:- Added a few more scenes :-

Within a dimly lit room, six white screens were seen and within said screens, were various silhouettes of different forms and shapes and for anyone else, it was hard to tell who these figures were, however, that wasn't the case for the man standing in the middle of the spotlight of the dimly lit room.

"Psimon..." The figure looked to the one who called for him. One of the male silhouettes. "I trust you're aware as to why you've been summoned before us."

"You wish to know about the progress on our ongoing experiment: Project Maelstrom." 'Psimon' answered. His expression was dull as he examined those before him. "Am I correct to assume this?"

"Indeed you are." The one who called him answered, before he proceeded to elaborate. "When introduced to the right elements, Project Maelstrom may turn out to be the weapon we need to punish those who fall against the Light and for him to be able to do so, he must first embrace the Light."

"Except the knowledge on accessing his power, all memories of his past life has either been altered or removed as instructed." Psimon stated. "And as we speak, our scientists are experimenting as directed."

"Excellent." A different silhouette replied, obviously liking the news received. "Regrowing an entire skin like that in seconds? We would be fools to not take advantage of the situation presented before us."

"Indeed." Another silhouette made itself known. "However, we mustn't let our curiosity blind us from our ultimate goal. If we are to take full advantage of the subjects unique Regenerative Healing factor, then we must be careful to make sure we get the results we need. One wrong move and we could lose a valuable tool that can be of used to detain these so called 'heroes'."

"And even if this experiment eventually turns out to be a failure," Another silhouette spoke, adding to its colleagues contribution. "We can just dispose of it and grow an entirely new one from whatever's left."

"However we must do all we can to make sure this experiment doesn't turn out to be such." The first silhouette, the one who hailed Psimon, said. "Psimon, you are to keep monitoring the progress of Project Maelstrom; subdue it if it ever decides to unleash its base survival instincts."

Psimon bowed, "Understood."

.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or DC…

Chapter One: Birth of a Team…

.

(Project CADMUS…)

"Project Maelstrom… whoa,"

Unknown to Psimon and his superiors, three years following that meeting, a very important CADMUS Facility was just infiltrated by the young proteges of those who were a threat to their cause: Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash, who were initially led here by a raging fire which was easily drowned by their working together; but some investigative work from the Boy Wonder, however, proved that there was something more to this mission and thus 'suggested' that they'd move on by becoming one with the shadows and expecting his team to do as he did and follow him as he moved to the more suspicious areas of the building that was caught on fire.

Aqualad and Kid Flash still weren't happy with that.

They were even more upset with what they discovered was hidden in the base.

"If you thought the clone's story was eye catching, listen to this:" Robin, the Boy Wonder, was the one who spoke. "Apparently this guy's been experimented on for three years with the ultimate goal of being a back up to end the Justice League should the 'initial plan' fail. He's strong enough to match most of the powerhouses of the league, fast enough to keep up with the Flash, durable enough to regenerate from any damage, can survive in the vacuum of space, and well… I'd say more but the rest of the files are just too encrypted for me to crack."

Silence reigned for a short while.

"Whoa…"

"It seems that whoever's responsible for this didn't want us to be able to anticipate all of his attacks, but it goes without saying..." This came from Aqualad as Kid Flash stepped back and looked at the beings within the pods before them. "While we were out there fighting crimes with our mentors, someone our age was tortured and experimented on for three solid years… the more and more I am beginning to find out about Project CADMUS... the more and more I am beginning to dislike them."

"You and me both Aqualad." This came from Kid Flash, who stood beside Aqualad while examining the people contained within the two pods: a lean muscular black haired boy with a familiar set of facial features as a certain well-known Kryptonian and a white Solar Suit, and a boy with Gravity Defying spiky golden blonde hair and a trio of whisker marks on each of his cheeks. "One Pod contains a G-nome with the DNA of Superman, forced grown within the span of 16 weeks and the other, contains an unknown Metahuman experimented on since the age of 18..."

Again, silence reigned in the room for a few moments...

"What do we do?"

And Aqualad frowned.

"We free them both," Firmly, the Atlantean answered Kid Flash's question. "We can't contact the League to ask for their help because of how deep we are in this facility, so that means it's up to us to free them from this prison before whoever's running this Program continues running it, turning these two into something they're not."

Robin frowned, "agreed."

And using the computerized gadgets in his arsenal, he got to work and went through several commands to get what he needed and once he was done, a hissing sound accompanied by a white smoke came from the two pods as they lowered in height before they opened completely, giving the two beings the freedom from their forced hibernation.

The clone of Superman was the first to respond.

