" So what's the story? You've been awfully quiet," Cheshire purred as the both of them entered her apartment. She dumped the body on the couch as Naruto sat in the kitchen and sighed.
" Do you have a medical kit or something? I don't want him to die just yet because he is our newest addition to our team."
" Cheshire? Cheshire?" he called out as a beautiful woman with tanned olive skin, jade coloured eyes and long flowing black hair who wore a blue kimono came out of the bathroom.
"You can call me Jade, Naruto. I wouldn't want you to keep using my alias in public because it might raise suspicions. Did you have something to say?"
" Yea. This Red hood guy is our newest team member. His combat skills are exceptional and he seems to have a vast knowledge on poisons and weapons. We might have stumbled across another top mercenary," Naruto said as Cheshire's eyes widened.
" Did you say Red Hood? He is the biggest crime lord in Gotham at the moment since Black Mask was incarcerated in Arkham Asylum again. I don't think that a man like him would agree to join you in your little quest for redemption," she said airily as Naruto dipped a piece of gauze in hydrogen peroxide and began cleaning Red Hood's wounds.
" It will be a bigger problem if his wounds become infected. I'm just doing this to keep him alive so wipe that grin off your face," Naruto growled as Jade simply waltzed to the cupboard and poured herself a glass of whisky.
" Want me to pour you a glass, Naruto?" she smiled as the blonde merely grunted in response.
" It would be good if there was some ice to go with it," he hinted as she just chuckled and added a few ice cubes into the bronze coloured liquid.
" Crap…I forgot that I was supposed to pick up some pizza for Zatanna and I. She is going to murder me!" he thought to himself as his watch read half past eight.
" Jade, could you tend to Red Hood while I make an important phone call?"
" Fine. Who are you calling anyway? Your girlfriend?" she snickered as he shot her an irritated look before stepping outside her apartment.
" Hello?"
" Zatanna, its Naruto here. I'm so sorry that I forgot to pick up pizza for the both of us. I got carried away at the bar with some new friends of mine and I didn't realize that I was on dinner duty tonight. I promise that I will make it up to you so please don't be angry," he blurted out.
There was a pause on the other side before she gave a small laugh much to his relief as Zatanna couldn't help but feel happy for him.
" It's fine, Naruto. I'm just glad that you're able to find some new friends so quickly since you told me that you didn't have any friends back in your world. What are they like?" she smiled as Naruto couldn't help but feel delighted that she was actually concerned abut him.
" Well, they are tourists who happen to be a married couple but boy, they could out-drink me. They must have the stomach of a camel," he replied as the enchantress giggled.
" I'm going to crash at their place if that's fine with you?"
" Hm…I guess that should be fine. Where is their place?"
"It's at the North end of Gotham. Its not a hotel because they rented an apartment," he replied.
" Well, I see. Enjoy yourself, Naruto and just promise me that you'll stay out of trouble," she said seriously as Naruto bit his lip before coughing out his response.
" Sure thing and Zatanna?"
" Yes?"
" I already miss you," he whispered as Zatanna gripped the phone tighter to her ear and swallowed the lump in her throat.
" Really? Well….I'm flattered and all but sycophantic drivel isn't going to work on me. Now go and enjoy the rest of the night! Your friends are waiting for you," she blushed as Naruto grinned and smiled at his phone.
" You enjoy yourself too and I'll see you tomorrow," he said before ending the call.
" Who is the lucky lady?" a sultry voice came from behind as he quickly spun around to see Jade's wide smirk. He turned purple and pushed her out of his way.
" None of your business, Jade. She is just a friend of mine but anyway, how is Red Hood holding up?" he asked as Jade just followed him back to the living room.
" Why don't you ask him yourself?" she said as he frowned and was met with the angry glare of Red Hood from the couch.
" Oh….you're awake? I didn't expect you to be conscious till tomorrow."
" Cut the crap, bastard. Where am I and who the hell is she? Wait….you're Narito or Narudo or something like that right?"
