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[Caterpillar] Chapter 6 - Vandal Savage
🕑 Added 2023-12-24 22:40:50 +0000 UTC"How dare you burst in and ruin my wedding?!" a petite blonde woman said accusatorily.
In front of her, behind the locked bars of a cell, a tall and athletic woman was chained up to the wall with a pair of very high-tech shackles that even someone of her strength could not break. She was none other than Wonder Woman.
"Aren't you even curious about what Savage is up to? He's dangerous!"
"Why? Do you think he might throw a tank through my wall?" the blonde woman crossed her arms and said sarcastically.
Only a few hours ago, Wonder Woman had crashed the blonde woman's wedding by throwing a tank through the walls of the church where the ceremony was being held. It was the wedding of Vandal Savage and Princess Audrey, the daughter of King Gustav, the ruler of Kaznia.
"Grow up! He's obviously using you. He's amassing military and political power."
"For what?"
"What do you think? He's got to be stopped!" Wonder Woman shouted, finally reaching the end of her patience.
"You're a raving lunatic. Not to say you weren't fun to go clubbing with~"
"This isn't a joke, Audrey. I think Savage is responsible for your father's sudden illness." Wonder Woman tried to reason with her but the princess, now queen, shot back angrily:
"And I think you've just crossed a line!"
"Don't walk away, Audrey. You're making a big mistake."
"I can do whatever I please! Surely, you've noticed by now!" she shot back and strolled out of the prison without sparing her another glance.
Wonder Woman frowned and started to struggle once more to break her shackles but it was to no avail. Just then, a bizarre feeling washed over her, a sensation that made her become very alert. While she did not know what to make of it, she heard the sound of a man's footsteps approaching her cell.
"You! What are you doing here?!" Wonder Woman said greatly surprised.
A white ANBU fox mask, blond hair, a fur-collared black cloak that covered his entire body and a tiny fox cub curled up on his right shoulder, looking as though it was glued to it: the newcomer was none other than the alien mercenary that had rescued and extorted Superman of a huge sum of money. But almost 6 months had passed since then and Wonder Woman had almost forgotten about the strange alien and his gluttonous talking fox. She had certainly not expected to see him again, much less at that moment, in the prison inside the royal castle of Kaznia.
"Why is it that whenever I meet one of you guys, you're locked up in a cell?" Naruto said with a laugh.
When he had met Superman, the Kryptonian had been locked up by the Preserver in a cell. Now when he was meeting Wonder Woman again after half a year, she was locked up in a cell too by Vandal Savage.
At first, Wonder Woman had intended to ask for help but she was getting increasingly weirded out by the situation.
"What are you doing on Earth? How are the guards right next to you not reacting to your presence? Did Vandal Savage somehow hire you?" she asked in a low voice.
Naruto waved a hand to reassure her and said:
"Don't worry. Vandal Savage is not my employer. He's my bounty. As for why these men can't see me, they're under an illusion. Something like a spell."
It turned out that the strange sensation she was feeling and her instinctual alertness were due to the illusion that he had cast.
"Is what you said to that bratty princess earlier true? Is Vandal as bad as you claim?" he asked.
"Yes. He's the one who orchestrated World War 2 and caused the deaths of millions of people! He's- [...]"
"She's not lying," Kyuubi whispered. Due to his Negative Emotions Sensing, no lies or negative emotions could escape his radar.
Naruto had read up on the data about Vandal Savage that Rui Nak had provided to him but he always researched the veracity of his information by interacting with the locals and doing some research of his own on-site. He never trusted someone's words blindly.
"Alright, thank you," Naruto said and stepped away, about to leave.
"Hey! Don't just leave, help me out!"
When Naruto stopped in his tracks but did not immediately say anything, Wonder Woman added quickly, thinking that he was going to try to extort her of money too as he had done with Superman half a year ago:
"If you want gold, I'll give you as much gold as you want!"
She was the Princess of the Amazons. She may not be as rich as a billionaire like Batman but the Amazons had enough treasures and ancient artefacts for her to live in luxury like not many other women on Earth could afford. She just chose not to because of her upbringing as a warrior.
"Sorry, princess, no can do. I have a feeling that if I let you out of this cell, you'll try to get in my way and stop me from doing my thing."
Seeing the furious glare she threw at him, Naruto involuntarily chuckled.
"Relax. One of your hero friends - I think Batman was his name? - is hiding just a few feet away. I think he's been waiting for a chance to break you out of your cell but he fell under my genjutsu like the rest of the guards. Unlike you who seem to have some innate resistance to magic, he's just an ordinary man. Anyway, once I collect my bounty, I'll release the illusion and he'll free you too."
With that, he waved goodbye merrily and left.
"Hey! Wait!" Wonder Woman shouted after him but he just continued to walk.
But as Naruto left the cell behind him, Kyuubi suddenly jumped off his shoulder.
"Yo, Kurama, what's up?"
"You go ahead and capture that muppet. I'll catch up a bit later." Kyuubi said.
Naruto looked at him strangely.
