章 7: Chapter 5: Interrogation 1/3
Interrogation
After lying still for nearly half-an-hour in a fruitless attempt to commune with nature, Naruto concluded that something was wrong.
Gathering natural energy was surprisingly difficult. First of all, there seemed to be nothing around them for miles except metal and plastic (which did him no good at all) and then dirt (which was better but still difficult) and then finally wind (which was the easiest one for him to access.) Of course, there was the air in the hallways, but even that had a slightly… unnatural feel to it.
Ordinarily, he should have been able to pull even on these resources, but the natural energy here seemed so weak. Practice had brought Naruto to the point where he could activate Sage Mode relatively easily and manage to maintain it for some time. But the natural energy here felt so faint and elusive, it was difficult enough to sense, let alone manipulate. It was as if chakra had suddenly dried up everywhere.
Not that seemed too unusual, in wherever-this-was. He could sense thousands of things moving in the base, but none of them had any kind of chakra signature. In the entire area, he could only feel three people with any significant chakra.
It bothered him that there were only three. It bothered him even more that he really didn't know who the last one was. Shikamaru's dark chakra was easy to identify, and Tenten's slightly undeveloped coils stood out fairly well also, but the last… seemed so unfamiliar. It had plenty of chakra, but it behaved in a strange manner and seemed almost diseased.
Naruto tallied up what he knew, and he didn't like it. One, they were in a land with little chakra. That meant that Sage Mode would be that much more difficult to attain. Two, several of his friends were being captive. That meant that he had completely lost the others. Third, a strange nin was also being kept here, and apparently had had something happen to their chakra. THAT might mean that these people did chakra experiments.
In fact, the only bright spot that he could find came from the guards' apparent lack of chakra. If they only had mercenaries to contend with, escape should be significantly easier.
At least, if he could manage to get free in the first place. Gritting his teeth, Naruto closed his eyes and reached deeper, deeper into the flow of energy, trying to expand his range.
There was no point in getting angry, Cyborg reminded himself. No point whatsoever. With his power cells nearly dead, the last thing he needed now was to waste whatever remained of them by some stupid attack on the door in front of him. The best thing he could do now was sit still and wait for an opportunity.
Except that was boring as shit. And even if there wasn't any point to getting angry, there wasn't much point to just sitting there either.
So he was doing the only thing he could do. Thinking and cataloguing.
They locked us in these rooms. Not the cells downstairs, just some spare rooms that they found. And they didn't lock it, they barricaded it up. That means these guys have no idea of how to work things. Fits with the swords they're carrying.
So a bunch of Japanese teenagers, who know nothing about technology, just locked us in a bunch of spare rooms. Something else occurred to Cyborg. They can't be planning to visit us very often, if they went to the trouble of barricading everything up. But then why let us live in the first place? Do they need us for something? Is that why they attacked? And where did they come from? They don't know how to use the technology… maybe they're time travelers? But what time on earth would people be able to do stuff like what they do?
He shook his head. Too many questions. Focus on what answers you have.
The guy with the big-ass sword is a water elemental. Not too bad, if we weren't absolutely SURROUNDED BY THE STUFF. Water shorts out my system like nothin' else, too.
Big kid seems like a shapeshifter but… there's more to it than that. Not just like Beast Boy, where he transforms into some strong monster or something. This guy just… adds muscles wherever he wants them. And he can turn his body into lasers or jetpacks or jet-powered fists. Cyborg frowned. He's was too flexible, too unpredictable. And, I'll bet, too unstable also.
But the last one, the one with the red eyes…
Let's see… fights with a sword and with just as much kung-fu as Robin, has lightning-fast reflexes, hypnotizes, spews fireballs, generates electricity, and can somehow make things go boom. Black flames boom.
Suppressing a sigh, Cyborg leaned back. This ain't going to be easy.
"Found her by the docks, you say?"
Lois rolled her eyes. It irked her to be the one answering questions, and it irked her to still be at the docks hours after calling the ambulance. For crying out loud, it was nearly morning already. "Yes officer. By the docks. Went out to investigate the battle at Titan's Tower, found her just sitting there by the water. I'm pretty sure she got hurt in the fight. Is there anything else?"
"I suppose not." The policeman sighed as he folded up his notebook. "You're probably right, she mighta just got hit by a stray blast, but we'll need to hold an investigation anyway. Anyplace we can contact you if we need a statement?"
"Lois Lane, Daily Planet, Metropolis."
