"What's taking the flight so long?" Naruto said as he kept on looking at his watch. "It should've been here by now."
The publisher was currently at the airport terminal gate waiting for Pam to get back from Louisiana. From what he knew from talking to one of the airport workers that the flight took off late due to a storm down south but it wasn't causing any problems at all for the rest of the way. But this wasn't settling Naruto's nerves all that well on his patience of seeing Pam with how urgent her last phone call was.
The botanist had gotten something big from the Holland's in their Will but didn't want to say what she had gotten over the phone and would rather say it in person. Asides from that, she had told him how things had turned out from the funeral service to meeting the Holland's friends and family. For the rest of the trip she had visited a few places the Holland's wanted her to see that she never got the chance to before.
Naruto was honestly glad that she was trying to enjoy herself despite the loss of two close friends and she was doing her best to keep herself up.
"I think that's it." The Uzumaki noticed a plane coming down the runway and heading towards the designated gate. It took roughly ten minutes or so for Pam to get out of the plane and he greeted her with a few kisses which she returned gleefully.
"So how were things while I was gone?" She asked as they were making their way to the parking garage.
"Things were pretty quiet while you were gone. Work has been steady given the post holiday time and not much has occurred."
"And for you?"
"Well….I've been keeping myself preoccupied on my free time." Naruto said they kept on walking to their destination.
After that Christmas night with the Gotham Clock Tower, the publisher had been working on his current skill set a bit more but had mostly focused on his physical assets. With some of those incidents with the climbing, the hanging and swinging made him realize that while he is still physically fit and both reflexes and agility were still fine and dandy. His body grew unaccustomed to that extreme sort of exercises for a long time.
So he had to start working out again to be reaccustomed to his old strengths so his muscles wouldn't be sore when he did all that again. He got himself a salmon ladder and had it placed in his loft so he could possibly help fix some of those mentioned problems but still needed to get things taken care of with the real deal. In the past few several nights, he had to do the same thing he did that Christmas night of climbing up buildings and swing around with that 'scarf' of his. He did try to work on his 'wall walking' with his 'void' powers but it seems that his powers were not capable of doing such a thing, especially with him failing miserably several times when doing it in his loft.
Naruto also had tinkered around with that on board computer he had in his helmet to figure out how all that worked since he outright ignored it the first night he wore it and wished he hadn't. It helped him out a bit when getting some of the timings right when trying to latch onto certain things without his 'scarf'. He didn't want to grow too accustomed to his grappling scarf just in case if he ended up reaching his limits and his powers not functioning properly.
The two were driving back to Pam's apartment for a while with her explaining some of the sites she went to like the French Quarter, the old state capitol; and the Melrose, Laura, and Rosedown Plantation and Gardens.
"With how you're describing them makes me want to go to these places myself." He said with a chuckle.
"You definitely should." Pam said in a happy tone that made Naruto smile. "Maybe we could go there together sometime and I'll show you."
"We'll see Pam." The publisher replied before asking what was bugging him for a while. "So been meaning to ask but what did the Holland's give you? You were pretty insistent on telling me in person instead of on the phone."
She paused for a bit to collect her thoughts as she fished for her laptop bag from the back seat. Naruto slowed down on the action since he didn't want cause any problems for any of the drivers around them. Once Pam was properly situated back into her seat, she pulled out the item in question.
"A compact disc?"
"The Holland's told me in a 'living will'," Naruto gained a little confusion on that. "Which was a video recording of them telling others of their wills."
"Oh I know what a 'living will' is Pam, just didn't expect one for you to go to.
"Neither did I but there were things the two wanted to tell family members and friends dearly that reading from a document wouldn't have much of an impact."
Nodding at this, she continued. "Anyways, they told me I should have this as it contains all of their research notes and progress. They update it each day and kept it in their safe that survived the fire."