" It's Naruto and I believe that you might have heard of the assassin, Cheshire. Her real name is Jade and don't you forget it."
" Oh, and why not?" Red Hood challenged him.
" Because that's an order form your team leader!" he said simply as Red Hood began to burst into peals of laughter.
" Team leader? What are you? A nutjob? You and I are enemies and I still don't get how you are still alive after that explosion. That's right! Where the hell did that come from? Are you some kind of meta human with the power of fire?"
Naruto and Jade exchanged a glance before they broke out into a small laugh much to Red Hood's chagrin.
" You've got the meta human part right but no, I don't have the power of fire. That canister of tear gas which I threw contained a high volume of methane gas mixed in it. Methane is a colourless and odourless gas so you couldn't smell it. When it is mixed with oxygen in the air, it becomes a very volatile and combustible mixture which explodes upon contact with heat. When I threw that lighter into the air, that was enough to ignite the whole room," he explained and Jade looked genuinely impressed at the blonde.
Red Hood was sullen but he just shrugged as he knew that he had lost fair and square but mostly due to his complacency and lack of awareness.
" You're a strong man to be able to survive a blast like that. I was kind of hoping that you wouldn't be dead because I could use someone like you on my team. What do you say, Mr…?" Naruto continued.
" Jason Todd. Just call me Jason. What team? But what kind of meta-human are you? You seem pretty ordinary to me."
" I'm actually Deathstroke or in other words, Slade's successor," he said calmly as he began repeating his story to Jason who snorted in disgust.
" No wonder I haven't been seeing him around Gotham much. I thought that Batman had managed to dispose of him but turns out that he got sent to another dimension. I don't know what he was thinking though- passing on the mantle to a runt like you who comes from god forsaken village where ninjas live. However, he must have seen some potential in you because knowing him; he would never waste his time tutoring someone who wasn't worth his time."
" You have a way of complimenting people, you know that?" Naruto laughed.
" Slade was always too full of himself and thought that he could never be caught. I guess that age finally caught up to him. No wonder you're able to survive my poison and that explosion- you have a regenerative ability. Thanks for the offer but I'm not interested in joining your little band of merry men. I have a job to do….." but he was cut off by Jade.
" Jason Todd? You were Batman's old sidekick, weren't you? I thought that you had been killed by the Joker but I guess that it was a false report. But anyway, aren't all your motives and plans fueled by revenge against Batman and criminals? Correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard that you're just an antihero…You carry out organized crime and yet, you want to keep Gotham safe," Jade said as Jason clenched his fists and grit his teeth.
" You shouldn't have mentioned that old fool. I still haven't forgiven him yet for letting that clown kill me. I guess there isn't any point in lying to you guys since you're not affiliated with the bat. Yes, I plan to ensure that all the criminals in Gotham get the punishment that they deserve and the only way to control the crime in the city is by keeping track of it or becoming a crime lord-cum hero myself. Sure, I carry out my own business and kill a few people here and there but you can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs."
" Well, close enough anyway. Join my team, Jason because I need someone who shares my interest in revenge and is not afraid of shedding some blood in order to achieve a bigger goal. I'll even throw in two million dollars if we succeed," he offered as Jason still looked skeptical at him.
" I don't need your money and what do I possibly hope to gain from killing this friend of yours and torching some old village? I have an organization to run as well," he growled.
Naruto heaved a heavy sigh and got up but Jade beckoned him towards her and whispered something into his ear. His blue eyes began to grow wide and his lip curled into a smirk
" Jason, what if I gave you two million dollars and since I'm a mercenary, you use that sum to hire me to take out other rival crime lords, perhaps Black Mask? A guy like him will break out of Arkham in no time. Well, what do you say?"
" I don't need your help. I can take out Black Mask myself….."
" And have Batman hot on your heels again? I don't think that you would want that. A reunion with your old partner," Jade said breezily as Jason flared up and barked at her.
" You better watch that mouth of yours, you bitch or I'll sew it shut for you!"
