Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, DC, or PJO. Each franchise belong to their respective owners.
Enjoy, chapter 11 of,
UNDER THE HOOD
The car ride to Gotham was silent, the occupants of the muscle car minded their own business as the engines rumbled silently while the vehicle moved smoothly along the road heading towards the infamous city.
The ride itself was uneventful at least, the three demigods and one Satyr basked in the relative peace and quiet offered to them as long as they could. Gods knowing that these few moments would be scarce in the future of their journey.
Percy stared out the window quietly, his sea green eyes casually glancing in boredom at the passing trees and land while the Satyr beside him slept soundly with no care in the world, letting out a few snores as he did.
Annabeth silently looked down, mindlessly playing with her cap in the passenger seat. Her eyes sneaking glances at the whiskered blonde driving.
Speaking of the blonde himself, the pre-teen in the driver's seat was silent throught out the whole ride, his eyes focused on the road as he drove in a moderate speed.
He wished he could say the same about his conscience.
His mind was in a flurry of thoughts around the city they were driving to.
Mixed emotions, both that delved in nostalgia over the time, as short as it was, living in Gotham. Casually exploring the streets with Barbara, having fun in the day. and patrolling the city rooftops at night with Batgirl, and occasionally, Nightwing.
Even if Grayson was an asshole to him, the two knew that they needed to set their distaste for one another aside during patrol. Often replacing their heated arguments and insults with competitions of who would beat each thugs faster, or who could scale Wayne Tower without Bruce catching them.
It would often involve with the old man lecturing them about "Slacking off in patrol."
Then there were times were Naruto would just spend his free time lounging about in Wayne Manor, talking with Alfred, helping the butler in cleaning the many rooms of the Manor, washing the dishes, trimming the bushes and more.
Despite his rough up-bringing, and his mourning of Thalia. The butler supported him through those hard days and helped him cope with the loss of his now known sister.
Those were the days.
Yet, the memories of what happened to him with the clown, his death, Bruce's failure of saving him, and the stinging betrayal of being replaced by someone else no less than a year later gave a more than sour taste in his mouth.
The thought made him wonder, if his biological father, his godly parent would do the same to him.
Did Zeus actually care for him? Did he watch his son suffer all of the things that had been brought upon him with an impassive stare? Did Zeus even cared when Naruto was at Hades' door?
Did Zeus think of him merely as a trophy, something to be bragged upon and shown to others, rather than someone he had created with love (at least, Naruto hoped it was love) with his mother?
Naruto gripped the wheel tightly, but not enough to crush the piece of vehicle. Stepping on the gas pedal and accelerated, over-taking a vehicle as they entered a high-way.
The bridge slowly took into view, mile of cars were seen ahead, along with the city lights illuminated from behind the bridge separating the city from the main land of America.
The boy looked up at the statue that had greeted visitors and tourists alike. The statues chiseled on the building arch constructed on the bridge that had Gotham behind it just a few miles away.
Pioneer's Bridge.
The two statues stood tall, their stone faced eyes meeting each other from across their position in the arch that overlooked Gotham.
They shortly passed the first landmark of the city and entered the main islands of Gotham City.
Naruto rolled down his window and let his eyes roam freely, but not enough to not pay attention to the road ahead of him, to look around his former home in nostalgia and slight awe.
He chuckled softly, his electric blue eyes twinkling in small delight as he drove, the smell of the city, coupled with the usual smell of sewer and usual hustle and bustle of the grand central train station that was construed in the middle of the island, brought back memories that made the blonde smile.
"Miagani." Naruto muttered, "Still doesn't change, after all this time." He mused.
The car turned slightly and changed directions, heading towards the sea side of the island where the closed down Arkham Asylum could be seen from the island it was built on, looming mysteriously as it rotted from the years of neglect and nature taking over.
Even today, Naruto still didn't think of the Asylum too fondly, always remembering the various criminals of every kind locked up in the abandoned facility. Not to mention it also held a very curious past and mysterious secrets.
While he wasn't the most attentive learner out there, the many strategies, detective work, and criminal files he used to help Bruce with somehow still stuck with him to this day, and his inner detective was a bit eager to know what happened after the aftermath of the last break-out.
Maybe one day, he would-
"Is it true?"
Annabeth broke the other blonde's musings.
Naruto briefly glanced at her as he drove.
"Hm?"
The blonde girl sighed, and gazed at him with a look.
"Richmond, were you really there?"
The older teen stiffened at the question.
That only seemed to further the girl's suspicion, as she fully turned at faced her fellow blonde with a demanding gaze.
"Well?" Annabeth said impatiently.
"… No." Naruto answered after a moment of silence.