"So that means-" "That they wanted me to combine their research with theirs to finish up the projects in full. I believe they must've been close to finishing when they were attacked." Pam said to finish his assumed thoughts.
"But who would want to attack them? Do they even have any competition?"
"None that I know of. Like I mentioned before they tried to be as secretive as possible. But there could've been a leak and some companies could've seen them as a threat."
"I agree. If they brought out their finished product, this would bring out a major boon that not only they would win the Nobel Peace Prize but would have more fame and profit in the end." Naruto said as he got them closer to her apartment.
"In turn would drastically decline stocks of various companies that could possibly be harmed by their research." The botanist said to wrap things up. "That's what I thought as well during my time down south but I don't know what else to do exactly. All I can do now is to use their research and finish up the serum so I can use it in their memory."
"Well I think that should be something to celebrate. I did promise to take you to your favorite restaurant when you got back."
"Oh I remember and I intend to cash that in." Pam said with a smirk.
"Great. For a moment there I thought you forgot." Naruto smiled back. "We'll still stop by your place and freshen up before heading over there."
The two eventually made it back to her apartment and unloaded her belongings. It didn't take long for them to get themselves cleaned up for their date for the evening. Pam couldn't help but giggle when she saw Naruto have a spare change of clothes with him for the night. He did explain a little that he couldn't wait for the little event as he wanted to make things great for her return back to Gotham. Naruto ended up wearing a dark, suited attire that seemed to highlight his features nicely that could make any woman want his attention. As for Pam, she was wearing a dress she got on her trip being a black, strapped dress that if light hits it in just the right angles one would see its green color blended into the fabric with very little makeup as always to highlight her features.
"Is something wrong Naruto?" Pam playfully asked seeing her boyfriend's look. Though to be fair she was gaining a similar look with how well he is dressed.
"I don't know if we should go on our date now."
"Oh…. and why's that?"
"Well I don't want to have any other man gaze upon your beauty Pam, you just look too beautiful for any other eyes to see you."
This caused her to giggle in response. "Oh you flatterer."
They soon went on their way to the restaurant and Naruto was glad he had made a reservation that Christmas Night after taking Pam to the airport. There was only one spot left for this evening and he took it right away. It's a pretty popular place for many of the white collar individuals of Gotham and the two had eaten there on a previous date so they knew what to expect on how crowded it could be.
Their expectations ended up correct when they arrived with the parking area being full with a bit of a line in the front.
"Thank Kami that the place is bigger on the inside or else it'll be hard to get in." Naruto muttered as he pulled up to the valet.
"Nice evening isn't it sir." The valet greeted them as he opened up the driver's door before opening the passenger one.
"So far so good." The silverette said as he handed the man a tip. It's hard for some people these days to get a good wage.
"Thank you sir, enjoy your stay." The man said as he went into the car and drove the vehicle to find suitable parking. The two went inside soon after so they can get checked in at the receptionists desk.
When the reached their destination, Naruto saw some familiar faces and couldn't help but voice his thought.
"Bruce? Harvey? What are you two doing here?" Said men turned around to find the source of the call showing the couple the billionaire playboy of the Wayne family and Gotham's District Attorney. The playboy's short black hair with cobalt blue eyes were highlighted a bit with his black suit he was wearing to help define his features while the DA's combed black hair with light grey eyes were matching his dark grey suit.
Next to the men were two blonde women, one was wearing a black dress that was probably Bruce's date while the other wore a magenta dress that Naruto soon recognized as Harvey's fiancee, Grace Lamont.
"Oh hey Naruto, good to see you." The billionaire greeted his publisher friend as he held out his hand for a handshake.
"Nice seeing you too. Haven't seen you since that gala last month." Naruto responded as he shook his friend's hand.
"Same here. Been quite busy these past weeks with the company so I couldn't chat with you that much."
"All is forgiven Wayne." Naruto then looked over to the other couple that was with Bruce and his date. "Harvey, Grace. How are things going on for you two?"
