Welcome back for another update, this time for Reading: Hela's Vanguard…as if you didn't know by reading the title. Anyway this is clearly a reading for AizenTheGoat's story Hela's Vanguard. Go check out the original fic as well his plethora of other excellent stories over on his account here on fanfiction.
You can actually reach both of us through discord if you wanted to, or if you simply wanted to join a community of readers and writers of fanfiction. A couple links can be found just below.
Link→ /7x4YFstKcz
Link→ /auc4PQjVtz
Now let's not hang around anymore and jump right into the story, shall we?
The blinding light slowly faded to reveal three figures. Two men and a woman who were all rather confused as to what was happening. It didn't take long for the light to fade and the shinobi to gasp at the newest readers.
It didn't take long to conduct introductions. Hashirama and Tobirama Senju were names that at least Hela knew, and she most definitely knew of Tsunade. Minato and Kushina of course had extremely high opinions of the first two, and the latter of the trio had been close to their son from the young age of twelve on. Not quite to the level of a surrogate mother but close enough that she was family more than simply the Fifth Hokage.
It was also Tsunade that insisted she get the opportunity to read next. After all, she wanted to know about Naruto's future exploits even more from what little she had been told of by their fellow readers.
The gods and shinobi were a bit awkward at handling each other. More so for Hashirama and Tobirama than had been for the others. It wasn't just the idea of meeting supposed gods and goddesses even if they were only gods by the measure of the power of their people compared to humans, but it cut both ways being as both Hashirama and Tobirama had often been referred to as gods of shinobi in their own time.
Beyond that though, both men were very intrigued by the idea of Naruto Uzumaki's life. They had great amounts of respect for what they still considered a young man. Having fought beside him in the Fourth War they had witnessed his power and beliefs. To see he had become some sort of immortal and married the supposed goddess of death was shocking of course, although, while Tobirama was busy trying to figure out exactly how all of that could happen to someone, Hashirama was simply awestruck by the legendary tale it made. An orphaned hero, secret son of a Kage, befriends the bijuu under his power and works to become the greatest shinobi in history eventually joining the likes of literal gods and marrying the goddess of death herself.
He was almost jealous by how fantastical that sounded. He couldn't wait to hear what else was in store for his spiritual successor.
Without further hesitation, Tsunade started the chapter.
"Hmm no that's a bit after my time. I've been sealed up for a long time. Who knows though it might've been around if it's really well hidden. If you know where it is though I can get you there." Naruto told cap.
"Unsurprising considering being sealed away and all that." Hela said sniping at her father.
"Ugh, Hela let it go…" The old man said with a tired groan.
The woman scowled. That wouldn't be happening anytime soon. And the dark looks from the other shinobi including the new arrivals meant they weren't likely to move past that little piece of history any time soon either.
"I have a way to contact an ally there. If you can drop us off in East Africa we can take care of the rest from there."
The blond closed his eyes as he tried to picture a map of Midgard in his head. "East Africa. It's just that giant land mass correct? Mostly dirt?"
"Hmm, it might end up being a bit of an issue trying to coordinate their war with this, Thanos if they don't all know the same terms for locations." Tobirama commented.
"They will figure it out in time, nothing that they can really do for that anyway." Hashirama shrugged.
The short blond woman of the group was the one who spoke next. "It's not all like that but for the most part yes. That's the one."
Naruto was about to say something to Thor but stopped when he noticed the bearded mans eye. Or rather the charred remains of what was once his eye. He looked at it before looking back to his wife with a blank look on his face.
"What is it?" The queen asked with an almost unnoticeable smirk. She knew what he was about to ask.
Hela blushed ever so faintly knowing what her husband was thinking.
"What is it with you and trying to gouge people's eyes out? You did that to at least ten people every time we were in a battle." He shook his head in exasperation before focusing on Thor. "Thor. Stand still." He commanded. The son of Odin frowned but did as he was told. The group watched in varying degrees of shock as he placed his hand over the injured eye and within seconds it began healing. The damaged skin began regaining its color and once he removed his hand, a perfectly working eye was staring back at him.