He snapped his eyes open to reveal a pair of angry crystal blue eyes and before the heroes could respond to this, he was already on top of them, quickly and easily tackling Aqualad down with a sharp burst of his inherited Super Speed and Strength; and continuing his assault, he started to punch the Atlantian on his face with a force strong enough to shatter any normal brick wall.

Kid Flash and Robin moved to subdue the attacker…

"Whoa… Hang on Supie... "

"We're on your side!"

They held down the attacker, trying to pull him away from Aqualad's body however, the clone prove to be as strong as they would expect, given his genetic marker. Shown by his lack of struggle from his pulling away from them, the pair were also suddenly knocked forward off the clone by a golden beam of light that hit them on their back.

"Argh!"

Luckily, they quickly regained their footing including Aqualad who had used the distraction to his advantage by kicking the Clone off of him. The Atlantian was now standing along side his allies as together, staring at the Clone and the now aware 'Project Maelstrom' who pulled his stretched hands down to its sides - a pair of stretched hands emitting what looked like a wisp of orange light around the clenched hands…

The Projects stood side by side.

"Um okay," Kid Flash side glanced at his teammates. "What are we going to do about this?"

With a bold look on his face, Aqualad took point.

"We stand our ground." He looked at the pair in front of him. "Show them that we aren't their real enemies and hope they listen."

However, the clone charged at Aqualad before he could say anything further, but this time, Aqualad was ready and quickly drew out his enchanted weapons.

Kid Flash and Robin frowned at that.

"Well I guess there's your answer Kid."

And while Aqualad took care of the Superman clone, the pair turned to face their foe who was no longer standing in the spot they expected him to be standing him; this earned a blink of surprise from them.

"Wait, where'd he go!"

They were looking around for him, however it was at that moment a flash of something caught in Robin's eyes.

"KF, look out!"

But it was too late.

With a stray stinger blast, his friend was knocked out.

'He's too fast to keep track of!'

"Damn it!" Robin growled.

He reached for the utility belt on his waist to pull out a smoke bomb but his hand was grabbed before he was able to. Looking at the owner of said hand, he saw the unfamiliar blonde staring at him with a blank cerulean blue eyes, before he was headbutted and knocked out like the Speedster was.

Project Maelstrom lifted Robin's body over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dropped it on the knocked out Speedster before stepping back and watching as the Clone dropped off the body of Aqualad over Robins.

The pair looked at each other.

"Did he give you trouble?"

"No."

And once that was said, Maelstrom watched as the clone went towards the locked door and used his super strength to rip it apart, easily creating a path for those on the other side to come through.

"Excellent work my pet," This was said by a scientist with a mean look on his face as he strutted in with his colleagues behind him. "Now, what to do with these three..."

(Time Skip...)

"This has gone far enough… don't you think?"

A pair of blue eyes frowned.

"I believe it's time for the real Naruto Uzumaki to WAKE UP!"

Project Maelstrom's eyes snapped open.

As he held his throbbing head, trying to stabilize himself upright, his mind was wondering what the heck that was. It was an unfamiliar voice unlike the one he's been hearing speaking to him, teaching him about things he never knew.

"What…"

Maelstrom's ears twitched at that.

"What do you want?!"

Looking to his right, he saw the three sidekicks that infiltrated CADMUS bound and pickled in a pod similar to the ones he and the Clone were bound in. Walking to stand next to his 'ally', he too looked up at the three like the Clone was doing, quietly observing and studying their reactions.

"Oh great, the other one's here too." Kid Flash was the one who spoke. "Will both of you quit staring? You're creeping me out!"

"Um KF," Robin whispered. "How 'bout you not tick off the guys who can fry us with a look?"

Aqualad frowned, ignoring his two colleagues squabbling as he gazed at the pair before him.

"We only sought to free you both." He stated. "I-"

"Yeah we free you and you guys turn on us," Kid Flash griped, rudely cutting in before the Atlantean could finish whatever it was he was going to say to the two experiments. "How's that for gratitude?"

Aqualad sighed.

"Kid, please, be quiet now." He stated. "I believe our new 'friends' were not in control of their actions."

The Clone frowned.

"Bu..." He hesitated. "But what if I wasn't?"

Maelstrom's ears twitched again and shifting his gaze to the left. He spotted Robin trying to pull an escape act. He was supposed to stop this but every cell within his body screamed at him to do nothing.

He was lost.

"But you don't have to be. You are Naruto Uzumaki and you are in control of your actions, no one else is. The feeling of your cells resisting the programming that's been done to your mind? That's the real you trying to take back control… and I think you should let it."