"We're doing great Naruto and I've been meaning to thank you for getting those autographed books from your new writers in your company." Grace said getting her fiancee to nod.
"Definitely. Been reading what I can when I'm not working on various cases and glad that you had published those works. They help keep my mind off of work at times when needed."
"Then I'm glad to be of help District Attorney."
When the conversations are going on the other two women were seemingly left out of the conversation.
"I'm sorry. I should've introduced my date for the evening." Bruce said to Naruto. "Naruto, this is Natasha. Natasha, this is Naruto Uzumaki of Spiral Publishing."
"Nice to meet you Mr. Uzumaki." The woman said with hints of a Russian accent. "I gotta say I enjoy reading your company's latest works."
"Well thank you Natasha." The publisher replied. "Anyways Bruce, Harvey, Grace; this is my girlfriend Dr. Pamela Isley. Pam this is-" "Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries, yes I know Naruto. You don't need to tell me, but it is nice to meet you Mr. Wayne."
"And here I wanted to properly introduce you." He said with a pout which got the two women to laugh a little.
"I know but wanted to tease you a little." The botanist replied back as he patted his cheek. "And it's also nice to meet you two Mr. and soon to be Mrs. Dent."
"Likewise/Thanks." The engaged couple replied respectively.
"Don't mind me asking, but when did you two get together?" The billionaire asked with the knowledge that they are in a relationship now.
"Since Christmas weekend."
"Well congrats then." Bruce said before noticing their current placement. "So were you two going to check in?"
"Yes we were."
"Well why don't you two join us? It'll be fun and I think this place is too crowded as it is." Grace said supposedly voicing her Bruce's oncoming response.
"I don't know. Would you be fine with that Pam?"
"Why not. I think it'll be a pleasant dinner either way."
With that said, Bruce had asked the receptionist if it was possible to combine the two parties which he was happy to obliged. He had ushered them to a table that had finished getting ready for the next set of customers.
"So Bruce, are there any projects in the works that we could learn about or are they going to be a surprise?" Naruto asked as they were getting situated in their seats.
"There are a few, but yes I'm not at liberty to speak of what they are."
"That's understandable so I won't pry. I'll just wait for when you properly give out the announcements."
"But while on the topic of projects, what about you? Are you planning anything else to write?" Grace politely asked.
The publisher was going to answer but the redhead had beaten him to the punch. "He does have one book in the works."
"Pam!" Naruto whined to her. "Spoilers!"
"Oh really?" Bruce inquired. "And how do you know of this Pamela?"
*Sigh* "She found what I had written so far in my notebook." Naruto said as he rubbed his head. "It was just something I've been doing in passing and after reading it, she wanted me to finish it up."
"Well given the reputation on how most of your previous works turned out to be, I wouldn't expect your next one to not be a best seller."
"We'll see Bruce. We'll see." The former shinobi stated. "I think I'm halfway done now and it'll be sometime till I'm even close to being done."
"Really?" Pam curiously asked. "From what I had read so far that you were practically two acts in from the 'prologue' and you starting the first."
"Acts? Are you playwriting this book of yours?" Natasha asked
"Well it's more of an epic poem Natasha. I honestly never thought of having Loveless be transitioned into a play but now that I think about it, it might seem like it. I don't know now but I'll see on how it goes in the end." Naruto replied.
"Then how many acts do you think will there be in total?" questioned the DA.
Naruto thought about it for a moment before replying. "Well Harvey, technically I'm currently writing the third act with it written as the second. I plan on having six acts in total with the prologue and five acts following."
"Then I guess it'll be an interesting read then."
The party were soon greeted by their waiter for the evening and they soon ordered their respective meals. There were some fun conversations going on various topics as they were going through their appetizers of varying salads but soon things started to get interesting after they finished those up.
"...But how would one raise children in a city such as this?" Natasha asked.
