A/N: EDIT: we were hoping for more feedback here, but the site keeps acting up. That's unfortunate. We really did try...T_T

Sorry for the delay~! The darn site broke down yesterday in the login area; as such, we couldn't post; there was nothing Dark or I could do.

As always, we appreciate any review given. It truly does help us write. Large or small, any feedback is better than nothing at all.

In another news 'Til Another Year will finally receive a long-awaited update next weekend; I want to see this Until Dawn movie everyone's talking about. Hopefully it'll be good. I've heard mixed things but I'm tentatively hoping they do the characters from the game justice.

As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes to legends far greater than little 'ol me. I'm just a humble author trying to make his way in this wild world, one word at a time. Time and feedback will determine if this remains a story. Simple as that. As ever, I own no references, quotes, themes or memes. They're tributes, one and all.

As always, we'll be listing Naruto's current offspring in order from oldest to youngest from here on out to prevent confusion. First and foremost, there's Samantha (Eve), then Joshua, Luca, Jessica, and finally little Amanda.

Here we go~!

"There is a door.

Once you walk through that door, once you see evil, you can never unsee it.

Evil infects. Spreads out all around you. Touches everything you touch, with no regard for life.

The most we can hope for is that when its time to face it...

...you don't have to go through that door alone.

~You Know Who.

That Darn Door

Cecil Stedman considered himself a pragmatic man.

Not an evil man, but not a good man either.

Pragmatic.

He hadn't always been so, mind you; there was a time, once, long ago, when he'd been a reckless sonuvabitch with a hidebound moral code. Good was good. Evil was evil. Black and white. That sorta thing. He'd paid the price for that; a chemical bath everyday just to keep his skin from sloughing off his body.

But he learned.

Turns out the world wasn't black and white. It was grey. Every sorta shade. Sometimes bad people did good things. Other times the good guys had to do some damn dirty stuff to keep the the peace. Hell, he'd be the first to admit that he did bad things for good reasons; somebody had to keep the Earth safe.

Who else was going to? The police? The military? Ha! No disrespect to the boys in blue and beyond, but they simply weren't equipped to handle threats of a "super" nature. Seemed like there was a disaster every other week these days; even moreso since a certain braying blond bastard bounced back into his life.

Try saying that five times fast. He dared you.

Still, he had a code. Rules. When he was at fault, he owed it.

And he always, always prepared.

Always.

For instance when a pound of flesh was demanded of him by Fire Shadow, aka Naruto, in recompense for an incident that technically -damnit Erickson- happened under his watch, he could've sacrificed a hand or an eye.

Instead he'd taken both an eye and a hand.

Overkill, right?

Wrong.

As of now, Naruto only knew about the eye. Cecil's shiny new metal hand -coated in a rather convincing layer of false skin- was quite literally an ace up his sleeve, equipped with a rather nasty surprise should said blond go rogue. Probably wouldn't stop Naruto, but it would startle him and more importantly, it'd hurt like hell and give Cecil a chance to escape.

And speaking of escape...

.

..

...with a long-suffering sigh, he turned his gaze back to the metal coffin before him; then again, perhaps it wasn't a coffin at all, given it currently contained a Viltrumite of the living persuasion.

Against all odds, Thula had survived her injuries.

Now the brutal bitch was sleeping fitfully after her ordeal, wracked by nightmares, her entire body contained in countless layers of heavy steel, leaving only her battered visage exposed. Apparently these arrogant aliens couldn't shoot lasers from their eyes -yet!- so leaving her face visible wasn't a risk. They had her completely contained; well, what was left of her. Naruto had beaten her, broken her, refused to heal her, taken one look at the woman's restraints with that Anissa of his and promptly doubled them for good measure.

Chakra chains were a thing. Who knew? Not him!

The kid had sacrificed some of his strength -and focus- to keep her contained, but Cecil considered that a fair trade given the havoc she'd wrought. Against all odds, no lives had been lost during the attack, and miracle of miracles, the GDA were being lauded as heroes thanks to Naruto's timely reaction.

Score one for the good guys.