'Who…'

Maelstrom clenched his eyes shot.

The conversation between the captives and the Clone were fading from his mind.

'Who's this?'

His hands tightened beside him, feeling the sharp pain at the back of his head.

"A friend."

This voice; there it was again.

:- :-

Opening his eyes, he didn't find himself within the same room he was before, instead, he was in what looked like the basement of an industrial plant with thin pipes running along the ceiling and the floor - the latter of which was flooded by water.

"If you want to know who I am, you're going to have to walk..."

It was strange.

As he was walking down the hallway looking at the Pipes ahead, he was feeling a strange sense of nostalgia and for some reason, a slight bit of fear that made him curious as to why that was so. It wasn't like he's ever been here before… so then why-

He paused.

"You know, thinking that hard could leave you with a headache."

He found himself staring at the locked entrance of a golden gate that contained a parchment of paper that said "seal" (封) which covered the lock that kept who or whatever was inside... in.

His eyes peered into the cage.

"I can hear you, but I can't see you."

"Walk through the cage."

Maelstrom glanced up, eying the parchment of paper marked 'sea' before he looked back at the darkness beyond the cage.

"Yeah… and why would I want to walk through a cage that's clearly holding something dangerous?"

A figure materialized into existence. It was a male who was with a short, spiky brown hair - two locks of which were wrapped in bandages framing either side of his face in a similar manner to the blonde - and he possessed a stern facial feature; for his outfit, he wore bandages around his forehead, a black full-body suit, and finally, a light-coloured kimono with magatama adorned around the collar that was held closed by a dark-coloured sash.

"Because what was once locked within the cage, is no longer a threat to you... Uzumaki Naruto."

"Oh yeah,"

Maelstroms eyes narrowed.

"And why do you keep calling me that? That's not what my name is…" He paused. "Right?"

The facial expression of the figure didn't change.

"Step through the cage and all will be revealed..."

:- :-

"What the hell is wrong with him?"

A figure in a lab coat stood in front of Project Maelstrom's still form, ignoring the screamings of the three sidekicks nearby as they were going through a cloning procedure. He arrived earlier when the sidekicks were trying to convert the Clone designated as Project Kr, aka Superboy. Using the G-nome on his shoulder, he sent the clone away while carrying out the orders given to him by his superiors however as he tried to send Project Maelstrom away, he got no response, just a blank face.

"Why isn't he responding to anything I do?"

"Beats me. Aren't you supposed to be the genius here Desmond?" A figure with a golden helmet and a small shield stepped up the scientist now identified as 'Desmond'. "Maybe it's got something to do with his programming. Tried asking the G-nomes for help?"

Desmond scowled. "Don't take me for a fool Guardian, of course I've already used the G-nomes! They say they're unable to get into his mind like they before because apparently, something's blocking them out."

"What do you mean something's blocking them out? This is your incompetence, argh, we need a stronger telepath here to help us figure out what's wrong." The figure with the golden helmet, 'Guardian', suggested. "Doublex or Psimon probably will be able to find something."

"Yes… maybe."

However, before more could be said, the pair were suddenly knocked off their feet by a pair of stray bolts hitting them. Their backs slammed against the nearest wall with a force that knocked them out could and the G-nomes on their shoulders well... off of it.

"Like hell I'ma' let anyone mess with my mind again 'ttebayo."

"..."

"..."

"After staying silent for so long... that is the best you can come up with?" stated Kid Flash with a deadpanned expression on his face as he and his allies stared at Project Maelstrom who stood with his hands stretched towards Desmond and Guardian's knocked out forms. "Really?"

"Says the guy trapped inside a pod about to be cloned and killed." Kid Flash's mouth snapped shut. This earned a smirk from Project Maelstrom who moved over to the control panel that contained the buttons used to stop the operations. "That's what I thought banana man."

"Hey!"

Robin snickered and Aqualad blinked.

"Banana?"

"Look at what he's wearing and tell me he doesn't look like a walking Banana." This earned even more snickers from the Boy Wonder and a scowl from Kid Flash as the two of them and Aqualad were all being set free from their pods by the blonde human experiment. "And you can call me, Naruto. 'Project Maelstrom' is just disturbing, don't give me any of that crap."

And as the pods dropped and opened, with the cloning procedure now terminated, the door to the room they were in was ripped apart from its hinges, courtesy of the Super Strength of a familiar clone.

"We need to talk..." The clone paused, looking around. "Desmond?"

