The God of Speed
I don't own any properties in this story.
Naruto walked into a diner and took a seat at a booth. Waving the waitress off for the moment, he snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared at the end of his index finger. Letting out a sigh of relief, he quickly ordered some coffee and narrowed his eyes.
"Messorum evoco qui me tetigit," he muttered over his coffee.
"What the hell?" asked a young woman in her twenties that appeared in the booth with him.
"Not who I was expecting but this will do," said Naruto.
"How did you summon me?" questioned the woman.
"I need a favor," said Naruto seriously.
"You dare to yank me from my assignment and ask me for a favor?" questioned the woman, "Just who do you think you are, human?"
"I need to talk to your boss," stated Naruto urgently.
The woman laughed at this before slamming a fork into the table.
"You honestly think that I'll just do what you say?" questioned the woman angrily.
Naruto grabbed her wrist and she grunted as she felt her hand getting burned.
"Yes, I do," said Naruto as his eyes lit on fire.
"It's alright, Cleo," said Death as she turned around from the counter as everything besides the three of them froze, "Get back to your assignment."
The woman vanished as Death took her seat.
"I thought you agreed to stop preventing me from dying," stated Naruto seriously.
"I have," said Death as time resumed and the waitress brought them both some pancakes, "You taught me a lesson and now I'm teaching you one."
She noticed Naruto giving her a confused look as she poured syrup on her pancakes and began cutting them up.
"Your parents," said Death, much to Naruto's surprise.
"What about them?" asked Naruto.
"Talk to them," said Death as she stuffed her mouth full of pancakes.
"Are you insane?" questioned Naruto in a hushed tone, "Do you know the consequences of what you're asking me to do?"
"There is just one simple thing you must do," said Death as she continued eating, "Make sure they survive in three days."
"What?" questioned Naruto before Death got up and left some money on the table.
"If you don't, you and your parents will die before your first birthday," said Death as she walked out of the diner.
Naruto went after her but found that she was nowhere to be seen. Quickly going over what he could remember about this time from his mother's notes, Naruto turned extremely pale before throwing a guy off his already started motorcycle and made a beeline for his old home.
"Are you sure you have everything?" asked Minato as he handed Kushina her bag.
"I'm pretty sure," said Kushina as she quickly looked through her bag before pulling out her keys, "I'm just gonna stop at the hospital and quickly say hi to Naruto on my way."
"Kushina… the doctors said to take it easy," reminded Minato with a sigh of exasperation, "They are doing everything they can to help Naruto. You'll only make it harder on yourself."
"Minato, I have been waiting over a year for our baby to come home," said Kushina in a slightly ticked off tone, "You can't say that you haven't wanted to just bring him home and play with him."
"I know it's tough," said Minato as he embraced his wife, "But there's nothing we can do. All we can do is wait and hope for the best."
He gently stroked her hair and took a deep breath.
"I'll tell you what," said Minato as Kushina looked up at him, "On his birthday, we'll go spend the entire day at the hospital. Would that make it better?"
"A little," conceded Kushina worriedly.
"Alright," said Minato as he shoved her out the door, "You get going. I'll be along in a bit."
He closed the door and Kushina sighed before heading to her car. After starting and pulling out of her driveway, she headed down the long road. From a couple houses down, Naruto watched from the motorcycle he stole and swallowed the lump in his throat before following. Arriving at a large skyscraper in the middle of Central City, Naruto followed Kushina inside an introduction over the intercom greeted them.
"Welcome to the Shinju Corporation. Where we grow the fruits of our future."
"I see they use the same slogan back then as well," thought Naruto before he ducked into a blind spot in the cameras.
Muttering under his breath, Naruto's clothes changed into those of a scientist with a badge attached to his collar. Showing it to security at a checkpoint, they gestured for him to continue through and Naruto did so. Following his mother at a distance, he muttered something to change to appearance before walking into the lab she had a moment ago. Kushina looked back at Naruto, causing him to freeze.
"And you are?" she questioned.
"I…" said Naruto as he tried to think quickly, "I'm… your new assistant."
Raising an eyebrow, Kushina walked around Naruto, examining him as she tried to get a good feeling on him.
"I don't recall asking for an assistant that looked so…" began Kushina.
"Handsome?" asked Naruto smugly.
"Lanky," finished Kushina, much to Naruto chagrin, "Well, what are you qualifications?"
"Well, I graduated at the top of my class at Harvard as well and got my Doctorate in theoretical as well as experimental physics at Dartmouth at the same time," said Naruto, recalling those long nights of studying and Meena tutoring him.
"Anything else?" asked Kushina as she took a seat at a lab station.
"My mother was also a physicist," said Naruto as he watched Kushina work, "She was actually the reason I became interested in science."
"Have I read anything of hers?" asked Kushina as she looked over some notes before heading to a whiteboard.
"I'm sure you have," thought Naruto before he came up with a lie, "I doubt it. Her own original work wasn't very well received."
Naruto looked over at a small picture and picked it up.
"This your husband?" asked Naruto as he looked at the smiling Kushina and Minato in the frame.
"Huh?" asked Kushina as she looked back, "Oh, yeah. That's Minato."
"You have any kids?" asked Naruto without a second thought.
Kushina's marker snapped as he anger swelled.
"Shit!" thought Naruto before he got onto his knees and bowed, "I'm sorry!"
Kushina grabbed a broom and dust pan then tossed them to Naruto.
"Get cleaning," she ordered as she started to get to work.
"I sense it," said a man in a full black bodysuit, "I sense the Speed Force."
An instant later, he rushed away with a streak of blue lightning behind him.
"Something wrong?" asked Kushina when she saw Naruto look over his shoulder.
"No," said Naruto in an uneasy tone, "What is the Speed Gene?"
He then broke into a cold sweat as Kushina gave him a look of anger when he asked that.