The look of betrayal the girl gave her only hurt him.
"You were lying to me?"
The expression on Annie's face tore him on the inside.
"It's not that Annabeth, it's-"
"What? One of your various escapades as 'Red Hood'?" Annabeth glared at him angrily, "While you played 'hero', and I use that term lightly," She finger quoted the word. "While you dealt with criminal and so called 'scum in Richmond." The girl listed off, much to Naruto's chagrin.
"What else did you do?" She demanded.
"Annabeth, please." Naruto pleaded. "Not now-"
"No!" She cut him off abruptly, anger flooding her voice.
From the back, Percy jerked in surprise at the sudden outburst and looked at the front with curious eyes..
"You will answer my question, Naruto Uzumaki, or so help me-!"
Grover woke with a start, and a snort.
"Wha? What happened?" He asked tiredly, yawning loudly, stopping Annabeth mid-sentence.
The Satyr looked out the window and widened his eyes in surprise when buildings met his gaze.
"Are we in Gotham already?"
The daughter of wisdom huffed, and turned back to the windshield with crossed arms, her face in an angry visage."To answer your first question, it's nothing Grover," She assured him.
"Naruto and I just… had a discussion." The girl spat Satyr looked at her in confusion, before switching his gaze to Percy, silently asking for an just shook his head, a sign of warning, his eyes discreetly pointing towards Annabeth and Naruto, who were both nodded with understanding. "For your second question, yes."
"Oh." Grover let out. The Satyr felt nervousness as he twiddled his thumbs in order to pass the time.
That, and to try to ease off the heavy atmosphere that had suddenly pressured them.
...
...
...
"So, the music's nice?" Grover said, trying to break the tension in the air.
Naruto's hand left the wheel and reached the radio, then proceeded to change the radio station, much to the Satyr's disappointment.
"And now we give you, Gotham news!" The man said jovially like there was actual good news, despite from experience, Naruto knew it was anything but. "With our reporter, Vicky Vale!"
Another voice replaced the man's, a female, by the sound of it.
"Thank you Bill." The Vicky said, "In light of Arkham Asylum's closing, mayoral candidate, and former warden, Quincy Sharp, is rumored to have proposed to Gotham a new project for the recent moved out prisoners of the former Asylum, a new maximum prison, using the old Gotham area as housing for Arkham's former inmates-"
As the reporter continued, Naruto moved his hand and turned the volume up as he drove.
The demigods, and Satyr listened in interest.
"While there are no confirmed reports yet, Quincy Sharp had dubbed the new project, calling it 'Arkham City'-"
"Oh, Of course something like these happens just as I come back…" Naruto muttered. "Just our luck."
"They're seriously building another mega prison for those guys?!" Grover exclaimed, shocked as the news continued.
"This is all just speculations, right?" Percy asked nervously. "I mean, they're not really serious about putting a bunch of prisoners in the middle of the city, right?" He asked no-one in particular.
"Right?" Percy repeated, looking at Naruto.
The older boy caught the son of Poseidon's gaze, and shrugged.
"Honestly, with all the shit Gotham's been through the past years, I won't be surprised if they would do it." The blonde said dismissively.
The statement only seemed to make the black haired boy all the more nervous as they turned another corner, passing by a rather large tower that held the name "WAYNE" on the center.
Percy and Grover stared in wonder at the various towers and buildings they passed, whereas Annabeth awed at the sight of Wayne Tower.
The former Robin passed a glance on the tower, and looked away, a slight pain evident in his eyes.
They shortly drove for another thirty minutes, passing by numerous buildings and high standing towers that occupied Gotham City.
Finally, Naruto turned to an alley and drove towards the dark, narrow path, parking the stolen vehicle in the alley way.
The son of Zeus switched the ignition and the vehicle turning off in an instant. Naruto opened the door and got out, shortly followed by his other companions.
The blonde approached a fire escape, grabbing the first step of the ladder, and pulled it down, climbing it, Annabeth, Percy, and Grover following suit.
"This way," The blonde gestured, opening a window, and climbed inside, shadowed by the darkness.
Percy looked at the Satyr, then Annabeth for a moment, before shrugging, and proceeded to enter the dark room.
Naruto looked around the darkness, scanning the room he was in, as his hand felt up the walls, before he finally felt his hand bump into the light switched and flicked it.
Lights shined into the room, revealing the contents of the area.
The blonde sighed in relief, happy to see that nothing was stolen or touched while he was gone.
Moving his hands to the underside of his helmet, he pushed it up, freeing his spikey hair from its prison as he placed the helmet on the side of his hip.
