Adventures through the Multiverse

by choejhulkp9

COMPANION STORY AND TIES DIRECTLY TO THE CRIMSON SPEEDSTER. START READING AFTER CHAPTER 12 OF THE CRIMSON SPEEDSTER. MUST READ BEFORE CHAPTER 13. DON'T SKIP. Naruto's adventure on Earth-2 has increased his speed and he's ready to head back home to Earth-1. Only, per the course with heroes, it doesn't go as planned. What instead happens is a new adventure like no other.

3. Earth-28

Here is the third chapter of Naruto's adventure through the Multiverse. After helping Clarke and the 100, Naruto's now on his way to a world where it pretty much normal. No superheroes, no earth ending apocalypse…except for one thing. But he does end up in Seattle with an ironically named Police Medical Examiner and an unusual condition that Naruto finds intriguing. He also learns something unique about this world. Plus, we get to see how people on Earth-1 are handling his absence. Enjoy!

Also new face claim for Naruto. Japanese Actor Kento Yamazaki who played L in the Japanese Death Note series. Just imagine him with lightly blonde hair and whisker marks. Thanks to jaydenjail89 for the suggest. Naruto is a Japanese manga so I wanted a Japanese or Japanese-mix actor to play him. If you guys like someone else then just imagine that's who Naruto is.

Enjoy!

Everything I grew up believing in was a lie. My parent's work, Dr. Wells, all of it was not at all what I thought to be. The day I was struck by lightning, it restarted my life and I protected my city with the help of my friends and partner, The Flash. Over the course of a year, I learned the truth about my parents and their work that got them killed. I avenged their death, but the mastermind is still out there. Unfortunately, things got even more complicated as Dr. Wells turned out to be the Reverse Flash, an evil Speedster from the future who came back in time to exact revenge against Barry but in the process, the people he hated ended up being his ultimate lifeline home. In his final act, Central City was nearly destroyed and, in an effort, to save it, my friend and I were thrown into an alternate world. With no way back now, I will use my speed to help the people of Earth-2 until I find a way home. My name is Impulse, and this is my story.

Adventures through the Multiverse: Part 3 Zombies aren't brainless?

Earth-28 2015

It was night time in a forest when a blue portal flicked into existence and Naruto came speeding out of it and slid to a stop, nearly tripping over a rock, and breaking his neck. Naruto took off his mask and looked around, not recognizing where he was. He looked down at his gauntlet as Gideon's face appeared. "Gideon, where am I?"

"You are on earth-28. An earth you haven't explored in your future adventures however you have logged that this earth does not have a Flash or Speedster. This earth is one of the few in the multiverse to not house metahumans or super beings." Gideon explained.

"So, this earth is a regular human earth. Huh, where do I sign up for an apartment?" Naruto asked.

"This earth does share some similarities as it does use the same currency and share your earth's history. However, the timeline here is different as it is now October 31, 2015."

"Halloween. Awesome." Naruto said when he heard the sound of gunshots down the road. "It's always something."

He quickly got changed into his regular clothes, not wanting to look out of place in his suit and ran to the sound of gunshots. He eventually made his way to a house that looked like it was undergoing some renovations. He heard more gunshots and saw a pale skinned woman sitting in a car by the driveway. She looked harmless so he walked up and tapped the window, getting her attention.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing. You hear gunshots and you don't drive away?" Naruto wondered.

"My friend's a cop. He's arresting someone." She told him when they saw a guy jump out of the second floor window.

"Is that the guy?" Naruto asked and the girl's response was to get into the driver's seat and drive at him. "Wait! Dammit."

The girl blocked his car and escape route, so the guy got out and pointed his gun at her. "Get out of the car! Get out of that car or I'll shoot you!" He said but the girl didn't move. He then shot at her in the chest, opened the door and yanked her body out.

"Hey!" The guy heard as Naruto vaulted over the car and kicked him in the face, knocking him on his back. The guy got up and aimed his gun but Naruto grabbed and shoved his hand up, saving himself from two bullets. He punched the guy in the stomach, broke his arm at the elbow and threw away the gun. He kicked out his leg and then knocked him out with a right cross to the face.

Once the guy was knocked out and dealt with, he checked on the girl. "Hey. Hey, are you ok?" He asked, moving the girl onto her back and saw she was fine, but her eyes were red. He saw a bullet hole in her chest, but it wasn't bleeding. "What the hell?"

The girl saw him and let out a hungry animal-like growl, nearly leaping at him but then she heard Clive coming over and she quickly got up and turned around. She calmed herself down as her eyes went back to normal and she zipped up her jacket, covering her bullet wound. "LIV! LIV!" Clive shouted as he ran over and saw she was ok. "I saw you get shot."

"He missed. I'm fine." Liv assured him and Clive breathed a sigh of relief. He saw Pratt on the ground, unconscious and a mystery man he didn't know so he drew his gun. "Seattle PD, don't move."

"Ok, don't want trouble." Naruto held his hand up and got down on his knees.

"Clive, it's ok. He stopped Pratt and made sure I was ok." Liv told him. Clive hesitated for a second and lowered his gun. "Are Tess and Monica ok?"

"Yeah, a little shaken up but they're fine. He was about to kill them. We got here just in time. Thanks to you." Clive said to Liv. His sight was off of Naruto who quickly began typing on his watch and had Gideon begin a remote hack into the police database using the computer in Clive's car and designed him an alias.

"And you. I mean, you drove. Seriously, how did you solve crimes before me. I feel I'm kind of vital to this whole operation. Want me to check him out? I am a doctor." Liv suggested.

"Go see to the girls. I got this." Clive said as she walked over to the house and cuffed Pratt. "You're right, this is so much sweeter. All right, mystery man. Who are you and why am I not arresting you now?"

"Because…I helped with your arrest? I took down the bad guy with non-lethal means. Granted, I didn't know he was a bad guy but figured he was given his running and shooting at your friend." Naruto said.

"All right, who are you? What's your name?" Clive asked as Naruto subtlety looked down at his watch and saw the alias Gideon made for him: Nathaniel Hideo.

"Nathanial Hideo but you can call me Nathan." Naruto told him.

"Nathanial Hideo?" Clive asked. "Are you from around here?"

"Not exactly."

"And what does not exactly mean?" Clive asked.

"I got lost on the way to the city and was walking there when I saw a car. Then that guy jumped from the window, your friend tried to stop her and almost got shot so I ran in to help." Naruto explained. "I'm trained in martial arts."

"You don't mind coming down to the station to answer a few questions, do you?" Clive asked.

"If I did mind, you'd still want me there anyway." Naruto said. "My best friend is a CSI so I'm familiar with how police can work but yeah, I'll come down to answer some questions."

"Right." Clive took out his phone and called in some officers to secure the area. With his attention elsewhere, Naruto checked his alias and saw Gideon made him an independent research scientist from Los Angeles who was in Seattle for vacation. Perfect, easy, and played to his strengths.

At the station, Naruto or as he was now known as Nathaniel Hideo was asked some more questions and to verify his identity and his statement. Naruto said he was in Seattle for vacation and was taking a cab home only to feel that the cabby was sketchy, so he got out halfway back to his hotel which is how he ended up in the middle of nowhere. The Detective bought it for the moment and was a little more concerned with closing the case so that was a good thing. After the interview, Naruto had Gideon insert a little backdoor window virus because there was something he wanted to check out. He left soon after and got a motel room nearby for cheap. Using his backdoor into the police database he checked out the personnel database to find that woman from earlier. He saw her take a bullet to the heart and get back up like it was nothing, not to mention the whole blood-red eyes, growling and face of I want to eat your heart.

He managed to find the woman and saw she worked as a medical examiner for the police, Olivia Moore. According to her photo she was a normal looking brown haired woman and nothing like the pale skinned, short cut white haired superhuman he saw. She was a former medical resident at the Seattle Hospital before suddenly quitting and joining Dr. Chakrabati in the medical examiners room over five months ago. He did a little extra digging to figure some stuff about her but the only thing that stood out was that she was a survivor of the Seattle Boat Party Massacre and it was shortly after that that her life changed.

