18 Optimism and Changes

-Kamar Taj, Kathmandu, Nepal-

-March 30, 2005, 1300h local-

A short walk to the main training grounds, The Ancient One saw it was full of elders, masters, and apprentices. Mordo walked forward and lined up with the other masters.

The Ancient One can't help but smile at the sight of all the sorcerers and sorceresses gathered. She still can't believe that sometimes that the order grew from 50 from her time to 1500 now. Although she used the power of the enemy to unnaturally extend her life, she can't deny that seeing this now almost made everything worth it.

She walked towards the observation stage high up on the side of a building. Everyone is waiting for her announcement. Curious and excited at the same time. Through all the years The Ancient One had been leading the Order, a gathering of this size had never happened.

The Ancient One looked to one of the masters standing at the top of the wall and gave him a nod. The master called his hand together and spread it wide, extending his arms to the side. A bright circular orange spell array enlarges from where his hands met and grew exponentially. Similar occurrence arrays are growing around the perimeter of the wall. When the arrays meet, sparks are formed until the two merged. This continued to occur until the whole training ground has been covered. The vast array acts as a barrier, ensuring that nothing she said would come out.

Happy with the barrier, The Ancient One started her announcement.

"Elders, Masters, Apprentices. I have ordered this gathering to announce the new track the Order would take..." This announcement drew a variety of reactions from the crowd, especially from the elders. "The Order is formed as the first and last defense against the mystic and the supernatural. We made sure that the world we lived in remains safe!" This garnered agreement from everyone. "We have done this mission flawlessly! The world still stands as a whole, doesn't it?" Laughter and giggling spread through the crowd. She then lifted the Eye in the air to show everyone. "Our first Sorcerer Supreme created this artifact, The Eye of Agamotto. Reading its history in our library, you would know that the Eye used a more powerful object as it's heart, the Time Stone..." She opened the iris of the eye, showing the green glow the stone emits.

"A solid manifestation of one of the aspects of the universe. This gives the user the capability of manipulating time." The Ancient One revealed. She knew disclosing this information would cause problems in the future, but she argued that this would make her plan more accepted. "I only used most of the powers of the stone in the direst of circumstances except for the one I use every day at noon. The ability to see the future." Murmur spread throughout the audience. "I religiously look into the future, seeing my end every time. Until the session, I had this noon. I didn't see my death in the near future, not like the others. For the first time, I saw the future beyond it. I saw the end of more than half of the life in the universe." Shock and fear can be seen throughout. The power of something that can wipe out half of all life is a frightening thought.

"But! We are here, and we have the power to stop it or undo it. Whatever we might need to do." This lifted the spirits of everyone. "What I want is for the order to grow in numbers and skill. We have to have as much power as we can have before it happens, and after it, if we fail to stop it."

One particular elder raised his hand to ask the question in everyone's mind. When The Ancient One acknowledges the elder, he stood up and asked,

"How much time do we have?"

The answer chilled their body to the core—an almost unreasonable time frame.

"13 years."

An apprentice typically only becomes a master after 20 years of studying and training. Only a few can do it in less than 15 years, an example of which is Mordo, who did it in 9 years. The more worrying task is the recruitment to bolster their numbers. Kamar Taj only typically gets 10 to 50 applications a year. To recruit more and make them combat-ready in 13 years would require dedication from everyone.

"I know you all feel the weight of our daunting task, but have no fear. We have no other recourse, but forward or death would befall the universe."

-Las Vegas, Nevada-

-March 30, 2005, 2030h local-

Naruto is sitting on a bench by the side of the road, just watching and observing the world around him. The people and the environment still a shock to him, but he got to admit that he is adjusting just fine. He guessed that this hobby needs to be developed since being mortal means a lot of waiting around.

The first reports of the clones around the world are coming in since 3 hours ago. The bijuus are busy organizing the information in his head to make sure his brain doesn't overload.

Naruto could see the cities he sent his clones too and felt the connection to his Hiraishin tags.

"What's next, kit?" Kurama suddenly asked, startling Naruto from his crowd watching.

"Travelling first. I want to see what we are dealing with. Japan seems a perfect place to start. It looks like it has a lot of similarities with our world." Naruto answered.

"Yeah, it seems like it..." Kurama said. "You notice the tail, right?"

"Of course. They're really sloppy. Can't even seem to hide their presence." Naruto said.