"It's a particular sequence of DNA that would allow someone to access the Speed Force and move at super speeds," stated Kushina angrily as she got back to work.
"But would it be possible for someone to also be born with a gene sequence that would make them seriously ill if they were connected to the Speed Force?" asked Naruto.
Kushina looked up from her work and went up to her whiteboard, shoving Naruto aside as she quickly got to working. Naruto felt the feeling from before again and, seeing as Kushina wasn't going to be talking to anyone for a while, he quickly left and headed to the bike he stole. Starting it up, he rode toward a hospital but noticed a trail of blue lightning. Speeding up, Naruto's flesh burned up as he transformed into Ghost Rider along with his bike turning into a Hell Bike.
Moving at insane speeds, Ghost Rider saw that the trail of blue lightning was coming from a speedster wearing a completely black suit. The speedster looked at Ghost Rider before putting on an extra burst of speed. Pulling a flaming chain out of thin air, Ghost Rider one end of the chain forward and grabbed the speedster by the waist, Skidding to a halt, Ghost Rider threw the speedster into a building and sent people screaming as they ran away. The speedster got up as Ghost Rider got off his Hell Cycle and a barrier appeared around them and the speedster got to his feet.
"You have no idea who you're messing with," said the speedster.
"Try me," said Ghost Rider as the speedster ran forward.
Ghost Rider grabbed the speedster by the skull and planted his head into the ground. Getting up, the speedster ran around Ghost Rider before hurling blue lightning at him. Ghost Rider grunted when the lightning hit but remained unharmed. Ghost Rider noticed a black smoke starting to gather and spin above them. He chuckled as the speedster stopped.
"Why are you laughing?" he demanded.
A chain shot out of the ground and wrapped around his neck. Ghost Rider then pulled the speedster to him and grabbed him by the neck.
"Go home," he told the speedster before throwing him up into the portal.
It closed as the barrier disappeared and Ghost Rider noticed a huge gathering of police vehicles surrounding him.
"Freeze!" ordered one of the cops.
Ghost Rider sighed as he wrapped his chain over his shoulder then made his right hand into a fist. Planting it into the ground, he caused a fiery wall to come between him and the cops that obscured him from view. Once the flames went out, the cops all gathered around the hole that Ghost Rider had made. Meanwhile, Naruto watched from an alleyway before going down it.
"I guess Cleo was right," said Reaper as he reformed against the wall, "You were sent back here."
"All thanks to my dear ex-wife, apparently," said Naruto as he scratched his crotch, "It feels weird being a guy again after so long."
"I'll trade you for technically being dead," said Sasuke as he removed his mask.
"Who was that man?" asked Naruto as Sasuke led him inside the back entrance of an apartment building.
"That was Hunter Zolomon," said Sasuke as they entered an apartment and Sasuke went to the kitchen while Naruto sat on the couch, "But he goes by the name Zoom."
"Like Professor Zoom?" asked Naruto with intrigue, "The Reverse-Flash?"
"Reverse-Flash doesn't exist on the Earth he's from," said Sasuke as he handed Naruto a beer, "Currently, he's dying and trying to absorb the speed from different speedsters to find a cure."
"But there aren't any speedsters in this time," said Naruto, "Barry is just a baby and I'm…"
Naruto suddenly realized what was going on and he looked at Sasuke.
"He's after the baby me," said Naruto and getting a confirmation nod from Sasuke.
"Should he succeed, then you'll never live past your first birthday," said Sasuke.
"This must be what Meena meant," said Naruto seriously, "I have to stop Zoom from getting the speed from my younger self."
"Most likely," said Sasuke as he took a drink, "Mistress always did have a unique way of handling things that involved you."
"First thing's first," said Naruto as he sat the bottle down, "We need to kidnap myself."
(Ten Minutes Later)
Naruto reentered Kushina's lab to find her having filled up three more whiteboards in addition to the one she started on. Naruto looked in awe at the equations he'd never seen before figuring out what these equations said.
"Did you just come up with a way to alter the genes of a person with the Speed Gene as well as having an intolerance for it?" asked Naruto in disbelief.
"It would require a solidified speed energy to work," said Kushina before she noticed the bag Naruto was carrying, "What's that?"
"Huh?" asked Naruto as he looked at the bag, "Oh, I just grabbed some instant ramen."
With cartoonish speed, Kushina had taken the bag from Naruto and started making the ramen. Naruto watched as his mother sit in front of a microwave when there was a knock on the door.
"Knock knock," said Minato as he entered and got Naruto and Kushina to look at him.
"Hey," said Kushina as she turned back to the microwave.
"And you are?" asked Minato as he looked at Naruto.
"I'm Barry Allen," said Naruto as he held out his hand to Minato, "I'm your wife's new assistant, sir."
"A pleasure," said Minato as he shook Naruto's hand before noticing the full whiteboards, "What is all of this?"
"Apparently, your wife came up with a theory to help those who have and are intolerant to the Speed Gene," said Naruto as Minato looked between him and Kushina.
"You what?" asked Minato in surprise.
Kushina sighed as the ramen finished cooking before she pulled it out.
"Not only does it require solidified speed energy but it would also require the DNA of someone who has at least 22 of the same chromosomes as the person that the procedure is done on," said Kushina in resignation as she slumped down in a chair as she ate with some chopsticks.
Naruto felt the middle of his sternum tingle at the mention of that fact as he knew at least one person that applied to. Kushina sat her ramen and trudged out the door.
"I'm going to go visit Naruto," said Kushina as she headed down the hall.
Naruto made to go after her when Minato grabbed him by the wrist and pinned him against the wall with his forearm in Naruto's neck.
"I never signed off on Kushina getting an assistant," said Minato with controlled anger, "Who are you really?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes and placed his free hand on Minato's wrist. Minato grunted in pain and staggered back as his wrist had been burnt. Looking back up from his wrist, he saw Naruto was gone.
