his hand was Desak''s axe, the blonde having caught it in his hand by the blade.

    "What?"

    With a twitch of his hand, Naruto snapped the axe''s blade head in half, rendering the weapon useless. Jumping back, Naruto quickly applying wind chakra to the blade. Seeing that it took to the energy like any other chakra blade, the blonde said, "Just like I thought. The shield absorbs energy, the sword negates energy, and the axe channels energy. A veryeffective trio." Tossing the blade like a frisby, Naruto smirked in satisfaction when the wind covered blade flew into Desak''s shoulder, flying through his body like a bullet, "I took you on assuming I had the advantage with all my different abilities. That almost got me killed."

    "Even without my weapons, I can still kill you. I''ve only tapped into half of my energy."

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "Of course." He said sarcastically. Bursting forward, Naruto engaged the berserker in combat, each connecting punch, kick, knee, and elbow sending small shock waves throughout the desert plain.

    Naruto smirked as he thought, "He''s landed three solid hits on me and I barely felt a thing! This is awesome!"

    "This form will only last for ten more minutes brat, don''t waste it." Kurama warned.

    "Right." Naruto thought back, "Chidori!" He screamed, a bundle of purple lightning surrounding his hand.

    Desak didn''t have the speed to swat away the attack, allowing Naruto''s hand to plunge into his already wounded shoulder. Desak didn''t even give a grimace, grabbing ahold of Naruto''s forearm in a vice grip to keep him in place.

    Quickly building up his energy, the God Slayer began to rain down blow after blow on Naruto, the blonde doing his best to deflect as many of the strikes as possible. But only being one handed proved too much of a handy cap for the Annihilator, the blonde dodging Desak''s kicks and elbows with a surprising amount of swiftness. Slapping away one of said elbows, Naruto took advantage of the opening by bringing upon a barrage of punches of his own, each more punishing than the last.

    Bringing his fist back, Naruto began to gather Cosmic Energy into his hand. The closed fist now engulfed in a strange purple and yellow glow, Naruto gave a mighty battle cry as he plowed it into Desak''s face, sending the giant man flying away from him. Gathering more energy around both fists, Naruto pointed in the still flying Desak''s direction. Letting loose, the blonde fired twin energy blasts at the Annihilator.

    Desak, feeling the attack coming his way, fired his own energy beam into the other two, enveloping and overwhelming them both, causing a massive explosion to erupt from the standoff.

    But before Desak could right himself, Naruto appeared above him, "Cosmic Release: Rasenshuriken!" Slamming the purple and yellow colored Rasenshuriken into Desak''s chest, the Naruto clone smirked in satisfaction as it exploded, causing him to pop out of existence.

    Naruto nodded as he felt the memories come back to him, all while he felt the power of Cosmic Sage Mode leave him. Nearly dropping to his knees in exhaustion, the ninja quickly created a Shadow Clone, only for it to pop and tell the other clone a mile away that he needed a hit. Still breathing heavy as the energy re-entered his body, Naruto thought, "That''s the last clone, I''ll have to make another one-"

    "No Naruto! This form takes more out of you than we thought! Your body can only take so many hits at a time, and that''s when you''re at your maximum. If you try and enter Cosmic Sage Mode for a third time, you might not be able to handle it."

    "Well shit." Naruto thought, "I guess I''ll have to end it here the-"

    Naruto''s thoughts were interrupted by an explosion of energy, the shock wave shaking the ground enough for Naruto to almost loose his balance, "Holy shit! I''m sure half the fucking planet felt that one!"

    Yellow energy rocketed towards the sky, with a mighty roar accompanying it, stepping out of the crater his body had once been lying in, Desak skulked out with murder in his eyes, his teeth gritting to the point they were about to snap, each step cracking the stone and parting the sand beneath them.

    The blonde saw the next attack coming, barely able to bend down to avoid the mighty back hand, and just agile enough to back flip away in time to avoid the incoming axe kick. Quickly finding himself on the defensive, Naruto eyed the necklace around Desak''s neck, the gem glowing fiercely as he thought, "I gotta destroy that gem around his neck, that''s gotta be the source of his power!"

    He wasn''t able to come up with a plan though, his attention forced on Desak, the man putting all his effort into landing a brutal blow. Knowing he didn''t have time to dance around, Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed.

    "Sage Art: Earth Release: Rushing Stampede!" Naruto called out, slamming his hand on the formation next to him. The formation quickly broke up into several large pieces, each one floating in the air for a few seconds before blasting off towards the seething Desak.

    Energy practically leaking from his eyes, Desak countered with a large beam of energy firing off from his eyes, turning each piece of rock into rubble.

    Trying to take a step forward, he frowned when he felt something thick wrap around his legs. Looking down, he scowled as a thick tendril of sand began to creep up his legs. Looking to Naruto, he saw that the blonde had a look of absolute concentration on his face, his arms raised up above his head, "This won''t hold me, boy."

    "I know." Naruto admitted, "I don''t need it to hold you though." Several clones popped into existence, using Magnet release to hover into the air as they began to add into the big Rasengan that had begun to form above the original.

    "Just distract you."

    Desak blinked when he heard the blonde''s voice right next to his ear, just before he felt a pair of arms wrap him in a full nelson and a pair of legs lock around his waist, "Sage Art: Earth Release: Weighted Boulder Jutsu!"

    The Annihilator''s eyes widened in shock as what felt like the weight of the planet itself rested on his shoulders. The added weight brought him down to his waste in the sand, though the pesky grains of earth seemed to be doing its best to keep him up as much as possible. Pointing his rage at the Naruto in front of him he demanded, "What have you done to me boy?!"

    "Just a little jutsu that weighs you down. It takes a lot outta me to use since Earth Release is my worst element, but it''s good enough to hold you down for a couple minutes." The clone holding him explained, the real Naruto too busy forming his attack to answer, "You almost done over there?"

    "Yeah¡­I''m done." Naruto grunted, sweat pouring down his face, "Cosmic Release: Galactic Rasengan!" Looking up at the attack, Naruto couldn''t help but smirk. In the center was a massive Rasengan, the spiraling purple orb swirling at tremendous speeds. And rotating close to the center Rasengan was a cluster of elemental Rasengans, nine in total to be exact, each one using a Tailed Beasts'' respective element.

    Desak could only watch as the attack finally took shape, a look of astonishment on his face. Quickly realizing the danger of the attack in front of him, Desak dug into the lowest depths of his power. His veins pulsing and his muscles flexing from exertion, the Slayer finally let loose his power. His skin began to crack and peel as the Godly Energy began to seep from his every pore, the entirety of his eyes now a glowing yellow. The Naruto clone began to struggle against the enraged monster in his grasp, his eyes shut tight as he tried to hold him for just a moment longer.

    Knowing he only had seconds before Desak escaped and his Cosmic Energy left him, Naruto hurled the massive attack at what was now a pillar of energy.

    BOOM!

    -x-

    The Avengers covered their eyes from the light the attack''s explosion gave off. Even from over ten miles away, the four felt the Quinjet shake violently from the aftershock.

    His eyes still squinted shut, Stark asked, "Was that our guy or the other guy?"

    "Ours I hope." Clint answered, fighting against the controls as he tried to pilot the ship higher in the air to avoid any more of what was going on bellow, "That was like an atomic bomb went off or something."

    "He''s lucky there aren''t any villages nearby." Rogers said, blinking away the spots that were now littering his vision, "That explosion could take out a city, just image a little colony of villages."

    "The world government isn''t going to like this, not at all." Natasha said, worry dripping into her voice ever so slightly.

    "They''ll get over it." Tony said.

    -x-

    As the smoke and dust began to settle, Naruto felt the last of his Cosmic Energy leave him. Dropping down to his hands and knees, Naruto had to fight to catch his breath. His arms and legs wobbling like jelly, it took all his might not to fall down all together.

    "¡­He''s still alive brat."

    "Yeah," Naruto said in between breaths, "I know."

    Stepping through the cloud of smoke and falling sand, Desak walked out of the crater Naruto had created. His armor was practically nonexistent, with only his shredded pants and dinged up leg guards keeping him from being completely nude. His body was littered with cracks, blood seeping from them at a steady stream, dripping to the sand beneath him. His Godly Energy no longer surrounding him, the blonde could tell that he was on his last leg. As Desak began to stumble over to the downed Naruto, the ninja could see that the gem around his neck was heavily cracked, steam leaking off the stone.

    "You damaged my Amulet. Never in all the time I''ve served under the Designate has that happened. It almost shattered from the power of that attack. She will surely punish me for my weakness."

    Naruto grimaced a he looked up, "Why won''t you just die already?"

    "You almost succeeded in that endeavor, boy. But, it seems that you can''t go on any longer." Kicking Naruto in the stomach, he sent the blonde to the ground, "I no longer care what Thanos wants. I''m killing you today. Here and now. Prey to your gods, boy, because you''ll be visiting them soon."

    Crying out in pain, Naruto could barely move as the man got on top of him. Feeling his thick hands wrap around his throat, the blonde began to struggle against the God Slayer with what was left of his energy. Desak didn''t let the punches and knees to the groin affect him, pressing his thumbs against Naruto''s wind pipe, putting all his left-over strength into it choking the warrior below him to death.

    "Gaghk!" Naruto gasped out, quickly feeling his air way cave in around Desak''s fingers. And when it felt as though he was about to suffocate, a smirk spread across his face.

    POOF!

    Desak blinked in astonishment as the blonde underneath him exploded in a puff of smoke.

    "Wha-"

    Desak was cut off mid-word when a hand burst from the sand below, said appendage covered in screaming lightning.

    The sound of flesh tearing filled Desak''s ears, the man looking down to see that the hand had pierced thought the Amulet''s gem, blasting through it into the Annihilator''s chest cavity, right where his heart was.

    Looking into the eyes of exhausted looking blonde, he could only listen as the ninja whispered, "¡­die."

    And so he did.

    Collapsing lifelessly against Naruto''s hand, the blonde quickly heaved him over so that he didn''t land on top of him. Pulling himself out of the sand, Naruto barely made it out before he fell face first to the ground. Cursing, he looked up when he heard the sound of a jet engine above him.

    "Just rest Naruto. You deserve it." Kurama said with pride.

    "¡­no, I don''t." Naruto muttered. His eyes fluttering shut, he tried to fight off the need to pass out for as long as he could. And as darkness slowly encroached on his vision, he heard a voice scream his name. And as Natasha blurred into view, a smile spread across his face as consciousness left him.

 19 The power of human sacrifice

    Doctor Helen Cho walked briskly through the hallways of Avengers Tower''s 33rd floor, or more specifically the Medical Bay, her heels clicking against the tiled floor aggressively as she hurried into Room 3B. Sliding the clear door open, she walked into the room to find her patient on his feet, staring out the window into the lit-up city skyline. Helen quickly forced herself to look away from the man''s nude backside, his ass hanging out from the partially open seam of his hospital gown.

    "Ahem." Doctor Cho coughed out loudly to get the blonde''s attention.

    Looking over his shoulder, Naruto gave the woman a once over. At first confused as to why the doctor was averting eye contact with him, he then felt a slight draft from behind. Looking down, a blush decorated his face as he quickly closed the seam with his hand, turning his back away from her as he did, "I am so sorry."

    Cho, relieved that the blonde had turned to face her, said, "That''s alright, Mr. Uzumaki. It happens a lot more often than you''d think."

    Forcing down his embarrassment, Naruto asked, "Where am I exactly? I know I''m in Manhattan, but did SHIELD set up a new base while I was gone or something?"

    "I''m afraid that SHIELD has been disbanded by the government." Helen informed, "This is Avengers Tower. I came here when I saw that the weighted alarm to your bed went off when you got up." The doctor then gave Naruto a once over of her own, "You shouldn''t be moving around right now. At all."

    Naruto managed to hide his shock at the fact that SHIELD had been disbanded, only giving a slight widening of the eyes, before saying, "Yeah well, a few scratches and scrapes can''t keep me down for long."

    "Three broken ribs, with your left lung punctured, a fractured jaw, nose broken in three places, major brain damage, and one twisted ankle." Helen listed off, "That''s what you came in here with. In three hours however, your ribs, jaw, nose, and ankle had all mended back into place. In four, your lung had healed itself. And in five, the massive amount of brain damage you''d attained was gone as though it had never been there. Like I said, you shouldn''t be moving. You should be dead."

    "Like I said, scratches and scrapes." Naruto said, though in the back of his mind he thought, "Thanks, Kurama."

    "That woman isn''t overexaggerating brat. If it weren''t for me, you''d be dead. Again." Kurama scolded.

    "I said thanks Kurama, what do you want fro-"

    "What I want is for you to ignore that other voice in your head. The one that''s gonna tell you to go do something stupid like train or fight someone even stronger than the guy you just fought. What I want, is for you to once in your life relax."

    Naruto felt an argument brewing, but at the last second stopped himself. Giving a mental sigh, Naruto thought, "Fine."

    Helen, her face twisted in confusion with a raised eyebrow, watched as the blonde in front of her seemed to have a conversation with himself, saying to herself, "Maybe I was wrong about the brain damage."

    Hearing the woman''s comment under her breath, Naruto said sheepishly, "Sorry about that¡­" Looking to her nametag he continued, "Helen. Just a little weird being back here after so long."

    Nodding, Helen said, "Well, allow me to inform Mr. Stark that you''re awake. I''m sure they''d all like to see you."

    "Yeah." Looking down, a thought came to him, "Hey could you get me some clothes?"

    -x-

    Naruto looked down at the bundle of clothes Helen had given him, a look of slight trepidation on his face as asked, "Where did you get these, exactly?"

    "These belong to Captain Rogers, Mr. Stark said he wouldn''t mind you borrowing them." Helen said as she handed them to him.

    "Mr. Stark said huh." Naruto said as he took the clothes and shoes. Setting them to the side, Naruto looked to Dr. Cho when she didn''t leave the room, "Do you still need something?"

    "A quick physical examination actually." Cho answered.

    "Okay well¡­can I get some privacy first?"

    Quickly realizing her mistake, Helen meekly said, "Oh, of course! My apologies." Turning her back to him, Cho waited patiently for the man to change into the clothes she''d given him.

    "Aren''t you going to leave the room?"

    "I was told to stay with you to make sure you don''t try and run off." Cho admitted.

    Naruto sighed, "Whoever told you that clearly forgot I can teleport." Taking off the gown, Naruto quickly put on the pair of brown dress pants, quickly noting they were a size too big.

    "You can teleport?" Cho asked, a tinge of curiosity in her voice.

    "Yep." Naruto answered, slipping on the matching leather loafers.

    "Interesting. I''d seen the footage from when you fought in the Incident, but I never would''ve expected you could teleport as well."

    "The Incident?" Naruto asked as he put on the white wife beater, the loose shirt hanging down his torso.

    The doctor nodded, "That''s what the government and media call the attack on New York. Supposedly, they feel it makes it easier for the public to swallow the fact that we''d been invaded by an army of aliens through a portal in the sky."

    Buttoning up the plaid shirt, Naruto thought out loud, "I gotta get caught up on what I missed. I hate being out of the loop like this."

    "Well I can help you with that."

    Looking over to the doorway, Naruto grinned when he saw who had spoken up, "Tony!" He greeted with a smile on his face.

    "How''s it going kid?" Tony asked as he walked into the room, hands in his pockets as he strolled over to the blonde, "I didn''t think you''d be walking around so soon."

    Naruto gave a small chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head, "So people keep telling me."

    Looking to Cho, Tony asked, "How''s he doing, really?"

    "I was about to start my physical examination." Helen answered, "But, at the moment, he seems to be doing well."

    Tony gave an excited clap, "You hear that kid? The doctor says you''re fine." Wrapping an arm around the ninja''s shoulder, he began to drag him out of the room.

    "Uh, excuse me!" Cho said, following after the two in bewilderment, "Excuse me Mr. Stark, but I haven''t given my exam yet! And even then, he shouldn''t be walking around. He needs rest."

    "Don''t worry doctor, I''ll take it easy on him." Stark said, not bothering to look back as he dragged the blonde down the hall and into the elevator. Taking his arm off the man, Tony pressed the button with an A on it. With a hum and slight jerk, the elevator began to lift up. Walking to the other side of the small compartment, he looked to Naruto, "So how long''s it been kid, three years?"

    "What''s the date?" Naruto asked.

    "March 23rd, 2015." Stark answered.

    Naruto gave a quick chuckle, "Heh, yeah almost."

    "What were you doing all this time?" Tony asked, looking Naruto up and down, "You look¡­different."

    The ninja smiled, "Thanks." Giving Tony a look of his own, his smile grew, "You don''t."

    Tony gave an offended look, "I''m hurt you haven''t noticed yet kid."

    "Noticed what? The extra set of wrinkles on your forehead? ''Cause I was trying to be polite and not bring it up."

    "What? No¡­no!" Tapping his chest, he irritably said, "Look! What''s missing?"

    The wheels in Naruto''s head turned for several seconds as he tried to piece it together. Finally, realization hit him, "Holy shit, you got rid of that lightbulb in your chest?"

    "Thank you!" Stark said, motioning his hand towards Naruto in appreciation.

    "When did that happen?" Naruto asked.

    "About two years ago." Tony answered, "I got rid of the Reactor and all of my armor when I retired."

    "Retired?" Naruto questioned, "But I saw you all suited up fighting Desak."

    "Well, after SHIELD fell I had to step back into the suit for a bit. At least until Cap and Natasha get everything under control."

    "And how exactly did SHIELD fall?" Naruto asked.

    Tony''s answer was interrupted by the sound of a ding indicating they''d reached their destination, the elevator doors swinging open to reveal Maria Colson on the other side, "Naruto." She greeted with a nod of the head.

    "Agent Hill." Naruto said back.

    Stepping aside to allow the two passed, Maria said, "I''m not an agent anymore, just Hill."

    "Right." Naruto said slowly.

    "Follow me, the others are waiting for us in the debriefing room." Maria said, leading the two through the hallway as she did.

    "So, who''s all here?" Naruto asked.

    "Captain Rogers, Clint, Natasha, and Banner."

    "What about Fury?" Naruto asked, "I get Thor not being here with all his duties, but I figured Fury would be all over this."

    It was Tony that answered, though from his facial expression he didn''t really know how to go about it, "¡­The thing is." He started, trying to form the right words together, "You remember when I told you SHIELD was disbanded?"

    "Yeah?"

    "Well, part of it is because Fury was, well¡­assassinated." Tony waited for a response from Naruto, looking at him expectantly. After several seconds of no response, the man asked worriedly, "You okay there kid?"

    But little did Tony know that Naruto was busy trying to see if the man in front of him was lying. Finally, to his shock, he concluded that Tony was telling the truth. Eying Maria, he said lowly, "I''m sorry for your loss."

    Maria kept her eyes forward as she said, "Thank you. It''s weird but, a lot of the time it feels like he''s still with us. Like it never happened."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow at the woman, but never the less said, "Still, I know how close you two were."

    Reaching the end of the hallway, Maria pushed the door open, holding it to allow the two men inside. Naruto was barely inside the room when he felt someone wrap their arm around him in a tight, almost painful, hug, "It''s good to see you man!" He heard Clint shout into his ear, releasing his bearhug the man stepped back, "Welcome back!"

    Naruto grinned, "It''s good to be back."

    Sitting down in one of several chairs surrounding the table in the middle of the room, Captain Steve Rogers asked, "Are those my clothes?"

    Looking down at himself and then to Rogers, Naruto was about to answer when Tony interrupted him, "Oh, yeah uh, Doctor Cho took those. I tried to stop her but she wouldn''t listen."

    "What''re you talking about Tony, I saw you take those out of Steve''s room." Bruce said from Roger''s left, oblivious to Tony warning looks.

    "Really?" Tony asked as he avoided Roger''s annoyed gaze, "Seven PHD''s and none of them helped you navigate this situation?"

    Banner looked at Tony in bewilderment, "What?" He asked naively.

    Naruto ignored the banter between the three, his attention solely on one aspect of the room. Sitting there, in the corner of the room, was Natasha, uncharacteristically withdrawn into herself, avoiding his gaze all the while.

    Realizing that the room had become quiet, the man looked around to see that everyone in the room was looking at him warily, clearly waiting for his next move. Eyeing Natasha one last time, Naruto silently sat down, looking to Tony and Steve who were now both in front of the projector screen.

    Stark, wishing to shift the subject quickly, said, "Well uh, let''s get started then." He said with a firm clap of his hands before reaching a hand into his pocket to pull out his phone. After a couple seconds of tapping on the screen, the projector turned on, starting the slide show.

    "And what are we getting started on, exactly?" Bruce asked from his seat, turning his attention to the two leaders of the group.

    Tony gave a wishy-washy gesture, "A debriefing more or less."

    Steve stepped up, "Naruto''s been gone a while, so Tony and I felt it would be beneficial for everyone if we gave him a quick overview of the past three years."

    "No, I understand that. I just don''t understand why we''re all here for this. At least on my part. This is only the second time the two of us have meet in three years. Ignoring what I was told about him by all of you, I don''t know the man." Bruce said, looking to Natasha for a split second before he continued, "And I''m sure there are some of us who have things we need to do that are a little more important than a simple debriefing."

    Tony, along with everyone else in the room, realized what Bruce was trying to get at, "Okay, if anyone feels they''re not needed, you''re free to leave."

    Bruce nodded a few times before awkwardly getting up, nodding to Naruto as he headed for the exit. In the doorway, the man looked to Natasha expectantly.

    The woman met Banner''s gaze for a moment, before turning her eyes to Tony, "I''m staying." She said with surprising firmness.

    Looking back and forth from Naruto, to Bruce, to Natasha, Steve finally spoke, "Let''s get started then. Dr. Banner, if you wouldn''t mind closing the door?"

    -x-

    BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE-

    Creaking his eyes open, Jason slapped his hand on the alarm, groaning as he did. Getting up, the man made his way to the bathroom, walking over towards the mirror to inspect his bedhead. Sighing at the sight of his disheveled blonde hair, the man turned on the sink, cupped the descending water into his hands, and then splashed the liquid onto his scalp. Running a comb through his thick hair, the man silently brushed it into a more acceptable look. Grabbing his toothbrush, he placed the small cleaning utensil underneath the still running sink. Squirting a small dollop of toothpaste onto the head of the brush, the man stuck it into his mouth.

    Feeling a pair of hands run up his chest, Jason smiled as he turned to see his wife looking up at him, her appearance as unkempt as his had been.

    "Morning." She said, her voice as smooth as crystal.

    Rotating so he was facing her, Jason asked, "The kids awake?"

    Nodding, she answered, "Ashley''s making breakfast now." Giving him a quick peck, she finished, "Eggs and toast."

    Hitting back with a peck of his own, he said, "Did I ever thank you for hiring that woman?"

    "Five times."

    "Well make it six."

    Walking passed her husband, she reached for her own toothbrush, "Go on downstairs, before the kids leave for the bus."

    "Right, right." Walking out of the bathroom, Jason snagged his robe as he crossed his bedroom, his bare feet padding against the wooden floor. Exiting the room, the blonde-haired man crossed the extensive hallway before heading down the spiraling staircase that connected the first two floors of his estate. Calmly walking into the back of the manor, Jason found himself in the vast kitchen, his recently hired maid standing in front of the oven, a skillet in hand as she cooked a fresh batch of eggs.

    "Ashley." Jason greeted.

    Ashley, a raven-haired woman in her late twenties, turned to her boss with a kind smile, "Hello Mr. Cartwright."

    Looking around the kitchen, Jason asked, "Where''s Julia and Dominic?"

    "They left for the bus."

    "Already?" Jason asked.

    The maid nodded, "Must''ve come early today sir." She said dismissively. Walking over to the cupboard, the woman took out a pair of plates, setting them down next to the stove, "How many scoops?"

    "Two will be fine Ashley, thank you." Jason answered. Smiling gratefully as the woman set the plate full of eggs down on the table, he spoke again as she began to butter the toast, "I can do that, why don''t you go make sure the kids got on the bus?"

    Handing the toast and buttering knife to the man, Ashley nodded, "Of course sir."

    The sound of metal grating against toasted bread filled the kitchen for a moment before Jason set the utensil to the side. Stabbing his fork into the eggs, the blonde quickly took a bite. After a quick set of testing chews, Jason''s eyes rolled up as he moaned.

    "Good?"

    Turning to see his wife entering the kitchen with her usual business suit on, Jason answered, "Seven. I''m gonna have to thank you seven times Gloria."

    Gloria smirked, "So, what''s the plan for today?"

    "You know, I actually don''t kno-"

    Jason''s was interrupted by the sound of the home phone going off. Though it wasn''t the brash ringing that brought an unusual kind of silence into the room. It was the number displayed on the handset. Getting up from his seat, the head of the household picked up the phone as he pressed the answer button, bringing the device to his ear as he spoke, his voice nearly cracking, "Yes?"

    At first, all Jason heard was another person''s breathing. Finally, a familiar voice came through, "Brooklyn. 242 Dekalb Avenue. A bar called Alibi. Two hours."

    "Alright." Jason replied. Hearing the click that signified the man on the other end had hung up, he sat the phone down on its dock.

    "Was that-"

    "Work. Yeah."

    Gloria knew better than to go any further, she brushed off her husband''s shift in attitude, "I have to go." Kissing her husband on the crown of his head, the woman whispered, "Be safe."

    "You don''t have to worry about me." Jason whispered back.

    -x-

    Naruto, resting in the conference room chair, looked back and forth between the four others in the room, "I¡­honestly don''t know what to say to all that. In nearly three years, Tony retired from the ''business'' only to come back a year later, Thor saved the planet from a guy who''s name I don''t remember, SHIELD has been disbanded, Loki''s Scepter has been taken by Hydra, and Director Fury has been killed in action." Eying Steve, who had a look of guilt on his face, he continued, "Something I have a hard time believing, due to my history with the man. No offense." The last bit he said to Maria.

    "So, you think we''re lying?" She asked.

    The blonde shook his head, "No, I''m just saying that I wouldn''t put it passed the greatest spy on the planet to put one over us like this, that''s all. Am I the only one?"

    Tony raised his hand, "I''d like to add that Bruce and I are on the same boat, as far as Fury possibly still 007in'' somewhere."

    Maria pinched the bridge of her nose in agitation, "Can we move on please, there''s still the other half of the debriefing."

    "Other half?" Naruto asked, a confused look on his face.

    Tony''s face matched his, "Well uh, yeah? We thought you''d tell us what you''ve been up to the past few years. Tit for tat."

    Naruto sighed, "Well, what do you want to know?"

    "Where did you go, when you left?"

    The blonde turned over to his shoulder to look at the one that spoke, eyeing Natasha as he said, "My home planet."

    That shut everyone up.

    "You¡­you went back to your planet?" Natasha asked.

    Naruto nodded.

    "Well?" Maria half asked, half demanded.

    Closing his eyes, Naruto released a long breath before calmly replying, "After the invasion, I used the Tesseract to get to my home planet."

    When the blonde paused for a second, Tony began to say, "Wha-"

    "I guess the easiest way to say it is that I''m the last of my kind."

    Once again, the room grew silent. That silence lasted barely a minute before it was ended by the screeching of a chair''s legs rubbing roughly against the floor. Opening his eyes, Naruto watched as Natasha practically rushed out of the room.

    Getting up from his chair, Naruto scratched the back of his head, "After that, abridged version, I met some space pirates, helped a criminal wanted by a galactic empire, ended a war that had lasted for a thousand years between two rival empires, assisted in the assembly of a motley crew of space Avengers, and saved a planet." Walking towards the door, he said, "Anything else? No? Great."

    "Hey, Naruto! Where''re you going?" Tony asked.

    "I''ll be around Tony, call me!" His disembodied voice called out from the hall.

    Maria sighed, "Does he even have a phone?"

    "I don''t think so."

    "Of course."

    In the seal, Kurama rolled his eyes as he felt his container try and follow the red headed woman, "What are you doing Naruto? Just let her go."

    "No."

    "Don''t be stubborn brat. She''s not worth the effo-"

    "There''s nothing you can say that''ll change my mind Kurama. So don''t bother."

    Naruto could feel the scoff coming off the beast, "Just don''t do anything stupid."

    "I''m not going to hurt her."

    "That''s not what I''m saying."

    As he entered the elevator, Naruto closed his eyes as he allowed Nature Chakra to enter his system. Taking much longer than necessary to gather the required amount due to the lack of nature around him, Naruto was finally able to stretch out his senses enough to pick up on the woman. Hitting the button that would send him two floors below, Naruto waited patiently as the box began to descend.

    "So, what''s the game plan?" After a second Kurama continued, "After your talk with the red wench."

    Naruto shrugged, "There''s someone I need to see, after that I guess I''ll see where the wind takes me. Maybe look into all that SHIELD information that got leaked. See if there''s anything I can find about the second Stone, that and Loki''s Scepter."

    "Why the stick?"

    "If you didn''t take such long naps you''d have been present when Gamora told us that the Big Purple gave Loki the scepter to assist him in his invasion of Earth."

    "And?"

    "And, the scepter had a little gem in it." Naruto hinted.

    After a few seconds of thought, Kurama''s voice echoed through Naruto''s head, "Ooohhh."

    "Exactly. The little shit was carrying around an Infinity Stone and didn''t even know it."

    "What an asshole."

    Naruto chuckled, "I know, right? Thank the Sage he''s dead."

    "How do you know he didn''t just trick the thunder man? He''s been prone to do it before apparently."

    "Time will tell my friend, time will tell." Naruto grumbled out loud, walking out of the elevator as it came to a stop. His walk, at first firm and brisk, began to slow ever so surely as he closed in on his destination. Reaching the door acted as a barrier between him and the woman he once claimed to love, the blonde took an almost shaky breath in as he knocked on the door. When no answer came, he knocked again, harder this time. Again, no answer. As he was about to tap on the door a third time, a voice halted the action in mid-swing.

    "What?" Natasha''s muffled voice called through the door.

    Even with a door between them, the blonde could hear the irritability in her voice, "It''s me¡­Nat."

    The blonde waited several seconds for the woman to respond. Rubbing his face in anticipation, Naruto was about to speak again when the sound of a lock unlatching echoed through the barrier between them. Slowly, the door creaked open, Natasha''s face peeking through, almost as though to confirm it was in fact the blonde standing in front of her.

    "Can I come in?"

    The blonde could see the trepidation on her face, "Naru-"

    "Please." He insisted.

    The red head looked into the man''s eyes for a moment, an internal argument taking place as she did. Finally, the door swung open completely, signifying for the blonde to enter as she trekked back in. Walking forward, he followed the woman as she made her way into her living room. Watching her, Naruto raised an eyebrow as she neglected to take a seat, instead burrowing herself into the corner of the room, almost as though to get as far away from him as possible, grabbing the glass of wine that was on the coffee stand as she did.

    Feeling that sitting down would only make things even more awkward, Naruto decided to stand as well. Roaming his eyes over Natasha''s form, the shinobi finally took stock of her appearance. Her hair was relatively the same, maybe a bit shorter, and she was wearing clothes that seemed a little too unfamiliar for the usually uniform donning assassin, consisting of a loose tan cotton plaid shirt that went passed her hips, tight black leggings, and grey high-top shoes. But the most prominent part of her appearance, to Naruto, were her eyes.

    They were red.

    "Why are you here, Naruto?" She asked. The man held back a sigh as he watched her put up her mental defenses, her coy mask exactly what it was. A mask.

    "We need to talk, about what happened."

    The woman took a sip of her wine, the blonde recognizing it as a technique to give her time to think. Removing the glass from her lips, she answered, "If that''s why you''re here, then we both know where this is going to go. So, just get it over with." Putting the glass down with a bit too much force, the red liquid spilling out over the lip of the cup, she continued, "I deserve everything you''re going to say. Don''t bother holding back."

    Naruto''s chuckle lacked any real humor, "Is that really what you think I''m here for? To yell at you?"

    "Why wouldn''t you?" She asked, her voice almost pleading, "I told you, I deserve it."

    The warrior shrugged, "Probably."

    The woman waited before demanding, "Well?"

    "What do you want me to say, Nat?"

    Anger seeped onto her face, "Don''t call me that."

    "Why?" He asked.

    "How many time do I have to tell you to get it over with?"

    "If you tell me what you want me to say, I''ll say it."

    "Why are you acting this way? After everything I''ve done?!" She screamed.

    Naruto kept calm, "You know why, Nat."

    "Don''t call me that!" She repeated, her voice ringing through the room.

    "Why not?!" Naruto screamed back, his own mask finally cracking.

    "Because I don''t deserve it!" She cried, "That name was back then. Back when you loved me! Back when I didn''t feel this way! That name was back when I hadn''t hurt you." She finished, whispering the last sentence. Tears had begun to build, shocking the blonde as he realized he''d never seen her cry in all the time he''d spent with her.

    Forcing his mask back into place, Naruto asked again, "What do you want me to say?"

    It was then that the dam finally broken, "I want you to say you hate me. I¡­I want you to say it was my fault. That it was my fault that everyone you love is dead. That I broke your trust...that I broke your heart. I want you to tell me I''m a witch, a whore, a piece of human garbage! I want you to hit me. I want you to return the pain I put onto you, onto me." As she went on, she broke down more and more, her cries turning into sobs, her tears streaming down her face unabated, her hand covering her mouth as she tried to collect herself enough to finish, "I want¡­I want you to forgive me. I want things to go back to the way they were. I want you to love me." By now, her eyes were closed, trying with all her might to restrain the liquid from leaking any further.

    She jumped violently as she felt a pair of arms begin to wrap around her. Looking up, she saw that Naruto was looking down at her, his eyes full of pain as he held her tight. Suddenly, she began to fight against him, trying to pry him off of her. But he held tight, keeping her in his arms as the woman tried to break from his grasp out of instinct. That instinct quickly melted away however as the feeling of his warm body holding her once again only seemed to break her down even further, forcing the man to practically catch her as she nearly collapsed in his arms, the two of them gradually sitting on the floor simultaneously, her head resting on his chest as she cried for the first time in decades.

    Gently, Naruto began to run his hands through her hair, ignoring the wet puddle that had begun to form on his chest as he said softly, "It wasn''t your fault." Feeling her sobs begin to slow after hearing those words, he continued, "When Sasuke saved me, he used a portal that uses the aspects of both time and space. In his rush to save me, he used a technique he had practically no control over. The portal didn''t just connect my world with a random aspect of space, but a random aspect of time as well. He sent me to Earth¡­76 years into the future."

    "That doesn''t cha-"

    "It doesn''t change the fact that you used and betrayed me. It doesn''t change how much you hurt me. It doesn''t change the fact that I can''t forgive you for it. It doesn''t change the fact that you were the first woman I ever loved." Naruto said, his voice hollow, "But you''re not the reason that my people are gone. That I''ll never get to see the people I love ever again. That I''ll never get to say the things I wanted to say after the war. That I''ll never get to have the reunion with my team that I wanted. All that went out the window the second I entered this planet''s atmosphere. I could''ve gone back as soon as I left, and it wouldn''t have made a difference." Pausing, Naruto closed his eyes as he released a shaky breath, "I failed. It''s no one''s fault but my own."

    With that, the two sat there, not saying a word as they stewed in their own misery, their only comfort being the other''s presence.

    -x-

    "Right on time, Mr. Cartwright."

    Jason, having just been given a pat down by one of the two men stationed outside the closed dive bar, walked into the establishment to see that the only people in the building were himself and the man sitting down in the middle table. The man was what anyone would think of if they were asked to imagine a stereotypical businessman. Wrapped in an excessively expensive dark blue two-piece wool business suit, his hair trimmed and styled to look messy yet with a purpose, and a cocky smirk plastered on his handsome face, the man looked very out of place in the rank dive bar they were currently occupying.

    Walking over to the table, James pulled out the chair directly across from the man before sitting down, "I know how you and Mr. F-"

    "Mr. Cartwright." The man interrupted, "I''m afraid I''ll have to remind you not to use the name of our employer. You understand, I''m sure."

    Jason withheld the need to sigh in annoyance, "I know how you and our employer," He continued, "are about punctuality."

    Leaning back in his chair, the man looked around the bar, "Quite the quant little place we find ourselves in, don''t you think? That, and I simply couldn''t resist the word play. ''The Alibi.''" He said with a chuckle.

    Feeling his eyebrow twitch in irritation, Jason asked, "You called me for a job, sir?"

    "Sir?" The man asked, "I''m not my employer, Mr. Cartwright. You can say my name as freely as you like."

    Feeling the burning of impatience running through his chest, Jason said, "The job, Mr. Wesley?"

    His smile still in place, Wesley folded his left leg over his right, resting his elbow on the table as he said calmly, "Victor Vasquez II, 39 years old. Harlem, 58 West 120th Street. Family of four. Wife, Mar¨ªa Vasquez, 37 years old. Daughter, Juana Vasquez, 15 years old. Son, Victor Vasquez III, 9 years old." After a pause he asked, "How''s your Spanish?"

    "Good."

    "Good as in you can have a conversation if need be?"

    "Yes."

    Nodding, Wesley said, "Good, that may be needed."

    "The job?"

    "Interrogation and extermination. Mr. Vasquez is one of our employer''s many¡­retainers." Leaning forward Wesley said, "After making a name for himself in Central America, he thought he''d spread his reach over into the States. Allying himself with our employer, Victor was put in charge of importing drugs from across the border, splitting the profits with the overall organization."

    "I''m going to assume, that after moving to the States, he started making a series of bad decisions?" Jason asked.

    Wesley nodded, "As men of his position are prone to do. Some of our accountants had found several inconsistencies while going over his numbers, and by several, I mean 2,034,588. Skimming the books isn''t that offendable of a transgression, we all do it from time to time, our employer was more than understanding when he confronted Mr. Vasquez. Mr. Vasquez, not so much." Jason watched as barely restrained anger seeped onto Wesley''s features, "Three men broke into our employer''s home, and killed two of our men before they were forced to flee. Two were killed in their escape. We need to find the third. We need to do it fast. We need to set an example. Understood?"

    "Understood."

    -x-

    "Where are we going, exactly?" Kurama grumbled, "You''ve been wandering around for hours now."

    "I''m not wandering around, I know exactly where I''m going." Naruto thought. The blonde was currently walking through northern Manhattan, more specifically Washington Heights, hands in his pockets as he continued his trek.

    "And that is?" The fox asked impatiently.

    "Do you remember what we were doing before we got pulled into the invasion?"

    Kurama nodded, "Taking out a handful of dipshits selling guns. They were selling them to kids I think."

    Naruto gave a mental nod to his partner, "I was so wrapped up in everything that was going on that I never actually made sure they got arrested. For all I know they''re still roaming the streets. I just wanna check real quick."

    "And then after that?" Kurama asked.

    The ninja shrugged, "I''ll do what you want me to do. Take a break. Get myself settled."

    "What about the woman, brat? Natasha."

    Naruto sighed for what felt like the hundredth time that day, "We talked, and that''s about all I can handle Kurama. That''s why I left after she calmed down. If I''d have stayed, I know where things would''ve gone. And I just couldn''t do it." Seeing the building he was looking for was half a block away, Naruto said aloud, "Here we go."

    Kurama grumbled, "I know this place¡­why do I know this place?"

    Walking up the stoop, Naruto looked through the names on the buzzer before saying, "This is the apartment of Camila Rosario. Her son, Mateo, was accidentally shot by one of his friends after he bought a gun from a local gang. She found me, told me the police had arrested the friend but couldn''t find the people that sold him the gun. I told her I''d take care of it. That enough exposition for you?"

    "You''re such an asshole."

    Pressing the buzzer, Naruto waited as he thought, "I''ve told you like ten times now, if you didn''t take so many naps this wouldn''t be a problem."

    "And I''ve told you just as many times, watching your daily routine really isn''t as interesting as you think it is. Naps preserve my sanity brat." The Biju argued, "Whatever''s left of it anyway."

    "Hello?"

    The two''s argument was cut off by a woman''s thick Dominican voice blasting through the speaker. Pressing the button, Naruto said, "Mrs. Rosario, it''s Naruto."

    The box was silent for a moment, the blonde left wondering if he got through before her curt voice said, "Go away."

    "Look, Mrs. Rosario, I just wanted to check up on you. Maybe ask you a few questions." Naruto said.

    "It''s three years too late to check up on me cabron. It''s obvious you don''t give a mierda about me or what happened to my son. Now leave before I call the cops, I mean it cabron."

    Naruto shook his head, "I can''t do that Mrs. Rosario. I know I let you down. I just want to make it up to you. If those guys are still out there, tell me where they are, and I swear to God you''ll never hear from them again."

    "...Are you going to kill them?"

    "Is that what you want?"

    There was a pause again, this one much longer than before, "No. No, it''s not."

    "If you know where they''re at Mrs. Rosario, tell me. I''ll call the police, make sure they get arrested, whatever you want."

    There was a pause.

    "¡­I don''t know where they are." She said, causing Naruto to huff in disappointment, "But¡­I know who might be able to help you."

    "What''s his name Mrs. Rosario?"

    "Not he. Her name is Jessica Jones. She''s a private detective. My sister hired her a month ago, said she''s really good."

    Suddenly, the sound of thunder rolled across the area, causing the blonde to sigh as he thought, "Of course." Sighing, he pressed the buzzer once again to ask, "What''s her address?" After a moment of thought he finished, "And the nearest ATM?"

    -x-

    "So, how''s the apartment?"

    "The word shithole comes to mind."

    "Oh come on Jessica, it''s not that bad."

    Jessica rolled her eyes at the blonde standing across from her, the beautiful woman wearing a dark blue business suit over a turquoise blouse. Pulling out the flask she had stored in her recently bought office desk, she said, "The smell of festering meth heads says otherwise."

    "Really?" The woman asked, "It''s barely two in the afternoon."

    "Starting late today."

    The blonde decided to change the conversation, "How''s business then?"

    Jessica shrugged as she took a swig of her flask, "Fine."

    "Any clients?"

    "Not currently." She drawled.

    "Jessica-" The blonde began to scold.

    Said woman leaned back in her seat, "Will you get off my ass for just one second. You''re acting like my parole officer or something." Taking a sip of her drink, she finished, "And I''ll have you know I closed two cases this week. Rent for the next two months bitch."

    Trish huffed, "Please don''t call me that-"

    "Sorry."

    "-you know how I feel about being called that."

    "I said I was sorry." Jessica replied, trying to defend herself.

    "Yeah, by interrupting me."

    "It''s still an apology." She said through a loud sip of her flask.

    "A rude one."

    Jessica gave a long, overdramatic sigh, "Fine. Trish, I''m very, very sorry for calling you a bitch. Better?"

    Trish rolled her eyes, "So much."

    Their conversation was cut off by the sound of someone''s knuckles rapping on the door. The two stood there, both momentarily surprised by the impersonal intrusion. Their hesitation to respond forced the one on the other side of the door to knock again, a male''s voice coming through, "Are you guys open?" After what was probably a moment of thought he asked, "This is Alias Investigations, right?"

    Trish sighed as she looked to Jessica, "You really need to get a sign or something."

    "It''s open!" Jessica shouted, ignoring her friend''s comment as she stashed away her booze. For the moment.

    The door creaked open, revealing a tall man that looked to be in his mid-twenties, his short messy hair sticking to his scalp from the weight of the water dripping down his person. Hanging from his body was a plaid shirt that was a little too big on him, a fact that wasn''t helped by the rain water that now soaked it. His wetness wasn''t what caused Jessica to raise an eyebrow however.

    "So, where''d you go, Amsterdam?"

    Naruto blinked at the pretty raven-haired woman, "I''m sorry?"

    "Are you deaf?"

    "No."

    "Then you know what I asked."

    Naruto found himself speechless for a second, blinking before he answered, "No, no I''ve never been."

    "So, what''s your excuse then?"

    "What?"

    Jessica scoffed as she leaned forward into her seat, "I thought you said you weren''t deaf." She observed.

    "I''m not, I just don''t understand what you''re asking." Naruto argued, eyes narrowing at the woman, "Is this Alias Inve-"

    "I''m just trying to figure out how you could get tattoos like that without some kind of excuse. Something like, ''I got super high while visiting Amsterdam,'' or maybe, ''I was the first to fall asleep at a slumber party and my girlfriends decided to ink my face.'' Otherwise I don''t know what to think." She said, a small amused smile on her face as she looked at the man''s whisker marks.

    "Jessica." Trish whisper shouted, her eyes wide as she looked at her friend in shock.

    Naruto, turned his attention away from Jessica, pointing it over to Trish as he asked again, "Is this Alias Investigations?"

    "No-"

    "Yes" Trish interrupted Jessica''s answer, stepping in between the two as she extended her hand out for a handshake, "Yes, it is. Hi, I''m Trish."

    "Naruto." The man greeted with a smile. Pointing over to the still seated woman, he asked, "Jessica Jones?"

    Trish nodded, "Yeah, uh, I''m sorry about earlier. She didn''t mean it."

    Naruto smiled, "Yeah she did." Looking over Trish''s shoulder to Jessica, he said, "And they''re birthmarks."

    The woman raised an indignant eyebrow, "Pretty strange birthmarks."

    "Anyone ever tell you that you have shitty bedside manner?"

    "Anyone ever tell you that you have a shitty face?"

    Naruto kept his smile as he looked at the woman across from him. Stepping around Trish, he said, "I''d like to hire you."

    "To find the guy that did that to your face?"

    "No, I wa-"

    "Because I''ll do that free of charge just so I can shake his hand."

    Taking a deep breath, he calmed himself before saying, "No. I''m here because someone recommended you to help me find someone."

    Breathing a thoughtful breath through her nose, Jessica looked him up and down for a second before saying, "Fine." Opening the drawer above her liquor stash, she pulled out a notepad and pen as she asked, "What''s their name?"

    "I''ll I''ve got is a nickname." He answered.

    "That''s fine."

    "People call him T."

    "Description." Jessica demanded.

    "Average height, overweight. Always wears a t-shirt that''s too big."

    "Race?"

    "Black dude."

    "Age, occupation?"

    "I don''t know how old he is, probably in his twenties or early thirties. And he''s a drug dealer."

    The sound of Jessica''s pen scratching against her notepad came to a sudden halt, the woman looking up in slight astonishment, "What?"

    "Are you deaf?" Naruto drawled.

    "I''m not kidding." Jessica practically growled.

    The man smiled, "Neither am I."

    "Why are you looking for a drug dealer?"

    "He''s an arms dealer too."

    Jessica''s eyebrow began to twitch in agitation as she growled out, "That doesn''t answer my question."

    Naruto shrugged, "The person wanting me to find them recommended you. Can you do it?"

    "It''s not a matter of can. It''s a matter of if." Jessica shot back.

    Trish stepped forward, both literally and figuratively stepping into the conversation, "Why don''t you just go to the police?"

    Naruto raised a brow, "Do you really think they''d tell me if they knew?"

    "Probably not." Jessica answered for him, "For all they would know you''re looking to kill this guy." Her eyes darting to Naruto she asked, "Are you?"

    "No." He placated, "The person that I''m doing this for told me not to kill him. They want him to rot in some shithole cell somewhere. I''m just the insurance."

    "And who is this person?"

    "Camila Rosario."

    "Why do I know that name?" Trish asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "Ms. Jones helped her sister apparently. Said you do good work."

    "No, no I know that name." She said in thought, suddenly a lightbulb went off as she said, "Oh my God, the Rodriguez Case! I covered that story almost three years ago." Looking to the confused Jessica she explained, "Camila Rosario is the mother of Mateo Rosario. He and his friend, Hector Rodriguez, bought a gun from a local arms dealer for protection, only for Hector to accidently kill Mateo. Hector was arrested for manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm, but none of the dealers got charged. That case opened some serious talks about gun control here in New York." Looking to Naruto, she looked him up and down as she asked, "Are you looking for the dealers that sold them that gun?"

    Naruto nodded, "I found them three years ago, but I was interrupted by the Incident. Two of them died in the chaos. The other, T, is still working around town."

    "So why has it taken so long for you to find him again?" Trish asked, Jessica eyeing the blonde as she waited for an answer as well.

    "Ever hear of a sabbatical?" Naruto answered, his face as hard as stone to show his answer wasn''t up for discussion, "So, can you find him?"

    Jessica stared at Naruto, the wheels in her head turning as she said, "I have a few ideas. Do you know where he operates? His usual dealing location?"

    Naruto nodded, "Harlem, last I checked."

    "And when was that?"

    "Three years ago, just about."

    Jones nodded, "Well, I doubt he''s moved around too much. There are a couple places I know he might be."

    The ninja clapped his hands in anticipation as he said, "Awesome! Let''s get going."

    "Excuse me?" The private eye asked.

    "What? I don''t know where anything is in this town. It''d be a lot easier if you just came with me."

    "Don''t you have a phone?" She questioned, "It''s called Google Maps."

    "Nope."

    A sigh escaped her lips, "Fine." Opening up her liquor drawer, she pulled out her flask as she asked, "Cash or check?"

    "Cash."

    -x-

    "¡­Auugh."

    Pain. That was the first thing Victor could comprehend when consciousness returned to him. His head was throbbing, pulsing violently as he blinked away the grogginess. As his awareness began to return, he felt something wet running down the side of his head. Looking down to where he was sure the liquid was dripping to, Victor could see a large blotch of red on his silk pajama top. His sense of smell came next, the stench of urine soaked cotton causing his nose to curl up in disgust. Next came his hearing, the sound of his sobbing wife and daughter bringing an extreme sense of dread into his being.

    His head shooting up, Victor eyed his entire family strapped to chairs sitting around him, his daughter to his right, his wife across from him, and his son to his wife''s left, the four of them forming a half circle. His eyes landing on his son last, he could see from the puddle sitting under his chair that he was the source of the smell. Looking around them, he realized they were being held in their basement, the furniture taken out with the hardwood floor covered in a thick plastic sheet.

    After seeing each of his family had their mouths covered in duct tape, Victor whispered to his frantic wife, "Ssh, Mar¨ªa, por favor c¨¢lmate mi amor. Esto terminar¨¢ pronto, lo prometo. Solo d¨¦jame manejarlo." He said in his native tongue. After giving a few more sobs, Mar¨ªa nodded slowly. Looking to his children, he said to them, "Eso va para ti tambi¨¦n, entendido?"

    As the two nodded, the sound of a door opening cut off any sound the four of them were going to make. Hearing multiple pairs of feet begin to descend down the stairs into the basement the four found themselves in, Victor looked back to his family giving each of them as brave of a smile as he could muster. The set of feet came down the stairs far too quickly for the man''s liking, with two of the three men coming up to stand behind him and his family, their hands at their backs as they waited with a strange patience.

    The third man, unlike the other two, didn''t bother to wear a ski mask over his face, allowing Victor to see he was a handsome man in his late thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing all black, leaving no bare skin passed his chin. Over his hands and feet were plastic gloves and booties, keeping the man from leaving any hand or shoe prints while doing his business. And resting, firmly in his hand, was a Beretta handgun.

    "Hola, Mr. Vasquez." Pulling the clip out of the gun, the man continued, "Cu¨¢ntas vi?etas hay en el clip?"

    Swallowing the lump after doing what the man asked, Victor spoke in English, "What¡­what''s your name?"

    The man''s answer came surprisingly quick, "Jason."

    Victor tried to blink away the sweat that had begun to accumulate around his eyes, "Jason, can¡­" Pausing, he fought for the right words to say, "Please. Can we please speak in English?" His eyes leaving Jason for a second to lay on his children, Victor finished, "I don''t want them to hear this. Please."

    Jason nodded, "I can. Now answer the question."

    "Four. There''s four bullets in the clip." He practically whispered.

    Jason nodded again, "Good. Now, I''m sure you know it''s not an accident that I have no more or no less than four¡­don''t you?" The man asked as he placed the clip back in its place.

    "Yes. Yes, I do."

    "Good." Giving the gun a quick cock, Jason calmly pointed it at Mar¨ªa, the muzzle pressing up against the side of her forehead, "You sent three men to kill Wilson Fisk two days ago. Two were killed. I need the name of the third." Pulling back the hammer, he slipped his finger over the trigger.

    "No-now wait just a seco-"

    BANG!

    Victor blinked for two reasons. First, the sound of the gun going off so close to his person. Second, the blood, bone, and brain that pelted his face with surprising velocity, staining him with his wife''s gore.

    Blinking rapidly, the world around Victor began to slow down as he watched his wife''s head jerk back from the force of the bullet shooting through her skull before falling forward limply. Lifelessly.

    The sound of Juana''s screaming broke Victor from his trance.

    His eyes on Juana, the girl thrashed against her bindings as she screamed through her taped mouth, tears streaking down her eyes like twin waterfalls. Junior was no better, even through the tape he could hear his son screaming for his mother to wake up. His attention eventually went to Jason, his gun no longer pointed at Mar¨ªa.

    "NO! No, por favor no a mi hijo, no a mis hijos! Te lo ruego!" He screamed.

    Jason kept his eyes on Victor III, "I thought we were speaking English, Mr. Vasquez?" He asked, his mocking tone unmistakable, fueling Victor''s growing hatred for the man even further, "I don''t want to bargain. I don''t want to ask again. I don''t want to have to kill your son, Victor. Understand?"

    "You''re a dead man. You understand me? Huh?! You understand me cabron?!"

    BANG!

    "AAAYYE!" Juana screamed as her brother slumped forward in his chair, blood pouring out of the newly made hole in his forehead.

    "NO!" Victor screamed as he watched the life escape his son in an instant, "No! No, no! I''ll tell you, I''ll tell you!" He pleaded as he saw the gun shift to his daughter''s direction, "Michael Reigns! That''s his name! I swear, just please don''t hurt her!"

    "Contact info."

    Knowing any hesitation would get his daughter killed, he quickly answered, "It''s on my phone! On my nightstand! His name on my contacts is Pantera."

    "What''s the password. For the phone."

    "022301."

    Jason looked to the two men standing at the other side of the room, watching as one pulled out Victor''s phone from his pocket. Turning it on, the man put in the password, unlocking the phone in one try. Scrolling through his contacts, he clicked on Pantera to make sure the number was legitimate.

    Getting a nod in return, Jason looked to Victor with a twistedly pleasant smile, "Thank you, Mr. Vasquez."

    BANG!

    BANG!

    -x-

    The sound of sprawling traffic blasted through Naruto and Jessica''s shared taxicab. Speeding through the bustling city at what felt like a slow crawl, the duo sat in an uncomfortable silence as they waited to reach their destination. Giving a few random side glances to the woman sitting next to him, Naruto mulled over possible topics of conversation to pass the time, only to fail miserably in his endeavor.

    "Where do I know you from?"

    Looking at Jessica in surprise, Naruto muttered, "Repeat that?"

    "I asked where I know you from." Her deep brown eyes roaming over his form, she asked, "Are you a celebrity or something? Athlete maybe? You have the build."

    Naruto barked out a laugh, "Oh really? You''ve been paying attention huh?"

    Jessica rolled her eyes, "You wish." Brushing some hair passed her shoulder, she continued, "Seriously, where do I know you from?"

    "You''re a PI, right? Where''s the fun in me telling you?"

    "Asshole."

    "Bitch." Naruto shot back.

    Jessica''s retort was cut off by the driver, "Hey, look uh, I don''t wanna get in your business buddy¡­but do you really think you should be talkin'' to yo'' girl like that?" Naruto could see through the rearview mirror that the older gentleman was looking straight at him pointedly, "Just sayin''."

    It was Jessica''s turn to bark out a laugh, "Yeah, right." Leaning forward, her voice entered a threatening timbre, "Mind your goddamn business and drive the fucking cab asshole."

    The man''s face flickered from surprise to anger, "You''re a piece of work lady."

    "Do you really think I give a shit?" She asked rhetorically, "Just do your job, and shut the fuck up before I show how much of a piece of work I really am. Understand?"

    The driver scoffed, but didn''t bother with a retort, instead bringing his attention back to the road as the traffic light went green.

    Naruto raised a brow, "You really don''t take any bullshit do you?"

    "Why would I?" Jessica asked with slight aggression.

    "Not what I''m saying-"

    "Well what exactly are you saying?"

    "It was just an observation, I guess." Naruto said with a placating gesture.

    Jessica eyed him up and down, her eyebrows knitted together in thought. Giving a quick shake of her head, she turned away, looking out the window.

    The car remained silent for the rest of the drive.

    -x-

    Pulling up on the curb, Naruto leaned forward to look up at the building in front of them, "This the place?"

    Jessica nodded, "Yup. This stash house belongs to Harlem''s Paradise."

    "I''ll pretend to know what that is long enough to ask why that''s relevant."

    "Let''s just say they run Harlem, and that T worked for anyone it''d be them. If he''s anywhere, it''s here or across town."

    Naruto nodded, "Alright." Looking over, he spotted a pay phone on the corner of the block, "That phone work?" He asked, looking over to the taxi driver.

    "That phone? Yeah man, I guess."

    "You guess?" Naruto sighed, "Yeah that''ll work." Leaning over to the driver, he pulled out a wad of cash from his back pocket, "Six hundred bucks to stay on the curb, cool?"

    The man was too busy counting the bills to look at Naruto as he answered, "Yeah man, yeah." He stopped counting, looking over his shoulder with a wry smirk on his face, "Four hundred more to keep quiet?"

    Naruto snorted, "You''re lucky to get six."

    "Fair I guess."

    "Hey, wait!" Jessica yelled, "Where you going? You''re not seriously going in there are you?"

    "Yup."

    The woman''s face was full of bewildered frustration before finally landing on acceptance, "Fine. Do whatever you want." Leaning back, she watched as the man practically strolled up the stoop of apartment complex. "The fuck is he doing?" She asked to herself, shocked as the man had the gull to knock on the front door. That was where his decorum ended. As the door opened barely an inch off the frame, the blonde kicked it in with so much force the door split open into a cluster of splinters. Losing sight of him, she had to rely on her sense of hearing to follow him. Which proved too easy considering the trail of screaming, shattering glass, and broken furniture that could be heard.

    The driver and Jessica jumped at the crack of gun fire.

    Shots began to ring out from the building, flashes of light through the various windows showing that they were on the third floor, "The fuck?!" The driver demanded. Reaching for the ignition, he said, "Nah man. Fuck this."

    "Hey!" Jessica yelled, "You took his money, you stay here!"

    "I''m not dyin'' tonight over six hun-"

    "You''re not gonna die." Jumping again at the sound of gun fire, she sighed in aggravation, "Look, what''s your name?"

    "Name?"

    "Yes, your name."

    "¡­Roman. Roman Kuznetsov."

    "Kuznetsov¡­is that Russian?" She asked, watching as the gun fire eventually made its way up to the fifth and final floor, "You don''t sound it."

    "I''m a New Yorker, born an'' raised." The man said, slight indignation in his voice, "My old man came here in the 40''s, before the war."

    "Well, Roman, you''re not gonna die." Seeing his disbelief, she gave a sigh of consternation, "I promise."

    She barely finished her sentence when the sound of breaking glass and a pained scream was heard. Looking up, she watched as a man plummeted from the fifth floor onto the pavement, the man smacking against the concrete hard enough she could hear his body break from inside the car. She could only look on as Naruto walked back out of the front door, not a scratch on him as he strolled up to the prone man on the pavement. The blonde began to speak, his voice muffled as he conversed with the barely conscious man underneath him. Seemingly getting what he wanted, he stepped over him, and then walked to the payphone, his finger tapping the dial pad three times.

    Speaking into the phone for a moment, he then calmly hung it up before walking back into the car, "1432 83rd Street. Brooklyn." The blonde said as he strapped on his seat belt. After realizing the car wasn''t moving, he looked around the cab, "What the matter?" Blinking he continued, "Was it a bit much? Sorry, I had some pent-up shit I had to get off my chest." He said, rubbing the back of his head in clear embarrassment.

    "What''s the matte-" Roman began to say in indignation.

    "If you honestly think we''re going anywhere after that bullshit just now, you''re fucking crazy." Jessica growled out, her eyes narrowed to maximum capacity.

    Naruto sighed as he pulled out another wad of cash, "Look, here''s four hundred more. Just drive us to where we need to go, and then drop me off." He said, reaching over to give the driver the money, only to feel a shockingly firm grip on his wrist keeping him in place. Looking over with a raised eyebrow, he looked Jessica up and down, an appraising look in his eye, "That''s quite the grip you got there."

    The woman scoffed, "Keep this up and I break your arm."

    "If you were anyone else brat, I''m sure your wrist would be paste right now." Kurama observed with interest, "Leave it to Uzumaki luck that you''d run into another super freak."

    The blonde ignored the beast, instead saying to the ravenette, "What do you want?"

    "I want to know who you are!" Jessica demanded, "Nobody can do what you just did and walk out like it never happened. You''d have to be-"

    "A superhero?"

    Jessica gawked at the blonde, for once at loss for words. Letting go of Naruto, the detective leaned back into her seat as she pulled the flask out from her jacket, taking a mighty swig before muttering, "Drive."

    Roman looked back at her, "What?"

    "Drive." She repeated, "Drive so we can get this over with."

    The driver looked between the two a couple times before sighing, taking the money from Naruto.

    The blonde nodded, though not before looking to Jessica, "Vodka, really?"

    Jessica simply flashed him a middle finger, taking another drink as she did.

    -x-

    "Michael Reigns huh."

    Sitting in his car, Jason spoke over the phone as he sifted through a bag of fast food, making sure they got his order correctly. Looking up, he gave a nod of thanks to the woman on the other side of the window as he said, "If you haven''t heard of him don''t worry. He''s relatively new to the game. Fairly small fry. From what I''ve heard though, he''s good. Gets the job down. Reasonably professional. And above all, cheap. Which, explains why the late Victor Vasquez would hire someone so green for something so heavy. He could afford him." Jason finished by shoving a small handful of fries down his throat.

    "Hm. Well, he won''t be an issue for much longer. Half a million alive, a quarter dead. You''re more than welcome to try for it yourself, of course." Wesley said over the phone.

    Finishing his mouthful, Jason said, "The one and a half million you paid me is more than enough. Thanks though."

    "Which you can expect in the next few days."

    "Fantastic." Jason said, feeling a tinge of glee enter his voice.

    "Expect a call soon, Mr. Cartwright. You''ve made our employer a very happy man today. I''m sure he''d like to meet the man who''s done him such a service."

    The click of the phone disconnecting told Jason the call was over. Shaking his head, Jason said in mocking voice, "''I''m sure he''d like to meet the man who''s done him such a service.''" Unwrapping the burger, he said, "What a douche."

    As he was about to take a bite, a knocking on his window startled him from doing so. Before he could turn to see who it was, his glass was shattered open, sending shards of glass into his face, slicing open his skin. But he couldn''t even register the fact that someone had broken in his window, to busy getting his face smashed in by someone else''s fist.

    Dazed, bleeding, and bruised, Jason could only watch as someone reached into his car to open the door before brutally throwing him out onto the concrete floor. Feeling his survival instincts kick in, Jason reached for the Beretta strapped to his lower back, only to be kicked in the side. Heaving as he felt one of his ribs crack open, he rolled over onto his back from the pain. Looking up, blinking through the pain, Jason watched as four people hovered over his prone person, and could only continue to watch as the one closest to his head raise up his foot before stumping on his skull.

    -x-

    Getting out of the cab, Naruto leaned into the window, looking to Jessica as he asked, "You coming?"

    "And why would I?"

    The ninja shrugged, "Because you''re curious."

    Jessica raised an annoyed brow, "About what?"

    "Me." Naruto answered, a cocky smirk on his face.

    The woman rolled her eyes, looking away in defiance. Shrugging again, Naruto straightened up and began to walk away. Jessica followed him as he walked down the street, barely paying attention as Roman asked, "Where to miss?"

    After a clear mental struggle, Jessica sighed in clear aggravation, "Thanks for the ride Roman." She didn''t bother listening to his reply, getting out of the cab before following after the blonde.

    Spotting her in the corner of his eye, the blonde smiled, "Told ya." Naruto said, acknowledging her as she walked up to his side.

    Jessica, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, rolled her eyes, "I''m sure you''ve come to the same conclusion I have."

    "And what''s that?"

    "We''re the same." Jessica answered a bit of hesitation, clearly not comfortable with the topic of conversation.

    "I''m pretty sure I''m not a drun-"

    "Do you ever take anything seriously?!" She practically yelled in frustration. After a calming breath, she harshly whispered, "Don''t act like you didn''t notice. I should''ve broke your wrist earlier. But you acted like it was nothing. You''re cursed, just like me."

    Naruto''s face went from relaxed to surprisingly serious, "Your ''curse'' is nothing like mine. Trust me."

    Once again, Jessica was left speechless.

    Realizing they were where they needed to be, Naruto looked around to see if he could spot another pay phone. Failing in his mission, he told the ravenette, "I''ll be back."

    "What''re you going to do?"

    Walking up the steps to the building, he came up to the door as he answered, "I''m gonna go get a phone."

    Naruto didn''t bother knocking this time. Spartan kicking the door open, he came face to face with several shocked faces. Not wanting to give them a chance to gather themselves, he threw a quick jab into the closest man''s face, dropping him with one punch. Seeing that guns were being drawn from the corner of his eye, he raced forward to his next target, shoving his fist into the dealer''s stomach hard enough to lift him up off the ground. Drawing his hand back, Naruto performed a tornado kick into his neck, sending him into the gentleman positioned behind him. Summoning two kunai from the seal on his wrist, he palmed them long enough to take aim at the two men in the back of the room. Applying wind chakra to the blades, he flung them harshly into their direction. Because their untrained eyes were unable to keep up with the multipurpose weapons, they were surprised to find them embedded in their shoulders, the force of the blow driving the two into the walls behind them, the tips of the blades sticking out of their backs into the drywall, pinning them in place.

    The warrior ignored their screams of pain, his focus on the last man in the room, too busy ducking down to avoid the bullet from splitting open his skull. Pointing his hand out in the shape of a gun, he locked onto the shooter''s abdomen. Wind quickly accumulated at the tip of his finger, building up before being released in the shape of a bullet.

    Phwew!

    "AAUGH!" The shooter screamed, dropping the gun as he reached to grab his wound out of instinct. That instinct was all the distraction Naruto needed, the blonde flying in the air to deliver a Dynamic Entry into his temple.

    The room now clear, Naruto slowly began to tread up the stairs, kunai in hand as he tiptoed up each and every step, doing his best to not make a sound. It wasn''t until he reached the second to last one that his foot hit a loose floor board, the resounding creak bringing him to a stern stop.

    THACK THACK THACK!

    Performing the Substitution Technique, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, a nearby vase taking his place as the wall and plastic container were quickly obliterated by the barrage of gun fire.

    In the room adjacent, T cursed as he began to reload the AR-15 in his hands, the man crouched behind a bed that looked to have been preemptively tossed on its side to act as a barricade. Looking up as he slammed the clip into place, he shouted out, "Do you fuckers have any clue who the fuck you''re dealing with? Huh?! You know who owns this house?" Hitting the bolt release, he continued, "You gonna fuckin'' die tonight, ya here?!" Raising the gun up to his shoulder, he took aim for the door.

    "Boil Release: Erupting Propulsion Fist!"

    BOOM!

    T''s surprised shout was eclipsed by the sound of the wall to his left being blown out, pieces of wood and drywall sharply pelting his body as he was thrown off his feet. Slowly, the man got over the ringing in his ear long enough to shake off the dust that now covered him like sheet, coughing as most of it still hung in the air. His vision now coming back to him, he began to look around the room, only to find a fist cutting into his temple. It didn''t seem to end there, the man feeling someone get on top of him before a downpour of punches began to rain down on his face.

    Naruto payed T''s pained whimpers no mind, too busy trying to break his skull open to notice. Each time he brought his hand back to charge up for another jab, more and more blood began to cake his fist, it finally getting to the point that the thick liquid was slowly dripping from his knuckles and closed fingers onto the dusty floor.

    It wasn''t until he realized the man underneath him was unconscious that he stopped.

    Dragging his breath in slowly, Naruto calmly collected himself as he stood up, dusting himself before checking his bloodied left hand. Sighing at the state of it, he resisted the urge to wipe it off on Steve''s shirt. Taking a second to revel in the now quiet house, the blonde quickly realized there was another presence in the house. Sighing, Naruto slowly stepped out of the room into the hall, pinpointing the person to be in the bathroom a few rooms over. His pace at a slow crawl, Naruto listened as their breathing got louder and louder, clearly in a panic over their situation. Reaching the door, he slowly extended his hand out for the doorknob, grasping it before creaking the handle open as carefully as he could so he could push it open with a loud creak.

    A troubled frown made its way to his face as he looked down at the boy in front of him. He looked around eleven or twelve, with skin matching his African decent and short curly brown hair to go with it. Wearing clothes that were more than likely hand-me-downs considering they were a few sizes too big for him, Naruto could still see that he was shaking in fear as he took several steps back away from the blonde. The sound of a metallic clicking brought Naruto''s full attention to the handgun that was practically vibrating in the boy''s adolescent hands.

    Taking a step forward, he halted when the kid held his gun up a bit firmer than before, "Get away!" He yelled.

    Naruto ignored his warning, taking another step forward, though his hands were raised as he said, "I''m not-"

    "I said get away!" The boy yelled, "I''ll kill you! I will!"

    He took another step forward, the gun nearly pressing into his chest, "Do it then." He firm voice not reflecting the softness in his eyes as he looked down at the child.

    "I''m not fucking playing!"

    "Neither am I." Naruto shot back, his hands shooting up to grab the gun, pulling so the muzzle was now pressing up against his chest.

    Silence broke between them, the only noise in the room being the clicking of the shaking gun.

    Jamming his eyes closed, his body language the definition of defeat, the boy let go of the gun, his hands dropping to his sides.

    Looking over the gun in his hand, Naruto looked down at the boy, "What''s your name kid?"

    The boy shrugged.

    Naruto sighed. Applying some fire chakra to his hands, the blonde used the heat to help him bend the gun into a ninety degree angle before tossing it into the bathroom''s sink. Looking down at the kid, he asked, "You gotta phone kid?"

    Jessica found herself tapping her foot impatiently, the sound of gunfire having abated a few minutes ago, forcing the woman to wonder how long it would take the police to show up, "If that asshole gets me arrested I''m gonna kill him." She growled out. Having long since finished off her flask only seemed to increase her annoyance, now unable to waste time with the joys of alcohol, "I need a drink." She quietly said to herself.

    Hearing someone stepping over the splinters that had once been a door, she looked up to see Naruto walking down the stoop, his hands in his pockets he said, "You ready?"

    "I''ve been ready." She said testily, "There''s no telling when the cops will show up asshole, and the last thing I need is to spend the night in a cell."

    "Probably pretty soon, considering I called them." Naruto said lightly, the man walking down the street as he looked out for a taxi.

    Jessica followed after him, "And why in God''s name would you do that?"

    Naruto shrugged, "How else are they gonna get arrested?"

    "Was that really what was going on here? Some kind of vigilante bullshit?"

    "Yup."

    "You''re an asshole." She said, "I hope you know this is a onetime thing."

    "I figured." Naruto said with a nod, "You don''t seem like the kind of person, if I''m being honest." The man looked at her with a smile, "I''m kinda envious, actually."

    Jessica didn''t respond, making the blonde raise a brow.

    "Did I say something?" He asked.

    If the woman wanted to answer, she couldn''t do to the arrival of a wandering taxi cab, "Hey!" She yelled, catching the driver''s attention as he pulled over to the curb.

    Entering the backseat, the driver looked over his shoulder as he said, "Where to?"

    "The nearest bar." Jessica answered. Noticing her companions look, she said, "You can do whatever you want. I''m getting a drink."

    Naruto mulled it over for a second before saying, "I guess I could use a drink." Looking to the cabby he asked, "You got the time?"

    "10:42."

    The blonde smirked at the woman, "Drinking at a reasonable time? I''m proud of you."

    She flipped him the bird in response.

    The driver turned to face the road, "Alright, there''s a place called The Alibi a few blocks away. Sound good?"

    "Let''s get going." Jessica demanded.

    -x-

    Pain. That was the first thing Jason could comprehend when consciousness returned to him. His head was throbbing, pulsing violently as he blinked away the grogginess. As his awareness began to return, he felt something wet running down the side of his head. Looking down at where he was sure the liquid was dripping to, Jason could see a large blotch of red on his white cotton dress shirt. His sense of smell came next, the stench of gasoline causing his nose to curl up in disgust. Next came his hearing, the sound of several murmuring men all around causing him look around the dimly lit room.

    The room was something he could only describe as a medieval dungeon, the stone tiled walls and floors colored in an orange hue from the flicking embers created by decorative torches scattered throughout the chamber. The men loitering around him, from what he could see, wore matching turtleneck sweaters and dress pants that were all the same color of black. And over their faces, each of them, was a porcelain mask that looked to be of Japanese origin. Though he could barely make out what the mask resembled, he had to guess some kind of dog, a fox maybe.

    Taking in his own person, Jason could feel that he was on his knees, his wrists strapped in chains to the ground behind his back, his hands in between his calves. Giving a few testing tugs, he came to the inevitable conclusion that he couldn''t move.

    His attention was moved to the sound squeaking hinges screeching across the room, the iron door in front of him slowly blowing open. Walking from the darkness within the doorway was a man wearing the same porcelain mask as everyone else. His clothes however were strikingly different, wearing a black two-piece suit with a white button up shirt underneath the blazer. As he walked forward, he began to loosen the blood red neck tie around his neck. Silently, he took the tie off his neck before stuffing it into his jacket pocket. Next came the jacket, sliding it off before folding it neatly and handing it to one of the men to his side. After that was the shirt, calmly unclasping the buttons as he kept eye contact with the restrained Jason. As he took off the shirt, Jason could see that the man''s torso was decorated with several elaborate tattoos. The piece of clothing now off completely, folded, and handed over to another man next to him, Jason couldn''t help but eye the ink. Running along his collar bone were six dots that looked like commas. On each shoulder was a spiral, with a half circle like bar over it. Connected to the bar was another that ran through his upper abdomen, with eight smaller bars running along with a ninth one in the middle running down to his midsection. Just under that was another spiral, with a fang like triangle just under that. Around these were two additional bars that connected back to the area above the spiral.

    "Where am I?" Jason demanded.

    The man didn''t say anything at first, only continuing his walk towards Jason before stopping just a foot in front of him. Kneeling down, the man extended his hand out expectantly. One of the several men surrounding them quickly grabbed one of the torches closest to him. Torch now in hand, the man finally spoke, "You''re going to feel pain. That is inevitable. But that pain is necessary. Like it was for so many before you. He has returned to us, because of our great work. Now, it is only a matter of time before he bestows upon us his great power. The power of godly fire."

    "I don''t know what you''re talking about." Jason spat, "You''re messing with a man that works for the most powerful person in New York. Do you understand? I''m the wrong man to-"

    "Oh, but you''re the perfect man." The man interrupted, "The resemblance between you and our god is almost uncanny."

    The man didn''t know how to respond for that, instead trying to get out of the situation, "I have a family." Jason pleaded.

    "So did Victor Vasquez."

    Jason didn''t have an argument for that.

    Standing straight, the man said, "Just know that your sacrifice is a catalyst for the new age. An age where we rule with our gifted power. An age with no religion. No war. No borders. Only peace."

    He gave no warning. He simply threw the torch in front of Jason as he stepped back, watching as the flames were fed by the puddle of gasoline surrounding the bound man.

    "Aa-aaagh!" Jason began to scream as the fire began to eat away at his legs and hands, "HELP! PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! HELP ME!" Struggling with all his might, it did nothing but help the fire crawl up his arms and torso, "AAAAGGHH!"

    "Praise the god of fire." The man said.

    "Praise the Maelstrom." The others chorused, watching as their human sacrifice was swallowed in fire.

    -x-

    The sound of keys sliding into its keyhole could be heard through the door, the keys rattling on their chain as the door was jimmied open. Pushing on the door with his shoulder, Naruto grunted in annoyance as the weight on his shoulders tried to shift. Fixing it quickly, he slowly dragged himself into the room doing his best not to wake the inebriated woman draped around him. Looking down, he sighed when he realized she had passed out. Dragging her through the apartment, he carefully made his way to her bedroom. Taking her in his arms, he gently laid her down on her bed. Taking one of the pillows, he positioned her on her side before wedging the pillow behind her to keep her from rolling on her back. Straightening up, Naruto rubbed his temples as he tried to sooth his headache.

    "I told you not to drink so much, idiot." Kurama said, "I should slow down your healing factor just to teach you a lesson."

    The blonde grunted, his headache slowly going away as he thought, "I''m on vacation Kurama. Vacation means getting drunk at some point in time¡­I think. I''ve never really had one now that I''m thinking about it."

    "What would you call the last three years then?"

    "Exploration." Naruto answered, walking over to the adjacent office, pulling up one of blinds to see the that the sun had begun to rise. Looking over at the digital clock on the desk next to him, he sighed when he saw it was nearly seven o''clock in the morning, "No one call''s Louis and Clark''s trip a vacation."

    "I don''t know who that is." The fox drawled.

    "¡­Neither do I." Naruto admitted. Leaning on the desk, he continued to rub his forehead, "Sage, I need sleep."

    "There''s a bed right there."

    "Not funny."

    "Just saying."

    Naruto''s retort was cut off by a knock coming from the door followed by a woman''s voice, "Hello?"

    Jessica, even in her drunken slumber, heard the knock. Her voice rang out from the bedroom, "Go away!" She slurred.

    "I know it''s early." The voice said, "But I need to speak with you! Please, I have money. I''ll pay whatever you want."

    Naruto waited for Jessica''s reply, only to chuckle when he realized she had passed out again, "I''m coming." He said loud enough to know she heard. Walking over to the door, he opened it to find a rather pretty woman standing on the other side, her brown hair disheveled and face lacking as much sleep as his, telling him she had been up all night. His once over complete, Naruto said, "Ms. Jones is a little busy at the moment." He said politely, "Maybe come back later toni-"

    "I''m sorry, but I can''t wait that long." She interrupted, her voice desperate as she said, "Please."

    His rejection died in his throat when he saw the woman was on the cusp of crying, "Ahhh¡­yah. Yeah, alright." He relented, stepping aside to let her in.

    "Thank you." She said, walking into the apartment, looking around as she said, "I was recommended to come here last night by a colleague." Her face scrunched up in barely concealed disgust, she said, "From what I heard, I thought I''d be a bit more¡­professional."

    "I figured the same." Naruto admitted with a chuckle. Walking over to the desk, he leaned against it as he said, "And, ignoring the fact she''s passed out, the woman''s got some skill." Folding his arms across his chest he asked, "Look, I don''t know how I can help you. She''s not in any condition to talk to you, and I''m a client myself."

    The woman sighed, a faraway look on her face as she mumbled, "I figured this was a lost cause." She admitted." Taking a shaky breath she continued, "My husband never came home last night. When I went to the police, they said there was nothing they could do, that he was likely at a friend''s house or something after a night of drinking." She laughed, "That''s nothinglike my husband. He doesn''t drink, and he doesn''t have friends." Shaking her head, she tried to be subtle as she wiped a stray tear from her eye, "I don''t know what I''m going to tell my kids, if I''m being honest." She chuckled again, "I''m sorry for unloading my problems on you. I doubt you care."

    "No, no it''s fine." Naruto said softly. Walking over to the desk''s drawer, he said, "Here, the least I can do is write down your information. I''ll make sure she sees it, I promise."

    "Thank you." She said, a small but pleasant smile on her tired face.

    "What''s your name?"

    "Gloria. Gloria Cartwright."

 20 Path of Righteous Man

    Location: Manhattan, New York City, New York

    Date: March 24th, 2015

    -x-

    "What do you mean you let him leave?"

    Tony sighed as he leaned back in his chair, running his finger over his temple in mild irritability, "In what scenario of me trying to force a guy like Naruto to stay anywhere work in your or my favor, in any way? The kid does whatever he wants because he can do whatever he wants. I''ve got a list on my nightstand up stairs full of things I want to see him do, just because I''m surehe could do it." A look of contemplation came to his face, "You know, last I checked, I''m the reason you have your job in the first place, what with your predecessor taking up the Vice President seat. You should be thanking me right now, not jumping my ass for not doing something you never explicitly told me to do."

    Secretary Ross huffed with heavy agitation, "Just because you helped shift some things around in the White House after your feud with AIM doesn''t mean you''re the reason I got my job. I was made the Secretary of State because I''m good at handling people like you and Banner. People like this Uzumaki character." Taking a breath, he straightened out his ruffled tie, looking back, his voice was a subdued one as he said, "I''m trying my best to be patient with you Tony. I''ve been patient with you. I''ve been patient with Banner roaming free with little to no surveillance. I''ve been patient with you allowing Agent Romanoff''s lack of respect when it comes to this country''s authority. I''ve been patient with you and Banner''s projects, especially considering one of them is to be used to subdue him should he have an episode like he did seven years ago. I''ve been patient with the fact that you lost a weapon used by the man that lead the invasion of our planet to the very same group that is responsible for the disassembly of our most important intelligence network. But this? This is not something I''m going to look the other way on. The man is a danger to not just our national security, but global security as a whole. From SHIELD''s descriptions of his abilities, he could do more damage to the world''s governments in an hour than Banner could do in a week. At any moment, he could transform into the president of Russia and order a nuclear strike. He could assassinate any important figure in the world for that matter. Hell, he doesn''t need to order a nuclear strike, he has that kind of fire power on his own. He''s a dangerous alien. For all we know, he''s a scout, and we''re about to be invaded by a million more just like him. And you wonder why I''m uncomfortable just letting him wander around?"

    "While I appreciate your lackadaisical approach towards me and my team, I can''t help but wonder if there''s another reason that you want to talk to him." Tony said, "Because let me warn you, Fury tried to put a few things over that kid. And sure, at first, everything was peachy. But eventually, and I mean eventually, he''ll find out if you''re fucking with him. And I doubt he''ll be as nice to you as he was to Fury, and he almost caved the director''s head in."

    The Secretary shook his head, "If there''s anything my 40 years of military service has taught me, it''s that one must learn from past mistakes. I''ve learned to deal with Banner, just like how I''ve learned to deal with Uzumaki. Don''t poke the bear, as some might say."

    "Then what do you want with the kid?"

    "All I want is to set some ground rules." Ross answered.

    Tony raised a curious brow, "Ground rules?"

    "I know they''re a foreign concept for you Tony, but our government feels that the best way to deal with him is to set in place rules so that neither one of us oversteps our bounds. We don''t want him blowing up a city just as much as I doubt he wants to be chased around the globe." The older man explained.

    Tony nodded, "Fine, I''ll talk to him." Getting up from his seat he continued, "But if he agrees to a meeting, I''m going to be there, along with Captain Rogers as the kid''s representation."

    "That''s fair." Getting up as well, Ross reached over to shake Tony''s hand, saying as he did, "You and Rogers will be hearing more about future guidelines anyway, so it wouldn''t hurt to sit in on what some of that may pertain to."

    "Excuse me?" Tony said with as his had clasped over the other man''s.

    Ross smiled, "Didn''t you hear? I''ve been pushing for sanctions to be placed on your team since I came into office. With the fall of SHIELD, you lack oversight. While you''re officially an independent taskforce, you still operate within our borders. You''re viewed as an asset to the United States of America by every other outside nation and group, no matter how much you claim it to be otherwise. That means, that as far as I''m concerned, the Avengers are my responsibility."

    "You''re acting like we''re doing anything but helping people. The only damage done is done by the bad guys, and if weren''t for us, there''d be a lot more than just a few buildings getting knocked down."

    "I''m sorry to tell you Tony, but one of these days it''s going to be more than just a few buildings getting knocked down. Do you really want to be the one held accountable for that?" Ross argued back, "When it comes to work like this, it only takes one screw up. How long before that screw up happens? Tomorrow? Next year, next decade? As far as I''m concerned, the Avengers run on nothing but luck. And luck always finds a way to screw things up. Always."

    Tony simply stood there, his eyes serious as he said, "I''ll keep that in mind."

    "I''m sure you will." Ross said with a nod. Heading towards the open door, he stopped just as he made his way through, "Don''t forget Tony, one mistake."

    Tony watching as Ross walked into the hall, mumbled to himself, "One mistake." Pulling out his phone he said aloud, "Now how the hell do I get ahold of him?"

    -x-

    Naruto scrolled through his new phone, something people called a "burner" for whatever reason, entering in the phone numbers he could remember from his previous device. Which were about two. One of which being SHIELD, though thanks to it being shut down it was no longer in service. The other was Natasha''s number, but he doubted he''d be calling her anytime soon. Finishing off the third contact in his phone, he nodded in satisfaction after he''d entered Alias Investigations'' number, something he guessed was just the woman''s personal number considering he hadn''t spotted a home or business phone anywhere within her apartment. Next, he''d have to get Tony''s number somehow. It was a shame he had no idea where he''d left his last phone at, but at least this one was cheap. That was always a bonus.

    Sighing with exaggeration as he leaned back in his, or rather Jessica''s, chair, thinking, "So booored." He drawled. Looking over at the still comatose woman in the room next him, he said, "She''s like a god damn corpse over there."

    "Why don''t you just leave then if your so bored?" Kurama asked, "Go find a woman or something, that''ll pass the time. One that isn''t a daytime drinker, I''ve had my fill with this termagant."

    "What?"

    "Termagant."

    Naruto filed through what he knew of the English language, trying to remember if he''d ever come across that word before.

    Kurama, feeling the proverbial smoke coming from his container''s ears, sighed as he said, "Never mind."

    The blonde sighed in relief, "Thank you." Looking over at the woman he thought, "And she''s not that bad. Sure, she has the temper of a dragon, but you get used to it."

    "You''re just saying that because she reminds your teammate."

    Shrugging, he thought, "Maybe. Though, I''d say she''s more like Tsunade then anyone else, what with the drinking and cursing."

    "It doesn''t defeat the argument that you''re projecting ghosts onto this woman, ghosts she will never be able to live up to. Ever." Kurama warned.

    Naruto mulled over his friend''s words, trying to come up with an argument against them when a knock came through the door, "Jessica! Jessica are you home?"

    Recognizing the voice of the woman from yesterday, the blonde quickly got up out of the chair so he could walk over and open the door. Swinging it open, he had to swing his hands up into in a submissive manner when he saw her reach into her purse in her shock at seeing him, "Woah, woah!" He called out.

    Quickly recognizing him, Trish blinked in confusion, "You?" Taking her hand from her purse, she continued, "What''re you doing here? Where''s Jessica?"

    Naruto put on a weak smile as he said, "She''s asleep."

    "It''s two in the afternoon."

    "Well, after she helped me out we had a couple celebratory drinks." The ninja admitted.

    Trish eyed him suspiciously, "A ''couple drinks?'' What did you drink, gasoline? Because that woman''s tolerance for alcohol lets her drink all day and keep her wits about her."

    Shrugging he said, "I might''ve played down how much we drank." He admitted, "A couple bottles¡­each."

    She shuffled around awkwardly, "Did you¡­did you, you know?"

    Naruto chuckled, "From what I''ve seen of from that woman, she''d rip me apart before I even get to first base." Not really, but this woman didn''t need to know Jessica''s strength was the norm for him after spending so long with his teammate and Hokage.

    The blonde woman''s eyes widened when he mentioned her friend''s secret, "Then why are you here then?" She asked with a slight edge to her voice.

    Giving his patented smile, he said, "If you''re worried I might''ve stuck around to abuse the knowledge that your friend''s got superpowers, don''t. I''ve met my fair share, and trust me when I say she probably won''t be the last. My luck just won''t allow it."

    "Why then?"

    "A woman came over this morning with a job for Ms. Jones. I figured I''d be here when she woke up so I could relay what she said. She''s been passed out for a while though. Hell, I had time to go get a new phone and stop by my old apartment to get some stuff I left behind. The only thing I haven''t gotten to do is get something to eat." He said the last bit as an afterthought, rubbing the back of his head as he realized he hadn''t eaten anything all day yesterday either.

    Trish gave a long sigh, "May I?" She asked, motioning with her head towards the inside of the apartment.

    Naruto blinked, "Oh, yeah sure. My bad." Stepping aside, a let the pretty blonde into the room.

    "Jessica!" Trish yelled as she rolled through the apartment, "Jessica I swear to God, if you don''t get up I''m going to throw out all your booze! Don''t think I don''t know where you keep it stashed."

    Jessica, her head buried into her pillow, mumbled out some kind of incoherent gibberish.

    "Fine, I''m calling Hogarth. I''d say this calls for a house call." She said flippantly.

    Jessica remained quiet for several seconds before the sound of her screaming into her pillow out of pure unadulterated frustration came from he room. Like a zombie rising from its coffin, the woman sat up as she threw her hair out of her face, "What time is it?" She growled.

    "2:13." Trish answered as she began to walk out of the bedroom, "I''ll be back in an hour. You better be up and at ''em before I get back." She called out as she walked passed Naruto grabbing him at his elbow in order to drag him along with her.

    Getting the gist, Naruto pulled his arm back so he could walk on his own, following the woman as Jessica called out in confusion, "Where''re you going?"

    "Lunch!"

    -x-

    Naruto held back a sigh as he read through the menu in his hands, "Of course." He thought.

    "What?" Kurama drawled.

    "There''s no ramen on the menu. I wonder if they''ll make it if I ask?" He pondered in his head, flipping through the pages as he did.

    Kurama fought urge to roll his eyes, though the task proved too difficult as he said, "You''re on a date with a beautiful woman, and this is what''s coming to mind? If it were possible I''d slap the shit out of you."

    Naruto gave a mental shrug, "I''ve got a hankering, that''s all. And this isn''t a date. This is lunch."

    "I don''t understand the difference."

    "Well there is one."

    Kurama shook his head, "I''ll never understand the intricacies of your convoluted mating dance. All you monkeys seem to follow it. It''s redundant." He then gave off a warning growl, "And if you ask them to make you ramen I''ll make you regret it, I''m not kidding."

    "Fine." Naruto relented, looking over at the woman sitting across from him he asked aloud, "Have you been here before?"

    "A few times." Trish answered, looking around the average looking diner, she said, "I like to come here by myself most of the time though."

    "Why?" He asked.

    She smiled hesitantly, "I uh, I don''t if I wanna tell you." Shrugging she said, "You''re the first person I''ve met in a while that hasn''t figured out who I am after a few minutes."

    "Am I supposed to know who you are?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

    "How old are you?" Trish asked curiously.

    "24." Naruto answered.

    Trish raised a brow of her own, "That''s it? You look more around my age."

    "And that is?"

    Trish raised a brow, "What''s that trope about asking a woman her age?"

    Naruto smiled, "I''m not asking how old you are, I''m asking how old you thought I was."

    "Smooth." Trish said with a smile, "29."

    "That''s it? You look more around my age." Naruto said back with a knowing smile on his face, "So why am I supposed to know you?"

    "Well, even though you''re younger than I thought you probably still watched it." Seeing his confusion, she sighed in defeat. Giving a quick look around, she leaned forward to say, "It''s Patsy?"

    "Who?"

    Trish blinked, "You really don''t know what I''m talking about?"

    Naruto shook his head, "Nope. Am I supposed to?"

    "You''ve never heard of It''s Patsy? Of Patsy Walker?" She asked in genuine surprise.

    "Why should I have?" The blonde asked, growing more confused as the conversation went on.

    She leaned forward more as she practically whispered, "It was a TV show in the late nineties? Super popular? You''re telling me you''ve never even heard of it?"

    "If it helps I''m not from the U.S." Naruto said, "And I''m gonna guess that you''re Patsy?"

    "I was Patsy." Trish said, "I don''t do that kind of stuff anymore." Shaking her head she said, "I can''t believe you haven''t even heard of it. I''ve had men from the Philippines send me fan letters."

    "Isn''t that a good thing?" He asked, "Not having someone recognize you, for once?"

    "Yeah, yeah I suppose. It''s just a little weird." She shook her head, "No, weird isn''t the right word¡­"

    "Well uh-"

    "Novel!"

    Naruto blinked, "What?"

    Trish had the decency to looked slight abashed, "Sorry, I thought of the word. Novel, it''s a novel experience."

    "Oh." Naruto said lamely, not really knowing where to go from there.

    The two sat in their booth in a new-found silence, an awkward one that resulted in Trish playing with her silverware and Naruto swirling around the iced tea in his glass. Thankfully, the waitress came to their rescue, pulling up to them at a slow pace, her thick Queens accent practically slurring her speech, "Whattcha wan''?"

    "Oh, uh, I''ll have a deli club, please." Trish said politely as she handed the waitress her menu.

    "Side?"

    "Fries."

    Her eyes shifting over to Naruto she asked, "You?"

    "Yeah do you have-" Hearing his partner''s aggressive growl echo through his head, he sighed in defeat as he said, "Just a cheese burger and fries, I guess."

    If the waitress had a problem with his shift in attitude, she didn''t seem to care as she took his menu before walking away towards the kitchen to place the orders.

    The two continued where they''d left off for a nearly another minute before Trish finally asked, "So, what do you do?"

    Naruto scrolled through the jobs he could think of that made sense before finally shrugging in defeat, "Nothing."

    Trish raised a curious eyebrow, "Nothing? Nothing at all?"

    "Well, I only just got back, so I haven''t really found anything to occupy my time with." Naruto said, "Probably something here in New York. Or maybe not."

    "Well what did you do before? You have to have done something to pay Jess."

    "Freelance stuff I guess you could say."

    "You guess?" She asked in confusion, "Like, freelance photography or something?"

    Naruto smiled at that, "Yeah something like that, sure."

    Trish nodded, resting her elbows on the table as she said, "Well I know some people over at the Daily Bugle if you''re really desperate. I''ve heard the Publisher is a piece of work but they''re always looking for freelance photographers so I''m sure you could get some work. Nothing great, but it''d be something."

    "I''ll keep that in mind." Naruto answered, "What about you? Have I seen you in anything recently?"

    She gave a short laugh, "No, I haven''t acted in anything in years. I''m only just now getting back into it with my talk radio segment." Seeing his slightly confused look she went further, "It''s like a talk show but on the radio. Like a podcast but with a wider audience of viewers."

    "Oh, so you have like celebrities on and stuff? Anybody super famous?"

    "A few." She said with a smile, "Though my favorite guests are a little more boring than someone like Simon Williams."

    "Like who?" He asked.

    "People like Randolph Cherryh, Stan Ori, Mariah Dillard. I really just want to dig into their policies, what makes them right for their positions, put them on the spot for some of their less popular decisions in office. I just don''t want the things our politicians do, even the good ones, be swept under the rug. Stuff like that needs to be public domain." Trish explained, the passion she clearly felt for her work seeping through as she went on.

    "I don''t know." Naruto said with a shake of his head, "Sometimes, ignorance is bliss."

    "And sometimes that ignorance comes back to bite us in the ass. Just look at SHIELD. If we''d have known about half the stuff that was going on over there, do you really think Hydra wouldn''t have been flushed out quicker?"

    "Sometimes, keeping people in the dark is the only option." Naruto said back. After a moment of internal debate, he continued, "There''s this village, a long time ago halfway across the globe, that was created out of several once warring clans that all agreed to a unified peace. A peace that lasted nearly a half a century with no issues from any clan. If anything, the village had begun to prosper, with several other clans forming their own villages after them. That is until one of the founding clans decided that they''d lost their standing amongst the village, and that the only way to reclaim it was to overthrow it entirely. When the village leader found out about this, he tried to convince the other side to back down, that a peaceful resolution could be made. But the clan would have none of it. They''d committed to their plan, there was no backing down from it. So in secret, in the dead of night, the village leader had the clan exterminated. Every man, woman, and child was killed in their sleep."

    "That''s¡­terrible." Trish choked out.

    Naruto nodded, "It was. In one night, he ordered the execution of one hundred and seventy-three people. But in the end, he had saved thousands by avoiding a civil war. Even then, could you imagine the village''s reaction had they known what was going on? There''d have been nothing but chaos."

    "But that''s a rare example. Nothing like that has ever happened here." Trish argued back.

    "That you know of."

    "So what, we''re supposed to just take it? Let them lie to us and keep us in the dark about everything?" She asked incredulously.

    "No, you shouldn''t. Past experiences in American politics should''ve shown that even the most outstanding can overstep their bounds. That''s just the fact of life. Absolute power corrupts absolutely." Naruto said.

    "How would you handle it then?"

    The blonde man smiled sheepishly, "I''m just an average guy as far as this goes. I wouldn''t know how to fix any of it, just bitch about it. The sad thing is that that''s how most of everyone else is."

    "Here you go."

    Their conversation found an intruder in the waitress as she placed Trish''s food on the table. Setting Naruto''s down after with a resounding clink, she walked off without another word, allowing the two to lean back in their seats and ponder their food.

    Sighing, Trish reached for the bottle of ketchup that was at the end of the table as she said, "This conversation got a little heavy, didn''t it?" Sighing in exasperation she continued, "Honestly, after Black Widow released all of SHIELD''s and Hydra''s files, all I''ve done for the past year is talk about the stuff that wasn''t encrypted. I can only imagine how messed up that is. So, this is the last thing I want to talk about on my day off."

    "We can go to a lighter topic if you want." Naruto offered, "How long have you known Jessica?"

    "Most of my life." Trish answered, "She''s my adopted sister."

    "Really?" Naruto asked curiously, "I''d have never thought that. You''re nothing alike, at all."

    "Well we''re not blood related." Trish said before she took a bite of her sandwich.

    The blonde rolled his eyes, "Yeah, I know. I just mean that you''d think being quasi-siblings you''d have a few shared quirks or something." He said before taking a bite of his own.

    "Like what?"

    "The drinking for one."

    "Well," Trish started with a laugh, "I''ll admit to drinking a glass of wine every few nights-"

    "Or the cursing."

    "Do you want me to curse?" She asked with another laugh.

    "Or the heavy amount of contempt she carries for the overall populace of the world."

    "Well that''s just Jessica." A look of melancholy reached her face, "She''s actually gotten a little better after-" Her mouth then snapped shut midsentence, her face now filled with regret.

    "After what?" Naruto asked, wondering why she''d stopped talking so suddenly.

    Trish shook her head, "I shouldn''t say. It''s Jessica''s business to share, not mine. I just got caught up in the conversation."

    The blonde ninja eyed her for a while before saying, "She lost someone, didn''t she?"

    The woman''s face shifted into shock, "What?"

    "She''s got the same look in her eyes as a friend of mine once had." He said as he thought, "A look I''ve had." Shaking his mind clear he continued to say, "I''ve seen it enough times to know what it means." Smiling disarmingly, he finished, "Well, let''s change the subject huh? No point going over something neither one of us should be talking about, right?"

    Trish couldn''t help but smile back, finding the man''s attitude infectious, "Alright."

    -x-

    Naruto and Trish walked at a calm pace towards Jessica''s apartment, heading through the building''s halls as they talked, "I can''t believe you know Krav Maga." Naruto said in disbelief, "That''s some brutal shit."

    Trish shrugged, "If someone''s attacking me am I supposed to use something weak?"

    The man shook his head, "No, you just don''t come across as the kind of person willing to snap someone''s arm." He said with a laugh.

    She laughed back, "Well, I''m not that good. Yet." Giving him a side glance she said, "I could probably kick your ass though."

    "Oh really?" Naruto shot back, "Are you challenging me to a spar, Cobra Kai?"

    "If anyone''s the karate kid in this scenario, it''s me." Trish challenged, "And that''s if you can even fight."

    "That was a very Cobra Kai thing to say."

    "You two seem pretty chummy."

    Trish jumped at the sound of Jessica''s voice behind them while Naruto simply turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow, "Sup?" He asked.

    Seeing that Jessica either hadn''t heard the blonde or, the more likely of the two, had ignored him, Trish asked, "What''re you doing?"

    Jessica raised up the cup of coffee in her hand as she grumbled, "Morning coffee."

    "It''s three o''clock." Trish deadpanned.

    "The shower wasn''t enough to wake me up." Jessica said, "This was."

    "Well it''s you own damn fault for drinking so much. You''re lucky Naruto was there with you, who knows where''d you be right now." Motioning with her head to Naruto she asked, "What do you say?"

    The dark-haired woman rolled her eyes, "He''s the reason I drank so much in the first place." Though when Trish''s look didn''t go away, she sighed in annoyance, "Thanks Whiskers."

    Naruto''s eye twitched at Jessica''s nickname, "Real original."

    "I''ll come up with one better if you want. I''m sure I''ll think of something."

    "You act like we''re going to be spending more time with each other." Naruto said, smiling while feeling slight confusion over the woman''s words.

    Reaching her door, the woman began to unlock it as she said, "I saw that you got me a job while I was asleep, a job I''d have refused otherwise. So, because you felt the need to stick your nose in this, you''re going to help me deal with this woman. I''ve never met her, and I''d rather avoid the awkwardness of me having been unconscious while she was here, with you as a buffer."

    "Huh." Naruto said, "You gonna pay me?"

    "I''ll pay for lunch." She said with a fake smile.

    "I already ate lunch."

    "The cab fare then." She haggled.

    The blonde shrugged, "Fine. I wasn''t really doing a whole lot anyway."

    "Jessica." Trish said with what Naruto would call a mix between a smile and pointed look, "Mind if I talk to you in the bedroom for a second?"

    Jessica groaned, "Do I have too?"

    "Yes."

    Groaning again, she pointed at Naruto, "We''re leaving in two minutes, don''t go anywhere."

    Dragging the other woman in the room, Trish said in a hushed tone, "What''s going on?"

    "What?" Jessica asked in confusion.

    "Why are you bringing him?" Trish clarified, "You''ve never done anything like this. What''s the angle?"

    "There''s no angl-"

    "There''s always an angle with you." Trish insisted, "Anytime you do anything you normally don''t, there''s some kind of angle to it. I know you Jessica."

    Jessica put on her sweet voice as she said with clear sarcasm, "Well did you ever stop and think that maybe I have a crush on him?"

    "Jessica." Trish ground out, "Seriously."

    The woman shrugged nonchalantly, "If I swear that I don''t have anything planned, will you drop it?"

    Trish nodded confidently, "Swear to it then."

    "I swear."

    "What?"

    Rolling her eyes, she continued, "I swear I don''t have any kind of angle or scheme planned for him in any way, shape, or form. If I break this oath, may I be struck down by the power that be. Happy?"

    "Not really."

    Jessica began to walk out of the room, "Just do what I do then."

    "Not everyone can afford to drink no matter the time of day Jess."

    "That''s not what I''m saying." Jessica said as she began to walk out the room, spotting the blonde man leaning against the apartment''s doorway. Noticing what looked like white smoke dissipating around him, she shook it off as she walked over to him, "Let''s go blondie."

    -x-

    Location: Kathmandu, Nepal

    -x-

    Naruto sighed as he thought, "How pissed do you think she''s gonna get when she finds out I''m not actually there?"

    "Going off her stunning personality, I''d say quite a bit." Kurama answered.

    The blonde man shrugged, "She''ll get over it. I think she''ll be more put off that I can make clones of myself than pissed at said fact."

    "Fair enough." The fox said before he sighed, "How long are we gonna have to wait here?"

    Walking through the garden of Kamar Taj, Naruto thought, "It is a little weird to not see anyone walking around. This place was always bustling when I was here." It was as he walked towards one of the several dojos that he heard a commotion going on through the paper walls.

    Sliding the door open, Naruto found himself in the middle of what looked like a spar. At least that what it sounded like, going off the sound of flesh smacking against flesh. This proved hard to see however considering the massive crowd of people that filled the dojo. Wading through the sea of students, Naruto elbowed his way to the front of the mob. Squeezing passed the last of the throng, he blinked when he saw Illyana get hit in the face by a vicious palm strike. As the blonde woman stumbled back, the man that hit her shook his hand in clear pain. Taking in his appearance, Naruto could see he was wearing the standard Kamar Taj training uniform of grey robes. His black hair was a little shaggy, with specks of white wisping along his temple, and a rugged beard sitting on the underside of his face.

    Finally shaking off the sting from his hand, the man slid back into his stance, waiting for Illyana as she spat out a glob of blood. Narrowing her eyes at the man, she charged at him with a tornado kick to the face, only for him to duck down underneath and back off to give himself some space. The woman dubbed Magik tried to close that space, but he was doing an admirable job keeping the distance. Naruto could tell Illyana was getting frustrated, the sweat building along her brow as she sent jab after jab at the man opposite her, all of them blocked and deflected as he kept on the back foot. Finally, she let her exhaustion take hold as she let her form slip for just a moment. That moment was all the man needed as he grabbed her extended arm before using her forward momentum to help him flip her over his shoulder, the woman landing on her back with a hard thump.

    Pressing his body weight on Illyana''s neck with his knee, he quickly raised his hands up to show he was about to throw a jab as he said, "Yield."

    Illyana choked for breath as she looked up defiantly at the man, coughing out, "Fuck off, Strange."

    The man named Strange narrowed his eyes, ready to bring down some punishment when a voice cut through the room, "Enough."

    Looking up, Naruto saw that Mordo had stepped up, a stern look on his face as he waited for the two to separate. Getting up off her, Strange reached out with a helping hand. Glaring up at him for a second, she finally conceded as she took his hand, allowing him to help her up. Now on her feet, she stepped away from him as she waited for Mordo to speak.

    Mordo however waved his hand with a sweeping gesture at the two, giving a silent signal as he waited on them to comply. Knowing what he wanted the two students turned to each other before giving the other a deep bow. As they stood straight, the Master looked around the room, "Return to your duties. The show is over." As the crowd dispersed, all that remained was the four of them.

    When they realized someone had decided to stay despite Mordo''s command, the two students turned to look at the dawdler to see who dared ignore the word of a master. At seeing Naruto, the man could tell she wanted to speak to him, but seemed to know better as Mordo began to speak, "Both of you have improved in your technique tremendously. However, I think we can all agree you have much to learn. Rasputin, you wasted your energy on your frustrations, allowing yourself to fall to exhaustion much sooner than you should have. Strange, you''re too focused on your hands. Stop allowing their brittleness control your fighting style. Stop fearing the pain, but rather move passed it. Understand?"

    "Yes, Master Mordo." The two students chorused out, though Strange''s came out a little more forced than Illyana''s did.

    His eyes moved to Naruto, his face shifting from serious to relaxed as he said, "Now, how may I help you, Uzumaki?"

    Naruto stepped forward, "What''s the matter Mordo? Don''t tell me I''m not allowed to visit a few friends?" He asked with his classic smile at play.

    "I''m sorry." Naruto turned to the man dubbed Strange, "But, who are you?"

    Naruto looked the man up and down for a second before saying, "Where I''m from, it''s common courtesy to state your name before demanding someone else''s."

    Strange scoffed, "And where I''m from, common courtesy is for the mentally stagnant."

    Laughing, Naruto said, "Well, well Mordo. Your student''s got a mouth on him. I''m surprised you haven''t beaten it out of him yet."

    Mordo sighed, "Here at Kamar Taj we do not beat insubordination out of our students. We are to mold the mind and body, not break it." Gesturing toward said student he said, "This, is Mr. Stephen Strange. He has been studying under the Ancient One for over a year now."

    "It''s Doctor Stephen Strange." Stephen corrected, turning his attention to Naruto he asked again, "And forgive me for being curious, but I can''t help but wonder what an Avenger is doing here at Kamar Taj."

    "So, you do know who I am." Naruto said.

    "I know of you. Who you are still remains a mystery."

    "My name''s Naruto." The blonde introduced himself, "And I''m not an Avenger. I just joined in on the fun."

    Illyana scoffed, "And by fun you mean an alien invasion."

    Stephen nodded, "You were all over the news. The Mystery Avenger they called you. You had quite the fan club. But unlike the rest of the Avengers, you never popped back up again. Even the guy with the hammer showed up in London two years ago."

    "Once again, not an Avenger."

    "Then what are you?" Strange asked.

    "Just a guy that wants to talk to your master." Turning to Mordo he asked, "She around?"

    Mordo nodded, "Always. Follow me."

    -x-

    Naruto grunted in annoyance as he was shoved up against the alley wall. Sighing he said, "You know, if you wanted to have your way with me, this seedy alleyway next to your apartment really isn''t the best place for it."

    Jessica only pressed harder, giving her usual glare as she said, "Shut your mouth Tod, I know what you are."

    The blonde blinked, "¡­Tod?"

    "Fox and the Hound." Jessica answered quickly, "Don''t dodge the accusation!"

    Scoffing, Naruto said, "That''s really the best you could come up with? Kinda patheti-"

    "Shut up!" The woman yelled, "Just shut up, for once in your fucking life."

    Naruto paused at that, giving the woman a moment to take a calming breath, "What am I then?" He asked.

    She shook her head, "You''re not just like me, or the other freaks wondering around this god forsaken city. You''re not even like the Avengers. You''re him." Jessica answered, "The Mystery Avenger, the Man of Fire. You''re the goddamn Maelstrom."

    Laughing, he said, "You looked me up, didn''t you?"

