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Naruto - Republic City's Batman

History remembers the heroes that put an end to the Hundred years War between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. One of them was a non-bender martial artist and marksman, that fought alongside Avatar Aang. No one knew his real identity, not even his friends, for he wore a dark armor forged in the shape of a Human Bat. History only remembered him as the Batman, or the Dark Knight.

Once the war was over, this masked warrior disappeared for more than a decade without even saying goodbye to his friends. And during all those years, the World thought that he would never reappear, but they were all wrong.

Indeed, once Republic City was founded by Fire Lord Zuko and Avatar Aang, the Dark Knight suddenly resurfaced out of the shadows to maintain law and order inside the city that symbolized the new Era of cohabitation between citizens of all Nations.

With Chief Toph Beifong and Republic City Police Department's collaboration, Batman dedicated the next forty years fighting crime that swarmed inside his city. But one day, he disappeared again… for good. A lot of rumors followed his disappearance; some people thought that he ended up being killed by Triads, others thought that he had died of exhaustion, while the majority simply believes that after fighting all of his life, he simply retired. One thing was sure though, the Dark Knight's long years of struggle were over, and he left and an unforgettable memory for the citizens of Republic City. Nowadays, he is still considered a model by every Police officer. Many people consider that no matter what had happened to him, he could now rest in peace knowing that his city was safe thanks to all his efforts. Unfortunately, his mission was not over, and probably never will be as long as criminels could prosper inside Republic City's very core.

Naruto Beifong was not like your average teenager, he was the son of Tenzin and Lin Beifong, which made him the grandson of Avatar Aang, Master Katara of the Southern Watertribe and Toph Beifong, aka the Greatest earthbender who ever lived. Despite the fact that he was born an Airbender, and a prodigy at that, he didn't settle for the peaceful life of a monk -much to his father's dismay-. He was a Beifong, a peaceful life just wasn't made for him. So, when he earned his tattoos at the age of twelve, he politely informed his father that he was going to pursue his studies in order to participate in Republic City's prosperity and better its citizens lives. At first, Tenzin had been worried and a little disappointed that his first born didn't want to follow in his footsteps. He was, after all the only other Master Airbender in the World, and they needed to revive their culture. But the son of Aang knew his own son well enough to know that when he had an idea in mind, he was impossible to stop. Plus, Naruto didn't want to achieve anything for his own benefit, the only thing he wanted was to protect and better the City Avatar Aang built and to help every citizen he could by any means necessary as long as it wasn't too extreme. How could Tenzin deny him such a noble goal ? After all, he himself was trying to do the same by sitting at Republic City's council. But even there, there was a limit to what he could do. And since Naruto had an Iron will just like his grandmother, Tenzin had faith in his son, for he was proud of the boy he raised far more than he was of the boy's talent in airbending.

Thanks to his intellect and his hard work, Naruto ended up being graduated from Republic City's university at the age of only fifteen. On this day, he filled his mother's heart with pride and joy. Naruto's mother, Chief Lin Beifong who was notorious for her apparent apathy, had almost burst into tears and hugged her beloved son with all her might on graduation day. She actually did so when they were hidden behind the walls of the Beifong estate.

Years ago, when Lin realized that she was pregnant, Tenzin had broken up with her three weeks before. For one of the rare times in her life, she panicked. Usually, she was confident enough to overcome any kind of obstacle, but the perspective of becoming a single mother had terrified her. She almost chose to terminate her pregnancy without letting anyone know that she ever was pregnant in the first place. But she refused to take any rash decision, she wasn't like her sister, she was a responsible person. So, she did something she never did before, she took a week off much to the entire Department's surprise, and traveled to the South Pole. When she arrived, she hesitated once again, Katara was one of the best mother figure she knew, but she was afraid that the Master Waterbender's opinion regarding this situation would be biased at the prospect of having a grandchild. But in the end, there was no one else she could tell about this, her own mother was gone Spirits knew where. And she just needed to confide into someone.

Katara welcomed her with opened arms as she always did, she hugged her tightly when she heard about Lin's break up with Tenzin and even more when the Beifong heiress told her about her pregnancy. The Master Waterbender was even more understanding about her situation than Lin thought she would be. She warned her that if she chose to become a mother, her child was going to need her even more than Republic City ever would, and that her duty as a mother would never truly be over no matter how old her child would grow. But she also reassured by telling her that every women in the world was mother material, that her body was her own and that no one would have the right to judge her no matter her decision. Lin would never forget the warm smile Katara gave her, when she told her that the simple fact that she was concerned about the kind of mother she would become if she decided to have this child, already made her a better mother than many actual mothers.