Robin freed himself from his restraints, right before Aqualad and Kid Flash's own were automatically released, however, that didn't mean that he was waiting around for anything to happen so immediately he pulled out three birdarangs and threw them at the three spheres containing his, Kid Flash's and Aqualad's DNA; he watched as they exploded on impact before walking up to Superboy, Aqualad, the scowling Kid Flash and apparently, 'Naruto'.

"Thanks for the save." The Boy Wonder stated, earning a grin from the blonde. "And since the Bat Cave's already crowded enough, I hardly think Batman would appreciate any more roommates."

"Aww," Naruto pouted, resting both his hands on his hips; his grin was long forgotten. "And here I thought I could earn a free place to crash from you guys, those pods are very uncomfortable and I don't think CADMUS is an option anymore."

"That, my friend," Aqualad walked up to the blonde, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked at the blonde with a smile. "Is something that I promise you we will deal with, just as soon as we get out of here in one piece. Robin?"

"Right." Robin pulled his right hand to his chest, pulling out a blue 2-D screen from the tech imbedded within his gauntlet. "While I map us an escape route, KF, you and Aqualad tie up Desmond and Guardian before they manage to get a drop on us."

"Got it."

"Understood,"

And the two sidekicks did their work as Robin searched out for said exit route.

Superboy, meanwhile, glanced at Naruto.

"So what's with you spacing out like that earlier?" He asked.

"I'll tell you later." the blonde replied, frowning, thinking back to the man he met in his mind… thinking back to the things he found out; he shook his head. "We should probably go. I don't want to stay here any longer, what about you guys?"

Superboy shrugged in response, crossing his hands over his chest.

"Whatever."

As a clone made to be a weapon breathing his first breath of life today, experiencing any feelings of sort were new to him. At the moment, the only things he knew he felt were anger over being treated like a tool, and excitement in meeting the person he had many dreams about while in his pod… it was why he was helping these guys escape out of the CADMUS facility in the first place.

He was convinced that they could give him that chance.

"Aqualad and I are done securing those two bozos."

Looking aside, he saw as Kid Flash sped next to Robin, standing next to the Boy Wonder just as Aqualad was done on his end, and while he was glad they were free, he was a bit put out that he wasn't the one who freed them like he planned to... but that didn't mean he was upset at his bunk mate who saved them in his place. Glancing over to the blonde, he could see the deep look that was in his blue eyes that he couldn't help but think had a brighter 'shine' to them than before.

"What about you Rob?"

"I'm done on my end."

His ears twitched at Robin's words, and he looked back at the Boy Wonder and his allies.

"I've mapped us a clear route out of here. If we don't want to be caught, then you guys better follow my lead."

The clone growled growled.

"Don't tell me what to do."

He was still sore about having to follow orders he didn't want to follow, you can thank the G-nomes for that, however, he still followed after the team following after the Boy Wonder's lead, leaving behind Desmond, Guardian, and the G-nomes that accompanied them tied and trapped within the fiery - Robin's birdarang launch earlier sparked a small fire which led into the large that it was now - cloning chamber because at least he knew that he didn't want to be here longer than he had to.

:- :-

Desmond groaned as he got up from the ground.

"Good, you're up."

Looking up, he saw a familiar figure staring at him.

"Guardian?"

"Don't worry, I got rid of the fire before it got serious, and I've already alerted Doublex about our situation. He should be assembling some of our more powerful G-nomes to chase down the sidekicks before they get too far." Guardian stated and the scientist frowned.

"The weapons," Desmond asked, not caring about Guardians earlier report; that wasn't the news he was interested in. It wasn't what he wanted to hear. "Project Kr and Maelstrom, where are they?"

"..."

"Well?" The scientist demanded. "What's the hold up? I'm waiting for my answer Guardian."

"Unfortunately," Guardian looked away from Desmond, knowing how this bad news would make him feel. "It seems they've been coerced by the sidekicks and are currently escaping with them as we speak."

"WHAT?!"

See?

"Then activate every Genomorphs in CADMUS." Desmond growled. He looked at the G-nome standing beside him. "Tell them all that it's a priority mission! We must not let those weapons escape!"

:- :-

"Um… guys,"

Naruto was the first in the escaping group of teens to notice that the egg shaped pods on the walls of the narrow hallway they were running through started to glow red. He didn't need a gut feeling to tell him that things were about to get bad.

"Maybe we should move faster."

"Yeah?" Kid Flash snorted. "News flash blondie, we're already moving as fast as we can with the Boy Wonder here leading us." It seems he was still sore about being likened to a banana. "So unfortunately, we're stuck like this."