Nolan may have gone dark since the attack and Anissa was loyal only to the Kid, but this "Thula" would be a goldmine on her people.

The things they could learn...

...provided she awoke with her mind intact, of course.

Big if, that.

He cracked open another can of beer and drank deeply, savoring the burn down his throat as he swallowed. It centered him. Helped him focus. A can a day kept the doctor away and all that. Or maybe that wasn't the saying but damn he needed a drink right now.

"How's she doing?"

Another can cracked open beside him, courtesy of Naruto, currently stood beside him, watching Thula like a hawk. "How do you think she's doing?"

"Fair enough." he spared him a sidelong glance with his good eye. "How much of that little crashout of yours was real?"

Naruto didn't answer; he didn't have to; they both knew the truth.

Cecil continued on, unabated. "You were toying with little miss ice queen over there for a good portion of that fight, then you suddenly went psycho. Why?"

Still no response.

He found the answer on his own.

"You were trying to scare her, weren't you?"

Naruto cracked a smile and another can besides. "Do or do not, there is no try."

"That old saying?" Cecil rolled his good eye in exasperation. "Whatever you say, Yoda."

Dealing with a galaxy far far away would've been cake compared to this. Give him Jedi and Sith any day. Good and Evil. At least those bastards made sense!

"You saw all of that, did you?" Naruto sounded smug as he had another beer. Could he even get drunk?

Cecil scoffed. "Were you putting on a show for me? Whatever will I tell Polly?"

They shared a rare laugh between them, just like the old days.

Now it was Naruto's turn to roll his eyes. "Not just you."

Nolan, then.

He'd not heard a peep from Omni-Man after Thula's incursion. Oh, he was still around mind you, still on Earth, still saving people, but he hadn't checked in. To be expected, he supposed. The man was seriously conflicted. Confronting him might send him over the edge; and on the wrong side at that. Best give him a breather for now.

He'd put the Guardians on high alert regardless, though he'd not told them why.

Wouldn't do for them to be ambushed now, would it?

And while they were on the topic of ambushes...

"So," he began, apropos of nothing, "When were you going to tell me about your new friend?

Naruto didn't answer.

"Kid...

"I wasn't." he said at length. "Because I have it handled."

"Do you? We've got another you running around. How is that handled?"

"Because I gave him what he wanted." came the answer, his eyes never once leaving Thula's prone form. "He has no reason to stay here. He'll be gone by the morning."

"And if he isn't?"

His eyes blazed. "He will be."

"But if he won't go?"

...I'll handle it."

Cecil longed to say more, wanted to argue, but one look at Naruto's face warned him against such. "I'll take your word for it."

One blond bastard was hard enough to handle. Earth didn't need two. Or heaven forbid, three!

Multiverse theory really was a bitch, wasn't it?

The idea that there might be other universes out there -and boundless trouble lurking within- wasn't a pleasant notion. One earth was plenty; more than enough for him. He didn't want more, didn't seek more, didn't need more. Let another Cecil -assuming he wasn't the only one- worry about the multiverse.

He was admittedly curious to see what any of his other selves were like, but he didn't want them coming here!

"I have a book you might be interested in."

Cecil glanced Naruto's way, nonplussed. "A-what-now?"

"A book." the ghost of a smile touched the corner of Naruto's mouth as he quietly disposed of what just might be his umpteenth can of beer. "You'll find it useful, once I'm done breaking it in."

"And the contents of said book?"

Here at last, Naruto looked away from Thula, perhaps finally deciding she wouldn't wake from her restless slumber anytime soon. "Records of another universe that other me went through. He's identified possible threats and allies. Most of which are the same in this universe."

A slippery slope, but one he was prepared to climb if need be.

"Don't suppose you have said book on you?"

"Stored in a secure location."

Meaning there was no way of accessing it save through him. Cheeky prick. Still, a goldmine like that...! "This book of yours...might be helpful."

Those icy blue eyes narrowed upon him. "It will be, provided we don't abuse it."

There it was; the warning.

"Relax," Cecil clapped him on the back. "I'm not out to meet my counterparts, let alone conquer other realities. I have trouble enough managing this one."

