A/N: EDIT: hardly any feedback due to the site glitches... really breaks my spirit... and here I thought everyone would enjoy a longer chapter with more drama... was I wrong? T_T
apologies for any errors, I'm still not well...Doctor has finally given me some medicine to help with my cough -after suffering for a month- and if that doesn't improve, I'll be needing more tests.
As always, I appreciate any review given. It truly does help me write. Large or small, any feedback is better than nothing at all.
Season 3 has ended. What a rush! I was not expecting that *SPOILER* bit with Conquest! Still, it invigorated me, so let's keep going.
This is a bit of a talkative chapter, but its a necessary one to lay some much-needed groundwork for the upcoming arcs.
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.
Welcome to the multiverse, folks. Worry not, we won't be seeing a dozen different versions of Naruto. That would be overdone. The concept of the multiverse is best used in other places.
That said, the lads and I have come up with a name for the current doppelganger, given who he resembles...
...why, its downright Sinister.
"Alright, this is getting out of hand! Now there's two of them!
For the love of all that's good, don't make it three.
Two's company, three's a crowd!"
~You Know Who.
Seeing Double
The truth is often disappointing.
Naruto had never really believed in that saying before; he'd always thought otherwise; the truth was supposed to set you free, that sorta thing, ya know? But it didn't, not really; sometimes the the very answers you seek often leave you even more confused than before.
Case in point; after a bit of roughhousing and demands on his part, the Guardians folded like a house of cards and answered his questions.
Oh, yes, they had answers for him alright, just not the sort he was expecting.
His interrogation of them could be summed up as follows:
Yes, they knew about the original Green Ghost vanishing years ago. No, they hadn't the foggiest idea where he'd gone. Yes, they'd dine everything in their power to find him. No, they weren't holding anything back and YES they were telling the truth. NO, How could he ever believe they would try to hurt him? Hadn't they been friends? Comrades?
He could sense their sincerity too, not lie or an iota of negativity among them; they were...surprisingly honest, even if the Immortal was a bit of an arse about it.
Under any other circumstance, the sentiment might've shook him, but he was too angry to care.
The trail, at least on that front, had gone cold.
So back home he went, despondent, but at least secure in the knowledge that the GDA would leave the Mauler Twins and their Polly Project be. War Woman had assured him she would see to it personally. Only time would tell if her words withstood that test. Hells, she'd even been kind enough to fly him home.
Kind being the operative word, not that he needed nor appreciated said kindness.
Alighting neatly upon his porch beside him, she actually had the gall to pivot in place and regard his property with quiet curiosity.
"So this is where you live now...
He glanced toward the hidden camera at the door and side-eyed her, careful to stand where he could be seen. "Don't read into it."
"I'm not," she was quick to answer, but the first blow had already been dealt, that initial crack in the ice between them made. "Its just...nice to talk with you again."
He snorted. "Is that what we're doing?"
She faltered a little, but leaned against the railing and rallied, he'd give her credit for that. "I heard you made up with Cecil.
Blue eyes narrowed. "Not the word I'd use."
"Sorry," she averted his gaze with a grimace, leaving him feeling a little ashamed. "I never was one for small talk."
A small, traitorous smile twitched at the corner of his lips. He ruthlessly suppressed it. "You really weren't."
"Aha~!" She saw his smile and pounced. "Didn't you have the opposite problem at first?"
His brow furrowed. "How so?"
"You always were a bit of a yapper."
Kurama snorted. "She's got you there.
'You too?! Traitor!'
Outwardly, he refused to acknowledge it. "Was I?" He scoffed and turned away from her, unwilling to play her game, if indeed she was playing one at all. "Funny, I seem to recall you braining me with that mace of yours when we first met."
A hint of pink dusted her dark cheeks, her gaze hastily averted. "You startled me!"
"I literally tapped you on the shoulder and said hello!"
Simpler times. Happier times. Crazier times.
Silence stretched between them.
War Woman reluctantly broke it. "Is Polly doing alright...?"
Don't lash out. "Best as she can be, I suppose."
"May...May I see her?"
He scowled. "No."
"Naruto..."
"War Woman." he countered sternly.
Was she not getting the hints, here?! Buzz off!
"We're not working." she tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, still blushing a little. "At least call me by my name like old times."
That...had been a very long while ago.
"Holly, then." he grit his teeth, keenly aware of just how close it was to Polly's name. "There. Happy now? What more do you want from me?"
He half-expected her to flinch, cower in the face of his fury. Remarkably, she didn't. Instead, she lifted her chin, steeled herself and offered him her hand.
Naruto blinked, baffled. "What is this supposed to be, exactly...?"
"I want you to join the Guardians." when he made a baffled noise, she dared to push the envelope. "Officially. We've saved you a space on the team-
Was that what this was about? He barked a bitter peal of laughter, angry and sharp. "I refuse. Categorically."
Holly made a pained noise; the sound twisted at his heart. "But why...? I'm trying to make amends!"
"By letting me into your secret club? Pass." he crossed both arms before his chest. "Hard pass. I already told Cecil I'm not taking orders from him; I certainly won't from the likes of Immortal."
"You wouldn't have to!" she touched one hand to the emblem just below her throat; idly he realized she'd worn her hair down today, freeing it from its usual braids - it was a good look for her. "I'm only asking you to work alongside us, like you used to in the beginning...
He could feel a migraine coming on; he pinched the bridge of his nose in a vain attempt to stifle it. "What do you really want here, Holly...?"
"I want things to go back to the way they were!" War Woman didn't throw a tantrum, she was a grown woman and far too mature for that, but it was a near thing; her hands balled into fists at her sides. "When we were friends, when we were a team...
His temper slipped through his grasp. "I wouldn't have stopped, you know."
Now it was her turn to blink. "What?
"If something happened to you, or any of the Guardians," he stepped to her, all but smashing his forehead against hers, "Nothing would've stopped me from hunting down the one responsible. I would've turned the Earth inside out to find you."
"That's not fair." her voice piqued into a whine. "We searched for years, tracked down every clue, expended every resources. We missed you. We mourned you. I lo-
Kurama swore softly.
Lo...? Naruto went very still, gaining an awful inkling of where this was going.
Polly would be thrilled. Him...not so much.
"You...?"
The amazon's dark face had gone very red. "Nevermind," she squeaked -actually squeaked!- the word out in great embarrassment. "Forget that last bit."
"I don't think I can...
This time she did stomp; it was adorable. "Forget! It!"
