Disclaimer: Marvel? Naruto? Not mine. Very flattering thought though. Anyway, all rights belong to their respective owners and I am not making any profits.
Published: January 17th, 2014
Notes: Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a very blessed year in 2015, filled with health and happiness! On that note, I am back from my heavily extended hiatus. It turns out that I actually have a life, and trust me — I'm just as surprised as you. Seriously, where did that come from? I've got all sorts of good things to publish, from the start of a Star Wars fanfic to the next chapter of my Star Trek time travel fic to some form of Hobbit fic because goodness-the-Hobbit-is-ended-the-FEELS.
Chapter Three
On Camera
"Well, that was easy," the puppet responded smugly, the chakra gathered in his palms dispersing. The shield dude looked at the puppet despairingly.
Shikamaru Nara frowned as he beheld the emerging battleground in front of him. He held his fist upwards, eyes peeled. "Hold!" he commanded.
Ino protested almost immediately. "Naruto is under attack!" she said, digging a polished kunai out of her weapons pouch and twirling the circular end around her finger in a fit of nervous energy.
"And he's currently in front of the world and on film," Shikamaru reasoned calmly. "That hall has a private security system, not to mention the street cameras."
Sai and Kakashi held back while Ino argued with the commanding officer of their unit.
"Regardless, the council has appointed us with a solemn duty to protect Naruto while he is in the outside world. It is within our mission parameters to go to whatever lengths to ensure that he returns to the Elemental Nations unharmed," Ino said. Then she abandoned her wordy justifications and said, "We can't just sit back and watch!"
"You have to think about this strategically," Shikamaru explained. He gestured to the dueling duo on the sidewalk below them, only a pair of tiny dots from where they hung onto the side of the city building. "Naruto is an SSS-Rank Flee On Sight in the Bingo Book, and the next Hokage in the mix. He is likely the most powerful ninja alive."
Left unsaid was the fact that if Naruto needed help, there wasn't much any of them could do.
Shikamaru's hand moved to the other man. "On the other hand, we have an unidentified assailant. He's not a ninja, but he shows characteristics that make him more than a civilian."
The man with the horned hat fired some unknown form of chakra at Naruto, and melted a streetlamp into a puddle of steaming slag.
"No kidding," Ino snorted sarcastically, throwing her high ponytail over her shoulder.
"But he's not shown himself as a threat yet," Shikamaru continued. His world weary eyes scanned the battle dispassionately. "Obviously, we can't let our guard down, but as it stands the threat of the Outside World following us is greater than the threat of that man injuring Naruto. Until something tips the balance, we hold," Shikamaru said. "Unless you disagree, Kakashi?" he said, acknowledging that Kakashi was to lead the unit in battle.
Kakashi Hatake hummed thoughtfully, tapping his forehead protector. "You're right, Shikamaru, but we have to be ready to interfere at a moment's notice. I'll shadow Naruto from the side, but I want Sai and Ino to cut the power to those cameras at my command."
"And me?" Shikamaru asked as the two ninjas blurred away with a whoosh of displaced air.
"Do what you do best. Think. And keep your Shadow techniques at the ready. If worst comes to worst, tag that man while I escape with Naruto." Kakashi's bored expression made it apparent how likely he thought that was, but still.
An unprepared ninja is as good as a dead ninja, as the old saying went.
~ oOo ~
Naruto was in the process of gauging the helmet man's strength, leaping backward and holding himself at the ready. The rest of the battle had been a frenzied series of assaults, but now they were both standing on opposite sides of the street and assessing each other. The aircraft from earlier flew past again, firing in the vague direction of the other combatant.
He seemed largely unbothered, creating some form of forcefield with his staff and giving the aircraft an unimpressed look. Then, the helmet man's face suddenly jerked backwards, a circular disk flying past his nose and a man jumping down from a height that would seriously harm any civilian. So, another almost-ninja.
The man straightened, and blindly caught his shield in his hand as it ricocheted off a car. Both the man and his shield were painted with a nice contrasting red, white, and blue. Naruto had to approve. The color scheme wasn't as cool as his black and orange, but not everyone could be gifted with his sense of style.
"You okay, son?" the shield dude asked, positioning himself between them. He looked at Naruto for a moment, scanning for obvious injuries, and then kept his eyes firmly fixed upon the enemy.
