2/2

"Oh…I'm going to you Shukaku's binding cursed seal to keep her from moving. Then I'll just keep her in constant contact with me so she can't get out of my sight."

"Was that so hard?"

"Shut up."

Ding

-x-

Room 6B was rather small, a simple one bedroom with an average sized kitchen and living room area. The lights were off, with the only light coming into the room being the slightly opened curtains, a thin beam of sunlight revealing an open 'People Magazine' on the coffee table. The room was slightly messy, with a pair of shoes and socks littered on the floor, a purple jacket thrown half hazardly on the love seat, and random pieces of trash littering the couch and coffee table.

Click

With an audible click, the lock in the doorknob unlocked.

Click

In another click, the latch to the door slid open. The door now completely unlocked, the doorknob slowly turned before the door itself began to creak open, revealing Naruto standing on the other side. Calmly walking inside, Naruto looked around, his eyes an orangish yellow with his irises rectangular and what looked to be orange eyeshadow around his eyes.

The blonde sighed as said eyeshadow faded, closing his eyes as he said, "She's not here." Opening his now blue eyes, Naruto scanned the room. Walking towards the living room, Naruto picked up the bowl with potato stew licking the bottom from the coffee table, "It's cool." He observed. Putting the bowl down, he looked down at the magazine. Flipping it over to the cover, Naruto saw that the actress Demi Moore was the cover picture, with the caption, "Inside the Final Days" whatever that meant, "This magazine just came out today." Putting the magazine down, he looked at the couch to see an indent in the couch, with a television remote next to it. Walking up to the TV, Naruto pressed his hand on the side of it feeling that it wasn't warm to the touch before he said, "TV's been off for a while, so she didn't just leave."

"That's if she was watching TV at all." Kurama said.

Naruto shrugged, "The remote's on the couch, right next to the butt imprint where she's probably been sitting all day."

"Weeell. Look at the modern day Cherlok Homes figuring shit out with a glance." Kurama muttered.

"First of all, it's Sharlock Helmes. Second of all, when you do enough missions with Clint you pick up a few things." The blonde said as he pushed open the bedroom door. The room held a queen sized bed, the bed spread and sheets sloppily splayed out along the bed, with a few shirts and a pair of pants resting at the end of the bed. Next to the bed was a night stand, a lamp sitting on it uselessly along with a framed photo of a younger Magik and an older woman with short whitish blonde hair. On further inspection, it was like looking at an older version of Magik. Walking towards the small closet, Naruto slid the door open only to see that no clothes were in hung up on the rale. Looking down, the Shinobi saw a duffle bag tucked in the corner. Unzipping the bag, Naruto saw that it was stuffed with various types of clothes and undergarments, "She left her clothes here."

Walking out of the room, Naruto said, "She must have left a couple hours ago, but she'll be back."

"Unless she left in a hurry after somehow figuring out you were in town."

"Doubtful, she left all of her stuff here. That picture looked like a family photo or something, I doubt she'd just up and leave without taking it with her." Putting his hands in a cross hand seal, a puff of smoke appeared next to him. When the cloud of smoke dissipated, another Naruto appeared before once again being swallowed in a puff of smoke. When the smoke went away once again, a magazine similar to the one on the coffee table took its place. Picking it up, he walked over to the coffee table as he switched the magazine on the table with the clone in his hand, "There, I'll just have to wait her out. If she doesn't come back in a few days, I'll call it quits."

"Whatever smart guy. God I miss when you were stupid."

"Same here."

-x-

"So, do you like to read Nathan?"

Naruto and the Valids were sitting around the round dining table, the four eating a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Naruto sipped at the hot broth before saying, "Uh, not really. That 'Hunger Games' book is pretty good though."

Charles smirked, "Don't get Gabby started on those books, she's obsessed with them she is."

"It's a good read Charlie, excuse me for trying to get you interested in something other than your research or those silly comic books."