Not a chance. His smug smirk must've betrayed him because Holly buried her head in both hands and garbled something that might've been the distant cousin of an apology; he couldn't be entirely sure. Shaking his head, he took a big step backward. "I don't need your help."
"No," she sulked back, "You have your new alien friend for that."
He flung up an arm. "Does everyone know about Anissa?!"
Subtle, she was not. He'd need to have a word with the Viltrumite about concealing her presence...or Polly keeping her quiet at the very least. Ah, but War Woman was still staring at him. She looked so sad. Downright pitiful, even...
He dragged a hand down his face and exhaled in a long-suffering sigh.
"I can't believe I'm even considering this..."
War Woman perked up.
"Tomorrow," he ground the word out before he could reconsider. "I'll allow you to visit her tomorrow morning. But only if she allows it."
He knew she would.
"Allows what?"
Imagine his surprise when Samantha Even Uzumaki came soaring down out the sky just before he could speak further. Naturally, his daughter took one look at Holly and gasped. "Oh, wow! you're actually War Woman! Dad," she glared his way, "You didn't tell me you were friends with War Woman!"
Her enthusiasm was adorable, and misplaced. "You've technically already met-
"But not like this!"
"Don't mind me, Samantha." Holly, thankfully, had the good grace to smile and not reveal their argument. "I was just leaving...
Eve rounded on her, green eyes wide and hopeful. "Will you come back tomorrow?
War Woman looked his way.
Naruto exhaled harshly through his nose.
"She will, but only if you and the kids want her too."
"I want!" Eve bounded in place with a happy chirrup. "Very much!"
Naruto frowned, wondering what had gotten into her "And where have you been, young lady?"
Her smile faltered.
War Woman saw her chance to bolt and took it; stepping back, she soared into the air and fled.
For her part, young Eve beamed, hands clasped behind her back. "Nowhere."
His brow furrowed. That was all it took for her to fold like a house of cards.
"Alright, alright," she looked away, acting the part of a huffy teenager. "I may have made a friend."
Naruto felt his smile return. Had he been worried for nothing after all? "That's great!"
"Of the boy persuasion."
Actually, scratch that. "...not so great."
"Said friend has technically been a friend for awhile, too."
...getting worse now...
"Aaaand now he's my boyfriend." she chirruped happily. "Surprise~?"
"That's nice, dear-wait, what?" Naruto did a double take. "And who might said boyfriend be?
"Mark."
"Nolans's kid?!"His right eye twitched. "Is that so?"
Even noticed and latched onto his arm before he could take flight. "Daddy, no."
"Daddy, yessss." He drawled the last word, deliberately dragging out the s with intent. "I just wanna talk to him."
Her grip redoubled. "Talk to his dad, more like!
"The thought hadn't crossed my mind...
"Liar!"
Sage save him from surly daughters.
Raising his arm -and finding her dangling off it like a spider monkey- he granted her a flat look. "You're still a kid, Eve...
Don't care." She climbed up onto his arm, holding tight. "I love him."
Love. She was just a child. What did she know of love?
Reluctantly, he lowered her back to the porch. "If you say so...
His daughter stomped a foot and gave him the most fearsome pout in existence. "You promised you wouldn't act like my fosters."
Bit of a low blow there, but he could see where her concerns stemmed from. She feared he would take control of her life.
Just like the Wilkins did.
"I wont," he reassured her, kneeling and laying a hand on her shoulder to better emphasize his words. "That's a promise I aim to keep." when she sniffled, he was just as quick to wipe away her tears. "I won't denigrate you for your powers, Eve. I won't make you feel small. I certainly won't control your life."
"No," She shuffled in place and refused to meet his gaze. "Just my choice of boyfriends...
"Not even that," he disagreed with a laugh,. "Though I wish I could on that front. I need to look out for you and your siblings, that's all. Think, Eve, think." tapping a finger to her forehead, he rubbed his thumb in, drawing a whine from his eldest child. How would you feel if Josh went and got himself a girlfriend?"
She hesitated, but her feelings won out. "I would be curious...
"And what of Luca? Jessica? Or little Amanda?"
She sputtered. "They're too young!"
"And yet you'd still try to protect them, wouldn't you? Keep them from getting their hearts broken?"
"Well, yeah, duh." she said it was though it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But Mark's not like that! He's nice! We're gonna get married someday!
Naruto nearly choked on his own spit. Marriage? His baby girl? Not if anything to say about it, he had!
Eve sighed. "Dad, you're doing it again."
"Doing what?"
She poked his chest. "Killing intent."
He quickly ceased. "I'm not gonna hurt him, I swear."
Her gaze flicked up to his ever so briefly. "Do you promise?"
He scoffed, tousled her hair, and rose to his feet. "Have you ever known me to break a promise to anyone?"
"Dad?"
"Hmm?" he hummed, unlocking the door.
She latched onto his waist and hugged him. "I'm glad you found me."
Urk.
He faltered for a moment as the words struck him full force, sending a rush of heat to his face. He still wasn't used to being a father and times like these really showed. Better get her something extra nice for her birthday; kinda had to after a remark like that. "Don't be hittin' your old man with critical hits ya know. Spend more time workin' on yer Rasengan...
Samantha drew back with a manic giggle. "Already did~!"
Naruto whipped around, all thought of gifts and home momentarily forgotten. "You did?!
"Yup." as he looked on with immense paternal pride, his daughter conjured a perfect spiraling sphere, -admittedly pink instead of the traditional blue- in her right hand; beaming, she smashed into a barrier she conjured, breaking it apart with graceful ease. "I even learned how to use molecules an' slow people down in the air." she sounded particularly proud of that last one. "Can you teach me the Eight Gates now?"
Lee would approve, he felt.
Still...she was plenty powerful already.
Did she really need something like that, too?
"Listen, Eve." he looked back to her, fiddling for the right key to turn the lock. "Youth is a weapon. Learning to take an advice from others is also a weapon. Heck, if you're clever, even your smile can be a weapon, even your own voice if a pinch. That's what it means to train as a Shinobi.
Her head tilted, idly reminding him of her namesake. "Not just a superhero?"
"Sure, if you like, but my techniques aren't always the flashiest."
Eve quirked an eyebrow.
"Okay, granted, some of them are."
The other brow rose to join the former and stayed there.
"All right, alright!" he hung up his hands, a little chagrined." Most of them! But I've learned some sneaky stuff too. It's not all about explosions and power. For example, you can use your powers to create incredible things, things that will last. That's more than I can ever do."
"Is that why you have me studying architecture?"