THAT got the officer's attention. "You're that Lois Lane? From Metropolis? Superman's girl?"
"Uh-huh." Lois smirked. Having a superhero boyfriend had some unexpected perks.
The officer hastily tipped his cap. "Thank you, ma'am. That'll be all, I guess, if we need anything more we'll let you know." And quickly stepping into his car, he drove off. Lois shook her head. He'd probably be telling his buddies all day how he just met the Lois Lane, Superman's girl. Well, let him. It wouldn't do her any harm, and it had given her the chance she wanted—the chance to run over to the ambulance and ask the paramedics a few questions.
As she came up, she heard a few words: "Multiple lacerations… blood loss extensive… third degree burns… need to stabilize…"
"Excuse me?" She interrupted, breaking into their conversation. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet reporter. I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions?"
"Lois Lane? The Lois Lane?"
Having a superhero boyfriend could also occasionally be annoying. Lois sighed again and was about to answer when another voice broke in. "Are you the woman who found this girl?"
Lois found herself staring at a rather heavyset, disgruntled-looking paramedic. "Er… yes." She answered. "I'm a reporter for…"
"Would you mind coming with us to the hospital?" asked the woman, apparently unimpressed by Lois' credentials. "This girl is badly hurt, and the doctors may want to ask you a few questions."
Every so often, Lois reflected, things worked out perfectly. She'd been prepared to virtually follow the ambulance and take the emergency room by storm, if for no other reason than to be there when this mystery patient woke up. Even if the girl knew nothing about the Titans fight, she could at least make for a halfway-decent human interest story. And if she was going to be out this late, Lois wanted at least ONE story to show for it.
Being the reporter that she was, Lois did not miss a beat. "Oh, I guess so." She pulled out her notepad. "What kind of injuries does she have?"
"You're sure it's her?"
"She's kinda hard to miss, Bruce." The voice on the intercom had a tiny edge to it. "Are you sure you wanna go in there to deal with her?"
"I'm sure." Batman's eyes narrowed. "This is my city. She needs to learn what that means."
Banking the Batwing in a wide turn, the Dark Knight studied the city as it swept under him, eyes raking back and forth across the buildings in search of the woman. Finally he caught a flash of color atop the Gotham clock tower and shot the Batwing toward that. She did not turn as he leapt from the craft to the roof, but simply remained staring over the city, her unmistakable hair waving in the breeze.
"Princess." He growled.
"Batman." She acknowledged without turning. "I was wondering when you would get here."
"What's this about? I told Clark, no Leaguers."
"He told me." She turned to face him, and her steely blue eyes locked onto his. "I decided to come anyway. These intruders are dangerous, after all."
"Nothing I can't handle. This is my city, Diana. I handle what goes on here. No one else."
She sighed. "Must you be so selfish, Bruce?"
"Gotham belongs to me." Batman's eyes narrowed. "I don't need interlopers jumping in and confusing the situation by offering whatever kind of 'help' they think the city needs. If people are to fight in my city…"
"…they must follow your rules. I understand that, Bruce." Nodding, the Amazon took a step forward. "But this 'dimensional rupture' thing isn't just about Gotham, it's about the world. You said so yourself."
Batman glared at her but said nothing.
She sighed. "Look… I am a warrior. I understand how rules work. If I agree to work according to your… methods, will you let me help? The sooner this matter is ended, the better."
There was a short moment of silence. Finally Bruce heaved a grunting sigh. "Fine."
It was all Wonder Woman could do not to give a triumphant smirk.
Juugo glanced up curiously as the door crashed open. "What're you down here for?"
"Boss-man wants to see the red guy." Suigetsu growled. "Needs to ask him some questions, I guess. Sent me down to get him."
"Oh. Okay." Heaving himself upwards, Juugo began to clear away the massive barricade blocking the door to the boy's prison cell. Suigetsu, apparently irritated at the delay, tapped the edge of his massive blade and fidgeted endlessly.
"I just hope I get in on the fun." He suddenly muttered.
Juugo stopped. "Hm?"
"The interrogation. Sasuke better let me in on it." Suigetsu ran his tongue delicately over his serrated teeth. "I've got a score to settle with that runt."
"Oh? Why's that?"
"He knocked me out. Not a fair fight really, he and that girl ganged up and used some kind of weird freezing jutsu on me."
Momentarily, Juugo wondered when Suigetsu had started caring about 'fair' fights, but decided to keep his mouth shut.