Lin was grateful to Katara for being so understanding and not putting more pressure on her shoulders. She still took a few days to ponder her decision. But… as the days went on… she started to ask herself so many questions about her baby. She wondered if it would be a boy or a girl, if he or she would be a bender, and if yes, what kind ? She sighed in dismay when she realized that she was going to have to tell Tenzin about the baby, but at this point, that was probably going to be her easiest trial as a mother. When she left the South Pole, the best decision of her life was made, and she never, ever, regretted having Naruto.

Her little boy had blond hair, the result of some albinism according to the doctor, and he had his grandmother's blue eyes. The first time Lin looked at him, she just knew he was perfect.

And as the years went on, her pride and her love for Naruto never ceased to grow, and so did her overprotective instincts.

She was a bit disappointed when he ended up being an airbender, though, only because that meant that he had to spend more time with Tenzin than she would have wanted. But apart from that she hardly ever found a flaw in her darling boy.

When he started to develop an interest in enginery, she fully encouraged him to pursue his dreams, especially since his primary goal was to help Republic City prosper. And he did.

After he graduated from College, he participated in an engineering contest organized by the prestigious company Wayne Enterprises. Needless to say that the prototype for his long range wireless communicator caught the old but still very sharp eye of Bruce Wayne, the CEO of this company. Indeed, as he was handing the first prize to the young man, he made him an offer he couldn't possibly refuse : he offered to become his personal assistant.

Despite his mother's reluctance, he accepted and became Bruce Wayne's shadow. He followed him everywhere, from his office, to the galas he was invited, and even to his own manor were the old business would give him personal lessons. Lessons Naruto wouldn't get anywhere else.

And after two years of good and loyal service, a special day had come for Naruto, or rather a special night.

His mentor had called him at the Beifong estate and requested his presence immediately, as usual. Naruto didn't ask why, he simply put his shoes on and entered the kitchen to inform his mother.

Lin was enjoying a cup of tea while reading the news when her son came to deliver a kiss on her cheek. She sighed.

"Again? I didn't expect you to work tonight."

"Me neither." Naruto lied. "But with Mister Wayne, I've learned to expect the unexpected if I wanted to do this job properly."

Lin lowered her eyes, Naruto knew she generally did that when something was bothering her.

"Naruto… is it truly the kind of life you want to live? Wayne doesn't see you as a simple employee, he sees you as the successor he has always wanted."

Now it was Naruto's turn to sigh, he sat in front of his mother and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Mister Wayne didn't choose me because he wants his company to prosper, he chose me because him and I, we have a common vision for this city. He wants me to succeed him because he wants Wayne Enterprises to keep doing what it has always been doing : helping people."

Lin wasn't convinced by this, but there was no one she trusted more than her son, so if he said that what he was doing was what he wanted to do, she trusted him. For she knew damn well that he wasn't naive nor greedy.

Still, Naruto felt the need to continue, he really didn't want his mother to worry.

"I learn more with Mister Wayne than I have ever learned, he is a real genius. And you know that I never use that kind of compliment lightly. All I've always wanted to do is to follow your exemple Mom, I want to make Republic City a better place."

Lin felt her heart filled with pride. Had she not been as tough as she was, she would have shed a tear. So she just smiled a little and ruffled her boy's blond hair.

"All right." She conceded. "If you know what you're doing, then you've got my full support."

Those words warmed Naruto's heart, he got up and locked his mother in a hug.

"Spirits." Lin mumbled. "How did you grow so much?"

"I had a great mom."

Those words struck Lin's heart. The stern and strict Chief of the RCPD held her beloved son with everything she had.

Once their moment was over, Naruto kissed his mother goodbye and left the house.

Lin filled herself another cup of tea and took a look at all the hanging pictures on the wall. She was never one for memories before Naruto was born, but when he came out of her womb, she became desperate to remember every single detail of her darling boy's life. The last picture worried her a lot though, it was a picture of Naruto's first day at Wayne enterprises.

Lin had been so worried that her son was leaving the nest that she ordered the whole department to double check every file they had on the company to make sure Naruto wasn't walking in a place that was rotten to the core with all the money it had.

But she found nothing, and the chief of Police just had to cope with the fact that her melancholy was making her paranoid.

She sighed and drank her tea. She just hoped that Naruto would find more happiness than Bruce Wayne ever did, she didn't want her son's love life to look like his.

(-)(-)(-)

"You're late!"

Bruce Wayne's stern and deep voice echoed through the Batcave, the wolfbats woke up and flew off to a quieter corner.