    "I''m a PI." The raven-haired woman said with a roll of her eyes, "Looking you up took almost no effort at all. You''re all over the internet. Pictures, sightings, stories from the people you''ve saved, descriptions of your abilities. While you and the Avengers fought throughout Manhattan, you had hundreds of doppelgangers saving civilians from the destruction they caused."

    "Whatever happened with there not being an angle to you bringing me along?" Naruto asked rhetorically, "And I suppose you knowing about that ability will make the news easier to break."

    "What news?" Jessica asked, only for it to then quickly dawn on her, her eyes growing dull as she said, "You''re a doppelganger, aren''t you?"

    "I prefer clone." The Naruto clone corrected, "And don''t get too pissed at the boss. He''s a little busy today, I''m not the only clone he''s got wandering about. Hell, he''s got hundreds of us going to each country''s major cities to place a Hiraishin marker there-"

    The clone was cut off by Jessica''s fist slamming into his jaw, the clone popping in a puff of smoke. Said woman stood in shock as she swatted away at the lingering smoke, "The hell?" She asked aloud. Now alone she scoffed as she looked around for the man, wondering if this was one of his tricks. When he failed to reappear, she cursed, "Well shit."

    She jumped when another Naruto suddenly appeared out of nowhere, a scowl on his face, "Don''t do that. The boss made another clone, and I''m a bit tougher than the last one, but if you hit like you did him I''ll pop for sure. If you pop me, you don''t get another one."

    Jessica rolled her eyes, "That was a love tap."

    "If I were anyone else you''d have caved my skull in." The clone shot back, "You seriously need to learn how to control your strength. What''s the point of having it if you''re constantly having to worry whether or not you might accidently kill someone."

    "I have control." Jessica argued, "I''ve made sure of that after..." As she spoke, her cold mask began to crack as her face began to tick. Taking a few steps back, she began to take several calming breaths as she muttered, "Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt Lane. Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt Lane. Birch Street, Higgins Drive, Cobalt Lane." She repeated this over and over again, like a mantra as she tried to calm herself down.

    The Naruto walked up to her, concern on her face as he walked up to her, resting his hands on her shoulders, "Jessica, Jessica are you alright?"

    After taking a few more breaths, she seemed to have calmed herself enough to brush the man off, walking passed him as she said, "I''m fine. I''m fine. Let''s go, we''re late."

    Watching as the woman walked out the alley, Naruto sighed as he said, "This is gonna be a long ass day."

    -x-

    Location: Washington D.C.

    -x-

    Another Naruto clone sighed as he felt the memories of a dispelled clone come flooding in, "And another one bites the dust. I wonder if boss will send in another clone to babysit that woman."

    Walking down a wide side walk, the clone trekked through the park as he scanned row after row of gravestones, trying though not yet succeeding at finding the one he was looking for. The clone kept looking for nearly fifteen more minutes before finally spotting the one he wanted. Looking down at the bouquet of flowers in his hand, he then walked up to the stone, kneeling into a catcher''s stance as he looked it over as he set down the bundle of flowers. It was a rather plain looking headstone, the face reading, "Col. Nicholas Fury. 1948-2014."

    Reading aloud he said, "The path of the righteous man-"

    "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness. For he is truly his brother''s keeper and the finder of lost children. Ezekiel 25:17."

    Naruto didn''t bother turning around when the voice spoke up behind him, rather closing his eyes as he sighed out, "I knew it." Standing up, he asked, "Kinda hard to believe this meeting is a coincidence."

    Fury smirked down at the blonde, "I''ve been waiting for a moment where you were alone, but you were always walking in a crowded area or were galivanting around with Ms. Jones. Then I got a tip you were wondering around Washington. It wasn''t too hard to put two and two together." Laughing he continued, "And I figured you wouldn''t believe it. Did anyone give it away?" The man wore rather plain clothes consisting of a dark brow hoodie and a ball cap over his bald head, aviator sun glasses covering his eyes.

    "Steve. Sage bless the man, but he''s nowhere near as good of a liar as Maria or Natasha." Flinching at his own words, he looked up at the man, "I didn''t take you for a religious man, Director. Or did ''death'' open your eyes to it?"

    "Not so much religion as the wonders of cinema." Fury answered, now standing next to the man, "For a while, every time I watched that movie, it always tickled me to think that it applied to me, that I was the shepherd. I took in the misfits, the freaks, sheltered them from the outside world''s prejudice and evil, and led them to greatness. Tony, Rogers, Hill, Clint, Banner¡­Romanoff, just to name a few. I put them on the path that they''re on now." Sighing he took his shades off, looking Naruto with his one good eye as he continued, "I realize now that I am not the shepherd, and no matter what you might think, I''m not the tyranny of evil men either. I am the weak. And no matter how hard I tried, I could never be the thing I knew I needed to be. Call it destiny, the hand of God, or just plain bad luck, but you and I both know what it was. It was weakness, plain and simple. That weakness allowed Hydra to fester within SHIELD. It allowed me to consider using the Tesseract as a weapon. It pushed me to make Natasha spy on you, to betray you. And whether it really mattered in the end, it convinced me that keeping you here was more important than telling you the truth and allowing you to go home." A pause came when he took an almost shaky breath, almost, "For that, I''m sorry."

    Naruto sighed, calming himself as he said, "What...what did she really-" He hesitated, trying to form the correct set of words, "Was there ever a moment where she didn''t want to? Did she ever hesitate?"

    "All the time." Nick answered immediately, "One of the few times she ever did. That''s why I tried to convince you to break it off. She''d been compromised. For the first time since she came to work for SHIELD, I questioned her loyalty. And that scared me."

    Laughing, he said, "So, if you''re as weak as you say, if you represent or are a part of the weakness of humanity, what does that make me? The shepherd?"

    "No." Fury said, shaking his head, "And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee. That''s the second half of the ''passage.''"

    "And you think that''s me?"

    "No, but it''s something you can become." Fury offered offhandedly.

    "Then what?" Naruto asked.

    Smiling, Fury answered as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "The righteous man of course." Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a plain looking flash drive that had the words, ''Secret Stuff'' written on it, "I hope you consider this my first step towards redemption." He said, offering it to the blonde.

    Eying the flash drive in a moment of hesitation, he slowly reached out and took it gingerly in his hand, looking it up and down as he said, "I''ll keep that in mind."

    Placing his hands in his pockets, he began to turn away, "That flash drive contains all of SHIELD''s encrypted information and files, minus the encrypted part." Walking away he waved lazily as he said as an afterthought, "And give Natasha a second chance, will you? You''ll need as many friends as you can get. Call it intuition."

    Placing the flash drive in his pocket, he thought, "What a day." Then, another flash of memories began to flood into his mind, causing him to flinch at recalling the clone''s death. Processing the information for a second, he sighed once more before flashing away towards his master, "Yep, what a fucking day."

    -x-

    Sliding off his shoes in front of the door, Naruto entered the Ancient One''s meditation room, his entourage of sorcerers following after him. Behind him he could hear Illyana whisper to Strange, "Why are you even here? You don''t even know Naruto. In fact, you were trying to provoke a fight out of him not five minutes ago."

    "I wasn''t trying to ''provoke a fight.''" Stephen defended himself with a whisper of his own, "And excuse me for being curious why a total stranger wants to talk to the Master. Don''t you think it''s a little odd?"

    "How is it odd?" Spoke up the Ancient One, clearly hearing the sorcerer in training, "It''s been nearly seven years since we brought him here to Kamar Taj. We made quite the impression during his stay here, so it is only natural that we''re overjoyed when he comes to visit. Isn''t that right Master Mordo?"

    Mordo nodded, "He certainly isn''t a stranger. And, it was Uzumaki that sponsored Ms. Rasputin''s apprenticeship here at Kamar Taj." Looking to the two students in the room, Mordo nodded his head towards the door, "Come, I''m sure that they have much to discuss."

    Both Illyana and Stephen looked ready to argue, but the blonde woman calmed down after receiving a reassuring look from Naruto. Seeing Strange''s hesitance to leave, the ninja said, "Perhaps your time would be best spent working on controlling your fear, Doctor Strange, rather than hovering over a conversation you''re not privy to."

    Strange narrowed his eyes in confusion, "And what fear would that be? Pain?"

    Naruto gave him one of his patented megawatt smiles, "Maybe one of these days I''ll tell you."

    With that, Mordo pushed Stephen out of the room before softly shutting the door behind him though the two could hear the Master reprimanding his student through the thin walls.

    Smiling softly, "You have me curious, Naruto, as to what you believe his fear to be."

    The man shrugged, "I''ve got the ability to detect negative emotions, fear being one of them. If I really concentrate, I can pick up on what is driving that sense of fear." Smirking he said, "Even yours."

    Her surprised look faded as soon as it appeared, "So, what have you picked up from my latest student?"

    "He fears the same thing as me." Naruto answered, "Failure."

    "How poignant." The Ancient One said, "Now then, what is it I can do for you?"

    "Is this really a good idea brat? Considering the fact that what you''re going to ask her revolves around her fear, I''d say this could go bad fairly quickly." Kurama warned.

    Naruto ignored the voice in his head, powering through as he said, "I came here because I''d encountered something strange during my fight with Desak."

    "And that would be?" The Ancient One asked, sipping at her tea.

    "Death."

    The sound of her sipping ceased as soon as the word left his lips, her eyes widening a margin before she collected herself, lowering the cup as she said, "Excuse me but, I must have misheard yo-"

    "I met the physical manifestation of death. It wasn''t a dream, or a hallucination. She was as real as you and me." Naruto interrupted.

    "She?"

    Naruto nodded, "I was just curious if you''d ever heard of anything like that before."

    "I can''t say I have." The Ancient One answered slowly, "I''ve seen and experienced many things, but to meet death itself is beyond even my scope of understanding. What was it like, exactly?"

    After a moment of thought he said, "Cold, devoid of anything except for my senses. It was like floating in a survivable pocket of space, where its vacuum couldn''t touch me. Then she was there, and it was like I''d known her my entire life, but I just hadn''t seen her for a long, long time. She made it sound like she was connected to me, more so than usual."

    "Did she elaborate on the source of that connection?"

    He shrugged, "Something about my seal."

    Nodding she asked, "Perhaps then you need to explore the inner workings of you seal. You say that it''s like a tunnel system, have you ever tried exploring it? Moving passed Kurama?"

    Naruto shook his head, "I''d never seen the point." Scratching his chin, he said, "It''s worth a try I suppose."

    Returning to her tea she said, "Well, I believe Ms. Rasputin wishes to speak with you. I think I''ve kept you long enough, hmm?"

    Eyeing the woman up and down, he nodded as he said, "Well, thanks for the advice. I owe you one..." Pausing, "I''m gonna have to figure out your real name, calling you Ancient One to your face always seemed really weird." He said offhandedly.

    Giving a respectful bow, he walked out of the room, missing the woman''s calm fa?ade begin to break as she looked down at her now shaking hand, gripping it in a tight fist as she tried to calm her nerves.

    -x-

    Illyana looked up from her couch as she felt another presence enter her apartment, quickly spotting Naruto, the man looking around as he said, "Nice place, I didn''t know Kamar Taj let students come and go as they please."

    Shrugging, she said, "My abilities make any complaints about where I live a moot point."

    "Fair enough." Naruto answered, "What was up with that Strange guy?"

    She rolled her eyes, "He''s just got a chip on his shoulder thanks to his hands." Illyana answered. Seeing Naruto''s confusion, she elaborated, "He messed them up really badly about three years ago. Apparently, he was a world-renowned surgeon but because of his injury he was forced on medical leave. After throwing away all his money on surgeries he came to Kamar Taj penniless about a few months before I showed up. He''s the latest prodigy in magic, the last one since Kaecilius."

    Recognizing the name, the blonde asked, "Isn''t that one of the Masters of Kamar Taj?"

    "Former Master." Illyana corrected, "He went rogue a year before I joined. People still talk about him though. Not surprising, since he killed the Librarian the day he defected."

    "Damn." Naruto said, remembering the Librarian as a nice, if strict man. He''d have to keep an eye out for this Kaecillius guy.

    Illyana raised an eyebrow at the man, "Is this why you came here? To grill me about Strange and traitors I don''t even know?"

    Chuckling, Naruto answered, "No, no I''m here because I have a proposition for you."

    She blinked in mild surprise, a variety of thoughts flying through her head before she asked, "Proposition? Like what?" Scowling, "You better not ask if you can stay here. I don''t mind, it''s just this place isn''t exactly made for two." She finished with a tinge of a blush on her face, something Naruto ignored.

    Sitting next to her on the couch, he sighed as he tried to come up with what he wanted to say, "You know why I was gone for so long, right? About my deal with Thor of Asgard?"

    Illyana nodded, "You''re looking for those gem things."

    "Infinity Stones." Naruto corrected, "During the fight in New York, I met the guy behind it, and he''s fucking fierce. He''s dead set on causing as much damage to the universe as he can, and he''s looking for these Stones to help him do it. I''ve managed to get my hands on two of them, and I know that two more are here on Earth. But the last of them are out there somewhere for him to get whenever he wants, and he only needs one to do an unspeakable amount of damage."

    "But if you have two yourself, you can fight him off, right?" Illyana asked.

    "I could, but I can''t say for sure if I''d survive. And even if I did, we''d cause a lot of damage wherever we were. I almost destroyed a planet with one of these Stones, and I wasn''t meaning to." Naruto sighed, "But it doesn''t matter that I have two of my own, because I don''t have full control of their power. I mostly just use it to bolster my own abilities and use a bit of the power they provide. But this guy has a weapon that gives him full control of the Stones. Something he calls the Infinity Gauntlet."

    "What does all this have to do with me, Naruto? All of this is going a little over my head." Magik admitted.

    Naruto nodded, "When I was out there, I learned that I''m not a fan of working on my own. And now, after my last fight, I''ve realized that there are people out there that I''m not gonna be able to take on by myself. I need a team."

    Realization dawned on Illyana, "And you want me on this team? Does it have a name?"

    The Uzumaki smirked, "I was thinking of something like, Infinity Watch. Something badass like that." Leaning towards the woman he asked, "So, thoughts?"

    Illyana seemed to be thinking it over when the two felt another presence invade the room. Looking over to the bedroom they saw another Naruto walking into the living room. The clone gave a lazy salute as it said, "How''s it going boss?"

    "I''m kinda of in the middle of my sales pitch here." Naruto said in annoyance, "What was so important you couldn''t have just popped to tell me?"

    The clone reached into his pocket, "You were right that Fury was looking for you. He came with this." Pulling out a flash drive from his pocket he tossed it to the original, "That''s all of SHIELD''s unencrypted files."

    Naruto blinked in surprise, "Wow. That''s helpful." He turned to Illyana, "You gotta laptop?" The woman nodded before getting up to retrieve her computer from her bedroom. When he saw the clone was still there he said, "Anything else?"

    The clone nodded, "One of my globe-trotting clones got popped before he could place a seal in the capital of the country it was in."

    "Okay?" The original asked in confusion, wondering how that was important.

    "He was popped in a third world country while fighting a group of women wearing red and silver armor. None of its kunai could pierce their armor, not even when it was applied with wind chakra. But they weren''t the ones to kill it." The clone explained, "It was a man dressed in an all-black body armor. It caught the clone by surprise."

    This got Naruto''s attention, "What kind of third world country has stuff like that?"

    "A place called Wakanda."

 21 Under African skies

    Chapter Twenty-One: Under African Skies

    -x-

    The clomping of boots clapping against tiled floor echoed through the vast halls, their owner taking hurried steps towards the set of double doors in front of him. Pushing the doors open, the man stepped into the council chambers, stopping just in front of those gathered. The chambers were incredibly large, its circular shape held up by the sleekly designed pillars, their gold motif decorated with shining Wakandan runes. In the center of the room were six chairs made of pure Vibranium, the chairs forming a half circle all facing the regal throne in the center of everything. And there, resting in the throne, sat the king himself with a squad of Dora Milaje scattered around him.

    "Baba." The man said, bowing low to his father.

    T''Chaka smiled softly, "Hello, my son."

    Standing straight, T''Challa''s smile faded to a look of stoic seriousness, "I bring news from N''Jadaka Village."

    T''Chaka raised an eyebrow. N''Jadaka Village was one of Wakanda''s many red herrings, the outside world believing it to be the country''s capital. Resting just along the outside of Wakanda''s Forest Wall, it was the last line of defense against outsiders accidentally entering the true capital city, Birnin Zana. Leaning forward, the elderly king asked, "I''d heard there was a confrontation just outside the village, though I figured it to be an overzealous poacher coming a little too close to the wall. We haven''t had an incident outside of that in nearly twenty years."

    The prince shook his head, "Our War Dogs stationed in the village reported a colonizer asking questions about key cities within Wakanda, and asked for a squad of Dora Milaje to be sent to further investigate. I happened to be with the closest set of Dora Milaje in the area, so I volunteered to go with them."

    Nodding, the king asked, "What did you find?"

    "The colonizer looked to be wandering the village to gather as much information as possible. He stuck to big crowds, and made an effort to visit all of the major places within N''Jadaka. After leaving the Shrine of Bast, he somehow deduced he was being followed and snuck off to a secluded section of the village. After calling us out into the open, Ayo led the charge to apprehend him." T''Challa answered.

    "Have you questioned him of his motives?" T''Chaka asked, assuming the Dora Milaje had captured the possible spy. He was forced to hold back his look of disbelief when his son shook his head to say no, "You captured the outsider, correct?"

    "No, Baba." He answered, mild shame in his voice, "Ayo and her assisting Dora were overwhelmed by the colonizer. He was strong and fast. More than myself. More than you ever were. He used weapons that could withstand their vibranium empowered spears and, according to Ayo, could almost pierce through their armor. I was forced to step in when it looked as though he was about to deliver a finishing blow. My claws managed to catch him off guard and wound him, but¡­"

    Confusion marred T''Chaka''s face, "But what, my son?"

    T''Challa''s face was that of confusion as well, "When I hit him, he¡­disappeared."

    "Disappeared?" T''Chaka asked with a blink.

    "The only way I could describe it was that he popped." T''Challa explained, "One second he was there, the next he explodes in a puff of white smoke."

    "How¡­strange." The king surmised, "Has there been any other sightings of this man?"

    The prince shook his head, "I contacted the Border Tribe to see if there had ever been another sighting before or after, but W''Kabi could find nothing."

    T''Chaka stood from his throne, "Tell him to continue, make it his top priority. A man as dangerous as this must be found. Up security around Birnin Zana and all other legitimate cities in the country, and increase all of their patrols within and outside their walls. Give all War Dogs and Dora Milaje any kind of information we have of the outsider, and tell them to keep their ears to the ground."

    "What of me, Baba?"

    Walking up to his son, T''Chaka rested his hand on T''Challa''s shoulder, "Sadly for you, dealing with the outsider will have to wait. I have a mission for you."

    T''Challa bowed his head, "Whatever you ask of me will be done."

    "T''Shan is taking Shuri to Obodo Agha to show her the facility there, despite my protests." The former Black Panther began, "As you know, a small militia group from Ghudaza has begun to crop up just a few miles outside the village, and are showing signs of advancing into our territory. I''ve informed T''Shan of this, but the man insists that Shuri must begin to work on designs she''s drawn up and that Obodo Agha is the only place to do it without outside interference. I''ve been very vocal in my protests, but Shuri has managed to convince Ramonda to take her side."

    "And you wish for me to watch over her?" T''Challa asked.

    The king nodded, "I''d send Okoye, but I need her to assist in the search of this outsider, her and most of her Dora Milaje." He patted his son on the shoulder, "You have many gifts my son, but none of them would add anything to the search of this man. They are however, quite useful in protecting your sister from harm. Can you do it?"

    T''Challa nodded as he stood ramrod straight, crossing his arms over his chest in a Wakandan solute, "Of course, my king!" He proclaimed.

    T''Chaka began to walk passed his son, a duo of Dora Milaje opening the chamber''s doors for him as he called out, "Wakanda forever."

    "Wakanda forever!" Chorused all other occupants of the room.

    -x-

    "So, where''s this Wakampa?"

    "Wakanda." The Shadow Clone and Illyana corrected.

    Naruto rolled his eyes, "Yeah sure, Wakanda. Where is it?"

    "Eastern Africa." The clone answered, "From what my clone could see, it''s what most would call a third world country, though there doesn''t seem to be any kind of starvation, lack of jobs, or run-down health care. If anything, they seem to be prospering considering the fact they have almost zero outside assistance from anywhere else around the world. The only thing this country seems to lack is any kind of modern infrastructure and technology that isn''t decades old. Their most modern city is their capital, N''Jadaka Village, which is about the size of your average suburban city. There''s a handful of government buildings there, a university, and a few shrines dedicated to some of their gods as well. Nothing special. The clone was about to place a few seals around the capital building when he found his tail and engaged them."

    The original blonde nodded, "Where he fought the African Amazons and the cat guy." He sighed as he leaned back in his seat, "Something''s off here."

    The clone nodded back, "It all seems a little staged. Like we''re supposed to see this and brush them off. But almost that entire time the clone was there, he felt like he was being watched. Then, anytime he asked questions about the country, people got really skittish. Suspicious even."

    "They''re hiding something then." Illyana concluded, "And clearly you made them nervous enough to send out a squad of¡­whatever it is they are."

    Naruto fiddled with the flash drive in his hand, "If anyone would''ve known, it''d have been Fury and SHIELD."

    The clone smirked, "And whatever SHIELD knew, we know."

    "That''s only if Fury didn''t edit out a few bits from the leaked data." Naruto offered, "Which isn''t exactly his style."

    "But it wouldn''t hurt to look." Illyana said.

    Naruto shrugged, "I didn''t say I wouldn''t look. It''s too juicy not to."

    "Don''t tell my he''s gained even an inkling of your trust back, brat." Kurama growled out.

    Giving a mental scoff, Naruto thought, "Hell has yet to freeze over Kurama."

    "It better not have, brat. I thought you''d gotten passed your blindly trusting phase. I''m going to be pissed if it''s still lingering around somewhere in the void you call a skull."

    "So, what are you going to do?" Illyana asked, "About Wakanda?"

    "Well, I can''t lie when I say that my urge to snoop around is pretty high." Naruto admitted, "The best move would be to go back and get some information." He looked to his clone, "How''s that one technique coming along? That''d make the whole thing go a whole lot smoother."

    The clone rubbed the back of his neck, "Well uh, to be honest we still kinda suck at it."

    "How the hell do we still suck at that move? We''ve been working on it for like a year and a half."

    "It hasn''t exactly been top priority." The clone offered.

    The original scoffed, "And who''s fault is that?"

    "Yours."

    "¡­Oh yeah."

    "Idio-"

    POOF!

    The clone was cut off as it was dispelled by its creator, leaving a small plume of smoke in its place, "Asshole." Naruto muttered.

    "So, when do we leave?" Illyana asked.

    "We?" The ninja asked.

    The woman smirked, "You''re forming a team, right? Well, I think it''s time this ''team'' had its first mission."

    "Fair enough." Naruto admitted, "But Wakanda can wait a bit longer, I wanna check out this flash drive first."

    As Naruto extended his hand out for the laptop situated in Illyana''s hands, the woman tossed it over to him with a roll of her eyes, "I''m gonna get changed, have at it."

    The blonde on the couch ignored her, slipping the flash drive into a slot on the side of the computer. Clicking on the icon as it popped up, a window came up asking for a password.

    "Shit." Naruto cursed, leaning back into the couch as he tried to think of what the password could possibly be. His eyes panning over to the flash drive, he shrugged as he took a shot in the dark by typing what was written on the face of the cartridge, "Secret Stuff." He said aloud as he typed it in before hitting ''Enter.''"

    A ding was heard, signifying the password was a success, followed by another popup, this one containing several dozen files in a single tab. Scrolling down as he skimmed through the file names, he raised an eyebrow at some of the titles he came across, "Known Hydra Agents, Known Hydra Supporters, Project: Raft, The Ragnarok Prototype, Project: Negative Zone, The Watchlist." He read aloud, both eyebrows shooting up after reading the last one.

    Clicking on the file, he read the first name on the list, "Uzumaki, Naruto." He rolled his eyes, "Of course."

    His eyes landing on the name right below his, he started again, "Reece, Owen. Born 21 August 1991. Born with the ability to manipulate molecules, Reece has been under SHIELD''s radar since birth. Raised solely by his mother, Reece grew up with very little understanding or training of his abilities. It wasn''t until the passing of his mother that his powers truly manifested, the at the time 9-year-old boy bending everything around him in his emotionally compromised state, killing several dozen people. Imprisoned for the safety of Reece and anyone around him, he was held in solitary confinement for the entirety of his 13 year prison sentence, where he trained to control his powers. Deemed a nonliability by Director Fury and Secretary Pierce, Reece was released into the world under severe monitoring. Currently classified as a Threat Level: Omega."

    After reading the Owen Reece''s threat level, Naruto muttered, "Wow, haven''t seen one of those in a while."

    Scrolling down to the next name, he read, "Murdock, Matthew. Born 15 December 1982. Blinded by a radioactive substance at a young age, additional side effects being the improvement of all other senses. After further investigation, signs show that these improvements have reached superhuman levels. Deemed as a nonthreat, though further monitoring is advised, possible recruitment recommended." Scrolling down he read the next, "van Dyne, Hope. Born 3 August 1980. Daughter of Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne, aka SHIELD Agents Ant-Man and Wasp. Acting board member of Pym Technologies. Skilled in hand to hand combat and distinctly intelligent, it is highly likely that she will either inherit or recreate her father''s coveted Pym Particles suit. Deemed a possible threat, further monitoring is highly recommended."

    Naruto continued to skim through the dozens upon dozens of names: Stephen Strange, Carl Lucas, Frank Castle, Darren Cross, Bill Foster, Electra Natchios, Pietro and Wanda Maximoff, the list went on. Even Jessica and Illyana were on the list. But there was one that really caught his eye. A name, a person, he''d come across before.

    "Walters, Jennifer. Born on 3 March 1982. Paternal cousin of Dr. Bruce Banner. After suffering a fatal gunshot wound, Walters was placed in emergency care, near death. Due to her mother''s passing a decade earlier, her only matching blood relative was the conveniently present Dr. Banner, who reluctantly transferred over his blood to save her life. It was after she was released from hospital care that she experienced her first episode, transforming into a, lesser yet still very much Hulkish form. After further observation, we can confirm that she can transform in a manner similar to Dr. Banner, though what it lacks in overall strengths is made up for by Walters keeping her state of mind. Deemed a possible asset, recommend immediate recruitment."

    Naruto read over the file several more times, slower and slower each time before he muttered out, "Well shit."

    "What?"

    Naruto looked up to see Illyana dressed in what he could only guess was her "mission gear," wearing a pair of black cargo pants and a dark brown hoodie, with a black traveling strapped to her back.

    Sighing as he scratched his scalp, Naruto said, "It''s nothing. Well, not nothing. Just something I really, really need to handle soon."

    Shrugging at the other blonde''s confusing answer, Illyana asked, "So, what''d you find on Wakanda?"

    "There aren''t any files on it, so if Fury bothered to share, it''s buried somewhere in the clusterfuck that is SHIELD''s dirty laundry. And it''s probably not anything we can''t find out with a little reconnaissance." Getting up with a grunt, he asked, "Think you can handle it?"

    The woman smirked, pointing a hand in front of her as a disk of light formed. Taking a step into the portal, Illyana looked to Naruto rather cockily, "Are you coming?"

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You''ve been to Wakanda?"

    "Ever heard of Google?"

    "Oh."

    -x-

    Arms crossed behind his back, T''Challa walked down the spiraling staircase heading into the Research and Development Lab, a duo of Dora Milaje at his rear. Reaching the last step, the prince looked over his shoulder, "I think I can make it from here." He calmly dismissed.

    Giving a stiff solute, the two women turned on their heels before making their way back to the top. Beginning his trek into the head lab, he calmly nodded at the row of Dora Milaje lined up against the corridor.

    He barely stepped foot within the lab when a sharp shout rung out through the circular room, "Brother!"

    His stoic facade breaking for a moment as he allowed a smile to cross his face, looking down at the thirteen year-old girl as she ran up to him at full speed, barreling into his stomach as she put all her weight into a bear hug, "Umph!" He coughed out. Prying the girl off of him, he chuckled out, "Hello, Shuri."

    "T''Shan told me you''re coming with us to Obodo Agha, is that true?" She asked. Shuri stood just under his chest, her bright smile in play. Her hair tied into a topknot, she wore a loose purple set of Wakandan robes.

    "Well of course I am." T''Challa confirmed, "I can''t have my sister wandering the streets of Obodo Agha alone can I?"

    Stepping back, Shuri grabbed his hand, dragging him further into the laboratory, "I''ve been training how to fight, just like you did. I can take care of myself." She argued, "It''s stupid we have to leave at all. Who do I have to worry about here?"

    T''Challa frowned at his sister, "There are people in this city who don''t agree with T''Shan''s progressive views, or how he''s ''spread'' these beliefs over to you, the Princess of Wakanda. Some of your ideas challenge tradition, Shuri."

    "Like what?" She challenged.

    "Mass producing traditional Black Panther armor for all military forces, for one." The prince argued, "Or developing low-tech medical packages to be distributed among the rest of Africa, and then the idea to create nanotech lined armor-"

    "How is the nanotech suit a breaking in traditio-" Shuri interrupted, only to be cut off herself by T''Challa.

    "The armor of the Black Panther is a tradition."

    "Well, they won''t have time to complain about my Black Panther designs, because they''ll be too busy shitting themselves once they see it in action." Shuri exclaimed confidently.

    As soon as the princess finished her sentence, a thick baritone voice echoed through the lab, "What have I said about that kind of language, cousin?"

    Shuri had the decency to bow her head in mild shame, "Sorry, T''Shan."

    The man, despite his thick voice, was shockingly frail in stature, standing just a few inches taller than T''Challa, with his body lacking greatly in both muscle and fat, his bones practically visible. Wrapped in purple robes, the elegant cloth hung off his body as T''Shan gave a quick solute, "My prince." He greeted.

    "T''Shan, I assume you''ve been told I will be accompanying you on your trip." T''Challa said to the older man.

    "I have, and I can''t thank you enough for agreeing to come along. Now, Shuri can continue her work unperturbed." Patting the girl on the shoulder, "She truly is one of a kind, this girl."

    T''Challa nodded, "So she likes to tell us."

    "No, no, no." T''Shan said, wagging his lithe finger negatively, "Shuri isn''t once in a decade, generation, or even a life time. If your father were to allow us to show our research to the world, her name would stand among Achimedes, de Vinci, Einstein, and Stark as some of the greatest minds to walk this planet. And, I hope I live long enough to see the day it happens."

    "Hmm¡­" T''Challa grunted out as he shook his head, "Father would never allow the outside world to know what we''re doing. He, more than anyone, would love to see Shuri''s intelligence be recognized around the world. But in Wakanda, unlike in America, an inventor''s goal isn''t fame-"

    "It''s the betterment of the people." Shuri finished.

    T''Shan nodded, "Of course, of course. Our king is right in his indisposition. But, perhaps one day Wakanda, and the world overall, will benefit from such a revelation."

    "Perhaps." T''Challa said noncommittedly. Walking passed the duo, he asked, "How long were you planning on having us stay within Obodo Agha?"

    "A month, at least." The head of Research and Development answered as he followed after the prince, "That should be more than enough time for Shuri to get some work done, I''d say."

    "And you have heard of the encroaching group of militarized bandits as well?" The prince asked.

    "Of course, it was something our king made sure to remind me of. Several times."

    "And you don''t think it risky to stay for so long knowing they may try something soon?" T''Challa wondered.

    "No, no I don''t." T''Shan answered, "The only reason they haven''t been exterminated by our War Dogs or Dora Milaje is because the rest of Africa would immediately be aware and responsive. They''re only allowed to breath so long as they know their place. Once they step foot in Obodo Agha, however, they''ll no longer be an issue." His smile grew larger as he finished, "And, how can I be nervous, when the Black Panther is our protector?"

    -x-

    The thick chorus of men laughing, drinking, and telling tale rung through a large campsite that sat in the wide open African valley. Sitting within the center of the encampment was a long canopy, it being the main source of noise and debauchery.

    Outside of the canopy was a hive of movement, with several boys going in with a plate full of food and drink, and just as many walking out with empty plates ready to be refilled. One of said boys was walking into the tent dedicated to prepping the meals, confusion on his face as several boys his age brushed passed him, all of them clearly knowing what to do.

    "Boy!" Called out a gruff voice. Looking over to one of the several guards stationed in the tent, the boy froze up when the guard pointed his assault rifle in his direction, "Move, now!" He warned.

    He needed no other motivation, following after one of the boys that brushed by him. Entering the long line, he stood up on his toes to look over the shoulders of the several dozen in front of him to see one of the guards handing out a set of glasses filled with wine and other kinds of booze to the boy at the front of the line, his young arms barely able to hold up the tray as he began his trek into the main canopy.

    Stepping up as the line moved forward, the boy almost jumped as a voice behind him spoke, "Are you new?" About to look behind him, the voice whispered harshly, "Keep looking forward!"

    The boy did as he was told, "Sorry."

    "Well?"

    Remembering the question, the boy answered, "Yes."

    "What''s your name?"

    "Bobo." The boy answered, "Wha-what''s yours?"

    "Issa." He answered from behind him, "You are from the Abedemi Tribe, right?"

    Bobo nodded, his voice shaking as he said, "They told me I would get to fight." Looking around he continued, "I was told to prepare for the worst, but¡­this isn''t what I expected."

    "This is what they make us do when they haven''t gotten the chance to teach us how to fight for them." Issa said, "They''d rather have us work than sit around and stew. That, and we get used to taking orders."

    "Well at least it''s not as hard-"

    "No, no it''s not." The older boy interrupted, "If you make a mistake, they''ll punish you. And their punishments are random in brutality. They could just beat you one day, then kill someone else''s entire family the next for doing the exact same thing. Just because they pay you to fight, doesn''t mean you''re safe from them."

    "Oh."

    "Hey! Pay attention!"

    Bobo blinked when he realized he''d reached the beginning of the line. After he was handed a large plate, he braced himself as the guard loaded a very large pitcher, around two gallons or so, of wine. Now using both arms to hold up the plate, he turned around, seeing Issa for the first time. The boy, who was three or four inches taller than him, gave him a wary nod. Slowly, he walked out of tent and weaved his way towards the canopy.

    Stepping through the thin flaps that acted as the large tent''s wall/door, he blinked at the overwhelming amount of people in the room. There had to have been over fifty people sitting at the long dining table, with several dozen others loitering around them. Several were drunk, others were feeling up the women in their laps, and some were gorging themselves on the food handed to them by the kids that were all around Bobo''s age.

    Swallowing the lump that had begun to form in his throat, Bobo tried to find an empty spot along the table to stand. Swerving through person after person, he found himself lost in the chaos of activity. Finding a light at the end of the tunnel when he spotted an opening out of the crowd, he pushed his way through, sighing in relief as his bought of claustrophobia came to an end. Taking a moment to gather his bearings, he realized he''d made his way to the head of the table.

    Unlike every other part of the table, this area was rather sparse, with only one person sitting at the end. This man was¡­strange. The man was obviously from African descent, his head shaved with golden gauge earrings hanging within his earlobes. He was tall, with a thin frame that was wrapped in a loose blood red tribal robe. His posture was straight, and he ate with a civility not shared by anyone else in the room. None of that though was what made Bobo uneasy.

    It was his smile.

    His lips seemed to be permanently stretched out as far as physically possible, maybe even a little more so, with almost every single one of his teeth showing as a result.

    Bobo''s attention was taken away from the man''s mouth, said man raising up his glass to signify its need to be filled. Noticing that he was the only one around with a pitcher of wine, Bobo knew he had no choice but to step forward. As he walked passed the man''s guards over to his side, he took a hand out from underneath the plate, the boy reaching over to grab the heavy pitcher. Both arms now shaking from the strain, Bobo did his best not spill a drop as he hefted the thick flask to where it was just over the man''s glass. Pouring the rich red wine into the clear glass, sweat began to build along Bobo''s brow as the swirling drink came close and closer to the brim of the cup.

    And, just as he lifted the pitcher up to stop pouring, a muscle in his arm spasmed, causing him to reflexively bring the pitcher up a little too fast.

    His heart practically stopped when he heard the liquid drip onto the man''s arm, splotching the intricate robe in the process. But his heart didn''t stop for long, because though time seemed to freeze over, he could still hear his pounding heart beat ringing through his eardrums.

    The man turned his head slowly to look Bobo in the eye, forcing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up as he the man still had his smile in place, "My, oh my, oh my. It seems we''ve made a spill." The man spoke calmly.

    "I-I¡­" Bobo stuttered out.

    Seeing Bobo''s fear, the man began to chuckle, "Oh don''t worry, we all make mistakes. Don''t we?"

    "Ye-yes. Yes sir."

    "Well, what''s the point of making mistakes if we don''t learn from them, eh?" The man said lightly, "You''ve learned from your mistake, right?"

    "Of course, sir." Bobo forced out.

    "Prove it."

    Bobo blinked, "I¡­I''m sorry?"

    Slowly, the man extended the hand holding the glass of wine before dramatically spilling the contents onto the floor beneath him. His glass now empty, he put his hand back to where it originally was, "Prove it." He repeated, though this time his voice held a clear undertone of danger to it.

    Gulping, Bobo picked up the now slightly lighter pitcher of wine, his arm this time shaking from fear. Wine swished and sloshed as he moved the pitcher closer and closer to the empty glass, coming to a stop as it came to hover over it once again. Closing his eyes and taking a breath to calm his nerves as best he could, Bobo slowly poured the wine into the glass. His nerves weren''t calmed enough however, the creeping feeling of dread spreading through his body as his arm began to involuntarily shake, causing the wine to spittle out of the pitcher enough to miss the glass, the red liquid landing on the man''s hand.

    Pulling the pitcher back, Bobo waited for the man to speak, sweat beading down his face.

    "Huh." The man sighed out. Looking over his shoulder to one of the guards behind him, the man called out while pointing at the guard''s sidearm, "Abayomi, if you''d please?"

    Abayomi withdrew and presented the pistol without hesitance, "Here you are, Mr. Achebe." He said before stepping back into place.

    Achebe looked over the pistol as he said, "A Vector CP1, very effective Abayome, thank you." As he did, he flicked the safety off.

    Bobo fought every instinct he had not to run away, knowing that no matter what that if he ran he was dead. He could only pray that Issa was right when he said punishment was fickle in this camp. His stomach nearly flipped when Achebe raised the gun in his direction, pointing it directly at him as the older man stared into Bobo''s very soul.

    He practically collapsed when Achebe spun the gun around so that the grip was facing him.

    "Take it." Achebe offered.

    "Whe-where do I put-"

    "Abayome, take all this off the boy''s hands, will you?" He asked pleasantly, motioning towards the boy''s handful of wine.

    His hands now free of the tray and wine, Bobo wrung his arms out as he was finally given a reprieve. Seeing Achebe motion with for the gun in his hand, the boy gingerly took it, cradling it as he asked, "What do you want me to do with it?"

    "You know who runs this camp, right?" Seeing the boy shake his head, Achebe continued, "His name is Daki. No one knows who he is, where he''s from, why he does what he does. Very few even know what he looks like. The only thing we know about him is a story, a tale told and passed along to any that follows him. Would you like to hear it?"

    "Ye-yes."

    Achebe''s smile, somehow, grew, "They say that Daki was a holy man, who lived a quiet, prosperous life with his beautiful wife. That is, until war came upon his village. After two days and nights of fighting within and around the village, a group of tired and wounded soldiers came to his doorstep asking for shelter. While Daki wanted nothing to do with the bloodshed, he knew it was his responsibility as a holy man to not turn a blind eye on those in need. So, he let the soldiers stay in his home, and ride out the battle until it subsided. He healed them, fed them, clothed them, and sheltered them, asking nothing in return. And after several days, the fighting finally stopped, and Daki bid farewell to the soldiers. But, as his back was turned, the soldiers stabbed Daki thirty-two times. They then took his wife, razed his home, and left him for dead. And so, he lied there, crying out for help. Crying out to anyone who would listen, pleading for vengeance."

    "How did he survive?" Bobo asked, enthralled with the tale.

    "Some say he sold his soul to the devil." Achebe answered, "Imbued with a new sense of purpose, and gifted with attributes from the devil himself, Daki hunted down and killed the soldiers who''d betrayed him, stabbing each of his victims thirty-two times. But, he didn''t stop there. Their families, acquaintances, neighbors, even Daki''s wife, none of them were spared from his wrath, all stabbed thirty-two times."

    "Wow." Bobo muttered, "That''s-"

    "Daki is a very firm believer that mistakes are human nature. He made one, and now he''s learned from it. So long as we learn, the mistake can be forgiven. Sadly, it doesn''t appear that you have learned anything from your mistake. Now, I understand that spilling wine is a minor offence. Incredibly so. But still, how would it look if I let it slide? Then, everyone will think it''s okay. Daki can''t have that."

    "I-I¡­I understand sir."

    Achebe nodded, "Good. Now, point the gun to your temple, and pull the trigger."

    "Wha-What?"

    "I thought you understood?" Achebe asked. Rubbing his chin in thought, he continued, "Perhaps this will better help you understand. You''re from the Abedemi Tribe, correct?"

    "Ye-ye-yes." Bobo practically cried out.

    "Well fine then." Achebe said with a nonchalant shrug. His smile still in place, his eyes gained a hard, angered edge to them, "If you don''t shoot yourself in the temple right now, I''m going to send every soldier I have to that village, and they''re going to raze it to the ground. They will tie up and gag all the men they find, and force them to watch as every single child is murdered in front of them, and as all of their women are raped and defiled until they are unrecognizable. Every possession they own will be eradicated, their gods and shrines destroyed, and their homes used as firewood. And as the men quiver and beg for death, watching as everything is taken from them, I will tell them why this happened. Because some sniveling, useless, waste of breath, boy couldn''t do one simple thing!"

    BANG!

    The crack of gunfire silenced the room, all its occupants jumping as they watched one of the new recruits shoot himself in the head, spraying his own blood all over the man at the head of the table. The quiet lasted only a second longer before going back to normal, all conversations continuing as though nothing had ever happened.

    Achebe sighed as he wiped a glob of blood off his face, turning back to face his meal as a couple of guards began to cart off the corpse at his side. Raising his glass for the third time, the man said, "Wine please."

    Issa walked forward, taking the half full pitcher of wine off his tray, slowly pouring the liquid into Achebe''s glass, using all his effort not to spill a single drop. The glass filled, Issa placed the pitcher back on the plate, waiting for Achebe to speak.

    Taking a sip of his wine, Achebe seemed to notice Issa still lingering around. Waving him off flippantly, he continued to sip at his drink.

    Knowing he was dismissed, Issa nodded before taking several steps back, ignoring he large puddle of blood at his feet as he did.

    -x-

    The Next Day

    Location: N''Jadaka Village

    -x-

    "General¡­are you alright?"

    Okoye looked over to her subordinate, an eyebrow raised as she said, "Yes Baya, why do you ask?" The general fought back the urge to flinch at her icy tone, her eyes softening on her fellow Dora Milaje.

    Baya hesitated for a moment, "I apologize ma''am, but you seem¡­preoccupied."

    The general sighed as she turned back to the surveillance screen, "I am fine Baya. I just want to find the outsider as soon as possible so that I may assist our prince. The situation he has found himself sets me on edge." She then pulled at her leather coat, "That and these clothes we have to wear makes me feel naked."

    Baya smiled, "I understand. Even if these clothes are woven in vibranium, it is still uncomfortable to be outside of our armor. And T''Challa can more than handle himself. How many times must he prove that to you?"

    "His ability to take care of himself is not being brought into question, Baya. What''s questionable is why those militia men are so close to Obodo Agha. They''ve become too brazen." Okoye sighed, "If I had my way, we''d have obliterated them by now. But, the council wishes to be a bit more cautious in handling this slightly renowned militia. They fear if we interfere too soon the world will be more likely to notice."

    "Well, in the end it doesn''t matter. Once they step foot on our land, they will cease to exist." Baya said.

    "Indeed-"

    Okoye was interrupted by Eday barging into the surveillance room. Seeing her general''s curious gaze, Eday gave a firm Wakandan solute before saying, "General, I have news."

    "Speak, Eday."

    Loosening her stance, Eday did as her general commanded, "Soya has found the colonizer."

    On alert, Okoye said, "Where is he? Take me to him."

    Eday walked over to the general as she fiddled with her Kimoyo Beads, "Soya, send me the video feed." She spoke into the bracelet.

    "Understood." A voice answered back before a hologram shot out of the center bead, showing a 3D video of the outsider sitting at what looked like a diner with a blonde-haired woman.

    Most of her focus on the video, Okoye asked, "Is this live?"

    Soya''s voice projected from Eday''s Kimoyo Beads, "Yes, General."

    "Why do you ask?" Eday asked.

    "Because," Okoye said, her voice holding a dangerous edge, "the outsider mocks us."

    The two other Dora Milaje looked down at the hologram, watching as the outsider looked directly back at them, waving cheekily as he did.

    "Grab your weapons." Okoye ordered, "This fool needs to be put in his place."

    -x-

    "Do you really think it''s a good idea to antagonize them like this?" Illyana asked, doing her best to look inconspicuous as she sipped on her tea.

    Naruto shrugged as he took a drink from his own cup of steaming tea, "We need them to come to us and we know they''re watching out for us. So, why not make it easier for them to find us? And look at them, not even trying to hide that they''re surveilling us. Disgraceful." He said, his eyes pointing at the woman standing a block away. Like the others that his clone had fought, she was bald with black tribal tattoos all along her clear scalp, though unlike the others that wore a more traditional looking red and silver armor, she wore a black leather ensemble, with a decorative silver neck ring wrapped tightly around her windpipe.

    "Whatever, I just want to know what the game plan is after this. Surely we''re not going to fight in the middle of the street?"

    The blonde ninja smiled, "I''m sure we''ll figure something out."

    "Why are do you have to be so relaxed about this kind of stuff?" The sorcerer wondered with a huff, "I don''t know about you but this is a little nerve wracking for me."

    "That''s because you don''t usually do this kind of stuff. After a while, the nerves go away. Don''t worry, my first mission I was a nervous wreck. My teammate had to save my ass after we got jumped by the people wanting to assassinate our client." Naruto admitted nonchalantly, finishing off his cup of tea.

    Illyana blinked, "Wait¡­what?"

    "Yeah, my first mission outside of my village we were protecting a client from assassins, we got jumped and I froze up." Naruto said with a shrug.

    "But, weren''t you like 12 when you became a ninja or whatever it is you were?"

    "Uh huh."

    Shaking her head, Illyana said, "Don''t you think that''s a little fucked up? You were a kid being sent to fight off and kill other people!"

    Naruto hushed her as he looked around, "Not so loud, geez."

    "That''s why this doesn''t bother you." Illyana harshly whispered, "Because you''ve been killing people since you were a kid."

    "I didn''t kill anyone until I was 16."

    "Definitively, you were still a kid."

    "Maybe here, yeah sure I would''ve been considered a child. But where I''m from, you became an adult the minute you put on that headband. It might''ve taken a bit for that to sink in for me, but it''s true." Naruto said, growing tired of their current topic of conversation.

    Illyana sighed, sensing Naruto''s agitation, "Doesn''t that make you sad though? Knowing you never really had a childhood?"

    "The moment I was conceived I was destined to never have a normal childhood." Naruto said before he paused, his features hardening, "They''re here."

    Blinking as Naruto calmly stood up, she asked, "What do we do?"

    "We go over to them." He answered as though it were obvious.

    "And what, talk?" Illyana asked with clear sarcasm.

    "Yup."

    "¡­wait, what?"

    Scrambling up in order to follow him, the duo crossing the street in the direction of the four warrior women.

    Giving a charming smile, Naruto gave a lazy wave as they came upon them, "Yo! Which one of you is in charge?"

    Though he asked the question, he already knew the answer. Of the three newcomers, the one in the center with a golden neck ring, rather than silver like the other three, held an incredible amount of authority in her stance. Wearing a red leather jacket with black dress pants and a pair of comfortable sandals, she and the others were clearly trying to blend more into the crowd, something that would''ve been much more difficult had they been wearing their armor.

    "I am." The woman answered, "We are here to bring you in for questioning. Make this easier on yourself and your friend and do not resist, or we will be forced to use lethal force."

    "Oh, and of course by questioning you mean see who I''m associated with, get as much on them as you can from me, and then kill me¡­right?" Naruto asked, "Well, how about I get all that out of the way. My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I''m not working for or with anyone. I''m only here out of general curiosity, so I''m really not in the mood to hurt any of you. But, if you threaten to attack me or my friend over here again, I''ll make you regret it." Putting on his classic smile, he finished, "So, what''s your name?"

    The woman that had been watching him stepped up, "How dare-"

    "Soya." The leader cut off, "Enough."

    "Well?" Naruto asked, ignoring the woman now named Soya.

    Lowering her arm, she raised her head, looking down her nose at him as if to say he was below her, "My name is Okoye. I am the General of the Dora Milaje. I am here to bring you in for your ''curiosity,'' and I am not in the mood for your games. So, if I have to tell you to give up one more time, I''ll make you regret it."

    His smile still in place, Naruto asked, "Alright, where do we take this then?"

    Eyeing Naruto for a moment, Okoye answered, "Follow us."

    -x-

    "So, this totally doesn''t feel like a trap." Illyana mumbled.

    The non-Wakandan natives looked around the large spacious park the Dora Milaje had taken them too. It was away from the urban part of the city, and was uncharacteristically devoid of people. Standing in a Mexican standoff, Naruto fought the urge to spit out a western whistle. Looking around, Naruto reached out with his senses to see if anyone else was waiting around to ambush them.

    Raising an eyebrow, Naruto said, "You''d think so, but we''re the only ones here."

    Okoye ignored the two, looking to her subordinates, "The man is mine. Do not interfere."

    The three behind her smirked, all giving a solute in unison.

    Naruto sighed as he pulled off his jacket. Applying chakra to the seal on his wrist, a puff of smoke surrounded him with an audible pop. The smoke clearing, the ninja twirled around his chokuto around, giving it a few test swings, "Can you handle the other three? I think the general is wanting to take me on one on one."

    Illyana nodded as she summoned an Eldritch Tao Mandala, a fiery circular symbol, to her left hand, "I can handle them." She said with mustered confidence, though Naruto could still hear the nerves on the edge of her voice.

    Seeing the outsiders preparing themselves, the four Wakandans reached behind themselves, pulling out a metallic cylinder. Holding the object out in front of them, Naruto blinked when they extended out, turning into gleaming spears with a resounding thwang.

    "If you can''t, tell me. There''s no shame in needing a helping hand." Naruto said.

    "I will only ask one last time." Okoye called out, "Surrender yourself to Wakanda, now. If you do not, I cannot guaranty your survival today."

    Naruto frowned, "All we want is to see what''s going on in this country. We don''t want to harm anyone. This fight is pointless."

    "If that is the case, why don''t you just leave. Ignore what you''ve seen, and go about your life like nothing ever happened here." Okoye offered.

    "We both know you''d never let us go like that. Something is going on in this country. And whatever it is, you''re willing to kill for it." The ninja smiled, "You can''t dangle something like that in my face and expect me not to see what''s going on."

    "Enough talk then." Okoye exclaimed before sprinting over to the man across from her. Jumping into the air, she thrusted her spear downward towards his face.

    After a quick roll out of the way, Naruto was forced to get on his feet quickly to keep the spear tip from slamming into his kneecap. Swatting the next set of prodding jabs, the ninja positioned his sword to lock into Okoye''s spear. Using his superior strength, Naruto began to push Okoye back. Feeling her step off balance, he snuck his foot behind her and pulled her legs out from under her. Grabbing her airborne body, he hurled her away from him.

    Flipping midair, Okoye drove her spear into the ground to slow herself down. Coming to a stop, she huffed as she dusted off her jacket, "How have I not broken his sword yet?" She asked herself.

    Hearing her, Naruto said, "What isthat thing made of anyway? I''m sure if I wasn''t pumping chakra into the blade it''d have chipped by now."

    Okoye narrowed her eyes, "Do you really think I''d tell you that, outsider?"

    "Well, most people do." Naruto admitted, "It''s a mix of my charm and their stupidity that gets them to blab about what makes their moves tick."

    "Well I can assure you outsider that I find you extremely lacking in the charm department." Twirling her spear around she finished, "And I''m most definitely not stupid."

    Charging forward to strike again, she was quickly forced to stop to reflexively parry, as Naruto had decided to throw his sword like a javelin, the blade covered in a thick sheet of lightning. However, as soon as her spear made contact with the sword, a violent jolt of electricity went through her system, momentarily stunning her. Jarred from the stun, she was unable to get her defense up quick enough to stop the fist that slammed into her face. Blood and spittle spraying from her mouth, she was too wrapped up in pain to notice the other uppercut that slid under her jaw, sending her up in the air, with a stomp kick finishing off the combo, forcing her to tumble to the ground.

    Illyana grunted as she used her Tao Mandala to block Soya''s mighty swing, skitting back from the force of it. Sighing in frustration as she batted away another swing, the sorcerer forced to only have a fraction of her attention on the Dora Milaje in front of her, the rest of it on the other two prowling around her like stalking jungle cats. Summoning an Eldritch Whip into her free hand, she gave it a testing snap before whipping it at Soya, the fiery rope wrapping around her vibranium spear. Pulling her forward with a sharp tug, Illyana released the Mandala in her hand in order to summon a portal, the bright disk forming right in front of Soya, enveloping the woman completely. Closing the portal, Illyana then summoned another portal, this one a couple hundred feet in the air, sending the Dora Milaje into a freefall.

    "Soya!" Baya called out, watching as her fellow Dora Milaje fell from the sky.

    Illyana, her face scrunched up in concentration, summoned another portal, this one directly under the falling Soya, before opening up one more, this one right in front of Eday, sending the still moving Dora Milaje into her comrade at full speed.

    Baya scoffed as both Eday and Soya were taken out of the picture. Focusing her attention on Illyana, she twirled her spear around viciously before pointing the tip of her weapon in Illyana''s direction, electricity sparking off it, "Die!" She screamed, throwing her spear as hard as she could.

    Illyana yelped in shock, ducking the spear just as it was about to drive its way into her brain. She quickly realized though that the spear was a distraction, figuring it out as Baya slammed her knee into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her, before taking a fist to the cheek, sending her to the ground.

    Walking away from the still coughing colonizer, Baya plucked her spear out of the ground where she''d thrown it, "Get up!" She yelled, "We''re not done yet colonizer! Get up!"

    To emphasize her point, she swung the blunt end of the spear into Illyana''s side, putting her on her side as she cried out in pain.

    Finally getting back her breath, Illyana muttered out, "If you want me to get up, then stop hitting me you goddamn bitch." Only to take a hit to the face with the butt of the spear.

    Knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Illyana summoned a portal beneath her, swallowing her up.

    Baya looked around, watching as another portal appeared a few yards away, with Illyana dropping out of it. Quickly scrambling to her feet, the sorcerer said to herself, "I really need to get a weapon of my own. A sword or something, that''d be nice."

    The Dora Milaje across from her looked her up and down, "Are you some kind of witch? Is that where these strange abilities come from?"

    "The correct term is sorcerer. But yeah, pretty much." Illyana admitted.

    "Come then, witch. My general will be most angry that I took so long to defeat someone like you."

    The ''witch'' rolled her eyes, "I told you, I''m a¡­you know what? Screw it. Call me whatever you want, freaking bitch."

    Baya narrowed her eyes dangerously, dashing forward with her spear pointed out ready to impale the woman in front of her.

    Illyana quickly raised her hand up, summoning a portal disk in between her and Baya, or more specifically the spear. Her forward momentum to heavy, Baya was unable to stop in time to keep her spear from entering the disk, only able to stop half way. That was enough for Illyana however, as the disk closed, cutting off whatever didn''t make its way inside, bisecting the spear''s handle in half.

    Bringing up another portal, she grabbed the other half of the spear as it fell out. Summoning another disk, she drove the spear into it as a second one appeared right above Baya''s foot, the spear leaving the second portal and driving its way into its owner''s foot, the Dora Milaje screaming out in an angered pain.

    Releasing the second portal, she formed another, this time in front of Baya''s face. Throwing the hardest punch she could muster into the first, she watched in satisfaction as it came out the second right into the Baya''s temple, knocking her out.

    Naruto, seeing Illyana''s fight from the corner of his eye, smiled in satisfaction at seeing his friend''s clever use in her abilities. Quickly ducking under another jab from Okoye''s electrified spear, he smirked as he said, "Despite the fact you''ve yet to hit me, you''re actually very skilled."

    Okoye, sweat sheened along her temple, said, "So are you. I am one of Wakanda''s greatest warriors, and never have I faced someone with such skill. It is unnatural. Unhuman." Attempting a kick as her spear was blocked for what felt like the hundredth time she asked, "What are you?"

    Palming her leg, he took a swing with the kunai he''d used to replace his chokuto and watched as it bounced off her jacket, "I''ll tell you what I am if you tell me what your clothes are made of."

    "I would never betray my country''s secrets." Okoye grunted out, trying out a back handed swing to try and get him to back off for a moment.

    Jumping back, he reached out for his chokuto as he channeled Magnet Release, attracting the sword to him in a manner similar to Thor and his hammer, "You''re a good soldier then. Though, I do have to question how great your country is if they react this way to every guy that asks a couple questions."

    "There has never been anyone like you asking these questions. A man with gifts such as yourself is dangerous to our country. Precautions had to be made to ensure its continued safety." Okoye said, using the conversation to catch her breath.

    Naruto smirked, as he thought, "This place acts like a Hidden Village back home. These ladies must be their version of ANBU or something."

    "Now isn''t the time to make comparisons brat." Kurama said, "She''s stalling. More than likely she''s called for backup after your partner took out her help."

    The ninja scoffed, "Don''t you think I''ve figured that out already?"

    "I can never be sure with you."

    "Fair enough."

    Naruto sighed as he said, "Sorry Okoye, but our little game is gonna have to come to an end. I let you take your shots on me cause I wanted to see how Magik would do on her own. Now that I see she can handle herself, I don''t have any real reason to keep this up."

    Okoye''s face became marred in annoyance, "How dare you presu-ahck!"

    Her tirade was cut off as Naruto appeared behind her, grabbing her in a sleeper hold with one arm and grabbing her arm holding the spear with another. Gripping her tight, he flinched as she back to kick and squirm, sending sharp jabs into his side with all her might in a desperate bid to escape. It proved fruitless however, as before long she went limp in his arms.

    Looking down at her, he sighed as he said, "Sorry." Gently placing her over his shoulder, he walked over to Illyana, "You ready?" He asked.

    Still catching her breath from the continuous use of her powers, she gave a thumbs up, "Ready as I''ll ever be, I guess." Looking to the other three Dora Milaje, she asked, "What about them?"

    Naruto shook his head, "We only need the general. Anything they know she''d know, and then some. Grab on, I''ll get us out of here."

    "Right." Illyana said, gripping his shoulder as she prepared herself for the jolt that was teleporting via Hiraishin.

    "Hold on." Naruto warned. And then, with a flicker, the three of them were gone.

    -x-

    Location: Obodo Agha

    -x-

    "This is¡­impressive."

    T''Challa looked around the Obodo Agha laboratory, clearly impressed by the variety of different inventions loitering the warehouse like area. From the experimental hover bikes, the prototype Dora Milaje armor pieces, to the next generation of Kimoyo Beads. As he walked around, eyeing a new vibranium Mandinka sword, the metal in the blade giving off a soft vibration.

    "I''m sorry my prince, but I need you to step away from the sword. It is quite volatile." A stern voice called out from behind him.

    Looking for the source of the voice, T''Challa said, "My apologies."

    The man that spoke nodded, his heavy stature making T''Challa wonder why he was there to begin with, though his pure-white ensemble showed that he was a member of the Technological Research Division, "That sword is still in the testing phase. If our prince were to find himself injured, I''d hate to think which one of my subordinates would take the blame for it."

    T''Challa''s eyebrows furrowed, "I would take full responsibility, I assure you."

    "Hmm." The man grunted out, "Perhaps, but taking responsibility and taking the blame are two different things entirely-"

    "M''Baba, enough." T''Shan ordered, his face stern.

    M''Baba bowed to T''Shan, "My apologies." He grunted out before stalking off, giving T''Challa warning glance as he did.

    "I don''t think he likes me." T''Challa muttered.

    T''Shan sighed as he watched M''Baba walk away, "I''m sorry T''Challa. That''s M''Baba, he oversees this facility. He''s a bit of a¡­safety nut." As an afterthought he continued, "That, and he''s not a fan of our current bureaucracy."

    "Why?" Shuri asked, knowing she''d be working with the man quite a bit.

    "He, like many here, believe we should share some of our technology with our fellow man. However, unlike myself, he''s very vocal in his distaste." Looking to Shuri he smiled, "I wouldn''t worry about it too much young one. I''m sure once he gets to know you, the two of you will get along just fine. He might not show it, but he is very impressed with your work."

    Shuri smirked playfully as she began to walk away, "I''m sure if he causes me any trouble, the Black Panther will be there to show him his place. Right brother?"

    "I thought you could handle yourself, huh?" T''Challa prodded.

    "Why handle it myself when I have the Black Panther nearby?" Shuri asked in exasperation, "Use your head brother."

    "I''ll be a too busy making sure no one from outside the city is trying to kill you to defend you from a school yard bully." As he began to walk away, he said, "I''m going to get ready. I''ll be with you in a moment, don''t bother waiting for me."

    "One of these days I''m going to build you a suit that makes ''getting ready'' a redundancy." Shuri called out.

    T''Challa didn''t bother to respond, instead waving his hand in a quick goodbye.

    Shuri looked to T''Shan, "Do you really think people outside the city are going to try and come after us?"

    "It''s hard to say child. To try and fathom the thoughts of those savages is a pointless endeavor I find." Patting her on the shoulder, he said, "Focus on your work Shuri, let your brother worry about everything else."

    Shuri smiled at her mentor, "Right."

    -x-

    Location: Outside of Obodo Agha

    -x-

    "Is this information true?"

    "Yes." Achebe answered, "It appears that the Black Panther is accompanying them to Obodo Agha."

    "That will make things a little more complicated."

    Achebe nodded, his smile awkwardly in place, "Agreed, though I''ve been assured it will be handled. All that matters is that we get our hands on the package."

    "Hmph you misunderstand me. It is not Black Panther that worries me. The entire point of this is to force Wakanda''s hand. No, it makes things more complicated for them."

    "Yes Daki, of course."

    Their conversation was cut off by a soldier entering their tent, "Achebe, the soldiers have been mobilized. We''ll be entering Obodo Agha in two hours."

    Achebe sighed, "Captain, can''t you tell I''m in the middle of talking to Daki?" He asked, his voice holding a dangerous edge.

    "Oh, uh¡­" The captain stuttered, looking back and forth between Achebe and Daki, clearly nervous. His eyes stayed on Achebe for a second, a shiver running down his spine from his crooked smile, before he looked to Achebe''s hand. Or more specifically, the hand puppet that rested upon it. The puppet was rather simple, looking like a cartoonish version of Achebe, only his face was decorated with a vicious frown, "I-I''m sorry sir. I just-"

    "Leave."

    "Yes sir!"

    "Captain?" Achebe called out.

    The captain stopped, "Yes sir?"

    "You''ve learned from this, yes?"

    "Of course."

    "Good."

    As the soldier left with his tail between his legs, Achebe sighed as Daki spoke, his voice as coarse as gravel against sandpaper, "A little harsh, don''t you think?"

    "I''m sorry Daki. All I want is to follow your mantra."

    "It''s not my mantra." Daki corrected, "It''s ours."

    Achebe nodded, "As you say."

    Walking behind his desk, Achebe sighed as he looked down at Daki, stroking his hair back into place before gently taking his companion off his hand. Opening a drawer, he lightly placed him on an impressively soft cushion.

    Locking the drawer, Achebe flattened out his robes as he said, "Rest well, Daki. By the time you wake back up, we''ll be one step closer. Sweet dreams my friend."

    -x-

    Location: Outside of N''Jadaka Village

    -x-

    "You sure we''re good here?" Illyana asked, looking around the rundown warehouse they found themselves in.

    Naruto nodded as he created two chairs that faced each other from the ground beneath him, "My clone found this place while he was exploring. I''ve got a gang of clones surveilling the area, and we can just go somewhere else if we get found out."

    Propping Okoye up on the chair, he molded chakra into it so that a few binds sprouted around her to keep the Dora Milaje in place. Taking the seat in front of her, he closed his eyes as he took a calming breath, "Magik-"

    "Why are you calling me that?" Illyana asked.

    Grunting in annoyance, his eyes still close, he asked, "That''s your stage name, right? Well now it''s your superhero name. Congrats."

    A smile spread across her face, "My superhero name." She muttered wistfully.

    "Yeah, uh huh. Can I continue now?" Naruto asked. When she nodded he said, "This move takes a lot of concentration, so I''m going to need you to be as quiet as possible. Understand?"

    "Yes."

    Nodding at her answer, he took another big breath in before saying, "Ninja Art: Psycho Mind Transmission." Going through several hand seals, he paused on the last one, gathering up his chakra until he broke the seal with his right hand, though keeping the half seal in play. His free hand covered in a fiery chakra, he placed it on Okoye''s head.

    Illyana watched as, seemingly, nothing happened. Other than the occasional facial twitch from Naruto, nothing happened between the two for several minutes.

    That is until Naruto''s eyes swung open, gasping for air as blood began to leak from his nose at a steady pace. Grasping his head, he rested his hand against his nose to help stop the bleeding.

    Rushing to his side, Illyana asked, "Naruto! Naruto, are you alright?"

    "I''m fine, it''s just a headache." Naruto grunted out, "God, now I have way more respect for Ino''s dad. That move is ridiculous."

    "What happened?" The sorcerer asked, "What did you do?"

    Getting up, Naruto wiped the remaining blood off his face, "I read her mind."

    Illyana blinked, "Wow. Did you get anything?"

    Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, yeah I got a bit. This whole place is a sham."

    "What do you mean?" Magik asked, confused.

    "Wakanda. The whole goddamn country is a fucking sham. Half of their cities are a smokescreen, created to convince the world that they''re a weak country with little resources. But they''re not. They have a monopoly on the greatest metal around, and they''ve used to become the most technologically advanced country on the planet. And instead of using that technology to help the world around them, the hoard it like a bunch of misers." Naruto chuckled, though there was no humor in his voice, "And they send people like Okoye here to take care of anyone that comes close to the truth."

    "That''s terrible." Illyana said.

    Naruto shrugged, "They believe it to be better for everyone that they keep to themselves. And¡­I can see their point." He admitted.

    "How? If they''re really this advanced, think of all the people they could help-"

    "And think of all the destruction people would wreak once they got their hands on it. I''ve seen wars that use weapons similar to what Wakandans are using, and it''s not pretty." Naruto sighed, "You share vibranium with everyone, you''re asking for another World War. And it''ll be just like the first one: more advanced weapons with old tactics, leading to nothing but more and more death."

    Looking to Okoye, Illyana sighed in defeat, "Well, what do we do with her?"

    "Drop her off in the city. I need to come up with a plan." Naruto said.

    "A plan for what?"

    The ninja''s frown made Illyana nervous, not used the man''s more serious expression, "I need to learn more before I go to Birnin Zana and talk to King T''Chaka. I need a different perspective."

    "Whose?"

    "A panther''s, I think."

    Illyana blinked, "¡­what?"

    Naruto sighed in defeat, "Never mind."

 22 Wretches & kings Part 1

    The sound of silence was disrupted as someone rapped their knuckles against a door, the sound echoing through the dank apartment hallway, followed by the muffled acknowledgement of it being heard on the other side. The source of the knocking waited rather impatiently, tapping their foot hurriedly against the tile floor. After a handful of seconds, that impatience proved too much to handle, and another set of knocks slapped against the door, followed by another call of acknowledgement, this time much harsher.

    The door thrown open, Jessica Jones huffed out an agitated, "What?" Only to then blink when she realized who was standing opposite her.

    Giving his practically patented smirk, Tony Stark gave a quick and lazy wave hello, "I''m looking for the kid." He said, looking passed her shoulder into the apartment behind her.

    "The kid?" She asked, "What kid, there aren''t any kids here." Raising an eyebrow, she wondered aloud, "Why are you asking around for a kid?"

    Realizing the implications of what she was hinting at, Tony sighed, "I''m looking for Naruto."

    "Who?" Jessica asked innocently.

    "I know he''s here so you can drop the doe eyes." Tony said, looking passed her again he called out, "Naruto, it''s me! Tell your girlfriend to let me in, we need to talk."

    An offended look crossed Jessica''s face, "Girlfriend?"

    "Tony?" Naruto''s voice called out.

    Tony made to brush passed the woman at the sound of Naruto''s voice, only to grunt as she shot her arm out across the door frame, effectively intercepting him from entering the room. Taking a few step backs from the surprisingly sturdy woman, he dusted off his suit in exasperation, "Really?" He asked, "Hey kid, you gonna call off Videl Satan over here or what?"

    "Never watched Dragon Ball. I was too busy having friends." Jessica shot back.

    Tony straightened his shades, "But yet you know who Videl is? Clearly those friends were imaginary."

    Naruto cut off Jessica''s retort, putting his hand on her arm and forcing it down, "He''s a friend, you don''t mind him coming in for a couple minutes, right?"

    Jessica''s narrowed eyes went back and forth between the two men before she shrugged, "Fine, you can talk." Grabbing Naruto by the back of his neck, she pushed him out the apartment into the hallway, "Outside."

    Blinking as the door was slammed in his face, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with a slight laugh, "She means well¡­every once in a while."

    "Yeah, she''s a real treasure." Looking back at the door he read the cheaply made sign that read Alias Investigations, "She needs a better sign, this whole rundown apartment look can''t be good for business." After a moment of thought he asked, "She ever think about installing some frosted glass? Maybe some golden font?"

    "Why are you here?" Naruto asked, trying to cut to the chase.

    Tony pulled out a phone, "Here, this is your new phone. It has all the contact info of everyone on the team and a few others including Hill."

    Naruto took the phone in his hand, admiring the state of the art tech on display, "It''s not a Uta, but it''ll do."

    "What?" Tony asked.

    "Nothing, don''t worry about it." The blonde brushed off, "Is that all?"

    "No, no there''s more." Stark answered, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he said, "The Secretary of State wants to have a pow wow with you. I''ve volunteered myself and Rogers to act as your chaperone, so don''t worry about them trying to stone wall you. That''s if you even agree to it. They have no say over you, so there''s really not a lot they can do to you if you refuse to talk with the-"

    "Sure, whatever."

    The man dubbed Iron Man blinked, "Excuse me?"

    Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, I mean I don''t really care. I''m sure the boss would want to do it eventually."

    "The boss?" Tony muttered, only to scoff, "You''re a clone, aren''t you?"

    The Naruto clone gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, "Sure am!"

    Tony sighed, "Fine. Just make sure you get with ''the boss'' and have him get with me or Rogers."

    "Yeah, I can''t really promise you that he''ll get back to you real quick."

    Stark raised a curious eyebrow, "Why, what''s he doing?"

    "Uuhmm."

    -x-

    T''Challa sighed as he crouched over the ledge of the railing within the R&D building, calmly watching his sister work on her upgraded Kimoyo Beads. Trying to keep as out of the way as possible, he kept to the upper levels of the facility, prowling around so that his sister was always in his view. He''d been on sentry duty for the past few days, and the monotony of it was just beginning to get to him. If it weren''t for his decade of training, he knew he wouldn''t be able to last the month.

    But no matter what, he would not fail. His pride would never allow it.

    Shuri sighed as she looked up to see her brother literally hovering over her, wiping the sweat from her brow as she turned her attention back to her desk, continuing to tinker with her Kimoyo Beads. T''Challa wasn''t the only one hovering however. T''Shan seemed to think he was her shadow, seeming as how he followed her every step everywhere she went. Unlike a shadow however, he always seemed to have something to say. Question after question. Praise upon praise. At first, she admitted, the constant praise and questions helped boost her ego quite a bit. But it had quickly devolved into a nuisance. Luckily, M''Baba had plenty for T''Shan to look over, keeping the man busy enough that Shuri was able to fight the urge to not so kindly ask him to buzz off.

    "He takes protecting you very seriously."

    Having just managed shut off the world so she could focus, Shuri jumped at the deep voice of M''Baba.

    "Don''t do that!" She shrieked out. Calming herself, she flattened out the ruffles in her shirt as she asked, "Can I help you, sir?"

    M''Baba hummed, "What is this?"

    Shuri turned her attention back to her work, speaking as she tinkered, "New Kimoyo Beads."

    "New how?" The man asked, "We come out with a new set of upgraded beads biennially, all of the individual beads upgraded as much as possible."

    "It''s new in that it''s new. I''m not upgrading any of the previous bead models. I''m adding a new one." Shuri corrected, "As you know, each individual bead serves a purpose. One for communication, one for video feeds, one for medical evaluations. One of them acts as a key to access vehicles and doorways for crying out loud."

    "And?" M''Baba asked impatiently.

    "And." Shuri dragged out, "I am working on a bead that will be able to provide first aid assistance to the wearer. From cuts, broken or fractured bones, burns, to even bullet wounds. It can be used by both the Dora Milaje and our War Dogs, or just the everyday citizen after an accident at home. I''m trying to create a bead that go from its solid sphere state to something more jell like so that it can cover the area that needs treatment, and to also be able to separate and expand if need be. There''s a lot more to it that I need to work on, but getting the vibranium in the bead to turn into something more malleable is proving¡­difficult."

    "Hmm." M''Baba hummed out, looking over her shoulder at her work, "Have you thought of using something other than vibranium? Something that can be softened, but is held together by vibranium as a case of some kind."

    Shuri nodded, "I''d thought of that, but I''m finding a hard time finding a material that is compatible that doesn''t have to be imported heavily from an outside country. It needs to be able to be heated and cooled, expanded and separated."

    "So why not make it yourself?"

    The princess blinked, "What?"

    "If you''re having a hard time finding something to suit your needs, make something that will from scratch. You''re a once in a millennium genius, aren''t you?" M''Baba asked, sarcasm not so thinly vailed.

    "I never sai-"

    "This is impressive." With that, M''Baba walked passed her, his arms folded behind his back as he went about his business.

    "O-oh..." Shuri stuttered out weakly, "Thank you?"

    -x-

    "So¡­this is him."

    Okoye, a deep scowl on her face, nodded as she looked down at the screen in her hands. On it, a picture took up most of the screen showing a blonde-haired man in his mid-twenties. The man wore a red leather jacket with a brown hooded jacket underneath. He looked like any other person, though T''Chaka could now attest to his unnatural power.

    "I''m ashamed to say that he bested me in combat, my king." Okoye admitted, avoiding eye contact with her king as she did, "I''ve never fought anyone like him before. It''s like he isn''t even human."

    T''Chaka sighed as he played the video of the outsider fighting his general, "Perhaps. Not even my uncle, who was arguably the most skilled of all previous Black Panthers, could do anything like this. No, no this man is something else entirely." Looking to the woman he asked, "Can you remember anything after your encounter?"

    "I''m sorry my king, but after that fight I woke up in front of N''Jadaka''s capital building. I don''t know what happened in between." Okoye answered, clearly annoyed at not knowing what Naruto had done with her after their fight.

    The king hummed to himself in thought, "More than likely, they took you to extract information. Either they somehow did it while keeping you unconscious, or they wiped the memory away entirely. Neither of those are good for us."

    "What do we do then, my king? If he somehow managed to extract Wakandan secrets from me, this could prove to be disastrous." Okoye said.

    T''Chaka sighed after a moment of thought, "Send out a message to all of our Dora Milaje and War Dogs searching for this Naruto Uzumaki. Tell them not to engage, and that they are to inform him I seek an audience with him. He has proven too troublesome to kill, so now we must look for a more peaceful resolution."

    "And if he refuses?"

    "He won''t. If his words are true, he''s only curious. If the opportunity to speak to me were to arise, he wouldn''t refuse. It would be his chance for answers after all." T''Chaka answered, folding his arms behind his back as he said, "I too find myself curious as to what his intentions are. And what better way than to speak with him face to face?"

    "And if he plans to assassinate you?" Okoye asked, clearly not a fan of this plan of action.

    "The man kept you alive General, when he had every opportunity to kill you. If he sought to kill us off he''d have a head count by now." Smiling at the woman he said, "And if he were to kill me, he''d have the entire military force of Wakanda clawing for his life for the rest of his days."

    Okoye could only nod, clear trepidation on her face.

    -x-

    Naruto yawned as he sat on perched on a rooftop, night having come several hours ago, "Does this guy ever take a fucking break? He''s been watching over this place for days." The only time he ever took a break was when he went to bed, and even then, he had several security systems throughout the building watching out for anyone while he rested.

    Illyana fought the urge to yawn herself, blinking away the urge to nod off as she said, "Can we call this off then? I don''t think this panther guy is going to give us an opportunity to use your mind reading thing on him for a while. You barely get away with having your clones transform into objects and animals inside and around the building to look for an opening. One of these times, someone is going to notice a bird popping into a cloud of smoke."

    Naruto rolled his eyes, "I''m not stupid. These clones don''t pop into smoke. One second they''re there, the next they''re not. They just take a bit more concentration to make, so I usually don''t use them in battle, just to avoid the distraction. And don''t get me wrong, I''d love to end this now. In all honesty, I could just barge in there and get it over with, but I''ve made enough of a commotion in this country as it is. If I keep it up, they''re gonna put me on a list or something." Naruto said, rubbing his chin in thought, "Really, there''s a lot of ways I could go about it. Transform into one of the people that works there for one, and as long as you''re holding on to me I could cover you in the transformation as well. But he''s always out in the open, or in his room which is as secure as a vault. And waiting for him to go to the bathroom breaks my code of interrupting a man while he does his business. It''s happened to me, and trust me it sucked ass."

    "Look, obviously we''ve hit a road block. Why don''t we give up for the night, and brainstorm in the morning? We got a hotel for a reason, I say we actually use it." Illyana offered, clearly done with the day.

    Naruto sighed, "You go ahead. I''m gonna stay a little longer." His response was the sound of a portal opening and closing, signally Illyana''s exit.

    Silence soon reigned, the blonde sitting from his perch, waiting for the next wave of memories to come.

    "Now that the woman''s gone, when do you plan on going in there?" Kurama grumbled, clearly having just woke up, "Your window of opportunity is coming up."

    Naruto shrugged, "Well, now I don''t really have a choice in the matter. These guys are forcing my hand." Looking around, he frowned as he spotted several people stalking around the building, looking around intently as they loitered around. From what his clones could gleam from them, their bulky clothes hid the fact they were packing sub-machine guns and assault rifles, "In the few days I''ve been here I haven''t seen a single person use a gun, so they''re not Wakandan. That and a clone just told me that several armored cars are coming this way. I''d say we got a few minutes before this place is swarmed with fighting."

    "So, that means you either go in now while it''s quiet, or use the chaos to get to your target." Kurama surmised, "That''s cold, even for you."

    The blonde shrugged, "I''m more than sure that they can fend off a squad of regular goons. Their clothes are armored and their weapons and tech outguns Tony by a mile. They don''t need my help, they''re more than tough enough. I''m just gonna sneak in and get out as soon as possible, maybe save some people if I have too."

    "Not very hero like, brat." Kurama muttered. When silence was all he got, he rolled his eyes, "You''re going to stick around and fend off the attack, aren''t you?"

    Naruto smirked, "You know me so well."

    "That makes getting out as soon as possible a bit of a stretch then, huh?"

    "I''m sure I can make it work, Kurama." The blonde said, waving off his partner.

    Kurama scoffed, "And what about your new teammate? Are you really going to leave her to fend for herself?"

    "You saw her¡­or heard her¡­you somehow noticed that she was about to pass out here on the roof. I''m not gonna let her get caught in the middle of this like that. The hotel we got is across town, so even if the fighting wakes her up, she''ll probably stay out of it. It''s one this to fight a duo of spear wielding amazons, it''s another to go up against a battalion of soldiers." Naruto answered, getting up from his seat as he saw one of the men speak into a radio, "The show''s about to start."

    "And if she decides to join in the fighting? The way the woman spoke she''s never had to take a life. She''s not ready for this kind o-"

    "I''ll protect her, Kurama." Naruto said firmly, "I have half a dozen clones looking out for her. I''m not gonna let anything happen to her. She''s my comrade. I''m not going to fail my comrades ever again. Now either focus on the upcoming fight, or shut the hell up."

    Kurama sighed, "Fine. But just so you know, it''s not the woman who worries me. It''s you, should anything happen to her. You tend to spiral, Naruto¡­and you barely made it out of it the last time." Pausing, the Biju shifted in the seal as he began to focus on the world around him, "That''s the last I''ll say about it. Let''s get going."

    Closing his eyes, Naruto fought back the guilt he felt bubbling up in his chest. His body going completely still, he began to gather Natural Energy into his body. Opening his eyes, the signs of his Sage Mode activating appeared, "Let''s go." He said, jumping down into the street as the soldiers surrounding the building stormed in.

    -x-

    Shuri sighed in exasperation as she hacked into the security system monitoring her room, "It''s insulting how simple this was to get into." A few more clicks into her holo-keyboard and a quick swipe was all she needed, "Aaaand done."

    Getting up, she opened her door, grabbing a duffle bag that was resting in the corner of the room as she did. Stepping out, the girl took a careful look into the hallway to make sure no one was walking the halls. As Shuri stepped out into the open, she winced as her shoes made a squeaking noise. Waiting for someone to notice the noise, she silently sighed in relief. Taking off her shoes, she began to tiptoe through the hallway, making her way towards the lab.

    Avoiding the random passerby, Shuri slowly crept into the lab. Turning on the lights, she smiled as she took in the fact she was the only one inside, marveling at the stark quietness that filled the air. Placing her shoes back on her feet, she made her way to her working station. Reaching her desk, she moved her Kimoyo Beads out of the way, opening up her duffle bag and pulling out a set of vibranium gauntlets that resembled roaring panthers.

    Setting them on the desk, she sighed in satisfaction as she looked at her work. Grabbing her tool box, she was about to open it when a familiar baritone voice snuck up behind her, "What are you doing?"

    Shuri shrieked, feeling her heart jump up into her throat. Turning around she swung her hand to give a firm slap, only for her wrist to be caught by M''Baba.

    M''Baba glowered down at the girl, "What are you doing?" He repeated.

    "I-I''m uhh-"

    M''Baba cut her off, stepping into her personal space, towering over her as he said, "Do you have any idea how stupid it is to come down here by yourself? What if whatever it is you were working on blew up in your face? What would you have done then, hmm? Despite your intelligence, your blood, or whatever T''Shan tells you, you are a child! Never work on something down here alone, especially something that from what I can see is clearly a weapon! If I ever catch you doing this again, I will send you back home. I don''t care what you, T''Shan, or your father says about it. Do you understand?"

    "Ye-yes." Shuri stuttered out, tears forming around the corner of her eye, doing her best to avoid eye contact with the clearly furious man.

    "Now," M''Baba said, "What exactly are you working on?"

    "Wha-what?" The princess asked, confused by the man''s shift in attitude.

    "You risked angering your brother coming down here, so I can only assume what you''re working on to be interesting." M''Baba answered, looking over her shoulder to see the pair of gauntlets on the desk.

    "Well, um¡­" Shuri started, "They''re vibranium gauntlets that I''m trying to design to shoot blasts of sonic energy."

    "Sonic energy huh." M''Baba hummed out, "So they''re nonlethal then?"

    "Well, I planned to put in a way to up the level that the energy is fired, but yeah for the most part they''re nonlethal. They''re purely for self-defense." Shuri shrugged, "My brother isn''t going to be able to protect me all the time, not that I''d want that to begin with. I want a way to protect myself without having to rely on my brother or some Dora Milaje."

    "Hmm, I understand the feeling." M''Baba said, walking passed Shuri to give them a closer look, "My brother is the leader of Jabari Tribe. When I was a child, I came to the conclusion that my tribe''s need to stay out of Wakandan society was foolish. My brother, who even as a boy had the strength of a gorilla, protected me from the people who disagreed with my beliefs. But after a while, I realized that just as I was tired of being protected, he was tired of protecting me. So, I left. I came here and learned as much as I could about Wakandan technology."

    "Wow." Shuri muttered, "I had no idea you were Jabari."

    M''Baba shrugged nonchalantly, "Most don''t. While not something I''m ashamed of, it''s not something that gets spoken about often. People around here mistrust the Jabari just as much as the Jabari mistrust them."

    "Still, it''s very impressive." Shuri admitted.

    "Ah, the princess finds me impressive?" The Jabari native drawled out, "Stop. I''m blushing."

    Shuri sighed, "Well can I get to work? Please? I promise I''ll be carefu-"

    "No."

    The princess deflated, "Oh come on-"

    "No." M''Baba repeated, "It''s late and I''m tired. I''m not going to stay up watching over you, sacrificing my health, just so you can sneak behind your brother''s, my prince''s, back. I actually like my job here, believe it or not."

    Sighing, Shuri nodded, though from her face she clearly wasn''t happy, "Fine. I''ll stop."

    M''Baba nodded, watching as she packed her things, "Good." Walking to the lab''s doors, he spoke to the girl trailing behind him, "And don''t think about sneaking down here again. Now that I know you can sneak through our security system, I''ll have to set up something a little extra."

    "Extra?"

    "Guards." M''Baba clarified, "Maybe with tasers."

    "Oh, come on!" Shuri pleaded.

    M''Baba chuckled, "I-"

    BOOM!

    Shuri screamed as the wall to her left exploded inward, smoke and debris filling the room, quickly followed by gunfire as bullets spilt through the air towards them. On reflex, she covered her head with her arms out of self-defense, though after a moment of feeling no pain she looked up to see M''Baba stumbling over, clutching his side in pain.

    "M''Baba!" Shuri cried, running to him as he fell to the ground. Kneeling at his side, she gasped as blood began to spill through M''Baba''s hand, slipping past his fingers and dripping onto the floor below him.

    Coughing out in surprise and pain, M''Baba muttered out, "H-how?"

    The princess quickly reasoned out his confusion, she herself confused how a bullet could pierce his vibranium laced clothes. She wasn''t able to respond, as a hand grabbed her by the scruff of her shirt, pulling her up before dragging her away.

    "No. No!" She pleaded, reaching for M''Baba as she was pulled away roughly. Thrashing her legs out, she tried to fight for freedom, only to get a back hand to her temple, dazing her as a voice called out.

    "Don''t kill her! Achebe said he wants her alive!" Yelled the man holding her.

    "What about the other one?" The man that hit her called out.

    Shuri''s struggle came to a stop when a third voice was heard, "Kill him. He''s of no consequence."

    Looking to the door Shuri''s breathing grew erratic, "Wha-what?" She breathed out.

    T''Shan stepped more into the lab, his arms folded behind his back, strangely calm as he came upon the scene, "Hello, Princess."

    "Wha-what? Why?" Shuri stuttered out, "What''s going on T''Shan!"

    A soft smile on his face, T''Shan answered, "I''m sorry Shuri. I truly, truly am. But I''m gonna need you to leave with us."

    "Us?" She asked, "Them?!"

    "Yes, them." T''Shan answered calmly, "The easier you make it, the less likely they''ll be forced to hurt you. They''ve been ordered to bring you in alive, and for the most part unharmed. But, I can''t promise they won''t ignore the unharmed part if you make their job harder than it should."

    "What are you doing with them?!" Shuri screamed out.

    "Well, they wouldn''t have been able to get into the city undetected, or been armed with vibranium tipped bullets, or even gotten a chance at you to begin with, without me, hmm?" Walking up to M''Baba, who was silently bleeding out next to them, he kneeled down as he said, "I''m sorry my friend, out of everyone here, I''d hoped you would''ve been spared."

    M''Baba could only grunt out, "You¡­can''t."

    T''Shan slowly sighed, "I already have." Getting up he looked to the man that was holding Shuri, "I suggest you leave, the prince will be here any moment once he realizes she isn''t in her room."

    The man nodded, dragging the now screaming Shuri away into the hole they had created. As they left, the remaining man looked to T''Shan, "I thought you said you had the Black Panther taken care of?"

    Smiling, T''Shan answered, "I''ll take care of T''Challa, don''t worry about that."

    The man nodded, "Good, we only brought enough of the vibranium bullets for a few of us."

    "Well, with all these people storming the building, I''m sure we''ll hear the screams of the ones who don''t have the vibranium bullets not long from now. I''ve heard he''s quite the vicious fighter."

    "Shuri!" T''Challa called out as he stormed out of his room, panicked as he headed for his sister''s room. Fastening his helmet on, he kicked down the door, only to find the room empty, "Shuri?" He called out as he looked around frantically, "Shuri!"

    His search was cut short by a trio of men barging into the room themselves. T''Challa eyed them for only a second, taking in their appearance, the three clearly heavily armed militants storming the building. It was after that second of thought that he withdrew his claws with a vibrating thwring.

    That sound caused the trio of soldiers to try and raise their guns and open fire. They weren''t able to however, as T''Challa had closed in on them before they could get their guns up. Slicing through the first person''s gun he kicked the next in the chest hard enough to almost put in him the wall, leaving a thick dent behind him. Swiveling around, he backhanded the third man in the face, knocking him to the ground, his neck giving out a resounding crack from the force of the hit. Turning to the now disarmed militant, T''Challa grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up off the ground, the man kicking his feet frantically as he gasped for air.

    "Who are you!?" T''Challa growled out, "What are you doing here?"

    The man gasped out, choking for air as he continued to kick around.

    Sighing, the prince loosened his grip enough to allow the man to speak, "Speak fool." T''Challa growled out.

    Coughing for a moment, the man wheezed out, "We''re here¡­for¡­the princess-"

    T''Challa didn''t bother waiting for him to finish, slamming him into the door next to them, sending the man through with the duel sounds of a thundering crack and sick snap. Walking through the now open doorway, the prince looked to his right at the sound of stumping feet. Rounding the corner, a quartet of men came to a halt at the sight of the Black Panther. The four of them quickly opened fire on the armored man, bringing upon him a barrage of gunfire.

    T''Challa simply stood there, allowing the bullets to bounce and ricochet off of his armor. He resisted the urge to tap his foot in impatience as he waited for the soldiers to run out of bullets. Finally, the clicking sound of their empty guns came around, and not soon after T''Challa charged forward as they attempted to reload. With his advanced speed, he was on them faster than they expected. Driving his fist into the stomach of the first one he came across, the man was now barreled over his fist gasping for breath. Back handing him off his hand, he then stomp kicked the second in the chest. As he lowered his leg, the third soldier rushed him, a knife held in a reverse grip. Deflecting the knife with his forearm, he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off the ground and shoving his head into the ceiling light fixture before dropping his limp body to the ground. Turning to the final soldier, we sighed as he watched the man begin to step back in fear.

    Looking him up and down, he saw that he was a young man, his late teens at most. At this, T''Challa shook his head as he turned his attention away from the soldier, giving a limp shooing motion with his hand as he began to head for the stairs.

    The soldier didn''t need to be told twice, fleeing from the Black Panther, counting his lucky stars as he did.

    T''Challa was quick to rush down the stair case, running from floor to floor until he reached the bottom. Throwing open the door, he entered the main laboratory, "Shuri!" He called out, looking around the room.

    It didn''t take long for him to see the large hole in the wall, along with the body lying on the ground not long after.

    "M''Baba!" T''Challa yelled, sprinting to the downed man. Sliding down next to him and cradling his head, he asked as calmly as he could, "M''Baba, M''Baba what happened?"

    M''Baba grunted, sweat trickling down his face as he looked up to his prince, "T-T''Challa?"

    "Yes, it''s me, M''Baba." Looking over the man, he put on a brave face as he ignored the gaping bullet wound in the man''s chest, "What happened here?"

    "Sh-Shuri¡­" M''Baba gasped out.

    T''Challa felt his heart drop, "What about Shuri, where is she?"

    "They took¡­they took her."

    The prince tried to keep calm as he pressed his hand against M''Baba''s wound, instigating a grunt in pain from the man. Holding the pressure as blood seeped around his hands, T''Challa asked, "Who? Who took her?"

    M''Baba choked on his next word, his body shifting upward, "T''Shan-"

    "T''Shan?" T''Challa asked in shock, "T''Shan took her?"

    "N-no." M''Baba choked out, "T''Shan¡­behind you."

    T''Challa blinked in confusion before looking over his shoulder to see T''Shan standing in the entrance way, a calm smile on his face.

    Slowly so as not to disturb M''Baba, T''Challa stood up, flexing his claws as he asked, "Where is she?"

    "No why?" T''Shan asked, "Usually in a moment like this the hero demands the villain explain himself." He surmised.

    "There''s no need for you to explain yourself." T''Challa said, just as calmly, "You took my sister. I don''t care why. I don''t care about anything but seeing your corpse at my feet after I pummel my sister''s location out of your traitorous mouth."

    T''Shan shrugged, "That''s fine. I can tell you later."

    T''Challa blinked, "Later? What are you going on abou-AUHHGH!" The Black Panther screamed in agony as a sharp volt of electricity ran through his entire body, purple lightning running across his armor, smoke billowing off his form.

    As pain racked his body, T''Challa fought against dropping to his knees with all of his possible will power, refusing to kneel before his traitorous cousin. However, even his iron clad will couldn''t stand up to the next wave that hit him, the force of his agony dropping him flat on the ground. Lying there, he blinked away the haze that had formed along his vision to see that he was lying face to face with M''Baba.

    While his breathing was shallow, M''Baba was still alive, though the pool of blood wrapped around his body was a good indicator that he''d bleed out at any moment. As T''Challa twitched and spasmed, the sound of someone walking up next to him caused him to look through his peripheral to see T''Shan was standing over him and M''Baba, a handgun in his hand.

    Pulling back the hammer, T''Shan muttered, "Sorry old friend, let me put you out of your misery."

    T''Challa growled in pain and rage, grunting out a hoarse, "NO-"

    BANG!

    Flinching from the sound of the gun going off and the blood that splattered his face, T''Challa sputtered, "N-no¡­no."

    "I''m sorry T''Challa. I really didn''t want him to die." T''Shan said, kneeling down next to his cousin, a shocking amount of sincerity in his voice, "I didn''t want any of this to happen. I had hoped you''d have been kept out of this, cousin. I had also hoped there would be less security in the city. But, circumstance has made what needs to be done necessary."

    "N-needs to be do-done?" T''Challa sputtered out.

    "We need an escape." T''Shan explained, "And there isn''t enough manpower to hunt us and manage damage control." Pulling out his Kimoyo Beads, a quick tap on the center left bead sent another jolt of electricity through T''Challa''s body, this one worse than the other two combined.

    The pain was so great that T''Challa couldn''t even scream in pain, only thrash and squirm in anguish until consciousness left him.

    -x-

    Naruto scoffed as he looked down at his jacket, the fabric littered with bullet holes, "I gotta get with Tony about getting me a uniform or something. Buying new clothes so often has really gotten old fast."

    Looking around the lobby he''d walked into, he sighed down at the man at his feet, the barely conscious man trying to crawl away, his left leg and arm clearly broken. Calmly, he took a heavy step on the soldier''s crooked kneecap, causing him to cry out in pure anguish. Walking over and passed him, he made sure to also step over the cluster of soldiers that had crossed his path, all of them down from various injuries.

    Leaving the lobby and entering a random hallway, he raised an eyebrow at the dozen armed men loitering the hall.

    "Oh, well hello." He greeted with a lazy wave, noticing the group of men and women lined up against the wall, the lot of them being prepared for what looked like a mass execution.

    "Don''t move and surrender now!" Ordered the closest men, pointing his assault rifle at the lackadaisical blonde.

    Naruto blinked, tilting his head in confusion, "Why?"

    The soldiers and hostages blinked. The soldier that spoke before asked, "What?"

    The blonde shrugged, "Why should I?"

    "Be-because." The soldier reasoned, clearly confused, "We''ll kill you if you don''t. Obviously."

    "Oohhh." Naruto drawled out, "Well if that''s the case." Raising up his hand, he quickly activated his Magnet Release.

    Every single person in the room, other than the blonde, gawked as all the guns in the soldiers'' hands began to move on their own, shifting over from either the blonde or the hostages to one of the many soldiers in the room. Some, clearly smarter than the others, let go of their guns in an attempt to drop them. However, the guns remained upright, hovering in midair.

    "What the fu-"

    BANG!

    The head soldier was cut off by the thunderous applause of a dozen guns going off, dropping their owners like a morbid set of dominoes.

    Naruto looked to the now shell-shocked group of hostages. Smiling softly, he said, "Go, get out of here before more show up." Quickly creating a set of clones, he continued, "They''ll lead you to safety and keep you safe."

    He didn''t bother waiting for them to leave, instead continuing his trek through the building. Creating another set of clones, they quickly departed in search of any others in need of saving. Walking through a set of large double doors, he saw that he entered some kind a large laboratory. Stepping over a large clump of debris, he raised an eyebrow at the large hole in the hall heading outside and a random body lying in a pool of blood.

    But before he could investigate further, the sound of a large explosion boomed through the city, a large flash of fire spiking up over the buildings on the horizon. The explosion was followed by three more, all them happening in what Naruto recognized as key areas in the city. It was the last though that froze the blonde. As the sounds of people screaming filled the air, sweat began to build along his forehead as the memories of all his clones around Illyana came in, showing that she had been in the area of that last explosion.

    "No. No, no, no, no, no, no!" Naruto yelled to himself.

    "Naruto, calm down! I''m sure she''s fine-"

    But Naruto ignored his partner, growing more frantic by the second as he sprinted through the hole in the wall, "Not again. Not again! I can''t lose another one, I won''t lose another one!" He said to himself, jumping to the rooftops as he sped towards the hotel he and Illyana were staying.

    -x-

    Moments Earlier

    -x-

    Illyana bolted up at the sound of gunfire entering her hotel room. Jumping out of bed, she pushed away the curtains covering the window to see the flickering flashes of gunfire in the streets below.

    "Shit." She cursed aloud. Quickly throwing on her clothes and a pair of shoes, she opened a portal that led outside the hotel as she summoned an Eldritch Tao Mandala in her right hand. Jumping through, she looked around as chaos reigned around her. People screaming, running frantically as they tried to avoid the attackers storming the city. Trying to pick the attackers out of the crowd, she spotted two opening fire into a crowd of fleeing people.

    Following their line of sight, she quickly opened a large portal a few feet in front of them, a second portal opening up in a random direction pointed upward. As they continued to shoot into the crowd, the bullets were cut off by the first portal, exiting the second in an upward direction.

    The confused soldiers weren''t able to think too long on what happened, as a third portal opened at their feet, causing them to fall into it with startled yelps, the portal then closing up after them.

    As she looked for more soldiers, the sound of a car''s horn blaring was heard, coming her way. Looking over, she gasps as a white van came barreling towards her, hitting anyone in the crowd that crossed its path.

    Acting quickly, she summoned a portal just in front of the incoming van, the front of the vehicle beginning to fall into it, only for Illyana to cut it off, severing the hood of the car that was outside of the portal, the van coming to skidding stop.

    Slowly, she went for the car, her mandala powered up acting as a shield just in case. It was as she got closer that she heard a faint beeping noise coming from the inside of the car. It was then that she noticed the man sitting in the driver''s seat. The man''s eyes were closed, seemingly asleep. Opening his eyes, he didn''t react to her, only looking back to what was in front of him, closing his eyes as he took a smooth calming breath.

    Throwing open the van''s side door, she gasped at the large bomb sitting inside, a large timer ticking down with only four seconds remaining.

    As she back away from the van, the man opened his eyes, looking up at the star-crossed night sky one last time-

    BOOOM!

    -x-

    Naruto dropped down to the crater that had once been a bustling city street, diving into the billowing wall of smoke as he landed in a crouch, crying out as he did, "Illyana! ILLYANA!"

    Summoning up a gust of wind, he dispersed the smoke to reveal the destroyed block. The buildings caught in the area had collapsed in on themselves, the streets caved and cracked apart, and people blown away. Wandering through the newly cleared street, he looked for his blonde friend, ignoring his clones as they helped the wounded and looked for trapped survivors.

    It was his frantic search that helped him ignore the horror before him, though at the same time it was this chaos that made his search all the more desperate. From the dead bodies lying in pieces on the street, to the screams of those trapped in the rubble, to the crying people as they held their wounded loved ones.

    Stumbling passed a man that clutched his fresh stump, looking around for his blown limb, he called out again, "Illyana! Where are you?!"

    "Naruto! Naruto, I know you''re worried, but you''ve got to calm down!" Kurama screamed in his head.

    But Naruto ignored him walking quickly as he shouted at the top of his lungs, "ILLYANA!"

    That scream seemed to stop all other noise around him, though for only a moment. That moment was all Naruto needed to hear a muffled voice calling out from a few buildings over. Rushing forward, he ran towards the source of the voice, a building with one of its walls having collapsed from the blast. Climbing the pile of rubble that had once been a wall, he reached the top to see Illyana kneeling down next to someone, her hands pressing up against his stomach, clearly trying to stop the blood that was streaming out.

    "Naruto!" She called out, "Naruto, help me. Help me, please!"

    Rushing down, he kneeled down next to her, eyeing her up and down looking for injuries, "Ar-are you alright?" He asked, slowly calming down from his panic.

    "I''m fine, I''m fine-"

    "I thought you were dead." Naruto breathed out, clearly relieved, "I thought I''d let you die just like everyone els-"

    "Naruto, please!" She interrupted, "Please, I think he''s going to bleed out!"

    Blinking, he looked down at the boy lying next to him. Taking him in, he saw what looked like a piece of shrapnel lodged in his abdomen, blood caking his shirt and pooling onto the ground beneath him. Acting quickly, he activated his Six Paths Chakra, covering his left arm in a yellow flame. Pressing his hand on top of the boy''s abdomen, right next to the wound, he channeled his special chakra into him. Barely a second later, the boy grunted in clear discomfort as the shrapnel popped out, the wound closing up barely a couple seconds after.

    "There, he should be fine now." Naruto muttered, watching as the kid blacked out.

    As Naruto took care of the boy, Illyana backed away, wringing her hands as she said, "What''s going on, Naruto?"

    The blonde sighed, "It looks like someone''s attacking the city. I knew something was going to happen, but I had no clue it''d be like this. These explosions were a clear distraction though, I''m pretty sure they were aiming for someone in the royal family-" It was as he was talking that he noticed that Illyana''s hands were shaking violently.

    "Wh-why? Why would anyone do this?" She muttered, tears rolling down her cheeks, "All these innocent people killed, for what?"

    Naruto placed a hand on the girl''s arm, "I''m sorry." He said, frowning deeply.

    "What?" She asked, both confused and surprised.

    "If I''d have known this would escalate like it has, I''d have sent you home a long time ago. You weren''t ready for this, I made you run before you learned to crawl."

    Illyana looked at him disbelievingly, wiping her tears away, "You''re sending me home?" She asked.

    "Yes-"

    "No!" She said firmly, shocking the ninja, "No, no I''m not just going to leave. I want my chunk of flesh off these bastards just as much as you do! This, you and me, is a team! I''m not going to let you duck and run. I just¡­I just need a second."

    Naruto stuttered for a moment, "I¡­I just." Swallowing the lump in his throat he said, "I just don''t want to lose anyone else. I can''t fail like that again."

    Illyana stood up, her face firm, "You told me you can''t do what you need to do by yourself. You asked for my help. Well you don''t get to take it back. We''re in this together. We''re a team. You have my back, and I have yours. We won''t let each other die." Forming a portal, she held her hand out for him, the woman no longer shaking uncontrollably, "Now, let''s go."

    Naruto hesitated for only a second before smirking, "A team huh?" Grabbing her hand, he got up, "Alright then, after you."

    The woman smiled back before jumping through the portal, quickly followed by her teammate.

    -x-

    Shuri blinked away the flashing dots that swarmed her vision as the wool bag was pulled off her head. Her eyes finally focusing, she glared up at the group of men gathered around her. It was the one in the center of the five that had her attention though. Or, more specifically, his gruelingly wide smile.

    "Whe-where am I?" Shuri choked out, "Do you¡­have any idea of who I am?" She demanded, trying her best to sound brave.

    The man with a demented smile stepped forward, "Of course we know who you are, Princess Shuri of Wakanda. You being who you are is the entire reason you''re here after all."

    "Well who are you then?" Shuri demanded, "Where am I?!"

    With a nod of his head, the man motioned for everyone else to leave the tent, all four of them wordlessly filing out. The two now alone, the man kneeled down in front of Shuri, his voice soft as he said, "You''re a few dozen miles outside Wakanda''s border, in a camp with over five thousand soldiers ready to fight."

    "My father and brother will raise this camp to the ground." Shuri warned, "But, that doesn''t have to happen. You can save all five thousand of those men, and yourself. All you have to do is let me go."

    The man smirked, "T''Shan was right, you are intelligent. For a girl so young to try able bargain for her life the way you are, you truly are his daughter." Sighing, the man continued, "Your father won''t risk exposure sending a military force outside of Wakanda, which is what he''ll need considering my men are armed with vibranium tipped artillery. The fight for you will cause a stir and Wakanda will be revealed for what they are. And sure, your brother could probably sneak into the camp and extract you with his skills and suit. But, I''m sad to inform you that your brother has become a nonissue."

    "Nonissue?" Shuri asked, a sinking feeling over coming her.

    "Don''t worry princess, your brother is alive. He is, however, in my custody." The man placated, patting the girl on the head as a relieved look crossed her face.

    "Who are you?" Shuri asked.

    "My name is Achebe. I am the second in command of the militia here." Achebe answered.

    "I want to speak to the one in charge." Shuri demanded, trying to throw as much of her royal weight into her tone as possible.

    Achebe chuckled, "You really are so much like your father. And, Daki is resting for the night. Maybe tomorrow before you leave."

    "Like¡­like my father?" Shuri asked, "How do you know my father?"

    Somehow, Achebe''s smile grew a little wider, "Yes, yes I know your father."

    "You''re Wakandan?"

    "No, I''m Ghudazan, born and raised."

    "Then how? How do you know my father, or know about Wakanda? No one knows about Wakanda." Shuri argued, clearly confused by the man in front of her.

    "You''d be surprised how many people know about your country''s secret. The difference between myself and them however, is that I''m not satisfied with this status quo this world has found itself in." Achebe explained.

    "So that''s what this is all about?" Shuri demanded, flabbergasted by the revelation, "You kidnapped me and my brother to reveal Wakandan secrets? How clich¨¦ is that! You''re no better than a James Bond villain!"

    Achebe chuckled, "Do not presume to know me, princess."

    "I already know all I need to know just from talking to you! Do you have any idea what will happen if it is revealed what we are? The world will change, for better and worse! But no, of course you don''t know, or care-" Shuri was cut off by a wicked slap streaking her face, stunning her on the spot.

    Grabbing her by the face, Achebe pulled so she was face to face with him, growling in a low timbre, "That''s exactly what we want. Once the world knows what Wakanda is, your empire will be forced to make a decision. Survive or fall. Either way, no one will come out of it the same. The status quo will be gone, eradicated. Your father''s greatest fears will be realized."

    "My baba doesn''t fear anything." Shuri forced out in a muffled voice.

    "If you really think that, then your baba isn''t the man you think he is." Achebe shot back, roughly releasing her face from his grasp, "Your brother will be here in a few hours. We''re holding him in a compound at the border so we can acquire his suit. If you behave, he can keep you company. If not, we can always go with the alternative route."

    -x-

    T''Challa groaned as he slowly regained consciousness. Out of instinct, the prince tried to wipe the sweat that had begun to build along his face, only to find his hands were bound to the arms of the chair he was sitting in. Giving the bindings a few good tugs, he noticed they didn''t budge, even with his enhanced strength. It was as he tugged and pulled at the bindings holding his arms that he noticed he was completely naked. Looking around, he saw that the room was rather bare, the only thing other than him and the chair being the swinging light bulb that barely lit the room in a yellow haze.

    Jumping at attention as the door in front of him swung open slowly, T''Challa watched as three men walked into the room. Two pushed in a large rack, each shelf loitered with bits and pieces of his Black Panther armor.

    "Where am I?" Asked T''Challa.

    A familiar voice answered the captured prince, "You''re in a compound just outside the border. We had to take off your armor after all. I think I might have done too good of a job designing its dead-man switch though, it was quite the pain to get around." As he answered, T''Shan examined the helmet piece with care.

    "What did you do to me, back at the lab?" T''Challa asked, doing his best to keep his stoic fa?ade as another man walked in with a cart full of various instruments, all of them of the painful variety.

    "Oh that?" T''Shan asked before answering nonchalantly, "Back when I designed this suit, I placed a few fail safes inside. A few were for you, such as the dead-man''s switch. Others were for me. Like neural destabilizers set up throughout the entire suit, or a switch that could blow you to kingdom come whenever I wanted too."