"Hello bed." Naruto greeted softly as he walked towards a nearby table.
The son of Zeus set his 'hood' down beside an unloaded pistol. "Hello table."
He softly fell down the single bed and sighed in content as Percy and Annabeth, who was helping Grover fit through the window, came inside the room.
His eyes switched to a vase filled with flowers that were now wilted, beside his bed.
"Hello flowers."
The daughter of Athena looked at her fellow blonde with a raised eyebrow.
"You do know that talking to inanimate objects is a sign of insanity, right?"
Naruto rolled in his bed.
"Tell me something I don't know." He replied.
Meanwhile, Percy stared, awed at the collection of weapons, ranging from various firearms to melee weapons, which all hung from one wall. Grover gave out nervous bleats at the sight of so many guns.
The demigod rolled back and forth, until he noticed a tear on his jacket, which were just one of the many he had gotten from the last skirmish he had with the monsters they encountered.
Sighing, the blonde stood up from his bed, and approached a closet, opening it, revealing various jackets and armor.
Naruto removed his jacket, before he grabbed the zipper of his jumpsuit, and pulled it down.
He was in the middle of pulling his arms out of the jumpsuit, before he realized that Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were still in the room.
He craned his head to the three occupants.
Annabeth was red in the face as she stared at the back of the son of Zeus, her mind going into haywire as her eyes twitched erratically.
Percy sulked at how developed the older boy was.
He was just a year older!
How!?
"You guys can wait in the living room," Naruto said after a moment of awkward silence.
Percy and Grover slowly walked towards the door, opening it, and stepped out without making a noise.
"…Uh, Annie?" Naruto said when the girl didn't follow the others.
Annabeth stayed silent as her blush died down, her look replaced by concerned expression.
Despite how the other blonde had grown, the girl noticed the numerous scars that littered the son of Zeus' back.
Slowly, she approached the boy.
She raised a hand up, and traced a particular scar that went from his shoulder, to the middle of his spine.
"Where did you get these?" The daughter of Wisdom asked softly.
"I don't know, a fight here, a fight there, maybe a few monsters did this one?" The demigod joked airily, pointing at one scar on his arm at the last mention.
"Naruto Uzumaki…" Annabeth started.
Before she started hit him.
"Can. You. At. Least take this seriously?!" She shouted her anger at him as her fists pounded against his back repeatedly.
The hits really didn't hurt. He felt worse, way worse.
Finally, she stopped, catching her breath as Naruto turned around.
"Annie…" The blonde looked down.
"..." Annabeth didn't answer, her shoulders rising and falling with every breath she took, her fists clenched tightly that it might draw out blood.
The whiskered blonde flinched slightly, before he put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes showing the same amount of pain and anger as she did.
Anger towards him.
"...Do you know, how long I mourned over you and Thalia?" She suddenly muttered. Her neck craning up, showing the fresh tears that glistened on her face.
"Did you know how long Luke and I tried to live our lives... knowing that we could have fully prevented your deaths?"
Naruto looked away.
"And yet." She chuckled hollowly, "When I find out you're alive, what happens?" The girl asked him in a rhetorical manner.
"…You became a killer."
The boy flinched at the accusation-no, fact.
The daughter of Wisdom closed her eyes and turned away from the older teen. Her hand finding their way to the sides of her arms as she tried to restrain the amount of pain showing right now.
"...Do you think Thalia would be proud of what you had become? What her little brother had become?" Annabeth asked him.
"I..." Naruto tried to speak, but his words died down. He looked down towards his hands.
Hands, once smooth and innocent. Now filled with scars and callouses, already drenched in blood more than once, already laying hands on a man's neck tightly more than once.
His eye switched to Annabeth, and for a split second-
Thalia appeared.
He could still remember her appearance as clear as day, and as she looked at him with disgusted eyes, he had fully realized the consequences of what Talia and Ra's influence had on him.
And just like that, she was gone.
"Dear gods..." Naruto muttered, horrified.
What happened to him?
He felt her hand grasped his arm.
"Please." Annabeth's voice didn't sound like she normally would. She didn't sound strong, she didn't sound determined.
She sounded broken.
"Don't do this. Not you. I don't want to lose you too." She begged, pleaded.
The daughter of Athena looked up when she felt Naruto's hand grasp her own.
"… I won't kill, Annie." Naruto stated. "For you."
She went silent for a moment, before she looked up at him once more, her eyes directly meeting his.
"...Promise me." The girl softly demanded.
"...It's a promise of a life time."
After a short while, the door opened, and Annabeth walked towards the couch, where Percy sat at, channel surfing at the TV, whilst Grover raided Naruto's kitchen cabinets for food.