"Bingo!" he snapped his fingers her way without looking. "Molecules and atoms are all well and good, but you need to know how to hold what you create together. Otherwise it'll fall apart shortly after you make it. Maybe that's all well and good for some things, but if you aren't careful, anything you create will have a lasting effect on the environment.
Her stomach growled, interrupting his lecture.. "Can we go inside now? All this talkin's making me kinda hungry.
He waggled a blond brow her way. "I don't know, can you?"
She rolled her eyes. "May I?"
"That's my girl."
"You do realize I can literally deconstruct the door. We don't need keys."
"Using a key makes me feel normal. Aha! Found it!" Laughing he swung the door open, "Daddy's home~!
Humming to himself, he crossed the threshold...and froze.
Eve walked into his back.
Everything was much as he left it...and yet, not.
Josh was sound asleep on the couch for reasons that soon became apparent as he beheld little Amanda tucked into the blond boy's arms. He must've rocked her to sleep while they were away. Of Jessica and Luca, he saw no sign.
They weren't the reason he'd frozen.
There was a massive machine in the middle of his living room, a device dominating his vision, all grey and black, covered in strange symbols. No, not symbols, seals. He recognized the language of his people, of the shinobi, but to this degree, it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Stranger still, he could sense chakra pumping inside it, the design a grim parody of human chakra coils. He could feel something circulating in there, a near-exact imitation of his own chakra, drowning out everything else in his mind's eye.
Who had done this?!
Why was this in his home?!
The knee-jerk reaction was immediate. Abomination! Destroy it!
He reared back-
"Daddy!" Jessica bounded down from the ceiling-when had she gotten up there?!- and wrestled his arm down. "Don't!"
Luca lunged out of the floor and caught his ankle before he could. "She's nearly finished!"
She?! Was Polly in that thing?!
Angstrom stroke out the kitchen, cradling a tray of sandwiches.
"I made food-ah." he saw him and paused. "Impeccable timing. She'll be emerging any moment now."
One cue, the machine irised open with a rush of steam.
Polly stumbled out of the pod, looking pale, but alive. She fell to a knee, clutched her mouth, looked like she might vomit for a moment, then rallied. He could feel chakra burning within her, a lightouse beacon cutting through the storm of his thoughts. Had the machine transplanted chakra coils into her? If so, how? And from whom? He could feel it supporting her weakened organs, not healing them, not quite, but giving her ruined internals a much-needed boost, despite the pain their carving must've caused.
"Okay," she gasped, retching on the ground, "Never doing that again."
Eve balked. "Mom?!"
"Ohhhshitonastick." she looked up, saw them, and somehow had the good grace to flush. "I didn't think you'd be back yet. Surprise?"
Eve darted forward to give her a hurried hug, burying her head into her shoulders. "Swear!"
"Ehehehe, guess that's another tip for the swear jar...
Naruto twitched, he would've done more, were it not for the children currently dangling off his limbs.
He took a deep breath and released it with an effort. "Polly, you...
"Whuzzat, now...?" Josh awoke on the couch with a groan, inadvertently pulling young Amanda with him. "Oh, hey, dad's back...
A muscle jumped in Naruto's jaw. "Polly, what did you do?"
His wife stood, cradling Eve in her arms. "Alright, but you can't be-
"Too late!" he slashed a hand forward, sending his children swinging with a happy squeal. "Already am!
Jessica and Luca laughed nervously, still hanging onto him.
He glowered at them. "You two. Off."
The twins scarpered over to Josh; and well that they did; he didn't trust himself to stay in control right now.
"I don't understand." Rounding on his wife, he glowered at her, absolutely thunderous. "I didn't build this machine." he would have remembered something like that, never mind the decades of work it must have taken to construct so delicate a device, and there was no one else in this world who possibly could without him. "This isn't my handiwork."
"You're right," his wife kicked at the floor, scuffing the carpet. "Its not."
Which begged the inevitable question. "If not me, then, who-
"Me."
A hatch in the ceiling irised open and someone came rocketing through, alighting in a pointed crouch before him. To be fair, he'd heard the newcomer long before we saw them, but the voice alone was enough to root him where he stood. Baffled, he cast the desperate, confused glance towards Polly, who granted him a sheepish smile.
Anissa was only a heartbeat behind through the hatch, looking absolutely harassed and out of breath for the first time since he'd met her.
"Forgive me," she grumbled under her breath. "He wanted to explore. I couldn't keep up with him."
The masked man rose and laughed with thinly veiled scorn. "Slowpoke."
She snarled at him. "Impudent oaf!"
Naruto blinked three times.
He blinked hard.
At first, he found himself at a loss, what was that black and gold and orange outfit, and what was that ridiculous yellow cape? To say nothing of the golden mask. Thankfully it didn't have any garish goggles or any such thing, but the sight of it rankled him all the same.
But no, as he spied the hair and recognize the whiskered cheeks, he began to understand.
And then the masked bastard reached up and removed his mask.
He was looking at himself - or rather, a version of himself.
"Hello...friend."
Was this one of his shadow clones... no, he sensed Kurama within him.
Naruto tilted his head.
"Naruto" did the same.
Naruto gazed upon Naruto.
A moment of silence followed.
And then:
"What in the actual fuck."
"I can explain!" Angstrom set his tray down and raised a hand to forestall an argument. "He's you. Or rather, a counterpart of you. We secured his assistance with that machine over there to help Polly with her experiment-
His wife waved a hand and set Eve down, beaming as though the results of this "experiment" somehow absolved her of the chaos she'd caused.
-well," the portal-user shrugged helplessly. "The results speak for themselves.
"You're welcome." his other self smirked. "It took me ages to build that machine. I'm glad to see it finally used for its intended purpose."
Must not punch. "Who are you?"
"Who am I?" the colorfully clad man laughed. "That's a surprisingly difficult question. I couldn't become who I was supposed to be, so who does that make me now?"
"Alright, this is weird...
His other self tilted his head. "Tell me about it. Its like looking in a warped mirror. What do I even call you?"
He bridled, indignant. "Hey, hey! This is my universe. Far as I'm concerned, I'm the original."
"The lucky one, more like. Your universe didn't go to hell in a handbasket. Mine did...
Josh raised his hand, idly munching on a sandwich. "Sooooo...does this mean we have two dads?"
Here at last, his dystopian self looked positively aggrieved.
Polly giggled in the background. "No, sweetie.
"But he looks like Dad...