"Plus, I wasn't at my full strength, not after that fight we'd just had. And the water was acting funny."
That was too strange to just let go. "What?"
"The water. It was weird." Seeing the expression on Juugo's face, Suigetsu sighed. "I mean it wasn't as easy to manipulate. All sluggish and clumsy and… I couldn't move half as fast or even form a decent suiton blade."
"Hm." Juugo frowned. "Why would that be?"
"I dunno. I told Sasuke about it, 'cause he was mad at me for losing, and he actually said he noticed something similar. Apparently his sharingan wasn't predicting movements so clearly either." Leaning forward, Suigetsu added, "He has a theory about it, but he won't tell me what it is."
Juugo considered it a moment, then shrugged and resumed his work. It was no business of his what Sasuke did or did not tell his subordinates.
Sai's first sensation was that of a gentle nudging at the back of his brain—a brief interruption in his dreamless sleep, nothing more. But before he slipped back into oblivion, a subconscious part of his mind recognized the nudge as something he had experienced in interrogation training.
The second sensation he felt was of his soft, warm surroundings. That might not have been so notable, if Sai's bed were NOT generally so warm or soft, and if his last memory had not been in a very un-soft, un-warm place. His subconscious became slightly more agitated.
Gradually he became aware of sounds around him. A steady beeping, some kind of whirring noise, the occasional clink of metal. A rustling noise alerted him to the movement of others in the room, and he could hear them speaking, too. The sounds were unintelligible, but Sai was relatively certain they were using some kind of code.
A hospital. He noted. A foreign hospital. A foreign hospital where he was being interrogated, as his subconscious reminded him. The position was extremely compromising, to say the least, and definitely not ideal. Sai momentarily thought back to identify the nudging he'd recognized earlier… Fu, one of his teachers had used it on him. A Yamanaka technique. How had a foreign village gained access to it?
The whole time, Sai kept his eyes closed and his breathing controlled. His heart had given just the tiniest jump when he'd awoken, but outside of that, he remained in a semblance of unconsciousness. Best not to let his interrogators know he had awoken.
Just to check, he carefully tested the movement of his hands, uttering a soft groan as he did so to feign a troubled sleep. Just as he thought, both arms were restrained. He didn't bother to check his legs.
The voices had stopped momentarily when he'd groaned, and there'd been some more rustling, but after a while the voices resumed and Sai was free to continue his musings. Who would kidnap and imprison Konoha nins? The ninja villages were allied now, no nation would risk an international incident by such an action. Perhaps Sound? But Sound was far too weak to take such an action, and they had been nowhere near Sound's land. Akatatsuki, then? But Akatatsuki did not take prisoners. The Yamanaka technique. Perhaps it was a rival faction within Konoha, speaking in code to confuse him…
I know you're awake.
The voice startled Sai, and his eyes flew open. Three men in white costumes on the other side of the room, looked up at him and instantly hurried over, checking dials and babbling in their strange code. But Sai paid them no heed. He was looking for the voice.
They're asking you to open your mouth, said the voice, with just a touch of amusement. They want to take your temperature.
Sai had located the voice now. It was in his head. Somehow, that did not make him feel any better about it, but nonetheless he obediently opened his mouth and allowed the strange men to look him over. Concentrating, he tried to form the mental question Who are you?
It seemed to work, for he got an answer. Ah. My apologies. I ought to introduce myself.
Sai had seen a lot of strange things in his time in ROOT, but watching a green man float through a wall and down to the floor had not been one of them. A long blue cape fluttered behind the man, and curiously deep-sunken orange eyes burned into Sai.
The three white-clad men gave a little jump at the man's entrance, but Sai merely blinked. Promptly deciding he was in a genjutsu, he began to focus on stopping his flow of chakra.
The man regarded him curiously a moment. You are attempting to do something. What is it?
Sai paid no attention.
Oh, I see. You believe yourself to be in an illusion. The man gave an irritable wave at the medics and they nearly tumbled over themselves in their hurry to leave. Then he turned his disturbing gaze back onto Sai. I suppose I have no way to convince you that you are NOT in an illusion. He said. You will merely have to take my word for it, Sai.
That made the former ROOT nin stop. While his pseudonym Sai was fairly well known in Konoha, he had always prided himself on his relative anonymity in other countries. A ninja was supposed to remain hidden and unseen, the less who knew his name, even his false name, the better. So how had this stranger learned it? Further support for the rival faction theory.