"Hmmm…this world may not have superheroes but something else is going on here." Naruto said to himself.

With Liv, she was at the morgue with Ravi who was doing open heart surgery on her and pulling the bullet slug out of her chest. "I can't believe it. I got shot in the heart and I was fine. It's unbelievable." Liv said.

"I think the most unbelievable thing is that I'm doing open heart surgery on you with zero anesthesia." Ravi commented, pulling out the slightly dented bullet. "I'd offer to stich it up but there's not even much blood."

"Must take the pressure off when your patient's already dead." Liv told him.

"Hey, you have to stop calling yourself that. You're not dead, you're undead. Big difference. Just think about what you did tonight. You helped saved two women's lives, you got justice for another and you got a very bad man off the streets." Ravi said while Liv looked uneasy. "Why do you look concerned?"

"Because we have another problem. Clive and I weren't the only people there, someone else showed up. He's the one who stopped Pratt after he shot me. And…he saw me go full-on zombie mode." Liv told him.

"He saw you, as in actually saw you go all red-eyed?" Ravi asked and Liv nodded.

"Yeah, full 28 days later with a rage bomb. I was seconds away from attacking him and I would have if Clive hadn't shown up." Liv said. "He saw me and it's only a matter of time before he goes telling the world that the zombie apocalypse has started."

"Ok, let's not let the panic set in now. Who's to say that anyone will even believe him? And if he was there then that means Detective Babineaux most likely followed up with an interview which means we'll have his information and his name. We find this guy and then we can do a little damage control. If he jumped in to save you then he's a good person and maybe someone open to the idea of not spilling our little zombie secret." Ravi suggested. "But that's a headache for tomorrow. For now, you don't have to worry as you will not go hungry again. We have some work to do and you have fresh brains for later."

Line Break xxxxx

Liv and Ravi's next case was the death of an artist named Javier Abano. Death by paintbrush driven into his eye. Pretty much a vibrant nudist artist and good was a matter of opinion but he was their next case. While dealing with that, Liv had begun to have dreams about the guy she met the night of the party that turned her into a zombie. He was alive and a zombie like her and could possibly be starting the zombie apocalypse in Seattle. She was pouring over the internet to try and find him but no luck.

"No luck in finding my mystery zombie survivor unless you count my nightmares. I've searched Instagram accounts of the survivors, I've been through all the photos of the Facebook pages of everyone who was listed at being at the party and nothing." Liv said, getting frustrated with everything.

"Maybe you should take a break. You know, chill out. Clear your mind. Here." Ravi tossed her a trend style magazine.

"Hotter sex tonight. Five easy steps."

"I stole it from the dentist's office." Ravi told her. "And I have some possibly good news and some bad news. I have the name of the man who saw you the night you saved the girls."

"That's great. Who is he?" Liv asked.

"Nathaniel Hideo. Los Angeles native and an independent scientist currently in Seattle for vacation although that's all I've been able to figure out. I've looked up his name and no social media or any other mentions." Ravi explained.

"That seems very odd." Liv said. "What did Clive do?"

"He asked him some questions about why he was there, but everything seemed to be on the up and up. His identity and social security number indicate he's a real person but there's nothing else I can find on him without a warrant and that's not my job. I can't even find out where he's staying in the city if he's even still here." Ravi finished.

"And that's the bad news." Liv said, defeated as she sat in the chair and looked through the magazine.

"Well, at least word hasn't spread about a zombie apocalypse starting so that's good news." Ravi said when he saw her go blank face. She was having a vision that lasted a minute. "Is that a reaction to sex tip four because I didn't understand it either."

"Javier was having an affair. It was pretty hot." Liv told him as Ravi looked at Javier's head corpse and shrugged his shoulders.

Liv left to tell Detective Babineaux which left Ravi to finish working on Javier's corpse. About thirty minutes later, Ravi heard a knock at the entrance and saw Nathaniel Hideo, the mystery savior Liv and Clive met standing there with a bag on his back. "Evening, Doctor Chakrabati or would you prefer it if I call you something else?"

"Ravi, is just fine. Can I help you?" Ravi asked.

"That depends on what you know. I was actually here to see Olivia." Naruto told him.

"She prefers Liv." Ravi corrected him. "And she's not here at the moment. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Like I said that depends on what you know." Naruto said as he walked in and looked around the morgue. "It pertains to Liv and how she came to work for you. It's rather odd that a medical resident on her way to becoming a doctor would suddenly drop out and work at the ME's office. I imagine it's a bit of a downgrade."

"True but we do have good benefits and Liv felt that a change of pace was in order." Ravi answered.

"Yeah, I imagine that getting sick would do that to someone." Naruto commented as Ravi gave him a funny look which caused him to chuckle. "You can stop playing dumb, Dr. Chakrabati, I know about Liv."

"Oh, thank god because it's been incredibly hard to keep this to myself. You don't plan to tell anyone do you?" Ravi questioned only to get shrugged shoulders in response.

"Who'd believe me anyway." Naruto pointed out.

"Yes, I image that telling people the zombie apocalypse has started would get you a few odd looks." Ravi joked only for Naruto to look at him funny.

"Ah, zombie? That makes a small smidge of sense with what happened to her." Naruto said to himself.

"You didn't know?" Ravi asked.

"That she was a zombie? Now I do. Thanks, by the way." Naruto smirked while Ravi smacked his forehead. "You gave up too easily. So, Zombies. Would you care to explain?"

"That depends on who's asking." Ravi pointed out only for Naruto to super sped around him in a blur and then reappear in his previous spot holding up a comic book that had a distinct looking red clad speedster on the cover and another manga book that had his first name on the cover.

"Someone from out of town." Naruto smiled while Ravi was wide-eyed and slack-jawed.

Liv's journey with Clive to go talk to Javier Abano's wife about his mistress turned out to be an eye opener into the love life of the artist and the mistress turned out to be a lover that the wife knew about. Suffice to say that things were getting interesting and now they were looking into possible other lovers or maybe scorned exes. She walked down the stairs into the medical lab and saw Ravi sitting at one of the empty clean examining tables drinking a milkshake and speaking with the guy she nearly ate in a zombie-rage induced hunger.

"Liv, you're here. Fantastic. I would like you meet someone. Naruto, this is Liv. Liv, meet your dashing superhero savior Naruto." Ravi introduced the two while Naruto sipped his milkshake.

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Moore." Naruto smiled.

"Just Liv is fine." She replied, a little concerned as to why he was here which Ravi saw.

"It's all right, Liv. He's a friend and knows everything."

"Yeah, because I tricked Ravi to spill the beans. Wasn't that hard so you might want to work on your lies for the future." Naruto joked causing Ravi to look away as Liv gave him a death glare. "And don't worry, Liv. Ravi explained everything. You're secret's safe with me."

"Thank you but I can't help but feel there's something I'm missing." Liv pointed out causing him to smirk.

"She's quick." He commented.

"I told you." Ravi said. "Don't worry, Liv. He's one of the good guys. The best guys if you can believe it."

"It's probably better to show you. I'll be right back." Naruto got up and cracked his neck before he super sped out of the morgue in a flash and whoosh of air that blew past Liv. She was shocked beyond belief but Ravi just smirked.

"That still gets me every time. So cool!" Ravi shouted as he got up and walked over to looked at some medical charts.

"What was that?" Liv asked when another whoosh of air blew past her and Naruto appeared back in the lab with a tray of coffee.

"Sorry that took so long. They were out of vanilla syrup." He handed one of the cups to Ravi.

"Oh, it's all right. I'll live." Ravi sipped his coffee as Naruto handed Liv one.

"Here you go. Ravi says you take it black nowadays." Naruto said.

"Thanks." Liv wasn't sure what she saw but saw Naruto chuckled as he walked over to the table and handed her a comic book of the Flash. "You're kidding."

"Sorry, but no. Not all that complicated when you think about it. Just your usual dimension hopping shenanigans." Naruto told her.

"Like Rick and Morty." Ravi added.

"I would have gone with the One." Naruto said and Ravi nodded.

"Ah, love that too. Always love a good Jet Li action film." Ravi commented.