"Seriously, is there anything the guy eats other than ramen?" The Satyr complained, holding a pack of instant noodles with him.
The daughter of Athena let a small smile slip into her face, happy that some remnants of the old Naruto still lingered. She moved and sat on a chair that stood by the kitchen table.
"Cause it saves me from going out, and possibly reveal myself to Batman."
The bedroom door opened, and revealed Naruto.
He was dressed differently this time.
Replacing his helmet, was a faceless version of his previous 'hood', now supporting contours the went narrow on the middle of his helmet, which now looked transparent, yet just red enough to mask his face. Grey machinery were set at the edges and sides of the mask, used for sliding the front piece of his new 'hood'.
His brown jacket was gone, in its place was a white and black leather jacket, akin to that of a motorcyclist, while an actual red hood was up, covering the top of his head. A gray shirt was underneath the jacket, padded with body armor as his symbol was painted in the middle of his chest. The gauntlets his sire gave him strapped on his wrists.
His jumpsuit pants, were replaced by gray ones, which were secured by a belt that had pouches with various smoke bombs, and his grappling hook. On the sides of his thighs, were straps that were connected to small pouches, which held his kunai and shuriken. While his boots were covered with armor. (1)
On the other pouches, were twin dual pistols, a weapon he would use should he be ever be attacked by mortals.
And considering they were in Gotham, it was bound to happen.
He tapped the side of his helmet, which slid up, revealing his whiskered face.
"Ready to go?"
Percy, Annabeth, and Grover nodded.
"No matter how many times this happens, I'll never get used to having repeated migraines..."
Tim sighed and ran a hand over his hair as he sat at one of the many couches that were in Wayne Manor, a place, that even if he had seen, lived, and memorized, was still a huge, and honestly, a bit puzzling to go through every now and then.
He groaned as he felt another headache coming. Grunting, the young teen adjusted the ice-pack he held at his temple, which numbed the bruising a bit.
Bruce, Dick, Barb, along with Steph, and Cass were already in the Cave, doing all they could to scour to find any information or tidbit they could find about their elusive brother.
A few hours ago, a picture surfaced through the net, showing the former Robin himself near New York, which was miles away from Gotham.
And that only meant one thing.
The Red Hood was back.
After months of inactivity, he had re-surfaced, and his mentor and companions were out to find him.
As for Tim? Well…
"Then I advise you be more careful out there, Master Timothy." Alfred said as he entered the room, handing down a tray of tea for the young teen to drink on the nearby table.
"It's just a slight bruise, Alfred." Tim grumbled sourly, wincing a bit as his head throbbed in pain once more.
"Any injury is still an injury, Master Timothy." The butler refuted. "Just be glad that it is not anything serious."
"Yeah, yeah…" The Boy Wonder muttered.
He slumped on couch in boredom, his eyes gazing up to the portrait of his mentor's parents hung on the wall, the fireplace dimly lighting the room he was in.
Until his eyes caught a sheet of cloth hiding an object at the corner of the room. If it weren't for the piece of cloth standing out, just able for the light to touch the material, the boy wouldn't have noticed.
The boy stood up, despite the headache he had, and walked towards the object.
Gently, he grabbed the sheet of cloth.
And removed it, revealing a portrait of a girl that he was unfamiliar of.
She was a girl his age. Her eyes were one of the first things he noticed, which were electric blue, a color that was scarily familiar to his predecessor's own eyes. Her short and slightly spiky hair was raven black, just like his own, while her pale complexion, along with the freckles dotted on her face, were a contradiction.
Behind him, Alfred's smile dimmed as he approached the young Robin, placing the tray of antibiotics and medicinal equipment down on the table.
"Ah, it seems you've discovered Miss Grace." Alfred said, causing Tim to turn around.
"Who?"
"Miss Thalia Grace." Alfred clarified as he ushered the young boy to the side, "I have been meaning to put this up again." He said, grabbing the portrait, the elderly man hefted it up.
He carefully cleaned it, making sure to wipe any dust that clung to the portrait.
Soon, he stood up, and set the portrait up on the empty wall at the room.
Tim gazed at the now clean painting in curiosity.
"…Who was she?"
"An important person, to Master Naruto." Alfred answered, smiling fondly at the painting, though, there was a hint of pain hidden in the smile.
"Oh." Was all he uttered.
The subject of the former Robin was still sore to the elder butler, even to the others, so Tim didn't bother to delve further.
He obviously didn't know how hard Naruto impacted their lives, considering that he didn't know the second Robin aside from being the guy who beat the shit out of him in the Titans Tower no less, but he knew that his brother was still important to the lives of his mentor and companions.