I'm talking to you in your head, and you're wondering how I know your name? The voice once again seemed amused, though the face in front of him gave no hint of it. I learned your name from your friends. He motioned to the side.
Sai's eyes flickered over to see Ino, Neji, and a Shino-shaped lump lying on beds beside him. He returned his gaze to the green man.
They are well. The voice assured him. They are merely resting. The four of you were all badly injured when you arrived, it took a great deal of time for our medics to heal you. The eyes studied him. You don't believe me, I see; but I assure you it is the truth.
It disturbed Sai that this man could tell what he was thinking so easily. It made hiding his answers much more difficult. He gestured to the cuffs binding him to the bed.
The man looked uncomfortable. Ah. Those. Well, you will forgive us, but we knew—know—nothing about you or your friends, and we needed to be sure if you were dangerous or not.
Sai frowned. If a rival faction, they should know all about him, and if a foreign power… surely they could see by the headbands that they were Konoha nins, and…
Ah yes. Konoha. What—or where—is this 'Konoha?'
Stiffening, Sai decided simply to stop thinking. Laying back, he closed his eyes and began a meditation technique, blocking out all thoughts.
Wait! Don't…
Sai paid the man no heed, delving deeper into meditation. He sensed the nudging again, felt it diminish, and then gradually disappear. Internally, he nodded in satisfaction. He'd wait for another few moments, check to see if the man was gone, and then begin to work on the problem of where they were and what to do about it.
Sighing, Shikamaru stared up at the ceiling. While he didn't particularly MIND being forced to do nothing at all for hours at a time, the lack of clouds on the ceiling was somewhat troublesome. He could handle being chained to the bed, but if they were going to force him to look at the ceiling, couldn't they make it a little less… white?
More troublesome yet, there wasn't anything else in the room for him to watch, other than the guards, and the only interesting parts of them were the uniforms. Shikamaru felt certain they'd dressed up the two most boring men in the facility and instructed them to stand in the most uninformative way possible, while making no responses whatsoever. To anything.
But most troublesome of all, Shikamaru knew he was staring an enormous puzzle in the face—namely, where they were—and had absolutely NOTHING to work with. In fact, after twelve hours of staring at said cloud-less ceiling and glancing around said empty room, Shikamaru was starting to feel a trifle bored.
He'd tried to stave it off. He'd thought through nearly thirty different possible ways for them to end up in a room like this. They were all either too inconclusive or too ridiculous. Then he'd sent approximately forty different scenarios through his head, this time about what could happen in a room like this. They had all been utterly too depressing.
He'd figured the approximate location of the light sources. He'd examined as much of the guards as he could see. He'd examined the manacles holding him to the bed and concluded they were not made of any metal he'd seen before. He'd counted the tiles on the ceiling. (There were four-hundred and seventy-nine.) He'd done everything he could think of, and now boredom was starting to set in.
So, when a portion of the wall suddenly became transparent and a brilliantly bald man turned a rather predatory smile on him, it was almost more of a relief than a shock.
"Good morning," said the man. "Sleep well?"
Shikamaru shrugged.
The man shoved his hands in his pockets and regarded him for a moment. "I suppose you're wondering where you are. Your friend certainly didn't seem to know, and he was the only conscious one of you when you arrived, so I imagine you don't know either."
Another shrug. Half of surviving interrogation was appearing compliant without actually giving your opponent anything to use. Shikamaru had betrayed nothing (at least, he hoped not), but the man had already given him several important facts. One, another one of his friends was being held here. Two, the friend was male. Three, apparently they were really, really lost.
"Hm." The man did not appear pleased with Shikamaru's apparent unconcern. "In any case, you are in no position to ask. You were, after all, trespassing on my territory, something I do not appreciate at the best of times. I don't suppose you'd care to explain how that came about?"
Shikamaru didn't even have to fake his shrug this time. He didn't even know where they were, how would he know how they got there?
Annoyance becoming more visible, the man folded his arms and glared down at him. "I'll let that pass this once. But I assure you, if you continue to act this way, things will get rather unpleasant. Do I make myself clear?"
For a moment, Shikamaru was tempted to shrug simply to piss the bald guy off, but he decided against it. There was simply no point to enraging their captor. So he nodded.
"Good." The man appeared mollified. "Now, I have a series of questions for you. Who are you, what power do you have, and where are you from?"
