DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto and Marvel.

Chapter 6

"Well shit," Nick Fury said as he watched Tony Stark's broadcast. "I didn't expect another player would appear in this day and age."

The director sighed. "Well, job well done on this mission in particular."

"You flatter me, sir," Natasha said. "I barely did any work on this mission. Anyway, what do you want to do about this 'new player'? Will he be part of that project?"

"Find out anything you can about him," Fury ordered. "Make sure he is on our side."

Natasha said, "Understood."

At that moment, a knock came at the door to his office.

Another sigh released from the bald man's mouth. "What could it be this time?"

"What is it?" He raised his voice.

The door opened revealing Phil Coulson. "Sir, we have news from Greenland. They found something."

S.H.I.E.L.D. BASECAMP
NORTHERN COAST OF GREENLAND

"Do you think this is the one, sir?" Agent Coulson said, as he took off his winter gear.

"You don't need to be over excited about this," Fury said, doing the same.

"I'm not, sir," Phil denied. "It's just that they've found a clue on his whereabouts, but I'm worried that they'll lose their trail again."

"Director Fury," Another agent came in. "There was a call from the World Security Council."

"Did you take a message like I asked?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Well, they said that they'll be pulling the plug on Project Frostbite," The agent relayed.

Agent Coulson's eyes widened. "No. They wouldn't."

"I'm sorry Phil," The agent shook his head. "We've been digging the ice sheets for years and we still haven't found anything."

"Relax, Agent, we'll find your toy soldier," Fury consoled, seeing the dejected look on his underling's face. "As for you, schedule a return call for tomorrow night."

"They already did, sir, but the thing is…" The agent rubbed the back of his head. "They insisted they call you at headquarters."

MIDTOWN SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CAFETERIA
AROUND LUNCH TIME

"You hear the news?" Ned Leeds said as soon as he placed his food at the cafeteria table.

"Shit man, it's all over the news!" Peter answered enthusiastically. "I can't believe we'd get superheroes in this day and age, not since Captain America."

"You got that, right," Ned said. "But hey, did you see the footage of the fight in Stark Industries? There was that one guy who helped him. What do you think, Naruto?"

Naruto swallowed the food he was chewing. "Well, it looks to me like it was just a kid who wanted to get the spotlight."

Peter scoffed. "Just a kid? Have you seen the way he sliced that car? And those punches, no normal kid can make a dent on metal like he did."

"Right?" Ned chimed in. "Think of all the cool stuff we can do if we have powers of our own. We can save the world or something."

"Nah," Peter shook his head. "I don't think I'll do that right off the bat."

"Why not?" Ned and Naruto looked at him.

"We're still kids. I'd probably start as the friendly neighborhood superhero for a while before I climb to the high stakes cases."

"Like that guy in a Halloween costume who goes out at night?" Naruto asked.

Peter shivered. "No, no. That's a little too dark for my tastes. Maybe just stopping bicycle thieves and purse snatchers for a start."

"That's chivalrous of you," Naruto said. "More importantly, are you guys going to the Stark Expo this weekend?"

"DEFINITELY!" Peter and Neds lights lit up.

"I practically crave the new tech they have in store for us this year," Ned declared.

"You think Tony Stark will show up in that red and gold armor thing?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Oh my gosh. I hope we get to see it in person!" Peter squealed like a fan girl.

"Can we get Uncle Ben to take us there like he did last year?" Naruto asked.

"I'll ask the moment I get home!" Peter nodded.

"So, we meet up on Saturday, 6 o'clock at Peter's house," Ned scheduled. "Gosh, I'm so excited."

WEST VIRGINIA

One thing after another. Nick Fury just couldn't catch a break. She did not want to be in her boss' place right now.

His trusted people are spread too thin. Just a lot of things are happening all at the same time.

First Tony Stark and his Palladium intoxication. He went on to handle that.

Then, there's that mysterious hammer in Mexico. Agent Coulson went on to oversee things there. She heard that his old friend was uprooted from his vacation to provide back-up.

