"Who dares?"
"Just an old blind man," said Hodr.
"You have no idea what you face," said the Kyubi, uncurling to look out at the trespasser.
"I'm an Asgardian god, you'd be surprised what I know," said Hodr. "Let go of your rage, Kyubi."
"WHY SHOULD I?! WHAT DO YOU KNOW OF MY SUFFERING?!"
"I've died six times that I know of," said Hodr. "Let me tell you right now - each and every one of them hurt like Hel."
"Lies."
"You know better than that," said the old man, holding out a fist. "Touch my fist with your own. You know how it works."
"How do you know of that?" growled the Kyubi.
"I am the brother of Baldr. I have died six times. Since the fifth such time, I have been able to speak with spirits of the dead," said Hodr. "I may still be blind - but there are things that I have seen that would curl even your tails."
"Spirits?"
"When the four children came, I asked a friend of mine about their background," said Hodr, still holding one fist out. "I was able to speak to Hagoromo Ohtsutsuki."
"How do you know that name? Don't dare lie to me," growled the Kyubi, but he made a fist and reached out slowly.
Contact. Time seemed to pause.
"So you have died yet again," grumbled the Kyubi as he retracted his arm. "Ceiling collapse. That's why you are only now speaking to me."
"Yes," said Hodr.
"This boy is the one prophesied?" The Kyubi snarled. "He's an idiot."
"Well, he'll never exactly be a genius," admitted Hodr. "He has good instincts and intentions though."
"Hmph. So what else did Hagoromo tell you?"
He knew what had happened, to some extent. He followed the press after all and went to multiple news sites in order to try and see the real picture instead of someone else's spin.
He was not an A-List character, not someone who would go head-to-head with Stilt-Man much less Doctor Doom. He was not inclined to head into this sort of situation if he had any sort of choice in the matter.
He had a bit of Inhuman heritage in him and an exposure to a burst of radiation from a damaged x-ray machine had given him the fantastic superpower of... turning blue. Yes, he could turn his skin blue at will. A very nice, in his opinion, powder blue. From what he'd learned over the years, it would let him impersonate a Kree up until the point they got a good look at him or tried talking to him. Not exactly something that would allow him to do superheroics.
But apparently the time he'd done this at an office Christmas party had been enough to get someone's notice and as a result he'd been drafted once the Superhuman Registration Act had gone into effect. If you had ANY super-power, no matter how lame, you had to immediately go out and register.
He hadn't, believing it would only apply to those with actually useful abilities. He'd changed his mind when a group of superpowered enforcers had shown up at work, getting him fired as apparently it was a FELONY to have not gotten in line as soon as the Act was passed. At least according to those individuals who had come crashing through the wall to arrest him.
He was the sort who tried to find common ground wherever he could find it with co-workers and those around him. He never forgot a birthday or event in his friends and associate's lives. He tried to be politically correct whenever he could, support charitable causes, and loved his little terrier-mix dog.
He wondered if he'd ever see his dog again. He hoped the little guy was doing okay.
Things had escalated because of the Act. Some superHEROES had been totally against the Act. It was politically divisive, but not in the usual manner. You could find right-wing individuals who likened it to gun control, you could find left-wing individuals who felt it was the draft and it was also racism of a kind. You could also find those of the same group who argued in favor of the Act.
There had been fatalities. A minor superhero off in Cheyenne had made enemies and his family had been killed by a convict in retaliation for having been arrested years previously as soon as that hero's identity was made public. There were other instances of that happening.
Part of the problem, as many such problems were, was because of the people put in charge of it. At least as far as he could tell. Harry Osborn had been appointed by the President to head H.A.M.M.E.R. and keep track of the resource/problem.
Which had led him to being shoved into a uniform, handed a gun he really didn't know how to use, and thrown into this conflict as a grunt soldier.
The four kids were good at listening. The kid with pink hair had told him they couldn't remove the spear without it killing him faster.
The funny thing was, it wasn't even an Asgardian who'd killed him. It was one of the supers working for Osborn. Who was very powerful and had thrown an Asgardian weapon and missed their target. Funny wasn't it?
Friendly fire, except for being a spear.
Here he was bleeding out on a battlefield he'd never wanted to be on, in a cause he didn't like or agree with, in a war that nobody wanted, where he wasn't even a competently trained grunt. And all he wanted to do was go home and play with his dog Sparky. Maybe throw around his squeaky toy.
Sparky always liked that.
Damn this hurt.
He really hoped someone was taking care of Sparky.
Sakura turned away from the fallen soldier, looking up at the monster hanging in the sky. "I really don't understand this at all."
"He died like a ninja in a war," said Sasuke, surprising a couple of them there. "We don't make the war, we don't always know the reasons for it, we merely fight as well as we can. Many members of my clan died in the wars between the villages."
"That guy up there is the problem right now," stated Naruto. "I... hold it. Hodr?"
"Byakugan," whispered Hinata, turning on her dojutsu.
"See anything?" asked Sakura, needlessly. It was needless because of the shocked expression on her face and how she'd taken two steps backwards.
"Hodr? The Fourth Hokage? And... What is this?" asked Hinata.
Sasuke was silent a moment. "With Naruto? I don't know. But if I understand what that guy was saying, this is something like the Bloodline Purges in Kiri. Everyone with a kekkei genkai is hated and has to fight or flee to survive."
