35 Long time No See

Why are we doing this again?"

Spider-Man, standing horizontally against the basement wall within the Infinity Watch's base of operations, tried to regain his balance. Naruto, standing across from the teen, tapped his foot impatiently as he said, "You wanted to train, right? This is training, buddy."

Finally having gained his balance, Spider-Man scratched at the back of his mask, "Okay, but like, how?"

The blonde sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "How long did you say you can cling to a wall again?"

"Like fifteen minutes," The teenaged hero answered bashfully before muttering under his breath, "I thought that was pretty good."

"It is," Naruto reassured, "But that's just when your clinging. But what about climbing up walls like you like to do? What happens if you need to climb something real tall and you get worn out halfway up? You need to work on your stamina kid, trust me. It'll come in handy in the long run."

Now used to standing horizontally, Spider-Man took a look around the rest of the basement. The boy was still in awe of the massive training room the blonde super man had put together. From the gym and workout equipment where Jessica was bench pressing six hundred pounds, the array of computer monitors where Shuri was typing away, the dojo mat where Owen was practicing his newly learned katas, to the koi pond where Illyana was sitting in a lotus position. And a Naruto Shadow Clone accompanied each of them, coaching them through their workouts.

"So, which one is the real you?" Spider-Man asked, "How are we supposed to tell, anyway?"

"Uh, the one with Illyana, I think," The clone answered, scratching his cheek, "And you're not really supposed to, Parker. Kinda the point of making clones and stuff, ya know?"

Parker nodded, "Yeah, yeah I guess. Hey, uh, so how does someone become a Watchman?"

Naruto blinked, "A what?"

"A Watchman," Spider-Man repeated. Seeing Naruto's persisting confusion, the teen explained, "That's what you call members of Infinity Watch, right? Watchmen or Watchers or…Infinity-ers or…something."

"Well, I can't really call us Watchmen considering most of our members are women. Doesn't really make sense." Naruto said, which got a nod from the younger man, "But you gotta good point, we kinda need a group name. Infinity-ers sounds good, though I doubt the others would go for it. Watchers are taken, so that doesn't work either."

"Taken by who?" Spider-Man questioned, tilting his head curiously.

Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Oh just some species of semi-omniscient dudes who look over the entire multiverse. I'd say we'd never run into 'em, but as soon as I'd say that I'd probably run into Uatu again and trust me that's the last thing anyone wants. That dude does not shut up."

Slowly, Spider-Man's googled eyes narrow, indicating his suspicion, "Nuh uh."

"Yah huh," Naruto challenged back childishly.

As the two entered a childish back and forth, Jessica rolled her eyes from her spot at the bench press. With noticeable effort, Jessica pumped the bar upwards. The Naruto clone, who'd been spotting the woman, noticed the gesture.

"Don't let 'em distract you, you only got two more to go," The clone tells her.

"Yeah, well," Jessica grunted as she lowered the bar, "When that clone brother of yours," She lifted it back up, "And that spider kid of yours," The bar is lowered, "Are bickering like that," Finally, she heaves the bar up for a final time, "It's a little hard not to be distracted."

The clone helped her place the bar on the bench's rack, "Maybe the boss gave that one a few less brain cells than the rest," He said cheekily.

Jessica sat up, stretching her left arms across her chest as she said, "Seems pretty par for the course when it comes to you, clone or original."

Owen, standing across from another of Naruto's Shadow Clones, massaged the left side of his temple as he asked, "So, I'm more powerful than you?"

The clone gave an uneasy smile as he answered, "Well, when it comes to this specific powerset, yeah. From what I've seen, you don't really have to pull on any kind of reserves like I do."

"I'm confused," Owen states blandly, "Like, one-hundred percent confused. Totally over my head."

"Right," The clone breathed, "Okay, so your ability is essentially the power to warp matter at will. You can construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct, right?" When Owen nods, the clone continues, "I have a similar ability when using Cosmic Energy. However, I'm limited by how much of that energy I've gathered. Once my tank is empty, I can't use that ability until I've refilled. You don't have that weakness."

"So, my powers don't have a limit?" Owen muttered thoughtfully, "That's pretty cool, I guess."

The clone shook his head, "Well actually, from what I've seen, your powers are limited by experience. They're like a muscle. If you don't build it up, you're limited with what you can do with that muscle. So, what we're going to do is try and expand your powerset. It'll take time, like a lot of time, but eventually you'll be a fucking monster."

"So, where do we start?" Owen asked, a twinge of excitement slipping by.

"Well, I noticed something during your demonstration the other day," The clone said, "You spend way too much time releasing your energy. Me and a few clones have been brainstorming, and one of 'em gave me an idea for how you could speed that along." Lifting up his hand, Naruto shifted his fingers into a snapping position, "When building your energy, focus it into you hand. Once you've got what you need, snap your fingers," Naruto snaps his own, an audible click sounding off.

Wordlessly, Owen did as Naruto said. Raising his hand, he got his fingers ready to snap. After a moment of thought he gathered his energy along that hand. Snapping his fingers, yellow energy flashed in front of him. Catching the object that came from the flash, Naruto turned it over in his hand. Smiling, he Owen the small statue that was rather crudely in his image.

"We're gonna have to work on your attention to detail."

Illyana, still sitting cross legged across from the last Naruto clone in the room, sighed as she began to ask, "Would you please explain why I have to learn how to be totally still-"

"Talking isn't totally still," The clone cut her off, his eyes closed as he sat across from her, his body totally motionless, "And I wanna see if you can learn something. Someone I fought a little while ago showed me others besides me can learn it. Might've been because she was a 'god,' might be that anyone can learn it if they have the right teacher. Now shut up and stay still. I'll know if you aren't."

"Fine," Illyana grumbled, closing her eyes as she grumpily collected her breath. Going stiff, the woman sat there for several moments, only for her eyebrow to eventually twitch.

"Start again," The clone drawled.

With a huff, Illyana said, "How the hell am I supposed to stay completely still? That doesn't make any sense-"

"You've been trained by monk wizards and you don't know how to meditate?" The clone questioned teasingly.