"Basically, I'm a super speed hero from another dimension. I was blasted from my earth trying to stop world destroying black hole and landed in a parallel version of my earth, fighting off evil metahumans and evil doppelgangers. After I got fast enough, I began opening up portals to jump to other earths." Naruto explained.

"And I've already asked loads of questions about the multiverse and such and I've still got more." Ravi told Liv.

"So, this is normal for you. Jumping from one earth to another?" Liv asked as Naruto sipped his coffee.

"As normal as eating brains has been for you. Speaking of which…" Naruto pressed a few buttons on his watch to activate the scanner and began scanning all of Liv.

"Uh…what are you doing?" Liv was a little unsure as to why she was getting a bright laser scan.

"Well, Ravi told me he was working out a cure for your zombie condition and it triggered my scientific curiosity so here I am to help. I know it may not seem like much but on my earth I'm a literal super genius. Emphasis on the world literal as in my brain literally gets smarter and smarter." Naruto explained. "If anyone has a shot at figuring out this type of zombie disease it's me."

"Sounds good to me." Liv told him.

"Excellent and my lab is ready for you to use. Now, where are we on our seductive dead artist. Feeling particularly creative or horny?" Ravi joked when he saw Liv look Naruto up and down like she was a tiger eying a gazelle except it was in sexual lust, not hunger. "Never mind."

Naruto noticed Liv looking at him and snapped his fingers in her face to get her to focus. "Sorry. Seductive artist brain is pretty potent."

"No problem. You are beautiful Liv, but I have a girlfriend." Naruto replied as his watch finished up the scan. "Time to get to work."

While Naruto worked on analyzing the data from Liv's scans and blood samples that Ravi took, Liv and Ravi worked on the case with Detective Babineaux. Liv even figured out a new skill she picked up while on the brain, taking on the victim's artistic ability.

The next day, Naruto and Ravi walked into the morgue to see Liv talking to the guy who scratched her and turned her into a zombie from the boat party.

"You really nailed the historic chin. Bravo." Ravi told her. "Thrilled to have you here, and if you haven't used the facilities yet a urine sample would be lovely."

Liv and the guy were a little weirded out by that but it did lead to Ravi and Naruto examining the new zombie named Blaine.

"I have zero clue as to how this happened to me. Granted I was super high the night of the boat party. It is so crazy to be talking about this." Blaine said. Ravi checked his pupil movement while Naruto took another blood sample.

"Would you mind if I check inside your ears?" Ravi asked.

"Brother, you do what you gotta do. I'll drop trou if you think you can cure this." Blaine replied before looking at Liv. "So, how did you become a zombie? Did it happen the night of the boat party?"

"Yes, it happened at the boat party. You tried to sell me Utopium, smacked my ass, and went all rage zombie and clawed my forearm." Liv told him.

"No, seriously." Blaine thought they were joking but Liv's face told him she was not. "Oh my god. I can't even…are you sure it was me?"

"Yes."

"Because things got pretty crazy that night. How do I even apologize for that night? I swear to god, if I weren't 95% sure I would survive, I would throw myself off a bridge right now. I would—" Blaine smacked the table, causing a trap of tools to drop to the ground which triggered a vision for Liv. "Did you just…where'd you go?"

"There's something I gotta take care of. You should get going." Liv told him.

"Oh, it's ok, Liv. I can finish up." Ravi assured her but Blaine knew what she meant.

"Ah. She doesn't want to leave you along with me. Fair enough." Blain grabbed his jacket and left the morgue.

"I'm not sure that was necessary." Ravi pointed out.

"Neither am I." she replied.

"Don't worry, Liv. I'll look after Ravi in case, he comes back. Go." Naruto assured her.

"Thank you." She put her lab coat away and grabbed her jacket to go meet Detective Babineaux.

Naruto spent the rest of day analyzing the data, even sticking around after Ravi left and then he took some trips all over the country. He was gone for most of the day and when he returned Liv had wrapped up the dead artist case. She and Ravi were cleaning up the morgue when he walked in with his backpack.

"Hey, sorry I've been gone for the day." Naruto told them.

"Where have you been?" Liv wondered.

"I was out getting some stuff they don't sell at the local pharmacy or even have in the ME's lab. The CDC in Atlanta." Naruto explained as he sat down at a desk.

"You went all the went to Atlanta?" Ravi asked.

"I might have…stolen a few things while I was there which you will tell no one about." Naruto told them.

"Great, not only am I a zombie but I'm also an accessory to a federal crime." Liv commented.

"Do you want to know about the virus or not?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, please. Does the CDC have a strain of this virus in their database because if they did then I'm so suing them for my termination?" Ravi told him.

"No. I checked the CDC's database very thoroughly and they don't have records of a zombie disease." Naruto assured him.

"You mean hacked the CDC database." Liv pointed out.

"Semantics. Anyway, this virus is extremely complex and fascinating at the same time but I've managed to figure out a lot. Considering Liv's status and how she's able to move, walk, and talk as she could before this isn't a Dawn of the Dead or 28 days later zombie virus we're dealing with but something different. Believe it or not, you can actually equate this virus to something like the phenomena of Zombie ants." Naruto told them.

"Excuse me?" Liv was confused.

"There's a special genus of fungi known as Ophiocordyceps which is a deadly fungi species but this species of fungi targets and infects various insects through spores. One of the species they control is carpenter ants and the fungi essentially takes control of the insects mind, altering its behavior to make propagation of the fungal spores more likely. Now, while you and the zombie ant aren't exactly the same, the virus shows similar qualities as it essentially changes your body and slightly adjusts your behavior to the point where you need to eat brains to survive. This virus is essentially putting various parts of your body into a comatose or even dead-like state." Naruto explained.

"Which would explain Liv's skin and hair color change." Ravi added.

"Exactly. The normal processes for those parts of her body, usually controlled by the brain are deaden by the virus. More than likely, in an effort to make the host, that being you Liv, more infectious."

"God, it makes this virus sound like a mad scientist." Liv commented.

"And viruses are like mad scientists. They're one of the scariest fundamental forces of nature that can bring mankind to our knees if we're not careful. Viruses are smart, they can reproduce and make themselves stronger to survive for their ultimate goal of spreading. And to maximize its effects, it puts its host body into a point where it maximizes its capability of being spread to another host. So, the deadening of skin tissue and hair, the slowing down of the heart rate, this is the virus doing its job to spread. It's also why your tastebuds are deadened to the point where you need heat and spice to even taste anything." Naruto told her.

"Good to know, but what about the whole eating brains part?" Liv asked.

"That is actually the body's and brain's defense mechanism to the virus. Our bodies are remarkable pieces of biology and I ran some simulations and in all of them, it turns out that when the virus is injected the body immediately does what it can to stave off the infection for as long as possible and save certain parts of the host. It's why your heart is still beating, your lungs work and everything else. The virus should really turn you into something out of the walking dead but instead your body saves you and keeps you intact but now a host for the virus. The brain eating is a side effect to help keep the virus at bay from infecting more parts of the host brain and turn you into a drooling, brain eating corpse." Naruto explained. "No offense."

"None taken. So, I need to eat brains in order to keep my brain safe?" Liv was a little confused at that logic.

"Pretty much. But it's not brains exactly that the body needs to keep the virus at bay but I think it's the chemical Phenethylamine." Naruto showed them a chemical formula for the compound Phenethylamine or known as PEA. "It's an organic compound that acts as a central nervous system stimulant in humans. It helps regulate monoamine neurotransmissions and works as a neurotransmitter to the central nervous system. I think your brain is using its supply of Phenethylamine to continuously combat the virus and keep it from turning you into a real zombie but since its using so much to not only regulate your normal body functions but also to keep the virus at bay it runs out so that's why you need to eat brains. It has the highest concentration of Phenethylamine. But there is some good news."

"How is that good news?" Liv asked.

"Liv, Phenethylamine while more concentrated in the brain is also found in other things such as certain types of fungus and even chocolate. Hell, its sold as a dietary supplement for mood and weight-loss related therapeutic benefits." Ravi pointed out, giving Liv some hope.