"Watchmen is not silly Gabby, The Dark Knight Returns isn't silly; Alan Moore and Mark Miller are bloody geniuses."

Herald looked up from his bowl, "I like comic books mum."

Gabrielle sighed, "I know dear, I know."

"Professor X is the best." Herald said.

Naruto smile, "I don't know, Gambit's pretty cool. So's Deadpool."

"Herald, I've taught you better." Charles said, "Batman is the best superhero."

Gabrielle sighed, "Here we go."

Naruto laughed as he saw the family interact in front of him. Looking over at Herald, Naruto could see the boy sneaking glances his way. Feeling a push on his mind, Naruto allowed the kid to enter, "What's up kid?" He thought.

Herald's eyes widened as he looked at Naruto in shock. Taking a second, the boy had a pensive look on his face as he spoke telepathically, "You…you know?"

Naruto looked back down at his bowl of soup, "Act normal brat. If you want your parents to keep from learning about your abilities, you need to learn how to act normal when using them."

Herald looked back down at his soup, his face looking as though he'd just gotten in trouble, "I'm sorry." The boy thought.

"It's fine. So, who else knows?"

"No one…but you I guess."

Naruto looked at Gabrielle and Charles who seemed to still be talking about comic books, "So how did you learn how to use your powers then?"

"From X-Men comics mostly."

"Of course…So what can you do other than read and communicate with people telepathically?"

"Um well, I can move things if I try really really really hard."

Naruto mentally scoffed, "So can I kid."

"You can move things without your hands too?" Herald asked in wonder.

That got Naruto's attention, "So you have telekinesis too huh? Damn, it's like you're a living comic book character or something. How long have you been able to do this?"

"As long as I can remember. I could always hear people's voices even when they weren't actually talking. I learned how to drown it out a couple years ago."

Naruto thought, "Wow, that's pretty impressive for a kid so young. But, seeing your parents it's not hard to see where you got your smarts from."

The two's conversation was cut short by Gabrielle, "So, what's your favorite book Nathan?"

Naruto looked at Gabrielle, "Huh?"

Gabrielle looked at Naruto quizzically, "I asked what your favorite book is. Didn't you hear Charlie say his was 'The Hobbit?'"

"Oh ahh…sorry spaced out there for a second." Naruto said in embarrassment. After a moment of thought, Naruto spoke, "I guess I'd have to say 'And Then There Were None.' My girlfriend made me read it."

"Well your girlfriend has great taste, that was one of my father's favorite book as well." Gabrielle said.

Naruto looked at Gabrielle, "What's yours? Your favorite book I mean."

"'Devotions upon Emergent Occasions' by John Donne." Both Gabrielle and Charles said at the same time, with Charles giving his wife a teasing look, "But if I had to choose my favorite novel? 'For Whom the Bell Tolls,' by Ernest Hemmingway."

"I don't know what either of those are." Naruto said with a bit of a dead pan.

Gabrielle laughed, "Most people don't. In fact, most people who do don't like it at all. But Mr. Donne's words have helped me through many trying times. Even now, I find myself reading it more than I do the bible." The woman, seeing that her son had finished his bowl of soup, got up from her seat as she spoke, "Come on Herald, time to wash up."

Herald groaned as his mother picked him up, "Do I have too?" He whined.

"We can't have you stinkin' up the place." Gabrielle said as she held her son in her arms, "Your father does enough of that as it is."

The room grew quiet, the only sound being the bath running in the bathroom. Charles, who had finished off his bowl, got up from his seat, grabbing Gabrielle's and Herald's bowls while he was at it. Taking the dishes to the sink, the man began to rinse them out as he said, "We're lucky this building is owned by the government, being the place where most foreign politicians stay while in Symkaria, so they're making sure the appliances stay on in case a handful of big wigs got stuck in here. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to go to the bathroom, much less take a shower." Getting a rag out of a nearby drawer, the man began to dry the bowls, "That and when everybody left, we and the rest of the tenants scoured their rooms for any food they might've left behind."