"Well I was born and raised here in Gotham and I turned out okay." Bruce replied.
"Despite….well….you know." Naruto said as he knew talking about that specific night around Bruce is always touchy. The others understood on what Naruto meant and the playboy nodded on his friend not actually saying it and going into that can of worms.
"Sometimes I do wonder, is Wayne Manor even in the city limits?" Pam questioned.
"They are around the palisades. Around the border I believe." Naruto replied.
"I'm talking more about of how a city idolizes a masked vigilante."
Hearing the Russian woman's correction, Naruto decided to explain a little. "Well from how things have gone in these past years, Gotham City could be proud of an ordinary citizen trying to do what is right."
"That I can agree with." replied the DA.
"Gotham needs heroes like you elected officials instead of someone who thinks is above the law." Natasha countered.
"So with that, who appointed the Batman?" Bruce commented.
"We did apparently." Harvey said. "All of us who stood by and watched a variety of scum take over the city."
"But this is a democracy Mr. Dent."
"When the enemy were at the gates, the Romans suspend democracy and appoint one man to help protect the city." The DA said. "It wasn't considered just an honor, but it was a public service."
"From what I remember in my history classes, the last person the Roman republic appointed was Julius Caesar and he never gave up his power when things died down." Pam said her two cents.
"True. But here's the thing, you would either die a hero or you live long enough to become the villain." Harvey said as things started to sink in.
"From what I can tell, Batman doesn't want to do this all his life." Naruto said getting the other's attention. "I can imagine that years down the road that if he keeps his mantle of responsibility on for too long, he'll grow very old and bitter towards the world and would never have any bright days to live by. Probably be held up in a cave and act like a hermit for all his life till he goes into the grave. He'll probably want someone to take up his cape and cowl for when the time comes that to finally pass the torch."
"Maybe to that Robin fellow that works alongside him." Natasha asked
"Possibly. Who knows if the traffic light wants to take it up or not. All I'm saying is that if the city grows too dependant of Batman then what would happen if he just up and left or disappeared and then what." Naruto said leaving that question in the air.
"Things will start toppling down I guess." Grace answered.
"Pretty much." Naruto said with a shrug. "Batman will end up creating a symbol or an icon that it'll be hard to live without and that someone will need to keep it alive after the current Dark Knight retires or passes on so that Gotham could possibly be safer down the road."
"That seems to be a very interesting assessment Naruto. Didn't really think about that." Bruce replied as he started filing those details into memory.
"Same here." Harvey said in agreement. "You really thought deeply into this sort of subject haven't you?"
"Eh….probably." Naruto said with a shrug. "But other than that, then you're welcome."
Of course it wasn't really just a guess, Naruto had known on how similar it was between Batman and the Kage's from his home reality. Someone that was truly strong when the shinobi villages of respective areas were formed that each of them needed a leader, an icon to help keep the peace and stabilize things throughout the other places of the world. At some point, the current Kage would need to step down so the next generation could take his/her place then the new one would need to be properly trained.
The Uzumaki had to obviously know of this back then for his former dream and even now with current events.
"With that said, if Robin doesn't want to take up the Bat's mantle then who? Would it be you Mr. Dent?" Natasha asked.
"Maybe, if I'm up for it." The DA said with a chuckle.
"What if, Mr. Dent is the Caped Crusader." The Russian replied as she put her napkin in front of Harvey's face to only show the bottom portion of it.
This got a laugh out of the man before he responded back. "If I were sneaking out every night, then someone would've caught me in the act."
"Oh I definitely would've." Grace said with a giggle as she kissed her fiance on the lips.
"You know Harvey, isn't the DA reelection going to be happening soon?" The publisher asked
"Yes….in a few months or so. Why you ask?" Harvey curiously asked.
"Well I would like to help fund or at least contribute to your campaign when the time comes." Naruto said getting several people on the table to look at Naruto in surprise.