"So, all this time I could have been eating chocolate to help me? Give me a Hersey's bar." Liv told them.

"But a little bit of bad news too. While it's found in other foods and sold as dietary supplements, when its orally ingested a significant amount of it is metabolized by the small intestine where it's turned into something else. You need a higher concentration that's not available in typical medicine and other foods which is why you go for brains." Naruto pointed out, bringing Liv's mood down a bit. "But I'm working on some enhanced Phenethylamine alternatives that will be able to help you. I'll have something to test by tomorrow for sure."

"That's great. Does that mean I won't have to eat brains anymore?" Liv asked, hopeful because while they felt great the texture was horrible.

"I'm gonna go with a soft maybe." Naruto answered, not giving Liv the response she was hoping for. "I'm sorry, Liv but until I do more research on this virus and your body's reaction to my Phenethylamine substitute, I won't know for sure. To be on the safe side, looks like you're sticking to brains."

"Yeah, fun." Liv muttered.

"And a cure?" Ravi wondered.

"That I'm still working on and is gonna take the longest. This virus is a complicated son of a bitch so looks like you're in for the long haul." Naruto said.

"Oh, joy." Liv replied.

Line Break xxxxx

Naruto was enjoying his stay in Seattle so far. He had always wanted to visit the city but never got the chance to on his earth. He went to the Pike Place Market and saw the Space Needle while doing some shopping for the things to help Liv. Other then speeding around the city to pick up food or supplies, he liked being here. It was like a mini vacation. He didn't have to use his powers to stop metahumans, aliens, or stop a war between two groups of humans and infiltrate a mountain to save some kids. He could just relax, eat some food without worry and flex his brains to help Liv which was fine by him. And after finding Red Mill Burgers, he was more than happy to eat to his heart content. Thank god for his metabolism or he'd be in trouble but after being on Earth-21 with a limited food supply, he would gorge himself till he popped. But with his metabolism that wasn't gonna happen.

He was hanging out in the morgue with Liv and Ravi, sitting in their little lounge/kitchen and using their oven to bake the new Phenethylamine alternatives for Liv. They were made of Phenethylamine along with some other ingredients and after some help from Gideon, he managed to find a suitable ratio/formula for a test trial that should give Liv's body and the virus what it needed so she doesn't have to just depend on brains. They were baking in the oven so he was passing the time by reading through a collection of Flash comics he picked up at a local comic bookstore. And he had his issues among other things.

"Why does Barry and this Wally West get all the love?" Naruto asked, putting down DC comic The Flash (Volume 2) #74 Too Many Speedsters from 1993. On the growing pile of comics cluttering the desk were other Flash comics with some being copies of Golden Age to Silver Age comics and at the top of the pile was 2007 The Flash: The Fastest Man Alive #1. "Impulse is a sidekick and even then, it's not me. It's Barry's grandson. I really need a publicist."

"Well to be fair, you explained that the multiverse is a such a wide and vast realm of possibilities so an earth where your partner is fictional and you don't exist has to make some sense. Besides, I thought you said you found yourself to be fictional in a Japanese comic book." Ravi pointed out.

"I did and it was freaky. Like a manga I read back on my earth. I don't know how things are so weird and different yet similar and to be honest, I'm ok with not knowing." Naruto read through the comic book at super speed. "And while they've given me some cool ideas on how to use my powers, I don't really appreciate how the Impulse moniker isn't as appreciated as the Flash. I should send a letter to the comic book company."

"And say what? That you're a superhero from another earth that wants your comic book name to be taken more seriously?" Liv wondered only for Naruto to shrug.

"Is that too much to ask?" He pointed out earning a chuckle from Liv as she kept doing her job.

"I'm hungry. Are you hungry?" Liv asked, taking the organs out of a dead body.

"Saying that when you have your hands in a dead guy's stomach is a little disconcerting." Naruto commented when the alarm on his phone went off. "Looks like our first batch is done."

Naruto put on some oven mitts and pulled out a tray of various colored foods bars from the oven. They looked like granola bars but the smell was rather savory like a grilled steak or roasted chicken breast. "That smells delicious." Ravi commented as he and Liv walked over to take a look at the 16 Phenethylamine food bars Naruto created with every four being a slightly different color. "I'm tempted to eat one right now."

"You technically can. There's no brains in this. Just a high concentration of Phenethylamine so if you want to go for it. But these are for Liv and her food supply is limited so don't be that guy." Naruto told him and Liv gave Ravi a look so he begrudgingly nodded. No eating Liv's brain food. "All right. After everything you told me about your eating schedule, I've managed to pack enough of the Phenethylamine into a bar to last you about the same it would last as a regular brain meal. I've also included some vitamins, minerals, and what you would normally need in a meal to make a small portable 2,000 calorie meal in a bar. And I've gotten creative with the flavorings and spices to hopefully give you a variety."

"Which I'm guessing are why they're color coded." Liv said and Naruto nodded.

"Exactly. The plain ones are just plain ones. The orange ones are pizza/Fra Diavalo sauce kind for the times you're craving Italian, the blue ones are blueberry pancake, and the green ones are kale/wheatgrass smoothie/vegetable. I figured that being zombie, you must miss vegetables in some form. And the yellow ones are my personal invention. Ramen broth with some of the spiciest Japanese peppers there are." Naruto explained.

"Oh, they all sound delicious." Liv licked her lips in anticipation.

"But remember, these aren't a complete replacement. All the tests I've run show that you still need brains to survive. These are just gonna help incase food shortage gets slow or you can't get to a brain in time. And to give you some variety." Naruto explained and Liv nodded. "But I'm still unsure how they'll work with you eating regular brains so we'll be running frequent tests."'

"I've been doing that a lot lately and I've gotten used to it by now." Liv muttered. "Any luck on a cure?"

Naruto shook his head in response. "Unfortunately, no. The virus is a stubborn piece of work and remarkably resilient. Even against a sample of blood, the virus was able to overcome my body's natural accelerated healing. I do have a healing serum but I don't think it'll do much."

"So, what do we do?" Liv wondered.

"I'm looking into the boat party incident because that's where you got turned. If I can figure out what caused such a chaotic turn of…zombie rage then I might be able to figure out an antidote." He planned before grabbing one of the plain Phenethylamine bars and handed it to Liv. "Time to see if you explode?"

"What?" Liv and Ravi asked.

"I'm kidding." Naruto assured them. "Let's just see how your body handles the bar and then you can have some brains for dessert."

Liv nodded and took a seat before she took a deep breath and a bite of the bar. To be honest, her deadened taste buds managed to pick up a trace of flavor but it was honestly like eating a plain granola bar. Given that all Liv has tasted was brains and extreme spice, it was a welcome reprieve. After the first bite, she finished the bar in two more bites and swallowed, finding no issue so far with what she ate. Naruto monitored her closely, using his watch to scan her body while putting some sensor nodes on her head that he borrowed from a lab.

"Even though that was a plain one, it tasted just like a granola bar and I've never tasted anything so good." Liv told him and Naruto smiled.

"Glad to help. So, how do you feel so far?" He scanned her body with his watch's sensor and Gideon was recording all relevant data along with the sensors.

"Well, I've eaten something that's managed to help curb a craving for brains and I haven't felt any weird mood swings or behavior changes." Liv told him while he quickly took a blood sample.

"I still find it incredible in the whole behavior change when you eat a brain." Naruto commented, checking her pupil dilation with a flashlight. "I mean, the hard science in the brain after death does show that it remains active several minutes after and continues to produce neuron signals but you've essentially proven that a lot of those signals are hard baked into the brain matter. It's incredible."

"Yeah, you can quote me for scientific American." Liv joked. "I still have a hard time believing that I can actually see memories of the people I've eaten."

