Listening to Ode of a Superhero as I write this. So freaking ironic.
Some of you are asking for Batgirl and Naruto to get together as well, so I'll ask for a poll.
Just Naruto/Artemis or Naruto/Artemis/Batgirl?
The power...is yours! *Holds dead Captain Planet's head up* I have rights, not blue boy here. Mwahahaha
Disclaimer: I don't-*gags* NO! I won't say it! I'll never say "I don't own Naruto or Young Justice or any other DC characters!" You can't make me...Wait...
Chapter 3: Conflicting Situations
-Gotham City, 10:23 PM-
Artemis sat next to her friend Batgirl and sighed, "Hey Barb..."
"I'm on the job, dammit..." Batgirl groaned playfully, "What if my dad finds me?"
"Touché..." Artemis said back, "But it's not my fault I happen to use my name as my identity. It just works."
"Yeah, yeah," Batgirl said, "Greek hunting goddess and what-not. You sure you don't have the hots for Wonder Woman?"
Artemis glared at the snickering redhead and huffed, "Well I was going to help you on patrol, but screw that."
"Damn...guess that means you want some information on someone I know," Batgirl said before turning on her 'Teenage Best Friend' mode, "So what's his name?"
Artemis gave her a suspicious look, "Who said it was about a guy?"
Batgirl grinned, "Come on, Arte, give me some credit. You know as well as I do that you never come to me if it isn't about something you can ask Green Arrow or Speed-erm, Red Arrow about. Remember four years ago when you had your first-?"
"Ok, ok I get it," Artemis said with a blush looking away, "Can we not discuss that here? I wanted to ask you about one of Gotham's newest thieves..."
"Why would...Oh you ran into Kit!" Batgirl said knowingly as her eyes glossed over slightly, "Yeah...I can see why you want to know more about him. A nice ripped six-pack, well trained reflexes, a dazzling smile..."
"What? No! Geez, Barb," Artemis said blushing, "He's a criminal for goodness sakes! We're supposed to stop him! Here you are crushing on him..."
You hypocritical bitch! Batgirl thought while in reality she asked with a raised brow, "So? He's not always a bad guy. He's just a thief, why are you interested in him?"
"He, um...He got away from the team and Robin's being tight-lipped about it," the archer lied, "Yeah, and I can't find anything on the Net."
"Well no duh," the redhead replied, "He's minor league. Even Batman doesn't run into him unless Catwoman's involved. He always manages to stop our Bat-a-rangs somehow though..."
"He's got weapons training," Artemis said looking out over the city as she recalled her first interaction with the thief, "That much I know. What does Batman know about him?"
"Not much," Batgirl said as she scanned the city, "All we know is Kitsune stays within New York and away from major League members' areas. Heck, Robin had him in cuffs once and he ran up the side of a building. Just ran on up, like it was the ground. Robin and Batman think he's a meta-human...I'm starting to agree with them."
Artemis felt her jaw drop, "You're sure there weren't any technological enhancements? Maybe he's an android...Like that Cyborg guy."
"I doubt it," the redhead scoffed, "He may be good, but I've landed a few punches on him and there's no sign of technological enhancing features. I cut him on the shoulder once, got a DNA sample. Not enough for a match on anyone, but he doesn't have any genetic enhancements."
Artemis frowned, and asked the question her more feminine side was bugging her with, "...Is he always a flirt?"
"Totally," Batgirl replied with a grin, "It's so fun and relaxing. Not some evil doer's usual mantra, but like you're messing around with a friend. Heck, it's nights like tonight that I actually look for signs of him."
Oh no way...Barbra Gordon is crushing on a criminal? The archer to Batgirl's left thought. The two of them sat silently for a moment before a car alarm went off below them. The two exchanged a look before dropping down and checking it out.
"Son of a bitch!" a deep voice swore as he picked himself from the car. Mammoth groaned as he brushed glass from his shoulder and looked back at the metamorphic glob of clay before him.
Mammoth was not having a good day. How was he supposed to know Clayface would be in this area? He was supposed to be threatening a gang for an old friend of his, but this was NOT in the agreement.
"Leave my mom out of this!" Clayface roared before chuckling with a slightly insane tone. He took a step forward before an arrow landed an inch in front of him. The shape shifter looked down to see a flashing blue light on the tip and he paled, "Oh crap."
