A/N And here's a D.C/Naruto story in contrast to my Ultimate Marvel/Naruto story. Fair bit of warning, Naruto isn't going to be very impressive this chapter but bare with me, it's a prologue.

Anyway read and review!

Disclaimer: I don't any of this stuff I'm using.

Prologue: Humble Beginnings

-Gotham City/Crime Alley-

"Son of a bitch..."

If there was one thing Naruto hated with a burning passion; it was cowardice. No matter what form it came in, Naruto would always personally declare it to be the worse trait a living thing could have. Anytime Naruto would bore witness to a cowardly act it never failed to poke at the anger issues he suffers from. Ever since the Naruto was just a little boy bouncing from foster home to foster home, he always had a problem restraining his emotions in the face of wickedness; whether it was dealing with a cruel foster parent or one of the many degenerates that plagued Gotham's streets, Naruto always bared his theoretical (and some occasions actual) fangs. But unlike his younger days, the sixteen year-old now has people who not only care about his continued existence but also depended on it. So with that thought in mind, he swallowed his pride and begrudgingly remained hidden underneath a parked car while some ass with a shotgun attempts to draw him out with baited shouts.

Walking down the street in search of a hooded teenager was a burly looking man clad in gear one would expect to find on a soldier-for-hire, clutched within the man's hands was a pump-action shotgun that appeared primed for use. "This is pointless, you little coward! Don't you know who sent me after you!?" The hired gun shouted as he scanned the streets for any signs of his target. "The Penguin! Yeah, you heard me, the Penguin! Let that sink in brat, you just stole money from the fucking Penguin."

"Penguin...should'a figured he had something to do with the drug deal we just crashed..." Naruto quietly muttered to himself as he unconsciously clutched a gloved hand on the money filled duffle bag that laid next to him. Another oddness about Naruto is that, for a reason unknown to himself, whenever he happens to refer to himself it's always in a plural sense. Those who noticed Naruto's small problem always just writes it off an odd tick.

As Naruto mentally pictured Penguin demand his head on a platter, the blond was reminded of the golden rule: Don't fuck with the big names.

That was the one rule Naruto's pseudo family forced upon him when they first discovered he was stealing from Gotham's scum to support them. Because they knew about fearless personality Naruto boasted, the family of misfits made the blond promise them he would stay away from the worst of the worst no matter how big the potential payoff could be. And because Naruto always took his promises to the heart, he always steered clear of deals that had the big names' signature on them; Such as guys wearing red and white suits meant two face, idiots dressed as clowns obviously meant the Joker and mobster wearing black mask meant...Black Mask. And so on like that.

As Naruto watched the man's dirt covered boots come to a stop a few feet away from his face, the blond found himself slowly and carefully tugging at the stainless steel chain that was wrapped around his torso. Although the teen never had any formal training and all his skills are self taught, many of Gotham's bottom feeders could attest to his kills in a brawl, some would go as far to call the teen inhuman.

"You know what stealing from the Penguin is, kid? A death wish! A bona fide death wish! So just come out now and take whatever you got coming to you like'a man, if you're lucky the Penguin might let you plead your case!" The sound of a shotgun being reloaded accompanied that shout.

Baring abnormal sharp teeth, Naruto glared at the man's with a savage look in his eyes. He was quickly nearing the end of his patience. 'Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.' He mentally repeated inside of his head. 'Sitting next to us is a duffle bag filled with money, don't risk loosing it because of some asshole...'

A deep laugh bellowed from the goon as he slung the 12 gauge shotgun over his shoulder. "Y'know, when the Penguin first gave me this job, I heard a coupl'a his guys call you Fox. They said I should watch out, Fox is know to dish out one helluva beating. Heh, from this little game of hide n seek we got going on here, I'm thinking your new name should be Rat!"

Slowly, Naruto's blue eyes were turning blood red and his nails were tearing his gloves away as they lengthened into claws.

"Nah, not Rat." Penguin's goon began. "Those little bastards will can show some grit. How does Hamster grab you?"

And that was all he could bare. Faster than humanly possible, Naruto emerged from underneath car, giving the man a full view of who he's been hunting. Appearing between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, the whisker marked teen was dressed in a dark orange hoodie that was worn over a plain white tank top, as for his lower body, a pair of black jeans and black sneakers completed his outfit. The only things that separated the spiky haired blond from looking like another random teen was of course the animal-like appearance his face held, the claws that were protruding from his gloves and the long chain that was looped around his chest.

"You mind repeating that name you called us? His voice was distorted, it sounded like something you would hear in a scary move.

Without showing any fear, gorilla-like man grinned viciously at the teen. "Ask and you shall receive. A hamster. I called you a hamster, y'know, those little rodents kids keep as pets." This wasn't the hired-gun's first encounter with the abnormal, he was apart of the twenty men team that was responsible for watching Killer Croc during his rare visits to the Iceberg lounge. "What'ya gonna do about it?"