Naruto Beifong didn't stop to chat with his mentor, he immediately went to the showcase that contained his costume, grabbed it, and changed while heading to the training ground.

"My mother needed to be reassured." he said while pulling on the top of his outfit.

Wayne nodded, it was the only kind of excuse he tolerated. The old man himself had lost his parents eight decades earlier, when they were executed by Fire Lord Azulon for treason.

He, more than the others, knew that we had only one mother, and sometimes for less time that we thought.

"Naruto." he called after the blond finished to gear up. "You won't practice today."

The young man raised an eyebrow. It was the first time that there was something more important to do than training.

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Go out."

The Beifong widened his eyes, did his mentor…?

"Batman has been gone from Republic City for far too long." Bruce continued while swallowing a nitroglycerin pill for his heart. "And the criminals took advantage of this to prosper, to the point where Yakone's reign of terror would pass for a time of peace compared to nowadays. It's time for Batman to return, in the shadows, as he started.

Naruto didn't answer, he was too busy sorting out the whirlwind of emotion that was going through his head. The excitement of finally being able to fulfill his duty, mixed with the fear of not being up to it, was crushed by the iron determination he had inherited from his mother. He looked through Bruce's eyes and nodded.

His mentor inwardly smiled.

"Get to work." He just said.

(-)(-)(-)

Lin Beifong was awakened in the middle of the night by the shrill ringing of her phone, after uttering a frustrated curse, she picked up the receiver.

"Chief Beifong speaking, and there better be a mountain of corp… Huh? Slow down Saikhan, I don't understand anything! Where? I'm on my way…"

Fourteen minutes and eleven seconds later, Lin arrived at the scene with her patrol car, and got out to find out the reason why she had been dragged from her bed. The alley where her metalbenders awaited her was littered with bodies, she almost shivered at the carnage.

"How many victims?" she asked her captain.

"None commissioner." he replied to her surprise. "They're all alive, however they have been badly beaten. They all have multiple fractures and head trauma. Apparently they're all members of the Triple Threat Triads or the Polar Birds, judging by the amount of money, drugs and illegally produced metal bending police armor discovered at the scene, I'd say they were in the middle of a transaction.

Lin maintained a straight face as she absorbed the information given by her subordinate.

"Any traces of Bending? Burns, dust or ice?"

"None Chief." Saikhan repeated. "But if benders really did this, they may have covered their tracks with earthbending."

Lin nodded, and began to think. Whoever did this didn't kill anyone and took nothing at first glance, but she got more than enough experience to know that appearances were deceiving. The mystery was thick though, who could have done such a thing? And what exactly were they looking for? Could it just be a message? Could it be that a new gang had just appeared and was marking its territory? If so, the Chief knew that a gang war was very likely to break out. And that was the last thing this city needed. But she was interrupted in her thoughts by a distant howl of terror that echoed in her ears. She reacted in a quarter of second:

"Sergents! Keep an eye on those vermins and call for ambulances, Saikhan! With me!"

(-)(-)(-)

The person who yelled was Zhan, one of Lightning Zolt's most trusted lieutenants, the leader of the Triple Threat Triad.

The poor fellow was chiblocked, which prevented him from turning his head or firebend. The only thing that kept him from falling off the rooftop on which he had been dragged was the iron grip that held him by the nape.

The criminal shivered when he felt a hot breath against his neck, the animalistic voice that resonated in his skull shook his body in terror.

"Tell me, would you rather fall with your guts still inside, or would you rather be dissected?"

With that, a hooked blade caressed Zhan's stomach with its tip, almost making his eyes pop with terror.

"Look." he gurgled as his pants got wetter. "If it's money you want, just take the money from the deal. There are forty thousand yuans in the briefcase, but please don't kill me!"

"I don't care about your money." The beast growled. "I want Zolt. Where is he?"

"I... I don't know..."

"Wrong answer!"

Without warning, the animal applied a false pressure against his victim's flesh by seizing his blade with the whole hand, Zhan yelled in horror when he felt the blade against his belly, but only a very slight gash was drawn in reality.

"Alright! Alright! He's in his warehouse at pier forty-three! He is waiting for a delivery of White Heaven!"

"If you lie I'll break the others."

"What others?"

In a flash, the beast put away his blade, broke the arm of his victim and smashed his head against the rooftop.

(-)(-)(-)

Lin arrived at the scene eighty seconds later, and all she found was a wanted criminal with his arm twisted the wrong way and his pants stained.

"Take that wreck to the hospital with the others." she growled, ignoring the smell of urine. "And deploy as many patrols as necessary, this will be a very long night."