"Sorry, that's been bugging me for a minute now." The blond commented casually, as if he hadn't just regenerated another person's body part with ease. Clapping his hands he turned back to a still shocked Captain America. "Alright. Wakanda. What's there and how can it help us?"
Tsunade and Hashirama both became instantly intrigued by the healing abilities that Naruto possessed. The fifth Hokage suddenly had some very interesting thoughts about what could have been possible if she put that sort of ability of his to work back home.
Thor simply grinned at the action of his brother in law. He was really coming around to this extended family he had. Naruto and Loki might get along more easily than himself but he could definitely see the man as a brother.
Breaking out of his stupor the former de-facto leader of the Avengers answered. "The leader is an ally. He has an entire nation under his command. They have some of the most advanced technology and their army can greatly boost our numbers. If Thanos really has that many people under his command, we'll need every soldier we can get."
Naruto nodded. This would definitely help. "Alright, are the others with you going as well or should I take them back?"
Cap glanced at the rest, all of whom nodded back at him. "They'll come with me. If you don't mind me asking though, what are you gonna do?"
"You should try and recruit powerful allies back on Midgard." Thor pitched in.
"That's not a bad idea." Naruto admitted. "I'll ask Stark if he knows anyone else that could lend us a hand. Lord knows we're gonna need it." He raised his staff, ready to summon a portal when he suddenly stopped and turned to his wife. "Why don't you come with me?"
"Oh? This is going to be fun!" Kushina said happily.
"Well any chance for a man to spend time with his beautiful wife." Hashirama chuckled thinking of his time spent with Mito.
"It is probably also a good idea for their allies to be introduced to the Queen of their allied people if they are going to work together against a common enemy." Tobirama pointed out.
"Yes, Yes, you're very clinical aren't you? I'm still going to think of it more as a work date." Hela chuckled, getting grins from Kushina and her own mother as well as Tsunade as she continued to read.
Seeing her give him a look he pointed the staff at Thor. "He can stay here and keep things under control while you're gone. The people seem to like him and will most likely work better if he's the one who tells them to. Loki will stay here too."
"And why do I have to come along?" She asked.
"Did you not want to?" Loki asked her with his mischievous grin in place.
"Hela, surely you aren't intending to refuse to spend time with your darling husband?" Frigga asked.
Hela eyed the woman a bit caught off guard by the teasing. Their interactions were rather rare, but she still couldn't help the small grin that spread on her face as she felt an odd sense of warmth with this sort of playful actions with her family.
Oh damn that blond fool had really mellowed her out.
"Yes and for that matter why do I have to stay here as well?" Loki added.
"Really?" Several people asked, recalling the general reaction of midgardians to him.
Loki did his best to avoid looking at the stares sent his way.
"Because it'll be fun. We've been unsealed and we're about to fight in another war. Might as well enjoy ourselves while we can." He replied to Hela before turning to the god of mischief. "As for why you gotta stay here, in case you guys get attacked again it'll be better for Thor to have backup of your caliber than by himself."
Hela brightened up a bit at the prospect of battle. "That does sound like a lot of fun."
Several of the more peace minded shinobi couldn't help the slight shudder of the feline smile the woman wore.
Hela sighed, he was right. As much as she wanted to take her rightful place on the throne they were going to be battling once again soon. "Fine, I suppose you're right. Thor, you're in charge of this place while I'm gone. Do try not to damage the place anymore than you already have." To which the god of thunder just gave her a blank look. One that the blond also gave her.
Ignoring the two she walked up alongside him. Finally Naruto turned his attention to Vision, more specifically he turned his attention to the yellow infinity stone in his forehead. He stared at the stone before beginning to make his way to him. The others, though they knew he was an ally now couldn't help but tense up as he made his way.
"So this is keeping you alive."
Vision nodded "That is correct. The mind stone powers me. If what we've been told is true then Thanos will most definitely be targeting me soon."
