DOUBLE UPDATE FOR THE WIN!

DISCLAIMER: I own neither the Marvel Film Universe nor Naruto...this is my own idea.

The Youngest Avenger

Issue 8: New York's Beacon

"Goddammit," murmured the blond with a groan as he rolled onto his back, "Did anyone get the number on that truck?"

"I am IRON MAN" Ozzy Osborne said from Naruto's hip. Naruto reached into his pocket and pulled his phone out, mildly surprised it survived the attack before he answered the call.

"Hey Tony, how's it going?" Naruto asked as he slowly sat up, reaching behind him and holding his back. That was going to bruise later.

"Kid, that Lizard-thing just burst into an R&D floor where Jarvis says your friend Gwen made the call from," Tony said. Naruto sighed and got to his feet, popping his dislocated spine back into position with a long groan.

"Oh man...We gotta up my training after this," the blond mumbled into the phone, getting a laugh from his legal guardian, "Thanks Tony. For the help and staying out of it."

"Hey, just say the word and I'm on my way. Til then, kick his ass for me," Tony said back before the phone hung up. Naruto let out an amused snort before tossing the phone lightly in the air and catching it. He pocketed the device before his power flickered on. Backing up to get a good start, Naruto ran towards the hole before jumping out of it and shooting up the side of the building.

He stopped at the next hole and dropped inside, looking around for the girl his friend loved. He was caught off guard by the roaring strike of The Lizard and sent flying into another room, landing next to a terrified Gwen. Grunting, Naruto then said, "Hey Gwen. What's that?"

"The key to my success!" The Lizard snarled as he grabbed Naruto with his tail, diverting Gwen's attention. She used a bottle and a lighter to spray some fire in the direction, only managing to get Naruto's arm, though it didn't do much damage. The Lizard's tail flung Naruto into the other side of the room and he snatched the machine Gwen was protecting. Naruto growled in annoyance as he got back to his feet once again.

"That's it, next time he does that I'm keeping that damn tail!" the glowing hero announced as he pushed the rubble he made for himself off. Gwen rushed over and started pulling some of the rubble away and helped him up. She gasped as he stood up, looking at his face.

"Nick...Is that really you?" she asked quietly. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, it's me," he replied before wrapping an arm around her, "C'mon, let's get you out of here."

"No, not yet, the antidote isn't done yet," Gwen said as she broke out of his grip and went back to the processing chamber as it announced its completion. She took the container that the machine produced and held it in her hands, "Peter you're a genius."

"Now all I have to do is get it to him," Naruto said as he took the vial from her and then wrapped an arm around her once more. Before she could protest he slipped his other arm under her legs and went to the hole The Lizard created. He jumped out and began his descent. Rapidly.

"Hang on!" he called over the rushing wind and Gwen's screaming before he flared his power through his feet. The sudden plume of energy acted as a countering speed, slowing their descent so that when he landed feet first, his legs didn't shatter on impact. He did fall back to his ass, though. Several of New York's finest were immediately surrounding them, barrels pointing at his and Gwen's heads.

"Wait! Wait, hold your fire!" Capt. Stacy said as he broke through the circle of SWAT officers and looking down at them, "Gwen!"

"Daddy!" the girl cried back, practically leaping from her spot on Naruto's lap into her father's arms. He pulled her into a hug, which she returned with vigor. The NYPD put their aim back on Naruto as he slowly got to his feet. He held his hands up, including the small tube.

"Drop the agent, now!" one of the officers ordered.

Naruto calmly said, "I can't. I need it."

"I said put it down!" ordered the officer.

"Stand down!" Capt. Stacy cried out, putting Gwen behind him and looking at the glowing teen with suspicion. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm a friend of Tony Stark's," Naruto answered in a half-truth, "I need to get to the top of the building and stop The Lizard."

Capt. Stacy and Naruto held their gaze into the other's eyes, glowing golden staring into hardened blue before Stacy relaxed and nodded. He released Gwen and went to his car, grabbing a shotgun before coming back to stand in front of Naruto. He held the shotgun in both hands before announcing, "Not without me you're not."

"Captain?" "Daddy, no!" Gwen pleaded while the NYPD SWAT looked at their superior in surprise.

"Last time I stood idly bye while a bunch of aliens threatened my city," Capt. Stacy said with a determined gleam in his eye, "I'm not letting it happen again. You're either taking me with you, or I'm placing you under arrest for obstructing the law."

"It would never stick," Naruto said with a frown, "I might be an alien, myself."

"Okay, new bargain," the police captain said before cocking his shotgun and aiming at Naruto's chest, "You take me with you or I put a round of bullets in your chest."

Naruto stared him in the eyes and asked, "You're willing to shoot me, just to fight a monster?"

"I'm going to shoot you to save my city," corrected Capt. Stacy. Gwen grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away.

"Daddy please, he can handle it with Spider-Man, don't do this, please?" she pleaded before he shook her off.

"Put her in a car and get her out of here!" Capt. Stacy ordered two of his men, who complied and dragged the pleading girl away from her father. The police captain put the barrel of the shotgun right at the glowing teenager's nose. His eyes narrowed while Naruto's own heartbeat began to race.