"Well, there are over a 100 billion neurons in the brain with each of them firing about 200 times per second connecting to about a 1,000 more neurons that do the same thing. Every single part of who we are as a person is in the neurological signals the brain fires. How we move, how we talk, what we like to do, what we like to eat, our fears, our dreams and our memories are all stored in the brain. When you eat a brain, those neuron signals then hijack onto your brain's chemistry and influence your behavior. You essentially get to walk a mile in another person's shoe." Naruto explained. "Since the bars are just Phenethylamine you don't have to worry about that so you'll be Liv. Things are looking good so far but let's see what happens when you eat brains. And I got something special for that. I made up my dad's special hot pepper salsa. He got it from his dad and let me tell you it is spicy. It'll peel the paint off of walls or cook raw chicken."

"That sounds mildly terrifying." Ravi commented. "But I have something interesting to add to this conversation. I set up a Google Alert for the search terms Seattle, Zombie."

"Me, too. No, I signed up for Z-date." Liv joked.

"Hmm, you joke but this could be as close as we get to an early warning system." Ravi told her. "It got a couple of hits. Oh, Dawn of the Dead is showing at midnight on Friday. Uh, Undertakers' Bar in Capitol Hill added the Noxious Zombie to the cocktail menu. And a teenager posted a picture on his Facebook. Claims it's a zombie."

"Is it me?" Liv wondered as she and Naruto went over to check the computer and did see a dark photo with a white eyed, white haired looking zombie. It looked real.

"Check out the location. Abandoned shipyard on the shore of Lake Washington. Well, less than a mile from where you got turned into a zombie. We should at least go take a look." Ravi told Liv.

"There are already two zombies, me and Blaine. Now, there may be a third? Two's company, three's a horde." Liv stated.

"But with great power comes—" "Do not. Seriously." Liv warned him.

"He's got a point and considering what you said happened at the boat party, it would make sense that there's a chance some other people could be infected." Naruto pointed out. "And if there is a real zombie out there that's gone, as Liv says, full-on Zombie mode then we need to make sure to stop them before Seattle turns into World War Z."

"Fine. We'll go zombie hunting." Liv relented.

"So, how are we doing with our hit-and-run victim?" Ravi wondered.

"Pretty straightforward. Cause of dead is probably the cerebral edema, but I need to drain the blood from the pericardial sac to check for heart lacerations." Liv replied, heading back to the body to get back to work while Naruto stuck by her side. He kept monitoring and scanning her with his watch's sensor when her phone buzzed. She walked over but groaned when she saw the caller Id. Turns out Liv messed up with her ex-fiancé Major when she was on painter brain. She finished up her work and ate the brain of the body she was working on for Naruto's tests. Marvin Webster, family man with two kids who lived in the suburbs, worked as an exterminator, and killed by a car.

She ate his brains on a cracker with the pepper salsa that Naruto made and she was happy. Visibly more comfortable and content with eating brains which was the virus coursing through her body. Naruto's substitute was a good fix but nothing seemed to beat the original. It was a little weird watching Liv eat a brain but also fascinating and it was giving him very good data. She put the rest of the brain in some Tupperware before licking the knife clean. Blaine did show up and after a little tense conversation between him and Liv, it ended with her telling him that she didn't trust him and effectively cutting him off from getting brains from her. She did give him a dozen of Naruto's zombie bars before kicking him out. Looks like he has to make more.

That's when things got weird. Turns out the trial for a rich Seattle tech guy, Liv ended up eating the brain of the actual murderer and it came with some serious side effects. Zero emotion, zero empathy, and a superiority complex. Liv ate the brains of a sociopath. When they were heading to the abandoned shipyard, Liv was telling them how weird it was to be on a brain that was so emotionless.

"If we're lucky, that zombie photo is just a dumb teenage prank." Liv told them as they walked through the abandoned shipyard during the day.

"As someone who does enjoy a good prank, it would be a good one." Naruto commented.

"Well, better dead than the apocalypse. The rising world of waters dark and deep. It's Milton, on lakes and what hides inside them." Ravi told them.

"Like leeches and trash." Naruto added.

"There are nearly 8,000 recognized lakes in Washington state. This one's second biggest." Liv told them.

"Very Wikipedia of you." Naruto said, giving her another scan with his watch. "How do you feel besides like you could win on Jeopardy?"

"As if I can actually appreciate and be excited by that. I'm totally numb. Things that should upset me just bounce right off." Liv explained.

"Sounds like it could have its upsides." Ravi pointed out.

"More like a drag." Naruto corrected him.

"I agree with Naruto. It's not like apathy, it's colder. This is the brain of someone who could kill people and not care." Liv pointed out when they heard some rustling and growling.

"Wait. Did you just hear something?" Ravi asked them.

Naruto activated his watch's sensor and it was picking up something moving ahead but no life signs. No body heat or heartbeat, just that something human size was moving. "Like someone moaning the word brains? No." Liv replied. "If you heard aimless shambling of the undead, that might have just been me."

"You don't shamble." Ravi said when they noticed Naruto heading towards the edge of the pier. "What is it?"

"There's definitely something here." Naruto told them as his sensor led to an old water silo that was boarded up. "Stay back."

He began ripping some of the boards off to see what was inside. The reason he insisted Ravi and Liv stay back is because he's the speedster and could avoid a zombie faster then either of them could. "You know, many hit men have an antisocial personality disorder. It's what makes them good hitmen." Ravi said, keeping the conversation going while Naruto was working.

"Yeah. Kind of makes me long for the days low blood sugar made me a little bitchy." Liv stated as Naruto managed to remove enough of the boards to get a look inside. He peaked his head down and that's when he heard the snarling and smelt the decay.

"You guys are gonna want to see this." Naruto told them. Ravi and Liv got close to see what he saw and it was a decayed female zombie trapped down in the mud of the old silo. Her skin had putrefied, her hair was falling out and she was more zombie than human at this point.

"Marcy…" Liv muttered, shocked to see her old friend down there. The zombie Marcy saw the three of them and snarled, trying to grab them but her hands and body weren't able to reach.

"You know her? This is unbelievable. Look at her, she's real." Ravi said.

"She looks like a melted candle." Liv pointed out.

"Well, she's been in here for months and she's alive." Ravi told her.

"That's open to debate. Marcy was a fellow resident at the hospital. She invited me to the boat party where I was turned into a zombie. I went to her funeral. Her mom was a mess." Liv explained.

"Are you sure it's her?" Ravi asked.

"I recognize the necklace. Her grandmother's pearls. Marcy wore them every day." Liv replied, taking a few steps away from the silo.

"I can't imagine how awful this must be, seeing someone you know reduced to..." Ravi was cut off as Liv tossed a rock down and hit Zombie Marcy in the head. "Did you just throw a rock at her?"

Liv just kept doing that until Naruto grabbed her wrist. "Ok, that's enough of that. This is your sociopath brain motivating you but let's take a break." Naruto said. "At least we found her. This gives us a good glimpse at what this virus can do if brains are in short supply."

"Or maybe there's a chance to cure her?" Ravi pointed out, taking a small cooler out of his bag.

"I'm guessing that isn't chicken noodle soup." Liv commented.

"What if the deterioration is reversible? I mean, what happens if a zombie this far gone gets to feed?" Ravi suggested, opening up the cooler and taking out some brains. "Marcy! Lunch time!" He dumped them down below and Zombie Marcy just growled and began eating the brains as fast as she could. "That is what we like to call an encouraging parasympathetic response."

"I hate to break it to you Ravi but in all my tests and predictions, when the virus is that far and has taken over the host…there is no coming back." Naruto told him before super speeding down and then back up. When they saw him, he had a vial of thickening blood in his hand. "But more data for me is fine. I'll do some analyzing and see what I can get."

"That's more like it." Ravi said. He and Naruto went back to the morgue while Liv went to the station to talk to Detective Babineaux. She was his partner because of the memories she got from eating brains which she told him were visions and that she was psychic. The two followed up on the Wally Walker case and the possible Marvin Webster connection. Naruto spent the time analyzing the blood he took from Zombie Marcy and running through various simulations on a possible cure. He might have stolen a laptop and modified it for his use along with using some of Ravi's equipment while he was taking care of some bodies.