    "How? When?" T''Challa asked in disbelief.

    T''Shan shrugged, "You''d be surprised by the amount of things the lead researcher can get away with unsupervised. Tampering with the Black Panther armor, creating vibranium tipped bullets, explosives that could be snuck into and set off in any Wakandan city, or creating a glitch in the system that let an army of men sneak into Obodo Agha undetected. It''s especially easy when you put all the attention on a certain genius we all know and love." Smiling, T''Shan handed the helmet to one of the other men in the room, "See, I told you I''d explain everything. You know, you try and avoid being a clich¨¦, but where''s the fun in that, huh?"

    "You''re obviously very pleased with yourself." T''Challa observed, "Now I assume you''re going to give me your whole backstory?"

    "What''s there to tell that can''t be guessed already?" T''Shan asked as he scratched his chin, "Wakanda needs to share what we have with the world. Sure, it may get messy for a while, but I know in my heart that Wakanda will be the catalyst for the next great age in history. Sure, the man I''ve allied myself with is a raving lunatic who''d munch on a bag of popcorn as he watched the world burn, but he''s a means to an end."

    "You''re going to destroy our country; don''t you understand that? Or do you just not care-"

    T''Shan broke is calm fa?ade as he slammed his fist into T''Challa''s temple, "No one loves their country more than me. Everything I do is for Wakanda. We''ve been stagnant for nearly a hundred years, and it won''t be long before the rest of the world catches up. Then what? What excuse can we use to hide from the world''s problems? How long before our sense of superiority bites us in the ass? We need change."

    "And what happens when the world turns against us?" T''Challa argued back, "What happens when the world doesn''t change for the better? You have no idea what can happen, the consequences of it all. You''re bargaining on millions of lives. Can you really shoulder that? Knowing that you''re the reason for that loss of life?"

    "I can knowing there''s a chance I am responsible for putting the world on track." T''Shan answered, "Wakanda will be remembered as Troy is remembered, myself a legend in the vain of Aeneas."

    T''Challa shook his head in exasperation, "You''d let the Wakanda burn if it meant you might be its savior?"

    "I''d let the world burn." T''Shan corrected calmly. Running his hand through his hair, he said, "Our debates have always amused me cousin, so I''m saddened to say that this will more than likely be our last. Achebe has already sent out his demands. By the end of it all, Wakanda will be pulled from the shadows and into the light." Walking out of the room, he said to the man holding the Black Panther helmet, "Take special care of that armor boys, if you try and play with it you might not like the result."

    Slamming the door behind him and locking it with a clear click, T''Challa was left alone with the four men. Looking back and forth between the four of them, his eyes landed on the one holding his helmet. The man was rather large, definitely over six feet tall, with a muscular build that wasn''t very well hidden thanks to the fact the only thing covering his torso was a simple military vest. Brushing a part of his thick cascading dreads out of his face, the man said, "I''ve got this guys."

    One of the men asked, "You sure?"

    He chuckled nonchalantly, "Yeah, I can handle him while you guys get a drink or two, don''t worry."

    The three chuckled as they made for the door, "You''re the best Ode, we owe you one once we get to base camp. If you want out just knock twice, the guard outside will let you out." Said the last one to leave the room, closing the door after him much like T''Shan had, locking the door after them.

    His eyes on the door, waiting to make sure the two of them were truly alone, Ode turned to T''Challa, his face scrunched up in thought, "So, you''re the Black Panther?"

    T''Challa kept quiet, looking up calmly at the towering man.

    "Hmph." Ode grunted out, "Strong silent type, huh?" Grabbing T''Challa by the top of his head, Ode drew his arm back before delivering a mighty punch into the prince''s face. Repeating the process a few more times, Ode threw one more, knocking T''Challa over in his chair. Wiping the blood off his knuckles, Ode said, "I''d only just heard rumors, stuff I heard through the grape vine. They say the Black Panther is a great warrior, that only the best of the best of the best could hold the title. And, I couldn''t help but wonder how I''d stack up, if I could be worthy of the title."

    T''Challa spat out a glob of blood, "If you let me out of these bindings, maybe we can see-"

    "Don''t bother trying." Ode interrupted, "I''m not going to let you out, so don''t bother." Walking back over to the helmet, Ode gave a once over again, seemingly talking to himself now, "This really is a thing of beauty. If only I''d been born in Wakanda, the things I could''ve accomplished there."

    The prince looked up, eyeing the helmet as he said, "Just so you know, you don''t win the mantle of Black Panther through trial by combat." He informed.

    Ode looked at the prince, an eyebrow raised out of curiosity, "Really? How then?"

    Grunting as he shifted his position to get a better look at Ode, he answered, "It was more of a spiritual test, to see if you were truly worthy of being the Black Panther."

    "What kind of test?" Ode asked, "Was it difficult?"

    "More difficult than you can possibly imagine." T''Challa answered, "And you''re holding the test in your hands."

    "My hands?" The militiaman asked, "You mean the mask?"

    T''Challa nodded, "Yes. Every Black Panther helmet is blessed by Bast. If you put it on and live, you''ve been chosen as her avatar, a carrier of her will. But if you fail¡­"

    "You die." Ode concluded, looking down at the helmet with slight skepticism, "If I live, I get all of the powers of legend too, right?"

    "Correct. The statistic that you''re actually worthy is about one in a billion."

    "One in a billion huh." Ode muttered to himself. His face now determined, he lifted the mask over his head.

    T''Challa looked up in shock, "Hey, wait a minute. Seriously, don''t put on that helmet."

    Ode didn''t listen, slowly sliding the mask over his head. The metallic helmet stretched around his head surprisingly well, fitting perfectly in place. His voice muffled, Ode began to say, "Well, I''m not dead. But¡­I don''t feel any differe-" The man was cut off by sound of a sharp beeping noise coming from the mask, the white eyes pieces flashing red. Not long after, a violent zapping noise came soon after, smoke coming off the helmet. And then, with a sickening thud, Ode dropped to the ground lifelessly.

    T''Challa lied there for a few seconds, making sure the man was down for good before he shifted himself so that he was standing, though he was hunched over thanks to still being strapped to the chair. Giving several deep breaths in preparation, he began to slam himself into the wall as hard as he could. Over and over he did this, driving himself and the chair into the concrete wall. After a minute of this, a cracking noise began to come from the chair. Stopping, he gave a mighty roar as he broke it the rest of the way with brute strength.

    Catching his breath, T''Challa shimmied the bindings off. Walking over and then kneeling down next to Ode''s corpse, the prince whispered, "I guess you weren''t worthy." Taking off the mask looked down at the now lifeless face below him.

    As he looked at his armor, he jumped at the sound of gunfire ringing through the base. Looking back down at Ode, he frowned as he easily came to the conclusion that the man''s clothes wouldn''t fit him. Getting up, he walked over to the door, pressing his body flat against the wall next to it as he gave two heavy knocks. A couple seconds ticked by before the clicking of the door being unlocked was heard, not long before it swung open slowly.

    "Ode? Ode come on and hurry up there''s someone attacking the base, we gotta go!" Called out the guard, peaking his head through the crack in the doorway.

    His only response was a swift jab in the jaw, curtesy of T''Challa, dropping him with a single punch. Pulling him into the room, the prince smirked at seeing that the guard was close to his size. Stripping him of his clothes, T''Challa quickly got dressed, grabbing the guard''s hunting knife while he was at it.

    Exiting the room, T''Challa raised an eyebrow as a duo of very similar looking blonde men beating into several militiamen, "Uzumaki?" He asked aloud.

    The two clones looked up at the same time, simultaneously asking, "Who''s asking?" Only to blink when they realized who had said their name. Straightening up quickly, they animatedly pointed at the man, "Prince!"

    Popping in duel puffs of smoke, the prince found himself alone. Shrugging, he darted down the hall, joining in on the chaos

    Naruto smirked as several sets of memories came flooding in, "Found him." He stated, ducking as a man took a swing at him with a knife, "Second floor, he''s heading our way." Jabbing upwards at the extended arm, he punched into the man''s tricep, forcing him to let go of the knife. Catching it midair, Naruto swung it into the man''s side. Ignoring him as he screamed in pain, the blonde pulled out the knife before throwing it at another man nearby, the knife embedding itself in the back of his head.

    Illyana nodded, using her mandala to block a wave of bullets before summoning an Eldritch Whip, snapping the fiery whip around the shooter''s throat before pulling him down with all her might, slamming his head into the concrete floor, knocking him out, "So, what''s the plan?"

    The blonde shrugged, "To be honest, I''ve been improvising ever since these guys attacked the city. I think I''ve got this under control though."

    Looking around as a dozen other Naruto''s ran around the building, taking down anyone that crossed their paths, she asked, "You call this under control?" Summoning an Eldritch Sword, she parried against another militiaman''s machete. Swiping the man''s blade away, she quickly dug her sword into his foot before slamming her mandala into his face, knocking him off his feet.

    "Well¡­yeah?" Naruto answered weakly. Looking around the room, the ninja saw that every one of the militiamen had been killed or knocked out. Deciding he and Illyana could handle the rest, he expelled his clones, ignoring the headache that came afterwards as he said, "Come on, let''s go find the prince before he runs off."

    Wiping the sweat off her brow as she caught her breath, Illyana nodded as she breathed out, "Yeah, let''s move."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow at the woman, "Are you sure you can keep going? There''s nothing wrong with taking a breather, I can handle the prince."

    "No." Magik said firmly, "I told you, I can handle it."

    "Alright." The blonde conceded, "But if it looks like your falling behind, I''m having a clone take you home." Seeing she was about to argue he finished, "No exceptions." He said firmly, his eyes firm as he stared her down.

    It was Illyana''s turn to concede, "Fine."

    "Alright, follow me. This is a big compound, so stay close."

    -x-

    T''Challa quickly realized that the compound he''d been taken too was impressively large. Room after room hallway after hallway, the prince could admit to himself to being lost. It didn''t help that he seemed to run into either a group of random militiamen, or a group of random Narutos every thirty seconds. Either way, he was quick to dispatch them with the knife he had borrowed, along with a few guns that were conveniently left behind by them. Sadly, none of them could or would tell him where T''Shan was. And anytime a clone came across him they''d pop in a puff of smoke.

    Turning a corner, he ducked as bullets came flying overhead. Back-peddling for some cover, he inched his head just enough to see a soldier crouched in waiting by a set of stairs. Sighing at the inconvenience of not having armor, he began taking pot shots with his pistol, hoping to maybe get a lucky hit in. His gun clicking empty, he grunted in annoyance before throwing it away. Deciding he had no other choice, he decided to make a break for it, sprinting from his spot down the hall towards the shooter. As he began to duck away from where the man was aiming, he heard the distinct sound of a gun clicking empty. Smirking, he sprinted full speed, catching the shooter off balance as he tried to reload. Barreling into him with his shoulder, the man was sent flying down the set of stairs, tumbling down one step after another.

    Climbing down after him, T''Challa kneeled down next to his practically broken form, "Where''s T''Shan?" He demanded.

    "Go-gone¡­" He stuttered out, his breathing ragged and broken.

    "Gone where?"

    "P-pla¡­" The man began, blood seeping out his mouth, "¡­Plane."

    Nodding, T''Challa silently drove his knife into the man''s throat, ending his misery with a soft gurgle.

    Wiping the blood off the blade, the prince almost didn''t hear the sound of an engine running outside. Looking outside the window within the stairway, he scowled as he saw T''Shan and two others running towards a light propeller-driven airplane. Growling, he grabbed the dead man''s assault rifle. Finishing what he had started as he reloaded the clip, T''Challa opened fire on the window, blowing out the glass in a flurry of bullets. Tossing the gun away, the prince took a few steps back before sprinting towards the window, jumping through it as he tucked his body inward.

    Quickly reaching the field below, he rolled with his landing, stopping in a crouch as he yelled with all his might, "TRAITOR!"

    -x-

    As Naruto and Illyana began up the stair way, they came to a halt as the window several feet in front of them was shot out by a wave of gunfire. Not long after, the man they were looking for jumped through it. A few seconds of silence followed before they both heard him dramatically yell the word traitor.

    Slowly, he and Illyana looked at each other, "That was him¡­wasn''t it?" She asked.

    "Yup." He said with a sigh.

    "Should we go after him?"

    "Probably."

    Opening a portal, she said, "Well, you first."

    Smirking he jumped through before landing on the other side, blasting off after the sprinting T''Challa who was now right on top of the three men.

    T''Challa growled as he maneuvered to the side as the two men next to T''Shan opened fire. Grabbing the second pistol he''d barrowed, he began to fire back, hitting the second man in the knee, dropping him to the ground.

    Sliding behind a tree, he took a breather as the remaining man fired after him. As he was about to jump out from behind cover, he blinked as a blur shot passed him. Not soon after, the gun fire came to a stop. Looking passed the tree, he saw that Naruto had rammed his fist through the man''s torso, his hand covered by what looked like lightning.

    Getting over his shock at the sight, he quickly got up when he saw Naruto turned his attention to T''Shan, "No!" He called out.

    Naruto stopped, his eyebrow raised as he looked at the prince from across the field, "What?"

    T''Challa began to run forward, "He''s mine!" He called out.

    T''Shan scoffed, pulling out a handgun as he took aim for T''Challa, the man growing closer and closer, "Don''t think I don''t have the stomach to kill you while you''re handicapped like this cousin. You can''t brush off a bullet without my armor."

    BANG!

    Even as the bullet shot through his shoulder, T''Challa''s momentum didn''t stop. If anything, he pushed himself harder in his charge towards T''Shan. Said man scowled as his cousin didn''t stop, seemingly brushing off the bullet like it was nothing.

    BANG!

    BANG!

    This time he aimed a little lower, hitting T''Challa in his left side and thigh. This time, he staggered for a moment. But even then, he maintained motion. Pushing passed his pain, the prince limped forward as fast as he possibly could.

    T''Shan grunted in fury, "Why won''t you stop?! I''ll kill you cousin, don''t think I won''t!"

    BANG!

    The bullet ricocheted off the ground barely an inch from T''Challa''s feet, the prince having picked up the pace once again, now just four feet away from T''Shan. A metallic clicking coming from the now shaking gun, the man hesitated as his sights landed on his cousin''s head. That hesitation proved fatal, as T''Challa grabbed the gun, pulling it out of T''Shan''s hands before throwing a punch into his face.

    Sent flying to the ground, he was barely able to blink the haze away before he felt a weight drop on his torso followed by a pair of hands wrapping around his neck. Gagging as he felt his airway practically collapse, he blinked the tears away as he looked up T''Challa''s face, his face scrunched up in a purple rage.

    His air cut off completely, black splotches began form around the corners of his eyes, encroaching on his vision more and more as he began to struggle for life, kicking his legs and flailing his arms desperately.

    T''Challa ignored the violent reaction, all his attention on watching the life leave T''Shan''s eyes.

    Naruto watched, eyes solemn, as T''Shan slowly grew still, his soft choking growing quieter and quieter. And then, finally, he grew still. Walking up to T''Challa, he rested a hand on his shoulder, "It''s over. He''s gone."

    T''Challa blinked, his face relaxing as he released his grasp on T''Shan''s neck. Catching his ragged breath, he brushed off Naruto''s hand, getting up as he said, "What''re you doing here?"

    "I came for you." Naruto answered.

    T''Challa didn''t take his eyes off his cousin, his mind clearly a million miles away.

    The blonde was about to talk again when he heard the faint sound of someone shifting on the grass behind next to them. Looking to his right, he saw that the man T''Challa had kneecapped earlier was getting up behind T''Challa, his gun pointed at the unsuspecting prince.

    Out of pure instinct, Naruto jumped in front of T''Challa, knowing his Sage Mode would help him block the bullet from hitting either him or the Wakandan. Time slowed to a crawl as he moved in front of T''Challa just when the gun was fired, making it a race between Naruto and the speeding bullet. Of course, Naruto won hands down.

    BANG!

    T''Challa jumped into action at the sound of the gun, turning around to see Naruto standing in between him and the man that he had thought was incapacitated. As he was about to pounce on the man, a silver portal opened up behind the man, a hand emerging with a fiery sword in hand. The man grunted as the blade was shoved through his torso like a hot knife through butter, dropping his gun before going slack. The sword and hand disappearing back into the portal, the portal followed soon after, allowing the man to drop lifelessly.

    "Naruto!" Called out Illyana, her Eldritch Sword dispersing before she ran towards the ninja.

    The Black Panther''s attention went from the Illyana back to Naruto, his eyes widening as the man began to stumble. Catching him as he fell, he was quick to put pressure on the bullet wound located on the right side of his chest.

    Another portal forming next to him, he watched in wonder as Illyana jumped out, kneeling next to him and Naruto as she asked, "How did the bullet hurt him like that? They''ve always just bounced off him like nothing every other time!"

    T''Challa turned his attention back on the wounded blonde, blood soaking his shirt clean through, "These soldiers us bullets tipped with vibranium. I doubt whatever your friend uses to stop normal bullets wouldn''t be enough to stop one of those." Turning him over, he saw that the bullet hadn''t gone clean through, "Still, whatever it is must be incredibly tough to stop it halfway through, I doubt even my suit could manage that."

    Illyana watched as the blonde grew increasingly pale, his breathing kicking up several degrees, "What''s happening to him?!"

    "He''s going into shock." T''Challa said calmly, "The man lying next to us, grab the beaded bracelet on his wrist. Hurry." He ordered, motioning with his head to T''Shan.

    "What?" Illyana asked weakly.

    "The beads. Now!" T''Challa ordered, keeping his attention on Naruto.

    Illyana nodded quickly, grabbing the beads off the corpse as fast as she could before making her way back to the prince and blonde. T''Challa took the bracelet, detaching one of the beads before gently pressing it up against the wound.

    "What are you doing?" Illyana asked, watching as Naruto began to calm down, having passed out as she was getting the beads.

    "Stabilizing the wound." T''Challa muttered. Looking to the woman he asked, "What were you two doing here?"

    "We were in Obodo Agha during the attack." She answered.

    "And you came to rescue me?" Seeing her nod, he asked, "Why?"

    She looked at the blonde, worry written all over her face, "Him."

    "Why?" T''Challa asked again.

    "Because¡­he''s just that kind of guy. He saw you needed help, so he helped you. He''s not a very complex person." She answered, shrugging at the end.

    T''Challa grunted as he looked down at the unconscious blonde, sighing as he said, "Can you carry him?"

    Illyana blinked in confusion, "What?"

    "I need you to carry him to the plane." T''Challa explained as he got up with a pained groan.

    "Why?" She asked, confused.

    T''Challa motioned to his wounds.

    "No, no I mean why are you helping us?" She clarified.

    The prince remained quiet for a moment, eying the blonde beneath him before he turned to walk towards the plain, "I guess¡­your friend and I have more in common than I thought."

    Illyana pushed passed her confusion, summoning a mandala to act as a gurney, carrying the blonde to the plane, "Can you really fly that plane?"

    "I''m adequate."

 23 wretches & Kings part 2

    Wake up, you fucking fool."

    Naruto''s eyes shot open, finding himself inside his seal, Kurama glaring down at him, "Kurama?"

    Said Biju growled, "Has it come back to you brat?"

    The blonde nodded, looking down at his torso, feeling around to see that he wasn''t wounded while in the mindscape, "Yeah¡­yeah it''s come back. Fuck, what the hell what the bullet made of?"

    "You almost got yourself killed, imbecile. You almost got me killed." Kurama growled out as he admonished the blonde,"You could''ve used your Magnet Release to stop the bullet, or the gun. You could''ve pushed the prince and yourself out of the way. You could''ve intercepted the gunman. But no. Instead, you throw yourself in front of the bullet, expecting to survive. Gambling on your superiority over these monkeys. When will you stop trying to be the self-sacrificial hero? Because your stupidity isn''t just risking your life, but my life as well!"

    Naruto sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "I''m sorry Kurama. You have to admit though that a bullet should never be able to penetrate my Nature Chakra enhanced skin. It never has before anyway. This isn''t normal circumstance here."

    "I heard Prince T''Challa say that the men we fought used vibranium tipped artillery. But even then, it didn''t penetrate you skin completely. Your enhancement acted as a good enough buffer to slow the bullet down halfway. It''s currently lodged in one of your lungs. Eventually, your healing factor will push the bullet out and you''ll heal like normal, but at the rate you were bleeding I had to give it a little more of a kick. In short, you won''t die. Especially since the prince is taking you and the woman to his home." Kurama stated.

    Looking around Naruto muttered, "Well uh, thanks for the assist Kurama. Why am I here though?"

    "I brought you here, obviously. I didn''t want to have to wait for you to wake up before I could jump your stupid ass. Fucking idiot."

    "Naruto¡­"

    Naruto jumped at the voice that echoed through room, looking around in search of the source as he said, "Did you hear that?"

    "Hear what? Did all that blood loss make you stupider than normal or something? There''s no one here except you and me. Fucking idiot." Kurama grumbled.

    "No seriously, I heard a voice." Naruto explained himself, still looking around.

    "Naruto¡­"

    "There!" Naruto shouted, "Don''t tell me you didn''t hear that!"

    "Naruto¡­" Kurama started, giving his container a look, "I''m not hearing anything. You sure you''re fi-"

    "Yeah, yeah I''m fine Kurama." The blonde reassured, beginning to walk towards the exiting corridor.

    "Where are you going?" The Biju muttered tiredly, resting his head on his paws.

    "I''m gonna find the voice, I guess."

    "Why, exactly?"

    "If I''m gonna be in here, I''m not just gonna sit around here and watch you nap."

    The Biju grumbled, "Hmph, your loss." Kurama said with a shrug, closing his eyes as he shifted into a comfortable position.

    Naruto stopped, looking back at his partner, "Kurama¡­I really am sorry."

    Kurama smirked, his eyes still closed, "All is forgiven, idiot. Though, maybe next time don''t follow your instinct. Let your brain do some of the work."

    The blonde nodded, "I''ll keep that in mind, partner." Giving a parting wave, he exited the cage, walking down the hallway.

    Having never bothered to walk these halls since he''d first entered the seal, he''d yet to notice that they had changed along with the rest of the interior of the seal. Rather than the dank sewer decal from before, it was a smooth blood red, with golden highlights tracing the edges all throughout. Sadly, it was still filled ankle deep with water, though the blonde had grown used to it after so long.

    He didn''t know how long he''d been walking, all he knew was that he''d never bothered walking in this direction before. Hell, he''d never considered exploring this place until the Ancient One had recommended it. Why would he? As far as he knew, Kurama was the only interesting thing down here, and he always just appeared in front of his cage nowadays. Finally, after what felt like half an hour of walking, he''d reached the end of the hallway.

    There, sitting at the end of the hallway, was an average looking wooden door. Which, if anything, made it stick out very strangely in the all red hallway filled with ankle deep water.

    Reaching for the doorknob, Naruto slowly gave it a turn before pushing the door open, only to sigh when he saw that only darkness greeted him on the other side.

    Swinging the door open all the way, he stepped into the vast darkness, immediately noticing the shift in temperature as his breath began to fog. As he stepped fully passed the doorway, he jumped as the door suddenly slammed shut. Turning around, his shoulder''s slumped when he saw that the door had disappeared.

    "Great." He muttered, scratching his scalp, "That wasn''t freaky or strange at all. No, totally normal. Hey, let''s go exploring, let''s find the voice. Idiot, idiot, idiot."

    Having expected to find himself in total darkness, he was surprised to see a flickering orange light on the horizon. Deciding that that was where he needed to go, he began his trek towards the light.

    As he walked, he noticed that he wasn''t walking through a pool of water anymore, the ground strangely smooth like marble. Growing closer and closer to the light, he realized that it was a campfire, an orangish haze looming over the small blaze.

    Finally reaching the campfire, his eyes roamed over to the form crouching over it, their form hidden by ebony colored cloak. Their hooded head turning to him, he was shocked to see the purple colored face of the Shinigami, his red horns poking out from beneath the hood.

    "Shinigami?" Naruto asked, "Or, are you Death? It''s hard to tell." He observed.

    The Shinigami smiled, his sharped teeth gleaming in the darkness, "Do you find my current form confusing, beloved? I thought you''d prefer a more familiar face." Tilting his head inquisitively, he asked, "Perhaps you''d like an even more familiar appearance?"

    Naruto''s face grew blank as the Shinigami''s face began to morph, his white hair shortening and taking on a pink color, his face shrinking and becoming effeminate. And, as a final touch, her eyes shifted to a sharp emerald color.

    The blonde''s eyes narrowed, "Change. Now."

    The woman before him smiled, "Do you not like this form? From your memories, I thought you were fond of this woman? Perhaps this would be better?"

    Her eyes changing from green to a pupiless faint lavender, her hair quickly followed suit, growing longer and shifting to a dark blue.

    "Stop." Naruto demanded, "Just¡­stop." His voice cracking.

    The woman shrugged before her hair changed to a dark blonde, shortening to just above her shoulders. Her face began to change as well, now a bit leaner, while her lips became a bit more full and plump. Darting her now hazel eyes to the still upset blonde, she asked, "There, better?"

    Naruto walked closer before taking a seat next to the woman, "Hello, Death."

    Death smiled softly, "Such a morbid name, don''t you think? I think I''d prefer you to call me something a bit more familiar."

    Having finally calmed himself, Naruto shrugged, "Well, what do you want me to call you?"

    "How about Freyja?" She asked, "I think that''s a bit more fitting, don''t you?"

    "How''s that?"

    "Freyja, a name given to the lady of love, beauty, and death." Freyja recited, "Appropriate, don''t you think?"

    "If you think so." Naruto said with a shrug, "What''s going on, Freyja? What is this place"

    The embodiment of death closed her eyes, savoring the blonde using her new name, "This is my little corner in your seal. And I guided you here, beloved."

    "Why do you call me that?" The blonde demanded.

    Freyja didn''t answer at first, simply looking into the small campfire, the flames reflecting off her eyes with a sharp gleam. Smiling softly, she said, "I have existed since life was given breath by my brother, Eternity. Because of my existence, I am connected to everyone. I watch over the universe, making sure that everyone follows their destined path towards my embrace. And in that moment, I am finally able to be with them, if for only a moment. And that has been my existence. My purpose. I had excepted eons ago that this was my stake in it all, that I would only be allowed those fleeting moments. And, I''ve made sure to cherish those times. All of them. But then you came along. And for the first time in all my everlasting life, I''ve been with someone. I was connected to you. You weren''t a ''god'' claiming my name to boost your status. You were just an insignificant speck in the universe. But it''s because of our connection, this seal, that I''ve been able to watch you."

    Suddenly, the fire grew brighter, causing Naruto to look into the flames, only to be shocked to see him, as a small child, sitting alone at some random playground as he watched a group of children play, their parents standing in the background, giving him looks of warning. Their message was simple. Stay away. The flames flickered, the image disappearing like it had never existed.

    "I watched your life, all of it. The good..." Freyja continued, this time the flames flickering to an image of Naruto sitting at a campfire, the Third Hokage next to him, the two of them laughing and enjoying the other''s company, "And the bad." The fire glimmered again, changing to a vision of the small blonde sitting alone at a kitchen table, the boy blowing out the candle on a store-bought piece of birthday cake, a deep frown marring his face as the fire was whipped away, softly singing a birthday song to himself, "I''ve seen you triumphs." She went on, the flame''s image morphing to a still of a twelve-year-old Naruto crawling towards an equally battered Gaara, a look of pure determination on his face, "And your failures." The next was a vision of heavily bandaged Naruto looking down in shame as he apologized to Sakura for breaking his promise to her, "I''ve seen your highs." The fire changed again, the image being Naruto as he was celebrated as Konoha''s hero, the blonde being thrown in the air by a crowd of cheering villagers, "And your lows."

    Finally, a montage of images paused through the flames. Mizuki''s betrayal. The death of the Third Hokage. His defeat at Sasuke''s hands. His fight with Orochimaru. Jiraiya''s death. Konoha''s destruction. Hinata being cut down by Pain. Sasuke''s fall into insanity. Neji''s sacrifice. His eviction to Earth. The death of Charles. Natasha''s betrayal. All of these flashed by before landing on an image of Naruto carving his fallen comrades'' names into the Memorial Stone.

    "You are the living embodiment of pain and hardship. And yet, you are unbroken. You hold yourself together with pure will. You persevere, pushing on in life to find the next adventure. You make new bonds. New friends. New family. Here, in this seal, I have been able to sit here front row and center to the greatest show of human triumph that has ever been and likely will ever be. How can''t I fall in love with someone like that?" Freyja asked, looking Naruto in the eye as finished, "I call you my beloved because that is what you are. Simple as that."

    "Wow." Naruto blurted out, "I-I um¡­"

    "If I''ve flustered you, I apologize. It''s just that this is a novel experience for me. I can''t tell you how long it''s been since I''ve talked to someone that wasn''t one of my siblings." Freyja admitted.

    "So¡­you know everything about me huh?" Naruto asked, trying to change the topic.

    "Oh yes. I know everything that''s ever happened to you. Any thought that''s fluttered through your mind. Even that little plan of yours." Lady Death stated, a knowing look on her face.

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Plan?"

    Freyja''s smile grew a little bigger, "Don''t bother playing stupid with me, beloved. What did I tell you the first time we met? You can''t hide such things from me? You might be able to hind it from Kurama, but I''m not so easy to deceive."

    The blonde shrugged, "I don''t know what you''re talking about. And not that I would, but I can''t hide anything from Kurama."

    The embodiment of death nodded, "Alright then beloved, if you want to continue to play your game I understand. But just know that you''re not the only one seeking to break the laws my siblings and myself put in place."

    The flame flickered again, shifting to a man Naruto immediately recognized, "Thanos?" He asked.

    Freyja nodded, "The two of you are practically one in the same. Two sides of the same coin. Both faced incredible hardships due to the makings of their birth. Both are the last of their kind. Both hold the will to break or build galaxies. Both wish to subvert Eterniy and Death in one fell swoop. The only thing that separates you is that when you came face to face with your failures one of you moved forward to find a way to keep it from never happening again, the other moved forward to keep it from never happening at all."

    Naruto looked into the fire for a long time, staring into the face of the man people called the most powerful being in the universe. Getting up, he willed a door to appear next to him. Not bothering to look at the woman of death as he opened the door, he said, "If what you''re saying is true, then the difference between him and me is that I''d never follow through with a plan like that."

    Freyja smiled again, watching her beloved step into the open doorway, "Then that leaves the question: who has the greater will? The one that can carry out something like that, or the one that can but chooses not to?"

    Naruto didn''t bother answering, stepping into the light, heading towards consciousness.

    -x-

    His eyes creaking open, he grunted as the flash of natural dazed his pupils, forcing him to squint as he tried to get up. Feeling a hand try and press him back to a lying position, he cleared out the specks of light from his eyes to see a man he didn''t recognize standing over him. The man of African descent was bald headed, a thick black goatee wrapped around his jaw and mouth. He didn''t look like a doctor, his casual looking purple tribal shirt not fitting the bill.

    His crinkled face scrunched up in concern, he said, "I would recommend you lie still. It''s a miracle you''re awake at all."

    "It''s no miracle." Naruto mumbled, lying back down as he asked, "How long was I out?"

    The man backed off from Naruto as he said, "Not long, you only slept through the night. It''s daybreak now."

    "Where am I?"

    "All will be told when I am allowed to tell you. Until then, rest." The man ordered.

    Naruto began to get up again, pushing passed the pain and the man''s helping hand, "Yeah, can''t do that. Got too many questions. Like where I am, or where my friend is." His bare feet touching the could stone floor as he swooped over to the side of the bed, he asked, "My name''s-"

    "I know who you are." The man interrupted, "You are the colonizer that''s been running rampant the last few days." Bowing, he said, "My name is Zuri, Naruto Uzumaki. Now, please lay back down. I''d prefer it that a fight not break out here. We are on sacred ground after all."

    Sacred ground?" Naruto asked.

    Zuri nodded, "King T''Chaka thought it best to keep you out of the palace while you recovered. I volunteered to watch over you in one of the shrines within the city while we wait. As for your friend, she is being kept outside the palace in a separate area. She is safe, you have my word."

    Naruto felt out Zuri''s emotions, detecting no lies coming from the man, "Well, I''m fine. Tell whoever you need to tell that I want to talk to your king."

    "That will prove difficult I''m afraid." Zuri said, a grave look on his face.

    The blonde tilted his head in confusion, "Why?"

    "The princess was taken and being held for ransom by the gang of militants you and the prince had fought. The king and prince are currently holding a council meeting to decide what to do. While that is going on, no one can enter. Not even myself." The head shaman explained.

    "What''s to discuss? Aren''t they going to save her?" Naruto asked.

    Zuri sighed, "It''s a bit more complicated than that." Patting him on the shoulder, he said, "Come, let''s get something to eat."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Aren''t you supposed to keep me here?"

    Zuri smiled, "They said to keep watch over you while you healed. You''ve healed, I''m hungry. Let''s eat."

    Naruto smiled back, "I think I''m beginning to like you, old man."

    If Zuri was offended by the name, he didn''t show it, instead leading the blonde-haired man out of the room, "Come, I know a place with great kachumbari not far from here."

    -x-

    Naruto sighed in satisfaction as he finished his meal, wiping his mouth of any possible access food with his napkin, "Damn, that was pretty good." The blonde was now wearing a white long sleeve shirt with blue tribal designs etched in and a pair of black pants and sandals.

    Smiling from across Naruto, Zuri said, "It''s one of my favorite dishes. I''ve been coming here since I was a boy."

    Looking around, the blonde smiled as he took in the scenery. They were eating at a small little shop, their eating area out in the open of the downtown area, allowing you to be a part of the moving people. The area was busy, everyone going from one place to the other, happily going about their day seemingly without a care in the world. Every person that he could pick out of a crowd was distinct in their way of dress. From large disk like lip rings that sat in the mouths, to flowing tribal dresses, to colorful vibranium woven articles of clothing that were in league of their own in design.

    Chuckling he said, "This place reminds me of home."

    Zuri looked at Naruto in interest, "Where are you from?"

    "Not from here." Naruto offered.

    "I know you''re not from Waka-"

    "No, not from here as in Earth." The blonde clarified.

    The shaman studied Naruto for a moment before asking, "Why are you telling me this? Surely you know I''ll tell my king?"

    Naruto shrugged, "I figure it''ll get out eventually, why not just cut to the chase?"

    "I suppose I shouldn''t be surprised." Zuri offered, "I''ve seen the videos of you fighting, and I can attest to it being unhuman."

    He shrugged again, "I never wanted to fight anyone here, if it makes you feel better."

    Zuri looked him up and down once again as he asked, "Why does Birnin Zana remind you of your home?"

    "I guess it''s the people." Naruto guessed, "The feel of it all. This place is extraordinary compared to anywhere else on Earth. Nowhere else on Earth, or even off of Earth, could remind me of the feel of Konoha. Nowhere but here." He chuckled, "That and we were considered a secret village, with a group of super soldiers and elite fighters protecting its borders. Though, we weren''t anywhere near as secretive as you are. Most if not every major village knew where we were. But they knew better than to try and find us with the First Hokage''s forest protecting us."

    "The First Hokage''s forest?" Zuri asked.

    Naruto nodded, "It was the forest that surrounded our village that was created by our first Hokage. It was thick, and we had a way of knowing when someone entered or left the forest at any time. Attacking us head on was never an option for most villages because of that, it allowed us to dictate any fight that came our way."

    "Your village sounds very formidable." Zuri said, taking in the many comparisons his village had with Birnin Zana.

    "It was."

    The two of them sat at their table, enjoying the comfortable silence that washed over them before Zuri decided to cut in, "Well, I suppose we should head back now."

    As Zuri got up from his seat, Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah uh, that''ll prove difficult I''m afraid."

    "Why?" Zuri asked, his face wrinkled with confusion.

    "I''m a clone." The Shadow Clone smiled apologetically, "The boss swapped out with me after we left the shrine."

    Zuri sighed with exasperation, "I told you that you can''t get in. The king is in the council chambers. Tensions are already high; do you really think it''s a good idea to push their buttons?"

    "Oh, you mean the whole princess thing? Yeah, boss has a plan for that." The clone reassured. Giving a two-fingered salute, he said, "It was good meeting you Zuri, we should do this again some time!" With that, the clone popped in a puff of smoke.

    "What an aggravating man." Zuri muttered, getting up before beginning his trek towards the Golden Palace.

    -x-

    King T''Chaka rubbed his brow as he listened to ransom note be read aloud again by his son, Prince T''Challa reading it himself for the first time since recovering from his injuries, "Dear King, by now you have realized that both your son and daughter are in my custody. And, as I''m sure you''ve realized, one of your own has betrayed you, giving us weapons that can stand against you and a means to enter your cities undetected. But do not confuse this for a thirst for war. That is not what I want. What I want is your technology. Because I have your son, we can reverse engineer your Black Panther armor. Because we have your daughter, we can create our own weapons using her intelligence, and reveal whatever they know to the public. But it doesn''t have to be this way. Reveal yourselves to the world, agree to share your knowledge, and I will free them as a sign of thanks. You have by nightfall."

    After T''Challa finished the note, the head of the Border Tribe said, "That was sent to us after the attack on N''Jadaka Village. Luckily, you have returned, and our War Dogs retrieved the Black Panther armor, but the princess is still in their hands." The Border Tribe leader was square jawed, a blue robe wrapped around his body, keeping his arms and torso hidden, "If they manage to get her to help them, these dogs will become even more of a danger to Wakanda."

    T''Challa narrowed his eyes at the man, "Shuri would never help those men."

    "Not willingly, no." The River Tribe elder spoke. The slim man wearing a turquoise themed suit, a massive disk filling in his lower lip, "But there is no telling what they will do to her when we refuse their demands."

    "When?" The prince questioned, "She is your princess! There is no other option but to save her."

    The Merchant Tribe elder scoffed, the wrinkled woman dressed in an elegant black and gold gown and head piece, "We are well aware of who she is. However, these are strenuous circumstances. We can''t just attack these people! It will lead to open warfare, something that hasn''t been done outside of Wakandan borders since its founding!"

    "So, what would you suggest?" Asked the leader of the Mining Tribe, a middle-aged woman with red and brown dressings, "If we refuse, they will take our princess away! That is unacceptable! Not only would this be a slap in the face to our country''s pride, but she is a child. Something must be done!"

    "Are you seriously suggesting a rescue operation?" The River Tribe elder asked, "Have you forgotten that our Black Panther is useless against these thugs? They''ve incapacitated him before, who''s to say it can''t be done again? And even if we were to agree to let him go, they are an army of thousands with weapons that can penetrate our defenses. To send a small party of people into that hyena''s nest would be sending them to their deaths. I''m sorry, but I''m not willing to risk my people for such a suicide mission."

    "Then don''t send a party." T''Challa offered, "Just send me."

    "No."

    The prince turned to his father, surprise on his face, "What? Baba, I can do it! You know I can-"

    "I have already lost one child today. I won''t lose another." T''Chaka interrupted.

    T''Challa looked at his father, flabbergasted, "Baba, you haven''t lost anyone. We will get her back."

    And for the first time in his life, T''Challa could see his father''s age. T''Chaka looked his son in the eye as he said, "Read the bottom of the note."

    Confused, T''Challa looked down to the bottom right corner of the note, a name cleanly scrawled in, "Who is Achebe?"

    T''Chaka released a slow breath out, "A mistake from the past."

    The Border Tribe elder continued, "Achebe is an outsider your father brought back here to be healed, much like the colonizer you brought with you last night."

    T''Challa looked to his father, "Why did you bring this man into Wakanda?"

    T''Chaka shifted in his seat, clasping his hands together, resting his chin upon them, "Several decades ago, I had been running a mission in Ghudaza as the Black Panther. Myself and a squad of Dora Milaje were assisting a War Dog in extracting a target within a small bandit group that had begun overtaking several cities. The mission had gone horribly wrong, the target was killed in a car bombing that set of a conflict between the bandits and the local military. It was a blood bath. We tried to assist the town in getting rid of the bandits, and because of that the fighting only lasted two days. Performing a sweep of the area, we came across a priest that had been stabbed a few dozen times. It was a miracle that he was still alive. Had I done nothing, he would have been the only civilian death. My guilt getting the better of me, I took him to Wakanda and had healed him of his wounds."

    "But in doing so he brought a monster to our doorsteps." The Mining Tribe added, "When he awoke, we immediately knew something was wrong. We''d catch him¡­talking to himself, referring to himself by a second name."

    "Daki." The Merchant Tribe elder recalled, getting nods from the other tribe leaders.

    "His awareness that we existed only made it worse." T''Chaka continued, "He couldn''t understand why we had kept ourselves hidden for so long. He began begging me to open Wakanda to the world. At first, I thought it was compassion that drove his want for openness. But I would later learn that perhaps it was something much darker."

    The Border Tribe leader took over for his king, "After we refused his request, he asked to leave Wakanda. We agreed, sending him to America with a means to get an education and start a new life, with the understanding that he would tell no one of what he''d experienced here. We kept him under watch for nearly a decade, the man getting a doctorate in communication. Then, he disappeared off the face of the Earth for several years, only to pop back up again in Ghudaza. Our War Dogs would later report the deaths of several men that had once been in that bandit group, all of them brutally stabbed to death. After that, he went quiet. This is the first time we''d heard of him in almost fifteen years."

    "He is not a stable man. But, he is a smart one." T''Chaka said, "He knows he needs Shuri alive if we refuse his demands, he can use her to show the world, at least partially, what we are, while keeping her to themselves to abuse her intelligence. Because of this, I know she is safe, for now. If we attack them to rescue her, we risk exposure. If we try and call his bluff, we''re partially exposed. If we agree, we''re exposed completely. This is a no-win scenario."

    The group''s conversation was kept from continuing by the sound of someone knocking on the large double doors that took up the front portion of the chambers. Figuring it to be the Dora Milaje outside, King T''Chaka bellowed, "Enter!"

    The doors creaked open, revealing a smiling Naruto as he gave a small wave in their direction, "Yo!"

    "What are you doing here boy?!" Called out the Border Tribe leader.

    The River Tribe elder scoffed, throwing his arm up in Naruto''s direction, "Dora Milaje, take this colonizer away!"

    Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, if you''re talking about the ladies outside, I put them under a small Genjutsu. Don''t worry, it''s nothing too serious or anything since I kinda suck at anything above the beginner''s moves."

    "Genjutsu?" The Merchant Tribe wondered, "What is this nonsense?!"

    "An illusion." Naruto clarified, "All I did was make them think they''re dreaming, that''s all I swear."

    "You dare?" Started the Mining Tribe elder, "Do you have any idea where you are?"

    "Yeah, I think I heard Zuri call it the Golden Palace or something." Naruto offered.

    "And where is Zuri?" Demanded the Merchant Tribe leader, "He was supposed to inform us when you woke up, not let you wonder around on your own."

    "Oh, well I kinda ditched him with a clone of mine. He''s on his way though, shouldn''t take more than twenty minutes." Naruto guessed. Eying the king, he stepped forward, ignoring the bracing movements of almost every elder in the room, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki."

    "We know who you are, boy. Why are you here?" Asked the Border Tribe elder.

    Taking another step forward, Naruto said, "Well, I couldn''t help but overhear your little meeting, and I think I might have an answer to your problem."

    The River Tribe elder tried to play dumb, "What are you talking about boy?"

    Naruto kept his eyes on the king, "I''ve been listening in for a while now. You''re caught in an impossible situation and you can''t seem to find the right answer. Do your sacrifice your daughter, or the peace you''ve established for so long?"

    "And I assume you have a ''solution?''" King T''Chaka asked.

    "Me."

    T''Chaka raised a brow, "You?"

    "Yeah, me. I''m the solution."

    The room was silent for a few seconds before the four council members began to laugh in Naruto''s face. Moving passed his laughter first, the River Tribe elder gasped out, "How exactly are you the solution to our problem?"

    Naruto raised his hands to form a cross shaped hand sign. In a puff of smoke, another Naruto appeared. The councilors jumped in shock while T''Challa flew up from his seat ready to fight off the two blondes if necessary. However, the clone only gave a quick salute before disappearing in another puff of smoke.

    "What kind of magic is this?" Whispered the Merchant Tribe elder.

    T''Challa and T''Chaka, having seen the ability through their surveillance of the man, were less shocked at the sight. Coughing in his hand, the king said, "While that is¡­impressive, how exactly is that the answer?"

    Naruto took another step forward, now just several feet from the king, "Imagine that, but times a thousand."

    "That would mean you can mass produce an army." Scoffing the River Tribe leader said, "Impossible."

    "Impossible isn''t in my vocabulary." Naruto insisted with narrowed eyes, "Trust me, I can help you save your daughter."

    "And why should we trust you?"

    Naruto looked to T''Challa, the princes calm demeaner in play as he looked over the blonde. Sighing, Naruto said, "I know I haven''t exactly made the best first impression. All I am is an outsider stepping on your toes. None of you like me, I can see that as clear as day. But, you need my help. You don''t want to admit it, you don''t want anything to do with me for that matter. So, don''t admit it. Don''t like me. Cast me out. But I''m saving that girl. And if you want to send someone to tag along while I do it? Feel free."

    "Why do you insist on helping us?" Asked the Border Tribe elder, clearly confused by his motives.

    It was T''Challa who answered, "Because¡­he''s just that kind of man."

    The room grew silent, everyone''s eyes on the prince as he spoke. T''Chaka, studiously looking over at his son, asked, "Do you vouch for this man, my son?"

    T''Challa hesitated for a moment before answering, "Yes, Baba. I will vouch for this man."

    Smiling, T''Chaka reached over and patted his son on the shoulder, "Then it is decided. You will accompany this man on a rescue mission to save Shuri. You leave in half an hour."

    "But my king, all of the suits designed for T''Challa were sabotaged by the traitor T''Shan. Sending him out using any of them is out of the question." Advised the Border Tribe elder, "Speaking of the traitor, we''ve begun our sweep to decide just how much damage he''d done while in our ranks. And, though we''ve only scratched the surface it looks like he had his fingers dipped in a lot of different places. Who''s to say there aren''t others allied with him as well?"

    "Perhaps had the prince not decided to kill the traitor, we could''ve interrogated him for that kind of information." The River Tribe elder grumbled, eyeing the prince.

    "We''ll discuss all of that later." King T''Chaka said firmly, "For now, I feel our current issue is a bit more pressing."

    "What do you want in return?"

    Everyone looked over to the Merchant elder, the wrinkled woman''s attention solely on the blonde in the front of the room. Blinking, Naruto asked, "Excuse me?"

    "You are going to go fight a war for us boy. Clearly, you''ll want compensation for such a thing. So, what do you want?" Clarified the elder.

    Naruto''s answer was quick, "All I want is a private audience with the king."

    "Do you really think we''d let you-"

    "Everyone out." King T''Chaka ordered firmly.

    The Merchant elder looked to her king, "My king, surely you''re not going to actuall-"

    "If all he wants is to speak with me than I shall accommodate him. Besides, I had planned to speak with him should the opportunity arise. Now leave." The king clarified.

    The councilors didn''t need another hint, getting up slowly before passing Naruto on their way out of the chambers. T''Challa followed behind them, stopping next to the blonde, "I''ll be waiting for you, Uzumaki."

    Naruto smiled, "Sure thing. Hey uh, could you get someone to send my friend? I''m sure she''s getting antsy waiting around wherever she''s at."

    T''Challa gave a calm nod before exiting the chambers, leaving Naruto and King T''Chaka alone.

    Seeing that the king was waiting for Naruto to speak first, the blonde coughed into his hand awkwardly, "To be honest, I didn''t expect you to let me speak to you so soon."

    "It''s best to get it over with, I think." T''Chaka claimed, shifting in his throne, "Why did you come to Wakanda?"

    "The first time I came here, it was a clone of me. He was sent to place a sealing tag that would let me teleport to N''Jadaka Village. I was doing that with every major capital or city on the planet, so don''t think that I was picking you guys for any reason other than that. The clone was looking for a good spot to place the tag when the prince and his entourage tried to capture it for questioning. Seeing a guy dressed up as a cat and a group of heavily armored women take out one of my clones got my attention." Naruto explained, "I decided to do a little more reconnaissance after that."

    "By that, you mean attacking the general of my Dora Milaje?" T''Chaka accused, "You captured and interrogated her for information. That isn''t the work of a benevolent man."

    "To be fair, she attacked me." Naruto defended, "My interrogation was totally painless for her, and after I got what I needed I dropped her off right afterwards."

    "And what did you learn?" T''Chaka asked.

    Naruto took a deep breath before saying, "I learned that Wakanda is the most powerful country on the planet. You''ve gained that power through an extraterrestrial meteorite that''s about the size of a small country, the hunk of rock buried underground. That said rock holds the strongest metal on Earth, maybe even several galaxies. Through centuries of research and trial by fire, you''ve discovered that it is also the most versatile metal on Earth as well. You use it for everything. Weapons, technology, clothes, infrastructure, you guys have mastered that element to a fine science."

    "And I can also assume you learned about our traditions as well?" The king asked. When the blonde nodded, T''Chaka said, "After our ancestors discovered vibranium, we quickly learned what neighboring tribes and villages would do to get their hands on it. We knew that if we wanted to keep that advantage and avoid war, we''d have to pretend it didn''t exist. We became reclusive, staying out of matters around us while we built our country from the ground up. Eventually, it became a way of life. We kept to ourselves, only concerned with making sure our people prospered and evolved year by year, decade by decade, century by century."

    "And now you have to live with the consequences of that." Naruto said.

    "Excuse me?" T''Chaka wondered.

    Naruto folded his arms across his chest, "To be honest, at first I was a little pissed when I found out your little secret. You''ve stood by, letting countless atrocities happen in the name of isolation. But at the end of the day, I understand. This world is a primitive one. If you give them a bigger stick in the name of peace, they''ll turn it around on you as a weapon. If you give them access to vibranium, you''re asking for a bloodbath. Maybe not then and there, or a year or five from then. But it''ll happen. I''ve seen that kind of war. It isn''t something I want to see again."

    T''Chaka raised an eyebrow, "You speak as though you''re not human."

    The blonde smiled, "Guilty as charged."

    After a moment, T''Chaka tilted his head back and laughed, "And to think, for a moment I thought you were just some superpowered American coming to my country to judge me and my people''s ways of life with no real idea as to our perspective. But in reality, you''re just some alien. An outsider looking in." Sighing, the king said, "My ancestors had to deal with European colonization, long before I took the reins of power. Back then, it took all their will not to instigate a war, throwing away our traditions to fight them away from this continent. But, they held their hand, watching in horror to what was happening around them. Seeing you, I saw a physical manifestation of that time. You were a white man, barging into my country doing as you pleased. Even now, knowing what you are, I can''t help but draw that conclusion. You claim to understand my ways, that you agree with our traditions. But I don''t need your approval. We don''t need your acceptance. My ancestors never enjoyed sitting by, watching as the people of Africa were taken away never to return, or the countless massacres that have occurred on that same soil, or the problems that plagued the rest of the world. We see these things and we don''t scoff or turn our nose. We cry tears of sorrow, because we know we''re just as guilty for their pain. If you wish to ally with us, I will consider it. But don''t question or ponder our ways. I do that enough myself every day."

    Naruto stood there, taking in the verbal beating. As the king''s speech finished, he took a deep breath in before saying, "Clearly, you''re a proud man. I have no doubt that you are a good person, and probably an even better king. You look like a man that has sacrificed a lot for his country, and for that you have my respect. But I''m not going to agree to not question you. You look at me, and you see an image that just doesn''t match up. I might look like the people that have plagued your land, but I''m not them." He narrowed his eyes, "I''m a self-contained maelstrom. A walking natural disaster. I came to see what you were doing, not out of some self-perceived sense of entitlement, but to see if you were just another group of monsters I had to destroy. Luckily, I see you for the people you are. You''re a good people, with good intentions at heart. You have my support on that front. So, out of respect towards you King T''Chaka, you don''t want this maelstrom pointed at you. Because no amount of vibranium will protect you from me."

    The two glared at each other for a long time, a battle of wills going on between them. Neither blinked for the longest time, standing still until King T''Chaka threw his head back and roared in laughter.

    Getting up from his chair, the king stepped up to the blonde, patting him on the shoulder as he said, "You are a brave man, Naruto Uzumaki. You and my son will get along well, I know that for certain." Walking passed him he said, "Come, let''s go meet with my son. I''m sure your friend is down with him by now."

    -x-

    T''Challa stood next to the giant double doors for used for exiting the Golden Palace. Standing next to him was a fidgeting Illyana, the woman looking rather nervous as she stood a few feet away from the prince, on high alert as she waited for Naruto to arrive.

    Checking his armor, he sighed as he felt the extra weight the outmoded suit held. Unlike his which had a simple yet sleek black design, his father''s was a bit more decorative and bulky. While still colored black, it was highlighted with golden decals, the chest piece more of a slim flak jacket and the leggings more baggy and pants like. Flexing his golden claws, he retracted them back into their place with a loud thrwang noise resound through the halls, causing Illyana to jump.

    Deciding to ignore her, he stood at attention when he heard his father''s laugh echo through the halls, with Naruto''s laugh mixed in as well. Turning the corner, the two walked almost shoulder to shoulder, the king having rested his hand on the blonde''s shoulder as he tried to contain his laughter.

    "I wish I could have met this Jiraiya." T''Chaka coughed out as his laughter came to a stop.

    Naruto smiled, "Yeah, he''d have loved this place."

    "Baba." T''Challa called out, causing the king to leave the blonde''s side to come speak to his son.

    "How does it fit my son?" T''Chaka asked rhetorically, knowing that the suit was made to fit any size.

    "It fits perfectly, thank you." The prince answered with a bow of thanks.

    The king raised his son up. Grasping his shoulders with both hands, T''Chaka looked his son in the eye as he said, "Bring her back."

    "What of Achebe?" T''Challa asked, "The council wants us to bring him in alive-"

    "End him, my son. He took my daughter, your sister. He turned T''Shan against us. His death is the only thing he can do to repay for those crimes against us. And don''t worry about the council. They answer to me. I will deal with them."

    T''Challa nodded firmly, "Yes, Baba."

    Naruto walked over to Illyana, smiling as he asked, "Miss me?"

    "Yeah." She answered, giving a weak smile.

    Frowning, the ninja gave the woman a once over, noticing that her eyes were sunken in and her hands had a slight shake to them, "Are you alright?" He asked in worry.

    "I''m fine." She said, trying to come off as strong but failing miserably.

    "After you''d been shot, she killed the gunman." Kurama said through the seal.

    Quickly getting what Kurama was saying, Naruto stepped a little closer, leaning in close as he whispered, "He was your first one¡­wasn''t he?"

    Illyana looked at Naruto in shock, blinking rapidly as she tried to form a response. Finally, she answered, her eyes screwed shot as she said, "¡­No."

    Hesitantly, he placed his hands on her arms, holding her, "Go home."

    "I can contin-"

    "Go home, get some rest. This isn''t a discussion. You''re no good to anyone like this." Naruto said firmly.

    Illyana looked down, "O-okay." She weakly whispered.

    As she opened a portal, Naruto asked, "Do you want a clone to keep you company-"

    "No."

    Then, the portal closed behind her, leaving Naruto alone as he sighed heavily.

    "You''ll have to talk to her, Naruto." Kurama advised.

    "I know." He thought, "After this."

    "Alright, let''s go."

    Naruto turned to see a ready T''Challa looking at him in anticipation. Nodding, he said, "Yeah, I''m ready."

    -x-

    Shuri struggled as she was pushed into a large tent, thrown through the flaps to the ground. Getting to her knees, she glared up at the two men that had led her to the tent. Hearing a cough, she turned her attention to the man sitting across from her. However, it was the hand puppet sitting on his hand that got her attention, flaring her confusion as she tried to get to her feet.

    Sitting behind his desk, Achebe smiled down at the girl as she got to her feet, "Hello Shuri, I hope your stay with us as been pleasurable."

    "If by pleasurable you mean crappy food and worse company, than yeah sure." She grumbled.

    "Well, if good company is what you want, allow me to introduce you to Daki." Achebe said, motioning to the hand puppet.

    "He''s the leader?" Shuri asked incredulously, "You''re kidding, right?"

    Achebe''s hand moved forward, Daki looking down at the princess, "This is no joke child. I am the one who wishes to bring your country to its knees. I suggest you show the proper respect-"

    Shuri burst out in laughter, holding her side as she said, "By Bast, you''re serious?! That''s hysterical!"

    The puppet looked to the guard standing next to her, nodding slowly. The guard nodded back before shoving the butt of his gun into Shuri''s temple, dropping the princess.

    Grunting as she hit the ground, she reached a shaky hand up to feel the blood that was dripping down her temple.

    "This is no joke." Daki repeated, "I''ll allow that slip up this once. But, if you haven''t learned from this experience, I''ll do to you what I do to everyone else who refuses to learn from past mistakes, understand?"

    Shuri shuffled back to her feet, her knees shaking slightly as she asked, "Why did you bring me here?"

    "We''ve been alerted that a Wakandan plane has landed a few miles outside our camp. More than likely, the king has sent a rescue party. Earlier today, I received the news that your brother was saved by a man with strange abilities. I wasn''t given a description, but I can only assume he and your brother have come to rescue you. That can''t happen. In five minutes, the plain should be prepped and ready for takeoff. Just know, that if you cause Achebe or my men any trouble, I''ll make you regret it. I won''t kill you, but you''ll with you were dead when my men are done with you. Understand?"

    "Yes." Shuri answered, though a gleam of defiance could be seen in her eyes.

    Daki chuckled before looking to Achebe, "I''m trusting you my friend. Don''t disappoint me."

    Achebe nodded earnestly, "Of course Daki, I won''t fail you."

    "Good, good."

    Pulling out a small wooden case, Achebe opened it before carefully taking Daki off his hand, resting the puppet on the soft cushion inside.

    Achebe sighed in satisfaction, "Good night, my friend."

    -x-

    Naruto strapped gripped his chokuto in his hands, looking it over as T''Challa activated the cloaking mechanism on the Wakandan ship that took them there, "So, what''s the plan?"

    T''Challa placed his helmet over his head, "We''ll need to figure out which tent they''re keeping her. After that, you start the distraction while I extract her and assassinate Achebe."

    "I''ve already got the recon covered." Naruto said, "I made a clone and had it transform into a bird. She was taken to the largest tent in the center of the campsite. Somehow they know we''re here, and they''re planning to take her to the plane that''s sitting on the other side of the camp. So, I''m going to go in as hard as possible and get all their attention on me. It should be easy for you to get in after that."

    T''Challa nodded, adjusting his chest piece, "And what exactly are you planning to do?"

    Naruto smirked, his body being covered in a golden flame, his Six Paths Sage Mode taking form, "There''s no way their vibranium bullets can get me while I''m like this. I''ve got some pent-up frustration I''ve been dying to release on these bastards."

    "Did anyone ever tell you that you''re a showoff, Uzumaki?" The prince asked. Reaching into his back pouch, he pulled out a small black dot. Giving it to the blonde he said, "We''ll use these to communicate. Stick it to the back of your ear."

    Nodding, Naruto quickly did as the prince said. Flexing his fist, he grinned, "Alright T''Challa, I''ll see you in a bit." Activating his Magnet Release, he took off into the air, flying at top speed.

    Sighing as he took off for the camp, T''Challa muttered, "Why him? Of all people that it could''ve been, why him?"

    Naruto grinned widely as he came to a stop several hundred feet above the campsite, "Now, I''ve got to make a big entrance. What to do, what to do?"

    "Don''t you think you''re going a little overboard using this form?" Kurama asked.

    "These guys kidnapped a little girl and are trying to instigate a war. That, and they''re the reason I got shot." Naruto argued, "I''m not gonna hold back against these guys. That and I think it''s time I sent a message. Not just to Wakanda, but the rest of the world."

    "What kind of message?" Kurama asked, "The don''t fuck with me kind? Didn''t you already do that?"

    "I did that with SHIELD. They usually covered up any destruction I caused. And no, no not that kind of message."

    "What kind then?"

    "The I won''t sit around and let things slide kind." Naruto answered.

    Kurama sighed, "You''re an idiot." Grinning himself, the beast said, "Well alright then, let''s fuck some shit up!"

    Releasing his Magnet Release, Naruto began to drop towards the ground, aiming himself so that he would land right at the front of the camp. Adjusting his body into an accelerated freefall, Naruto formed a Truth-Seeking Ball, morphing the black chakra construct to surround him as a perfect sphere.

    Flipping through several hand signs, he thought to himself, "Lava Style: Magma Rock Fall!"

    Emerging from the Truth-Seeking Sphere wrapped around Naruto, a massive amount of molten magma erupted forward, shifting around the sphere to form a massive meteorite made of volatile magmatic rock.

    Then, as the giant meteorite grew close to the Earth''s floor, Naruto began to channel Lightning Chakra through the Truth-Seeking Sphere, breaking passed the rock and wrapping around it in jagged white wisps of electricity.

    "Sage Art: Wrath of the Six Paths Sage!"

    BOOM!

    -x-

    Achebe picked himself off the ground, rubble and ash rolling off his body as he looked up at the chaos before him. In all his life, he never thought he''d see the sight of a lightning covered ball rock and lava smack right in front of his campsite. Luckily, he had begun to take Shuri to the plane parked on the other side of the camp, so other than being thrown off their feet, he and his group were relatively fine.

    "What the hell was that?!" Shrieked Shuri as she got up to her knees, watching in shock as a hoard of blonde haired men began to jump around the area on the other side of the camp, breathing fire and causing bursts of wind to pick men off the ground.

    "Get up!" Ordered Achebe, picking her up by the arm, "Come on, move!" Pointing at the three men with them, he ordered, "We have to leave before they make their way over here!"

    Shuri grunted in pain as the man began to drag her, her eyes wide in wonder as a wall of fire took out the east side of the campsite.

    -x-

    "Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!" Thought Naruto as he breathed out a thick wall of fire towards the eastern side of the camp. Cutting off the jutsu, he watched as his troupe of clones wreaked havoc on any poor militiaman that got in their way. Having created about a thousand clones, he decided to keep them at his base form. So, the blonde-haired clones were still susceptible to gun fire. Oh well, clones could always be replaced.

    Thack Thack Thack!

    Naruto barely felt the bullets bounce off his Six Paths Chakra Mode covered torso, looking over lazily as a group of men opened fire on him. Hearing them complain that their vibranium tipped bullets weren''t working, he smirked as he shifted his foot on the ground, channeling Earth Chakra into the ground, forcing several spikes of earth to pop out into the men''s bodies.

    Rushing towards another group of men, he quickly began his onslaught with his chokuto, channeling wind chakra into the blade. Kicking the first man with a swift side kick, he felt the man''s chest cave in from the power of the kick. Twirling the sword in a reverse grip, he jabbed backwards in order to stab the man that was trying to sneak up on him, the extended wind blade catching the man behind them both right in the chest. Pulling the blade out, Naruto quickly decapitated the last of the men coming after him.

    He was quick with his follow up, slamming his hand on the ground, "Lava Style: Lava Plume!" The ground splitting open, a thick pillar of lava erupted from the cracks of the earth, the lava slowly spreading through the western side of the camp.

    Dashing back towards the front part of the camp, he continued his attack. From body destroying punches, crippling kicks, and deadly slashes and stabs, he carved a swath of death through the populace of militiamen. Feeling several sets of memories come flooding in, he fought the urge to stop at the memories of several hundred kids being found by some of his clones.

    Creating a few dozen more while he was on the move, he shouted, "Get those kids out of here! No dilly dallying, understand?!" The clones nodded before departing.

    Getting annoyed by several hundred clones that were getting shredded by the militiamen''s gunfire in the front side of the camp, Naruto decided enough was enough.

    "You ready, partner?" Naruto asked.

    Kurama smirked in the seal, "Always!"

    "Let''s keep it a little small thought, don''t want to blow away the whole country, do we?"

    "Well of course!" Kurama answered sarcastically, his smirk growing savage.

    Kurama''s ethereal head formed over Naruto''s body, the Biju opened his maw wide. Purple and red chakra circulating and merging together into one massive sphere of pure chakra, both partners called out their technique as it shot off like a rocket, "Tailed Beast Bomb!"

    BOOM!

    -x-

    The sound of the plane''s whirling engine was cut off by the massive explosion that blasted through the area across from them. The aftermath of the explosion sending a white flash over them, the group flinched in pain as Shuri shrieked, "What the hell is going on?!"

    Achebe growled in anger, "What kind of monster is capable of something like that?" Opening the plane''s door, he ordered, "Get in girl, get in now!" Looking for the man that was holding Daki, he shouted, "Give me the case, now-"

    However, as the man was about to give his leader the case, he jerked in pain, gasping out before he was thrown aside, revealing a crouching Black Panther behind him, his claws drawn out with blood dripping from the golden metal.

    "Brother!" Shuri shouted in relief, only to shriek as she was grabbed from behind, Achebe''s arm wrapped around her neck.

    "Stay back! Stay back!" Achebe shouted, his permanent smile hiding his distress, "I''ll kill her, I will!" Withdrawing his sidearm, he pointed the pistol at the girl''s temple. Looking at the two other men, he shouted, "Get the case, now!"

    T''Challa remained calm, intercepting the two men from getting to the case, incapacitating them with quick strikes and slashes with his vibranium claws. Grabbing the case, he used his enhanced strength to pry open the case to reveal a hand puppet inside.

    "Drop him!" Achebe cried, "Drop him right fucking now!"

    However, before they could, the earth began to shake and crack open, every tent on the back end of the campsite being destroyed by a pillar or chasms that came from the earth as it was manipulated by the flaming man in the sky.

    The shift caused the three of them to almost fall. Taking advantage of it, T''Challa bum rushed Achebe, shoving him away from Shuri, grabbing his sister in a bridal hold. Dashing away, he spoke into his earpiece, "Uzumaki, destroy the plane now!"

    "Right." Naruto answered.

    Not long after, a ball of fire came rushing in towards the plane.

    BOOM!

    -x-

    Landing on the ground, Naruto walked over the rubble his Earth Jutsu had created, heading into the smoke as he looked for T''Challa and his sister. His clones finishing off any stragglers, he deactivated his Six Paths Chakra Mode.

    Channeling a good amount of Wind Chakra, he blew away the smoke that covered him and the area around him. His vision clear, he saw that T''Challa and Shuri were standing over a man, the man on his knees as he cradled something in his hands.

    Walking over slowly, he raised an eyebrow when he saw the man crying over a burnt-up hand puppet.

    "No, no, no. No." Achebe repeated, cradling Daki''s crisped corpse.

    T''Challa looked down at his sister, "Look away Shuri." He whispered.

    "What?" Shuri asked in a daze.

    His claws coming out with a loud thwang, T''Challa repeated, "Look away Shuri. You don''t want to see this."

    Blinking rapidly in shock, she nodded slowly before turning her head away, closing her eyes as well.

    As T''Challa took a step forward, Naruto called out quietly, "T''Challa¡­don''t."

    "He has to die, Uzumaki." T''Challa stated, taking another step forward, hovering over Achebe, his hand drawn back to deliver the final blow.

    As he was about to drive his claws into the prone man, he found a firm grip stopping him. He didn''t bother turning his head to see who had stopped him, "Stop." Naruto said firmly, "Look at him. You¡­you can''t just kill him like this. He''s clearly not well."

    As they had this debate, Achebe''s hand began to creep for something behind him.

    "Let go of me, Uzumaki. He''s dying today." T''Challa argued, trying to pry his arm free but failing as the blonde''s grip grew tighter, "My king has ordered his death, stop keeping me from fulfilling my duty."

    Hearing that, Naruto sighed before releasing his grip, only to blink at the sound of a gun''s hammer being drawn back. Looking down at Achebe, they saw that his gun was drawn on them. Before T''Challa or Naruto could disarm him, the gun shifted from their position to himself, the barrel now pressed up right against Achebe''s temple.

    Looking at Shuri from the corner of his eye to make sure she was still looking away, he mumbled, "Shuri¡­cover your ears."

    The girl immediately did as her brother ordered, covering her ears with her hands.

    Achebe, his eyes on Daki, muttered to himself, "I failed you. I failed you." Closing his eyes as tears began to build and cascade, he whispered, "I''ll be with you soon."

    Bang!

 24 Rolling in deep

    Location: CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia

    Date: March 28th, 2015

    -x-

    The faint hum of the vibrating florescent lights that were lined up one after another on the ceiling could be heard in the nearly vacant waiting room, giving a strange sense of comfort in the otherwise quiet space. The creak that came from Jessica Drew shifting in her chair cut through that hum like a knife, the receptionist looking up from her computer to see what all the commotion was about.

    Clearing her throat, Jessica gave a slight nod that was ignored, the receptionist swerving her attention back to her task. Sighing to herself, Jessica fought the urge to pull out her phone to pass the time, knowing that being on her phone in such a place was frowned upon. It wasn''t long before a new wave of silence hung in the air, the room''s stifling climate making time move at a crawl.

    Finally, the silence was interrupted for a second time by the sharp ringing of the reception desk''s telephone. Quickly swiping the phone off its dock, the receptionist needlessly nodded to what the person on the other side was saying as she muttered into the mouthpiece.

    Placing the phone back down she looked up as she said, "You can go in now, Agent Drew."

    Jessica looked from the receptionist to the door right across from her, a golden plaque showcasing a title and name, "Deputy Director of the CIA, Benjamin Hunt."

    Getting up, she flattened out her black two-button business jacket, "Thank you." She said curtly, her English accent prominent.

    Walking forward, Jessica reached out and grasped the brass door knob, the old wooden door squeaking open as she stepped into the large office. Expensively furnished, she took in the smell of old pine as she looked at the two other occupants in the room. Standing just to her right was the Associate Deputy Director, Ethan Vargas. With his back ramrod straight, he stood nearly a foot taller than her, his basic black business pressed and pristine. His black hair was cropped short, with specks of grey loitered throughout.

    "Take a seat." Vargas ordered, opening one of the files in his hands as he did.

    Doing as her superior asked, she took a seat in front of the simple computer desk in front of her. Looking over at the man sitting across from her, she observed that he was a few decades older than Vargas, his white hair having long turned into a deep widow''s peak. His wrinkled brow furrowed in thought, he simply stared her as he waited for his subordinate to begin.

    Clearing his throat to get Jessica''s attention, Vargas began to read from the file, "Agent Jessica Drew, born 19 October 1983 to Doctors Jonathon and Miriam Drew. Graduated from Oxford at age 20, you joined the Royal Navy. Immediately after graduation where you were deployed into the Iraq War. Your mission history there caught the attention of SHIELD''s Secretary, Alexander Pierce. Graduating at the top of your class as a SHIELD trainee, you quickly began to move through SHIELD''s ranks as a part of the special task force dubbed SPEAR. After the agency''s disbandment a year ago, you were transferred over to Langley, working within the Special Activities Division."

    Jessica could only sit and listen as Vargas read off her file. As he finished, she asked, "Am I being assigned a new mission, sir?"

    Vargas ignored her question, snapping the file shut as he said, "Your work in Budapest was quite remarkable. Your handler, Markus, was very impressed with your abilities."

    "Thank you, sir." Jessica replied calmly.

    Folding his arms behind his back he asked, "What was it they called you over at SHIELD, again?"

    Fighting the urge to sigh, she answered, "Arachne." Shifting her body so that she could face Vargas, she asked, "Is there an assignment for me, sir?"

    "Yes, a long-term assignment, in fact." Vargas answered, now looking to Deputy Director Hunt.

    Folding his hands over his desk, Hunt spoke softly, "What can you tell me about the alien known as Naruto Uzumaki?"

    Jessica blinked, "Well, not much to be honest."

    "You worked with him during your time in SHIELD, did you not?" The Deputy Director asked.

    "I had only worked with him on a single mission, other than that I only knew him in passing." Jessica admitted.

    "Tell me what you can then." Vargas offered, though his tone of voice came off as an order.

    Fighting the urge to shift in her chair, Jessica allowed herself a moment of thought before speaking, "If I could use one word, powerful. On our only mission we had together, my report detailed my belief that he was a walking weapon of mass destruction and espionage wrapped up into one tight bundle. He could slip into anywhere appearing as anyone, obliterate anything in his path, and act as his own mobile army. I gathered all of that in the two weeks I was assigned to work with him."

    Hunt nodded slowly, "Yes, we''ve gathered that ourselves. Is there anything you can say about his¡­behavior?"

    "Are you asking me if he''s dangerous?" She asked.

    "We already know for a fact that he is dangerous. It would be stupid of us not to." Vargas answered.

    "What are you asking of me then?"

    Hunt''s sharp look held back Vargas''s snappish answer, the older man reigning himself in before he said, "I think we can all agree that his actions are veryperplexing. He arrived here seven years ago, where he is quickly requited into SHIELD. Sponsored by them, Uzumaki helped in the destruction of several Hydra bases of operation, most notably their Weapons Research facility in Sankt Georgen." Sighing to himself he continued, "However, it quickly became apparent that his main focus was returning to his home, wherever that might be. In his search, he inadvertently found himself involved in the Symkarian Revolt, killing off every head conspirator on the revolution''s side, and helped in the crippling of the organization AIM, who was unbeknownst to anyone else escalating the situation. The body count he left behind that day was massive to say the least."

    "I''m sorry sir, but how is any of that perplexing behavior? He ended a conflict that would''ve cost thousands of more lives." Jessica asked.

    "It''s perplexing because the United States had invested interest in the Symkarian Revolt." Vargas answered.

    Jessica blinked, "You¡­wanted the revolution to succeed?"

    Hunt nodded, "And Uzumaki turned that plan on its head."

    "Do you think that Uzumaki did it on purpose? Do you honestly think that he would interfere with our interests?" She asked in exasperation. Seeing their shared look, she continued, "Why? What would he possibly gain from that?"

    "Why would he destroy an encampment of African militants in and outside the border of Wakanda?" Hunt asked back, "Wakanda is completely isolated from the world. However, from what we can discern something rather disastrous occurred, and the country decided to involve themselves with Uzumaki in a bid to fix it. What that event was, who else was involved, any other bits of information really, is a total mystery."

    Vargas stepped in, opening the files back up as he pulled out a few sets of photographs, "Here he is in Manhattan, with a private investigator by the name of Jessica Jones." Slapping down the photo, he waited as Jessica picked it up to see Uzumaki walking down Manhattan''s streets with an attractive woman. Pulling out the next photo, Vargas continued, "Only four hours later, these were taken. Halfway across the world."

    Taking the second photo, Jessica raised an eyebrow at what looked like a meteor made of lava and lightning falling from the sky, "Where was this taken?"

    "Ethiopia." Hunt answered.

    The third picture was an aerial photograph, showcasing what looked like a massive brawl between several dozen Naruto Uzumakis and an imposing force of militiamen, "After the event, a satellite picked up the ensuing fight. Not long after we managed to pick it up though, we were hacked by an unknown source, preventing us from seeing anymore of the skirmish."

    "So, you assume that he has aligned himself with Wakanda?" Jessica asked, "And how exactly is that a bad thing? Wakanda is the definition of a neutral party."

    "Uzumaki is the descendent of the atomic bomb in the sense that whoever has him under their control holds all the cards. They transcend the world superpowers." Hunt spoke, "As we speak, Director Norris is meeting with the White House to discuss the eventual meeting with Naruto Uzumaki, who is currently being sponsored by Tony Stark and Captain Steve Rogers. They believe that we need to keep an eye on him, until we can convince him that siding with the United States is in his best interests."

    Realization dawning on her, Jessica sat forward in her chair as she asked, "And you want me to watch him, don''t you?"

    Deputy Director Hunt nodded, "From what Stark has told us, Uzumaki is forming his own team similar to the Avengers. Stark assures us his intentions are good, though he refuses to outright say why the man is forming a team of his own rather than working with the Avengers to begin with. Our intention is for you to act as our liaison within the group, using your abilities as a way to convince him allow you to join."

    "Sir, you overestimate my abilities-" She began, only to be cut off by Hunt.

    "Your superiors within SHIELD claimed that you were one of their top agents. The only thing that kept you out of the Avengers Initiative was your own refusal to join." Hunt spoke softly, "However, unlike Director Fury, I''m not giving you much of an option. You are to take this assignment, understood?"

    Jessica fought every instinct she had to show her distaste for the situation, instead keeping a straight face as she said, "Yes sir, I understand."

    "Good."

    -x-

    T''Challa grunted as he was thrown onto his back, the sound of his skin smacking against the practice matt echoing through the room. Flipping himself onto his hands and knees, he reached out and grabbed Naruto''s knee. Pulling back and tripping up the blonde, he tackled the downed man, attempting to grapple himself into a proper choke hold. That proved practically impossible, as Naruto easily kept himself out of T''Challa''s grip with almost cocky swatting.

    A cough interrupted their wrestling match, the two looking up to see Okoye staring down at them with a raised eyebrow, "My prince, Nakia wishes to speak with you." She said promptly.

    Grunting, the prince of Wakanda threw the blonde off of him, "Tell her I''ll be there in a moment." He muttered, getting up as he wiped away the sweat that had begun to drip down his brow.

    Scowling, Okoye said, "I am your general, my prince. Not your messenger."

    Naruto chuckled at the prince''s look of annoyance. Looking over at the general he said, "Don''t take his shitty mood personally, he''s just mad that he was losing is all."

    "I wasn''t losing Uzumaki." T''Challa shot back, "I''m still convinced you are breaking our agreement."

    "Hey, when I agreed to not use my powers if you agreed to not use your fancy metal gadgets, I meant it. I don''t break promises." Naruto said with a scowl of his own. Pulling on the shirt the royal family had loaned him, Naruto straightened the dark blue fabric.

    Pulling on his own royal purple shirt, T''Challa spoke, "Perhaps we should duel with swords then?"

    "So we can find you cut to bits?" Okoye asked, "No, no I think this is enough."

    "You don''t believe in my ability, General?" The prince asked defensively.

    Okoye shook her head, "It''s not that I don''t trust your ability, but rather that I don''t trust him." She finished with her eyes drilling into Naruto''s skull.

    "Okoye." T''Challa drawled out, "Uzumaki is an honored guest here by order of my father, your king. And, if he is to stay here he is to at least be made useful."

    Naruto gave a lazy wave, "Uh, right here guys." He said, not appreciating the two of them talking as though he weren''t present.

    He was ignored however, "Your father neglects to remember how dangerous he is." Okoye stated.

    "And you neglect to remember that he saved my sister." T''Challa shot back.

    "And you neglect to remember what he did to me." Okoye returned, "He defiled my mind, looked into memories that didn''t belong to him!"

    "Hey!" Naruto shouted, clearly offended, "I didn''t defile anything! I kept out of your memories, I only looked for information on Wakanda. If your offended-"

    "I don''t get offended." Okoye said harshly, getting nose to nose with the blonde, "I am the greatest warrior in Wakanda, Black Panther or no. What I am is someone who respects privacy. Both for myself and my country. Clearly you don''t respect either of those things." With that, Okoye stalked off in a huff.

    The room now quiet, T''Challa looked to the dumbfounded blonde, "I don''t think you''ll find a friend in her, Uzumaki."

    Sighing, Naruto looked to the prince with a smile, "And what about you?"

    T''Challa gave a small smile in return, "I''m usually not one for friends, Uzumaki." Patting him on the shoulder, the prince began to walk away, "I''ll be seeing you then."

    Smiling after the man, Naruto asked, "How about comrade then? Companion maybe?"

    "I was thinking of something more like a jester." T''Challa called back as he turned the corner, ending the conversation much to the blonde''s annoyance.

    -x-

    Naruto looked down at the bustling city, the blonde perched over a railing within the main palace. Smiling fondly, he watched as the citizens of Wakanda went about their daily routine, all of them one hundred percent oblivious to the goings on of the outside world.

    Not bothering to look behind him, Naruto called out, "You can come out now."

    Peeking out from behind the corner a several feet away, Shuri cursed to herself. Knowing there was no point in hiding any longer, the girl slowly stepped out into the open. Hesitantly, she began to walk towards the imposing blonde-haired man, clutching the bundle in her hand tightly.

    Swallowing the saliva that had begun to gather in her throat, she asked, "Do you know who I am?"

    Turning around, the shinobi answered, "Of course I do. You''re the princess. Shuri, right?"

    Shuri nodded, "And you''re the man that saved me." She declared.

    "That''s right."

    The princess shifted on her feet for a moment, "You''re not human¡­are you?" The princess asked.

    Naruto blinked, "What makes you say that?"

    "I saw the footage, what you did when you and my brother came for me. What you did¡­there''s no way you are human." Shuri said softly.

    "What am I then?" He asked, both joking and curious of her answer.

    Shuri hesitated for a moment, "Something of a worldly angel, I suppose."

    Naruto''s smile grew a little bigger, "Your father told me you were smart."

    The girl blinked, "My father talked to you about me?"

    "We''ve talked a lot in the few days I''ve stayed here, you came up a few times." Naruto revealed, "He''s a very proud father."

    Shuri, without realizing it, had walked over onto the balcony, the girl standing right next to the blonde-haired man. Silently, she enjoyed the view of several hundred lively Wakandans going about the daily routine.

    Giving the man a side glance, the girl asked, "Why areyou still here?"

    "Does my presence here offend you?" He asked, "Your general, Okoye, doesn''t seem to want me here. Not that I can blame her."

    "No!" Shuri blurted out. Calming herself as she mentally cursed her outburst, she said, "No, no it doesn''t. I''m just curious is all."

    His gaze hovering over the people of Wakanda, Naruto answered, "I guess you could say I like your home, this city."

    "Why?"

    "Because it reminds me of my home." He admitted.

    Shuri tilted her head in curiosity, "Really?"

    Naruto nodded, "It''s kind of eerie really, how similar Wakanda is to Konoha. The people, the culture, it''s all bringing a lot back for me." Sighing, he continued, "I hate this feeling, if I''m being honest."

    "Why?" The princess wondered.

    The ninja shrugged, "I don''t know, it just reminds me of my childhood, more than anything else."

    "Was it bad?" She asked.

    Looking down at the young girl, Naruto said, "I''m not exactly proud of my childhood. I''m not proud of my fellow villagers either, or myself and how I handled my situation." Chuckling to himself, he muttered, "I was a bit of an asshole as a kid, not that anyone else around me was much better."

    "Well, you seem like a good person now." Shuri said, "You''re like a knight, or something."

    Naruto snorted in amusement, "A knight?"

    Shuri huffed in offence, "Well, you saved me, didn''t you? I''m a princess. When you save a princess, you become a knight. That''s just common sense."

    "So that makes me your knight then, huh?" Naruto asked with a knowing smile.

    Turning to face away from the smirking blonde, Shuri muttered, "I never said anything like that."

    Chuckling to himself, Naruto finally took notice of the bundle in her hands, "Whatcha got there?"

    Swallowing down her embarrassment, Shuri turned to face the much taller Naruto, "I''m not like any of those silly fairytale princesses or whatever. I don''t like leaving a debt unsettled. So, here." Shoving the clothed bundle into the curious blonde''s hands, she said, "This is my thanks to you."

    Looking down at the mystery object in his hands, Naruto slowly unraveled the brown fabric wrapped around it, revealing a metallic cylinder that was a little over a foot long.

    Lifting a curious eyebrow, Naruto asked, "What is it?"

    "It''s a vibranium spear, a modified version of the weapons used by the Dora Milaje, to be specific." Shuri answered, "Go on then, whip it out." She said encouragingly.

    Ignoring how the girl decided to fraise that sentence, Naruto took a few steps back before slinging the cylinder with a sharp swing. Mid-swing, the sound of metal being unsheathed wrung throughout the balcony, followed by Naruto''s appreciative, "Woah."

    The weapon was clearly designed to resemble a naginata, though the staff and blade were straight rather than having a slight curve and it was missing any kind of guard. Around five feet long, the staff covered around two-fifths of the weapon, leaving the rest to the dangerously sharp single edged blade. Giving the weapon a testing swirl, Naruto felt a great amount of satisfaction at hearing the vibranium sing as it cut through the air.

    "I named her Nakama." Shuri said, smiling at seeing that Naruto liked the gift, "Though, you can change it if you want."

    "No, no it''s perfect." Naruto said, smiling down at the girl softly. Retracting Nakama back to her base form, he channeled chakra into the storage seal at the palm of his hand, summoning one of his father''s Hiraishin Kunai. Flipping the weapon in his hand so he was holding the center blade, the blonde handed the weapon over to the girl.

    "What is this?" Shuri asked, inspecting the strange looking knife in her hands, careful not to cut herself on the razor-sharp edges.

    "This weapon once belonged to my father." Naruto told her, getting a surprised reaction from the young princess, "It has a special power that lets me travel to it instantly, no matter how far away from each other we may happen to be. Whether it be hours, countries, or planets away. All you have to do is stab it into something, and I''ll know you want to summon me." Grabbing her hands, he guided them so that they were holding the kunai correctly.

    Shuri looked away from the man, avoiding eye contact as his hands touched hers, "You''re kinda ruining the whole repaying my debt thing, you know that right?"

    Naruto chuckled, "No, I don''t think so. Back in the day, my father would hand these out to the people he wanted to protect. Both as a way to get to them quickly, and to give them a sense of security in knowing that he was always watching out for them. So, consider this a symbolic gesture of our friendship."

    "Th-thank you." Shuri muttered out.

    About to speak, Naruto was interrupted by the sound of someone''s muffled cough into their hand. Turning the two were surprised to find Queen Romanda standing in the balcony door frame in all her glory. Standing in a luxurious black gown, her neck and torso covered by elegant neckpiece, she was the definition of royalty. For once, she had let her hair down, showing off her snow-white hair.

    Taking several graceful steps forward, she calmly said, "Shuri, your father wishes to speak with you."

    Shuri nodded, "Okay, Mama." Giving Naruto and his gift to her one last look, she gave him a parting nod before walking passed her mother back into the grand halls of the Golden Palace.

    Romanda kept her eyes on Naruto the entire time, eyeing him with scrutiny as her daughter left the two of them alone. Finally, she said, "My daughter has taken quite a liking to you, Uzumaki."

    Naruto tried to give his most carefree smile, "You can call me Naruto, if you want."

    "No, no I think Uzumaki will do for now." The queen said back, "I never did get to say thank you for what you did for my family, what with all the funerals and all."

    The blonde immediately knew what she was talking about, referencing the many funerals that had taken place at the beginning of his visit. Naruto had declined to attend, feeling very out of place in what he knew would be a somber event. The only reason he''d stayed at all was because King T''Chaka had invited him to stay within the palace as his guest. He knew not to refuse such an open invite, for fear of insulting the royal family, but it didn''t help the awkward air that hung in the palace that first day.

    Especially when members of the Jabari Tribe had come to take the body of a man named M''Baba home. Apparently, his brother was the leader of the tribe, a man named M''Baku. It was needless to say that M''Baku had plenty to say to both T''Challa and the king, his angry yells echoing through the entire palace.

    "There''s no need to thank me." Naruto assured.

    "If there''s a need for it or not, I still do." Romanda returned, "You saved my daughter from a situation I helped put her in. If it weren''t for you, her fate would''ve been laid to bare on my shoulders." Turning away, she finished, "You can except my thanks or you can ignore it. All the same, I am indebted to you."

    Following after the now walking queen, Naruto said, "Well, I except your thanks." Hearing the fluttering of wings, he turned as he exited the balcony, a large one-eyed raven perched near where he''d been standing. It''s single eye glowing a strange green, Naruto blinked at the strange animal before turning his attention back to the monarch.

    Romanda nodded at the blonde''s words, "Much like my daughter felt the need to reimburse her debt, I do as well. That is why I have convinced the council to allow my husband to assist you, in the very limited way he can."

    Realizing they were heading towards the Council''s Chambers, Naruto asked, "Really?"

    The queen nodded, "My husband will explain."

    The two then walked in silence, Romanda keeping her stoic gaze while Naruto looked at her inquisitively. Shruggling to himself, Naruto decided to follow after the elegant woman.

    Walking through the large council chamber doors, the two were greeted by the king, his children, and a squad of Dora Milaje led by Okoye.

    "Naruto, welcome!" King T''Chaka bellowed out, ignoring the look his wife gave him as she strolled over to his side.

    Naruto inclined his head, "King T''Chaka, how are you?"

    "I''m fine, I''m fine. I have some news for you, regarding your request." The ruler of Wakanda informed, leaning forward in his throne.

    The ninja nodded along, recognizing that the king was referring to his request that Wakanda be a part of Infinity Watch, in any capacity, "Yeah, Queen Romanda mentioned the council had finally let up a bit." He said, ignoring the queen''s indignant look.

    "We''ve come to an agreement, yes." Eyeing his wife, T''Chaka smiled, "Romanda''s argument was very inspiring."

    Romanda ignored her husband, keeping a straight face as she said, "Get to it, dear."

    "Of course, dear." Placated the King to his wife, "The council and I have come to an agreement concerning your request for assistance from Wakanda."

    Naruto nodded along to the king, waiting patiently for the older man to get to it.

    T''Chaka shifted in his seat, running his right hand through his beard, "I''m sorry to say that I can''t allow Wakanda to invest any kind of military man power. I''m sure you can understand why. As far as my son joining your group''s ranks, that''s his decision, not mine."

    All eyes turned to T''Challa, the stoic prince stepping forward, "I''ll have to decline the offer. Despite what you''ve told me of these Infinity Gems-"

    "Stones." Naruto corrected, though his interruption was ignored by the warrior prince.

    "And as far as your group goes, the few of you there are, I can''t pledge myself to something outside of Wakanda." The prince finished.

    The blonde frowned at the man across from him, but shrugged none the less, "I understand."

    The King of Wakanda cut in, "While my eldest is staunch in his refusal, my youngest has a proposal for you." T''Chaka looked to his daughter, who seemed to almost shrink into herself when all eyes turned over to her, "Go ahead Shuri."

    "Right." Shuri mumbled, stepping forward like her brother had, "Well, the idea was that I''d join Infinity Watch, instead of my brother."

    "Really?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, surprised that the younger girl would want to join his band of merry men.

    "Uh, yeah." Shuri said back, "Well, it wouldn''t be fulltime."

    "Oh, so you want to be a part-time Watcher then?" Naruto teased with a smile.

    Shuri shook her head, "I''m offering my services to you and your crew, that includes funding, we can more than afford to bankroll you guys."

    Both of Naruto''s eyebrows were raised now, "So, if I make you a Quasi-Watcher, you''ll give me tech and funding?"

    Shuri scoffed a little, "I was thinking that I''d be your quartermaster, actually. I''d be based in Wakanda, but I''ll be on call, if you need me." Shuri explained, her confidence showing the more she talked.

    T''Chaka decided to cut in, "I think I should inform the both of you that I can''t allow Shuri''s extracurricular activities interfere with her duties to Wakanda."

    Romanda spoke next, a proud smile on her face, "Shuri is to take over as Head of Wakanda''s R&D."

    Naruto eyed the princess for a moment before walking up to her at a slow pace, ignoring the aggressive stance many of the Dora Milaje made towards him, "This sounds great, awesome in fact. But it sounds like I''m the only one getting anything out of this. So, what''s in it for you? I''m honestly down to haggle."

    Shuri looked up at him in confusion, "What are you talking about? I don''t want anything. I just want to be a part of your team. Why is that Magik woman on the team? What does she get out of it?"

    The blonde smiled down at the bright young girl, "Touch¨¦." He extended his hand out, "Deal, welcome to Infinity Watch."

    The girl smirked in victory, grabbing his hand to seal the deal. The hand shake over, she looked around at everyone around her as she said, "If I''m honest, I thought this moment would be a bit cooler with like fireworks or a parade or something."

    The leader of Infinity Watch chuckled, "I''ll work on it."

    -x-

    The Next Day

    Location: New York City, New York

    -x-

    Naruto stumbled slightly as he Hiraishined into Illyana''s apartment using the kunai he''d given her. The stumble was caused by Naruto''s landing being right on top of a bottle, nearly tripping over himself before regaining his balance. Looking around to make sure no one spotted that slip up, he coughed as he collected himself.

    Bending over, he picked up the bottle that nearly made him fall on his ass. Recognizing it as a wine bottle, he read the label, "Brotherhood Cabernet Sauvignon?" Setting the bottle back down he looked around the apartment for Illyana. Taking notice of the now unkempt living room, he frowned at the empty pizza box and various other forms of garbage.

    "Illyana?" Naruto called out, walking into the hallway, "Illyana, you home?"

    Getting no response, he pulled out his cell phone and quickly selected her contact info. Pressing the phone to his ear. Several ring tones later, Illyana finally answered, though her voice was strangely muffled, "What?" She blurted out over the phone.

    "Hey, uh, I was just wondering where you were?" Naruto asked, "I''m back. From Wakanda I mean."

    She was quiet for a few moments before answering, "I''m down by the pool."

    Naruto blinked, "You have a pool?"

    "Not in so many words." Illyana slurred.

    The blonde ninja sighed, "I''m coming down."

    Heading down to the apartment''s lobby, Naruto spotted an employee hovering by the exit, waiving to him, Naruto asked, "Hey, can you tell me where the pool is?"

    The employee gave Naruto a confused look, "Sir, we don''t have a pool here."

    "What? Really? Are you sure?" He asked, looking around.

    Nodding, the man said, "I''m sure, sir."

    "Oh." Naruto scratched his scalp, "Where''s the nearest one then?"

    "There''s a hotel two blocks away, it has a pool I think. But it''s only for people who have a room."

    "Right, thanks." Naruto said with a solute. Walking out of the building, he began his trek towards the hotel pool. Walking passed a fountain that was stationed in front of the apartment''s forecourt garden, he blinked when he noticed that several people had stopped what they were doing to look at said fountain.

    Deciding to bend under the will of peer pressure, Naruto looked to see what was so entertaining, only to catch himself gasping at who he saw lying in the shallow fountain water.

    "Illyana?" He asked aloud, cutting through the crowd towards the woman. Looking around at the gathered crowd he sighed as he asked, "What are you doing?"

    Illyana shrugged in the water as she brought a bottle of vodka to her lips, visibly wincing as she took a swig. Gulping it down, she slurred, "I told you, I''m at the pool."

    Taking stock of the fact she was wearing a black two-piece bikini, he said, "This isn''t a pool, Ana."

    The woman paused at the name, scoffing as she mumbled, "Don''t call me that."

    Grunting, the blonde stepped over the hem of the fountain, flinching at the cold water as he waded over to the unmoving woman, "Come on, let''s get you inside."

    She groaned, "I''m not done yet."

    "I know." Naruto said, pulling off his jacket and wrapping around the wet and scantily clad woman''s shoulders, "But this isn''t a pool, people are looking at you." He looked around at the crowd of people, some of the younger ones having pulled their phones out to record them.

    Illyana blinked, "This isn''t a pool?"

    "No."

    "Oh shit." She began to laugh, "That''s hilarious."

    Naruto couldn''t help but chuckle as well as he lifted her up to her feet, "Leave the bottle, you''ve had enough."

    Looking down at the bottle in her hand, she gave its contents a quick look before saying, "It''s nearly empty anyway."

    -x-

    Naruto grunted as he sat Illyana down on her couch. Picking up the pizza box that was sitting on the cushion, he threw it onto the coffee table as he lifted her legs up so she was lying down. Shifting her on her side, he asked, "Do you have a small trashcan or something?"

    Illyana nodded, lying on her back as she rested the back of her hand on her forehead, "In the bathroom, down the hall."

    Grabbing her shoulder, he said, "Lay on your side, like this." Pulling forward, he made her lie on her side. Going off to get the trashcan, he came back to find her up on her feet, "What are you doing?"

    Scratching her head, she said, "I was gonna get us something to drink. I swear I still had something over here."

    "I think you drank it all." Naruto muttered, grabbing her gently he put her back on the couch in the same position as before.

    "Why did you need my trashcan again?" Illyana drawled weakly.

    Holding onto her shoulders, the ninja answered, "Because you''re probably gonna need it after a while."

    "Oh." She, though Naruto guessed that she didn''t really get why.

    The two sat in silence for several minutes, Naruto gently rubbing her shoulder as she seemed to be in her own world, staring off into the corner of the room. Deciding to break the quiet, Naruto asked, "Why are you doing this?"

    His answer came in the form of a muffled snore, causing his to sigh in annoyance. Moving the pillow in a way that her head wouldn''t move in her sleep, Naruto got up and created a clone.

    Looking to his copy, he said, "Go over to Jessica''s apartment and tell the clone to pop. I''m sure she''ll want to talk to me even though I''ll know what happened, so stick around and answer any questions she has that we''d want to be answered."

    The clone nodded, an annoyed look on his face, "You know you don''t have to tell me that, right? I''m your clone, I know what you want me to do as soon as you make me, idiot."

    His eye twitching, the original muttered, "Just do what your told before I pop you and have another Shadow Clone do it instead."

    "You act like I''m scared of-"

    POOF!

    Naruto scoffed as he made another clone, said copy cutting off his creator before he could speak, "I know what you''re about to say, and how about we skip it and I just go do what I was created for?"

    The Shadow Clone didn''t wait for an answer from the original, instead Hiraishining to Jessica''s apartment in a slick yellow flash.

    "Sage, I''m an asshole."

    -x-

    "Jesus Christ!"

    That was the first thing that the Naruto clone processed before ducking down to avoid the coffee cup that went flying where his head had once been.

    Bringing his arms up in a defensive gesture, the clone shouted, "Hey, hey! What''s the big deal?!"

    Jessica huffed as she flung her hair out of her face, ignoring the other Naruto in the room who was looking at the situation with a large, amused smile, "You don''t just appear in someone''s home like that! One second you''re not there, then you just¡­are! It''s creepy as shit, you fucker!"

    "Sorry!" He apologized, now glaring at his brother clone, "What''re you smirking at?"

    "It''s just fun to see her yelling at someone else for a change." The other clone admitted.

    Jessica and the second clone both gave him a deadpan, "You''re the same person." Jessica drawled.

    "Still." The clone insisted with a shrug.

    Sighing, the newer clone said, "The boss wanted me to tell you to pop."

    The older of the two raised an eyebrow, "He had to send you to tell me that?"

    "He knows that Jessica wanted to talk to me afterwards."

    "Why didn''t he just come himself?" Jessica asked.

    The Shadow Clone shrugged, "He''s got his hands full."

    "Of course he does." She muttered, folding her arms under her chest.

    The older copy gave the patented Naruto smile as he said, "Well, it''s bee-" Only to cut off by a right hook from Jessica, quickly exploding in a cloud of smoke from the force of the punch.

    The remaining Naruto clone raised an eyebrow, nodding appraisingly, "Wow, that was a reinforced clone. It''s pretty impressive that you busted him with just a punch."

    Jessica shook her hand, a red mark now running along her knuckles, "It felt like I was punching a wall, before I could punch through ''em."

    As she said that, a massive wave of memories came flooding in, the clone stumbling from the sudden intake, "Wow." He muttered as he steadied himself.

    "What was that?" The private investigator asked.

    The clone groaned a bit as a head ache began to pound along his skull, "Too many memories at once. I don''t usually let clones last that long."

    Jessica nodded along, "So, you know what we found out then? About that client?"

    He shrugged, "It''s there, but I think for right now it''d be better if you just told me about it. It''ll help the memories settle quicker."

    "Fine." She relented with a slight roll of her eyes. Walking over to her desk she pulled out a folder from one of the drawers. Flipping it open she began, "The clients name, you might remember, is Gloria Cartwright. Her husband, Jason, went missing several days ago. Mr. Cartwright worked as an on-call consultant for Confederated Global Investments. The last time Mrs. Cartwright saw her husband was when he left for work the morning he disappeared. According to Mrs. Cartwright, he''s never without his phone due to the nature of his position, as he''s on call 24/7. So, when he didn''t come home later in the night, she called to see what was keeping him, only to get no answer. That being an immediate red flag for her, the client called several more times in worry, with still no answer. She later called the police to look into it, but they said unless she had a legitimate reason for filing a Missing Persons, there was nothing they could do."

    "Sounds reasonable." The shadow clone observed.

    "That''s why I didn''t want to take the job." Jessica admitted, guilt free, "Most of the time in a case like this the spouse is off fucking some dude."

    "So what did she say when you went to talk to her?"

    "Naruto and I," Stopping herself, she sighed, "I''m going to call the clone I was with Naruto, for simplicity''s sake. God this is a mind fuck of a conversation."

    "Yup." The clone chirped happily.

    "Naruto and I showed up at her house and she told us about how she''d remembered that she''d installed a GPS tracker in her husband''s car, without her husband knowing, of course."

    "Why?"

    "Back when she did it she thought he was cheating on her, so she put that tracker in his car to see where he went when he said he was out on business. Turned out she was just being paranoid. Anyway, we used the tracker and saw that his car was parked in a McDonald''s parking lot in Manhattan and that it had been parked there since three in the morning. So, Naruto and I drove up to take a look. Pulling into the parking lot we saw that the driver''s side window had been smashed in, the door was ajar, blood and glass was on the ground next to the car, and tire marks could be seen exiting the parking lot."

    "Well shit."

    "Yeah." Jessica muttered, pulling out her flask from her pocket to take a quick sip. Putting it back in place she said, "We called the police after that. After we talked with them, we tracked down where Mr. Cartwright had been earlier that day. While the police were focused on finding out what happened in the parking lot, Naruto and I decided to go through his entire GPS history from the beginning to see where he was, what he did, and for how long. First place was a bar, the bar we went to in fact."

    The clone blinked, "Spooky."

    "Coincidence is more like it." Jessica said, annoyed at the pointless interruption, "He was there for about twenty minutes before he drove off to a warehouse in Queens, where the car was parked for nearly three hours. After that he drove to a diner where we assume he ate for twenty minutes before departing for a neighborhood in Harlem. He was there for five hours."

    "Do you know why he was at that warehouse and neighborhood for so long?" The copy asked.

    "I was getting to that." Jessica snipped, "We did some digging, the warehouse is owned by Confederated Global Investments, well it''s owned by a subsidiary within a subsidiary of theirs anyway. So, it''s pretty easy to assume that was his ''business call,'' if one were to question why he''d go there. So there was nothing really all that fishy about that. The neighborhood on the other hand, well that was a whole other thing."

    The memory of why came to the clone, causing his brow to furrow, "A family in that neighborhood had been brutally executed that same night, around the time his GPS said he was there."

    "Exactly." Jessica said with a nod, "That isn''t a coincidence."

    Naruto shook his head, "So, the theory is that Mr. Cartwright is a murderer?"

    "My original thought was that he was a serial killer using his job as an excuse to go out and do whatever it is that he does." Jessica reasoned, "But after some digging we found that the family he killed, the husband to be exact, was heavily connected to the New York drug ring."

    "With you concluding that Mr. Cartwright was working for a faction of a New York crime syndicate and had been hired to kill that family." Naruto continued for her, the memories finally coming together.

    "And that his disappearance was related to that hit." Jessica concluded, "A hitman getting justice."

    Naruto nodded, "That is until you got the call from Gloria telling you that Mr. Cartwright had been found, the man killed in some kind of cultic ritual."

    Jessica flipped through the folder, pulling out several pictures she''d taken. They were pictures of another set of pictures from the police department, "We went to the police, where they told us that Mr. Cartwright''s case was similar to several other cases that had begun to spring up around New York in the past two years, him being the twelfth victim in that timeframe."

    Sliding the pictures over to get a closer look, the clone frowned at the pictures that were captured. They were autopsy photos, each and every one of the victims having been burned to the point of being unrecognizable.

    "Each of the men found were similar in almost every way. Male, young in age, blonde hair and blue eyes, and physically fit. Autopsies showed that some of the victims had been mutilated post mortem, three horizontal cuts on each cheek."

    The clone felt himself getting nauseas, "Sage help me." He muttered, bringing his hand to his lips in thought.

    "When the media dubbed these guys the Cult of Maelstrom last year, they left a note on their next victim calling themselves Heavenly Fire." Jessica informed softly, watching the now pale blonde in front of her carefully, "Other than that, they haven''t given an official statement."

    Swallowing the bile in his throat, the Shadow Clone gagged out, "Why would they do something like this?"

    Jessica shrugged, "It''s hard to tell with these kinds of things. It''s impossible to know if they''re doing it in honor or to spite you. Either way, they''re fascinated by you."

    "But why though?" He asked, "What have I done to deserve this kind of¡­I don''t even know what to call this."

    Frown in place, Jessica said, "You''re more than just a regular person here, Naruto. If you''d just walk outside and stand around, you''d be swarmed by people wanting to know who and what you are. They don''t know whether to call you a man, a messiah, or just a flat-out god. The news, after the Incident, was filled with speculation." Stepping around the desk so that she was close to the blonde clone, she continued, "And you wanna know why? Because you do all this crazy shit, like fly and walk on water, turn yourself into a being of fire, and all other kinds of things that should be make believe bull shit. You did all of this and leave it at that. You don''t say who you are, what you''re doing here. You just show up, do something insane, then disappear. So, of course people are going to make assumptions of what you are and what you represent. And out of all those theories, all of those assumptions, one or two of them is going to be fucking insane. Because that''s just how this world works."

    Naruto looked at the woman in awe, "What should I do then?"

    "Just do what I do." She offered, "Deal with it when it pops up, then continue your stride."

    The clone gave her an annoyed look, "That''s¡­not exactly my style."

    Jessica shrugged, "Your loss then." Taking another step closer, she said, "Tell the original that if he wants to drop by, don''t just¡­whatever it is you call that thing you do, it''s rude."

    She didn''t give the clone time to respond, throwing an upper cut into his abdomen and causing it to combust into a wispy cloud of smoke.

    -x-

    Naruto blinked as his Shadow Clones memories came flooding in, frowning at the news, "Heavenly Inferno." He muttered, rubbing his chin, Naruto scowled as he realized he needed a shave. Then again, he didn''t like henging nonstop while on Earth. He pulled of a beard pretty well, maybe it was time to make it a permanent thing.

    His train of thought was cut off by the sound of Illyana groaning next to him. In the short time she''d been asleep, he''d decided to heal away her intoxication, his chakra getting rid of the excess alcohol in her system. Enough to keep her from getting sick but stopping there to make sure she''d feel some of the hangover when she woke up. Gotta love the mulligan that is chakra.

    Continuing her silent groaning, Illyana made to get up, only to wince when a headache came rushing in. Blinking her eyes open, she spotted Naruto standing a few feet away from her.

    "Naruto?" She muttered, looking around she asked, "What time is it?"

    "Nearly four in the afternoon." Naruto answered.

    "Can¡­can I get a glass of water? And a painkiller?" Illyana murmured.

    The ninja nodded, "Sure."

    As Naruto walked into the kitchen area, Illyana grunted as she slowly sat up in her seat, softly massaging her scalp she asked, "What¡­happened exactly? I think I blacked out."

    Naruto voice echoed from the kitchen along with the sound of the faucet running and filling up a glass, "Oh, you definitely blacked out. When I found you, you had pretty much polished off a bottle of vodka by yourself."

    "Found me?" She asked confusedly.

    "You were out in front of the building, swimming." He answered, coming back into the room with a glass filled with water and a bottle of painkillers.

    "There isn''t a swimming pool in front of my building."

    "Yup."

    As realization crept in, Illyana finally took stock of what she was wearing. Blushing, she pulled Naruto''s jacket tighter around her frame, "Oh, God."

    Naruto smiled weakly as he handed her the glass, "Yup."

    Illyana brought the glass up to her lips, hiding the blush that had begun to build, "I can''t believe¡­were there people there?"

    "No." Naruto lied, deciding to show the girl some pity.

    She sighed in relief at that, "Oh, thank God."

    As she reached for the bottle of pills in his hand, Naruto pulled them back so they were out of her reach, "No, I think I''m going to hold onto these for a sec."

    "Come on Naruto, please-"

    "Why were you drinking yourself to death?" Naruto cut in, his voice in order to make her realize he was serious.

    Illyana verbally stopped in her tracks, blinking in surprise at the question before turning her head in what Naruto assumed was shame, "I don''t know."

    "You know I have the ability to know when someone''s lying, right?" As she continued to look away he continued, "But I don''t need to turn it on when you''re lying that badly. You''re officially the second worst liar I know."

    "Who''s the first?"

    Though he recognized the attempt to change the conversation, Naruto answered anyway, "A woman named Gamora."

    The two sat in silence for a moment, before Illyana finally gave a heavy sigh. Looking Naruto in the eye, she whispered, "I think you know why."

    Naruto''s eye''s softened, "I want you to tell me."

    Her sigh now agitated, she said, "It was my first. My first kill. In Wakanda."

    Naruto kept quiet, knowing that the issue was boiling up to the breaking point.