Illyana blew a strand of hair out of her face, "Meditating was never my strong suit, and in all honesty I'm surprised it's yours. You can barely sit still while watching tv upstairs, so I'm still put off that you're trying to teach me something I'm still not sure you can do."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched out of annoyance, "Fine," He muttered, "Let me show you." Taking his own breath in, the blonde once again went still as he thought, "I could have a talk with Freyja anway. Haven't talked to her for a few days, I'm sure she could use the company."

"Hmph," Kurama harrumphed, "How thoughtful of you."

"Jealousy doesn't suit you, partner," Naruto quipped lightly, laughing internally at the Biju's bubbling embarrassment the blonde could feel thought the seal.

Feeling the mental pull inward, Naruto allowed himself to fall into that corner of his mindscape. Opening his eyes, he found himself in the now familiar part of Freyja's quarters. But, instead of finding the warmth of a blazing campfire sitting in front of him, a tranquil river has replaced it. Looking to his right, the blonde raised a confused eyebrow at who greeted him.

Sitting at the edge of the river was a man. He appeared to be in his mid-fifties, his short grey hair was swept back, and his thick beard was peppered with black and white. Wearing a simple white button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a pair of blue trousers that were rolled up to his shins, and bare feet dipped into the calm river, the man had a rather relaxed look about him.

Sitting loosely in his hands was an old-fashioned fishing rod, the flimsy stick having a two-yard-long string at the end, the other end of said string submerged within the river.

Eventually catching Naruto at the corner of his eye, the man turned his head to acknowledge the younger man, "Hoh, so which one are you?" The man drawled, only to quickly realize who soon after, "Ah, I see. Sorry, it's hard to keep all of you straight sometimes."

"What?" Naruto wondered, "Who the hell are you supposed to be right now, Freyja?"

The man laughs, leaning his head back merrily, "I'm not 'Freyja', I'm afraid. The girl ran off; I think I might've annoyed her with my presence," The man says mirthfully, "This is her private little corner, after all. Not too kind to intruders. Well, except you of course."

Surprised, Naruto took a moment to collect what the man had said. Eventually, he said, "You're one of her siblings, aren't you?"

"I suppose that's the most appropriate term for our relationship that you could understand, though I would argue she is a biproduct of my existence and am therefor her 'progenitor.' She is bound to me, and I to her. There's nowhere she can be that I'm not." The man explained, speaking as though he were reading off a script as he turned his attention back to his pole and the river before him.

Walking up to the man, the blonde placed his hands in his pockets, "So, which one are you? She never really went into detail so it's kinda hard to guess with what you've given."

"Me? Oh, so many people call me so many different things it's honestly rather bothersome keeping track of them all. My siblings like to call me Eternity, a few people have called me Time or Fate, others Eon, and some Epoch. You like to call me Khal, so it's probably best to keep that going, for continuity's sake." Khal introduced himself blandly.

"We've met?" Naruto questioned.

"Not in the sense of here and now, no," Khal answered with a shrug. He sighed, waving his hand whimsically, "And this is where I tell you about the multiverse and how I'm experiencing time within every reality all in one moment, and so on and yah-dah-yah-dah-yah-dah."

Naruto blinked, taking in what the man told him before asking, "So, you can see the past, present, and future of every reality or multiverse?"

"Can? Saying it like that makes it sound like I can turn it off and on," Khal drawled, his voice filled with slight annoyance, "I've had this conversation with you ad nauseam, all while also having every other conversation I've ever had at the same time at the same capacity. It's all gotten so dull."

"Huh," Naruto breathed in slight disbelief, "And, just to get this straight, you're talking to other me's at the same time as your talking to me? I guess I can see how that might get boring."

Khal shrugged, "There's a pretty large variety of Naruto's out there, so it's not like I'm only talking to this variation of you or whatever. If anything, you're not even the generic version of yourself. Your path has diverged a fair amount compared to the name brand version."

"Did you just call me off-brand?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup," Khal answered bluntly. Looking over his shoulder up at the blonde, Khal nodded his head towards the river, jiggling the fishing rod in his hands, the shaking string causing ripples along the river. Naruto looked down, his eye catching an image just beneath the water. It was him, though not. He was home, with friends. And his family.

"This is the version of me that the Mind Stone showed me," Naruto told Khal, the older being nodding, "So, this is real? Somewhere out there, this is actually happening?"

"Yup," Khal said again, "There's a few variations of that. Some you marry that Sakura girl, a few with some girl named Shion, others you end up with that Sasuke guy," Seeing Naruto incredulous look, the man shrugged, "Just telling you how it is. But for the most part, this is the main version of you. In other words, name brand."

Naruto, sitting down next to Khal, asked, "What about the ones like me? The 'off-brands,' I mean."

"Oh, them?" The physical embodiment of time asked, though it seemed like he expected the question and was only playing along, "Those get kinda weird. Cool, but weird." Shaking the rod once again, several images began popping up from under the water.

The first image to flow by was one of Naruto wearing what looked like a Root uniform, this alternate version of him using a fire technique that was oddly similar to the Amaterasu. The black flames licked out from the alternate Naruto's hand, seemingly spilling out from a seal. And, if Naruto wasn't mistaken, a lone Sharingan sat in the other blonde's right eye socket, a deep scar running along that side of his face.

"That version of you was a Root trainee. Then there's another version where you have the Rinnegan and were raised by monks at the Fire Temple." Khal explained as another image waded through the river.

As Khal described, this version of Naruto was decked out in monk robes, his eyes squinted shut to hide the eyes of a pseudo-messiah. The sagely Naruto carried a staff that was reminiscent of Hagoromo's very own. Standing next to him was a woman Naruto recognized to be Fu, the former Jinchuriki of Chomei.

And, seemingly remembering a funny joke, Khal recollected, "And I could never forget the reality where you somehow gained immortality and after a century or so traveled to the other side of your world and got embroiled in an ocean wide conflict between an entire government's navy and the pirates who littered those open seas."

This iteration of himself forced Naruto to raise an eyebrow, as a boisterous Naruto wearing the red sage coat and a headband similar to Jiraiya's waded by. Said blonde was captaining a large sailing ship that was painted a bright orange. A small crew seemed to be going about their business aboard the ship, including a heavily tattooed young man with a bandana wrapped around his head, a beautiful blue haired woman who seemed to be cleaning a strange kind of gun, and a pair of sword fighters who were wielding the Kubikiribocho and the Sword of Kusanagi respectively. A Jolly Rogers flew freely on the ship's mast, signifying the crew's pirate status.