Robin looked up from his map and at the Speedster. "Hey, I didn't see you coming up with a map for our exit."

He was shut up when their paths were suddenly blocked by an army of size varying Genomorphs with three large ones heading the blockade; turning around, they saw they couldn't even take the path they came from because it too was blocked.

"Oh and by the way," Naruto deadpanned. "We have incoming..."

Crossing his hands over his chest, Kid Flash scowled. "Shut up."

"We need to get to the Elevator," Robin stated, shutting off his GPS and readying his weapons. "We need to get passed this blockade and once we do that, once we catch that next elevator out of here, we're home free."

Aqualad pulled out his weapons.

"Then let us make haste." He stated. "And not give the enemy a chance to get a hold on us."

"No need to tell me twice," Kid Flash bent his two knees, ready to utilize his Super Speed in the imminent battle that was about to come. "'Cuz I've been waiting to hit something since I got here."

Superboy got ready as well, settling into his brawler style stance while Naruto brought his two clenched hands up to his chest, charging it up with that weird Chakra he until he got the familiar feeling he needed in his hands. However, the blonde blinked as all he got was a flicker of light that died down as soon as it flashed.

'Huh?'

He concentrated again, charging up that weird Chakra until he regained that familiar feeling he was looking for.

'There, much better.'

The blonde returned to his battle ready stance, aiming his hands at the G-nomes, only to see that the others already started their charge; but before he could've wondered when that happened, he couldn't help but notice a shadow looming threateningly over him and look up.

"Uh..."

And just like that, he was in the move; instantly, he dove to the ground, rolling over to evade the pair of huge titanic fists that would've slammed into him otherwise, before he ran on the stretched attacking arms and spun around, giving a roundhouse kick to the head of the Titanic G-nome, an attack that was followed by a strong light blast slamming into its body, sending the large G-nome crashing into the other ones in its way.

"Don't think so."

"Took you long enough."

His ears twitched.

At the patronizing voice, the spiky haired blonde male looked to see Superboy, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad already standing next to the door of an elevator all looking at him, and looking over to the littered G-nomes around...

"Hmm, not bad."

He had to say, he was impressed with how quickly they cleaned the house. The blonde rushed over to the elevator just as it opened.

"Sorry about that," He stated to the four just as Robin launched a grappling hook into the empty shaft. "Powers fluctuated there a bit."

"Yeah?" Kid Flash stated, hopping through the open doors just as Superboy grabbed Aqualad and pushed off the ground, soaring high into the empty elevator shaft. "Well, try not to make that a habit."

Naruto jumped into the shaft. "No promises."

However, just as he was about to use his Chakra clinging ability to climb he froze as he remembered that he was advised against thinking that his Chakra was going to work the same way he remembered, so he frowned and easily hopped from ledge to ledge, until he saw a falling Superboy with Aqualad in his hand. Luckily for them, Robin quickly pulled out his pin gun and fired a nail which the falling clone grabbed with the hand not holding Aqualad.

"Superboy," He worriedly said, "Aqualad, are you guys okay?"

"I can't fly," the Clone whispered, tone laced in confusion and disappointment. "Superman can fly... why can't I?"

"Well at least you can leap tall buildings in a single bound like he can." Kid Flash commented from his spot in the shaft, hoping to ease the clone's feeling of disappointment. "That's cool."

Unfortunately, they had no time to ponder on the why because they all heard a noise from above them, and looking up in response, they spotted a high speed elevator rushing down the shaft.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I got this,"

He aimed his two hands at the lift, preparing to fire at it to clear their climbing path however Robin placed a hand on his shoulder stopping the blonde.

"No, there's not enough time," The Boy Wonder pointed to the closed elevator doors parallel to the wall with the number '15' marked, signifying which floor they were on. "This'll have to be our exit."

"Fine," The blonde sighed before he aimed his hands and blasted the doors from its hinges instead of his original target and jumped through the opened path and landed on the floor right as the elevator dropped passed where they were with Superboy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and Robin. "I still say I could've gotten us all out of there."

Robin got up from the ground. "At the rate the elevator was coming down, it would've been impossible for you to take it out without Kid Flash or I getting hurt." He stated. "I couldn't let you take that risk."

The blonde grumbled, crossing his hands over his chest.

"Anyways, we have to keep moving." The Boy Wonder continued. "I'd say we continue on the shaft but I don't think my grappling line's strong enough to support all of us without snapping."

And the sidekick would've said more, but the sound of growls and stampeding feets stopped his speech and alerted him - along with everyone else - to the approaching army of G-nomes.