"I've noticed."

There it was, another dig at his capabilities. He couldn't even blame him; to use a sports analogy, the GDA hadn't just dropped the ball, they'd outright fumbled it just shy of the endzone and tripped over themselves as the other team summarily run it back for a touchdown.

In short? They fucked up. Naruto didn't seem keen to let him forget anytime soon.

"I've already tasked some clones with hunting down leads like Machinehead and Dinosaurus." his erstwhile ally continued. "If Sinister's notes prove legitimate, I'll share the rest of the notebook with you."

Cooperation. He could work with that. "Sinister, though? That's what he calls himself? Seems someone's a fan of the X-Men.

Naruto barked a laugh. "Don't look at me, I think its an awful name."

"On that at least, we agree."

They shared a rare moment of silence and resumed their stoic vigil, watching the techs fuss over Thula. She was still mumbling in her sleep. Whimpering. Her body might be bound, but her head shifted this way and that, her once beautiful face twisting in some silent terror.

"You really scared the daylights out of her, didn't you...?"

Naruto tossed his spent can in the bin and cracked open another; it was answer enough.

"I'm not condemning you; if anything, I approve. We're all evil to someone," Cecil sighed at length. "You're a hero to your friends and family, to this country, but I guarantee there's somebody out there worse than her."

"Anissa implied as much."

Cecil quirked a brow. "Converted her, have you?"

Here at last, Naruto flushed, a rare thing indeed. "Maybe."

"That's good. We need all the allies we can get. She say anything about this "invasion" Thula happened to mention?"

"Only that we're not ready for it. I think she's been out of the loop too long. Things have changed."

Cecil downed his own can, grimacing at the taste. "Might have to ask the source, then."

Naruto looked back to Thula, smile fading. "You want me to heal her."

"I do."

"But its more than that, isn't it?" He growled. "You want me to take her."

"I'd appreciate it. We can hold her down here, but I'm not sure for how long; least of all if she panics and decides to break out. Nolan's gone radio silent, Anissa answers to you and the Guardians...

.

..

...he waffled a hand.

"Are you saying they're compromised?"

"No, only that they're not equipped to handle Viltrumites. You are."

A can crumpled in the blond's grasp; thankfully an empty one; he didn't much like the idea of bathing in beer. "Then tell them to step up their training, damnit."

"That'll take weeks, if not months!" he snapped back, daring to raise his voice before lowering it once more. "Maybe years, even. This "Viltrumite Empire" could arrive at any time. You're one of only three people on this planet currently equipped to stop it. I know another guy, but he's off planet. No way of reaching him."

The blond dragged a hand down his whiskered face. "You don't know what you're asking me...

"I do, and I'm sorry for it." he really was; Anissa sounded like a handful already. "Converting Thula shouldn't be hard; she's already scared shitless of you. Tell her you changed your mind. Accept her into your service."

Naruto didn't answer.

"Well?" Cecil quirked a brow at him and gestured to the contained Thula below. "Unless you don't think you can do it."

There it was; one of Naruto's few weaknesses. Hit him in the pride. Imply that he wasn't capable of something.

Naruto lived to prove people wrong. It was a character flaw, but admittedly a good one. He'd do the rest.

Sure enough, his right eye twitched. "Bold words for someone within punching distance."

"See, now you're resorting to threats. Can you do it or not?"

Naruto passed an unopened can of beer off to him.

"Hold my beer."

"I'll even sweeten the pot for you. Here." Cecil's handed him a slip of paper. "You might like this. I had planned to give it to you today, before our little incursion."

Naruto paused. Squinted at the rough scrawl written therein. "This is an address."

Cecil nodded once. "It is. An old friend of mine dug up a lead on the Polly Project."

And just like that, he had his full, undivided attention.

"Name?"

"Radcliffe." Cecil took a wary step back as the note burst into flames in the blond's grasp and crumbled to ash. "He was connected to project Polly. Worked closely with Erickson; he's gone into hiding, but he's not half as clever as he thinks. Green Ghost was able to find him. He's got a facility up in the mountains. You might wanna thank her; she risked a lot bringing this to me."