"There's a version of me who's a pirate?" Naruto questioned, doing his best to hide his jealousy.

"He isn't a pirate," Khal corrected firmly, allowing the image to fade away and be replaced with two more.

The first featured a younger Naruto, this one fighting off a man with spikey brown hair. While the other him used what looked like an intense fire attack, the man was countering with an impressive barrage of water. In the second, a Naruto who seemed to be a lawman of the Old West, road horseback with Sakura and Sasuke, the three fighting off a gang of outlaws who were licking their heels in hot pursuit.

Naruto scratched at the back of his scalp, "I feel like I shouldn't be seein' this, ya know? Like I'm watching something that's taboo, I guess. Just feels weird."

"Oh, I'm definitely not supposed to be showing you any of this," Khal admitted freely, "But I honestly figured I'd get tired of dancing around it and that I might as well just give you what you'll learn eventually."

"Eventually?" Naruto wondered.

Khal laughed, wagging his finger at the blonde, "Now that'd be telling. I might not care about tellin' you about your alternate selves, but I'm not stupid enough to tempt fate by giving you nuggets from your future. That is my domain, after all." He paused before delivering an exasperated sigh, "And this is where you tell me you don't believe in fate. For Infinity's sake, don't be so one dimensional. It's dull."

"I'm one dimensional?" Naruto questioned, annoyed, "So says the walking lazy genius cliché."

Khal mockingly made a talking gesture with his hand, "You're the trillionth person to tell me that today," He muttered tiredly. Scratching his bearded chin, Khal continued, "You believe in fate, Naruto. You do. The thing you don't believe in is manufactured fate. Whether that be Neji, Gamamaru, or Hagoromo, all you've ever been told are man, or toad, made prophecies. Well let me tell you that fate, real fate, me, exists. And it won't change because my sister's got a soft spot for you. You're here for a reason. Your people died for a reason. It was fate, me, that brought you here. Don't forget that, kid."

A long silence reined in over the two, Naruto sitting within that awkward quiet for a several moments, "So…what now?" Naruto questioned lamely, not really knowing where to go from there.

The celestial being pointed up, "The girl is knockin', might as well wake yourself up before she starts poking at you."

"Girl?" Naruto wondered, only for it to click as soon as the question left his lips, "Illyana, right. Shit, yeah I better head out."

As he got up, a doorway opened up next to the blonde. Looking down, Naruto said, "Tell Freyja I said hi for me. It was nice meeting you, I guess."

Khal didn't respond, his attention solely on the string that bobbed along the river. As Naruto exited his mindscape, a presence made itself known next to him, "Naruto says hello, though I'm sure you heard."

Freyja scoffed from her spot next to her hearth, "I had hoped you'd leave once I had. It wasn't my intention for you to talk to him," Her eyes narrow, "What are you doing, Eternity?"

A smile stretched across Eternity's face, "Just making sure our mutual friend keeps on his path. No better way to do that than some face to face chit chat. You've done your damnedest to warn him away from what's coming, from the decision you and I both know he'll have to make. Don't deny it, being sneaky isn't good enough of a work around. Very commendable, sister dear."

"All I've done is show him there is more than one path to take," Freyja argued weakly.

Khal looked over his shoulder, looking his sister in the eye, "No, there isn't. Eventually, the river of time will douse the flames of life. That's how it works. For everyone. If you meddle further, you know who will intervene."

"I know," Freyja said, looking away and into the flames.

"I'm just tryin' to look out for you, sister dear." Khal told her softly.

"I know."

-x-

Naruto's eyes creaked open, sighing when he saw that Illyana, Owen, and Spider-Man were huddled around him, Illyana in the middle of poking him in the temple. Swatting the woman's hand away, Naruto grumbled, "Back off, jeez."

"Enjoy your nap?" Illyana quipped teasingly, "I told you not to stay up so late."

Naruto stood up, stretching his back, "I wasn't napping, and it's not my fault. Owen woulda kept watchin' New Girl without me. No way in hell I'm falling behind just because he was being a selfish turd."

"You don't have to watch it with me," Owen muttered, wincing as Naruto popped his back.

"You guys watch New Girl?" Parker asked them, amused.

Naruto and Owen turned to the young man, "Uh, yeah? It's awesome." Naruto said defensively.

"It's alright," Illyana said, folding her arms across her chest, "I still think we should be catching up on Game of Thrones instead."

"Yeah, and you got out voted, so there," Naruto retorted childishly, sticking his tongue out at her.

Illyana stuck her own out back, delivering a raspberry. Owen rolled his eyes as he said, "Shuri just finished the list you asked her to make, we figured you'd want to be there during the debriefing."

"She's very excited," Illyana said merrily, "She's all nervous and business like, it's pretty cute."

"I'm glad you think our youngest member is so amusing," Naruto grumbled as he began to walk out of the gym, the other three following, "How long was I out anyway?"

"Just a few minutes," Parker answered, "All your clones decided to pop, and Ms. Drew went to go get dressed for the meeting," He paused, "Is this a Watchers only meeting, or…?"

"Infinity-ers only kid, sorry," Naruto answered, giving an apologetic smile.

Illyana paused, "Infinity-ers?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder at the sorceress, "It was that or Watchmen, and since three-fifths of this group is women I figured-"

"Who actually gives a damn about that kinda thing?" Illyana questioned in disbelief, "Just call us Watchmen, don't have to be so politically correct about it, Jesus."

"Alright, jeez," Naruto grumbled before looking at the now retreating Parker, "Hear that kid, you can call us Watchmen now. Ain't that neat?"

Parker laughed as he reached the stairs, "Sure is, boss."

As the kid began to climb the stairs, Naruto created a Shadow Clone, "Make sure the kid doesn't get lost," The original said uselessly, the clone already knowing its orders.

"Trust issues?" Owen asked blandly as they exited the gym, entering the other half of the basement. The click clacking of a keyboard filled the room, Shuri typing away while Okoye stood by observing her charge intently.

"A little," Naruto admitted, "Though let's be honest, we've all gotten lost in this place by now, right?"

The two's lack of a response was enough of an answer for the now smirking blonde. The group finally reached the two Wakandan women. As they did, Jessica walked down the basement steps, "I see you sent the kid away," She stated, now dressed in a pair of tan jeans and long sleeve shirt with the emblem for the United Kingdom emblazoned on the chest.