Zoom ran out of a portal and skidded to a halt in a room full of scientists.
"You got careless," said a scientist with blue hair that reached her chin.
"How are there other metas on this Earth?!" demanded Zoom before removing his mask, "You told me that I wouldn't be interrupted."
"His abilities aren't those of a metahuman," said the woman as she led Hunter Zolomon through the countless scientists, "That barrier he put up and that portal back to your Earth aren't something one could just do with mere meta abilities."
Turning around, the woman had her neck grabbed by Hunter with a look of rage on his face. He suddenly fell to his knees, grabbing his head while he screamed in pain. The woman crouched down in front of Hunter as he calmed down and glared at her.
"Patience, Hunter," said the woman, "Now, you just do as we say and we'll help cure you."
Hunter glared at the woman as she went over to a table and picked up a piece of paper.
"Soon, this world shall know our justice," said the woman as the paper folded itself into a crane that flew toward Hunter and gave his cheek a shallow cut.
She then picked up a black and green game cartridge that easily fit her grip. Continuing to frown, the woman pressed the switch on the side of the cartridge, causing the circuit board to light up.
KAMEN RIDER CHRONICLE!
(The Next Day)
Kushina looked through the nursery window at the young baby that was almost a year old. Placing her hand on the glass, she gave a sad smile as Naruto came up behind her.
"You shouldn't torture yourself like this," he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder, "There's nothing you can do but wait."
Kushina lowered her head as she knew he spoke the truth before walking away. Once she walked out of sight, Naruto looked at his younger self and felt a tug in his gut.
"This isn't the hospital that was struck by lightning," he thought as he watched his younger self yawn in his sleep.
Placing his hand on the glass, Naruto scrunched his eyes closed before opening them, flames dancing inside.
Kushina was almost to her car when an alarm reached her ears. Spinning around, she looked in horror as the entire floor she had just been on was engulfed in flames. Jumping out of them was Ghost Rider, who had a small wrapped bundle in his arm. Catching sight of what the bundle was, Kushina felt a sense of dread wash over her.
"Naruto!" she screamed in agony.
Ghost Rider paused at the scream before looking over his shoulder at Kushina. She had tears streaming down her eyes before Ghost Rider turned away and placed the baby inside a car. Looking back at Kushina, Ghost Rider met her gaze before looking off to the side. Zoom threw Ghost Rider aside and advanced on the car the baby was in. Reaper flew in and fired his shotguns at Zoom while corralling him away from the car. Kushina, still in shock, just fell to her knees before she noticed someone else had entered the area.
"Naruto!" called out Kushina.
Ghost Rider looked at her then back toward the car the baby was in to see a person with wings made of paper taking the baby out of the car. He jumped toward the woman and swung his flaming chain but the woman turned into paper that flew into the sky.
"You lost," said Zoom as he ran off.
Ghost Rider slashed at the car with the chain and roared in anger, cutting the car into pieces. Reaper landed behind Ghost Rider and wrapped his arms around him.
"You need to calm down," said Reaper as he refused to release Ghost Rider, "You need to calm down and think. Remember, you can't lose your cool right now."
Ghost Rider took several deep breaths before looking at the crying Kushina, who was still watching them. Reaper finally let go once he judged Ghost Rider had calmed down enough and watched as he returned to his human form. Kushina and Naruto stared at each other with Naruto breaking their gaze.
"3X2(9YZ)4A," said Naruto with much strain to get it out.
Kushina just stared at Naruto when he said that before he broke into a Dodge Charger and transformed it then drove off. Reaper looked at Kushina as well before he flew after Naruto. Sirens wailed in the distance as Minato hurried over to Kushina after hopping out of his car.
"Kushina, are you okay?" asked Minato of his shocked wife, "What happened?"
"Someone took Naruto," cried Kushina as she cried into Minato's shoulder, "A woman in a black cloak with red clouds on it and had wings."
Minato narrowed his eyes as Kushina felt herself fall on something soft at the same moment that the sound quieted down. Pulling away, she saw she was back home in bed and just managed to see Minato vanish in a small spark of yellow light. Quickly getting up, she hurried off to the one place she guessed Minato would be.
Naruto rammed the Dodge Charger through the front doors of the Shinju Corp building and calmly got out. When a security guard came at him, Naruto threw him against the wall and removed the chain from around his shoulder as everyone ran away in a panic. Swinging the flaming chain, Naruto turned three guards to cinders as more heavily armed men came out from all over the place. They all took positions in front of Naruto, pointing their weapons at him. Yelling in a rage, Naruto transformed into Ghost Rider and all the guards fired on him.
A few short seconds later, all the guards had emptied their clips with no visible effect on Ghost Rider. Reaper flew in and fired off at the guards, turning each one he hit into black smoke that he absorbed while Ghost Rider just walked through and paid no attention to them. Tearing off an elevator door, Ghost Rider jumped down to the bottom of the shaft and tore the bottom elevator door off.
Minato arrived at Shinju Corp to find the alarm was going off but nobody was around. Pulling out a trip pronged knife, he slowly made his way through the building. Stopping around a corner, Minato stopped when he heard footsteps approaching. Mentally taking a second, Minato prepped himself before going around the corner and threw the knife through Reapers face.
"You're lucky that I'm here to help," said Reaper as he turned around and walked calmly toward the open elevator shaft.
Minato appeared in front of Reaper and placked his knife at the man's neck.
"Who are you?" questioned Minato seriously as he pressed the knife closer to Reaper's neck.
"I am called Reaper," said Reaper seriously as he turned into smoke that went around Minato and reformed, "I'm here to help find your son."
"That's bullshit," said Minato as he threw the knife at Reaper but it phased right through him.
"I thought you'd be smarter than that, Minato," said Reaper as Minato clenched his hand, "Or would you prefer I call you Hot Pursuit?"
