Chapter 1: Mission Start

Sasuke Uchiha landed in a maze of corn. Fatigue seized his limbs. Hard-earned instinct kept him standing.

There were no animals or people hiding in the tall stalks of corn, no birds or insects lingering in the clear blue sky. No one had noticed the black portal he emerged from, and no one saw it disappear.

Creating dimensional portals was easy. Tearing through dimensional barriers wasn't. The presence of a dimensional barrier meant there was a being who created it, one who wanted to repel foreign invaders. He fit the bill, so to speak, yet no one had come to greet him.

It wouldn't be difficult for this being to take him down. He was isolated. Arriving in this world had sliced his energy reserves to ribbons, and until his left eye – his Rinnegan – regained its full strength, it would take time until he could travel between dimensions once more.

Sasuke was well acquainted with this loss of power, and he was confident it would return. He spent years crossing dimension after dimension to learn everything he could about Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the alien that nearly subjugated his planet. That way, his people would be prepared for another alien invasion should it ever occur.

That was his mission, his purpose.

If he hadn't been apprehended by now, that meant he was free to move as he pleased. First, he would leave this maze. Once he learned exactly where he was, he'd start planning his next move.

Only then, would he take time to rest.

On the surface, this world wasn't much different from his own. Most people travelled to their destination with vehicles rather than on foot, but they ate at restaurants, enjoyed the arts and purchased utilities from convenience stores. Anyone who was not destitute appeared to be comfortable.

There was an unease that was present, and it wasn't because these people had seen untold horrors. It didn't seem to be personal despair or depression, either, but a wariness of some sort.

He got his hand on a copy of The New York Times and found out why: Earth Bet had superheroes, too. In fact, there were so many people with extraordinary abilities that a national organization known as the Parahuman Response Team existed to manage their activity and respond to parahuman crimes.

There was an article detailing an attack by supervillains who targeted a convoy delivering aid to a coastal city called Brockton Bay. It had been ravaged by something called an Endbringer. The article assumed that the existence of these Endbringers was universally known and did not need to be defined, which was rather inconvenient.

Luckily, Earth Bet had the Internet, a treasure trove of information he could access at the local library. There, he learned about the Endbringers, and took the time to read a couple of books documenting the rise of these so-called parahumans.

Sasuke memorized everything relevant before clearing his search history. Nothing he searched would raise any red flags, but one never knew who was eavesdropping.

Almost thirty years before this world's present, a golden man calling himself Scion granted an ordinary man powers. From there, many other people manifested powers of their own, heralding the age of parahumans. Scion's sudden appearance and true nature were speculated on, as was the source of parahuman powers. Nothing concrete had been found so far, but it was clear that Scion was incredibly powerful and capable of granting people powers.

This golden man might have been responsible for the dimensional barrier that veiled Earth Bet, but Sasuke couldn't be certain without further proof. Either way, it was rather fortuitous that Scion travelled indiscriminately across the world. No matter how generous Scion appeared to be, meeting the world's strongest man in his present state would do him no good.

As for the Endbringers, they appeared from nowhere just like Scion did. Unlike Scion, they didn't do any good deeds. They were monsters who waged a violent war against humanity for reasons unknown. Brockton Bay had been attacked by an Endbringer called Leviathan, who held dominion over water.

With powerful parahumans and world-destroying Endbringers, Sasuke couldn't blame anyone for being wary.

Back home, there were creatures similar to the Endbringers, capable of wide-scale destruction and connected to a greater being with a grand purpose he was only beginning to surmise. There might have been a connection between the Endbringers and Scion, and in that connection, a lead towards the truth.

It was settled. After he got his rest, Sasuke would travel to Brockton Bay with fresh eyes and a clear mind. Finding the truth would require nothing less than his best.

Brockton Bay's streets were drenched in saltwater. Anyone who didn't have a vehicle was forced to walk through these flooded streets. That discomfort only scratched the surface of their problems. There was no running water and no electricity, food was difficult to access, and most of Brockton Bay's citizens had to contend with broken buildings as shelter, risking infection and disease.

The sight of this decay spoke to the damage Leviathan wrought in a way that lucid prose could not. What little comfort Sasuke found was in knowing that he didn't have to see the people's despair for himself.

He scoured the city, uninhibited by the darkness of the night. With his right eye – his Sharingan – and the Rinnegan, he could detect almost all forms of energy, and with chakra, the lifeblood of his world's people, he could walk on water, scale buildings and leap from rooftop to rooftop with ease.

The sun slowly emerged and brought Brockton Bay's devastation into stark relief, yet Sasuke couldn't find any hint that Leviathan had been present. There was no hint of any residual energy it had exerted, be it in the lake it carved out or anywhere else.

If he hadn't had clear evidence from witness reports and extensive reporting, Sasuke would've assumed a natural disaster had ravaged Brockton Bay, not a monstrous superweapon.