"Told you, he's not a part of the team," Naruto said matter of factly, allowing the woman to reach them before turning to Shuri, "So, what've you got for us?"

"Parker's gone?" Shuri asked timidly, ignoring the question.

Okoye swatted the girl's arm, giving her an expectant look, "Time and place, Princess."

"Right," The girl grumbled, "Alright, so I compiled that list you asked for. It was harder than I thought to find unregistered supers who haven't already retired under the Seoul Accords' mandate, so the list isn't as long as you thought."

Naruto nodded, "Less work for us then," He said cheerfully.

"It also means a lot of the people who would've been a good fit aren't available," Jessica informed, getting a shrug from the Uzumaki.

Turning back to the computer, Shuri pulled up a file onto the screen, "I think I'll start with the west coast. First, we've got Miguel Santos, aka Living Lightning. From news sources, the man looks like he can control electricity to an insane degree-"

"Next," Naruto interrupted.

Shuri stopped, flabbergasted. Turning to look at the older man, she asked meekly, "What?"

"I can already do lightning stuff, and I'm pretty sure Illyana could too," When Illyana gave a wishy washy gesture with her hand, the man continued, "Either way, we don't need another-"

"Why don't you let the princess finish before coming to a decision?" Okoye asked sternly, "I have seen this list, and trust me when I tell you that you should be happy with whatever you get."

Naruto raised up his hands defensively, "Alright, sorry. Shuri, please, continue."

Shuri, her eyes darting between Naruto and Okoye, hesitantly went back to Miguel Santos' file, "There's nothing on how he gained these abilities, though it's believed he gained them through some sort of accident involving AIM before they went defunct. Santos usually targets gangs within California, though lately he's been branching out to metahuman criminals," Turning back to the group, she noted, "I did some research into that, and apparently there's been a metahuman outbreak throughout the west coast with little to nothing being done to combat these new superpowered criminals."

"That's what happens when ninety-five percent of superheroes are stationed in New York City," Jessica said with a sigh, "This is a recent issue, only going as far back as a few years. The only reason it's noticeable within the west coast is because its prevalent there. But it's happening everywhere, and not just within the United States. Maybe it's because we've only now noticed, but there are twenty times the amount of documented metahumans as there were a decade ago. That's not including the undocumented ones."

"How many of the documented ones signed the Accords?" Owen asked.

"Around fifty-five percent," Jessica answered, "Twenty percent retired, the rest are going against the Accords in whatever way they can."

Illyana nodded, "And those are who we're going for, right?"

Nodding, Naruto said, "Please continue, Shuri."

"Right," Shuri said, "So, Santos is usually seen throughout Los Angeles, so that's probably the best place to start. Um, that's all I could find without hacking into the LAPD and CIA databases, something you told me not to do. So, I guess we'll move onto Jennifer Walters, or, as I like to call her, She-Hulk."

"Shuri, quick note," Naruto offered, "If we by chance manage to recruit her, don't call her that. Alright?"

Giggling, Shuri continued, "So, She-Hulk was pretty easy to find information on, considering her close association with Bruce Banner. A big-time lawyer, she and her boss were prosecuting an even bigger big-time mob boss. Apparently, this crime syndicate had threatened her to back off, but she and her boss decided to follow through with the prosecution despite the threats. A few days before the trial, both she and her boss were shot outside their homes. Her boss was dead on arrival, Jessica was in critical condition. Bruce Banner, her only living relative with a matching blood type, offered to donate his blood for a transfusion. Jennifer survived, though was subject to severe side effects caused by the transfusion."

A side by side picture was pulled up onto the computer screen. On one side of the picture was Jennifer Walters, the beautiful woman in perfect condition. Her short brunette hair hung just above her shoulders, her timid smile in full display as she grinned for the camera. Her thin frame was wrapped in a sharp suit, femininity leaking off the woman as she allowed reporters to take her picture as she walked into a courthouse.

And on the other side, a picture of what Jennifer had become. Her skin was a pale green, her brown hair darkened to a deep black. Her once thin build was gone, replaced with pure muscle that was barely hidden by the hospital gown given to cover her unconscious modesty.

"According to her charts, the change is permanent," Shuri continued, "Jennifer went from five foot three to six foot two and is now two-hundred pounds of pure muscle. Unlike her cousin, who's green self seems to be another personality who runs off pure emotion and instinct, Jennifer has retained her personality. Minus a slightly more aggressive disposition, she's still Jennifer Walters. She's also not as physically powerful as her cousin, though she can still punch through pure concrete as she's proven to do."

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, "A definite maybe-"

"Maybe?" Jessica wondered, baffled by the man's choice of words, "The woman is a smart version of the Hulk, what about that makes her a maybe?"

"Maybe because he slept with her," Illyana said blandly.

Everyone turned their gaze onto Naruto, giving the man looks with varying amounts of incredulity, "In my defense this was before she got all hulked."

"Why does that matter?" Okoye questioned scornfully.

"It doesn't! I'm just, you know, sayin' is all," Naruto exclaimed defensively.

Jessica sighed, "Are there any other possible members of the team you've slept with that we should know about?" She demanded.

"Possible? No," Naruto muttered bashfully, eyeing Illyana. The gesture was caught by Okoye and Jessica, the two women scoffing at the implication.

"Pig," Okoye grunted, turning her nose up at the man.

Rubbing the side of his face, Naruto attempted to get the subject back on track, "Shuri can we please continue with the debriefing?"

"Quick note version, please," Owen asked, wanting the meeting to get over with.

"Okay, well, to cap off the west coast we have Hope Van Dyne, daughter of Hank Pym," Shuri said, pulling up Van Dyne's file, "Your SHIELD file says she likely has access to her father's Pym Particles. That and there've been reports of a giant ant roaming around San Francisco, which I don't think is a coincidence considering her dad's SHIELD moniker, Ant-Man. Which, by the way, you Americans really need to come up with better superhero names. Adding man or woman to the end of whatever it is your power resembles is so lame."

"Right?" Jessica agreed, getting a giggle from the girl when she realized what Naruto had been calling her.

