Hello people of Fanfiction-land. Me again. Kinda addicted to this one, so I have yet another chapter that you can enjoy, so...well, enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any property of DC or the DCAU
Naruto sighed, taking a swig of punch. He had thought an event to welcome heroes into the Justice League, the most influential group of heroes in the world, would be a far more exciting affair. Outside of Superman and Batman, he didn't recognize any of the heroes there, and they were too busy setting up the event itself. Batgirl had a prior engagement, and Supergirl had yet to arrive. After the incident with the villain-girls three, he and the super-heroines had kept in touch. While not at all skilled in the use of most technology, Naruto at least knew how to operate email, texting, and cell-phones. He spent quite a lot of time in Gotham, keeping an apartment in both the Dark Knight's city and Metropolis, with the rent generously paid off by the Wayne Foundation.
His mentor, Dr. Fate, had been pleased with the idea of Naruto spending more time outside of the tower, but Naruto had to admit, he was a bit sad to leave, even for the short periods of time that he did. In three years, Fate and Inza had become something of surrogate parents to the Blonde, teaching him and guiding him since the Sorcerer Supreme had saved him and brought him to the tower. Often times he would even refer to Inza as 'Mom' though Dr. Fate wasn't quite as amused as his wife.
"Naruto." Looking up at the imposing figure of the Batman, Naruto gave a slight nod of recognition. He and the Dark Knight weren't exactly strangers to each other, having collaborated on occasion during his stays in Gotham. "You look well."
"Compared to what, yesterday?" the Blonde retorted. Batman just shook his head in acknowledgment of the shinobi's attitude.
"Not much of party-animal, are you?" he asked, with a practically invisible smirk as Naruto sighed.
"Brilliant observation, Detective," Naruto replied, taking another sip of punch. At least the food and drink was good. "I don't know half of these people."
"You didn't know Barbara or Kara either, yet by the looks of things, you've all become not only good friends, but quite the team," Batman replied. "Hopefully that kind of attitude rubs off on some of the new roster."
"I take it you're already having problems?" Naruto asked, getting a nod in response.
"We haven't gotten any word from Green Arrow," Batman announced, turning to walk away. "If he doesn't give us an answer within the next hour or two, we'll have to send someone to pick him up so he can tell us all in person."
"Hey, as long as it ain't me, you can do as you please," Naruto said, his eyes catching a flash of light in his peripheral vision, and he turned away from the shadow that was all that remained of the Batman. Smiling, he watched Kara arrive via the Watchtower's teleportation system, her cousin standing directly behind her, his hand on her shoulder. She seemed like she was searching for something, before she caught sight of the cloaked blonde and her face lit up considerably. With what was quite literally a flying leap, Supergirl hovered close to her friend, dropping down right at his left and the two high-fived, before Naruto wrapped an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in for a sort of 'half-hug.'
"What's up, Smokey?" she asked playfully, poking him in the ribs. Naruto sighed.
"What did I tell you about the nicknames?" he asked, and Kara, looking innocent as ever, merely put her hand to her chin, stroking it as though in thought.
"Nicknames? I don't know what you mean, Magic-man." She had to stifle a laugh as Naruto palmed his face. "Oh come on, you can't go calling yourself 'Naruto' all the time."
"I don't need another name," Naruto replied. "I already have a manufactured name as an alias."
"Yeah, but Nathan Nelson? Why not at least come up with a Super-name. It's half the fun." Naruto just sighed, knowing there was no arguing with his friend...at anything. The two ended up butting heads so often, Barbara had taken to referring to any argument as the 'clash of the Billy-Goats,' much to both blondes' dismay. So he decided to just change the subject.
"You get your key-card yet?" he asked, holding up the card for his own room aboard the one of the few other large space-stations, orbiting the main Watchtower. Naruto had already moved enough stuff into his room to make it comfortable, giving him yet another place to stay if need-be or if he was on-call. Holding up her key-card, Kara smirked.
"Kal gave me mine this morning," she replied. "For a while there, I thought he wasn't gonna give me my own room."
"I'm not that over-protective, am I?" Turning toward the Man of Steel as he descended to the floor, Naruto held out his hand and shook hands with Superman.