Then, there's the project way up in Greenland that just won't yield results. The blowhards in the World Security Council forced them to shut down this project along with the others that they deemed 'unimportant.'

Finally, there's the matter of Bruce Banner. Natasha had tracked Bruce Banner all the way to Culver University. Agent Jasper Sitwell was originally assigned to watch him, but he too had to be sent to New Mexico.

According to the latest info that Agent Sitwell had provided her, Bruce Banner had returned to America once again. He came home to retrieve the data on their past experiments, in hopes of finding a cure to his…condition... Dressed up as a pizza delivery boy, he infiltrated the university.

It went on without a hitch, thankfully.

She tailed Bruce out of the University and went on to a Pizza Parlor.

STANLEY'S PIZZA PARLOR

"It's all gone, Stan…" Bruce Banner lamented. "All the data on our experiments were wiped…It's like it never even happened."

"I don't know what to tell you, son," The pizza owner, his long time friend, tried to console him. "After the accident, the university was closed for a year. Military guards were everywhere. They didn't even let anyone in."

Bruce growled in frustration. "What was I thinking? Of course they would cover the whole thing up! I don't even know why I still tried…I hoped…"

"What will you do now?" Stan asked.

"There's nothing else but to leave. I'll go in the morning."

"But where will you go?"

"I-it's better if I don't tell you."

"I understand, son. I'm sorry I couldn't be much of a help."

"No, no. You've been a big help. After a long time, it's nice to see a friendly face for once."

Just then, a ting came from the bell on the door followed by shouts calling the store owner's name.

Stan sighed. "I'll get rid of them, then we can get a bite to eat."

The owner joined them at the server's counter. Surprisingly it was Betty and her new boyfriend Samson.

"Sorry, Betty," he said. "All I got is Marinara now."

"Awww, come on Stan. I need a Mr. Pink right now," Betty begged.

"Sorry about this, Stan. She worked through dinner again," Samson apologized.

It was Bruce's turn to sigh. A ghost from his past shows up to haunt him. He hang up Stan's coat allowing half his face to be revealed through the colored glass just as he was finished.

Betty froze.

It was like she had seen a ghost.

Just as fast as she saw the all too familiar face, a face she had stared at for most of her life in the university, a face whose features she had all but memorized, it disappeared as soon as Stan moved to block her sight.

Her ears rang. Not even the conversation between Stan and her boyfriend was registering in her ear.

"There's no ba–"

She didn't even hear Stan's warnings as she dashed to the backdoor. Exploding through the back door, she looks left and right. There was nobody there. It almost seemed like she had seen a ghost.

"Is this shop still open?" A muffled voice almost made her soul leave her body.

"P-pardon?" Betty asked, but it took her almost a few seconds for the voice's owner to register into her brain.

It was a short man; she could have sworn it was a teen. He was wearing a raincoat covering most of his body. His face was covered by a fox's mask. The only things visible were the lower half of the kid's legs and his blonde hair.

"W-wait, you're–"

"I don't recall ever seeing you before, lady," The masked man said.

"No, no, I've seen you on TV," She insisted. "You were on the news!"

The man tilted his head. "I've never been in front of a news team. I don't know what you're talking about. More importantly, you didn't answer my question."

Still not convinced, she decided to answer his question just so she wouldn't come across as rude. "O-oh, yeah. Th-they're open. Just one flavor is available, though."

"No worries, I'm starving. I'll take anything they have."

"Go right ahead,"

"Thank you. I believe he went that way." The man pointed to a lot across the pizza parlor.

"Huh?" She was confused by the man's directions, but she trusted it all the same.

Natasha tailed Bruce Banner for the better part of a day. She had watched him scour the University's archives for answers. Any amateur would lose interest or fall asleep on this job, but an amateur she was not.

But what really blew her mind was the masked man.

She had tailed her target all the way to the pizza parlor. There was a bit of conversation she had picked up from the bug she had planted inside. And after a bit of commotion inside, the back door burst open.

That was when that mysterious man appeared again. That was the distraction Bruce needed to get away. Ignoring the whole conversation, she continued tailing the doctor as he tried to get as far away as possible.

