"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 pa.s.sed mentor.
The man smiled down at his student, "h.e.l.lo…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 p.i.s.s 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. f.u.c.king 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 p.i.s.ses 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 cla.s.s 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 h.e.l.l 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 G.o.ddess 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 a.s.sociated 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 G.o.d 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 pa.s.sed 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 a.s.sault 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, "Pleplease! 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.
"Wwait! 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 s.h.i.t."
"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."
"Wwait! 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 subt.i.tles 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 subt.i.tles.
"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 gla.s.s 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 b.u.t.ton, 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 s.h.i.t 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 b.u.t.ton 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. Unb.u.t.toning 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 doork.n.o.b unlocked.
Click
In another click, the latch to the door slid open. The door now completely unlocked, the doork.n.o.b 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 b.u.t.t imprint where she"s probably been sitting all day."
"Weeell. Look at the modern day Cherlok Homes figuring s.h.i.t 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 Shin.o.bi 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. G.o.d 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 b.l.o.o.d.y 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? d.a.m.n, 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 s.p.a.ced out there for a second." Naruto said in embarra.s.sment. 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 G.o.d 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 gla.s.s 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 pa.s.sing it on to his youngest son, Charles, which was what spurred his pa.s.sion 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 h.e.l.l 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 b.r.e.a.s.t.s 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 s.h.a.ggy 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 cla.s.s 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 h.e.l.l 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 f.u.c.k are you?! Are you with AIM?! Did that b.i.t.c.h send one of her "Acquired" after me?!"
Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "What the h.e.l.l 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 f.u.c.k, 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 s.p.a.ce and dimensions. h.e.l.l, 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 s.h.i.tty 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 t.i.tle, 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 c"
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 h.e.l.l 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 b.u.t.ton over and over again, only to see that the elevator had already pa.s.sed 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 pa.s.sing 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 ma.s.sive explosion echoed from across the city, as a ma.s.sive pressure was felt, causing the blood around her to ripple from the pressure.
"It tolls for thee."