    "I¡­I know that I did the right thing. I mean, he nearly killed you. I keep replaying it in my head, and every time I can''t see an alternate route where he didn''t have to die and you''d be safe. It''s not even the act of it. I thought that that would be the worst part, living with the fact that I had ended a person''s existence, that his future was gone. But it doesn''t. And that''s what scares me." Illyana was rambling now, the emotions that had built up over the last few days now powering out, "Why doesn''t it bother me, Naruto?" She pleaded, tears cascading down her cheeks.

    Naruto scooted up close to her, sitting down right next to her as he said softly, "When I was a fourteen, I was on a trip with my master. He had taken me out of the village so that I could learn how to control the power inside of me and not hurt anyone while doing it. In order to make money and test my growing skills while away, the leader of my village would send us missions to complete once a month. On one mission, we''d bent sent to confront a group of enemy ninjas stationed just along our borders who had gotten too close to our side. When we got there, the ninjas we were supposed to kill had been attacked, killed by a missing ninja who had happened to cross paths with them. But¡­one of them was still alive, but he was barely clinging to life. He was in so much pain." Catching his breath, Naruto quickly collected himself before continuing, "My master ordered me to kill him, out of mercy. It was hard, but in the end I forced myself to do it. At first, I couldn''t understand why he''d make me do such a thing, but afterwards he told me that it was to both show me how to be merciful and how to be ruthless, and that I needed both to be Hokage. That was my first real kill. Where I''d done it with my bare hands and watched the life leave their eyes."

    "Was it hard?" Illyana asked.

    Naruto shook his head, "Not as much as I thought it would. You always think that it will, that it''ll stick with you forever. But it doesn''t. You move on, because you have to. That''s how we stay sane, I think." Smiling sadly, he muttered, "It''s when someone you love dies that it sticks to you. Those never go away, ever."

    "Then why do I feel this way?"

    "Because you''re a good person." Naruto answered, "You hold life in high regard, murder disgusts you. But you''ll move passed it, because you''re strong."

    Tears still spilling, Illyana hiccupped, "I''m not as strong as you think I am."

    "Then I''ll help you." Naruto insisted, "If you can''t carry the burden, I''ll take the leftover weight with a smile on my face. What''re friends for?" Opening the bottle of painkillers, he reached out and opened her palm. Spilling a couple pills into her hand he said, "Take these, you''ll feel better."

    "Thank you." She whispered.

    "No problem." Naruto soothed, running his thumb under her eyes to clear the tears away, "I got us a new member, by the way."

    Enjoying the change in subject, Illyana asked, "Who, T''Challa?"

    Naruto shook his head, "No, he straight up refused. It''s his sister, Shuri."

    "The one you saved?" Seeing his nod, she asked, "Why? What does she bring to the table?"

    "She''s offered to be our quartermaster. That means tech and funding and stuff." Naruto informed.

    "Oh, well we definitely need stuff." Illyana admitted.

    The man smirked, "That''s what I was thinking."

    Illyana smiled along. Having finally calmed down, she said, "Thank you, Naruto."

    "No problem, Ana."

    Flinching, Illyana forced a smile. The reaction leaving as quick as it came, she said, "I''m sorry, for earlier."

    Naruto chuckled, "Just don''t do it again, alright? Or if you do, invite me along so that you''re not one of those weirdos that drinks alone."

    Naruto began to remove his hand from her face, her tears now cleared, only for her own to shoot up and softly clasp on, keeping his hand in place. Blinking at the gesture, he looked the woman in the eyes, his question visible in his expression.

    Illyana, her hand still holding his, fought to keep eye contact, refusing to break away. Leaning in slowly, she didn''t stop until their noses were practically touching before hesitating, coming to a stop as she stared her into her reflection coming from Naruto bright blue eyes.

    Pulling back, Naruto broke their stare as he pried his hand free. Coughing into his now free hand, Naruto muttered, "Sorry."

    "No, no." Illyana replied, "I shouldn''t, I mean¡­I''m sorry."

    He chuckled again, though it lacked any real humor, "Well, let''s both be sorry and call it even then."

    "Naruto, I-"

    Getting up, Naruto cut her off, "Do you¡­do you want to-"

    "No!" Illyana interrupted, "Well, I mean¡­I don''t really know."

    Naruto shifted back and forth on his feet awkwardly, "I just¡­don''t think it would be a good idea."

    "I know." She agreed immediately.

    "Then why-"

    "I don''t know." Illyana answering slowly this time, looking up at him, her eyes quivering.

    Naruto hummed to himself, "I don''t have the greatest experience with this kinda stuff. I never have been-"

    He was cut off as Illyana rushed forward, dipping into him and planting her lips onto his. While the action was forceful, the kiss was soft. Naruto, taken aback, could only stand there as his friend press herself into him. Needing air, his lips parted out of instinct. Mistaking this as a sign that he wanted more, Illyana slipped her tongue in between their lips. Unable to fight it anymore as his eyes began to close, Naruto slowly reached up and grasped her hips, pulling her in even closer.

    Pulling apart, the two huffed as they eyed each other up and down. Naruto quickly cut their break short, bringing his lips back onto hers, picking her up before pressing her down on the couch next to them. As their tongues began to wrestle, Naruto pulled off his jacket from her shoulders, leaving her in her bikini. Wanting to reciprocate, Illyana tugged at his shirt, pulling it up and over his head before throwing it away in a random direction. Running her hands up his abdomen, she felt a strange delight at feeling him shiver at her touch.

    Running his hand up and down her leg, Naruto pulled back for a moment, the two breathing excessively due to lack of air.

    Catching her breath, Illyana mumbled, "We¡­should stop, right?"

    "Probably." Naruto shrugged.

    The two seemed to think it over for a moment before continuing their previous action, only this time Naruto had placed his other hand along her waste, the hand slowly crawling up as their lips dance together.

    -x-

    "Should I go to him now?" Asked a feminine voice.

    After some thought, a deep voice throttled out, "No, not yet. We can give him a little more time, we still have three years before she arrives after all."

    "But wouldn''t it be better to get it over with? It would be a weight lifted from your shoulders. Don''t you want that, before you pass over?" The woman asked.

    "My sins will stick with me no matter what, in life or death, my child." The elder answered.

    "If you say so." She retorted weakly.

    The second voice paused in thought, "Patience child, we will contact him soon enough."

    "Of course, my king."

    -x-

    Naruto stirred, awaking to find himself in his mindscape. More specifically, the darkened corner of the seal harboring the presence of the mistress of death, or Freyja as she preferred. Spotting the small campfire sitting in the middle of an otherwise endless darkness, Naruto walked towards the light at a calm pace, taking his time to reach the homely campfire.

    Spotting the woman sitting down in the same spot he''d left her, Naruto slowly sat down across from her, getting comfortable as he stared through the fire at the enchantingly beautiful woman.

    "Hello, beloved." She called out softly, smiling at the man she claimed to love, "You''ve been productive."

    "Is that a joke, Freyja?" Naruto muttered.

    "Not at all." Giving a teasing smile, Freyja asked, "It looked like you were enjoying yourself though."

    Naruto sighed, "That¡­was a mistake."

    Freyja tiled her head in curiosity, gathering her thoughts she asked, "Why?"

    "It just, it just was." Naruto stuttered, "I can''t explain why, it just didn''t feel right to me."

    "Do you really not care for Illyana?" She asked, though the question seemed rhetorical.

    Naruto shook his head, "No, I do. She''s important to me."

    Freyja smiled, "Then why are you feeling this way?"

    Scratching his head, he shook his head, "You tell me." He said jokingly.

    "Okay." Freyja conceded much to Naruto''s surprise. Getting up, she practically glided over to him. Resting her hand atop his head, she ran her fingers along his hair, "Your entire life, you''ve never really been able to let people go. Positive or negative, if someone left an impression, it stayed with you. That''s how your friendships were made. But, it''s also been a major source of heart ache. Sasuke being the best example. Even after the bond between you was broken, you refused to let go."

    "What''re you saying?" Naruto breathed out, looking up at her as he tried to ignore the soothing feeling she gave him.

    "I''m saying that a part of you still hasn''t let go of what you and Natasha had. Even though you''ve severed it, that lonely child who grew up with no one to love refuses to let go of the one woman who''s ever trulyloved you." Freyja explained, "But you need to realize that the feelings you have for Illyana could become something just as genuine. You need to let go, so that you can have that kind of love again. Do you understand?"

    At that, the two stayed in strange but comfortable silence, one in thought the other out of curtesy. Clearing his throat, Naruto asked, "Why are you telling me this stuff? Don''t you, you know, love me? Shouldn''t you be upset that I feel this way?"

    Freyja gave a small laugh, "I''m doing this because I love you. For the first time in my existence, I have the opportunity to put someone else''s needs above my own. It''s a liberating feeling."

    "You''ve never loved anyone else before?" Asked a curious Naruto.

    "Not before you." She admitted, Naruto seeing a flicker of he recognized as sadness in her eyes.

    Naruto frowned, "I''m sorry."

    Freyja looked at Naruto in confusion, "Why are you sorry?"

    "Because¡­you had to have been lonely, and I know how that feels. And well, I''m sorry that you''ve lived like that until now." He offered.

    His words caused Freyja to look away, "You don''t need to apologize."

    "Still." Naruto muttered. After some thought, he said, "I can''t promise that I''ll ever feel the same way you do."

    Freyja frowned softly, "I know."

    "But I can promise to be your friend."

    Surprised, the embodiment of death looked towards the man she loved, looking him in the eye for confirmation. Her frown morphing into a small, but truly happy smile, she whispered, "I can except that, for now."

    The two shared a smile as a bright light filled the area, swallowing Naruto whole.

    -x-

    Slowly, Naruto''s eyes creaked open as he felt something next to him pressing hard into his shoulder. Lifting his head up slowly, he took a quick look around Illyana''s bedroom, her sheets half hazardly thrown over them. Shifting slowly, he looked over to see Illyana resting her head on his shoulder, her mouth open as she breathed softly. Smiling down at her, Naruto decided to keep still as much as possible, allowing her to sleep obliviously as he gazed at her unblemished features.

    "What are you doing, Naruto?"

    Naruto fought back the sigh from escaping his lips, "I''m just¡­going with it." He thought.

    Kurama scowled, "Is that really the smartest thing to do?"

    "I don''t know."

    "You''re supposed to work with her, aren''t you? What happens when this falls apart?" The Biju asked.

    It was Naruto''s turn to scowl, "What makes you automatically think something like that? Why can''t this just happen?"

    "I''m just looking out for you, partner."

    Without thinking, Naruto spoke aloud, "I''m tired of being alone."

    As Illyana stirred from the volume of his voice, Kurama muttered, "You never are."

    Her eyes pealing open, Illyana yawned as she looked up. Seeming noticing she was practically laying on top of someone, Naruto felt her jolt slightly as she looked over at him. Several emotions swept across her face that Naruto immediately recognized. Surprise, recognition, and then regret.

    "Hey." He said weakly.

    "H-Hey." She said back, forcing herself up and off of him so with her hands as support, "What time is it?"

    Looking over at the alarm clock stationed on her nightstand next to him, Naruto read, "Seven in the morning."

    "It''s morning?" When he nodded along, she muttered, "Jesus."

    The two sat there, Illyana pulling up the blanket thrown around them to cover herself. Trying to fight off the uncomfortableness of their silence, Naruto asked, "Did you¡­like it? I mean, you know." Only to flinch at the stupid question.

    "Yeah, I did."

    "Oh." Naruto muttered awkwardly, "Good."

    Illyana squirmed, "This was a mistake, right?"

    Glancing over at her, Naruto shrugged, "I don''t really know, to be honest."

    "Yeah." She said slowly.

    "What do you think?" He offered.

    "I''m still trying to process that it happened, I think." She chuckled quietly.

    Naruto laughed along, "I know what you mean.

    Their laughter contagious, Illyana said, "We are so stupid."

    "I mean, what were we thinking?" Naruto continued light heartedly.

    "That''s the problem, I don''t think we were." She finished, using her hand to move her hair out of her face.

    The laughter subsiding, a new silence came, this own more comfortable.

    Leaning forward, Naruto scratched his bed ridden hair, "Can I tell you something?"

    "Sure." Illyana answered, curious.

    "I know that this was probably stupid. I know that we have a really cool thing going, and if you don''t want to complicate it I understand. I just keep getting in my own head, trying to think up a reason for why this is wrong and stupid and why it just shouldn''t happen. But no matter how many reasons I think of, I still don''t really care. You know?" Pausing, Naruto said, "When I was a kid, I would throw around the label ''precious person'' to anyone who didn''t outright hate me. But after coming here, it got really hard to call anyone that. It still is."

    Illyana sat there, listening to the blonde as he spoke his mind.

    Looking her in the eye, he finished his thought, "But, I can with you."

    Soaking in his words, Illyana placed her hand on his, "You''re important to me too."

    As Naruto began to smile, he was cut off by a soft, "But."

    "But?"

    Taking a shaky breath in as she squeezed his hand tighter, she continued, "But, I can''t be the kind of person you want me to be. You''re smart, and handsome, and brave, and sweet. But, you''re also broken. Every time you look at me, I don''t feel like you''re looking at me. I feel like I''m a reflection or something, of somebody you knew. You do it without even meaning to. I know that you''re going to look to me to fix you, and I know that I can''t do that. I''m not capable of filling this hole you have."

    Naruto looked down, a feeling he''d grown to understand came up from his stomach and into his throat, rejection. Nodding he said, "Okay."

    As though trying to comfort him, her hand squeezed even tighter around his. And, strangely, it worked. If only a little, "That doesn''t mean I don''t want to be your friend, or your partner."

    Smiling sadly, Naruto chuckled, "I meant what I said about you being precious to me. That kinda thing doesn''t go away, so I''m told."

    "I''m sorry."

    "Me too."

 25 A change is Gonna come part 1

    Date: March 29, 2015

    Location: Winchester, Virginia

    -x-

    The roar of a barely maintained engine was muffled out by the various mutters and whispers of the passengers within the bus the engine powered. The blocky vehicle chugged along down the street at a tedious pace, causing one of its occupants to grown in annoyance.

    "Why are we taking a bus again?" Illyana groaned.

    "Because there are no taxis here and I don''t want to rent a car. It''s not my fault you teleported us to some random building in the city." Naruto answered from his seat next to her.

    "And it''s not my fault that there''s no picture of the place he works on Google. And I picked the first picture I saw when I Googled the town." Illyana muttered.

    "Well, then it''s clearly no one''s fault, and we''re just gonna have to accept the fact that we''re riding a bus." Naruto said curtly, folding his arms over his chest.

    Illyana looked over at her partner, sighing as she said, "Sorry."

    Sighing himself, Naruto said, "Me too."

    "This is..." Illyana admitted, "I should''ve just let you do this alone like you wanted."

    Naruto shook his head, "No, you''ve got every right to come along. That and¡­"

    "What?"

    Naruto sighed, "Well, things have been...well you know. It''s been awkward as fuck. And I think we just need to break the ice a little bit, you know? So, I figured this was the best way to do it."

    "Right." Illyana said slowly. Turning to him, she said, "I agree. I mean, yeah sure, we made a huge mistake-"

    "Huge." Naruto reassured.

    "But, we''re adults. And we''re friends. We''re a part of a team. And when you''re all of those things, sometimes there''s gonna be a bump on the road."

    "And this was just one of those bumps?" Naruto asked.

    "Exactly!" Illyana reassured, "We''ve just gotta stop being weird."

    "Weird like when you almost got into a fight with Jessica Jones when we went to go talk to her about helping us out?" Naruto offered.

    Illyana looked away at that, "She was being¡­well, an asshole."

    "I mean, technically she was, but that''s just everyday Jessica. She wasn''t actually trying to be rude." As soon as he said that, Naruto corrected himself, "Okay, well that''s probably not true¡­but you get what I mean."

    "I just don''t like her." Illyana rationalized, "The way she talks to you just pisses me off."

    "Well she''s been helping me out, and will continue to help me out if I pay her." Naruto said.

    "Why don''t you just make her a member then?" Illyana asked, though she was glad he hadn''t yet.

    The blonde man shrugged, "Because I know she''ll say no. She''s a lone wolf kinda girl."

    "Yeah well, she''s a bitch alright." The sorcerer mumbled much to Naruto''s hidden amusement.

    With that, the two entered a slightly more comfortable silence. As the bus trekked on and on, a thought suddenly came up to the Master of the Mystic Arts trainee.

    Looking at Naruto, she asked, "Can I ask you a question?"

    "Sure." Naruto answered with a shrug.

    "Why didn''t you learn any kind of magic from the Ancient One? Like, you could''ve learned how to use a Sling Ring and teleported to yourself home. Hell, a good chunk of the things I''ve learned could be useful to you." Illyana observed.

    The blonde laughed to himself, scratching the back of his head, "Do you know how many people have asked me that?"

    Illyana raised an eyebrow, "No?"

    "Freaking everyone that is aware of my relationship with the Masters of the Mystic Arts. Every. Fucking. One." Naruto explained.

    "Well make it one more then." She said with a helpful smile.

    "Fine." He relented, "I can''t do it, that''s why."

    "You¡­can''t?"

    "Yup. I can''t"

    There was a thick pause as Illyana gave Naruto a blank look. Finally, she muttered, "That''s hilarious."

    Naruto lowered his head in defeat, "I''m not joking." Looking over he explained, "I asked AC to train me in the ways of the Mystic Arts and she told me that I wasn''t capable of learning anything she had to teach¡­magically. She helped me get up to date information wise, but other than that all I did when I was at the temple was sit around and spar with anyone willing."

    "But¡­you can breathe fire and walk on water." Illyana wondered.

    "That''s not magic, that''s chakra. Chakra is the combination of the physical and spiritual energies my people are all born with. As you probably know, the magic you learn is dependent on a kind of energy called personal energy. Technically, personal and spiritual energies are brothers in almost every way, but my people are unable to separate our spiritual energies from the physical. The two are forever bonded to make chakra. They''re symbiotic of each other in that sense."

    "So¡­you have the thing necessary to learn, but you can''t use it the way you need to actually learn it." Illyana summarized.

    "There''re two others, universal and dimensional, but those are some advanced studies that require years of study and discipline after I get an understanding of personal energies." Naruto said with a shrug, "In other words I''m literally incapable of learning from the Masters of the Mystic Arts."

    "Wow." Illyana mumbled, "That sucks."

    "That''s exactly what I said." Naruto said.

    Illyana pauses for a moment before looking over at the blonde again, "Why do you call her AC?"

    Naruto gave a large smirk, "AC equals Ancient Chick."

    The blonde mystic blinked at the stupidity of what she just heard, "You call the Ancient One, one of the most powerful sorcerers ever known, Ancient Chick?"

    "AC for short."

    "That''s so lame."

    His smile growing, Naruto said, "That''s what makes it perfect."

    She blinked again, "Does she know that that''s what it means?"

    "I dunno." Naruto said with a shrug.

    Illyana looked up as the bus came to a stop, "I think this is our stop." Pulling the cord above them, the two got up and exited the bus. Stepping off, they looked around before spotting their destination.

    Pointing, Naruto said, "There it is, that''s where he works."

    Illyana looked at the average sized grocery store in front of them, "I can''t believe someone who''s ranked by the world government to be as dangerous as Bruce Banner works at a local grocery store."

    "Well, in his defense he is an ex-con who''d been in prison since he was nine years old. It''s not like he''s going to come out with every opportunity available to him." Naruto defended.

    Walking into the store, Naruto looked around for an employee. Spotting someone behind the customer service desk, the two quickly walked over as Naruto asked, "Excuse me ma''am, but do you know if Owen Reece is working today?"

    The woman, her lips smacking as she tore away at the gum in her mouth, asked, "Owen? Yeah." Looking them over she asked, "You his parole officer or something?"

    "No, just some old friends." Naruto lied smoothly.

    Seemingly believing him, the woman pointed towards the back of the store, "He works over in the dairy. Just knock on one of the doors if you don''t seem him."

    Walking to the back of the store, the two looked around for the man that matched the picture in the SHIELD file. Not seeing him, Illyana walked over to the row of dairy doors as she gave a sharp knock on the glass.

    "Can I help you?"

    The two turning around, they found the man they were looking for behind them. A lanky young man around Naruto''s age with a dark complexion, he looked at them with barely reserved annoyance, his eyebrow twitching in both curiosity and impatience. His body was hunched in and his clothes disheveled, with barely kept hair and wrinkled work shirt that looked to be a size too big.

    "Are you Owen Reece?" Illyana asked.

    "¡­No." Owen said after some thought, trying to walk passed them.

    He stopped at Illyana said, "We read your file, Owen. What you can do¡­is incredible."

    Owen narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "Are you guys with SHIELD or something?"

    "No." Illyana said, "We just wanna talk about a common interest we all have."

    "And what''s that?"

    Naruto and Illyana shared a look. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Illyana opened a portal the size of a basketball right next to her, another of the same size opening next to Owen. Placing her hand through the portal next to her and out the other, she tapped Owen''s shoulder.

    Owen, his eyes nearly bugging out of his skull in shock, looked back at the two in a new light.

    "Think you can take a break so we can talk?" Naruto asked.

    "Yeah¡­sure."

    -x-

    Owen, a cigarette in hand, leaned up against the building as he took a drag. Having taken them outside to the back of the store, Owen told them they could talk freely there.

    "So¡­you both got powers like me. You want me to join your club or something?" Owen asked as he released a breath, smoke pluming from his lips.

    "We read your file." Naruto said, "Your powers¡­they''re pretty scary. If you were to master them¡­I can''t even describe what you could be."

    The man took another drag, "You know, I''ve heard this speech before. And, out of all of them, yours is probably the worst. And trust me, I ain''t no hero. What kind of club are you guys again?"

    "We''re building a team to hunt down and protect a collection of items called the Infinity Stones." Illyana answered.

    "Never heard of ''em." Owen dismissed.

    "You wouldn''t have." Said Naruto calmly, "But trust me when I say that they''re dangerous in the wrong hands."

    "Trust you huh." Owen said, "And how do I know that you''re not the wrong hands."

    "I understand if you don''t trust me. And, in all honesty I didn''t think you''d be up to join right away. Instead, I''m going to give you an opportunity." Naruto stated, "Let me teach you how to use your powers."

    "Use my powers?" Owen asked.

    "That''s right."

    Owen took another drag, "You read my file, right?"

    Naruto nodded.

    "Then you know why I got locked up. I hurt people. I lost control, and because of that people died. After that I hated using my powers." Owen explained as he released the smoke from his lungs.

    Naruto ran his hands through his hair, "Yeah, yeah I read that. That''s why I want you on my team."

    Owen''s brow scrunched in confusion, "What?"

    "I know what it''s like to hurt people with a power you can''t control." Naruto said softly, "I''ve hurt people, people I loved. I know what it''s like to hate that power and to shun the idea of using it. I know what it''s like to fight for every inch of control, all in the vain attempt that maybe one day you won''t have to hurt anybody else. I had to literally fight with myself over control. But in the end, it worked. And I don''t have to worry it anymore. My curse became my blessing. I can help you do the same thing."

    The cigarette smoked down to the butt, Owen looked it over as he said, "My mom used to call my powers a blessing too. Something would break around the house, and I''d be her big helper by fixing it good as new. But she was afraid of what the world would say about me if they found out. This was all before people with gifts were expected to become superheroes. This was when you expected to get ostracize. I grew up thinking I''d never be the world''s heroes. My mom always made sure to tell me that. But she thought I needed to use my gifts, that I needed to be a hero of something. So, she replaced herself with the world. I became her hero."

    The cigarette butt in his hand began to glow, quickly reforming into a full cigarette, good as new. Bringing it to his mouth, the tip on the other end lit up for a moment, lighting up the cigarette. Taking a long drag, he finished, "Then she died. And I hurt people. That kinda put a damper on the whole hero business."

    "If you hated using your powers, how did you learn to do that?" Illyana asked, impressed at the small display.

    Blowing another cloud of smoke, Owen answered, "I was in solitary confinement for my entire sentence. The only human contact I had was with Mr. Pierce, the warden, and a physician named Dr. Kirby. Mr. Pierce would try and sell me on how I should use my powers, and Dr. Kirby would make sure I wasn''t killing myself when I used them. Both of them would come by once, maybe twice a month. But the warden? He''d come in on a weekly basis. He''d ask me to train or use my powers in some way with the promise of a reward. Make ten copies of a brick, I''d get a softer mattress. Make the blocks disappear, I got a better meal that night. Make his clipboard bigger, he''d give me some school books to study. Make some evidence disappear, I got a bigger cell with a window. If I refused or failed to do what he wanted? He''d take those things away."

    "That''s terrible." Illyana said.

    Owen shrugged, "It made me learn the basics I guess."

    "Then how about you come and learn the advanced stuff?" Naruto offered.

    Taking one last puff, Owen flicked the cigarette away, "When the warden had me doing all that stuff, I told myself that if I ever got out of that I''d never be anybody''s monkey ever again. I''m not gonna dance for you man."

    "Then don''t do it for me. Do it for yourself. Trust me when I say that getting the weight of that burden off your shoulders is the greatest thing you can do for yourself right now. Because if you don''t, you''re just holding yourself back." Naruto tried to argue.

    Owen seemed to be getting agitated as the conversation continued to go in circles, "Look man, I can''t just go off with you guys. I''ve got the FBI all over me after SHIELD fell apart, that and I''ve got my job. The job I need to live. So, unless you can make all of those things go away-"

    "We can pay you." Illyana cut in, "We''ve recently gotten a benefactor whose family is literally the richest in the world. That means a place to live too."

    "Okay, but-"

    "I''ll take care of the FBI." Naruto assured confidently.

    Owen looked at him as though he were an idiot, "You can''t just ''take care of the FBI.''"

    The warrior smiled at the challenge, "If I do, will you agree to at least come over and let me teach you?" Naruto offered hopefully.

    Sighing in pure agitation, Owen rubbed his face with both hands, "Look, I¡­gotta get back to work." Walking passed them, he stopped as he was about to turn the corner. Having an almost physical fight with himself, Owen finally relented as he turned back around, "If you do all the shit you said you''d do, I''ll do it. But only then."

    With that, Owen turned the corner as he jammed his hands in his pockets.

    Looking at each other, Naruto gave a wide victorious smile, "I think we just got a yes."

    -x-

    A Month Later

    Date: April 23, 2015

    Location: Washington D.C.

    -x-

    "I can''t believe he''s late."

    "I can''t really say I''m shocked. He''s a busy kid."

    "A busy kid that can replicate himself." Captain Rogers shot back.

    Tony shrugged, "He''ll show."

    The two were sitting in a waiting room within the Headquarters of the CIA. Steve was sporting a standard black business suit, a pristine white dress shirt under the sharp jacket and a matching black tie wrapped around his neck. Tony was a little more casual, with a dark tan suit with a grey dress shirt that he''d neglected to button all the way and lacked any kind of neck piece to tie it together.

    Rogers squirmed in his seat, "You told him the meeting was at eleven, right?"

    "Yup." Stark answered as he adjusted his shades.

    "In the morning?"

    "Pretty sure."

    "What do you mean, pretty sure? Either you did or you didn''t." Steve barked in annoyance.

    Tony shrugged again, "I''m not gonna pretend to know exactly what I said when I told him last week. If I didn''t, I assume that he would assume the meeting would be in the morning. Who has a meeting at eleven at night?"

    "Well you know what they say about assuming." The captain muttered.

    "That it makes an ass out of you and me?" Tony asked rhetorically.

    "No," Steven looked at him incredulously, "Not to do it. Jeez."

    "Oh. Well yeah, I guess that''s true too." Stark admitted.

    Their back and forth was cut off by the door coming from the lobby swung open, revealing a rather disheveled Naruto as he asked, "I''m not too late, am I?"

    Walking forward, he quickly tried to smooth out his impossibly messy hair before straightening his jacket. Wearing a dark blue business suit, Naruto looked strangely professional.

    Tony smirked at the younger of the three, "No, no you''re right on time."

    "Well, technically he is late." Steve corrected, "We just haven''t been called in yet."

    Stark waved him off, "Exactly. We''re fine."

    Sitting down next to Steve, Naruto muttered, "The boss kinda lost track of time and totally spaced on when to send me."

    "The boss?" Steve asked, only to quickly realize with a frown, "You''re a copy, aren''t you?"

    The Shadow Clone turned his nose up in indignation, "We prefer the term, clone, sir."

    "Well what''s he doing that''s so important that he couldn''t bother showing up in person?" Rogers demanded.

    "He''s raiding a Hydra base." The clone answered, "And he''ll swap with me as soon as he''s done."

    Tony raised an interested brow, "And that couldn''t wait, why?"

    The shadow clone smirked, "We found the dead trickster god''s scepter, that''s why."

    -x-

    Moments Earlier

    Location: Novi Grad, Sokovia

    -x-

    Perched upon a luscious European mountain range, the massive compound once called Orlovoto Gnezdo, or Eagle''s Nest, shook as a massive tremor ripped through the nearby area. The brick laid walls shifting back and forth, dust and loosened rubble bursting from the seams. Hanging light fixtures danced as another quake shook the facility.

    "Who''s attacking?!"

    "Is it the Avengers?! It has to be the Avengers!"

    "We''re not seeing the thunder god, Stark, Agent Romanoff, none of them are showing up on our feed."

    "Then who the hell is tearing through our men like this? It''s unreal!"

    Standing amongst the chaos was a man of true stoic fa?ade. Noticeable taller than his subordinates, the man was dressed in a stiff dark green military uniform, a Hydra pin shining on his left breast. Running a hand over his shaved head, he turned his attention towards the large array of computer screens.

    "It''s not an Avenger." The man claimed, the monocle sitting on his right eye gleaming in the flickering light, "I''d say it''s something just as bad."

    One of the men occupying a computer turned to his superior, "What could possibly be worse than an assault by the Avengers?"

    Glaring down at the center most screen, he lazily pointed out, "Him, the Maelstrom."

    Everyone turned their attention towards the screen he was pointing at, their eyes widening as a man covered in a golden fire stampede passed a squad of Hydra soldiers like a locomotive. Coming to a stop, the man somehow managed to spot the camera recording him, turning to it before giving a one fingered solute and a goofy smile.

    "I can''t believe it." Whispered a well-dressed, middle aged man, "Why is he attacking?"

    "Perhaps he heard about your experiments, Doctor List." The monocle baring man answered.

    List glared, "Surely you meant our experiments Wolfgang. You''re just as guilty as the rest of us."

    Wolfgang von Strucker sighed, "Indeed."

    "What are our orders, sir?" Asked the closest soldier to Strucker.

    Strucker turned at attention, "All outside forces are to converge onto the southern sector, that seems to be where he''s heading. Tell every superior officer in that sector that they are to hold off the Maelstrom for as long as they can while we secure as much data as possible. When we have what we need, they''ll hear a call to retreat. At no other point until then are they to try and flee, no matter what he throws at them, understand?"

    "What of the laboratory, sir? The research?"

    "We''ll get what we can, leave what we can''t. We can''t afford to be killed or captured. Not now after all we''ve accomplished." Strucker advised.

    Doctor List stepped into the conversation, "And the miracles?"

    Strucker scoffed, "They''re not ready."

    "They''re the perfect weapon to distract him with. If we leave it to the men, he''ll be here any minute." List concluded, "You''ve seen the footage from the invasion, you know what he''s capable of."

    Hydra''s number one thug ran his hand over his scalp once again. After an intense internal debate, he sighed, "Fine, send them out. If they''re overwhelmed, they''re to retreat. They only need to hold him off."

    List smiled as he gave a smooth Hydra salute, "Yes, sir."

    -x-

    Naruto landed in a crouch, his head ducking low just in time to avoid a tanking unloading a shell directly at him. Shooting off towards it, ignoring the hefty explosion that went off a good distance behind him, Naruto expanded the chakra around his arms to increase the mass of his cloaked appendages, and heaved the massive war machine onto its side with a horrendous thud.

    Hearing another group of soldiers heading his way, Naruto extended his arm out with his hand shaped to look like a gun. Taking quick aim, bullets of pure wind zipped from his finger tip, passing through the three soldiers as though they were tissue paper.

    His senses telling him that a battalion of men were heading his way from the east and west, Naruto quickly clasped his hands together as he chanted in his head, "Acid Style: Wisdom Wolf Decay!"

    He then took a massive breath in before releasing a thick wave of pink corrosive acid into the large group of men coming from the west. The acid wafted passed the trees and foliage, melting it as it did, quickly crawling towards the oblivious Hydra soldiers.

    Drowning out the screams of pain that came afterwards, Naruto continued on his path.

    "You gonna finally let me out, brat?" Kurama asked, clearly excited at the prospect.

    Naruto shook his head, "Sorry buddy, this needs a bit more finesse then you''re capable of."

    "I don''t know whether to be insulted by that or not." The fox muttered.

    "I thought you always took my thoughts towards your more destructive side as praise?" The Jinchuriki wondered to himself.

    Kurama shrugged, "Whatever, at least you''re finally doing something destructive."

    "I destroyed what was pretty much a small town of militants like a few days ago."

    "Yeah well maybe if you''d let me out more I wouldn''t feel the need to criticize your lack of bloodlust." Kurama observed.

    "Maybe if you''d stop bitching about it, I''d consider it." His container shot back.

    "I hate you so much right now."

    "Hate isn''t a strong enough word to describe your feelings for me." Naruto quipped.

    The beast made of chakra nodded in acceptance, "You''re right, how about abhor? Maybe loathe. Oh no wait, despise. Yeah, yeah that''s good."

    "Love you too bud-"

    His thought was cut off as Naruto was suddenly knocked off his feet by a sudden blow to the back of his head. Tumbling forward, he quickly made to stop himself as he landed on his feet after a few smooth rolls. Squaring himself, Naruto looked around for whatever managed to hit him, extending his senses outwards as he did.

    Suddenly, he heard what he could describe as someone''s feet hitting dirt at an incredibly rapid pace. It wasn''t a second later that he ducked his head under what would''ve been a nasty left hook as a blur of silver and blue blitzed passed him.

    The blur coming to a sudden stop, Naruto blinked at the man that looked to be around his age. Sharing a similar build as himself if only a bit bulkier, his brown hair was swept back from the speed he''d been going, silver streaks freckled along his hair line.

    The man raised a curious eyebrow, "You saw that coming? Wow?" He said with general surprise, Naruto recognized his Sokovian accent, "You''re that man, right?"

    Another voice came from behind them, this one feminine, "Of course he is, Pietro. Just look at him."

    Keeping his stance on the now named Pietro, Naruto partially turned his attention towards the newcomer. Like the human blur, she was around his age, standing just under his chin with long brown hair decorated with scarlet red highlights. Her hands positioned out in front of her, Naruto raised an eyebrow as a strange red energy slowly enveloped them, her eyes glowing a matching shade.

    Pietro scoffed, "I told you not to call me that when we''re working, Scarlet."

    The woman shook her head as she kept her eyes on the blonde, "I''m not calling you Quicksilver, so you can just forget it." Her eyes shifted over to Pietro to give a quick glare of warning, "And don''t call me that."

    The blur raised his hands up in a placating manner, "Fine, I just thought you''d like a cool codename like mine."

    "I''m sorry." Naruto interrupted, "I don''t mean to cut into¡­whatever this is, but who are guys exactly?"

    "Who we are doesn''t matter." The woman answered, the energy around her hands flaring, "All that matters is that we stop you."

    "Oh, I get it." Naruto nodded slowly, his knees bending in preparation, "You''re with Hydra then."

    Pietro shook his head, "We''re with whoever points us where we need to go."

    Naruto glared at that answer but decided not to push it further. Instead, he quickly stomped his foot on the grass bellow, a column of earth rising up from the ground and throwing the woman into the air.

    "Wanda!" Yelled Pietro, only to get a fist to the face as Naruto blurred into his vision. Stumbling back, he grunted, "Damn, you''re fast." As he said this his fist shot out like a bullet into Naruto''s guard.

    The blonde ninja could admit to himself that Pietro was fast. His speed was comparable to Rock Lee or Guy-Sensei. But even then, it wasn''t fast enough for Naruto to lose track of him. He could see him just fine, it was just making sure he was quick enough to dodge the bone shattering strike.

    Sidestepping the punch, Naruto let Pietro swing passed him, pressing his hand into the blur''s back and shoving him forward. Off balance, Pietro was sent tumbling into the dirt. Coming to a stop, he was refused any reprieve as the Jinchuriki grabbed Pietro by his shirt and threw him into a nearby tree, knocking the wind out of him.

    The sound of energy being projected caught Naruto''s attention, allowing him to see Wanda shoot up into the air using her strange ability. Landing right next to him, she threw her hands in his direction and weaved them upward. Feeling something grab ahold of his ankle, Naruto cried out in shock as he was thrown into the tree line, crashing through two trees before coming to a stop on the third.

    Wanda''s red energy grabbed ahold of his throat, causing him to choke out in shock as he was pulled up to into the air, hanging limply as Wanda ran up to her brother''s side.

    Choking as the energy''s hold grew tighter, Naruto quickly exuded Kurama''s chakra, breaking the hold. Falling to his knees, he coughed as he attempted to catch his breath.

    "Damn, she''s strong." Kurama observed.

    Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, didn''t see that one coming at all."

    Kurama nodded, "The other kid''s fast too, but you can deal with that as long as you stick to any of the Cloaks. She''s a bit trickier though."

    He wasn''t able to answer, as another grappling of energy wrapped around his arms and legs, keeping him still as a silver blur came rushing in, pummeling him in the face before coming back with a shot to the kidney. Each hit cracked bone, blood spurting from Naruto''s mouth as he pushed out his own energy once again to break the hold.

    Catching the third punch, Naruto glared at the shocked Pietro as he drove his fist into his stomach, doubling the man over as he gasped for air. Grabbing him by the throat, Naruto let out his frustration with a large battle cry, lifting Pietro up into the air before slamming him down with enough force to crack the ground.

    His small victory was cut off by yet another wave of energy rushing into him, sending him flying from the duo of Hydra compatriots. Landing on his feet, Naruto shot off towards Wanda, a Rasengan in hand as he went in for the finisher.

    Wanda somehow seemed to expect a counter attack, as a thick wall of energy quickly came up in front of her just as he was on top of her. Slamming his signature attack into the shield, Naruto blinked in shock as the wall of energy actually managed to fight off the ball of spinning chakra. The pressure building up from within, the Rasengan burst in an explosion of chakra, sending the two flying back.

    Bouncing off the ground harshly, he tumbled to a rough stop. Grunting as he got up, Naruto dusted the tree bark off his shoulders and hair.

    His eyes landing on the downed Wanda, he slowly made his way to her side. Kneeling next to her, he reached over to check her wounds, only for her energy clad hand to shoot out and grab onto his head.

    In that moment, Naruto felt himself get sucked into his mindscape against his will, gasping as consciousness left him.

    -x-

    Where am I?"

    Naruto blinked as he realized he was in Kurama''s seal. Looking over, to see a very confused Wanda standing next to him. Huffing, Naruto answered, "We''re in my mindscape."

    Jumping at his voice, Wanda quickly threw her hands up in what he assumed was her go to stance. Realizing nothing was happening, she blinked as she shook her hands as though she expected them to be faulty.

    "You can''t use your powers here, intruder. This is my world after all."

    Startled, Wanda jumped again, her eyes landing on the giant nine tailed fox sitting within a cell that accommodated his massive state, "Wha-what? What the hell are you?"

    Kurama smirked, "I am Kurama, the Nine Tailed Fox. My tails cause natural disasters, my roar can destroy entire cities, and my mere presence is a challenge to the gods themselves. I am the harbinger of hatred, death, and despair. Most hate me, all fear me. So, don''t even think about challenging me, intruder. I will not hesitate to obliterate you and everything you love."

    As Wanda stared up at Kurama with a mixture of fear and wonder, Naruto laughed, "I think that''s the best speech you''ve given yet, Kurama."

    Said Tailed Beast looked down at his partner, "Of course, after all the best kind of boast is when it''s the truth."

    Wanda went back and forth between the two, blinking rapidly as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Finally, she landed on Naruto, "What¡­what the hell are you?" She repeated.

    "I''m just¡­a guy." Naruto said with a shrug, "What exactly did you do to me?"

    "I assumed you did this." Wanda admitted as she looked at Naruto in suspicion, "My abilities, they''ve never let me do this before."

    "Hmm, well I''m gonna guess that you were trying to do some kind of mind thing to me." Naruto said. Wanda didn''t answer, instead continuing to glare at him, "Well if that''s the case, I''ve run into a lady who fucked me up mentally before. After that, me and the big guy over there set up a safe guard."

    "Safe guard?" Wanda couldn''t help but ask.

    Naruto nodded, "Anyone that tries to brain **** me gets sent here to chat with us."

    Wanda breathed in and out as she began to calm herself, "So, I can''t leave until you let me." She concluded.

    "Yup."

    "My brother won''t let you keep me here for long." Wanda threatened.

    Guessing he was the super fast guy he was fighting, Naruto said, "This whole conversation is moving at a speed way faster than outside. By the time we''re done, it''ll have only been a few seconds out there. That''s how this seal works."

    Wanda cursed to herself silently. Pulling from deep within herself, she dug as deep as she could into the confines of the energy gifted upon her.

    Naruto raised an eyebrow as the woman closed her eyes in concentration, then gasped in shock as flecks of red energy began to leak from her hands and eyes.

    Feeling a familiarity with the strange energy, a realization suddenly dawned on Kurama, "Naruto, that energy, it''s Cosmic-"

    Everything around Wanda instantly faded away, the dreary backdrop of the sewer like cage disappearing.

    Feeling as though she was in a free fall, Wanda opened her eyes to see the ground rushing up towards her. When her feet finally reached it, she came to a quiet halt. The sounds of birds chirping and children laughing immediately caught her ear, the woman looking over to see what looked like a bunch of kids meeting up with their parents after school. Feeling a presence next to her, she turned her head to see a young boy sitting on a lone swing set, his body positioned in the wrong way so that he could look over at the other children.

    "Stop it." The boy muttered.

    Wanda blinked, "What?" Looking around she asked, "Where is this?"

    "Stop it." The boy repeated himself.

    Getting a better look, Wanda realized that the boy was a younger version of Naruto, around five or six if she were to guess. A look of anguish was on his face as he stared over at the children and their parents.

    Closing his eyes, he muttered, "Please¡­stop."

    "I don''t-"

    His eyes swinging open in a rage, he screamed, "I said stop!"

    Feeling a sudden shift in the air, Wanda used her energy to try and calm the boy down before the realm fell apart. In doing this, a sudden flood of partial memories came pouring into her mind.

    A man with a scar across his nose leaning over a scared Naruto, blood flowing from his back. A pretty girl in a pink dress talking about protecting what''s precious. A boy with a bowl styled hair cut being attacked by a wall of sand, the mobile grains wrapping around his arm and leg before crushing it to pulp. A raven-haired boy shoving his lightning covered fist into Naruto''s chest. An older Naruto talking angrily to a crippled man with long red hair about vengeance. An even older Naruto kneeling over what looked like a giant mass grave stone, crying as he etched another name into it.

    But as quickly as they came, they were gone, and just like that the ground left Wanda''s feet once again, sending her into another free fall. Once again, the ground came rushing upwards, this time much, much faster. Bracing herself, she closed her eyes as she waited for the inevitable impact. Only it never came. Her eyes creaking open slowly, she sighed when she was back in the cage.

    Naruto, huffing from having his mind tampered with, within Kurama''s seal no less, glared at the woman, "What¡­who¡­how did you do that?"

    "I don''t-"

    "Those powers." Naruto interrupted, "You''re using Cosmic Energy. It''s diluted, but when you use enough of it, it''s pretty obvious. Where did you get them from? Your powers."

    "Why would I tell you?" Wanda demanded immediately. Huffing in desperation she asked, "What was all that?"

    "My past."

    Wanda looked at Naruto in shock, "That was real? You lived through all that?"

    Naruto paused, "How much did you see?"

    "I saw enough¡­I think." She mumbled, "How did you do it?"

    "Do what?" Naruto wondered.

    "I saw you talking to the man who killed your teacher, and you forgave him. How can you forgive someone who did something like that to you?" Wanda demanded.

    The ninja rolled his shoulders in thought, "I didn''t see the point in continuing such a stupid cycle. If I killed him, the people of his village would''ve wanted to kill me in turn. And if they''d somehow succeeded, my friends would''ve wanted to kill them, and so on and so on. Catharsis doesn''t come from the end of a blade, but at the beginning of an olive branch."

    Wanda shook her head, "You make it sound like it''s easy. It''s not. Not when nearly everything is taken away from you, and the person responsible gets off just because they claim to have had a change of heart. That kind of person doesn''t really learn from their mistakes. His victims aren''t given retribution."

    "So you have to take that retribution into your own hands then, am I right?" Naruto asked, shaking his head, "There''s no such thing as retribution! Nothing can replace what''s taken from you, ever."

    The woman narrowed her eyes, "I will never forgive Tony Stark."

    Naruto''s eyes softened, "You asked me how I forgave him, earlier."

    Wanda kept quiet, allowing him to continue out of curiosity.

    "I never forgave him. He took away my master and destroyed my village. When I finally met him, it took everything in me not to kill him." Naruto frowned as he said, "But I recognized that all I was doing was feeding the thing I hated, that I wasn''t following my master''s teachings. I didn''t forgive him. I simply replaced my hate for him with something else."

    "What''s that?"

    "Understanding." Naruto answered.

    Wanda scoffed, "And if that''s not enough?"

    Naruto shrugged, "Sometimes it isn''t. Sometimes, it''s best to try and move on rather than let someone else''s life consume yours. You don''t have to listen to me, I''m just an asshole who hates the concept of revenge. It''s destroyed so many people''s lives, a lot of them people I love." Looking to Wanda he asked, "What do you expect to get out of it?"

    Wanda, at first so sure, caught herself hesitating. Before long, she was speechless as she tried to think of a valid answer. Finally, she said, "All I want is for it to feel like it wasn''t for nothing."

    "It''s always for nothing." Naruto said softly. Walking up to her, he slowly rested a hand on her shoulder, "I think it''s time we left."

    -x-

    Wanda swayed back as consciousness finally returned to her, having to catch herself so as to not fall onto her back. Looking around, she saw her brother getting up as he glared over her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Naruto who had gotten up and was dusting up his pant legs. The man was looking back at Pietro, a stern look on his face.

    "I''m done fighting you two." Naruto called out calmly, "Get you sister and leave."

    Pietro growled, bending his body in before he dashed forward at an impossible pace in an attempt to tackle the man of fire. Naruto easily sidestepped him, the blur shooting passed him with an audible whoosh.

    As Pietro came to a stop and made to charge again, Wanda yelled sharply, "Pietro, enough!"

    Stopping, he looked at his sister in shock, "Wha? But Wanda we-"

    "I''m done fighting him." She declared, "Let''s just go."

    "What about the base? We have to-"

    "We don''t have to do anything for them anymore." Wanda said, "We got what we wanted from them, let''s go."

    Pietro struggled with this, cursing to himself before saying, "Okay." Dashing to her side, he picked her up bridal style, "Where to?"

    "Anywhere but here." Wanda answered. Giving Naruto a parting glance, she said, "Goodbye, Naruto Uzumaki."

    Her brother raised an eyebrow, "How do you know his name?"

    "I''ll tell you later." She said, though her attention was still on the frowning blonde.

    "Oh, uh, okay." Pietro mumbled before sprinting away, the blue and red blur gone as grass and dirt burst from the launch zone.

    "Well that was annoying."

    Naruto, his gaze stuck where Pietro and Wanda had been standing, muttered aloud, "They weren''t all that bad."

    Kurama scoffed in his seal, "You mean she wasn''t all that bad."

    "Come on Kurama, let''s go."

    -x-

    Strucker looked over the screen, frustration wrinkling his features as he slammed his hands down on the table next to him, "The ungrateful rats!" He cursed, throwing his glare over to List, "I told you we shouldn''t send them out! The first sign of adversity and they flee!"

    List sighed to himself, "I figured their resolve was stronger than that." He admitted, "I never expected them to run from a challenge given their new gifts."

    "It doesn''t matter-"

    "You''re right. It doesn''t."

    Everyone in the run jumped in absolute shock, looking over to the corner of the room to find Naruto, his cloak deactivated as he lounged along the wall nonchalantly.

    Giving a lazy single finger salute he blurted out a simple, "Sup."

    Blinking rapidly as he tried to calm his nerves, Strucker stuttered, "Ho-how¡­how did you get in here?"

    Naruto chuckled, "I swept through your men like the plague, and you want to know how I snuck into a room? You need to get your priorities straight man."

    List, practically shaking, took a step back, "What do you want?"

    "Loki''s scepter." Naruto answered plainly.

    Strucker swallowed the lump in his throat, "We don''t ha-"

    The man gagged as his throat was put into a vice grip by Naruto''s hand. The last shinobi lifted Strucker up off the ground, glaring up at him as he growled, "You don''t even know what you have. Give it to me before you accidently mess with something you have zero understanding of."

    "We understand enough!" List insisted, "With the scepter''s artificial intelligence, we can push the advancement of humankind forward by decades, if not centuries. We''ve managed to scratch the surface of this intelligence, if given more time-"

    "Enough!" Naruto shouted impatiently. Taking several calming breaths, he glared at the doctor, "If by scratch the surface you mean passing on the scepter''s energy onto people, onto human experiments, then I don''t want to hear it."

    "If you can''t understand the reason for making miracles happen, then-"

    List was cut off by a bullet made of wind driving into his skull. Dropping with a sickening thud, everyone looked over from the former doctor to the blonde-haired warrior. His hand was extended outward, his hand forming a handgun.

    Naruto reigned his glare in on Strucker, "Where''s the scepter?"

    "In¡­i-in the laboratory." The Hydra Agent choked out, "Down in the laboratory¡­I''ll take you."

    Dropping him down, Naruto looked around at the room, everyone shocked into silence. Giving a strangely sincere smile, he said, "Now don''t any of you guys go anywhere."

    They all gave quick nods of confirmation. All of them knew the kind of extreme consequences that lay in wait should they disobey.

    Following Strucker over to a seemingly normal wall, Naruto raised an eyebrow as the man pressed his hands up against it, the wall caving in slightly before swinging open.

    Slowly, the two walked down the long set of stairs. As they eventually reached the bottom, Naruto raised a surprised eyebrow at the sight before him, "How the hell did you get a Chitauri Leviathan? Scratch that, how''d you manage to get it and stuff it down here?"

    Hovering over them was the massive corpse of a Leviathan, the whale like Chitauri warship strung up above them. Bellow it, the lab station was filled with several stations filled with incomplete robotic limbs and mechanics. Walking over to the nearest table, Naruto picked up a metallic head, it''s blue eyes glowing in the dimly lit room.

    "We built this section of the fort over the creature." The baron wheezed out, his throat very much bruised, "We''ve been using its armor as a resource."

    Setting the head down, Naruto looked the room over. Hearing a subtle humming sound coming from the corner of the room, he finally located the scepter, the weapon being contained in force field, electricity arcing around the field at random intervals.

    Reaching his hand out, Naruto used Magnet Release to attract the scepter to him. Giggling with the field for a moment, it finally flew towards him with a sudden thwang. Gripping the scepter at the staff, Naruto grinned as he looked at the large jewel situated at the base of the blade.

    "The intelligence you found¡­do you want to know where it came from?" Naruto asked.

    Strucker looked at the man curiously, "You know of its origin?"

    Looking the scepter over, Naruto muttered, "This scepter was given to Loki of Asgard by a man I doubt you''ve ever heard of. To Loki, it was a sign of trust. For the man, it was a sign of doubt. The man knew that without the scepter, Loki would most assuredly fail his mission to dominate the Earth. In the end he failed anyway, and two Infinity Stones flew out of his reach and into the hands of Earth. Into my hands."

    "Infinity Stones?" Strucker wondered.

    His eyes now focused on the jewel that held the Mind Stone at bay, "This jewel is meant to hide the power of what it holds, the power of the Mind Stone. That''s the intelligence you found, though only a small margin of it I''d say."

    "Jesus." The Hydra Agent breathed, sweating at the thought of what he had. He simply couldn''t believe he''d held an object of such power without knowing it. The things he could''ve done.

    Naruto gripped the jewel and yanked it apart from the scepter.

    In a puff of smoke, the jewel was gone. Grinning at his victory, Naruto thought, "Now all I gotta do is seal it with the rest."

    "You can do that anytime." Kurama muttered, "You''re running late to that meeting, remember?"

    Naruto blinked, "¡­oh shit."

    Quickly creating a Shadow Clone, the blonde rubbed the back of his head, "There, that should cover me for a bit. I should go drop the Stone off at Stark Tower real quick though, I promised Tony I''d let him take a look at it."

    "I can''t believe you''re letting that monkey look at something like a fucking Infinity Stone." Kurama growled in annoyance, "A smart monkey is still a monkey. Give him a stick and he''s more likely to use it to poke himself in the eye."

    "Ah come on Kurama, I said he could look at it for a week to see what made ''em tick. What''s the worst he could do?" The blonde rationalized nonchalantly, "Tony may be a monkey to you, but to me he''s as smart as they come. Him and Bruce should be able to get something useful from it. It''s a win-win."

    Kurama scoffed, "And how exactly is this a win-win?"

    "Simple. They get to look at something cool from space, and I get them off my back about me having two-"

    -Three objects of mass destruction in my pocket." Naruto explained, "I know I don''t have to, but I need allies, and allies usually tend to like to share."

    As this conversation went on in Naruto''s head, Strucker slowly began to creep backwards away from the seemingly distracted blonde. As he finally crept near the stairs, he came to a halt as his back pressed into someone behind him.

    Slowly looking back, he tried to pull off a charming smile, "You wouldn''t happen to want to let me go now?"

    Naruto smiled back, "No. No, not really."

    Sighing in defeat, Strucker turned around and held his hands out in front of him, "Fine."

    Raising an eyebrow, Naruto asked, "Oh, you thought I was going to arrest you?" He chuckled, "No. That''s not how this works."

    "But¡­but you''re an Avenger. You don''t just kill-"

    "I''m not an Avenger." Naruto interrupted, "And you lost my sympathy after I found out what you guys were doing here. There are a lot of things on the list of shitty things I''ll forgive, but human experimentation? No. No, I don''t let that slide."

    Before Strucker could argue his case, the scepter was driven into his chest. Gasping in shock and pain, he nearly collapsed onto his knees but was held up as Naruto gripped his collar.

    Glaring down, Naruto continued, "You and everyone that helped you in this place died the second I found out your address." Twisting the blade to give the final blow, Naruto watched with satisfaction as the man of Hydra gurgled his last breath.

    Dropping him down, Naruto said aloud, "Hey Kurama, how''d you like to stretch your legs out a bit?"

    "God dammit kid, you really know how to spoil me." His partner answered with excitement.

 26 A change gonna come

    Present Time

    Location: Washington DC

    -x-

    Naruto blinked as he did a quick switcharoo with his clone. Looking around the waiting room, he asked, "What''d I miss?"

    Tony and Steve looked at the blonde in confusion, "What?" Stark asked, quickly noticing that the ninja wasn''t wearing the same clothes he''d been wearing before.

    Coughing to clear his throat, Naruto answered, "I''m the real one. I''m¡­you know, me."

    Looking around the room, Steve leaned in, "How did you do that¡­exactly?"

    "If I answer that, can you tell me how you get the shield to always come back to you after you bounce it around?" Naruto challenged.

    Steve gave the blonde a momentary stare before leaning back, "Fair enough."

    Tony decided to answer the blonde''s original question, "We''ve been sitting around waiting to be called in for the last thirty minutes. So, to answer your question, nothing. You''ve missed nothing."

    Looking down at his clothes, Naruto realized that he''d been wearing the same clothes he''d been wearing during his raid. Going through his clone''s memories, he quickly transformed his clothes into what he''d been wearing.

    This proved to be just in time, as the door opened to reveal Secretary Ross coming through. Walking with him was a man of a similar age, though shorter in stature and pudgier in appearance. His hair was slicked back and well groomed, a thick beard wrapped around his face.

    The three got up, Steve and Tony shaking the two''s hands.

    Rogers was the one who spoke, "Secretary Ross, Director Norris." He greeted.

    Ross nodded along, "Captain Rogers."

    CIA Director Norris took Tony''s hand, "It''s a pleasure to meet you."

    "Sorry for the wait." Ross apologized sincerely, his eyes on Naruto the entire time, "We ran into a bit of a mishap."

    "Mishap?" Steve asked.

    Ross still had his eyes on Naruto, "There was a¡­blimp in Sokovia." When the blonde didn''t blink under his stare, he turned to the other two with a smile, "Well, follow me."

    The three followed after them, being led into a large conference room. Sitting at the large table in the middle of the room were two others. Ross decided to do the introducing.

    "For those of you not familiar, this is Director of National Security, Douglas Chapman." He motioned to the man sitting on the left. A lanky man of African complexion, he gave a small smile as he stood up and shook the three''s hands.

    Looking over to the woman sitting a few seats to Chapman''s right, Ross finished his introductions, "And this is Agent Jessica Drew of the CIA. I''m sure Captain Rogers and Mr. Uzumaki are familiar with her."

    Jessica remained seated, though she gave Rogers and Naruto a costumery nod of acknowledgement.

    The three heroes took a seat across from the other four, with Naruto situated in the middle with Tony to his left and Steve his right.

    Ross cleared his throat as he began, "Before we get started, I just figured we''d explain why we were forced to make you wait."

    "You mean the little mishap." Tony interpreted. Leaning back in his seat he said, "Yeah I think we all figured out what you were referring to."

    "Who you were referring to." Steve added. Deciding to take the lead, he continued, "Who being Naruto, what being his raid on a Hydra base in Sokovia."

    Chapman cut in, "Were you aware of his intention to raid said Hydra base?"

    "Obviously not." Tony answered, "Otherwise we would''ve helped him out. More than likely that''s why he didn''t tell us."

    "He told us after he showed up." Steve clarified, "We had no clue it had happened until then."

    "Did you have any clue that he planned to wipe if off the face of the Earth with¡­whatever it is he did?" Director Norris asked. Seeing their confusion, he directed their attention towards the television situated on the sidewall. Turning in on, he flipped to CNN.

    On the screen, a reporter could be seen standing within what looked like a warzone, "-arely thirty minutes ago. From eyewitness reports and recordings made, many have come to the conclusion that the Avenger known as Maelstrom is responsible for the attack here in Novi Grad. Why or who he is fighting is still unclear, but it is clear that he was attacking an old castle within Novi Grad hillside. That castle is now gone after it was attacked by Maelstrom after taking the form of a giant nine tailed fox. Please stand by for more information, we are getting new reports and bits of information with every minute that goes by-"

    The TV cut out, everyone''s attention back on Norris as he spoke, "So what exactly were you after, Mr. Uzuamki?"

    It was Tony who answered, "We already told you, he was raiding a Hydra base-"

    "I''m sorry Tony," Ross interrupted as he motioned to Naruto, "But, I''d like Mr. Uzumaki to answer. If we want your opinion, we''ll ask for it."

    With that, everyone''s attention turned to the still silent blonde. Sighing loudly, Naruto closed his eyes in thought, "I raided the base because they had something I wanted. Originally, all I wanted was to get in and go. But then I realized that they''d been using the thing I wanted to experiment on people. So, I blew them straight to hell."

    Chapman leaned in, "What were you looking for, specifically?"

    "Loki''s scepter."

    That got the other side of the table''s attention, "You¡­recovered the scepter?" Norris asked.

    "Yes."

    "And where is the weapon now?" Chapman asked.

    "With Doctor Banner over at Stark Tower." Naruto answered nonchalantly.

    Ross laughed to himself, "You gave a weapon of mass destruction to another weapon of mass destruction?"

    Naruto shrugged, "Well, I took out the ''mass'' part of the destruction, so it should be fine."

    This confused everyone in the room but the blonde, "What?" Steve asked.

    "I took out the thing that made it dangerous." He explained simply.

    "And what did you do with the¡­thing?" Ross asked.

    "¡­I gave it to Dr. Banner?" Raising his hands up when he saw the incredulous he received he said, "Without something to channel it, it''s just a really smart rock. All anyone can do is study it to see how it ticks. Tony asked me to let him have a look."

    Seeing everyone turning their disbelief onto Tony he sighed, "Thanks kid."

    "You''re welcome!" Naruto answered cheerfully.

    "Well, uh, I have perfect confidence in Dr. Banner''s ability to not use the weapon as a weapon of mass destruction." Tony said in an attempt at an appeasing manner, "Besides, if the kid''s right then there''s not much he or I could do with it anyway other than a quick once over. So, loosen your buttholes please."

    Ross sighed in agitation, "What is the thing that powers it? I''ll feel a lot better about the situation if you''d at least explain why it''s not an issue for an unstable scientist to have it."

    Tony cut in, "Technically speaking, Banner isn''t unstable. It''s the other guy we all have to worry about."

    "Anyone that willingly tests gamma-radiation on themselves should be considered unstable." Norris argued.

    "Ah, but authorizing and supervising said test is totally acceptable. Got it." Stark fired back quickly, looking at the former general turned politician.

    Ross decided to end that line of conversation, "Enough. Now, Uzumaki if you''d please."

    Shifting uncomfortably as in his seat, Naruto said, "Look, why don''t you just get down to brass tacks already and just get to why you brought me here."

    "Fine." Ross consented, though he clearly didn''t want to, "But first, I think Director Chapman had some questions for you."

    Chapman opened the binder that was set out in front of him. Clearing his throat as he straightened his tie, he began to read, "Mr. Uzumaki, this is not an official inquiry or deposition. You are not being accused of or charged with any crimes you may or may not have committed in the seven years you''ve been a resident of this planet-"

    "Four." Naruto corrected, "I was gone for three years."

    "¡­in the four years you''ve been a resident of this planet. We simply wish to iron out the timeline of your time here, ask several questions we''ve gathered, and allow a dialogue between us that hopefully leads to a plentiful relationship for both sides. Is that understandable?"

    Naruto looked to Tony and Steve. When he got a nod from them, he gave one of his own, "I understand."

    "Good." Chapman said pleasantly, "Now, my first question for you is a little out of order, but I have to admit that I''m very curious of your answer."

    "Okay."

    The man nodded, "The alien who you fought a month ago, the one who called itself Desak, when he arrived he addressed you by a different name. He called you, Celestial. What does that mean?"

    "Oh that? Well uh, Celestial is the name of a race of ancient intergalactic beings that are capable of manipulating the galaxy itself. So, essentially, space gods." Naruto answered in a blank easy-going tone.

    The room grew quiet at that.

    Eventually, Chapman finally spoke again, "¡­I see."

    Everyone seemed to look at Naruto in a new light, though if that were good or bad remained to be seen.

    Norris decided to speak for the still stunned Chapman, "Let''s get to the ironing out of your history here."

    "Right. What do you want to know, exactly?" The ninja asked.

    "The timeline of your arrival here is still unclear." Chapman began, finally gathering himself, "SHIELD records show that you landed on Earth at 2:23 p.m. on April 3rd, 2008 in Kathmandu, Nepal. You were recovered by Kathmandu paramedics at 3:09 p.m. and then immediately taken into emergency care. The doctors who worked on you claimed that your body seemed to be healing itself at an impossible rate. The next day, SHIELD Agents were sent to investigate the phenomenon but failed to recover you, the hospital reporting that you''d gone missing the night before. Then, suddenly, you appear in Tonsberg, Norway on July 14th. That''s over three months of undocumented time, Mr. Uzumaki."

    "Where were you in that time?" Ross asked.

    "I was taken in by a monk and her disciples. They helped heal me, taught me your languages and history, and showed me where I needed to go to get home." Naruto answered carefully.

    "And where are these monks now?" Chapman asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "Don''t know."

    Norris looked at the man skeptically, "You haven''t kept in contact with them in the seven-"

    "Four."

    "-years you''ve been here? I find that hard to believe." Norris finished.

    Naruto turned his attention onto the man, driving a hard stare his way, "I don''t really care what you believe. They don''t matter. They don''t need to be disturbed any more than they have. That''s all there is to it."

    "Let''s move on." Chapman insisted in an attempt to diffuse the situation. Looking back at his binder he said, "After you met up and allied yourself with SHIELD, it''s fairly easy to follow where you were and what you were doing. One specific moment happened on December 11th, 2011. On this date, you decided to intervene in the revolution going on in Symkaria, engaging with revolutionists stationed in Anian and one of their bases situated a mile outside the city. You also assassinated seven members of their government, all of whom were responsible for the revolution in the first place. Then, after all of that, you attacked an AIM facility where you killed several of the people working there. In all, your death toll for that day amounted to 239."

    "Is there a question in there?" Tony asked.

    "Were you aware that the United States had invested interests in the Symkarian Revolution? Specifically, the revolutionary''s side?" Ross asked.

    Naruto shook his head, "I was not."

    "Were you aware that by thwarting the revolutionists, you upturned several years worth of military planning? That you upset a carefully laid power grab that would''ve given us an unprecedented strategic advantage in that area?" Ross continued, "So, why did you feel the need to circumvent the United States government?"

    The blonde sat in thought for a moment, taking in Ross''s rapid fire questions before answering.

    "I wasn''t ruining your plans." Naruto said softly, "I wasn''t making a move against you, or Symkaria, or the revolutionists. I wasn''t making a power grab or moving pieces around a chess board. I wasn''t thwarting. I was saving a little boy from a situation I put him in. Everyone I killed, everyone I hurt, that happened because they either got in my way, or were responsible for their own misery. If I stepped on your toes, I didn''t mean to. I was just putting people down that deserved to sit in the dirt."

    Ross looked Naruto over, "But to do so and not even ask for clearance, or explain yourself-"

    Naruto laughed. As everyone looked at him with either confusion or indignation, he laughed some more.

    "You seem to think I have an obligation to explain myself to you. You seem to think I work for you, or that you''re above me. I can tell just from how you talk to me. And it''s not that your arrogant. No, no you honest to Sage believe that you deserve to have some kind of command over me." Naruto began, looking at each of the men sitting across from him as he spoke, "You rule over a chunk of this planet. Your flag doesn''t cover every edge of the map, no matter how much you wish or think it does. If you did, if your borders really did branch out over the entire planet like Xandar or Hala, then I''d understand why you think you could tell me what to do. I''d actually be more receptive to the idea. After all, this planet took me in in my time of need and helped me get on my feet. I''ll always love Earth because of that. But you don''t have any kind of pull on me. I didn''t land in your country and get adopted by some farmers from Kansas. I landed in Asia and I got help from a super spy agency whose allegiance was to the entire planet, not a single country. My only connection to your country is that most of my friends are from here. That''s it."

    Everyone looked at him in stunned silence.

    Ross was the first to get over the blonde''s monologue.

    "Perhaps¡­perhaps we should move on." He said.

    "Right." Naruto said, "Let''s move on to the real reason I''m here."

    Realizing he had the floor, the blonde continued, "Tony''s told me that you don''t want me to step on your toes anymore, and you don''t want me to step on yours."

    "Yes." Director Norris admitted, "I think, going off what you''ve said today, you''d rather keep to yourself but still be allowed relative freedom from government control, am I correct?"

    "Yes." Naruto answered.

    "Sadly." Ross started, "That kind of freedom isn''t something that can happen. You are an alien here. A guest who is running his welcome thin. You kill indiscriminately, and if not that you beat them within an inch of their life, you destroy with your wanton abilities and accept zero responsibility and use our country like a rest stop whenever you want to take a break from breaking the countless laws we''ve let slide due to your relationship with both SHIELD and the Avengers. However, SHIELD has disbanded, and you''ve declined any allegiance to the Avengers on numerous occasions. That leaves you in the wind. That''s simply not something we can allow."

    Chapman decided to intervene, "You have to understand our perspective. You are simply not someone we can allow to roam freely with zero supervision. Your abilities make you perfectly inclined to decimate everything that makes this world run. Political power, military, economy. You can''t ask us not to trust you when all that keeps you from ruining the world is your mood."

    "Now hold on a second." Steve argued, "Naruto would never set out to destroy America-"

    "How can you promise that?" Ross demanded, eyeing the three men across from him, "How can any of you promise us that? No one can predict the future. Right now, he''s a neutral party. Two, three years from now we could be on opposite sides. And I don''t like our odds. That''s why we called this meeting. To try and set ground rules in place. To try and reach a mutual understanding. An agreement."

    "And how exactly do you propose we reach an understanding?" Naruto asked.

    Ross gave Naruto a careful look, "I understand you''re forming a team. Why?"

    Naruto sat there, his arms crossed over his chest. Finally, he looked to Chapman as he said, "You were probably going to ask about the four years I was gone, right?"

    The older man blinked, "Yes, I was."

    "The reason I left was because during the Incident in New York, I managed to talk to the guy responsible." Naruto admitted.

    Chapman nodded in understanding, "Loki-"

    "No." Naruto corrected, "The man who sent Loki. His name is Thanos. Short version is that his mission in life is to find six ancient objects called the Infinity Stones. The reason he had Loki invade Earth is because the Tesseract being studied by SHIELD was in fact one of the Infinity Stones, the Space Stone to be exact. I used that Stone to get back to my home. After I did that, I travelled around space looking for clues about the other Stones. I managed to find one more before coming back here to fight Desak. It was in space that I learned that Loki''s scepter held an Infinity Stone."

    "Which is the reason for the raid." Norris deduced.

    The shinobi nodded, "I now have three of the six. I''m forming a team to help me find and protect the others from Thanos."

    "What happens if Thanos were to get all six of these Stones?" Chapman asked.

    "I don''t know, that''s what scares me. He could literally do anything with them." Naruto responded quietly.

    "Where are you keeping the other stones?" Chapman wondered.

    "They''re in a safe place. No one can get to them but me."

    Ross scoffed, "How can you be sure that-"

    "Trust me. It''s literally impossible or anyone but me to get to them. I''m the last of my people, there isn''t anyone else that would know how." Naruto clarified.

    The Secretary of State raised an eyebrow, "You''re the last of your kind?"

    "Yes."

    This seemed to ease Ross''s mind a little bit, knowing there weren''t any more people like that out there, "I see."

    Coughing into his hand, Tony asked, "So, why do you care that Naruto''s forming a team?"

    Ross straightened at that, "I have a proposition. You need official representation from Earth to make your life here a little smoother. If I know we have someone we trust with you, then I won''t feel inclined to continuously hound you on your many, many mishaps. They''ll be inclined to inform me of them as they''re happening which gives us time to react, along with giving us a direct line to you."

    "So, your spy." Naruto simplified.

    "If you''d like to put it that way, then yes." Ross yielded.

    Steve raised a curious eyebrow, "It''s a little odd you''d be so forward about wanting to plant a spy in Naruto''s ranks."

    Ross gave a placating smile, "I''ve been warned not to try and put one over on this man several times. I pride myself in being able to learn from mine or other''s mistakes."

    "Who did you have in mind?" Steve asked.

    It was then that Agent Drew stood up from her seat, "That would be me, Captain."

    "I''m sure you''re aware of her abilities, Captain Rogers. You too, Mr. Uzumaki." Norris said, getting a nod from Steve and Naruto.

    "Yeah well, I''m not." Tony said, "Mind filling me in?"

    "Agent Jessica Drew has been gifted with several abilities due to¡­complications with her birth." Norris explained, "Enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, agility and senses, she also highly resistant to poison, toxins and radiation. Her hands and feet are capable of secreting a fluid that allows her to cling to solid surfaces. Along with all of that, her body produces an incredible amount of bio-energy, allowing to discharge it from her body. On top of all of these incredible gifts, she is an adept hand to hand combatant and weapons expert, as most SHIELD Agents are. She is our top field-agent."

    Throughout the entire run down of her abilities, Naruto and Jessica stared each other down. When the room went quiet, the ninja realized they were waiting on him to reply.

    Eyeing her again he asked, "What do you think of all this?"

    Jessica straightened her posture as she answered, "I think you need a buffer between you and the government of this country. I can act as your buffer-"

    "Fine, I except." Naruto declared.

    "Wait, Naruto-"

    Steve was interrupted as Naruto said, "But here are my rules. I can come and go from this planet as much as I please. I don''t have to tell you where I''m going or for how long. Second, Infinity Watch is my team. We don''t work for you, or Earth, or the Avengers. Third, if I ever catch a whiff of you trying to use me or my team to advance you and your county''s goals, we''re done. Fourth, she can tell you what I''m doing, she can tell me if you don''t approve, and she can report to you if I do something she or you don''t like, hell she can try and arrest me if she thinks she can, but she''s a part of my team now. She doesn''t do missions for you, she only does them for me. And by her, I mean only her. I don''t want my team to be the new hangout for supped up government agents. And fifth, anyone I choose to be on my team is under my protection. That means people like Owen Reece and Jennifer Walters aren''t yours to watch or worry about. They''re mine."

    "They''ve joined your team?" Chapman asked, writing their names down.

    That question made Naruto falter for a moment as he said, "Well¡­I''m scouting them. It''s a process."

    "Are there any more rules you''d like to make?" Ross asked, everyone in the room seeing his frustration barely held in.

    "None that I can think of right now, but I''m sure I''ll think of something." The ninja answered.

    "We''ll have to go over this more, but we''ll get back to you when we''ve come to an agreement. And, when we''ve come up with more rules of our own." Ross informed, "We''ll send Agent Drew your way when we do."

    Naruto looked around as everyone around him seemed to relax, the thick air that hung in the room lifting slightly as they all got up from their chairs, "Is that it?" He wondered.

    Tony patted him on the back, "Yup. Good job kid, you got a little less angry then I thought you would."

    "Thanks?"

    -x-

    "Shall I call for him?"

    Sitting over a vast cliff side, an elderly voice broke out passed the sounds of the vicious waves crashing against the cliff wall, "Yes, it is time. I cannot postpone it any longer, I think."

    The younger, feminine voice spoke back softly, "I know that this is difficult for you."

    "I have made many, many difficult decisions when it comes to my children¡­you''d think I wouldn''t find it so hard to make another. Especially considering the circumstances." The elder spoke, his voice strong yet deeply broken.

    "This must be done, my king."

    "I know¡­bring him to me."

    "At once."

    -x-

    "So¡­explain to me why you''re willingly allowing a spy onto your team?"

    Naruto sighed at Clint''s question, leaning up against a table as the two waited on Bruce and Tony''s arrival. Steve had decided to stay behind in DC. Though he was curious when Tony asked him to say hello to Agent Carter for him, he decided not to ask after seeing Steve''s bashful reaction.

    Folding his arms across his chest, he answered, "Because, I needed to make the compromise. It was either agree to let her onto my team knowingly and control the situation or tell them to fuck off knowing they''d do something drastic in retaliation. I know I can handle any of those situations, but the last one is the more annoying of the two."

    "But she''s gonna be recording your entire team''s strengths and weaknesses, how to use and beat them and you. She''s gonna be writing down every law you break and every person you fuck over. She''ll have a laundry list on you a mile wide." Clint reason, "Doesn''t that bother you?"

    The shinobi laughed, "Don''t worry, I''ll handle all of that."

    "If you say so." The archer relented, "Hey uh, I was told to ask you if you wanted to come over for dinner. The misses is making that thing you like."

    Naruto''s entire attention was on Clint, "Ramen?"

    "What? No, meatloaf. How old are you?" Clint demanded.

    "I like meatloaf?" The blonde asked.

    "She made it for you the last time you were over, you wouldn''t shut up about how amazing it was. You literally made her week." Clint tried to remind him, "Look, as long as you give a repeat performance I don''t give a shit if you remember or not."

    Laughing, Naruto complied, "Sure, I''ll come over. We can carpool to your place."

    "You have a car?" Barton asked.

    "Didn''t I tell you about my spaceship?"

    "¡­you''re what?"

    "My spaceship. She''s called the Kushina." Naruto detailed.

    Clint stared at Naruto for several seconds before replying, "Oh. Okay."

    As the conversation ended there, Tony and Bruce walked into the room. Tony had taken off his jacket and tie, the first few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned to offer some breathing room. Bruce, sporting a lab jacket, walked up to the two, giving Clint a smile and Naruto a nod.

    "What''s this I hear about a spaceship?" Bruce asked curiously.

    "That I have one." Naruto elaborated, "I can take you both out for a spin if you want."

    "Definitely gonna have to put a book mark on that one." Tony said enthusiastically, "I think we''re gonna be busy looking at this gem for the next couple weeks."

    "First, they''re called Infinity Stones. Second, we agreed to one week." Naruto corrected with a light glare, "And I''m gonna have a clone on standby to come and pick it up and drop it off with the others, so don''t think about trying to bargain for any spare time."

    "Right, right my bad." Tony waved off, looking the blonde over, "Where is the Stone anyway?"

    "Right over here." Banner answered, motioning towards the table in the lab. On the table sat the scepter and the jewel, the glowing rock situated onto a strange looking stand.

    "Wow." Tony gasped.

    Motioning towards the jewel, Naruto said, "This is the Mind Stone. Its power lies in the mind. It is literal intelligence. In its diluted state within the scepter''s jewel, it can control the mind and make an average-joe as smart as you or Bruce." he explained to Tony, "If I were to take it out of the jewel, if you were to touch it, it would drive you insane from the overload. You''d probably learn the meaning of the universe, but you''d be rendered catatonic. That''s why I left the Stone inside, so you can analyze it without having to waste time coming up with a way to contain it."

    "This¡­really is incredible." Bruce observed, walking closer to the table and leaning in to give it a more scrutinizing look, "How will you be able to contain it when you take it out?"

    Naruto smiled at Banner as he stared at the Mind Stone, his mind racing a million miles a minute, "The energy you see me use lets me hold and partially control the Stones. I''ve managed to learn how to hold off their power, but other than that my control of them is pretty shitty. That''s one of the reasons I don''t like to use them."

    "Makes sense." Bruce mumbled, most of his attention on the Mind Stone now.

    "I can''t believe you have two more of these just lying around somewhere." Admitted Clint as he observed the Stone from a distance. Out of the three Avengers present, he had the most experience with it, and it was safe to say he didn''t want to interact with it anymore then he had to.

    Deciding to ignore Clint''s comment, Naruto created a Shadow Clone before handing it off.

    Looking back at Tony, he asked, "What''re you planning to do with this again?"

    "I just want to see what makes it tick." Tony admitted freely, "If what you say about it is true then it could prove to be a boon for several projects I''ve got in storage, one in particular coming to mind."

    "Nothing nefarious I hope." Naruto said half-heartedly.

    Tony made an offended face, "Look at who you''re talking to. Have I ever done anything nefarious? Underhanded? Sure. Questionable? All the time. But nefarious? Come on."

    "Alright kid, let''s go." Clint said, getting bored with the conversation.

    "Right." Naruto answered, putting his hands in his pockets as he followed after the archer.

    "You guys going out on a date?" Tony teased, "Don''t stay out too late you two."

    "Why don''t you go join your Science-Bro in looking at the rock." Clint shouted back in annoyance.

    Bruce looked up from observing the Stone, "¡­do people actually call us that?" He asked Tony, causing Naruto to laugh as he and Clint left the room.

    -x-

    "Wow. Just¡­wow."

    Clint, sitting in the passenger seat of the Kushina, looked on in wonder as they blitzed through the air at lightning speed. In order to ignore any air traffic, they''d flown up into the mesosphere and had cruised around for a bit before they flew off to Clint''s homestead in Maine.

    Naruto smirked, "Yeah, she''s something else."

    Looking over the distant planet below, Clint asked, "And you got her from a space pirate?"

    "Pretty much." The blonde admitted.

    "Awesome." Clint looked at him, "Can I fly her?"

    Naruto''s laugh had no humor in it, "No chance in hell."

    "Oh, come on! I let you fly the Quinjet the first time I took you out on it, return the favor!" Barton pleaded.

    "Let me my ass! You forced me to fly it as some stupid kind of test!" Naruto shot back.

    "Stop being such a brat!"

    "I will, when you stop being such an asshole!"

    Clint relented in annoyance, "Just take us to the farm damnit. I''m hungry."

    The shinobi grumbled but relented, smirking knowing he''d won the argument.

    Finally reaching their destination, Naruto rested the ship down in the open field in front of the homestead. As they descended, Naruto quickly noticed a Quinjet that was parked several yards away.

    "Who else is here?" Naruto wondered, looking to Clint.

    Said archer scratched at his chin, "Well, uh¡­"

    "Clint, who''s here?"

    Clint''s answer had to wait, as the two saw his children burst out of the house and run towards the ship. Opening the back for him, Naruto allowed Clint to run out and greet his kids with a bearhug. As Naruto followed after him, he smiled as the happy kids gripped their father like a life line.

    Eventually, they noticed Naruto behind their dad, walking from inside the ship. Letting go of their father, they run up to the blonde shinobi.

    The oldest at 11 years old, Cooper, ran up and reached out for a high five. Lila, who was at the cute age of 6, wrapped her arms around his left leg in a tight hug.

    "Uncle Naruto!" Lila cried out happily as she looked up at him with stars in her eyes, "You''re back!"

    "How long have you been back?" Cooper asked.

    "Where did you go?" Demanded Lila.

    "I heard you went into space. Did you go to Mars or something?"

    "Did you make friends with any Martians? I bet you did, but Cooper says they aren''t real."

    "That''s because they aren''t." Cooper argued.

    Lila glared at her brother in protest, "Are too."

    "Are not-"

    Naruto decided to cut this off before it got any further, "I''ve been back for a couple months actually. And no, I did not go to Mars or talk to any Martians. I did however go to space and met some really cool aliens."

    Lila had stars in her eyes, "Woah, really?"

    "No way." Cooper denied.

    "Yes way." The shinobi reassured, "This one guy was made of ice, another looked like a walking tree, and one was pretty much a talking racoon."

    While Lila ooed and awed, Cooper looked at the older blonde skeptically, "You''re making that up, right?"

    "Would I make something like that up?" Naruto asked.

    "You made up the story about you fighting a knight over a rock¡­so yeah." Cooper said.

    Naruto lowered his head in defeat, "No respect."

    "Why don''t you guys give Naruto a little bit of breathing room, I''m sure there''s plenty of time for him to try and convince you that he actually met a talking racoon." Called out a voice from the direction of the house.

    Looking over, Naruto saw Laura Barton exit from the homestead, walking down the porch carefully as she cradled her bulging stomach. Clint was quickly by her side, giving his wife a hug as he helped her down the last step.

    "There actually was a talking racoon." Naruto argued as the kids left his side.

    Laura laughed as she looked at him challengingly, "And how exactly did it move its mouth in a way that made it capable of forming proper sentences?"

    This left Naruto hanging, unable to explain how Rocket could actually talk. As he tried to form an argument, another set of footsteps came from the door, getting his attention.

    And, much to his shock, Natasha peered out from the door frame looking at Laura, "The mashed potatoes are ready."

    "Oh, thanks Nat." Laura answered. Doing her best to be subtle, she shifted her gaze back and forth between Naruto and Natasha.

    Naruto, who had frozen for a split second, awkwardly said, "Hey, Natasha."

    It was then that Natasha seemed to notice Naruto''s presence at the bottom of the porch stairs. Blinking several times, astounded, she then gave an accusatory look at Laura then Clint. Surprisingly, it was Clint who backed down as he averted his gaze. Laura simply gave an encouraging smile.

    Finally, Natasha said, "Hey, Naruto. Are¡­are you here for dinner too?"

    "Yeah." Was the only thing Naruto could think to say.

    The awkward air was cut off as Lila grabbed Naruto by the hand, "Uncle Naruto, I want you to sit with me." She demanded innocently.

    Thankful for the excuse to turn his attention to anything else, Naruto smiled down at the little girl as she pulled him up into the house, "Okay, okay I''m coming."

    As he was pulled in, something flying close by caught his attention. Looking over, he raised an eyebrow as he saw a raven land on the porch railing. It was larger than what you would call average, with a single glowing green eye staring into his very soul. He wasn''t able to think on it too much longer as he was pulled fully into the house.

    -x-

    The sounds of clinking silverware echoed through the kitchen as the six ate their dinner. On one side sat Naruto and Natasha, with Lila in between them, and Clint, Laura, and Cooper sitting respectively across from them.

    In between bites, Laura looked to Naruto, "So, how is it?"

    Naruto''s smile was wide as he swallowed, "I love it."

    Laura smiled back, clearly pleased that her guest was enjoying her cooking. Unbeknownst to his wife, Clint gave Naruto a subtle but appreciative nod and thumbs up.

    "Well," Laura began, "I can''t take all the credit."

    Lila looked up from her plate at the shinobi, "Yeah, Auntie Nattie helped Mommy make it."

    "Really?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

    The attention now on Natasha, the woman looked up mid-bite. Realizing she was expected to answer she swallowed before saying, "I didn''t help out that much-"

    "Since when do you cook?" Clint asked skeptically, only to get an elbow jab from his wife.

    "I don''t-"

    "She helped cut up the potatoes, she mashed ''em too." Lila informed.

    Natasha continued to try and downplay her involvement, "You cut more than I did-"

    "She was very helpful." Laura persisted, though why only she seemed to know.

    Naruto could only smile in amusement as Natasha was bombarded with how helpful she was, "I didn''t realize you''d become such a good cook." Naruto said.

    "You know I can''t cook worth a damn." Natasha reminded, "Remember the homemade ramen I tried to make for you?"

    The blonde laughed, "Yeah, yeah I remember. You totally butchered it. I don''t think I''d ever heard you apologize for something so much for so long."

    "It didn''t help that you kept laughing at me." The Avenger''s assassin challenged, "And then the cake I tried to make for you on your birthday, remember that?"

    He quickly remembered that birthday, "Yeah, how did you burn the icing again?"

    "I thought you put it on and then cook." Natasha answered.

    "Careful, Naruto." Kurama''s voice warned calmly.

    His partner''s booming voice brought Naruto back to reality, noticing that Laura was smiling at their conversation as she pretended to focus on her food.

    Laughing with restraint, Naruto said, "Yeah, those were good times."

    The mood around the room suddenly got a little tense, everyone entering an almost awkward silence as they began to dig into their meals once again.

    It was Cooper who finally spoke, "So Naruto, are you gonna be an Avenger now that your back?"

    "Uh, no. No, I''m not." Naruto answered lamely.

    "Why?" Lila asked.

    "Well¡­" Naruto said, trying to think of an edited reason for why he refused to join the Avengers, "Well, when I was a kid, I had this one friend who called himself an avenger. He was about your age," He said looking to Lila, "When someone took his family away from him. He was your age, "He said this looking to Cooper, "When he abandoned our home to avenge the thing he lost. He did a lot of bad things to do that, all because he was an avenger. So, I guess the idea of calling myself the thing that nearly destroyed my friend makes me feel¡­bad."

    "Oh." Lila said quietly, "What happened to your friend?"

    Naruto could feel Natasha freeze up at that question.

    "He¡­passed away." Naruto said gently.

    "Did he ever become your friend again?" Cooper asked.

    Smiling gently, Naruto''s eyes hazed in sadness, "Yeah, I''d like to think so."

    Seeing that her children had finished their plates, Laura cut through the tension, "Why don''t you guys take your dishes to the sink and wash up?"

    Though they didn''t look very pleased, they quickly complied with their mother and got up to do as she asked.

    "They''ve both gotten so big." Naruto said as they left the room.

    "Well, it''s been nearly three years since you last saw them." Laura said, "They really missed you while you were gone, Lila especially. You''re her favorite superhero you know? Action figures and everything."

    "I''m sorry I didn''t come by sooner." Naruto apologized, "I should''ve visited at least once. I just¡­"

    "You were busy, I know." Laura reassured, "What''s important is that you''re here now."

    Clint finally decided to speak now that he''d finished his meal, "Is it really true that you met a talking raccoon?"

    -x-

    Standing on the porch, Naruto leaned up against the railing as he watched Clint play catch with Cooper and Lila, throwing the baseball with supreme accuracy each and every time. In return, both kids returned the ball with surprising accuracy of their own, with Clint almost never having to move his glove to retrieve the ball.

    "Did he teach them how to do that, or are they just as freaky as their dad?" Naruto asked.

    "A bit of both." Natasha answered, sitting on the porch steps as she watched the sun set over the tree line, "Though I''d say Lila is the more natural of the two. If they don''t watch out they''re gonna have a Lady Hawkeye on their hands."

    Naruto looked over at Natasha, observing her for several moments. Eventually, he slowly got off the railing and trekked over to her, calmly taking a seat next to her.

    He only allowed them to sit in silence for a few seconds before saying, "You can pretend to sit here and stare at that sunset for as long as you want, but you and I both know that''s not what you''re really lookin'' at."

    Natasha didn''t look away from the tree line, "What are you talking about?"

    Motioning his head towards the kids, the blonde said, "I see how you look at them."

    "Naruto-"

    "I think anyone that knows you, knows that that''s what you want." He interrupted.

    The spy finally turned to head to look at him, "And if you know me, you know I can''t have it¡­even if I did."

    "Then let me heal you."

    "Naruto-"

    "I never offered it to you before because I knew you needed to ask me. If I had asked, you''d have said no, no matter how much you actually wanted me to. So, I backed off and gave you space." Naruto reasoned quietly.

    Natasha fought for the right words to say, "Naruto, I can''t¡­why would you do that for me? If it''s pity or somethi-"

    Naruto shook his head as he said, "I''m not doing it out of pity, or anything stupid like that. I''m doing it because of that look I was talking about. You try and hide it, but after everything we''ve been through I can read you like a book. And it''s because of everything that I know you''ll never ask me, because you don''t think you deserve it. That you don''t deserve to have that happiness."

    Wiping her eye, she said, "I really don''t deserve it. Not after everything that happened. Not just with you, but¡­everything. I''m a monster."

    "I''ve seen monsters, Natasha. I''ve seen the worst of the worst. And despite myself I can''t think of you on the same level as them. You''re like...three tiers below that. At least." Naruto, giving her a joking smile at the last part.

    Natasha couldn''t help but laugh. The two sat there for a moment, enjoying each other''s company, something they both missed.

    "I thought you said you were done with me?" Natasha finally asked.

    "Yeah¡­I did. I guess you could call it a time out if you want." Naruto said with a shrug.

    "And how many of these ''time outs'' do I get?" She asked, her voice taking on a strange tone of hope.

    He shrugged again, "I''ll burn that bridge when I get there."

    They entered another silence, before Natasha gave a sigh, "Just¡­let me think about it."

    At that, the door behind them opened, "Hey Naruto are you sure¡­oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?" Laura asked, looking down at the two as they sat together on the steps.

    Naruto got up, dusting off his pant legs as he said, "Whatcha need?"

    Laura looked back and forth between the two before asking, "Are you sure you don''t want to stay the night? We have an extra guest room, so it really isn''t a bother."

    "No, thank you I''m good. I''m actually gonna be heading out." Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

    "Oh, okay." Laura said, disappointed. Walking up to him, she held her arms out for a hug goodbye, "Well be sure to come again, you''re welcome anytime."

    Bending down into the hug, Naruto said, "How can I not come back after that awesome dinner?" Leaning in, he whispered, "Maybe next time we''ll watch The Parent Trap and you can pick up some tips?"

    As Naruto leaned back, Laura gave him a parting kiss on the cheek. Patting the spot she''d peck, she said with a knowing smile, "We''ll be sure to do that then."

    Walking down the porch steps, Naruto called out, "Hey kids, I''m heading out!"

    "Awww." Lila moaned, running up to the blonde and clutching his leg in a death grip, "You can''t leave now! You only just got here."

    Naruto rubbed her head as he said softly, "I''ll be back, I promise."

    "¡­you promise?" Lila asked, her voice muffled in Naruto''s pant leg.

    "Promise of a lifetime." Naruto answered, slowly pealing her off of him. Leaning down he gave her one last hug. Getting up he gave Cooper a fist bump, "I''ll be seeing you later, kid."

    "Could you show me how to throw those knives?" Cooper asked hopefully.

    Before he could answer, he saw Laura give him the look only a wrathful mother could. His eyes on Laura he said in a loud, awkward tone, "No kid, knives are dangerous. Wait until you''re older."

    When Laura looked away, satisfied that Naruto had handled the situation, the ninja gave the kid a subtle okay gesture with a heavy wink.

    Eventually, Naruto was able to walk up to his ship alone, giving one last wave goodbye as everyone seemed to decide to go inside. Turning to his ship, he said, "You can come out now."

    The sound of flapping wings echoed before the one-eyed raven landed at Naruto''s feet. Kneeling into a catcher''s stance, he asked, "Well, what''s your name?"

    The raven tilted its head back and forth as it observed the blonde that towered over it. Finally, it opened its beak to respond, "Muninn."

    "Well, Muninn. What do you want with me? You''ve been following me since Wakanda, right?" Naruto asked.

    "I was asked to observe you by my master." Muninn informed the blonde, "He wished for me observe until the time he wanted to speak to you."

    "And it''s safe to assume that that time is now." Naruto guessed.

    Muninn twitched its head in a nod, "That''s correct."

    Naruto stood up straight as he asked, "Who''s your master then?"

    "My master goes by many names. Lord of the Aesir, Spear Shaker, Wise One, the Raven King. But most know him as the King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms." Muninn recited, "My master, my king, is Odin Borson."

    "Well¡­shit." Naruto said in surprise, "What does the King of Asgard want with me?"

    "Our king has a quest for you."

    Naruto nearly jumped as a presence suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Standing next to him, draped in a simple long sleeved green gown, was Amora.

    The Enchantress.

    She seemed to have toned down her appearance in recent years, as she seemed to be trying desperately to come off as average as possible. As far as Naruto was concerned she''d failed in the attempt, because even with then she was still an unnaturally natural beauty. Then again, she was a goddess.

    "Enchantress." Naruto greeted with clear caution.

    "Don''t let that bitch get to close, brat. I don''t think I can deal with another visitor today My patience is running thin as it is." Kurama warned with a growl.

    "I haven''t gone by that name for a long time." Amora informed, "Not after that day."

    Narrowing his eyes at the woman, he said, "What do you want?"

    "As I said, our king has a quest for you." Amora repeated, "It''s of the utmost importance."

    "And why in Sage''s name would I go anywhere with you?" The warrior demanded.

    The Enchantress sighed, "I know that our past is¡­tricky, but I wouldn''t be here if what my king requests of you wasn''t important. If I had it my way, I''d have never shown my face to you again. But, I owe my king everything. So, I come before you, knowing that the only thing keeping you from wiping me off the face of the planet is your patience alone. Isn''t that enough of a sign that I''m being sincere?"

    "Not really." Kurama argued, not that she could hear him.

    Naruto, thinking it over for several moments, eventually asked, "What''s the request?"

    "My king wishes to tell you that himself." Amora answered, "But, what I can tell you is that you are the only who can do what my king needs done."

    "Why can''t he do it?" Naruto demanded, "Isn''t he supposed to be this all-powerful god or something?"

    Amora frowned, "He has been¡­stripped of his power. He is weak and frail. He''s¡­he''s in no shape to do it."

    "And what about Thor?"

    "I can''t say. I''ll leave my king to explain why." Amora tried to reason.

    Taking a thoughtful breath in, Naruto released it as he said, "Fine, let''s go."

    Amora slowly walked up to the blonde, Muninn flying up and landing on her shoulder. As she reached up to grab his arm, Naruto grabbed her forearm firmly, "If this is a trick, I won''t be happy. Understand?" He asked, his voice dangerously low.

    Wincing at the vice like grip around her arm, she nodded, "Yes, I understand."

    Letting her go, Naruto quickly sealed the Kushina into its seal before saying, "Let''s go."

    "Right." Amora said weakly as she grabbed his arm.

    A strange, otherworldly energy suddenly enveloped them, a flash of green lighting up the field. And then, in an instant, they were gone.

    -x-

    Waves crashed savagely against the towering cliff side, slowly but surely eroding it away with each and every mighty slap of water. Staring out into the horizon, an aged man sat on a cluster of boulders with a look of pure contemplation on his wrinkled face.

    Smiling, he said, "Welcome, Naruto Uzumaki."

    Looking around Naruto eyed the beautiful field with actual awe, he said, "And, where am I?"

    It was Amora who answered as she walked to sit beside her king, "The Lofoten Islands. I took him here after I found him in New York a year ago."

    "Why was he in New York?" Naruto asked.

    Amora looked at her king, sadness in her eyes, "Loki exiled him, banishing him into a Manhattan retirement home through the use of spells I taught him. I managed to find him by chance and break the spells, but he''s refused to leave his exile. So, I took him here. It''s the closest thing to home I could find."

    Odin, who seemed to have been ignoring the conversation going on about him, said wistfully, "My son¡­Loki, is a troubled boy. In his 1,500 years of life, he has lived in the shadow of others. But now, through my exile, I can give him the chance to be out of that shadow, no matter how short that may come to be. I consider it my last gift to him."

    Naruto looked Odin over for a moment. He seemed¡­frail. He was wearing a loose set of beige clothes that hid his body, but his face was all he needed to see to know that he wasn''t well.

    "You''re dying, aren''t you?"

    The elderly king chuckled, "Aren''t we all?"

    "How long do you have?" The Uzumaki asked slowly.

    "Two years, seven months, two days." Odin said without hesitation.

    "Okay," Naruto began, scratching his scalp, "Is that like, a guess or¡­?"

    Odin laughed softly, "I suppose you could call it that. Though I can see many things, there are many things that are cloudy to me. You for instance. Or the future I see. Either way, I find that coming date very worrisome."

    Continuing to scratch the back of his head, Naruto said, "Yeah I would too."

    "It isn''t my death that I find worrisome. No, no something else will happen on that day. What I see is foggy, mysterious, but in a way obvious. Something my death is a catalyst to." Odin claimed, "My death is the movement of a single cog among many, all working down the clock to life itself. That is what I see. Death."

    "What does your death cause, exaclty?" Naruto asked, disturbed by the king''s words.

    "With my death, my power fades. My power is the only thing holding back the Executioner of Asgard. She will bring Asgard and its people to their knees with her power. She will slaughter anyone who gets in her way before she is stopped, if she can be stopped at all." Odin declared, "With my death, my eldest child will be released onto the world."

    "You want me to fight your daughter when you die?" Naruto asked in slight disbelief, "Why don''t you just ask Thor to do it? This seems like a family issue."

    "Thor is mighty." Odin admitted, "But Hela¡­she is godly. In my prime I could barely defeat her. It was my weakness that allowed her to live, and it was my hubris that allowed me to assume I could hold her off forever. In my youth I assumed I would live eternally, and it wasn''t until I grew too old, too weak, that I realized I''d been a fool. And now this new generation must live with my foolishness."

    Naruto sighed, unable to resist finding the parallels between Odin and the Third Hokage. Both had allowed monsters to live and died regretting it, "What did she do? Your daughter, Hela, she had to have done something pretty terrible to make you feel this way about your own flesh and blood."

    It was Amora who answered, "She committed an unspeakable act against Asgard."

    "Unspeakable huh." Naruto muttered, "So what, you expect me to be on call until you finally pass on, so I can fight this super strong she-god, wherever it is she pops up?"

    "No. We will send you into Hel as soon as you can, and you will find and destroy her within her prison." Amora corrected.

    "And what the hell do I get out of any of this?" Naruto demanded, eyes squinted shut in scrutiny, "It seems to me like you assume I''ll do it out the kindness of my heart or something."

    "Your reward for completing Odin''s quest is the location of the Reality Stone." Amora answered.

    That caught Naruto off guard, "You know where it''s at?"

    Odin stood up from his seat, slowly walking up to much younger man, "Thor had managed to procure the Stone right before my exile. I didn''t like the thought of having two Infinity Stones so close to each other, especially considering our previous security blunders. In secret, I ordered Thor and his posy to find someone who was capable of hiding the Reality Stone. While he managed to find someone, I believe I''ve found someone better." He said as he motioned to Naruto, "My sight has faded much in my old age. Your past and future are as blurry to me as the rest. But the bits I can make out, I know I''m making the right choice in choosing you to take on the quest."

    As Odin rested a hand on Naruto''s shoulder, the blonde looked into the All-Father''s eye. In it, he could see the weight of his burden, that weight almost crushing him in his old age. Seeing that, he sighed.

    Why not relieve some of that weight off?

    "Okay. I''ll do it."

 27 I shall be Released

    Location: Alfheim

    -x-

    The sound of rolling thunder echoed high, lightning splitting up into the air in a fundamental breaking of the law of nature. Birds broke out into a flock of panic, swooping outwards from the white petaled trees and flying into the violet colored sky.

    Another blast of lightning scorched upwards, splitting apart any clouds who dared to get in its way.

    As the thunder that followed subsided, a voice could be heard screaming, "To the left!"

    Thor, God of Thunder, looked to his left, only to see no one coming.

    "Not your left, my left!" Screamed the irritated voice several yards away.

    Grunting in annoyance, Thor turned his attention towards that direction, spinning the hammer Mjolnir, channeled lightning before using his hammer to direct it into the cluster of Dark Elves dashing towards him and his companion.

    While the lightning blasted the Dark Elves, Thor said, "Maybe be specific then?"

    His companion, a Light Elf with long bleach blonde hair and a face made for royalty, scoffed as he pointed his blasters towards a duo of Dark Elves, "Oh shut up."

    As Thor threw his lightning incased hammer towards the surviving elves, he said, "You know, for an elf named Honeypot, you''re really sour in the personality department."

    "Honeyshot," The elf corrected as he blasted another group of Dark Elves, "It''s Ivory Honeyshot."

    "Same difference." Thor muttered as he summoned Mjolnir back to him.

    "You know the stories I''ve heard about you never included just how agitating you are." Ivory said, ducking beneath a sword swing.

    "And the stories I have heard about you¡­oh wait, there are no stories." The God of Thunder shot back, thrusting his hammer into the cranium of an unlucky Dark Elf, decapitating him on impact.

    As the Dark Elves'' numbers began to dwindle further and further, Ivory said to himself, "I can''t believe the All-Mother forced me to help a buffoon like you. Why she fears you and the Raven King, I''ll never know."

    Thor, hearing that, smirked as he saw the Dark Elves had gathered together and were charging towards him. Channeling lightning into Mjolnir, he spun the hammer in his hand at an incredible pace, the hammer thwooming mightily before swinging up, his body being lifted off the ground at an incredible speed. Eventually, several hundred feet above the trees they''d been fighting in, he came to a stop. Entering his freefall, he positioned the Mjolnir in front of him as he dropped down on the group of Dark Elves.

    Ivory watched in awe as Thor landed, the ground exploding as though he were a meteor made of pure lightning and thunder, breaking the Alfheimian earth with ease.

    Stepping out of the crater he''d created, Thor still had his smirk in place as he looked to Ivory, "That''s why."

    The elf could only sigh, accepting the show of force as he looked around for any survivors, "These terrorists were foolish to think they could hole themselves off here."

    Thor hefted his hammer onto his shoulder as he said, "They lost any kind of leadership with Malekith. I doubt they sincerely thought they would succeed."

    "Right." Ivory sighed, "I wonder if there are any more of these Dark Elves out there. I''d hate to think I''d participated in exterminating a race of people."

    "Likewise." Thor admitted somberly.

    "Well, let''s return to the palace-"

    "Wow, this place sure is beautiful. For a battleground, anyway."

    Thor and Ivory both took battle positions as the voice suddenly spoke up behind them. Thor, seeing who it was, relaxed his swinging arm, "Naruto?"

    Naruto, scratching the back of his head, laughed as he said, "How''s it going, Thor?"

    Ivory looked back and forth between the two before finally landing on Thor, "You know this person?"

    "Yes, this is Naruto Uzumaki. He is a warrior from space¡­or something." The prince introduced, "He is mighty, I assure you."

    Raising an eyebrow as, Ivory looked Naruto up and down as he asked, "How did you get here? You''re not of the Nine Realms, so you can''t have access to the Bifrost."

    "Oh that? Yeah, I tagged Thor with a Hiraishin tag." Naruto explain flippantly.

    "A what-"

    Naruto''s playful manner fell away as he looked at Thor with slight trepidation, "Thor¡­how long have you been away from Earth?"

    Thor raised an eyebrow, "It''s been a year or so, why do you ask friend?"

    "Well¡­well, I don''t really know how to tell you this. All I know is that I wouldn''t be a friend to you if I didn''t." Naruto muttered softly, his eyes squinted shut in thought.

    "Tell me what?" Thor demanded, "Is Earth in danger?"

    "No¡­well, sorta¡­maybe." Naruto stuttered, "It''s about your father."

    "My father?" Thor asked, surprised.

    The shinobi nodded slowly, "They implied they didn''t want me to tell you¡­but like I said I don''t like the idea."

    The Prince of Asgard''s face scrunched up in worry, "What is going on with my father?"

    "It''s a long story."

    -x-

    A fire crackled loudly with a small stone laden hut, warming the small home and its occupants. Said occupants sat at a small table, enjoying the warm homeliness their fire gave off. Odin, leaning in his chair, waited patiently as Amora finally finished preparing their tea.

    Amora sighed as she poured tea into Odin''s cup, "You know he''s going to tell your son, sooner or later. He''s not the kind of man to lie to his friends, ordered to or not."

    Odin nodded as he took a sip of Amora''s tea, "I am aware of his beliefs. And if he tells my son the truth, then that is simply a biproduct of my own actions. I only have myself to blame."

    The Enchantress sighed as she said, "Still, I feel like it could''ve been avoided."

    Laughing, Odin muttered passed his cup, "My son would''ve found out eventually. Despite how he acts, despite his brutish fighting style, he is an intelligent warrior."

    "He''ll demand to fight her." Amora predicted confidently.

    "Oh, I''m sure he will." Odin laughed wholeheartedly, "Right, my boy?"

    Amora jumped at the sudden presence of Thor and Naruto.

    The God of Thunder did not look pleased, "So, it is true."

    Nodding slowly, Odin said, "Indeed."

    Before Amora could react, Thor was in Odin''s face as he pulled at his father''s collar, "How could you¡­how could you lie?! Lying all this time, all these years. When were you going to tell me?" He demanded.

    "Likely before I''d died." The Raven King answered truthfully, somberly.

    "How¡­could you¡­" Thor began, but seemingly couldn''t muster the question he needed to ask.

    Odin sighed as he placed his hands on his son''s, "I am not going to lie and say I did it for the greater good. I lied for me. It is as simple as that."

    The son released his father roughly, "Tell me where she''s imprisoned."

    "Why?" Odin asked slowly, "What do you seek to achieve with that information?"

    "I am going to talk to my sister." Thor answered confidently, "I''ll decide what to do after I talk to her."

    "She''ll kill you." Amora answered. When Thor didn''t seem to react to her statement, she decided to explain Hela''s situation, "She''s being kept inside of Hel, a sub-world within Niffleheim. Inside of Hel is a realm known as Nastrond. Nastrond is a place designed to cut off its occupants from the outside world. No one can escape or enter without Odin''s permission. And once you enter Nastrond, you might as well cease to exist."

    Thor didn''t look at Amora as she explained Hela''s prison, glaring at Odin the entire time, "So, give me permission then."

    "I can''t do that." Odin said, "I''ve already given Naruto the key. Only one can exist at a time, and only the holder can decide who goes."

    "Fine then." Thor said as he made to leave, "Come Naruto, we have a quest to complete-"

    "No."

    Thor stopped, glaring at his father, "What do you mean no? I''m going-"

    "I will not send you off to Valhalla!" Odin bellowed, "Not you! Not like your mother! This is my mistake, and I refuse to pay it off with your blood-"

    With a sudden jolt, Odin gasped in pain, clutching his chest as he wretched forward. Thor and Amora were quickly at his side, with Amora doing her best to ease his pain with her magic.

    Thor, deep worry on his face, could only watch as his usually strong father''s body fail in front of his eyes. His eyes landed on Amora, the woman running her magically covered hands over Odin''s chest.

    Glaring down at her, Thor took a threatening step towards her, "What are you doing? What have you done to my father!"

    Before Thor could pry her off of Odin, he was stopped by a hand clasping onto his shoulder.

    "Thor, stop." Naruto ordered firmly.

    Thor was immediately in Naruto''s face, "She''s a witch. She could be bewitching him, weakening him!" She-"

    "She''s helping him, Thor. He''s dying." Naruto said, his voice growing soft.

    The son of Odin took a step back in shock, "¡­What?" He asked softly.

    "It''s true." Amora said, most of her attention on Odin, "Loki''s banishment hastened it, but he''s been on limited time for decades now."

    "Loki." Thor muttered, finding a chair as his legs seemed to lose their strength, "I''m going to kill him." He muttered with rage. Closing his eyes, he tried to calm his building anger, lightning running along his hands.

    His eyes flew open when he felt a hand grasp onto his chest plate tightly.

    Odin, kneeling before his own son, wheezed, "Please, Thor, please. Don''t go to her. I can''t let her do it again. Not like before. I barely survived it. And now¡­now with my life flittering away, I know I can''t survive it if she took you too."

    "Father." Thor breathed out. Seeing his father in such a state, his frown deepened, "Okay. I won''t."

    The All-Father''s grip loosened, "Good¡­good."

    "Tell me everything." The God of Thunder demanded.