"BRUCE!"

A female voice called out into the night.

Her target kept on walking.

Thunder rumbled overhead.

Great. If there was one that bored her out of her mind. Romance stories. She was thrown into the Black Widow Program as a teen so she had not developed the same tastes as the normal woman.

She watched as Betty rushed forward and grabbed Bruce's hand.

Bruce stopped walking, but he did not turn around.

"Wh-when did you…" She stuttered out the first thing that came to mind.

"I'm so sorry. I'm alright okay? I didn't want you to worry." The man apologized.

"I'LL ALWAYS WORRY, BRUCE," Betty raised her voice. "I've always worried about you ever since dad started hunting you down. And you disappearing on me did not make things any better."

"He did not leave me much of a choice…" Bruce said. "I-I have to go now before he finds me again."

Bruce gently took away his hand from Betty's grip and started walking forward. But when he did, she embraced him from behind, afraid that this might be the last time she would see him again. As if on cue, the clouds decided to shower them. It rained down on them masking the tears that were streaming down Betty's face.

"Please don't go…I need you here," The girl all but begged.

"Every fiber of my being wants to stay here with you, but from your dad and his men hunting me down and the risk of…the other guy…I-I just don't want you to get her because of me." Bruce explained.

"I don't care about any of that! I just want you here, near me. You can't just disappear like that again."

"I don't want to make things difficult for you. I can't bear the thought of you getting hurt."

"But you leaving hurts me just as much!"

Banner sighed. He was human as well. He would be lying if the only reason for him to come home like this was the archives. Some part of him, deep inside of him, wanted to see his old sweetheart.

"One night…" He said. "Let's get out of this rain…"

Samson Adams was not happy.

They were supposed to be eating dinner that night, but something threw a wrench into those plans. An unassuming blonde teen that looked like he was going to school into the local university barged in as the rain started to pour into the night.

He even asked the kid if he knew where his girl went, but this kid didn't even see her.

"Who was back there?" He asked himself for the second time that night.

For the years he had tried to get close to Betty Ross, he knew that things would eventually come to this, but he didn't even think it would ever happen. He heard about the accident and Bruce Banner's subsequent disappearance, so he would assume that Banner was dead right about now.

He concluded that the impossible scenario he had been dreading about for years was indeed the one that tore his girl away from him.

He picked up his phone and dialed the number.

"Hello, what do you want?" the gruff voice of the man on the phone asked with obvious irritation.

"I have news," He said. "Betty ditched me for someone tonight."

The man on the phone was angry at this waste of time. "Don't bring your love problems to me. I'm busy hunting down a fugitive."

The call was about to be dropped, but Samson immediately interjected. "I wouldn't drop the call if I were you. I believe I found what you are looking for."

There was silence at the other end of the line.

After a few seconds, the man began to speak again. "I get a dozen scam calls a day. What makes you think that I would believe you even if I do know you personally?"

"What if I tell you your daughter is involved?"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE LED WITH THAT DAMN IT! WHERE ARE THEY?"

"Right now, I don't know, but there's a high possibility that they'll be at the university tomorrow."

It was a tense got so high that the other guy almost made a guest appearance at the hotel room, if you know what I mean.

Nevertheless, Bruce and Betty enjoyed each other's company. When they weren't in each other's arms, they were talking, catching up on each of their own stories to tell. They haven't seen each other in so long that they felt that they were on a blind date.

They stayed like that until the morning sun pierced through the morning sky and shone over the lands. Surprisingly, Bruce decided to be selfish on this particular night and stay with Betty until morning came.

They both woke up like an old married couple, staring into each other's eyes. They enjoyed the hotel's complimentary breakfast and set out just before the check out deadline.

"You came back for the data, didn't you?" Betty said, showing a key that she kept on a necklace as they got their things ready.

"What's this," Bruce asked, getting the key and studying it.

"The data from the experiments," The woman smiled. "I managed to save it before they got rid of everything. I kept it on me the whole time hoping that one day you might come back for it."