All he wanted to was answers from his predecessor/
A knock at the door was heard, prompting Tim to turn around.
"Tim." A voice called out.
From the open door way, was Stephanie, fully dressed in her gear, her mask off, showing her blonde locks, her face filled with urgency.
"Steph?"
"Suit up, we need you at the Cave."
As Tim entered via the steps into the Batcave, he watched the others in mild curiosity as he approached the table holding his gadgets.
Bruce was pacing around the Cave. Distressed, it was a bit of a surprise to see his mentor like that, in rare moments did Tim see Bruce in this state, much of which lately had been centered around the former Robin they were currently hunting down.
Add to the recent closing of Arkham Asylum, and the rumors of opening of Arkham City, a project Burce actively protests as his Day life alter ego. His mentor's days were now filled with nothing but meetings, and meetings after meetings.
The stress was all piling up on the Dark Knight.
Barbara was at the computer, typing away as usual. Though the same urgency and stress seen in Bruce also presently seen on her face and demeanor.
Even Dick, as laid back and relaxed as he was normally. The time of relaxation was gone out of the window, and was in his gear, pouring over various case files as Cassandra trained in the sparring ring alone.
"What's happening?" The Third Robin asked, putting on his mask and clipping his belt.
"We have a lead on the Red Hood." Barbara answered, her eyes focusing on the computer.
"He's back in Gotham?!" Tim asked, alarmed.
"Yes." Bruce nodded, slipping on his cowl. "He's been spotted in the city."
The Batman adjusted some of his equipment, before heading on to the Batmobile, mentioning Tim to follow him.
"We're going after him."
As Grover and Percy got out the safe-house via window, the two stood aside while Naruto and Annabeth followed shortly after them.
The boy motioned them to follow him as he climbed the higher ladder, leading to the rooftops above.
"Let's get a move on."
"This quick?" Percy stopped briefly, and turned his head to face the boy, glaring at him from behind his helmet.
"If you want the Bat to get us, be my guest."
That shut him up quickly.
The blonde quickly scaled the wall, reaching the rooftops after a few moments. Letting down his hand, he helped his quest companions up, hefting them with one hand.
The sky child dashed towards an entrance to the rooftop, hiding behind the darkness, and gestured the other three to follow what he did."Stick to the shadows." He instructed them. "It'll help you hide better."
With that, the blonde quickly ran and slid towards a steel pipe that ran across the edges of the building.
Annabeth followed, used to the motions her fellow blonde did, living in the streets, while hiding from monsters in a young age helped her in that regard.
Percy managed to crouch as he went beside the daughter of Wisdom, trying his best not to move as his cousin surveyed the next rooftop. Grover, however, was not as silent, his eyes darting from every corner in a frantic manner.
Slowly putting a furry hand over his mouth, the Satyr did his best to stop his bleats from coming out. Naruto stood up after a moment, nodding at them, before he ran towards the edge of the rooftop. Sliding to a stop, he leapt down into the walls of the building and into the alleyway below, his helmet illuminating from the dark.
He looked up, seeing Annabeth putting her head out from the edge of the rooftop he previously occupied.
Putting his arms out, he motioned the girl to jump. Noticing the hesitancy on her face, the blonde frowned, his lips tugging from behind his helmet.
"I'll catch you!" He shouted.
Annabeth still looked hesitant, before she begrudgingly took a step back, inhaling, and exhaling as she did, ignoring Grover and Percy's looks. With one goal in mind, she ran towards the edge.
And jumped.
The girl gave out a yell as she fell from the building, closing her eyes as she tried to calm down, which she was failing at.
Until she landed into the son of Zeus' arms.
"You okay, Annie?"
She flushed brightly, turning her head, she muttered. "I'm okay." Getting off the blonde, she made sure to turn around, careful not to make him see her red cheeks.
As Naruto caught Percy, who did his best not to scream, Annabeth felt something off in the air, her eyes scanning the alleyway.
She didn't know why, but she felt like they were being…
"… Watched." She muttered. Her thoughts were interrupted, when Grover let out a huge bleat as he fell, Naruto catching him a moment after.
"You okay, Groves?" The helmeted demigod asked his hand patting the Satyr on the back.
"I'll be fine in a minute." Grover replied breathlessly, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
"Whiskers." Annabeth caught Naruto's attention as she tapped his shoulder, prompting the blonde to look at the daughter of Athena.
The girl looked nervous, suspicious even, her gray eyes scanning the alleyway they were in frantically. On the side note, the grip on his arm grew tighter.
"Is everything okay?" She heard her fellow blonde ask.
Just as she was about to answer, her eyes caught a glimpse of shattered glass in the alleyway.