Naruto had to pause for a moment. He was suddenly reminded of Old Man Hokage's black eyes, filled with a concern and strength that had protected the Leaf Village for decades. Naruto had seen the Will of Fire in the blue eyes looking at him, and for a moment he was speechless.
Then the moment was past, but not forgotten.
"I'm fine!" Naruto answered, grinning casually. He thumbed his nose, eyes roaming about calculatingly despite his open expression. "I was only just beginning to work up a sweat."
"I'm taking over for now," shield dude said. "You should head off with everybody else; SHIELD will probably want to ask you a few questions later."
Naruto considered it. He was supposed to be on vacation, and these would be the last months of his free life. He could just walk away, leave them both to their fate, and disappear off the face of their planet. This wasn't his fight.
But then, he could have backed down from the War too. He had been a target, but he could have stayed hidden, could have walked away. And he hadn't. Because that wasn't his Way of the Ninja.
"Uh, I think I've got this covered pretty well," Naruto said, "Not that I don't appreciate the thought! But I'm pretty sure it would be better if we fight him together."
Shield dude didn't seem very confident about that. Before he could voice any concerns, however, loud music began to blast from the aircraft and a small flying metal man landed, creating a crater in the cement.
"I am here and the party has now officially started!" the metal suit said, raising his hands into the air and gathering some processed form of an energy almost exactly like chakra into his palms threateningly. Its eyes were slits of blue, and it was painted all in gold and red.
Naruto shook his head in annoyance. No ninjas in the Outside World indeed. There was a helmet guy, a shield dude, and a puppet jutsu in the form of a metal suit. What was the intelligence department coming to? He would have to complain to Ino at the soonest possible opportunity that her father had been falling behind in his work.
The helmet guy dropped his staff with a metallic clanking sound. With a smarmy grin, he raised his hands into the air. "I surrender," he said suddenly.
There was a very long pause.
"Well, that was easy," the puppet responded smugly, the chakra gathered in his palms dispersing.
The shield dude looked at the puppet despairingly.
~ oOo ~
As Loki was led away into the aircraft, Captain America and Iron Man both made their way toward the teenager.
The teenager in question was looking at the aircraft with open curiosity. Well, that was only natural, they supposed. The adjustable turbines that had taken the place of the more rigid helicopter's fan weren't yet in public production.
Steve tried to grab the boy's attention by clearing his throat politely. When that didn't work, Tony shouted, "Hey, kid!"
The teen turned around, shaking his head clear of his thoughts. "Oh, yeah," he said.
"So, what's your name?" Tony asked.
"Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage," he said. He surveyed the destruction behind them with a shake of his head. "Geez, that guy was not playing nice," he said casually. "They'll have to rebuild this entire section of the street. What are your names? And who was that guy?"
Either this kid had been living under a rock, or he was trying to be polite.
"My name is Steve Rogers," Cap said, holding out his hand for a firm handshake. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Who even says that anymore?" Tony muttered. Then, "I'm Tony Stark, y'know, Iron Man." He lifted his helmet up, giving a prizewinning grin. "Reindeer Games is known more widely as Loki."
To their surprise, Naruto's eyes bugged out of his skull.
"Wait, you're not a puppet?!" he asked.
"A puppet?" Tony repeated, totally lost.
"Yeah," Naruto said, lifting his hands and wiggling his fingers in approximation of puppeteering using chakra strings.
"Oh," Tony said. He watched Naruto wiggle his fingers like he was typing on a computer. "You mean a robot. Nah, I'm 100% American-grown human," he said. Then he looked sheepishly down at his high tech suit. "Okay, 75%," he amended with a jerky shrug.
Steve watched the last of the loading and waved his hand toward the jet. "We've got to get going. If you want to come with us, I'm sure Fury would like to debrief you."
"Yeah," Tony said. "You should totally join our boy band of witty superheroes. The dental is awful, but SHIELD does offer an awesome life insurance plan."
Naruto threw his backpack onto his shoulders and tucked his hands in his pockets. "Hey, why not?" he said.
~ oOo ~
As Naruto walked up the jet's ramp behind the shackled criminal, four shadows slipped through the obstacle course of patrolling SHIELD agents. They ran low to the ground, brown cloaks whipping about them. As the jet lifted weightlessly into the air, they leapt in turns and placed a hand on the flying machine to keep themselves steady.