"Where did you keep it?"

"I think you know."

Betty's car pulls up at the university, the very place where this budding relationship started, where Bruce's life changed for better…or for worse.

Bruce got out of the car and scanned the premises. He had a melancholic look on his face as he scanned the premises. Betty joined him shortly.

"Why did we have to accept that stupid job in the first place," Bruce wondered aloud. "The serum died with the creator, there's no way we could replicate it the way Dr. Erskine did."

"I don't know," Betty said. She could tell what Bruce was thinking with the look on his face. "We…we were curious. We wanted to crack the puzzle that they were trying to crack."

"That's what we told ourselves, but is that what we really wanted out of it? At least your dad was honest about what he wanted out of it."

Thunder rumbled in the distance, the summer storm bringing the rain it brought the previous night.

"Get behind me," Bruce suddenly said, ruining the mood.

"Bruce…what's wrong?" Betty asked, clueless of what was happening.

Bruce didn't answer. He turned to face her.

"They're here," the man said cryptically. "This is what I was afraid of. I'm so sorry I got you dragged into this."

"Why? What's wrong?" Betty asked worriedly.

"I don't know how they know I'm here, but you've gotta get as far from here as possible," Bruce said.

She pulled Betty close and kissed her on the forehead and nonchalantly. He turned around and walked to the building, with a little frantic step.

"GODDAMMIT!"

General Ross fumed, throwing his binoculars on the ground. He saw Bruce's expression. He knows that they were here.

"WHO WAS THE IDIOT WHO GAVE AWAY THE POSITION?! I'LL MAKE SURE YOU'RE SHIPPED OFF TO SADR CITY! GET INTO POSITIONS, MOVE!"

The snipers were frantic. They rushed to their positions, careful not to get the ire off their boss. Emil Blonsky himself was already in position, a sniper rifle trained on Bruce Banner.

"Got him," He chuckled to himself.

He watched Bruce's head snap to him, seemingly finding his location. "Oh hello."

"I think we should move in. We've been made." He said, almost excitedly like he was going to enjoy this.

As Bruce entered the building, the humvees poured into the university lawn.

Natasha Romanoff was pissed.

She pulled off her disguise perfectly, a little too perfectly I might add. She blended in with the students, but there was this jock that followed her around the campus. Disgusting what these hormonal college kids would do for the opposite sex.

To top it all off, since Nick Fury is too busy to give Ross the time of day, the General is taking things into his own hands. Now, he was here making a mess.

She skulked through corridors incapacitating the slow ones. She followed the chase for Banner through the corridors until they made it through a library.

Watching the doctor in slight awe swallow what looked to be a flash drive straight down his throat and performing evasive maneuvers just as the soldiers were able to breach through the pitiful barricade that the doctor had placed.

The chase led to a walkway enclosed by windows that connected two buildings together. Bruce found himself trapped in the closed space. The exit of the walkway was blocked by another team of soldiers that flanked him. There was no way for Natasha to intervene now without gaining their attention.

Now, with nowhere else to go, a pair of tear gas shells were thrown in thinking that somehow, it would be what would capture the doctor.

But proved to be futile.

Amidst the tear gas smoke, Banner struggled. Letting his rage at the situation take over, he let his inner personality out. The glass around him shattered, decimating the whole walkway. Out came the jolly green rage monster ready to face his pursuers.

Out in the distance, another roar came in response to the challenge.

She could make out a blood red figure in the distance, only slightly larger than the college jock that tried to hit on her earlier (who also conveniently made a puddle of organic fluid around him. Very cool of you.)

By the power that was oozing on both beasts that looked about ready to tear each other apart. She knew that university did not have long to continue standing.

She picked up her phone and pressed a number for the speed dial.

"Uh, boss…"

"What is it now, Agent Romanoff? Can't you see I'm busy?"

ROOOOOAR

"Okay, you have my attention. What is happening?"

"The Hulk and some kind of beast is trying to kill the Hulk."

A series of profanities were heard on the other end of the line.