Minato pinned Reaper against the wall with a burst of speed that only a speedster could achieve.
"Honestly, you need to realize that won't work," said Reaper as he phased through Minato and continued to the open elevator shaft, "If we don't hurry, your son is going to die."
Gritting his teeth, Minato followed Reaper down by throwing his knife into the darkness of the elevator shaft. Appearing at the bottom in a spark of light, Minato climbed out of the torn open to gaze upon the trail of ash that lined the wall with outlines of people being thrown about surrounded by ash.
"That idiot is going overboard," muttered Reaper as he shoved a large piece of the destroyed ceiling out of the way.
"Who?" questioned Minato.
"Possibly the only person who can save your son," said Reaper as they went up to a sealed door.
Shooting the lock, the door slid open and revealed that Naruto was sitting, with his head hung, in the middle of a large open room that was in ruins. Desks were turn over. Papers were flung all over the place. Equipment was trashed. But most of all, there were piles of ash scattered throughout the room. A hidden door opened up and Kushina stepped inside, to the surprise of Minato.
"Kushina!" exclaimed Minato as he hurried over to his wife, "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"
Kushina gently moved Minato aside and slowly walked up to Naruto. She stopped about two feet from him then looked down at the sulking man.
"3X2(9YZ)4A," she said to Naruto seriously, "How did you know that equation? I've never even told Minato about it."
Naruto remained silent for a second before he let off a small sigh.
"When I was 4, I asked you what you did for a living," explained Naruto softly without looking at her, "You told me that equation. I asked you what it meant and you just smiled, saying I'd understand it when I was older."
Kushina leaned over to get a good look at Naruto's face but could only see the whisker marks on his cheeks. Kushina's expression turned to one of realization slowly as she stood straight again.
"Naruto?" she asked in a hushed whisper, "Is… is that really you?"
Naruto started sobbing before shooting to his feet and throwing his arms around his mother. Initially shocked by this, Kushina slowly wrapped her arms around her son, who went limp in her arms five seconds later. Reaper sped over and pulled them apart as he saw a sigil he recognized glowing through Naruto's shirt.
"Damn it!" he yelled as he held his hands over the sigil with his palms starting to glow.
"What's going on?" questioned Kushina as Minato hurried to her side.
"He was branded with a Death Seal," said Reaper as he tried to stop the sigil from growing, "He's going to die unless I can remove it."
He suddenly got an idea and looked over at Minato.
"Get over here!" he barked out as the sigil started to grow and cover Naruto's body.
Minato hurried over and Reaper grabbed his hand, placing it against the glowing sigil.
'Channel your Speed Force energy into the sigil until I get back," said Reaper as he got up running but faded away in that instant.
"Minato, what is he talking about?" asked Kushina.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before," apologized Minato as he continued to channel a silverish-blue electricity into Naruto's sigil.
Konan sat the sleeping baby inside a chamber and sealed the door behind her as she left. Zoom came speeding up to her and removed his mask.
"How much longer?" questioned Hunter.
"We must wait for the Speed Force in him to mature," said Konan as she started doing some origami, "It takes about a year for it to mature so we must wait until the day after tomorrow."
"And what if those people find us?" questioned Hunter as Konan finished the origami crane.
"They won't be a problem," said Konan as she turned toward the door, "They'll never get through our head of security."
It opened up and a man walked inside.
"I'll cut them up in the name of Jashin!" exclaimed the man.
"Come on," said Minato as the sigil on Naruto started getting bigger, "Come on."
Kushina could only watch Minato continued to try and keep Naruto alive when Reaper suddenly reappeared with Death.
"Who's this?" asked Kushina.
"I'm your future daughter-in-law," said Death quickly as she took a bottle of red liquid from Reaper and drank it, keeping the contents in her mouth.
Reaper pulled Minato away as Death kissed the unconscious Naruto, feeding him the liquid, as Reaper extracted the sigil from Naruto's ribcage. Once Naruto had swallowed the liquid Death had given him, he remained motionless for a moment before he began coughing and hacking. Kushina let out a sigh of relief as Naruto opened his eyes and looked up into Death's.
"Before you say anything, I only gave you an antidote to revive you," said Death as she helped Naruto to his feet.
"Are you… okay now?" asked Kushina hopefully.
"Yeah," said Naruto as Death snapped her fingers, sending them all to Reaper's safe house.
"Don't ask," said Naruto when he saw Minato and Kushina were confused as to how they'd gotten there.
"What happened?" questioned Sasuke as he removed his mask.
"Well, after I got to the lab where I thought I'd be, I was attacked by a man that actually hurt the Rider," said Naruto as Death helped him sit down, "He had a scythe with three blades on it."
Sasuke crushed the glass in his hand and everyone looked at him.
"His name is Hidan," said Sasuke angrily, "He's a being with immortality."
"Is that really possible?" asked Minato of everyone.
"Yes, but he did it by using a twisted religious ritual," said Death as she leaned against a wall with a scowl, "He acquires the blood of his victims and then proceeds to inflict wounds on himself that appear on the victims, killing them. An evil god gave him this power. As far as I know, the only ways to kill him are malnutrition or trapping him in the moment that his life is supposed to end."
"Anyway, if we're going to be facing Hidan, then we're likely going to be facing the other members of Akatsuki," said Sasuke.
"Who?" asked Kushina in confusion.
"It's the nickname for the board of directors of Shinju Corp," said Minato, "I may be the president but it's extremely rare for the board to meet. In fact, I've only seen the whole board together once in the past four years."
"Well, if they aren't at HQ, then I have one other idea of where they could be," said Naruto as they all looked at him.
(That Night)
Naruto sat alone in Sasuke's sitting room when Death came out of thin air, opening up the fridge and sticking her head inside.
"You want anything?" she asked Naruto as she tried to find something to eat, "I've got to tell Sasuke to get some more things to eat."
"How did you do it?" asked Naruto seriously as he thought.