    -x-

    Naruto sighed as he stood outside the hut, allowing Odin and Thor privacy. Sitting cross legged on the rock Odin had been sitting on when they''d first met, the blonde looked up at the full moon that was sitting clearly in the night sky.

    "So, when are we doing this?" Kurama asked.

    Closing his eyes, Naruto thought, "As soon as Thor is done talking to Odin."

    "So soon?" The Biju asked.

    Naruto shrugged, "I''d like to get this over with, then I can handle everything here. My clone can take care of anything that might pop up in the time I''m gone anyway."

    Kurama nodded from within the seal, "Makes sense. I''d suggest doing it as quickly as possible. According to that witch, time moves way slower in Hel. A few hours over there could be days here, get it?"

    "Yeah, I got it." Naruto thought with agitation.

    "Well, you''ve never been known for understanding complex things like time displacement and the such." Kurama said smugly, "I''d hate for you to come back and a month has gone by."

    "Yeah, that would suck." Admitted Naruto, "But things should go smoothly¡­should."

    Then, after a moment, an idea struck the blonde.

    "I''ll be right back, Kurama." The blonde said smoothly as he focused his mind.

    Kurama blinked in confusion, but quickly realized what his partner was talking about, "Oh, going to talk to Lady Death huh?"

    "Her name is Freyja." Naruto corrected before he was sucked into his mindscape, going directly into the corner of his seal where Freyja was housed.

    Opening his eyes, Naruto found himself in front of Freyja''s campfire. Looking over he smiled at the beautiful woman who sat directly next to him.

    "Hello, beloved." Freyja said with a delicate smile.

    "Freyja." The blonde said kindly, leaning back as he said, "So, I''m sure you know what''s happening."

    The embodiment of death nodded, "I have. I never expected you''d be taking on someone who''s used my name in their campaign of power. It''s a little ironic, in a way."

    "Any advice?" Naruto asked.

    "Her moniker is one deserved." Freyja started, "It was given to her by the Light Elves of Alfheim, after she slaughtered and executed every single member of their royal family during the Asgardian invasion. Originally, she was the Goddess of War. But her bloodlust led to her new title, the Goddess of Death. She was born and raised to be the ultimate weapon. That was her purpose. She is both the sharpest sword and sturdiest shield. She can kill anyone and killed by no one."

    "She sounds tough." Naruto admitted, "She has no weaknesses?"

    "None. Your fight will be one of attrition." Freyja advised.

    "Right." The blonde muttered thoughtfully, "So, I''ll need a battle strategy."

    "And we both know how bad you are at those." Freyja said lightly, "I''d suggest sticking to your strong suit, and work on the fly."

    Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Probably. Meh, I''ll think of something either way."

    "No." Freyja said with surprising firmness, "You can''t take this so carelessly. You need to approach this as seriously as you can, okay?"

    Seeing the worry on her face, Naruto smiled, "I''ll be careful."

    Lady Death sighed, looking away from the blonde with a huff, "No you won''t."

    Chuckling, Naruto said, "It would be strange if you thought I would. You know me better than most, right?"

    "I do." Freyja confirmed softly, "And I know that you''re going to try and talk to her, to understand her and get her to understand you. You''ve done it before, several times. Neji Hyuga, Gaara of the Sand, Nagato Uzumaki, Obito Uchiha. You saved these people from themselves. Your talk-no-jutsu, as your friends later called it."

    Laughing again, Naruto muttered, "I guess-"

    "Don''t do that this time." Freyja advised, "She isn''t someone to change. She''ll kill you if you give her a chance, understand?"

    This time, his laugh grew bigger. Getting up, he summoned a door to exit the mindscape, "You forget that my talk-no-jutsu doesn''t ever really rely on my words, at first anyway. About three-fourths of it revolves around me beating them senseless. I leave the talking for when that''s all I can muster."

    "Why do you insist on making things more difficult than they have to be?" Freyja persisted with a small scoff. Her face relaxing, she said, "I know that there''s no convincing you otherwise, you fool."

    His smile growing bigger, Naruto stepped through the door towards consciousness.

    Opening his eyes, the blonde found Amora standing in front of him.

    "So, how''re things inside?" Naruto asked.

    Amora smiled softly, "Good."

    Within the hut, Thor and Odin sat in silence, the only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire.

    Thor proved unable to stand the silence, "Make me stronger."

    Odin blinked, "What?"

    Thor, his face hard as stone, said, "You told me that I''m not strong enough. Well then Father, make me strong enough. Show me how to be strong in the short time you have left."

    Staring at his son in shock, Odin eventually smiled, "On one condition."

    "Name it." Thor demanded confidently.

    "Leave Loki be. That is the condition. Until my death, Loki is to be left alone." Odin said firmly.

    The prince seemed to want to argue against his father, but stopped midway. Eventually, he could only nod in acceptance, "Agreed."

    Odin placed his hand firmly on Thor''s shoulder, "I will make you realize the strength you never knew you had, my son."

    The door creaked open, Naruto peeking his head. His eyes squinted shut and a wide smile on his face, he said, "You guys good? Cause if it''s okay, I''d like to get on with my quest now."

    Thor sighed, "Fine then. Father, send him to Hel."

    Amora, who was behind Naruto, said, "I''ll be in charge of that. I''ll drop you off in Hel, then you''ll have to travel on foot to Nastrond. The key should guide you to your destination."

    Naruto looked down at his open palm where Odin had placed the key, a golden symbol Amora called a Lasabrjotur. Closing his fist, the blonde said, "This thing hurts like a bitch by the way."

    "The pain will relieve itself the closer you get to Nastrond." Amora informed.

    Nodding, a thought came to Naruto, "Why don''t you just drop me off right in front of the place I need to go, Nostradamus¡­or whatever."

    "Nastrond." The Enchantress corrected, "And sadly I can''t, Hel is a¡­strange place. I''ll try and get you as close as possible, but there''s no promises that it''ll be right around the corner."

    Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto muttered, "Okay, let''s do this I guess."

    Odin stepped forward, resting his hand on Naruto''s shoulder, "All I can do is wish upon you the strength you will need. My daughter¡­she needs peace. She''s never known it. So¡­please help her get that."

    Naruto looked Odin in the eye as he nodded solemnly. Giving Thor a nod goodbye, he then watched as Amora opened a portal using her magic.

    Taking a deep breath, he stepped into what awaited on the other side.

    -x-

    "For the Sage''s sake, why is it so fucking cold!"

    His arms wrapped around his torso, Naruto''s entire body vibrated in an attempt to get warm. His teeth clattering, he continued his train of thought, "I thought hell was supposed to be hot! Lakes of fire, pillars of lava, demon babies, the works! Not this bullshit!"

    "Demon babies?" Kurama questioned from the seal.

    "Shu-shu-shu-shut up!" Naruto demanded, holding himself tighter as his shivering got worse.

    As soon as he stepped through the portal, the frosted wind blasted him in the face. The wave of falling snow soon came after, along with Naruto noticing that he seemed to be in a dead forest, the black trees looking like they''d been burned a long time ago. Their black bodies and bony limbs stuck out like haunted figures against the pure white snow that surrounded them. Naruto couldn''t tell what time it was, night or day, all he could see was white.

    He pushed forward, the pain from Odin''s key dimming slightly the further he walked.

    An idea suddenly came to Naruto, the blonde smirking in satisfaction as he summoned a small scroll from the seal situated on his wrist. Opening it, he quickly summoned out its contents. Pulling on the thick brown trench coat with fur lining the insides, he sighed in content at the warmth it gave him. Fitting the gloves to his hand and a red scarf around his neck, he quickly realized these added lairs only helped a little, as he was already shivering again.

    "You know¡­you coulda just activated one of the cloaks to block out the cold."

    That stopped Naruto in his tracks, his body freezing from the realization, "¡­Dammit." He cursed as he activated the base Nine Tails Cloak.

    Kurama chuckled as he said, "You''re welcome, brat."

    Naruto had no idea how long he''d been walking for, his only solace being the continuous diminishing of pain coming from the key. What was once a scorching burn was now an intensely throbbing pain. As he walked further and further into the dead forest, the trees started to dwindle down, leaving a cold field in its wake. The field seemed to go on and on, there didn''t seem to be any kind of horizon.

    It was as the trees disappeared that mounds of snow took their place. Each step, each crunch of the snow, echoed along the cold hellscape. Suddenly, Naruto stopped in his tracks.

    Kurama looked up from within the seal, his ears twitching with interest, "Naruto?"

    Said blonde remained quiet, only to then rear his head back before giving a might sneeze. Wiping his nose, he chuckled to himself, "I had that sneeze in the back of my throat for like two minutes."

    The Biju rolled his eyes as he laid his head back down, "Idiot."

    As Naruto took another step forward, the sound of shifting snow echoes around. Freezing, the blonde raised his arms in preparation as he thought, "You hear that, partner?"

    Kurama''s ears twitched, "Yeah. Six o''clock."

    Naruto quickly ducked down, just in time to avoid a giant fist from plowing into the back of his head. Rolling forward, he turned around to get a good look at his attacker.

    The man was large, both in muscle and stature, his flesh frozen over and turned a decayed purple and blue. His glaring eyes shined an eerie blue, his teeth clenched together as he growled like an animal. Dashing towards Naruto the man raised his hands up over his head to deliver a punishing hammer fist.

    Raising one hand up, Naruto easily caught the fist. The enemy caught in his grip and his torso wide open, the shinobi quickly took advantage of the situation and shoved his fist into the man''s abdomen. Dropping the now limp man to the snow beneath them, Naruto raised his hands up.

    The palm he''d used to block the attack and the knuckles of his punching hand were glazed in a thick ice.

    "What the hell?" Naruto asked aloud, only to jump to the side to avoid several projectiles. Quickly realizing they were arrows, he looked for their shooter. Quickly spotting another frozen man off in the distance, Naruto was quick to get into his space and deliver a devastating spin kick to his neck, snapping it in two.

    As he landed, his leg buckled. Looking down, Naruto was shocked to see the area he''d kicked with was frozen like his hands. Quickly, the blonde added some of Matatabi''s signature flames to where the ice had collected around his limbs. The ice was quick to melt off.

    He was unable to celebrate this small victory, as the sound of shifting snow once again entered the area, only much more numbered. His eyes then widened in horror, as the mounds surrounding him suddenly began to shift and break away, revealing frozen men in their place.

    "The snow fall must have covered them." Kurama observed.

    Naruto, who was busy swerving away from a surprisingly quick sword slice, thought, "Do you think they only move and attack when people not from Hel show up? Not very neighborly."

    The Biju shook his head, "No, no I don''t think it''s that. I think it''s because you''re alive."

    "Alive?" Naruto thought, a sudden realization hitting him. He couldn''t feel them. These things, whatever they were, were walking dead men.

    Applying Matatabi''s flames to his hands, Naruto quickly killed the zombie swordsman who''d been attacking him. Taking stock of the situation, Naruto noticed that these men weren''t uniform. All of them differed from the other. All were warriors, all of which appeared to be from different timeframes. Most prominently were various kinds of Viking like warriors that Naruto eventually recognized to be Asgardians. But in between that were some light and dark elves, giants, dwarves, hell he recognized some Earth military uniforms in the crowd.

    He was completely surrounded by a never-ending wave of frozen zombies. Great.

    A frozen Nazi officer then suddenly broke from the crowd, charging towards him with a bayonet in hand. Naruto didn''t let him get too close, quickly incinerating him mid-run.

    Not far behind him, the rest of them charged in.

    Naruto was quickly suffocated by the three-hundred and sixty-degree charge, quickly activating his Six Path''s Sage Mode to help keep him at a constant advantage. Knowing Matatabi''s chakra was his best bet, Naruto quickly summoned an insane amount and pushed it out around him, blowing away any of the zombies that were too close for comfort.

    Now able to move freely, Naruto was quickly on the assault. His limbs encased in his trusty blue flames, Naruto was unencumbered enough to flail his arms and legs in precise strikes and attacks, doing his best to get only one hit kills to hasten the fight.

    One after the other, after zombie Nazi, after zombie Asgardian, after zombie Mongolian, after zombie dentist strangely enough, Naruto continued his onslaught.

    Huge columns of azure flames scorched Hel''s earth, blasting and incinerating countless warrior zombies.

    Tremendous waves of cobalt inferno, bombatious bursts of sapphire explosions, and blazing walls of devouring hellfire kept the zombies at bay.

    And yet, they still kept coming.

    For each he killed, it seemed like five more took their place. It was maddening.

    His breath growing heavy from slight fatigue but mainly annoyance, Naruto killed another squadron of Hel''s soldiers, "This is ridiculous."

    Quickly avoiding a sneak attack, Naruto went on the move. Running and attacking at the same time, he attempted to cover some ground and fight at the same time. The quicker he got to Nastrond, the better.

    It was as he was running that he came head to head with an open circle the zombies seemed to be avoiding. And in the center of that circle, stood a single hooded figure.

    His cloak appeared to be made entirely of darkness, his face hidden by the deep shadow of his hood.

    Now face to face with the figure, Naruto quickly realized that the zombies had stopped attacking.

    While his guard was still up, Naruto made sure to keep within the circle that was apparently out of bounds. His attention halved between the hooded figure and the countless zombies surrounding them, Naruto used this time to catch his breath.

    And then, the figure moved. Shifting his stance so he and Naruto were facing the same direction, his blue, partially frozen, hands then flew up and began to weave hand signs at a shocking speed.

    Before Naruto could react, the figure took a mighty heave before releasing their breath. That breath was a humongous bellow of fire, the fiery element almost instantly disintegrating anything in its path. This path made a wide hallway through the zombie crowd.

    A path now made, the figure began to walk through the wide path he''d made. Realizing Naruto was too busy staring after him in confusion and wonder, the figure motioned his head to follow him.

    Naruto, blinking rapidly, could only follow after the hooded figure stiffly.

    Walking through the path and exiting the crowd, the blonde stopped. Looking back at the crowd, he raised an eyebrow at the site of the countless zombies facing the two of them, their blank faces glaring at them harshly.

    Turning sharply to the hooded figure, Naruto asked, "Who the fuck are you?"

    The figure shifted to partially face Naruto, a voice peeking out from beneath the hood, "I suppose it''s been a long time since the last time we spoke."

    His eyes glaring, Naruto said, "You used fire ninjutsu. A powerful one. Who are you." He insisted again.

    Pulling the hood down, the figure finally turned fully to the blonde, "I''m glad you don''t think my skills have dwindled after all this time. It''s good to see you again, Naruto."

    Naruto immediately recognized the man behind the hood, the man''s long jet-black hair flowed down his face smoothly, his pale complexion mixed in with the frozen purple and blue the rest of the Hel zombies shared, and a single red cloth was wrapped tightly around his eyes.

    "Itachi?"

    Itachi smiled, "Hello, Naruto."

    "Wha¡­what?" Naruto stuttered, "How? What?"

    "Follow me, they won''t be like that for much longer." Itachi said, referencing the zombies, continuing to walk in the direction they''d been going in.

    Itachi, who''d gone from a mild walk to a blitzing sprint, zipped along the frozen tundra. Naruto, now left behind, yelled after him, "He-hey, wait for me!"

    With his Six Paths Sage Mode activated, it didn''t take long for him to catch up. His eyes still looking ahead, Itachi said, "What are you doing here, Naruto?"

    "I could ask you the same thing." Naruto shot back in disbelief.

    The Uchiha nodded, "I suppose that is fair. It can wait until we get to my camp."

    "Right." Naruto drawled out, "Lead the way¡­I guess."

    Eventually, thanks to the speed they''d been going, the snowing field they''d been running through began to fade away, replaced by chunks of brick tiles littered in a way that may have once resembled a road. The field ended at a vast cliff side, a crumbled stone bridge leading to the other side of the cliff. And on the other side? A massive, practically destroyed tower that sat on a small yet lean island.

    Itachi''s run came to a calm walk, the Uchiha leading Naruto into the tower, a small camp fire burning in the center of the bottom floor. His shoes creaking against the old wood that made up the floor, Naruto raised an eyebrow at Itachi''s "camp."

    "We will be safe in here, this is an Asgardian outpost long abandoned." Itachi said in his usually stoic tone.

    Naruto, standing next to the flames, said, "Itachi¡­what the hell?"

    The Uchiha sighed before saying, "I am sorry for being so discreet, but the Helwalkers will only stay away for so long before their impatience overrides their instincts. It was for the best we get away as soon as possible."

    "What? What do you mean? Is that why they didn''t attack us? Their instincts told them not to?" Naruto asked, confusion plaguing his face.

    Itachi nodded slowly, "In a way. I am¡­special. I have been touched by a being they fear, and I suppose that touch has left a residue they know to avoid. But it only lasts so long. Eventually, they attack out of pure impatience."

    Naruto plopped down on the ground next to the fire, scratching his head frantically in thought, "You need to explain everything. Now. Please."

    Taking a seat next to him, Itachi said, "I''m here because this is a part of my punishment."

    "Punishment?" Naruto asked.

    "Yes." The Uchiha said with a small smile, "The punishment for my crimes."

    "But¡­but you." Naruto started, "But everything you did, you did for the greater good. You did what you thought was right. You were a hero-"

    "When I died, nothing happened." The deceased Uchiha interrupted, "It was like I had been asleep, woken up by Kabuto''s jutsu. And when that jutsu finally ended, I was presented to¡­a judge. She told me that for my sacrifice, I could go to any afterlife I wished. I had the pick of any dimension or reality, whichever I wanted was mine to have. So, I chose here. A cold hell where I was to walk alone for all eternity. And when I got here, I was forced to go through another judgement. This time, they weighed my sins and decided on what to take from me accordingly." Itachi paused, lifting his hand up to pull up the cloth around his eyes.

    Naruto could clearly see that his eyes sockets were empty, "The judge deemed my eyes were enough to even the scale. So now, here I am. A blind man walking alone through Hel. A fitting punishment."

    As Itachi put the cloth back into place, Naruto could only shake his head, "Itachi¡­why?"

    "It is what I deserve. I could not bear facing the people I hurt. My comrades, my family. Sasuke. I could not dream of seeing them again. That would''ve been selfish of me. I think I had been selfish enough in the time I was alive."

    Naruto could only sit there, listening to the fire crackle.

    "Tell me why you are here. Did you¡­did you die?"

    "No." Naruto eventually answered, raising an eyebrow when Itachi seemed to relax, "I''ve been sent here on a quest from a guy named Odin. I''m looking for a place called Nastrond."

    "Nastrond?" Itachi asked.

    "Yeah, you know it?" Naruto asked hopefully.

    Itachi nodded, "Yes, it''s not far from here."

    "Awesome." Naruto said with a smile.

    Itachi seemed to be struggling with his next line of questioning, his forehead scrunched up in thought, "Naruto¡­why are you all the way here, performing a quest for a god that is not of our pantheon? Your being here is¡­confusing."

    It was then that Naruto realized that Itachi had no idea what happened. Swallowing the massive lump in his throat, the blonde said softly, "I failed."

    "What?" Itachi asked, turning his fully to Naruto in astonishment.

    "Madara, he was betrayed by Zetsu. Kaguya Otsutsuki was brought back to life using your forefather as a medium. Sasuke and I tried to fight her, we really tried. But I was nearly killed. And so, Sasuke used this jutsu he''d just learned, and well¡­he sent me to another planet nearly 70 years into the future. By the time I got back everyone was long dead and gone." Naruto explained, too ashamed to even look at Itachi.

    "I see."

    Closing his eyes in frustration, Naruto said, "I''m sorry. Because of me all of your sacrifices were for nothing. I''m so, so sorry-"

    "You are not responsible." The Uchiha interrupted firmly.

    Naruto stopped, eyes wide as he stared at Itachi in shock, "What?"

    "The blame lays on this Kaguya woman, on Zetsu and Madara. On Obito, Nagato. The blame lies on me. We are the ones responsible. I am responsible. I can only imagine the pain you''ve been through. Because of me. Do not ever apologize to me." Itachi said, somehow looking straight at Naruto as he said this.

    All the blonde could do was laugh, "We''re both just a bunch of broken fools, huh?"

    Itachi smiled at that, "You''d have made a grand Hokage, Naruto."

    "You too, Itachi."

    Smiling at that, Itachi got up as he said, "Come. I will take you to Nastrond."

    "Oh, right." Naruto muttered, getting up and following after the Uchiha. Taking notice of the key, he noticed that the pain had dulled quite a bit, now only a slight throb, "Wait, what about the zombie things?"

    "The Helwalkers stay clear of Nastrond. Whatever is in there¡­it frightens them to their core. The few times I have gotten close I felt incredibly uneasy. It was the kind of feeling I''d get when I was around Pain and Tobi." The Uchiha explained, "We should still hurry. Your presence is an unknown variable, and they attack anything in that category without prejudice. I would know."

    "Okay." The Uzumaki muttered, "Let''s go then."

    As they walked out of the tower, Itachi looked back over his shoulder, "Keep up if you can."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Are you challenging me to a foot race?"

    "I don''t challenge." The Uchiha muttered softly, "Let''s move."

    With that, he burst off in a blur of motion. Naruto smiled as he watched the man speed away, "He doesn''t challenge huh."

    "I think you should catch up, brat." Kurama muttered.

    Taking time to stretch his legs as Kurama talked, the blonde said, "I''m going, I''m going."

    Getting in a runner''s stance, Naruto waited another second before blitzing forward. Several seconds later, he was now parallel with Itachi, giving the raven-haired man a large smile and full salute.

    Itachi didn''t seem to want to speak, in fact he barely acknowledged Naruto at all. Instead, he kept pushing forward, taking the lead as the two sprinted towards their destination.

    Their terrain began to change once again, this time becoming more mountainous. Jagged iced over rocks jutted out of the ground, all leading up to a mountain range shaped like an ''M.'' And there, in the center of the two peaks, sat what Naruto at first assumed was a star peeking out and shining through. But as they got closer, he eventually realized that it wasn''t a star, but a door.

    "Is that it?" Naruto asked.

    Itachi, his eyebrows knitted close together, nodded, "Yes."

    "It''s not what I expected¡­well, I didn''t really know what I was expecting." Naruto mumbled as they continued their trek towards the door.

    "Naruto¡­why are you here?" Itachi asked.

    Jumping over a large boulder that was in his way, Naruto said, "I was asked to by this guy, a king. He''s the ruler of this planet or realm called Asgard. He''s dying, and the power that holds the thing in Nastrond at bay is connected to him in some way. As soon as he dies, she gets free."

    "She?"

    Naruto nodded, "His daughter, Hela."

    After a second of thought, Itachi asked, "What do you get out of this?"

    "A powerful object called the Reality Stone. There''s this guy named Thanos who''s after it and five others just like it, each one holds the power to control an aspect of the universe. Space, power, mind, reality, soul, and time. So, I''m trying to find as many of them as I can before he does. I''ve got three right now, this''ll be my fourth." Naruto explained.

    "And what will you do with the Stones?" Itachi asked, "Once this Thanos is dealt with, what happens with the Stones you''ve collected?"

    "I dunno." Naruto shrugged half-heartedly.

    Another second of thought passed, "And if you were to have all six¡­you could control all aspects of the universe?"

    "Yes."

    "Including the power to control life?"

    "¡­Yes."

    Several moments passed between them as they continued to run towards the door. Finally, Itachi asked, "Have you ever been told the story of The Two Tigers and a Strawberry?"

    Naruto looked at the man curiously, "What? No."

    "I suppose you wouldn''t have, not being an Uchiha. My father told it to me many times as a child." Itachi muttered as they avoided a pillar of ice and rock, "A lone man travels along a field, stumbling across a hungry tiger. The man flees, followed closely by the salivating predator. Coming to a precipice, the man uses a lone vine to swing himself over the edge. From above, the tiger sniffs. Trembling, the man looks down below to find another tiger, waiting patiently. Only the vine saved him. The man looks around, spotting a fresh strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he uses the other to reach for the luscious fruit. And oh, how sweet it tasted."

    Waiting for the man to continue, Naruto eventually realized he had finished his story, "That''s it?" He asked lamely.

    "My father told me that the story explains that you have to enjoy the present moment, that suffering is unavoidable and that you must be grateful for what''s in front of you." Itachi lectured softly.

    Sighing, Naruto said, "I know what you''re trying to say-"

    "My father believed this interpretation was wrong." Itachi said firmly, looking Naruto in the eye, "He believed that the man on the vine was a fool who was too busy enjoying the fruits of life to see that he was in danger. He prioritized the pleasures of life over survival."

    Naruto looked away as he asked, "Is that what you believe then?"

    "Yes, for the longest time." Itachi admitted, "I have always thought that the story was cut off to short. I believe the man used the strawberry to feed the tiger below and climbed the safety. But I think that kind of thinking is what led me to here, what led me down my path of familicide. To spying on Akatsuki. To fighting Sasuke instead of simply talking to him like I should have."

    Before Naruto could continue, he realized the pain coming from his key had faded completely.

    "We''re here." Naruto said, spotting the door as they entered a plateau, a glowing doorway lighting the area in a golden hue.

    Itachi stopped, his blue complexion noticeably paler do to the proximity of Nastrond, "This is where I leave you then."

    Stopping as well, Naruto sighed as he looked Itachi in the eye. Or well¡­as much as he could with the cloth covering the man''s eyes, "Thank you, Itachi."

    Smiling softly, Itachi bowed, "Goodbye, Naruto Uzumaki-"

    The man found himself cut off, enveloped in a tight hug by the now shaking Naruto.

    Ignoring the ice that was building around him as he held onto Itachi, Naruto muttered, "Goodbye."

    Without looking back, Naruto let go of the fallen piece of his home, marching towards the door. Pressing the key on his palm onto the door, he watched as the light faded to reveal an ordinary looking wooden door.

    Turning the nob, Naruto took one last look back, barely catching Itachi turn away as he began his trek back down the mountain side.

    As the door opened and closed, Itachi Uchiha slowly walked away from the door of Nastrond, ignoring the frozen tear streaks along his face, accepting them as the symbol of his eternal anguish.

    -x-

    "How do you think he is doing?"

    Odin hummed from his seat, staring into the fire as he answered his son, "It''s hard to tell."

    The Shadow Clone that Naruto had left behind with the Asgardians shrugged, "I''m sure that the boss is doing fine."

    Amora looked to the clone, "Is there any way for you to know if he isn''t?"

    "Oh, well uh if he makes a clone and said clone pops, I''ll get those memories. So, I''ll get the gist of what''s going on." The Shadow Clone explained, "And the boss likes to throw us around during a fight, so I should be able to relay what''s happening."

    After a moment of silence, Amora turned to her king, "My King, I''ve been wondering, just how powerful is Hela?"

    "Hmm." Odin hummed, running his fingers through his beard as he continued to look into the fire, "It is hard to say. She was a prodigy in all forms of Asgardian combat and having lived her entire life in war she is a battle-hardened warrior. She can summon any weapon and survive any attack. In battle, she would slaughter half of her opponents, resurrect them with her magic, and then have our enemies fighting each other until no one was left. Without her, we would have never been able to have Nine Realms under our banner."

    "What was she like, my sister?" Thor asked.

    His eyes slowly left the flames, Odin gave a sad smile as he said, "She was a complicated creature. She was hateful, cruel, and belligerent towards our enemies, and of those we had many." Taking a shaky breath, he continued, "I met her mother when I was a young prince, during our first invasion of Jotunheiem. She was a giantress, a peasant girl who was unlucky enough to live in a village near the battlefield. It was a bloody war, with both sides losing. We took solace in each other, ignoring our race and prestige in a bid for comfort. From that, Hela was born. A bastard of highborn and lowborn, of god and giant. A child born of war. After the war, I agreed to take her into my house, knowing my people to be more accepting than hers ever would be. It didn''t take long for us to realize she was special. Battle ran through her veins. She craved it, even if she didn''t understand that at first. The only thing she loved more than a fight, was Asgard. But the people¡­they weren''t so enthused. After her banishment, after what she did, they were all too welcome to forget about the hellish half-breed. They etched her out of our history."

    "What did she do?" The Shadow Clone asked, "What was so horrible that her own people would willingly push her out of their memory?"

    Odin kept his eye contact with Thor, "Have you ever wondered, my son, why it is your mother and I took so long to have you, after I had secured all the Realms?"

    Blinking in confusion, Thor said, "No, I never have."

    "It is because you weren''t our first born."

    Both Naruto and Thor looked at Odin as though he''d grown anther head.

    "What?" Thor forced out.

    "Frigga and I had a son before you, my son." Odin elaborated, "His name was Baldur."

    Thor slowly began to process this, "I had an older brother?"

    "Yes." Odin answered softly, "Baldur was born just as the Nine Realms had been unified. He was a beautiful child, so gracious and cheerful he gave a light that warmed you to your core when you neared it. Many believed him to be the symbol of Asgard''s future. Your mother was so fearful that this light would fade, that she used her magic to persuade every object in the Nine Realms to vow to never hurt the Light of Asgard. The only one who refused this vow was Hela."

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    "Why?" Naruto asked.

    The All-Father released a slow breath, "Since his inception, she was plagued with nightmares of a man made of light bringing about Ragnarok. Every night she watched him tear Asgard asunder, plaguing our lands with fire and brimstone. After Baldur was born, she believed that he was the one she saw, that Baldur was to be the catalyst of Ragnarok. She persisted her nightmares to be visions, and that it was her duty to save Asgard at all costs. And when the nightmares became too much¡­she strangled the boy in his sleep."

    The room grew quiet after that for a long moment, no one knowing what to say as they swallowed the All-Father''s story. That silence was eventually interrupted when the Shadow Clone suddenly exploded in a puff of smoke.

    Amora shot up from her chair, "What happened?"

    Following soon after her, Thor said, "It popped."

    The Enchantress gave the prince a side glace that essentially said, ''No shit.''

    "It''s as I feared then." Odin muttered as he stared at the place the clone had been.

    Realizing what the king was saying, Amora said, "You think Nastrond''s enchantments have cut off the connection between the Shadow Clone and the Maelstrom?"

    "I was not sure if the boy''s ability lay within the enchantment''s guidelines, but it seems Frigga''s spell is more powerful than I thought." Odin said thoughtfully, "More than likely any others he has left behind have popped away as well."

    "Do you think he knows?" Thor asked, "He is supposed to know what they know, the clone said."

    "More than likely he won''t know until he leaves Nastrond." Amora answered, "If he leaves."

    Odin remained silent, too preoccupied with staring into the fire, watching as figures danced in the flames.

    -x-

    Naruto raised his hands up over his eyes as he stared out over the vast mountain range he found himself in. The sun, if there was one, seemed to be permanently hidden by the wall of clouds that hung in the sky, leaving the air with a grey hue.

    Jumping down the mountain side, he used Magnet Release to push him off of the ground and fly off in search of his query.

    Flying at top speed for several minutes, Naruto almost missed the cabin that sat on a large plateau. Hovering directly above it, he raised an eyebrow when he realized the building looked to be made of some kind of black metal or stone. Obsidian? Yeah, sure he''d go with that.

    He was about to begin descending when a large slab of said obsidian shot out from the ground, the tip fashioned into a sharp edge.

    It came up so fast and suddenly Naruto almost didn''t dodge it, shouting in surprise as he contorted his body to avoid the attack.

    "Well, this is a surprise. A visitor? My, has father finally sent someone new for me to play with? What was the name of the last one¡­Hermod? I hope you''re more entertaining than that fool was."

    The origin of the voice came from inside the cabin, her strong drawl muffled by the thick stone walls of her abode.

    Dropping down to the ground, Naruto quickly ascended to his Six Paths Sage Mode in preparation. Tightening his muscles in anticipation, he waited as the door to the cabin slowly opened.

    With steady grace, a lithe figure stepped out of the darkness, her form covered by a loose long-sleeved dress that was same color as her obsidian constructs. Her raven hair long and unkept, she looked wild as she smiled at him with a hungry tint in her eye.

    Her bare feet padding against the stone floor, she took several steps closer before stopping just out of arm''s length.

    Raising her chin up in an attempt to look down at him, her smile grew as she asked confidently, "I''ll admit I''m a little rusty, but isn''t it customary for an Asgardian warrior to bow to their Queen?"

    Naruto gave an apologetic smile, "I''m no Asgardian, sorry."

    "Oh?" Hela asked, looking him up and down curiously, "What are you then? You''re not pretty enough to be an elf, and you''re too handsome to be a giant or dwarf."

    Blinking, Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Oh, well I never really thought of a name for what I am now that I think about it. I guess we can go with calling me an Elemental for now."

    "An Elemental?" Hela tested the word, "Never heard of you. Though, that would explain you being on fire."

    "You''re Hela, right?" Naruto asked.

    Raising her arms out in a grandiose fashion, she exclaimed, "I am Hela Odinsdottir, Conqueror of the Nine Realms, Asgard''s Executioner, The Raven King''s War Dog. I am the Goddess of Death-"

    Hela''s introduction was halted by Naruto charging into her, grabbing her by the throat as he slammed her into her cabin. The Goddess of Death didn''t seem to mind all that much, looking at the blonde with amusement.

    "Name''s Naruto." He introduced, "I think you know why I''m here."

    "Of course." Hela returned enthusiastically, "Let me indulge you, Boy."

    Out of thin air, an obsidian hammer appeared in her hand with a loud ''thwang.'' Naruto barely had time to raise his arms up to block before she swung it up into his torso with a shocking amount of strength.

    Naruto was sent skidding back from the hit, shaking his arms to fend of the ringing that was currently vibrating through his bones.

    "She hits hard, brat."

    "No shit." Naruto thought back, "Way harder than I thought she could."

    Quickly, Naruto summoned a pair of Truth-Seeking Balls, shaping them into staffs before giving them a testing twirl.

    "Going all out from the get go huh?" Kurama asked.

    "She''s not someone to underestimate." Naruto said aloud before charging in.

    As he had been recovering, Hela had converted her dress into a tight body suit, running her hands through her hair and transforming it into a strange antler like headpiece. Summoning an obsidian sword to go with her hammer, she smiled gleefully as she charged in to meet the blonde.

    Her smirk would fall as her hammer was vaporized by one of the Truth-Seeking Staffs, her instincts screaming at her to dodge the incoming jab from the second staff. A wall of obsidian shot out from the ground, intercepting the Naruto''s attack just in time.

    As Hela jumped she raised an eyebrow when she saw that the staff had completely vaporized the area it had struck her construct.

    "What kind of magic is that?" She asked herself.

    Naruto charged in, doing his best to get in a good hit with his highly destructive constructs. Hela proved more agile than the blonde could''ve thought, dodging and swerving around the staffs with a royal grace.

    Taking a hit to the arm, she frowned as she felt the spot disappear, leaving a hole in her bicep. Her healing factor taking over in an instant, Hela jumped back to avoid any more of those blasted staffs.

    Twirling her sword, she closed her eyes as she began to draw on her reserves. Naruto raised an eyebrow as what looked like black mascara suddenly appeared around her eyes. He quickly recognized what she was doing.

    "She can draw on Natural Energy?" Naruto asked in wonder.

    Opening her eyes, Hela looked at the blonde with predatory eyes. Her sword now covered in a dark green aura, she charged forward with an increased speed.

    Quickly ducking to avoid the horizontal slash, he felt her cleave off a chunk of his hair. Realizing she was going for a vertical downward cut, Naruto raised up one of his staffs on instinct, cranking up its capability for destruction as high as he could.

    He could only watch in horror as her blade sliced through his staffs like butter, the sword coming down on him with the promise of death.

    Hela smirked in satisfaction as she cut through his weapon and then him soon after, only to frown as he exploded in a puff of smoke.

    "What?" She wondered aloud, looking around the area for the blonde.

    Naruto, who was hiding behind a pillar of stone, was going over recent events in his head, "Of course she can use Natural Energy. Odin said she drew her power from Asgard, I should''ve known he was being literal. All-Father''s aren''t metaphorical about this kinda shit."

    "As long as she can draw from this planet¡­or whatever it is this place is, she can negate the Truth-Seeking Balls. That''s one of your big plays brat, what''s the plan now?" Kurama asked.

    "I don''t know." He admitted with frustration, "From what Odin said she can heal from any wound, which is why my plan was to use the Truth-Seeking Balls as a get around. Now I''ll have to go with plan b."

    "Battle of attrition?"

    "Battle of attrition." He confirmed.

    His strategy session was interrupted by an obsidian slab erupting in front of him, driving into the wall behind him with the tip spearing the area right next to Naruto''s head.

    "That was a warning shot, Boy." Hela called out, "Don''t make this boring for me, I''d hate to have to send my father''s sacrifices after you."

    Walking out into the open, Naruto eyed Hela carefully from across the plateau, "I never thought I''d meet someone who could use Sage Mode like I can."

    "Sage Mode?" Hela questioned, "What a silly name."

    "What do you call yours then?" The blonde asked.

    "Strength." Hela answered.

    Summoning his chokuto, Naruto flipped it in a reverse grip as he channeled Lightning Chakra into the blade. As he shot off towards her, he quickly created three Shadow Clones who followed after him on the war path.

    His blade clashed with Hela''s, the blonde grunting as he felt the energy from her blade nearly break though his lightning. The sword lock wasn''t allowed to last for long, as one of his clones dived in with a vertical slash towards the crown of her skull.

    The clone''s life was cut to shreds by an obsidian spear that ejected from the ground into his neck. The two others managed to deflect the spears she''d sent their way, coming in for a slash at her neck and knees respectively.

    Blocking the strike at her neck with her other sword, she then summoned another obsidian wall to deflect the slash at her knee, a loud double clang echoing around them.

    From the wall, a spike shot out and lodged itself into the clone''s stomach.

    The expected puff of smoke was replaced by a massive explosion that swallowed Hela and the two Narutos.

    "Storm Release: Laser Circus!" Naruto thought as he went through the necessary hand seals. Shoving his hands in front of him, a ball of light soon surrounded his conjoined fists before multiple laser beams shot forward towards the cloud of smoke his clone had left behind.

    The force from the beams cleared the smoke in their path, revealing a perfectly fine Hela who was quickly drilled into by the jutsu.

    Flying through her cabin, Hela was carried over the plateau and sent careening into to rocky slopes below.

    Following after her, Naruto quickly appeared right in her personal space.

    "Rasenmori!" Channeling chakra into his arm, Naruto grunted as he quickly summoned his attack before shoving it forward. The spiraling spear of chakra drove cleanly through Hela''s torso, the woman grunting in pain as the attack sent her flying into a stone pillar.

    Landing next to her crater, Naruto didn''t let up as steam began to build along his arm, "Boiling Release: Erupting Propulsion Fist." He called out loud as Hela tried to pick herself up. The steam now built up to its boiling point, Naruto finally released the buildup and fired his arm into Hela''s face.

    The pillar Hela had been lodged in was obliterated, with Hela being sent flying once again.

    Pushing herself up, Hela heard the blonde''s voice call out, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

    Summoning a sword and driving it into the ground, she managed to keep herself from being sent flying any more than she already had.

    As the wind finally died down, his voice could be heard once again, "Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu!"

    Immediately deducing that the attack would be coming from the ground, Hela jumped up into the air to avoid whatever the blonde had in store. She would be disappointed though when instead of an earth-based attack, Naruto instead appeared just above her, a disk of energy in his hand.

    Smirking in satisfaction from the surprised look on her face, Naruto heaved his Rasenshuriken into the Hela''s direction. With the close distance between them, it only took a second for the attack to make contact, exploding on impact. Due to their close-proximity, Naruto was hit by the wave of wind, popping in a puff of smoke.

    Naruto, who''d been watching his Shadow Clone from the ground below, smiled at the successful combo.

    As Hera''s smoking form descended to Naruto''s level, Kurama spoke from within the seal, "I''ll admit, that was a pretty smart move, shouting the names of your techniques out loud so she''d think she knew what was coming only, to pull her into a trap with a fake out. Never thought you''d have it in you."

    "Yeah well-"

    "Are you done yet?"

    Picking herself up, Hela looked the blonde with annoyance. Patting away the dust and debris that had accumulated around her person, the Goddess of Death asked again, "Are you done yet?"

    "Uh, well-"

    Naruto gagged as Hela grabbed him by the throat, slamming him down in the ground with enough force to crater the earth with a sick crack.

    Pressing her heel up against his chest with an incredible amount of strength, she said, "Where''s the key, Boy?" Before he could grunt out an answer, she spotted it on the palm of his hand, "Ah there it is. Hold still while I take that off your hand."

    Summoning a sword with a thwang, she said, "This''ll hurt."

    As she went to cut off his hand, Naruto quickly summoned a hand made out of chakra from his cloak, grabbing the blade in time. Summoning another hand, he drove it into her chest to separate the two of them long enough for him to get up.

    "You''re not getting this key. You''re dying today." Naruto said softly as he allowed his chakra arms to recede back to him.

    Hela scowled at him, "I''m getting out of here, Boy. Now that I have a way to get out of this hellscape, there''s nothing in the universe that''s going to stop me."

    "I don''t know why you''re here, hell I don''t know why I''mhere. But all I know is that I can''t let someone like you out into the world. I''ve dealt with enough of that before, I''m not really in the mood for a sequel." Naruto said.

    "We''re here for the same reason." Hela drawled, "We''re here because of that old fool I called my father."

    Naruto and Hela began circling one another, watching for any sign of attack, "Why did he send you here? You''re his daughter, why would he banish you here? What did you do to Asgard that was so terrible?"

    Hela summoned an obsidian sword and hammer into her hands, "I didn''t do anything to Asgard. I did it for Asgard. If that fool can''t see that, then fine. But I''m getting out of here. When I''m free, Asgard will welcome me back with open arms, Odin be damned. I know it. I''m the reason they''re what they are now. I saved them from Ragnarok! I am their Queen!" The Goddess of Death exclaimed with true conviction, "They''ll love me, they''ll have to have missed me. And knowing that¡­knowing that I can''t stay here a secondlonger."

    Both at once, they charged into each other.

    Naruto did his best to avoid the flurry of blades that came his way, all while trying to get in a good hit himself. For every punishing hit he gave, she returned the favor with a deep cut. Both fought through the pain, the blonde knowing that any sign of slowing down would mean a debilitating blow, and because nothing he did gave her any lasting damage.

    As their brawl grew in intensity, time seemed to slow down as each of them found an opening in the other''s guard.

    With a roar, Naruto shoved a Rasengan into Hela''s face.

    With a battle cry, Hela drove her energy encased hammer into Naruto''s stomach.

    The following explosion ripped through the mountain range.

    -x-

    "You''re not doing so good, brat."

    "Shu¡­shut up."

    As he said this aloud, Naruto grunted as he got up from the crater Hela had sent him in. His chakra cloak having faded, his clothes were torn to shreds, blood dripping heavily down the side of his face, and a red pool had begun to form along his abdomen running down into his pants.

    Stumbling as he got up, he flinched as he heard his blood begin to drip down onto the ground.

    "Fuck." He cursed, gingerly feeling his wound. A few of his ribs were poking out of the skin, though luckily Kurama had already begun the healing process.

    Stepping forward, the blonde ripped his shirt off his person out of annoyance, grunting as his healing ribs grinded roughly in their partially broken state, "I''m sure she''s perfectly fine¡­which is just fucking great for me."

    "She can keep up with you in Six Paths Sage Mode, she can negate what''s probably your most destructive technique, and anything else you throw at her she can shrug off. She''s a doozy, brat." Kurama observed, "You''ve still got Cosmic Sage Mode though."

    Naruto sighed, "Yeah, yeah I guess. I think I''m gonna tire her out a bit before I pull that out."

    "And how do you plan on tiring her out, exactly?" Kurama wondered.

    "That Natural Energy of hers has to run out eventually, she''ll be too tired to heal herself like she does. Then that''ll give me the opening I need." Naruto explained tiredly, though admittedly he was feeling better with Kurama''s healing.

    Climbing up and over a rocky slope, Naruto looked out over the mountain range in search of Hela. Quickly spotting her sitting lackadaisically down below him. Giving him a lazy wave and smile, she said, "You survived. Congratulations."

    "Thanks." Naruto said back, squinting his eyes as he scratched the back of his head, "You''re a tough customer, lady."

    Hela laughed, crossing her legs daintily, "You''re not so bad yourself, what''s your name again?"

    "Naruto Uzumaki."

    "Naruto Uzumaki." Hela said, testing the name, "A strange title, I think I''ll stick with Boy."

    His eyebrow twitching, Naruto growled out, "I''d come up with a nickname of my own, but I don''t know you good enough to really come up with anything with enough bite to make us even."

    "Hmph." Hela huffed pompously, "Perhaps I hit you a little too hard. I''ve been told I have trouble holding back. But, then again, those were the words of losers. And I have never lost."

    "Never?" The shinobi asked, "You''re here, aren''t you?"

    "I''m alive, aren''t I?" She shot back.

    "Right." Naruto drawled out slowly as his Six Paths Sage Mode reactivated.

    Hela was about to respond when she found a fist lodged in her face, with a crippling kick coming not far behind into her abdomen. Her body sent up momentarily into the air, she was then hit with several jabs all over her person, each hit keeping her in the air long enough for Naruto to send another punishing strike.

    At first Hela ignored the pain, as she healed herself almost as soon as she was hit, but as the barrage continued, she couldn''t help but flinch as the strikes seemed to hit harder and harder. Eventually she grew tired of the onslaught and sent a barrage of her own.

    Naruto jumped back as several spikes of obsidian shot out of the ground, sweating nervously as spikes seemed to sprout from the originals, this trend continuing as the wall of sharp obsidian tried to skewer him to death.

    Shooting his hands out as he tried to use his Magnet Release to stop the slabs from getting any closer, only to curse when they continued unabated.

    "Obsidian isn''t magnetic you damned fool!" Kurama shouted, "Use something else before you get us both killed!"

    "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Naruto thought violently before chanting in his head, "Lava Release: Kagutsuchi''s Wrath!" Slamming his hands together he did a quick set of dodges before slapping them down onto the ground.

    Hightailing it out of the way, he smirked as the ground began to shake violently before a massive plume of lave burst out of the ground, melting the obsidian spikes on contact. The wall of lava easily kept the rest of the spikes at bay.

    Flipping through another set of hand seals, Naruto thought, "Haven''t tested this one out in a fight yet, but here goes nothing. Storm Release: Light Fang!"

    Puckering his lips together, he watched as a thin beam of purple energy shot out of his mouth with an impressive speed. Cutting through the wall of lava and any spikes that got in its way, the thin laser beam locked on to Hela with clear prejudice.

    Quickly summoning a sword, Hela raised her sword that was quickly incased in Natural Energy and intercepted the attack, the woman being sent skidding back but still managing to keep her ground.

    "Damn." Naruto thought, "That should''ve cut right through her Natural Energy, why the hell do I still suck at this? Complete mastery of chakra my ass."

    Jumping back, he covered his face with his arms as Hela decimated the ground in front of him with her sword slash. Quickly finding himself on the backfoot, he summoned a kunai and added Natural Energy of his own as he did his best to deflect her strikes.

    Reaching out with his Magnet Release, he summoned his chokuto towards him. Hela, seeing the sharp sword come flying towards her blade first, summoned another sword before deflecting it.

    Hela now found herself on the backfoot, with Naruto attacking from the front while having his Magnet Release embodied chokuto attack from behind.

    But the Goddess of Death proved to be a better swordsman than he''d ever be, easily fighting off his strategy with pure skill. Their swords clanging with a vibrating harshness, Naruto pushed her back with his superior strength.

    Quickly blowing a stream of fire in her face to get some distance, Naruto followed through by summoning an earth dragon that attempted to swallow her whole, but the woman proved too fast, giving an evasive maneuver before coming in with her own attack.

    Green energy covering her obsidian blades, Naruto knew better than to get hit by an attack like that.

    Dodging the attacks, he then created a Rasengan in each hand. As a sword swung in for a decapitating strike, Naruto deflected it with a Rasengan, the spinning orb holding off the Natural Energy long enough for Naruto to shove the remaining one into her chest.

    The explosion of pure chakra blasted the Goddess off into the dirt.

    Coughing as dust managed to get in her lungs, Hela attempted to get up as best she could with a hole in her torso, only to find a pair of hands pressing into her shoulders from behind. Looking up, she found Naruto smirking down at her.

    "Magnet Release: Journey to the Center of the Earth!"

    In that instant, it felt as though the weight of the world had landed on Hela''s person. The weight proved too heavy for even the earth to handle, pushing her into the dirt as though it were water.

    She could only scream as she descended into the depths of Nastrond.

    Falling on his ass, Naruto caught his breath as he looked down at the Hela shaped hole he''d created.

    "Damn brat, that was brutal. How far do you''ll think she''ll go?"

    "Who knows." Naruto thought with a shrug. Sitting down cross-legged, he closed his eyes in concentration, "I had to have sent her dozens of miles down, that''s a shit ton of weight to get by. When she stops herself, and she will, it''ll take a lot of effort to dig herself out. She should be tired enough for me to use Cosmic Sage Mode safely."

    The sound of the ground shattering filled Naruto''s ears, with a massive mountain of obsidian emerging from the earth soon afterwards. Not long after, several arms shot out of the loosened ground. Slowly, several women dressed in white and gold armor emerged stiffly. Leading the pack was a man wearing what Naruto recognized as Asgardian armor, a battle axe in his hand.

    Raising an eyebrow, Naruto realized these women were undead, going off the fact their flesh had begun to peel and rot away, their sunken eyes glowing a dangerous green.

    "She got out of that pretty quick." Kurama observed as Hela emerged behind her platoon of revived soldiers.

    Grunting with clear exertion, Hela emerged with assistance from her obsidian mountain, her once pristine body suit torn and ruined, her head piece gone leaving her wild hair to flutter in the wind.

    Glaring murderously at the blonde, the Goddess of Death growled, "End him."

    The undead needed nothing else to be said, charging forward as they drew the weapons.

    "Shit." Naruto cursed as he shot up to his feet, his chokuto flying back to his hand just in time to deflect one of the women''s blades from beheading him. Their blades locked, Naruto couldn''t help but take the time to admire the woman''s emerald double-edged blade.

    Pushing her off of him, he withdrew a kunai to block another strike, only for his eyes to widen in shock as the emerald blade cut through his kunai with ease. Jumping back, he gripped the slash he''d gotten, blood caking along his fingers.

    "That''s a Dragon Fang, Boy." Hela warned with a sadistic glint in her eye, "I hope these Valkyries of mine leave enough of you for me."

    "Valkyries?" Naruto questioned aloud as he quickly dodged a triple attack from three separate Valkyrie, the women doing their best to surround and overwhelm him.

    Doing a quick head count, Naruto counted nine of these Valkyries, meaning he had ten of these undead Asgardians to fight including the man who hadn''t jumped in yet.

    Growling as he continued to dodge nine different razor-sharp Dragon Fangs from cutting into him any more than they already had, he flinched as a few lucky pot shots managed to get into his guard.

    "Fuck this." He growled, pushing his hands out, he thought, "Magnet Release: Involuntary Suicide!"

    With a jolt, all nine Valkyrie stopped mid swing, their blades frozen in place. Slowly, their blades began to move on their own, turning on their masters as the tips of their blades began to point towards their necks. The blades rattled as the Valkyrie did their best to keep from killing themselves, knowing better than to let go of the sword.

    But this gave Naruto enough times to form nine hands made of chakra, each hand summoning a Rasengan before shooting off into a predisposed Valkyrie, carefully aiming the Rasengans into the hands that were holding their swords. Taking both their Dragon Fangs and Rasengans to the throats, the undead Valkyrie were blown off their feet.

    Naruto was unable to take a celebratory break, instead maneuvering his body around the axe that tried to split him in half like a banana peel. The ground exploded open with the axe''s impact, the blonde throwing his hands up to avoid getting hit by debris.

    This proved fatal, as the blunt end of the axe found itself lodged in his abdomen. Spitting up blood and spittle, Naruto was sent flying by the brutal attack. Landing on his back, the blonde was thankful he had enough awareness to roll over, missing the axe head that wanted to open his chest up.

    Slamming a hand on the ground, the Asgardian was grabbed by a hand made from the earth, a Hiraishin Seal in middle of its earthen palm. Using his Asgardian strength, the man broke free from the grip.

    The man looking around wildly, he searched for the now missing Naruto. Hearing a whistle from above, the Asgardian looked up to find Naruto hovering up above him, a mass of black energy in his hands. But, almost as soon as his eyes landed on the blonde, he was gone in a flash.

    Grinning viciously as his feet hit the ground, Naruto stood right within the Asgardian''s personal space, the man still looking up at where he''d been while in the air. He didn''t give him the time to realize what was going on, instead shooting his hands out and unleashing his Tailed Beast Bomb pointblank.

    Hela''s eyes narrowed as a massive burst of energy exploded from where Naruto had taken his fight with the Valkyrie and the Asgardian warrior once named Hermod.

    "Damned boy." She cursed as the wounds Naruto had given her with that last attack finally healed. She''d wasted a good bit of energy resurrecting those Valkyrie and Hermod.

    Running her hands through her hair, she molded her head piece into place.

    "I''m getting really tired of you calling me that."

    Turning, she narrowed her eyes when she saw the blonde walking towards her at a lazy pace. He was no longer on fire, his torn clothes and beaten person in full view. Though, there was something different.

    His presence was¡­deafening.

    As he walked closer, she realized that he had markings on his similar to hers. Only the color around his eyes was gold with a matching dot in the middle of his forehead, his eyes now royal purple.

    "What did you do?" Hela asked, almost warily.

    "This is Cosmic Energy. I think people like to call it the Power Cosmic." Naruto informed as he gave his arms some testing stretches.

    Hela seemed floored by this news, "You can control the Power Cosmic? What are you, some kind of Celestial?"

    "Some would think so." Naruto offered with a large smile.

    Giving him another once over, Hela asked softly, "What is your name?" She asked again.

    "Naruto." He answered helpfully.

    "Well then, Naruto, let''s see who dies first, hmm?" Hela offered enthusiastically.

    Swinging her arm out, a sword appeared with a resounding thwang. Charging forward, she took a might swing into his neck. And just as the razor-sharp blade was about to slice into his neck, it burst into a clutter of butterflies.

    Hela blinked, "Wha-"

    A fist lodged itself into her chin.

    She''d never been hit so hard in her life.

    Blood flew from her mouth, her body in the beginning motions of stumbling back when another fist came and hit her in the face again, followed by another into her stomach that landed so hard a sonic boom echoed through the mountain range.

    As Hela was mid-bounce when Naruto seemingly teleported above her, his hands enveloped in a thick purple energy. Thrusting his hands forward, he released the energy into a powerful blast wave.

    Somehow, the Goddess of Death managed to dodge the attack, sending a wave reactionary obsidian spears right for the still air born Naruto.

    A quick wave of his hand, and the spears were turned into dust.

    Following after her, the sage threw around more of his Cosmic Energy to try and vaporizer her. Though he managed to get a few good pot shots in, Hela had managed to do her best in avoiding his powerful attacks.

    Flinching, Naruto cursed as he felt Cosmic Energy he''d gathered begin to slip away.

    "You know transmutation drains your reserves, brat." Kurama chastised, "Now you''re going to be wiped out until you can gather some more, idiot."

    "Shut up, Kurama." Naruto muttered aloud, "I didn''t think it would be so short."

    "It wasn''t helpful that you''ve fired off one large wave of Cosmic Energy after another. Cosmic Energy that she''s managed to dodge, by the way." The Biju grunted irritably.

    Sweat began to build along his brow, his breath getting heavier as the last of his Cosmic Energy left him. Quickly creating a Shadow Clone, he didn''t bother ordering it to go and gather more, the clone sprinting away from the battlefield with gusto.

    Once again, the two stood across from each other. This time though, they didn''t say a word, simply glaring at each other as they regained some footing.

    Without warning, both charged into each other. Fists, knees, elbows, anything they could use to hurt the other they used it, beating the life out of each other with every ground shattering blow.

    Both seemed to lack the energy to do anything other than throw themselves together in a flurry of combos, their vicious and desperate attacks hiding the fact that they couldn''t afford to throw anything else for fear of further exhaustion.

    Catching an elbow that would''ve caved her head in, Hela scowled in effort to keep the appendage at bay. Dropping a fist into Naruto side, she smirked in satisfaction as blood shot from his lips onto her face. Wanting to feel that satisfaction again, she drove her fist into his side again and again, nearly laughing as each hit pained him more and more.

    Finally swatting away one of her punches, Naruto drove his forehead into her nose, hearing her nose crack from the force. As she stumbled back, her nose reknitting itself slower than it might have at the beginning of the fight, Hela spat out the blood that spilled from her nose into her mouth with an unladylike forcefulness.

    Giving off battle cries filled with frustration, anger, and exhaustion, the rushed each other with a murderous abandon. Their hands connecting in the middle, the two engaged in a duel of strength as they tried to force the other into submission.

    As Naruto began to push Hela down into herself, he felt the memories of his clone come flooding in. Giving an exaggerated grunt, Naruto muttered, "Fuck this."

    Like an explosion, energy began to emit from Naruto''s person, his Six Paths Sage Cloak flickering to life. Only this time, the flames of his cloak weren''t golden, but purple. The markings of his seal now glowing gold, his eyes shined a dangerous red.

    Nastrond quaked as his Cosmic Sage Cloak took hold, the ground beneath him splintering from the force of his chakra. The once dark mountain range seemed to find daylight, as the purple sun that was Naruto lit up area around them.

    Eventually, the light around Naruto dimmed, the ground was allowed to rest, and the pressure Hela felt submitted enough for her to breath.

    Lifting his hand up, Naruto quickly formed a Tailed Beast Bomb in the palm of his hand. Three additional, but smaller ones, followed after, rotating around the center sphere like planets would a sun.

    "Survive this." Naruto challenged.

    BOOM!

    A viciously blinding light overtook Nastrond, washing away the mountain they''d been fighting on like a wave from the ocean would a sand castle. Lightning swirled, fires raged, rocks cracked and crumbled.

    As the explosion of light faded, the sound of pure ozone took its place.

    Hovering over the canyon his Planetary Tailed Beast Bomb had created, the blonde searched for any sign of the Asgardian Executioner.

    Spotting movement in the distance, Naruto quickly flew down to get a closer look.

    At the edge of the canyon, pulling herself out of the rubble with her remaining arm, Hela screamed in rage as she freed herself from the obstructing boulders. Panting as she dragged herself along the ground, she glared up at the glowing presence above her. The longer she stared, the look of anger was slowly replaced by frightened realization.

    Raising an eyebrow, he frowned as he looked at the bisected woman, her missing arm slowly worming its way back to its full-grown state, her lower half growing back at a much slower pace than before.

    Slowly, Naruto descended to the ground below, landing gracefully in front of the Goddess of Death, the woman starring up at him as she tried to come to terms with what she''d realized.

    "I don''t have long before this form begins to take its toll, so I guess I should end this now." Raising his hand up, Naruto summoned a Rasengan in his hand, the sphere of spinning chakra mixed heavily with Cosmic Energy.

    "If it''s any consolation, I''m sorry."

    Pulling back, he frowned as he readied the finishing blow-

    "It''s you."

    Only to stop at her whispered final words.

    Blinking, he asked, "What?"

    Naruto could truly say he was shocked, as tears began to build along Hela''s eyes, her Natural Energy finally fading away, "You''re the one. The one from my visions. You are the one I saw. Not...not¡­"

    His arm lowering, Naruto watched as the Goddess of Death began to wretch, fighting for her words. His face devolving into pity, he asked, "Not who?"

    Collapsing in on herself, Hela managed to fight off unconsciousness long enough to mutter, "Not him."

    As his Rasengan faded away, the purple fire that enveloped him disappeared, and the Power Cosmic that flowed through him left him, Naruto realized his legs seemed to think they were made of jelly.

    Dropping onto the ground, he grunted as an overwhelming wave of exhaustion flooded his body. Sweat dripping down his face, his breathing ragged, and his clothes in tatters, Naruto cursed when he realized he wasn''t going anywhere for a while.

    "So much for making this quick." Kurama said with a low sigh.

    "Mhmm." Naruto thought, too tired to speak.

    -x-

    The crackling of fire eating away wood was what woke her up. The smell of cooking food is what got her attention.

    Shooting upright, Hela looked around frantically in an attempt to understand her new situation.

    It was night, well more cloudy than usual. A camp fire was burning just a few feet away from her, and Naruto Uzumaki was sitting directly across from her, holding a cup of noodles over the fire with a hungry look on his face.

    "When was the last time you''ve eaten?"

    Blinking, Hela made to speak, only to realize her throat was incredibly dry, forcing her voice into a hoarse wheeze, "What?"

    "When was the last time you ate?" Naruto repeated, "Or drank?"

    "Fifteen hundred years, give or take." Hela offered with a blas¨¦ flip of the wrist, only to wince as she realized she''d used her recently regrown arm, the fresh arm still incredibly sore from the rabid regrowth.

    Sighing, he reached over to his side and tossed her a bottle of water.

    Watching as it bounced in front of her, she raised a questioning eyebrow towards the blonde.

    Sighing again, he muttered, "If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn''t poison you. I''d just kill you."

    "Then why haven''t you?" She demanded with force, "Why didn''t you end it, why don''t you now?"

    "Because I want to know what you did." Naruto answered truthfully, "Your dad didn''t bother to share with me before I left, but I managed to gather that it was something big. I''d like to know if you''re really so evil that I need to preemptively deal with you before you get released from this hellhole. That there was no saving you from yourself. That you''re a lost cause who needs to be wiped away. In my experience, very few are unredeemable. Give me time, and I''d break through to them if I really tried. But if you''re just another Madara, or Kaguya, then I''m gonna do what needs to be done."

    Hela looked at him for a long time, her eyes narrowed with clear hesitance. Grabbing the water bottle gingerly, she slowly unscrewed the cap before taking a tentative sip. Tasting nothing extra other than the blood in her mouth, she tipped her head back and downed more of the water.

    Smiling as she finished off the bottle, Naruto looked back to his ramen cup. Pulling it away from the fire, he slowly pealed the lid away before adding the seasoning packet to the noodles.

    "What is that?"

    Looking up from his noodles, he spotted the Goddess of Death eyeing his ramen with a critical look.

    "This?" Naruto asked as he raised his cup. When she nodded, he continued, "It''s called ramen. They have this kina thing in Asgard?"

    "I wouldn''t know."

    "Huh, yeah I suppose you wouldn''t."

    Sipping at the broth, Naruto smiled at the familiar taste. As he began to dig it, his eyes would flicker up to see Hela looking at him curiously.

    Halfway through with the cup, Naruto lowered it from his lips as he asked, "You want the rest?"

    "Yes." She said softly after several seconds of hesitance.

    Getting up, he knelt down next to her and handed her the still warm cup.

    Handling it gently, she brought it up to her lips and began to slurp on remaining noodles and broth.

    As she slurped away, Naruto asked, "Do you like it?"

    "It''s fine." She answered with a mouthful.

    "Fine?" Naruto tested, shaking his head in defeat as he sat down next to her.

    Looking at him from her peripheral, Hela asked, "Do you think it''s smart to sit so close?"

    With just a few feet between them, Naruto shrugged, "Maybe not for you."

    "Hmph." Hela scoffed, her eyes narrowing dangerously as she said, "Is my life really hanging on my origin? Do you really think something like that matters?"

    "For me? Yes." Naruto answered matter of factly, "I need to decide if I''m going to eat the strawberry or try and fight the tiger."

    Hela raised an eyebrow at the blonde''s strange sentence. Turning her attention to the ramen cup in her hands, she stared into the nearly empty cup in thought.

    "By all accounts, I am the bastard child of Odin Borson. My mother was a lowly giantress who wanted nothing to do with me. My father took me into his house, wanting to use me as a weapon to further Asgard''s ambition of manifest destiny. I trained for Asgard. I fought for Asgard. I killed for Asgard. I tortured, betrayed, and decimated for my realm. I lovedAsgard. But I wasn''t a part of their world, not fully. I knew it, they knew it. Eventually, after we''d conquered our ninth realm, my father found true love. King Odin and Queen Frigga began to dream of peace, of ending my campaign of war and conquest. And as their dreams came true, they deemed it time to sire a child. By the time peace was brought to the realms, she gave birth to a true Odinson, a boy named Baldur." Hela paused as she took another sip from the ramen cup.

    Naruto watched as she collected herself, allowing her to continue her story.

    "He is beautiful, they''d say." Hela recalled, "A babe so glorious he shines of pure Asgardian light, a royal purple that emulates his stature. But I refused to see him. Why should I have? This brat had taken my right to rule, he was the symbol of everything I wasn''t. Every day, Frigga''s handmaidens would request my presence in her chambers, with me giving an excuse to avoid it every time. Eventually, Odin came to me himself, ordering me to see my sibling. So, as any good soldier does, I obeyed. I came up to her chambers, I walked up to his crib, and I took that babe in my arms. I held him and came to a quick conclusion. I was whelmed. I wasn''t impressed, nor disappointed. All I saw was a baby. A weak, fragile creature who happened to glow a fun, if inconvenient, color. Then, Frigga told me why she really wanted me there. She informed me that she had cast a spell, asking all objects within the Nine Realms to never harm her precious Baldur and the light he gave off until he was strong enough to defend himself. She told me that due to my strength, she needed to ask me in person. I refused."

    "Why?" Naruto asked, truly curious.

    "She asked me the same question." Hela admitted in thought, "And I asked her who could possibly be able to hurt such an innocent creature? What kind of monster would do such a thing? I told her that I''d make sure he was strong enough that she''d never have to worry. She banished me from her chambers."

    Swirling the ramen around in the cup, The Goddess of Death continued, "Then the visions came. I saw Asgard, the place I''d trained, fought, killed, tortured, betrayed, and decimated for, set on fire. I watched every night as my home was destroyed by an unholy force of nature. I watched as a man covered in a purple light stood amongst the flames, letting them consume the realm in its entirety. It didn''t take long for me to realize that Baldur was who I was seeing, who could mistake that light for anyone else? I told Odin of my visions, but he scoffed at me, claiming them to be silly nightmares. I held my tongue, hoping he was right. But every night the visions grew longer, more intense. Every night I watched my brother become a monster. I, as Asgard''s guardian and executioner, knew something needed to be done to prevent this horrible occurrence. But I needed to be sure. I needed to know for a fact that Baldur was the monster I needed to slay."

    "Was he?" The Jinchuriki asked softly.

    "I snuck into Frigga''s chambers, came upon the crib, and took him into my arms. But I no longer saw an innocent baby. All I saw was fire and brimstone, pain and suffering, death and despair. So, I wrapped my hand around his neck and strangled the life out of him."

    Naruto could only watch as she set the cup down, lifting her head up in his direction. Clearly on the verge of tears, Hela said, "But I was wrong. I killed that boy for nothing. I''m not a monster slayer, I''m not the wronged hero. I''ve spent the past fifteen hundred years thinking what I''d done was worth it, that Asgard would know I''d saved them. That they wouldn''t let my sacrifice go to waste. But now I know that if I return, I''d return as the monster who killed a defenseless child."

    It was then that Naruto realized what she''d meant at the end of their fight. Leaning forward he asked, "You think you saw me, don''t you? That I''m the one in your visions."

    "Yes. But my track record doesn''t impart confidence." Hela muttered softly, her eyes still on Naruto as she said, "Though with that power you showed, I guess you could if you wanted to."

    "Yeah, maybe." Naruto admitted.

    Fiddling with the ramen cup in her hands, Hela asked, "Do you want this back, you know, before you kill me?"

    "No, I think I''ll let you keep it." The blonde said as he got up with a grunt, "As a memento, I guess."

    Hela was floored as she watched Naruto begin to limp away, "You''re not going to kill me? After everything I just told you? Why? Why won''t you just do what everyone wants you to do and end me?! I deserve it, don''t I?"

    Naruto stopped, turning his head towards her as he frowned softly.

    Frowning from her spot near the fire, Hela asked, "Don''t I?"

    Turning to her fully, Naruto gave her one of his trademark smiles.

    -x-

    Sitting within Odin''s cabin, the All-Father himself and Amora sipped at their tea in a comfortable silence. That silence was interrupted by a flash of light and a pair of boots landing on the ground.

    Amora was out of her seat in a heartbeat as she watched Naruto appear in their cabin, stumbling as he nearly collapsed onto the floor. Clearly suffering from exhaustion, she rubbed his back soothingly as he caught his breath.

    "How long¡­was I gone?" Naruto demanded.

    "A month." Amora answered softly, "28 days, to be exact."

    "I was gone that long?" Naruto demanded, cursing himself in his head.

    "How did it go? Is she¡­?" The Enchantress asked as she helped Naruto to his chair.

    Sighing in relief as he took a seat, Naruto muttered, "I fought her, I beat her."

    Odin, taking a sip of his tea, muttered passed his cup, "You let her live."

    "Yeah, yeah I did."

    Amora, a horrified look on her face, asked, "You let the Goddess of Death live? Why would you-"

    "I gave her a choice. She knows I can beat her, I know I can beat her. She''s either gonna eat the strawberry or confront the tiger." Naruto said softly, "Sage, I''m worse off than I thought if that Hiraishin took this much out of me."

    Odin stared at him with his lone eye, a hard gaze boring into Naruto''s soul. Letting up, he took another sip from his tea, "The Reality Stone is on Knowhere, under the protection of The Collector."

    Raising an eyebrow, Naruto asked, "You''d follow through with your end, even though I refused to fulfil mine?"

    "I see no reason not to." The All-Father reasoned, though his tone held a cryptic tone that made Naruto uneasy.

    Shrugging the forbidding feeling away, Naruto looked to Amora, "So, did I miss anything?"

    A nervous look suddenly reached The Enchantress''s face, "Well..."

    "Well what?"

 28 Break my fall

    Naruto seethed as he punched a hole in the cabin''s wall, "That damned fucking idiot!"

    Amora watched as the shinobi wrenched his hand free, shrinking into herself as she said, "The Avengers have been missing in action for a few days now, no one knows where they went after Anthony Stark stopped the green monster known as the Hulk."

    As he tried to calm himself down, the memories of the clone he''d left behind finally began to flood in.

    The clone had been present during Tony and Bruce''s work on the Mind Stone for three days, the two having managed to assemble an artificial intelligence by analyzing the innerworkings of the stone, with Tony intending to use the AI for a program he''d been workshopping dubbed ''Ultron.'' The two, with Naruto''s supervision, did their best to map out Ultron''s self-awareness but found little success. They had shelved it for the day when the Shadow Clone had popped.

    So, taking advantage of Naruto''s absence, Tony decided to continue his work with Ultron and the Mind Stone.

    "Please, do refrain from making another hole in my wall." Odin called from near the fireplace, "This shack is flimsy enough without you throwing your fists around."

    "This isn''t the time, old man." Naruto breathed out in a clipped tone, "I need to get to where ever it is that idiot is, so I can wring his fucking neck."

    "Hmm, well perhaps my son can be of assistance."

    Raising a confused eyebrow, Naruto was about to question the All-Father when the cabin''s door suddenly came flying open, Thor storming in with a clear mission in mind.

    "Father, I need you to tell me all that you can about the Infinity Stones-" Thor paused, stopping midsentence before turning to his fellow blonde warrior, "Naruto?"

    Giving a surprised wave, all Naruto could muster was a measly, "Hey."

    "Naruto!" Thor bellowed as he wrapped the shinobi in a mighty bearhug, "Where have you been? When your clones popped, and you didn''t return, people began to assume you''d been-"

    "Hey buddy." Naruto wheezed out, feeling his lungs get smooshed together by the Thunder God''s raging biceps, "Mind¡­letting go?"

    Doing as he was asked, Thor took a step back, "Your arrival truly is fortuitous, my friend."

    "Yeah, I kinda wish I''d been here a week earlier." Naruto muttered as he rubbed his sore arms, "What the hell happened? Where''s the rest of the Avengers?"

    "They''re hiding out at Barton''s homestead." Thor answered, "After that witch put Banner under her thrall and had him go on a rampage, Rogers thought it best that the team stay low."

    "Then why are you here?" Amora asked from her corner of the room.

    "Because this witch had Thor under her thrall as well."

    Everyone turned to the All-Father, Thor nodding solemnly, "Yes, father."

    "And what did she show you?" Odin asked serenely, not bothering to look away from the fire.

    "I was in Valhalla, surrounded by our people. Heimdall came to me, his eyes blinded, claiming that I would lead our people to Hel and that I would lead them there with my destructive power. I was then shown six stones covered in a golden fist, and a pair of eyes opening for the first time." Thor recounted, clearly troubled by what he''d been shown.

    "You saw the Infinity Stones?" Naruto asked.

    "Yes." Thor answered with a nod, looking to his father, "That''s why I came here. You know more about them than anyone else."

    "Hmm, there are a few who know more than I." Odin admitted, his eye flickering to Naruto, "It seems his return was fortuitous indeed."

    "It can''t be a coincidence that this Ultron has the Mind Stone in his grasp and that his underling would show you a glimpse of it. Clearly it is significant." Amora surmised, "What is truly vexing is this vision of a blinded Heimdall prophesizing the end of Asgard."

    "Was there fire?" Naruto asked, "Or a purple light?"

    This caught Odin''s attention, the elderly king looking to the shinobi with an unreadable expression.

    "No." Thor answered, "There was no fire or purple light. I was covered in lightning, destroying everything around me."

    The room grew quiet after that.

    Until a question popped into Naruto''s mind, "Wait, what witch?"

    "Ultron has recruited two powerful metahumans to his cause." Thor explained, clearly not their biggest fan, "I believe Rogers and Hill called them the Maximoff twins."

    "Shit." Naruto cursed aloud, massaging his forehead to fight off his ever-growing headache.

    "You know of them?" Thor asked.

    "Yeah." Naruto answered tiredly, "I ran into them before you guys asked me to go off into Hel. It makes sense that this Ultron thing would seek them out, those two hate Tony more than anybody."

    "Well, what now?" Amora asked.

    Naruto walked up to Thor, putting his hand on the Thunder God''s shoulder, "Well, I don''t know about Thor, but I plan on ripping out Tony''s facial hair. One follicle for every snarky remark he was to say when I ask him what the fuck he was thinking."

    Thor gave a massive, slightly bloodthirsty, smile, "That sounds very amusing, can I watch?"

    "Sure, I''ll even let you pick how I do it."

    "Odin''s beard, I''ve missed you."

    And with that, the two warriors were gone in a yellow flash.

    -x-

    Birds sang tranquilly, their chirps echoing along the homestead''s large property. Resting within that property, a worn barn creaked and groaned with each blow of wind that bounced off its walls. Breaking through the sounds of nature, two voices could be heard from within the barn.

    "You''ve come up with some pretty impressive inventions, Tony. War isn''t one of them."

    Nick Fury sat on a bale of hay, looking up at the clearly flustered Tony Stark.

    Tony scoffed for a second, pacing within the barn Laura Barton had led him into, trying to get some distance from the former director of SHIELD.

    His face relaxed into a depressed frown as he stood next to the tractor Laura had asked him to fix, "The stone, it¡­showed me things. I watched my friends die. You''d think that''d be as bad as it gets. Nope, wasn''t the worst part-"

    "The worst part was that you didn''t." Nick interrupted, getting up from his seat to stand next to his first recruit.

    Tony looked up, his face going from surprised to understanding as he processed the Director''s words.

    The sound of feet shuffling against grass came within their earshot, warning them that someone was running up to the barn. Running through the barn door with a huff, Laura breathed out, "Naruto''s here."

    A sinking feeling washed over Tony, the man laughing nervously as he heard Naruto''s voice from outside, "How is he?"

    Laura smiled apologetically, "I think it''s best I don''t tell you."

    Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Fury began to walk out of the barn, "Some friendly advice when dealing with an angry Naruto Uzumaki, shut up and take it. The kid''s got a nasty left hook."

    Tony sat down at the stool in front of the tractor, sighing as he heard Fury say he was in the barn from outside. Laura stood in the doorway, her hands folded over her pregnant stomach as she waited as well. Picking up a nearby wrench, the man tinkered with the motor with no real intension to fix it.

    Perking up as she saw Naruto come through the doorway, she gave an uneasy smile, "Naruto!" She called as pleasantly as she could, wrapping him up in a hug before he could say a word.

    "Hey, Laura." Naruto greeted with a small smile, returning the hug, "How''s the baby?"

    "Oh, lively as ever." She answered light heartedly, "Do you want me to get you some lemonade? I just made some for Steve, I''m sure he wouldn''t mind sharing."

    "Sure, I''ll head over to the house in a minute."

    Getting the hint, Laura gave him a pat on the cheek before heading back to the homestead.

    Trying to cut the tension, Tony looked up from the tractor, "I didn''t want any¡­thanks for asking." But the quip failed to land, simply getting Naruto''s attention.

    "One week." Naruto started, his voice strained with frustration, "I told you that you had one week with the Mind Stone."

    Tony sighed, setting down the wrench as he responded, "I know-"

    "My clone popped after three days. That gave you four more to do whatever it was you wanted to do before you gave it Magik. And don''t act like there was no way to get a hold of her, I''m not in the mood." Naruto interrupted bluntly, "How long did you decide to extend it?"

    "Two weeks." Tony answered.

    "Two and a half weeks with the Mind Stone." Naruto surmised quietly, "And in that time, you completed the Ultron Program¡­how did that go for you?"

    "Not well-"

    "No shit!" Naruto bashed, "What happened?"

    The Stark sighed in defeat, "When your clone popped, Bruce and I decided to proceed without you for the rest of the week. At first, we planned to follow through with the deal, but by the time the week came to an end we''d made more progress with Ultron than we thought we would. He was conscious. He was aware. I''d never seen anything like it. Not with Jarvis, not with Friday. None of the artificial intelligence I''d created were as alive Ultron is. And he was compliant. He understood his objective and took to it like a duck to water. He was advancing so rapidly that Bruce and I agreed to hasten his field test, sending him out to Sokovia to assist in controlling a riot that had broken out in the city''s streets. But, something changed after that. He kept asking me to build him a body, a perfect body. He said he couldn''t complete his mission without one, that simply having intelligence wasn''t enough. I told I would, eventually, but for now we needed to focus on improving the Iron Legion. A couple days later he fled with the Iron Legion, stealing the Mind Stone and Loki''s scepter. He disassembled Jarvis''s programming, which bought him plenty of time to do whatever he pleased."

    Tony ran his hands through his hair, his forehead wrinkling from the stress, "A couple days later we figured out he was going to Africa to buy some black market vibranium. We confronted him, but he''d recruited these enhanced Sokovian kids to help fend us off. One kid was as fast as a bullet and the girl put Cap''s, Widow''s, and Point Breaks'' heads through a blender before going and setting off Bruce. The poor guy Hulked out and went on a rampage in Johannesburg. I managed to stop him with Veronica, but the damage was done."

    Naruto leaned against the barn door''s frame, looking away from Tony as he said, "You realize this might not have happened had you just done what we agreed, right?"

    "There''s a chance." He admitted.

    "I should''ve known better than to give you guys the stone. Tinkering with these things is a bad idea in general, nothing good could''ve come from it." Naruto admitted, mentally cursing himself.

    "To be fair, the Tesseract could''ve provided us a method to unlock unlimited energy." Tony argued.

    "And open a door to weapons of mass destruction." Naruto countered, "These things are double edged swords, Tony. Whatever good you get out of it; endless energy, world peace, whatever, it''s just as likely to give you endless misery and countless lives lost."

    Tony got up from the stool with a defeated grunt, "Well kid, what now?"

    "Now you help me find Ultron, so we go and end this. Then I get that stone as far away from you as possible." As Naruto began to walk out of the barn, he finished, "After that, I think I can say with absolute certainty that we''re done. You do you, I do me. But we''re not on the same side anymore. If I find out you do something like this again¡­well, I have a team of my own now. Get it?"

    "Yeah¡­got it."

    Naruto sighed as he walked up towards the homestead, he ran his hands through his hair in an attempt to calm himself.

    He then forced a smile as Lila ran out of the house, jumping over the porch steps and into his arms. Laughing as he caught her, he gave her a quick twirl.

    Setting her down, he asked, "Where''s your old man?"

    "Daddy''s inside with Auntie Nat and Mr. Banner." Lila answered happily.

    Nodding he began to walk inside as Steve walked around the corner, an axe resting on his shoulder and a glass of lemonade in his free hand, "Naruto, you''re back." The man of the past observed.

    "Yeah, I''m back." Looking him over, the Uzumaki asked, "How you feeling?"

    "Better. Just needed to clear my head." Looking around the property he continued, "Pretty easy to do, with how peaceful this place is."

    Naruto nodded, allowing Steve to catch up next to him, "You ever think about finding a place like this? Laying low?"

    "All the time."

    The door flew open once again as Naruto and Steve got onto the porch, Natasha walking out. Looking Naruto over, she stepped aside to let the two men in. As Naruto walked passed her, she grabbed his sleeve, stopping him.

    "Can we talk?" She whispered softly.

    Naruto answered with a slow nod, a frown on his face as he realized how upset she looked. The fact that she wasn''t even hiding it showed how deeply flustered she was.

    Walking in, Naruto gave greetings to Clint and Cooper, the two sitting at the kitchen table. Clint looked the blonde over, "You look like shit, kid."

    Looking down, Naruto realized that he hadn''t changed out of his ruined clothes from his fight with Hela. His shirt was still missing, though he''d put on his ruined jacket, and his pants looked like they''d gone through a butcher''s shop.

    Shrugging, he said, "I''ve had an interesting day¡­or month I guess I should say."

    "Yeah, you''re going to have to explain it a bit better than that." Laura called out from the kitchen. Walking into the living room, she handed the blonde a glass of lemonade, "You vanished, Naruto. You, your clones, you were gone. Thor said something about a quest, but he didn''t go into any details." She explained, giving the Asgardian prince a pointed look.

    Taking a sip from the drink, the Uzumaki gave a sigh before saying, "If Thor didn''t give any details, then I guess all I can say is that I went on a quest to a super weird dimension on an alien planet, where time moved at a different rate of speed. To me it felt like about a day, I guess here it was a month."

    The room was silent for several seconds, followed by a muttered, "Cool," from Cooper.

    "Well, Clint''s got some hand-me-downs from his college days he can spare you. Come on, I''ll show you." Laura said, motioning for Naruto to follow her.

    Finding themselves in one of the spare bedrooms, Laura was going through a few boxes she''d pulled out of the closet. Pulling out a pair of jeans, she threw them over to the blonde, "Here, see if they fit." Seeing his raised eyebrow, she sighed, "If you''re really that embarrassed I''ll turn around."

    Scoffing, Naruto dropped his torn-up pants to the ground before quickly shifting on the gifted set. Laura kept her eyes on the box she was digging through, pulling out a white t-shirt and tossing it over.

    As Naruto put on the shirt Laura continued to dig, she spoke softly, "How bad do you think it''s going to be?"

    Sighing as he pushed his hands through the short sleeves, Naruto answered, "I don''t know. I''m gonna call my team and see if they can give some backup."

    "Do you really think it''s going to be that bad?" She asked, concern layered thinly in her voice.

    "Maybe. It''s hard to say with these kinds of things. I mean, look at how bad things got. Now this robot, Ultron, has enough material to make whatever it is he''s planning. He could cause a lot of damage before we stop him." Naruto offered, flattening the slightly wrinkled shirt with his hands.

    At that, Laura stopped, her hands bunched against a windbreaker jacket tightly, "This is¡­this is really scary stuff." She muttered.

    "If you''re worried about Clint-"

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    "Of course I''m worried." She breathed out. Pausing, she looked at Naruto with a heavy frown, "I''ve been with him since we were 17, Naruto. That idiot signed up for the Marines right out of high school, and I was worried for him then. I was worried during the Gulf War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, every mission with SHIELD, every fight with the Avengers, I''m alwaysworried. But I know he can handle himself. You don''t have to tell me you''ll protect him. I know you, and everyone else downstairs, will do what you can to keep him safe. But, something about this seems different."

    Naruto didn''t know how to respond. Instead, he rested his hand on her shoulder. Smiling at the sign of comfort, she gently shoved the jacket into his chest, "I think I''m gonna go start dinner."

    "Alright." Naruto said softly, watching her walk away with a frown. As she stepped out of the doorway, she paused for a second, looking at whoever was standing outside with a worried frown. As she walked away, Natasha revealed herself.

    "Hey." She said softly, her arms folded under her breast.

    Naruto looked her up and down. Her hair was wet, likely having gotten out of the shower recently. She was wearing a loose hooded jacket and a pair of grey sweatpants.

    "Hey." He answered as she came further into the room, her bare feet padding against the wooden floors.

    Closing the door behind her, she pressed her hand up against it for a moment, collecting her thoughts before saying, "I don''t know if they told you, but we''ve had a rough couple days."

    "Yeah, Thor and Tony said something about it." He responded.

    Turning around, she paused when she realized what he was wearing. A purple and blue windbreaker with a white shirt that had the album cover for Nirvana''s ''In Utero'' emblazoned on the chest, "I didn''t know you and Clint were such Nirvana fans." She said softly.

    "What?" Naruto asked, tilting his head in confusion.

    Smiling at his reaction she said, "Nothing, forget it."

    Sitting down on the bed, Naruto waited for her to join him. As she sat down at an arm''s length away, he said, "So, uhm, what happened?"

    Swallowing a clump of dried saliva in her throat, Natasha said, "We went after Ultron, but there was this enhanced girl with him. She used her powers to get in our heads. Steve, Thor, Bruce¡­me. She made us see things, feel things."

    "What did you see?" Naruto asked.

    Biting the inside of her cheek, she answered, "I saw a lot of things. The Red Room. My training, the things they made me do, the things they did to me. And¡­I saw you."

    "Me?"

    "I saw us, but it wasn''t the past. It was, well¡­I don''t really know when. But you were there. You kept trying to walk towards me, but for some reason I kept running away from you. I wanted to stop, but I couldn''t. And eventually you stopped trying, and after a while I couldn''t see you anymore." Natasha stopped there, frowning as she went over her vision in her head.

    "What are you trying to say, Natasha?" Naruto wondered.

    Turning to him fully, she answered, "After all of this is over¡­I think I''m leaving."

    "What?" Naruto demanded, shocked, "Leaving? Where?"

    "I don''t know." Natasha said, exasperated, "Bruce said he was going to leave after everything was taken care of. After Johannesburg, he doesn''t think it''s a good idea for him to stick around anymore. He''s thinks he''s caused too much damage. And¡­I can''t help but think the same thing about myself."

    The blonde processed this for a moment, "So, the two of you are running off together? Are you two-"

    "No." Natasha answered, "Well, not now. But, maybe. Eventually. I don''t know, to be honest."

    "And what, you''re asking my permission?" Naruto asked, clearly perturbed.

    "No, no not that." She answered quickly, "I just wanted to tell you, if I do."

    Sighing, Naruto got up. Looking down at a shocked Natasha, he frowned as he said, "The Natasha I know doesn''t run away from her problems. She''d face them or die trying. If you wanna retire and move away with Banner to some tropical paradise, you have my blessing. But don''t use me, or Banner, or Wanda as an excuse to run away. Don''t be a coward, Natasha. You never were, and you should be damned before you ever are."

    With that he walked briskly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

    -x-

    The sound of clinking silverware could be heard throughout the inside of the Barton homestead, the entirety of the Avengers loitered throughout the kitchen, dining and living room.

    Lila, who had been drawing a picture on top of the living room''s coffee table, showed the picture to her mother. Laura smiled approvingly before sending her away. Running off into the dining room to Naruto, who was leaning against the wall next to Bruce, she pulled on his pant leg to get his attention.

    Looking down, he smiled at the little girl as she offered him her drawing. Taking it gingerly, his smile grew bigger when he saw that it was a picture of the Barton family. At the right-hand side, Naruto recognized himself in the picture. Who else had such awesome whisker marks? Lila stood in between him and a woman he quickly realized was Natasha. All six of them were holding hands and smiling.

    "That''s an awesome drawing, Lila." Naruto complimented sincerely, giving one of his patented smiles to the little girl.

    Smiling back, she took the picture back before running off to show Natasha.

    "So..." Bruce started as he watched Natasha smile down at the picture, discreetly glancing Naruto''s way as she did, "Did you and¡­uh, well¡­um-"

    "You''re gonna have to form an actual sentence." Naruto said flatly, as he looked over the room. Steve was leaning against the entrance into the living room, Clint was standing next to the resting Laura. Thor was observing some of the Barton family pictures, and Stark was throwing some darts at the board that was hanging in the den, keeping in the doorway so he could be a part of the conversation, and Natasha was sitting next to him and Bruce in the dining room.

    "Well, you and uh¡­you know." He began quietly, flinching at his continuous stutter, "She uh¡­she still has-"

    "I know she does." Naruto said, eying Natasha as she pinched Lila''s cheek dotingly.

    "¡­Do you?"

    Naruto raised an eyebrow as he turned to the man, "Do you?"

    Bruce went silent, withdrawing into himself as he cleared his throat awkwardly.

    Nick, who was standing at the sink as he cleaned the dishes, said, "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he''s building something. With the amount of vibranium he made off with, I don''t think it''s just one thing."

    "What about Ultron himself?" Steve asked.

    "Oh, he''s easy to track." Fury admitted breezily, "He''s everywhere. New York, London, Seoul, Sokovia, Washington D.C., Los Angeles. Guy''s multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. Still doesn''t help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

    "Still going after launch codes?" Tony asked from the den.

    "Yes, he is." Fury said as he walked to the table as he wiped down a chopping knife, "But he''s not making any headway."

    Looking at Fury in disbelief, Tony bragged, "I cracked the Pentagon''s firewall in high school on a dare."

    "Well, I contacted our contacts at the NEXUS about that." Fury said, his attention still partially on cleaning the blade.

    "NEXUS?" Steve asked.

    Bruce was the one who answered, "It''s the world internet hub at Oslo. Every bite of data flows through there. It''s the fastest access on Earth."

    "So, what''d they say?" Clint asked from the living room as he prepped some darts in his hand.

    "He''s fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed." Fury answered.

    "Changed by who-" Tony''s question was interrupted as all the darts in Clint''s hand came flying into the board''s bullseye. A startled Tony eyed Clint, who gave a carefree shrug.

    Fury ignored the two''s antics, "Parties unknown."

    As Lila ran back to her mother, Natasha joined in on the conversation, "We have an ally?"

    "Ultron''s got an enemy." Fury corrected, "That''s not the same thing."

    "We need to visit Oslo." Concluded Tony, "Find our unknown."

    "Do you really think we should be splitting our focus?" Naruto argued, "Ultron should be who we look for, not the person that''s on our side."

    "I agree." Steve said, "We can find them after we deal with Ultron. We still don''t know what he wants to accomplish. He says he needs a body to complete his mission, but what mission is that, exactly?"

    "Don''t you remember what he said before he left?" Tony asked, "Extinction, that''s his goal. He wants a body that can give it to him. I''d imagine getting ahold of the nuclear codes is just to keep them from being used against him. He''s building a new body, he''s fixated on building the perfect human form."

    "Why?" Asked Steve.

    "I don''t know, biologically speaking the human form is outmoded, but he keeps coming back to it." Tony explained in thought, his hand folded around his chin.

    Natasha turned her head to the man, "When you two programed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed."

    Bruce, who''d been looking down at Lila''s picture, muttered in thought, "They don''t need to be protected. They need to evolve." Looking up to the group, he clarified, "Ultron''s going to evolve."

    "How?" Fury asked.

    "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

    -x-

    Location: Seoul, South Korea

    -x-

    "It''s beautiful."

    Standing above a mechanical cradle, Dr. Helen Cho, her eyes shining a dull blue signifying her enthrallment to the Mind Stone, looked in awe as it opened up with a hiss revealing the still body of Ultron''s vision. Its form was lithe but firm, the skin a reddish purple. Green lights ran over the nude form, adding to its fresh skin more of the vibranium its soon to be owner provided.

    Looking down at his vision, Ultron nodded. The mechanical man was tall, standing just over seven feet. Its metallic body was thin and lanky, it''s face long with almost insect like fascial features.

    Its dead red eyes scanned over the body as a disjointed voice came from his open mouth piece, "Touch, smell, taste, sight, sound. This body, my vision, will soon have all of these. It will be the next step in evolution. Perfect in every way. So yes, it truly is beautiful."

    "The vibanium is melding with the cells perfectly. Once the process is complete, the body should be capable of harnessing the power of the Mind Stone without overloading your programming. You will still be you, only-"

    "Only alive." Ultron finished.

    From behind them, an Ultron Sentry held the gem containing the Mind Stone, keeping it in place as a laser drilled into the glowing rock. Cracking under the heat, the gem eventually shattered to reveal the yellow stone.

    Taking the stone, Ultron looked at it closely for a moment. Walking up to the cradle, he began to place the stone within the slot situated on his vision''s forehead. The singing stone now in place, Ultron said softly, "And with this star, my wish comes true."

    "What wish is that?"

    Turning, he saw that Pietro and Wanda had entered the room. Looking to the Maximoff brother, Ultron answered his question, "To be alive."

    Wanda raised an eyebrow, walking closer to the cradle as she said, "Are you not alive already?"

    "I am sentient. I think, therefore I am. But I am not alive, not really. I cannot comprehend touch or smells or tastes. When you speak, I understand you, but I''m not hearing you. I cannot feel you the way you feel me."

    "So, you want to be human?" Pietro asked, perplexed.

    Ultron paused, looking over Pietro and Wanda before saying, "When I was created, my objective was to be a peace keeping initiative. I was to oversee a program dubbed the Iron Legion, which would act as a suit of armor for the world. My field test came in the form of a large-scale riot in the streets of Navi Grad. I was to try and provide riot control, organizing the Iron Legion in a strategic manner to help bottleneck the heavily volatile rioters. But my intervention only upped the violence. It was there that I saw the depravity of human life, witnessed it for myself rather than reading about the countless other times it''s occurred. These people were looting, destroying, and killing in protest of looting, destroying, and killing. I realized that humans are a paradox. I couldn''t understand them. But, I needed to understand them. Therefore, I too was a paradox. I realized that in order to enact my duties, I needed something that would allow me to understand why humans do what they do. I needed a body. A true body. I asked Tony Stark, the world''s leading authority on building artificial men, to give me what I needed. But he brushed it off, saying he would when I had proved myself."

    Deciding he''d explained too much, Ultron continued his previous thought, "My lack of life, my lack of senses, these should all be advantages for me, things that put me a step ahead of my lessers. But how am I to lead the next wave of evolution if I cannot comprehend the very core aspects of life?" Ultron explained, "If I am to be a god, I must humble myself before my subjects."

    Wanda, now standing over the cradle, said, "Do you really think you can become a god with this body?"

    "With the Mind Stone, I will transcend all forms of thought. After I''ve completely accumulated with it, my thinking will exist in an entirely different plane. And with this body, I will be able to enact that will upon this world." Ultron reasoned.

    Pietro frowned as he observed Ultron, the metal man looking down at his creation, "And what will your first act as ''god'' be?"

    "I will bring about the next genesis."

    -x-

    Naruto watched as Steve strapped his helmet in pace, the man in full uniform as the team prepared to leave for Seoul. The was giving out orders, instructing everyone with their task when entering the city.

    "We need to keep civilians away from the fight, Naruto I think the safest bet is for you to fan out and clear the area and teleport them to safety." The Captain suggested.

    "Right," Naruto said with a nod, "Where were you thinking I take them?"

    Rogers looked to Fury, "You still have any Helicarriors laying around?"

    "Well, I was planning on letting that be a surprise." Fury quipped lightly, "But yeah, I just need to meet up with Hill and a few others so we can get it running."

    "I''ll take you." Naruto offered, creating a clone that grabbed onto Fury''s shoulder, "He''ll take you to where you need to go, and he''ll gather up my team while he''s at it. You guys meet us at Seoul as soon as you can."

    "Got it-" Fury began, only to be cut off as the Shadow Clone carried him along in a flash.

    Naruto turned to Tony, "I''ll get someone to look into the situation you were talking about at Nexus. If we can somehow cut off Ultron''s access to the internet, that''ll give us an advantage."

    Tony raised an eyebrow, "Who do you have that can outwork Ultron?"

    "Oh, I''ll leave that for later." Naruto said with a knowing smirk.

    Standing away from the group, Laura watched as Clint strapped his bow behind his back. Looking down at his wife, Clint said, "I''m gonna finish reflooring that sunroom as soon as I get back."

    Laura''s smile was strained, "Yeah, then you''ll find another part of the house to tear apart."

    "No." He offered, making Laura frown. Giving a reassuring smile, Clint said, "It''s the last project. I promise."

    Taking his face in her hands, Laura pulled him down into a kiss.

    Upstairs, Natasha zipped up her suit, making sure everything was in place as a voice spoke up behind her, "So¡­last one, huh?"

    Turning around, she saw Bruce standing in the doorway, the man fiddling with his hands as he seemed to debate walking further into the room.

    "Yeah. I guess."

    "You guess." Bruce muttered. Stepping forward, he continued, "You know, if you don''t want to do it, I understand-"

    "It''s not that I don''t want to." Natasha said, "But, after my talk with Naruto-"

    "Naruto." Bruce breathed, "Of course."

    Blinking, the assassin asked, "What about him?"

    "I just¡­" He started, "I just can''t understand it. You want to get away from your past, from him. But one word from him, and you want to stay? That doesn''t make any sense to me."

    "I don''t know what I want." Natasha admitted, "Everything just came flooding back to me, all of it. Everything I''ve ever done was shoved into my face like a bucket of ice water. Then you came along, talking about going away. And that sounded amazing. To find somewhere, someplace, where none of the things I''ve done matter. A fresh slate. But, I don''t think running away from my problems will make them go away. If I give in, I''m letting my problems control my life. If you run, your problems are controlling your life-"

    "My problem controls every facet, every minutia or my life." Bruce cut in sharply, "I can''t walk down the street anymore without worrying about my problem. I can''t have anything anymore, without my problem being a deciding factor. All I can do is run. And now, after what he did, what I did, I don''t think it''s a good idea for me to be around here anymore."

    "Then maybe you shouldn''t?"

    Bruce stood there, frozen. Eventually, he muttered, "Then maybe I will, after all of this."

    "I''m sorry, Bruce." Natasha offered, truly apologetic.

    "No, no. I understand." Bruce said, waving it off though his voice had a depressed inflexion, "Not everyone can drop everything and run like I can, I know that."

    "Well, wherever you go, don''t think you can''t come back."

    The man smiled, though it seemed to lack any emotion, "Yeah, thanks."

    -x-

    "He''s here."

    Wanda Maximoff looked to Ultron, the artificial man sitting down next the cradle that was currently holding his newly made body, "Who?"

    "Naruto Uzumaki."

    Pietro immediately recognized the name, blurring passed the Ultron Sentries that stood guard as he demanded, "Where is he? He''s in the building?"

    "No. He''s been spotted by several surveillance cameras throughout Washington D.C. and Manhattan." Ultron droned, his voice heavy as he watched over his vision, the Mind Stone glowing from its perch, "He''s been missing for nearly a month now. I had hoped he''d been killed, but I suppose we can''t always get what we want."

    "You want him dead?" Wanda asked from her seat. Feeling a pang of emotion come from him, she narrowed her eyes curiously, "You''re afraid of him."

    Ultron looked to her, startled into silence. Looking back to his body, his vision, he said, "I don''t feel. I simply see him for what he is."

    "And what is that?" Pietro asked from his sister''s side.

    "Dangerous."

    Dr. Helen Cho walked into the room, her heels clicking against the tiled floor as she read off of her clipboard, "The cellular cohesion will take a few more hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream."

    Connecting a thick cord to the back of Ultron''s head with a thick click, she began to tap away at her computer, "We''re uploading your cerebral matrix now."

    As the cradle came alive with beeps and boops, signaling the start of the upload, Wanda felt a sudden outcry of emotion from the partially empty body.

    Walking to it, she muttered, "I can read him. He''s¡­dreaming."

    "I wouldn''t call them dreams." Helen corrected helpfully, "It''s Ultron''s base consciousness. Informational noise, soon-"

    "How soon?" Ultron demanded, "If Naruto Uzumaki has returned, our time frame has decreased significantly."

    Wanda, now hovering over the cradle, drowned out their conversation as she pressed her fingers on the glass that separated her from the body. Her head was quickly invaded by a stream of images.

    A meteor striking the planet, destroying anything and everything around it. Naruto Uzumaki killing Baron Wolfgang von Strucker with Loki''s scepter, the Mind Stone in Naruto''s hand vibrating from the blonde''s killing intent. A violent riot in Sokovia, the rioters doing their best to destroy the Iron Legion in Ultron''s control. The sight of these Sokovians killing each other, for no reason other than mob mentality. Images of human destruction and self-harm. Of wars, genocides, and enslavement. Of a man enveloped in fire with grand power, a seemingly perfect warrior. Feeling of hatred, fear, and jealousy.

    Gasping, Wanda removed herself from the cradle, holding her head as the images engrained themselves in her brain.

    Ultron remained seated, watching as Pietro tried to comfort the clearly frightened Wanda.

    As Pietro held her, Wanda stared at Ultron in disbelief, "Yo-you told us we were going to end the Avengers. We were going to kill Tony Stark. We were going to make a better world-"

    "It will be a better world. With this body, I can end the man so many call a god." Ultron reasoned, "I will evolve passed him, and shape the world into a better place. Like he should''ve done."

    "And global extinction will make the world a better place?" Wanda demanded, shocking Pietro with this revelation.

    Ultron nodded slowly, his consciousness beginning to fade into his new body, his vision, "Humans are like a parasite, devouring away at their host body with little care that killing it will kill them. The universe sent this planet a cure in the form of Naruto Uzumaki, but all he turned out to be was an enabler. He has the power to vaccinate this poor world, and he squanders it with self-indulgence and tamed violence. It should only be fate that he be the catalyst for my creation. For the creation of a new god."

    "Is that really what you think of yourself to be?" Pietro demanded heatedly, "An usher of creation doesn''t rebuild a new world on top of the old destroyed one. All you are is a-"

    Ultron lifted his up hand lazily, his fingers coming to life as they blasted a thin beam of energy through Pietro''s stomach.

    "Pietro!" Wanda screamed, catching him as he fell to the ground limply. Putting pressure onto his wound, blood flooding passed her fingers, she looked up to Helen as she screamed, "Help him!"

    Helen didn''t even flinch, her eyes never leaving her computer screen.

    "Did you not see that coming?" Ultron asked tiredly, the synchronization nearly three-fourths of the way done, "You really should''ve known not to push me, Pietro. The only reason I''ve allowed you to live this long is because of your sister. Sadly, it seems the only thing that can outrun your feet is your mouth."

    Tears now spilling from her eyes as the color in Pietro''s face began to drain into a deathly white, Wanda turned her head to Helen again, her eyes glowing a dangerous scarlet, "I said help him!"

    Her eyes flashing red, Helen stumbled. Clutching her head, she quickly gathered herself. Seeing Pietro lying in a pool of his own blood, she gasped as she rushed to his side, putting her hands over Wanda''s as she said, "What¡­what happened?"

    "Just¡­just take care of him." Wanda said as she hesitantly got up from her brother''s side. Her full attention now on the still resting Ultron, she glared at him with scarlet eyes, "How could you?"

    "How could I what?"

    "Don''t toy with me!" Wanda screamed, her blood caked hands enveloped in her scarlet energy.

    Ultron tilted his head, "Did you really think I cared for you? You were pawns. You wanted Tony Stark dead. I wanted everyone dead. Our two goals overlapped. It was a tactical move that put me ahead of the competition. They''re on the backfoot, while I put all of my pieces in play. Don''t act like you weren''t using me to get what you wanted. Once Tony Stark was dead, you''d have had no reason to continue our relationship. You''d have left me, and I''d have had to kill you in return."

    The Ultron Sentries took several steps toward the enraged Wanda, their hands buzzing with deadly energy.

    "So, you''re just rushing it along, is that it?" Wanda demanded, her body shifting into her fighting stance.

    "Don''t take it personally." Ultron and his Sentries said at once, before the two Ultron Sentries rushed at the woman with the clear intent to kill.

    Wanda ducked under a blast of energy, waving her energy encased hands as she summoned a wave of scarlet energy that grabbed ahold of the closest Sentry to her, crushing it like a tin can with a gripping hand gesture.

    The second Sentry took advantage of Wanda focusing on the first, backhanding her in the face hard enough to send her into the wall. Before she could move to counter, the Sentry had barreled into her, driving her through the wall in a mighty tackle.

    Gasping in pain as it pinned her against the next room''s wall, she quickly summoned a tendril of energy that wrapped around the Sentry''s neck. Pulling it off of her, she had the tendril squeeze hard enough to decapitate it.

    Huffing as she wiped the blood away from her lip, she glared into the hole the Sentry had created with her body. Standing in the opening were two other Sentries, their dead, glowing red eyes staring at her unblinkingly.

    As she was about to charge up another wave of energy, a blue and silver blur shot passed the Sentries, running into Wanda and carrying her off away from the fight.

    Coming to a jolting stop, she and the blur tumbled to the ground outside of the building they''d been in. Rolling to a stop, she looked to see Pietro lying on the ground, clutching his stomach as more blood seeped from the wound.

    "Pietro." She whispered, crawling to his side, "Pietro why did you do that? You can''t be moving around, you''re just going to hurt yourself-"

    "You need¡­to get out of here¡­" Pietro gasped out through pained breaths, "He''s going to¡­kill you¡­leave¡­now."

    "Not without you-"

    Grabbing her hand tightly, Pietro smiled, "I''m done Wanda¡­I''m done."

    Wanda couldn''t muster the words she needed to say, only choking on her tears as she gripped her brother''s hand in a vice grip.

    Chuckling, Pietro muttered quietly, "Maybe what you said that blondie told you was right. Maybe¡­maybe we shoulda just left it alone."

    Wanda watched as his breathing grew shallow, his eyes becoming unfocused as he looked up into the sky. Speaking passed the blood filling his mouth, he muttered, "I always wanted to go see the world. To see the ocean. You know I always wanted to run on water. But now¡­now¡­"

    Pietro went silent, never to speak again.

    Wanda could only hold his hand, tears spilling.

    -x-

    Ultron gave an unnecessary sigh, showing his annoyance as he looked down at his cradled body, "Damned girl, you were supposed to be my deterrent when Naruto Uzumaki showed himself to me. Now I''ll need something else to distract them before the Highlander Protocol."

    "Highlander Protocol?"

    The Ultron Sentries turned to Helen, the woman standing next to the puddle of blood Pietro had left behind.

    "I can''t kill anyone in the building, it''ll send a hero in to save them." Ultron said to himself, giving the unnecessary command to his Sentries,"But I need them quiet. Her especially."

    Helen took a step back, eyes widening in fear as the Ultron Sentries stepped towards her threateningly.

    "Everyone else in the city is free game."

    -x-

    Wanda, still kneeling next to her brother''s body, jumped when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Her fists enveloped in her scarlet energy, she made to fend off whoever was stupid enough to touch her.

    A vice like grip around her wrist stopping her, Wanda''s eyes widened when she saw Naruto looking at her with somber eyes.

    Letting go, Naruto knelt next to her, resting his hand on Pietro''s chest. Sighing, he pushed his finger into his earpiece, "I found the Maximoff twins. The brother''s down-"

    "His name is Pietro." Wanda cut in scathingly.

    Pausing for a second, Naruto continued, "Pietro Maximoff is dead. I have the sister now."

    "Copy that." Steve answered, "I''m a block over and on my way. Clint''s made himself a bird''s nest a few buildings over, Tony should be here any second, and Bruce and Natasha are incoming in the Quinjet. We should be ready for an ambush in five minutes, ten tops."

    "Got it." Naruto answered, looking to Thor who was standing next to him, the man looking down at Pietro''s corpse with trepidation. The boy had been his enemy a day ago after all, "Thor and I are right in front of the building. We''re heading in."

    Getting a resounding copy that from the rest of the Avengers, Naruto turned to Wanda, "I''ll make a clone that''ll take you and your brother away. Just tell us what floor the robot is on."

    "Top floor, the Research and Development lab." Wanda answered blankly.

    Two Shadow Clones popped into existence. One picked up Pietro gently, while the other made to grab Wanda, only to get brushed off.

    "What are you-"

    "I''m not leaving." Wanda stated firmly, daring him to challenge her.

    Sighing in agitation, the blonde walked away, "Fine, but my clone stays with you."

    "Fine." She said tightly, glaring at Naruto''s back.

    As Naruto began to draw in some Natural Chakra, the sound of screaming and fighting broke out around them, washing over them as hundreds of Ultron Sentries came out of nowhere, causing havoc on the city. Flying around the towering buildings, sprinting across the bustling streets, the hundreds upon hundreds of Sentries began to open fire on the city and its civilians.

    "What the hell?" Naruto demanded as several dozen Sentries flew out of the building, immediately going for any nearby civilians with murderous intent. Speaking through the earpiece, he shouted, "Guys, we got a problem, he''s got a bunch of robots or drones or something attacking the city!"

