Hi again! This is the Phantom Penance's triumphant return!
Sorry that I was gone for the whole month of August. It was a pure and holy blend of religious soul searching and procrastination, I had to whip myself back into shape in order to get back to work.
Anyway, welcome to another Chapter of Shinobi: Second Evolution!
I have to work my way down with my stories before I get to the major ones like Hero or Assassin and/or Kings of gods.
So let's make another chapter, ne?
Also, in case you haven't noticed already:
DISCLAIMER: I OWN EVERY-JUST KIDDING, I OWN NOTHING 'CEPT THE HAIRS ON MY BEAUTIFUL HEAD
Chapter 4: Day 1 Of The Rest Of Their Lives
(Xavier's Institute of Higher Learning: Year 1 ½
Occupants: 4)
"Hold it still, Jean!" Scott yelled out as he concentrated on his own task.
The red head grew a tick mark in annoyance. "You probably haven't noticed it yet, Scott, but I'm holding a desk up in the air with sheer willpower alone. Can you-oh, I don't know-be a little patient!?"
"I can't get a proper shot if you keep moving. Besides, you're doing great," the boy exclaimed back.
On top of that desk was a stack of books, and on that stack, was a single clay disk that needed to be hit by something of high caliber, like a shotgun shell or an optic blast.
It was a new training sequence that Xavier had thoughtfully set up, one that combined precision, stamina, and teamwork. Jean had to hold the desk in the air long and steady, long enough until Scott is confident that he could make the shot from a reflecting mirror.
It was endearing work because neither of them were very patient.
"You keep raising it higher, I won't make it at that height!"
"What are you talking about, this is as high as I can go!"
"Well, unless the desk is magically lifting itself-"
"You know what, let's switch jobs! You can hold the desk with your mind, and I can shoot-"
'There!' Scott practically yelled in his mind. It took a split second to turn off his brand new visor and fire that dangerous power of the sun harnessed in his eyes, the blast ricocheted off the mirror. The blast soared in an angle till it struck the clay disk right in the middle.
The brown haired boy smirked. "Straight in the middle. A perfect bullseye."
"Don't tell me you had me hold up a desk for over half an hour just so you can get a bullseye." Jean frowned with her arms crossed.
"Yeah, sorry. You did great, by the way. Definitely improving." Scott encouraged quickly, lest he face the fearsome wrath of a redhead. A telepathic redhead at that.
Jean huffed. "Darn right, I am." Her prideful face then softened as she spoke mostly to herself. "I wonder what Naruto's doing right now."
That was when Scott's uneasy face turned to one of a childish jealousy, but he never dared showed it in front of Jean.
"Why wonder? He's with her doing whatever the Professor wants him to do."
"Oh, come off it!" Grey demanded as she ruthlessly hit Scott in the shoulder. "The Professor doesn't have favorites, we're all equally his students."
"He grew up with the Professor, sure, but that isn't a good excuse," Scott insisted in the form of a grumble, "We should be doing this together."
"Just admit he's better at using his abilities than us, that's why he trains at a different level. Besides, his powers are pretty simple compared to ours." Jean replied, but then she turned her head towards the Institute as her over-imaginative thoughts began to get the better of her.
"I wonder what level of intensity Naruto's training is now. With his strength, he could be lifting semis at this very moment and we wouldn't even know…."
(Inside Xavier's Institute of Higher Learning)
'You put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up, you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up, you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up, you put the lime in the coconut and drink it all up, you put the lime-'
"Checkmate." Those words brought the boy out of his mental song and double-check is forces, or lack thereof.
"Eh? What!? That's not possible, you were cheating again! Admit it!"
"I wasn't cheating. You weren't paying attention," his opponent replied in amusement.
"Yeah, wasn't paying attention to you cheating! I knew what I was doing!"
"Of course, so then you knew you were losing."
While Naruto and Wanda were having an argument, Charles could only sigh. It would seem that even though Naruto could process information better than any human alive, that potential was incredibly limited by his very short attention span.