"Hmm, they will need to find a substitute for him then." Hashirama thoughtfully commented.
Tobirama glanced at the apparent Queen of Asgard.
"Maybe." He muttered under his breath.
"I wouldn't say soon. I have reality and space, you have the mind, and Thanos has the power stone. That only leaves Time and Soul. My guess is he's gonna go for the soul stone first. Unless he knows where they are, which is doubtful he'll be occupied for a while." Naruto reassured.
"How do you figure that?" Steve asked.
"If he knew where they were he'd already have them in his gauntlet when he arrived on Asgard. We have some time, when I finish my business on Midgard I'll try and use the reality stone to create an alternative power source for you in order to take the stone. Sending you into battle with a stone in your head is a bad idea." With his piece said he tapped the staff on the ground willing the dark blue portal to open.
"That it is…also why the forehead? It's like a big target on his face." Tsunade said.
"Why is the byakugo on your forehead instead of anywhere else?" Kushina asked her.
Tsunade sighed.
"Kushina do you want an actual full explanation of why the byakugo has to be on the forehead? How it connects to the chakra network and everything?" She asked.
Kushina looked thoughtful for a moment but Minato placed a light hand on her mouth before she could answer.
"Nope, just continue the chapter if you will Tsunade." He said with the same smile he had perfected for his charming personality that Konoha loved so much back in the day.
"As if she would understand what I told her anyway." Tsunade huffed as he went back to the story while Kushina narrowed her eyes at the older woman.
Captain America and his team walked through after a quick reassurance from Thor, followed by the blond and the queen. The group reappeared in what seemed to be the wilderness. Contrary to what the blond thought they were surrounded by bodies of water and grass.
"Did I get it right?" Naruto asked Steve as he looked around.
"I think you're a little off." The blond woman, Natasha, said as she pointed to the surface of one of the bodies of water. "I see a hippo's head."
"Well it's probably a whole hippo just that the rest of it is under the water." Steve replied, amused at the looks he got from his friends.
A couple of the people with sense of humor chuckled. Others groaned at the childish humor of the hero in blue.
"You teleported us to the Okavango Delta in Botswana." Natasha continued.
"But is this Africa?" Naruto asked.
"Well, yes it's Africa just not East Africa. We're a little south. It's fine though I can contact him from here." Cap replied as he went in for a handshake with their new ally. "Do you have a way we can communicate with you?"
The blond returned the handshake but shook his head. "Not really, I just teleport to whoever I need."
Kushina rolled her eyes as Minato nodded knowingly. It was so much better to just talk in person than send a message and have to wait for them to receive it and then wait for them to reply. Especially if you then had more to discuss.
"We'll get something for you to get in touch with us from Wakanda."
"Sounds good. Just let off a small amount of power from the stone and I'll be able to sense it and come to you should you need me." He replied before turning back to Hela. "Come on dear, let's go ask Stark if he has any leads of potential allies."
The crew watched as the man and woman disappeared into another portal, leaving them alone in the wilderness.
Once they were gone Natasha was the first to speak. "Was it just me or was anyone else afraid the queen was going to try and kill us all?"
"What? Hela? Kill you, never." Loki mocked.
"Oh dear little brother, I can't wait to take a break from reading. You'll be taking a few breaks if you don't watch yourself." Hela commented darkly.
"Really? That's your threat? No subtlety. No charm. Just blunt. Like our dear brother Thor?" Loki teased.
"Charm and subtlety are reserved for those with some class after all." Hela said simply getting Thor to snort in laughter at the frown Loki now sported.
"Her stare was somewhat imposing, but I don't believe she means us any harm….at the moment." Vision answered.
Cap nodded "She definitely has a powerful presence. So does Naruto."
The entire room snorted slightly at that. The man had a gift for understatement.
"I can't believe he's actually married to her. How do they work considering his personality is almost the opposite of hers?" She wondered. Her question went unanswered as Steve took out his communication device he had received from the king.
"Perfectly." Hela replied haughtily, getting a wicked set of grins from her in-laws.