The arrow exploded and froze a good portion of Clayface's arm. Clayface growled in annoyance as he looked up to see Artemis and Batgirl glaring at him. The monstrous former man grinned and leered at them.
"Looky here," Clayface said, "I get to kill Bane's boy and the Bat's brats!"
"Like hell you're gonna kill me!" Mammoth roared as he charged the mass of clay. Clayface sighed in annoyance and split directly in half as Mammoth ran past him and through a brick wall and the wall after it. He recombined his body before shifting his left hand into a mace and throwing it towards the two teens on the ledge of a building.
"Move!" Batgirl shouted as she leapt away to the right. Artemis jumped to the left and twisted midair to fire several more rounds of ice arrows at Clayface.
Clayface recalled his left arm and morphed his right arm into a rock hard shield as the arrows approached. When they stuck, he shifted them in his shield-arm before shifting it into a crossbow. He grinned at the archer who looked shocked before shooting them back at her. Artemis dove to the right out of the way, the last arrow barely missing her left leg. She rolled into a kneeling position and fired off two more arrows, these ones being the explosive type.
Clayface smirked and tried the same tactic before being met with a good portion of his arm missing. The morphing glob roared in anger and shifted his arms into twin hammers, swinging wildly as he ran towards Artemis. Batgirl leapt at Clayface's back, only to be knocked aside by a surprise fist of clay emerging from his back. An eye appeared in the back of Clayface's head and mocked Batgirl in silent laughter. Batgirl flew a few feet before colliding with a wall and getting knocked unconscious.
"Batgirl!" Artemis shouted before dodging a clay axe being swung down at her head. She kept backing up and rolling out of the way of Clayface's arsenal, shooting off explosive arrows when she could. Her back connected with a brick wall and Artemis looked up at the shape shifting clay monster in fear.
"Looks like you're out of luck, Speedy," Clayface said with a sadistic grin as he morphed his two hands into one giant mass, "Say goodnight, Buttercup!"
"Ok," a voice said from above them. The two looked up to see a goggle and beanie wearing teen standing on a fire escape. He extended his hands from himself and a strong gust of wind shot from them.
Clayface, with his form more solid due to the density required to make the mega hammer, was blown away into the wall, turning into a mass of clay goo. He groaned while Kitsune pulled a small capsule out from his back pocket and tossed it at the reforming Clayface. The second the capsule connected, Clayface's eyes widened and he cried out, "NOOOoooooo!"
The capsule exploded and Clayface flash froze into an icicle. Kitsune grinned and ran his thumb over his nose, "Goodnight Buttercup."
He turned back to see Artemis looking back at him and went into a thinking pose, "Don't I know you from somewhere?"
Artemis clenched her teeth and slowly stood up, "Yes...Kitsune."
"Oh, right! Maine Museum, right? Man I got away from you guys easily!" Kitsune replied with a grin as he puffed his chest out a little bit. A moan came from their right and they both turned towards the sound.
"Batgirl!" Artemis shouted, remembering her injured friend. The archer ran towards the downed heroine and checked her pulse while Kitsune frowned in confusion.
"Batgirl?" he repeated, "What's she doing here without backup?"
"I'd ask you the same thing," a dark voice asked from behind him. Kitsune turned to see the Dark Knight himself standing behind him. The thief swallowed.
"I didn't steal anything, I swear!" Kitsune shouted as he backed away from The Bat, "I actually came here to check on Mammoth, but he's long gone by now."
"Why did you help them?" Batman asked with narrowed eyes. Kitsune waved one finger in front of him.
"Ah, ah, ah," he replied, "That'd be telling! It's much more fun for you to guess, Bats. Tell Bird Boy and Batgirl, once she wakes up, I said hi!"
With that, Kitsune turned and ran back up the side of the building, the soles of his feet glowing a light blue with each step. Batman narrowed his eyes as he followed the running apprentice of Catwoman before he looked back down at the two teen girls. He looked at the frozen form of Clayface before walking towards Batgirl and Artemis.
"Why aren't you with the rest of the team?" Batman asked Artemis. The archer looked up at her commanding officer.
"Wally was pissing me off so I decided to cool down," she said. The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes at her.