Jade just gave him a dangerous look as Naruto stepped between them and glared at the both of them.
" Jade, that's enough. Don't take too much into his empty threats and Jason, what's it going to be? If you refuse, I'm afraid that I'll just leave and let Jade take care of you. She might drop you back at your house or the nearest morgue," he said as Jason knew that he couldn't do anything in his state.
" Well..he has a point. I don't want Bruce to come after me just yet. If Naruto takes out Black Mask, Bruce and him can play cat and mouse while I'm able to continue doing my own thing. Besides, I don't really want to kill Bruce anymore anyway," he thought to himself.
" Fine, Deathstroke…."
" Just call me Naruto,"
"Naruto…..I'll join your team and help you with your mission but you better keep your end of the bargain after that or I swear that it's the last thing you'll ever do," Jason warned Naruto who broke into a big grin and shook his hand.
" Don't worry. A mercenary always carries out his job when he is paid to do so. But anyway, welcome to the Titans," he said merrily as Jade gave a small sarcastic clap of elation.
" Well, aren't we going to discuss our plans now that we're all here?" Jason yawned as Naruto shook his head and placed his hand on Jason's bandaged shoulder.
" We will do that tomorrow but tonight, we should get a good's night rest because its been a long day plus you need to regain your strength. Jade, is it alright if I sleep in the spare room?" Naruto asked the Vietnamese assassin who seemed reluctant at first but eventually relented.
" Good night, Jason and sorry if I was a bit too rough on you today," Naruto chuckled before closing his door.
Jade merely nodded at the fugitive before turning off the lights and entering her room.
Jason wouldn't admit it but secretly, he felt excited again to be part of a team and to have some interesting partners to cooperate with. Being the solitary figure head for controlled crime in Gotham wasn't very appealing to his friends and before he knew it, his friends had deserted him in fear of incurring his wrath. He had lived without friends for a long time and every time he was in Crime Alley, it evoked nostalgic memories of his first encounter with Batman and the day that he became Robin.
He was getting a decent deal out of this whole ordeal and lets face it, he was curious to work along side Slade's prodigy as well as the famous Cheshire. It seemed to him that they were forming a team of mercenaries but Naruto had great faith in him and was persistent in persuading Jason to join his team that the Red Hood couldn't help but feel just the slightly bit flattered.
Jason knew that there was animosity between his new team members and they got off on the wrong foot but he hoped that they could build a bond of trust or even friendship in the future because an opportunity like this was always rare.
In Zatanna's apartment….
Zatanna was preparing to go to bed when she felt a strong gust of wind blow past her as the windows gave a whimpering creak. She couldn't help but give a small smile as she didn't bother to turn around and merely continued walking towards the kitchen.
" Bruce, it's great to see you after so long but couldn't you have come just a little earlier? I was just going to hop into my warm bed and call it a night," she chuckled as the caped crusader silently emerged from the shadows.
" Zatanna, I have a favour to ask of you. I'm sure that you heard about the massive arson attack or explosion which took place in Crime Alley this afternoon? I have reason to believe that Red Hood was ambushed by an unknown assailant which might have taken him somewhere."
Batman showed her the canister of methane gas and she slowly took it from his gloved hand and inspected it.
" The perpetrator released a large volume of methane gas into the air and ignited it, causing a big enough explosion to wipe out an entire skyscraper. I need you to use your powers to track down the culprit because he isn't form this world," Batman said darkly as Zatanna's azure eyes grew wide at the last sentence of his explanation.
" It can't be…No…." she thought to herself as she remembered her recent phone call with Naruto.
Bruce's eyes narrowed as he could see the change in her expression and he quickly marched din front of her and folded his arms across his chest.
" Zatanna, if you know something, I expect answers because I don't want to have to interrogate you or prosecute you under the rules of the League," he continued as the magician regained her composure and squared her chin to his.