"Anyway, then there's the east coast; here in New York City, actually. Two of these guys are vigilantes, only one of whom I have the identity of. The other was pretty easy to get information on, considering he's an ex-convict," Explained Shuri, "The ex-con's name is Carl Lucas, though nowadays he goes by Luke Cage. He's got a pretty large social media following, with a few videos showing off his powers. The man is a walking tank. Apparently, bullets bounce off him like nerf darts. Could be a solid back up if Jennifer Walters declines your offer."

"Which seems likely now," Jessica muttered under her breath.

A video clip from Twitter was pulled up, the short clip showing an African American man, who was built like a brick house, take a baseball bat to the back of the head without even blinking.

"Definitely a good second-string choice, good work Shuri," Naruto complemented, impressed that someone with invulnerability was on the list.

"Thanks," Shuri said bashfully, taking that as an incentive to continue, "The second is a blind lawyer out in Hell's Kitchen whose name is Matt Murdock."

"A blind lawyer?" Owen questioned, "Scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?"

"Well, according to his SHIELD file, the incident that rendered him blind amped his other senses up to their maximus notches. There isn't much description, but his file says he's a dangerous hand to hand specialist. I think he could be useful," Shuri said defensively, "He's better than the other fighter Naruto gave me, some millionaire named Danny Rand. We've already got a benefactor. Cough, me, cough. Do we have a lawyer? Nope. And, this is just a guess, but we might be needing one or two of them in the future."

Owen shrugged a shoulder at the heated rebuttal, "Point taken."

Moving a strand of hair out of her face, Shuri continued, "The last one is a bit of a long shot. Social media has been calling him Moon Knight. There's only one photograph of him, and it's not the best quality. He's pretty new to the scene so there was no file on the SHIELD flash drive Naruto gave me and the public barely knows he exists. He's pretty much a total unknown."

"And a last resort if we can't get any of the others in the city," Naruto said, looking at the picture of the man Shuri had pulled up. Shuri, if anything, had talked up the quality of the picture.

The man was barely in the frame. All that could be made out was his head and a part of his torso. The vigilante was decked out in an all-white business suit, specks of blood staining the previously pristine jacket. A white mask, similar to Parker's in fabric, covered his face entirely. An emblem that looked like a crescent moon could barely be made out on the fabric along the man's forehead.

"Alright, here's the plan," Naruto began to say, getting the full attention of those around him, "Jessica and I are gonna take the east coast, Illyana and Owen will take the three here in the city."

"What about me?" Shuri wondered, "Who am I going with?"

Naruto, feeling Okoye's stare, scratched the back of his head, "I figured you'd stay here, you know, act as the Quartermaster and stuff."

"But I want to go-"

"Naruto is right," Okoye interrupted her princess, giving the Blonde a look that could barely be called appreciative, "It's best that you stay here to provide support."

Shuri huffed, but, knowing better than to argue with the general, nodded none the less.

"Alright," Naruto said, clapping his hands together, "Jessica and I will head out. Illyana, if you could keep me in the loop, that'd be super fucking fantastic."

"You're really not looking forward to this, are you?" Illyana asked the blonde cheerfully, "I'll think we'll start with Mr. Lucas."

Naruto nodded. Putting his hand out, the blonde gave a suggestive look, "Hands in, boys and girls."

Everyone circled around the man, their hands overlapping each other's. Illyana looked to the leader of their group, a small smile on her face as she asked, "Watchmen on three?"

"On three," Naruto confirmed. Looking down to their hands, he began to chant, "One, two, three-"

"Watchmen!"

The five threw their hands up. An awkward pause filled the space between them, the members of Infinity Watch sitting in the aftermath of their huddle's break. Eventually, Owen muttered, "Alright, I'll say it. That was weird."

Everyone nodded and muttered their agreements. Naruto robbing the back of his neck as he asked, "Never do that again?"

Infinity Watch gave firm nods.

-x-

Date: September 7, 2015

Location: San Francisco, California

-x-

Vance sighed as he finished off his cup of coffee, sliding the empty container into the cupholder at his side. Sitting in his car, parked next to a coffee shop within a heavily populated downtown area of the Golden Gate City, Vance Astrovik waited patiently for his client to arrive.

Looking at the clock on his dashboard, he sighed knowing she was likely caught within the sidewalk's traffic. Hoping to pass the time, he peered into his side rearview mirror so he could people watch. He smiled as he caught a man picking at his nose, rooting around for a mysterious treasure. He laughed when a rather attractive woman noticed as well. The nasal explorer, realizing he'd been caught, avoided eye contact as the woman scrunched her nose up in disgust and passed him by.

A knock on his passenger side window caused Vance to jump, startled by the sudden disturbance. Leaning over, Vance peered up out of the window to get a look at who'd knocked on the door. The person was wearing a heavy tan trench coat, which was odd considering it was seventy-five degrees outside.

Due to their impressive height, Vance was unable to see their face, forcing him to speak to their midriff, "Are you Jennifer Walters?" He asked.

"Yes," The woman answered, "Are you Vance, from Five Emerald Limousine?"

"Vance Astrovick, at your service," Vance said professionally, "I'll be your driver this evening, with an SUV as requested."

Jennifer, with the knowledge that this was her driver, opened the rear passenger door. Ducking into the car, Vance was forced to brace himself as the vehicle tilted into Jennifer's step. As she took her seat and fastened her seatbelt, Vance peaked at his rearview mirror.

He stifled a laugh, "A little late for Comic-Con, aren't we?"

Jennifer's face was partially covered by a low hanging baseball cap. However, the green pigment of her skin could still be clearly made out. Forcing a smile, Jennifer said, "Can't a girl dress up like the Hulk for the hell of it?"

"Hulk girl, huh?" Vance asked, shifting the car into drive, "Yeah, I'm more of a Maelstrom guy myself."

Jennifer's jaw clenched at the name, "I know I was late, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. If we could get to the bank, that'd be great."

"Right, apologies," The chauffer muttered, pulling the car into the street as he said, "Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, here we come."

-x-

After a short drive across San Francisco, the car found itself parked across the street from the Federal Reserve Bank. Vance drummed his fingers along the steering wheel, eyeing Jennifer through the rearview mirror.

Eventually, he said, "So…what brings you to San Francisco, ma'am?"

Jennifer, not taking her eyes of the bank, asked, "What makes you think I'm not from here?"

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"Not a lot of people who live here ask for a private driver," Vance answered.