"In Gotham?" he asked. Artemis nodded hesitantly.
"Y-Yes," she said before clearing her throat, "Batgirl sent me a message asking if I'd want to help her patrol. I accepted. Besides, I'm not entirely needed for the team."
"You aren't entirely not needed either," Batman said as he lifted Batgirl up in a bridal style manner and pulling his grappling gun out, "I've got this covered. Get back to base. We'll discuss this later."
He shot his grappling gun at his jet and pulled himself and the unconscious Batgirl into the craft. The jet then lowered its own grappling claw and grabbed the frozen chunk of ice that was formally known as Clayface. Artemis followed the jet as it shot off towards the sky with her eyes and frowned before walking away.
"This is a nice ride," a voice said as Artemis neared her motorcycle. The archer looked up to see no one other than Kitsune leaning against it and she drew her bow on him.
"Why did you help us?" She asked with a suspicious glare locked on him. Kitsune's smile turned into a frown and he uncrossed his arms, standing straight up before her.
"A guy can't help his friend?" he asked. Earning a further drawn arrow aimed at him and a narrowed glare locked on his person, Kitsune sighed and said, "I like to keep an eye on Batgirl sometimes, ok? We're pretty tight."
"Isn't that against some hidden code?" Artemis asked him. Kitsune smiled slightly.
"Nah," he said waving her question off, "I'm just chivalrous. Gotta do with what ya are."
"What was that wind?" Artemis asked, her bow not dropping its tension nor its' target, "And that bomb, how did you make a flash-freezing bomb?"
"I'll answer one question as I'm on a schedule," The goggled boy said as he walked towards the building on their right, "The flash-freeze bomb was courtesy of Dr. Victor Fries for the diamond I gave him a couple of days ago. With that, I earned a couple of those bombs and I'm currently studying them for reproduction purposes. Don't worry, I only use them against major problems."
Artemis wasn't convinced, "How do you know I'm not a major problem?"
"Cuz you're too cute to be a problem," Kitsune said cheekily, causing the archer to flush bright red behind her mask, "That, and I can deflect any shot with my own weapons."
"And the wind?" Artemis asked, trying to get control of her emotions as she looked at the teen in the streetlight. She swallowed as she saw just how tight the shirt he was wearing was and where the curves in his arms were.
My god, he's almost as defined as Superboy, but without the look of a professional wrestler, Artemis thought as she studied the teen. Kitsune's smile grew and Artemis felt her heart speed up.
"That's a tale for another time, Arte," Kitsune said as he turned and went towards the building. The next thing Artemis saw made her eyes wide and her grip on her bow to slack. Kitsune raised his foot and pressed it against the wall, before bringing the other one up and standing on the wall. He was literally defying gravity as he walked up the wall without a care in the world. Artemis swore she even heard him humming 'Another Way to Die'.
This guy...He's a whole new thing, the archer thought before shaking herself from her stupor and mounting her motorcycle. She put her helmet on and revved the engine before heading back towards her team's base of operations.
As Artemis rode back towards her base, she thought, Maybe Robin can give me more information on Kitsune...And if not, well I know who can get in touch with him.
-Gotham City, Next Day-
Selena Kyle walked through the halls of Wayne Enterprises. She glanced at every nook and cranny and made mental notes of them in case of needing an escape route. As she neared the elevator, a security guard got in her way. As usual, more recently than before, her heart stopped.
"Allow me," he said, pressing the button for up before he returned to his usual spot, "He's just getting out of a meeting and waiting for you, Ms. Kyle."
"Thank you Paul," Selena said with a smile before she entered the elevator. Her stomach bubbled. She looked at a small makeup mirror in an effort to calm her nerves.
You can do this, Selena, Selena thought to herself, Naruto's counting on you to make this relationship work. We have to get out of this business for his sake, and the best way to do that is to make this work. This is for Naruto, this is for Naruto, this is-Oh, who am I kidding? I've fallen head over heels for this man...Ugh, I blame Naruto.
The raven haired beauty looked up at the camera in the corner of the elevator and smiled slightly as she remembered Naruto's and Bruce's secondary meeting.
-Flashback-
"So...you're Bruce Wayne," Naruto said uneasily as he sat on a park bench next to the billionaire. Catwoman watched the two from atop a building more than a mile away through high tech binoculars. She smiled as she heard Bruce chuckle through the mic she put on Naruto's hoodie.