It seems that he can get too distracted to formulate a long-term plan of attack. If Xavier was planning to make a team of mutants that would be a beacon of the future for both mutants and humans, then there's a good chance that Naruto will not be leading it.
"Old man X, tell me that Wanda was cheating. She had to be cheating, right?" Naruto insisted.
Charles checked the chessboard to see that the king was completely surrounded, as in, the king piece was in a circle made of assorted chess pieces.
One would have to really not pay attention to the game in order to let that happen.
"…..She has undoubtedly checkmated you."
"AW C'MON!"
The spiky blonde haired child began arguing with Wanda anew, leaving both Wanda and Charles to smile at his stubbornness.
Speaking of which, Wanda has taken many great strides in improving from her short yet terrifying experience at Ravencroft. Her hair, once a dark black, had transformed into a healthy shade of brown as well as it had grown in length. She was pale white in the face and skin, but now she was tanned and very rosy.
It seemed like life itself had breathed into the girl at the Institute.
Also, after a hard year and a half of practicing, Wanda was now happy to declare that she can turn off and on her mutant abilities, a genuine milestone considering that her original problem was having a complete lack of control.
But, as stated before, those days were water under the bridge now.
"See? I knew he wasn't doing an exercise at all!" Scott loudly accused as the two entered the room. His just reward was getting another shove in the elbow by Jean before both of them got caught up in a massive bear hug.
"You guys done already, awesome! I knew you guys could do it!" Naruto exclaimed.
Scott grumbled in the blonde's vice-like grip while Jean flushed in embarrassment, an act Wanda paid close attention to. It interested her, watching a normally tan face swell red in a matter of moments, perhaps her perception of such things will change when she is older and more concerned about social affairs…
"Well, now that you are all finished, I believe it is time for your next training simulation." Xavier cheerfully declared.
"Mwah, no more chess games!" Naruto wailed.
"And not two on two! We need to train together," Scott insisted in a heartbeat.
The bald Professor's smile brightened even more, "Then you will both be very pleased with the session I have in mind."
"Old man, care to explain why we're being forced to wear jumpsuits, black jumpsuits at that!" Naruto yelled out as he and Scott changed into black, skin tight, suits. He could only assume that Jean and Wanda were doing the same in the other locker.
"Those 'jumpsuits' are a special fabric me and Dr. MacTaggert have constructed. They are durable to the elements and so far, won't inhibit you in any form or fashion of using your powers." Xavier replied over the intercoms.
"But they're black!" Naruto moaned. "It's not as cool as orange!"
"Orange technically is a vibrant color in the spectrum, Naruto." Scott spoke up, "but still, beats plain black."
"Very well, I'll let you customize them if you insist so."
The duo finished changing into their training gear and entered a complete Danger Room obstacle course, filled with holographic uphills and downhills, thought that may not be all that simple with the Danger Room.
Jean stared at her suit in discontent. "It itches, and sticks to my skin a lot."
Wanda nodded in agreement, "It isn't comfortable in the least."
"Apologies, but your safety vastly outweighed your personal comfort at the time these suits were being made." Xavier's voice boomed through the intercoms of the Danger Room.
"So what are we doin' X?" Naruto yelled back.
"The exercise is simple, capture the flag." As he said that, a massive column with a red flag ontop rose to the ceiling at the other end of the Danger Room.
"You are free to reach the flag in your own way as well as deal with the obstacles however you see fit, but all four of you must reach the flag together. And as usual, you will be timed." Xavier instructed.
To prove his point, a giant stopwatch appeared above the entire room, and it was counting down from 5.
Scott sighed, someone had to take command, and someone had to take it right now. "Alright, the first thing we should is stick together and-"
"EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF!"
They all stared dumbfounded, as Naruto nearly ran half a mile in a few seconds, then he turned around and looked at them.
"Don't just stand there! Last one to the flag is a rotten egg!" He excitedly yelled.