Without adding any thoughts to his actions, Naruto lunged at man with intent to do some damage. However, before the teen could get his claws into the man he was stopped by a spread of buckshot. Instead of putting an end to the man's taunts the only thing Naruto's rash actions got him was a chest filled with small metal pellets.

"Heh, that was easy." After watching the teen hit the ground, the goon turned his attention onto the car the teen was hide under. Figuring that's were the money was, he approached the car and took a knee. "Took out the Fox and got the money back, there's noway Penguin won't promote me now." Just as he began reaching for the duffle bag, the man felt something sharp impact his shoulder, a quick glance revealed it to be a small sharp object that was shaped...like a bat.

Aware of what was coming next, the goon abandoned his spot on the ground and began aiming his weapon upward in a desperate attempt to spot a black clad figure. "I know you're here! Come out so I can drop you like I dropped the Fox!" During his time as one of Penguin's many hired muscles he's had his ass handed to him by the Bat on four separate occasions, at this moment he was promising himself the fifth was going to be different.

Perched atop a nearby rooftop, Batman was currently waiting for the most opportune moment to swoop in and take the shotgun wielding scum down. Although it was well hidden underneath his cowl and ever present frown, the Dark Knight was filled with red fury by the sight of a bloodied teen lying motionless in the street. The same streets he'd sworn an oath to watch over. Once his self hatred ran its course and the man below unknowingly offered up a clear view of his back, the Caped Crusader made his play.

Maintaining a firm grip on his weapon, the would-be murderer could feel his heart beating like a piston. 'Outta the fucking frying pan...' That was the last thought that went through the hired-gun's mind before he could feel an overwhelming presence behind him. After quickly running through his short list of options, the desperate criminal decided to break out into a mad dash while blind firing his shotgun.

For Batman it was easy to anticipate and avoid all of the frightened man's shotgun spread. After allowing the man to run twenty feet filled unadulterated fear, Gotham's brooding protector aimed and threw one of his batarangs at the man's leg. And like he did with many of is past targets, Batman watched as the man fall face first onto the ground, the rapidly dripping blood told him the man's nose was most likely broken. Adjusting his cape hiding his entire frame, Batman slowly began to make his way towards the groaning criminal. He wasn't just going to teach this killer the true meaning of fear but whomever sent him after a kid.

"Get up!" The Dark Knight said in a grim tone as effortlessly lifted the man up by the scruff of his shirt. "Why? Why did you do it?" In order to help hasten the man's answer, Batman used his free hand to effortlessly crush the goon's hand. "Tell me now!"

"God damn it!" The criminal wailed once Batman released his now shattered hand. "F...fu...fuck. Th...The kid, he...he stole from an exchange. A drug deal."

"Who's drug deal?"

And just like that, he knew he was out of a job. "The Penguin's."

Normally Batman would just simply knock the man unconscious and contact the GCPD but this different. This man shot and killed a teenager. So with that thought in mind, the Dark Knight brutally threw the man onto the asphalt and began raining down punches. All of his attacks were well measured to the point they wouldn't render the man unconscious, he wanted the scum to feel the full grunt of every blow.

After three minutes of uninterpreted punches, Batman's assault came to a stop the moment he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. "That's enough Batman!" A quick glance over his shoulder revealed the voice of reason to be Robin The Boy Wonder. "You got him."

Ignoring the groans of pain the barely conscious thug made, Batman rose to his feet and shook away the blood that had gathered around his heavily patted knuckles. "...Call Gordon and tell him to send some of his officers to pick up this trash and once you've done that...call the coroner." And once that was said, Batman pressed a button on his belt to summon the Batmoblie.

"Why the coroner?" Batman heard his sidekick ask. "Did this guy kill someone? Was that reason you were opening up an extra can of whup ass?"

Underneath his cowl, Bruce Wayne's eyes widen as he turned to see a pool of blood but no body. "Impossible..." He muttered before running towards the spot he knew the hooded teen expired at. Within the blood pool he could easily make out a hand and foot print which said victim, despite being fatally wounded claimed to his own two feet and walked away.

Batman's highly honed mind went through a hundred conclusions about the teen but for the moment he wasn't ready to give a deduction, instead he scoop some of the blood into a vial to be tested within the Bat-Cave.

As his shotgun wound healed at an abnormal rate, Naruto, with the duffle bag slung over his shoulder, walked through a alleyway with a frown gracing his features. "Fucking stupid. Fucking amateur!" The blond raged at himself as he picked a piece of shrapnel from his shoulder. The ability to heal from just about any wound, just another thing his mysterious powers granted him. "Can't believe we rushed a guy with a shotgun like a suicidal idiot." He couldn't even began to count the number of times someone told him his anger would be the death of him.

As Naruto felt his full strength return to him decided to pick up the pace, he had no doubts Batman would have some question about his ability to rapidly recover from a fatal gunshot. Now running at speeds no normal human could achieve, the teen wanted nothing more than to get home and count his loot. It took him fifteen minutes of non-stop running to his neighborhood, Devil's Square. Like all the other neighborhoods that didn't house Gotham's rich and famous, the Devil's Square was the home to working class citizens.