"Take me with you or see if you survive a gunshot point blank. Your choice," repeated the man.

"I can't believe you put a shotgun to my face!" Naruto said as he and Capt. Stacy flew towards the top of the Oscorp Tower.

"I still can't believe you're Nicholas Stark," the police captain shouted over the wind, "How'd you get so good at flying without us noticing?"

"I learned from Tony!" Naruto answered before they came up on The Lizard strangling an unmasked Spider-Man. Naruto looked worriedly at Capt. Stacy, the man looked back and grinned.

"Boy you kids are having more fun than I ever did in High School, huh?" he asked. Naruto chuckled as they landed just behind The Lizard.

The reptilian bio-terrorist raised a claw and cried out in victory, "You're always alone!"

"He's not alone now!" Capt. Stacy called out after firing a shotgun round and blowing the nitrogen hose free. Peter grabbed the hose and shoved it in The Lizard's face, then aiming it at the tail, shattering it and freeing himself. He rolled to Naruto and Capt. Stacy's side, giving the two free reign to fire bullets and the concussive force of Power Cosmic at the partially frozen Lizard.

Naruto reached into his pocket and handed Peter the antidote, "Gift from your girlfriend!"

"Thanks!" Peter said before running towards the tower where The Lizard set up shop. Capt. Stacy looked at Naruto after firing another shot at The Lizard.

"Girlfriend?" he asked. Naruto rolled his glowing eyes.

"You can threaten him later," the teen said before pressing his attack and shooting the tanks of nitrogen, exploding them when The Lizard fell in from the force of Capt. Stacy's shot. Naruto and Capt. Stacy stood on the edge, continuing to fire shots into the hole. When Capt. Stacy ran out of ammo they stopped and peered into the pool.

"Think he's dead? I mean...he should be dead, right?" Naruto asked the police captain.

His answer came in the form of a broken tank of nitrogen, sending him back to the roof a good few feet away. Capt. Stacy turned and shot the partially frozen hand of the Lizard as he started to climb out of the pool of nitrogen. Capt. Stacy cocked his shotgun once again aiming at the monster's head. The Lizard moved faster and impaled him with his other claw.

"Human nuisance!" snarled the bio-terrorist before tossing the man away and racing for the spider themed hero.

Naruto pushed the tank of nitrogen off of him and raced to Capt. Stacy's side. He put his hand over the wound, making the police captain cry out in pain. Naruto's jaw clenched and his emissive eyes narrowed. Flashes of a dead teenager that used ice went through his head.

I'm not going to lose him! Thought the cosmic powered teen. He slipped his arms under Capt. Stacy's legs and back, standing with the man's in his hold. He ran towards the edge and forced more Power Cosmic through his feet, shooting up into the sky at the same time as a bright blue canister. He flew towards the ground with his friend's girlfriend's father in his arms.

He landed the same way as he did with Gwen, though this time he had a few more cracks upon impact and he had managed to stay upright. He rushed over to the nearest paramedic and said, "Stop gawking at the sky and save this man! He's been impaled through the gut and is loosing blood."

"Oh, shit, put him in here!" the paramedic replied, before he and his partner started to dive into medical jargon that flew over Naruto's head. He heard several screams from people who hadn't been evacuated yet and looked up to see the tower Peter was climbing start to fall towards the ground.

"Everyone get back!" a policeman shouted as the debris fell towards the ground. Naruto turned around and started running before leaping into the air and flying at the tower. He forced more Power Cosmic to flood his muscles and his vision blurred. The power started to overcome him, but he regained control long enough to show why he could go toe to toe with The Incredible Hulk if he so chose to.

As the people turned away and covered their mouths to avoid having their lungs filled with dust and debris much like the terrorist attack a decade ago. They heard a rather loud thud followed by several similar ones before it came to a halt. The people turned to see if it was over when they were overtaken by awe.

Tony and Pepper were glued to the closest News channel, and when the dust cleared they saw something that made their jaws drop.

"Oh...My...God..." Tony said as a smile crawled across his face, "Way to go Kid! Yes!"

He and Pepper laughed in happiness as they stared at the visual the nearest, and lowest, news crew's camera gave them. Standing in a crouch with the large tower resting on his shoulders, Naruto stood with his hands bracing the collapsed tower. He then dropped the large heavy metal behind him. He immediately powered down and fell to his hands and knees. Before anyone could get close enough to confirm an ID, he regained enough control over his discomfort to power back on and start walking away before taking off once more.

He lost power just two buildings away, leaving a large divot in the roof of the building he landed on. Groaning and spitting the material that kicked up into his mouth back out into the air, Naruto rolled onto his back. He reached into his pocket and dialed Tony's number.

In Stark Tower, the room began to play AC/DC's Thunderstruck, prompting Tony to grab his phone and answer, "Kid? Kid that was amazing! How'd you do that? Could you do it again?"

"Tony...I'll take that offer for you to come help now," Naruto weakly chuckled before he coughed again.

Tony laughed, "Alright, just hang tight I'm on my way."