Before the optical-mutant could even let out a syllable, Naruto was already speeding his way through the course with reckless abandon. He smashed his way through walls and boulders alike in high sense of glee, nearly in psychotic proportions.
Jean patted Scott's back in sympathy. "I thought your plan was going to be great Scott, but how about we follow the path Naruto's making for us?"
Scott sniffed as he mourned the passing of his opportunity. "….Yeah. Let's use him as a bulldozer."
"Ha Ha! Fear me, you puny weapons!" Naruto yelled in triumph as he barreled up the hill that stretched before him.
A massive turrent underneath the ground rose up and pointed its guns straight at the boy. Naruto ducked behind a boulder as the machine laid a suppressive fire of non-lethal bullets. The blonde was grinning with glee at the new fun he was having, this was what he lived for!
Suddenly, a red beam streaked past his head and struck the turrent. The machine exploded with fire and sparks as Naruto turned behind him to see Scott, Jean, and Wanda catching up to him. The first name he mentioned was holding his visors as the red in them powered down.
"Glad you can keep up!" Naruto exclaimed with excitement. "Man Scott, you use those new visors really good-"
Wanda stomped towards the grinning blonde and slapped him straight over his head, making Naruto yell out in pain and confusion.
"Wuh-Why did you do that, Wanda?" The boy sniffed while holding his forehead fondly.
"That is your punishment for running off like a delinquent!" The brunette sharply responded. "Have you learned nothing in chess? No chess piece is to be used recklessly, and you were the definition of recklessness!"
Jean spoke, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Wanda's right, Naruto, though I wouldn't be so harsh about it. We're supposed to do this together, like a real team."
"But it's not as fun!" Naruto pouted.
"It's not supposed to be fun, it's supposed to be training." Scott replied. "Whatever you do alone is on you, but when we're together, we got to do what Professor Xavier says and work like a team."
Naruto still had his arms folded, but once he looked at the faces of his new friends, his new precious people, he slowly saw things differently. Wanda, Scott, and Jean clearly saw this as something different than fun, they needed his support and he was being a jerk sitting on the ground, pouting.
The whiskered child with the strange eyes stared a moment longer, then sighed. Very well, he will submit to them.
For now.
"Fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, you didn't have to hit me on the head though. Could've just told me…." He mumbled.
Jean sighed, relieved that things hadn't broken out into some sort of disagreement.
"So, what are we gonna do now?" She asked.
Naruto sheepishly grinned while he rubbed his head. "I was gonna run up to the top, but since you guys are with me…new plan!"
"We'll go together." Scott cut in. "Let's just stay close to each other, that way, we can handle anything that the Professor throws at us easily."
Both Wanda and Jean nodded enthusiastically at Scott's plan, but for some reason, Naruto just huffed and stared at the visor-wearing boy from the corner of his eye.
"…Yeah sure, that's okay…I guess."
Charles widened his eyes in surprised and zoomed in on a sight he did not think he would see so soon.
'So, it seems that Scott was natural born leader among them the entire time. It was foolish of me to favor one of my student's abilities over the others.' He thought with pride.
His screen showed all four of his students working together, making a square formation that brought them closer and closer to the flag. With Naruto in the front so that he would take care of the obstacles in the way, Scott right beside him, unleashing optic blasts while yelling inaudible orders.
Wanda was on Naruto's other side, using her very limited abilities to just destroy objects while Jean stayed in the middle, using her telekinesis form a shield against small things like pellets and debris.
The simulation ended with Naruto giving them all a bear hug with a huge grin, Jean appearing to be flustered, Wanda was flashing a small smile, and Scott suffocating in Naruto's embrace, but holding a giant red flag for the impaired Professor to see.
"Little by little, piece by piece, a brighter future is becoming visible." He declared as he turned off the simulation and prepared to give them their report.
(Undisclosed Location)
A new future.
A brighter future was what everybody wanted, but unfortunately, only the superior race was going to get it, and the monstrous humans would face judgement.
However, such things were momentarily placed on a shelf as instantaneous judgement had to be carried out on a certain witch.