Ignoring her boss' colorful language, she asked. "What are your orders, sir?"

"Stay close no matter what. If you can't interfere with the fight, don't let Banner get taken by General Ross."

And just like that, the line ended.

"That's it?" Natasha complained. "Just great."

EARLIER

The masked man knew that Samson was up to no good. After eating some of the best pizza in the whole North America, he noticed that the jealous boyfriend was getting agitated. He politely left the diner after saying goodbye to the owner who was bewildered at how his customer could be eating with the mask still attached to his face.

Just as Samson had left, the masked man got up and paid for his delicious meal and gave some words of advice. "You'll get robbed if you space out like that."

"R-right."

He thanked the masked teen (?) and proceeded to clean up his shop. He had a feeling Bruce won't be coming home tonight.

The disguised man tailed the jealous boyfriend. He had a feeling that he would do something stupid. And he was right.

Now, hours later. He was in the midst of the results of that idiot's stupid decision. But he didn't have time to think of that.

He gripped his stomach. There was an intense pain on his abdomen, like something was forcing itself out.

Then, it happened.

He blacked out.

UNKNOWN SEWERS

"Hmmm, here I thought you have forsworn your past life," A massive nine-tailed fox rose from his haunches.

He watched in fascination as a boy in Anbu gear struggled on his knees gripping his stomach.

"Y-you! I thought I told you to go to sleep," The teen in Anbu gear growled.

"Hmph, watching your new life bores me," The kitsune huffed. "I'd rather watch your assassination missions."

"Th-that's–"

ROOOOOAR

The Hulk's roars somehow entered the sewer.

"Now this…" the Nine-tails said. "This is the first mildly amusing thing that has happened in this kami-forsaken place."

"What does this have to do with me?" The Anbu Agent asked.

"As you can see, this cage prevents me from testing this beast myself, but you…as my Jinchuuriki, you can test the beast in my stead." The fox examined his nails.

"Go f**k yourself! I'm not doing anything you say," The man snarled.

"Oh, don't give me that. I know you miss the call of battle as well. You wouldn't be here if you didn't." The fox stated matter of factly.

"Y-you!"

"Also, drop your henge. Your black hair reminds me of the damned Uchiha."

Dark red chakra swirled around the Anbu starting from the feet. With the rush of power inside his system, he lost chakra control. And just as the chakra fully envelops him up top, the transformation timed out revealing a tuft of blonde hair.

BACK IN THE UNIVERSITY

The masked man, now with blonde hair, screamed giving away his position to the soldiers.

"Hey you! Get out of here!" One of the soldiers ordered.

Before they could force him to leave, a wind came out of nowhere, blowing them back. Then they watched in fear as a mysterious energy enveloped him. That's not where it stopped though. The energy-like cloak deepened in color, almost like blood. From where they were standing or rather sitting on their butts as they were blown away, they could feel the heat emanating from the now humanoid beast that was glaring at them with a murderous intent.

Even before they could blink, the beast blitzed forward crushing the jeeps they had parked and leaving a dent on the tank.

"The general!" One of the soldiers cried out, seeing that the vehicle that their boss was riding almost got crushed the whole way through.

Giving up on the thick metal in front of him, he gave them one last look, like they were not even worth the energy to murder, huffed, then dashed to the Hulk that was having a duel with Emil Blonsky, who was surprisingly holding his own.

The door of the tank opened and out came General Thunderbolt Ross and his entourage inside the tank, who were miraculously not crushed.

Betty Ross approached her father, confronting him. "Why did you come?"

"You were consorting with an international fugitive. You were in danger," was all the General said.

"And attacking him was supposed to make me any safer?" Betty raged. "Are you out of your mind? What did you think would happen if he transformed right in front of me?"

"He would transform even if we did this covertly, besides he noticed us right away." The general said matter of factly.

"But that is not important right now."

He turned to the scene. Emil Blonski was sitting on a tree broken beyond repair. The Hulk facing a dark red humanoid creature that appeared out of nowhere, a fight all but begging to happen.

"We have a bigger problem now."