Naruto nodded, "I was wondering how your fridge and cupboards are stocked full even though you've been stuck here for a month."

Charles laughed, "Yeah well, I wasn't always a renowned Radiologist. Post-University was mostly made up of me eating ramen and hotdogs every night."

"So…gamma radiation huh?" Naruto said.

Charles raised an eyebrow, "You're familiar with the subject?"

Naruto, remembering the videos of Bruce Banner, aka the Hulk, decimating everything and anyone in its path, nodded, "A little bit."

The British man looked Naruto up and down, "Were you involved in the Bio-Tech Force Enhancement Project?"

Naruto recognized the name as the project that Bruce Banner was in charge of, which was the successor to Project Rebirth, the very experiment responsible for creating Captain America, "No, but I had heard what happened to one of the scientists after a failed experiment."

Charles nodded sadly, "Yes, your talking about Bruce Banner. It's truly terrible what happened to him, he was a great scientist and an even better man."

"Was?" Naruto asked.

With a sigh, Charles said, "Aye, I had heard the man died after trying to perform the gamma radiation procedure on himself, but that wasn't before the radiation turned him into some kind of…creature. Thank God your army killed it before anyone got hurt or worse killed."

"Aren't you worried that something like that might happen again with your research?"

Charles shook his head, "For one, Bruce's research pertained to duplicating the serum used on your Captain America. Our research is leading the charge in finding a cure for diseases such as cancer. Second of all, Bruce used an incredibly lethal amount of gamma radiation on himself. His death was inevitable, the only variable being his transformation. We plan on only using a small fraction of what he used. I suppose you could compare it to a shot glass to a pool of water."

Naruto nodded, "Well good luck with your research."

"Thank you."

-x-

The next two days went by rather slowly, with the only thing available to do inside was talk, play a board game, talk, watch TV, talk, or sleep. In the two days, Naruto had learned quite a bit about the Valid family. As it turned out, Gabrielle had a PhD in Literature and was apparently distantly related to Judi Dench (whoever that is) and was in the beginning stages of writing a novel of her own. Charles was a man obsessed when it came to comics, showing him pictures from his phone of his collection at home, along with his pride and joy, an original 1942 'Captain America' vol. #1. According to Charles, it was a gift from his father, who was a pilot during World War 2. Apparently the man only had that comic to read in his four years of duty, and had read that book thousands of times before eventually passing it on to his youngest son, Charles, which was what spurred his passion for all things comic book. It was Herald that he seemed to spend the most time with, seeing as the two continued their telepathic communication. Their conversations ranged from how to control/use his powers, to Naruto's powers and how learned to control them, to what cartoon shows are the best. Herald leaned towards 'Adventure Time' while Naruto was more of a 'Futurama' kind of guy. The blonde couldn't help relate to the show's main character Fry, and his total lack of knowledge in a practically different world. Due to the fact that he couldn't really keep anything from the kid, Naruto had told him his real name and the fact he had powers, keeping out the fact he wasn't technically human.

"Naruto…why don't you save people?" Herald asked through their telepathic connection, "You have all these powers, but you stay up here instead of helping people who need it."

Naruto, who was sitting across from Charles at the dining table as the two played a hand of 31, sighed, "I don't know. Just don't have it in me I guess."

"What does that mean?" Herald asked.

If Naruto could give a mental shrug he would, "All my life, all I've ever done is save people. At first it was people that were precious to me…but eventually I learned that all life should be held precious, even thoughs that walk down a darker path then my own. In fact, it was those that were walking down that path that I tried to save the most, and not from some dark calamity or anything like that…but from themselves. In the end though, I couldn't save anyone."

"But…you can still save people. Mum said that even if I fail…even if I fail I can't just give up. I have to keep trying and learn from my failure." Herald said.

Naruto drew a card from the deck between him and Charles, "Sometimes it's not that easy." He thought. Putting his hand down, Naruto said, "31."