Naruto kind of liked being able to stretch his science skills with this whole zombie virus. He had never run into something like this on his earth and solving it was going to be the world's greatest puzzle. With his super genius brain, likely having reached to the point where if he were tested his IQ would easily hit 300, it allowed him to better understand the virus and how it worked its way through the body and infected its host. The thing was like a literal plague and if Liv and Ravi weren't careful it could turn the entire planet into the next Walking Dead. While Ravi was optimistic about Zombie Marcy's recovery, the tests he ran on her blood only helped solidified his beliefs and what he expected to happen. She was too far gone and if a zombie were without brains for long enough, the virus would ravage their body and mind to the point where they were turned into a shambling corpse craving for brains and ready to kill anyone to get it.

After making another batch of brain bars, as he was calling them, he super sped into the city to get the two things he was sure was responsible for what happened to Liv and what caused the Zombie outbreak on the boat. The new drug in Seattle called Utopium and the Max Rager energy drink. Several hours had passed since they went to see Zombie Marcy and when Ravi returned from a bathroom break, he saw Naruto sitting at his desk with several small drug vials and dozens of opened cans of Max Rager energy drink.

"If anyone else were to walk in at this moment they would think you need help." Ravi stated.

"Or I let you see me like this?" Naruto suggested. "If anyone actually did come down here, a cop or something, I'd be able to put all this away in your office before they could see anything."

"Hard for me to argue with a man who can break the sound barrier in his sneakers." Ravi joked, walking over to the table, and seeing the cans of the Max Rager energy drink around. "Can speedsters get a sugar rush?"

"Not exactly. Our metabolisms burn through calories and food so quickly that we don't feel anything. Food is just fuel. Even with coffee. Kind of a bummer when it comes to alcohol though. The inability to get hangovers is a plus, though." Naruto told him.

"I imagine. So, you think you found the underlying cause for the Boat Party zombie massacre?" Ravi wondered and Naruto nodded.

"I have and I narrowed it down into the catalyst of three components. As a good doctor such as yourself know, the human genome is filled with junk cells that are unlocked during years of evolution when certain changes in environment or circumstance occur like us walking on two feet or the opposable thumbs. Gideon managed to isolate one of the genomes in Liv's blood sample that isn't present in yours or anyone who isn't infected. I ran a test on Zombie Marcy's blood and I found the same genome so something triggered some kind of biochemical reaction creating this virus in the human body that turned those first zombies on the boat." Naruto theorized.

"And when they scratched and infected Blaine, Liv, and Marcy the virus activated the same genome that causes the zombie transformation. Then their bodies go on the defensive which is why they can still walk and talk but they need brains to survive." Ravi added and Naruto snapped his fingers in agreement.

"Exactly. Now, I went over every single CSU, Police officer, coroner, and hospital report from that night. And from what Liv has told us about what happened, I think the other two factors in this zombie creation is the new drug Utopium and the energy drink Max Rager." Naruto explained. "Max Rager hosted the boat party and there were hundreds of empty cans at the party along with several vials of the drug Utopium. I have no idea what this drug is but it's something."

"It's relatively new and making the rounds. I've had to handle a few ODs from the stuff." Ravi muttered as Naruto gave him a comforting pat on the arm. "I'm afraid to ask where you got these?"

"I did my citizen duty and busted a few Utopium dealers and took their stuff. No one even knew I was there. Anyway, according to the vice reports I read through at super speed, the batch on the boat is some kind of tainted or new batch. I'm thinking something in Utopium when combined with Max Rager triggers the zombie transformation." Naruto said, grabbing one of the Max Rager cans. "And FYI, don't drink this stuff. Whatever idiot made this made it highly addictive but there are a bunch of ingredients in this thing that aren't on the label. And Gideon thinks that some of them can cause some serious emotional and rage issues. Whatever Max Rager didn't want published in this stuff with the Utopium is our zombie catalyst. Once I figure out the correct ratio, we're one step closer to finding an antidote."

"Hopefully soon because these brains I'm on are the worst." They heard as Liv walked into the morgue. "My closest friend in the world, and I couldn't even muster up an apology for blindsiding her. I was such an unbelievable bitch and I don't even care."

"Well, you sound like you care." Ravi pointed out.

"Because I know I should, but I don't. The whole world's behind 50 feet of glass." Liv muttered.

"You could always eat another brain." Ravi suggesting pointing to the old woman he had on the table.

Liv walked over and read the dead woman's charts. "Mrs. Marian Evans, asphyxiation in a nursing home. Sold."

"But I feel duty-bound to remind you about Wally Walker. You eat her, no more Marvin visions. And whoever hired him to kill Wally likely gets away with it." Ravi informed him.

"See, I know you're right and I'll rally, but nothing. These brains scare the hell out of me. I'm afraid of the person that I'm becoming." Liv muttered.

"The fact that you're aware of what's happening and you're afraid of what is happening is a good sign. Don't worry, Liv. You're gonna be fine. Soon this will be over and you can eat another brain." Naruto told her when he saw some shadows near the door so he quickly super sped around and all trace of his research and what he was doing was hidden in Ravi's room. No muss, no fuss, and no evidence. He just sat there in chair, drinking some water when Liv's Fiancé Major walked in with a teenager.

"Liv, I need your help. Jerome and I have been upstairs for the past two hours getting a master class in being ignored by the cops. I'm sorry I haven't responded to your text message, but things have been—"

"It's fine." Liv replied. "Why do you need a cop?"

"Tell her." Major said to the teenager he was with.

"My roommate took his skateboard out, said he was going to the park for a couple of hours. That was four days ago."

Liv took them to see Detective Babineaux to hopefully get somewhere with their missing teenager. After that, she continued working with the detective on their case.

Line Break xxxxx

The next afternoon, Naruto, Ravi and Liv went back to the shipyard to check on Zombie Marcy. Luckily, she didn't get out and despite Ravi's optimism that she would be fine, Liv's cold sociopath brain knew he was hoping for too much. Naruto super genius brain knew that too but it was more based on facts and science that an antisocial personality disorder. Naruto removed the wooden boards so they could better see inside and they saw Zombie Marcy like they did before. Literally, no improvement.

"Marcy? I'm here with Liv Moore. She worked at the hospital with you. You were a resident there. Marcy?" Ravi called out but all he got was more zombie groans and her looking at him like he was her next meal.

"It didn't work." Liv stated.

"Well, we have to keep trying to—"

"Ravi." Naruto got him to stop. "I know you were hoping for a miracle but all the tests I ran show that when the virus gets to this point…it's too late. She's full zombie now."

"We have to kill it." Liv said.

"Her. She's a person." Ravi told her.

"She's a time bomb. What is she's scratched that kid who took the photo? What if someone stumbled in here and fell in? What if someone lets her out?" Liv asked him.

"We'll transport her." He answered.

"To where, the morgue? The morgue at the police station?" Liv thought that was stupid.

"You are talking about killing somebody. What if that were you down there?" Ravi asked her.

"I'd hope someone would put me out of my misery." Liv answered.

"This isn't you. This is that sicko in your head. Do you remember your Hippocratic oath? I will prescribe regimens for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgement and never do harm to anyone. You're a doctor. You should know better." Ravi told her.

"Ravi, stop." Naruto got in between him and Liv. "Look, I get that you were hoping for a miracle but you are also a doctor and a scientist and the facts speak for themselves. The virus has completely killed all traces of the host when it progresses this far. Marcy is gone and like it or not, she's a literal walking plague. There's nothing more that we can do for her."

"How can you say that? You're a superhero. You're supposed to protect the innocent and save people." Ravi reminded him.

"Key work being people, Ravi. Look at her." Naruto pointed to the Zombie Marcy that kept biting in their direction. "She's gone. Marcy is dead and that virus is keeping her body moving to spread it like a plague. Even if you feed her a hundred brains, it's not gonna bring back someone who's dead."

"I refuse to believe that. Liv is proof." Ravi grabbed a pole he brought with him. He attached a syringe at the end of it to extract some more blood samples from Zombie Marcy. "If I can do a biopsy, I'm sure I can save her."

"Ravi, stop." Naruto said as Ravi got near the hole and tried to stick Marcy with the syringe to get some blood. He missed the first two times before she managed to grab onto the pole and pull him in. "RAVI!"

He rushed over and saw Ravi stand back up as Marcy tried to grab him. "Guys, a little help!"