"Business," She eventually answered, "I'm here on business."

Vance nodded, "Oh, yeah? What kind of business, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Personal business."

Taking the hint, Vance turned back, peering out the driver's side window as he waited for whenever Jennifer decided to leave. But the silence eventually grew too much. Looking back at her, he asked, "Mind if I turn the radio on?"

She sighed, not taking her eyes off the bank, "Sure," Jennifer relented.

Shaking his head, Vance turned on the radio, dialing over to one of his go-to stations. As the station came on, the DJ's voice came through mid-sentence, "-uto Uzumaki's statement at the Avenger's Headquarters in New York City remains a controversial subject, weeks later. We've asked callers to give us our thoughts. First up is Douglas, from Clayton. How's it going, Douglas?"

Another man's voice, over the phone, came on, "Things are good, Doogie, thanks."

"So, what're your thoughts on Naruto Uzumaki being given amnesty from the Seoul Accords? Do you think that's fair to the hundreds of others who are now being forced to sign and give up their anonymity?" Doogie asked the caller.

The caller scoffed into his phone, "Of course it is, Doogie. It's ridiculous. How can they let someone who isn't even from this planet wander around, yet people actually from Earth are being forced to sign these accords? If you ask me, if one is exempt, all should be. And speaking of that, where's the due process? Where's-"

Doogie, chuckling, cut Douglas off, "You seem to be getting off topic, Douglas. Let's keep things with Naruto Uzumaki and his exemption from the Seoul Accords."

"Right, sorry," Douglas apologized, "Look, I respect the guy. I do. All the work he put into helping the relief effort was inspiring. Hell, he killed Ultron for God's sake. But even he shouldn't be exempt just because he isn't from here. He migrated here. He fights his battles here. He causes damage, same as the Avengers. He should be considered liable. Him, Thor, even Captain America."

"Thanks for the opinion, Douglas," Doogie tells the man, "Let's get to the next caller. Victoria, you there?"

A new voice answered, "Yeah, Doogie, I'm here."

"What's your opinion on the Maelstrom and the Seoul Accords?" Doogie asked the caller, "For or against?"

"I'm siding with the Maelstrom, Doogie. The man is a hero," Victoria answered firmly, "If a good Samaritan goes into a burning building to save someone trapped inside, and he busts down the door trapping that someone, should the Samaritan be held liable for that door? For the building? Or should we be grateful for what he did? I prefer the former. What's the point of paying taxes towards Damage Control? Wasn't that division created to take care of any damage caused by these events?"

"But what about the human casualties, Victoria?" Doogie asks, "Thousands have died on account of the Avengers' lack of supervision. Naruto himself has killed several hundred people. Where's the due process? Shouldn't we have some kind of control on someone willing to step over the criminal justice system-"

"Could you change the station?" Jennifer demanded.

The driver does as she says, changing it to another station that was playing 1980's pop. Vance glanced back at her, "Not a fan of the Maelstrom?"

"Not particularly, no," She answered bitterly.

Vance turned to look at her, "The man saved my cousin' life. He was bleeding out, got caught by an Ultron drone's explosion. Naruto Uzumaki just appeared, hundreds of 'em. He healed my cousin, somehow. Put his hand on him, and a few seconds later he wasn't bleeding out anymore. That man saved hundreds of people's lives on 5/22. Probably more. He's a good man."

Jennifer tilts her hat up so she can look him in the eye, "Good people aren't perfect. I've experienced that firsthand." Her eyes catch something pulling out of the bank's side entrance, "See that armored truck?"

Vance followed her line of sight. Spotting the armored bank vehicle, the man said, "Yeah, I see it."

"Follow it," Jennifer told him firmly.

"What-"

"Follow it!" Jennifer ordered again, "Come on, before you lose sight of it."

"Alright, alright," Vance relented, pulling out after the armored truck. Quickly catching up, Vance begins following the truck through traffic. Eventually, the truck merged onto the freeway, Vance on its tail.

Vance, keeping his eyes on the truck, asked, "Why are we following this bank trunk, exactly?"

"Keep two cars apart," Jennifer told him, looking out the back of the car. A white Ford Transit came into sight, "I have a vested interest in who else is following the truck."

"Who else…wait what?" Vance questioned, panic seeping into his voice, "Are you saying someone's following us right now?"

Jennifer shook her head, watching as the large van passes them and the bank truck, "Not anymore. Get into another lane, now."

Vance did as she said, getting into the lane to the right, watching as the van passed the truck.

As the van pulled out in front of the armored vehicle, the rear door swings open, revealing four people standing in cargo space. A man dressed in an all-black tactical suit with a black dome over his head steps in front of the group. Pulling out a tan rod that was about three feet long. Grasping it like a javelin, the man threw the rod towards the road directly in front of the bank trunk.

As the rod connects with the road, the tip is triggered, causing a seismic blast that splits the road open, a slab of concrete shooting up. The truck rammed straight into the slab, forcing it to come to a violent stop. The van screeched to a stop with it, the four people jumping out of the cargo hold.

Next to the man with the cue sticks, a woman dressed in a black and purple tactical suit resembling a beetle pulled out a device that she straps to her arm. A buzz saw made of purple energy emits from the gauntlet.

As Vance and Jennifer pass them, the woman said, "Stop the car."

"You can't be serious-"

"Stop the fucking car!"

Vance, startled by the woman's harsh outburst, slammed his foot on the brake. The car has barely come to a complete stop when Jennifer jumped out.

A man dressed in a blue and red masked leotard rushed out of the van, running at an extraordinary speed towards the truck. Reaching the driver's door, he pressed his hand up against the door's window. His hand began to vibrate against the windowpane, causing it to shatter.

He gave a quick wave, "Sup?"

"Speed Demon, stop messing around," A man shouted as he jumped out of the van. His suit resembled a modern knight, with a white and blue light-armored padding and a blue helmet with a white visor. He pulled out what looked like a pair of bladed boomerangs from their sheaths at his lower back.

"Sorry, Boomerang," Speed Demon said before doing as he's told, quickly punching the panicking driver in the face, knocking him out. Opening the door, he pulled the driver out of the truck.

Boomerang looked to the other two, "Eight-Ball, Beetle, there should be another guard in the cargo hold. Deal with him."