"Dammit." Charles cursed, "How the hell are you so lucky? That's the third 31 you've gotten in a row." He said in agitation.

Naruto was about to respond when a sudden wave of memories entered his mind. Getting up from his seat, Naruto grabbed his jacket off the coat rack. Putting it on, he looked at the startled Charles and Gabrielle, "I just remembered I have to go somewhere real quick. I'll be back in a couple hours."

Gabrielle walked forward, "Don't tell me you're going outside? It's dangerous out there!"

Naruto looked at her apologetically, "Sorry, but it's very important. Don't worry, I can take care of myself."

The woman looked back and forth between Naruto and her husband, who was looking at her with an 'I don't know what to do either' look. With a sigh, she quickly walked into her and Charles's room. The sound of a drawer opening and closing could be heard before Gabrielle walked out, a small handgun in her hand, "Here, take it." Seeing Naruto's reluctant look she said, "Please."

With a sigh, Naruto gingerly took the gun from her hands. Giving it a quick look, Naruto withdrew the clip to see it was loaded. Flipping the safety off and on, Naruto stuffed it down the back of his jeans, the cold steel of the gun sending a quick chill up his spine, "Thanks."

"Good luck Naruto."

Looking over at Herald, Naruto could see the boy looking at him before turning back to the TV.

"Thanks kid."

-x-

Room 6B was slightly different then it was two days ago, for one the lights were on giving the room a homelier look. All the articles of clothes and foot wear was picked up, along with any trash littered along the coffee table. The TV was on, showcasing what looked to be a Symkarian version of 'The Office.' The sound of water hitting against a plastic curtain filled the entire hotel room, signaling that the shower was on. Inside said shower was Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik, standing stark naked as the hot jet of water pressed into the back of her head, soaking her hair thoroughly. Turning around and taking a step back, Magik allowed the water to hit her chest, soaking her cleavage, the water cascading down her breasts and flat stomach. Grabbing a bar of soap, Illyana began to lather herself completely, making sure to get every nook and cranny before rinsing herself off with the water, using her hands to help get the excess soap off her body. Taking the tube of cheap shampoo off the shower counter, the Inhuman squirted the fruity smelling jell into the palm of her hand before rubbing her hands together. Pressing her now soapy hands into her scalp, she began to run her fingers along her hair, making sure every strand was covered. Giving the shampoo a moment to settle, the woman stepped forward before dipping her head and hair into the stream of scalding hot water. Running her hands threw her hair once again, she silently pressed out all the soapy shampoo. Her body now clean, Illyana relaxed her shoulders for a moment as she allowed herself to melt due to the pleasure that was the hot shower. With a sigh, Magik turned the nozzle, shutting the water off.

Sliding the curtains upon, Illyana stepped onto the shaggy carpet next to the shower as she grabbed a towel hanging on the rack. As she began to dry her hair, the blonde walked over the fogged over mirror. Pressing her hand against it, Illyana wiped the fog off causing the mirror to squeak loudly as she did. Looking herself in the mirror, Illyana calmly began to wrap her towel over her head. Bending over towards the sink, Magik opened the sink cabernet before grabbing one of the other towels inside. Straightening up, Illyana looked at herself once again as she began to dry off her body. Her body now dry, the woman wrapped the towel around her body before opening the door to her room. Stepping inside, Illyana walked towards the duffle bag of clothes, unzipping it as she removed the towel on her head. Pulling out a pair of match bra and panties, Illyana threw them on top of the bed as she continued to rifle through her bag. Pulling out a pair of leggings, she threw that behind her as well before bringing out a thin AC/DC t-shirt and a green hoodie that was a couple sizes too big for her that had 'Ozcorp' emboldened on the chest.

Walking over to the bed, Illyana but the t-shirt and hoodie down before unwrapping the towel around her body. Slipping on the pair of black panties, she then walked back into the bathroom to look in the mirror as she put on her bra, clipping the strap with relative ease. Walking back into her room, she quickly put on the shirt and then slid on the leggings before throwing on the Ozcorp hoodie that she got while visiting NYC.