Shikamaru blinked. He'd expected the first two questions, but not the last. How could the man not know? Shikamaru's hite-ate was clearly tied on his arm; people the world over knew the symbol of the Hidden Leaf.
They must be really lost.
In any case, if the man didn't know what Konoha was, where was the harm? Shikamaru opened his mouth. "Nara Shikamaru, of Konohagakure. Fire Nation."
"Interesting," said the man, but he was frowning. "And what power do you have? Anything similar to that red energy field your friend had?"
Naruto must be the other captive, then. That explained a lot. Conceivably, if Naruto had gone Kyuubi, he could have run for a long time, even while carrying Shikamaru. That would explain why they were so lost.
Although… so lost the person wouldn't understand what a chakra cloak was? Or a bijuu?
Distantly, Shikamaru noted a growing impatience on the man's face. Something had to be said. Still trying to get a grip on his racing thoughts, he stalled for time. "That depends." He said. "What do you mean by 'similar?'"
"Similar in any way. Your friend DID tell me you have a comparable power, but he was most inspecific as to how. So it is your job to tell me how it compares. How do you produce it? Can it be replicated?"
"Oh that." Shikamaru suppressed a snort. His power? Comparable to Naruto's? Naruto had obviously been in a tight spot when he thought that one up. "Well, that's not really something I enjoy sharing with others, you know. What's in it for me?"
"I've already provided you with comfortable accommodations." Shikamaru was about to take issue with the 'comfortable' aspect when the man continued. "We could arrange to have them made significantly less comfortable if you prove uncooperative, but I'd prefer to avoid that."
Shikamaru had expected such a reply and had a ready answer. "Yeah," He agreed, weighing just the right amount of laziness before continuing: "But when you consider exactly how much power I have, that may not be such a good idea."
"Oh?" The man lifted a skeptical eyebrow. "Given that I was able to capture your friend at full strength, I think I would be able to deal with you."
"I really doubt my friend was at full power. In any case, even if you know what he can do, you don't know anything about my power. How can you tell if you'd be able to match it?"
A rather unnerving chuckle broke loose from the man. "You'd be surprised how many 'powerful people' I'm able to handle, boy."
"Really." This was a dangerous game. Time to offer a compromise. "Well, I gotta say, I admire a man who takes risks," he drawled, figuring a little flattery couldn't hurt his position. "I'll tell you what. I'm pretty sure I could break out of here, but it'd probably be more trouble than it's worth. So here's the deal. I'll tell you what I know about my powers, and my buddy's too. But I want something in return."
The man snorted. "As I pointed out before…"
"Nothing big, mind you." Shikamaru interrupted. "But if I'm gonna feed you information, I want a softer bed. And some decent food."
The bald man paused and regarded him narrowly. Then he laughed, loud and long.
"You do have spunk, boy, I'll give you that." He chuckled. "I'll see what I can do about that bed and food. But first…" he gestured. "Information."
"Sounds fair." Shikamaru prepared himself for the ultimate bluffing game.
"How do you work this device?"
It was a flat command, issued in a flat tone, and the teenager in front of Sasuke answered just as flatly. "Figure it out yourself."
Sasuke grunted. The line was not unexpected—indeed, he would have been surprised at anything less—but it was still annoying. To be a proper master of the tower, Sasuke needed to know how to work the strange devices inside. Some of them looked similar to Orochimaru's equipment, but Sasuke'd never paid attention to them before. He, Juugo, and Suigetsu had poked, prodded, opened, zapped, and stabbed the things, all with no result.
And now, the one before him, the apparent leader, the one who had all the information they needed, obstinately refused to tell them anything. The fact that such a leader was called something as ridiculous as "Robin" only intensified his annoyance.
"That's your line, is it?" Suigetsu licked his lips and moved forward. "Let's see how you feel after…"
"Leave off, Suigetsu." Sasuke stopped him with a word. "It won't work. Not with this one."
"Yeah?" Suigetsu didn't move. "What makes you so sure?"
"I've looked into his eyes. He's not someone you'd be able to hurt." Meeting Robin's steely gaze, Sasuke continued, "But I can."
Sasuke's eyes flashed red.
White.
It was blinding, all the light about her. A dazzling whiteness that burst through her tightly-shut eyelids, and an all en-compassing whiteness that struck her from every side. The light nearly suffocated her with its presence, pressing down upon her like a heavy blanket. It was strange, this light, almost like a thing alive.
Suddenly she felt, rather than saw, two great eyes stare at her. Speak.
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