"Guys, we need to move!"

"No duh."

Naruto smashed the wall beside him before grabbing a large piece of it and chugging it at the approaching G-nomes, cutting off their path, and then he caught up with the Sidekicks as they moved with Superboy, surprisingly, leading the charge this time, fully confident in the directions he gave the group as they moved swiftly from one turn to another.

Robin looked at the blonde. "What took you so long?"

"Just took care of some business." Naruto stated before slowing down, as he and the sidekicks ultimately came across a dead end.

"Great directions Supie," Kid Flash angrily snarked, throwing his hands in the air. "Or are you trying to get us back into those pods?"

"No I..." Superboy frowned, hesitating with naught but confusion written all over his face. He was following a voice in his head that told them where to go and so far, it was leading him and his allies fine until… this. Why? Was it just a trap? "I don't understand."

"Don't apologize," Robin walked up to the clone staring at the ventilation ducts up above them. He smirked because unlike Kid Flash, he saw an opportunity in this situation instead of a failure. "This is perfect!"

"What is?" Naruto blinked and Robin pointed at what he saw, earning a look of understanding from the blonde. "Oh!"

And after The Boy Wonder had gotten the rest of his teammates to follow through with his plan once he revealed the general gist of it, they all successfully ended up on the other side of the vent with not one single G-nome in sight, and there was a reason for that...

The Boy Wonder grinned. "I hacked the motion sensors."

Kid Flash smirked at Robin. "Sweet," He said. "And there's still plenty of them between us and out..." He pushed the goggles wrapped on his forehead over his eyes. "But I finally got room to move!"

And with that, the sunny speedster blitzed through the door with the 'exit' sign right next to him and his friends, speeding up through the long square rotating staircases with lightning speed while knocking down the G-nomes that were coming down in front of him off the stairs as the others followed behind him in their normal relative speed with Naruto leading the charge.

Robin looked at his GPS. "They're coming behind us!"

Naruto aimed his hand down where the G-nomes haven't reached and fired a strong beam, slicing the stairs and cutting off their path thus creating a home free path for them as they reached for the top floor.

"There," Kid Flash pointed. "Once we reach that gate, we're home free!"

Unfortunately alarms started to blair and lights started to flash as they crossed the hallway reaching towards the exit which was quickly closing in front of them thus cutting them from their ultimate goal. The speedster slammed face first into the closed doors.

Aqualad frowned. "We're cut off from the street."

"Thanks," Kid Flash sarcastically commented to his approaching teammates. "My head hadn't noticed."

Superboy used his strength to try and rip apart the door but it didn't budge but then he noticed his blonde haired bunk mate approaching with both his hands stretched. There was a small sphere forming in the space between them.

"Move, I'll blast those doors open."

The clone and the sidekicks cleared a path for the blonde and once they did, the sphere grew and grew until the blonde cupped his hands and brought them to his side, and when he pushed it at the sphere it shifted into a beam stronger - he wagered - than what Superboy's current max strength could muster until he heard the sound he was looking for.

* BOOM *

There it was.

Slumping slightly, Naruto gave a tired grin.

"There's…" He panted, relaxing. "Your exit."

The sidekicks rushed to the blonde, "Are you okay?" as did Superboy who didn't have the heart in him to feel the emotion known as 'jealousy'.

"Yeah, just need to catch my breath a little bit." Naruto stood up straight, answering the clones question, just as they saw the army of G-nomes approaching. "That took a lot out of me."

Why? He frowned in wonder. From his regained memories, he was used to dishing out attacks that were bigger than that and they didn't exhaust as much as this one did. He did put a lot of effort into controlling that attack so maybe it was because of that? The blonde shook his head.

"Good," Aqualad looked at the approaching army with a frown, unaware of what his fellow blonde was thinking off. "Unfortunately, there is no time for us to catch our breath with our exit returned to us. We have to keep moving as fast as we can and report this to the league."

The other sidekicks nodded before leaving just as Superboy hefted Naruto on his back.

"I'll be your legs until you catch your breath."

The blonde grinned.

"Thanks."

And with that, they left.

:- :-

"Where are they?!"

Desmond and Guardian's group just arrived at the blasted doors only to see an army of G-nomes - including the titanic ones - sulking with a lurking Doublex, leading the pack. His face was neutral as Desmond stormed to him.

"The Clone," Desmond growled. "The Weapon, the sidekicks… where are they?!"

"Unfortunately," Doublex drawled, unfazed with the stewing he received from the scientist. "They all got away."

"What? And you just let them?!"