"You would really want to do that Naruto?" Bruce asked. "I mean it's just that I have helped fund Harvey's campaign's in the past and things have turned up well so far."
"I know that Bruce, but I just want to at least donate a substantial amount when the process begins. I just want to show that I support you Harvey and not just voting for you since I started living here in Gotham."
*Chuckles* "Then I'll be glad to accept your generosity Naruto. Anything I can get will help keep this city on the right track despite the mob and other forms of crime running around."
"I hope you will Harvey. I hope you will."
With that, their meals soon came and the group had shifted conversations to a lighter tone so things can end pleasantly for them.
As time has past for the group with them satisfied in their meals as they were heading off to their respective destinations. Harvey and Grace left a bit earlier due to them having meetings in the morning and they needed to get back home early.
"You know Naruto, you should maybe come with me to this Animal Rights event going on next week." Bruce suggested.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that the one dealing with Gotham's finest being auctioned off for dates with all of the proceeds going towards the animals."
"That it is."
"I don't know about that Bruce. I'm currently in a relationship and I don't know if Pam would be fine with me attending or yet participating in it."
"Participating in what exactly?" Pam asked as she came up from behind the two.
"O-Oh ah Pam." Naruto said with a stutter. *cough* "Well Bruce was asking if I could come with him to this event next week."
"And what event is that?"
"An Animal Rights event and the proceeds go towards the animals."
"Okay but why would you think I wouldn't be fine with it?"
"Well it's a celebrity date auction."
"Ohhhhh." She drawled out in acknowledgement.
"And I was telling Bruce that I wouldn't know if it would be good for me to attend or yet participating in it."
"And I think you should go."
"See Bruce I told you she wouldn't…...Wait What?!" Naruto said in surprise and even Bruce shared the same reaction.
"Well if it was being used for a good cause, especially with it being the wildlife, then I think it'll be good for you to go."
"B-But wouldn't you be mad if I went out with someone on the event?"
"Not at all." Naruto's eyes soon narrowed as he stared at his botanist girlfriend from her response. This got her to be confused on his little action there.
"What?"
"This is a test isn't it."
"A what?"
"A test in our relationship. You are suggesting me to go and to see if I will actually want to attend or participate in the event. Either result would affect our relationship in a positive or negative way."
This got Pam and Bruce to adopt confused looks on Naruto's response. Soon the botanist realized what he was implying and decided to voice her thoughts.
"What, no Naruto. This isn't a test in our relationship at all. I really do want you to go. You know how I feel about nature and the wildlife is apart of it. So if you going helps on the event then you should definitely go."
"But what about you?"
"Well maybe I could come or not. It pretty much depends if work is going to be crazy with the new year." She said with a shrug. "But in all honesty Naruto if I can be able to come with or not, you should definitely go and I will not take no for an answer."
*Sigh* "Alright, if you say so."
"Besides, I think it would be fun to see how much women would end up bidding on you if you actually participated."
"Oooof course."
Bruce couldn't help but chuckle on the interaction and decided it was time for him to head off as Natasha came back from using the restroom.
"Then I'll be seeing you next week Naruto. And I hope you have a good New Years you two."
"See you then Bruce and a Happy New Year to you as well."
With that said, Naruto and Pam went on their way to head back to Pam's apartment to head off to bed. From the mixture of Pam's flight and their meal, she was wanting to spend her New Years just relaxing and celebrating it in their own way.
-A Few Days Later, Pam's POV-
"I wish I wasn't here right now. I would rather be at home with Naruto helping me relax." I said to no one in particular with a sigh escaping my lips.
For the past few days now, I've been working non-stop on my serum after I got back to work. I thought at first I was going to take a bit of time to figure out how to properly get Holland's serum to mix with my own, which I thought was impossible.
