Hey, since I was away from the internet for such a long time I decided to just upload every chapter at once so… here's another chapter of 'Perfectly Balanced', if you're reading this then you've probably read my previous three chapters where the superhero universe came to the anime universe in order to find the final Infinity Stone and to stop the Mad Titan from taking over the multiverse
The Second Night (Around 19:35) – Namikaze Compound
The Konoha night air was as cold and as crisp as ever. The sky was a deep purple with nearly invisible dark grey clouds bathed in the faint orange hue of a setting sun. The clashing of purple darkness and reddish-orange light created beautiful combinations of colours in the sky whilst casting long shadows over the people under it. Naruto walked out in his sweaty, worn-out orange jumpsuit. He wrapped his black Konoha hitai-ate around his forehead, took a sip of some coffee, then threw the half-empty mug into a nearby bush.
He knocked on the first house's door. His priority door. Someone rushed down the stairs frantically, Naruto took a step back. The door flew open.
"Howdy neighbour," Kara greeted. In the morning, Naruto was surprised by the half-naked superhero. He had to admit, it wasn't as surprising when she was fully clothed, but she was still as beautiful as ever. Supergirl waved.
"Is your room closest to the door or something?" Naruto noticed how Kara had opened the door on both occasions.
"I'm the fastest in the house," she shrugged, "You here to check up on us again?"
"I was actually looking to collect you for that walk you wanted, Shuri's already in my manor," Naruto said.
"Mmm, sure. But can I take a bath?" she asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"You want to take a bath when we're going out into the town?"
"Yeah, why not?" Kara actually caught Naruto's attention.
"Sure, I'll tell Princess Shuri that you're taking a quick shower," Naruto said as he watched Supergirl close the door on him.
PERFECTLY BALANCED
CHAPTER FOUR
The End of the Universe Approaches
Twenty Minutes Later – The Streets of Konoha
The skies were starting to clear up. The orange in the air was draining away and taking whatever heat was left over with it as the purplish-blue began to dominate. Naruto was wearing an orange and black jumpsuit, classic Konoha shinobi clothing minus the orange; Shuri who'd shopped for clothes the previous day was wearing a fishnet bodysuit under an orange hooded top, and black pants; while Kara, with hair down, was in an Ino-style white crop-top with a long blue skirt that only exposed her ankles. Three of the most out-there personalities in the Naruto World were actually blending into the crowd that night.
The streets of Konoha were pretty empty for a city of over a hundred thousand, but there were still two or three groups of, mostly drunk, people on every cobblestone street. Naruto walked through the roads with Shuri stroking his face. Kara joined in.
"Do they hurt?" Kara asked touching Naruto's whiskers.
"No, sometimes I forget they're even there," he chuckled strolling through the desolate streets of the Leaf. Some vendors were still selling in the Main Market, but most of them were starting to pack their booths up, and those whose booths were still up, were sitting groggily behind their stands savouring the silence, "You want anything?" Naruto asked his women.
"How about an apple?" the floating female had already spotted the fruit from across the market. They turned and slowly approached the old lady selling them.
"You, Shuri?"
"An apple would be nice," she giggled.
Naruto stopped in front of the lady and told her, "Three apples please," Kara, who was the only one with the ability to levitate, landed next to the booth and smiled.
"Ah, Naru-chan, when did you come back into town?" she said in a classic old lady voice.
"Only yesterday, Baa-chan," he said, "How's the store been?"
"Oh business has been slow since you left. You were always the life of the party, it motivated people to spend more money" the old lady laughed as she washed the apples under a nearby tap.
"That's because I'm like a bad guy magnet."
"But at least you always win," she handed him a bag of apples.
"I've always won so far," Naruto grabbed a fresh green apple from the bag and took a bite, "see you later, Baa-chan," he handed the bag over to Kara and gave the lady 15 Ryo.
"Oh goodbye Naru-chan."
"Naru-chan?" a voice giggled.
Naruto turned. He was surprised to see a beautiful blue-eyed blonde in purple approaching. He almost dropped his apple, "Ino? What are you doing here?"
"I live here," she giggled again. Naruto joined her in laughter.
"I live here. How cheesy," Kara rolled her eyes.
Shuri didn't really know Ino so she silently held her dripping apple.
"You look so much better today," Ino said. Naruto tried not to take that as an insult, "No, I mean, when I last saw you, you looked so sick, I was worried about you," Ino went for a hug. Naruto accepted it. While her arms were wrapped around Naruto's neck, Ino looked up at the female Kryptonian. Kara grinded her teeth.
Shuri put her hand on her shoulder to calm the woman down.
"Where are you off to now?" Ino asked.
"I was taking Kara and Shuri on a tour around the village," Naruto explained.
"So much walking, why not just take them up to the perch?"
Naruto thought for a second, "That's actually a good idea."