"Hmm?" asked Death as she pulled her head out of the fridge to look at him with a piece of turkey in her mouth.
"Savitar's blood," said Naruto as he raised his head slightly, "How did you get it?"
Quickly stuffing the turkey in her mouth and swallowing it, Death went over to Naruto and sat next to him.
"I went into his past and got it when he was getting blood work done," confessed Death.
Naruto looked at Death and was about to speak but looked away a moment later.
"If you don't mind, could you use the face I remember you with please?" asked Naruto.
Death seemed surprised by this but never the less, she shimmered and assumed the form of Meena Dhawan.
"Remember the night I became Godspeed?" asked Naruto, "We were sitting on the couch in mom's lab and you told me we were at a point where we become the people we are for the rest of our lives."
"Yeah," said Meena as she fondly recalled that memory.
"But the thing is, I'm still not sure what I've become," he confessed, "I there are things about myself that I just look back on and regret everything I've been doing since that day."
"You regret meeting Zatanna and the others?" she asked in surprise.
"I've caused them so much pain since I met them," stated Naruto.
"You know, she and Jade saw that video you left behind," revealed Meena.
"Of course they did," resigned Naruto, "I told Orchid to show them it if I died."
Keeping his head down, Naruto looked at his gloved hand, which was holding a ball of fire inside of it.
"I just don't know what I'm supposed to do," confessed Naruto, "I spilled so much innocent blood that… all I see when I look at myself is Savitar."
"But you're not him," said Meena as she rubbed his back, "You and Savitar may have virtually identical pasts but there is one thing that separates you from him?"
"And what would that be?" asked Naruto as he finally looked at her.
"Uh, am I interrupting something?" asked Kushina as she came out from the bedroom.
"No," said Death as she returned to her true form and stood up, "I was just having a chat with your son before I get back to work."
Heading for the exit, Death stopped with her hand on the corner.
"No matter what you are, Naruto, you will always be the father of my children and the man I love," said Death as she vanished and Kushina looked at Naruto.
(The Next Day)
"That's it," said Naruto as he handed some binoculars to Sasuke.
"I don't see anything," said Sasuke as he peered out over the ocean.
"That's because it's covered by an illusion that prevents anything from getting near it," said Naruto, "You'll notice that no birds are going anywhere near that area."
"Let's just get this over with," said Minato as he was in his Hot Pursuit outfit. (1)
Naruto pulled the chain out from around his shoulder and ignited it.
"Wait!" called out Kushina as she came running up to them with her hair in a ponytail, a Chinese Dao across her back, and wearing a black outfit that seemed like that of an assassin with the hood down, "I'm coming with you."
"Kushina, we've been over this," said Hot Pursuit as he went up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "You need to remain here. I can't have you getting hurt."
"I'm not that little girl you saved all those years ago, Minato," said Kushina as she pushed his hand off, "I've done some training with some very powerful individuals during that year abroad."
"Let her come," said Naruto as everyone looked at him. "If she trained under who I think she did, then she is more of a threat than me."
Holding up the chain, Naruto clenched his hand around tightly around it.
"Once I open the portal, Dad, you need to run through and deal with anyone that on the immediate other end," he advised his father before proceeding to swing the chain over his head.
Moving it down to ground level a moment later, images appeared in the ring of sparks as Naruto pulled the chain back, completing the portal, Hot Pursuit ran through with a silverish-blue lightning trailing him. Naruto, Reaper, and Kushina entered in a moment later to find themselves inside a lab with bodies lying on the ground.
"Never expected you to be this violent," said Reaper as he placed his mask on.
"They took my son," said Hot Pursuit as he walked over to them, "They will die for hurting my family."
Naruto went over to a computer and began typing, a holographic layout of the building appearing behind them.
"We are here," said Naruto as a blinking dot appeared on a portion of the map, "The place they're likely keeping my younger self is here."
Another blinking dot appeared on an upper level as Kushina flipped up her hood.
"There are teleport panels scattered throughout the place but it'll be easier if we use the stairs," stated Naruto as he highlighted the countless stairs in the building while Kushina noticed the Kamen Rider Chronicle cartridge on the floor, "They only go up one floor at a time but it's probably the most efficient way of getting through."
An alarm went off, causing Hunter to raise his head.
"It would appear that we have intruders," said Konan as she brought up a screen while Hunter put his mask on, "They're on the research level."
Zoom ran off and Konan brought up a com system.
"All soldiers to the research level," said Konan as she sent a message to Hidan.
Kushina quickly put the cartridge in her pocket as Naruto quickly put in some commands and a timer started.
"I set this place to blow and locked it from this console," said Naruto as he grabbed one of Sasuke's guns from his and shot the computer before tossing it back, "Now, they can't stop the countdown. Let's go."
Reaper flew out of the room while Hot Pursuit sped down the hall as Naruto and Kushina ran for the stairs.
Hot Pursuit was almost to the room that Naruto had specified when he stopped just as Zoom appeared in front of him.
"You're going to pay for taking my son," said Hot Pursuit as lightning dancing around him.
"Try and catch me then," said Zoom as the two ran after the other.
Naruto swung his chain through a guard, turning him into a pile of ash with his gun falling to the floor. He grabbed the gun and ran a bit ahead of Kushina. He turned a corner but almost instantly backed up as he sprayed down it before running the other way. A blast door in front of them began closing and both managed to jump through just before it finished closing, trapping the guards and soldiers on the other side.
Both stepped on a large panel and were engulfed in a bright light before it died to reveal they were in a large, open room.
"I'm guessing that was one of those panels you were talking about," said Kushina as someone laughed in front of them.
Looking forward, they saw Hidan, wearing a black cloak with red clouds on it, with his scythe leaning on his shoulder.
"I'm happy you didn't die last time so now I can use you in my ritual," said Hidan gleefully as Naruto tossed the gun aside.