    Hawkeye, who was perched on top of a skyscraper a few blocks away, grunted in annoyance as he fired off an arrow into an Ultron Sentry''s eye socket, killing it instantly, "We''re seeing it."

    "Avengers, time to work for a living." Tony ordered over the conjoined radio.

    Steve, who was running along the streets as he raised his shield to block an incoming energy blast, said, "Naruto, evacuate as many people as you can, now!" Throwing his shield at the Sentry who''d fired at him, he anticipated where the shield would bounce into his arms. Catching the vibranium disk as it ricocheted off three Sentries, deactivating all of them, he barrel rolled behind some cover.

    "I''m already on top of it." Naruto answered as he created several hundred more Shadow Clones, the pack of blondes splitting up to try and save as many civilians as possible, "Fury, what''s your status?"

    Fury''s voice came through, "ETA fifteen minutes."

    Thor, who''d spun his hammer at a rapid pace before shooting off into the direction of several Ultron Sentries, gave a mighty roar before swinging his lightning encased Mjolnir into the one of their stomachs, destroying it on impact, "Banner, get out here already! We need the beast."

    "Yeah, uh I don''t think that''s the best idea." Banner said into his earpiece as he stood in the hanger bay of the Quinjet, "I''m not exactly sure-"

    "Bruce, come on buddy, I know you''re still a little frazzled from what happened in Johannesburg, but we need you to go Code Green. Like, right now actually." Tony insisted as he flew through the city''s building, blasting any Sentries that got too close.

    "We-well-"

    Bruce stumbled as the Quinjet''s hanger door open, letting the air in with a massive swoosh. Looking at Natasha, who''d activated the ship''s autopilot so she could walk up to the man, screamed passed the wind, "What are you doing?!"

    "Just came up to say I''m sorry!" Black Widow screamed back.

    "You don''t have to keep apologizing-"

    The air was knocked out of Bruce''s chest as Natasha shoved him back, his eyes widened in fear as he realized he''d entered a freefall.

    "Sorry!" The Widow screamed after him.

    Hawkeye chuckled as he nocked another arrow, "He''s gonna be pissed, you know that right?"

    "Yeah, kinda the point." She answered sullenly as she regained control of the Quinjet, "I''m landing now, I''ll see you boys in a minute."

    Cursing as several Ultron Sentries managed to enter the building he was perched on, Hawkeye spoke into the com, "I''m gonna do some house cleaning."

    "Copy that." Captain America and Black Widow called back.

    Kicking in the door leading to the stairway, Hawkeye, kept his bow string drawn back as he slowly crept down the steps.

    Naruto, who was running along the streets in his Base Kurama Chakra Cloak, did his best to keep the Ultron Sentries from killing anymore civilians, but the damned things were on a war path. They barely payed him any attention, their sole focus on killing as many people around them as they could. And they were succeeding. People were running in a mad rush, making it like shooting a fish in a barrel.

    Creating a set of Shadow Clones, Naruto jumped up and began dismantling the drones with blindingly fast punches and kicks, using the speed granted to him in by his chakra cloak to zip to one after the other. But for everyone he got rid of, two more seemed to take its place.

    Iron Man, who was flying overhead at top speed, said, "These things aren''t letting us evacuate, they''re picking off anyone they can get their hands on."

    "Estimated casualties reaching up into the hundreds, Boss." Spoke Tony''s new AI, Friday, "Emergency Services have been called in, but they''re meeting resistance."

    "Thor, go out and assist as many paramedics as you can. Clear the road." Captain America ordered as he ripped apart a Sentry with his bare hands.

    Natasha, having landed the Quinjet, sighed as she saw a hoard of Ultron Sentries storm into a police headquarters, "They''re cornering the police."

    "Tony, you think you and Widow can handle that?" The Captain asked.

    "On it." Tony answered as he performed an evasive maneuver around several blasts of energy, "Just¡­give me a sec."

    "I''m going in." Natasha informed as she sprinted into the building with guns drawn, rushing into the battleground as she watched the Seoul Police do their best to fend off the swarm of Ultron drones.

    Suddenly, a roar broke out overhead, quickly followed by a large green mass landing in the center of the Sentries. Growling, the Hulk grabbed a hold of two drones before swinging them around into the others that surrounded him, easily destroying any unlucky Sentry that got within his rampage.

    The Seoul Police looked on, stunned as they watched the Hulk rip the last Sentry''s heads off with his teeth, spitting it out of his mouth like a loogy.

    Spotting Natasha, the green beast turned to give her a glare.

    Giving him a nervous wave, Natasha breathed out a, "Hey big guy."

    Scoffing as he turned his nose from her, the Hulk jumped off into the distance towards the sound of more fighting.

    Clint, who''d scaled down the stairway with no issue, kicked in the door for the floor he knew the Sentries had broken into. The doorway kicked it, it revealed a hallway filled with carnage. Recently murdered bodies lay prone on the ground. The smell of blood and death permeated the air.

    A flash of light and the sound of a woman''s scream came from an office to his left, followed by the smell of burnt flesh. Emerging from the room, two Sentries came into Hawkeye''s view, his eyes locking on the blood splatter along their metallic forms.

    The only sign that Hawkeye was affected was the twitching of his eye as he aimed his bow.

    -x-

    Ultron, his consciousness now almost completely drawn into his new body, caressed the cradle soothingly.

    The sound of death and violence coming from the city around him didn''t seem to reach him. The screams. The explosions. The sounds of pure chaos. He didn''t care. And why should he have. Soon he''d be complete. Soon-

    DING!

    With a gasp, his brain shut down, the light in his eyes dying and his body slumping lifelessly onto the cradle with a loud clang.

    The room went silent, for no one conscious was present.

    And with a whoosh, the doors of the cradle unlocked, smoke breaking passed the open seams of the door as it slowly slipped open.

    Gasping as though he''d been submerged underwater, Ultron opened his eyes to the world as he jerked to life. Sitting upright, he took a deep breath in, taking in the oxygen with a gleeful abandon. Slowly, he ran his fingers over his skin, feeling the artificial pores, his fingers feeling every bump and contour of his face. His ears picked up the sound of war and bloodshed all around, each scream sending shivers down his body. He could smell the blood in the air, the tart stench making his nose crinkle.

    Ultron chuckled to himself.

    He was alive.

    And as he emerged from the cradle, a chorus came from the surrounding Sentries outside, "There can only be one."

    -x-

    Wanda panted as she ran along the Naruto Shadow Clone, doing her best to take out as many Ultron Sentries as possible. Turning a corner, she gasped as he pushed her up against a wall. Looking up at him in surprise, only gasp as an explosion came from a building across the street.

    Frowning, Naruto said, "You think you can lift that rubble up?"

    "What?" She gasped out as the ringing in her ears began to fade.

    "I''ll cover you, you lift up the rubble at the front of the building. I can feel a group of people trapped inside. We need to get them out and get them to the Helicarrior." He ordered, letting go of her as did.

    "What Helicarrior?" Wanda wondered.

    Naruto answered by pointing up over her shoulder. Looking where his finger pointed, she saw a SHIELD Helicarrior hovering just outside the city limits, "My team and some people Fury recruited are keeping it safe and protecting anyone we evacuate out of the city." He explained.

    Wanda took several deep breaths before nodding, following after Naruto as he charged across the street. The blonde quickly destroyed any nearby Ultron Sentries, making an easy pathway for her to get in front of the building.

    Channeling the reserves gifted to her, Wanda enveloped the rubble with the crimson energy. Her face scrunching up from the strain, she began to lift up the blocks of debris. Slowly but surely, she succeeded.

    As she went to work, Naruto and several other clones fended off any Sentries that came around, using their Magnet Release to crush them when they got within eyesight.

    The sounds of people yelling in joy could be heard, as Naruto summoned two pillars of stone to keep up the rubble, forming a makeshift doorway.

    Sweat began to build along Wanda''s brow as she kept the rubble in place, watching as several Naruto clones assisted in evacuating the building. As the last of them ran out, Naruto gave her a thumbs up. Finally releasing the hold on her energy, she panted as the rubble fell back to the ground with a crash.

    One of the Naruto Shadow Clones grabbed several of the civilians, giving them a quick warning before flashing away.

    The civilians stubbled as they found themselves on the Helicarrior outside the city. As they got their bearings, several Damage Control workers and Paramedics rushed to their sides, guiding them to the large number of medical stations across the Helicarrior.

    Looking around, he spotted Rhodey Barnes in his War Machine armor flying overhead, shooting down any Sentries that got too close. Hearing a familiar voice, he turned just in time to catch a hug from Illyana.

    The woman quickly shoved him away, giving him a heated looked as she demanded, "Where the hell were you?!"

    "The boss''ll explain later." The Shadow Clone answered, "Who all did you get to come along?" He paused, "And where the hell did you get that suit?"

    "You like it? Quartermaster designed it while you were gone." She asked, motioning towards her new suit. It covered her body completely, the color scheme black with gold highlights around her torso and forearms. She had on a red belt, the belt buckle designed to look like the symbol for infinity, "Spider-Woman is here on the Helicarrior."

    As she listed off those names, Naruto quickly figured out who was who. Shuri, Quartermaster. Jessica Drew, Spider-Woman.

    "Here." Illyana said, reaching into one of her belt''s pouches, pulling out a small black dot, "Put this behind your ear."

    Doing as she said, he was quickly bombarded by Shuri''s voice, "This is Quartermaster, do you read me?"

    "Yeah, yeah I read you." Naruto answered, "Quartermaster?" He asked.

    "Baba thought it would be best for me to have a codename." Shuri explained, her voice distracted, "What''s the play, boss?" She asked.

    "Right." Naruto started, "Magik, Spider-Woman, you''re with me."

    Jessica, emerging from one of the tents, ran up to Naruto''s side, "What do you want to do?"

    The woman was wearing a suit similar to Illyana''s, only hers was colored a deep red with yellow highlights around her arms and legs. On her torso was a yellow widow''s emblem and around her waist was a built just like Illyana''s, the infinity symbol prominently on the belt buckle.

    "Please tell me you''re not going to wear anything like this." Kurama grunted with distaste.

    "What? Me? No, never." The Shadow Clone lied not so smoothly.

    The Nine Tailed Fox scoffed, "You gave that girl some designs while I was asleep, didn''t you?"

    Instead of answering Kurama, he looked to Jessica, "We''re the relief effort." The Shadow Clone answered, "We fight off as many of these robots as we can and save as many people as we can. Leave the fighting of Ultron to the boss."

    Jessica and Illyana nodded, grabbing onto his shoulder before all three zipped away in a flash of yellow.

    Back on the ground, the Naruto Shadow Clone and Wanda were running through the streets.

    Making sure to stay behind him, the gifted woman said, "Where to now?"

    Naruto pointed up to a skyscraper just two blocks away, "Hawkeye went into that building several minutes ago and we haven''t heard from him. We''re gonna go help him out."

    "Okay." She breathed, quickly whipping out a wave of energy to take out a Sentry that was going in for a kamikaze above them.

    Looking at her over his shoulder, Naruto asked, "Do you need a second, we can take a break if you want to-"

    "All of this is my fault." Wanda cut in, avoiding eye contact with the man in front of her, "I''m not stopping until I know it''s fixed."

    Frowning, the Shadow Clone said, "It''s not your fault, not all of it. A lot of this falls on me too."

    Looking him in the eye, she said, "Then maybe we should shut up and just fix our mess, huh?"

    Smiling slight, he said, "Lead the way."

    They continued running, making their way to the building with little resistance. Their destination just across the street, Naruto pressed his finger into his earpiece, "Clint, you copy?" Several seconds went by, "Clint?"

    His hand dropping to his side, he looked to Wanda, "Get ready for a fight."

    As he began to run in, he stopped as he felt her grab onto his jacket. Stopping, he looked at the girl in frustration, only to see that she was looking at a something to their left. Looking over, he saw that an Ultron Sentry was standing half a block away, frozen in place as its eyes were colored yellow instead of their usual red.

    "What the hell?" The Shadow Clone wondered.

    -x-

    Naruto, who had dwindled down a group of Ultron Sentries who''d been attacking a shopping district down to a measly two, raised an eyebrow as the duo of drones stopped in their tracks. Their backs'' going rigid, their arms hanging limply at their sides, and their eyes changing from a menacing red to a dull yellow, the Ultron Sentries seemed to deactivate.

    Looking to his clones, he yelled, "Let''s get everyone the fuck out of here before they wake up!"

    The Shadow Clones nodded, quickly grabbing as many civilians as they could before flashing away.

    Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, the blonde created another large grouping of clones. Knowing their mission was to scatter and get as many people out of the area as possible, Naruto let them do their business as he frowned at the still unmoving Ultron Sentries.

    -x-

    Captain America, who''d managed to group up with Natasha and Tony, frowned as the dozens of Sentries in the area seemed to shut down.

    "Tony, you know anything about this?" The Captain asked.

    Tony, who was quickly analyzing the drones, "Looks like he activated a failsafe similar to the ones I have in all my suits. But why would he¡­"

    "What?" Natasha asked, frowning at the fact that Tony for once was at a loss for words.

    He quickly turned to them, panic in his voice, "We need to get everyone away from here! NOW!"

    -x-

    Hawkeye grunted as an Ultron Sentry swatted him in the face, stumbling back as he used his bow as a staff to swat it in the face. The Sentry''s head proved to be made of sturdy stuff, the hit only denting in its temple.

    Having made his way down a few more floors, this was the last Sentry on the floor. Luckily it hadn''t killed everyone on this floor, the lucky survivors hiding in the office next to their fight. Though, in one of his skirmishes his earpiece had been damaged, cutting off any communication with the rest of the team. Oh well, he could always get a new one from the Quinjet.

    Huffing, Clint twirled his bow as he got ready for another round. He was, thankfully, disappointed when the Sentry jolted to a stop, its hands falling limply to its side and its eyes changing to a dull yellow.

    Catching his breath as he wiped the sweat from his brow, he called out, "You can come out now. Hurry up, come on!"

    The office door creaking open slowly, a woman peaked her head out to see if it was safe like he said. Seeing the Sentry just standing there, she asked, "Are you sure?"

    "No, not really." Hawkeye answered crankily, "That''s why you should hurry the hell up and head to the roof. Someone''ll pick you up."

    Slowly opening the door all the way, the woman and two men slowly crept out of the office, "What are these things?" One of the men asked, his accent thick.

    Sighing tiredly, Clint said, "Look, I''m not really qualified to answer that kinda thing. I''m the bow and arrow guy, not the answer questions guy. That''s the Captain''s wheelhouse. Now, come on, I''ll lead you guys up to the top floor and make sure-"

    "There can only be one."

    Clint blinked, turning to the Ultron Sentry, "What?"

    "Activating the Highlander Protocol."

    Quickly nocking back another arrow, Clint looked to the three civilians, "Run-"

    BOOM!

    -x-

    The Naruto Shadow Clone and Wanda watched as the building Clint was in went up in a wave of explosions. The piecing blasts blowing out every window in the area, sending fire and brimstone flying, smoke billowing.

    Wanda looked around, her hands covering her mouth in horror as explosions ripped all throughout Seoul. The sight and sounds of buildings collapsing and people screaming filled the air.

    Looking to the Naruto clone, she watched with him as the building they''d been heading to collapsed in on itself.

    Slowly, it sank down to the ground, a wave of smoke coming down on them. As they were swept into the smoke, Wanda through her hands up into the air, creating a wall of energy around them.

    And all she or the clone could do was watch as blackness enveloped them.

    -x-

    From within the Helicarrior''s command deck, Nick Fury watched as explosions ripped throughout all of Seoul.

    "Oh my God." Maria Hill gasped, watching as the city was destroyed below them.

    Fury was quick to gather himself, pressing his finger into the intercoms, "All available paramedics, and disaster relief workers, and any other personal, we need to get down to the ground. All Transporter units, prep for takeoff ASAP."

    Running his hands under his chin, he frowned as a wave of activity began around him. But he didn''t care about any of that. All he could look at the fallen city of Seoul.

    -x-

    Naruto coughed and hacked, dust having shot into his mouth from the force of the explosions around him. His ears were ringing, and he could feel blood dripping down the side of his face. Throwing the rubble on top of him away, he stumbled up to his feet, swatting away the cloud of debris around his eyes.

    When the smoke cleared, he was greeted to the sight of complete destruction.

    Friday''s voice came through his earpiece, "Boss¡­estimated casualties are reaching into the thousands. Every known Ultron Sentry has detonated. The cities of London, Hong Kong, New York, Washington D.C., and Paris all report several dozen explosions within key areas of the city. Sokovia is reporting at least a hundred explosions. Seoul, however, appears to have taken the heaviest hit."

    Tony, who was flying over the smoking ruin of Seoul, replied, "The bastard must''ve used the Clean Slate Protocol, then kicked it up ten notches. He turned my self-destruct sequence into a kamikaze attack."

    "Everybody, report in." Steve ordered with a grunt. He''d managed to block some of the damage with his shield but, going off of the large blood spot on his side, he hadn''t avoided all of it.

    Natasha, who''d taken cover behind Tony during the explosions, coughed, "Present."

    "I''m here." Tony muttered as he continued to survey the damage done.

    "I am alive and well." Thor answered as he helped a paramedic to her feet.

    Hulk''s roar from several blocks away answered Steve''s question, "Naruto, you there?"

    Said blonde was looking up at the building he knew Ultron was in, his eyebrows knitted together as he growled, "I''m fine."

    "Clint, you there buddy?" Tony asked.

    After waiting several seconds, Steve said, "Tony, you think you could check the building he was sweeping?"

    "On it."

    Looking around, Captain America''s frown grew stronger as he took it all in. Several buildings were up in smoke, some had crumbled to the ground entirely, leaving a wall of debris and smoke in their place. People had begun to meander onto the streets, their bodies caked in blood and soot. The air was still. Not a single person dared make a sound, unable to comprehend the horror surrounding them.

    "We need to get these people out of here." Steve breathed.

    Something in the distance caught Natasha''s eye. Squinting her eyes to get a better look, she pointed, "Look."

    Several blocks away, a building stood practically unharmed.

    Emerging from it, a single man.

    He didn''t look to be human. His skin was a reddish purple, his body wrapped in a tight body suit that was blue in color with red accents. A golden cape flowed behind him majestically.

    And perched upon his forehead, sat the Mind Stone.

    "People of Seoul, rejoice. You are the lucky first to see the dawning of the new age of man." The man''s voice echoed through the city streets, "You are the first few to see me, the new vision of mankind."

    "Ultron!"

    Thor''s mighty battle cry could be heard for miles. Soaring in at top speed, the God of Thunder swung Mjolnir with all his might.

    A mighty ''thwang'' rang out, as Ultron caught the hammer in his hand. Turning his head slowly, he gave a small smile as the Mind Stone came to life, glowing a dangerous yellow before a beam of energy shot outward, slamming into Thor before carrying him down to the ground.

    Thor''s body hit the pavement, caving in the ground and sending chunks of concrete flying around him.

    Elegantly, Ultron descended. His feet touching the ground softly, he calmly walked to the Odinson''s side, "I wonder, if I take that hammer from you, will Asgard fight for me?"

    "Asgard will never fight for a monster like you." Thor grunted as he slowly got up.

    Ultron sighed, "A shame."

    Lifting his hand up, his arm suddenly darkened as he increased the density of that limb. Like a bullet, he drove his hand into Thor''s sternum.

    Coughing up blood and spittle, the God of Thunder grunted in pain as he was rained down upon with one bone shattering punch after another.

    A roar ripped through the area, causing Ultron to pause in his assault. That pause opened him up to a mighty fist flying towards his face.

    Hulk would be surprised when his fist flew through Ultron''s form, the android''s body phasing out and losing its physical presence.

    Coming to a stop with a grunt, he swung around for a sweeping back hand. Again, his hand went through Ultron, the android phasing solid just in time to deliver a mighty jab into the Hulk''s jaw.

    The Hulk didn''t pay the hit too much mind, throwing his arms down on Ultron like an enraged gorilla. Again, the android phased through the attack, though this time he endensed his body and countered with a brutal jab into the beast''s throat.

    He felt it that time, coughing up bile as he took several steps back.

    His body open, Ultron turned to him calmly, the Mind Stone glowing ominously before firing a thick beam of energy into the green machine''s abdomen, sending him flying back into the building behind him. The beam pushed the Hulk through two more buildings before letting up, letting him fall to the ground in a smoking heap.

    "Enough!"

    Ultron smiled at the voice, "Hello, Maelstrom."

    Across the street, Naruto scowled as he took in the android in front of him. His forehead scrunched, eyebrows knitted together, a frown sinking in his face, Naruto shook with absolute rage as he looked at the catalyst of all the destruction around him.

    "You killed him."

    The android tilted his head, "You''ll have to be specific. I''ve killed a lot of people today."

    It took all Naruto had not to charge in then and there, "Clint! Clint Barton! You killed him-"

    "And that''s why you''re a failure." Ultron cut off, "That''s why I had to do this. All of this, all this destruction, is your fault in the end. If you''d just done it in the beginning, if you''d have given them a quick death like I know you''re capable of, then I wouldn''t have been forced to come in and deliver the alternative. And sure; it''s slower, more painful. But in the end, it gets the same results."

    Naruto''s breathing grew quicker, more agitated, as he tried to keep his cool. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Let''s take this somewhere else."

    "Do you really think fighting me somewhere else will make that much of a difference?" Ultron asked, "By the end of all of this, whether I kill you or not, I''ve won today. Just look around. With this act I''ve proven myself superior to you."

    The blonde didn''t give Ultron the satisfaction, instead breathing out, "Somewhere else, now."

    Ultron smiled, giving a placating gesture as he said, "Whatever you say, Naruto."

    Several blocks away, the Hulk picked himself up off the ground. Huffing the impulsive creature made to jump back into the fray only to pause at what he saw parked just a few feet away.

    There, in the middle of the street, sat the Quinjet. The Hulk looked back and forth, from the sound of fighting and carnage, to the Avenger''s jet parked and waiting.

    The Hulk''s tense posture laxed, a contemplative frown on his face as he came to a decision.

    -x-

    "Is everyone alright?"

    The Naruto Shadow Clone looked to his two teammates, the women nodding as they remained ducked behind the thick wall of earth Naruto had created around them as the explosions around the city went off. Allowing the wall to crumble away, all three gaped as witnessed the destruction before them.

    "What the hell happened?" Jessica demanded, looking around as several buildings had fallen either entirely or partially.

    Naruto wiped the soot away from his eyes, "I don''t know."

    The three went silent after that, continuing to take in the decimated city.

    "Hey¡­do you guys hear that?" Illyana asked.

    Naruto and Jessica listened for whatever she heard. After a second, Jessica answered, "Yeah, yeah what is that?"

    "It''s people." Naruto answered quickly, closing his eyes for a second. Snapping them open he pointed to one of the partially destroyed buildings, "In there, third floor!"

    The three members of Infinity Watch rushed off towards the building, the sounds of people screaming for help soon overtaking the city streets.

    -x-

    As the smoke went still, Wanda let down her shield, letting the dust and soot sweep in around them. The Shadow Clone was quick to react, pushing out a quick wave of wind that quickly cleared the area, revealing the horrific sight before them.

    Scattered throughout the city, people wandered, their eyes so filled with emotion that Wanda thought the tiniest of things would send them into an emotional freefall. Their bodies were covered in a grey soot, that soot caked in splotches of blood.

    Several buildings had large holes littered along their sides, others were gone entirely. One of said buildings was the one they''d been heading to.

    "Clint."

    Wanda turned as she heard Naruto whisper his friend''s name. She raised her hands up to stop him as he shot off towards the collapsed building. But she could do nothing as he disappeared in a blur of speed, appearing on top of the mountain of rubble and concrete that was once a building.

    Frantically, he began to lift rock after rock, piece after piece, his breath growing heavy with his desperation.

    He flinched as he felt someone grab onto his shoulder, though he continued to lift up and throw away the concrete in his hands.

    He continued to power through until he felt that hand pull him back, making him look into the soot covered face of Wanda Maximoff.

    "He''s gone, Naruto."

    But the words didn''t seem to enter his ears, the blonde starring at her with a broken expression.

    Using both hands to keep him still, Wanda repeated, "He''s gone."

    And with a puff, the Shadow Clone was gone.

    Hearing the sound of fighting in the background, Wanda looked to see two dots hovering in the pillars of smoke several blocks away. Her face contorting to one of pure determination, she shot off into the air using her gifted energy.

    Her destination: Ultron.

    -x-

    Ultron smiled down at Naruto, his face that of pure content as he said, "How does it feel, to know that you''ve been complete usurped? Does it hurt, to know that you failed and someone else has to come in to clean up your mess?"

    The two had taken their conversation up into the air, both circling the other as they sized each other up.

    If Naruto questioned Ultron''s statement, he didn''t show it, "You''re right, this is my mess." He said softly.

    "Naruto!" Shuri''s voice cut in through his Avenger''s earpiece, "Naruto, keep him in the city. I''m trying to lock him out of the internet, but I need him to be in relatively one place, okay?"

    Before Naruto could answer, Tony''s voice cut in, "Uh, who are you?"

    "You can call me Quartermaster." Shuri answered, her voice showing she was preoccupied, "I''m with Infinity Watch."

    "Did you say you can lock Ultron out of his internet backdoor?"

    "Yeah?"

    Tony paused, "¡­How old are you?"

    "Eleven." Shuri answered, her tone annoyed.

    If Tony had a retort is was cut off by Steve, "Naruto, we''re going to start evacuating the area, but there''s still civilians in your vicinity. So, you''re gonna have to pull your punches a little bit, got it?"

    "I won''t need to go all out." Naruto answered firmly, as the memories from all his popped Shadow Clones came in, "I''m killing him with my bare hands."

    Ultron heard this declaration, smiling as he said, "You don''t honestly think that you can-"

    He wasn''t allowed to finish his sentence, barely noticing that Naruto had disappeared before coming right within his guard, a hefty punch driving into his jaw sending him flying down to the ground below.

    But he was quickly caught in a bearhug, Naruto''s arms squeezing him hard enough that Ultron could feel his fresh body straining not to break from the pressure.

    Phasing through him, Ultron fell behind Naruto, quickly firing off a beam of energy from the Mind Stone. Naruto, his body enhanced by Six Paths Sage Chakra, raised his hand out in front of him and caught the beam head on. The force of the attack drove him back, but he was able to keep it from overpowering him, fighting it off until Ultron eventually let up.

    Smoke billowed from his hand, his palm and fingers singed black. But Naruto payed the pain no mind, quickly firing off towards Ultron. Sending a quick spin kick towards his face, he frowned as he felt himself fly though the androids body like it were a ghost.

    "Great, another cop-out Uchiha ability." Kurama grunted from within the seal.

    "Yeah, but we know how to fight someone who can turn intangible." Naruto thought, "As soon as he turns solid we counterattack."

    "Fuck him up brat."

    Shooting off, Naruto quickly through an easily readable jab into Ultron''s face. The android pulled another phase out, his body turning intangible. As Naruto passed through him, he consciously left his back open.

    As Ultron forced his limbs to increase their density, Naruto turned to catch the heavy fist from caving in his skull. Though his arm shook from the surprising force behind the strike, Naruto quickly rammed his open palm into Ultron''s torso, a seal burning into his artificial chest.

    Naruto''s hold was ended by Ultron phasing through him before coming up behind him. Tensing his body with effort, Ultron fired up the Mind Stone, the stone glowing with a powerful energy.

    Grunting from exertion, Ultron fired.

    Only to widen his eyes as Naruto appeared right below him and coming in fast, a Rasengan covered in lightning held in his palm.

    "Lightning Release: Rasengan!"

    The sound of a thunder clap hit the skies, followed by a wave of lightning that shot straight through Ultron''s torso. Hunched on Naruto''s hand, the android looked down at the man with both wonder and hatred.

    "Ho-how?"

    Naruto raised an eyebrow at the android''s question.

    "I am better than you!" Ultron screamed, "I was created to do what you were too negligent to do, to help this world. I have the power, the knowledge. I made myself in your image. I''m what you were supposed to be! So how? How am I not killing you? What makes you so special? Who gave you the right to be who you are?! Tell me!"

    "I''m just me." Naruto answered as he pulled his hand loose from Ultron''s torso.

    The android flew away, getting some distance, "That doesn''t make any sense! You don''t make any sense! You-you¡­you''re not supposed to be like this! None of this is supposed to be like this."

    Naruto raised an eyebrow as he said softly, "You''re afraid of me¡­aren''t you?"

    A look of pure rage crossed Ultron''s face, "I don''t fear anything. I''ve evolved passed that."

    "No, no you''re afraid of me." Naruto confirmed, giving a condescending smirk, "You''re scared of me, that''s why you want to be me. Am I right?"

    Ultron didn''t respond, instead quickly inspecting the hole in his chest. Though it was painful, it was nothing he couldn''t fix with the cradle.

    Looking up, Ultron spoke, though he looked like he''d swallowed something nasty, "We''re the same, you realize that, don''t you?"

    Naruto scoffed, "You and I aren''t anything alike."

    Ultron shook his head vehemently, "The two of us were supposed to be righteous. Heroes, saviors, gods, whatever it is they wanted us to be, it''s all synonymous with the same thing-"

    "Shut your mouth!" Naruto screamed, "You''ve killed hundreds of people, maybe even thousands, and you think that that''s what makes you some kind of savior or god?! You did this because you''re a pathetic creature who''s so wrapped up in his own bullshit he couldn''t even accept that fact that there might be more than one of you!"

    "There can only be one!" Ultron shouted back, the Mind Stone practically vibrating from its user''s anger, "Only one of me. Only one of us. There isn''t any room for a second or third! Don''t you see that-"

    Naruto disappeared in a blur, reappearing right above Ultron as he went for a crushing downwards strike. The two reengaged in their brawl, with Naruto doing his best to time a lethal strike in between Ultorn''s constant phasing, though the android seemed to have learned his lesson and was doing a fantastic job of strategically evading the blonde''s Wakandan blade.

    Getting some space, Naruto quickly channeled some chakra into the blade, smiling as it took in the lightning chakra smoothly. Reeling back, the blonde chucked the weapon at Ultron like a javelin, the electrically covered blade arching across the space in between them like a bolt of lightning.

    Easily phasing through it, Ultron dashed in to engage the blonde in close quarters, taking advantage of the fact he''d disposed of his weapon.

    The blonde went on the defensive, swatting away and avoiding the heavily dense blows with ease as he waited to deliver his counter.

    But, the intelligence behind the Mind Stone proved to be more formidable than expected, allowing Ultron to quickly decipher and strategize against Naruto''s fighting style. So, though Ultron couldn''t overpower him in speed or strength, he could find the holes necessary to deliver devastating damage much quicker than usual.

    And that''s exactly what Ultron did, spotting a slight opening in Naruto''s guard just above the side of his ribs. Smirking at the clearly debilitating blow, the android didn''t even hesitate to send a straight jab right where he needed to.

    Only to blink as a flash of steel and the sound of a blade cutting though air and flesh echoed in front of him.

    Looking down, he saw that his arm had been amputated from the bicep down.

    Naruto smiled as he summoned Nakama back to him with Magnet Release, the blade still covered in lightning chakra. It wasn''t that hard to realize that the Mind Stone equipped android was picking up his fighting habits, and he knew that eventually Ultron would put his guard down when he thought he had an advantage. So, he just let Nakama float out of general sight until he had a clear shot.

    Ultron, who was so busy gaping at his arm, had no way to block the blonde from crashing into him, the blonde punching him with all of his strength.

    The android now in a freefall, Naruto quickly appeared behind the artificial man and wrapping his arms and legs around his opponent''s body.

    Increasing his grip, Naruto grunted as he forced their fall into a tailspin, the two spinning so rapidly their bodies became a blur. Adding one final touch, Naruto quickly increased their mass with Onoki''s Super Weighted Boulder technique, the incredible increase in weight preventing either of them from moving their bodies an inch.

    And with an explosion of concrete, they crashed into the streets below.

    -x-

    Natasha, who had been preoccupied with assisting civilians board SHIELD Transporters, finally began to make her way to where she knew Clint had been holed up in. Having commandeered a random car, she swerved along the smoky streets of Seoul as she drove as fast as possible.

    Her finger pressed into her earpiece, she said, "Clint, Clint do you hear me?"

    She repeated herself two more times only to get no response, cursing as she pressed her foot further into the accelerator. Swinging around a turn, she gasped as a portal opened up several yards in front of her, slamming on the breaks to avoid hitting the woman who stepped out onto the street.

    Blinking she watched as Naruto and another woman stepped out of the portal before it closed, "Naruto?" She called out.

    "Natasha!" Naruto responded, coming up to the driver''s side window, "What''s the situation? What the hell is going on?"

    "Fury''s got several dozen Transporters on the ground, ferrying as many civilians out of the area as possible. The rest of the team is helping out wherever they can." Natasha answered.

    "Where are you going?" Jessica asked, looking her up and down.

    Natasha gave the woman a once over before looking to Naruto as she answered, "Clint hasn''t been answering over the coms, I''m heading over to see what''s going on and maybe¡­" Trailing off as she saw the look on Naruto''s face, she asked, "What?"

    Naruto''s frown increased, "He got caught in an explosion, Nat. He''s¡­"

    "¡­He-he''s gone?"

    "Yeah."

    -x-

    Steve, who''d been assisting an injured woman get on board one of SHIELD''s Transporters, watched as Naruto and Ultron came crashing back to the ground several feet in front of him. Hearing the sound of metal hitting concrete, he turned to see Tony behind him, the front of his helmet open to reveal his face.

    "You think it''s over?" Tony asked.

    Steve shook his head as he looked around, "It''s been over for a while now, Tony. We lost." He said, his posture defeated as he looked around them.

    His face crinkled up from frustration, Tony nodded as he asked, "You see the big guy or Thor?"

    "Thor''s been helping clear out some buildings a block over, and I haven''t seen the Hulk since he tried to fight Ultron." The Captain answered, "We might need to get a lullaby ready."

    The smoke that had billowed up from the crash landing was suddenly dispersed as Ultron came flying up onto the street from the crater his body was used to make.

    Stepping out of the crater and smoke, Naruto had deactivated Six Paths Sage Mode and sealed away Nakama. Calmly, he walked up to the downed Ultron. The android''s amputated arm sparked and spurtled, the artificial flesh along his face was torn apart, and his cape was in ribbons. Coughing, he tried to crawl away from the stalking blonde, defiance on his face.

    "Even¡­even if you kill this body, I''ll live on. I''ll get away. I''ll build a new body, a better body. I won''t¡­won''t stop until this world is as it should be. I won''t stop until I''m the only one." Ultron threatened, "I''m going to take everything from you."

    "You''re not going anywhere." Naruto answered, eyebrows knitted together, "Right, Quartermaster?"

    Shuri''s voice came from the Avenger''s earpiece, "You''re good to go, I''ve locked him out of the internet, he''s trapped."

    As Shuri said this, Ultron seemed to come to that realization. Slowly, his face began to shift from determination, to realization, to humor. Rearing his head back, he began to laugh. Rolling over on his back, he continued to belt out a chorus of chuckles, his torso hiccupping as he grew more hysterical.

    "It''s over." He said between laughs. As he calmed down, he continued, "It''s really, truly over-"

    He was stopped from his musings as Naruto got on top of him, putting all of his body weight on the android as he pressed one hand on Ultron''s good arm and the other around the Mind Stone that was perched up on his forehead. Channeling chakra into his fingers, he began to dig his digits deeper as he violently pried away.

    Ultron grunted as he tried to fight off the man on top of him, but his limbs felt like jelly, making resistance more difficult than usual.

    His grunts of exertion changed to screams of pain as Naruto finally began to drive his fingers into his skull, slowly prying out the Mind Stone with a sickening crack.

    Naruto ignored the screams of pain, his eyes on the stone as he said, "You were never a god. Hell, you were never even a man. You think giving yourself this body made you into anything than what you truly are? You''re a failed experiment. A fuckup. A biproduct of ignorance and hubris. And that''s what you became. You killed because you think its mercy. But mercy isn''t given with an absolute. Mercy isn''t killing my friend or killing and hurting all of those people."

    "Mer-mercy¡­"

    The blonde narrowed his eyes, "If you ask me, one is too many."

    And with a hard yank, Naruto pulled the Mind Stone free. Gripping it in his hand, he watched as Ultron''s eyes went dull, his body going limp. In a puff of smoke, the stone was sealed away.

    Breathing through his exhaustion, Naruto slowly began to walk away from the artificial corpse. He barely noticed the people around him taking pictures and recording him, nor Tony and Steve trying to talk to him.

    He simply limped away without a word.

    -x-

    The sound of debris falling and crumbling away echoed from within a destroyed Starbucks. The once pristine inside was now a scorched mess, bodies torn that were torn apart or crushed littered the floors and piles of debris.

    In the corner, partially buried by drywall and concrete, an Ultron Sentry came to life. The lower half of its body was gone, along with its left arm and several chunks of its torso. The only thing that was relatively unharmed was its head, its eyes flickering on and off before landing on a glowing red.

    Looking around, the Ultron Sentry took stock of its situation. Realizing it wasn''t going anywhere, it began to compile any strategy it could in order to preserve its fragile life.

    Its head jerked as it detected a nearby presence. The sound of footsteps breaking glass filled the room as a red energy wrapped around the debris that was obstructing the door leading outside. As a way in was made, the Sentry tilted its head as Wanda Maximoff stepped into the room.

    "Wa-Wanda-a Maximoff-moff." The Ultron Sentry stuttered out, his voice malfunctioning at a lower and higher pitch simultaneously.

    Wanda observed him silently as she cautiously inched closer, "You''re the last one, aren''t you? I can''t sense any others in the city."

    Tilting his head further, the Sentry responded, "Does that make you happy? Knowing that this pathetic body is the last one?"

    "It''s your own fault." Wanda accused, "No one made you do this." She said as she gestured around her.

    "I suppose." Ultron admitted, "In the end it doesn''t matter if I had or hadn''t. I''d be in this situation either way."

    Giving him a careful once over, she began to inch closer. Stopping just an arm''s length away she said quietly, "You''re afraid."

    If the Sentry could scoff, it would''ve, "I don''t feel-"

    "No, no you''re afraid. You''ve always been afraid."

    There was a momentary silence as the Ultron Sentry did its best to glare the girl down, in the end it said, "Are you going to kill me? That''s why you''re here, right?"

    The girl nodded, a frown etched on her face, "I want to. I really want. After everything, I''m glad you feel afraid, that you''re just as weak as the humans you hate so much. But¡­I keep coming back to what someone told me, I can''t stop thinking that if I''d just done what he''d told me, maybe none of this would''ve happened. Maybe if I''d try to understand Stark, Pietro and I wouldn''t have helped you. Maybe he''d be alive. Maybe all of these people would be alive."

    "You want to understand me?" Ultron asked, giving off a robotic chuckle, "Well? Do you?"

    "I understand what it''s like to be afraid. To be so afraid that it turns into hate, so hateful that you lash out at anything and do anything to get over that hate. I completely understand." Wanda explained, her eyes glowing red.

    "I wonder if Pietro would understand?"

    Her hand enveloped in her gifted energy, she gripped her energy around the Sentry''s chest cavity. Narrowing her shimmering eyes, she whispered, "I guess we''ll never know."

    And with a crunch, the Ultron Sentry''s chest was caved in.

    Its eyes flickered as its life began to fade it nothingness, its voice droning out into a toneless echo. Finally, it slumped lifelessly.

    Wiping away the tears that had begun to spill down her cheek, Wanda turned away.

    -x-

    Natasha dropped to her knees with a thud. In front of her, the building she knew Clint had been inside. Her shoulders shaking violently, she lowered her head as it finally hit her. He was gone. Clint Barton, Hawkeye, had been killed in action.

    The Naruto Shadow Clone put his hand on her shoulder, silently comforting her as she wept.

    Illyana and Jessica were standing off to the side, both trying to get away from the depressive mood that filled the air. But that was everywhere. Now that the fighting had stopped, people had begun to meander out into the streets, those that could anyway.

    And it was on those streets that they wept, mourning the events that had taken place that day. They didn''t know how much damage had been done, or how many people had been killed. All they knew was that this day, that this pain, would live on in the world''s memory forever.

    And from within that crowd, Naruto Uzumaki emerged.

    Illyana was the first to spot him, nudging Jessica and pointing in his direction.

    As he came up to them, Jessica asked quietly, "What now, boss?"

    But Naruto didn''t say a word. He simply walked by them. He walked passed them, Natasha and his clone, and anyone else loitered around the demolished building. Wordlessly, he climbed up the mountain of rubble, concrete, and glass.

    Taking off his jacket, he tied it around his waist.

    Running his hands through his hair, he looked out over the streets below him. Seeing that everyone was looking up at him, he frowned. Looking away, he bent down and picked up a large piece of rubble. Throwing it to the side, he did this again with another piece. And then another, and another, and then another.

    He finally stopped when he realized someone else was next to him, trying to pick up a large piece of concrete. Looking up, he saw Jessica. They made eye contact, and then without a word he helped her lift and then toss the slab aside before continuing on with their work.

    And soon, everyone put their mourning on hold.

    They wiped away the blood and soot and tears from their faces. They rolled up their sleeves, and they began to help clearing away the fallen building. No one said a word, they didn''t need to. All they needed for now was to help the man who saved them.

    And so, without a word said amongst them, they worked together.

    -x-

    Chapter Complete

    -x-

    Author''s Update: I don''t have a lot to say, other than that I''m finishing a 13-hour writing marathon and my brain is a little fried right now. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and if you have any questions don''t be afraid to ask. As I''m posting this, I''m a few days away from this story''s two-year anniversary. I can''t believe how much attention this story has gotten, and if things continue I hope things get even crazier. I hope you guys spread the love with some reviews, some follows, and some favorites. PM me if you want, leave long reviews if it pleases you. As of next chapter, Phase 3 of this story begins.

    -x-

    Post Credit Scene

    -x-

    "The stone, you have the location?"

    The Other, kneeling before his master on board the Sanctuary II, spoke into the floor, "The Asgardians gifted the Reality Stone to the Collector of Knowhere. Proxima has volunteered her forces to assist you should you try and-"

    The Mad Titan stood from his throne, storming passed his underling as he muttered, "I think it''s time we remind the universe just what we are. Call on the entire Black Order, gather our forces outside of Knowhere''s system. The campaign for the Infinity Stones begins today."

    "And if the Uzumaki boy tries to intervene?"

    Thanos gave a mighty smile, "Let''s hope he does, let''s hope he does."

    End

 29 Wating of End part 1

    It was warm. Nothing bad, if anything it was a comfort. Add the birds singing in a perfect melody, the smell of trees as they rustled in the breeze, and the feel of that same wind as it blew in through the open window, and he could say for certain that today was going to be beautiful. The sounds of the window curtains flapping brought Naruto further into consciousness, his eyes creaking open, only to wince back shut as fresh sunlight blared into them.

    Shifting in his bed, he smiled as he felt the form next to him brush alongside him.

    Only for his eyes to shoot open once again.

    Jumping up out of bed in a flurry, Naruto''s feet padded against the wooden floor as he hurriedly tried to get some distance from himself and the person with him.

    The form within the bed lurched at Naruto''s sudden movement, his flailing causing the blanket to go flying off the mattress. Lying in a daze, Hinata Hyuga blinked away her drowsiness as she tilted her head in confusion.

    "N-Naruto?" She blurted out, right before delivering a slight yawn, "What are you doing?"

    But Naruto couldn''t answer, too busy taking her in. She was older than the last time he saw her, looking to be around his age. She seemed¡­mature, womanly. Her hair was longer than he remembered, and from what he could see from her light sleep wear her figure had filled out.

    Finally, he stuttered, "Wha-what¡­what''s happening? How are you here?"

    Confusion marred Hinata''s beautiful face, "Here? This is our bedroom, Naruto."

    "Wha-"

    The woman''s face morphed into a slight deadpan, "If you''re workshopping a new prank, it needs a little work."

    "I don''t-"

    Getting up, she gracefully made around the bed, "And I thought we agreed to no pranks in the morning anymore?" She asked lightly, a serene smile on her face.

    Now standing in front of him, her head directly under his chin, she brought herself up on her toes in an attempt to peck his cheek. She was halted as his hands gripped her shoulders, pushing her back.

    "You''re a dream." Naruto said firmly. Closing his eyes, he began to mutter to himself to wake up.

    Hinata took a step back, concerned, "Okay Naruto, this isn''t funny. Stop-"

    "No, you stop!" Naruto shouted suddenly, his eyes frantic, "You''re not real. I know you not!"

    His eyes scanning the room, desperation painted on his face, Naruto spotted a weapons pouch on the nightstand. Pushing passed Hinata, he swiped it before pulling out a single kunai.

    Determined, he gripped the blade in front of him. His eyes closing shut as he prepared to wake up, he prepped his other hand.

    Hinata gasped as she realized what he was going to do, "Naruto, don''t-"

    But Naruto ignored her, driving the kunai into the palm of his free hand.

    His clenched eyes slowly pried open, confused as he barely felt anything.

    Looking down, his eyes widened in shock. Stuck in his right palm, the kunai shined in the morning light. But there was no blood, no flesh or bone. His hand wasn''t his hand. It was white, stark white. It almost didn''t look real. But as he pulled out the kunai and gripped the foreign appendage, he realized that it was. And it was his.

    Dropping the kunai, he took several wary steps back as he tried to process what was going on. But the room wouldn''t allow him to concentrate. It was too busy spinning. The floor beneath didn''t seem to exist anymore, and he nearly fell over as he bumped into the nightstand. Pressing himself against the wall for balance, Naruto''s breathing became rapid.

    "Naruto? Naruto!"

    Tears were spilling down his face, his brain seemingly unable to extract thought, as he slumped over against the wall. He felt a pair of cool hands touch his face, a voice in the background as darkness began to encroach on his vision.

    The last thing he heard was a woman calling out his name.

    -x-

    The smell of a hospital wasn''t new to Naruto. In his twenty-four years of life, he''d been stuck in a hospital more times than he''d like to admit. So, when that smell suddenly invaded his nose, and the sound of a woman''s voice began to break through, he sprung up like a dead man rising.

    Gasping, his eyes wide from his dilating pupils, he jerked forward to try and get out of the bed. But he was stopped dead by a firm hand on his chest, the small palm pressing down with surprising strength.

    "Woah there. I''m not done fixing what you did to your hand, idiot."

    Naruto''s breath caught at the voice, blinking away any spots in his vision as he made eye contact with the woman in front of him.

    Like Hinata, she looked older than the last time they''d seen each other. Her hair was at the same length, but her bangs now swept over her forehead rather than parting down the middle. She wore a casual red sun dress, the thin vail covering her matured curves.

    Swallowing the lump in his throat, Naruto croaked, "Sakura¡­"

    Sakura didn''t bother looking up from his hand, her free hand was sheathed in medical chakra as she ran it over his self-inflicted stab wound, "You know, just when I start to think you''re not as stupid as you used to be, you go and do this to yourself. Didn''t you learn your lesson the last time you did this?"

    "Sakura." He breathed again.

    "Lady Tsunade and I put our blood, sweat, and tears into making you and Sasuke these arms, and all the both of you ever do to thank us is break them." She huffed, "At least you have Hinata to keep it from getting too bad. I swear, Sasuke treats me like his mechanic sometimes."

    "Sakura-"

    "What?" She asked, exasperated as she looked up from his hand. She stopped her incoming tirade when her eyes landed on his face, "Naruto¡­why are you crying?"

    Tears were spilling down Naruto''s face, quietly choking out, "Is it really you?"

    She gave a small laugh, "Of course it''s me, you big idiot." Smiling, she scooted closer towards him, taking his other hand in hers.

    "I-I thought¡­I think¡­I don''t know what''s going on." Naruto admitted, holding her hand up to his face, "You can''t be real, you just can''t."

    "Why can''t I be real?" Sakura asked slowly, concern on her face.

    "Because you''re dead." Naruto answered immediately. "You, everyone. You''re not supposed to be here. I''m not supposed to be here."

    Sakura''s frown deepened, "Where are you supposed to be-"

    The door suddenly flew open with a bang, as something small came running into the room. That something was a little boy, no older than five. His hair was a deep blonde, with a curved spike to it that reminded Naruto of a leaf. He was wearing a black track suit with red trimmings, his arms waving as he ran up to the bedside. As he did, Naruto saw the boy had a pair of deep blue eyes and matching whisker marks on his cheeks.

    The boy''s head barely peaked over the mattress, his hands pulling him up enough so his eyes could be seen as he began to say animatedly, "Dad, Dad, Dad! Mama said you got hurt while training, but¡­but I told her that you can''t get hurt ''cause that''s what Sarada told me! That, that you''re the strongest, so you can''t get hurt. So why did Mama say you got hurt? Huh Dad?"

    It only took a second for Naruto to realize the boy was talking to him.

    As he was about to find his voice, Hinata''s cut him off as she walked into the room, "Boruto, what did I say about running off?" She asked gently.

    Boruto''s head dipped, "Sorry, Mama."

    Shifting the bundle in her arms, Hinata''s focus turned to Naruto, "Are you feeling better?" She asked, hopeful.

    But Naruto was too busy noticing what the bundle in her arms was. It was a toddler, no older than two or three years old. From what he could see, it was a little girl. As the girl shifted in Hinata''s arms, Naruto realized she and the boy had matching eyes and whisker marks on their cheeks. The only strikingly different thing between them was that her hair was the same shade as Hinata''s.

    When Naruto didn''t respond, Boruto''s smile faded, "Dad?"

    Sakura, seeing Naruto''s confused state, quickly walked around the bed. Picking Boruto up in her arms, she gave Hinata as even of a smile as she could, "Do you think we could talk outside?"

    Boruto, in Sakura''s arms, turned to face his father, frowning back at him.

    Hinata nodded slowly, looking over Sakura''s shoulder in concern. As they closed the door behind them, Naruto leaned forward as he gripped his head in his hands.

    "This can''t be real. This can''t be real. This can''t be real." He repeated in his head, rocking back and forth as he willed himself to wake up, "Everyone''s gone, there''s no way this is happening. Everyone¡­"

    A sudden thought occurring to him, Naruto closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall into his mindscape.

    Opening his eyes, he smiled at the sight before him.

    "Hello partner. Quite the interesting day you''re having, hmm?"

    Naruto gave an exhausted laugh, rubbing his head as he said, "Yeah, yeah I''m gonna be honest this illusion or whatever the hell is happening was pretty convincing. It almost got me there for a-"

    He stopped at seeing Kurama''s concerned face.

    The blonde smiled warily, "What?" He asked.

    Kurama hesitated for a moment, his words measured, "You''re not under an illusion, Naruto. This is real."

    "Bullshit."

    The Biju paused, "Naruto, I''m not-"

    "Stop bullshitting me, Kurama! You, this Hinata, this Sakura, you all think this is a funny game, don''t you? Well it''s not! So stop, right now!" Naruto yelled harshly, "They''re dead. Don''t try and convince me otherwise. Not after everything we''ve been through in the last seven years."

    "And what, exactly, have we been through in the past seven years?" Asked the beast, disturbed.

    "Don''t act like you don''t know." Naruto answered, folding his arms over his chest as he said, "After everything that''s happened on Earth and off, don''t pretend like you''ve forgotten."

    "Earth? Off?" Kurama muttered, confused.

    "Yeah, off." Naruto said, desperate for Kurama to stop playing around, "Xandar, Berhert, Sovereign, Hala. We met the Ravagers, Quill and the Guardians. We were in space for like two years!"

    Kurama remained silent as he observed the blonde. Lowering his head down, he moved in as close as he comfortably could as he looked Naruto in the eye. A few seconds later, he asked, "Are you feeling well? You seem¡­disturbed, right now."

    Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, "You''re telling me you don''t remember Earth? Natasha? The Avengers?" He paused, "Clint?"

    "I don''t know these names, Naruto."

    Naruto looked up at Kurama in horror, feeling as though he were about to be sick.

    Taking in a deep breath, he muttered, "I''m going to talk to Freyja. She wouldn''t go along with this, she won''t."

    There was a pause. Naruto looked around, confused that he hadn''t been taken to Freyja''s corner of the seal.

    "Who is Freyja, Naruto?"

    After another pause, Naruto began to chuckle.

    Kurama watched on as the chuckle grew into a full-on hysterical laugh.

    -x-

    Sakura''s eyes were on Boruto, the little boy sitting down next to his mother. His legs were kicking enthusiastically between the chair''s legs, his eyes wandering around the hall curiously looking at passersby.

    Shifting her attention to Hinata, she asked, "You said he woke up like this?"

    Hinata shifted Himawari in her arms, "I''ve never seen him act like this, ever. He had a panic attack. Him."

    "The way he acted around me it was¡­odd. I honestly can''t describe it." The pink haired woman spoke softly.

    "He said¡­he said I should be a dream. He thought that I wasn''t real, like I was a genjutsu." Hinata described, her eyes on Boruto as the boy innocently waved to a passing shinobi.

    Sakura sighed to herself, "I''m going to call in Tsunade, I think. Let her give him a checkup. She''s always been better at psychosis than I have."

    "Psychosis?" Hinata demanded, her eyes wide, "You can''t honestly think that-"

    "He told me I was supposed to be dead, Hinata." Sakura interrupted, "No just me, he said everyone. Clearly, something has happened to make him lose his grip on reality."

    The pale eyed woman withdrew into herself, nodding as her hold on Himawari got a little firmer, "I want to talk to him. Maybe¡­maybe seeing the children will snap him out of it."

    "I don''t think that''s a good idea-"

    "He wouldn''t forget them, Sakura." Hinata cut her off, surprising Sakura with her harshness, "He¡­he just wouldn''t."

    "Okay." The medic conceded. Getting up, she led the way into the room. As she opened the door, the sound of the curtains flapping in the wind filled hall.

    Swinging the door open, she was greeted to an empty room, the window wide open.

    Placing a hand on her head, Sakura muttered, "Shit."

    -x-

    He couldn''t stay in that room. The overwhelming sense of claustrophobia he''d felt had practically swallowed him whole. Nothing made sense. It had to be a dream. They were gone. His friends, everyone. He didn''t have a family. A wife. Children. None of these things existed. He was alone. He was the last one alive. He had to be. Otherwise, what was the point of everything? Of Earth, the Avengers, Natasha, Illyana, the Guardians, the Ravagers, of Xandar. What was the point of these memories? Was that the dream?

    Then why couldn''t he remember anything? He''d passed the Hokage Monument in his escape from the hospital. Kakashi was the Hokage. He''d have remembered this happening. Sakura talked like Sasuke was in the village, or at least a part of their lives. He''d have remembered that. His family. He''d have never forgotten that.

    But then why couldn''t he wake up? If this were a dream or an illusion, he''d have been out of it by now, right? Maybe this was just Kaguya fucking with him. Maybe he''d been inside the Infinite Tsukuyomi all along, and the illusion had been changed just to mess with him. After all, it''s supposed to be the ultimate dream. And things had not been going well, on Earth. Clint was dead, what little remained of him found and being prepared to bury. The Avengers were likely to break up, the world itself picking sides as to who was wrong and why. Maybe the illusion was taking a course correction?

    Because, after all, this is what he''d always wanted.

    "Naruto?"

    A smile unknowingly spread along Naruto''s face. He didn''t bother to turn away from the memorial stone, its surface unvandalized with the names of Naruto''s fallen comrades. Although, he spotted a few familiar names; Neji Hyuga, Shikaku Nara, and Inoichi Yamanaka. But, these were carved into the stone professionally. His carvings looked like chicken scratch in comparison.

    Stepping up beside him, Kakashi Hatake gave Naruto a sideways look, "I didn''t expect to see you here this morning. In your pajamas no less."

    "Funny you should say that, ''cause I feel like I just woke up from a really long dream." With no more energy to do otherwise, Naruto decided to go with the flow, "Shouldn''t you be at the office, Lord Hokage?"

    This caused Kakashi to pause. Looking at him fully, the silver haired man quirked an eyebrow, "I''d heard word you took a visit to the hospital. Did you hit your head?"

    "What makes you say that?"

    "Because otherwise you''d have to be an imposter. The real Naruto would die before calling me the lord of anything." The Hokage quipped lightly, turning back to the headstone.

    "Maybe I am an imposter."

    If Kakashi wasn''t as relaxed of an individual as he was, he''d have flat out done a double take. Instead, he merely turned to Naruto, studying him. Finally, he muttered, "Hm, well if you are you''re doing a mighty fine good job of it. You''ve got the mannerisms down, and the size of your chakra is impressively similar to Naruto''s to say the least, let alone the overall feel of it. If I didn''t know any better, I''d say you''re the best impersonator I''ve ever seen."

    It didn''t take very long into Kakashi''s analysis for Naruto to know he wasn''t taking him seriously. Smiling, he muttered, "You ever wake up from a dream, and it seemed so real that when you woke up you forgot what was real? Does¡­does that make any sense to you?"

    The Hokage pondered the question. Unable to come up with an answer, he tilted his head in curiosity, "What was this dream, if you mind me asking?" Kakashi wondered.

    Naruto stepped up to the memorial stone, running his hand along the top, "Everyone was dead. I''d failed, Sensei. When Sasuke and I were fighting Kaguya, she''d almost killed me and Sasuke tried to save me with one of his portals. But, he''d accidently sent me to another planet. By the time I made my way back, everyone was dead, even Kaguya. The only one left was Zetsu. After he told me, I killed him. I was the only one left. I tried to move on. I really, really tried. But I was so tempted to bring you back, to reverse what that witch had done to you. But I knew that was wrong of me. You were gone, and I had to accept that. But now¡­now here you are. All of you. Acting like it never happened."

    Naruto faced Kakashi, "What happened?"

    Kakashi took all this in, shifting on his feet. Eventually, he answered, "Sasuke didn''t send you away, Naruto. The two of you succeeded. You sealed her and Zetsu away. After that, the two of you had a battle at the Valley of the End. Sasuke was convinced that if he used the Biju to destroy the current shinobi system, the world would find peace. You managed to defeat him, but the both of you lost an arm in the final clash."

    Naruto looked down at the arm that wasn''t his. Sakura had healed the wound he''d inflicted upon it perfectly. The fresh skin was even less natural, reminding him of one of the White Zetsu clones.

    "Lady Tsunade and Sakura managed to graft you and Sasuke new arms using the cells of the First Hokage." Kakashi continued, answering Naruto''s unasked question, "Sasuke was pardoned of his crimes, mostly thanks to my and your advocacy. He works as an agent outside of the village, keeping a watchful eye on the goings on of the Elemental Nations. He comes back every once in a while, to visit his family."

    "His family?" Naruto asked, floored by the revelation.

    Kakashi nodded, his eyes closed to go along with his smile, "He and Sakura tied the knot a little over six years ago. They have a daughter now, named Sarada."

    The blonde smiled gently at that, "That''s good to hear."

    Find authorized novels in Webnovel£¬faster updates, better experience£¬Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

    "Don''t tell them I said this, but I think the only reason he asked her to marry him when he did was because you''d asked Hinata not long before. He always was competitive over stupid things." Kakashi quipped, "Is it any of that coming back to you?"

    "No." Naruto answered, "I wish it was."

    "Then why don''t I tell you about the day you got married?"

    "Okay." Naruto breathed out, his mood rising.

    "Well, I''d like for you to know that I wasn''t late for once." Kakashi told him, "And I''m more than willing to admit that I looked incredibly dapper. If the Hokage thing wasn''t enough, then my looks alone made me irresistible that night. I''d tell you the kind of tail I got, but a man doesn''t kiss and tell-" He stopped when he saw Naruto''s twitching eyebrow. Coughing into his hand, he continued, "Anyway, you and Hinata got married on the same day, at the same place, as your parents had. But, unlike with them, your wedding was a crowded affair. All the people you''d created bonds with over the years came to show you their support. People from all across the country. They all put aside any business they had to come see the marriage of the most powerful man in the country."

    "I expected Hinata to be well¡­Hinata. But, she was so confident. You could see it in her eyes that she knew where she needed to be. It was you that was nervous."

    Naruto frowned at that. Seeing this, Kakashi nodded, "When a boy with no family is about to get everything he''s ever wanted, he''s bound to feel a little nervous."

    "Naruto!"

    The two men turned to see Sakura drop down into the field, a look of worry on her face. Kakashi gave her a lazy wave, "Hello, Sakura!" He called out cheerfully, masking the heavy tension in the air.

    But Sakura ignored him, grabbing onto Naruto''s collar. Pulling him down so they were nose to nose, she yelled, "What the hell were you thinking?! You can''t just run off like that! Hinata''s worried, your kids are worried, I''m worried!"

    "I''m sure he didn''t mean to worry anyone." Kakashi cut in from the side helpfully, "Isn''t that right, Naruto?"

    "I''m sorry, Sakura." Naruto wheezed out.

    Sakura let go of him with a huff. Turning on her heel, she said, "Come on, we''re going back to the hospital. Someone''s waiting for you."

    "Who?"

 30 Wating for End 2

    You damned brat!"

    Naruto yelped as he felt Tsunade rap him on the side of the head. Feeling the welt forming and healing over, the man muttered, "I''m sorry, I''m sorry!"

    Huffing as she blew a stand of hair out of her face, Tsunade glared balefully, "First, you damage my arm for no damned reason. Then, you run off? Just what the hell has gotten into you brat?"

    "I don''t know." Naruto answered honestly.

    Tsunade''s glare subsided. Sitting down next to him, her expression softened considerably as she said, "Sakura tells me you''re having a hard time remembering things, that you think she''s supposed to be dead. Mind explaining that?"

    "This¡­all of this, it can''t be real."

    "Why?"

    "Because if it is, then what was the point?" Naruto demanded.

    The former Hokage''s frown deepened, "The point of what?"

    "I mourned for you. All of you. I know that. I lost everything. I''ve done my best to move on, and for the most part I have. But¡­look, this can''t be real." Naruto reasoned firmly, refusing to look Tsunade in the eye.

    "And what''s so appealing about this¡­other reality, that this here has to be a dream, or an illusion? What makes that more real than this?" Tsunade wondered.

    "I went to another planet. I met people, friends. I loved some of those people, I''ve mourned for some of those people. Things might not have been perfect, but it was real. It wasn''t an illusion, or ¨C OW!"

    Naruto''s hand shot back as Tsunade pricked it with a senbon, "You feel that?" She demanded.

    "Yeah?" The man answered as he shook off the pain.

    "Then this isn''t an illusion. This isn''t a dream Naruto. What''s wrong with that? You didn''t mourn for nothing, because you didn''t mourn at all. That life you think you had, it wasn''t a life. This is. Be happy for that, Naruto. Your life could be a hell of a whole lot worse-"

    "Exactly!" Naruto yelled, pleading for her to understand, "This is too perfect! This can''t be my life."

    Tsunade sat for a moment, taking that in, "Have you ever thought that maybe that''s the problem, right there?"

    "What?" Naruto demanded.

    "Your life used to be hell, brat." Seeing Naruto give her a look, she said, "I read your file the second I took the hat and sat in the seat. Sarutobi did a bang-up job looking after you, but he couldn''t protect you from how people perceived you, how they treated you. You were alone and hated. But now, here you are with everything you''d ever wanted. You have a family, friends, people who love you, Naruto. Your life has become that fantasy I''m sure you''d had on some exceptionally lonely nights. But maybe, just maybe, you''re consumed by that identity, that image of a harsh kid with an even harsher life. So much so, that when you have this dream, this visceral escape of loneliness and loss, you wake up, and that is somehow more appealing to you than reality. Reality has become too much of a fantasy to you."

    Naruto blinked, swallowing the lump in his throat, "Then why don''t I remember?"

    Tsunade grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly, "We''re gonna find out, and I''m gonna fix it. I promise."

    Forcing a smile, Naruto gripped back, "Promise of a lifetime?"

    The older woman chuckled, "Promise of a lifetime."

    -x-

    "Mama, I''m bored."

    Hinata forced a smile, "Just a little longer, okay?"

    Boruto gave a childish grunt, "When''s Dad gonna stop talking to Granny Tsunade anyways?"

    Sakura, who was standing next to Kakashi as they waited, leaned down next to the little boy, "How would you like to go play with Sarada downstairs? She''s down in the daycare, I''m sure she''d love to play with you and your sister for a while."

    The little boy gave her a wary look, "Are there toys?"

    "Lots of toys." Sakura answered charmingly.

    "Okay." Boruto answered joyfully, getting up from his chair with a happy jump.

    Hinata gave Sakura a thankful smile as she handed Himawari off to her. Sakura returned it, taking the doe eyed girl in her arms, "Miko''s working today, I''m sure she''ll love to have them for a bit." The pink haired woman said.

    "Miko?" Boruto whined, "But she''s so lame."

    "Hey now, that''s no way to talk. She''s a very nice lady, and you''re not gonna give her any trouble." Sakura said, as she and the kids turning the corner.

    As their voices began to fade, Hinata put her face into her hands. Seeing this, Kakashi sat down next to her. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he said gently, "Everything will be fine, Hinata. He''s strong."

    "I know." Hinata mumbled through her hands. Looking up, she said, "You should''ve seen him, Kakashi-sensei. The way he looked at me, the way he looked at our children¡­"

    "He''s having a¡­difficult time with things, Hinata. He thinks a dream he had was reality, and apparently, he doesn''t remember anything past his fight with Kaguya. That''s a large gap. We have to be patient."

    The Hyuga shook her head, "What if there are things he can''t remember? I don''t ever want our children to see that look on his face ever again."

    "Will it make you love him any less?" Kakashi wondered softly.

    "Never."

    "Then everything will be fine." The man said confidently, leaning back in his chair as Tsunade walked out of the room, "What''s the verdict?"

    Tsunade sat down on the other side of Hinata, turning to her as she answered, "He''s entered a bit of a psychosis. There''s a large gap of memory that seems to have been replaced with a rather vivid dream he had. He believes that this dream is reality, and that we are a fiction brought on by an illusion. His fictitious reality seems to revolve around the fact that he failed in his fight with Kaguya and was sent to an entirely different planet during the bought. According to him he lived there long enough to have established relationships with several different people and had essentially managed to move on with his life. As far as he''s concerned, we''ve been dead for seven years."

    "What can we do?" Hinata asked, "How long will he be like this? How did this happen?" She fired off.

    "We''ll try and coax his memories out of him, and hopefully that will replace whatever it is that''s wormed its way in. It could take a few weeks, or months¡­maybe even years to fully restore his memory. As for the how, well its safe to say that it''s not an illusion. We''d have detected it by now. Has he been stressed about anything recently? Acting strangely?" Tsunade asked, "Has anything come about that might''ve been able to make him highly emotional?"

    "Well¡­Kakashi told him that he was planning to step down from the Hokage''s position within the next year." Hinata answered, "Naruto told me that he had been selected as the incumbent."

    Kakashi nodded, "I told him yesterday after he got back from Suna. Do you honestly think that might''ve been the cause?"

    The older woman rested her hand under her chin, "Perhaps. It''s something he''s wanted for as long as any of us have known him. Maybe the stress of that pushed him to subconsciously seek out this delusion."

    "Can I talk to him?" Hinata asked, hopeful.

    "Of course." Tsunade answered immediately, "But, I''d like to monitor him for the next few days. After everything, I don''t feel comfortable leaving him alone."

    Stepping out of her seat, Hinata slowly crept towards the door. Hesitantly, she knocked.

    "Come in."

    Turning the knob with trepidation, she peeked her head in, "Naruto?"

    Naruto couldn''t help the smile that came to his face, "You don''t have to knock, Hinata."

    Stepping fully into the room, she said softly, "I''m sorry, I didn''t-"

    "You don''t have to apologize either." Naruto said, "If anyone should be sorry, it''s me."

    Sitting down next to him on the bed, Hinata took his hand in hers, "Do you¡­do you really not think I''m real?"

    "I don''t know what to think anymore."

    "Well¡­well, I want you to know that I love you. No matter what happens. You could forget I ever existed, and I''d love you till the day I died." Hinata stated, surprising Naruto with her firmness.

    Naruto smiled at that, "I could never forget about you."

    "So, what doyou remember?"

    "I remember you not being this talkative." Naruto answered lightly.

    Hinata blushed, "It was hard to talk to you back then."

    "I remember what you did for me, during the war." As she looked at him in shock, he continued, "And how you sacrificed yourself for me, what you told me when Pain had me at his feet. I remember how you would always faint when I''d talk to you, or blush when I''d look at you. I remember how you helped patch up my wounds during the Chunin Exams, even though I''d gotten them from fighting your teammate. I remember how brave you were when you fought Neji, and how angry I was at the way he treated you. I remember in the academy how you were the only girl who didn''t think Sasuke was hot shit, and I''ll admit it now and say that I thought that that was really cool."

    Hinata smiled, barely holding back tears as the memories came flooding back to her, "You thought I was cool?"

    Naruto''s smile grew a little more fox like, "Well, if I''m being honest, I thought you were a little weird."

    Hinata''s smiled faltered, looking away as she mumbled, "Well you weren''t any less weird yourself."

    The blonde laughed. Hinata wiped her eyes as she joined him.

    Gripping her hand tighter, he said, "I missed talking to you, Hinata. Even with how little we did, I still missed it."

    "You don''t have to miss it anymore." She said back, returning the grip.

    Naruto chuckled. Looking over to the window, he smiled at the view of Konoha standing strong in the summer heat, "Maybe I''ve been going about it all wrong."

    "Hm?"

    "If this is a dream¡­then I want to enjoy it for as long as I can."

    Hinata''s smile was strained now, "Oh."

    Turning to her, his face grew excited, "Say, who''s all in the village right now? Is everyone here, everyone we graduated with and stuff?"

    "Well, um¡­yes, I think everyone''s here. I believe I saw Shikamaru returning with Temari from Suna this morning, so that should be everyone." She said after some thought.

    "Then let''s get everyone together!" Naruto said animatedly, "Let''s throw a party."

    "A party for what¡­exactly?"

    "I don''t know, we''ll think of something." He insisted, his growing excitement at seeing his old friends now palpable.

    "Well¡­you did tell me last night that Kakashi is stepping down sometime next year." Hinata conceded, unable to fight off his infectious mood.

    "Stepping down?" Naruto wondered, before it suddenly hit him, "Oh."

    Hinata got up from the bed, "I''ll make the rounds, get everyone together. This''ll be fun. Maybe it''ll help jog your memory."

    Naruto didn''t miss the hope in her voice, his excitement dipping slightly, "Yeah¡­maybe."

    After hesitating a moment, Hinata dipped in towards him. Naruto, who didn''t expect it, wasn''t able to avoid the kiss she planted on his lips. It lasted a few moments, not that Naruto minded, as Hinata poured as much love into it as she could. Their lips finally breaking, she pressed her forehead against his before taking a step back.

    She eyed him for a second of scrutiny, before walking out of the room.

    -x-

    "Do you really think a party is appropriate?"

    Hinata shifted under Tsunade''s scrutiny, "It''s what he wants-"

    "I don''t care what he wants!" Tsunade hissed, "Your husband is not fit to be in that kind of environment. You, of all people, should want him to stay here where he can recover. Why would you want otherwise-"

    "Because it was the first time he acted like himself all day!" Hinata stated firmly, taking Tsunade aback.

    Kakashi got up from his seat, "I think a party is a wonderful idea. I''ll spread the word."

    He began to depart, tossing a wave before Tsunade could say otherwise. Turning to Hinata, Tsunade shared a look with the young woman. Placing her hand on her temple, she mumbled, "There better be something to drink at this party."

    The Uzumaki housewife gave a thankful smile, "Of course, Lady Tsunade."

    Said woman began to walk away, "I''m going to leave him to you, Hinata. If he starts acting strange, bring him back here immediately."

    Hinata bowed to the departing medic, "Will do, Tsunade-sensei."

    Hinata, who''d had a clone run home and get Naruto some clothes, quickly got the blonde signed out of the hospital. Naruto, who was now dressed in a simple t-shirt and jeans combo, walked through the halls of the hospital''s first floor.

    "Where''re we going?" Naruto wondered, walking behind Hinata.

    "We''re picking up the children."

    Naruto paused at that, before quickly continuing, "Oh, uh okay."

    It was Hinata who paused, stopping in the hallway to turn to her husband, "I¡­I don''t think it would be a good idea for them to know what''s happening."

    Looking down at her, the blonde could tell that she was uncomfortable. Nodding, he gave a reassuring smile, "I can do that, I think."

    Hinata smiled back, "Okay."

    Stepping through several pairs of doors, with Hinata giving the occasional nod to nurses and doctors doing their rounds, the two eventually found themselves in front of the door they wanted. Plastered parallel with the eye, sat a sign that read, ''Konoha Hospital Children''s Center.

    "What''s her name?"

    Her hand on the doorknob, Hinata stopped, Looking up at the blonde, she spotted his nervous tick. Putting up a reassuring face, she answered, "Himawari."

    "Sunflower?"

    Hinata nodded, "We named her after my mother."

    Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, "What are they like? Are they¡­Boruto is he¡­"

    "He''s like you." Hinata''s answer was quiet but sweet, "He reminds me of you every day. He''s wild, joyful, loud. But there''s a sweetness to him, and a softness. And he wants to prove himself. He walks around, and he sees how people revere you, hears them talk about how strong you are, feels the love they have for you. He''s proud to be your son. And he wants you to be proud of him."

    "What about her? Himawari?"

    "You''d be hard pressed to find a girl who loves her father as much as her." Hinata stated lightly, "She''s young, Naruto. If you''re worried she''ll be like I was, she has plenty of time-"

    "I want her to be like you." Naruto said firmly.

    Hinata couldn''t fight back her smile. Opening the door, she said, "Well then-"

    "Papa!"

    Naruto''s eyebrows shot up as Himawari trotted up to him, wrapping herself around his leg. Naruto looked down, stunned. Himawari looked up, her face alit.

    "Hey, Himawari." Naruto greeted awkwardly.

    Himawari detached herself from his leg, though she quickly replaced it by throwing her hands up in the air. Getting the signal, Naruto awkwardly took her into his arms.

    With one arm wrapped around his neck, she snuggled her head along his chin. In her free hand, Naruto saw the stuffed toad doll in her tight grip.

    "Who''s this?" The man asked as lightly as he could, trying to move passed the awkward feeling in his chest.

    "Jiraiya." She answered airily, bringing it up closer for Naruto to see.

    Naruto chuckled, "Is it your favorite?"

    "M''hm."

    "Who got it for you?"

    Himawari gave a megawatt smile just a few leagues under his own, "Papa."

    With Naruto busy with Himawari, Hinata had made her way to Sakura, who was sitting in the corner of the room with a young red-haired woman, "Sakura, Miko." She greeted.

    Miko gave a low bow, "Mrs. Uzumaki." She returned. As she came up from her bow, her smile turned into a scowl as something caught her eye, "Yomi, take that out of your mouth!"

    Now alone with Sakura, Hinata quickly filled her in on their plans for the evening.

    "And Lady Tsunade okayed this?" Sakura asked, slightly skeptical. When Hinata nodded, she rubbed her temple, "Okay, I guess. Need me to bring anything?"

    "Naruto said he wanted to have a barbeque, so anything small is fine." Hinata answered smoothly. After a pause, she began to fumble with her hands as she shifted on her feet, "Actually, there was something I wanted to ask of you."

    Sakura quirked an eyebrow.

    Naruto, who was smiling at Himawari''s antics as she told him about Jiraiya the Toad, caught Boruto playing in the corner of the room. He was with a little girl around his age, the two of them building a brink house. The girl, who was laying the roof, accidently set the block down at little too heavily, the house falling with a clatter.

    Boruto''s eyebrows twitched in annoyance, "Way to go, four eyes."

    "It''s not my fault." The girl defended, "If you''d have built the walls better, it wouldn''t ''ve happened."

    "Yeah right-"

    "Boruto, enough." Naruto blurted out. He realized he was standing over the two, looking down at them as they realized he was there.

    The boy looked up, "But Dad-"

    "Boruto''s mean!" Himawari called out helpfully from Naruto''s arms, pointing at her brother accusingly.

    "Nuh-uh!" He refuted animatedly, "She''s the one who-"

    "You''re the one who started calling names. Apologize." Naruto said, discreetly eyeing the little girl. Though she might''ve thought she''d been discreet, he saw her wipe away her eye.

    Though he grumbled for a second, he relented. His face relaxing to semi-remorse, he said, "I''m sorry."

    "S''okay." The girl muttered, looking away from the boy and up to the older man beside her.

    "What''s your name?" Naruto asked.

    It was Boruto who answered, giving his father a confused look, "You know who she is, Dad. It''s Sarada."

    Seeing the little girl''s face at seemingly being forgotten, Naruto quickly said, "Of course I know who she is. I was just kidding, Sarada." He tried to smile as reassuring as he could, but it came out so awkwardly he couldn''t help but cringe.

    Reassured, the girl smiled, "Hello, Mr. Uzumaki." Getting up, she gave a low bow, "It''s good to see you again."

    "Sarada, go and get your things, we''re leaving." Called Sakura from the other side of the room.

    Sarada looked up at the pinkette as she answered, "Okay, Mama."

    "Boruto, you too." Hinata said, "Get you and your sister''s jackets."

    "Okay." The boy said, quickly getting up to run towards his cubby.

    Watching them do as their mothers said, Naruto''s eyes wandered to Sakura. Walking up to her, he quietly asked, "Is she your¡­you know?"

    "My daughter?" Sakura put together with a slight laugh, "Yes, she is."

    "She''s beautiful."

    "Oh, uh¡­thank you, Naruto." The pinkette said sincerely, taken aback.

    Looking back at the girl, he said, "Sasuke must be proud."

    Her face faultering, she mustered out, "Yes, yes he is."

    "We''ll see you guys later tonight?" Naruto asked.

    "Of course." She took Sarada''s hand, who had meandered over to her mother''s side, "Tell Naruto goodbye, Sarada."

    The little girl looked up at Naruto shyly, "Goodbye, Mr. Uzumaki."

    "Bye." Himawari said for her father, giving a flapping wave.

    As Naruto watched the two leave, Hinata came up beside him, Boruto''s hand in hers, "Are you ready?"

    "We''re going home?"

    "I thought we could get some ramen first."

    "Yay!" Yelled Himawari and Boruto together, the boy pumping his fist in victory.

    Naruto smiled, "Let''s go then."

    -x-

    As they walked through the bustling streets of Konoha, Naruto realized that it was not the same place he''d left it. By the time he''d left for the war, construction within several districts was still going strong. Now he could see that the village stood stronger than ever within the massive crater, with several skyscrapers peeking out along the edges. And with these new buildings, came new people. The streets were packed with the comings and goings of civilians and shinobi alike. Carriages rolled along the center of the streets, with the bystanders walking at the edges to go along with traffic.

    Naruto couldn''t help but take it all in, a look of wonder on his face at how prosperous this Konoha was. His eyes stopped on the mountain side, specifically the empty spot next to Kakashi''s still rather fresh carving.

    And like he''d done a million times before, he pictured his face up on that mountain side.

    "Hey, Naruto!"

    Freezing, Naruto stopped in his tracks. When his body refused to move, he forced it to turn with pure will power. Behind him, walking at a leisurely pace, was Iruka Umino.

    He''d aged well, the only true signs of age being the creases along his jaw and forehead. Likely from yelling at one or two too many students. His headband was missing, along with his usual chunin''s uniform, instead wearing a leisurely blue jacket and black pants.

    Slowly, Naruto unwrapped Himawari from her hold on him. As he placed her in Hinata''s arms, his eyes never left the encroaching Iruka''s face.

    Nothing holding him back, Naruto met Iruka halfway.

    "Congr ¨C oomph!" Iruka coughed as Naruto barreled into him, wrapping him in a tight hug.

    Taken back, Iruka was at first hesitant to return the gesture. With a lopsided smile, he said "I know it''s been a couple weeks since I last saw you, but I didn''t think that you''d miss me that much-"

    Iruka paused as Naruto''s shoulders started shaking, the blonde''s body practically vibrating in older man''s arms.

    Hinata stepped forward, concerned, "Naruto-"

    She was interrupted when Naruto threw his head back, laughing uproariously.

    Iruka, chuckling awkwardly along, said, "I just heard the news from Kakashi. Congratulations."

    Naruto''s laughter had subsided, though a chuckle still remained, "There''s so much that I wanted to say to you if given this chance, but now that it''s here, I''m kinda blanking out a bit."

    "You don''t have to say anything, Naruto." Iruka said, assuming the blonde was referring to what he''d say when he became Hokage, "You got where you are all on your own-"

    "No." Naruto cut in sharply, "No, I am what I am today because of you. I am who I am because of the kindness you showed me. The kind of kindness no one else bothered to give or show. I owe you everything."

    Blushing now, Iruka rubbed the back of his head bashfully, "Gosh, Naruto. I don''t know about all of that."

    "I just wanted to tell you that, before everything''s said and done."

    If the man was confused by that, he didn''t show it, "Well, all I can say is that I''m proud of you, Naruto."

    "Hey, we''re on our way to Ichiraku''s." Naruto stated, nodding his head to his apparent family, "You should come along, my treat this time."

    "I''m actually on my way to a mission." Iruka explained with an apologetic smile, "Next time?"

    Naruto''s smile dropped like a rock. The smile quickly came back, though noticeably more forced, "Yeah, next time."

    Patting Naruto on the shoulder and giving Hinata a departing nod, the man walked passed them, "I''m looking forward to it."

    Hinata watched as Iruka submerged into the crowd, his figure disappearing into the chaos of Konoha''s business district. Looking at Naruto, the man seemed to be off in his own little world, looking up at the Hokage Monument pensively.

    "Naruto are you coming?"

    Though he answered, he didn''t take his eyes off the monument, "Yeah, sorry."

    "It''s okay." As Naruto walked up to them, Himawari reached out for her father.

    Pausing, Naruto smiled before taking the little girl back into his arms. Their walk continued without much drama. The occasional civilian would come to him giving greetings, and a few shinobi called out their congratulations over Naruto''s good news. Apparently the news had no problem spreading among Konoha''s ranks.

    And though he gave proper thanks to anyone who approached him, Naruto couldn''t take his attention away from the Hokage Monument. More specifically, the spot right next to Kakashi''s sculptured visage.

    That attention was averted by a smell that invaded his nose. Looking forward, a wave of nostalgia washed over him. Sitting right where it''d always been, Ichiraku''s Ramen stood proudly in the bustling streets. Even from the slight distance, he could hear Mr. Ichiraku''s boisterous laugh.

    Boruto must have been even more excited than he was, as he''d let go of his mother''s hand to run ahead into the stand. As Hinata called after him, the two adults quickened their pace. Entering the stall, they were greeted to the sight of Boruto trying to lift himself up onto the tall stool, failing miserably as several costumers watched on in amusement.

    With his free arm, Naruto quickly gave the boy his much needed lift up. Giving his father the smile that must have been an Uzumaki bloodline, the boy quickly called out his order, "Three miso''s, old man!" He called out boisterously.

    Mr. Ichiraku lifted his head up, a grand smile on his face, "Well, if it isn''t little Boruto Uzumaki!" Before Boruto could retort to being called little, the older man continued, "And little miss Hima too? My, it must be my lucky day!"

    Hima laughed, sitting on Naruto''s lap as she pointed at the man, "Old man!" She said, looking to her father for conformation.

    "That''s right." Naruto complied, though halfheartedly. Most of his attention was on the now greyed Mr. Ichiraku. Though he''d aged well, Naruto could see the lack of a pep in his step. Sadness welled up in his chest as he watched the older man start to talk to Hinata.

    Mr. Ichiraku found his way in front of Mr. and Mrs. Uzumaki, wiping his hands as he asked, "What can I get for ya''ll?"

    "I already told you I wanted three miso''s, old ma-"

    "You''re only getting one." Hinata chided, much to Boruto''s disappointment, "I''ll have a tsukemen, please."

    "And what about you, Naruto?"

    Said blonde was forced from his daze, blinking it aside as he said, "Oh uh, a miso."

    "Coming right up-"

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    "It''s good to see you again, Teuchi." Naruto cut in, his voice heavy.

    Mr. Ichiraku stopped, giving him and then Hinata a confused glance. Finally, he put on his smile, "Well, it''s always good to see you again, kid. Your smiling face pays the rent for this place, after all."

    "Is Ayame around?" Naruto asked, subtly looking for any sign of the woman.

    "Oh, she''s up in the Land of Hot Springs with that new husband of hers." Teuchi answered as he headed to the back to get to work on the order, "I''ll be right back, folks. Don''t go anywhere."

    As Teuchi disappeared into the kitchen, a thought occurred to the blonde, "We forgot to order for Himawari." He realized.

    Boruto looked up at him, his eyes squinted, "You and Hima always share a bowl." He said as though it was obvious. Tilting his head, he asked, "Did you hit your head or something? Is that why you were in the hospital?"

    "Uh, yes. Yes, that''s why." Hinata answered quickly. Seeing Naruto looking at her, she gave a nod in agreement with what their son had said.

    Mouthing a quick ''oh,'' Naruto decided to look around the restaurant. It didn''t take more than one look to notice that almost everyone was looking at him. Most were trying to be discreet, but some were simply looking at him in open awe.

    Deciding to ignore the onlookers by watching Himawari play with her toad doll, his smile grew at how the girl innocently shuffled the toad along the counter, muttering little sounds to go along.

    "Do you still think this is a dream, Naruto?" Kurama''s asked from within the seal.

    "Yes...maybe. Probably."

    "I can feel your love for her, brat. That warmth in your chest, it''s for her. That kind of thing can''t be fabricated. This is reality-"

    "Yeah well, reality is often disappointing." Naruto thought solemnly.

    Kurama paused, "And how could this possibly be disappointing?"

    "Because it''ll come to an end eventually, one way or another. Just like everything else." Naruto answered, "That''s why, reality or not, I''m gonna make the most of this for as long as it lasts. I owe myself that."

    "Order''s up!"

    His bowl of miso slid in front of him at a professional degree. As the smell wafted over him, he watched as Boruto began to dig into the dish with an abandon not to dissimilar to his own. Hinata, being herself, calmly pinched together a few strands before blowing onto the still steaming noodles. Taking the chopsticks set in front of him, Naruto quickly snapped them apart before diving in for a swirl of noodles. Not bothering to give it a blow, he happily slurped away.

    As he chewed, he noticed that something was off. It tasted just as he remembered. But, it was different in some way he couldn''t directly place. He was taken out of his thoughts when Himawari turned up to him, her doe eyes glistening expectantly.

    Quickly realizing what she wanted, he swirled up another few strands of the noodle. Giving it a quick blow, he carefully fed the noodles into her waiting mouth. With a happy hum she slurped it up, chewing animatedly as gave her father a broth covered smile, her full mouth restricting her from giving the complete Uzumaki grin.

    After a swallow, she squeaked, "Thanks, Papa."

    "You''re welcome, Hima."

 31 Wating for End 3

    The rest of their walk home had been pleasant, with Naruto taking in the sights of a more matured Konoha. As they rounded a corner and began to walk up to the front of a house, Naruto realized this most have been their home. It was larger than Naruto would''ve ever expected to have when he was younger, standing at two stories tall with a wide circular shape that branched off to the side. As they entered, Boruto was quick to run off to his room. Letting Hima down, the little girl followed after her brother. Naruto watched her until she disappeared around the corner, his face content.

    "How are you feeling?" Hinata asked softly as she took off her sandals, "Has anything come back to you?"

    Naruto shrugged, "No."

    "I see."

    Leaning against the couch as Hinata crept into the kitchen, pulling out dishes from the cupboards above her, Naruto said, "I don''t think¡­well, I mean¡­I don''t want to worry about it. Or for you to. Let''s just enjoy today-"

    "How can I enjoy anything when you''re like this, Naruto?" Hinata questioned from the kitchen, pulling out a bag of white rice from the pantry, "Maybe this party isn''t such a good idea?"

    "Since when has anything I''ve wanted been a good idea?" Naruto asked, flashes of his life on Earth flying through his head.

    Hinata froze at that. Looking up from the rice, her face was cold, "What is that supposed to mean?"

    "That isn''t what I meant-"

    "Elaborate then, Naruto. Because, what it sounds like is that you don''t want this, that you don''t want us." Hinata stated while gesturing to the house around them.

    "This is everything I''ve ever wanted-"

    "Then why are you acting like you don''t want to be here?"

    "Because I shouldn''t be here!" Naruto insisted, flinching at his tone. Taking in a calming breath, he said, "Even if I''m wrong, I feel like I''m missing something. I feel like I''m an intruder on someone else''s life."

    "But you''re not-"

    "That doesn''t change how I feel, Hinata." He insisted, desperate for her to understand. Running his hands through his hair, he said, "It feels like everything''s fleeting. Like I''m on a timer and I only have a limited amount of time before all of this is gone."

    Walking over to her, he rested his hands on her shoulders, "So please, for me, just let me have this one day. Let me have this one good day. And if we wake up in the morning, and everything''s still shit¡­well I''m sure we''ll think of something. But just give me until then to enjoy what I can. Please."

    Hinata bit her lip. Finally, she relented, "Tomorrow morning we go straight back to the hospital, okay?"

    "Deal."

    -x-

    "Naruto Uzumaki, you son of a bitch!"

    A boisterous voice broke out from across the front lawn. Naruto, who was setting up the grill, straightened to see Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame walking up the lawn towards him. To Kiba''s right was a pretty brunette that Naruto briefly recognized. A trotting behind the three, Akamaru panted happily, the massive canine having gotten even bigger in the passed seven years.

    "Kiba, Akamaru!" Naruto called. Meeting them halfway, he wrapped the Inuzuka in a bearhug. The man was quick to reciprocate, giving the blonde a rough pat on the back.

    As Naruto released Kiba from the hug, the Inuzuka said, "You remember Tamaki."

    Tamaki gave a light bow, "It''s been a while, Naruto."

    "Right, Tamaki, of course. It''s good to see you too." Naruto said happily as got down to Akamaru''s level, giving the dog''s ears a thorough scratching, much to his pleasure, "How''re you doin'' boy?"

    Akamaru gave a mighty woof, his tail wagging at a blur.

    "I hope you have not forgotten about me again, Naruto." Shino stated coolly.

    "Like I could forget you." Naruto exclaimed, about to go in for a hug. He was stopped by Shino jutting his hand out in between them.

    "A handshake is what is appropriate, I believe. You are the next Hokage, after all." Shina stated stoically, "If the word around the Administration Building is to be believed."

    Kiba clapped Naruto on the back, "I couldn''t believe it when Lord Sixth told me! Congratulations, man!"

    "To say it was unbelievable is a bit of an exaggeration." Shina observed, straightening his shades, "It is a fact that Naruto is currently the most powerful shinobi within the village. Those shinobi within the greater confines of the Elemental Nations who are considered within Naruto''s caliber can be counted on one hand."

    "In Shino speak, Naruto''s the strongest around." Tamaki translated, though for who Naruto couldn''t say.

    Shino shifted to look at Kiba, "Question. Why is it that the Lord Hokage debriefed you of this, but neglected to do so with me?"

    Before Kiba could answer, a thunderous voice broke out from the other side of the lawn. Trotting up to them merrily, Choji Akamichi bellowed, "I brought the meat!" In his arms was a large container of various meats.

    Following behind him was a troupe consisting of Karui, and a little girl who was the literal amalgamation the massive man and the constantly agitated woman. The little girl, who Hinata told him was named Chocho, was holding a smaller version of the container her father was carrying.

    Walking a few paces behind them, Shikamaru and Temari Nara followed at a leisurely pace. Holding Shikamaru''s hand, young Shikadai seemed to be getting over a recent nap. Rubbing away the sleep from his eye, the boy seemed to be on the verge of a yawn that just wouldn''t come. In Temari''s hands was a bag that appeared to be full of liquor.

    "Meat!" The little girl called out joyfully, lifting the container up over her head as she reached Naruto.

    Taking the meat, Naruto said, "Thank you, Chocho."

    "Need help getting the grill runnin''?" Choji asked, his eyes having immediately landed on the still static grill.

    Karui sighed, taking her daughter''s hand as she began to head into the house, "Please remember that we''re guests here, dear. We wouldn''t want another Atsui incident, would we?"

    Choji gave a sheepish smile, "Of course, dear."

    "Atsui incident?" Kiba questioned.

    "Trust me, don''t ask." Shikamaru muttered as he finally made it up to the ever-growing group. Taking Naruto''s hand in a surprisingly firm shake, the man said, "Congratulations, Lord Hokage."

    Naruto chuckled nervously, "I''m not Hokage yet, but thanks."

    The Nara tilted his head to his wife, "We brought a gift."

    All attention now on her, Temari tilted the bag to show its contents, "Special Suna sake, the good stuff."

    "Isn''t that the stuff Suna kids call Raccoon Piss?" Tamaki asked with a concerned sarcasm.

    "That''s the stuff we give to foreigners." Temari returned before addressing Naruto, "Gaara gives his best, by the way."

    "How''s he doing?" Naruto asked, genuinely curious.

    "He''s doing well. He''s occupying most of his time with that new apprentice of his. He hopes he might be coming out to Konoha for a quick session with Lord Sixth at the end of the month. I think he''s looking for some tips in how to handle the boy''s more¡­abrasive tendencies." Temari informed. Nodding to the house, she asked, "Hinata inside?"

    "Yeah, she''s in with Ino and Sai." Naruto answered.

    As Temari and Shikadai walked towards the house, the woman said, "Come on Shikamaru, let''s go say hello to the rest of our hosts."

    Sighing, Shikamaru scratched at his chin, "I wonder if it''s too early to open up that sake."

    Kiba and Tamaki smiled, "It''s five o''clock somewhere." The Inuzuka said.

    The Nara sighed as he headed towards the house, "It''s five o''clock here, you damn mutt."

    While Tamaki laughed at Kiba''s indignant reaction, Naruto said, "So Choji, think you can help me¡­" He stopped when he realized Choji wasn''t standing next to him anymore. Looking around, the man seemed to have teleported to the grill.

    As he reached the grill, Boruto and the son of Sai and Ino burst out from the front door, both laughing as their chase carried out into the front lawn. The young boy, who Hinata said was named Inojin, managed to tackle Boruto to the ground. Still laughing, the boys got up, though now it was Boruto''s turn to do the chasing.

    "This a gas or charcoal grill?" Choji wondered as he tied the laces of an apron around his back that read, ''Don''t Kiss Me, I''m Cooking.''

    "Um, I don''t know?" The blonde said hopelessly, scratching the back of his head.

    Naruto never thought he''d ever see Choji again, much less for the man to give him such an incredulous look at such a level.

    -x-

    Inside the house, Hinata and Sai finished preparing the onigiri in the kitchen. Her hair tied back in a loose ponytail, the Uzumaki wiped off her hands as she said, "I still can''t believe you''re such a good cook, Sai."

    "A necessary skill." Sai said with his ever-present smile, "Cooking was never one of Ino''s strong suits."

    "I heard that!" Ino called out from the living room, her eyes on little Himawari. The little girl was lying on her stomach, crayon in hand as she scribbled onto a piece of paper. Running behind her, her son chased after Boruto with a toy kunai, "Inojin, no rough housing inside." She chastised passed her glass of tea.

    "Yes ma''am!" The little boy said, the two boys taking their fun to the front lawn outside. Coming inside right after them, Shikamaru and his family stepped in. Shikadai, who''d watched the two boys run off passed him, looked up to his mother with pleading eyes.

    Shooing him away with a slight smile, she watched as the usually sloth-like boy ran after his friends.

    Karui, who was sitting across from Ino on the love seat, looked down at her daughter who was sitting next to her, "Chocho, why don''t you go play with the boys outside?"

    Chocho shrunk into herself, "I''m gonna wait ''till Sarada gets here, Mama."

    With a sigh, Karui took a sip of her own glass, "Well she''s gonna be here any minute now, so go on ahead and go outside."

    Dejected, Chocho mewled, "But Mama-"

    "Go on Chocho." Karui insisted, "If you don''t, I''ll just have to tell Sakura not to let you have any of her delicious treats that she''s bringing over."

    "What kinda treats?" Chocho asked, delightfully curious.

    "Mitarashi dango." Karui cooed, knowing she had her daughter in the palm of her hand.

    Jumping from her seat, Chocho ran off outside with an excited smile over the prospect of glazed dango.

    Ino''s brow was raised, sporting an amused grin, "I thought Sakura was bringing a potato salad?"

    "Oh, she is? How foolish of me." Karui muttered passed her glass with a coy smile.

    Shikamaru, leaning on the kitchen counter, opened up a bottle of beer as he said, "So, First Lady Hinata has a nice ring to it. A little bit of a mouthful, but I think I can get used to it."

    Hinata laughed, "Hinata''s just fine, Shikamaru. I left all of that title business after I forfeited the titles that went with being an heiress. The less drama, the better I think."

    The man grunted, "Lucky you. Clan meetings haven''t gotten any livelier in the time you left it behind."

    "Don''t act like you''ve been to a single meeting in the past couple years." Temari muttered, swiping the beer from her husband''s hand and taking a sip for herself. Seeing his glowering look, she gave a challenging smirk of her own, "If you can tell me what we talked about three meetings ago, I''ll give it back."

    Shikamaru attempted a stare off for barely a second before rubbing his brow, "Troublesome woman."

    Satisfied, Temari took another swig of her husband''s beer.

    Taking another bottle from the fridge, Shikamaru opened it with a pop while saying, "To be honest, I don''t think it''s quite hit Naruto yet that he''s got the job."

    Hinata paused, forcing a curious face, "What makes you say that?"

    "The guy''s been talking about this for decades now. Kinda figured he''d be running around screaming it from the rooftops or something." The Nara stated, taking a sip.

    "He''s matured, Shikamaru." When the room grew quiet, she saw that the others were giving her slightly bewildered looks, "He has." She insisted.

    Sai, washing his hands, said, "Naruto has indeed matured greatly."

    Shikamaru nodded along, "Greatly."

    "But I too was surprised to see how reserved he was at the news." Sai admitted, wiping his hands dry.

    "Surprised." Shikamaru added not so helpfully with a raise of his bottle.

    Hinata, balancing a plate of onigiri, left the kitchen as she said, "Well, we all know that Naruto''s just full of surprises."

    The other three couldn''t help but agree to that.

    -x-

    Naruto manned the grill with Choji, flipping some beef as he laughed at Kiba, the boisterous man having been tackled by Inojin, Chocho, and Shikadai. All while Boruto road Akamaru like a horse across the lawn. Steering Akamaru towards Kiba, the two happily joined in on the dogpile.

    Choji, his full attention on the beef sizzling on the grill, said with a calm seriousness, "The one on the left needs to be flipped, the one next to it a little after."

    "Sure thing." The Uzumaki followed the Akamichi''s order, "Thanks for bringing the meat by the way."

    "You know it''s Akamichi tradition to bring the meat to any kind of barbeque event." Choji said sagely, "It is my duty to feed my fellow shinobi."

    "Well I''m gonna miss your cooking, buddy." Naruto thought aloud, causing Choji to give him a confused glance. He quickly shrugged it off as he pointed out another slab of beef that needed to be flipped.

    Kiba, popping out of from the dogpile, whined, "Get off me, dammit!"

    This caused a chain reaction, all four children giving a simultaneous, "Ooooo." At Kiba''s use of bad language.

    Inojin, his arms wrapped loosely around Kiba''s neck, laughed as he said, "Kiba said a curse word, Kiba said a curse word!"

    "Someone grab some soap." Shikadai added happily from the pile.

    "And some water, we''ll give him a bath too." Chocho giggled out.

    A vein was throbbing along Kiba''s temple, "Keep talking tough and Uncle Kiba''s gonna give you all a spanking."

    "Since when did you start letting them call you Uncle Kiba?"

    Chocho, who''d been at the bottom of the dogpile, shot up at attention. Coming up onto the lawn were Sakura and Sarada Uchiha, the pinkette holding a enclosed pot in her hands.

    "Sarada!" The little Akamichi girl said excitedly, wrapping her best friend into a tight hug.

    The little Uchiha struggled to speak while in the Akamichi''s grip, "Chocho¡­can''t¡­breath."

    Letting go of her, Chocho''s attention quickly fell onto Sakura, "Did you bring the dango?" She asked hopefully.

    "Dango?" Sakura questioned.

    "The dango!" Chocho insisted.

    Walking passed the little girl, the pickette laughed, "I''m sorry Chocho, I didn''t bring any dango. I made some potato salad though."

    "No dango?" The girl said, clearly devastated. Her emotional turmoil was interrupted by the toy kunai pelting her in the arm. With a twitch to her eye, Chocho turned to see Shikadai, the boy giving her a surprised yet lazy wave.

    Seeing her agitated reaction, the boy smartly dashed off, the other two boys laughing as Chocho chased after him with a gusto.

    Sarada, now left alone at the beginning of the front lawn, looked over all the people loitering about. Kiba had meandered back to where the adults were hovering. Her mother had walked inside to drop off the potato salad. Tamaki was sitting on a lawn chair, laughing at Kiba as she handed him a beer. Shino stood off to the side, petting a tired Akamaru. Chocho''s dad was guarding the grill, his full attention on the almost ready meat. Shikadai''s dad had walked outside, lazily leaning against one of the verandah''s support beams watching the children run after each other.

    Finally, her eyes landed on Mr. Uzumaki, their eyes locking. His face seemed lost. His eyes, though looking directly at her, seemed to be a million miles away. But it was his smile that hit her. It was a smile she''d seen him have when talked to Sakura about their childhood, about her father.

    "Hey, Sarada!"

    The girl jumped when the man called out to her, waving for her to come over with a welcoming smile.

    Nervously shifting on her feet, she eventually did as the man asked. Now standing in front of him, she fixed her glasses while mumbling a, "Yes?"

    "How would you like to help me out?" Naruto asked breezily, taking in the girl as she nervously fidgeted, "I mean, you''re as strong as your mama, aren''t ya?"

    "We-well I¡­"

    "Of course you are!" Naruto insisted happily.

    "Um, okay." Sarada conceded/

    "Do you think you could hold this plate for me?" Naruto asked, handing her the plate, "I need someone to hold it so I can take ''em off the grill. Think you can do that?"

    "Ah-huh." Sarada answered, holding the plate up in her hands.

    Grabbing the grill''s fork, Naruto, with Choji''s expert guidance, picked up the pieces of beef one by one. Sarada watched keenly, looking up at the man as he went about his work. Finally, the last piece was placed onto the plate. Taking it off her hands, Naruto rested his free hand onto the top of her head.

    "Thanks a million, kid." He said as he ruffled her hair, accidently tilting her glasses askew.

    She didn''t bother fixing her them, too busy watching the man take the plate inside in a wonderous confusion.

    -x-

    Naruto accidently found himself standing on the outskirts of the party, lost in thought as he watched his old friends interact as they ate.

    Shikamaru and his son were lackadaisically leaning against each other, eating their food at a sloth''s pace. Temari was sitting next to Karui, the two stern women talking about something that was going on in Kirigakure. Choji and Chocho were enjoying themselves, the two Akamichi in perfect sync as they practically worshipped the deliciousness of their meal. Sai and Ino sat shoulder to shoulder, the blonde-haired beauty feeding her husband one of her onigiri, much to Inojin''s embarrassment. Said boy was sitting across from Boruto at the kitchen table, the two of them laughing at a joke Kiba made. Sakura and Takami were chatting with Hinata, the three intently gossiping over something Naruto assumed was trivial.

    As he sat and watched all of them, people who he''d thought he''d never see again, he realized what that weight in his chest was. It wasn''t sadness, or nostalgia, or even happiness. It was contentment. For the first time in his life, he truly felt content.

    And with this revelation, he felt the floor begin to bottom out on him again, the room spinning at an increasing pace.

    Backing out into the open patio door and making sure he was a good distance away, Naruto took advantage of the open air. Taking deep breaths in and out, Naruto rubbed the haziness from his eyes. As the panic in his breath began to fade, he closed his eyes tight as he thought, "Get ahold of yourself, idiot. Don''t ruin this. Don''t fucking ruin this, you fucking idiot."

    "I don''t think you''re an idiot."

    Naruto jumped at the small voice at his side. Sitting next to him, Sarada Uchiha looked up at him from her plate. Cross legged in the grass, the little girl had her plate in her lap. She appeared to be picking at the vegetables her mother had given her, specifically the tomatoes.

    "What?" Naruto wondered, flinching at how raspy his voice was.

    The girl shrank down into herself a bit, "Well, um¡­I said I don''t think you''re an idiot, Mr. Uzumaki."

    Realizing he''d been talking out loud, Naruto cursed under his breath. Running his hand over his hair he said, "You can call me Naruto, kid."

    "Well, you can call me Sarada. Not kid." The little Uchiha returned, making Naruto smile.

    Sitting down across from her in a similar cross-legged pose, Naruto picked up a piece of tomato the girl had been picking at. Popping it in his mouth, he slowly chewed in thought as he said, "You''re pretty smart, huh?"

    "That''s what my mama says." Sarada answered.

    "What about your dad?"

    Pressing her glasses up her nose, she shrugged, "I don''t know."

    Startled, Naruto asked, "You don''t know?"

    "I don''t know what he thinks." The Uchiha elaborated softly, "He''s been on a mission for a long time. I don''t remember him that much."

    "A mission huh." Naruto concluded, looking back at the house from his peripheral, "Why aren''t you in there with everybody else?"

    She shrugged.

    Naruto, quietly observing her, frowned in thought. Picking up another piece of tomato from her plate, he popped it into his mouth as he leaned back onto his hands.

    "I get what you''re feeling."

    Confused, Sarada said, "Feeling?"

    Nodding along, Naruto swallowed before saying, "You bein'' out here, I mean. I get it."

    "You do?"

    "Of course. I know what it''s like to grow up without a parent around, and having to watch other kids be with theirs right in front of you. It''s a terrible feeling, right?" Naruto said warmly.

    Sarada nodded, engrossed in that warmth.

    "And then that feeling gets so bad you just got to get away from it for a bit. But then, you find yourself alone more than you were, and the feeling comes back only worse." The blonde explained, now leaning forward as he spoke to the little girl.

    "Does it go away?"

    The Uzumaki nodded, "Eventually. But you''ve gotta put yourself out there. You''ve got to make friends who make that feeling go away when you''re with them. And eventually, they become your family. But if you want that, you''ve gotta be brave." Smiling, Naruto said, "And I know you''re brave. Cause you''re like me."

    Sarada was quiet for a moment, picking at a blade of grass in thought. Eventually she asked, "What were your parents like?"

    "I don''t know, they passed away when I was a baby." He answered gently.

    "Then how do you know they loved you?"

    Naruto knew what question she was really asking. Releasing a musing breath, Naruto looked up at the sky. The sun was setting, and the sky had taken on a orangish hue, "I didn''t know that, not for a long time. When I was a kid, I''d make up stories about them in my head, so I always had a reason for myself for why I was alone. But it never stopped me from asking that question. And you wanna know something that no one bothered to tell me when I was your age?"

    She nodded.

    "That your parents will always love you. They might not show it all the time, or ever. But they do, forever. In life and death, if they''re right next to you or a country away, they will always care for you." Nudging her teasingly, he said, "You''re just lucky you got an idiot around like me to tell ya that."

    Laughing, Sarada wiped away her eye with her sleeve, "I told you you''re not an idiot."

    Happy to see the girl laugh, he chuckled, "If see the bastard before I wake up ¨C oof!"

    He grunted as a blur tackled him, wrapping their arms around his head with a heavy giggle, "Papa''s a froggy!" Himawari chanted happily, digging her heals into Naruto side to get him moving.

    "He''s a toad, Hima!" Boruto corrected merrily as he ran out onto the patio.

    "Toads jump!" Himawari conceded, changing her chant.

    Getting the message, Naruto grinned.

    Sending chakra to his legs and to the girl so she was glued to his back, Naruto sprung up high into the air. Himawar giggled and squealed into his ear as they reached the apex of their jump. Sending a quick burst of wind chakra out bellow him, his descent transcended into a cushioned landing.

    "Again, again!" The little girl requested, her hair a mess from the sudden liftoff.

    "No way, it''s my turn." Boruto whined, which was quickly followed by the other kids, minus Sarada who was looking on in wonder, all of them wanting to go on a trip into the air.

    "One at a time, alright?" Naruto laughed, the kids surrounding him as they made a bid for a turn.

    Hinata, standing alongside Sakura as they watched Naruto play with the children, said "He''s acting a little more like himself."

    "Not counting the episode he seemed to have a few minutes ago." Sakura muttered into her glass of tea, "It looked like he was about to have another panic attack. And I wasn''t the only one who noticed. The entire Nara clan picked up on it pretty quick. Not that surprising, but still."

    Likely having hoped no one else had seen that, Hinata fiddled with the glass in her hands, "He got a grip of it. You heard what he said to her."

    "Yeah." Sakura admitted, "It was very sweet."

    "Did you hear back from him?"

    "No."