Naruto saw Liv was just watching so he jumped down and kicked Zombie Marcy back. "Ravi, get behind me!" Ravi scrambled behind him as Marcy shambled back to her feet and looked at them with hungry. "I'm sorry, Marcy. Rest in peace."

Zombie Marcy stumbled towards them as Naruto clenched his right fist to activate his gauntlet. A sharp blade shot out of his forearm and he drove it through her skull with a sickening crunch. Marcy's body twitched a bit before going slack as Naruto yanked his blade out and dropped her body.

Liv watched everything when she suddenly snapped to reality like a train hit her. "Oh my god! Are you two ok?!"

"We're fine, Liv." Naruto assured her, wiping some mud from his hands, and retracting the blade. "We can get the sample now." Ravi dropped to the ground in relief while Naruto walked over and removed the necklace from Marcy's body. He then looked at Liv and tossed them up for her.

Liv helped Naruto and Ravi out of the silo where they dragged Marcy's body with them and put it in a plastic sheet to dispose of by incinerator. Naruto and Ravi had to change out of their clothes and put them in a garbage bag to burn. For Naruto's Flash Ring and watch, he'd have to disinfectant them thoroughly later. Luckily, Ravi brought some extra clothes. Naruto was now wearing athletic shorts and a black t-shirt before cleaning his hands and face with disinfectant.

"All right, we'll have to burn it all to be safe. The blood could be a contaminant." Ravi said and Naruto agreed.

"You two almost died…and I didn't nothing." Liv muttered.

"We're fine." Naruto assured her.

"Liv…" Ravi said, getting her attention. "We're fine. Naruto saved me and you were beyond worried about us when you realized what happened. All that sociopath swimming through your system, and you still found your way through. This brain…it's not who you are."

Liv managed a smile in that small comfort when her phone buzzed with a text from Detective Babineaux. He needed Liv and Ravi for the case which was fine. Ravi gave Naruto instructions on how to get rid of the body which he was able to do quickly with super speed. After that, he took a bath in bleach…twice, before getting some new clothes and disinfecting his stuff. Once Gideon gave him an ok, he was set. He spent the rest of that time working on the zombie research, making more brain bars and such when Liv arrived. She walked into the morgue to see Naruto wearing some black Nike running sneakers, black jeans, a red t-shirt, with a grey and white zipper coat long sleeve jacket hoodie.

"New look?" She asked.

"Yeah. Decided to go with a new look. I've been wearing kind of the same stuff for a while so I decided to change it up. How'd it go?" He wondered.

"Solve the case. Bad guy is going to jail." She told him.

"Good. And your brain?"

"Hitman brain is starting to wear off." She replied and he understood what that meant.

"And all the emotions just come rushing back." He said and she nodded.

"Yeah. I've been a zombie for months but I've never felt a monster until I ate the brains of a sociopath. A part of me would like to eat another piece to keep the feelings from coming back." Liv admitted. "But then I think about what Marcy must have been through all alone in the dark."

"Feeling that pain doesn't make it stop. It just makes you feel alive." Naruto said, getting up and giving Liv a hug. She wrapped her arms around Will as the flood of emotions came rushing back to her just now and hit her hard. She broke down crying into his chest and he held her close, just letting her get it all out. She needed it.

Line Break xxxxx

The next day at the morgue, Liv and Ravi were going about their business after the whole Zombie Marcy situation. Liv was back to normal, eating some of Naruto's Brain bars to keep her going until her next brain. Liv did send Marcy's mother the necklace which gave her some much-needed closure and comfort. She and Ravi were putting one of the bodies away when Naruto arrived with a box and his backpack.

"You going somewhere?" Ravi wondered.

"Yeah, actually. This is goodbye for now." Naruto told them. "It's about time I try to head back home. As much fun as it has been here and my vacation in Seattle, I've got to get back to my earth."

"I'm sad to see you go. It's been fun having you here." Ravi said. "What about the Zombie cure?"

"I'm still working on it. Despite my super brain, this isn't going to be an easy one." Naruto walked forward and handed Ravi a flash drive. "This is a copy of all my research, tests, and simulations I've run on the zombie virus. You can do what you can here but when I get back to STAR labs, I'll be able to make some real progress. The next time I visit, I'll have something to test."

"Here's hoping your next visit doesn't take too long." Liv said, giving him a hug. "Be careful and take care of yourself."

"You too, Liv. The second the I get the cure for the zombie virus, I'll be back. But I shall not leave you without some gifts." Naruto opened the box he was carrying to show an assortment of hot sauces. "Did some shopping and got you some artisanal hot sauces to bring some flavor to those dead tastebuds."

"Oh, those look interesting." Ravi said, taking the box when Naruto super sped back and forth into the lab, bringing four cardboard boxes with him. "Are those all hot sauce too?"

"No. I had the oven running constantly and made more brain bars. I made a little over six hundred so you'll be set for a while." Naruto told them before giving Ravi a hug goodbye. "Take care, Ravi."

"I should be the one saying that to you. You're the one who's going to travel the multiverse right now. If you so happen to run into another version of me who is more successful or rich…punch him for me." Ravi asked.

"Will do." Naruto replied before heading to the exit. "Take care, Liv."

"Take care, Naruto." She waved goodbye and he gave them a salute before his eyes flickered with lightning and he super sped out of there.

He quickly raced out of Seattle and concentrated, drawing on the speed force to open up a portal into the multiverse which quickly closed behind him. Racing through the vastness of multi-dimensional energy was a unique experience that couldn't really be explained. It had to be felt. He closed his eyes and concentrated on his earth…his home. Earth-1. He focused on STAR labs and his Central City, passing by several dozen earths of the multiverse and he was closing in on one in particular. The closer and closer he got, the more speed force energy he seemed to collect but the second he got close he ended up hitting a blue barrier of energy that knocked him back and into another earth. Suffice to say his journey was not over as he found himself heading to an earth not his own. But what was going on back on Earth-1 with Naruto's disappearance? Let's find out.

Earth-1

August 2015 Central City, USA

A red blur of yellow lightning raced through Central City, stopping several crimes in the process of fixing a lot of damage the city had undergone. Three months ago, Central City was nearly destroyed by a large black hole that opened in the sky causing millions in damage and several deaths. The death toll would have been a lot higher if it wasn't for Central City's protectors: The Flash and Impulse. Whatever they did, they stopped the singularity and saved Central City.

But it wasn't without its cost.

Barry spent every waking minute when he wasn't busy at work to help rebuild the city that was nearly destroyed because of a choice that he and the team made. Businesses and buildings were fixed over night and he kept the city safe as the Flash but all he felt was guilt. Guilty that the city was nearly destroyed because of him. Guilty that people died because of a decision he made and guilty that Naruto and Ronnie risked their lives to protect this city and died. He had been living with that guilt ever since. He especially felt guilty with Naruto.

His partner and friend, someone who spent his time helping this city both in and out of the mask and who risked his life for the team and the city…and he had to die. Barry felt horrible for how things ended between them and there was nothing he could do to fix that. So, he kept the city safe, cleaned up his mess and kept STAR labs running. But he wasn't the only one.

STAG Industries

The STAG Industries board was having a video conference meeting regarding their company moving forward. And the person they were video conferencing with was none other than the person who bought the controlling shares of the company months ago, owner and operator of STAR labs, Naruto Namikaze.

"Our departments are being reorganized for the divisions and projects you laid out in your last correspondence a month ago. Team leaders are moving diligently and we'll have updates in the following weeks." One of the board members said into the monitor where Naruto was video conferencing them from his office in STAR labs.

"That's good. Keep me updated if there are any issues or concerns. And I trust that all of your workforce have been told that none of them are losing their jobs?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, Mr. Namikaze. It's rather odd that after such a large buyout that no layoffs have been made though." Another board member said.

"Well, that's not the kind of company and business I want to run." Naruto reminded them. "There is more than enough profit to go around to everyone so we should focus on rebuilding this city and moving forward."