SHIELD has sent two recon packages to Stark and Naruto to make sure nothing can get past them. A rapid response team was also added on stand by after the Bianchi fiasco. The group following Naruto had broken off after he left the hotel. When they saw him leave the room without any luggage, they just assumed he was going out to buy some ramen, again. What they don't know is that everything he has, including his bag of $100 mil cash, is already stored in his seal in the bathroom, the only place without a CCTV on the penthouse floor.

Naruto already made the surveillance team the moment they came, not because of their hostile intent, but the feeling of being watched tipped him.

Naruto unsealed a folded world map in his pocket with many signs and marks on it. Looking over it intently, he finally made his decision. Naruto stood up and walked over to the alley behind him, still with agents following him.

Agent Richard Rogers is one of the agents leading the recon team. They have been disgruntled when they were tasked to follow a playboy billionaire and some kid. Their team is one of the best in the US, so they have no idea why they were assigned to this OP.

His team is following one of their targets, Naruto Uzumaki. They have lost him once during their 2-day stay, and it was during the Bianchi fiasco. Their bosses gave them some dressing down, but overall it could've been worse.

They saw him pull out a piece of paper from his pocket, but they can't see what it is. He stood up a moment later before walking down the alley behind him, which is weird but totally normal behavior for him. A tail is already following him some distance away, and a drone from above ensures he isn't lost. A gust of wind suddenly blew across momentarily covering the camera with a piece of newspaper. When the paper finally dislodged, the target is gone.

Frantic on the prospect of losing him again, Rodgers immediately lunged to the radio on the dashboard.

"This is Oculus main, come in, Oculus 1, confirming visual on Whiskers." Rodgers said to the radio, using their handles.

"Negative, Oculus 1 through 5 already searching." The voice on the other end finally said.

"Acknowledge. Continue Search. Over." Rodgers ordered.

After 30 mins, another transmission from the radio came in.

"This is Oculus 1. Target lost. Orders?"

"Return to stage 1. Over." Rodgers said before finally setting down the radio.

He slumped on the steering wheel thi king about the lashing he would get again for losing the target, again—best in the US, my ass. He took his phone and texted a message to his boss.

'Target lost. Request back up.'

-Bellagio Hotel Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada-

-March 30, 2005, 2100h local-

"Well, it looks like already left." Tony said to Pepper.

Tony and Pepper went to dinner in one of the hotel restaurants, and they drank four bottles of wine between them.

Naruto stayed behind to finish up his picking, but it looks like he left already. Happy, on the other hand, said he would be doing something so he won't be able to join them. It looks like he got himself a date.

"That's a relief. I can finally relax a little." Pepper said with a sigh.

"Hey! He's not that bad..." Tony defended Naruto. Pepper only gave him a disapproving look. "Ok, Ok. Maybe he is. But he's fun to be around."

"Fun for you, maybe, but trouble for me. I still can't believe you two took down the mob."

"We're just awesome that way..." Tony said with a grin. Pepper only gave him another one of those looks. Tony recentered himself. "You should have seen him. He took down eight guys faster than a coin to drop. I barely saw him move." He placated her. Thinking about the Falcone takedown.

"That maybe, but you barely have any experience in combat—only theoretical and controlled environment. You shouldn't even be there." Pepper countered.

There was a lull in the conversation. Both are thinking about what they just said. The silence allowed their minds to wander off, naturally drawing to the idea implanted by Naruto.

Pepper is looking subtly at Tony when she saw his mouth starting to move, trying to find a start for the conversation. Quickly deducing where the next talk is going, she promptly cut it off.

"It's not going to work." Pepper said.

"What's not going to work?" Tony dumbly asked but already kicking himself for continuing his train of thought.

"You know. Don't deny it." Pepper chastised him.

Tony took a deep breath and asked,

"Why?"

"Cause I can't handle a relationship with someone who I don't know would stay with me through everything."

"I can be that guy." Tony said quietly, with a hint of pleading in his voice. Pepper collected her thoughts before answering.

"Not from what I saw. You never had a long term relationship, and most of them are one night stands. I don't want to be just another notch on your post. For god sake, you introduce yourself as a billionaire, PLAYBOY, genius, philanthropist."

Tony stayed silent, agreeing with most of what she said, but he is not deterred.

"I never really thought about an idea of us together before Naruto arrived, but after he placed that idea in my head, it's the only thing running in my head..." Tony stared intently on Pepper's eyes. "Its the first time I imagined myself being with someone. Growing old. Having a family..." Pepper remained silent throughout his speech. "I want you to give me a chance to prove I can be better. I want you to give us a chance." Tony looked down and closed his eyes. Waiting for the inevitable no.