But sometime after I clocked in, I was approached by one of my supervisors, Dr. Jason Woodrue, that I needed to get my serum finished very soon or else I will be forced to put it on indefinite hiatus. There was no explanation at all and he left me to do my things making me wonder if what he said was true and I would be forced to no longer work on the goal of the Holland's and my own. So by that I was forcing myself to stay at Star Labs for the past several days working day in and day out to get everything wrapped up.
During one of my meal breaks, I had called up Naruto and told him the news on what I had to do. He told me it was unfair on what Woodrue was making me do that reaching my life's goal was in her reach but if it wasn't done soon then I would kiss it goodbye. I agreed with his statement but I had no choice at all.
'Oh Naruto, you are so damn sweet to me.' I thought as I gazed upon the various flowers he brought me these past few days to help cheer me up. Of course the gaze would've been better if some of the meal boxes I had cleanly eaten weren't near my precious flowers. With how stressful this 'wrap up' turned out to be, I had to shove a lot of my things to a corner so they wouldn't be near any of my sensitive equipment.
"I can't wait for this to be done so I can finally clean up my lab and finally clean myself up properly." I said as I gazed over to the mirror nearby seeing my disheveled look of frizzled hair that was tied up by a headband and a scrunchie.
If one could describe the current condition of my lab, well it would literally be a mix of rotted nature taking over with a hurricane had passed on by. Many small experiments and attempts on blending the two serums together were unsuccessful as things seemed to look fine at first as things started to grow, only for them to die moments later.
What the hell is wrong with this picture?! I have the understanding perfectly as every attempt of getting the serums to blend well turned out for not. Is there something that I'm not getting in all of this or was this some sick game from a higher power wanting to screw me over. Oh mother, what should I do?
*Knock Knock*
"May I come in?" A man called out from outside of my lab.
"It's open!"
The person who stepped through the doorway was not only my supervisor but also the man that I would really want to kill right now for causing me this annoyance of finishing up my project. Dr. Jason Woodrue was a man in his late 40's, early 50's with his dark hair combed back with two white streaks going off on either side. He was wearing a standard lab coat with some business wear underneath. He also wore an….interesting pair of glasses that had several attachments of a magnifying variety to help him see closely if needed.
"So Dr. Isley, how's the project coming along?"
"It's doing alright sir. I'm just having trouble trying to get some kinks to properly work."
"Well I know you'll be able to do fine finishing this up by tonight." He said making me to widen my eyes in surprise.
"Tonight! I have till tonight to finish this?"
"Why yes you do. You've spent quite a long time working on this project of yours but I'm afraid your time is just about up." Woodrue said with a smile that made me feel uncomfortable at the moment due to me working overtime with little to no rest. "Like I told you before that if you have not completed your serum by the deadline then I'm afraid you'll be putting this on indefinite hiatus."
"But I thought I had another day or two, but not tonight." I said as I was starting to well up tears in frustration and exhaustion.
"Well I just wanted to let you know. I'll be stopping on by later this evening to see if you'll be done by then." And with that he left my lab for me to wallow in my misery.
"Why does this have to happen to me?!" I cried out as I slumped onto the floor and just wanted to die now so I won't have to deal with this.
"Alec….Linda…..What am I doing wrong? Is there something that I'm not getting at all from your work?"
'The Green.'
"...Wait."
'The Green.'
"...The….Green." I said as the slight thought came and went through my head as slight memories came back to me before I widened my eyes in shock.
The Green was something the Holland's had said in passing in previous times I had visited them. They mentioned that it was something really important in their research to help make their serum to truly work but I didn't think it wasn't all that important.
'Oh good fucking god why did I forget that?!' I yelled out in my head as I scrambled from the floor and ran towards my laptop. I went through the disc the Hollands gave me and eventually found the file that was hidden away deeply into other files. Before I knew it, I finally found the information I was looking for.
As information started piling through my screen, I couldn't help but smile hard to the point that my cheeks could've ripped from how happy I had gotten.
This was it! This was fucking it! I finally found my solution!