Avengers HQ
The two deities appeared in the same spot the blond had taken off from when he sensed the mind stone go off. Naruto noticed the one called Rhodes was missing from the room, leaving only Stark, Bruce, and Peter Parker. He didn't dwell on it for too long though as Stark finally noticed them.
"He's back. And look he's brought company." Tony announced to Peter.
Naruto nodded happily "I have. Everyone meet my wife Hela, the queen of Asgard."
Peter began to kneel but was stopped by Tony who lightly smacked him in the back of the head. "Come on kid get up. So where are Thor and the others?"
"Oh I do like the boy!" Hela happily chirped.
"He seems so out of place with all of this but I am a bit interested to see what he is capable of." Minato commented.
"Imagine you and Naruto taking him under your wing." Kushina all but whispered into her daughter in law's ear.
"Why would we do that?" The woman wondered.
"Think of it like practice or like maybe a prologue." Kushina shamelessly suggested.
Odin grimaced. The idea of Naruto and Hela guiding a young man with even some basic advice instinctively made him uncomfortable. The idea of grandchildren like Kushina was suggesting was more than he was okay with being discussed. Mercifully Tsunade continued reading.
"Thor and Loki stayed in Asgard. The other half of your former team is on their way to talk to an ally Captain America is familiar with. Says they can really help us out."
"So why did you decide to come back here?" Bruce asked before realizing who he was talking to and how it sounded. "Not that we don't want you back or anything."
Loki snorted. "It makes you wonder which is the intelligent one. Him or the giant green…thing."
"Ah, Loki is still sour about being defeated by Bruce's alter ego, the Hulk." Thor said with a knowing smile.
Loki rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"Although I think it's more because he whipped him around like a toy." Thor laughed, getting a few amused looks directed toward the twitching god of mischief.
Waving off his indirect apology he replied "Thor said Midgard still has plenty of mighty heroes that could potentially assist us. He figured if anyone knew who we could recruit it would be you."
"Actually we were just talking about that. There are some people whose help would be invaluable." Bruce told him before looking at Tony to explain.
Hela, who'd been amusing herself by staring at Peter until he looked away in discomfort clapped her hand twice. "Well? Who are these people you know of?"
"He is adorable. Maybe he would make a nice pet for Naruto." She wondered.
Once more Thor found himself trying to figure out if his sister was joking or not. Most of the others were in the same boat, though none were willing to get the answer clarified for them.
Tony walked over to another part of the room and began pouring himself a drink. He pulled a device out of his pocket and placed it on the small bar face up. Soon a blue light shot up before an image appeared in mid air. The hologram showed the image of an older looking bald man.
Two other people appeared next to the man before Tony began speaking. "Dr Charles Xavier. Possesses powerful telepathic powers. He founded an institution dedicated to helping young people with supernatural abilities control their powers. Something to note is that they refer to people with powers as mutants." He explained, taking down the image of the man.
Hashirama nodded his head appreciatively toward the man. His clear intent to help guide and train the next generation made for a good first impression on the first Hokage.
Next he pointed to the woman. "Ororo Munroe. One of his most trusted friends and a member of the team he created known as the X-Men. She has the ability to control weather patterns to a frightening degree. Hence her alias, Storm." Like Xavier her picture was also taken down, leaving only one person left.
"Finally we have Logan. He has…" He trailed off trying to think. "Well he has a lot of abilities actually. It'd be a bore to go over all of them." He took a sip of his drink and then continued "If you can convince Dr Xavier to help us out we'll have a greater chance of survival considering how many more super powered people he knows."
"Formidable powers for the first two, but I wonder what the third is capable of. If he is on the same level as the first two, then all three could be extremely useful allies." Odin nodded.
"That woman shares a power over lightning with myself." Thor idly commented while focusing slightly on her.
Loki shot a look toward his brother for the comment mild amusement and ever present mischief swirling in his eyes.
Naruto rubbed his chin in thought, taking in all the information he'd been given. "Where can I find this Dr?"