(-)(-)(-)

From his Sato-mobile, Lightning Zolt watched disinterestedly as his men unloaded the crates of White Heaven that his cargo ship had brought from the Fire Nation. Venturing into his workplaces was dangerous, unfortunately there were nights when he was forced to show up, if only to remind his minions that he was the boss, and that one step in the wrong direction would result in a death penalty.

The few light bulbs that lit the docks suddenly burst, burying the twenty or so criminals into the darkness. Their leader wasted no time trying to figure out what was going on, and ordered his driver to drive him away from here. But the car didn't start, and Zolt suddenly heard his men screaming in pain and terror. The leader of the Triple Threat Triad kicked open his door, and created a flame in each hand to light up his surroundings. What he saw paralyzed him on the spot, his minions were on the ground, some of them had their limbs twisted in odd angles, while others kept being ejected from inside the warehouse and rolled up to his feet. Zolt was quick to send a ball of fire into the building that illuminated the crates and his stunned minions lying on the ground. The crime lord thought he saw a retreating shadow in the darkness, and reacted immediately; he sent plenty of fireballs to force his mysterious assailant to show himself. But his efforts proved futiles, and frustration and fear tool over his body.

"Where are you?!" he roared furiously.

"Here."

Zolt did not have the opportunity to spun around in terror, he felt the edge of an overpowered hand hit the back of his neck and instantly fell unconscious. He didn't even feel his assailant break his leg.

Once all the criminals were down, the assailant tampered with the wires of the Sato-mobile in order for the horn to keep ringing continuously. An easy and loud way to signal the police.

(-)(-)(-)

For the third time tonight, Lin arrived too late. Lightning Zolt and many of his goons were unconscious with their arms and/or legs broken. The metalbenders had gotten their hands on a mind-boggling amount of Paradis Blanc, and the mere fact that Zolt and his private driver were on the scene was enough to incriminate him. But despite tonight's excellent capture, the Chief was NOT happy with this situation. The sixty-two criminals apprehended tonight all suffered multiple injuries, not fatal, but serious nonetheless. Some kind of vigilante thought he had acted above HER law in HER town, and left her and her men to pick up the pieces and clean up its mess.

"Chief?" Captain Saikhan called a little hesitantly.

"What is it?" she growled, she was frustrated and furious.

"Well…this modus operandi…looks familiar to me…Smash the criminals and leave it up to the police to lock them up…With enough evidence to put them behind bars…Those are the methods of…"

"Those are NOT his methods." she nearly spat. "HE collaborated with former Chief Beifong and the police to enforce law and order! The degenerate or degenerates who did this thought the law was theirs to enforce."

"But if Bat…"

"If he's still alive, he must be in his eighties." Lin growled, trying to calm herself. "It is not him."

With these words, the commissioner returned to her vehicle and returned to HQ to write her report and prepare her speech to the press. Batman was her greatest hero when she was young, and she wasn't going to let any copycat taint his memory.

(-)(-)(-)

"So?" Naruto asked as he descended the steps of the batcave under the sharp gaze of his mentor. "How did I do?"

"C+, for the results." Bruce growled while lowering the sound of the radio.

The original Batman had followed the events using the long-range wireless communicator carried by his disciple.

"You made three mistakes." He said with a dissatisfied tone. "You took too long to get the information about Zolt, your mother arrived a minute after you left and could have seen you. Your presence was quickly detected once you infiltrated the warehouse. But your biggest mistake, luckily remedied by a bit of luck, was asking Zhan "where was Zolt". You should have asked him "how to find him". It's only because that idiot exposed himself tonight that you were able to stop him."

The old man shook his head disapprovingly, but didn't seem as angry as Naruto thought he'd be.

"Beginner's luck I suppose." He continued. "Apart from all that, you were good. You just need more experience, in the future I will guide your interrogations with the communicator, but you will have to learn how to properly do it yourself, fast."

Naruto simply nodded, his first night was a success in terms of results, but he still had a lot to learn. He could live with that.

"With what happened tonight, the mob will now be on the lookout, you will have to be extra careful and stay in the shadows for as long as possible. Unless absolute necessity, Batman should not reappear for all to see. Otherwise the police will come for you, and that's the last thing you need.

The Beifong heir could only nod again, he feared more than anything that he'd have to face his mother in order to escape.

"Sleep here, I'll need you at eleven o'clock for the board of directors' meeting. After that you can go home to reassure your mother, and come back to the Batcave at 10 p.m. for your second night out. I won't be so lenient tomorrow."

Naruto didn't answer, his mentor wouldn't have listened to him anyway, so he just followed his instructions. And he would keep doing so until he'd earn the name of The Batman.