"Not quite the impression I got," said Sakura as she peeked around the ragged section of wall they were using as shelter.
"So it is agreed?" asked Hodr.
"Fine. As long as I get a little respect from the brat. I'll try to hold back on my hate, as difficult is that is. Earn my respect though, brat!"
"I don't like this any more than you do!" responded Naruto, waving a fist at the mountain-sized creature in the cage.
"You both will have to come to terms with each other, and that will take some time, and some getting to see each other's positions," said Hodr. He turned and addressed empty air. "I know you can see me, young lady, because it was my doing that allowed you to see this. You may need to help this boy in this endeavor and keep his secrets."
"Who are you talking to?" asked Kushina Uzumaki's spirit, her hands resting on Naruto's shoulders.
"I believe her name is Hinaka, I didn't actually meet her," said Hodr.
"Hinata," corrected Naruto.
"Whatever," said Hodr. "Not much time left at all. Anything you want to say to your parents before we end this?"
"One thing," said Naruto, stepping away from his mother long enough to punch his father in the stomach. "I understand why you did it. I understand you wanted to protect the village. I understand only an Uzumaki could contain the Kyubi. I understand I was the only one available. BUT THAT STILL SCREWED UP MY WHOLE DAMN LIFE!"
"Good hit. Struck without warning. Almost like you were a ninja or something." The Kyubi grinned, enjoying this part at least.
"Quiet you. So, uhm, what can I do about that monster floating in the sky?" Naruto made a gesture in the direction he thought that thing was. "It was holding its own against the guy with the hammer and he was throwing off some pretty wild lightning jutsu on its ass."
"I've got an idea," said Minato, shrugging off the hit which had hurt more emotionally than physically.
Naruto blinked, then met Hinata's eyes. "You saw?"
Hinata nodded silently.
"We can talk later," promised Naruto. "For now. We got to try and stop that guy. I'm gonna need help."
"Stop? That?!" squeaked Sakura. This was so far above her current skillset that it was laughable even with Nornblade. Heck, she couldn't even REACH that thing.
"The plan that yo-your father spoke of?" asked Hinata.
"You heard?" asked Naruto.
"I ca-can read lips," said Hinata, frowning as she couldn't quite seem to suppress a stutter. "Hyuga clan training."
"There's a plan?" asked Sasuke, thinking he'd want details on what had just happened sometime AFTER the big demonic thing stopped throwing out those death-bolts are whatever those shards of darkness were called.
"Yeah," said Naruto. "Anyone got some ink or chalk?"
"Okay, so much for that power-up," said Spider-man. "Now what?"
"Other than you didn't hit Osborn hard enough? He's running," commented Iron Man.
"Son of a -" stated Spider-man.
"Whoa, is that the Ghost Rider? Can I hope?" asked Luke Cage. Who might be tough and strong, but this was a bit over his head from what he recalled.
"Ghost Rider uses flaming chains, not - whatever those are," reported Iron Man. "Error messages. Some kind of magic."
"Well, anything that hurts THAT thing - I'm in favor of," said Spider-man. "As long as it isn't too radioactive or something."
The Void screamed in pain, anger, and fury. More than a few heroes and villains ducked and covered their ears as that sound was made.
"Something's wrong though," said Iron Man.
"Leakage, wasn't-" Naruto ended what he was saying in a barely suppressed growl of pain.
Hinata looked with her Byakugan and saw the problem immediately. The chains wrapping around the floating abomination were containing it just fine. Though they were being eroded away, they were holding. The array that was trying to seal away the creature's not-chakra energy was less contained. A sizable amount of that energy was trying to pour through Naruto. It was too much, too fast. It HAD to be that fast though - any slower and the creature being bound would find a way to break through. She could see it struggling.
"I see it, it's too much and too fast, and the power is trying to ground out. It needs-" Hinata colored and considered, but then moved. Because she WAS a ninja and someone who knew there was a time to talk and a time to move. This was the latter.
Her hand grasped one of Naruto's hand and then the world went to heat and pain.
A moment later another hand pulled on one of hers, and another linkage was added.
She could feel it as a fourth person joined the linkage and then reached out and another was added.
Somewhere along the line, it became manageable. Somewhere it finally hit the point where the power flow grounded out.
"Kill me," said the human in the crater.
"Uhm, no," said Iron Man, looking down at the person who'd been both Sentry and Void. Now sitting there without the faintest hint of power according to his sensors. A completely normal person.
Captain America walked up to stand next to him.
"Any ideas?" asked Iron Man.
"Four kids," said the Captain. "Whatever they did knocked them out. Thor was saying something about 'sealing techniques' - he and Spider-man were apparently able to help deal with it but I don't understand all the references."
"Magic," said Iron Man, almost like a swear word.
Captain America nodded, he would definitely prefer some subject he could understand a bit better.
Four children were knocked out. After a brief period of getting their bearings, they'd be returned to their home universe and only two hours after they'd left.
Toltiir thought it was more amusing that way.
Not that having that power flowing through them would have no effect. After all, that was part of the scenario he'd planned. It hadn't all worked out exactly as planned, but things rarely did and things could still go "seriously off the rails" once they returned.
Team Seven still hadn't met their sensei, much less taken the Bell Test. Which would hopefully go different now that:
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