Capítulo 394: 56
Chapter LVI: Broken Games.
Last Time.
Later, Naruto brought Nora to the ship as Freeze fixed the holes with ice as the ice in the waters melted. Naruto stayed back as Nora convinced her husband to take off the helmet and live the final days they had in peace.
Naruto just stared before jumping up to the Bio-Ship that was carrying his car before being dropped off on the mainland.
"The ship is leaving Gotham. Should we track it?" Batgirl said coming up on a holo-screen over the steering wheel.
"No… We won't be seeing them again." Naruto replied looking as the ship started to sail away.
Now.
Gotham; Unknown Location April 19 18:16 EDT.
A large, bald, obese man whose body greatly resembles an egg, walked up to a large table loaded with toy soldiers. He has short, stubby arms and legs. He's wearing a blue Schoolboy suit with a high-collar shirt and red bow-tie.
"All the King's horses and all the King's men." He said in a boyish voice setting the pieces up before grinning.
Gotham April 19 20:02 EDT.
A few miles away from the G.C.P.D., a large toy soldier on a horse stood in the corner of a sidewalk as a police car stopped by it.
"Yeah, Dispatch? This is O'Brien, you're not going to believe this. There's some red toy statue-" The driver said on his C.B. radio.
The right arm with a gun started to lean down.
"Hang on. It's doing something." O'Brien said before the gun started to fire at them. Both officers ducked behind the car and shot back at the statue. They broke off pieces from the face and arms before it stopped firing as smoke came off a circuit in the arm.
"Help me!"
Both officers looked over, to see a man inside the head frantically looking around.
An hour later, Commissioner Gordon and a group of police officers arrived at the statue.
"Let's get the Jaws of Life over here, and cut that guy out of there." Gordon said before hearing a voice.
"I wouldn't do that."
They turned to see Kage walking up to them. His glasses glowed brightly as it scanned the statue. "The suit is a bomb. It's rigged to blow the second you try to cut him out of there. It's big enough to take out the block."
"Get the Bomb Squad down here now!" Gordon said before looking to Naruto. And saw he was still there.
"What?"
"I'm… not used to you guys staying after I turn my back." Gordon replied getting Naruto to blink.
"Wow, they really do that? That-That's just rude." Naruto said before jumping onto the building and ran up the side.
Later, Gordon took the trapped man to an underground parking lot and had the Bomb Squad look at him.
"Where am I? Where'd you jokers take me?!" The man asked.
"Don't worry, sir, we'll get you out as soon as he can diffuse the metal encasing. Nothing will happen, I promise." Gordon replied as a man was cutting the base off of the statue.
Ring-Ring!
He picked up his phone and saw 'Unknown Number'.
"Yeah?"
"..."
"How did you reach me down here? We're 300 feet underground!"
"Boosted your SIM card. Gotham P.D. should really get better phones." Naruto said making Gordon sigh.
"I'll stick that in the suggestion box when I get the chance."
"The man you have in the statue-!" Naruto was cut off by Gordon.
"Joseph Crimple. A.K.A 'Ice-Pick' Joe. What's your point?"
"'Ice-Pick' Joe is one of Tobias Whale's hit squad goons."
"Stay away from Whale, Kage."
"Sorry, Commissioner. I can't do that. Just giving you a heads-up." Naruto said before hanging up.
Gordon dialed a number before bringing his phone back up. "Rodriguez. Ge-!" Gordon stopped as he brought the phone from his ear.
'No Signal'
"(Sigh) Kage can get reception, but not me?"
Gotham; Docks April 19 20:36 EDT.
Naruto looked at a group of men in a warehouse before focusing on one. 'Tobias Whale.'
Tobias is an African American albino who's seemingly overweight. He's dressed in expensive white suits with a black shirt underneath and black pants. He's wearing gold chains, large gold ear rings, and gold grills over his teeth. He also has a scar over his left eye and lines down his chin, reminiscent of a whale's belly.
"Tobias Whale." Naruto said as he dropped down. Tobias and his men looked to see Kage walking out of the shadows.
"The corpulent tick that feeds on the good citizens of Gotham."
"He-Heh-Heh! You know what they say, Kage; 'A fella's gotta eat'."