With new invigoration with little to no exhaustion, I dived into my work as I started plowing through it like a snow plower on a snow day to ruin a child's day off from school or Naruto giving it to me hard back on Christmas and New Years.…
Yeah odd analogies there, but fuck it I don't care right now! It's time to complete this baby!
-Hours Later-
"Finally…..It's done." I said as I held up the vial of green liquid that seemed to sparkle and glow as I held it up to the white lights of my lab…..
I don't care if I'm seeing things due to my exhaustion. I am finally done! Alec's and Linda's work…..My work…..They are finally done!
*Knock Knock*
"You can come in!" I called out to see Dr. Woodrue walking in.
"Hello Dr. Isley. How's the project coming along?"
"Oh it's great sir. I finally have it done now." I said in a giddy tone as my excited high kept me from noticing an odd look come to Woodrue's face.
"Really…..Well that's wonderful." He said in a tone that seemed a tad off to me. "Well I think you can finally call it a day Dr. Isley and head on home now."
"But shouldn't I clean up my lab and present my work to you before I go?"
"It's all fine Pamela. I've caused you enough stress that you can go on your merry way. You can clean up your lab and present your project in the morning."
"Thank you sir. I'll see you later then." I said to him as he smiled at me before going on his merry way. As I started gathering my things, I had this odd tingle at the back of my neck that something seems off and that I should be worried.
Nah, it's just the exhaustion getting to me. But still….this feeling isn't really going away.
I was walking out of the botanical area of Star Labs as I made my way to my car, I saw that it was pretty dark outside with the moon and stars somewhat shining this evening.
"I can't wait to finally go to bed. *Yawn* It'll feel so damn good especially when I take a nice hot shower in the morning." I said as I fished my keys out of my purse.
Once I got into my car, I tried starting it up but it wouldn't go. I kept doing this several times before I realized that my battery must've died.
"Great." I mumbled. "Absolutely great."
I soon fished out my cellular phone and started typing Naruto's phone number and I really hope he was up.
*Ring Ring* *Ring Ring*
"Hello."
"Hey Naruto."
"Oh hey Pam. How's the project coming along?"
"Great news! I finally have it done!" I said in a slightly happy tone.
"Really! Congrats Pam! I knew you can do it!"
"I know Naruto."
"So I'm just wondering but why are you calling me? I can tell that it's not just for the big news there."
"You got me there honey. Look I need a ride to either your place or mine. The battery of my car is probably dead so I'm pretty much not going anywhere."
"Ok Pam, I'll be heading your way right now. Give me about 10-15 minutes and I'll be there. Just head back inside and wait for me."
"Alright Naruto, I'll see you then and I can't wait."
"Me too Pam. I've missed you."
"Same here. Oh and Naruto?"
"Yeah."
"I love you."
"I love you too." After that, I ended the phone call and made my way back inside of Star Labs. With how cold it is outside, there was no way in hell I was going to wait inside of my car with it being so damn chilling.
Once I got inside, I decided to go use the restroom so I can properly wash my face and feel a little warm in the face. While on my way towards my destination, I heard something quite a distance away. I thought it was nothing until I heard some glass breaking and some yelling that got my curiosity getting the better of me.
"...the fuck is it? Where the hell did she put it?"
"Isn't that Woodrue's voice?" I muttered to myself as I drew closer before I realized the commotion was….in my lab? I soon peeked inside and saw what he was doing. He was rummaging my lab?!
"Where in the bloody hell did that bitch put her work?" He said as he soon tossed drawers from their originated place as it broke some nearby equipment and glass chemical containers.
I wanted to go in there and question why he was messing up my lab but I needed to wait for what his intentions are.
"Gah! The bitch must've taken it with her instead of leaving it here! Now my plans are ruined!" He yelled out as he kept throwing chemicals all over the room in frustration.
Was he talking about my serum and my notes? That must've been it but why…..