"Then I owe her dinner."

Naturally, Cecil wasn't willing to let it go there. "As for Erickson...

Naruto scowled, a look that promised death to his enemies. "...dead and dusted. I fed him his heart and killed him myself. There's no coming back from that.

"Just be careful out there." he couldn't emphasize that last part enough, not where an associate of Radcliffe was concerned. "That slippery bastard always had a contingency plan or two; even back when we worked together. You could've killed a clone for all you know."

"If he's still out there somewhere, then I'll kill him again. Over and over. As many times as it takes; and anyone else who threatens my family...

Ominous. "Startin' to sound like Nolan again...

"Am I, now?" A bleak look was his reward. "Maybe he has a point. Dead things should stay dead."

Cecil sighed and reached over for another can. "You gonna get this bastard, or have another drink?

When he looked back, Naruto was already long gone.

The older man couldn't quite contain a shiver.

"Hate it when he does that...

(.0.0.0.)

Sinister met him halfway to the facility.

In truth, Naruto wasn't at all surprised his darker counterpart hunted him down; he had a feeling his older self would want a word with him before he returned. One last hurrah, then back to his barren shell of a world to live out the rest of his days with his newly resurrected wife. Whether that would be a fight or a talk...well, that remained to be seen.

Regardless, he looked up into the sky with a sigh, annoyed to find his counterpart hovering there, cape swaying in the wintry breeze.

He'd donned his mask again.

Concerning...

Snow crunched beneath his boots as he straightened up and crossed both arms before his chest. "You gonna hover up there and sulk all day, or are ya gonna come down here and talk like a big boy?"

Reluctantly, Sinister!Naruto did the latter, drifting down towards him. As ever, his mask hid the upper half of his face. Not so the lower; that was set in stone.

"You haven't gone back to your world yet?"

"Not just yet," Sinister scratched the back of his neck, usual verbose behavior -or his scorn!- nowhere to be seen. "I wanted to talk."

He gestured expansively to the snowy wastes around them. "Then talk."

"You spared that Viltrumite woman."

"Her name is Thula."

"..."

Subtly, he focused chakra in his left hand. "Is this the part where you tell me I should've killed her?"

...no." at length, Sinister shook his head, battered blond bangs swaying in the breeze. "I suggested that you recruit allies wherever you could. You're following my advice; I don't begrudge you that, but...

Kurama hissed. "Here we go."

Naruto's right foot shifted ever so slightly strengthening his stance.

...I envy you." the sudden confession nearly floored him, as did the admission that followed. "This life of yours. I'll be honest; there's a part of me that wants to fight you, take it from you...

He tensed.

The world held is breath.

Sinister shook his head. "...but I won't."

Naruto released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding "You wouldn't win anyway, old man."

"Is that what you believe?" His older self smiled, a worn, sad thing, its edges ground down by time. "You might be surprised. I'd make a better showing than most." Without warning, he changed tact. "Where are you off to in such a hurry? There's not much up here.

What was the harm in telling him? "I'm hunting someone."

Sinister tilted his head, thumbed his chin and made a noise of realization. "Radcliffe, then? I remember him. Rex's old boss; makes sense he'd still be alive about now. He did have an old facility up this way...

Who the hell was Rex?

His dark counterpart offered him a hand -literally!- before he could contemplate the name further. "Mind if I join you?"

Naruto balked. "Not sure that's a good idea...

Much to his annoyance, Sinister remained undaunted. "Why not? You, me, killing some bozos. It'll be fun! You aren't afraid of killing, are you son?"

"Oi!" he batted his hand away. "We are literally the same person. Don't go calling me son."

His other self clicked his tongue, admonishing him. "I'm also much older than you...

As if he'd forgotten. "And if I ever grow up to be like you, I'll slit my throat."

"By all means, the world doesn't need another me."

Fine. He clearly wanted something up here.

"Think you can keep up, old man?"

Sinister grinned.

"Lead the way."

(.0.0.0.)

Angstrom Levy looked left.

Angstrom warily looked right.