As Naruto made it home, to his run of the mill two story house, he figured he forgo the front door, he didn't want his housemates knowing he made it home just yet. So after going around the back and silently entering his home by way of the basement he assumed he was in the clear, that is until a light came on to reveal a teenage girl wearing a small pink shirt and a pair of running shorts. Her features included long dark wavy hair, honey colored eyes and a lightly tanned skin tone.

"Michelle..." Naruto began with nervous smile. He very well knew what was coming. "S'up?" Michelle Vergara, Naruto's best friend/sole confidant for eight years running. The two first meet each other in a group home they were temporarily assigned to stay at by the state. Initially, Naruto and Michelle little mind to the other but a mutual hated for the group home's ill tempered foster parents would be the kick off for a friendship that has lasted for years.

Michelle didn't speak, not immediately of course, she was too busy staring at the tattered clothes that hung off of Naruto's torso. "You missed dinner, Naruto." She said in a nonchalant tone, the accent in her voice gave away her Colombian heritage. "Steak, steamed broccoli and gourmet baked potato."

Naruto couldn't help but flinch at Michelle's tone. He hated when she did her ice Queen act. "Sounds good, sorry we missed it..." He said as he shred away the top part of his clothes, no need to keep them on, they were barely hanging on anyway. "Are the little monsters still up?" And by little monsters Naruto was referring to the unwanted kids he and Michelle took upon themselves to take off the streets. Although the two teens knew they had no real rights to keep the kids they both found the idea of kicking them to the curb unacceptable.

"Sleep." Was the answer Michelle gave Naruto as she crossed her arms underneath her impressive bust. "They wanted to stay up to watch a scary movie with you but I wasn't hearing it."

Naruto chuckled a bit at the idea of his best friend making a group of children bend to her will by a simple stare down. "Wow, for a girl who never had a real mother figure you sure got a way with kids."

Michelle didn't bother to verbally respond to Naruto's comment, instead she choose to walk over towards him and give him a harsh slap across the face before point to his tattered clothes. "How did that happened?" The question was delivered in a no nonsense tone.

"Y'know, that's not how that works." Naruto said as he rubbed his face. "First you're supposed to ask your question, hear our answer, hate our answer and then slap us." That only earned Naruto another slap. "Fuck!"

"Shut up in tell me what did you do?" The Colombian born girl said though gritted teeth.

"What'd ya think? I found some chumps doing a drug exchange and decided to liberate the cash, its the same thing I do every other night."

Michelle couldn't help but frown at all the details she knew Naruto was purposely keeping out of his story. "And who the heck was overseeing the exchange, Naruto, Killer Croc?" To help get her point across, she picked up what was left of Naruto's tank top. "Because this looks like your ass just got mauled!"

Naruto ran a hand through his spiky locks as he failed to meet Michelle's eyes. "We got shot..." He begrudgingly admitted. "But you don't have to worry or anything like that, our healing factor already fixed us up as good as new." While he was willing to disclose some information about his latest exploits, Naruto was intent to keep Michelle in the dark about how his anger issues lead him into taking a chest full of buckshot.

"Whatever..." Michelle muttered as she turned her attention to the duffle bag lying on the ground. The moment she unzipped the bag Michelle couldn't help but release a gasp at its contents; stacks upon stacks of bills all bunched together. "Holy shit, Naruto. How much is this?" If she had guess, her number would've easily passed a hundred thousand.

A shrug of Naruto's shoulders showed Michelle how much he knew about the exact number. "Ya got us." The blond said as he eyed the cash. Like Michelle the number he was guessing was substantial. The Penguin wasn't exactly know to deal in chump change deals. "But the drug deal we plan on hitting up tomorrow should net us an even bigger pay day."

Michelle had to massage her temple in a attempt to stop an oncoming headache. "Naruto...when are you going to stop? We already got more than enough money to last us for a couple of months, how about you just stop for awhile?" Every night when Naruto went on his little Robin hood mission she couldn't help but worry, freaky animal powers be damned, she was getting sick off Naruto constantly trying his luck. "How about we go to Metropolis? Wouldn't that be fun, getting the hell out of Gotham?"

"Yeah it would..." Although Naruto's response came with a vulpine grin internally he felt a different way. Unlike Michelle, the whisker marked teen had no cravings to live a normal life, he never did. The idea of living his life and not putting his naturally giving talents to use was a boring existence in Naruto' mind.

"Awesome!" Michelle chirped before giving Naruto a quick peak on his cheek. "We can talk more about it up stairs."

As Naruto watched Michelle leave the basement his grin faltered and he stared at the bag of money that laid next to his feet. "Yeah...awesome..."

Done and done! So yeah, Naruto's an untrained punk with world-class anger issues and powers he doesn't even know the source of. I hope this chapter did a good job of establishing Naruto and getting the point across he's nothing special in a world filled with super humans, at least not yet. Eventually he'll get training and be fighting alongside the greats but for now he's just teenager robbing from criminals.

Well I got stuff to do. Please Review!