"I gave you a simple request," Magnus began, "control Wanda and keep her from Charles, and yet you failed at both! Explain yourself, Harkness!"
Agatha Harkness stared at the Master of Magnetism unflinchingly, she didn't even give Magnus the pleasure of seeing her fear at the flailing metal that threatened to wrap tightly around her body, being held back only by Magneto who was slipping into a murderous rage.
"I have done exactly what you asked of me. With my power, Charles Xavier would have never known that Wanda Maximoff had existed."
"Then why is she with him now!?" Magneto demanded.
"With all my sorcery and strength, I am nothing compared to the Sorcerer Supreme who accompanied Charles." She answered.
Magnus narrowed his eyes at the woman. "I thought you said his pupil was with Charles, not the sorcerer himself."
"Wong is still much more knowledgeable in the mystic arts than I am. He tends to the arcane tomes and enchantment books." Agatha replied.
Magneto growled as he turned away from the woman who took it her permission to leave in a wisp of black smoke.
He sat on his metal throne in deep thought, something that Mystique took it upon herself to make sure that never happened. If there was anything that caused the savior of the mutant race to think, it should be something that Mystique has already taken care of. Period.
"Magnus, I can sneak into the Mansion and steal the girl-"
"That would not be wise, Raven."
Both turned to the voice of the older woman who came down the stairs. You could tell she was old by the natural gray color of her hair, but her body still had the womanly curves of a younger woman, and her eyes were concealed by a pair of dark glasses.
"And why is that, Destiny?" Magneto questioned.
"Wanda has an important role to play in the Mansion, one that was not clear to me until recently." Destiny responded.
"However, she will return to us soon enough, that much I can see. In the meantime, Raven, you must go to Mississippi. A young child there is in search of mutant guidance. Eric, there is a visitor at the door whom you must attend to."
Magneto raised an eyebrow as the two women left through the back door, giving the Master of Magnetism some much needed privacy. Through the use of his abilities, he willed the door to open, letting in a man.
No, not much of a man, a beast.
He was taller than most men, and more hairy too. However, he possessed sharpened claws, deadly fangs, and the eyes of predator, in constant need of bloodshed.
"You are clearly one of the homo-superior," Magnus stated the ever obvious. "Why have you come here?"
"I hear you're looking for someone who ain't afraid to do some dirty work. Get a little blood in their food." The man spoke harshly, as harsh as his demeanor showed him to be.
Magneto looked straight into the creature's eye, devoid of hesistation, of weakness. "Indeed I am. Are you a man of such talents?"
The man-beast stared at Magneto, then gave a deep and menacing laugh. "Bub, look no further than Sabretooth here. I practically bathe in it."
Chapter Four Completed!
It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? I'm not gonna lie, I got a little complacent in the September month, and all these new Senior expectations are blowing fuses in my head.
I gotta pass the SAT/ACTs, get some scholarships, find what colleges I want to go to, apply to those colleges, it'll drive me mad or get me a heart attack on worrying.
Anyway, there's some Naruto/Scott animosity going on! It's not clear, but someone likes someone, and it certainly isn't helping that Xavier's taking sides prematurely. Then there's the case of Wanda, is she really going to rejoin her father after what he'd done to her?
Sabretooth, Destiny, Wong and the Ancient One, this certainly is a chapter of beginnings, isn't it?
IMPORTANT RIGHT HERE!
If you know what's good for you, you'll go to my profile and check out the poll I made! It's for who's going to be Naruto's long lasting pairings! It won't be a permanent pairing because Naruto won't stay on Earth and some people may die, but here are the choice:
Scarlet Witch
Jean Grey
Emma Frost
Veranke
Brood Queen
Madelyne Pryor
Crystal (From the Inhumans)
X-23 Laura Kinney
Rogue
Anyway, go to my profile and vote! Naruto's love life is depending on it! And as always.
MAY THE FLAMES OF YOUTH BE WITH YOU, ALWAYS.