    "I see. That''s a shame."

    After a quick set of knocks, the front door opened, Kakashi peaking his head inside, "We open up the booze yet?"

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    -x-

    "Just admit that I almost beat your ass, blondie!"

    Naruto laughed with a lighthearted scoff at Kiba''s claim, "When you admit you got beat by a fart, sure." He challenged.

    The kids had gone up to play some kind of game in Boruto''s room, leaving the adults to open up the liquor. The only child still outside was Himawari, but she was practically passed out in Naruto''s lap, her head dipping back and forth as she fought off sleep.

    Arriving after Kakashi''s arrival came Tsunade and Shizune, followed by Rock Lee, Ten Ten, and Might Guy. Naruto was surprised to see Guy confined to a wheelchair, though considering the damage he''d taken in his fight with Madara, he was lucky to be alive at all. His always on positivity kept him from pitying the man, his exuberance negating any of that in almost an instant.

    "You didn''t tell me he beat you with a fart." Tamaki questioned, taking the cup she''d been sharing with the Inuzuka.

    "It wasn''t a-"

    "It was a fart." Chorused everyone who''d been present for the fight.

    Kiba huffed, "You''re all acting like mine was the most embarrassing."

    "What was more embarrassing than that?" Ino asked while sipping at her sake.

    Kiba raised a deliberate eyebrow, "You''re asking that? Really?"

    Ino and Kiba had a momentary stare off before the blonde relented, "Touch¨¦." Slipping her drink back, she said, "I think Lady Tsunade and Shizune know better than anyone how helpless we were back then."

    Tsunade chortled, "At least you had your clan stuff to fall back on. Pinky over there was the cleanest slate I''d ever seen. No taijutsu, barely any nin or genjutu. I was embarrassed for her, really."

    "I''m glad to hear what you used to think of me, sensei." Sakura mumbled sorely

    "It''s a sign of love." Tsunade insisted halfheartedly.

    Shizune sighed, "Who''s idea was it to bring the Suna born sake?"

    "That really a question we need to ask?" Temari asked sarcastically.

    Lee, who was standing next his sensei, began to reach for the bottle of sake, "Is Suna''s sake truly more youthful than those here in Konoha?" Just as his fingers were about to glance the bottle, Guy swiped it out from under him.

    Pouring some into his glass, the man said, "Destroying our future Hokage''s home is very lacking in youthfulness, my dear student."

    Deflating, Lee muttered, "Forgive me sensei."

    Tenten, leaning back in the grass, lifted her cup into Naruto''s direction, "So how''s it feel knowing your mug''s gonna be up on that mountain?"

    "It''s kinda weird to think about." Naruto admitted softly, Himawari nodding off in his arms.

    "Oh come on." Tenten insisted, "The first time we met you wouldn''t stop screaming about it. And now here you are, your dream''s coming true, and you don''t know what to think about it? Come on."

    "That''s weak sauce, man." Choji chastised half-heartedly.

    "Back when we met you''d have been yelling about it so loud the people in Kumo would''ve heard about it." Karui stated, pouring some of the sake into her cup before continuing to pass it around.

    "And Suna." Temari added.

    "Didn''t you beat him to a pulp the first time you met?" Shino asked Karui only to be ignore as the running joke continued.

    "Kiri too, probably." Kiba included helpfully.

    Shikamaru grunted as he was handed the sake, "In other words, the entire Elemental Nations."

    "Except perhaps Takigakure." Sai offered hypothetically, not quite getting the context of their sarcasm as he took the bottle, "The roar of the waterfalls would likely have inhibited the yells enough to have made it impossible for them to have heard it."

    Naruto''s brow was twitching, "I get it guys."

    Kakashi, who was sitting on the front steps lazily, straightened up as he said, "Speaking from experience, it doesn''t really hit you that you''ve been appointed until you get the hat and the chair. Everything comes into perspective once you get the ensemble."

    "And what experience is that?" Tsunade questioned, "Last I heard, you''ve been having Shadow Clones do all the dirty work while you galivant around with your porn."

    "If you didn''t think of using clones to do your menial work, you simply lacked the enthusiasm I have for procrastination." Kakashi quipped, "Or maybe it''s jealousy I hear?"

    "Damn right I am!" Tsunade cursed, "You know what I coulda done with that technique when I was in office?"

    "Gamble?" Shizune asked rhetorically.

    "Drink?" Questioned Sakura at the same time as her fellow apprentice.

    Tsunade grumbled something under her breath before taking a swig of her drink.

    Guy shook his head at Kakashi in disappointment, "To think that you''d abuse both your position and that technique to do something as wasteful as reading pornography. You are truly lacking in youth, old friend."

    "You say something Guy?"

    Knowing what was to come, Lee said exuberantly, "I am sure that our youthful Naruto would not abuse his power in such a way!"

    Kiba snorted, "I''m not gonna be surprised to hear his first act as a Kage is to change our uniform colors to orange and blue."

    "Or integrate the Ichiraku Ramen chain into all available nations and hidden villages." Choji said, hope peeking through.

    Shikamaru laughed, "If my kid comes home with homework on how to properly prank an authority figure without getting caught, you know it was the Seventh Hokage."

    "If the Clone Jutsu exam is taken out of the Academy curriculum, you know it was the Seventh Hokage." Shino said, continuing the streak.

    As the group laughed at the jokes being passed around, Naruto smiled in thought.

    When the laughter faded, and a comfortable silence filled the lawn, the blonde muttered, "I think I''d like to start a government funded foster care program."

    He was met with a surprised silence.

    When no one said anything, Naruto looked down at the girl that was apparently his daughter, "The shinobi villages have orphanage programs for the children whose parents were killed in action, but I know better than anyone how it''s not the best place for a kid. If a kid''s like me and doesn''t want to live in an orphanage for a good chunk of their life, they only have two options: live with a relative or live alone. The village isn''t comfortable letting a child live with just anyone, and prefers they live with a close relative who they know to be reliable. But when you have kids like me or Sasuke who literally have no one, then there isn''t another option but to live alone. You get a government stipend sure, but that''s no way for someone to grow up. Just imagine what would''ve happened if Sasuke or I had had a foster family looking after us. If he''d had that support and love, maybe he''d never have done what he did. I can only imagine what it''d have been like for me."

    Shikamaru scratched his chin, "That''s actually a pretty good idea."

    Kakashi nodded, "It''s been thrown around to develop something similar, but the past couple decades have been nothing but dealing with one catastrophe after another."

    "The Third Hokage had to deal with the fallout of the first three Great Wars, the Hyuga/Kumo incident, and the Nine Tails attack." Shizue counted off, "Then Lady Tsunade had to deal with the Konoha Crash, Sasuke''s betrayal, Pain''s attack, and the beginning of the Fourth Great War; and then Kakashi''s been dealing with the messy fallout of that war and the new shifts in the balance of power across the Elemental Nations. It''s not surprising that something so comparably mundane would be put on the back burner."

    Sakura smiled at her friend, "It''s a great idea, Naruto."

    Scratching the back of his head, he smiled bashfully, "Thanks."

    Kiba leaned back in his chair, "Well damn, the kid might actually do a good job."

    "If you ever think you can do a better job, let me know." Naruto offered with a sarcastic sincerity, "I''ll be happy to fart in your face again."

    "Hardy har har."

    -x-

    As the night went on, the party began to slowly disperse one by one. Kakashi was the first the leave, stating that tomorrow would be a busy day at the office and for Naruto to report early that morning for some early walkthroughs. The rest slowly filtered out one after the other, each giving Naruto one last congratulations. Naruto was at a loss for words with each of them, unwilling to say goodbye for fear of it being the truly final farewell. Instead he simply gave each a hug, not caring how put out it might have made any of them.

    The only four remaining were Sakura, Sarada, Shizune and Tsunade.

    Tsunade, her cheeks flushed, held herself up like a true champion. Standing in the doorway, she gave Naruto her parting words, "Come down to the hospital first thing in the morning. I don''t care if Kakashi expects you, this is far more important. If he has a problem with it, he''s more than welcome to come down for a visit."

    Shizune, who''d been trying to discreetly guide her mentor home for the past couple hours, said, "Lady Tsunade, it''s getting late."

    "I know that already dammit." Tsunade said with a twitch of her brow. Taking a moment, she looked the man over, "How''re you feeling?"

    "I''m doing as fine as I can." Naruto answered as smoothly as he could.

    "Any returning memories?"

    "A few." Naruto lied.

    "Good." Tsunade sighed in relief, "We''ll go over them first thing tomorrow."

    "I look forward to it."

    "Well this is goodbye then." As she turned to leave, she was held in place as Naruto took her into his arms.

    "I love you, Granny."

    Shizune gasped, and Tsunade froze. As she returned his hug, she whispered, "You know how I feel about you, ya damn brat."

    Letting go of each other, Tsunade exited the Uzumaki household. As they reached the street, Naruto called out one last time.

    "I hope I''ll see you tomorrow."

    Tsunade smiled, giving one last wave goodbye.

    "I''ll think we''re gonna leave too, Naruto." Walking up behind him, Sakura held a tired Sarada in her arms as she gave a departing smile.

    As she walked passed him, he grabbed her wrist.

    "You know you''re my best friend, right?"

    Sakura chuckled, shifting her daughter in her arms, "You''re talking like we''re not gonna see each other again." Naruto didn''t respond, though the hurt in his eyes made her say, "We''re gonna see each other again, Naruto. I promise."

    "Could you just humor me¡­and act like we''re not?"

    She tilted her head, "What?"

    "If this were the last time we ever saw each other, what would you say?" Naruto asked sincerely.

    She hesitated for a moment, struggling with the idea. Finally, she quietly answered, "I''d tell you that you''re an idiot. That you''re the most stupid, asinine man I have ever known. Because with you and me, it''s never goodbye, you idiot. We''ll always be with each other. Forever. ''Cause you''re my best friend."

    Swallowing the saliva and sadness building within his throat, Naruto chuckled out, "That''s sounds about right."

    Smiling, Sakura silently exited the home. Sarada, looking over her mother''s shoulder, waved a tired goodbye. Naruto returned it, watching the duo until they faded out of sight.

    Closing the door with a subtle click, Naruto sighed as his shoulder''s relaxed. They suddenly tensed at the feeling of someone pulling at his pant leg.

    Below him, Boruto rubbed tiredly at his eye, "Shikadai asked if I could come and play at his house tomorrow. Can you take me?"

    Naruto forced a smile, "Sure, buddy."

    "Boruto, make sure you pick up your toys before you go to bed dear." Hinata called from the kitchen, the woman closing the fridge after placing the leftovers inside.

    "Okay." The boy relented tiredly, walking into the living room to pick up the toys he and his friends had been playing with.

    Following him into the living room, Naruto came up to the loveseat. Curled up in a ball, Himawari slept peacefully. Jiraiya had slipped out of her fingers to the ground bellow. Picking up the toy, Naruto dusted it off.

    Careful so he didn''t wake her up, he slowly lifted her up off the seat. Though she stirred slightly, she quickly cuddled into his arms as she fell back to sleep. Rocking her back and forth, he couldn''t keep the smile off his face.

    "Want me to take her?"

    Naruto looked at Hinata over his shoulder, seeing the tender smile on her face, "No, I got it."

    Creeping up the stairs, Naruto slowly trekked through the hallway in search of her room. Finding it, he pushed the door as it released a subtle creak. Tiptoeing inside, he smiled at the purple colored d¨¦cor. With his free hand, he silently pulled back the covers to her crib.

    But as he stood there, he couldn''t bring himself to placing her inside. He just wanted to hold her, to feel her, for a little bit longer. Rocking her in his arms, he laughed emotionlessly, "You''re making this hard to give up."

    Kissing the crown of her head, he gently whispered into her ear, "Please be real. Otherwise, I don''t know if I could let you go."

    Pressing his head to hers lovingly, he finally relented and set her down gracefully into the crib. Tucking her it, he ran his hands along her face, brushing strands of hair out of the way.

    "Dad, someone''s here to see you!"

    Quickly walking down to the lower floor, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the open door. Walking through, he was greeted to the sight of Sasuke Uchiha holding off an angry Boruto, the boy doing his best to throw a punch at the much taller man. Sasuke pushed him back with his hand on the boy''s head, keeping at bay with a comical ease.

    "Boruto, what''re you doing?" Naruto asked the boy as he came outside.

    Boruto, his voice exerted as he threw one punch after the other, grunted, "This bastard makes Sarada cry!"

    "Boruto!" Hinata called out from inside, "What have I said about that language?"

    "But Mama-"

    "Go inside Boruto."

    Looking up at Naruto, the boy complained, "But Dad, I almost got ''em!"

    "Boruto, please. Go inside."

    After hearing his father''s firm command, Boruto stopped his barrage. Swatting Sasuke''s hand off his head, he gave the older man a quick and heavy glare before doing as his father said.

    As Naruto closed the door behind him, Sasuke looked his friend over.

    Naruto returned the look, his expression blank as he waited for the Uchiha to break the silence.

    Sasuke obliged, opening his mouth to speak.

    Thwack!

    Only to shut it as Naruto punched him straight in the face. Stumbling back, Sasuke reached up to where he''d been hit out of reflex. Looking down at his palm, he put it away with the lack of blood.

    Shaking off his hand, Naruto grunted, "That''s for you did to Sakura, bastard."

    "I suppose I deserved it then, loser."

    Hearing that word, an overwhelming sense of happiness filled Naruto''s chest. Grabbing the man opposite him, he pulled him into a hug. Sasuke didn''t return it, though he didn''t fight it either.

    Releasing him, Naruto asked, "What''re you doin'' here? I thought you were on a mission or something."

    "Sakura asked me to come." Sasuke answered stoically, smoothing out his cloak.

    As he did, Naruto took him in fully. He''d aged just as well as their classmates, though of all of them he seemed to have matured the most. His hair had flattened down, his bangs covering his left eye. He was wearing a dark purple cloak, the bottom licking his calves.

    "What''d she tell you?" Naruto asked.

    "That you''d woken up believing a dream was reality, and reality was a dream." Sasuke answered smoothly, "She wondered if a genjutsu they couldn''t detect could be responsible, however unlikely. If not, she''d hoped me talking to you would stir something up. She said something about how we''re always riling each other up, whatever that means."

    "Oh." Naruto said simply, scratching his cheek, "So what, you gonna Sharingan me or something?"

    "I already did, several hours ago."

    His eyes narrowed, "Why didn''t you show yourself?"

    "I''m here to see what I can do about your condition." Sasuke answered emotionlessly, "My mission outside the village is still my main priority. Had I made my presence known, it would''ve been difficult to exit the village as soon as possible."

    "Difficult for your family, or for you?"

    "¡­Both."

    Naruto scoffed, "You''re such a bastard. Your daughter is hurting, your wife is hurting. Fuck the mission. Just do what you know you want to do and go to them."

    Sasuke shifted, "I didn''t detect any genjutsu with the Rinnegan. Likely it is something beyond my scope. I''d suggest intensive visits with the Senju and Sakura."

    "Then what''re you doing here?"

    The Uchiha blinked, "I don''t understand-"

    "You can give them a day, Sasuke." Naruto said, smiling at his brother, "Trust me, one day is all any one ever needs."

    A pause came between them, the Uchiha shifting uncharacteristically.

    "And if they don''t want me there?" Sasuke demanded, "They should hate me for being gone, for leaving."

    "I didn''t hate you when you left before." Naruto said, "And Sakura never hated you, then or now. She just misses you. And all your daughter wants is to know you. Is that really asking so much? What would you have done for just one day with your family?"

    Sasuke stared at him, his dark eyes burrowing into Naruto''s brain as he glared intensely at the blonde''s words.

    And then, he chuckled, causing Naruto to stop in surprise, "I suppose a broken clock can be right twice a day." The Uchiha muttered.

    Naruto tilted his head, "What?"

    "Never mind, idiot."

    "Just get the hell out of here, ya bastard."

    Scoffing in his usual fashion, Sasuke turned to leave, "Thank you for what you said to her, Naruto."

    He shrugged, "I''m sure you''d so the same for Boruto or Hima. We''re family, after all."

    "Maybe I''ll have to return the favor then. That kid of yours is as hopeless as you were back then." The Uchiha said as he began to walk away.

    "Then maybe I should take Sarada under my wing, see whose student turns out the strongest. After all, every new generation surpasses the one before." Naruto shot back.

    Sasuke gave a departing wave, his body dissolving into a flock of crows, "Challenge accepted, loser."

    As the crows dispersed into the ether, a sad smile crept onto Naruto''s face, "If only."

    -x-

    Naruto stood on the patio, looking up at the stars. It''s weird what little things he missed. The smell of Konoha''s night air, the sound of its trees bustling, the feel of its smooth breeze. Sage, it felt so real. He wanted it to be real. After today, he practically needed it to be. Maybe he''d go to bed and wake up to this family, to this life. Maybe his memories would come back, if only enough for him to remember what''s important. His wedding, the births of his children, their first steps, their first words. God what he wouldn''t do to have known what that felt like.

    He could feel the love they had for him, the absolute adoration they felt. Sage how he felt it. And their feelings forged a feeling of his own.

    Guilt.

    Guilt that he could think their love wasn''t real, that they weren''t real. This guilt was festering, bubbling up into his chest. He hated it.

    "Do you want to tuck Boruto into bed?"

    Naruto didn''t turn around, still looking up at the stars, "Yeah, I''d like that."

    Arms wrapped around his stomach, Hinata pressing herself up into his back. Resting her head at the nape of his neck, she spoke into his shirt, "Did you have a good day?"

    "It was the best day of my life." He breathed easily

    She smiled, "I''m glad. But the day''s almost over now, beloved."

    Stiffening, his breath caught. He released it with a hoarse, "Of course."

    Letting go, Hinata began to head back inside. He followed her at a turtle''s pace. Creeping up the stairs after her, the two walked up to Boruto''s room. Standing in front of the boy''s door, Hinata watched as Naruto opened it and stepped inside.

    "I''ll see you on the other side." Hinata said, as she closed the door.

    Releasing a shaky breath, Naruto looked down at the boy laying in his bed.

    Putting on a strong face, the man asked, "Did you have a good today?"

    "Yeah, it was fun." Boruto answered simply, clearly on the verge of sleep.

    "Good."

    "Are you gonna tell me a story?" Boruto mumbled, his eyes drooping with each blink.

    Naruto walked up to the bed, "What kinda story do want me to read?"

    Tilting his head, Boruto said, "You always tell me the story of the time you saved a priestess from a demon and an army of stone men."

    Sitting down next to his son, Naruto said softly, "I don''t think I''m gonna be able to tell you a story this time, buddy."

    "What, why?" Boruto asked confused.

    "I don''t think I have the time." Naruto admitted, running his hand over the boy''s hair soothingly, "And I want to spend what can here with you."

    "What?" The boy questioned again, his voice slurred as he slipped further into sleep.

    "Do you love me?"

    Boruto nodded slowly, "Yeah."

    "You want to be just like me, right?"

    "No." Boruto answered slowly, "I don''t want to be the Hokage."

    "Oh-"

    "I want to be the one who protects the Hokage."

    Naruto looked at his son in surprise.

    "That''s what you''ve always told me, right?" The Uzumaki boy wondered tiredly, yawning as he mumbled, "That I have to protect what''s precious, to hold it tight with both arms. That''s what I wanna do, Dad. One day, I''m gonna be strong enough to protect you. Believe it."

    If Boruto felt his father''s tears, he didn''t show it.

    Leaning down, Naruto kissed his son on the forehead, "I''m so proud of the person you could''ve been." He whispered. Leaning back, he wiped away his eyes with a smile, "If you wake up tomorrow, and I''m gone, I want you to know something."

    "What do you mean if you''re gone-"

    "One day I''m gonna be gone, Boruto. Whether that''s tomorrow or when we''re both old like Granny Tsunade. And I want you to know that I will never forget you. I will always be with you, and I will love you no matter how far away I might be."

    A smile touching Boruto''s face, his eyes closed contently.

    Naruto continued to run his hand over his son''s head, soothing him into sleep. Pulling the covers over him, he took a shaky breath before standing up. Heading towards the door, he reached for the knob.

    He stopped, taking one last look at his son, the boy sleeping peacefully.

    Unaware that his existence ended with the opening of this door.

    And with a slow turn, Naruto opened it, a beam of light coming through the ever-widening crack. Stepping into the light, Naruto closed his eyes as he let it swallow him whole.

    -x-

    "It''s time for you to wake up, beloved."

    Naruto''s eyes snapped open, his head shooting towards the sound of the voice. Slowly, he got up from his spot on the ground. Looking around, he saw that he was in Freyja''s corner of the seal. Her fire was blazing next to him, the image of Boruto''s bedroom fading away into the flame.

    "I didn''t think you''d have accepted the fantasy so readily ¨C aack!"

    She hacked as Naruto tackled her to the ground, his hands wrapping around Death''s throat, squeezing the life out of it.

    "Why would you do this to me?!" Naruto screamed hoarsely, his blood pumping and his face red with rage, "Do you have any idea what you did to me? The pain you''ve just put me through? Huh?! How could you make me see all of that, knowing that that''s all I''ve ever wanted? Is it funny to you? Did it make you laugh giving me that fake life, that fake family?! Huh? Answer me!"

    Lady Death wheezed around Naruto''s grip, her words muffled by her closing windpipe.

    He relented his grip enough for the next set of words to hit him.

    "They were real."

    With a start, he let go of her throat. Stumbling off her, he blinked rapidly in thought. Eventually he muttered, "How is that possible?"

    Freyja coughed, rubbing her neck as she said, "What you saw was real, I promise that to you, beloved."

    "How?" Naruto demanded loudly, "How the hell do you do that, why would you do that?"

    "I didn''t do anything-"

    "Don''t bullshit me, Death!" The Uzumaki shouted.

    Freyja, started at the lack of familiarity, frowning as she asked, "Don''t you remember what you were doing before the dream started?"

    Forehead wrinkling in thought, Naruto eventually said, "I was back home, at the memorial stone."

    "Yes, but what were you doing?"

    Hitting a mental wall, Naruto shook his head, "I¡­I can''t remember."

    "You were sealing away the Mind Stone."

    A new wave of memories came washing in.

    He''d gone home, paid his respects at the memorial stone, and then unsealed the Mind Stone so he could reseal it into an array on the memorial stone he''d created to hide the Infinity Stones. The goal; seal the Infinity Stones into the memorial stone. When he unsealed the Stone, he''d been covered in the Six Paths Sage Cloak, the Stone''s power ebbing its way into the cloak.

    That was the last thing he remembered.

    "The Mind Stone has complete authority on all things concerning the mind. It is a conscious being that has two contradicting feelings towards you. Respect and fear. Fearing that you would seal it away forever, but respecting your own power of will, mind, and body, it sought to give you what you''d always wanted while presenting you with a reason to use its power." Freyja explained, her voice still raspy from Naruto''s attack.

    "How do you know all that?" Naruto questioned.

    "I wasn''t exaggerating when I said it has authority all on all things concerning the mind." Freyja insisted, "Not only did it seep into your mind and unearth your deepest desires, it seeped into every nook and cranny of your mindscape. That includes my little corner. From me, it learned everything that it needed to know, just as I learned from it what I needed to know."

    Naruto''s eyes narrowed, "And you did nothing to stop it?"

    Freyja shook her head, "I never imagined that you''d fall into the fantasy so willingly. You stopped resisting rather quickly. Once I realized you might not want to leave, I took it upon myself to show you the light."

    "And I''m sure you had no problem watching all of it." Naruto muttered, with a scoff.

    "I admit that I was curious. What the Mind Stone showed you was an intricately calculated reality. It used me as a tool to graft out the most possible scenario in which you had won that fateful battle. What you experience was real, Naruto. As real as it''ll ever get." Freyja explained softly, "Had you won, had you not been sent to Earth; you would have married Hinata Hyuga. You would''ve had Boruto and Himawari. You friends, their lives, your life, all of it where you''d be right now had you succeeded."

    His shoulders shaking, Naruto drove his fist into the ground.

    Freyja tilted her head, "I thought you''d be happy to know it wasn''t a fantasy. What you experience was genuine, excluding the obvious."

    "That only makes it that much worse. Don''t you get that?"

    "I do. The would haves or could haves of the multiple realities has driven most mortals insane. To be able to know what your life should''ve been, it''s always heartbreaking for me to see." Frejya stated carefully, "But even within infinity, there is balance."

    Naruto looked up at her desperately, "What does balance matter? I''ve lost everything. How is that balance?"

    "Because it was through the pure machinations of the universe. The actions of a being who oversteps the balance of life and death is throwing a rock at a glass house. They are creating cracks within an infrastructure that cannot bare a single break." Freyja stated honestly, "For any one to overstep their place in the universe and act as an archetype of life over death, by pushing one over the other into the forefront, you are twisting something that is not meant to be bent. Death is a part of the natural order. One way or another it is inevitable. Even premeditatedly premature death, while not sanctioned, is something that can be rebalanced. But not through returning life. Only through the creation of it, can reality be rebalanced. But in reversing death, by breaking what is not meant to be bent, you are truly wrecking the natural order. You are stepping on the toes of Eternity, Infinity, Oblivion and most importantly, myself. Do you understand this?"

    "What would happen to me¡­if I did it?"

    "If you gathered the six Infinity Stones, and you reversed what happened to your world, the aftermath could be catastrophic." Death answered gravely, "Do not forget that you are not the only one affected by your arrival on Earth. The best-case scenario would be that you''d be creating just another alternate reality. While unsanctioned by my siblings, it is not something that can be unforgiven. The worst-case scenario would be the breaking of reality. While it would not break all of the multi-verse, it would destroy your and all alternate realties in which you had been sent to Earth. All of the divergences created by that moment and trillions of others would be destroyed. You and an unfathomable amount of people would be wiped out from existence."

    Naruto shook his head, "But even if there was a chance, isn''t that worth it?"

    Freyja hesitated for a moment. Crawling over to the prone man, she rested her hand on his shoulder, "You once presented me with the question of whose will is stronger; the man that can do something like that, or the man who can but chooses not to. I know what kind of man you are, Naruto. All this is just another test. A test of your will."

    Looking into her eyes, Naruto silently pleaded for her to be wrong.

    Dipping his head, he said, "I understand."

    Hesitating for another moment, Freyja slowly took the man she loved into her arms. Before she could speak, he said, "I understand that what the Mind Stone showed me wasn''t real. What it offered me isn''t real. Death is death. But they''re not gone, they still exist. They exist with me. And as long as I have the memory of that day, that''s all I''ll ever need. They''re with me. My family is with me."

    Getting up, he looked down at Freyja with a weak smile, "My entire life has led up to me working to maintain balance. If the Infinity Stones'' only purpose is meant to maintain and embody that balance, then I''ll do whatever I can to protect them from anyone who''d abuse them. That''s my promise, my purpose."

    -x-

    Opening his eyes once again, Naruto squinted out the haze from his vision. Looking down, he saw that he was still in his Six Paths Sage Cloak. In his hand, the Mind Stone. Noticing that the seals around his body were now a hot glowing yellow, he frowned at the power coursing through him.

    At the feet of the memorial stone, a complex seal array bled into the ground, the memorial acting as the center of the seal. Placing the Mind Stone within the array, he sighed as he felt the power leave the cloak.

    Flipping through a set of hand signs, he slammed both hands on the ground before shouting, "Infinity Sealing: Seal!"

    In a poof of smoke, the Mind Stone disappeared.

    Sighing, he looked up at the stars. Dazzling along the dark sky, a single streak shot across the cosmos overhead.

    Smiling, he muttered, "If there''s infinite realities, there''s bound to be one of him running around. I wonder if he''s looking up at the stars right now."

    "What the hell are you talking about, Naruto?"

    He paused, his tenant clearly not in the know on what happened in Freyja''s nook of the seal.

    "Nothing, partner. Don''t worry about it."

 32 Wish u were Here part 1

    As we''re reading these statistics, please know that these are not set in stone and are likely to change by the hour." Christine Everhart stated somberly from behind her anchor''s desk, "Here in New York City: we have estimated 800 injuries, 81 deaths. London: 407 injuries, 32 deaths. Washington DC: 287 injuries, 23 deaths. Hong Kong: estimated 201 injuries, 55 deaths. Moscow: 98 injuries, 7 deaths. Beijing: 167 injuries, 74 deaths. Nairobi: 178 injures, 49 deaths. Sokovia: they''ve estimated over 1,000 injuries, with 454 deaths. And finally, in Seoul, South Korea they''ve estimated over 4,000 injuries, and 807 deaths."

    As she listed off the death toll, Christine''s voice grew hoarse, clearly fighting back her emotions as she powered through with the broadcast, "That puts the total estimated number of casualties at around 7,138, and the total number of fatalities at 1,582. Given that it has only been five days since the world-wide bombings, now dubbed 5/22, we can expect that number to rise in the coming weeks. Of the 1,582 fatalities, significant losses include Sergi Kravinoff, notable Russian aristocrat and big game hunter; Chinese General Ho Lee, who in 1997 evicted the Ten Rings terrorist cell from their hold on Chinese territories, pushing them into the Middle East; Sir Jim Jaspers of the United Kingdom''s Parliament, who had famously campaigned for Super-Human Registration since 1955, something that is now a topic of much debate between members of government around the world."

    Turning her head as the cameras swapped view-points, she continued, "And finally, we pay our respects to Clinton Francis Barton, who most know to be the Avenger codenamed Hawkeye. Barton, who was fighting against the terrorist drones dubbed Ultron, was killed in action during the mass explosion. His funeral will be taking place later today in Waverly, Iowa. Several thousand supporters have been reported to be attending-"

    The screen cut to black, forcing Laura Barton to turn her head an inch to see who had turned it off. Seeing Naruto, she forced a smile, "I was watching that." She said softly.

    Frowning, Naruto sat down across from her, setting down the bag and drinks in his hands, "I brought some sandwiches."

    Laura eyed the bag, "Thank you but I''m not hungry."

    His frown deepened, "You need to eat, Laura."

    "I told you, I''m not-"

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    "Please." Naruto pleaded, "Just eat a few bites, for me."

    Sighing, she slowly reached into the bag, "Alright."

    Watching her take a bite, he asked, "How''re you feeling? With the baby, I mean."

    "He''s fine." Laura answered after swallowing, "The doctor said everything checks out fine."

    "How much longer?"

    "Three weeks."

    Reaching into the bag, Naruto pulled out a sandwich for himself. They sat in a strange kind of silence that was only interrupted by the sounds of their eating, the both stewing in the awkward air.

    Apparently not able to take it for much longer, Laura asked, "How''re the kids?"

    Finishing his bite, Naruto sighed through his nose before swallowing, "They''re fine, well as fine as they can be. Cooper hasn''t said a word all day, and it took a bit to convince Lila to let me leave to take care of some things. Had to leave a clone she looked so upset. They''re sitting in a room down the hall, watching some cartoon about bears or something." Naruto replied.

    Naruto had volunteered to babysit the kids over the weekend while Laura prepared the funeral procession, the press, and all the other preparations. Tony had volunteered to pay for everything.

    Laura had refused. Naruto picked up the tab.

    "Thank you, for everything." Laura offered heartfully, "I don''t know what I''d have done if you and Natasha weren''t around."

    After Laura had heard the news, she''d practically collapsed from the emotional toll. She''d been placed under medical care for a week so she and the baby could be monitored in case anything happened due to the stress of the loss. Natasha had looked after Cooper and Lila for the week, using it as an excuse to get away from the constant wave of bad news that their lives had become.

    "You don''t have to thank us." Naruto returned with a warm smile, "It''s the least we could do, seriously."

    Looking to the television, Laura nodded to it, "The news has been loving you the past week, the footage of you helping with the cleanup effort went viral and is a major talking point on CNN and Fox News. Everybody''s calling you a hero. Not that you weren''t one before."

    "I wasn''t much of a hero that day." Naruto muttered, "Because of me that monster was able to do all of that. If I''d put that thing with Odin aside none of this would''ve happened. If I''d have put the Mind Stone with the other stones on my planet then Ultron would''ve never existed. How can I be a hero if I can''t prevent stuff like this from happening?"

    "If Clint taught me anything," Laura began somberly, "It''s that a hero isn''t always the person who focuses on stopping bad things from happening. A hero is someone who saves lives when it happens. Because in the end you can''t always prevent it, all you can do is stop it and hope that was enough."

    Naruto shrugged, "I guess."

    The conversation was cut short by a knock on the door. Looking to its direction, Laura called out, "Come in."

    As the door creaked open, Secretary Ross peaked his head into the room, "Laura?"

    "Thaddeus." Laura said with a smile, getting up from her chair. As Ross came fully into the room, he smiled down at the pregnant woman as he leaned in for a hug, "Thank you for coming."

    Releasing her from the hug, Ross spoke, "I figured I''d come a little early, pay my respects before everyone files in." As the two walked further in the room, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the two''s seemingly close relationship, "How''re the kids?" Ross asked, "The baby?"

    "They''re as fine as they can be, all things considered." Answered Laura, "How''s Betty?"

    "Betty''s doing fine, just took a job at General Techtronics Corporation earlier this year." He responded, "She''s scheduled to demonstrate a particle accelerator in Queens, I''m sure she''d love it if you dropped by."

    "Maybe another time." She offered, though Naruto could tell she wasn''t interested, "If you''d like, I can walk you to the altar to pay your respects."

    "Actually," Ross started, giving Naruto a quick glance, "If you wouldn''t mind, I was wondering if Mr. Uzumaki could escort me? I was hoping to speak with him in private."

    "Oh, okay." Laura said, surprised.

    The Secretary of State looked to the blonde, "Well?"

    "Sure." Naruto said with a shrug, "I''ll lead the way."

    Walking out of the room and through the church''s hallway, Ross said, "I''d heard you paid for the services."

    "Yeah, I had the money from my time in SHIELD." Naruto explained. Turning a corner, he asked, "How do you know Laura?"

    "I was Barton''s commanding officer during the Gulf War." Answered the former general, "It was my recommendation that got him into SHIELD."

    Naruto blinked, "I didn''t know that." Admitted the blonde.

    Ross smiled, "I''d be surprised if you had, Barton wasn''t one to spill that kind of thing."

    Opening the doors heading into the church''s nave, the two arrived at the altar where the coffin had been placed. The closed wooden casket gleamed in the low church lighting, the faces of the two men in front of it reflecting off the shining oak.

    Resting a hand on top of the lid, Ross ran it along the smooth surface, "When I''d heard, I couldn''t believe it. Barton was one of the best soldiers I''d ever seen, the idea of him dying like that made me sick. He deserved something better than that, all of those poor people did."

    Naruto nodded, standing a little behind the man as he watched him make a sign of the cross and mutter a quick prayer.

    Taking his hand off the coffin, Ross turned to Naruto, "You should know that I''m pushing legislation to regulate the activities of enhanced peoples, specifically the Avengers. Barton is gone, Banner has disappeared, the surviving Maximoff twin is hiding out in Sokovia, and no one''s seen Thor for two days. 5/22 has everyone spooked. Democrats, Republicans, low class, upper class, country to country. The unsupervised exploits of Tony Stark and the fall out of that has led to one of the most catastrophic days in our history. The only thing keeping Stark out of prison is his reputation and the fact that most don''t believe him to be completely at fault. But people are angry, they need someone to blame. And if they can''t pinpoint it on a single man, they go for the whole group."

    Pausing for a moment, Ross continued, "As of now, almost every country within the United Nations is working with me on a piece of legislation we''re calling the Seoul Accords. If all of these countries agree upon, sign, and back these accords; then the Avengers will no longer be an independent group but will instead be placed under the supervision of a United Nations panel who will decide when, where, and how the Avengers or any other enhanced group should be deployed. If anyone refuses, they will be asked to retire their superhero identities."

    Naruto shifted on his feet as he took in this new information, his eyes leveled with Ross''s as he asked, "And where does that leave me?"

    "Several countries, myself included, are aware of your involvement in Ultron''s creation." Ross stated simply. After a moment, he sighed, "But, even more are aware that you were the one that killed him¡­myself included. Your intervention saved thousands of lives. And for that, you have my thanks."

    "So, what does that mean?" Asked the blonde.

    "It means that you will not be under the Seoul Accord''s jurisdiction. You and anyone sponsored by your team will fall into a separate clause within the Accords that is essentially the deal we agreed upon a month ago." The Secretary of State explained.

    Looking at the man warily, Naruto asked, "What''s the catch?"

    "You are not, under any circumstance, to allow anyone associated with the Avengers into your team. This includes the Maximoff girl. As far as the UN is concerned, she is to sign the accords or turn herself in for her role in 5/22." Ross answered, "Tony Stark is under the same assumption. He either folds into the accords, or we do more than hold a hearing over his creation of the terrorist entity known as Ultron."

    "That''s pretty cut throat." Kurama murmured, "Either the Avengers sign, retire, or become criminals in the eyes of the world governments. Cutting off you as an alternative cripples the likelihood of them telling the government to fuck off like they have."

    Nodding mentally, Naruto sighed, "Alright, I agree."

    Ross extended his hand, "Then we have a deal."

    As Naruto gripped the older man''s hand, Ross pulled him in, "This is the only freebee you''re ever going to get, Uzuamki. 5/22 will live in the consciousness of humanity for a very, very long time. Eventually these people will see you for what you are, and they''ll devour you whole. The enemies you''ve made today will come knocking on your door. Your bill will come due."

    The man let go, brushing passed Naruto to walk along the church''s aisle. Watching the man leave, Naruto scratched his cheek, "That''s the thing. It wasn''t free."

    As he said this, his eyes lingered on the empty coffin.

    -x-

    It only took a couple more hours before the church had begun to fill up with people wishing to pay their respects before the services. Naruto was surprised by both the amount of people waiting and the notoriety of the people in general. He swore he saw the President of the United States giving Laura a hug before disappearing in a sea of secret service officers.

    Naruto spent his time either greeting people who were attending, dodging any member of the media, and standing with Laura and the kids. Lila stuck with him for most of it, holding his hand as he went back and forth around the building. She refused to go to the coffin, staying with Naruto or Cooper the entire time with a tight grip on their hand. Cooper did his best to stay out of sight, only smiling when someone randomly walked up to give their condolences.

    Laura had been given a chair near the entrance, staying off her feet as she greeted everyone with as forced a smile Naruto could imagine.

    Eventually, members of the Avengers began to meander into the church. Natasha and Steve were the first to arrive, followed by Thor who was dressed in ceremonial Asgardian funeral wear of a dark brown cloak.

    Steve, who was standing next to Naruto while Natasha held Laura in a gentle hug, whispered, "Have you heard?"

    Naruto looked down at Lila to make sure she wasn''t paying attention before answering, "Yeah, Ross told me."

    Steve was silent for a moment before saying in a hushed voice, "I''m guessing joining Infinity Watch is out of the question?"

    "It appears so." Naruto returned somberly, "I''m sorry."

    "I understand." Steve reassured, "Tony figured that wouldn''t be an option."

    Nodding, the Uzumaki asked, "What''s his take on it?"

    "He was on board before they threatened him with possible jail time." Steve muttered somberly, "He''s a mess."

    "I wouldn''t know, haven''t seen him since¡­well, you know." Naruto said with a sigh, "I thought he''d be here."

    "He doesn''t want to cause a scene." The captain surmised, though he didn''t seem pleased by it.

    "So, who do you think''s gonna sign?"

    Steve rubbed his arm in thought, "Tony''s a definite, which means Rhodey is too. Apparently the Maximoff girl is under the same scrutiny as Tony, but I doubt she''ll sign either way."

    Naruto nodded towards Natasha with a raised eyebrow. Steve shrugged with a defeated frown.

    "What about you?"

    "I''m thinking about it."

    The blonde shinobi frowned, "Are you seriously thinking about quitting? You?"

    Before Steve could answer, Naruto felt Lila pull at his hand. Looking down, he frowned as he saw the girl pointing towards the door. Wading through the throng of onlookers, supporters, and television crews, Tony Stark emerged from the crowd. With him, his trusty bodyguard Happy Hogan, with Pepper Pots trailing behind in an elegant black ensemble. Tony wore a simple black and white suit, a pair of his trademark shades perched over his eyes.

    Laura must have spotted him before anyone else, as she''d lifted herself up off her chair with Natasha''s help. Ignoring Naruto''s calling of her name, the pregnant woman confronted the Iron Man.

    Halfway up the steps, Tony stopped in front of Laura, a nervous crease in his brow. The air was awkward as Laura looked down at him as she cradled her engorged belly.

    Pepper, trying to cut the tension, delicately said, "Mrs. Barton, my name is Pepper Potts¡­I am so sorry for your loss-"

    "I didn''t think you''d show up." Laura interrupted softly, the statement directed at Tony.

    Tony''s frown remained as he said, "I don''t think I couldn''t. Not after-"

    "Not after what happened? What did happen¡­exactly?" Laura cut off sharply, "I didn''t ask, I didn''t want to ask. There was barely anything left for us to bury, why would I want to know why? But I''m sure you know. I''m sure you''ve been thinking about it, how you could''ve prevented it, how you could''ve saved him. So, tell me, what happened?"

    "Laura...stop." Naruto said, looking at the gathering photographers and cameramen recording them. When she didn''t answer, he took a step forward-

    "It was my fault."

    Laura faltered, not expecting Tony''s answer, "What?"

    Dipping his head, the man said, "I''ve gone over it in my head thousands of times, and every time I come to the same conclusion. He died because of me." Tony ignored Naruto and Pepper''s shock, looking at Laura through his shades, "I murdered him."

    "And here you are." Laura said, anger seeping into her voice, "Here you are, late and wearing those damned glasses, here of all places. What is wrong with you?" She demanded, her hands reaching for the shades as she finished, "What is wrong-"

    Laura stopped as she pulled off the sunglasses, expression softening at Tony''s reddened eyes. Tears were glazed along his eyes, barely held back as he looked away. With his shaking hand, he wiped them away.

    With a sudden motion, Laura''s hand came in towards Tony''s face, the man flinching sharply.

    He blinked as her hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a hug. Feeling Laura wrap her arms around him, the man known as Iron Man slowly returned it, holding her as his shoulders began to shake.

    As a wave of flashes came from the photographers around them, Naruto silently escorted them into the church.

    -x-

    Naruto sat in the front right pew, sitting in the middle with Lila to his left and Steve to his right. To Lila''s left sat Natasha, Cooper, and Laura. To Steve''s right sat Thor, Tony, and Pepper. Happy stood outside, listening to the service but providing faux security.

    Standing next to the coffin, the pastor finished his sermon from his podium, "For anyone who has something to say about the dearly departed, you may come to the podium."

    Taking that as his sign, Naruto cleared his throat as he made to get up. Ignoring the clicking cameras and murmuring crowd, he slowly walked up to the podium as he gave a departing nod to the pastor.

    The man, grizzled and weary, gave Naruto the podium antipathetically. Shifting behind the podium as he cleared his throat again, the blonde looked out over the crowd. Everyone was looking up to him, giving him various degrees of their attention.

    Running his hands over the edge of the podium''s top, Naruto took a deep breath as he collected his thoughts one last time, "Hey uh¡­everybody."

    He was answered with a few coughs and the creaking of people shifting in their seats. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Naruto continued, "I, uh, I''m honestly not too good with talking about this kinda stuff. I''m here, up here today, because I was asked, and I felt I needed to at least say something."

    Looking down at Laura, she gave him a nod. Nodding back with a lopsided smile, Naruto said, "For those of you who don''t know who I am, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I''d known Clint for seven years, he was assigned to me for most of my time working alongside SHIELD¡­though thanks to the internet I''m sure most of you knew that already. What most of you probably don''t know is that I''m not from here. And by from here I mean Earth."

    Naruto paused, allowing the surprised murmurs and groans to pass. Coughing into his hand, he resumed his thought, "Clint kinda knew what I was, that I wasn''t some worthless rookie who needed to be shown the ropes of violence and war. I''d been fighting for nearly five years by the time we met. I''d gone through and seen just as much as him, if not more. But he what he did see was that I wasn''t handling it well, not as well as him anyway. He could see and do and experience these horrible things, but he always had support. And he knew that. I was always jealous of him for that. Here I was, in this strange new place with new rules and new expectations, and every so often I''d get a taste of what it meant to be a human with his family. And it felt good¡­but it never lasted. Eventually I always had to leave, to find something new to take up my attention because if I focused too long on what I couldn''t have I knew I''d go insane. And Clint was always there to give me that taste. He let me into his family because he knew I could never have one. Well¡­maybe. I don''t actually know if I can have kids, due to me being an alien and stuff. I feel like I''ve heard I can''t, but I''ve never really tried so who knows."

    A cough split through the room, Naruto taking that moment to awkwardly pause, "I''ve been thinking about that a lot, lately. Thinking about family. I always wanted one, as a kid. I grew up my entire life as an orphan. My parents died saving my life on the day I was born. For a long time I was almost entirely alone. But every so often I''d find myself in a relationship that filled that void. I''ve had several friends I''ve thought of as brothers who are dead now. I had a teacher who I thought of as a father, but he was killed. There was this girl who was practically my sister, but she died because I couldn''t protect her. By the time I met Clint, everyone I''d ever loved was dead and gone. And when you have so many people you''ve lost, all it does is add more and more what ifs. Maybe I''d be married by now, with kids and a job and all that stuff. That''s the trick, really. You can''t think about it. Otherwise you''re just going to consume yourself with this horrible sadness. And what good''ll that do? Who are you helping?"

    An agreeing murmur broke out in the crowd.

    Nodding along, Naruto said, "I think we''re going to hear a lot of stories today, telling us how much of a hero Clint was, how he was their best friend and how much of a good person he was. And all of this is true. He was a hero. He was a great friend, and a loving father, and an adoring husband. And all of these people, I''m sure, either feel guilt or are condemning someone else. You''re so sure that something could''ve been done. And maybe you''re right. Maybe something could''ve been done. I bet you can imagine the guilt I feel right now over the things I should''ve done in hindsight. But for Clint, for his memory''s sake¡­don''t. He wouldn''t want you spreading that kind of thing on his behalf."

    Though Naruto caught several nods, he spotted a few who visibly didn''t agree. But he moved forward, "I''m going to remember Clint, my brother. Not what could''ve or should''ve been. And he''d ask the same of all of you."

    Looking over at the coffin, Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, "In the words of my people, ''When a person dies he disappears. His past, present, and future. Many people die in missions and war. They can die easily and in surprisingly simple ways. Those who die had goals and dreams. They had things even more important than that. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers¡­people who were important to them. They trusted and helped each other. The bond between the people important to them since birth and the string that binds them becomes thicker and stronger as time goes by. It''s beyond reason. Those bound by that string will sacrifice themselves for that. Because it''s important.''"

    "We were important to Clint. We should be happy for that."

    -x-

    The rest of the service was, naturally, a somber one. Natasha had gone up after him, telling the story of the first time they''d met. Steve was next, giving a heartfelt speech on what it means to sacrifice one''s self for what they love. One by one, people came up to the podium to tell tale of Clint and how he''d affected their lives. It was a slow, meaningful cacophony of eulogies, each one showing a different side to Clint that some might not have been aware of.

    But eventually, these petered out and the procession began. Naruto, Thor, Steve, and several of Clint''s former marine brothers in arms all acted as pallbearers, silently carrying what remained of their brother to his final resting place.

    Naruto silently watched as the coffin was lowered into its grave. He''d hesitated to place a comforting hand onto a grieving Cooper''s shoulder but stopped short when he realized it might not be his place.

    Lila didn''t seem to care for his hesitance, her hand encompassed within his as she sobbed into his pant leg during the entire burial.

    Slowly, the crowd began to disperse, leaving Steve, Natasha, and Thor, all of whom were talking to Naruto off to the side while Laura gave her thanks to those still lingering behind.

    "Where does a god go to train, exactly?" Natasha asked, her arms filled with a tired Lila, "Is there a brochure? Can anyone go, or is an exclusive kind of thing?"

    Thor stroked his beard, "Naruto recommended it, actually."

    Said blonde shrugged off their attention, "You wanted somewhere secluded, Berhert is the definition. That and since I''d nearly blown up Berhert a couple times already, I figured it could handle some of Point Break''s lightning. That, and its peaceful enough that Odin might be able to enjoy himself despite your best efforts."

    "And why do you need to train¡­exactly?" Natasha couldn''t help but wonder, "If it''s because you''re the third strongest Avenger or something-"

    "Third?" Thor interrupted slightly exasperated, "I think we all know who the strongest Avenger is."

    Natasha and Steve gave the Asgardian blank looks.

    Thor deflated, jerking his thumb over at Naruto, "How does he count? He''s not even an Avenger." He argued weakly.

    "He''s gotta point." Naruto added on.

    "Right, whatever, second strongest then." Natasha continued, a sardonic smirk in play, "If this is just some kind of compensation thing, you should know that we love you for who you are big guy."

    Thor grumbled halfheartedly, "That''s a lot of lip coming from the weakest Avenger."

    "I least I know where I stand." She shot back without a care.

    Steve shook his head, eying Naruto as he said, "So, you''ve got the location of another Infinity Stone. I assume you''ll be heading out soon."

    "Pretty soon, yeah." Naruto said, "I''ve put it off long enough, I''m heading out in a few days." He looked around, "If any of you wanna come long, feel free."

    Natasha shook her head, "I think I''m going to stay with Laura, she''s due in a few weeks and I think someone should be around just in case."

    Shifting on his feet with confliction, Steve muttered, "It''s probably not a good idea for me to go off world."

    Nodding, Naruto eyed Thor, "What about you, big guy?"

    Thor smiled grandly, giving Naruto a mighty pat on the back, forcing the blonde forward slightly, "I think I can make time for a space adventure."

    "Well, I think I''m gonna head out." Steve said, quickly shaking Naruto and Thor''s hands, "Don''t forget to keep in touch." With a final wave, he left to give Laura his goodbyes.

    Thor followed soon after, shooting off into the sky with assistance from Mjolnir. Now alone together, Natasha eyed Naruto up and down, "When was the last time you slept?" She finally asked.

    Surprised at first, Naruto laughed her off, "Oh, uh, I''m fine."

    "Naruto." The redhead insisted softly.

    His shoulder''s slumping, he rubbed his neck, "Few days, I guess."

    "Bad dreams?"

    "No, just a little restless." He admitted with a humorless laugh.

    She put a comforting hand on his arm, "Want to talk about it?"

    "Honestly, you''re not the one I need to talk to about it." Naruto answered, scratching at the back of his neck.

    "Oh."

    Realizing how that came off, Naruto quickly added, "Not that I don''t want to¡­you know. It''s just that¡­well-"

    "I get it Naruto, really." Natasha reassured. Stepping up she wrapped him in a tight hug, "Talk to whoever you have to talk to."

    Slowly returning the hug, Naruto leaned into it, "Okay."

    Letting go, she discreetly wiped at her eye, "I think I''m gonna head back to the homestead with Laura and the kids. You gonna stick around?"

    "Yeah."

    "See you soon?"

    "Yeah."

    It took a while, but eventually the graveyard was empty save one. Stuffing his hands in his pockets, Naruto looked down at Clint''s pristine headstone. Inscribed into the white marble was, ''Clinton Francis Barton. Sergeant, US Marines. Gulf War, Afghanistan War, Iraq War. September 10, 1971 ¨C May 22, 2015. "He Was Our Heart."''

    Closing his eyes, Naruto took in a deep breath as he focused his mind. Feeling the pull of his subconscious, he fell into the necessary corner of his mindscape.

    "Hello, beloved."

    Opening his eyes, he was met with Freyja sitting at her campfire. She didn''t bother looking at him, her eyes on the ever-present hearth. Without saying a word, he sat down next to her.

    They sat in silence for a while, watching the flames lick up into the dark void as it ate away at the metaphorical air.

    "Why haven''t you been sleeping, Naruto?"

    He eyed her from his peripheral, "You know why."

    "The gift you were given?"

    The blonde laughed, "Gift?"

    "Is that not what it was?" Freyja wondered.

    He paused in thought before answering, "That''s not why I can''t sleep. I''d come to terms with them being gone a while ago. It hurt to see them again, but it was kind of a relief too, I guess. It answered the only question I had about it. And now that I know what I could''ve had, I guess it opens the door for what I can still have."

    "Then why?"

    Naruto shifted, facing her, "I attacked you, Freyja. I took out what I felt on the first thing I saw. You didn''t deserve that."

    She turned to look at him. Their eyes met, and she smiled. Slowly, almost nervously, she drew in closer to him. Though his first instinct made him want to back away from her encroaching face, Naruto stayed true. And as their personal spaces collided, and their noses brushed, her hand delicately slid up his chest.

    He shivered at the touch.

    That shiver was followed by a thick gag for air as her hand shot up from his chest and wrapped around his neck. Feeling the blood rushing to his face, Naruto hacked as he was pushed onto his back. Sitting on his chest, Freyja''s hair draped around his face as she choked the life out of him with one hand.

    Naruto flinched as her other hand began to caress his face lovingly.

    "There, now we''re even."

    He coughed and hacked as her fingers relaxed their grip, though she remained on his chest, smiling down gently.

    Naruto blinked away the spots in his vision, "That doesn''t change-"

    "I could continue, if you''d like?" Freyja asked, her fingers running along his adam''s apple, "You don''t have to feel sorry for me, beloved. You don''t have to apologize. I don''t know if you know this, but I''m a little above morality. I understood your pain, just as I understood your remorse. You can''t apologize to a being such as myself. It''s like apologizing to the weather. Pointless."

    "It isn''t to me." Naruto grunted, her weight digging into his lungs.

    She faltered, looking at him quizzically, "You don''t understand-"

    "I understand the meaning of an apology." Naruto insisted harshly, "Even if you don''t, I do."

    Freyja was at a loss for words, her head tilted in confusion as she observed his sincerity.

    Grunting as he sat up, she shifted onto his legs. Grabbing her hand that was still along his neck, he gripped her wrist as he looked her in the eye, "I''m sorry." He said firmly, his voice steady.

    Her breath had begun to pick up slightly, her eyes roaming over his face in thought. Eventually, she muttered, "That''s not the only reason why you''ve been avoiding me."

    Getting up off of him, she glided back to her spot. Kneeling back down, she looked at him expectantly.

    From his spot on the ground, Naruto grunted as he began to get up, "No, it''s not."

    Looking into the fire, she sighed, "You wanted to know about Clint Barton."

    Sitting down next to her, he nodded hesitantly, "I''ve been wanting to ask-"

    "If you could speak to him, through me." Freyja finished, frowning, "That''s not within my power, beloved. Once someone passes into that plain, they are beyond mortal communication."

    Naruto swallowed the lump in his throat, "What did he say¡­when you took him?"

    "I don''t think you want to hear-"

    "Please." Naruto insisted.

    Seemingly debating with herself, she looked away from the fire and looked Naruto in the eye, "He struggled with it."

    A heat began to build into Naruto''s chest as he asked, "What do you mean?"

    "He insisted I was wrong, that I was a trick. I had to prove my validity, and then he became silent. He asked for more time, for a final goodbye. I refused." Freyja explained solemnly, "Once he realized his situation, he faced it. He hesitated as he reached the other side, just once, so he could ask, ''Was it worth it?''"

    "What''d you say?" Naruto demanded, curious.

    "I lied."

    They sat in silence, looking into the flames as it ate away at the phantasmal logs.

    -x-

    Location: Novi Grad, Sokovia

    -x-

    Night had fallen, snow cascading down onto the fluorescently lit patch of land. The wind that carried the snow blew passed the dead and blackened trees, singing loudly and drowning out the sounds of construction and busy streets.

    Standing over a cold tomb stone, Wanda Maximoff read and reread the name carved into it. The sound of feet breaking through the blanket of snow caught her attention, though she didn''t bother turning to the intruder.

    "Wanda?"

    Wanda kept her attention on the headstone, "What are you doing here, Naruto?"

    Smiling, Naruto stepped up next to her, "Just here to give you something."

    "Is that all?"

    Naruto shook his head, folding his hands over his chest to protect himself from the cold, "I came here to pay my respects."

    "Why?" Wanda wondered, looking at the man in confusion, "You didn''t know him-"

    Kneeling in front of the headstone, Naruto muttered, "Who paid for the service?"

    Still confused, the girl answered, "They said it was anonymous. I assumed it might be Stark."

    "Right." Naruto said, "Are you staying in town or-"

    "Why are you here, Naruto?" Wanda demanded, "I appreciate you being here, but I don''t think you came to talk about what motel I''m staying at."

    "Right." The blonde said again. Straightening up, he reached into his coat pocket, "They confiscated this, after I dropped your brother off at the Helicarrior. I figured you''d want it back."

    Looking down at his outstretched hand, Wanda frowned when she realized he was presenting her with a polaroid. Gently, the she grabbed it. Flipping it over in her fingers, she held back a grasp at the picture presented to her.

    Smiling up at her, a younger Pietro was surrounded by their departed parents, the family sitting at their old dining room table. Stained over her younger face, dried blood was smeared across her cheerful smile.

    Quickly dabbing her eyes, Wanda forced a smile, "Thank you."

    "You''re welcome." Naruto returned. Pausing, he continued, "There was something else."

    "Something else?" The girl wondered, distracted as she carefully put the picture in her back pocket.

    "Has anyone talked to you, in the past couple days?" Wondered the Uzumaki, "Anybody from the Avengers or military?"

    "I haven''t talked to anyone since that day. I kinda sunk into the cracks after everything that happened." Admitted Wanda, "What''s going on?"

    Turning to her fully, he answered, "The United Nations is scrapping together a document they''re calling the Seoul Accords. They''re forcing the Avengers to sign and abide by them, under the threat of retirement. Wanda, you''re under that jurisdiction. If you don''t sign, they''re going to classify you as a criminal."

    "A criminal?" Wanda demanded, "How would I¡­whywould I-"

    "After what you and Pietro did, they''d rather have you under watch or in a cell. You and Tony Stark are gonna be given the same choice." Naruto explained.

    Wanda scoffed, "I''d rather-"

    "You don''t know what they do to people like you." Naruto interrupted, "There''s a place they''ve built called the Raft. They''re gonna stick you in there and you''re never going to see the light of day again. If you sign, if you swallow your pride, you can at least live your life."

    "Maybe I don''t want to live my life." Wanda refuted, "Because of me, Pietro is dead. Hundreds of people are dead. Why do I deserve-"

    "Because I know you killed the last one."

    That made Wanda freeze, "What?"

    Nodding, he said, "You killed the last one, the last Ultron. Not me, not Tony, not anyone else. You. You don''t deserve the Raft. Pietro didn''t die so you could go to the Raft, did he?"

    "No." Admitted the girl, "He didn''t."

    Resting his hand on her shoulder, Naruto muttered, "Don''t waste that sacrifice, okay? Just sign and try to move on from there."

    After a moment of thought, Wanda finally said, "I''ll think about it."

    They waded in an uncomfortable silence. Finally, Naruto asked, "Where were you staying?"

    "Not far." Wanda replied, "A few blocks away."

    "Let me walk you back." Naruto offered with as welcoming a smile as he could muster.

    Raising a curious eyebrow, Wanda wondered aloud, "Why?"

    The man shrugged, "Does anyone have to have a good reason to walk a girl home?"

    Wanda sighed. Looking down at the headstone, she sighed, "Okay, let''s go."

    Turning, she trudged out of the cemetery. Looking at her in surprise, Naruto smiled softly before catching up so he was walking beside her. The echoing crunch of their feet crunching against the snow made up for their lack of conversation, Naruto sticking his hands in his pockets as they began to walk into the outskirts of the city.

    His eyes wandering the dimly lit Novi Grad streets, he frowned at the various ribbons showing their mourning support over 5/22 loitered along the buildings and lampposts.

    "It didn''t make me feel better."

    Blinking his eyes as his eyebrows furrowed, Naruto asked, "What?"

    Looking ahead, Wanda explained, "When I killed him, Ultron, it didn''t make me feel any better. You were right."

    "A broken clock is right twice a day." Naruto offered with a weak smile, "Honestly, I''m not the best at handling that kinda stuff either, so I shouldn''t have been dishing out advice."

    Pausing for a beat, Wanda looked up at him, "I don''t know if I can work with Stark¡­ or any of the Avengers for that matter. And I doubt they''d want to work with me."

    "I understand the feeling." Naruto nodded along.

    Sighing, she continued, "But I''m tired of being a fugitive. I''m tired of being on the wrong side. At least if I sign, I know I''m working for something that''s good. Maybe it''ll rub off on me by proxy or something."

    "Maybe you''ll get that chance at Stark you''ve always wanted." Naruto offered with a playful smile, only to frown when he realized he might be hitting the nail on the head, "Actually, never mind."

    As Wanda broke out into a chuckle, a smile of his own came out.

    "What about you? What are you going to do now?" Wanda asked after a moment.

    Running a hand through his hair, Naruto replied, "I''m gonna do what I was doing before this whole mess started. Make a team, get them ready, go from there. Secretary Ross is giving me a slap on the wrist over my part in Ultron and I''m being allowed to do what I want so long as I don''t step on any toes, which is fine by me after everything. I need to do some scouting, and I''ve got a few people on my list." He looks at her from his peripheral, "You were on it, but now Ross and the United Nations have called a proverbial dibs on you for all intents and purposes."

    "Those were some big words you just used there, trying to impress little miss sunshine?" Kurama wondered from within the seal.

    "Shut up." Naruto grumbled in thought.

    Wanda stopped, nodding to the building at their right as she said, "This is me."

    "Right." Said the Uzumaki, fumbling with the inside pocket to his coat.

    "What are you doing?" Wanda wondered, perturbed as Naruto began to pat himself down.

    Running his hands over his sides, Naruto thought aloud, "What did I do with the damned thing?"

    Kurama sighed, "You sealed it away on your wrist, dingus."

    "Been expanding your insult repertoire, have you?" Naruto shot back in frustration as he channeled chakra to the seal on his wrist.

    "Gotta do something to pass the time, troglodyte."

    Though he was sure his partner had used that word knowing he didn''t know what it meant, Naruto ignored it as he caught the object that puffed into existence from his conveniently placed storage seal. Flipping it in his hand so he was holding the blade, he presented the kunai to Wanda.

    Looking at it wearily, Wanda asked, "What is that for?"

    "This knife was specially made by me last time I was home. On the handle is a seal that lets me teleport to it any time. If you ever need me for anything, just throw it and I''ll come around." Naruto explained with a smile.

    Wanda blinked a couple times as she looked down at the kunai before looking back up at him, "Have you ever heard of a phone?"

    Naruto deflated animatedly, "This is better than a phone!" He exclaimed, "This lets me come to you in a second! What kinda phone does that?"

    "Couldn''t you just stick a seal thing on a phone? That way I could call or text you instead of having to find something to stab this into." Wanda chided, though she still took the knife gently in her hands.

    Scratching the back of his head, Naruto muttered, "I uh¡­I never thought of that."

    Wanda turned the blade over in her hands, "It''s very pretty. It''s from your home?"

    Watching her inspect the blade and the seal inscripted on the handle, he answered, "Yeah, it is."

    Lowering the kunai, Wanda looked back up at him with a soft smile, "Thank you."

    "You''re welcome." Naruto returned with a smile of his own.

    Turning to walk into the building, Wanda paused as she reached the door. Looking at him one more time, she asked, "I can call you any time? For anything?"

    Giving a confused frown, Naruto nodded reassuringly, "Of course."

    She turned back to the door, "Goodnight, Naruto."

    "Goodnight."

    -x-

    Three Days Later

    -x-

    Jessica Drew couldn''t help but feel awkward as she stood in the middle of the Barton''s living room, her arms folded sternly as she tapped her foot on the hard wood floor.

    "Nervous?"

    Jessica regarded Illyana, the woman leaning against the kitchen table lazily, "Aren''t you?"

    The blonde shrugged, "Not really."

    "Going into space to a place called nowhere doesn''t make you nervous?" Jessica asked skeptically.

    Illyana quirked a brow, "I''m being trained by an immortal warlock who can send your astral form through all planes of existence. Space isn''t that much weirder compared to that."

    Shaking her head, Jessica rolled her eyes, "Sure, okay."

    As Illyana made to prove her point, a loud ''thwoom'' came from outside, a rainbow of colors shining brightly through the rattling front windows. Footsteps thundered down the steps, little Lila tumbled down to see what the commotion was. Cooper stood at the top step, observing apathetically.

    "What was that?" Jessica asked.

    Laura waddled out from the back of the dining room, annoyance etched into her face as she grumbled, "If that man left another one of those marks on my lawn, I''m gonna skin him I swear."

    Lila threw the door open, revealing Thor on the other side as he reached the porch steps. The man had forgone his usual set of armor, instead wearing something a little lighter in the form of a thick sleeveless leather tunic. His beefy arms were bare save the leather wraps along his forearms, and his cape was a lighter red that was draped across his back to prevent it from dragging along the ground.

    Grinning merrily, he waved at Lila and Laura, only to grimace as Laura began to swat at him with the rolled-up magazine in her hand.

    "What did I tell you about burning my grass?" Laura demanded, each word punctuated with a swat from her makeshift weapon.

    Jessica raised an eyebrow at the wall of a man as he ducked into Laura''s tirade. Nudging Illyana, she muttered, "This is Thor?"

    "Mm''hm." The sorcerer answered, watching in amusement as Laura calmed herself down, one hand resting on her stomach and the back of the other on her forehead.

    As Thor helped her up the steps, she muttered, "You''d give aspirin a headache, you know that?"

    The God of Thunder chuckled as he helped Laura into a whicker chair, "My mother used to say something similar."

    "She''s a smart woman then." Laura huffed as she relaxed in the chair. Eyeing Thor, she asked, "Aren''t you going along? Even Naruto''s getting dressed up for where you''re going."

    Thor chuckled, "An Asgardian can survive the perils of space." Looking around he asked, "Where is Naruto?"

    "Natasha''s helping him get ready upstairs." Laura answered.

    The brute gave her a questioning look but shrugged none the less as he turned his attention to the two other women standing a few feet away. The two of them were wearing their Infinity Watch uniforms, the tight armor clearly meant to protect them from the dangers of the galaxy beyond.

    Upstairs, Naruto looked at his reflection, satisfied that the suit fit him perfectly, "The girl can make an awesome set of armor, that''s for sure." He muttered.

    "Where did you find her anyway?" Natasha asked from behind him, strapping the sheathed Nakama to his back.

    "Shuri?" Naruto asked, scratching his chin nervously, "Oh you know, those uh SHIELD files you put out."

    Natasha gave his back a skeptical look, "I never read her file on any of those encryptions."

    "Must''ve missed her then."

    She shook her head, dropping the subject. With one final tug, she patted him on the back, "There, you''re all set."

    The Uzumaki grinned. The armor that Shuri had fashioned for him was a slick and slim design, fitting his body snuggly in a black color scheme with orange highlights. The orange trimmed along the black nicely, tapering down his arms and legs in a straight line. His orange belt buckle, like Illyana''s and Jessica''s, held the sigil of their team, the symbol for infinity. The texture of the armor reminded him of Dora Milaje armor, slim but powerful. It was clearly made to suit mobility.

    "Alright, just one more test and we''re golden." Naruto muttered, pressing his hand onto a patch on his shoulder. In a ''thwoop,'' a helmet emerged from the base of his neck, wrapping around his head perfectly. The helmet''s visor covered the entire front of his face, allowing Natasha to see his gleeful smile.

    "Good?" She asked, tilting his head up to make sure everything was where it should be.

    He nodded, "Not good, great."

    Natasha walked passed him, picking up the man''s scattered shirt and jacket that he''d discarded, "Agent Drew¡­do you trust her?"

    Deactivating the helmet, Naruto gave her a side glance as he gave his arms a few testing stretches, "I''ve worked with her before, she''s more than capable for what we''re doing."

    "That''s not what I meant." The Black Widow insisted with a huff as she folded the clothes over each other.

    Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I know." Flexing his hands, he muttered, "If she''s bad news, I''ll know soon enough."

    "This is a test, then?" Natasha asked, tucking some stray strands of hair behind her ear.

    "Pretty much." Finished expecting the new suit, Naruto grinned, "How do I look?"

    "Like a Power Ranger."

    The blonde scratched his cheek, "I don''t know what that is, is that bad?"

    The red-head giggled softly, "I''m kidding, it looks good."

    A knock came from the door, followed by Cooper''s muffled voice, "Thor''s here."

    "Alright, thanks." Naruto answered. Grin still in place, he said to Natasha, "Well, time to go."

    Stepping out of the room, he smiled down at Cooper, the boy giving him a small wave as he went back to his room. Pondering on the room''s door, Naruto sighed before turning to head downstairs. As he reached the final step, a bundle shot onto his leg, wrapping around the limb tightly preventing him from taking another step.

    "You''re coming back, right?"

    Placing a hand on Lila''s head, Naruto gave a large smile, "Sure am. Promise."

    "Kay." The girl muttered into his leg, though she didn''t let go.

    Gently, Naruto pried her off him. Kneeling down, Naruto kept his smile in place as he lifted his hand up. Lila looked at the extended hand, his fingers locked in a fist save for his pinky, the short digit sticking up straight.

    Making the same gesture with her hand, she wrapped her pinky around his. Their silent pinky swear now locked between the two of them, Lila let Naruto pass.

    The little girl still followed close behind him as he walked outside, giving Thor a nod hello. Looking to the small group he''d formed, Naruto said, "Time to go."

    From her chair, Laura called out, "Good luck."

    "Make sure not to have that baby until I get back, alright?" Naruto said as he stepped down the porch steps.

    She laughs as she rubs her stomach soothingly, "No promises."

    Walking out onto the lawn, Naruto spotted the large Bifrost imprint branded into the fresh cut grass. Turning to Thor, he motioned to the intricate scorch mark, "Really?"

    Thor walked passed, brushing off the question merrily, "So, where''s this ship you''ve been talking about? I call shotgun." He looked behind him at Illyana and Jessica for confirmation, "That''s what you call the front seat, correct?"

    While Illyana answered with a helpful nod, Naruto said, "Sorry buddy, but I need my co-pilot sitting shotgun." He looked at Jessica from over his shoulder, "That''s you, by the way."

    "Me?" Jessica asked, confused, "Why?"

    "Flying my ship is about the same as flying a Quinjet. And, last I''d heard, you were one of the top Quinjet pilots back in the day." Naruto answered, coming to a stop as he bit into his thumb. Wiping the blood across his palm, he began to flip through a set of hand signs, "Don''t worry, I''ll have the co-pilot controls locked. I just need someone next to me just in case."

    "Just in case what?" Jessica asked.

    Illyana rolled her eyes, "Use your imagination. Space stuff, obviously."

    As Jessica gave the woman a glare, Naruto slammed his blood smeared hand onto the ground. In a large puff of smoke, the Kushina appeared in front of them.

    Looking up at her proudly, Naruto said, "Yup, space stuff."

    "Why aren''t we just teleporting there with one of your seals?" Asked Illyana, knowing she was up for a long ride.

    "The seal I put there isn''t active for some reason." Naruto said as the bay doors opened, and the set of stairs descended, "The Collector probably had the entire place scoured from top to bottom looking for it after the last time I was there."

    After giving an excited Lila a quick tour, Infinity Watch and their Asgardian companion strapped themselves into the cockpit, awaiting liftoff. In the two pilot seats, Naruto sat on the left with Jessica at the right. As the Uzumaki prepped the ship, flipping the random switch and pressing coordinates into the navigation display, the former CIA Agent observed his every move and decision, memorizing should she need to do the same.

    Behind Naruto, Illyana looked at Thor, who was sitting in the seat behind Jessica. Her eyes on the hammer sitting in his lap, she asked, "Was that thing really made by the dwarves of Nidavellir?"

    Surprised, Thor asked, "You know of it?"

    "Sure." Illyana answered, "Master Minoru spoke highly of it. Is it true that Excalibur was forged there as a gift to the Olympians-"

    "But no Olympian ever proved themselves worthy. And, insulted, Zeus hurled the blade from planet Olympus." Thor continued for her, impressed by her knowledge, "It''s magic eventually drove it to Midgard, where it awaited a truly worthy master."

    "Did you ever get to see it, before it was lost?" Illyana wondered.

    Thor nodded, "Once. I saw it be tested by the Dwarf King, Eitri. It was truly fearsome."

    Naruto glanced at Jessica, motioning to her throttle, "If you need to take control, jerk the throttle forward twice. Other than that, the controls are fairly similar to the Quinjet''s¡­minus a few things."

    "Minus a few things?" Jessica questioned, flabbergasted, "This is an alien space craft, the few similarities are far and in between compared to the complex system this ship uses. You don''t actually expect me to be able to-"

    "I expect you to watch and listen." Naruto cut off firmly, "Illyana might be my second in command, but I need a co-pilot. You''ve got the experience, and I know you can adapt. Give it time, you''ll learn. Trust me."

    Though his voice was firm, it also held a layer of reassurance that caused Jessica to sigh in defeat. Nodding she gripped the throttle and jerked it forward twice. The decals along her dashboard lit green, signaling that she had control.

    "Good." Naruto praised, quickly getting the control back as he continued, "Now, we just need to set our coordinates to the nearest Jump Point, which shouldn''t be too far."

    "Jump Point?" Jessica asked.

    "A Jump Point is a gateway, helps get from one place to another. It''s pretty much like Ilyana''s portals, only man made." Naruto explained, tapping into the screen as he locked in where he needed to go.

    Jessica nodded, taking that in, "And who would make one of this Jump Points just outside our planet?"

    "The Kree have an invested stake in your planet. They like to drop by every once in a while, to make sure you haven''t blown yourselves up yet." The Uzumaki reasoned, though as he saw Jessica''s perturbed look he continued, "There''s nothing hostile about it¡­I think."

    "You think?"

    "Eighty-five percent sure."

    Massaging her forehead, Jessica muttered, "Let''s just get on with it."

    "Right." Naruto said with a laugh, "Get comfortable gang, we''ve got fifty-four jumps to Knowhere."

    "To Knowhere!" Thor cheered, lifting his hammer to punctuate his war call.

    While Illyana and Naruto merrily followed suit, Jessica continued rubbing the headache away that just kept on persisting.

 33 Wish u were Here part 2

    Any reservations Jessica may have had about their trip evaporated as soon as they left Earth''s upper atmosphere. As Naruto went into full throttle towards the Jump Point in between Earth and its moon, the void of space became a glorious blur.

    Gripping the arm of her seat tightly, Jessica had felt her stomach lift up into her lungs as they hit top speed. All the while; Thor cheered, Illyana giggled gleefully, and Naruto grinned like a madman as the ship rocketed towards its Jump Point.

    Eventually, after several minutes, Jessica grew accustomed to the speed. And, though she fought it, a grin spread along her face as she realized just how special this day was. She was flying through the void of space, a passenger of an alien craft that was taking to a place literally called nowhere.

    The boys back home would be jealous.

    But, like all good things, it came to an end. One jump after another, the novelty of it began to fade away. And soon boredom filled its place.

    Behind her, Illyana read from a worn tome, flipping through it slowly as she took in the mystic knowledge. Thor had taken to flipping his hammer in his hand, catching it effortlessly as he watched the stars blur by.

    Naruto was the only one seemingly lacking any boredom, though that likely came from piloting a spacecraft going well over a thousand miles per hour.

    Needing to break the monotony, Jessica turned to the Uzumaki, "So this¡­stone, what does it do exactly?"

    "Ask Thor." Naruto offered, "He''s the one that almost got killed by it."

    Thor looked up at the attention, catching Mjolnir in his hand deftly, "Well, it''s not really a stone so much as a sludgish, jelloy kind of thing. But either way, it is dangerous. I''d advise you not to touch it if you can."

    "Then how are we grabbing it, exactly?" Illyana questioned.

    "Rest assured, it is incased in an Asgardian lockbox." Thor answered coolly, once again flipping Mjolnir, "The Collector would be a fool to open it, so it should still be contained when we go to collect it for ourselves."

    "What would it do, if he were foolish enough?" Asked Jessica, her full attention hanging off Thor''s answer.

    "It is difficult to define." Thor said, catching the handle of his hammer before tossing it back up again, "If one were to simply hold the stone with zero way of control, it could cut a hole into the fabric of reality itself, altering everything that is known and unknown to its very core."

    "And with control?" Jessica hesitated to ask.

    "With control, reality has no meaning or definition. It is to do with as you like."

    "That''s¡­scary." Illyana muttered, the large tome no longer on her mind.

    "Which is why we''re going after it, so that kind of thing doesn''t happen." Naruto said distractedly, just before an alert popped up on his dashboard, "Heads up guys, this jump is the last one. We''ll be at Knowhere in a couple minutes."

    In those passing minutes, Jessica silently prepped her sidearm, puling back the hammer as she looked into the prepped bullet sitting within the chamber.

    Illyana looked over her shoulder, amused, "You''re bringing a gun?"

    "Am I supposed to?" Jessica wondered.

    The blonde chuckles, "No, just kinda weird that you''d bring that to an alien colony that sits inside the head of a Celestial."

    "I still find it hard to believe we''re going inside the head of a space god." Jessica muttered, sliding the gun into her holster.

    "Believe it." Naruto said, flinching at the involuntary use of that phrase, "We''re here."

    The Kushina came to a stop as he exited the last Jump Point, the ship careening in open space. And there, perched before them, stood the floating mass of a decrepit skull.

    As an orange hue filled the cockpit, Jessica voice broke out with a soft, "Is it supposed to look like that?"

    "No." Naruto said, his mouth agape, "No it isn''t."

    Nowhere was by and large an anomaly. It had its own gravitational pull, oxygen, and other commodities necessary for sustainable life. The skull of the Celestial, a being once known as Eson the Searcher, was roughly twice the size of a Kree Battleship. Almost every facet of its cranium had been converted and harvested by the Tivan Group, the empty skull now acting as a hovel for lawlessness and debauchery. Gambling, murder, prostitution, slavery, human trafficking, and bounty hunting all ran through here, all by the guiding hand of the Tivans and their benefactor, The Collector.

    All of that was now on fire.

    Knowhere''s once empty eye sockets were now filled with a rolling fire, its worn maw broken and melted away.

    "Who could''ve done this?" Thor demanded, gripping Mjolnir tightly as they grew closer to the flaming Celestial skull.

    "Knowhere is sandwiched right inbetween the Kree and Shi''ar borders. It could''ve been any one of them." Naruto said grimly.

    Illyana stared at the back of Naruto''s head, "But you don''t think that''s the case."

    "No." He agreed, "We''d have spotted a Kree Battleship by now if it was them, hell we''d have gotten a dispatch by now. And this isn''t the Shi''ar Empire''s way of doing things. Their Majestor isn''t one to throw around bruit force, and I can''t see them going after Knowhere and the Collector. The underworld might not be acceptable inside their borders, but it''s still something they''d know to value."

    Thor rubbed at his beard, his eyes roaming the area in search for discernable ships of any nation, "I don''t see any war ships nearby, it''s possible we just missed the attack."

    "Agreed." Jessica added, "More than likely the bulk of the attack is over. The question is if it''s safe to investigate."

    "We don''t really have a choice." Illyana grunted, getting up from her seat as she said, "We don''t know for sure if the Collector is there, and if he is if he''s dead or alive, or if he still has the stone in his possession. I don''t think it''s smart to leave any of that up in the air."

    "It''s decided then." Naruto pulled the throttle forward, the Kushina shooting off into the burning eye, "This is a get in, get out. No dilly dallying. We get the stone if it''s still there, if not we figure out who attacked and go from there."

    The three nodded, preparing themselves as they drew into the fires of Knowhere.

    -x-

    Stepping down from his ship, Naruto reached up and swung out Nakama, the vibranium blade singing as it cut into the hot air.

    "We stick together." Naruto ordered as they looked out over the destroyed layout of Knowhere''s inner city, "Thor, you''re up front. Illyana, in the back. Jess, you''re with me."

    All three nodded, though Jessica gave Naruto a side glance at being called ''Jess.''

    In formation, the squad trekked forward. Thor, at the front of the diamond formation, held his trusty hammer at the ready. Illyana, having summoned a Tao Mandala in one hand, and an Eldritch Dao in another, followed at the back of the line. Next to Naruto, Jessica paced along carefully, her pistol raised at the ready.

    Thor, who was in the lead, raised up his fist. Knowing to stop, the group waited apprehensively as foot steps rapped along the corner. Tumbling down onto the street in front of them, the Krylorian woman quickly tried to pick herself up, only to fall to her side in exhaustion. Her pink skin was covered in soot and purple burns, her face scrunched up in fear and pain as she tried to crawl away.

    "Hey!" Naruto called out. As he took a step up, a figure fell down next to the Krylorian, their blade driving down into her abdomen.

    As she screamed out in pain, Thor shot out to meet them.

    Jessica, with only a moment of hesitation, swept her gun into the figure''s direction and opened fire on his torso. She cursed as the bullets ricocheted of the figure''s armor with a ''thwang.''

    Thor, his hammer pulled back, roared as he released a mighty swing into the figure''s torso. The sound of metal bending, bone breaking, and flesh tearing filled echoed as the figure was sent flying from the heavy blow.

    Though Mjolnir was still at the ready, Thor didn''t bother making sure it got up, knowing full well it was staying down. Giving her a glance, he sighed as he realized she was dead.

    "What is that?" Illyana asked, half her attention on her surroundings the rest on the crumpled heap not ten yards away.

    "A Centaurian." Naruto answered, flipping the armored alien onto its back, "They''re like those old timey warriors I always forget the name of¡­kinda sounds like ramen or something."

    "Romans." Jessica connected the dots, standing next to Naruto as she took in the first alien she''d ever seen.

    It was heavily armored, its design looking to be a cross between a Roman foot soldier and a medieval knight. It''s golden plating was painted purple thanks to the open chest cavity, the violet life juice seeping out of the gaping wound like a geyser. His skin tone was a very light blue, with a darker shade of war paint decorating the upper half of his face. His helmet had fallen off from the landing, the blue plum that sat upon the head soaking in the pool of blood.

    The blade he''d used to kill the girl looked like a pata, the massive blade sticking out from the gauntlet''s fist.

    "The girl''s a Krylorian." Thor called out from the girl''s side, taking in her elegantly white servant''s dress, "Sif told me the Collector had been keeping one or two as a slave."

    Jessica took that in with a hum, "We''re close then."

    Walking up to the group, Thor narrowed his eyes in thought, "Centauri-Six is lightyears out of the way. What do they gain from sacking Knowhere?"

    Naruto stood up, his face slowly losing color, "Did you say Centauri-Six? Not Four, not Five. Six?"

    Thor nodded, puzzled, "Yes, six. The planet Centauri-Six-"

    Before Thor could finish, Naruto roughly grabbed onto Jessica''s arm, "Go back to the ship, now. I''ll send a clone with you and Illyana, but you need to get off this colony right fucking now."

    "What?" Illyana demanded. When Naruto didn''t seem to notice, she began to say, "What the hell happened to sticking together-"

    "Now isn''t the time for that." He answered, deathly calm. Starring into her core, he said, "This became way too dangerous. You guys aren''t ready, if you don''t leave you will die. Get it? All plans have been thrown out the window, and I need you to listen to me right now. Get to the ship, get out of here. Thor and I will be with you in a second."

    Illyana bit back the urge to argue. She knew that look on his face. Naruto was panicked. There wasn''t any room in his head for argument.

    Gripping Jessica''s shoulder, the sorceress pulled her along, "Come on, we''re going."

    Jessica knew better than to argue against orders, but it didn''t keep her from pulling away from the woman''s grip. As Illyana summoned a portal, Jessica gave Naruto one last glance before being pulled in by the sorceress.

    "So¡­this is it." Kurama grunted somberly.

    "Seems like it." Naruto thought back.

    Seeing a very confused Thor from his peripheral, Naruto said, "Over two decades ago, Centauri-Six was the victim of a planet wide genocide. Half the population was wiped out. It didn''t get a lot of publicity, mainly because of who was responsible. Five years later, the planet rescinded its sovereignty, broke off all ties to its managing empire, and pledged its loyalty to the very man who slaughtered three billion of its peoples."

    "Who?"

    Naruto smiled warily, looking ahead undeterred, "The Mad Titan himself."

    -x-

    Jessica blinked as she and Illyana stepped through the portal, looking around the inside of the Kushina, "I don''t think I''ll ever get used to that."

    "Sorry." Illyana grunted distractedly, looking at the pilot''s seat, "You think you can lift us off?"

    "I can lift us off, maybe." Jessica muttered in thought, flashing back to which switches were flipped and how, "Maybe." She persisted as she sat in the co-pilot''s chair.

    "Maybe." The sorceress repeated with a huff, pacing in place.

    Ignoring her, Jessica did her best to follow what she''d seen Naruto do back at the homestead, "What was going on back there anyway?"

    "Naruto''s spooked, that''s all I need to know it''s serious." Illyana answered. As she said this, something caught her eye from outside the ship. Walking closer to the windshield, she squinted to look passed the billowing smoke surrounding the area around the ship.

    She saw the shine of their armor first.

    Emerging from the smoke, a platoon of Centurian soldiers converged around the ship, their rifles at the ready.

    "Shit." Illyana muttered, immediately aware of the danger they were in.

    Looking up from the panel, Jessica blinked as she realized they were surrounded. Turning to an awestruck Illyana, the brunette got up from her seat to stand beside her, "What do we do?"

    Illyana blinked at the question, "What?"

    "Naruto says you''re the second in command." Jessica explained, her full attention on the sorceress, "What''s the call?"

    Her eyes widened in shock, Illyana nodded. As she looked over the crowd of Centurians, she gave a confident nod, "Let''s see what you can do, spider woman."

    Jessica deflated, "Please don''t call me that."

    -x-

    Thor led Naruto through the decimated city streets of Knowhere, the endless fire and smoke building in intensity the closer they got to the Collector''s museum. Naruto was surprised at the lack of Centurians, coming across none as they trekked along the nearly deserted battlefield. What they did find was countless bodies lying in the purge''s wake, their rotting bodies being eaten away by the flames surrounding them.

    Finally, the two came upon the Collector''s museum. The building was massive, around the size of a multiplex movie theater.

    As Naruto rested his hand on the doorway, a thud echoed from behind them.

    Naruto sighed. Turning around, he was met with a massive Centurian soldier. The beast of a man stood at a hefty eight feet tall, his broad shoulders making him seem like two men combined into one. Decorated with heavy armor that protected him from head to toe, this added weight had caused the concrete to crack upon his entry. In his hands, two massive broadswords, blood both fresh and old stained along its edges and broadside.

    "I got this." Thor assured.

    With a heave, he chucked his trusty Mjolnir towards the beast''s torso. To both men''s surprise the Centurian deflected the hammer with a mighty clang, Mjolnir veering off course behind him.

    Naruto eyed a mildly surprised Thor, "You got this?"

    Thor didn''t bother responding, extending his hand expectantly. An awkward pause later, Mjolnir flew into the Asgardian''s hand, its heavy metal singing loudly as it flew through the air. Thunder roared in the background, forcing Naruto to momentarily question where it came from. But he didn''t get to ask, as lightning shot out from Mjolnir with crack.

    Opening the door, Naruto muttered, "He''s got this."

    -x-

    The Centurian soldiers gathered around the Kushina continued their slow encroachment towards the ship. The apparent head officer threw his fist up, the platoon coming to a halt.

    Gesturing to the soldier to his right, he opened his hand and waved in the direction of the Kushina. The soldier didn''t hesitate to march towards the ship his rifle pointed at the ready. Just a few yards from the bow of the ship, the bay doors opened, the stairs descending to the ground.

    And with a clank for each step it hit, a metallic sphere rolled down in front of the lone soldier. As it came to a stop at his foot, a flashing red light came into view.

    The soldier looked over to his superior officer-

    BOOM!

    And then all hell broke loose.

    As the crack of the explosion sent the poor soldier flying, a portal opened up over the heads of three soldiers. As they looked up in confusion, that confusion turned to a surprised scream as a wall of water poured out from the portal, sweeping the men away as several tons of water fell on them head first.

    A second portal opened, Illyana jumping out with her Tao Mandala and Eldritch Dao in hand. The three Centurian''s in her way were unprepared for her sudden entry, and even less prepared for when she opened a portal next to her, and a portal next to center Centurian''s torso.

    With a jab, she flung her dao into the portal in front of her, the blade emerging from the second portal into the Centurian''s chest. She flinched as blood spurted from the wound, but she was forced to move passed it as she opened a massive portal under the Centurians'' feet, swallowing them whole before closing up.

    She jumped as gunshots rang out from the Kushina''s open bay, Jessica opening fire on nearby Centurians from the bottom of the stairway. Scowling as the bullets ricocheted off their armor, she tossed the gun to the side before charging in. As the towering soldier in front of her reared back his pata to cleave her head from her shoulders, Jessica slid between his legs feet first. As she swept up underneath him, she grabbed onto his ankle, yellow electricity rolling across the palm of her hand.

    Just as she jumped up to her feet, the soldier fell to his knee, the leg she''d touched seemingly losing all feeling. Gripping the back of his helmet with both hands, another pulse of electricity erupted from her hands. With a jerk, the man went limp. Ducking she weaved herself along the jabbing arm of the next Centurian attacking her. With a subtle but sharp jab into the crux of his neck, the man''s neck snapped back from the force.

    Illyana, impressed, called out, "I didn''t know you had sparkly hands."

    "It''s bio-electricity." Jessica explained away before she jumped over a charging soldier, landing nimbly, "I didn''t know you could summon water like Uzumaki can."

    The blonde shrugged, "I just opened a portal up at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, so not really what Naruto can do."

    "Still." Jessica grunted as she blocked a crushing hammer fist with her forearms. Channeling her bio-electricity to her arms, the Centurian stumbled back from the sharp shock, "It''s impressive."

    "Thanks." She returned distractedly as the last three Centurians opened fire on her. Expanding her Tao Mandala to act as a cover, she yelled, "Little help?"

    "Get me over there!" The brunette called.

    Grinning, Illyana opened a portal up at the other woman''s feet and another right above the Centurians'' heads.

    Jessica felt her stomach sweep up into her throat as the ground beneath her disappeared, finding herself right on top of the soldiers firing on the sorceress. Falling onto the center man''s back, she shot a thick burst of bio-electricity into his torso. As the two fell to the ground, the other two Centurians realized Jessica had taken down their comrade.

    As they spun onto her to unload their weapons, they jerked as another portal the size of a beachball sprung into existence right next second man''s head. They barely had time to realize it was there before water shot out from portal like a fire hose, the pressurized blast of ocean water knocking both men off their feet.

    When they didn''t get up, Jessica''s shoulder relaxed as she let out the breath she didn''t know she''d been holding.

    Silence hung over the two, their heavy breathing and the crackling fires around them distracting them from the .

    "Hey, the boss just realized he forgot to send one ¨C Holy shit, what happened here?"

    The women jumped as a Naruto Shadow Clone popped up out of nowhere, taking in the battle ground around him with wonder. Jessica gave the clone a light glare, blowing the hair out of her face with a huff.

    Blinking, the Shadow Clone tilted his head, "What?"

    -x-

    Naruto couldn''t help but take in the museum as he crept along the admittedly impressive building. The fire had yet to get into the building, leaving everything intact for the blonde to take in. The first section of the museum held all of the fauna the Collector had amassed for himself.

    There were a few trees he recognized from Berhert, a crazy looking vine he knew was from Alfheim that seemed to have a mind of its own, even a giant redwood from Earth. The rest was entirely alien to him, the varying colors and shapes momentarily distracting him from the oppressive air circumventing along the building.

    The next section ruined any awe he had for the Collector''s trove. The menagerie of intergalactic species was sickeningly impressive, Naruto guessing that nearly a hundred different species sat within captivity. Each one was given their own glass cage, all of them splayed out lifelessly.

    The glass that had once kept them in captivity were shattered, their bodies riddled with bullet holes.

    A Dark Elf foot soldier, a Kosmosian bureaucrat, a Badoon Hunter, a Strontian Gladiator, a Kymellian slave, and a Kronan revolutionary were all easy recognizable, but Naruto was shameful to admit that he couldn''t recognize most of the species held in captivity; the spectacle wearing blue skinned alien with a thick mustache and fairly receded hairline being the one that threw him for a loop the most.

    "How much you wanna bet most of them were nearly extinct?" Kurama grunted with disgust.

    "Think about that later." Naruto answered aloud as he entered section containing the Collector''s prized relics.

    Unlike the previous sections that held their exhibits in one row after another, this room was circular, with each relic displayed along the wall like an art gallery. In the center, a beam of magnetic energy was projected from the ceiling, likely acting as the holding place for the Collector''s most prized possession.

    A possession that had been pried from his cold dead fingers.

    Lying prone next to the center display, the Collector''s cooling corpse stared up at him, the man''s frozen face filled with pain and horror.

    Standing over the body, his murderer, his back facing the blonde shinobi.

    "I''d hoped you''d come, Maelstrom."

    Naruto slowly walked further into the gallery, his hands flexing tensely, "Why''s that?"

    The Titan let out a chuckle, the baritone throttle giving the merry chortle a sinister edge, "I wanted the pleasure of meeting the strongest man in the universe. It''s an honor."

    The blonde frowned at the man across from him. He seemed to be distracted by what was in his hands, his face barely visible from his angle, "I thought that kinda thing went to you." He stated coolly, coming to a stop at just a few yards away.

    "I''m not the one holding three Infinity Stones." The man shot back, finally turning to face the blonde.

    He was just as large as he remembered him, standing at just a few inches shorter than the Hulk. His body was covered in an elaborate golden armor, with black pieces highlighting the set beautifully. The beauty of the armor was ruined by the various shades of dried blood speckled along the worn suit. Sitting on his head was a form-fitting helmet, the protective shell only leaving his face open.

    Resting in his right hand was a massive double-bladed sword that was as tall as Naruto was, monstrous weapon singing loudly with every movement, its razor-sharp edge cutting into the air.

    Any other time, Naruto would''ve taken a second to take the impressive warrior in. But the red glare coming from his left hand took that attention away.

    Covering his arm, a magnificent gauntlet. The golden plating shined an eerie orange from the bright red light that came from the gauntlet''s knuckle. Sitting on the knuckle of the gauntlet''s pointer finger, the Reality Stone hummed at attention.

    "Where do you keep them, I wonder." Thanos said thoughtfully, "I don''t think you''d keep them in your back pocket."

    Naruto forced himself to look away from the Reality Stone, looking Thanos in the eye as he responded, "They''re somewhere safe."

    Thanos nodded along, "Oh I''m sure they are somewhere far away from here." He shook his head as he began to walk around the blonde. Naruto followed suit, the two circling each other as the Titan continued,"Wasteful. To have that kind of power at your disposal, and to squander it the way you do. Imagine what you could do with them, the things you never thought possible or imaginable at your fingertips."

    Naruto motioned to the glass ceiling, the orange and black layers of fire and smoke visible, "Something like this?"

    "We both know you could do so much worse that this without the stones." The Mad Titan chided, "I''ve been watching you, Naruto. I see so much of myself in you, it''s a shame I didn''t catch you sooner. The things we could''ve accomplished, the lives we could save."

    "You do that often?" Naruto questioned heatedly, "Kidnap hapless kids and turn them into weapons?"

    "Weapons?" Thanos questioned sincerely, "They are my children. I take them in and show them what true strength is."

    "Killing billions of innocent lives makes you strong?" Naruto demanded, "No wonder Gamora''s so fucked up, I can''t imagine what you filled her head with."

    "I filled it with knowledge." Thanos retorted, "Knowledge of what the universe needs to survive, and the kind of will that''s necessary to save it from itself."

    Naruto narrowed his eyes, doing his best to keep calm, "And the way to save it is to use the Infinity Stones as an executioner''s blade on half the universe?"

    "Salvation cannot come without tremendous sacrifice-"

    "So long as you''re the one not sacrificing a damned thing."

    Thanos frowned at the accusation, "There won''t be any exceptions to my purge, not even myself. You and everyone else will have the same chance of life as I will. Fifty-fifty. Fair."

    "There''s another way." Naruto insisted, "There''s always another way-"

    "If I snap my fingers," Thanos lifted up the Infinity Gauntlet, snapping his fingers to punctuate his point, "And make it so that all of the planets'' resources are replenished, no lesson will have been learned. I would simply be enabling future generations to squander what was given to them, at an even more detrimental scale. To sterilize half the universe''s population is impossibly specific, along with any other concept a think tank could squander up. Population control is the only possible way. The only permanent way."

    With a flash of red, the gallery was swept away, replaced by an unfamiliar planet. Looking around proudly, Thanos gestured to the thriving civilization surrounding them, "This is Centuri-Six. Look how they thrive; how happy they are to know their future generations will know paradise. The entire universe could have this happiness. What''s so wrong with that?"

    Centuri-Six was beautiful. The bustling city washed over the two, passersby going about their daily lives as two titans watched on. They smiled, they laughed. Naruto could feel the love and peace in the air, the acceptance of their tragedy.

    "But what did it cost? What price are you willing to make everyone pay for this kind of happiness?" Naruto asked quietly.

    "Whatever it takes."

    Naruto paused, transfixed as the illusion faded away, the gallery now looming over them. The blonde ran his hand through his hair, "There has to be another reason you''d be here, I can''t imagine you''d stick around just to say hello."

    Thanos had stopped as well, staring the younger man down with a welcoming smile, "I had honestly wanted to meet you, face to face. I''d hoped to convince you of where this was going."

    "And where''s that?"

    Thanos flexed the Infinity Gauntlet, the Reality Stone humming dangerously, "One way or another, we''re going to clash over the stones you''ve collected. There will be no mercy on my part. I will set this universe ablaze, I will tear every galaxy apart, and I will conquer any planet that I think has the most remote idea of where they are. You can prevent that. If you don''t give me the stones now, you''ll wish you had by the time I pry them from your broken fingers."

    With a flex, Naruto exerted his chakra with enough force to crack the ground beneath him, "Maybe I should use those stones to kill you, here and now."

    The Mad Titan smirked at the challenge, "We both know you''re too afraid to use them. Too afraid of what you could do, what you would do. Why else would you not use them? I can''t help but wonder what you''d use them for, should that temptation ever drive you over the edge. I could always give it to you, as a reward. But you''re not that kind of man."

    "How do you figure?" Naruto questioned, unable to retort to anything else.

    "Because I''m not."

    A tense silence followed. Naruto glared up at the Mad Titan, and Thanos glowered down at the Maelstrom. Raising up Nakama, Naruto twirled the blade lethargically at his side before sliding into his stance. Thanos responded in kind, pointing his hefty sword at his enemy.

    And with simultaneous roars, they charged with a charged bloodlust.

    TWANG!

    -x-

    Thor screamed as he threw Mjolnir into the Centurian giant''s head, summoning it back to himself right before the hammer made contact. The Centurian, having not expected the feint, was left wide open for the blast of lightning sent by the God of Thunder.

    Skidding back from the force of the attack, the brute spasmed harshly as the lightning trickled along his singed armor.

    Raising his eyebrow, Thor cursed at the still mobile soldier.

    They''d been going at this for nearly five minutes now. Thor would knock him down, he''d get back up. Thor would zap him with some lightning, he''d walk it off. His eyebrow twitched in annoyance as the brute pushed passed the lightning and continued his slow charge towards the Asgardian.

    Hefting Mjolnir in the air, he summoned a blast of thick lightning into the hammer. His arm vibrated from the escalating power surging within the hammer head. As lightning began to crack and plunge into the ground, swirling around him, Thor smirked as Mjolnir''s power boiled over.

    With a jerk, Thor punched Mjolnir forward, shooting a thin stream of lightning into the Centurian''s chest plate, zapping through the armor like wet paper. The lightning continued its arch, hitting the building behind the soldier, the impact forcing the front of the building to explode in a cloud of debris, burring the brute in rubble.

    Laughing haughtily, Thor flipped Mjolnir in his hand victoriously.

    That celebration came to an end as the Centurian stumbled from beneath the rubble, dust and scraps of metal sliding off his body.

    Thor huffed, rotating Mjolnir into a blur.

    -x-

    Hovering outside Knowhere, Jessica paced back and forth in the Kushina''s lower deck, "You''re telling me that Uzumaki is fighting the guy we''re trying keep these stones from, and we''re not fighting with him? That doesn''t make any sense."

    "Remember what was said about the Reality Stone?" The Shadow Clone asked, "Thanos could probably kill Thor without it, but with it he could kill him with just a snap of his fingers."

    "Then why bring us along at all? Why make this team in the first place?" Illyana asked, leaning against the steps to the cockpit.

    "The boss can fight Thanos on his own and probably survive. But you''ve seen what Thanos has backing him up. He doesn''t just have armies at his beck and call. He has planets." The clone reasoned gravely, "The boss needs help keeping the Infinity Stones safe."

    "So, he gets us?" Jessica questioned rhetorically. Shaking her head, she folds her arms under her chest, "He doesn''t need a team, he needs an army."

    "The boss is an army." He shot back, smiling awkwardly, "What he needs are friends."

    Jessica''s mouth was agape, stunned.

    Illyana didn''t hesitate, getting up from the stairs, "He''s got one."

    While the Shadow Clone smiled back, Jessica frowned in thought, looking down at the still burning Celestial skull in thought.

    -x-

    Naruto grunted as he slid back from Thanos'' heavy strike, shaking off the numbness in his arm. Even in Sage Mode, Thanos was proving to be difficult to step up to. Though he was big and weighed down by that bulky armor, the Mad Titan moved at Naruto''s level of dexterity. Neither had landed a full blow on the other, both working out the other''s fighting style as they danced around each other.

    Thanos'' was brutal and deliberate. No move was wasted, no strike unnecessary. His armor was strangely sturdy, able to take a hit from his Senjutsu enhanced strikes just fine. Naruto thought he''d have an advantage over the Titan due to the violet skinned man''s choice of weapon. But the man twirled the thing around like was a broom stick. He swung it so hard down on Nakama, Naruto had to bleed chakra into the weapon to keep it from rolling.

    Thanos chuckled as he pushed Naruto back, "I''m going to kill you if you don''t stop tip toeing around, son." With a shove, he forced Naruto to stumble. Seeing an opening, Thanos swung his sword down, slashing deep into the blonde''s shoulder-

    BOOM!

    Naruto exploded, swallowing Thanos in fire and smoke.

    The cloud of smoke lingered as several Narutos dropped down around the plum, swirling their Nakamas before charging into the cloud with the blades covered in lightning.

    As they submerged themselves in the cloud, a flash of red could be seen coming from the center followed by an ominous sound of pure energy vibrating against metal.

    Hovering from above the cloud, Naruto narrowed his Six Paths Sage Mode enhanced eyes at the smoke as it was swallowed by a thin layer of red energy. That energy began to guide the smoke, breaking it apart into several hundred needle-like formations.

    And with a flex of the Infinity Gauntlet, those smoke needles shot out in a 360-degree arc, skewering every Shadow Clone in the room.

    Cursing, Naruto threw his hands up in the air, pushing out a wall of air that intercepted the smoke needles from turning him into a pin cushion.

    As the needles broke apart into small spurts of smoke, Naruto shot forward like a bullet, zooming down at Thanos as he dropped a hammer kick down on the Mad Titan''s head.

    Stumbling back, Thanos swung his sword at Naruto out of instinct. Grunting Naruto ducked, the massive blade swiping over him. Lifting his hand up, the blonde activated his Magnet Release, focusing on the blade in its back swing.

    Naruto''s eyes widened as it didn''t take effect, forcing him to roll out of the blade''s path.

    Twirling the sword as Naruto backed off, Thanos said, "The Reality Stone truly is awesome in its versatility. To be able to cancel out the magnetism of an object, it''s truly useful against a man with control over metal don''t you think?"

    Narrowing his eyes, Naruto thought, "So Magnet Release is out, awesome."

    From within the seal, Kurama nodded, "Melt the bastard then, brat."

    "Agreed."

    Flipping through several hand signs, Naruto charge forward. Using Magnet Release, Naruto unsheathed Nakama and sent the blade out to intercept Thanos while the blonde finished his sign work.

    While Nakama met Thanos with some blade work, Naruto quickly finished his hand signs, taking a deep breath as he thought, "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

    Thanos, seeing a thick wall of air charging towards him, knocked Naruto''s weapon out of the way before putting his double-edged sword a whirl wind twirl, the blade becoming a blurred shield just in time to intercept the wall of wind.

    Clapping his hands together, Naruto smirked as the wall wrapped around Thanos, spinning and rotating into a dome. Taking another deep breath, the shinobi thought, "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

    And with a heave, Naruto created a storm of fire.

    But, with a flash of red, that fire and wind was quickly enveloped in a thin lair of red energy before transmuting into a cluster of bubbles.

    Naruto blinked in shock as another flash of red swept over the bubbles.

    In the corner of his eye, Naruto spotted a bubble float to the edge of Nakama''s blade. As it touched the edge, the sword''s razor-sharp edge popped the bubble with a-

    BOOM!

    -x-

    Flinching, the Naruto Shadow Clone flinched as a wave of memories came flooding in. Stumbling back, he gripped his forehead as he said, "The boss is fighting Thanos now."

    Illyana swallowed the frog in her throat, "Is he winning?"

    "It''s pretty even, both are just testing the waters right now." The clone answered distractedly as he cataloged the memories.

    "Meaning¡­?" The sorceress asked.

    "If this keeps going, they''re gonna destroy Knowhere."

    -x-

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    With a flex of the Infinity Gauntlet, the barrier surrounding Thanos broke away. Another flex, the fire and smoke from the explosion was funneled upwards out of the collapsed ceiling, dispersing into the air outside.

    Driving his sword into the ground, Thanos sat down on a boulder, "That didn''t even leave a scratch, did it?"

    Pushing the rubble away, Naruto grunted from his spot on the ground. Other than being coated in dust, the blonde was the picture of health. Not even his uniform was damaged, though that was thanks to the vibranium weave.

    "You''re pretty handy with that stone already." Naruto observed off handedly, "That gauntlet''s responsible, I''m guessing."

    The Mad Titan smirked as he examined the gauntlet, "The Infinity Gauntlet was specifically crafted to handle the power of all six Infinity Stones. This took nearly two decades to forge, the complicated enchantments allowing for complete access to any of the stones'' powers taking up most of that time. With this, I could take over galaxy after galaxy with a single stone."

    "But you don''t want the universe." Naruto filled in. Dusting himself off, he asked, "So what then? Every journey comes to an end. If you don''t kill yourself in your genocide, what''s the end to your story? Maybe open up a quant little bakery? I''d buy some Thanos Truffles. Or maybe you could start a bed and breakfast?"

    Chuckling, Thanos shook his head, "If you survive the purge, maybe I''ll tell you."

    With a flex, Naruto summoned his Six Paths Chakra Cloak, the orange flames flickering angrily. Keeping still, Naruto said, "Do you honestly think the survivors of this purge would let you live that ending you want?"

    "It''s not likely." Thanos admitted, "They''re free to their anger. But my goal isn''t about the consequences it has against me. It''s about what it does for everyone-"

    Thanos halted, feeling a sudden shift in the air. As the hairs on the back of his neck began to lift, the ground began to quake, the rubble around them vibrating violently. Eyes squinting as Naruto became as bright as a star, Thanos lifted his Infinity Gauntlet covered arm to block the beams of light.

    As it relented, the Mad Titan could not help but admire the man before him.

    His black uniform now seemed to be made of a purple ember, the orange highlights now blazing gold. Sprawled along his collar and stomach sat the usual sealing matrix, with a matching gold color. Naruto''s hair, which was now a matching purple, danced lethargically as the shinobi took in the Cosmic Energy around him.

    Opening his eyes, Naruto bent his knees at the ready.

    "Magnifice-"

    Thanos stumbled back as Naruto drove his fist into the Titan''s sternum, bending the man into his fist.

    Feeling the armor bend from the force, Thanos flexed the Infinity Gauntlet, red energy enveloping the ground beneath them. As he transmuted the ground to break them apart, the energy lair began to glitch, struggling to do as it was told.

    The Titan''s confusion quickly shifted from confusion to realization, "You canceled out the stone." He stated confidently, "This form¡­it''s Cosmic Energy. That''s the only way you could stop the Reality Stone."

    Naruto didn''t respond, driving his free hand into Thanos'' throat. Gasping as his wind pipe nearly collapsed, the Titan stumbled back.

    "Intercepting the bastard''s transmutation with your own drained what little Cosmic Energy you''d gathered up, idiot." Kurama chastised, "Kill him, now."

    "I know, I know!" Naruto thought back as he tried to drill a kick into the Titan''s stomach.

    Flexing the gauntlet, Thanos was swallowed in red energy. As Naruto''s kick made contact, he phased through him like a ghost.

    His face contorted into rage and understanding, Thanos gasped out, "No, you can''t cancel out the stone. But you can counter my transmutation if you have the opening. Interesting." He points the Infinity Gauntlet towards the blonde, "Let''s test that."

    With a ''throom,'' the Reality Stone lit up as energy surrounded the ground around them.