"Not. A. Word!" Kyuubi growled threateningly but Naruto would not be himself if he didn't poke fun at him when he had the chance.
"You liiike her~"
"Shut up! Just get going and stop wasting time!" Kyuubi barked at him.
After that, although Naruto did not continue to tease him, his chortles made Kyuubi gnash his teeth. Though he could not fully understand it himself, Kyuubi had an inexplicable feeling of attachment to the woman. It was ridiculous to him as well to believe that it was all because of just a belly rub.
In truth, Kyuubi's feeling of attachment to Wonder Woman was not a strong bond or anything like being willing to put himself in danger for her sake. It was just goodwill. But that slight goodwill he felt for her was significant enough for him to not be comfortable with ignoring her plight as he would normally do with other humans. In the first place, it would not cost him anything to just release Wonder Woman from her shackles once Naruto accomplished his mission.
⁂
Although his masking technique made his eyes look blue, in reality, currently, his eyes were red and his pupils looked like a cross between a slit and a horizontal bar. At that moment, every single life signature in the castle was as clear in his perception as though he could see them with his own eyes. Due to his Sage Mode, it was a piece of cake for Naruto to find Vandal Savage's location because his life signature was clearly different from other humans. It was quite similar to that of the Amazon princess locked in the cell; not quite as strong, but still similar.
'Is that woman immortal like Vandal Savage too? Immortal like me?' Naruto asked himself intrigued.
When he had come to Earth the first time around he had not used his Sage Mode as he had had no reason to. Unless it was for the sake of a mission, he would generally prefer to not use his Sage Mode on the planets inhabited by sentient creatures due to the high degree of pollution of nature and the harmful effects that drawing such infected energy would have on him when taken in large doses.
Soon enough, he reached the control room. In a puff of smoke, his body transformed into that of a housefly. Henge was one of the first and easiest techniques that shinobi used to learn back in his homeworld. Even 10-year-old kids could perform it. But, despite its simplicity, it was invaluable for any spy, sabotage, or assassination missions that had to be completed covertly.
"Vandal, what do you think you are doing?!" the new Queen of Kaznia asked in disbelief.
Just a few moments before that, Colonel Vox (Vandal Savage's right-hand man) had confirmed the destruction of the Justice League's spacecraft.
"Destroying the Justice League. Building a railgun. Assuming total dominion over the nations of the Earth." Vandal Savage said from his throne-like seat.
Then, he chuckled.
"Sweet foolish child. Wonder Woman was right all along."
"Ridiculous! You'd have to be over 100 years old!" Queen Audrey said in denial.
"I'm far older than that," Vandal Savage boasted. "It was over 25 thousand years ago when I got this power. While my fellows cowered with fear, I dared to approach the strangely glowing rock that fell from the sky. It was warm and the night was very cold. I slept curled up next to it, not realizing what its radiation would do to me. But over the millennia that followed, as I watched those around me grow old and die while I remained unchanged, I discovered the truth. I came to accept my destiny: I live to rule."
"Delusions of grandeur aside, I rule Kaznia." Queen Audrey shot back.
"That's why I married you," Vandal Savage said smugly. "It's also why I poisoned your father."
"You poisoned my father?!" she yelled and slapped him with all of her strength, leaving a trail of bloodied scratches on his face.
But after Vandal Savage grabbed her arms and immobilized her, she grew shocked when she saw the clawed skin of his cheek heal up in a second.
"Guards, confine this brat to her quarters."
At his words, two soldiers grabbed the young queen roughly and started to drag her outside.
But everyone in the room froze when a masked man appeared behind Savage Vandal out of nowhere. The self-entitled king of Kaznia suddenly found his feet leaving the ground when a steel-like hand clenched around his neck and lifted him in the air.
A perfect Russian came out of the masked man's mouth:
"My mission was to capture you and hand you over in perfect condition, but trash like you doesn't deserve to live even as a lab rat."
At that moment, the soldiers in the control room and Colonel Vox woke up from their stupor and immediately started to yell as they pointed their weapons at him:
"Release him immediately!"
Vandal Savage also struggled to say despite his throat being choked:
"Whatever you were paid, I'll give you double. No, triple!"
But just as his words ended, Naruto's other hand clenched into a fist and punched a hole into his back, through his chest, obliterating his heart.
A large amount of blood splattered over Queen Audrey and the two guards that had been the closest to him. The woman screamed in terror and she lost strength in her legs. The guards themselves were petrified and could not keep a hold of her as she collapsed on the floor.
"Kill him!" Colonel Vox hollered and then he opened his mouth wide and initiated his sonic scream. But even before the sound waves could reach their target, a blade of pressurised air separated his head from the rest of his body. The other soldiers in the room became still like statues. They did not dare to even move a muscle.
In the deathly silence that was instilled, a sudden coughing noise came from Vandal Savage's previously lifeless body.
"I am immortal." *cough* "I can't be killed. There is nothing. Absolutely nothing that you can do to me."
As he said that, Vandal Savage even broke into raspy laughter. But his laughter died in his throat when another blade of wind beheaded him too like his subordinate.