"I'm not." His other self made an annoyed noise. "I only ever had one wife and one daughter." he cast a pointed glance toward Eve. "I don't know who these other ones are."
Eve perked up. "There's another me?"
His doppelganger shook his head. "There was."
Some things are best left unsaid.
"Oh." Eve looked away, suitably crestfallen.
"Maybe this a little too heavy for the little ones," Angstrom suggested.
Josh scoffed. "What? Uh, no. You're not keeping us out of this. We wanna watch!"
Polly looked like she might argue to that effect, and would have, if it weren't for the laughter of his darker countperart.
"Call me Sinister." The other Naruto crossed both arms before his gold-on-black chest. "Its a name that stuck with me in my world after I took over."
Naruto's throat closed as his mouth briefly wenr dry. "Took over...? Wait, you're not Fire Shadow?"
A shake of the head was his reward. "No. I cast that aside a long time ago. Not that I ever wanted that stupid hat anyway.
Naruto recoiled, seriously stung by the insinuation. "Then you're not me at all!"
"Aren't I?" His other self tapped a finger to his forehead. "I have your face, your chakra, your version of Kurama. "I'm smarter, I'm better, but also lesser; because I lack the one thing you have."
Wasn't hard to put two and two together there, and it left him proper tense. "...you don't have a family anymore, do you?"
Sinister!Naruto scoffed aloud, a bitter noise tinged with pain. "Give the man a prize!"
"There's no prize here. You lost your wife. I didn't."
It was the wrong thing to say; Sinister growled at him, mashing his teeth. "Careful now...
"And what's with the getup?" he glanced up and down the length of him, dismayed. "Don't you know the golden rule? No capes. Those are for losers."
"How about I strangle you with it?!"
"Whoa, hey!" Polly interposed herself between them before they could come to blows. "Calm down, both of you! We promised to help him!"
Naruto glowered bloody red daggers at him. "In exchange for what?
"Me, not murdering all of you and taking your Polly for myself?"
He snarled, chakra boiling. "I'd like to see you try."
"You're about to!"
"Stop!"
Polly wrestled his other self away, while Anissa did the same for him. It was the testament to his own emotional turmoil that he wasn't able to immediately break free from her grasp.
"Boys, the both of you!" she snarled into his ear. "Stop, comparing your di-
Levy coughed into a fist. "There are children present."
Sinister Naruto had the good grace to blanch. "My apologies...
Naruto winced as well, albeit for different reasons. "Polly, you shouldn't strain yourself, you're still sick-
Sinister frowned, broke free, and turned a baleful blue eye on his wife. "You're not well...?"
Now it was his turn to frown. "Wasn't yours ill as well...?"
"What are you talking about?" just as quickly as it had come, that brief burst of empathy vanished. "No one ever laid their hands on my wife. I didn't let them. Polly lived a good long while...before the invasion."
Josh and Luca blinked, but it was Jessica who piped up. "Invasion? As in aliens?"
Eve ruffled her hair and pulled Amanda into her lap. "What else would it be?"
"Aunt Anissa doesn't look like an alien, though...
Anissa had gone very quiet. He'd be sure to question her on that later.
"So you mean you were never captured? Experimented on?"
A blond brow rose, supreme in its scorn. "Were you truly that weak? Or just too trusting?"
Eve bridled. "Hey! That's my dad you're talking about. Be nice.
"Nice?" Sinister rounded on her. "Dear daughter, you have no idea."
"No, no,wait, what he's saying makes sense." Angstrom thumbed his chin, head bobbing in a nod. "I told you that I've met multiple versions of you, scarce though they were. You've all been through different circumstances; doubtlessly, so has this one. Why, I once met a Naruto who called himself Vanguard. He even claimed to be the son of Conquest-
Sinister spat. "Never!"
The children cooed curiously. "Who?"
Anissa agreed with a scoff of her own. "Impossible. That monster cares only for blood and battle. He'd never bother to breed with anyone."
Levy shuddered, mildly disturbed by their verbal vehemence. "Say what you will, but there were good iterations too; I seem to recall a rather decent fellow by the name of Multi-Task...
Now it was Naruto's turn to perk up With a title like that, said iteration must be an expert in Shadow Clones. "What was he like?"
Sinister leaned in, feigning disinterest, but he could see a gleam in his eye. "Was he alone as well?"
For some reason, the dimension hopper smiled. "No, he was a father, too, but the adoptive sort. I'm sorry." a quick glance towards Pollly confirmed his suspicions. "As far as I can tell, the two of you never met in that universe.
Eve pulled a face.
Polly pulled her children close, whining but a little. "Awww, so no Multiverse version of me?"
"I think one of you is quite enough"
"Thanks, hun. But if this guy is you, he must've ended up with someone, surely...?"
Naruto and his Sinister counterpart leaned in, quietly curious.
Angstrom leaned back. "I really shouldn't. There are rules...
You've broken plenty of those already, fool." Anissa snapped at him for his perceived cowardice. "Spill the green beans already!"
Amanda and Jessicla shared a blink. "Green beans?"
Luca stuck out his tongue. "Yuck!
Polly snickered into a fist. "I think you mean regular beans, Anissa...
"Why would I? Are they not one of the same? Besides, I dislike green beans.
Josh groaned. "Oh God, we agree on something...
Sinister old his eyes toward the ceiling. "I am surrounded by idiots...
Levy looked left, right, and found no aid in sight. In the end, he said, and gave up the ghost; named several names, one of which evoked a visible reaction and all parties
Polly squealed happily. "You got with Debbie?!"
Josh and Eve audibly, wretched, but it was a ladder who recovered first. "Mom, no! That's Mark's mom!"
"Don't care! You should see how she looks when she lets her hair down!
Naruto gagged. "That's Nolan's wife!"
Angstrom Levy dared to raise his hand again, damn him. "Insofar as I can tell, he never came to earth in that universe. He was content when I found him, but unwilling to help with my experiment; come to think of it, he was the one who pointed me toward you...
Anissa looked pleased with herself, but she was also grinding her teeth. "Thula of all people...that woman is the bane of my existence...
"Sooo..." Polly posited the necessary question, naturally. "...how many kids?"
Naruto squawked angrily. "Don't we already have enough?!
Angstrom reluctantly held up both hands, with one thumb, tucked inward.
Kurama wheezed.
Naruto nearly fainted on the spot. "That many, huh...?"
"If you think that's bad, you should see what Vanguard got up to-
"No, no, no," he clamped over the man's mouth before his mind could be burned by more knowledge of his other lives. "I've heard more than enough! Everything you've said sounds nice!