It reflected, showing a shadowed figure up on the rooftop behind them.
Her breathing hitched.
Her grip on the other blonde's arm tightened to the point of uncomfort.
"Annie-"
"Not now, look." She whispered, her mind panicking as she subtlety pointed at the shards of glass that showed their stalker.
"Shit." Naruto cursed at the new development.
Just his luck!
"What're we gonna do?!" Grover frantically whispered as Percy joined in, looking just as alarmed as the goat-boy.
"Stay calm." Naruto advised, "They're gonna know that we spotted them if we start to freak out, so stay. Calm."
"Calm, yeah, I can do calm." Grover inhaled and exhaled as his hands shook from nervousness. "J-Just, have to stay c-calm." He stuttered.
"Here's what I need you guys to do." The son of Zeus started. "First off. We're going to split up. I sure as hell know that the Bat has his sidekicks with him, so, if we separate, it'll be a longer time before they round as up."
"Whiskers… are you sure about this?" Annabeth asked with uncertainty, her mind trying to come up with other strategies, as she did.
But it all ended to moot.
All of the plans she came up with heavily relied on the surroundings they were in.
Which was a problem.
She didn't know absolutely jack, about Gotham's layout, much less the part of the city they were in.
So she needed to rely on the one person that had been to Gotham.
"It's the best thing I've come up with." Naruto stated.
'That, and it's the only one that doesn't involve me blasting a new hole into whoever is stalking us with my gun.'
"Stick together when I tell you guys to run. It doesn't matter where you go, just get the hell out of this area. Okay?"
The two demigods, and Satyr nodded.
Naruto sighed deeply.
His hands slowly reached up to the many pouches of his belt, discreetly taking a shuriken.
The blonde gripped it tightly, almost to the point that he could feel the sharpness, even with his gloves on.
He inhaled.
Memories of The League, All-caste, and their trainings flashed into his mind.
He let the shuriken fall for a millisecond, catching it at its last tip. Lightening dancing at his fingertips.
Before he threw it.
"Run!"
The three bolted, as Naruto immediately turned heel, facing the wall behind him, and moved his head to look up.
And just as he expected, a shadowy figure stood tall from the rooftop of the building.
Quickly grabbing his grapple, the blonde watch it go up, and cling to the edge of the roof. Pulling the trigger, he shot up from his position, and onto the rooftop, facing his stalker.
"Well, well, well." Naruto started, his deepening his voice as he did, staring at the figure in front of him.
"If it ain't the Replacement himself."
Deep inside him, an emotion swelled up, the feeling of anger directed towards the boy in front of him.
Robin growled as he went into a fighting stance.
From the side, his earpiece rung out.
"Distract him while Bruce and Stephanie get the other targets!" Oracle ordered.
Tim nodded. "Got it." He muttered silently, then looked back at his opponent, his white lenses narrowing.
"Red Hood!" The Boy Wonder shouted, "You're not going anywhere!"
"That's where I decide, kid." He replied, taking out a kunai.
"Now, why don't you go back to the Bat, before I get feisty?"
The masked boy's response was a birdarang heading towards him.
Thanks to his enhanced senses, Naruto was able to dodge, and block the incoming projectile, sending it to the ground.
Tim charged at his predecessor with a roar. Sending an upwards kick to the masked blonde. Naruto leaned backwards with a laugh, taunting the caped pre-teen as he ducked and sent a punch to the boy's ribs.
He heard the younger boy grunt, which made Naruto smirk. Twisting himself, the blonde went behind Robin and aimed a kick to the boy's face. Robin ducked under the attack only for the blonde's other leg to strike his face.
"Rookie mistake, Replacement." Naruto laughed.
Tim growled and grabbed his staff. Extending it, the black haired boy charged once more and swung his metal staff to the blonde's side.
Naruto however, expected this, and used his kunai to block the incoming weapon.
The two stood as they battled for dominance. Tim gritting his teeth as he tried exert more effort, pushing the staff with all his might.
The Red Hood grunted, and flipped over the metal weapon, watching Robin tumble over at the unexpected move.
Bringing out his shurikens, Naruto quickly threw it at the boy, smirking when it one of his projectiles grazed Robin's arm, while the other made a hole in his cape.
"Too slow, Boy Wonder!" The older teen jeered.
A huge puff of smoke engulfed the area as Naruto landed.
"Trying to hide?" The son of Zeus chuckled.
Under his helmet, his thermal vision activated and the figure of Robin appeared within the confines of the smoke.
"Ain't gonna work."
He turned around and grabbed the foot that aimed for his face.
A beep was heard, and Naruto looked down.