"What happened to 'Ice-Pick' Joe?" Naruto asked Tobias who just stared at him.
"No idea. He didn't come to work a few nights ago. I thought one of you Leaguers got him." Tobias replied. "Escort our guest out of here." He ordered before walking away to a door.
Naruto grabbed a punch before twisting the man's arm and hit him in the stomach sending him across the warehouse to another man. Naruto sidestepped another man before sweep kicking him and dashed to another man who shot at him. Naruto knocked the gun out of his hands before kicking the man away and walked up to the last man.
The man coward back before bringing up his hands and closed his eyes. He opened therm, and saw a black gloved fist hitting him.
Naruto ran to the door and kicked it open as he held his bow with an arrow drawn. And saw an office that was in shambles. He put his arrow back and folded his bow before looking down and saw a toy soldier on the desk.
Gotham; April 19, 21:50 EDT.
A taxi stopped seeing two large toy soldiers, one in blue aim a cannon at each other at the intersection.
"Help!"
"Get me out of here!"
The driver looked out of his window as fire came out of the matches the soldier's were holding started lowering to the fuses.
Kage on his Tomahawk sped to the intersection and hit the brakes, sliding to a stop.
"Hey Kage, I think there are people in there!" The taxi driver said as Naruto looked at each statue before throwing a kunai at each light post.
"You missed!" He yelled, missing a tag burning on the handles.
BOOM!
BOOM!
The posts fell down just as the cannons fired having each cannon ball hit the posts and fly up in the air before landing on the road in a small crater.
"Cool! Nice shot, Kage!" The driver said as Naruto walked over, and looked at the statue through the visor of his helmet.
Gotham; G.C.P.D. April 19, 22:15 EDT.
Gordon was looking over files before one was dropped on his desk.
"Somebody is sending Gotham a message."
He looked to see Kage walking out of the shadows. Gordon opened the file as Naruto continued. "Tobias Whale's financial adviser, Donovan Baker. Gotham District Attorney, Mayor Grange. 'Ice-Pick' Joe. And now, Whale's gone missing."
"Why?" Gordon asked.
"There has to be a connection." Naruto said crossing his arms as Gordon looked down in thought.
"There is. The Dumpler Case." Gordon explains about a man, Humphrey Dumpler, was a genius accountant that worked for Tobias Whale's mob. And that he was about to testify against Whale, failed to protect him and he was badly injured in an attempt on his life.
"An explosion after he was transported." Naruto said leaning on the desk. "I remember the case." He finished as Gordon continued to explain that Dumpler lost his mind and escaped protective custody.
"He hasn't been seen since. Until now." Naruto said leaning back up. "Gordon. You're probably next on the list. If Humpty Dumpty is after you, you're not safe."
"I can handle myself, Kage." Gordon said as he walked out.
"Batgirl. I think your father is going to be targeted. I'll watch your house if you'll go visit him."
"Got it!"
Gotham; Commissioner Gordon's House April 19, 23:18 EDT.
Kage used small binoculars and watched as Barbara walked into her father's house before hitting his communicator.
"Hey Dad, I thought I'd stop by. I got that low-fat, low-salt corn beef hash you like so much."
"Barb. You know I like the extra fat and extra salt."
"That's off your menu, Commissioner." Barbara said before walking to the table in the kitchen. "Where'd you get this toy soldier?" Naruto's eyes widened at that. "Barb! Humpty's in the house!" He yelled before putting a hand on the edge of the roof, and jumped down.
As he landed, several soldiers rolled over and started firing on him as Jame's house lost power. "No one's inside." Naruto said turning on his vision and saw the statue's are empty. Naruto took out his bow and fired at each one having them explode before running inside.
And saw Barbara on the floor in the garage.
"He took my father."
"Then suit up." Naruto said walking out of the house and hit a button on his computer.
The tumbler came to a stop by the house as Batgirl ran out. They got in and started driving.
"Computer, last known address of Humphrey Dumpler. A.K.A. Humpty Dumpty." Naruto said getting Batgirl to look at him.
"School night, no one's at the Clock tower or at the hideout."