Reaching for his chain, Naruto was stopped by Kushina, who held her hand out in front of him while she drew her Dao.
"Leave him to me," she said with a glare at Hidan.
"Are you sure?" asked Naruto as he kept his eye on Hidan, to make sure that he didn't make any sudden moves.
"I was trained by the best," said Kushina as she gave Naruto a smirk.
Naruto nodded and ran off to the right and toward another teleportation platform.
"No you don't!" yelled Hidan as he threw his scythe toward Naruto.
A bang echoed throughout the room as Naruto vanished in a flash of light while the pistol in Kushina's hand smoked from the barrel.
"I, Al-Shaytan, heir to the League of Assassins, and protégé of Ra's al Ghul, will be your opponent," declared Kushina as she tossed the pistol aside. (2)
Hidan laughed as he retrieved his scythe, via the cord attached to hilt of it and smirked.
"Bring it on then, Kushina Uzumaki!" he yelled as he charged, with Kushina doing the same.
Naruto threw open the door at the end of the hall he was running down and sighed when he saw his younger self at the other end of the enormous room, sleeping calmly in a pod. Walking towards the pod, Naruto stopped as an enormous shadow towered behind him. Turning around and looking up, Naruto had no time to react as he was covered in a sea of paper. The paper suddenly went up in flames as Ghost Rider turned all the paper to cinders. Looking up, Ghost Rider glared at Konan, who stared at him with an emotionless look.
"You seem to know an awfully lot about this place," said Konan as she kept her eyes on the Ghost Rider, "Just who are you?"
"The one who's going to bring down Akatsuki," said Ghost Rider as he removed his chain and threw it at Konan, who dodged it.
Sending a stream of paper from her wings at Ghost Rider, Konan obscured his vision. As the papers landed, Ghost Rider noticed a seal painted on them, which glowed then caused the papers to explode. Flying back, Ghost Rider skidded to a halt and glared up at Konan as he propelled himself into the air above her with some flames and brought his chain down.
Kushina coughed up blood as Hidan, who now had black skin with a skull pattern on his body, stabbed himself in the abdomen with a metal pole as he stood in a seal made of his own blood. Kushina was looking worse for wear. Her abdomen was bleeding, she had countless cuts on her face, and she had a noticeable limp.
"This is just too fun!" exclaimed Hidan as he pulled the pipe out of his gut.
Kushina charged for Hidan again when he stabbed his foot. Kushina fell to the ground and the Kamen Rider Chronicle cartridge flew out of her jacket. Hidan raised the pipe to stab himself in the heart and gave Kushina a look of absolute glee.
"Farewell, Kushina Uzumaki!" he shouted as he brought the pipe down.
A bang went off and Kushina barely had enough strength to look up and see a man in a suit point some sort of gun that had a saw blade on the other end at Hidan.
"The only one allowed to lay a hand on my family is me," said the man in a carefully calculated voice as he pressed a button on the device.
RESET!
The entire room seemed to go blurry before everything it returned to normal. However, two things had changed. Both Kushina and Hidan were healed and Hidan's ritual seal under him had vanished.
"What did you do?!" demanded Hidan as the man picked up the Kamen Rider Chronicle cartridge.
Smiling, the man just attached the device, which Kushina now thought looked like a sort of handheld game console, to a belt around his waist.
GACCHAN!
"Ima koso shinpa no toki," said the man as he held out the cartridge and pressed the button on the side. (3)
KAMEN RIDER CHRONICLE!
"Henshin," said the man as he let go of the cartridge.
It floated in the air and inserted itself into the slot of the console.
GASHATTO!
He pressed a button on top of the cartridge and the screen lit up.
BUGGLE UP!
TEN WO TSUKAME RIDER! (WOW!) KIZAME CHRONICLE! IMA KOSO TOKI WA KIWAMARERI! (WOW!)
A green projection appeared over the man along with a golden clock face that had Roman Numerals on it. The green projection went down over the man as the numerals appeared behind him then vanished with the green projection when it touched the ground at the man's feet. He not wore a black and green armor with horns on his shoulders that appeared in the shape of lightning bolts and a helmet with hair but also horns attached to the goggles over his eyes.
"You can call me… Kamen Rider Chronos," said Chronos calmly as he walked toward Hidan.
"How about I call you DEAD?!" shouted Hidan as he ran at Chronos with his scythe raised.
Chronos stopped and pressed the two large buttons on his belt.
PAUSE!
Everything seemed to gain a hint of grey and froze in place at that very instant.
"Judgment is to be carried out in silence," stated Chronos as he walked up to Hidan and pressed one of the buttons on his belt twice.
RIDER CRITICLE CREWS-AID!
An enormous glowing clock face appeared under Chronos and he spun around, one of the hands following his right leg. He struck Hidan across the face, causing an explosion that froze with the rest of time as Chronos had his back to him.
SHUUEN NO ICHIGEKI!
He then pressed the buttons on his buckle once again.
RESTART!
Everything regained its normal color and time resumed as the explosion that was Hidan went off behind Chronos. Kushina shielded her eyes from the blast but looked to see a charred corpse on the ground behind Ghronos with Hidan's scythe in its hand. Chronos looked over toward Kushina, who got to her feet and held her sword out at him.
"You're not even worth it," said Chronos as he faded away, leaving Kushina stunned.
Konan took deep, short breaths as she fell to one knee while Ghost Rider leaned against a wall for support. The room they were fighting in was almost completely destroyed, save for the pod the young baby was sleeping in, which both were careful not to touch.
"You are one tough opponent," commended Ghost Rider, "The only person to give me this much trouble, I had to seal away in another dimension."
He pushed himself off the wall and a flaming scythe with a single blade appeared in his hands. He was then knocked to the ground by Zoom, who stood in between him and Konan.
"I dealt with that other speedster," informed Zoom to Konan, who apparently didn't like the sound of that judging by the look of shock on her face.
