Naruto Parker

It Isn't Too Far From D.C. (HC)

Location: Midtown High

"This is so awesome!" Ned muttered, eyes glued to the small screen showing the spider tracker following one of the winged man's goons.

"I know, right? I snuck it onto his boot while he was exiting class," Naruto said, strolling into the room and munching on a bag of chips, looking completely at ease.

The two men from the previous night's deal had appeared at the school, and following them into the welding class, Naruto had managed to slip a tracker onto the dark-skinned man's boot.

"So, we just sit here and watch this thing until they stop, huh?" Ned asked, scratching his head.

"Actually, you'll watch it. I'm going to take a nap," Naruto replied with a grin.

The blonde casually walked toward the wall, and, to Ned's surprise, began crawling up it. Moments later, he was upside down on the ceiling, flipping onto his back, and immediately started snoring.

"Lucky bastard," Ned muttered under his breath, a mix of awe and envy.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The loud beeping of the tracker yanked Ned out of his stupor. He grabbed the device and sat up quickly.

"They stopped," he yawned, rubbing his eyes as he glanced over at Naruto.

Naruto groggily sat up, his upper body still hanging from the ceiling. "Where are they?"

"Maryland," Ned answered, blinking. "What's in Maryland?"

"Probably some kind of evil lair. It's a gang with weapons; I wouldn't be surprised," Naruto said, groaning and massaging his neck. "Also, tell me you didn't fall asleep wearing my mask."

"Well, it's pretty cool. Couldn't resist," Ned said sheepishly.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'm going to have to deal with that later. But how do we get there if it's, like, 300 miles away?"

"It's not too far from D.C.," Naruto muttered, flipping through his old decathlon booklet. "I may not be able to do extracurriculars anymore, but hopefully they'll let me on this trip."

Location: Midtown High—Bus Lot

"Hey, it's Naruto!" one of the students exclaimed, eyes lighting up as the blonde walked into the bus.

"Naruto?" Liz asked, clearly surprised, seeing him at the front of the group.

"Hey, guys. I was hoping I could rejoin the team and go on this trip," Naruto said, flashing his trademark grin.

"Hell no. You can't just quit and then randomly decide to rejoin," Flash scoffed, walking toward Naruto, clearly annoyed.

"Actually, welcome back, Naruto. You can take Flash's spot. Flash, you're back to first alter now," Mr. Harrington said, stepping off the bus and ignoring Flash's protests.

"Wait, what?" Flash stammered, incredulous, but he was ignored as everyone started boarding the bus.

Flash shot Naruto a glare before tossing his jacket at him, but Naruto just chuckled, following the class.

The ride was mostly quiet as the group ran through a review of potential competition questions. Naruto was engaged in the conversation, but soon enough, his phone buzzed. He excused himself and moved to the back of the bus, answering the call from Happy.

"Hey, Happy, how's it hanging?" Naruto asked casually.

"I saw the notification. You left New York?" Happy's voice came through, direct and to the point.