"Once they got to the streets it was impossible to go after them without risking exposing the G-nomes to the rest of the world," Doublex stated. "And I'm sure that's something that the CADMUS board of directors wouldn't want, don't you think so?"

He wasn't about to tell the fool that even if he managed to corner them, he would've let the sidekicks and the experiments go since after all, he was the one who'd led Robin, Aqualad and Kid Flash by starting the fire in the first place.

Meanwhile, Desmond held his head.

"Ugh," He groaned. "Either way, the Board is going to have my head for letting things spiral out of control."

Guardian placed his hand on Desmond's shoulder.

"Stay calm." He stated. "I'm sure they're not going to be nearly as hard on you as you think they are."

Desmond shrugged the hand off of him.

"Quiet," He snapped. "And let me think!"

The Guardian pulled away from the stewing Desmond, holding his hands up in a surrendering position before shuffling over to Doublex and crossing both his hands over his broad chest.

"So, what do you think's going to happen from now-" He passed out before he could say anything more.

Doublex walked up to Desmond and placed his hand on the scientist's shoulder.

"What did I-"

Desmond was knocked out too before he could finish his sentence, and as he dropped to the ground, a vial of tube containing a blue liquid spilled out of his hand, something that earned a raised eyebrow from the CADMUS official.

"It seems like you were about to do something unwise my friend." He bent down and picked up the vial, looking at it. "Luckily, I was able to get you to stop before things got too out of control." He glanced at the passed out bodies. "Now… how to proceed from here on words."

:- :-

The Sidekicks finally reunited with the Justice League and from the looks their mentors gave them a they did, things weren't about to go down peacefully, even moreso with the reveal of Superboy and Naruto, but they told them what happened anyways…

They were surprised when they didn't receive anything but a firm scolding.

Superman walked to the clone of him who was once excited with a meeting, but was now stewing because of the reception from the man of steel.

"We… we'll figure out something for you," The pure blooded Kryptonian hesitated. "The League will, I mean; for now I need some time to myself to… process all of this."

And with that he left, taking off in flight and away from the hall of justice no doubt heading towards the Fortress of Solitude.

Batman, Aquaman and the Flash approached the teens.

"CADMUS will be investigated." The Dark Knight stated. "All 52 levels; but let's make one thing clear-"

"You should've called!" Flash interrupted, earning a look from the previous looker.

"End results aside, we are not happy." Batman continued. "You hacked Justice League Systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. These are some things you will not be doing again."

"I am sorry," Aqualad stepped up on behalf of the rest of his teammates. "But we will."

Aquaman frowned. "Aqualad, stand down."

"Apologies my king," The sidekick rebuffed, earning a raised eyebrow. "But no." He continued. "We did good work here tonight, the work you trained us to do; together, on our own we forged something powerful… important."

"If this is about your treatment in the hall…" The Flash spoke up. "The three of you-"

"The five of us," Kid Flash firmly corrected, standing up to his mentor. "And it's not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us." Robin said, adding his two scents in. "Or why teach us at all?"

"Why let them tell us what to do?" said a scowling Superboy. "It's simple: either they get on board, or get out of the way."

Everyone turned to look at the silent blue eyed blonde whose head was down, expecting an input from him but they got nothing; this made most of them wonder what he was thinking about.

Naruto, meanwhile, feeling himself being stared at, looked up to find that he was the centre of attention.

"Um…" He blinked owlishly. "What were we talking about again?"

"Dude,"

Kid Flash slapped his head in frustration. "Way to ruin the mood."

(Meanwhile…)

"Lantern Core Entity Energy Signature Detected."

Hal Jordan looked at his ring, frowning. Looking at up at his fellow Green Lantern, John Stewart, he saw the same confused expression on as he too held his ring up his face, no doubt receiving the same message as he did.

"Um… okay ring… where?"

Hal stumbled a bit before getting himself together and holding his ring hand with his free hand as it moved on its own in accordance to the ring's will until it settled on the unaware blonde male standing next to Superman's Clone and the rest of the sidekicks who were all seemed to be like they were in the middle of a conversation.

"Him? Are you sure?"

"Faint traces of the White Light Entity are presently within the human vessel..."

John Stewart walked up to Hal with a frown on his face.

"So, you're hearing this too?"

Hal frowned. "Yeah,"

"What are we going to do about this?" John asked.

"I don't know." Hal scratched his chin. "This is the first time I'm hearing about something like this… but no doubt about it, one thing's clear."

Both lanterns nodded at each other before turning to look at the spiky haired blonde.

"We have to tell the Guardians."

"Definitely."

.

Naruto blinked.