"Last known address: 49 East 107th Street. House demolished." The computer said over the speakers.
"No relatives?" Batgirl asked from the passenger street.
"Mother was last seen in Star City. Presumed dead. Grandmother deceased under suspicious circumstances."
"Here in Gotham?" Naruto asked as he made a turn.
"Affirmative." The computer said as a map came up showing a map with a red dot just outside of Gotham city limits. "15th Proffer Avenue."
Gotham; Humpty Dumpty's House April 20, 00:04 EDT.
The Tumbler stopped at an old two-storied house that's seen better days before the roof folded back, having the heroes jump out.
Batgirl picked the lock before walking in and turned on a small flashlight as Naruto did the same. They looked through the dusty house and came to a room where they saw a light over a table of toy soldiers standing in two groups in front of a castle.
"What the hell?" Batgirl asked picking one up as Naruto saw pieces of a bomb suit on a table by the wall. He touched his glasses having them glow.
"Computer, analyze and augment resident."
"Analyzing." he scanned the mesh inside having them glow blue.
"Check harmonic frequency and nullify that resident."
A frequency box came up on his lens before another came up going threw several wavelengths before stopping on the same one.
"Frequency match."
The computer said as the lights died down on the statue pieces. "That frequency will diffuse the bombs." Naruto said as Batgirl held up a smart phone and got the frequency as well.
Naruto took out throwing knives that had a thin red light around the handle before bringing one up to his glasses. Batgirl brought up a batarang to her smartphone as Naruto's light turned green.
"There, these will deactivate the bombs. Now we just need to find where Humpty is at..." Naruto trailed off looking at the model castle. "The castle."
Gotham City Line; National Park April 20 00:59 EDT.
The heroes stopped at the real life setting of the model set before hearing Humpty.
"Hello Kage! You made it! Now the battle can begin." They saw Humpty on the castle with a turret gun aimed at them.
"Can you find Commissioner Gordon and Tobias Whale in time?!" Humpty and the toys started firing having the duo throw their knives and Batarangs at the soldiers deactivating them. One opened and showed Tobias groaning.
"I got him!" Naruto yelled out getting to Tobias before taking him behind the Tumbler. "Stay here, and stay down." Naruto said as he glanced to see Batgirl get her father out of a soldier.
"It's your fight!" Tobias yelled running off as Naruto quickly tossed his knives at the remaining toy soldiers before jumping to the castle and ran up the wall.
"I will have my justice! I will have my revenge!" Humpty yelled out getting Naruto to stop halfway up.
"Humpty, you need to stop!"
"I think not. Time to die!"
Naruto ran up after shooting an arrow up that destroyed the gun. As he made it to the top, he looked around as Humpty was gone. He walked around the castle grounds as he head Humpty speak from the shadows.
"It's not my fault, Kage! I never wanted to hurt anyone! Not like they hurt me! They dragged me into the middle of their war! I just want to go back to my numbers and my toys!"
"I know Humphrey." Naruto said following Humpty's voice. "Listen to me. We can work this out." He continued walking inside a tower.
"You're right. They dragged you into their war. But it doesn't justify what you did."
"You've been the best fun I've had in years." Humpty said as Naruto ran to the top and saw Humpty on the ledge of the castle. He dashed over just as Humpty fell and smashed onto the ground, revealing it was also a statue.
Naruto jumped down to the others as the police came to them as Gordon was told the other suits deactivated.
"Why would he just let them go?" Gordon asked Naruto who stopped by him.
"Humpty's broken, but that doesn't mean he's pure evil. But something tells me he'll be back."
Gotham; Unknown Location April 26 15:47 EDT.
Kage woke up on a table before quickly standing up. He noticed that he was missing his glasses and quiver. 'Glad I use a seal with Genjutsu (Illusion Technique) that shadows my face.' Naruto thought before looking to see the room he woke up in has no windows or doors.
"You got hit with a powerful sleeping drug." Naruto heard Kurama say as he looked around the room.
"Oh! There is a win-OH, COME ON!" Naruto said opening a window. And saw it was bricked over.
Naruto walked around the room and saw a line going down a wall before forcing it open. And saw a hallway with bars on the wall. He walked into another room and saw Guardian about to hit the wall.