Now fully dressed, the woman calmly opened her bedroom door into the rest of the hotel room, walking towards the kitchen to get a class of water. She was halfway there when a voice said, "I've been waiting."

Turning around, she was about to use her powers to get the hell away from whoever had broken into her hotel room, only to have a fist wrapped around her neck. Looking down, she was shocked to see that coming from the hand was a stream of strange markings, wrapping around her body, paralyzing her more and more as the seal stretched along her entirely. Her body now completely paralyzed, she began to panic as she began to channel her power, a disk of light forming underneath her causing her to fall in. The only problem was that her captor still had his grip on her, the two of them landing on a layer of snow.

Naruto looked around at his new environment, the two of them now surrounded by a vast forest, snow falling around them covering the everything it touched. Looking Magik in the eye, Naruto said, "I've got you in my binding seal. You can't move, and as long as I'm holding you, wherever you go I go. So, I think the only thing left for us to do here is talk. I don't want to hurt you, but I will." Naruto said the last part with a heavy edge to his voice.

Magik looked at him in complete disdain, "Why should I talk to you, huh?! Who the fuck are you?! Are you with AIM?! Did that bitch send one of her 'Acquired' after me?!"

Naruto quirked an eyebrow, "What the hell is AIM? Is that like an off-brand of SHIELD or something? What what's an Acquired? Look, you know what? My name is Naruto Uzumaki and for the last time, I just want to talk to you."

"You…you seriously don't know what I'm talking about?" Illyana asked, "You're an Inhuman though, aren't you? That's how you can do…this." She said as her eyes looked down at the seal stretched along her body.

Naruto shook his head, "I'm not an Inhuman. I'm not an Acquired. I'm not from AIM."

"Then why have you been stalking me for the past year?!" She screamed at him.

A vein pulsated along Naruto's forehead as he looked at his fellow blonde in frustration, "BECAUSE I WANT TO TALK TO YOU! Holy fuck, what is so hard to understand about that?!"

Magik looked at Naruto in confusion, "What could you need to talk to me about that is so important that you had to go globe-trotting looking for me?"

Naruto sighed in relief that they were actually getting somewhere, "Can we take this back to your hotel room? We'll need to talk in private."

"Will you release these…seals off of me if I do?"

"Yes…but you're going to be in constant contact with me so you can't just teleport away. Deal?"

Magik took nearly half a minute to make a decision, "Deal."

-x-

Naruto sat on the love seat, facing Illyana who was sitting next to him, the blonde haired man resting his hand on the woman's shoulder awkwardly. The blonde had just gone over the fact he wasn't from Earth, but rather another planet, or possibly even a completely separate dimension and had been trying for the last three and a half years to get home. He explained that a man by the name of Kang had directed him to her, with Naruto figuring out her abilities later on.

"I've never met this Kang the Conqueror, maybe he's an Inhuman from Attilan? That's the only thing I can think of." Magik said with some thought after hearing Naruto's description of Kang.

"Whoever this Kang guy is isn't important, what is important is if you can get me home." Naruto said firmly.

Magik sighed, "My teleportation ability does allow me to travel between space and dimensions. Hell, if I really concentrate I can travel through time."

"So you can-"

"The only downside is that for me to travel anywhere I need to either have been there before, or to know where the place I'm going looks like. So, say I've never been to Paris, all I have to do is Google a picture of Paris, and then I can use that as a means to get there through visualization. So unless you have a picture of someplace in your world, I can't get you there."

"What if I were to describe it to you? Or draw a picture?" Naruto asked desperately.

"Unless you have photographic memory, that won't work. I need to picture it in detail."

"If only you were any good at casting Genjutsu, then you'd just have to put her under an illusion showing her Konoha and she'd be able to send you back." Kurama grumbled.