"You're really trying to kill us, aren't you, Naruto!?" Ino hissed as she scrambled out of sight, ponytail whipping around wildly.
~ oOo ~
"Agent Romanoff to base. Do you read?" the redhead spoke into the radio. She glanced backwards at the people in the belly of the craft suspiciously. They shouldn't be able to hear her over the sound of the engines and the rain striking the roof, but the Black Widow lowered her voice regardless. It wasn't very far from the cockpit to the belly.
"Fury here," rumbled her headset. "What have you got for me?"
"Information," the Black Widow said sharply. "The boy that fought Loki — he's claimed the name Naruto Uzumaki. Do you have anything like that on file?"
"Uzumaki..." Romanoff could heard the tappity-tap of a keyboard. "A few hits in Japan, but not for Naruto. And none who match physically. Is he lying?" Fury wondered, relying on his operative's intuition.
"I don't think so," the Black Widow mused. "At this point, he's obviously a meta human of some form or other. Why hide his name when he let us know he was super powered? He could have just kept out of the way. It's like he's going out of his way to appear harmless. He's not even wearing a disguise."
Fury was silent for a minute. "I don't like this. Keep a good eye on him — and a gun if necessary. Not that it will do much good."
Romanoff pictured using a mere gun on the boy who had dodged all of Loki's attacks with an ease that spoke of intense, life long training. Training on top of whatever talents he was born with, or was powers that were artificially induced. It wasn't exactly pretty.
"Understood. Black Widow out." The redhead raised a hand to her headset and tapped it before returning her focus on the huge black clouds gathering around her.
It looked like a storm was heading in.
~ oOo ~
Uzumaki was dozing on the jet's bench, backpack leaning against his foot and hands behind his head as he rested his eyes.
Loki glared at the boy, heaving a silent sigh of frustration. The boy had forced him to show his hand before his time, and now he had the daring to sleep without the fear that he would wake with a dagger between the ribs. This could not be allowed to stand, but he would have to bide his time.
Tony jabbed his elbow into Captain America's side and tilted his head toward the napping teen to get his attention. "So, what's the story?" he asked.
"I don't know. I've never heard of him before now," Captain America replied, frowning at the elbow. It hadn't hurt, of course — nothing short of a bullet really hurt now — but there was something about the billionaire's personality and ability to casually invade his personal space that rubbed him the wrong way.
"He seems like a good kid," Tony mused. "And he knows how to hold his ground against a demigod. I can count the people who can do that on one hand — you, me, and the Hulk. SHIELD isn't gonna be happy about this."
The Captain's forehead wrinkled, his mouth turning into a frown. He turned to look Stark in the eye. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.
"SHIELD doesn't understand the meaning of 'privacy'." Stark wiggled his mechanical fingers into air quotes. "They have their eyes everywhere. Every camera, every phone, every computer is theirs — except for mine, of course. And if they don't know something, they start getting real jumpy." Stark's mechanical fingers danced in a sudden frenzy of energy. "It means they've failed somewhere, and SHIELD doesn't exactly cope well with failure. Savvy?"
Rogers wasn't best pleased with the smear on SHIELD's ethics, but he didn't deny it. There was something a bit sketchy about the super network, working above the control of the government and without any public knowledge at all. His personality — his natural transparency — was uncomfortable with the institution's duplicity.
"I don't think it'll come to that," Rogers said confidently. "Regardless, he saved a whole lot of lives today. That's worth something."
Tony narrowed his eyes. "Don't count on it," he muttered.
Rogers opened his mouth to argue, but was interrupted by a rolling peal of thunder. It shuddered through the jet, Loki suddenly looking around with wide eyes. Despite the noise, Naruto continued to slumber, though he shifted at the disturbance.
"Are you scared of a little lightning?" Tony mocked with a smirk.
Loki looked at him with a little frown. "I'm not overly fond of what follows," he clarified humorlessly.
The entire jet shuddered as something came into contact with the roof, and then the landing ramp was suddenly ripped off in a show of easy destruction. A man was suddenly standing there in the entrance, and then he roughly grabbed Loki and both were gone.