"I should've taken it from her before she left so I could've presented it to the board tomorrow." He said as he was biting his fingernails. "Now I won't be having any of the credit and my shot in the Nobel Peace Prize will go down the drain."
He was planning on stealing my work?!
"Even after all that effort of hiring those goons down south to take care of the Hollands and possibly steal their work but nooo, they had to fuck it all up!" He yelled out as he kicked some objects that were on the ground.
No….He….He was the one….He was the one that caused that?! He was the one that killed them?! Oh that was it!
"You!" I yelled out from the doorway getting his attention.
"How dare you?! How dare you try to steal my life's work you bastard?!"
"Ah Dr. Isley. So nice for you to return." He said in a sweet voice but I wasn't buying it.
"Don't you dare try to sweet talk out of this you bastard!" I yelled out. "I heard you confess on what you have done."
"Oh and what do you mean?" He asked in delusion.
"You wanted to take my life's work and you took the lives of my closest friends. For what, just to gain all the glory and profit from the finished work."
"Ah yes….that."
"And what do you have to say for yourself?!"
He didn't say anything at all trying to think of something but my patience was wearing very thin.
"Listen here and listen good. I have spent my life's work wanting to protect the environment and for plant life to live on and not die out. My friend's wanted to solve the problem on food shortages and would've saved countless lives in the process. And now, here you want to steal our hard work that we have literally cried, sweat and bleed for. When I get through with you, you won't even be able to get a job as a high school chemistry teacher. Do you hear me?! You psychotic bastard!"
With my bit said and done, I awaited for his answer.
"Well….I respect your opinion." He said to me. "And quite frankly I'm not all that great with rejection…..."
When Woodrue said that I felt something heavy go down to my stomach.
"So I'm afraid you'll have to die."
He lunged at me as a fight broke out between us. I fell onto the ground and felt the broken glass cut into my skin but I couldn't let him get the better of me. I pushed him away as he hit hard against the counter before trying to attempt harm me again. I ducked away as he ended up pushing a stand full of chemicals onto the ground and some splashed against some wall sockets and broken machinery causing some sparks to light up.
I tried to run out of the lab that was starting to catch on fire but he grabbed my hair and slammed my head hard against one of the counters cutting my head open slightly. My adrenaline kept me awake as I had to take care of the psychotic supervisor. I soon found a broken flask and I didn't care if it broke through my skin in my hand as I lunged towards him to either imobolize him or even kill him. He tried to move away but some of the chemicals on the ground made him slip towards me. I took the chance and I stabbed the broken flask into his throat and left a deep gash.
"Y-Yo-You bi-bitch!" Woodrue yelled despite his throat slashed open as he attempted to kill me while his life was slowly leaving him. He ended up pushing me against my bookcase full of chemicals to fall upon me.
I tried to push the bookcase off of me as I saw Woodrue try to leave, but he once again slipped and fell to the side slamming his head to hit against the counter knocking him out and letting him finish bleeding to death. I somewhat felt satisfied that the Holland's were avenged, but that didn't matter now as I tried to get out of my predicament. I tried shifting through but I felt that one of my legs was broken and the other sprained so it was going to be really hard to get out of my compacted spot.
I tried to breathe but felt something being jabbed into my chest. When I looked down, I saw the vial of my life's work sticking out of my shirt's pocket with a mixture of the serum and my blood coming out. I realized that I ended up being stabbed too deeply and I was probably going to die here with the growing flames consuming my lab, killing all of the plants inside of it.
My eyes kept on glancing all around me and something that was precious to me caught my eye. I tried to reach for it but the struggle kept on having the vial dig deeper into my chest but I didn't care. I soon got it in my hand and I pulled it towards me to see the picture frame containing the one sweet moment of both of me and Naruto being together when we had just started going out. The pain was too much for me and I started to cry before I uttered a few last words.
"Naruto. I love-"
*KABOOM*
-End Chapter-