"In a word, yes," Kara replied, as Superman put on an expression of mock-hurt, before the two began laughing it off. For all of Superman's over-protectiveness, he really was a pretty laid-back guy, especially around his cousin. It made Naruto feel a bit left out though, as while always a stern mentor, and true friend, Dr. Fate was never really as close with Naruto as a father, though the shinobi still looked up to Fate that way. At least Inza allowed herself to get closer to the blonde, and he was grateful for that.
While Kara at least kept Naruto entertained, he couldn't hide his boredom much, even after Green Arrow was picked up by the conveniently color-matched Green Lantern, John Stewart. He listened a bit to Superman's speech about the role of the League in global affairs, as well as organization. His teacher placed a hand on his shoulder during the final words spoken by the Man of Steel.
"I will return to the tower. I have no doubt you can handle anything thrown at you." That said, the man with the Golden Helmet vanished in a light-show, taking the form of an ankh. As it vanished, Naruto just shook his head. Dr. Fate wasn't much for gatherings either, but it was more likely he wished to spend the rest of the evening with his wife. Perfectly understandable. Inza was an amazing woman. Naruto wished he could be so lucky as to find a love as deep as the Nelson's.
"Naruto!" Hearing his name called, Naruto looked up to see Green Lantern and J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter. They seemed to be scanning the crowd rather than seeking him personally. It was John who spoke. "Supergirl! Captain Atom! Looks like you guys get to show your stuff first." Naruto and Kara shared a look, the girl much more enthusiastic that the boy, before both flying up to the control center where the Lantern and Captain Atom, a tall, muscular man in what seemed to be a full body bluish-white suit, even complete with skin-tightness around the face.
"Come on," Lantern said, motioning for the three to follow. Walking through the corridors of the Watchtower, John began to debrief them on their current mission. It wasn't until the subject of radiation came up that Naruto really began to question the details.
"What exactly do I have that can contribute to a moving radioactive accident?" he asked, turning the attention of all of them toward himself. "What?" he asked, defensively. "I'm a magic user."
"We picked you because you're a magic user," John said. "It may be useful in containing whatever's going on down there. Captain Atom's here because of his knowledge of and powers based on radiation, and Kara is here because we needed some muscle and I hear you and her work well together."
"Alright, as long as there's a good reason," Naruto replied, shrugging. As they were about to enter the elevator which would take them to the hanger, the door was kept from closing by the arm of Green Arrow, who wedged his way into the elevator.
"Oh no you don't," the Archer said. "I need a lift back to Earth, and I'm not going to have you playing pinball with my molecules again." Lantern sighed at how stubborn Arrow was, but nodded.
"Fine," he conceded. "You can come tag along with us, and we'll drop you off after the mission, alright?" Arrow nodded as the elevator opened in the hanger, several Javelins being maintenance, a few ready for take-off. Entering one of the prepared vehicles, the group of heroes strapped themselves in, the Lantern dropping into the pilot seat. Naruto let out a nervous sigh, prompting a raised eyebrow from the archer.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, and Naruto's grip tightened on his armrests.
"I hate this thing," he replied. "Flying around like this...just makes me nervous." Captain Atom just turned to look at the cloaked blonde.
"But...can't you fly?" he asked, and Supergirl just sighed, before answering for Naruto.
"He's fine when he's out in the open," she said. "He's just not so big on being surrounded by metal and circuitry."
"Claustrophobia?" Green Arrow asked, and Naruto shook his head.
"I just am a lot more comfortable when I'm the one holding myself up," he replied, and all the fliers actually had to agree with him on some level. Supergirl wasn't keen on being cooped up in the Javelin either. At least Captain Atom and John were used to flying in vehicles as much as on their own.
"According to Batgirl, he doesn't even go near Batman's plane," Kara continued, getting a glare from Naruto beneath his hood.
"Kara, too much information," he sighed, his knuckles beginning to turn white with how tightly he was gripping the armrests as the engine fired up and the Javelin took off at high speeds.
"Don't worry, Kid," Arrow announced. "Statistically, flying is still one of the safest ways to travel, you know."
"Give me a good teleport any day," Naruto countered, Arrow shaking his head at the Blonde's stubbornness.
"What's so bad about flying?" Lantern asked, and Naruto's face seemed to sink further into the shadow of his hood.