The two nod, Eight-Ball, the man with the black dome covering his head, said, "I've got the guard."

Beetle, after approaching the door, shoved her buzz saw gauntlet into the door's hinges. As she cut through the thick metal, Eight-Ball prepared to attack the awaiting guard inside.

Inside the van, the driver spots someone approaching from the front of the van. The driver is dressed in an all-brown leather suit, the only part of the suit not made of leather being the black and red goggles over his eyes.

Rolling down his window, he leaned his head outside, "Uh, Boomerang, we got incoming," He warned.

Boomerang looked behind him, immediately seeing Jennifer as the woman pulls off her overcoat and ballcap. Sporting a grey, cotton tracksuit underneath, the woman looked the man over.

"So, you're the B-Team?" She asked.

"I guess," Boomerang said with a shrug, twirling the weapons in his hands, "Who're you supposed to be? Hulk-Girl?"

"Kind of," Jennifer admitted with a shrug of her own, "That's actually why I'm here. I need to see him. Your leader."

Boomerang shook his head, sliding into a fighting stance, "That's not going to happen."

"Yeah, it is." Said Jennifer confidently.

With nothing left to say, Boomerang threw one of the boomerangs straight for Jennifer's neck. Jennifer ducked underneath before charging forward. She'd barely taken her second step when the boomerang comes back, connecting with her back.

The sound of fabric ripping reached Boomerang's ears, though he's surprised to see the woman barely acknowledge the blow, continuing to charge forward. He raised his arm up barely in time to intercept the backhand she delivers.

Boomerang goes flying into the armored truck's grill, denting the metal plating with his body.

Jennifer checked the large tare along the back of her jacket, causing her to groan. Glaring at the recovering knight, Jennifer growled, "Do you know how expensive these tracksuits are?"

Stumbling to his feet, Boomerang panted, "Speed, a little help."

Speed Demon zooms by, rushing into Jennifer's guard. With a flurry of jabs, the speedster delivered several dozen blows all around Jennifer's body. But the woman looked unperturbed. Realizing he wasn't doing much of anything, Speed Demon retreated.

Standing beside Boomerang, the speedster asked, "Any ideas?"

"We just need to hold her off. Once Beetle and Eight-Ball get what we need, you get the money and then we're out of here." Boomerang muttered, cradling his chest.

Beetle, having cut through the hinges, stepped back to let the door fall. As it did, Eight-Ball threw the rod inside, the weapon skewering the guard through the chest. Peering inside, Eight-Ball laughed at what he saw.

"Speed, you're up!" Eight-Ball yelled.

Speed Demon, now at Eight-Ball's side, said, "I'm tagging you both in."

The two tilted their heads in confusion, only for the unasked questions to be answered when Boomerang is sent flying over the truck, landing on the hood of a minivan two cars away.

Jennifer, her tracksuit now littered with scrapes curtesy of Boomerang's weapon of choice, lumbered after the man she'd just tossed aside. As she passed the armored truck, a tan and brown rod connects with her temple. A seismic blast came from the tip upon contact, sending Jennifer flying into the car next to her, the woman bouncing off of it and into the freeway's guardrail.

Groaning, Jennifer picked herself up. As she shook the grogginess off, she notices something above her. Beetle, a pair of cybernetic wings giving her lift, flew overhead. Pointing her gauntlet towards Jennifer, Beetle opens fire. A purple blast of energy zinged just over Jennifer's head, crashing into the guardrail. Concrete and steal go flying, with Jennifer rolling away from the blast.

As she finished the roll, a black sphere the size of a billiards ball rolled underneath her. Coming to a stop, the ball revealed a white sphere with an eight plastered onto the face. Suddenly, the white began to blink a bright red.

BOOM!

Jennifer is thrown back by the explosion, flying into yet another car.

Debris pelted the freeway as smoke billows upwards. People scream and flee the scene, panic filling the air as Speed Demon rushes back and forth from the van and the armored truck, dropping off duffle bags into the van's cargo hold.

Overdrive peaked his head back out the window, addressing Speed Demon, "We good?"

"Nope."

Overdrive jumped, startled to find someone standing on the hood of the van.

Naruto, his arms folded, smiles down at Overdrive, "You're not good at all. I think you pissed her off."

The car that Jennifer was thrown into is flung over, revealing the woman in all her fury. The top half of her tracksuit is gone, leaving a ratty t-shirt that was littered with holes along the shoulders and lower abdomen. Her pants were torn to shreds, the bottoms practically nonexistent.

She glared at Eight-Ball, "You're dead." She growled.

Overdrive, having been startled by Naruto, instinctively slammed his foot on the gas pedal.

"Overdrive, don't!" Speed Demon screamed, a duffle bag still in hand.

Naruto, still standing on the hood, kneeled down to get a good look at the driver, "Yeah, Overdrive. Don't."

Pulling out the gun strapped to his side, Overdrive pointed it out his window towards the blonde. Before he can open fire, the gun suddenly crumples like a tin can in the driver's hand. Dropping it out of surprise, Overdrive looked back up at the blonde.

Naruto wagged his finger disapprovingly at the driver. Before Overdrive could react, the back end of the car crumpled up as well, the tires exploding as well as Naruto used Magnet Release to force the van to come to a sudden stop.

Losing control of the car, Overdrive can do nothing as he swerved into the side of a car. The airbags deploy, stunning him. Naruto jumped off the hood, watching as Jennifer caught a javelin thrown by Eight-Ball. Snapping it in her hand like a toothpick, she threw it aside.

Beetle, her gauntlet prepped to fire, is suddenly enveloped in a full nelson.

Jessica, grappling the other woman, sent out a discharge of bio-electric energy. Beetle immediately went limp, she and Jessica plummeting to the ground. Jessica lets go, landing on her feet as Beetle lands headfirst onto the roof of a nearby car. The woman lied motionless, her body limp against the roof of the car.

Eight-Ball, a javelin in hand, struck at Jennifer as she came in close. The woman swats it aside, grabbing Eight-Ball by his dome helmet. Adding an incredible amount of pressure, the helmet cracks and bends under her hand. The man threw several punches into her triceps, trying to get her to let him go. But the panicked attack failed, as Jennifer crushes the man's helmet in her hand.