Only to see a device shaped like a bat attached to his chest.
Before he could even curse, a mini-explosion engulfed the area, removing the previous smoke.
Tim landed, his cape shrouding him as he did.
A grapple was shot, and a claw grabbed onto his chest.
Tim looked down.
It was too late.
The moment he looked up, an armored boot met the young Robin's face, sending him crashing to the ground, stopping at the edge of the rooftop.
"You got new tricks." Red Hood's robotic voice rung out.
Out of the smoke, he approached him, flipping a kunai.
"I do too."
"You're not the only one!"
A new voice rang out, and Naruto turned his head at the direction of the sound.
Only to see stars when a black boot kicked him away from Robin.
He grunted as he skidded towards the ground, catching himself momentarily after.
"This ends now. Hood."
Naruto stood up, and glared at the masked teen in front of him.
"Shouldn't you be back in Bludhaven, Dickybird?" Naruto mocked as he stood up.
Nightwing frowned at the former Robin, staying silent as he helped Tim up.
The helmeted teen chuckled as he nursed his stomach while he stood up. The emotionless and blank mask that somehow unnerved Tim more than the snarling whiskered visage that had faced him in Titans tower.
"What's the matter, out of jokes?" The Red Hood asked, readying another kunai.
"I don't joke when it comes to family, Naruto."
The Red Hood scoffed, dusting his jacket as did so, and cracked his neck. "Oh, so we're in a first name basis now?"
Quickly, he threw flash grenades towards the unsuspecting vigilantes.
All the two heroes could her was ringing in their ears. Dick growled as he tried to balance himself, all the while trying to find Robin while he silently reprimanded himself of falling for such a cheap trap.
The teen grunted, when he felt a fist plant in his gut. Which was quickly followed by a kick to the legs sending him down.
"Cause as far as I can remember, we were never like that!"
The blonde kneed the older teen in the ribs, as straddled him.
Dick felt cold steel on his throat.
"Nightwing!"
Before Naruto could do anything, a roar from his successor briefly distracted him, only for Robin to tackle him to the ground, making him drop his kunai.
"Why you little shit!"
The blonde snarled and planted both of his feet on the boy's chest. With force, he pushed, and kicked Robin away.
Naruto immediately got up, and ducked from a flying kick that was aimed for him by Nightwing.
He blocked a punch that the older teen sent his way, before grabbing his arm.
Dick screamed in shock when a force akin to almost lightning struck his body.
The blonde landed a final punch to the black haired teen's face.
From the side, Tim grunted, and nursed his arm, standing up, he tried to make way to the first Robin's form.
"Tim, we have the targets, get out there, now! Let Bruce handle him!"
"Little busy here." The boy responded as he moved his hand to get something from his utility belt.
Robin gave a shout of pain when a shuriken embedded itself on his arm. Quickly flinging the sharpened projectile away, the boy grabbed his injured hand with gritted teeth.
"Don't think you're going anywhere." Tim heard the older boy chuckle as he approached him. Dick was in too much in pain to move.
Despite all of the things he'd been through, Tim smirked, the metallic taste of blood smearing his lips, but that didn't dissuade him.
Naruto stopped for a moment, tilting his head at the smirk.
Until it clicked.
'Shit! The others!'
Turning heel, the blonde sprinted towards the end of the rooftop and grappled out away in a hurry.
Tim activated his earpiece.
"This is Robin, Hood is on the move, I repeat. Hood is on the move."
A buzz was heard.
"Got it, go after him, Bruce will trace your coordinates."
"What about Batgirl?"
"She's keeping the other targets busy."
As Oracle signed off, Robin rushed to Nightwing's side, and hefted him up, helping him get on his feet.
Dick groaned in pain as he held his side. "He's gotten stronger."
Tim nodded in agreement.
"Oracle told me to go after him, Batman will trace his location from there."
Nightwing rolled his shoulders as he watched the Red Hood jump from rooftop to rooftop.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's get a move on!"
Naruto panted as he ran from rooftop to rooftop, the sounds of other rushing footsteps from behind him only settled him to quicken his steps.
He had to save them.
He needs to save them.
The son of Zeus slid off another rooftop, landing down in the alley below, his boots impacting a small puddle as he did. Ignoring that, the sky child continued to run as Nightwing and Robin were on his tail.
But he was relentless.
He dived, and flipped past in coming cars, shoving through people in his pursuit to save his quest companions.
Quickly, the blonde turned another corner, entering yet another alleyway. Rushing to the fence at the end, the sounds of people coming after him helped quicken his pace as he jumped off the wall, and onto the other side.