"It's a great idea, how about I join you guys."
"Sure," Naruto nodded.
They made their way out of the market. Naruto made his way up a little grassy knoll until he had a good view of the liveliest section of Konoha. The south-easternmost section of the Hidden Leaf Village was known as the Party Zone. Drugs, prostitution, and parties were all the rage down there. It got Naruto thinking, "If they knew what was coming their way, would they cease their parties or party harder in an attempt to live their lives to the fullest?"
When they reached the top of the hill, Naruto's brain stopped thinking so he could sit down on a bench that had a little plaque on it 'Obito's Perch'. His three female compatriots sat down on either side of him (viewed from behind, arranged left to right: Shuri, Ino, Naruto, Kara), enjoying their apples.
"You're pretty well liked, Just Uzumaki," Shuri noticed.
"Yeah, you'd think that," Naruto laughed at that statement, "Konoha is the fakest village in the world."
The remark caught Shuri's attention. She leaned against the armrest to the left, and like a true lady, Shuri threw her right leg over her left leg.
"How do you mean?" Shuri asked.
"Ten years ago that same old lady would've made me pay 30 Ryo for one apple and would've spat on it before giving it to me. As a child I was seen as the scum of the city, a plague they couldn't get rid of because every major village needed a Jinchuuriki. They made my life a living nightmare… but, fast forward a few years. I stop a few S-class shinobi, seal away a few Rabbit Princesses and suddenly they beg me to stay. I'm just a status symbol to them. A hero. But I don't care anymore, maybe when I become Hokage it'll all change."
"Hokage?" Kara asked.
Naruto directed everyone's, except Ino's, attention to the giant monument looming over the village. He pointed to the six faces on the nearby mountain, "The shinobi in charge of the entire village. I'd be the most respected person in the whole world."
"Like a president?" Kara asked.
"Him too," Naruto didn't know what that was. Shuri and Kara burst out laughing but Naruto and Ino just shared a glance and shrugged. When Kara noticed their synchronised shrug she quickly spoke up.
"People already call you a hero, Naruto, that's more than they've ever called me or Shuri. They call me a false goddess."
"Most men call me the Goddess of Beauty," Ino smirked.
"Yeah and they call me a genius," Shuri shrugged, she wasn't helping.
"Monster, demon, devil, Shinigami, murderer, cancer… the list goes on. I'm not looking for respect anymore," Naruto stopped to fix a loose section on his bandages. He unwrapped the bandages up to his wrist, exposing his pale white skin, before wrapping it up again, "I'm just looking for someone who'll love me. Not because they pity me, like Sakura, or because they see me as a hero, like the rest of the village, but because I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I need someone who doesn't even know how powerful the name Uzumaki is, or Namikaze. I need someone who sees a lovable blonde and not Konoha's Number One Hyperactive Knucklehead Hero," he finished his little speech off by staring at Kara. The gorgeous alien looked away nervously. He then unwrapped his bandages again.
"Can we actually go up there?" Shuri asked.
"Yeah, some of the high-end hotels are actually on top of the Hokage Monument so I'm guessing that's where some of your older friends are staying," Ino explained.
"Ooh, I want to go say hi to Kal."
"Then we can go in a minute or two," Naruto finished dealing with his bandages and began talking again, "So what are your abilities?"
"Mine or hers?" Kara asked.
"Both."
"Well I'm Kryptonian, and since I'm being powered by the yellow sun my current powers are practically anything. I mean I can fly, I'm nearly invincible, I can shoot laser beams, freeze people, blow people away and even lift entire buildings… I'm Supergirl."
"That's… a bit horrifying. Who's more powerful between you and Conner?"
"Oh me… I don't mean to brag, but I've taken Kal down in a sparring match before."
"Really?" Naruto was surprised.
Ino scoffed, "Didn't you tell me-,"
"Well! He was already tired and I did surprise him, but he did give up so… win," Kara laughed.
Naruto joined her in laughter before turning to the fourth party, who'd been relatively quiet compared to Kara and Ino, "And what about you, Princess Shuri? Do you have some black cat suit under all that too?"
"Do you want to look and find out?"
"What?" Naruto asked.
"What?" Shuri looked away.
"What?" Ino asked.
"What?" Shuri looked up at the trees surrounding them.
"I heard her, she said-," Shuri quickly flung a tiny metal sphere at Kara to shut her up. It latched onto her shoulder and sent a signal throughout her body which silenced her vocal chords, "Hey," she couldn't speak, but air rushed out of her mouth to make that distinct squeak.
"I'm just smarter than average, and combined with a love for technology I excel at making high-tech things from low-tech materials… but nine out of ten times I need vibranium to do it."
"Vibranium?" Ino asked. Shuri actually interested her a bit, she was unlike any other woman you'd find in Konoha. Most kunoichi had been trained to be strong and beautiful, no one cared about what was under your skull, usually what was under your shirt. She wondered why Naruto hadn't noticed the crush she had on him.