"We have to go after them," Captain America said, turning to look at Natasha. "And we need a plan of attack."
"I have a plan," Tony said. His faceplate slipped down and his eyes glowed. "Attack." He lifted off from the jet, but a barrel of enigmatic teen streaked past him before Tony could accelerate.
The teenager recklessly fell, maneuvering to point his head downward and increase his rate of descent. His eyes moistened with protective tears at the cool force pressing against them and his hair whipped around with a rough force that would leave his hair in painful tangles. And then Iron Man was beside him, curses mixing with the deafening whistle of air invading his ears.
After a list of expletives, Tony ended with, "What the hades were you even thinking!?" He prepared to pluck the blond to safety, calculations and trajectories running through his head. A mere stop might do a great deal of damage at this speed, and he'd need to dampen the shock.
Naruto, however, just fixed him with a look of calmness. "I'll be fine!" he said, raising his voice to be heard. "Go after him!"
The kid was nuts. This explained everything — his willingness to fight, his decision to follow them to SHIELD's mobile HQ, his decision to leap out of a friggin jet without even the thought of a parachute to follow a man who wanted to kill him. Everything. He should be put away for his own safety.
But Naruto was still fixing him with that calm, hard stare. He was still judging whether or not Tony was going to try to stop him.
Tony was at once struck by the age of the boy, at how young he was, how Tony hadn't even taken over Stark Industries yet at that age. How he had only just begun the AI programming that would one day lead to Jarvis.
Yet, Naruto seemed suddenly very old. The youth of his body mixed with a spirit of world weariness, of someone who was so very, very tired. And, underneath everything, Tony could see the hints of something he couldn't quite comprehend, soldiering through everything with a dependable steadiness, someone who believed that this would all be worth it someday. And there was a pressure, in Tony's head.
And then the ground was there, and Tony wanted to vomit because he'd just killed a kid because he was looking too much into things and he couldn't just shut off his brain for a moment.
But Naruto wasn't dead. As the ground approached, the teen angled his body toward a tree and landed on a branch with a precision that was physically impossible. And then he was on the next branch, and the next, and he was nearly out of sight.
~ oOo ~
As Naruto listened carefully — eyes closed, resting, but not actually asleep — he eavesdropped on the conversation of his new acquaintances with a slight twinge of guilt. He was putting on an act, using trickery on people who were supposed to be allies. He wasn't just shutting his eyes. He was using the training that Jiraiya had given him, to keep breathing even and natural, to squeeze his eyes shut just the right amount, to shift occasionally.
Every piece of information was priceless.
The conversation between Tony and Steve was interesting, and the Black Window's whispered report from the cockpit even more so. But then there was a shudder of thunder, unnatural and buzzing. And inside the storm, an energy that wasn't exactly chakra.
Naruto used the cover of his nap to drop his hand to his pocket and grasp a kunai. However, the next events proceeded at a rate that he hadn't expected.
The jet was invaded by a man with a beard and a hammer, who grasped Loki with a roughness that did not speak of a rescue.
Even while the two were in the process of leaving the jet, Naruto transitioned suddenly from sound sleeper to hyper aware ninja, standing up and stowing his kunai back into his pocket. He swung his belongings from the ground to his shoulders and secured it as best he could before jumping off of the ramp with a practiced dive.
Tony Stark immediately followed him with a panic that spoke of sincerity. He reached out a hand to slow down the fall, but Naruto knew that slowing down for even a moment would lose them important time. He shouted something to that effect, but Tony didn't know of ninja, of Naruto's unique ability to survive anything short of decapitation. Tony only saw death.
Naruto's piercing gaze gave Tony pause, however, and it lasted just as long as it needed to.
Naruto grasped the rough texture of old bark with his hands, rolling his feet onto the branch and straightening himself. Then he was soaring from branch to branch, leaving a trail of displacement and a surprised Stark behind him.
He might have held his own in Stuttgard, surrounded by recording devices, but he had been born in the Leaf Village. He'd learned to climb trees before he could walk, learned to vanish into the underbrush before he could read.
He lived and breathed freely in the forest in a way that he never would in a Sand Village desert, in a Leaf Village stadium, or in an Outside World city.
Whoever had kidnapped Loki from SHIELD's escort had no idea what they were getting into.
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