"First time Dr. Fate introduced me to the world outside the tower, we caught a flight across country. Unfortunately we ended up getting hijacked by a group of thugs," Naruto said, and even Supergirl was listening intently, never hearing about this before. "I had unstrapped myself and was prepared to take them down, but as it turns out, he had apparently been on the Man of Steel's turf. Superman entered the plane, while we were in the air, and pulled the entire exit door off. Keep in mind, this was near the beginning of my training. I was almost sucked out of the plane...I couldn't fly yet..." Green Arrow grimaced, understanding now the young-man's trepidation. Something like that would definitely leave a bit of mental scarring.
"So, yeah," Naruto continued. "Any other questions?" When nobody spoke, Naruto sighed, before closing his eyes and beginning to calm his nerves with a bit of meditation. Kara, getting up and sliding into the seat next to Naruto, took his hand so he'd have something besides the armrest to get a grip on. A move that did not go unnoticed by the Archer in the group.
"You two...? he asked, and seeing as Naruto was already in something of a trance, blocking out everything else, Kara was the one forced to defend them both.
"Whoa! No, no no...not like that," she denied. "We're just really good friends is all." Green Arrow just held up his hands defensively.
"Ok, ok sorry," he replied. "Just a little bit of curiosity, that's all." Captain Atom turned his attention to their team-leader and current pilot.
"Who is the Magic kid, anyway?" he asked, and Green Lantern could only shrug in response.
"To be honest, this is the first time I've actually met him," he replied. "According to Batman and Superman, Kid's Dr. Fate's sidekick." Even in his trance, everyone heard Naruto growl in what appeared to be irritation. Kara giggled.
"He prefers 'apprentice," she told them. "He's pretty insistent on it, actually." Lantern nodded, storing the info for later. "So how much longer until we get to Chong...whatever the place is called.
"Chong-Mai," the Lantern corrected. "And it won't be long now. We won't keep you love-birds cooped up much longer." He couldn't help it. While he'd never admit it, Lantern had a soft spot for the younger heroes, and teasing them was just a perk of being a senior League member. Kara stuck her tongue out at him from her seat, causing Arrow to chuckle a bit at her childishness. It was refreshing. In his opinion, the League had always seemed to have a giant stick up their collective asses.
As they prepared to land, Arrow turned to Supergirl, looking between her and Naruto. "How do you get him out of that?" he asked, and a smile appeared on Kara's face that one might call creepy.
"Like this," she replied, reaching behind Naruto and smacking him in the back of the head. With her strength, his head shot forward and whacked the seat in front of him. Snapping his head to look at his fellow blonde, Naruto looked as though he was prepared to chew her out, but instead, just uttered one thing.
"Ooooow!" Just because he could heal, didn't mean he didn't feel pain, and no matter how tough he was, a hit from Supergirl hurt. "You could have just given me a shake you know."
"Yeah, but what would be the fun in that?" Kara asked innocently. Arrow was having trouble keeping himself from laughing, and even John cracked a smile.
"Alright, you two," he announced, bringing the Javelin to an easy touchdown and standing. "We have a job to do, so try to act professional."
"Yeah!" Naruto said, looking straight at Kara. "Be professional, Supergirl." Kara's tongue once more shot out, this time aimed at Naruto, who because of his mask couldn't return the gesture. Captain Atom palmed his face at their antics, and Green Lantern sighed. As they began to exit, Kara and Naruto cracked a couple smiles, starting to laugh at themselves. They both knew their messing with the other was all in good fun. The two were very alike in their good-natured love of playing tricks.
"Damn..." Naruto exclaimed, as the forest before them was burned and ripped to shreds, smoke still rising from the smoldering ashes.
"Looks like we missed the party," Supergirl announced. Turning toward his team, John spoke.
"We'll do some recon," he announced. "If you see anyone, do not engage."
"Roger that," Captain Atom replied, snapping to attention, getting an odd look from all present.
"Um, you can just say 'ok," he said, and Captain Atom didn't even change his expression, as he answered.
"Ok." Kara and Naruto just shared a look as he passed. Both getting the same idea, they both gave 'mock-salutes' when the radioactive-man wasn't looking. With a sigh, Supergirl followed the two older heroes, with Naruto following closely behind.