"Nice?"
He went still.
"Nice?" Sinister scoffed, drawing his ire now as he repeated himself. "What exactly is nice about this? Why have more than one child? Quality beats quantity any day. He's setting his "children" up for failure, clearly."
Eve kicked his shin. He didn't flinch in the least, but he did frown at her, betraying his confusion. "What was that for, hun?"
"For being a dick!"
Polly flung up a hand. "Samantha Eve Uzumaki! That's five dollars in the swear jar!"
"But mom-
"No buts!" Pivoting seamlessly, she handed little Amanda off to Jessica, rose to her feat and jabbed a finger into Sinister's chest. "And as for you! You are BETTER than this-
The finger broke with an audible crack.
Eve yelped and slammed a series of pink visors over the eyes of her younger siblings with a pair of earmuffs besides.
"Ow, shit!" Well that she did, too; because Polly recoiled with a pained hiss, clutching her damaged digit. "Right, still fragile, forgot about that. Shit, shit, shit! Ugh, that fucking hurts!"
"Why did you do that?" Sinister blinked, a look of confused horror crossing his face. "Did I do something wrong?"
Polly promptly punched his chest and promptly broke her hand. "Owwwww! Fuck that hurts!"
Naruto lunged forward.
Levy seized his shoulder. "Wait...I think she's onto something...
"By maiming herself?!"
"Just watch...
Even brandished a glass jar, currently rattling with a great deal of change. "Swear jar, mom!"
Polly ignored her daughter and backhanded Sinister, snapping his head to the side.
Pop went her other wrist.
"Stop." Sinister stepped back, edging away from the woman who had just broken both her hands hitting him. "Stop that! Stop hurting yourself!"
"Then stop being an asshole!" She stalked after him, arms limp and bloody at her sides. "You act like you're so much better than us, but right now, you're nothing more than a bully. And Sinister, really? Watched the X-Men recently, have you?! Choose a better name! Preferably one that doesn't make you sound like a gigantic edgelord!"
Poor Sinister looked like he'd seen a ghost. Had his Polly said that to him?
"No," he muttered. "Stop that. You're not her...
Polly reared back to headbutt him, heedless of the consequences.
Naruto broke free from Angstrom.
He needn't have.
"Alright!" Sinister!Naruto flung up a hand to catch Polly gently before she could bloody her forehead against his costumed chest or worse. "Just...will you hold still and let me heal you...?
"That depends entirely on you." She growled up at him, this weak, frail human only recently empowered with chakra. "Will you behave yourself, mister?"
"I will, love." he sounded almost subdued, looked it, too. "Just hold still."
She hissed. "You hold still!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Anissa titled her head and hummed her approval. "Look how easily she broke him. Your mate may be weak in body, but she has the spirit of a true Viltrumite."
"Don't compare her to your kind, alien." Sinister tutted, "She's clearly superior."
Angstrom whistled. "Would you look at that?"
Naruto blanched. "Oh, hell no! Don't you dare go and rizz up another version me...
Too late, it seemed; a small, fond smile crossed his counterpart's face as as he took ahold of her hands, set the bones in her arms, and began to heal her. It was...different from own methods he used. Roaring red radiance poured out of Sinister's gloved palms, crawled across Polly's limbs, and healed them almost instantaneously. He was no slouch at mending wounds himself, but this was something different. Darker. He didn't want to say to say evil; because it wasn't, but it felt older. More primal...
Eve released her siblings with a huff, allowing them to see and hear once more. "How are you doing that?"
Sinister scoffed at him. "Do you know nothing of your heritage, girl? Or were you simply trained differently than mine? No, nevermind. Its too difficult to explain, and I don't have the patience for it."
Polly grumbled, but didn't shake him off until hie finished. "You're still a jerk...
Naruto found himself agreeing with his wife, slinging an arm around her and drawing her waist and r once his counterpart finished.
Arrogant, wasn't he? Or was that just a facade, Sinister masquerading how he truly felt? He couldn't read this bastard. Someone was blocking him -likely his version of Kurama- and thereby prevented him from reading his true intentions. Why hadn't his Kurama made himself known for that matter? Why was he hiding?
Only one way to find out, he supposed.
Steeling himself, he released Levy and rounded on his smirking counterpart. "Why are you being such a dick?
"Because," Sinister growled into a fist, lean features betraying the intensity of his anger, "I'm focused on the matter at hand. There's only one reason I'm bothered to come to this cracked-up-universe of yours, and it isn't to trade banter about those who were better off than me.. If we could please get back to that...
"Fine, fine," he rolled his eyes in return, "Although I don't see why you need us. Did you at least try to contact the mauler twins in your universe? This sort of thing is right up their alley."
A slow, confused blink with his reward. "Is it? I killed them some time ago with the other problems plaguing my world."
Angstrom assumed the tone of a patient teacher "And how many other problems did you remove?"
...All of them?"
His jaw clicked open. "You're not joking, are you?"
"I am not. My world has no crime."
Probably because he killed anyone who considered it.
Duck's sake!
Everyone face palmed, Anissa and the children included.
"What?" Perhaps for the first real time since he had arrived, Sinister!Naruto appeared uncertain. "What did I do?"
Amanda looked to Eve. "Mama, is uncle Sinister dumb?"
His fellow blond sputtered.
Josh snickered.
"More like what didn't you do?" Naruto grit his teeth, on the verge of hysterical, despairing, laughter. "See, yeah, that's your problem. You destroyed anyone and everyone that was a threat to you. You didn't even try to talk to them, befriend them, let alone use them."
There it was again, that look of confusion as though the concept had sailed right over his handsome head. "Why would I?"
Polly despaired. "Oh geez, the me of your world must've had a hell of a time dealing with you."
"Not at all. She was the one who encouraged most of my actions. She said there couldn't be crime if there were no criminals to commit it.
Okay, starting to feel slightly concerned about giving her back to you now, buddy...
Sinister prattled on, idly sweeping an arm around his cape. "Everything I did was for the good of the earth, and the good of my family.
Jessica raised a pale hand, made quietly inquisitive by the phrasing of his words. "Shouldn't your family come first?"
"Child, he tutted at her, "IF there's no planet to live on, there can be no family. Just ask Dinosaurus."
Eve wrinkled her nose. "Dino-who?"
Josh joined her. "Sounds like some kinda discount villain you'd find at a bargain bin sale...