"Sup?" Naruto asked as he waked inside and looked around the room.
"Any idea why we're here? Or where we are?" Guardian asked as the door slammed shut.
"No clue. Last I remember was looking for a way to get M'gann and then I woke up here."
"Same here. I was stopping someone getting mugged and woke up here without my shield." Guardian asked finding another line and opened it.
"GUARDIAN, LOOK OUT!" Naruto tackled Guardian to the floor as a blade swung from the ceiling out of the room inside.
"Good call."
"Nah, just knew it would happen. There were none in my room to lower our guard. Whoever put us here knew I would see through that. Our captor has studied our tactics." Naruto said before they each went to another opening and opened them at the same time.
Naruto jumped away as fire shot out of his as Guardian did the same with acid shooting out. "Short corridor here." Guardian said sitting up.
"Then that's our way out." They walked to another room where they saw Commissioner Gordon, Tobias Whale, and an African-American woman of middle age.
She's wearing a business suits, glasses, and has her hair in a tight bun.
"Mayor Grange." Naruto said as they woke them up, Naruto smacking Tobias upside the head. "Wake up!"
They started explaining what they were doing before waking up here before Naruto noticed a large covered platter on the table.
"Where are we now?" Grange asked looking around.
"Why Mayor Grange. You're on the stage of one of my latest little game!" Humpty Dumpty's voice came up on speakers.
"Humpty Dumpty." Naruto said looking up.
"Dumpler. This is Commissioner Gordon of the Gotham P.D. release us now or-!" Gordon was then cut off.
"But you just got here! Don't you even want to see what's for dinner?" Guardian pulled the lid off the platter showing a mannequin dressed like a sailor face down.
"That's right! The first course of this mystery is murder! Someone in this room is responsible for ending this person's life! But who? Answer that and I'll let you all go. Let's get started! Each of you have been given one helper card."
Each person pulled out a playing card from their pocket.
Guardian had a butterfly on his. Tobias had a tombstone on his. Gordon had a rabbit coming out of a hat.
"An eclipse." Grange said showing her card had an eclipse on it.
Naruto looked to see his was blank.
"Yours is blank, Kage. Because you shouldn't need any help! Each card is an answer to a clue. Match the right card to the right clue, and proceed. The first clue is right before you." Humpty said as all but Naruto looked around the room.
"And to make things interesting, there'll be obstacles along the way!" Humpty finished as Naruto turned the mannequin over showing blue lips, fingers, and a knife its chest.
Suddenly, Grange was captured in a clear plastic egg as Naruto called Guardian over.
"The knife is the murder weapon?" Guardian asked.
"I don't think so, his lips and finger nails are blue suggesting suffocation. But the stab wound is bright red." He said as there was a red 'X' over the stab wound.
"That could mean his blood was oxygenated." Guardian said having Naruto pull on the mannequin's leg.
"Scuff marks in the knees."
"The body was moved!" Guardian said getting Naruto to nod.
"The body was stabbed, but was poisoned with carbon monoxide somewhere else and moved. That would explained the oxygenated blood. Then it was brought here. A crime that was one thing. Then became another. Only one card matches that."
"My butterfly." Guardian said putting the card on the body. And had the egg come open and Gordon help Grange to her feet.
"You cracked the case, Kage! Well done!" Humpty said as a door opened.
There was green glowing footprints leading to another room, having the group go inside. The doors shut and locked as a light came on from the floor, showing a bedroom and the tiles each person was standing on lit up.
"Stand on a lit tile too long and fall down!" Humpty said as Grange's tile started flickering before she moved to the next one as her tile fell.
"Tobias, hand me that frame." Naruto said as Tobias jumped from the bed. "This is your thing, Kage!" Naruto sighed as he jumped over and grabbed it before jumping to Guardian as each of them moved as their tiles started flickering.
"A woman and a girl. Maybe her daughter?" Guardian asked looking at the picture.
"This room could belong to that dead body." Gordon asked pulling the Mayor to the next tile. "Could be his family?"
"Why are his belongings left out like this?" Naruto asked looking at the bed.
"Maybe this is where he was killed?" Gordon asked jumping as Naruto did the same.