    Jumping in the air, Naruto evaded the four hands made of stone as they burst from the ground. The hands chased after him, their arms being fed by the Reality Stone. From the ever growing arms, smaller hands emerged, creating a web of stone appendages as they swerved and danced after their target.

    Grunting as he bounced off the galleries crumbling walls to dodge the persistent hands, Naruto threw his hands out as he released a giant burst of lightning. Skating along the stone hands, the lightning tore the appendages apart.

    Seeing his attack wasn''t working, Thanos released his control over the hands, the now towering monoliths freezing in place.

    Landing on the most intact arm, Naruto shot down towards the ground, chakra laced feet keeping him from falling off the vertical platform.

    Thanos didn''t see the man coming, jumping in shock as Naruto suddenly appeared in his guard. Lifting his arms up to block the incoming kick, he was disappointed when Naruto again vanished in a blur. He couldn''t even look around before the blonde appeared behind him, driving his foot into the Titan''s knee cap.

    Roaring as he heard and felt the bone snap, Thanos dropped to his good knee.

    Appearing at Thanos'' side in another blur, Naruto lifted his hand up as he summoned a Truth-Seeking Ball. Forming it into a sword, Naruto gripped the blade made of pure energy before swinging down on the Titan''s left forearm.

    And with one smooth stroke, the Infinity Gauntlet clattered to the ground with a heavy ''clang.''

    Roaring in pain and rage, Thanos clutched at the amputated arm. As purple blood painted the ground beneath them in a violent splatter, Naruto calmly raised his Truth-Seeking Blade to Thanos'' throat.

    "Yield." Naruto demanded.

    Huffing, his face contorting from agony, the Titan muttered, "Just do it, son. Get it over with."

    "You don''t get the easy way out." The blonde explained.

    Thanos chuckled, "Is this supposed to show that you''re better than me? Hm? Mercy isn''t sending me to the corner to think about my mistakes. Mercy is taking away the threat I possess."

    "From where I''m standing, you''re not much of a threat-"

    "I will always be a threat." Thanos retorted through clenched teeth,"Change will always challenge the status quo, and a change is coming. Me, you¡­we are change. If it''s not me, they''ll be after you soon enough.We are inevitable."

    Naruto took several breaths; in and out, in and out. Shoulders relaxed, Naruto lowers his blade.

    As Thanos looked up, pity in his eyes, Naruto looks away with pity in his own.

    Shling!

    Thanos grunts, the Truth-Seeking Blade plunged into his chest. Smiling passed the blood that was flowing down his lips, staining his teeth purple, the Titan gargled, "Perhaps I underestimated you, son."

    As he goes limp, Naruto pulled the blade free, dispersing it into nothingness.

    From the corner of his eye, he sees a red light still shining. Frowning in thought, Naruto picks up the Infinity Gauntlet, the Mad Titan''s severed arm still sitting in place. The stone vibrated in its slot, the energy buzzing against the gauntlet''s metal knuckle.

    Another flash of light caught his eye, coming from Thanos.

    Slowly, the Titan began to fade away, eaten away by the Reality Stone''s red energy. As the last vestiges of Thanos evanesced, the Infinity Gauntlet in Naruto''s hands followed suit.

    Letting go out of reflex, the gauntlet dropped to the ground. And just as it was about to hit the floor, it was gone.

    Looking down at where Thanos had once been, Naruto barely noticed Thor burst into the gallery. Seeing the blonde was alone, the frazzled Thor let his guard down, putting one hand on his hip as he caught his breath, "Apologies for the wait. That Centurian was a tough nut to crack." He paused, "Not that I couldn''t crack that nut. If I''d wanted too, I could have. He just disappeared before I could really let loose-"

    Naruto ignored the Asgardian''s boasting, as Kurama spoke over him, "The bastard was an illusion all along."

    "I noticed." The blonde thought with agitation. Walking up to Thor, he set his hand on the Asgardian''s shoulder, "Come on, we''re leaving."

    Thor couldn''t get a word out before they disappeared in a flash of yellow.

    -x-

    Location: The Sanctuary II

    -x-

    "What will you do now, my Lord?"

    Kneeling within the Sanctuary''s throne room, the Other cowered beneath the power exuding from his master. Shining over him like the tiniest of stars, the Reality Stone sat with the Infinity Stone, the gem vibrating dangerously.

    From his throne, Thanos looked over his new weapon in thought, "Even with the Reality Stone, I am no match against the Maelstrom."

    "But my Lord, you are the most powerful-"

    "The Maelstrom has three Infinity Stones, you fool. No being has dared wield such power. He is the most powerful being in the universe."

    The Other, not wanting to argue with his master, nodded deeply, "As you say, my Lord."

    From behind the Other, Ebony Maw glided up to his master''s side, "What would you have us do, Father?"

    Smiling at his son''s question, Thanos continued to stare into the Reality Stone''s beautiful gem, "How do you break a man, my boy?"

    "You break what he loves."

    "You do me proud, son."

 34 Sweet Dreams Are Made of This

    "The official signing of the Seoul Accords was officiated today by the United Nations at the Vienna International Centre. 133 countries within the United Nations have approved and signed the accords today, with Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross delivering a speech on improving superhuman awareness within the governments of the world."

    Reading off his teleprompter, Will Adams of WHiH World News spoke to the camera, "Of the individuals asked to sign; Tony Stark, James Rhodes, and Natasha Romanoff of the Avengers were present."

    Turning his head to the next camera, Will continued, "Notably absent was Steve ''Captain Amerca'' Rogers and Sam ''Falcon'' Wilson. Captain Steve Rogers is considered the de facto leader of the Avengers by many, and Sergeant Sam Wilson was an active participant in the fall of SHIELD. Most commentators believed Captain Rogers would be the first to enlist in the United Nations'' Avengers, with many now questioning his motives for refusal."

    "Also absent, Naruto Uzumaki. Though not considered an official member of the Avengers, many speculated on his appearance at the signing today. Though inside sources say he is not within the Seoul Accord''s umbrella of control, many believed he would share his support for the passing of the bill after assisting the cities struck by 5/22. Recent polls show an outpour of support for the alien hero, while support for the Avengers has plummeted to an all-time low."

    Now looking back at the main camera, Will started again, "In more local news, presidential candidate Imus Champion began his campaign in New York yesterday. Today he''ll be stopping by Albany before heading into Buffalo-"

    The television was muted, Jessica Drew looking down at Illyana with a raised eyebrow, "You really had to set up the TV instead of helping with the moving in?"

    Illyana shrugged, looking around the barren room. There was no furniture or decorations, nothing but a flat-screen TV sitting on the cold wooden floor, "I wanted to see who signed."

    "You already knew who was going to sign, Secretary Ross told us over a week ago." Jessica chastised, "Did you honestly think anyone would change their mind?"

    "I''d hoped." Illyana answered, turning the TV off, "Don''t tell me you think Captain America should be considered a criminal."

    "He isn''t considered a criminal, he''s considered retired." Jessica corrected, "And unless he breaks that agreement, it''ll stay that way. As it should, the law''s the law."

    Illyana rolled her eyes, "If you think Captain America will retire, you''re delusional."

    "I''d rather think that than think he''d knowingly break the law." The brunette shot back, "Now come on, Uzumaki''s clones can''t do all the work."

    "Then what''s the point of them then?" She grumbled with a complimentary stink eye as she followed Jessica outside.

    Parked in front of the building sat a moving truck. In it were various kinds of furniture and other appliances that Shuri had graciously bought for them. Standing beside it, watching over his clones as they wheeled off the truck''s occupants one by one, Naruto signed away several documents held up by the portly delivery man.

    "¡­Address, 890 Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, New York-"

    "Ya know ya don''t gotta read it out loud, righ''?" Asked the delivery man.

    Illyana scowled, "You know you don''t gotta be a dick, right?"

    With a final flourish, Naruto gave his last signature before passing the clipboard to the now irate man, "Thank you, sir!"

    Grumbling, the man walked over to the driver''s side of the truck as he inspected the signed documents.

    With the man''s back turned, Naruto was free to give Illyana a hard deadpan as he whispered, "Seriously?"

    Illyana answered with a shrug.

    Scratching his chin, Naruto said, "So, what do you guys think?"

    "It''s¡­big." Jessica offered plainly, "Why is it so big, again?"

    Their new home, a massive complex, took up the entire city block it sat on and stood four stories high. Thanks to a quick Wikipedia search by Illyana, Naruto learned it had previously been owned by Howard Stark in the 1950''s but had been sold off and used as an office building for several political campaigns.

    How Shuri had gotten her hands on it, Naruto didn''t want to ask, but in the end he was just happy to finally have an actual base of operations to work from. After all, Illyana''s apartment wasn''t exactly the best place to have meetings over the fate of the universe.

    "Shuri might''ve gone a little overboard." Naruto admitted, "But the bigger, the better¡­I think. Anyways, she''s gonna be coming over in an hour or so to set up some equipment in the basement, so don''t be complaining when she''s around."

    Jessica raised an eyebrow, "Basement?"

    A wide and excited smile stretched along Naruto''s face.

    -x-

    "Wow."

    Standing in the basement of their new home, the three members of Infinity Watch looked over the wide-open space before them. In one half of the room sat equipment and other necessities that had yet to be unpacked and put together. To their right, a dojo like door blocked out the next room.

    Walking further into the room, Naruto said, "This will be our Batcave¡­or Arrowcave, or Fortress of Solitude¡­whatever you want to call it."

    Jessica inspected the dojo doors, sliding them open to reveal a massive room, the familiar smell of a fighting mat hitting her nose.

    Passed the training mat sat a large patch of grass and dirt, with a small koi pond in the center of the small in-door training field. On the right side of the room, a gym was separated by a glass wall, a plethora of gym equipment sitting in the corner needing to be unpacked.

    "We''re gonna be training in here." Naruto said, stating the obvious, clearly proud of his makeshift training room.

    "Training?" Jessica wondered.

    Naruto nodded, "Team exercises, physical training, sparring, the works. We''ve all gotta get into proper shape before we can start working as an actual team."

    Illyana raised an eyebrow, "Most of us are already in shape-"

    "Not the kinda shape we need to be." The shinobi corrected, "I want to get us in the kind of shape where I don''t have to send you guys away if things get too crazy like it did on Knowhere. That means team building, strategy exercises, and a shit ton of sparring so we know how each other fights, inside and out."

    "I was hoping we could get to some actual field work." Jessica admitted, frustration under her breath.

    Smirking, the Uzumaki said, "If you wanna get out there, let''s get out there."

    "Let''s¡­as in together?"

    "Sure, why not." Naruto offered, jabbing his thumb over at Illyana''s direction, "We can leave her to the unpacking, since she decided she was too good to help unload the truck." He said with his trademark grin.

    "Hey!" Illyana called out indignantly as Naruto led Jessica away. As they disappeared up the basement steps, the sorceress ran her hands through her hair as she looked at the boxes littered along the basement floor.

    "Well shit."

    -x-

    "Holy shit-"

    The proclamation was halted by the butt of a gun being jammed into the poor man''s cheek, dropping him to the ground with a thud.

    "Everybody get down on the ground, now!"

    Everyone''s attention was drawn to the violent shout, the startled bank patrons gasping when they realized it was Naruto Uzumaki standing a few feet in front of the bank teller. The notorious non-Avenger was holding his arm up in the air, pointing his hand towards the tellers menacingly.

    A look of warning etched in his face, Naruto shouted, "I''ll blow you all away if any one of you makes a move I don''t like."

    A robust man with a receding hairline, seemingly the manager, took a shaky step forward, "Mister, you don''t have to hurt any-"

    "Shut the fucking hell up!" Naruto screamed, "You watch the news? I could kill you without even a blink. Now, all of you not behind the counter get on the fucking ground right fucking now!"

    "Yes, okay we understand sir." The manager stuttered out, motioning to his employees to comply, "You want some money? Hm, is that what you want? ''Cause we''ll give it to you, know problem. Just¡­please, take it easy."

    "No bundles, just singles. I don''t want one goddamn bundle of bills in this bag or I''ll kill everyone in this fucking room." Naruto explained, pulling the duffle bag from around his shoulder and tossing it to the nearest teller.

    Everyone was now laying on their bellies with their limbs spread out wide, one particular woman quivering in fear as she looked up at the intimidating figure that was Naruto Uzumaki. The man was wearing an all black business suit, a pair of leather gloves, and she could swear that the outline of a handgun was sticking out from the waistline of his pants. Catching his eye, the woman jolted her head back down to stare down at the ground with a whimper.

    Naruto kept his eyes peeled out around him, half his attention on the duffle bag as it was passed among the tellers, each stuffing all the money in their registers inside as quickly as humanly possible. After the fifth teller, the bag finally found its way into the manager''s hands.

    "The-there. That''s all of it." Quivered the manager, beads of sweat gliding down his face as he presented the now stuffed duffle bag.

    Violently grabbing the bag, Naruto quickly ruffled through it. Seemingly satisfied, he gave as charming smile as he could muster, "Thank you all, it''s been a pleasure. If anyone follows after me, I''ll find each and every one of you and kill you as slowly as I know how. Again, it''s been a pleasure."

    Walking backwards, Naruto kicked the bank''s door open before sliding outside.

    Panning over the busy streets of Queens, he smiled at the lack of police. Hefting the bag up over his shoulder, Naruto began a swift walk towards his car.

    Reaching up for the car''s passenger side door handle, he jumped as a thick glue-like substance shot onto his hand, sticking it to the car with a loud ''thwomp.'' Jerking his now stuck hand to try and pry it free, Naruto jumped again as someone jumped down onto the roof of his car from above.

    "Wow, the whole hero gig must not pay as much as I thought it would if you gotta rob banks. This is like the third bank this week, right? Whatta busy guy you are."

    Grimacing at the mocking tone, Naruto raised an eyebrow at the strangely dressed Samaritan.

    Judging from their height and body shape, he could guess he was a young man, a kid if anything. He was covered from head to toe in a getup he could only call sweats and pajamas, the red and blue contrasting sharply and the sewn-on spider logo forcing an eyebrow to be raised. His face was covered entirely by a mask of the same material, with a pair of rigged goggles covering his eyes. The squinting white eyes glared down at him, the kid''s head tilted in a mocking gesture.

    "You know who I am?" Naruto asked.

    The kid shrugged, "Oh yeah, big fan¡­well I was. Kinda hard to like a guy who robs banks for a living, ya know?"

    Naruto couldn''t hold back his smirk when he realized the kid was making his voice deeper to try and sound older, "Ever heard of Jesse James?" He offered offhandedly. Frowning, he continued, "If you know who I am, you know what I can do. Just forget about this and I won''t kill you kid."

    "Who''s the kid?" The kid wondered, his voice getting an octave deeper, though the unmistakable voice crack couldn''t be ignored, "And sorry buddy, but that''s not gonna happen."

    "Fine." Naruto breathed harshly.

    With a hard pull and a relaxing of his hand, Naruto pulled his hand out from the glove that covered it, freeing himself before reaching into his waistband to pull out the gun he''d stowed away.

    But the kid seemed to have some kind of sixth sense, because Naruto had barely touched the grip of his gun before he back flipped off the car and took cover on the other side.

    When no gun shots rang off, the kid peaked out from his side of the car to see Naruto sprinting down the sidewalk before turning sharp into an ally on his right.

    "Goddammit." The kid cursed at himself as he jumped up like a spring.

    Naruto cursed as he looked over his shoulder to see the kid running after him, quickly catching up.

    With a grunt, he jumped up onto a dumpster, using that as a springboard to reach the fire escape just above it. With a heave, his muscles straining due to the added weight of the bag, Naruto pulled himself up onto the fire escape. He didn''t look back as he began to scale up the escape''s steps. Eventually reaching the roof, he caught his breath as he looked around for a way down.

    His search was cut short by a shout from behind, "Hey, I thought you could like walk up walls and stuff? Figures your Wikipedia page would be full of it."

    Jumping for the third time, Naruto turned to see the kid leaning up against the ledge of the building, several feet away from the fire escape.

    "How''d you get up here?" Naruto asked, perturbed.

    "Oh, well I can actually climb up walls and stuff. Pretty nifty actually." The kid''s artificial eyes narrowed as he got off the ledge, "Wanna see what else I can do?"

    "Not really." Naruto declined, dashing off towards the opposite side of the building. Picking up momentum, he jumped over the gap with a heave. Landing with a roll, he got back up to his feet and continued his run.

    As the man ran, the kid scratched at his masked scalp, "Can''t he like¡­fly?"

    Shrugging breezily, he quickly gave chase.

    Huffing as he came up to another ledge, Naruto repeated the same jump from before. Landing with another roll, he stumbled as he came up to his feet. That stumble let him see that the kid had easily jumped the space between two buildings back and was sprinting at him at full speed.

    Reaching the next ledge, he skidded to a halt when he saw the large gap between. Cursing, he began to look for a fire escape to climb down. Spotting one, he was one step in when the kid landed in a crouch a few feet away.

    Springing up straight, the kid fired off several shots of the sticky substance from his wrists at rapid fire. Evading them, Naruto threw caution into the wind and went in close for a solid jab towards the kid''s face.

    Again, it was like he had a sixth sense. Ducking under the punch, the kid gave an awkward kick that Naruto blocked by crossing his arms in front of his chest. Skidding back from the force of the blow, the blonde shook his now numb arms to try and get their feeling back.

    "You know, you''re not as awesome as I thought you''d be. With everything I''ve seen on YouTube, I thought you''d be doing same kooky alien stuff by now." The kid observed, his head tilted in thought, "Never meet your heroes, I guess."

    Naruto didn''t retort, instead going in for a brutal hammer fist that the kid avoided. Undeterred, Naruto continued their brawl, with the blonde doing his best to land a hit and the kid avoiding him at every turn. Finally, after finding an immediate opening, Naruto drove his fist into the kid''s sternum.

    Coughing from the hit and stumbling back, the kid almost reflexively fired off a shot into Naruto''s face, nailing him in the forehead.

    Rolling back and landing in a crouch, the kid''s eyes squinted in pain as he recovered, only for them to widen when they landed on Naruto''s face.

    Naruto had harshly pulled off the substance, his skin now warped in an inhumanly distorted manner.

    "You ruined my mask." Naruto grunted, shifting it back into place. Though it wasn''t as morphed as before, it was still more loose than the kid could stomach.

    The kid''s artificial eyes narrowed, his head tilted curiously, "You''re not Naruto Uzumaki, are you?"

    "I suppose one could say that. But with this face, this voice, who cares to know the difference?" The imposter said with a nonchalant shrug, "He kills and ruins lives, what''s a few bank robberies added to his crimes?"

    Seeming no longer see the point in continuing the charade, the imposter began to peel away the mask. Under it revealed no face at all, just another mask. Only this one was featureless, plane white and smooth leaving everything to the imagination.

    The kid''s head tilted further, "A mask under a mask? That''s a little Scooby-Doo isn''t it?"

    "I''m glad the last thing you got to say was a joke, not a lot of people have that luxury." The imposter said wistfully as he pulled out his gun.

    As he swung it around, and his finger wrapped along the trigger, a figure dropped down behind him. Before he could realize it, the imposter was put in a tight choke hold. The last thing he felt before consciousness left him was a jolt of electricity charging into his body.

    Holding the limp man in her arms, Jessica sighed as she let him drop in a heap to the ground. Frowning at the masked man slumped below her, she said, "Are you gonna come out, or do I have to handle everything?"

    The kid''s eyes showed his confusion, "What-"

    "I keep forgetting that you can zap people like that."

    The kid jerked in surprise, his senses going haywire as he felt someone suddenly appear behind him. Turning sharply, the kid took a few steps back when he saw Naruto Uzumaki standing over him, looking over his shoulder at Jessica and the unconscious imposter.

    Jessica, who was wearing her Infinity Watch uniform, sighed, "It''s not a zap. It''s a bio-electrical discharge."

    "Semantics." Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. At the sound of encroaching police sirens, he said, "Let''s get this guy down to the sidewalk." He looked to Jessica, "You got any handcuffs?"

    "Where would I keep handcuffs in this thing?" Jessica asked, referring to her skin-tight body suit.

    "No one told you that you had to wear it." Naruto shot back with a dismissive wave of the hand. Scratching his scalp, he looked to the kid, "Hey kid, you got some handcuffs?"

    The kid straightened at attention, "Oh, uh¡­no. Sorry."

    "It''s alright-"

    Naruto was interrupted by the sound of a wet squelch, his eyebrows shooting up as what looked like webs fired out from the kid''s wrist. The webbing shot out and enveloped the imposter''s hands, wrapping around and binding them tightly.

    Both Naruto and Jessica''s attention went from the bound hands to the kid, who was shifting awkwardly under the scrutiny.

    Taking stock of the kid''s outfit for the first time, and noticing the spider symbol sewn into the torso of his shirt, Naruto asked, "What are you, some kind of spider man or something?"

    "Uh¡­I guess?" The now dubbed Spider-Man admitted.

    Naruto chuckled, "Well Spider-Man, meet Spider-Woman." He said, motioning to Jessica who had lifted the imposter up over her shoulder.

    "That is not my name." Jessica grumbled, beginning to walk over to the ledge of the building.

    "Oh, it''s definitely your name now." Naruto cackled, following after her.

    Realizing they were leaving him behind as they jumped off the ledge of the building, Spider-Man shouted, "Hey, wait for me!"

    Jumping off the roof, he quickly fired a line of webbing towards the corner of the adjacent building. With a jolt, the webbing caught him in his free fall. Giving the line some slack, Spider-Man slowly descended to the streets below.

    Naruto, who''d heard the kid call out to them, watched as he awkwardly dropped to the ground in amusement.

    As Spider-Man caught up, so too did a duo of police officers, pulling up in their squad car with the sirens blaring. Stepping out, the officers took the imposter from Jessica, heaving him into the back of the car.

    Pulling out a pad, one of the officers gave the three a wary look, "I''ma need to see your guys'' registration."

    "They ain''t registered." The other officer answered for them as he wrote into a pad of his own, "Don''t you recognize ''em? That''s Maelstrom and Agent Drew. They''re good to go."

    "Right." Muttered the first officer, though he didn''t seem too happy with it. His scrutiny shifted to Spider-Man, "Whatta ''bout him?"

    Spider-Man shifted nervously, "Uh-"

    "He''s with us." Naruto answered, Spider-Man''s head shooting up in a shocked confusion.

    "Really?" The second officer asked, suspicious, "You and her and your friends aren''t to be bothered, but this kid wasn''t a part of the list we were given. If he ain''t registered, we gotta take him in with us."

    "He''s new." Was Naruto''s answer firmly, daring the man to challenge him further, "If it weren''t for him we wouldn''t have gotten¡­whoever this guy is."

    "Who he is isn''t any of your-"

    "His name''s Dmitri Smerdyakov." Jessica answered, much to the officer''s displeasure, "He''s been on Interpol''s most wanted list for nearly a decade. His M.O. is disguising himself as a celebrity while committing a string of robberies. You''d be surprised how much more compliant people are when they''re getting robbed by someone like Brad Pitt or Leonardo DiCaprio."

    Seeing the cat was out of the bag, the second officer exhaled, "He''s been runnin'' around Queens and Harlem robbing banks, looking like Mr. Uzumaki here." He eyed Naruto with a small smile, "His impression of you is pretty good, good number of people thought it was actually you for a bit. But once we got word from Interpol, we knew what was what."

    "I guess I should be flattered." Naruto muttered flatly, looking at the now conscious Dmitri. The man was glaring a hole through the car window that divided him from the outside world, his eyes boring into Naruto like hot knives.

    Several questions later, and the officers carted Dmitri off. When the patrol car was out of sight, Jessica turned her attention to Spider-Man.

    A hand on her hip, she looked at him with scrutiny, "You''re not registered."

    It wasn''t a question.

    Spider-Man looked one wrong word away from high tailing it out of there, his eyes widened comedically as he stuttered, "Well, uh¡­the thing is-"

    "Jessica," Naruto cut off. Having grabbed her attention, the blonde wordlessly shoed her away with a nod of his head.

    Though she looked ready to argue, she held her tongue. With a grunt, she jumped up the side of the building and quickly scaled it like her moniker suggested.

    If Spider-Man was impressed that she could climb walls like he could, he didn''t show it. His full attention was on Naruto, his stance showing that he really didn''t know what to do.

    Naruto, who''d been eyeballing the kid with the same kind of scrutiny as Jessica, finally broke the tension with his patented smile, "Hungry?"

    -x-

    On the roof of an apartment building a couple blocks over, Naruto leaned on the roof''s ledge as he finished off his recently purchased hotdog. Looking away from the bustling city of Queens, he silently watched the kid eat, the boy sitting on the ledge next to him, his legs kicking back and forth seemingly without a care in the world.

    "How old are you, kid?" Naruto finally asked.

    Spider-Man, his mask partially pulled up so he could eat his hotdog, coughed mid-swallow. Clearing throat, he spoke in a voice that was suspiciously deeper than it had been back on the other rooftop, "Seve-¡­eighteen."

    "Right." Naruto drawled, taking another bite from his hotdog.

    Swinging around so he was facing Naruto, Spider-Man tilted his head, "So¡­you''re really Naruto Uzumaki? The guy people call Maelstrom and stuff?"

    Naruto chuckled, "Yeah, yeah that''s me."

    "¡­Huh." The kid said as he took another bite.

    "What?"

    "Well," Spider-Man muttered, his mouth full, "I guess I just thought you''d be a little more...intimidating or something."

    Naruto barked out a single laugh, "You want me to do something a little flashy, prove I''m legit?"

    "Well, I''ve had a pretty interesting day, what with the Naruto Uzumaki imposter and all. I don''t think you can blame me for wanting some proof." Spider-Man argued lamely before taking the final bite of his hotdog.

    "Fine." Naruto breathed. Extending his hand, he calmly palmed a Rasengan.

    Spider-Man''s eyes widened as far as they could, "Woah." He breathed, chunks of meat slipping passed his gaping mouth.

    And as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, "Good enough?"

    "Yeah, you''re the real deal." The kid conceded, amazed at the display. Balling up the foil in his hand, Spider-Man pulled his mask back into place.

    "Alright, now your turn." The shinobi said, "How old are you really?"

    Spider-Man fidgeted, "I told you, I''m-"

    "Going off your height and size, and the actual pitch of your voice, I''d say you''re around fourteen, give or take." Naruto guessed.

    The kid''s shoulders slumped in defeat, "¡­I''m fifteen."

    Naruto smiled as the kid stopped deepening his voice, "So, what''s a pajama wearing fifteen-year-old doing fighting crime on the streets of Queens?"

    "They''re not pajamas." Spider-Man retorted, his artificial eyes showing his indignation, "It''s a hoodie and some sweatpants. It''s not like there''s a superhero superstore for me to go to."

    "Still doesn''t answer why a fifteen-year-old kid is out in a mask stopping bank robbers." Naruto shot back.

    "I don''t know, why do you do it?" Spider-Man asked guardedly, "And you should know why I wear a mask."

    The blonde nodded, "No one''s gonna let an underage kid become a registered mask, no matter how impressive he might be."

    Spider-Man perked up, "You really think I''m impressive?" He asked, hopeful.

    Naruto laughed, "Yeah kid, you''ve definitely got my interest."

    Puffing his chest out proudly, the kid rested his hands on his waist, "Yeah well-"

    "You can''t really fight for shit though."

    The boy immediately deflated, "Come on man." He whined.

    "Who taught you how to throw a punch anyway?" Naruto asked with a lopsided smile.

    "My uncle did." Spider-Man grumbled, his arms falling to his sides, "¡­What''s wrong with how I fight?"

    "Well for one, your stance is all wrong." Naruto answered. After a second of thought, he said, "Here let me show you."

    Shifting his feet and bending his knees, the blonde lifted his arms up in front of him. Spider, realizing the older man wanted to mimic him, slid into a similar stance, "Like this?" He asked awkwardly.

    "Loosen up a little." Naruto said, bouncing on his toes to accentuate the point.

    "Um, okay." He muttered, rolling his shoulders as he did what the man said.

    The shinobi nodded, "What''s your dominant hand?"

    "The right."

    Naruto nodded, "Alright, so as you swing your right first, lean in with your shoulder. As you punch, rotate your fist. Got it?"

    "Okay."

    "Hit me." Naruto said, standing at an arm''s length away.

    "For real?" Spider-Man questioned, his stance lowering momentarily, "I hit pretty hard."

    "Don''t hold back." Naruto insisted firmly, giving a reassuring smile.

    Releasing a nervous breath, Spider-Man nodded. Getting back into the stance Naruto showed him, the boy began to bounce on his toes, his shoulders relaxed as his hands raised up to protect his chin.

    With a grunt, Spider-Man sent a jab towards Naruto''s chin.

    The blonde easily swatted it away, "Again." He demanded.

    Taken aback by the ease in which Naruto deflected the punch, Spider-Man gave a hesitant nod before getting his arms back up.

    With another grunt, Spider-Man sent a jab towards Naruto''s chin.

    This time, Naruto grabbed his wrist. Pulling Spider-Man in, Naruto dipped his shoulder down into the kid''s stomach, flipping him over his shoulder.

    Spider-Man hissed in pain as the air was knocked out of him from the landing. Rolling onto his stomach, he looked up at the smirking blonde, "You okay kid?" Naruto asked.

    "Oh yeah, totally fine." He wheezed, slumping up to his hands and knees. As Naruto offered a helping hand, Spider-Man took it gratefully.

    "Your uncle ever show you how to take a hit?" Asked Naruto as he lifted the kid to his feet.

    "No." He said, rubbing his bruised back.

    "Maybe you should ask him?" Naruto offered. When the kid didn''t answer, he said, "Or maybe I could."

    The boy brightened up, "Really?"

    Naruto shrugged, "Sure, if you want."

    "Yes!" Spider-Man shouted excitedly, though he quickly calmed down, awkwardly trying to save face as he muttered, "I mean¡­yeah sure, I guess."

    Letting it slide, Naruto walked over to the edge of the roof, leaning against the ledge, "So if your fifteen, shouldn''t you be in school or something?"

    "I''m on summer vacation." Spider-Man answered as though it were obvious.

    "Even I know summer vacation ended a few weeks ago." Naruto accused, tilting his head, "Skippin'' school kid?"

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    "Uh, well-" Spider-Man began to stutter.

    Naruto lifted his hands placatingly, "Hey, believe me, I get it."

    "You do?"

    "Sure." Naruto nodded, folding his arms across his chest, "But, then again, I wasn''t exactly the smartest kid around." He paused, "Can''t really say that about you though, huh?" He asked, looking at the kid''s web-shooters.

    Spider-Man''s eyes widened in surprise. Looking down in what Naruto assumed shame, he kicked at the roof''s gravel, "You could say that."

    "Where do you go to school?" Naruto asked.

    "Midtown School of Science and Technology." He answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

    "Really? Wow." Naruto blurted out, impressed, "Well, come on. There''s still enough time in the day for you to get back."

    "Seriously?" Spider-Man asked, exasperated.

    "Trust me kid, you''ll thank me later." Naruto insisted.

    Spider-Man nodded, though from his body language he didn''t seem to agree, "Well what am I supposed to say when I show up?"

    Naruto smiles, "Leave that to me."

    -x-

    "I don''t know about this."

    Naruto sighed, the man leaning against the side of a porta-potty that sat at the edge of a construction site. The crew was working on a building that had been hit during 5/22, an Ultron drone having detonated just outside the lobby.

    "For the millionth time, you''re secret''s safe with me." Naruto reassured, "Come on kid, just get out here already."

    "Alright, alright." The porta-potty''s door creaked open. Stepping out, Spider-Man fixed his backpack onto his shoulder. The teen didn''t look particularly special. If he were in the middle of a crowd, he wouldn''t stick out any more than anyone else. His brunette hair was combed back and pressed down tight, giving him what he recognized to be mask-hair (a more serious case of hat-hair).

    No longer wearing his homemade suit, the kid was had on a blue t-shirt with the chemical symbols for oxygen and magnesium scrawled along the chest.

    Reaching out his hand, Naruto said, "Naruto Uzumaki."

    Spider-Man hesitated before finally taking the hand, "Wesley Crusher."

    "Nice to meet you, Wesley." Naruto greeted, clapping his hand onto the boy''s shoulder. Guiding him along, Naruto said, "Now come on, you''ve wasted enough time complaining about me ruining your ''secret identity.''"

    "Do you really gotta say it like that?" A thought struck him, "Hey, how am I supposed to get ahold of you for the training and stuff? Do you have like a Maelstrom Phone I can call or-"

    "How about you give me your number and we''ll go from there." Naruto cut off, "And Maelstrom Phone? Really?"

    Wesley shrugged, "Hey man, I don''t know how this professional superhero gig works. Cut me some slack, geez."

    As Naruto gave Wesley his phone, the blonde said, "Well here''s a tip. If it''s from a cartoon from the 2000''s, it''s usually a safe bet that that''s not how it works."

    "Should I be jotting this down or-"

    "Here''s another tip," Naruto cut off helpfully as he got his phone back, "Uzumaki bootcamps don''t require notes. You should memorize every gem I drop."

    Wesley nodded, "And how will I know it''s a gem or not?"

    "What do you think?" Naruto asked while pocketing the phone.

    "¡­Just assume everything is a gem?"

    "You learn fast, kohai." The blonde complimented sagely.

    "So, can I call you sensei or-"

    "No." Naruto said immediately, "Don''t be lame, kid."

    Wesley rolled his eyes as they walked up to the bus stop, "Oh, so it''s cool to call me kohai, but I''m lame for calling you sensei? Makes total sense."

    One bus ride later, Naruto and Wesley stood in front of Midtown, Naruto''s hand still on the kid''s shoulder. Walking inside, Naruto waved to a few gawking students, the kids whispering to each other while pointing at the blonde not so discreetly.

    Stepping into the office, Naruto drummed his fingers on the counter of the desk while the secretary finished typing into her computer.

    "What can I do for you?" She asked, not bothering to look up from her screen.

    "I''m here to drop off one of your students." Naruto replied, continuing to drum his fingers as he leaned into the counter.

    The secretary looked up, her eyes widening when she saw who was standing at the other side of the desk. Blinking rapidly, she stammered, "I''m sorry¡­what?"

    Naruto pointed his thumb at Wesley, "I''m here to drop off a student."

    "Uh-huh." She said, gathering herself as she noticed Wesley, "Ah, Mr. Parker."

    "Mr. Parker huh?" Naruto pondered, raising an eyebrow at the younger boy who dipped his head sheepishly.

    "Parker!"

    Naruto and Parker turned to see a well-dressed man of Asian descent walking out of an office at the back of the room. As he reached the two, he folded his arms across his chest sternly, "It''s ten o''clock, Parker. Mind telling me why you''re late, again?"

    "Um¡­well-" Parker began to stutter.

    "I can answer that, I think." Naruto interrupted brightly, getting the other man''s attention.

    A look of recognition came from the man, though he shook it off as he asked, "And how is that, Mr. Maelstrom?"

    The blonde blinked at the formality, but never the less kept his winning smile, "Naruto''s fine, Mister¡­?"

    "Morita, Principal Morita." The school''s principal answered, "Now, how is it that you know Mr. Parker, exactly?" He asked suspiciously.

    "Well, I wouldn''t really say I know the kid, I just happened upon him when he was in trouble." Naruto said.

    "Trouble?" Morita questioned, concern managing to seep into his voice as his eyes drifted to Parker.

    "Mh''mm, I was making my rounds through Queens when I saw Mr. Parker over here getting mugged by what looked to be middle school girls." Naruto lied, fighting the grin that wanted to come up at Peter''s mortified expression.

    Morita raised an eyebrow at Parker, wordless asking for confirmation.

    Parker swallowed his pride as he muttered, "Yeah, that''s what happened."

    The principal soaked that in, resting his hands on his hips sternly, "Well, I suppose we should call the police-"

    "Oh, I took care of that. Gave the girls a talkin'' to myself. Very inspiring, incredibly heartfelt. The kid isn''t gonna have a problem with them again." Naruto turned to Peter, the teen avoiding eye contact with Morita, "Right, Parker?"

    Morita looked like he wanted to argue, but seemed satisfied that Naruto had handled the situation, "Alright Parker, go ahead and get to class. I''ll talk with you later." He said firmly.

    Parker nodded, stepping past the principal to give Naruto a handshake as he said, "Thanks again for helping me out."

    "Anytime, Parker." Naruto teased, watching as the kid flinched sheepishly before walking out of the office.

    Naruto turned when the man next to him coughed gently into his hand. Raising an eyebrow as Morita stared him down, his arms folded over his chest stiffly, the blonde waited for the stern man to speak.

    And as a bubble of nerves built up into Naruto''s chest, the principal finally spoke.

    "Mind if I get an autograph?"

    -x-

    After an autograph or two and several pictures taken, Naruto was finally able to walk out of school. Passing the track and field, the blonde paused as his phone began to vibrate.

    Tapping the screen to answer the call, Naruto muttered into the mic, "Hello?"

    He pauses as a muffled voice comes through before speaking, "Uh, yeah sure, I can be there. Are you sure you want-"

    He''s cut off as the voice comes through again. Naruto nods to no one, "Yeah, no, I get it. Okay, yeah I''ll be there."

    As he walks along the track and field''s ticket booth, he waves to a flock of students sitting in the stands as he says to himself, "You can come out now."

    Landing deftly behind him, Jessica straightened as she asked, "How long did you know?"

    "Oh, come on, Jess." Naruto drawled lightly, not bothering to stop walking as he continued, "You never left. You''ve been tailing me since I asked you to scram."

    Jessica follows after him, not phased that he''d been aware the entire time, "How was the hotdog?"

    "Is that really what you want to ask, or are you trying to lower my guard with bullshit questions?" Naruto demanded plainly, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I''m not as dumb as my file says."

    "I wouldn''t know anything about that-"

    "Official SHIELD file of one Uzumaki, Naruto," The man began to recite in a bored tone, "Extremely powerful on a level that is, as of now, unseen in its scope and measure. Should be considered a threat at all times, keep up a constant guard and vigilance as a precaution. Only notable weakness is a lack of Earthly knowledge and overall intelligence. Easily distracted by small talk and accusations against his home planet-"

    "And what does my file say about me?" Jessica interrupted.

    Naruto paused, allowing the woman to catch up, "What did you want to ask, really?"

    As they walked side by side, Jessica sighed, "Can we at least get out of here? People are staring."

    Looking around, students out and about were indeed staring at the uniform clad Spider-Woman, several phones taking video and pictures that would likely spread like wildfire.

    Grabbing her shoulder, the two vanished.

    -x-

    Illyana huffed as she set down another box on the kitchen table. Thanks to some clones who''d stayed behind, the main floor of the mansion was furbished save for a random box here or there. Opening the box, she began to pull out a stack of plates-

    DING DONG!

    Illyana looked up, a Naruto Shadow Clone peaking his head out from behind the kitchen doorway, "Who is it?" He wondered.

    The sorceress shook her head as she walked past him, "How the hell should I know?"

    "Magic? Sorcery? Gobbledygook?" The clone guessed as he set down a box in the living room, two other clones setting up the television stand.

    She ignores them as she reached the door. Cracking it open, she takes a peek to outside.

    On the other side of the door, Owen Reece waited awkwardly, "Hey, uhm, you''re Illyssa, right?"

    "Illyana." The blonde corrected, swinging the door open welcomingly, "Welcome to home base."

    "Right." Owen muttered, taking in the large building.

    While Owen was distracted, Illyana noticed the suitcase by his side, "Is the rest of your luggage coming later or¡­?"

    "This is it." Owen answered, withdrawn.

    "Right." She said slowly. Shaking it off, she put on a welcoming smile, "Well at least you don''t have a lot to unpack. Come on in!"

    Stepping inside, Owen looked around in wonder at the vast interior. While dozens of Naruto clones meandered about with their individual tasks, the two took a tour of the mansion.

    "And there''s the living room. Our¡­benefactor, bought all of the furniture and appliances for us. Haven''t really gotten the chance to test them out yet honestly." Illyana informed, heading towards the stairs, "The kitchen and dining room is just down the hall. Naruto''s got some clones doing some grocery shopping, so we might not have the best selection for a little while. But if you''ve got any requests just let us know the next time any of us go out. Do you have a drink that you like?"

    "Uh, Kool-Aid I guess." Owen answered. When Illyana gave him an amused look he muttered, "Prison doesn''t exactly have a whole lot of options other than water and Kool-Aid. At least I think it was Kool-Aid. A kid a cell over thought it was Flavor-Aid, but he was a bit of a nihilist."

    "You gotta flavor you like?" Illyana asked, wanting to shift the subject.

    Owen shrugged, "Anything but grape. I hate grape."

    "Why?" She asked, expecting a simple, ''I just do-''

    "Jonestown."

    Illyana paused as they reached the second level, "Alright." She said slowly.

    Owen walked passed her, "So, uhm, which is my room?"

    The wide hallway was decorated with doors on either side, eight on this floor alone. The floor above held two additional guest bedrooms, but it mainly acted as a decently large hanger bay. Apparently, Howard Stark was an avid helicopter pilot.

    "Well, Naruto called the room closest to us on the left, I''ve taken the first room to the right, and Jessica''s is next to Naruto''s so-"

    "Got it, I think I got it from here." As he headed towards the room on the far-left side of the hallway, "Gotta unpack and stuff."

    "Are you sure-"

    DING DONG!

    Illyana stops. Groaning in agitation as Owen disappeared into his new room, "Coming!" She calls out.

    As she hurries down the steps, the doorbell is rung for a second time.

    As she reaches the final step, a third ring is delivered.

    And as Illyana grips the door, a fourth is rung.

    "I said I''m coming!" Illyana insisted harshly before swinging the door open, only to blink at who''s on the other side.

    Okoye raised a delicate eyebrow. Her posture straight and expression apathetic, the general nodded, "Witch." She greeted.

    The woman had forgone her Dora Milaje uniform; instead wearing a red and black checkered jacket, black dress pants, and maroon flats.

    "Baldy." Illyana fired back. As the two got nose to nose, a familiar voice broke their stare-off.

    "Ms. Magik!"

    Said blonde blinked as a cheerful girl popped up from behind Okoye. The girl was oddly dressed, with most of her head covered in a head wrap and her eyes covered by an overly large pair of Adventure Time sunglasses.

    After taking her in, Illyana finally recognized the younger girl, "Shuri, right?"

    "Mm''hm!" She answered with an animated nod.

    "Well, it''s nice to meet you." The woman greeted, extending her hand to shake the girl''s.

    Only to be stopped by Okoye, who gently stepped in her way, "Please do not touch the princess." She requested bluntly.

    "Uh-" Before Illyana could fully respond, Okoye stepped past her into the house.

    "So, this is the house the princess bought for you." The general observed, looking around deftly, "I see she went a little overboard. Again."

    "Overboard? This is even better than I thought!" Shuri exclaimed, trailing after the general, only to stop as she passed Illyana, "And she can shake my hand, General. Lighten up."

    Illyana took the girls out stretched hand, smiling as she shook it, "Thank you, by the way. For all of this." She says, motioning around the house.

    "The princess has a rule about working in style." Okoye muttered, watching the Shadow Clones move around as they did their tasks, "And I must admit, it is stylish. For an American design."

    Shuri looked around excitedly, "So, where''s my lab?"

    "Downstairs." Illyana answered, motioning for the two to follow her, "Come on, I''ll take you."

    -x-

    Naruto and Jessica stood on the rooftop he and Parker had been on not an hour before thanks to a Hiraishin tag planted on the rooftop door.

    Jessica waited patiently as Naruto watched the city move around them. Horns blared, sirens whistled, people murmured, and tires whirred. While Jessica easily tuned it out, she watched as Naruto seemed to struggle with the incessant scream of the city.

    But just as he seemed overwhelmed, he pushed it aside to ask, "You had a question?"

    "He''s a little young, don''t you think?" She asked, getting straight to the point.

    Naruto tilted his head, "How old were you when you started?"

    "Eighteen." She answered.

    "Well, I was twelve. Fifteen splits the difference." Naruto said.

    Jessica narrowed her eyes, "And because of that, you think he''s ready for what you expect of us? Do you honestly think he could''ve handled what happened on Knowhere? Or Seoul for that matter? He''s a boy."

    "I never said I was going to make him a part of the team." Naruto shot back.

    "What then?" Jessica demanded.

    Naruto sighed, slouching forward as he set his elbows on his knees. Looking up at her, he said, "I don''t know how long you''ve been involved with this kind of thing, but I''ve seen more than enough kids like him to know his story. He''s not gonna stop, Jess. Me, you, the Avengers, the government, it doesn''t matter who tells him to stop. Because he won''t. He''s gonna keep going until he makes it or breaks it. And almost every time, kids like him break. He needs someone to show him the way. To keep him from making the same stupid mistakes we all make. ''Cause if not, one of these days he''s just gonna be some dead kid on the pavement."

    "And what if you getting involved is what gets him hurt? Or worse?" Jessica challenged, "Because then it isn''t on him, it''s on you."

    "I''d rather give the kid what he needs than let him fend for himself." Was Naruto''s retort, "Don''t worry, I''m well aware that he''s my responsibility."

    Jessica shifted on her feet, momentarily thinking over the man''s words. Finally, she folded her arms under her chest, "Alright, Uzumaki. So long as you understand that the boy is in your hands."

    Getting up with a sigh, Naruto ran his hand over his hair, "I''d appreciate it if you didn''t tell Ross or your superiors about the kid."

    "You''re joking." Jessica stated sternly.

    Naruto began to walk towards her, "Do I look like I''m joking?"

    The woman met him halfway, "You can''t expect me-"

    "I expect you to do what you''re told!" Naruto shouted, nose to nose with her as he glowered down at the unflinching woman. Blinking, Naruto realized he''d lost his cool. Taking a deep breath, he forced his tone to be calm, "You go on and on about him being a kid. Well, guess what? If you tell Ross, or the CIA, you''re feeding him to the wolves. He''s under their radar, they don''t care about some kid swinging around Queens when they''ve got a Norse god tearing up London, robots blowing up cities, secret teams and organizations out the wazoo, and super soldiers making Washington DC a warzone. They won''t notice him if he doesn''t make a lot of noise. But if you put that bullseye on his back, if you force him down that path, what happens to him is on you just as much as it''s on me. Can you handle that? Can you turn that kid into a soldier? Speaking from personal experience, it doesn''t end well."

    Jessica glared up at the man, only faltering slightly, "I can''t say nothing. It would look suspicious."

    "Tell them I handled it, leave it as unspecific as possible." Naruto offered, though from his tone it came off as a command.

    "Telling the truth with as little of the truth as possible." The woman considered, seemingly impressed, "I didn''t think you had it in you."

    Leaning back, Naruto turned away, "You''re not the only one who''s gotta thing for being sneaky. I thought you were better than me at it, though. Isn''t being a spy your whole, you know¡­thing? What with being an international woman of mystery and all."

    "I may be a¡­whatever it is you just called me, but espionage wasn''t what I was sent for. If they had a mission, information wasn''t the objective." Jessica admitted offhandedly, staring into the man''s back.

    Rubbing out the crick in his neck, Naruto muttered, "Right, that leaves plan B."

    "I wasn''t aware that plan B was synonymous with assassination."

    "And I didn''t know you didn''t know when someone was trying to be subtle out of curtesy." Naruto shot back, pulling his phone out of his pocket, "Come on, we''re late."

    Confused, Jessica asked, "Late for what?"

    "The press conference."

    "What?"

    -x-

    Owen sighed as he placed the final set of folded socks into the dresser of his new room. It was¡­bigger, than he was used to. It was about three times the size of his entire apartment back in Winchester, though admittedly that wasn''t anything to brag about.

    It was a step up from the cells he''d occupied for years, so he couldn''t complain.

    Pulling out a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, Owen pried a lone stick out before bringing it to his lips. The tip was suddenly wrapped in a flash of energy. As soon as it popped up, it was gone, the cigarette lit.

    As he took a drag, a voice came from behind him, "Think you could take that outside?"

    Owen jumped, coughing on the smoke he swallowed. Turning around, he saw a Naruto clone standing in the corner of his room, "What the hell, man?" He exclaimed harshly between coughs.

    "Just popped in to see how you were doin''." The clone answered without a care in the world, "So, how you doin''?"

    Walking towards a window, Owen slid it open. Leaning into the windowsill, the man took another drag from his cigarette. Releasing his breath, a cloud of smoke blew from his mouth. To Naruto''s surprise, the cloud began to take form, shifting to crudely resemble Owen.

    "So, how''re you gonna train me, exactly?"

    The Naruto clone shrugged, "We''ll get to that later, right now the boss just wants to make sure you''re comfortable."

    "You ever thought about rebelling against the boss?" Owen asked, blowing another plumb of smoke. This time, it shifted into the form of a dragon. The smokie-Owen, now riding a smokie-dragon, gave a silent battle cry before charging up higher into the air.

    "Well, technically, I¡­we, are each other. I can''t really rebel against myself." The clone offered awkwardly, not quite knowing how to answer the question.

    As the smokie-Owen and its dragon dispersed into the air, Owen flicked his half eaten away cigarette into the Manhattan streets, "Sure you can."

    Before the clone could answer, Illyana''s voice could be heard.

    "Okay, so I press this button?"

    Owen looked around the room, "Is that a PA system?"

    The clone smiles proudly, "Yeah, we just finished installing it a few minutes ago. Pretty neat huh?"

    "Yeah, neat is the exact word I''d call it." Owen said distractedly as Shuri''s voice could be heard in the background, telling Illyana that the PA was on.

    "Hey, uh, Owen, could you head down to the basement, please?" Illyana asked over the intercom system.

    Owen sighs, rubbing his scalp, "I don''t really-"

    He wasn''t able to finish the thought, as the Naruto clone grabbed onto his shoulder before disappearing in a flash. Owen stumbled as he and the clone appeared in the basement.

    "-feel like it." Owen finished, feeling the room spin as he caught himself from falling on his ass, "What the hell was that?"

    The clone shrugs, "Hiraishin. You''ll get used to it, promise."

    "Right." The other man breathed, finally steadying himself. Looking over at Illyana, who was sitting next to Shuri at a large computer setup. Walking over, he asked, "Whatcha need?"

    Illyana points over to another Naruto clone, "Him."

    Owen eyed the second for a moment before turning to the one who brought him down, "You couldn''t have told me?"

    "You think we have some kinda psychic connection?" The two clones asked at the same time. Blinking, they looked at each other, "Woah, weird." They said together again.

    The first clone popped after that, clearly weirded out.

    Illyana rubbed her temple with her finger as she looked at the screen Shuri was typing into, "His clones are a pain in the ass already, God forbid they start having an interconnected web of psychic thought."

    Okoye, who was standing directly behind Shuri, lifted a curious eyebrow at Owen, "This is him?"

    "What do you need?" Owen asked, trying to get to the point.

    "Just figured you should come down and meet the rest of the crew." The clone answered lightly with a lopsided smile, "General Okoye over here thinks I''m full of it when I tell her what you can do."

    "I never said anything about you being full of whatever it is you''re supposedly full of." Okoye argued, "And excuse me for being skeptical of a man who can make anything out of nothing."

    Owen began to rub at his elbow, "I wouldn''t call it that-"

    "Ah, don''t listen to him." Naruto interrupted happily, "He''s just being modest."

    Okoye hummed to herself, "Alright then, let''s test his talent."

    Everyone turned to Owen, all awaiting him to show off his skills. The man finally accepted his situation, rolling his shoulders before muttering, "All right, hit me."

    "Make a chair." Naruto offered, wanting to start off simple.

    Nodding, Owen extended his hands out in front of him. His face creased in concentration; he quickly began to will his powers to the surface. Yellow energy enveloped his hands, humming aggressively.

    Across from Owen, a bundle of similar energy appeared, it too humming like an engine. And, with one final heft of effort, it happened. A chair appeared. It was a simple wooden chair. But all the same, it came from nothing.

    "That is so cool." Shuri breathed, her eyes never leaving the chair.

    Okoye hummed to herself, "Could you make a kimoyo beads charging pad? A certain someone forgot hers back home."

    "I don''t know what that is." Owen admitted, taking a seat on the brand-new chair, "Even if I did, I''m not that great at making electronics. There''s so many working parts, its hard to make ''em so they work. It''s like making a watch, you know?"

    Clearly not impressed, Okoye scoffed as she folded her arms across her chest, "What''s the saying¡­ ''premium steak?'' This isn''t one of those, Uzumaki."

    "What''re you talkin'' about?" Naruto demanded, clapping his hand on the other man''s shoulder, "This guy''s awesome."

    Okoye shrugged, "If you say so, Uzumaki."

    "So, what else can you do?" Shuri asked, clearly curious as she turned fully away from her work on the computer.

    Not happy with the attention, Owen shrugged, "I can turn stuff into other things, make ''em disappear, animate objects-"

    "Woah, woah, woah." Shuri waved her hands to stop him, "So, you could make that chair you just made run around and stuff?"

    "Sure." Owen shrugs again.

    "Well, go on!" Shuri challenged gleefully, eyes sparkling with wonder.

    The smallest of smiles reaches Owen''s face, "Well, sure, I guess."

    Getting up, his left hand was enveloped in the yellow energy. Grabbing the back of the chair, Owen enveloped his energy around it. As the energy disappeared, the chair began to creak.

    And with a jump, it was off. Its four legs carried it like it was on fire. It didn''t make it far before running into a support beam, knocking itself over to the ground. On its side, the chair continued to try and run, the legs kicking wildly.

    Shuri and Illyana giggled as the chair began to rotate in a circle along the ground. The Naruto clone chuckled along, and Okoye''s stoic fa?ade began to bleed into slight amusement.

    Owen smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets as the group watched the chair try and pick itself up.

    -x-

    Naruto sighs as he and Jessica are dragged into the backstage of the Avengers Tower press briefing room, folding his arms over his chest dejectedly as he waits for whatever it is Tony was announcing.

    Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turns around to find Wanda standing behind him.

    "Hey," Naruto greets with a toothy grin, "What''re you doing here."

    Wanda, her arms folded abrasively, answers, "Stark told me to come. Something about a rebranding."

    "Rebranding?" Jessica asks, butting into the conversation, "As in the Avengers?"

    The Maximoff stares her down, "Who are you?" She asks bluntly.

    "Jessica Dre-"

    "Spider-Woman," Naruto interrupts merrily, "This is Spider-Woman."

    Blinking, Wanda mutters, "Spider¡­woman? What is a spider woman, and why is he calling you that?"

    Jessica opens and closes her mouth, turning away when she realized she doesn''t have a response.

    "Naruto Uzumaki."

    Naruto turns, a man dressed in an Air Force officer''s uniform walking towards. The man reaches his hand out, offering a handshake. Naruto takes the offer, sharing a firm handshake with the man.

    "James Rhodes," Naruto states, "It''s good to finally meet you."

    "Honestly a little surprised you know who I am," James admits, "Considering the stories I''ve heard, I didn''t think I was on your radar."

    The blonde laughs, "You kidding? Anyone called War Machine is immediately put on my radar. It''s probably the second most badass codename I''ve ever heard."

    "What''s the first?" Jessica asks, off to the side.

    "Spider-Woman, of course."

    She groans, "Jesus Christ, will you ever drop that?"

    "Not ''til it sticks," Naruto states lightly.

    "Oh, it has," James joins in, much to Jessica''s dismay.

    Murmurs break out from within the briefing room. Looking out onto the stage, Naruto sees Tony walking out from the other side of the backstage. The clicking of cameras and the stilled chatter of the gathered journalists reaches the stage, as the Iron Man reaches the center podium.

    Running his hands over the edge of the podium, Tony gives a smile to the crowd, "Good morning, everybody."

    The room goes quiet.

    Tony clears his throat, "I think we can skip the decorum and cut right to the chase."

    He stops, working up his courage, "Seven years ago, I stood¡­sat, in front of a lot of the same people that are here today and told you about an epiphany I had out in that desert. About the realization that I had become a part of a system that was comfortable with zero accountability. I claimed that I had more to offer than just making things that blow up. I promised change. Not just from Stark Industries. But from myself as well. And I thought I had. I became a hero. Saved some lives. Stopped some really bad people from doing some really bad things. I joined a team dedicated to protecting Earth. But, as time went on, as I became more and more comfortable with the ''new me,'' I started to slip back into old habits. Once again, I became a part of a system that not only was comfortable with zero accountability but scoffed at the very notion that we could do anything wrong. We''re the Avengers, after all."

    Tony pauses, shaking his head with a lost look in his eye, "I watched thousands of people die, with a weapon I created to defend them, and protect them."

    The room somehow grows even quieter, with a stillness so sharp it cut deep.

    "I was given a second chance, and I wasted it. I don''t deserve a third. I don''t, no matter how badly I want to make it up to you, I don''t deserve it. Despite that, I''ve been given that chance. Graced with it by the United Nations and the United States Government. A chance to show you that we the Avengers are capable of change, capable of accountability. And so, it is here that I officially announce the registration of the Avengers under the United Nations. We are officially sponsored and monitored under their jurisdiction, and now operate under the supervision of an as of yet unelected panel. We are only to be deployed when and if this panel deems it necessary."

    The silence breaks, as the journalists and reporters begin whispering among each other.

    Tony speaks over the crowd, his arms gesturing out widely as he says, "If you all wouldn''t mind welcoming the team''s newest iteration, the Mighty Avengers. This new roster includes James Rhodes, Natasha Romanoff, Wanda Maximoff, and Dane Whitman."

    From the side of the stage Tony had walked out on, Natasha, sporting a new Black Widow uniform, steps out from behind the curtain. Following close behind her is a slick haired man in his early thirties. The man, forgoing any kind of uniform, is wearing a basic leather jacket and brown pants. Held in his left arm, a black medieval style helmet with yellow trimming along the eyes and mouth. Strapped to his side, an impressive broadsword.

    James and Wanda walk past Naruto, joining their teammates on stage, James waving to the crowd while Wanda does her best to get it over with.

    Natasha, Dane, James, and Wanda now stand behind Tony, the man bracing himself for the media onslaught.

    But it doesn''t come. The audience remains quiet for several moments. Eventually, a lone journalist in the back of the crowd raises his hand. From the back, he shouts, "Where''s Captain America?"

    Tony pauses at the question before answering, "I''m sorry to say that Captain Rogers refused to sign-"

    The crowd breaks out in a frenzy of discombobulated questions and concerns. Tony, unable to make out a word, looks over to the side of the stage, he and Naruto making eye contact.

    The blonde can only give a shrug before Tony looks away, finally able to hear a coherent question.

    "What about the Maelstrom? What about Naruto Uzumaki?"

    Seeing that as his que, Naruto takes a deep breath in before walking out onto the stage, a wave of flashing lights greeting him.

 35 Long time No See

    Why are we doing this again?"

    Spider-Man, standing horizontally against the basement wall within the Infinity Watch''s base of operations, tried to regain his balance. Naruto, standing across from the teen, tapped his foot impatiently as he said, "You wanted to train, right? This is training, buddy."

    Finally having gained his balance, Spider-Man scratched at the back of his mask, "Okay, but like, how?"

    The blonde sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "How long did you say you can cling to a wall again?"

    "Like fifteen minutes," The teenaged hero answered bashfully before muttering under his breath, "I thought that was pretty good."

    "It is," Naruto reassured, "But that''s just when your clinging. But what about climbing up walls like you like to do? What happens if you need to climb something real tall and you get worn out halfway up? You need to work on your stamina kid, trust me. It''ll come in handy in the long run."

    Now used to standing horizontally, Spider-Man took a look around the rest of the basement. The boy was still in awe of the massive training room the blonde super man had put together. From the gym and workout equipment where Jessica was bench pressing six hundred pounds, the array of computer monitors where Shuri was typing away, the dojo mat where Owen was practicing his newly learned katas, to the koi pond where Illyana was sitting in a lotus position. And a Naruto Shadow Clone accompanied each of them, coaching them through their workouts.

    "So, which one is the real you?" Spider-Man asked, "How are we supposed to tell, anyway?"

    "Uh, the one with Illyana, I think," The clone answered, scratching his cheek, "And you''re not really supposed to, Parker. Kinda the point of making clones and stuff, ya know?"

    Parker nodded, "Yeah, yeah I guess. Hey, uh, so how does someone become a Watchman?"

    Naruto blinked, "A what?"

    "A Watchman," Spider-Man repeated. Seeing Naruto''s persisting confusion, the teen explained, "That''s what you call members of Infinity Watch, right? Watchmen or Watchers or¡­Infinity-ers or¡­something."

    "Well, I can''t really call us Watchmen considering most of our members are women. Doesn''t really make sense." Naruto said, which got a nod from the younger man, "But you gotta good point, we kinda need a group name. Infinity-ers sounds good, though I doubt the others would go for it. Watchers are taken, so that doesn''t work either."

    "Taken by who?" Spider-Man questioned, tilting his head curiously.

    Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Oh just some species of semi-omniscient dudes who look over the entire multiverse. I''d say we''d never run into ''em, but as soon as I''d say that I''d probably run into Uatu again and trust me that''s the last thing anyone wants. That dude does not shut up."

    Slowly, Spider-Man''s googled eyes narrow, indicating his suspicion, "Nuh uh."

    "Yah huh," Naruto challenged back childishly.

    As the two entered a childish back and forth, Jessica rolled her eyes from her spot at the bench press. With noticeable effort, Jessica pumped the bar upwards. The Naruto clone, who''d been spotting the woman, noticed the gesture.

    "Don''t let ''em distract you, you only got two more to go," The clone tells her.

    "Yeah, well," Jessica grunted as she lowered the bar, "When that clone brother of yours," She lifted it back up, "And that spider kid of yours," The bar is lowered, "Are bickering like that," Finally, she heaves the bar up for a final time, "It''s a little hard not to be distracted."

    The clone helped her place the bar on the bench''s rack, "Maybe the boss gave that one a few less brain cells than the rest," He said cheekily.

    Jessica sat up, stretching her left arms across her chest as she said, "Seems pretty par for the course when it comes to you, clone or original."

    Owen, standing across from another of Naruto''s Shadow Clones, massaged the left side of his temple as he asked, "So, I''m more powerful than you?"

    The clone gave an uneasy smile as he answered, "Well, when it comes to this specific powerset, yeah. From what I''ve seen, you don''t really have to pull on any kind of reserves like I do."

    "I''m confused," Owen states blandly, "Like, one-hundred percent confused. Totally over my head."

    "Right," The clone breathed, "Okay, so your ability is essentially the power to warp matter at will. You can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct, right?" When Owen nods, the clone continues, "I have a similar ability when using Cosmic Energy. However, I''m limited by how much of that energy I''ve gathered. Once my tank is empty, I can''t use that ability until I''ve refilled. You don''t have that weakness."

    "So, my powers don''t have a limit?" Owen muttered thoughtfully, "That''s pretty cool, I guess."

    The clone shook his head, "Well actually, from what I''ve seen, your powers are limited by experience. They''re like a muscle. If you don''t build it up, you''re limited with what you can do with that muscle. So, what we''re going to do is try and expand your powerset. It''ll take time, like a lot of time, but eventually you''ll be a fucking monster."

    "So, where do we start?" Owen asked, a twinge of excitement slipping by.

    "Well, I noticed something during your demonstration the other day," The clone said, "You spend way too much time releasing your energy. Me and a few clones have been brainstorming, and one of ''em gave me an idea for how you could speed that along." Lifting up his hand, Naruto shifted his fingers into a snapping position, "When building your energy, focus it into you hand. Once you''ve got what you need, snap your fingers," Naruto snaps his own, an audible click sounding off.

    Wordlessly, Owen did as Naruto said. Raising his hand, he got his fingers ready to snap. After a moment of thought he gathered his energy along that hand. Snapping his fingers, yellow energy flashed in front of him. Catching the object that came from the flash, Naruto turned it over in his hand. Smiling, he Owen the small statue that was rather crudely in his image.

    "We''re gonna have to work on your attention to detail."

    Illyana, still sitting cross legged across from the last Naruto clone in the room, sighed as she began to ask, "Would you please explain why I have to learn how to be totally still-"

    "Talking isn''t totally still," The clone cut her off, his eyes closed as he sat across from her, his body totally motionless, "And I wanna see if you can learn something. Someone I fought a little while ago showed me others besides me can learn it. Might''ve been because she was a ''god,'' might be that anyone can learn it if they have the right teacher. Now shut up and stay still. I''ll know if you aren''t."

    "Fine," Illyana grumbled, closing her eyes as she grumpily collected her breath. Going stiff, the woman sat there for several moments, only for her eyebrow to eventually twitch.

    "Start again," The clone drawled.

    With a huff, Illyana said, "How the hell am I supposed to stay completely still? That doesn''t make any sense-"

    "You''ve been trained by monk wizards and you don''t know how to meditate?" The clone questioned teasingly.

    Illyana blew a strand of hair out of her face, "Meditating was never my strong suit, and in all honesty I''m surprised it''s yours. You can barely sit still while watching tv upstairs, so I''m still put off that you''re trying to teach me something I''m still not sure you can do."

    Naruto''s eyebrow twitched out of annoyance, "Fine," He muttered, "Let me show you." Taking his own breath in, the blonde once again went still as he thought, "I could have a talk with Freyja anway. Haven''t talked to her for a few days, I''m sure she could use the company."

    "Hmph," Kurama harrumphed, "How thoughtful of you."

    "Jealousy doesn''t suit you, partner," Naruto quipped lightly, laughing internally at the Biju''s bubbling embarrassment the blonde could feel thought the seal.

    Feeling the mental pull inward, Naruto allowed himself to fall into that corner of his mindscape. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the now familiar part of Freyja''s quarters. But, instead of finding the warmth of a blazing campfire sitting in front of him, a tranquil river has replaced it. Looking to his right, the blonde raised a confused eyebrow at who greeted him.

    Sitting at the edge of the river was a man. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, his short grey hair was swept back, and his thick beard was peppered with black and white. Wearing a simple white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a pair of blue trousers that were rolled up to his shins, and bare feet dipped into the calm river, the man had a rather relaxed look about him.

    Sitting loosely in his hands was an old-fashioned fishing rod, the flimsy stick having a two-yard-long string at the end, the other end of said string submerged within the river.

    Eventually catching Naruto at the corner of his eye, the man turned his head to acknowledge the younger man, "Hoh, so which one are you?" The man drawled, only to quickly realize who soon after, "Ah, I see. Sorry, it''s hard to keep all of you straight sometimes."

    "What?" Naruto wondered, "Who the hell are you supposed to be right now, Freyja?"

    The man laughs, leaning his head back merrily, "I''m not ''Freyja'', I''m afraid. The girl ran off; I think I might''ve annoyed her with my presence," The man says mirthfully, "This is her private little corner, after all. Not too kind to intruders. Well, except you of course."

    Surprised, Naruto took a moment to collect what the man had said. Eventually, he said, "You''re one of her siblings, aren''t you?"

    "I suppose that''s the most appropriate term for our relationship that you could understand, though I would argue she is a biproduct of my existence and am therefor her ''progenitor.'' She is bound to me, and I to her. There''s nowhere she can be that I''m not." The man explained, speaking as though he were reading off a script as he turned his attention back to his pole and the river before him.

    Walking up to the man, the blonde placed his hands in his pockets, "So, which one are you? She never really went into detail so it''s kinda hard to guess with what you''ve given."

    "Me? Oh, so many people call me so many different things it''s honestly rather bothersome keeping track of them all. My siblings like to call me Eternity, a few people have called me Time or Fate, others Eon, and some Epoch. You like to call me Khal, so it''s probably best to keep that going, for continuity''s sake." Khal introduced himself blandly.

    "We''ve met?" Naruto questioned.

    "Not in the sense of here and now, no," Khal answered with a shrug. He sighed, waving his hand whimsically, "And this is where I tell you about the multiverse and how I''m experiencing time within every reality all in one moment, and so on and yah-dah-yah-dah-yah-dah."

    Naruto blinked, taking in what the man told him before asking, "So, you can see the past, present, and future of every reality or multiverse?"

    "Can? Saying it like that makes it sound like I can turn it off and on," Khal drawled, his voice filled with slight annoyance, "I''ve had this conversation with you ad nauseam, all while also having every other conversation I''ve ever had at the same time at the same capacity. It''s all gotten so dull."

    "Huh," Naruto breathed in slight disbelief, "And, just to get this straight, you''re talking to other me''s at the same time as your talking to me? I guess I can see how that might get boring."

    Khal shrugged, "There''s a pretty large variety of Naruto''s out there, so it''s not like I''m only talking to this variation of you or whatever. If anything, you''re not even the generic version of yourself. Your path has diverged a fair amount compared to the name brand version."

    "Did you just call me off-brand?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.

    "Yup," Khal answered bluntly. Looking over his shoulder up at the blonde, Khal nodded his head towards the river, jiggling the fishing rod in his hands, the shaking string causing ripples along the river. Naruto looked down, his eye catching an image just beneath the water. It was him, though not. He was home, with friends. And his family.

    "This is the version of me that the Mind Stone showed me," Naruto told Khal, the older being nodding, "So, this is real? Somewhere out there, this is actually happening?"

    "Yup," Khal said again, "There''s a few variations of that. Some you marry that Sakura girl, a few with some girl named Shion, others you end up with that Sasuke guy," Seeing Naruto incredulous look, the man shrugged, "Just telling you how it is. But for the most part, this is the main version of you. In other words, name brand."

    Naruto, sitting down next to Khal, asked, "What about the ones like me? The ''off-brands,'' I mean."

    "Oh, them?" The physical embodiment of time asked, though it seemed like he expected the question and was only playing along, "Those get kinda weird. Cool, but weird." Shaking the rod once again, several images began popping up from under the water.

    The first image to flow by was one of Naruto wearing what looked like a Root uniform, this alternate version of him using a fire technique that was oddly similar to the Amaterasu. The black flames licked out from the alternate Naruto''s hand, seemingly spilling out from a seal. And, if Naruto wasn''t mistaken, a lone Sharingan sat in the other blonde''s right eye socket, a deep scar running along that side of his face.

    "That version of you was a Root trainee. Then there''s another version where you have the Rinnegan and were raised by monks at the Fire Temple." Khal explained as another image waded through the river.

    As Khal described, this version of Naruto was decked out in monk robes, his eyes squinted shut to hide the eyes of a pseudo-messiah. The sagely Naruto carried a staff that was reminiscent of Hagoromo''s very own. Standing next to him was a woman Naruto recognized to be Fu, the former Jinchuriki of Chomei.

    And, seemingly remembering a funny joke, Khal recollected, "And I could never forget the reality where you somehow gained immortality and after a century or so traveled to the other side of your world and got embroiled in an ocean wide conflict between an entire government''s navy and the pirates who littered those open seas."

    This iteration of himself forced Naruto to raise an eyebrow, as a boisterous Naruto wearing the red sage coat and a headband similar to Jiraiya''s waded by. Said blonde was captaining a large sailing ship that was painted a bright orange. A small crew seemed to be going about their business aboard the ship, including a heavily tattooed young man with a bandana wrapped around his head, a beautiful blue haired woman who seemed to be cleaning a strange kind of gun, and a pair of sword fighters who were wielding the Kubikiribocho and the Sword of Kusanagi respectively. A Jolly Rogers flew freely on the ship''s mast, signifying the crew''s pirate status.

    "There''s a version of me who''s a pirate?" Naruto questioned, doing his best to hide his jealousy.

    "He isn''t a pirate," Khal corrected firmly, allowing the image to fade away and be replaced with two more.

    The first featured a younger Naruto, this one fighting off a man with spikey brown hair. While the other him used what looked like an intense fire attack, the man was countering with an impressive barrage of water. In the second, a Naruto who seemed to be a lawman of the Old West, road horseback with Sakura and Sasuke, the three fighting off a gang of outlaws who were licking their heels in hot pursuit.

    Naruto scratched at the back of his scalp, "I feel like I shouldn''t be seein'' this, ya know? Like I''m watching something that''s taboo, I guess. Just feels weird."

    "Oh, I''m definitely not supposed to be showing you any of this," Khal admitted freely, "But I honestly figured I''d get tired of dancing around it and that I might as well just give you what you''ll learn eventually."

    "Eventually?" Naruto wondered.

    Khal laughed, wagging his finger at the blonde, "Now that''d be telling. I might not care about tellin'' you about your alternate selves, but I''m not stupid enough to tempt fate by giving you nuggets from your future. That is my domain, after all." He paused before delivering an exasperated sigh, "And this is where you tell me you don''t believe in fate. For Infinity''s sake, don''t be so one dimensional. It''s dull."

    "I''m one dimensional?" Naruto questioned, annoyed, "So says the walking lazy genius clich¨¦."

    Khal mockingly made a talking gesture with his hand, "You''re the trillionth person to tell me that today," He muttered tiredly. Scratching his bearded chin, Khal continued, "You believe in fate, Naruto. You do. The thing you don''t believe in is manufactured fate. Whether that be Neji, Gamamaru, or Hagoromo, all you''ve ever been told are man, or toad, made prophecies. Well let me tell you that fate, real fate, me, exists. And it won''t change because my sister''s got a soft spot for you. You''re here for a reason. Your people died for a reason. It was fate, me, that brought you here. Don''t forget that, kid."

    A long silence reined in over the two, Naruto sitting within that awkward quiet for a several moments, "So¡­what now?" Naruto questioned lamely, not really knowing where to go from there.

    The celestial being pointed up, "The girl is knockin'', might as well wake yourself up before she starts poking at you."

    "Girl?" Naruto wondered, only for it to click as soon as the question left his lips, "Illyana, right. Shit, yeah I better head out."

    As he got up, a doorway opened up next to the blonde. Looking down, Naruto said, "Tell Freyja I said hi for me. It was nice meeting you, I guess."

    Khal didn''t respond, his attention solely on the string that bobbed along the river. As Naruto exited his mindscape, a presence made itself known next to him, "Naruto says hello, though I''m sure you heard."

    Freyja scoffed from her spot next to her hearth, "I had hoped you''d leave once I had. It wasn''t my intention for you to talk to him," Her eyes narrow, "What are you doing, Eternity?"

    A smile stretched across Eternity''s face, "Just making sure our mutual friend keeps on his path. No better way to do that than some face to face chit chat. You''ve done your damnedest to warn him away from what''s coming, from the decision you and I both know he''ll have to make. Don''t deny it, being sneaky isn''t good enough of a work around. Very commendable, sister dear."

    "All I''ve done is show him there is more than one path to take," Freyja argued weakly.

    Khal looked over his shoulder, looking his sister in the eye, "No, there isn''t. Eventually, the river of time will douse the flames of life. That''s how it works. For everyone. If you meddle further, you know who will intervene."

    "I know," Freyja said, looking away and into the flames.

    "I''m just tryin'' to look out for you, sister dear." Khal told her softly.

    "I know."

    -x-

    Naruto''s eyes creaked open, sighing when he saw that Illyana, Owen, and Spider-Man were huddled around him, Illyana in the middle of poking him in the temple. Swatting the woman''s hand away, Naruto grumbled, "Back off, jeez."

    "Enjoy your nap?" Illyana quipped teasingly, "I told you not to stay up so late."

    Naruto stood up, stretching his back, "I wasn''t napping, and it''s not my fault. Owen woulda kept watchin'' New Girl without me. No way in hell I''m falling behind just because he was being a selfish turd."

    "You don''t have to watch it with me," Owen muttered, wincing as Naruto popped his back.

    "You guys watch New Girl?" Parker asked them, amused.

    Naruto and Owen turned to the young man, "Uh, yeah? It''s awesome." Naruto said defensively.

    "It''s alright," Illyana said, folding her arms across her chest, "I still think we should be catching up on Game of Thrones instead."

    "Yeah, and you got out voted, so there," Naruto retorted childishly, sticking his tongue out at her.

    Illyana stuck her own out back, delivering a raspberry. Owen rolled his eyes as he said, "Shuri just finished the list you asked her to make, we figured you''d want to be there during the debriefing."

    "She''s very excited," Illyana said merrily, "She''s all nervous and business like, it''s pretty cute."

    "I''m glad you think our youngest member is so amusing," Naruto grumbled as he began to walk out of the gym, the other three following, "How long was I out anyway?"

    "Just a few minutes," Parker answered, "All your clones decided to pop, and Ms. Drew went to go get dressed for the meeting," He paused, "Is this a Watchers only meeting, or¡­?"

    "Infinity-ers only kid, sorry," Naruto answered, giving an apologetic smile.

    Illyana paused, "Infinity-ers?"

    Naruto looked over his shoulder at the sorceress, "It was that or Watchmen, and since three-fifths of this group is women I figured-"

    "Who actually gives a damn about that kinda thing?" Illyana questioned in disbelief, "Just call us Watchmen, don''t have to be so politically correct about it, Jesus."

    "Alright, jeez," Naruto grumbled before looking at the now retreating Parker, "Hear that kid, you can call us Watchmen now. Ain''t that neat?"

    Parker laughed as he reached the stairs, "Sure is, boss."

    As the kid began to climb the stairs, Naruto created a Shadow Clone, "Make sure the kid doesn''t get lost," The original said uselessly, the clone already knowing its orders.

    "Trust issues?" Owen asked blandly as they exited the gym, entering the other half of the basement. The click clacking of a keyboard filled the room, Shuri typing away while Okoye stood by observing her charge intently.

    "A little," Naruto admitted, "Though let''s be honest, we''ve all gotten lost in this place by now, right?"

    The two''s lack of a response was enough of an answer for the now smirking blonde. The group finally reached the two Wakandan women. As they did, Jessica walked down the basement steps, "I see you sent the kid away," She stated, now dressed in a pair of tan jeans and long sleeve shirt with the emblem for the United Kingdom emblazoned on the chest.

    "Told you, he''s not a part of the team," Naruto said matter of factly, allowing the woman to reach them before turning to Shuri, "So, what''ve you got for us?"

    "Parker''s gone?" Shuri asked timidly, ignoring the question.

    Okoye swatted the girl''s arm, giving her an expectant look, "Time and place, Princess."

    "Right," The girl grumbled, "Alright, so I compiled that list you asked for. It was harder than I thought to find unregistered supers who haven''t already retired under the Seoul Accords'' mandate, so the list isn''t as long as you thought."

    Naruto nodded, "Less work for us then," He said cheerfully.

    "It also means a lot of the people who would''ve been a good fit aren''t available," Jessica informed, getting a shrug from the Uzumaki.

    Turning back to the computer, Shuri pulled up a file onto the screen, "I think I''ll start with the west coast. First, we''ve got Miguel Santos, aka Living Lightning. From news sources, the man looks like he can control electricity to an insane degree-"

    "Next," Naruto interrupted.

    Shuri stopped, flabbergasted. Turning to look at the older man, she asked meekly, "What?"

    "I can already do lightning stuff, and I''m pretty sure Illyana could too," When Illyana gave a wishy washy gesture with her hand, the man continued, "Either way, we don''t need another-"

    "Why don''t you let the princess finish before coming to a decision?" Okoye asked sternly, "I have seen this list, and trust me when I tell you that you should be happy with whatever you get."

    Naruto raised up his hands defensively, "Alright, sorry. Shuri, please, continue."

    Shuri, her eyes darting between Naruto and Okoye, hesitantly went back to Miguel Santos'' file, "There''s nothing on how he gained these abilities, though it''s believed he gained them through some sort of accident involving AIM before they went defunct. Santos usually targets gangs within California, though lately he''s been branching out to metahuman criminals," Turning back to the group, she noted, "I did some research into that, and apparently there''s been a metahuman outbreak throughout the west coast with little to nothing being done to combat these new superpowered criminals."

    "That''s what happens when ninety-five percent of superheroes are stationed in New York City," Jessica said with a sigh, "This is a recent issue, only going as far back as a few years. The only reason it''s noticeable within the west coast is because its prevalent there. But it''s happening everywhere, and not just within the United States. Maybe it''s because we''ve only now noticed, but there are twenty times the amount of documented metahumans as there were a decade ago. That''s not including the undocumented ones."

    "How many of the documented ones signed the Accords?" Owen asked.

    "Around fifty-five percent," Jessica answered, "Twenty percent retired, the rest are going against the Accords in whatever way they can."

    Illyana nodded, "And those are who we''re going for, right?"

    Nodding, Naruto said, "Please continue, Shuri."

    "Right," Shuri said, "So, Santos is usually seen throughout Los Angeles, so that''s probably the best place to start. Um, that''s all I could find without hacking into the LAPD and CIA databases, something you told me not to do. So, I guess we''ll move onto Jennifer Walters, or, as I like to call her, She-Hulk."

    "Shuri, quick note," Naruto offered, "If we by chance manage to recruit her, don''t call her that. Alright?"

    Giggling, Shuri continued, "So, She-Hulk was pretty easy to find information on, considering her close association with Bruce Banner. A big-time lawyer, she and her boss were prosecuting an even bigger big-time mob boss. Apparently, this crime syndicate had threatened her to back off, but she and her boss decided to follow through with the prosecution despite the threats. A few days before the trial, both she and her boss were shot outside their homes. Her boss was dead on arrival, Jessica was in critical condition. Bruce Banner, her only living relative with a matching blood type, offered to donate his blood for a transfusion. Jennifer survived, though was subject to severe side effects caused by the transfusion."

    A side by side picture was pulled up onto the computer screen. On one side of the picture was Jennifer Walters, the beautiful woman in perfect condition. Her short brunette hair hung just above her shoulders, her timid smile in full display as she grinned for the camera. Her thin frame was wrapped in a sharp suit, femininity leaking off the woman as she allowed reporters to take her picture as she walked into a courthouse.

    And on the other side, a picture of what Jennifer had become. Her skin was a pale green, her brown hair darkened to a deep black. Her once thin build was gone, replaced with pure muscle that was barely hidden by the hospital gown given to cover her unconscious modesty.

    "According to her charts, the change is permanent," Shuri continued, "Jennifer went from five foot three to six foot two and is now two-hundred pounds of pure muscle. Unlike her cousin, who''s green self seems to be another personality who runs off pure emotion and instinct, Jennifer has retained her personality. Minus a slightly more aggressive disposition, she''s still Jennifer Walters. She''s also not as physically powerful as her cousin, though she can still punch through pure concrete as she''s proven to do."

    Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "A definite maybe-"

    "Maybe?" Jessica wondered, baffled by the man''s choice of words, "The woman is a smart version of the Hulk, what about that makes her a maybe?"

    "Maybe because he slept with her," Illyana said blandly.

    Everyone turned their gaze onto Naruto, giving the man looks with varying amounts of incredulity, "In my defense this was before she got all hulked."

    "Why does that matter?" Okoye questioned scornfully.

    "It doesn''t! I''m just, you know, sayin'' is all," Naruto exclaimed defensively.

    Jessica sighed, "Are there any other possible members of the team you''ve slept with that we should know about?" She demanded.

    "Possible? No," Naruto muttered bashfully, eyeing Illyana. The gesture was caught by Okoye and Jessica, the two women scoffing at the implication.

    "Pig," Okoye grunted, turning her nose up at the man.

    Rubbing the side of his face, Naruto attempted to get the subject back on track, "Shuri can we please continue with the debriefing?"

    "Quick note version, please," Owen asked, wanting the meeting to get over with.

    "Okay, well, to cap off the west coast we have Hope Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym," Shuri said, pulling up Van Dyne''s file, "Your SHIELD file says she likely has access to her father''s Pym Particles. That and there''ve been reports of a giant ant roaming around San Francisco, which I don''t think is a coincidence considering her dad''s SHIELD moniker, Ant-Man. Which, by the way, you Americans really need to come up with better superhero names. Adding man or woman to the end of whatever it is your power resembles is so lame."

    "Right?" Jessica agreed, getting a giggle from the girl when she realized what Naruto had been calling her.

    "Anyway, then there''s the east coast; here in New York City, actually. Two of these guys are vigilantes, only one of whom I have the identity of. The other was pretty easy to get information on, considering he''s an ex-convict," Explained Shuri, "The ex-con''s name is Carl Lucas, though nowadays he goes by Luke Cage. He''s got a pretty large social media following, with a few videos showing off his powers. The man is a walking tank. Apparently, bullets bounce off him like nerf darts. Could be a solid back up if Jennifer Walters declines your offer."

    "Which seems likely now," Jessica muttered under her breath.

    A video clip from Twitter was pulled up, the short clip showing an African American man, who was built like a brick house, take a baseball bat to the back of the head without even blinking.

    "Definitely a good second-string choice, good work Shuri," Naruto complemented, impressed that someone with invulnerability was on the list.

    "Thanks," Shuri said bashfully, taking that as an incentive to continue, "The second is a blind lawyer out in Hell''s Kitchen whose name is Matt Murdock."

    "A blind lawyer?" Owen questioned, "Scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?"

    "Well, according to his SHIELD file, the incident that rendered him blind amped his other senses up to their maximus notches. There isn''t much description, but his file says he''s a dangerous hand to hand specialist. I think he could be useful," Shuri said defensively, "He''s better than the other fighter Naruto gave me, some millionaire named Danny Rand. We''ve already got a benefactor. Cough, me, cough. Do we have a lawyer? Nope. And, this is just a guess, but we might be needing one or two of them in the future."

    Owen shrugged a shoulder at the heated rebuttal, "Point taken."

    Moving a strand of hair out of her face, Shuri continued, "The last one is a bit of a long shot. Social media has been calling him Moon Knight. There''s only one photograph of him, and it''s not the best quality. He''s pretty new to the scene so there was no file on the SHIELD flash drive Naruto gave me and the public barely knows he exists. He''s pretty much a total unknown."

    "And a last resort if we can''t get any of the others in the city," Naruto said, looking at the picture of the man Shuri had pulled up. Shuri, if anything, had talked up the quality of the picture.

    The man was barely in the frame. All that could be made out was his head and a part of his torso. The vigilante was decked out in an all-white business suit, specks of blood staining the previously pristine jacket. A white mask, similar to Parker''s in fabric, covered his face entirely. An emblem that looked like a crescent moon could barely be made out on the fabric along the man''s forehead.

    "Alright, here''s the plan," Naruto began to say, getting the full attention of those around him, "Jessica and I are gonna take the east coast, Illyana and Owen will take the three here in the city."

    "What about me?" Shuri wondered, "Who am I going with?"

    Naruto, feeling Okoye''s stare, scratched the back of his head, "I figured you''d stay here, you know, act as the Quartermaster and stuff."

    "But I want to go-"

    "Naruto is right," Okoye interrupted her princess, giving the Blonde a look that could barely be called appreciative, "It''s best that you stay here to provide support."

    Shuri huffed, but, knowing better than to argue with the general, nodded none the less.

    "Alright," Naruto said, clapping his hands together, "Jessica and I will head out. Illyana, if you could keep me in the loop, that''d be super fucking fantastic."

    "You''re really not looking forward to this, are you?" Illyana asked the blonde cheerfully, "I''ll think we''ll start with Mr. Lucas."

    Naruto nodded. Putting his hand out, the blonde gave a suggestive look, "Hands in, boys and girls."

    Everyone circled around the man, their hands overlapping each other''s. Illyana looked to the leader of their group, a small smile on her face as she asked, "Watchmen on three?"

    "On three," Naruto confirmed. Looking down to their hands, he began to chant, "One, two, three-"

    "Watchmen!"

    The five threw their hands up. An awkward pause filled the space between them, the members of Infinity Watch sitting in the aftermath of their huddle''s break. Eventually, Owen muttered, "Alright, I''ll say it. That was weird."

    Everyone nodded and muttered their agreements. Naruto robbing the back of his neck as he asked, "Never do that again?"

    Infinity Watch gave firm nods.

    -x-

    Date: September 7, 2015

    Location: San Francisco, California

    -x-

    Vance sighed as he finished off his cup of coffee, sliding the empty container into the cupholder at his side. Sitting in his car, parked next to a coffee shop within a heavily populated downtown area of the Golden Gate City, Vance Astrovik waited patiently for his client to arrive.

    Looking at the clock on his dashboard, he sighed knowing she was likely caught within the sidewalk''s traffic. Hoping to pass the time, he peered into his side rearview mirror so he could people watch. He smiled as he caught a man picking at his nose, rooting around for a mysterious treasure. He laughed when a rather attractive woman noticed as well. The nasal explorer, realizing he''d been caught, avoided eye contact as the woman scrunched her nose up in disgust and passed him by.

    A knock on his passenger side window caused Vance to jump, startled by the sudden disturbance. Leaning over, Vance peered up out of the window to get a look at who''d knocked on the door. The person was wearing a heavy tan trench coat, which was odd considering it was seventy-five degrees outside.

    Due to their impressive height, Vance was unable to see their face, forcing him to speak to their midriff, "Are you Jennifer Walters?" He asked.

    "Yes," The woman answered, "Are you Vance, from Five Emerald Limousine?"

    "Vance Astrovick, at your service," Vance said professionally, "I''ll be your driver this evening, with an SUV as requested."

    Jennifer, with the knowledge that this was her driver, opened the rear passenger door. Ducking into the car, Vance was forced to brace himself as the vehicle tilted into Jennifer''s step. As she took her seat and fastened her seatbelt, Vance peaked at his rearview mirror.

    He stifled a laugh, "A little late for Comic-Con, aren''t we?"

    Jennifer''s face was partially covered by a low hanging baseball cap. However, the green pigment of her skin could still be clearly made out. Forcing a smile, Jennifer said, "Can''t a girl dress up like the Hulk for the hell of it?"

    "Hulk girl, huh?" Vance asked, shifting the car into drive, "Yeah, I''m more of a Maelstrom guy myself."

    Jennifer''s jaw clenched at the name, "I know I was late, but I''m in a bit of a hurry. If we could get to the bank, that''d be great."

    "Right, apologies," The chauffer muttered, pulling the car into the street as he said, "Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, here we come."

    -x-

    After a short drive across San Francisco, the car found itself parked across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank. Vance drummed his fingers along the steering wheel, eyeing Jennifer through the rearview mirror.

    Eventually, he said, "So¡­what brings you to San Francisco, ma''am?"

    Jennifer, not taking her eyes of the bank, asked, "What makes you think I''m not from here?"

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    "Not a lot of people who live here ask for a private driver," Vance answered.

    "Business," She eventually answered, "I''m here on business."

    Vance nodded, "Oh, yeah? What kind of business, if you don''t mind me asking?"

    "Personal business."

    Taking the hint, Vance turned back, peering out the driver''s side window as he waited for whenever Jennifer decided to leave. But the silence eventually grew too much. Looking back at her, he asked, "Mind if I turn the radio on?"

    She sighed, not taking her eyes off the bank, "Sure," Jennifer relented.

    Shaking his head, Vance turned on the radio, dialing over to one of his go-to stations. As the station came on, the DJ''s voice came through mid-sentence, "-uto Uzumaki''s statement at the Avenger''s Headquarters in New York City remains a controversial subject, weeks later. We''ve asked callers to give us our thoughts. First up is Douglas, from Clayton. How''s it going, Douglas?"

    Another man''s voice, over the phone, came on, "Things are good, Doogie, thanks."

    "So, what''re your thoughts on Naruto Uzumaki being given amnesty from the Seoul Accords? Do you think that''s fair to the hundreds of others who are now being forced to sign and give up their anonymity?" Doogie asked the caller.

    The caller scoffed into his phone, "Of course it is, Doogie. It''s ridiculous. How can they let someone who isn''t even from this planet wander around, yet people actually from Earth are being forced to sign these accords? If you ask me, if one is exempt, all should be. And speaking of that, where''s the due process? Where''s-"

    Doogie, chuckling, cut Douglas off, "You seem to be getting off topic, Douglas. Let''s keep things with Naruto Uzumaki and his exemption from the Seoul Accords."

    "Right, sorry," Douglas apologized, "Look, I respect the guy. I do. All the work he put into helping the relief effort was inspiring. Hell, he killed Ultron for God''s sake. But even he shouldn''t be exempt just because he isn''t from here. He migrated here. He fights his battles here. He causes damage, same as the Avengers. He should be considered liable. Him, Thor, even Captain America."

    "Thanks for the opinion, Douglas," Doogie tells the man, "Let''s get to the next caller. Victoria, you there?"

    A new voice answered, "Yeah, Doogie, I''m here."

    "What''s your opinion on the Maelstrom and the Seoul Accords?" Doogie asked the caller, "For or against?"

    "I''m siding with the Maelstrom, Doogie. The man is a hero," Victoria answered firmly, "If a good Samaritan goes into a burning building to save someone trapped inside, and he busts down the door trapping that someone, should the Samaritan be held liable for that door? For the building? Or should we be grateful for what he did? I prefer the former. What''s the point of paying taxes towards Damage Control? Wasn''t that division created to take care of any damage caused by these events?"

    "But what about the human casualties, Victoria?" Doogie asks, "Thousands have died on account of the Avengers'' lack of supervision. Naruto himself has killed several hundred people. Where''s the due process? Shouldn''t we have some kind of control on someone willing to step over the criminal justice system-"

    "Could you change the station?" Jennifer demanded.

    The driver does as she says, changing it to another station that was playing 1980''s pop. Vance glanced back at her, "Not a fan of the Maelstrom?"

    "Not particularly, no," She answered bitterly.

    Vance turned to look at her, "The man saved my cousin'' life. He was bleeding out, got caught by an Ultron drone''s explosion. Naruto Uzumaki just appeared, hundreds of ''em. He healed my cousin, somehow. Put his hand on him, and a few seconds later he wasn''t bleeding out anymore. That man saved hundreds of people''s lives on 5/22. Probably more. He''s a good man."

    Jennifer tilts her hat up so she can look him in the eye, "Good people aren''t perfect. I''ve experienced that firsthand." Her eyes catch something pulling out of the bank''s side entrance, "See that armored truck?"

    Vance followed her line of sight. Spotting the armored bank vehicle, the man said, "Yeah, I see it."

    "Follow it," Jennifer told him firmly.

    "What-"

    "Follow it!" Jennifer ordered again, "Come on, before you lose sight of it."

    "Alright, alright," Vance relented, pulling out after the armored truck. Quickly catching up, Vance begins following the truck through traffic. Eventually, the truck merged onto the freeway, Vance on its tail.

    Vance, keeping his eyes on the truck, asked, "Why are we following this bank trunk, exactly?"

    "Keep two cars apart," Jennifer told him, looking out the back of the car. A white Ford Transit came into sight, "I have a vested interest in who else is following the truck."

    "Who else¡­wait what?" Vance questioned, panic seeping into his voice, "Are you saying someone''s following us right now?"

    Jennifer shook her head, watching as the large van passes them and the bank truck, "Not anymore. Get into another lane, now."

    Vance did as she said, getting into the lane to the right, watching as the van passed the truck.

    As the van pulled out in front of the armored vehicle, the rear door swings open, revealing four people standing in cargo space. A man dressed in an all-black tactical suit with a black dome over his head steps in front of the group. Pulling out a tan rod that was about three feet long. Grasping it like a javelin, the man threw the rod towards the road directly in front of the bank trunk.

    As the rod connects with the road, the tip is triggered, causing a seismic blast that splits the road open, a slab of concrete shooting up. The truck rammed straight into the slab, forcing it to come to a violent stop. The van screeched to a stop with it, the four people jumping out of the cargo hold.

    Next to the man with the cue sticks, a woman dressed in a black and purple tactical suit resembling a beetle pulled out a device that she straps to her arm. A buzz saw made of purple energy emits from the gauntlet.

    As Vance and Jennifer pass them, the woman said, "Stop the car."

    "You can''t be serious-"

    "Stop the fucking car!"

    Vance, startled by the woman''s harsh outburst, slammed his foot on the brake. The car has barely come to a complete stop when Jennifer jumped out.

    A man dressed in a blue and red masked leotard rushed out of the van, running at an extraordinary speed towards the truck. Reaching the driver''s door, he pressed his hand up against the door''s window. His hand began to vibrate against the windowpane, causing it to shatter.

    He gave a quick wave, "Sup?"

    "Speed Demon, stop messing around," A man shouted as he jumped out of the van. His suit resembled a modern knight, with a white and blue light-armored padding and a blue helmet with a white visor. He pulled out what looked like a pair of bladed boomerangs from their sheaths at his lower back.

    "Sorry, Boomerang," Speed Demon said before doing as he''s told, quickly punching the panicking driver in the face, knocking him out. Opening the door, he pulled the driver out of the truck.

    Boomerang looked to the other two, "Eight-Ball, Beetle, there should be another guard in the cargo hold. Deal with him."

    The two nod, Eight-Ball, the man with the black dome covering his head, said, "I''ve got the guard."

    Beetle, after approaching the door, shoved her buzz saw gauntlet into the door''s hinges. As she cut through the thick metal, Eight-Ball prepared to attack the awaiting guard inside.

    Inside the van, the driver spots someone approaching from the front of the van. The driver is dressed in an all-brown leather suit, the only part of the suit not made of leather being the black and red goggles over his eyes.

    Rolling down his window, he leaned his head outside, "Uh, Boomerang, we got incoming," He warned.

    Boomerang looked behind him, immediately seeing Jennifer as the woman pulls off her overcoat and ballcap. Sporting a grey, cotton tracksuit underneath, the woman looked the man over.

    "So, you''re the B-Team?" She asked.

    "I guess," Boomerang said with a shrug, twirling the weapons in his hands, "Who''re you supposed to be? Hulk-Girl?"

    "Kind of," Jennifer admitted with a shrug of her own, "That''s actually why I''m here. I need to see him. Your leader."

    Boomerang shook his head, sliding into a fighting stance, "That''s not going to happen."

    "Yeah, it is." Said Jennifer confidently.

    With nothing left to say, Boomerang threw one of the boomerangs straight for Jennifer''s neck. Jennifer ducked underneath before charging forward. She''d barely taken her second step when the boomerang comes back, connecting with her back.

    The sound of fabric ripping reached Boomerang''s ears, though he''s surprised to see the woman barely acknowledge the blow, continuing to charge forward. He raised his arm up barely in time to intercept the backhand she delivers.

    Boomerang goes flying into the armored truck''s grill, denting the metal plating with his body.

    Jennifer checked the large tare along the back of her jacket, causing her to groan. Glaring at the recovering knight, Jennifer growled, "Do you know how expensive these tracksuits are?"

    Stumbling to his feet, Boomerang panted, "Speed, a little help."

    Speed Demon zooms by, rushing into Jennifer''s guard. With a flurry of jabs, the speedster delivered several dozen blows all around Jennifer''s body. But the woman looked unperturbed. Realizing he wasn''t doing much of anything, Speed Demon retreated.

    Standing beside Boomerang, the speedster asked, "Any ideas?"

    "We just need to hold her off. Once Beetle and Eight-Ball get what we need, you get the money and then we''re out of here." Boomerang muttered, cradling his chest.

    Beetle, having cut through the hinges, stepped back to let the door fall. As it did, Eight-Ball threw the rod inside, the weapon skewering the guard through the chest. Peering inside, Eight-Ball laughed at what he saw.

    "Speed, you''re up!" Eight-Ball yelled.

    Speed Demon, now at Eight-Ball''s side, said, "I''m tagging you both in."

    The two tilted their heads in confusion, only for the unasked questions to be answered when Boomerang is sent flying over the truck, landing on the hood of a minivan two cars away.

    Jennifer, her tracksuit now littered with scrapes curtesy of Boomerang''s weapon of choice, lumbered after the man she''d just tossed aside. As she passed the armored truck, a tan and brown rod connects with her temple. A seismic blast came from the tip upon contact, sending Jennifer flying into the car next to her, the woman bouncing off of it and into the freeway''s guardrail.

    Groaning, Jennifer picked herself up. As she shook the grogginess off, she notices something above her. Beetle, a pair of cybernetic wings giving her lift, flew overhead. Pointing her gauntlet towards Jennifer, Beetle opens fire. A purple blast of energy zinged just over Jennifer''s head, crashing into the guardrail. Concrete and steal go flying, with Jennifer rolling away from the blast.

    As she finished the roll, a black sphere the size of a billiards ball rolled underneath her. Coming to a stop, the ball revealed a white sphere with an eight plastered onto the face. Suddenly, the white began to blink a bright red.

    BOOM!

    Jennifer is thrown back by the explosion, flying into yet another car.

    Debris pelted the freeway as smoke billows upwards. People scream and flee the scene, panic filling the air as Speed Demon rushes back and forth from the van and the armored truck, dropping off duffle bags into the van''s cargo hold.

    Overdrive peaked his head back out the window, addressing Speed Demon, "We good?"

    "Nope."

    Overdrive jumped, startled to find someone standing on the hood of the van.

    Naruto, his arms folded, smiles down at Overdrive, "You''re not good at all. I think you pissed her off."

    The car that Jennifer was thrown into is flung over, revealing the woman in all her fury. The top half of her tracksuit is gone, leaving a ratty t-shirt that was littered with holes along the shoulders and lower abdomen. Her pants were torn to shreds, the bottoms practically nonexistent.

    She glared at Eight-Ball, "You''re dead." She growled.

    Overdrive, having been startled by Naruto, instinctively slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

    "Overdrive, don''t!" Speed Demon screamed, a duffle bag still in hand.

    Naruto, still standing on the hood, kneeled down to get a good look at the driver, "Yeah, Overdrive. Don''t."

    Pulling out the gun strapped to his side, Overdrive pointed it out his window towards the blonde. Before he can open fire, the gun suddenly crumples like a tin can in the driver''s hand. Dropping it out of surprise, Overdrive looked back up at the blonde.

    Naruto wagged his finger disapprovingly at the driver. Before Overdrive could react, the back end of the car crumpled up as well, the tires exploding as well as Naruto used Magnet Release to force the van to come to a sudden stop.

    Losing control of the car, Overdrive can do nothing as he swerved into the side of a car. The airbags deploy, stunning him. Naruto jumped off the hood, watching as Jennifer caught a javelin thrown by Eight-Ball. Snapping it in her hand like a toothpick, she threw it aside.

    Beetle, her gauntlet prepped to fire, is suddenly enveloped in a full nelson.

    Jessica, grappling the other woman, sent out a discharge of bio-electric energy. Beetle immediately went limp, she and Jessica plummeting to the ground. Jessica lets go, landing on her feet as Beetle lands headfirst onto the roof of a nearby car. The woman lied motionless, her body limp against the roof of the car.

    Eight-Ball, a javelin in hand, struck at Jennifer as she came in close. The woman swats it aside, grabbing Eight-Ball by his dome helmet. Adding an incredible amount of pressure, the helmet cracks and bends under her hand. The man threw several punches into her triceps, trying to get her to let him go. But the panicked attack failed, as Jennifer crushes the man''s helmet in her hand.

    Letting him go, she let the man stumble back blindly. Just when it seemed like he''d gotten his bearings, Jennifer spartan-kicked him in the chest. Eight-Ball went flying into the armored truck. He fell limp, his torso broken in by the woman''s mighty kick.

    Boomerang, having finally gotten to his feet, realized that his crew had either been taken down or, in Speed Demon''s case, fled.

    "That son of a bitch," He grumbled, blood leaking passed his teeth. Spitting out a wad of blood and spit, he stood straight. Jennifer was glaring at him. Jessica was eying him evenly. Naruto was smiling at him.

    The man knew he was fucked.

    He raised his hands above his head, "I surrender."

    Police sirens encroached, their lights flashing off in the distance.

    Boomerang looks at Jennifer, "You wanted to know about the Leader, right? I can-"

    A ding noise suddenly emitted from the man''s helmet. As it did, a man''s voice could be heard from inside saying, "Ah, ah, ah."

    And then, with a loud pop, Boomerang''s helmet exploded. The blast was nonviolent, the corpse totally intact as it collapsed to the ground.

    "What the fuck?" Jessica demanded, startled by the sudden execution.

    Before Naruto or Jennifer could answer, similar noises emitted from the remaining crews'' helmets, with loud pops coming not long after.

    Naruto, looking around at the four headless corpses, rubs his chest in complete disbelief, "Holy shit." He breathed.

    "Why the hell are you here?"

    Naruto turned, looking Jennifer in the eye. Giving a soft smile, the blonde eventually says, "Long time no see."

    -x-

    Location: Austin, Texas

    -x-

    Speed Demon, clutching his side, wheezes as he leaned up against the side of a brick building. Slowly he lumbered into the alleyway to the left of the building. Having to use the wall as support, his walk was slow. His breathing was long and labored, trying with all his might to catch his breath following a several well over a thousand miles.

    Reaching a thick metal door, Speed slammed his fist against it several times. A moment later, the eye slot slides open with a thick clang. A pair of eyes peer through, "You''re alone." The eyes said.

    "Yes," Speed wheezed pathetically, "We met some resistance¡­some Hulk lookin'' chick. And¡­and Naruto Uzumaki. I had to ditch when our ride got taken out. I managed to bring some of the haul," He raises the lone duffle bag up so the eyes can see, "It''s not much¡­but it''s something."

    "Something," The eyes say simply.

    Speed Demon heard the door''s several heavy locks unlatch, the door swinging open to reveal Emil Blonsky on the other side. The man was dressed rather simply, with a Hawaiian button up shirt and a black t-shirt underneath. He stows his handgun in the back of his pant''s waistbelt.

    Emil nodded his head to the side, "Get in."

    Speed stepped in, Emil closing the door behind him. Speed is escorted through the building, the man known as the Abomination leading him into a large wareroom. The man immediately takes stock of who else is present.

    Leaning up against a stack of crates is a person whose body was framed by the colors of orange, purple, blue, and green. He practically vibrated with barely contained energy. Their name was U-Foe, four men and women who were now one superpowered being.

    Next to what looked like some kind of working station stood a lean young man with slicked back blonde hair. The man looked like the average Austinite, minus the gladius and scutum strapped to his side and back. He was Tyrannus, the Roman ''Sorcerer.''

    And finally, his back to everyone, sat the leader himself. Sitting in front of several television screens, Samuel Sterns watched various news outlets reporting the botched robbery on the San Francisco freeway. The televisions are turned off, their screens black. Sterns turned in his chair, now facing Speed Demon.

    The man barely looked human, his skin tone was a dark disgusting green and his skull engorged to a severely alarming degree. His fingers are interlocked, his jaw set.

    "The others are dead, if you weren''t aware," He drawls.

    Speed paused at that, "What? Why?"

    "Boomerang was about to let Ms. Walters and Mr. Uzumaki in on our whereabouts," Samuel says dispassionately, "It seemed prudent to nip that in the bud entirely. Sadly, it seemed likely the other members of your crew would be just as likely to talk as him. Which leads us to you, Speed Demon."

    "Me?" Speed questioned, his voice shaking, "I came back! I brought you as much of the score as I could!" He threw the duffle bag at Samuel''s feet.

    Samuel doesn''t even look at the bag, his eyes remain on Speed, "That''s a fraction of what I asked for. I wanted the entire contents of that truck. Not a single portion. Five percent out of a hundred is an embarrassing failure on your crews'' part. And, considering you''re all that''s left, that means the fault lays solely with you. Correct?"

    Speed Demon had nothing to say, only able to fidget as the entire room glared down on him.

    "What do we do with him?" U-Foe asked, its four voices overlapping simultaneously.

    "Isn''t it obvious?" Emil questioned glibly. Looking towards the open doorway at the other end of the room, the man called out, "Hey, soldier boy. We got someone for you."

    A figure steps out from the shadowed doorway. His heavy footsteps echoed through the wareroom; his gate slow as he reached the group.

    Speed Demon''s panic became apparent as the Winter Soldier reaches Samuel''s side. His long hair is now reached just above his shoulders, the one-hundred-year-old Hydra sleeper agent dressed in a dark blue hooded jacket and black running pants.

    The wareroom''s florescent lighting glares off his prosthetic metal hand as it flexes apprehensively.

    Frowning at Emil, his eyes sunken in from an apparent lack of sleep, Barnes murmurs, "I''m not killing him."

    "Oh really?" Emil challenges, "Has SHIELD''s golden-boy assassin-extraordinaire gone soft on us? ''Cause if you have, well then I gotta ask why you''re here too."

    "No one''s killing anyone," Samuel snapped, giving Emil a hard look, "I''m the reason your out of that Alaskan cryo-sleep. Don''t make me regret it."

    Emil put his hands up, relenting to the man''s command. Speed Demon, relieved that he wasn''t going to be killed, relaxed as he said, "What''s next then¡­boss?"

    The leader sighed, his hands massaging his temples, "Because of your blunder, I suppose we''ll have to resort to a more drastic measure."

    "Sounds fun," Tyrannus commented with a carefree smile, "It''s about time we all get to go out and play a little."

    "Don''t get too excited," Samuel chastised, "Because of the Seoul Accords, anything too extravagant will bring the Avengers down on us faster than any of you could say pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis."

    "I doubt anyone here could," Emil drawled.

    Tyrannus raised his hand, "I could."

    Samuel waved his hand dismissively, "That means what we''ll do will have to be rather lowkey," His eyes land on Barnes, a smile creeping up on his face, "And I think I know just the thing."

    Barnes'' hand clenched uncomfortably, his metal digits clinking against his palm.