Sinister smiled. It was not a nice smile. "Ohhhh you haven't met him yet, have you? Trust me, you'll know him when you see him. Do yourself a favor, listen to his advice, and then and kill him the moment you're done. You'll save thousands of lives in the long run. Invincible was an idiot to work with him." Idly, he began counting off his finger. "Then there's the Omnipotus guy; be sure and kill him rather than seal him away like I did, he's a pain to deal with, even more. And be sure to off Doc Seismic before he captures all of Earth's heroes. That was an annoying day for Polly and me."
Josh dared to raise a hand. "Did your version of Mom have powers?"
Polly perked up, suddenly very interested in what Sinister might have to say.
"She certainly did, little lookalike." He touched a finger to his forehead. "And I'll never tell you what they were."
"Boooo! Hssss! Spoilsport!"
"Call me all the names you like. Now where was I?" tapping his chin, "I suppose I should warn you about Robot; he certainly surprised me...
A nagging feeling tugged at him; he didn't like it. "Why are you giving me all these names...?"
His counterpart laughed at him, a short, sad snippet of laughter. "Because I pity you. Our worlds clearly aren't all that I was more proactive in mine. If it weren't for him," jerking his chin toward Angstrom, he scoffed anew in mild derision. "We wouldn't have met at all. You clearly didn't get off your ass until the government kidnapped you and yours...
Anger sparked in him like a raging flame, sharply furious, itching to lash out.
Smash his face in! Break his stupid smug jaw! Rip and TEAR!
A quelling look from Polly cooled the flames.
He was starting to understand, now. Harsh, angry, jaded. It was so easy to let those emotions overcome oneself. During moments of stress especially, but clearly Sinister had let them consume him. Was this what he would become if he kept being a grumpy bastard all the time? Isolated? Alone, with no one for Kurama but company? It was an unpleasant thought.
Lifting his chin, he chose to be the bigger man. "I got four more kids out of than you, I wouldn't trade them for the world."
"As you say." He shrugged, paused, then glanced at them anew. "They have their mother's spirit if nothing else."
Josh glared at him. "You're some kinda an asshole you know that?
"Language!"
Sinister tutted softly. "Dear boy, try ruling a forsaken planet alone for a few centuries and see how that affects your mental state."
Naruto blinked, briefly taken aback. "Just how old are you...?"
"Truthfully?" a slow blink followed, "I don't know. I stopped counting after five hundred years."
Polly looked to Anissa for reasons he didn't understand. "See? What did I tell you?"
The Viltrumite soldier squirmed under her gaze. "I suppose you have a point...
Odd glances aside, that certainly explained a few things. No wonder Sinister!Naruto was acting like a grumpy old man! Looks aside, he was one!
"Perhaps time flows faster in my universe. Maybe I'm from a different era. I couldn't tell you."
He had to address the elephant in the room. "And your Kurama?"
"...is dead. His power remains, but he's gone."
"What happened?"
Sinister bit his lip. "A mistake on my part. Nothing you need concern yourself with. The two of you are in better sync than we ever were; it shouldn't be a problem."
He flicked a stray thought inward to his partner. "Whaddya think?"
Kuama was silent for a long time. A worrying amount of time.
...you good?"
"I'd say Baryon Mode, but if that were the case, my chakra would be missing as well. That he still possesses it without me is...concerning."
"The Ten Tails, then?"
"Maybe. But if he's that much stronger than us, why hide it?"
Another question he didn't have the answer to...
...while we're on the topic of allies," Sinister said in response to something he hadn't heard, "You'd be smart to recruit Machine-Head."
Angstrom made an annoyed noise. "Not him...
Anissa was confused for an entirely different reason. "What kind of name is that?"
Sinsiter scoffed. "Your ignorance is showing again, whelp. He's a snarky bastard, but he has his uses. You would do well to make use of his expertise. I probably should have. Might wanna pluck Titan out from under him while yer at it. He was a dick, but he knew how to get things done. I'd warn you about Universa as well, but it seems I'm early on that front.
"For a guy who claims he never worked with supervillains, you sure know an awful lotta them."
A slow blink was his reward. "Of course I know all about my enemies. How else would I be able to destroy them?
The way he said that, with those dead eyes, as though it were nothing, sent a shudder through him.
Was this really what he could've become?
"There it is." Sinister bulled forward, eyes wild, teeth flashing in a near feral snarl. "That's the look. Strange seeing it from my own face. But you're not me, are you? Our lives are too different. You could never become me. And I hope, for you sake, that you never do. Although, maybe I should be sure...
A yellow-clad fist whistled in from his peripherals.
Eve yelped. "Dad!"
She needn't have warned him; he saw it coming a mile away. Naruto caught the punch, wrenched it down, planted his feet and and threw a counter. Sinister mimicked him and intercepted it with one of his own, creating a shockwave in his wake. Neither budged. Evenly matched, it seemed.
How annoying.
"You think you can take me?!"
Sinister sneered, all teeth as he strained against him. "I don't think, I know. You think Anissa was strong? She'd mid-level bitch at best. Conquest and Battle Beast? Now those two were a fight. One of them gave me this. He tilted his head, letting his long spiky hair fall aside to reveal the grisly dent in his skull. "You have no idea what's coming; you're not ready. None of you are"
That settled it; his counterpart definitely didn't have the Ten Tails; he'd be on his ass otherwise.
...but you will be." Sinister dropped his fists as quickly as he'd thrown them. "Don't do what I did; don't destroy everything in your path like me. Use your enemies. Turn them into allies. Or lovers, if you're into that sorta thing." he scoffed, side-eyeing Anissa who bridled in return. "Make yourself some powerful little hybrids like Invincible and-
"Question!" Eve raised her hand. "Who's Invincible? You've mentioned him three times now.:"
Sinister side-eyed his not-daughter with a sigh. "Is this really relevant?"
His little spitfire of a daughter stood her ground. "It is to me!"
"He's actually Mark, if you must know."
Eve made happy Eve noises and kicked her legs against the sofa, squirming with glee. "Mark gets his powers?!"
"Eventually, though you might wish he didn't." Sinister bulled on, ignoring her. "Forge yourself an army and PRAY that the Viltrum Empire doesn't come knocking on your door as early as it did mine. Oh, and don't let anyone kill Cecil. He was useful." Naruto didn't say a word, but his Sinister self WAS him, he knew his tells and read him like a book, nodding before he could hope to interject. "You've already made up with him? Good. Anyone have a pen and paper?"
"I...you...what're you up to now?"
Sinister smacked the back of his head. "I'm doing you a favor, dolt. Best accept it while I'm in a good mood."