"What do you know, I got to kill you twice and even complete my bounty too. This must be my lucky day," Naruto chuckled "Let's see how you're going to revive in an inanimate space, devoid of air, where even time doesn't exist."
He took out 2 sealing scrolls from his cloak and unfurled them unhurriedly. Without even looking at the soldiers, he warned them:
"Don't make any moves. Don't give me a reason to kill you."
What a joke. The soldiers around were scared to even breathe too loud, let alone entertain any thoughts of acting against him at that moment. They were just average humans while, in their eyes, he looked like a demon. Even the bratty queen, Audrey, had none of her previous haughtiness. Her face was livid as she watched him, too terrified to move even an inch from where she had fallen.
But Naruto himself could not care less about anyone else in the room. He had no interest in killing the others. He had been a shinobi in the past. In a way, he had been military as well. He knew that the soldiers were only following orders. Nevertheless, if they were to shoot at him, he would show no mercy, like with Colonel Vox.
He threw one of the scrolls on Vandal Savage's head and the other one on the rest of his body making them vanish in two small clouds of white smoke.
Bringing a finger to his left year, Naruto spoke:
"Aight, Kurama, I'm done here. Kiss your girlfriend goodbye and meet me at the ship."
"She's not my girlfriend you piece of-" Kyuubi yelled into his earpiece but Naruto cut off the connection with a chuckle.
After he grabbed the two sealing scrolls from the floor and pocketed them inside his cloak, he disappeared, leaving only a few arcs of yellow and black light flickering in his wake.
⁂
A few minutes after Naruto teleported away from the room, Batman and Wonder Woman burst through the doors of the control room. But they only found an obscene amount of blood splattered everywhere. Soaked with Vandal Savage's blood, Queen Audrey was still lying on the floor with a blank look on her face while the rest of the soldiers in the room were looking at each other filled with helplessness and uncertainty. They did not know what they were supposed to do in that situation.
Despite Queen Audrey's previous behaviour towards her, Wonder Woman came to her and asked kindly:
"Audrey, can you tell me what happened?"
But the blonde woman was in shock. She was incapable of speech at that moment, just staring blankly at the pool of blood on the floor.
"You, tell me what happened here!" Batman ordered one of the soldiers.
After getting the full story from the soldier, Batman's hands clenched into fists. Not for the first time since he had joined the Justice League, he had found out the hard way what it meant to be a part of a team of superheroes while he had no superpowers himself. He had fallen prey to the alien mercenary's illusion technique without even being aware of it, just like the men guarding Wonder Woman's cell. Batman was confident about fighting against anyone if he was allowed enough time to prepare and make plans. But without preparation time, in front of an unexpected situation, he was too vulnerable. He was only human.
Even more alarming for Batman than falling into Naruto's illusion was that Martian Manhunter at the Watchtower had not detected an alien ship approaching the Earth. That was a massive breach in their defence. What if this time around, the alien mercenary's mission had been to capture the president of the United States instead of the ruler of Kaznia? What would have happened? The Justice League had been created primarily with the purpose of protecting the Earth from the aliens that would try to invade. If aliens could come to Earth and wreak havoc as they pleased then what did the Justice League even exist for anymore? They had to take action and they had to do it fast.
"Wonder Woman, let's go. We have to meet with the rest of the Justice League immediately."
"But Audrey is... I can't just leave her like that. She is in no condition to-"
Batman glared at her and although he did not shout, the words he spoke were very sharp:
"What's more important? Consoling a spoiled little girl or making sure the Earth is safe? I thought you knew better than that."
Wonder Woman looked at him startled. The rough way in which Batman spoke to her now was unlike him. She thought that the two of them had become a little closer after sharing a dance yesterday at the engagement party of then-princess Audrey and Vandal Savage.
But Wonder Woman had no way of knowing just how rattled Batman was because of his vulnerability as a human and that he was not exactly calm at that moment. She thought that Batman was acting like an asshole to her on purpose, to distance himself from her. Because he had done that a few times over the past year since she joined the Justice League. He had even made it clear once that he did not want anyone else in his life, especially not a teammate.
In the end, Wonder Woman did not comment anything about her hurt feelings. She chose to stay silent and followed Batman to their Javelin to meet with the rest of the Justice League at the Watchtower.
However, in her heart, she gave up on any thoughts she might have had about a possible relationship with Batman. He was a good man with qualities worthy of admiration such as his courage, tenacity and resourcefulness but, in the end, Wonder Woman was a valiant warrior and a princess blessed by the Gods themselves. She was not a weak and needy woman who would blindly and endlessly chase someone who did not want her. She was Diana, Princess of the Amazons. She had her pride and dignity too.
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AN: we've seen a few times in the canon that Batman tends to act a bit impulsively when he is reminded of how weak he is compared to the rest of his teammates in the Justice League. He is also known for having a sharp tongue so I feel like he did not go overboard in this chapter. I believe Wonder Woman was in character too. But feel free to let me know if you think otherwise. I'm looking forward to your reviews, including constructive criticism.