"Hmm?"

His blue eyes looked to where he felt a pair of eyes staring at him with hidden intentions.

"Yo, is everything okay?"

"Um… yeah,"

The blonde frowned, before he shook his head and stared at Wally.

"Anyways, back to our discussion of me being the leader of our team."

(In a different location...)

Familiar silhouettes appeared in a scheduled location as naught but images on a blank screen.

"Can The Light afford to leave Guardian in Charge of the G-nomes?"

"I believe that is not the main issue we have been gathered for…"

"Indeed."

"We have lost both weapons; how do we proceed from here?"

"We wait for the right opportunity to strike of course."

A figure walked into the middle of the room, stepping out of the shadows to reveal the evilly smirking face of a familiar blonde… but that couldn't be…

Could it?

"After all... nothing can escape the Light."

:- -

Unadded Scene: Naruto's Regaining his memories.

:- :-

These images...

These experiences…

These feelings...

Wha…

Ichiraku Ramen, Iruka-sensei, Team Seven, The Shinobi Alliance…

The blonde frowned.

Konoha...

Naruto held his head in frustration.

These images…

Where… were they supposed to be real?

No...

That couldn't be!

He wasn't from Konohagakure.

He wasn't a ninja.

He wasn't whatever the hell a 'Jonin' was.

'Uncle Lex… Uncle Savage...Uncle Psimon…'

It… it couldn't be… he was from Earth!

He could remember how happy he felt when uncle Lex found him on the streets and took him in.

He could remember how excited he was each time Uncle Savage and Uncle Ra's came to visit.

His first school experience.

His first crush.

His graduation...

When he first activated his powers and lost control each time he used it, he could remember how Uncle Lex came to him with a solution.

CADMUS...

That was how he met Uncle Psimon and Guardian; that was how he met Desmond and his fellow scientists.

19 years of life…

No one could just make that up…

Could they?

He could remember everything he did, everything he felt… and yet, yet…

Project Maelstrom fell to his knees.

Was it... all a lie?

"You have an ability to discern truth from a lie." He looked up to see Asura, his 'Spiritual Ancestor', looking at him. "Can you not use this to figure out which memories are true and false? Or is it… that you are afraid to?"

He was.

These new memories, they felt real, true and right and yet… yet, it ended up with him and the woman he professed his love to being sent to another dimension to blow up on the grey surface of the moon. His last memory before blacking out was the smile on her face and single tear in her eye that clenched his heart.

He was afraid and… conflicted.

"Well now, if this isn't a pleasant surprise, I don't know what is."

Looking up at the different voice, he froze.

"And here I thought you and I had our differences settled back in Kumo..."

Flashes of memories came to his mind…

A giant turtle…

A rapping man...

A Water Fall...

The Darkness...

:- :-

Him.

"Hello again my naive half,"

Project Maelstrom stared.

It was like he was he was staring into a mirror that brought out the worst of you.

"Looks like we have a lot to talk about, doesn't it?"

.

.

.

To Be Continued in Chapter Two...

Author's note: And there we go, the much more grounded version of The Crowned Light with a different beginning. It's already shown what Naruto's being around would cause. He was able to destroy the gates which led to the sidekicks smoother escape and CADMUS not being demolished due to them having to fight Blockbuster which was also averted because of the gates being destroyed. I feel like Doublex would free Guardian from his mind control and alter Desmond's perception of events so that he can abolish the scientists rule over the G-nomes if things would've gone like that in canon.

I wish I could've added more especially in terms to Naruto but I decided this was enough. Naruto's Chakra not working like he's used to, well do I need a reason to explain that? His powers failing him? Well yeah, that's going to happen quite often later but don't worry, there's going to be a way around that.

He'll still get access to his White Lantern Powers.

As for the pairings, it's not the same as before but it's a singular pairing.

Note: Naruto may've been a weapon, but he still knows how to sneak up on people and disappear like a Shinobi. At the age of 19, it should come as instinct for him… oh, and this time the story starts at an alternate ending of 'The Last' movie, where the Raikage fired up the Chakra Canon and it sent Naruto and those on the moon to a different dimension before it exploded. The idea from this idea came from me reading fairy tail dragon slayer's latest Naruto/Bleach Crossover story: Naruto, the Hollow King with a Hollow Queen. Kudos to him for giving me this idea to start with.

PS: Kurama 'died' while preventing Naruto's body from tearing apart.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or DC.

PPS: I could've ended the chapter with Lex and the others discussing about the loss of Superboy and Naruto but honestly? I wasn't in the mood for that.

End.