Was he insane? Had something broken in his mind? Going from generous to greedy, from sad to mad, happy to despondent...
.
..
...just what trials had this version of himself gone through?
"I have a pen and a tissue," Angstromg offered weakly. "Will that be enough?"
Sinister!Naruto grabbed the former, then frowned. "No, it won't. Notebook. I need a notebook."
Eve raised a hand. "I have one for school...?"
His smile softened, manic blue eyes becoming a touch more lucid. "Fetch it, would you kindly?"
Eve sprinted up the stairs.
"So!" Polly pushed herself up against him before he and Sinister could come to blows again. "How was your day?"
Naruto granted her a flat stare. "Not as eventful as yours, clearly."
"But surely you were up to something...?"
No point in hiding it; he told her where he had been.
Polly threw a fit, and not in the way he expected. "You saw War Woman without me?!
"Well, I was a bit busy keeping her and the Guardians off the Maulers-
WITHOUT! ME!" she kicked her legs against the cot. "You even had her right outside the house while I was in the pod! How am I supposed to get her into our bed if I never run into her!
"POLLY!"
"Not sorry!"
Sinister rumbled a laugh under his breath.
"AND YOU BE QUIET!"
Eve raced both down the stairs helter-skelter, mildly out of breath. Seemed someone wasn't doing her morning runs. He'd have to work on that.
"Here!" She offered a pearly blue notebook with her name on it. "I haven't had a chance to use it yet, so its mostly empty...
"Excellent." Sinister opened it and started writing, sketching, wrist flicking to and fro, left and right as he began to scribble down a great deal of information. Pages turned rapidly as he flitted from one to the next, pausing only to hum, mutter something, and move on. It took him exactly nine seconds to fill the notebook. Naruto knew because he counted them all.
"There." Sinister offered him the book. "Everything I dealt with in my world, every enemy, every encounter, yours for the taking. Use it, or don't."
Polly laid a hand on his wrist. "Thank you."
He averted his gaze. "Its nothing...
"No, its something. We appreciate this. Really."
Naruto reached for it.
"Ah!" his other self swept it out of his reach at the last moment. "I have conditions. Or rather, a condition. Singular.
"I know, I know, you want your Polly-
"You don't know!" Sinister headbutted him, breaking his nose. "The loneliness! The despair! I have nothing but memories! Everywhere I look I see ghosts! Each second I spend in this universe reminds me of what I've lost because of my own foolishness!" With a deep, shuddering breath he drew back and let him regenerate. "But hey," he shrugged. "I've done my part. You have your warning. Now give. Me. My. Wife."
Eve scooted closer, daring to touch his arm. "Mom really meant a lot to you, huh...?"
Here at last, Sinister's face softened. Crouching down as he'd done only a few minutes before, his doppelganger laid a hand on her head. "Grow strong, Eve. Stronger than anyone. Push past that mental block of yours and take control of your powers before its too late."
The sight stirred something in Naruto. He didn't like it. "What do you know?"
"That our-sorry, your-daughter is the most powerful person on this planet. She just hasn't realized it. Girl's literally a green lantern on steroids; except her creations linger when she wants them to."
Naruto tilted his head. "Green...what?"
"Do none of you read comics? Plebians! Back in my day-no." He shook his head before he could launch into another rant. "You're distracting me. Polly is all that matters. Give her back to me. Now.
Polly chuckled nervously, averting her gaze. "I promised him the Maulers could help...
An in an instant, he understood. "Hold on, we're saving that for you-
She shrugged with one shoulder. "They can always grow me another body.
"One with chakra coils?! That'll take months! Maybe a year!"
"I bought myself some time with this. I'll live."
Sinister growled a warning. "I sincerely hope for his sake that you do. Because I'm not spending a year in this dimension."
It sounded so incredibly selfish...but was it? Wouldn't he say the same if the shoe was on the other foot?
Even so, it did nothing for his anger. "Listen, you...!"
"No, you listen." Sinister drew himself up, hovering an inch off the floor, fists clenched tight at his sides. "You're me. You know exactly how strong I am. How much destruction would we cause if we fought? How many lives would be lost? How many people would hate your name?
Angstrom tutted softly. "...you show your true colors at last, monster."
"No, I'm honest." Sinister!Naruto tilted his head and flashed him a toothy grin. "I have nothing left to live for. Everything else was taken from me." Quick as his namesake, he rounded on him again. "You might be damaged and stuck in a shitty situation at the moment, but at least you have a life. Your wife. A loving family with more children than I ever dared dream of. I don't."
He looked to the kids.
Josh and Eve warded their younger siblings behind them. Angstrom drew back, ready to portal them to safety.
Naruto bridled and took a step forward. "Don't even think about it."
"I won't. His other self shook his head. "There are some lines even I won't cross. But my patience has limits and I've reached it. My wife. Now. Today. I helped yours, now restore mine."
He kept saying that as if it were easy. Simple, even. He was ignoring one key problem, a ticking time bomb that none of them had yet mentioned.
Anissa set it right off. "How would we even go about that?"
Sinister absolutely hissed. "Excuse me...?"
"What she means," Naruto broached the topic more gently, wary of setting his older self off and starting an all-out-brawl in the living room.,"Look, we might be able to clone her body, but it won't have her mind, let alone her powers. Even if we copy some of our Polly's consciousness over into another body...it wouldn't be your Polly."
Sinister's shoulders slumped. "You're right. I can't do anything about her powers...
Naruto braced himself for violence.
Imagine his surprise them, when he raised his gaze. "...but I have her memories."
He balked, quietly incredulous. "How?"
His Sinister Self reached down into his utility belt and withdrew a metal circuit of some sort, a machinery circuit. It shimmered with pale amber radiance in the light, almost as though it were alive.
"Her final moments." Sinister held the chip between both hands, cradling it as though it were the most precious thing in the world; which, to him, it probably was. "Her thoughts, emotions, life experiences, all recorded onto this. It was a last ditch effort to preserve her consciousness and transplant it, one that never panned out. I didn't want to put her mind into a robot body, she would hate me for that. As for cloning her a new one, I never could find anyone...until now. It should work. It has to work.
Would it actually?
There was no way to know for certain.
It galled him, but a promise was a promise, and he wanted his other self gone; preferably before he caused chaos. He also wanted that notebook. Needed it, badly. If Sinister was telling the truth-and he was inclined to believe that he was- this could help him avoid so many threats, protect his family, even save the world...
He glanced at Polly, who nodded.