"I am," Bruce said, "And you're Selena's ward."
"...You make it sound so dirty..."
Catwoman bit her lip in an effort to not burst out in laughter or scream in frustration. Bruce, however, burst out laughing.
"I did, didn't I?" he said with a small smile, "So what do you like to do?"
Catwoman watched and listened intently as Naruto mused for a moment. Don't you dare say go raiding museums with Selena. Don't do it.
"I like to go look at art with Selena," Naruto said, making Catwoman swear quietly, "And I like to work on my Parkour, kung fu, and my...promise you won't turn me in to the police?"
Catwoman instantly went on the edge while Bruce seemed to harden his resolve slightly. When the billionaire nodded, Naruto continued in a whisper, "I hack Lex Luthor's bank account to buy ridiculous items."
Bruce's reaction was priceless as he smiled and whispered back, "Same here."
-Flashback End-
The elevator dinged and Selena stepped out, walking towards Bruce's office. She smiled at the secretary, but blinked when she saw she wasn't there. Selena slowly opened the door, to peek and make sure Bruce was done with his meeting. What she saw, needless to say, shocked her.
"I don't know what to tell you Bruce," Superman's voice said, "J'onn hasn't seen anything like it. This footage is new, even to us. John says no Lantern has run into a person with any ability like this."
A voice Selena dreaded and yet loved to hear replied, "I know, Clark. But this boy...Whatever he can do, I doubt Catwoman has taught him. He's good. Real good."
"...Luthor maybe?" Superman's voice asked. Selena didn't want to risk getting caught, so she put a transmitter on the left door on the inside of the office near the floor. It was a specific design Naruto's friend Micro had made, nearly invisible without prior knowledge to it, and it only worked on a specific frequency bounced off several other restricted frequencies. Selena shut the door and immediately left, putting an ear bud in her ear to listen in on the conversation.
"I doubt it," Batman's voice said, "Lord knows what would happen if he knew about this kid."
"Ever try and bring him into the League?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a no."
"He's too young to be a clone, and the DNA strand I managed to get doesn't match to any known heroes or villains with these powers..."
"Want me to talk to him?"
"No. I don't know enough yet...Give me a bit longer before trying to recruit him. Don't get your hopes up though."
"Why not Bruce?"
"If he works with Catwoman, helped Mr. Freeze, and stole a priceless jewel from under Young Justice's watch, he can't be trusted."
"Everyone can be trusted, Bruce. They've just got to earn it."
"That's your opinion."
Selena pulled the bud from her ear, her heart cracking. She growled as she exited the elevator, getting a look of understanding from Paul. The guard had seen his fair share of Bruce Wayne heartbreaks in his time, and with a relationship that had been going for a good year and a half, it had to hurt.
"That bastard..." Selena said as she stormed out of her building to her car, fighting the tears threatening to spill down her face.
-Wayne's Office-
"Are you sure that act was wise, Bruce?" Superman asked as Batman crushed the bug Selena left on his door, "Despite her being one of your...enemies, you and Selena had something special. Do you think letting her know who you are was wise?"
"...It had to be done," replied the Dark Knight, "And now I know who this Kitsune is."
"Sometimes I worry about you, Bruce," Superman said shaking his head, "Lord knows I wouldn't do that to Lois or Jimmy."
"I'm not you, Clark," Batman shot back quietly, "It's too dangerous to let anyone, Selena Kyle or otherwise, get too close to me."
"One day you're going to regret it, Bruce," Superman said as he walked towards the window and flew away. Batman looked at where the Man of Steel once stood before pressing an intercom button.
"Red Tornado," Batman said, "Get Young Justice to the Cave. I'm about to assign them a mission. Make sure that Artemis is there."
"Right away Batman," Red Tornado replied. Batman released the button on the intercom and unmasked himself before he pulled a drawer on his desk open and looked at a small velvet box. Bruce Wayne, clad in his Batman disguise aside from the mask, picked the box up and looked at it with a tear in his eye.
"...It had to be done..." he repeated to himself quietly as he crushed the box in his hand.