Angstrom saw not a soul in sight.

"Alright, then." he muttered to himself, rubbing his palms together. "Now or never."

He'd isolated himself in the basement of Naruto's home and locked the steel stoors therein; effectively sealing himself in, just in case, all in the vain hope that this would work. And if it didn't, any mistake he made would be contained.

Fire Shadow would understand. He was doing this to help him. It was all he ever did; he just wanted to help.

Reluctantly, he opened a portal.

A green tether of light bloomed at his touch.

Angstrom peered at it, ready to dodge back at the slightest danger.

In many ways, his portals were doors. But unlike doors, the contents on the other side were often...varied. As ever, it was akin to gambling; he had no way of knowing who what was on the other side; in many ways it was up to chance. Random.

Why, there was that one time he'd accidentally opened a portal into a universe filled with zombies and nearly caused an apocalypse!

Not doing that again!

Such was why he needed Naruto's help. And the Mauler twins. He could so much good for this world, save so many lives, realities from collapsing. He just needed a little help.

But he'd been careful this time, followed all the instructions...

.

..

...so this should work.

It had to work.

It must.

"Hello?" he called out, not willing to venture through for fear of being attacked or worse. "Are you there?"

An colorfully clad arm lanced forth out the tether, grabbed him by the collar and yanked.

He dug his feet in desperately, to no avail, his captor was too strong, and he found himself hauled forward, nearly all the way in.

By some mercy, his attacker deigned to emerge halfway rather than pull him through.

A familiar face stared back.

Naruto's face.

It didn't belong to Sinister.

This one was calmer. Smiling. Wearing orange, black, and blue colors.

"You again?" this third counterpart took one look at him and tutted. "I told you not to come back. Do you have a death wish?"

"I don't!" Angstrom raised both hands to show himself harmless before he could be killed or worse, captured, tortured and interrogated. "I was just passing through!"

Vanguard would've been better; he was a Viltrumite, true, but a decent enough fellow so long as you were useful to his regime, and not necessarily cruel.

Multi-Task was, in essence, far more unpredictable.

Because you see, he never stopped smiling.

Always, always, always smiling.

"I need your help." He said.

"This again? I'm busy."

A newborn babe wailed in the background on the portal's other side.

Levy's brow shot into his hair. "Another one? You've been busy since we last spoke...

The Ever-Smiling-Man merely tilted his head. "You have no idea. Now what do you want?"

"It concerns another you. Sinister. I'm concerned he might be a danger."

The agent shook his head, bemused. "And this is my problem how?"

"He's greedy. I'm afraid he won't be satisfied with what he has."

Multi-Task laughed. "He has designs on your universe, then?"

He dropped the other shoe. "Yours, most likely."

Multi-Task never stopped smiling. Not once.

It simply was not in his nature to frown.

But just now, his smile became sharp.

Levy told him in no uncertain terms.

Mult-Task paused. Tutted.

"Alright. I'm listening...

Levy kept talking.

Some time later, the portal closed, releasing Levy.

Angstrom released a deep, shuddering breath and leaned against the wall, massaging his poor throat.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry...

It had to be him; no other choice.

Someone else might've gotten it wrong.

(.0.0.0.)

Rex had seen some serious shit in his day.

This? This took the cake.

And ate it!

Then went back for seconds!

In conclusion!

"Hoooooly shit."

"You must be Rex." A beaming blond bastard stood before him, idly wiping blood from his hair. "Your boss had good things to say about you...before I popped his skull."

Crapbaskets.

That would explain all the blood then, wouldn't it? He looked like he'd gone through a blender; no, that wasn't right, he WAS the blender, and everyone else had been sliced and diced, minced and finced like a fruit smoothie. He could still see the bodies...what was left of them at any rate.

What was that old Drowning Pool song again? Let the Bodies Hit the Floor?

Yeah, that about summed things up here.

The boy raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa! I don't want any trouble."

"No, son." the blond man tutted softly. "No, you do not."

A hand came down on his head, mussing his hair.

"Tell me, how do you feel about adoption...?"

A/N: Ah, but which Naruto made that offer?