Anissa stepped up beside him in silent solidarity.
"Alright." Resolving himself to action, Naruto dared a step forward. "We give you back your wife, you give us that book, and we part in peace. Deal?"
So speaking, he inched forward and offered Sinister his hand in friendship.
Silence stretched onward and with it, hesitation.
...I've got a better idea."
The notebook sailed his way.
Angstrom dove on it, catching it with both hands and immediately shielding it with his body, lest it be destroyed.
No attack came.
"There you go. Intelligence given in good faith."
Sinister met him halfway, not to strike in treachery, but to reciprocate.
"We have an accord." Wearing a tired smile, his doppelganger reached out to clasp his palm. "Take me to the Mauler Twins."
(.0.0.0.)
Mark Grayson had begun to hate himself.
There it was, the ugly truth he didn't dare tell anyone.
It had been a slow thing at first, a gnawing uncertainty eating at him for the last few weeks now.
Simply put, he felt inadequate.
All his friends and family had superpowers. Even Eve and her siblings. Especially Eve. She might be his kinda-sorta-girlfriend now, but the fact remained that he felt like deadweight compared to her. She could do so many things, be so many things, HAD so many things...
And what did he have? Nothing.
Maybe that wasn't fair to Mom, but there was. He wanted to be able to fly, he wanted super strength, he wanted to save people help people.
Just like Dad.
What good was it being the son of a superhero if you had no powers of your own? What could he do? Go to school, college? Get a job, sit at a desk somewhere? This wasn't who he was. This wasn't who was meant to be.
Sighing, he winged a baseball at the wall, watched it bounce, caught it when it came back to him. He'd been doing this for the better part of an hour now, utterly unable to sleep. He threw the ball at the wall, it bounced back, landed in his palm, allowing him to throw it again
Again, and again, and again.
Over and over.
A cycle.
Was this all he would ever be? No. It couldn't be. He was meant to be more than this. He was meant to be...so much more.
Wasn't he?
Something snapped deep inside him.
"No!"
In a fit of pique he whirled and threw the ball again. It bounced off the wall, struck the window, and drilled through it like a dentist would a tooth. He barely had an instant to comprehend it before it shot outside in a trail of flame, struck a car and exploded.
The poor thing's alarm went off, wailing and screaming, waking half the neighborhood
Mark scarcely noticed.
"Did I just...?
He looked down on his hand, to the hole in the wall, back to his twitching fingers.
To the burning car outside.
"Did I do that?"
Worried it might have been a one off, he grabbed his pillow from his bed, and unwilling to throw it, rear back instead, prepared to punch it as hard as he could - only to hesistate at the last second. What if he was wrong, what if it had been a fluke? What if he was dreaming, and none of this was real?
Anger sparked in him anew.
He punched down.
Hard.
His pillow took the punch - and exploded in a shower of flying feathers, pelting him with downy goodness. Mark grinned, laughed, coughed now as he nearly swallowed a stray feather, and flopped back onto his bed with the biggest smile. That settled it! He'd gotten his powers early~!
He couldn't wait to tell Dad.
Heck, he couldn't wait to tell Eve! She'd be thrilled!
And then, just because he wondered how strong he was...
.
..
...he punched his wall.
It absolutely shattered and took most of the window with it in an awful crucnh; bursting outward in a single blow to spray bits of glass and masonry out into the driveway. A good chunk of it struck Mom's car and instantly set it off, alarm shrieking into the night.
He blanched, more than a little chagrined. "Oops..?"
But his hand didn't even hurt! No glass in his skin, no cuts, no nothing!
"Mark?!" Mom's voice called from across the hall. "Was that you?! Is everything alright...?!"
Laughing, he grinned at his clenched fist and shouted back.
"Yeah, Mom! I feel...Invincible."
A/N: *insert title card*
Mark getting his powers early miiiight not be a good thing, based on what we've seen.
Hope you enjoyed the multiversal Naruto iterations. That's all they are for now. Teasers. We won't overdo it.
Speaking of doing, would you like weekly updates? Do let me know? 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!
Read at your own risk:
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!
SPOILERS AWAIT YOU!
YE BE WARNED!
(Previews)
"See, look! I got my powers!
Dad dragged a hand down his face. "That's...that's great son."
Huh? Dad was acting weird. Sure, he was smiling...
...but why did he sound so sad?
x
The Maulers looked up from their work. "Dabbling in cloning now, are we?"
Sinister snarled and stalked past them, eyes darkly intent.
Naruto walked after him. "Don't mind him. He's a dick."
"I heard that, whippersnapper!"
x
The chamber powered down.
Polly opened her eyes.
"Where am I...?"
x
"You must be Rex." The man stood before him, idly wiping blood from his hair. "Your boss had good things to say about you...before I popped his skull."
Ah, shit. That would explain all the blood then, wouldn't it? He looked like he'd gone through a blender.
The boy raised his hands. "Whoa, whoa! I don't want any trouble."
"No, son. No, you do not.
x
"Had enough?"
He planted a fist in the dirt and took a long, shuddering breath.
"I don't care how fast you are. I don't care how strong you are, and I don't give a s*t how smart you are." righting himself, he growled, spitting blood. "I know your future. You don't live to see tomorrow."
"And what makes you say that-
Blood flew through the air. Teeth danced in the sky. Alongside an eye.
"Is this still fun?!" he slammed his fist down, pulping his foes face with every punch. "Are you enjoying yourself?!"
Another punch.
Scarlet streaks spewed across the ground.
"Having fun?!"
A nose caved under his punches.
"Well?! Answer me!"
x
"Well?" Cecil quirked a brow at him and gestured to the scene below. "Unless you don't think you can do it."
His eye twitched. "Bold words for someone within punching distance."
"See, now you're resorting to threats. Can you do it or not?"
Naruto passed the bottle off to him.
"Hold my beer."
x
EDIT: I still haven't forgiven the show for making Thula old and ugly, messing with her voice, and just casting her aside for no reason.
Needless to say, we're sticking with more-youthful comic version of her, not the mad maniac we got in the show.
...what are you?
"Just a family man." he took a long sip from his mug. "Thula, was it? Run along now." his fingers flicked out in a shooing motion. "I'm not in the mood." A thought occurred to him and he cocked his head. "Unless you want to fight. It won't end well. That blade in your hair won't help you."
...I am not here to fight. I am here to talk."
"Go on, then." he took a long drink. "Talk. You have one minute."
Thula gulped and clasped both hands behind her back.
"Very well, then...
DOUBLE 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.