"What's vibranium?" Naruto asked.
"Vibranium?" Kara mouthed. Shuri pulled the tiny sphere from Supergirl's shoulder. The metal had stuck itself to her exposed skin so she had to ask Naruto to yank it out, "Ow," she rubbed her shoulder. There was no point, Kara's skin was bulletproof. There was no mark, but Kara still sulked because… why not.
"Vibranium came from outer space and landing in our country, Wakanda, a long time ago in a meteor. It's a metal, the strongest metal in the world, well our world. It can be shaped and enhanced technologically to make it even stronger, as in my brother's suit."
"Did you put vibranium into those clothes you gave me last night?" Naruto asked.
"Mmmaybe."
"Well how did you do it so quickly?" Naruto wondered.
"A woman has to have her secrets now, doesn't she?"
"My secret is that I'm older than Kal-El," Kara stated. Her three 'comrades' looked over at the blonde. It took them a while to remember that they knew Kal-El as Clark Kent, or Superman.
Naruto was a little terrified, "How old are you?"
"Oh no! I'm eighteen, but I was born eight years before Kal… when I was eight, Krypton was on the verge of death, I was supposed to be his protector, so they sent me ahead of him to earth. But my pod got caught on a black hole, luckily I didn't get sucked in, I just orbited around it for a while."
"A while?" Ino asked.
"Yeah, I don't really care about the time, but when I got out, Kal-El was already in his twenties."
"Twenties? That means you were in there for over twenty years. How old is he now?" Shuri asked.
"… I believe he said thirty-two."
"Eight to eighteen? Ten. Twenty-two years! You were in a black hole for twenty-two years?" Shuri quickly calculated.
"Geez! I could be…" Kara started counting on her fingers.
"Forty, you could be forty by now!" Shuri did it for her.
"Hottest forty-year-old ever," Naruto said.
"What?" Shuri asked.
"What?" Ino asked.
"What?" Naruto looked around.
"Thank you," Kara's super-hearing made this an unfair game, "Hey, Naruto, are you actually dating anyone?"
"Uh… no," Naruto laughed awkwardly. At some point they all knew the conversation would get to this point but they were waiting for someone as neurotic as Kara to pose the question, "I've never actually dated anyone before."
"Just like me," Kara smirked. She looked over to Ino.
She burst out in laughter, "Look at me, of course I've dated people before. Nothing serious though, usually just flings."
The baton was passed from Ino to Shuri.
"I'm more or less like her," Shuri unfolded her legs, "I've had to date a couple of people for… traditional reasons. As soon as I turn eighteen my mom would willingly 'sell' me off to the most suitable bachelor."
"I thought your village was super high-tech. Arranged marriages sound more like our village's style," Naruto said looking at Ino.
"Unfortunately that's what happens when African culture meets Western society."
Naruto wondered, "… What about Eastern c-,"
There was a loud explosion, followed by a huge column of colours coming down from the sky a few blocks away. Ino jumped back. Kara floated over the bench. Worried for his village Naruto dashed towards the mass of energy with Shuri, Ino and Supergirl behind him. The column disappeared just as the foursome arrived on site.
The beam left six people standing in a cloud of smoke. A raccoon, a moody teenage tree, a muscular grey-skinned man, an insect-like woman, a confused young man and a smoking hot blonde with short hair and an eyepatch.
Naruto looked back at Kara and Shuri, "Friends of yours?"
"Clear the area," the Konoha Police arrived to disperse the gathering crowd. Naruto approached. The raccoon in the middle pulled a futuristic blaster out and threatened the policemen surrounding him. Kara pounced on the creature, taking his blaster away.
"What's going on here?" Naruto noticed how badly injured the other blonde was.
"My name's Star Lord, and we need to get our… ugly, weak, stupid friend here to a hospital," the sole human explained.
"I mean, he looks kinda hot to me," Ino said.
Star Lord glared at her, "He's okay, but I mean, if I hadn't eaten those cheeseburgers on the way, you should've seen how buff I looked."
"Doubt it," Shuri shrugged.
"Well it's true. I'm pretty hot under all this leather."
"I told you he was a hunk," the grey man laughed.
"Stay out of this, Drax!"
"This is a smouldering hot slab of man right here, Peter," Drax eyed the injured hero, who groggily got up.
"Alright there's no time to debate how hot I am. My name is Thor, the God of Thunder, I need some help and my sources say the Avengers are in this universe."
"But if we were debating it, you'd be like a two, I'd be a ten," Peter got the last word in.
"Avengers! Yes, follow me," Kara's feet left the ground. Thor raised his arm.
"I can't fly without my hammer; so could we walk there, please?"
Kara landed.