"Maybe if I'd never gotten the power boost from Grandpa Sage or the other Biju, but my chakra's too vast for me to perform a Genjutsu of that detail. My control was shitty before." Naruto thought dejectedly. For Naruto to perform Genjutsu, he'd have to spend years fine tuning his control. The only reason he could use Shukaku's cursed seals was due to the Biju's chakra subconsciously guiding him on how to use it and the fact he had twenty clones a day training with it.

Seeing Naruto's face, Illyana sighed before saying, "But there may be someone who can help. Actually, I know he can help. It's getting to him that's the problem."

Naruto perked up a little, "Problem how?"

"The man taught me how to use my powers. Only, unlike mine that rely on needing to have seen my destination visually, he isn't hindered by that at all. Not only is he one of the most gifted teleporters in Inhuman history, but he is also a natural born psychic. Using both abilities together, he is able to find anywhere he wants to go using his vast telepathic range, and then use his abilities to go there. Even if he can't find it, all he'll have to do is go into your memories and go about it that way."

Naruto looked at Illyana in wonder at what she told him, "Wha…what's this guy's name?"

"He never told me his Inhuman name, but he goes by the title, Gateway." Illyana frowned, "There's only one problem."

"What?"

"Gateway doesn't like being on Earth very much, too many bad memories he says. The old hermit only ever stays on Earth for a week every handful of years. And the time it takes him to come back varies. It could be anywhere between two to six years before he shows up again."

"When's do you think he'll come back this time?" Naruto asked.

Illyana smiled nervously, "He's already here on Earth, you've got a day before he leaves."

Naruto shot up out of his seat, "Can you take me to him?"

Magik nodded, "Yes I ca-"

BANG BANG

Naruto's head jolted up in the direction of what sounded like a gun going off, the origin sounding like it came from a couple floors up. Naruto was midway turning back to Illyana when a sudden wait fell on his body, causing him to shake from the stress. It lasted only a couple seconds before disappearing, allowing Naruto and straighten up and Illyana to catch her breath.

"What the hell was that?!" Magik asked as she got up from her seat.

Naruto's eyes suddenly widened in realization, "Herald!" Making a mad dash for the door he flung it open before rushing into the hallway, Illyana trying to keep up with him. Running up to the elevator, Naruto mashed the button over and over again, only to see that the elevator had already passed going down.

"Naruto!" Illyana yelled causing Naruto to look at her. The woman was running towards the end of the hall, pointing at a sign that said, 'Stairs.' Naruto ran after her, catching up quickly as she said, "Which floor?"

"F!" Naruto yelled, blasting up the stairs with gusto passing the signs for C, D, and E in a blur before smashing into the door with the sign that read 'F.' Stumbling into the hallway, Naruto looked towards the room he knew the Valids were staying in, only to see that the door had been kicked off its hinges, "No." He whispered before he dashed towards the open door.

Looking inside, he felt his stomach wrench at the sight before him. The walk way floor was no longer visible, now completely painted over by a thick pool of blood. The puddle of liquid life led to two bodies, both were wearing armor that was heavily padded, similar to the two revolutionist soldiers he saved Charles from a few days ago. The two soldiers were laying in a puddle of their own blood, bone and brain matter. Where their heads used to be was an open neck, still squirting out blood like a fountain, the sickening sound of blood squelching out of the neck wound clearly heard. Stepping over the two bodies, Naruto's feet pitter pattering along the lake of blood as he made his way into the hotel room, his eyes following his ears as he heard the sounds of Gabrielle crying in anguish. Looking into the kitchen area, Naruto felt a lump form in his throat at the sight before him.

There, sprawled out on the kitchen floor, was Charles, his lifeless body being held by his now widowed wife. The woman was gently pushing the hair out of her husband's lifeless eyes, not caring for the blood she was smearing all over herself or Charles, the nickel sized hole drilled in his forehead still gushing out a fair amount of blood. Tears were streaming down Gabrielle's cheeks, mixing with the blood she had inadvertently smeared all over her face.