When he reached the city's pier, he found a few crystalline shavings littered on piles of grainy sand that had once been part of Brockton Bay's beach. They definitely belonged to Leviathan, judging from the description he found online. Unfortunately, he couldn't detect any energy emanating from them, making it as useful as dead skin cells or fallen bark.

Sasuke's lip curled, frustration pooling at the edges of his mind. He was quickly headed towards a dead end. It was far from the first time this had happened, so he decided to persevere, just like the people around him.

Various crews of local labourers toiled away at rebuilding a broken pier, taking back their future – even though their despair had sunken onto their faces, even though there was no guarantee that they would succeed.

Resolve carried them forward. With that in mind, he walked away from roving eyes and set the shavings on a scroll, sealing them away with chakra. Just because he couldn't detect energy from them didn't mean they were useless. Through proper equipment or a specialist's help, he could easily learn more about Leviathan.

He would find his answers... this wouldn't be pointless.

Sasuke left the shattered pier behind, travelling across the rooftops at a sedate pace. He needed a place to stay while he investigated the city. Perhaps there was a shelter with all the creature comforts Earth Bet's affluent inhabitants had taken for granted. One without a horde of bugs infesting the vicinity.

Humid temperatures and decaying buildings formed the perfect breeding ground for all kinds of insects, several of which he'd never seen before. However, these bugs weren't staying put to feast, they moved as one, thin strands of energy connecting every single insect to a single source.

Interesting.

The insects gathered around a vehicle drawing in a much larger swarm. The swarm's controller had to be inside, so he waited for the swarm to disperse before he followed it, landing on the watery street below with ease.

It didn't take long for him to catch up with the vehicle. The swarm directed him with groups of arrows, and he slipped into the oncoming crowd. He let the bugs find his sword and crawl through his trousers, but moved when they approached his upper torso, tightening his cloak around his body.

Would they notice that he was standing on water? He was only a couple of centimetres above ground, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't looking. At any rate, the swarm didn't follow him.

Workers piled out of the vehicle, carrying boxes filled with valuable supplies. The swarm kept the crowd from seizing those boxes for themselves, buzzing a discordant symphony as it took shape and walked among the crowd. Some people screamed. He waited for the bug controller to emerge from their hiding spot.

Inevitably, she did, scattering her swarm to block out the sun. Long black hair pooled around gray armour covered with black shoulder pauldrons, elbow coverings, gloves and boots. A dark gray mask disguised her face as she peered at them through yellow lenses, bugs swirling around her in tight loops.

So, this was the parahuman brazen enough to form a giant swarm in broad daylight. She controlled every single bug in her swarm with a signal in her brain, rather than breeding them within her body like the bug controller he knew best. He wouldn't underestimate her.

He looked closer with his Rinnegan and saw a connection between that signal and... something that was alive and thriving, giving and taking in equal measure.

"My name is Skitter!" the bug controller said. "From now on, I will be protecting you!"

Skitter looked at him. He looked back with one black eye, the Rinnegan hidden behind long locks of black hair. Her posture faltered, though not for long.

The supplies were her gift, the beginning of her plan to rebuild this part of Brockton Bay. She wouldn't take money from them or interfere with their lives. No one who swore allegiance to any of the city's gangs would be allowed inside, and if anyone tried to help them sow discord, they would face Skitter's wrath.

She offered work to those who sought a clean shower or electricity, in addition to a generous salary. It was quite enticing, but he wanted to know where she was finding these resources. Skitter hadn't been the criminal who stole from that food convoy, but she didn't seem to be representing the PRT, either.

There weren't many online resources that catalogued all of Brockton Bay's parahumans, especially after the Endbringer attack, but he generally preferred to procure the information he needed through reconnaissance. So, he decided to test her claim. Skitter let him take a plastic bottle, watched him swirl the liquid in his mouth. There was no poison, no artificial substances, just filtered water.

His little test opened the floodgates. Skitter kept fights from breaking out, but one man brandished a crude knife in a sloppy grip, waving it at her. The self-proclaimed protector goaded the man into a fight that she won in short order.

It would've been an utter embarrassment if she lost. But that knife couldn't cut through her armour and she had a vicious streak. She'd need it if she planned to defend this territory from criminals.

Quite frankly, she didn't seem strong enough or fast enough to take on all comers. Perhaps he could help Skitter protect these people while he conducted his investigation.

Skitter picked up the knife, but before she could examine it, a woman approached her. She'd been leaning on a power pole since Skitter started speaking.

"I can't let you use that," she said, using a dark gray visor to hide her identity. She was dressed in a form-fitting white and gray bodysuit, intricate cobalt blue patterns inscribed all over it.

"Why not?" Sasuke asked. "She's protecting people."

The woman frowned, coming to a stop less than five metres away from Skitter. "She is a villain. Just yesterday, Skitter and her team abducted one of our Wards and broke into PRT headquarters."

If that was true, that meant Skitter was seizing territory, not merely protecting it because she lived nearby. She had effectively declared war on anyone who didn't bow down to her claim. Now, he was at odds with a hero for defending a warlord. He could apologize, but what difference would that make? How annoying.