"Sure, we might as well check the Hokage Mansion first," Naruto became an interdimensional tour guide, accompanying his guests to the second most important building in the Hidden Leaf Village.
Naruto knocked on the door, "Come in," Kakashi called. Naruto walked in first, "Since when did you knock?"
"Our village is invaded by floating people and you're surprised by me knocking?"
Thor followed closely behind the future Kage, being supported by Kara and Drax. Thor looked up at Tony, Steve, Strange, Clark, Wayne and Banner.
"Are you okay?" was Steve's first concern.
"How did you get to this universe?" was Tony's question.
"How did you survive Thanos," Banner asked.
"Who's this?" Clark wondered. Mr Wayne just shrugged.
Thor tried to stand up straight, movement hurt his midriff. He pointed to Steve, "I'm a little beat up to be honest," he turned to Banner, "In his mind I'm probably dead," he looked at Tony, "The Guardians had an interdimensional portal on their ship and I just configured it to track down you guys," and finally he turned to Kent, "… who are you?"
"Clark Kent," the Man of Steel went for a handshake, Thor was hesitant but eventually he shook the man's hand. They both had godlike grips that would've broken anyone else's hand.
"Thor."
"Bruce," the man in a million-dollar-suit introduced himself.
"I already know a Bruce, can I call you something else?" Thor asked.
"Oh yeah, no problem. You can also just call me Bruce," Mr Wayne said bluntly.
"We've just resorted to calling our Bruce, Dr Banner," Tony massaged the bridge of his nose.
"Ahem," Kakashi scoffed, getting everyone's attention.
"Oh yeah, come, we were planning a way to stop Thanos from obtaining the seven Infinity Stones," Tony said.
"We're a bit delayed," Thor breathed, "He's already got two Stones."
"Then the war's already lost," Dr Strange sighed.
"And he's got Gamora," Peter Quill yelled.
"… I'm sorry, who's Gamora?" Tony asked.
Drax lifted his head to ask a very important question that was sure to arouse more brain cells than Tony's puny 'who's Gamora', but Peter spoke first, "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that Thanos is out there rampaging madly and we're here talking about stopping him instead of actually stopping him."
"What's your plan, slick?" Rocket asked with a large blaster on his shoulder.
"If we know where the Stones are then why don't we just grab a handful of people and station them at every point?"
"… That's actually kinda smart," Kakashi shrugged.
"Do we actually know where the Stones are?" Banner asked.
"Knowhere, Marvel Earth, the Valley of the End," Strange recited the Stone locations before opening his necklace to reveal the last stone, "And here. If I told you where the Soul Stone was I'd be lying to you so, let's just work on those four Stones for now."
"I know where the Valley of the End is, otherwise I can't help you with locations," Kakashi said.
"They're all in our universe," Dr Strange explained, "I'll go to Knowhere with one of your heroes and one of your shinobi," Strange told Bruce and Kakashi. They both nodded. "Thor-."
"No."
"What?" Dr Strange hadn't even said anything yet.
"I've got a bone to pick with Thanos, but first I need a new hammer."
"We have plenty of blacksmiths and-,"
"No!" Thor clenched his fists, "My hammer was forged by the dwarves of a dying star called Nidavellir, that's where I need to go."
"Nidavellir, there's no way that's a real place… but if it is I'd very much like to go," Rocket pleaded.
"… Okay, so Cap. You'll need to gather a quick team that'll be on standby. If we find the whereabouts of the Soul Stone we'll need you to rush there before Thanos gets there, but we might as well all get going to our universe," Dr Strange took charge.
"Groot, Rabbit, I want you two to come with me," Thor said. The two Guardians followed the god into the hallway.
"Do I need to alert the young adults?"
Tony tapped on his chest to activate his nanotech armour, "No, don't scare the kids yet. Let the grown-ups handle the big bad purple man."
Kakashi stood up and let his robe flutter in the wind.
"Naruto. You're in charge," he said.
A Few Minutes Later – The Uchiha Compound
Dr Strange was packing up his bags when a brooding young adult passed the grey man's room. Sasuke stopped and reversed when he saw the magician shoving something in his camouflage duffel bag. He leaned against doorframe.
"Yes, I'm leaving," Dr Strange said. Sasuke's footsteps were practically silent, especially since he was walking, shoeless, on carpet. The doctor continued to impress the Uchiha.
"Why?"
"We need to stop Thanos."
"I gave you an easy way to stop him, revive my brother," Sasuke said.
"What makes you think I can even bring people back to life, who do you think I am? Jesus?"
"Who?"
"Never mind," Dr Strange slung the bag strap over his head onto his shoulder. He moved past the dark-haired shinobi.
"You're not even going to try?!"
The door closed.
Four chapters down, five Stones left to protect, and things are beginning to spark. Follow the story if you like, favourite it if you wish and review with whatever you have to say. See you next chapter.