Letting him go, she let the man stumble back blindly. Just when it seemed like he'd gotten his bearings, Jennifer spartan-kicked him in the chest. Eight-Ball went flying into the armored truck. He fell limp, his torso broken in by the woman's mighty kick.

Boomerang, having finally gotten to his feet, realized that his crew had either been taken down or, in Speed Demon's case, fled.

"That son of a bitch," He grumbled, blood leaking passed his teeth. Spitting out a wad of blood and spit, he stood straight. Jennifer was glaring at him. Jessica was eying him evenly. Naruto was smiling at him.

The man knew he was fucked.

He raised his hands above his head, "I surrender."

Police sirens encroached, their lights flashing off in the distance.

Boomerang looks at Jennifer, "You wanted to know about the Leader, right? I can-"

A ding noise suddenly emitted from the man's helmet. As it did, a man's voice could be heard from inside saying, "Ah, ah, ah."

And then, with a loud pop, Boomerang's helmet exploded. The blast was nonviolent, the corpse totally intact as it collapsed to the ground.

"What the fuck?" Jessica demanded, startled by the sudden execution.

Before Naruto or Jennifer could answer, similar noises emitted from the remaining crews' helmets, with loud pops coming not long after.

Naruto, looking around at the four headless corpses, rubs his chest in complete disbelief, "Holy shit." He breathed.

"Why the hell are you here?"

Naruto turned, looking Jennifer in the eye. Giving a soft smile, the blonde eventually says, "Long time no see."

-x-

Location: Austin, Texas

-x-

Speed Demon, clutching his side, wheezes as he leaned up against the side of a brick building. Slowly he lumbered into the alleyway to the left of the building. Having to use the wall as support, his walk was slow. His breathing was long and labored, trying with all his might to catch his breath following a several well over a thousand miles.

Reaching a thick metal door, Speed slammed his fist against it several times. A moment later, the eye slot slides open with a thick clang. A pair of eyes peer through, "You're alone." The eyes said.

"Yes," Speed wheezed pathetically, "We met some resistance…some Hulk lookin' chick. And…and Naruto Uzumaki. I had to ditch when our ride got taken out. I managed to bring some of the haul," He raises the lone duffle bag up so the eyes can see, "It's not much…but it's something."

"Something," The eyes say simply.

Speed Demon heard the door's several heavy locks unlatch, the door swinging open to reveal Emil Blonsky on the other side. The man was dressed rather simply, with a Hawaiian button up shirt and a black t-shirt underneath. He stows his handgun in the back of his pant's waistbelt.

Emil nodded his head to the side, "Get in."

Speed stepped in, Emil closing the door behind him. Speed is escorted through the building, the man known as the Abomination leading him into a large wareroom. The man immediately takes stock of who else is present.

Leaning up against a stack of crates is a person whose body was framed by the colors of orange, purple, blue, and green. He practically vibrated with barely contained energy. Their name was U-Foe, four men and women who were now one superpowered being.

Next to what looked like some kind of working station stood a lean young man with slicked back blonde hair. The man looked like the average Austinite, minus the gladius and scutum strapped to his side and back. He was Tyrannus, the Roman 'Sorcerer.'

And finally, his back to everyone, sat the leader himself. Sitting in front of several television screens, Samuel Sterns watched various news outlets reporting the botched robbery on the San Francisco freeway. The televisions are turned off, their screens black. Sterns turned in his chair, now facing Speed Demon.

The man barely looked human, his skin tone was a dark disgusting green and his skull engorged to a severely alarming degree. His fingers are interlocked, his jaw set.

"The others are dead, if you weren't aware," He drawls.

Speed paused at that, "What? Why?"

"Boomerang was about to let Ms. Walters and Mr. Uzumaki in on our whereabouts," Samuel says dispassionately, "It seemed prudent to nip that in the bud entirely. Sadly, it seemed likely the other members of your crew would be just as likely to talk as him. Which leads us to you, Speed Demon."

"Me?" Speed questioned, his voice shaking, "I came back! I brought you as much of the score as I could!" He threw the duffle bag at Samuel's feet.

Samuel doesn't even look at the bag, his eyes remain on Speed, "That's a fraction of what I asked for. I wanted the entire contents of that truck. Not a single portion. Five percent out of a hundred is an embarrassing failure on your crews' part. And, considering you're all that's left, that means the fault lays solely with you. Correct?"

Speed Demon had nothing to say, only able to fidget as the entire room glared down on him.

"What do we do with him?" U-Foe asked, its four voices overlapping simultaneously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Emil questioned glibly. Looking towards the open doorway at the other end of the room, the man called out, "Hey, soldier boy. We got someone for you."

A figure steps out from the shadowed doorway. His heavy footsteps echoed through the wareroom; his gate slow as he reached the group.

Speed Demon's panic became apparent as the Winter Soldier reaches Samuel's side. His long hair is now reached just above his shoulders, the one-hundred-year-old Hydra sleeper agent dressed in a dark blue hooded jacket and black running pants.

The wareroom's florescent lighting glares off his prosthetic metal hand as it flexes apprehensively.

Frowning at Emil, his eyes sunken in from an apparent lack of sleep, Barnes murmurs, "I'm not killing him."

"Oh really?" Emil challenges, "Has SHIELD's golden-boy assassin-extraordinaire gone soft on us? 'Cause if you have, well then I gotta ask why you're here too."

"No one's killing anyone," Samuel snapped, giving Emil a hard look, "I'm the reason your out of that Alaskan cryo-sleep. Don't make me regret it."

Emil put his hands up, relenting to the man's command. Speed Demon, relieved that he wasn't going to be killed, relaxed as he said, "What's next then…boss?"

The leader sighed, his hands massaging his temples, "Because of your blunder, I suppose we'll have to resort to a more drastic measure."

"Sounds fun," Tyrannus commented with a carefree smile, "It's about time we all get to go out and play a little."

"Don't get too excited," Samuel chastised, "Because of the Seoul Accords, anything too extravagant will bring the Avengers down on us faster than any of you could say pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis."

"I doubt anyone here could," Emil drawled.

Tyrannus raised his hand, "I could."

Samuel waved his hand dismissively, "That means what we'll do will have to be rather lowkey," His eyes land on Barnes, a smile creeping up on his face, "And I think I know just the thing."

Barnes' hand clenched uncomfortably, his metal digits clinking against his palm.