"Westchester county New York. I'll give you the exact address. It's not too far from here." The genius told him as he began writing down the directions on a piece of paper.
Peter who'd tried to stay out of the conversation finally spoke up "Do you guys think it's a good idea to go like that?"
Naruto looked down at himself before looking at Hela and then back to the youth. "What do you mean?"
"Well you're in a black suit which is ok I guess. Your wife though…" He stopped briefly when Hela narrowed her eyes at him and raised her head, silently warning him that his words better be chosen carefully. "She's in full on battle armor, which might attract a bit of attention."
"Hmm, the puppy has a good point. The future me will need to change into something a bit more comfortable." Hela said.
"Tobirama, I'm not sure about you but did you think that young Naruto would find himself a wife with such…character when we met him in the war?" Hashirama quietly whispered to his brother.
"He was even more devoted to the emotionally damaged Uchiha brat than you were to Madara. I imagine finding a woman that mixed his feelings for both of his teammates into a single person was likely to happen eventually." Tobirama replied with a shrug.
Sasuke often found himself happy he could read the lips of everyone else in a room. Today was simply not one of those times.
Naruto nodded. The kid had a point. Looking around the room he noticed a small magazine next to where he and Loki had been sitting when they showed up. Picking it up he flipped through a few pages and put it back down. He tapped his staff on the ground lightly, the reality stone glowing a bright red indicating it's being activated. His clothes began to change into a similar outfit as a man he'd seen on a page.
He now wore black jeans, and a dark blue pullover hoodie with a white logo that read 'Nike' on it. He didn't know what a 'Nike' was but it looked alright. Similar to him Hela's clothes had also changed from her black and green battle armor into skin tight black jeans with a dark green zip up hoodie that she filled in quite nicely.
"Oh, stylish and relaxed. You both look good." Kushina chirped happily.
"It's not exactly royal clothing, but it has promise." Hela said happily glancing at her own image before happily taking in the appearance of her love.
"There we go." Naruto said happy with his work. He walked over to Tony and grabbed the piece of paper with the address on it. "Well be back once we have them onboard." With that the two disappeared into the void the space stone created.
"Uhhh, I don't think Naruto knows how to tell directions on Earth. So where exactly did he just teleport them to?" Bruce asked, concern lacing into his voice. Both he and Peter turned to Tony who just stared back at them and shrugged.
"I'm sure they'll be fine. All they have to do is find Dr. Xavier, explain the situation and job done. Trust me, they can't mess this up." Both Bruce and Peter glanced at each other and their faces showed the same expression. Doubt.
Hela sighed slightly though as was a near constant since this reading had begun she sported a small amused grin.
xxxxxxxxxx
"Do you know where we are?" Hela asked a little louder than normal.
"It can't be too far from here and it's a mansion. There's probably people flying around it and whatnot. We'll find it easily. For now let's just enjoy the sights." He replied just as loud. Why were they speaking with louder than normal voices? It has something to do with where they appeared when they stepped out of the portal.
"Work date indeed." Frigga giggled.
Where did they appear? On the freeway. Luckily it was one of those times where it was relatively empty, at least on their side. The other side had cars blasting through it creating a lot of noise. Just as he utter the words 'enjoy the sights' he noticed something in his peripheral vision coming at them.
A metal box coming at them at relatively fast speeds. Before he could act however, the object seemed to lose control and hit the side of the freeway and began swerving left to right before ultimately flipping over. The married couple looked up just as it was flipping over them. They both blinked in confusion when a man stuck his head out of the top. He had a red mask with black accents around the eyes and white pupil less spots where the eyes would go and no mouth.
"He really is somehow the luckiest and unluckiest person in existence." Sakura said in exasperation.
"Can't even walk without starting something." Sasuke simply said. His tone clear that he had come to accept such a thing about his friend a long time ago.
The masked man looked down at them and tilted his head in what appeared to be confusion or curiosity. "Oh. Hello" He said before going back inside. They watched as it crashed nearby and the masked man was the only one to step out.