"Or abducted. Gordon, your card."
"Something that disappeared, like a rabbit in a magician's hat!" Gordon said throwing his card on the bed having the lights turn on and the doors open up. Gordon and Grange went to a door by them as the others went to another. "It'll take a minute to get back to you!"
"What are you thinking about?" Guardian asked Naruto who was looking at the wall.
"The clues we had. This may not be a murder after all." He said as Gordon and Grange jumped out of the door. They walked down the hall into a den with duck paintings and statues over it with book selves around the room.
An old record player was playing music as the group walked in.
"This room feels familiar. Anyone recognize it?" Gordon asked looking around the room.
"That's an old sailing song. Plays all the time at the docks. Called 'Dead Man's Moon'." Tobias said looking at the record player.
Suddenly, the books started flying out and opened to show they're braille and had pistols in them.
Tobias picked one up, threw his card at Naruto before shooting the lock off the door and ran out as Grange ran after him just as the door shut again. Her card floating to the floor. Naruto picked it up and threw it to the record player having everything stop.
"How'd you know?" Guardian asked Naruto.
"Our teammates ran, books on bats written in braille, filled with dangerous weapons. Turning a blind eye. If you look at an eclipse directly without protection you can go blind. Just like Whale and Grange did to our safety when they ran."
Gordon picked up a pistol as the doors stayed locked before shooting each duck in the room. "Like a shooting gallery."
They caught up to the other two as Tobias grabbed Grange and pointed his gun at them before running into another room.
The trio walked in and saw money burning in a bowl as pictures of ships decorated the room. "Burnt cash. A payoff gone wrong."
Bang!
Naruto dashed inside the other room where spikes surrounded Tobias and Grange.
Suddenly the room went dark as the others ran in before turning around to show a different room with a screen showing each of their faces.
"Nowhere to look without seeing yourself!" Humpty said over the speakers. "Can't hide in here!" He said before his face came over the screen. "Have you solved the mystery, Kage?! Know who the bad person is?"
"Yes." Naruto replied.
"Good!"
The room went dark before turning back on showing a man knocked out on a chair beforehand.
"I know this guy. An arms smuggler I put away in Blackgate." Gordon said before Naruto spoke up.
"Ernie Croskey. Captain of the Flying Fox at the harbor. I believe each of us has a connection to this man. A couple of weeks ago, he was unknowingly smuggling weapons purchased by Whale from the League of Assassins. The weapons never made it to Whale, however, as they were intercepted by Gordon on a tip from me."
"This was the crime that was one thing but became another. Gordon couldn't hold Whale as he never received the shipment, but he did arrest Croskey. Like the rabbit in the hat, Croskey was made to disappear. Grange then prosecuted him and sent him to Blackgate. We all had "turned a blind eye" to the innocent man that we helped to ruin."
Naruto then throws down the tombstone card. "We may not have killed him. But we ended his life."
Suddenly bars came up and Humpty Dumpty came out with a cannon pointed at them.
"The sweet smell of victory. I knew you could do it, Kage!" Humpty went on to explain that when he worked for Whale he watched as Croskey was made to take the fall and did nothing, now wants to correct his mistake. He revives Croskey and hands him a lit match to fire the cannon and complete his revenge. Croskey throws the match down.
"I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want to go home."
"And I'll make sure you get home." Naruto said before looking to Humpty. "You forgot that you did nothing to help him as well. You're just as guilty as we are!" Naruto said throwing his blank card at Humpty's feet.
"No! Quit changing the rules!" Humpty yelled shooting the cannon at them. They jumped out of the way having the ball destroy the bars.
Humpty, seeing his mistake, flees out the door, hitting the door switch on his way. Naruto kicks a couch into the doorway, keeping it open. He jumps onto Humpty's back but the villain throws him off. Humpty charges Naruto but the ninja dives out of the way and Humpty crashes into the room with the collapsing floor.
The tiles give way and Humpty falls through, surviving, but knocking himself unconscious.
Later, Gordon stays to deal with the police. "I'll make sure that Whale is imprisoned and Croskey pardoned." He said as clones of Naruto put Tobias in a van.
To Be Continued.
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