Pepper has a tear running down her left eye. Her resolve to say no is breaking down. Tony's scenario is the same as her own.

"6 months." Pepper finally said.

Tony looked up with a quizzical look, not understanding Pepper's answer.

"You have six months to prove you can have a long term relationship." Pepper explained. With that said, she stood up and marched quickly to her room.

Tony is still looking dumbfounded at the development. But a smile is slowly forming on his face as he absorbed what Pepper said.

He stood up and walked over to the bar to have a victory drink before thinking twice, remembering what Pepper said. He seriously needs to cut down on his drinking.

Tony was walking towards his room when he heard an angry shout.

"I'm going to fucking kill him!"

Tony sprinted towards Pepper's room, thinking something horrible happened. When he reached the open door of Pepper's bedroom, he flopped down and laughed hard.

He can see Pepper standing in the center of the room with pepper of various varieties and sizes everywhere, including the ceiling.

Pepper walked out of the room, slamming it shut. She gave Tony an angry glare.

"6 months" She bit out.

This immediately shuts him up.

-New York City, New York-

-March 31, 2005, 0900h local-

Natasha sat frozen on her seat in a cafe. She had dragged both Barton and Coulson to have a better breakfast than just take out coffee.

They were about to finish eating when Fury called her. She answered immediately, but before she could say anything, Fury said the words that left her frozen.

"Naruto is the alien."

Barton is immediately concerned and tried to call Natasha's attention to no avail. He then stood up and shook her.

Natasha shook her head and gave Barton a nod of appreciation.

"Romanoff. Are you still there?" She heard Fury from the other end of the line.

"Yes, boss. Just a little taken aback. Wait for a second, boss. We're outside." Natasha answered. She signed to Barton and Coulson that they need to get back to the office.

"Who are you with?"

"Clint and Phil." She said.

"Good, I want you to put me on speaker when you get in." Fury ordered

They walked briskly to the car while still making sure no one is tailing them—Coulson on the driver side, Barton in the passenger side, and Natasha in the back.

She connected her phone into the speaker and said,

"You're on speaker, boss."

"Good. I just got out of the meeting with the President. He assigned SHIELD to find a person who is a threat to national security. He suddenly appeared on a crash site in the middle of the Mojave desert at quarter to 9." Fury said.

"Near Vegas?" Natasha asked

"Yes..." Fury confirmed. "He sent a clone to LA while the main body ran towards Vegas. The photo on file is a match to Naruto Uzumaki."

The two finally understood Natasha's reaction. She already found they're alien and had close contact with him. The worst part is, they let him get close to Tony Stark.

Fury can be heard typing something in his phone before saying,

"I want you and Barton to go to Berlin."

"Sir, why Berlin? Isn't Naruto last spotted in Vegas? We even have a tail on him." Barton asked for clarification.

"We don't have a tail on him anymore. The recon team lost him last night. He just suddenly vanished when he walked down an alley, even the drone lost sight on him when its view was temporarily blocked."

"But why Berlin, sir?" Natasha asked again.

"His credit card was pinged in a Mcdonald's in Berlin an hour ago. A street cam confirmed his location."

"Got it, sir. We'll go right now." Natasha said.

"I'm sending you the access code for his electronic file. It updates every time his identity or card is used. Our system is also continuously scanning for all remote access CCTV we can get. The President wants him found. We have been authorized to use any resource we need." Fury informed them before hanging up.

"I'll handle everything here, including the Stark situation." Coulson said helpfully.

"Thanks, Phil." Natasha said before they all disembarked the car. They already arrived at the New York field office.

Coulson walked off, trying to get ahead of his job, leaving Barton and Natasha who are walking slowly.

"What are you thinking?" Barton asked when he saw the scrunched up look on her face.

"There's nothing that indicated that he was an alien when I met him. I should've thought of it when I got footage of his fight." Natasha said.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. The event happened in New York. Who would've thought his first stop is Vegas to gamble."

Natasha looked at her phone and opened Naruto's file. She was shocked again on what she saw.

"What now?" Barton asked, already anticipating another headache.

"He's not in Berlin anymore. According to this, he's in Moscow."

Barton walked over to the nearest wall and banged his head hard while Natasha just watched. Satisfied with venting out his frustration, he walked back to Natasha.

"He's gonna be worse than you." He finally said, remembering the time he tracked down Natasha.

"I'm still better. We're gonna find him in a week." She confidently said.