"Speaking of that, Mr. Namikaze, when do you think you'll have a chance to tour the facilities here at STAG Industries?" A board member wondered. "Not that these video calls aren't enlightening, you did say that when you bought controlling interest in the company that you would want a tour of the facility."

"I—I did, but that was before the city was nearly destroyed. I have sent over the new additions and modifications that can be made to the STAG industries building and when time is more manageable, I'll find the right time to visit." Naruto told them. "If there are any pressing issues or concerns, you can always contact me. Goodbye."

The video call cut out after that and the board left the conference room.

STAR labs

Inside the office of STAR labs that the video conference came from, Gaara sat back in his chair and let out an exhale of exhaustion. It wasn't really Naruto on the call but Gaara. Gideon and Cisco managed to make some special software that allowed Gaara to video call as Naruto and sound just like him. It's how he was able to conduct business with STAG industries that STAR labs now owned. Naruto's last wish was for Gaara to keep STAR labs running. He risked his life to save him from Orochimaru, give him his life back and saved the city. Gaara had to keep STAR labs running no matter what.

Luckily, he had some help. Cisco was there and Gaara hired his brother and sister to help him keep the company running because he knew he couldn't do it alone. Granted, Gideon did almost 90% of the job in running the company but there were things that she couldn't do. Barry helped as well when things were needed to be done at super speed and fixing the damage to the building the black hole did. The Arc Reactor was fine and so was the pipeline so things weren't dire. FEMA was still working up a theory on the whole black hole thing and many conspiracy websites claimed that something STAR labs did made it but that was unsubstantiated and luckily going nowhere. For how much longer remained to be seen.

After the singularity, Gaara had to keep STAR labs open and running. They helped those affected by what happened and donated money to those in need while keeping their regular business up. While there were no real new advancements besides some of Naruto's new designs like the ARC reactor fueled power cells, VTOLs, holographic display projectors, new smart workstations, and smart watches were put into production, not much else was done. With Naruto having purchased controlling interest in STAG industries before the whole black hole thing, Gaara was able to get them to start production. Their business deal with Wayne Enterprises was still going strong and STAR labs was technically more profitable than it was months ago. He was even getting requests and such from other companies and government officials about doing business. And the paperwork Naruto filled out to get Atlas Security set up was completed so STAR labs technically owned a private security company but that was just on paper. Gaara had made no headway on that or any other potential deals because he wasn't sure if he could. One decision that was made when Naruto and Ronnie were gone was that they weren't put on the city's list of deceased.

Why? Linda didn't let Joe report it.

Central City Picture News

Iris West walked out of the copy room, looking over a draft for a story when she saw Linda at her desk. She was busy typing up a story and that was it. She kept to herself and just wrote her stories for her editor. Many people noticed the change in Linda but she told them that she was fine. Linda sipped her coffee and looked to her side where a small stool was set up with a large cushion and laying down on said cushion was Kurama, Naruto's pet fox. The fox just laid his head down on his paws and laid there. Unless he was fed or Linda took him for a walk…he didn't do much. He missed Naruto.

And he wasn't the only one. The first few weeks after Naruto was gone…Linda was in a bad spot. She cried all night and barely was able to go to work. She took all her vacation days off for nearly an entire month because she didn't want to leave the condo. It was just her and Kurama wallowing in their grief. Iris did manage to get her out of the condo for a lunch one day and the others helped her get back into the world and back to work. But as predicted, Linda wasn't really the same and neither was Caitlin. With everything that happened, Caitlin left STAR labs and no one's heard from her since she started a new job at Mercury labs. There was a bit of a media storm on why Caitlin joined Mercury labs but she said it was for personal reasons. And despite all the grilling, she never gave over anything STAR labs ever did to Dr. McGee. She just worked on new projects at her new job for her new life.

Linda sent her latest draft to her editor before grabbing her bag and picking up Kurama. The two of them left Central City Picture News and headed to the shelter to see Tsunade and Shizune. Linda walked in and saw the kids playing around in the living room or watching TV. Tsunade and Shizune put lunch on the table when they sat Linda walk in. She put Kurama down who immediately went over to a nearby altar and laid down. Said altar was a memorial for Naruto. They had his picture up along with candles and mementos from the kids and his time there. Shizune walked over and pet Kurama on the head as the poor fox just wined. Tsunade hugged Linda in comfort. They all missed Naruto so much.

They tried to reach out to Jiraiya and Barry was able to send him a message about what happened. Given the next day they read about a massacre in Albania where thousands of the Albanian mob were killed, Jiraiya didn't take it well. Neither did Oliver or the others. Naruto's loss was palpable but only to them. To the rest of the world, he was still alive and running STAR labs. He'd had just turned into a shut-in and was busy working.

Linda wanted it that way. She knew that he would come home soon, they just needed to ready for when he did. She had hope that her Speedster would come back to his lightning rod.

She had hope.

End of Part 3

And that is the end of part 3. It's shorter than a typical chapter of mine and that is on purpose. Not all of the chapters for this companion story will be super long. Some will be short which will let me get out quicker so we can get back to the Crimson Speedster. Naruto's visited the I-Zombie earth. It's a fun show I like and he got to relax and is working on a zombie Cure. He'll be back though.

Next chapter, Naruto finds out that there is some kind of weird barrier around his earth that is making Multiversal travel there more complicated for him. It knocked him onto another earth where he meets two brothers and gets a download on the mystical and supernatural side of the world. And he'll pop into some other earths that are very weird. Until next time.

I hope you area all staying safe out there and staying safe. Don't worry, Mandalorian Maverick will be up on May the 4th and then I plan to update Omniverse-Earth 38 and then the Perfect One in May.

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze AKA Impulse: Age-23/Date of Birth (10/8/1992)

Actor appearance: Lightly Blonde-haired Kento Yamazaki.

Casual outfit: modified Nike running sneakers, black jeans, a red t-shirt, and grey and white zipper coat long sleeve jacket hoodie.

Uniform: (New 52 Crimson and Silver Kid Flash Suit)

Reinforced tri-polymer/Kevlar weave friction proof battle suit with built-in sensor system and belt to hold gadgets and items. Capable of being shrunk to fit in Flash Ring.

Safety googles owned by Minato Namikaze/modified by Cisco Ramon

Flash ring to hold suit

Phone with Gideon's neuromorphic matrix

Earth-2 Smartwatch/Retractable Promethium nano-metal repulsor gauntlets, smart computer, dart launcher, data spike, and forearm blade.

Bag with supplies, medicine, and healing serum vials. Sample of Zombie blood, Utopium and Max Rager.

Resources: Co-owner of STAR labs with vast access to cutting edge technology and millions if not billions of dollars.

Current top speed for Naruto Namikaze AKA Impulse: Mach 12=9207.23MPH.

Current abilities in bold are unlocked now

Super Speed/Speed force aura

Training in combat by Oliver Queen and Jiraiya

Training in Kali (Escrima), Wing Chun Kung Fu, Sambo, Systema, Judo, Taekwondo, Hapkido, Pencak Silat, Karate, Muay Thai and Archery.

Accelerated healing

Superhuman endurance

Superhuman reflexes & agility

Improved homeostasis

Enhanced strength/durability

Enhanced mental capabilities to speed read and process information quickly

Heavily resistant to mind control and most psychic attacks

Superhuman intelligence

Current Level: Earth-2 Dr. Harrison Wells

Speed punches: Mach punch

Speed force constructs: Draws power directly from the speed force to create solid constructs like armor or even weapons (Drains stamina quickly)

Speed force armor: increases speed and resistant to damage

Speed force weapons: weapons made up of pure speed force energy, highly destructive

Molecular Oscillation: Vibrate molecules at high frequency

Accelerated Mass/Force punch

Physical disruption

Air solidification-wind funnels

Intangibility/phasing

Dimensional Travel

Speed Mirage

Time Travel

Temporal Awareness: ability to detect any alterations to the time-stream and remember multiple timelines

Lighting generation/manipulation

Multiple Pairings: Naruto x Linda Park

Eventually: Lena Luthor, Sara Lance, Kara Danvers

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, the Flash, or any DC properties or any properties used, all rights belong to their respective owners, I'm just a big fan.