-Kyle Residence, 4:00 PM-
Selena had calmed her resolve enough in her drive and now she had one thought on her mind. She entered her apartment to hear simulated swordplay echo from the living room.
"Naruto?" she called out, wondering if her was home. If he was, that was good. If not...well, she'd have to go find him.
"Hey Selena!" Naruto said from his spot in the living room playing his PS3, "No, no, no, no, DAMN! Ah fuck...damned minotaur..."
Selena walked into the living room and looked at the blonde that was staring intently at the TV as he played God of War III. His fingers were flying in a blur on the controls and in his mouth was his 'thinking cig' as Selena called it. It was no more than a small three inch piece of plastic the blonde chewed on, a side effect of his early malnourishment the STAR Labs scientist said. Naruto adored it, it was his security blanket, aside from Selena or Sylvia.
"Naruto," Selena said as neutrally as possible, "How would you like to do a specific raid?"
"When?" the blonde asked, not looking up from his game.
"Two days from tonight," Selena said with a small smile. Naruto's thinking stick switched to the other side of his mouth.
"What are we looking for?" he asked before he started button smashing to win a combo fight.
Selena's smile grew slightly sadistic, "The Wayne family bonds."
The game suddenly paused and Naruto looked at Selena with a raised eyebrow. He studied her face for a good minute before his eyes narrowed.
"Can we move it to tonight?" he asked through gritted teeth. Selena smiled and patted his cheek.
"You're a sweet boy," she said before pulling him into a hug. Naruto hugged her back, clenching his fists to keep from crushing her. The art dealer/super cat burglar shook with silent sobs as she clung to her 'son'. They stayed liked that until Selena stopped crying and looked down at the PS3 and back at Naruto.
"Game night tonight?" she asked. Naruto's smile grew and he pulled his cell phone out.
"I'll order the pizza if you want," the blonde said, earning a laugh from his mother/sister figure. The two of them spent the night relaxing playing PS3, eating pizza and junk food, and watching a horror movie called 'Sabertooth'. The film was about a giant Smilodon that escaped from the genetic research facility that had created it and it went on a rampage. Naruto and Selena adored monster movies, especially ones based in the woods.
"I swear that was the best one so far," Naruto said with a grin, "I loved the part where it ripped that girl's head off...just a single chomp!"
"If only that purrrfect creature was still alive today," Selena sighed before she yawned and fell asleep. The blonde next to her grinned as a thought came to his mind as he pulled a blanket out and covered her with it, kissing her cheek before he left the room. Sylvia saw her master start to leave the room and started to follow before he waved her off. The black cat mewled in confusion before dropping that idea and going to curl up at her mistress' side.
Naruto sat in front of his computer and opened a private channel with one of his many...associates. The webcam on his computer activated and he came face to face, sort of, with a certain genius.
"Hello Doctor. I was hoping we could help each other once again," the blonde said while the frozen screen of his acquaintance. The voice that replied was chilled and sounded colder than possible, but the blonde knew it was a somewhat-happy tone.
"Ah, my young friend with the...extraordinary abilities," the doctor said, "What can I do for you?"
"Your wife is frozen in cryogenic time, yes?" the blonde asked. A hesitant nod and the narrowing of red eyes was his response. Naruto grinned, "What if I could assist you in curing her?"
"You know of a way? How? Tell me!" the man seemed frantic. Naruto held his hands up in defense.
"Chill, Frosty," Naruto said, "I just want one thing from you."
"What? I'll do anything!" the doctor shouted into the screen. Naruto smiled kindly.
"Can you recreate a Smilodon for me?" he asked, "My...teacher has been through a horrible time and I want to give her something that she can relate to. Even if the project fails, I will assist you in finding a cure, provided you keep researching a way for me to get a Smilodon."
"...A day of research is all I ask before we meet," The doctor answered, "I want to make sure your word is worthy."
"In your email is a breakdown of my molecular structure," Naruto interrupted, "I have a...friend that told me about a hidden healing gene within my DNA. If you could isolate and reproduce this gene..."
"...Nora could be saved..." the doctor replied. The frozen ice burg that hid the man's face melted away and Naruto smiled at him. Mr. Freeze smiled slightly at the blonde.
"Thank you," the cold man said. To which Naruto replied, "What are friends for?"
AN: The means to an end. Next chapter; That's a