"What. Did. You. Say?" questioned Ghost Rider with emphasis on each word as he began seething.
He let out a monstrous roar as explosions went off throughout the base.
"Banshō Ten'in," spat out Ghost Rider as he held his hand toward Zoom, who was pulled into his grasp.
The floor began cracking with hellfire seeping through as Ghost Rider glared into Zoom's eyes.
"Go away…" said Ghost Rider as he punched Zoom with all his strength in the gut, "Forever."
Zoom staggered back as his entire body turned into a black light that flew up through the ceiling, causing a hole that led up to the open sky. Ghost Rider looked toward Konan, who turned into countless pieces of paper that flew out of the hole. Ghost Rider went up to the pod the baby was in and pulled the release hatch. Taking the baby in his arms, Ghost Rider looked down at the sleeping form of his younger self just as Kushina entered the room and Reaper reformed next to her.
"Oh, my little baby boy!" exclaimed Kushina as she hurried up to Naruto and took the baby from Naruto.
"Thanks, mom," said the slightly annoyed Naruto after he'd changed back.
Detonation Aborted
"What?" asked Kushina as she looked around after the computerized voice went off.
"They must have a master control console somewhere," said Reaper.
"Take them and get out," ordered Naruto as he headed for the door, "I'll get to the console and set it to go off instantly."
"But you'll die," said Kushina as she looked at the back of Naruto's head.
"I'll be fine," said Naruto as he looked back and gave her a toothy grin, "I wouldn't want to lose my mother after so long without her."
Reaper grabbed Kushina and the baby then flew out through the hole in the ceiling. Naruto ran through the building, dodging the explosion that were still going on before he felt faint. Leaning against a wall, he saw his hand fade in and out of existence before he continued on. Explosions rocked the building as it started to collapse just as Naruto made it to the control room. Typing in some equations with his one good hand, Naruto managed to reengage the self-destruct function before he slumped to the floor. Managing to get into a sitting position, Naruto saw his entire body start to fade away as he closed his eyes.
"Come on," said a voice as Naruto was shaken awake, "Get up."
Naruto opened his eyes weakly to see Minato, wearing his suit but not his mask, helping him to his feet. Naruto trudged with Minato toward a teleportation platform. Naruto fell to his knees as he was losing his strength but Minato caught him.
"You're not dying on me," said Minato as he helped Naruto back to his feet, "Your friends need you."
They managed to get to the platform and Naruto finally went unconscious.
(Some Time Later)
Naruto woke up but kept his eyes closed as he heard a heart monitor. He heard breathing other than his own and opened his eyes slowly, seeing Death, as Meena, was sitting in the armchair next to his hospital bed.
"I didn't save you," said Meena gently, "You're just stubborn."
Naruto grunted as he pushed his sore body into a sitting position.
"Happy Birthday, by the way," said Meena, causing Naruto to look at her in shock.
Naruto unhooked the heart monitor and turned it off before exiting with Meena. Oddly, none of the doctors seemed to take notice of him.
"I put an illusion on the room so that it was like it was never here," explained Meena as she led Naruto down a hall.
Walking down several halls and a flight of stairs, she led him to the nursing floor and looked inside the NICU window to find Kushina asleep next to the baby Naruto.
"She hasn't left your side since she took you here," said Meena as they watched Kushina sleep, "She'll leave in about an hour to sort out things that happened with Shinju Corp."
They quietly left the hospital but Naruto was surprised by the fact that the street was deserted. He looked around before turning to Meena, who gave him a look of regret.
"We all promised you that we wouldn't tell you this when we were younger," she confessed with remorse in her voice, "But you deserve to know."
"So, it's that time," said Minato from behind Naruto.
Naruto looked at his father and saw the same look that was on Meena's face.
"Naruto…" said Meena as she began to tear up, "I can't see your father."
Naruto just stood there looking at his father, who kept that same look on his face.
"I can't hear his voice either," confessed Meena, "No. It's not just me. All of our friends, whenever your father was there, none of us could see or hear him. Even Sasuke with his personal metahuman abilities can't see or hear him."
Naruto's eyes went wide as he tried to process this information.
"I think you could call it a sort of Speed Echo," said Meena, "A lingering bit of his spirit that only you could see."
Naruto shook his head and looked at Minato in disbelief.
"She's telling the truth, Naruto," confessed Minato, "Yesterday… I died at the hands of Zoom. Over 23 year ago for you, I passed away because I failed to defeat Zoom. All those memories you've had with me. That was you subconsciously putting me in there. I was never there for your important moments. On the night your mother died, I decided it was time to let go of you," he gave a sad chuckle and smiled warmly at his son, "You have gone through more pain than anyone could ever hope to go through. But that's what made you strong. You used that pain and because what your mother always wanted you to become."
Naruto fell to his knees and began crying as his nubd raced through all his memories. However, while he remember Minato being in them, he couldn't recall seeing him at all. Minato went up to him, pulling him into a hug that he didn't feel and stroked his back.
"You found a dream," said Minato as he started to fade away, "You found a goal. And that is all I can ever ask of you. You may lose your way some times but you just need to always remember one thing."
He let go of Naruto and placed a hand on Naruto's head.
"You'll find the way to get through," said Minato as Naruto looked up at him with crying eyes, "I know you will."
With that, Minato vanished and Naruto wailed. Meena went up to Naruto and gently placed a hand on his shoulder but Naruto pushed it away as he started running. Naruto continued to cry as he tripped and hit his head hard on the sidewalk. But he just picked himself up and continued running. As he pushed himself, something flickered at his feet, sending a spark up his body.
"No," thought Naruto as the sparks got bigger, "I won't let it happen," The sparks started coming quicker as Naruto began to pick up speed, "I refuse to let it happen."
The sparks turned into electricity that now left a trail behind Naruto.