I know, I know, we didn't see Polly and the kids in this chapter, had to save them for the next one~!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter~!

Once again, I feel the need to reiterate that Angstrom hasn't gone nuts, and temains a good guy. A bit naïve, perhaps, and in over his head, but still a good guy.

The multiverse is vast. Sure, this one is good, but who's just saying we won't see the deranged version we all know and hate line.

To quote Cell, multiverse theory's a bitch.

Remember, we're now committing to bi-weekly updates for both Apples and Atoms and Vanguard.

What chaos awaits? Who will live? Who will die?! Feedback is important!

Well? What say you? Do you want this to remain a story? Yes? No? Maybe so? Make yourselves heard! Really need to hear from you, here.

So by all means, speak up! Your voice matters! Make yourself heard! As ever, reviews are the fuel that sustain me. Without them, I cannot write a single word. Simple as that. Working nearly all hours of the day keep me absurdly busy, and I can't bring myself to write something folks don't like.

So...in the Immortal Words of Atlas...

...Review...Would You Kindly? Hope you enjoy the previews below, can't spoil too much.

Don't mind the X symbols, the site doesn't like scene breaks down here.

We've got some new ones and some are...intense.

They've been expanded and then some!

As ever, resd at your own risk:

Secon ome is condensed.

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!

SPOILERS AWAIT YOU!

YE BE WARNED!

(Previews)

"Two mommies!"

Joshua, Luca, Jessica, and finally little Amanda crowded around the other Polly -or Polyanna as the others had taken to calling her- as the original Polly and Anissa watched her like a hawk.

how very strange. The woman she had known had tried to kill her. And had paid a bloody price. This one was...different.

Little Jessica hugged her ever so tight and she was undone.

Polyana did not weep.

She bawled.

x

I got my powers!

Eve tilted her head.

It was wobbly, unsteady, but he was undoubtedly doing it. Angstrom's words nagged at her. Him having powers might not be a good thing.

No! Never! Nonsense! Mark wanted to be like his dad, and Angstrom hadn't said anything bad about him so surely that was a good thing...wasn't it? Stop thinking, damnit!

So when did you get your gifts? Just the other day. He laughed. Dad just started training me. Where's he now? He said something about an emergency and took off. You know how it is, always saving the day. She didn't miss the hint of longing in his voice. Hey, c'mere." she drew him into a quick hug. You have powers now, remember? You'll be just like him. He sniffled a little. Thanks, Eve. How are you doing...? She huffed into his shoulder. "Multiverse theory sucks." I'm sorry?" Its a long sorry. If you wanna make it up to me, you can take me to the mall. Works for me~!

"C'mon, flyboy.

Mark was good. He would always be good. She wouldn't let him be bad.

She'd smack him otherwise.

Come on, I'll race you.

x

Its morning. We really ought to get up-

"No."

It wasn't a question, ya know.

She rolled over pinned him in place with her hips, and locked her legs around his waist.

...or not." He laughed.

The doorbell rang.

Darn.

x

War Woman knocked on the door.

x

"You need to use more than walls, and bubbles, Eve! Use your imagination!"

As he looked on she began to finesse her footwork; hopping from one foot to another, bounding in place, little sparks of pink light kicking off with each step. He crossed both arms before his chest and waited, giving her all the time to prepare in the world. He could see her green eyes sparking, thoughts flickering as she ran through dozens of ideas and realized she could use them all.

Honestly, it was adorable that she still wore the mask around her eyes. She'd grow out of it someday.

To his great delight, she pulled out her armor and the buzzsaws.

A grin split his whiskered visage. "Not enough. Do better."

His darling daughter conjured a rail gun in his face.

"Clever girl!"

Fired!

His head snapped back.

"Wow! Look at that! You finally made me bleed! See? You can do it!"

EDIT: Hope this story brightened your day and made things better, even if only a little.

As always, I appreciate any review given. It truly does help me write. Large or small, any feedback is better than nothing at all.

Looking forward to chatting with you all when I get back from work~!

May you have a great day and lots of luck!

Warm regards,

~Nz.