The woman turned her attention on the budding warlord without moving an inch. Energy flowed into her body, rising without end.

"What are your intentions, Skitter?"

"Nothing illegal. I'm watching this area until your people get their act together. For the record, these supplies I have were taken from an outside agent, and they weren't stolen. You have bigger issues to worry about than me."

"For now. Your kind always has a hidden agenda."

Skitter's swarm was shivering from agitation. Most of the crowd was watching these two, rather than taking their supplies.

"But you won't stop me."

"As long as you keep your nose clean. The moment you go too far, we're taking you down, no holds barred."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

The hero moved for the first time since she started talking, facing him. Firm, well-defined muscles were poised to use her gathered well of energy.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be defending criminals."

Sasuke didn't respond. She didn't need to state the obvious. Before Battery left, someone shoved their way past the crowd. A young woman with thick red braids emerged.

"Excuse me. Excuse me, Battery. I need your help! It's my brother! He's been kidnapped!"

"Come again?" Battery asked.

The woman struggled to maintain eye contact with Battery. What an odd codename. Of course, Skitter wasn't exactly an ideal name for a warlord, whatever it meant.

"My brother got kidnapped two days ago. I've been taking care of him since our parents are in the hospital. I can't tell them what happened, they're sick and they desperately need help. I tried asking the cops, but they said were too busy to look for him. That's why I'm asking you, Battery, I need your help. I'm begging you!"

This woman was falling apart at the seams, helpless, desperate. Nearly anyone would be when their family was in danger and they were at the end of their rope.

"I need you to breathe. In and out, steadily. Can you do that for me?"

The young woman breathed in and out as Battery instructed. Her panicked, pale face slowly relaxed to a simmering concern. The crowd had started taking supplies again, drawing most of Skitter's focus. Sasuke, on the other hand, focused entirely on the conversation happening in front of him.

"Thank you. What's your name?"

"It's Sierra."

"Who kidnapped your brother, Sierra?"

Sierra swallowed hard, tightening her fists. "It was the Merchants."

A frown appeared on Battery's face. "Come with me. You can tell me everything on the way."

"Thank you," Sierra said.

Together, they walked away from Skitter and the crowd. Sasuke took one more look at the new warlord. She didn't shy away from his gaze.

"You want any more supplies?" Skitter asked.

"I'll be fine."

Her shoulders dropped by just the barest hint. "Why did you stick up for me?"

He saw her helping other people in need. It wasn't wrong to give her confidence.

"Why not?"

Skitter's bugs vibrated, almost expressing her annoyance. "You heard what Battery said. I'm a villain."

"You don't have to be to protect these people."

She tilted her head. "Tell that to the heroes."

Sasuke decided to follow Battery and Sierra, leaving Skitter to live up to her word. Since Battery had left her alone, he would do the same. It wasn't his responsibility to defend the peace in Brockton Bay.

He learned more than he needed to about Sierra's home life, but it painted a good picture of who she seemed to be: a dedicated older sister, diligent and hard-working, overwhelmed by her ordeal.

As for Battery, there was something strange about her power. Much like Skitter, there was a connection in her brain to that inscrutable something, yet it was far weaker. In fact, it was practically dead, as if she was taking power from wherever it came from and – compared to Skitter – not giving nearly as much in return.

That piqued his curiosity. The book on basic parahuman history didn't explain how people obtained their powers, so he had no clue why their power connections were so different. Maybe Battery could tell him after he helped her find Sierra's brother.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat things, Sierra: it's going to take time to locate your brother," Battery said.

"I know, but – Does that mean you won't help me?"

If the PRT worked anything like the military did back home, they would have to assemble a team, gather information and prepare to search for Sierra's brother. He was more than capable of doing all of that on his own.

"If she won't, I will," he said, emerging from the shadows. His sudden arrival startled Sierra, while Battery only clicked her tongue, immediately sizing him up.

"What's in it for you?" she asked.

"Nobody should have to feel the pain of losing a sibling."

Sierra swallowed thickly. "You're right."

Battery frowned. "How do you plan on helping us?"

Sasuke raised his right hand out of his black cloak. Chakra gathered there, producing lightning that crackled and jolted in bright blue leaping arcs.

The hero's jaw clenched. "I'll help you, Sierra. As for you, if you want to be involved, you have to prove yourself first. Just because you have powers doesn't mean you're a cape. Understand?"

"Absolutely."

Sasuke let his chakra flow back into his body. Capes must have been local slang for parahumans. Heroes wore capes, so did villains. The seemingly inconspicuous and the shady interlopers were always the first to be sniffed out, so he would hide in plain sight, and when the time came...

He'd strike without hesitation.

Author's Note: It's canon as of Naruto Gaiden that Sasuke loses some of his power whenever he travels between dimensions, correlating to how many times he used his dimension travelling power. While I could ignore this, I've chosen not to because it makes for an interesting writing challenge, seeing how Sasuke would adapt to this handicap.

So strap in and enjoy, because this story's going places.