"Thanks Tony." The gratefulness in his tone was obvious by how tired it sounded.

"Not a problem, Kid," replied the Avenger with a grin on his face. What could he say, he was proud of the Kid. That cloud of debris could've suffocated the surrounding members of the NYPD and any other civilian stragglers, not to mention bring down the surrounding helicopters under three hundred feet. And according to the news channels, there were a good five helicopters out there.

The days that followed were raining and dreary. Some policemen didn't survive the toxin that was ingested into their system and there was a mass funeral that the two Starks attended. He watched as a wheelchair bound Capt. Stacy give a speech honoring the fallen. Naruto and Tony both had grim faces, neither of them in the mood for jokes.

After the service and avoiding the media, Naruto had ditched the tie and the jacket he wore as soon as he entered Stark Tower, rolling the sleeves of his blue silk shirt up while Tony relaxed in his dress clothes, well more used to the attire. As they sat down on the couch and turned the television on. It was the next story after the coverage of the police service that got their attention.

"And with those who fell, two rose up," the news reporter said as images of a web swinging Spider-Man and Naruto holding the steel tower up, "The people have spoken and it's official. The Avengers may belong to the world, but Spider-Man and the hero we here at Channel Seven dubbed The Beacon belong to New York. With former biologist, now terrorist Dr. Curtis Connors locked up thanks to the two heroes stopping his rampage, the questions everyone wants answered now is that of the mysterious identities of these two heroes."

"The Beacon?" Naruto repeated in disbelief while Tony chuckled, "That's so lame!"

"Hey, it's better than Glo-Worm," Tony joked before patting the teen on the shoulder, "Ah, c'mon, you're a beacon of hope. It fits!"

"Well what about Maelstrom? O-Or Cosmic Man?" Naruto asked, getting a laugh from his adoptive father, "What?"

"Listen Kid, the heroes don't get to name themselves," Tony explained as he picked up his drink, "That's the media's job. Hell, the only one who thought up Thor was his dad. How the media got that much information I'll never know. Listen, it's not the name, it's the person who bears it. You get it?"

"Yeah I guess...But goddamn that's the dumbest name I've ever heard," swore Naruto with a pout. Tony chuckled and took another sip of his drink.

"Oh, trust me, it could always be worse," mumbled the Avenger. The artificial butler broke the duo's bonding time as he spoke up.

"Pardon me, Sirs, but Captain Stacy, his daughter and Mr. Parker are at the front desk," Jarvis said.

"Give them clearance to come up," Tony said, "And remind me to call Bruce after they leave."

"Why, miss your Avenger buddy?" Naruto teased as he grabbed his own can of cola.

"No, I need to make sure he'll be fine watching you while Pepper and I go back to L.A. for a bit," Tony casually answered making Naruto choke on his drink.

"You got me a babysitter?!" the blond asked with wide eyes. Tony smirked at him.

"If you're gonna play the hero, I need someone responsible to watch you so Fury doesn't come knocking," the older Stark shot back. The not private elevator dinged and opened to reveal the three guests wearing visitor badges. Tony and Naruto both stood up, the blond hopping over the couch to shake George Stacy's hand, hug a happy Gwen back and bro-hug a slightly bruised Peter.

"Ah, Captain Stacy, Mr. Parker...and, I'm sorry, Gwen was it?" Tony greeted with a handshake as he followed his adopted son to the guests. He then pointed at the badges on their clothes, "Take those off, I know you're safe. If you weren't, well...The Kid could kick your ass six ways from Sunday."

The group of five moved to the center of the room, with Gwen and Peter sitting on the couch and Capt. Stacy rolling up next to them. Naruto plopped down next to his friend and Tony took a seat in the chair next to him.

Looking at Naruto with a smile, Capt. Stacy said, "If it weren't for you, son, I'd be a dead man now. You have my thanks for saving my life, both you and Peter have my eternal gratitude for saving my city. That being said...I should have you both arrested for vigilantism."

"Uh, hi, yeah, big time vigilante right here," Tony interjected.

"I'd arrest you to if you weren't untouchable," Capt. Stacy shot back before looking at the two boys, "They however, aren't."

"Dad!" Gwen admonished, to which he waved her off.

"I know I know...I'm a cop. It's my job to uphold the law and ensure justice is delivered," the police captain continued, "But maybe...maybe us boys in blue could use a little hand every now and then. Officially, the NYPD are going to investigate any situations involving Spider-Man or The Beacon."

"Oh come on!" complained the blond as he covered his eyes in shame. Tony laughed at the teen's embarrassment while the other three stared at him in surprise.

Tony then looked at Peter, "So...How's the 'amazing' Spider-Man holding up?"

"I'm...I'm in pain. Lots and lots of pain," Peter admitted before glowering at Naruto, "How are you standing up like you didn't just get hit by seven trucks?"

"I've got a healing factor from my powers. I think Connors broke my back twice last night and all I have to show for it is a bruise the size of my fist," Naruto said with a grin, "Wanna trade? I'll take Spider-Man over Beacon any day."

AN: There's the second update for you! I know it was short, but c'mon...two for one! Always a good thing, right?

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