Naruto slowly made his way to the couple, his feet once again stepping in a pool of blood, only this time it was from a man he considered a friend. Kneeling down next to Gabrielle, Naruto saw that there was another bullet wound inflicted on Charles in his abdomen, his blue shirt now purple from the blood.

"Gabrielle…what happened? Where's Herald?" He asked gently.

If possible, Gabrielle sobbed even harder, "The-they…they…took him."

"Who did?"

"I-I-I…I don't…" She couldn't finish her sentence, to busy sobbing over her husband's corpse. After a moment, she calmed down just enough to whisper, "They…they came…for you." Looking up, her eyes red from the tears and rage, "They killed him because of YOU! They took my BABY because of you…"

"…why did they take Herald? Who took him?"

"I…they were revolutionists…but there were two of them…the-they were different. They were asking questions about you, and when we told them the truth…that we didn't know anything. The revolutionists the-they…they shot Charles." She sobbed out, "Then, Herald h-he…he just started screaming. And then I felt this huge pressure before…"

"Before what?" Naruto asked gently.

With a shaky hand, Gabrielle pointed at the two headless bodies by the open door, "That." She whispered. Naruto closed his eyes, wishing for a moment he never met these people. Wishing for a moment that none of this had to happen. Looking down at Charles, he couldn't help but feel an intense guilt.

"You know you can't bring back the dead…right?" Kurama asked softly.

"…I know." Naruto thought.

"Please, Nathan…please bring him back to me!"

Naruto looked down at Gabrielle in shock, looking at the sobbing woman, her eyes pressed shut as she hugged her corpse of a husband as close as she could to herself. For a brief moment, he didn't see Gabrielle. He wasn't in Symkaria. He wasn't on Earth. He was home. He was in Konoha. And in front of him was Sakura, pleading him to bring Sasuke back to her.

"PLEASE!" Gabrielle continued her pleading, her voice filled with anguish as she whispered over and over, "Bring him back to me…please bring my baby back to me."

Without thought, Naruto gently placed his palm against Gabrielle's cheek.

"I'm so sorry." Naruto whispered.

Getting up, Naruto looked down at the blood that was now staining his jeans. Looking over at the door, he saw Magik standing in the doorway, her face pale from the sight before her. Walking over to the door, stepping over the bodies as he did, Naruto stopped as he made his way to the doorway.

"I'll bring back your son." Naruto said, his voice as hard as steel. Turning his head back, Naruto made eye contact with Gabrielle one last time as he said, "It's a promise of a lifetime."

With that, Naruto disappeared from view, with Magik hurriedly following after him. Now alone, Gabrielle looked down at Charles, looking into his lifeless eyes. Still sobbing she said, "I've just sent that man to his death…no matter how powerful he is, he can't take on an army…no matter how many men he might kill, he will die." Brushing Charles's hair out of his face she continued, "Just now…just now I've caused so much death. So many people are going to die, because I sent that man after them." Closing her eyes, she felt her hot tears continue to cascade down her face, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Each is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less. As well as if a promontory were. As well as if a manor of thine own or thine friends were. Each man's death diminishes me." With a sob, she opened her eyes looking her husband in the eye once more before reaching up with her free hand, pressing her fingers along with eye lids before bringing them down, closing them forever.

"For I am involved in mankind. Therefore, send not to know for whom the bell tolls." Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed from across the city, as a massive pressure was felt, causing the blood around her to ripple from the pressure.

"It tolls for thee."

-x-

Chapter Complete

-x-

Author's Note: There isn't really a whole lot to say other than that this took forever to write and that I had a blast writing it. For those that thought the title of the chapter was a Metallica reference, you were half right. It started out one, but slowly evolved into something more. Something I can honestly say I'm proud of. I hope you guys liked it, hit me up with reviews, lets break 300! REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVORITE! Also PM if you have questions or just wanna converse with me about the story or life or whatever. See you next time.