Fiddling with his belt, Naruto took out his grappling gun, and shot to the skies once more.
He landed on a gargoyle, then proceeded to jump from gargoyle to gargoyle, nearly missing and tumbling in one mistake when he did.
Naruto twisted his body, and flipped in the air, landing on a rooftop.
He grabbed his knees, catching his breath.
Before the sounds of soft, and light footsteps hit his ears.
"Whoever you are, you better go away before I fuck you up." The Red Hood threatened darkly as he turned his head to look at his would-be-opponent.
She was small, up to Annabeth's height, and possibly the same build as her. Black was the main color of her outfit, while yellow trimming was the secondary color.
The ever famous bat symbol was displayed on her chest with bright yellow, similar to her utility belt. Whilst her cowl's mouth piece looked sewed shut, and the eye lenses were general black.
"And who in Hades are you?" The pre-teen asked rudely.
Behind her mask, Cassandra's eyes softened.
Even now, he still used the same curses as before.
Slowly, she brought a hand to the edge of her mask.
And peeled off her cowl, revealing her face to the boy.
"Ca… Cassie?"
She watched, as his body language changed in an instant, one of happiness and familiarity.
The boy grabbed his hood, and pulled it down, revealing the faceless red helmet. He tapped the sides, and the front piece slid up, revealing the boy's whiskered face.
Cassandra noted that the boy had changed in appearance, his baby fat was gone, replaced with a not fully rounded, but not entirely squared jaw line. While parts of his spikey hair grew, twin bangs framed the sides of his face that stuck out of the helmet.
"Is that… you?"
Cassandra nodded softly.
She took one step closer to him, only for Naruto to step back.
Her sharp eyes caught his hand reach the holster of his gun in instinct, as his other hand went to the pouches of his legs.
It seemed even as he grew, his paranoia grew with him.
The girl took another step.
"Not going to hurt you." She said softly.
She watched his surprise expression, giggling in the inside at how baffled he was that she could talk a bit easier now.
His expression changed to an untrusting one.
"Who says you won't?" The blonde retorted.
Before she could talk further, a shadowy figure glided down from behind the criminal.
Naruto turned his head when sudden darkness blanketed him.
Lo and behold, it was the Batman himself.
The previous adrenaline kicked in, as his blood rushed. The feeling of hate, anger, and fury came back as one, all in a whirlpool of emotion that made him just want to strike the man in front of him.
He snarled, and ran towards him with a roar
But Cassandra was quicker, dashing towards him in a second before she wrapped her arms around him, holding him back.
"Let me go, Cassie." Naruto silently muttered, his teeth gritting as he did. "He needs to pay."
"Don't." The girl pleaded with him.
From behind her, she felt Dick and Tim land at the rooftop they stood on.
"Naruto…" Bruce muttered softly, his eyes landing on his wayward son.
The kid had obviously grown, he could tell just by his face.
A feeling inside the Dark Knight swell.
Bruce could see it.
His son, all grown up, ready to face the world and its challenges, to face whatever it would throw at him.
And he would never be there for him.
It hurt, it hurt Bruce. To know that Naruto was growing up, and he wasn't part of it.
"Don't you dare say my name…" The boy snarled in fury, his anger taking over any rational thought as Cassandra did her best to hold him back.
A tug on his arm brought the blonde's attention to the girl holding him.
Cassandra looked up to the boy with pleading eyes, begging him to stop, lest he do anything else reckless.
"Won't affect anything if you hurt him." She tried to reason with the teen, "Will only leave you empty in the end."
Naruto looked down, as another figure landed in the background.
His eyes glanced at the newcomer.
She was also young, maybe Percy's age from the face. Her suit was that of Barbara's, only the color was purple and black.
However, that didn't caught his attention.
What caught his attention, were the three unconscious Annabeth, Percy and Grover laying on the ground.
The blonde immediately tried to run to them, only for Cassandra to tighten her grip on him. He struggled to get out of the grip, shifting and moving in a desperate manner to save his quest companions.
"They're not hurt." The new Batgirl assured him.
The son of Zeus didn't believe that for a second.
Naruto directed his eyes to the Dark Knight, his electric blue orbs almost crackling in fury as he glared daggers at his former mentor.
"Please…" He heard Cassandra speak.
"Don't." The girl hugged him tighter. "Just want to talk."
He wanted to lash out at her but he couldn't. He couldn't yell at her or tell her to go to hell.
He had wanted someone to tell him they were glad he was back.
Naruto gazed at the ground, before he sighed deeply.
"Fine." He started, surprising the Bats.
"If it means to let them go, let's talk."
(1)~ Arkhamverse Red Hood DLC design.
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See ya.