"I'll won't let anyone else die," he thought through his tears as he created a sonic boom.
A swirling blue portal opened several blocks in front of him and Naruto jumped through. As he did, his entire body was engulfed in a fiery golden light that shot down through the tunnel of energy around him.
(Earth-16)
Captain Marvel flew toward Zatanna when something landed between them and blasted them away from each other. Rocket flew down toward Zatanna and helped her up.
"What was that?!" questioned Rocket as they stared at the cloud of smoke that was between them and Captain Marvel.
Zatanna squinted as a shape took form in the smoke. It was then that she noticed the fiery golden lightning around the figure as the smoke clear and left her stunned. A female version of Godspeed was down on one knee before she stood up and faced Captain Marvel, who charged her. Godspeed grabbed Captain Marvel by the head and planted him down on the floor with ease.
"Shazam!" yelled Godspeed as lightning struck Captain Marvel, turning him back into Billy Batson.
Before Zatanna could say anything, Godspeed looked off to the side and ran down the hall with blinding speed and a loud crack. Kaldur and Miss Martian arrived and looked at the pair.
"What was that noise?" asked Kaldur.
"Rio," said Zatanna in disbelief.
Green Arrow fired an explosive arrow at Artemis but it was stopped short of its target when Godspeed ran through and threw it right at his feet, knocking him to the ground with Aquaman, who was struck by golden lightning that flew from the explosion. Artemis and Kid Flash watched in shock as Godspeed looked at Flash and both ran down the hall with Godspeed in the lead. A portal appeared in front of Godspeed and she jumped through, only to come back out and flatten Flash with a lariat.
"Hey, Vandel," said Klarion as he noticed something off on one of his screens, "Someone just took out six of our toys in the span of fifteen seconds."
"What?!" exclaimed Vandel as Godspeed appeared before the two.
"I'm in a very bad mood right," said Godspeed, "You two don't want to mess with me."
A spear of lightning appeared in her hands and she hurled it at Klarion with speeds faster than Savage could hope to match. It shattered the screens and vaporized Teekl, causing Klarion to vanish as Vandel looked at Godspeed fearfully. He opened a portal and ran through with it closing right behind him. Godspeed took several deep breaths before she too ran through a portal.
(November 11, 2010)
A young Meena Dhawan hung up her phone before she felt herself picked up off her bed and saw a light. When it dimmed, she looked up at Godspeed, who held her lovingly. Godspeed then pointed in the other direction and Meena looked out in awe at the sight of the Earth from the Watchtower. Godspeed willed her mask away and Meena looked up with tired eyes.
"I told you that I'd make your dream come true," said Rio with a caring smile.
"It's so beautiful," said Meena tiredly as her eyes drooped, "Naruto, how long can we stay like this?"
"As long as you want," said Rio as Meena continued to stare out at the Earth.
Meena soon closed her eyes and her breathing ceased. Death appeared next to Rio and drew a bluish wisp out of Meena's mouth and nose.
"It was always meant to be like this, Naruto," said Death, "The difference between you and Savitar was that his father had survived. If Minato had survived for you, you'd have turned out exactly like him."
Rio remained silent as Death turned away.
"While I did live as the Meena Dhawan that you know, that Meena had the same soul as this one but wasn't me," said Death as Rio's mask reformed, "She was close to you because I allowed her to have her memories of you from Earth-1. She knew how she died then and that you'd need her help. Don't let any of this be in vain."
She vanished and Godspeed sped Meena's body back to the hospital before heading home.
(December 31, 2010)
Young Justice arrived in the main hub of the Watchtower just as Godspeed returned, stopping several feet from them.
"Rio?" asked Zatanna cautiously, "Is that really you?"
Godspeed's suit turned into a golden light that vanished in a shower of particles to reveal Rio with a solemn expression on her face.
"Zatanna, remember that ring I gave you?" asked Rio as she looked at Zatanna with a look that was asking for forgiveness, "Would it be alright if I ask that it be for what you first thought it was for now?"
Happy New Year, Justice League
A monitor showing that it was now 2011 appeared in the hub just as Zatanna ran to Rio and they embraced, both in tears. They then kissed as did Kid Flash with Artemis and Miss Martian with Superboy, leaving Robin, Kaldur, and Rocket as the only ones left out.
"Human customs still elude me," said Red Tornado from the floor.
(An Hour Later)
"We've got a lot of planning to do," said Zatanna as Rio had her arms wrapped around her, "There's the location, the food, the music."
"Relax, Zatanna," said Rio as she reached below Zatanna's abdomen, "I just got back and want to blow off some steam."
"Hey, Rio!" called out Robin as he approached.
"Way to kill the mood," muttered Rio before she turned to Robin, "Yes?"
"The entire League wants to have a word with you," relayed Robin, "The JLD and Teen Titans are here as well."
"Lead the way," said Rio as she gestured for Zatanna to go first.
Zatanna smirked and went in front of Rio and began walking. Rio was about to go with them when a hand reached out from an invisible portal and pulled her through. Zatanna and Robin ran back in the room as they had looked back just in time to see Rio vanish.
(1) Max Steel's suit from the movie. (It was the only thing good about it.
(2) Al-Shaytan roughly translates from Arabic to "The Demon"
(3) It's time for judgement. (No Kamen Rider Crossover/references for the rest of this story. I promise.)
Finally finished the first arc of the story. I want to thank everyone who stayed on and gave this story a chance. It really means a lot to me that you all stayed around for it.
So, the next arc will take place back on Earth-1 and deal with Naruto taking on Akatsuki and helping Flash out with Zoom. We'll also see the appearance of the rest of the Konoha 12 from the anime make their story debuts. So, stick around for that.
PLEASE REVIEW (FLAMERS WILL BE IGNORED, BLOCKED, AND DELETED/BANNED. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ALLOWED THOUGH)
P.S. Happy Thanksgiving for those in America.