"Well I think we're on the right track." Hela said as she took in the rest of the mans appearance. Naruto was going to reply but stopped as his senses told him something was coming. Turning around he saw another one making its way at them. Activating his magnet release he raised an arm and waved his hand up and down. If he could see the people inside he was sure they'd have a look of fear as they levitated before crashing back down.
Unlike the other vehicle six goons ran out of the car with what he would guess were weapons drawn and pointed at them. Before they even had a chance to attack however three of them were stabbed in the throat by small knives courtesy of Hela. The remaining three watched in shock as their cohorts were dropped without trouble. Shaking out of it they began firing only to have their eyes widen as their bullets stopped in mid air before dropping uselessly on the ground.
"You two really are just unfair." Loki said with most of the room nodding.
They weren't given the chance to attack again however as a red blur flew over them, landing behind the soon to be dead goons. The masked man made quick work decapitating one while simultaneously stabbing another in the stomach. Pulling the blade out he flung it with impressive accuracy in between the last man's eyes.
The man in black and red wiped the blood off of his blade on the shirt of the now deceased man and made his way over to the pair. "Hey there. You guys are new I don't think you're supposed to be in this movie are you?" He asked.
"Well…he's certainly an interesting character." Hela said awkwardly a bit confused by his words.
"I don't really know why but I feel like I am going to get a headache soon." Tobirama said with a confused voice.
"You'll get used to it." Odin replied blandly.
The blond walked up. "Hey. Im Naruto and this is Hela. As for your question I'm not really sure what you're talking about. Anyways you wouldn't happen to know where I can find Charles Xavier do you?"
"McAvoy or Stewart? These timelines get really confusing."
Naruto glanced at Hela who shrugged.
"Uhh Stewart. You know where he is?" It turned out to be the right answer as the man nodded.
"Yeah I know where to find him. He's over at that giant mansion of his. I was worried he sent you guys to try and get me to join his little team. I keep telling that giant if I ever decide to become a crime-fighting shit swizzler who rooms with a bunch of other little whiners at Neverland Mansion with some creepy, old, bald, Heaven's Gate-looking motherfucker I'll send them a friend request." The man ranted. "Oh you can call me Ryan…I mean deadpool"
"Interesting is the least of what this one is." Minato said.
"Of course he somehow runs into a rambling assassin of some kind that knows where it is he is trying to go to." Sakura said in exasperation.
Naruto was about to nod at the introduction when he sensed something was a bit…off with the man. "Are you injured?"
Deadpool nodded. "Yup I'm all sorts of fucked up underneath this costume." To prove his point he removed his mask which revealed to them the badly burned face of the man. "Yeah I got fucked up by some assholes, I got healing abilities but can't heal from this. Fucked up right?"
"Actually, Naruto might be able to." Hela said while lightly scratching her cheek unknowingly copying a mannerism her husband often used.
Tsunade snorted slightly as she continued reading.
Naruto nodded, taking in the appearance. "Hold still." Deadpool didn't get to ask why as Naruto put his palm on the man's forehead and all became clear. The burned skin began changing, smoothing out to match everyone else's. The man's hair began growing back instantly, which in Hela's opinion was rather disgusting to see. Within ten seconds the man looked like he had a while back.
"Wow, that was a huge transformation." Kakashi said, causing a couple others to glance his way having forgotten he was there as well due to his silence.
Naruto walked over to the wreckage and picked up a piece of the broken mirror from the vehicle and threw it to Deadpool who caught it easily.
After taking a moment to observe himself he turned back to the blond and said the only thing on his mind.
"You're fucking Jesus aren't you?"
"Who?" Many in the room wondered.
"Sort of deity and miracle worker in one of the primary Midgardian religions. He was actually a really fun person to sit and talk with. He could even make water into wine." Loki commented.
Tsunade was very intrigued at that thought. As they were given a small break she collared the dark haired god to tell him more of this booze fountain man.
That is all there is today folks
Till Next Time