Taking a sip from a water-bottle, Green Arrow also exited the Javelin. Just in time, as it turned out, as he was able to see the military men all training their high-powered weapons on the other heroes. "HEY!" he shouted, trying to get their attention. Also just in time, as the group turned as the military personnel launched a rocket at them. Lantern prepared to put up a shield, but Naruto beat him to it.
"Rashield!" The large wall, the ankh symbol in center, sprang up from nowhere and absorbed the rocket in its entirety, as well as the hail of gunfire.
"State department wasn't kidding about these guys not liking foreigners," Atom said. Lantern grunted in agreement.
"It's crazy," he said. "There's just no reason for it." Supergirl clenched her fists.
"I'll give 'em a reason," she replied. Before she could actually do anything, Naruto held her back.
"We came here to help them, not to fight," Lantern shouted, Green Arrow running up to help.
"So you're gonna just stand here until they run out of RPGs?" Arrow asked incredulously. "If this radiation thing is as bad as we think, a lot of innocent people are going to get fried." John seemed to contemplate for a second too long.
"Lantern, he's right!" Naruto shouted. "We need to end this now!" Nodding, John used his ring to send a massive shockwave outward, taking out all the soldiers. The men yelled in terror as the wall of light knocked them all over, scattering their weapons, which were collected by the Green Lantern, tendrils of light grabbing and encasing each gun.
The sound of helicopter blades caught the group's attention, and they looked skyward to see the chopper descending into their pseudo-battlefield and more men, higher-ranked military men, stepped out to greet the League members.
"My apologies for the fireworks," the leader announced. "Col. Kim here was a farmer before the revolution. He doesn't know who you are. I am General Kwan, and most flattered that the Justice League has honored us with your presence. But I must ask why..." As leader of the team, John stepped forward to address the General.
"You had some sort of nuclear accident," he replied as though the answer was obvious, but Kwan just waved it off.
"A minor problem," he said. "Fully under-control." John didn't seem convinced.
"If it's all the same to you, I think-" He was interrupted by the General, who seemed rather aggravated now.
"It's fully under-control...if it's all the same to you," he stated.
"I apologize, but we did come a long way to help-," Naruto countered, but was also interrupted by Kwan, who tipped his hat.
"Your help is not needed here, now good-bye." As he walked away away, the League could only stare in disbelief.
Night fell, and the team hung back in the Javelin, concealed within the forest. The Leaguers had J'onn on the video-screen. "I'm telling you J'onn, it took every ounce of my restraint not to part that guy's hair with my ring," John said, the irritation evident in his voice.
"You did the right thing," replied the Martian. "But everything is not under control...It's getting worse." The other Leaguers nodded, before Green Arrow spoke up.
"Don't you get it?" he asked. "They don't want anybody to find out about the accident! And they don't care how many of their people they have to lose to keep it quiet!" John only glared at the man, his Green gaze penetrating him.
"This isn't your concern," he replied, startling the Archer for a moment at the change in demeanor. First they wanted him in the League, but now that he thought he should help, Lantern turned him down. Turning, he walked away, knowing it wouldn't do any good to try and argue with Stewart. Sighing, John turned back to the monitor.
"He's got a point," the Lantern conceded. "Maybe we should go back, and-"
"No," J'onn stated. "We can't just do whatever we want. We have to respect the Government's wishes...no matter what we think of their policies."
"Lantern!" John turned to see Supergirl run into the room. "Green Arrow's gone," she continued, Cap. Atom moving in behind her.
"And so's the Geiger-counter." Lantern narrowed his gaze in irritation at the impulsive man.
"Well, let's go find him before he gets in any trouble," he replied, as he and the rest of his team exited the ship. Lantern, Kara, and Atom took to the skies, while Naruto sunk into the shadows, releasing almost a hundred clones within and had them scatter. If an animal so much as shit in those woods, he would know almost instantly. However, his clone dispelled quicker than usual, and his eyes widened at the memories he received.
"Mother of God," he whispered, moving quickly through the dark to try and head off whatever that monstrosity was.
Chapter end.
So, I seem to be a bit obsessed with this particular story, so expect quite a few updates in the next week or two. Now that Naruto's in the League, things get interesting. And in case a few of you were wondering, Naruto will have at least a few guys around his age as friends, so he's not just around older guys and chicks. In particular, expect a certain duo from Dakota to show up pretty soon. Gotta give our boy Some male friends lol.
Peace to all my Fans
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