" Bruce, I was just thinking about the dozens of lives that could have been lost if it had been released into the streets of Gotham! I am not hiding anything from you and I don't think that you should be threatening someone who you're asking a favour from!" she snapped as Bruce merely narrowed his eyes.
" Fine, but I need you to lead me to the culprit or more importantly, give me a visual image of him since he isn't registered in the Bat computer's database."
Zatanna nodded and began to sense the spiritual energy emanating from the canister. Her eyes began to glow a faint white as she began chanting a string of spells as Bruce eagerly anticipated the results.
Zatanna was busy sifting through the mantras of all the people who touched it in her mind but her thoughts came to a juddering halt when an image of Naruto removing the pin and tossing it onto the ground cropped up.
" So it was him…..that bastard! He said that he was at his friend's place! I am going to castrate that blonde buffoon once he comes back but I promised him that I wouldn't tell Bruce about him…..But Naruto just committed arson and crime on Gotham grounds and I can't just let that slide," she thought to herself.
" Zatanna, do you see anything or anyone out of the ordinary?" Bruce asked as Zatanna silently shook her head and continued sifting through the mantras.
" Nothing out of the ordinary yet, Bruce," she replied as the dark knight just growled in frustration and played back the images of the crime scene on his wrist watch.
" Keep looking, Zatanna. That canister is bound to give us the answers that we are looking for."
" But why would Naruto go after Red Hood and how did he know that he would be there today? Naruto, what aren't you telling me?" she thought but she froze as she realized that she had mumbled those exact same words aloud and it didn't go unheard by Batman.
She ended the spell as Bruce clenched his fists and walked up to her with a menacing glare.
" Zatanna, who is this Naruto and why should he tell you anything? Wait…," Bruce paused as he swiftly rushed to the guest room much to Zatanna's horror as she tried to stop him but it was too late as Batman rattled the locked door.
He slipped a pin out of his utility belt and began to pick the lock as Zatanna began sweating profusely as the thought about the dire consequences if he found out that she had been sheltering a killer, so she did the only thing possible.
" Egaggab Enogeb!" she whispered as she waved her hand into a full circle around Naruto's room just before Bruce opened the door.
Bruce turned the room upside down before picking up a few old shirts worn by the mercenary.
" Zatanna, This Naruto is your new roommate isn't he? You lied to me just now when I asked you whether you knew anything regarding the attack. You are housing a possible criminal and you think that that isn't against the law? What were you thinking?!" he growled as Zatanna grit her teeth and snorted.
" Look Bruce, you have no proof that he was responsible for what happened today and you think that I would have known that my new roommate destroyed buildings and chases crime lords during his spare time? Give me a break," she laughed mockingly as Batman just shook his head and continued rifling through his room.
" Where is Naruto? Why isn't he back here?" he asked dangerously as Zatanna just shrugged and waved her hand dismissively at him.
" Who knows? He disappeared this morning and hasn't called since. Why don't you start looking for him now instead of interrogating a fellow crime fighter who doesn't know much about him?" she challenged him.
" Zatanna, I need you to tell me everything you know about him because if you don't, more lives will be at stake if this unknown vigilante is allowed to roam the streets freely and that is not going to happen under my watch," he said as Zatanna grew purple in the face and shifted uneasily.
" Is playing house with him more important than our job? Since when did you allow your personal life to dictate your work life? The Zatanna that I knew ten years ago would have never turned her back on justice," he said darkly as Zatanna shook her head and moved to slap her face but he quickly caught her hand.
" Bruce, I am not playing house with him and how dare you act as if I have abandoned the superhero life?! It was an honest mistake and I don't think that you have any right to be lecturing me on personal life when you haven't even made a serious move on Red Hood!" she yelled as his eyes grew wide in shock at her uncanny outburst.
The mention of Jason seemed to imbue with him a sense of regret as he dropped her hand and proceeded to give her an ominous look.
"You don't know anything about what happened between Jason and I so I think that you should watch what you're saying, Zatanna," he growled in a low voice as she took a step back, fearing that she may have crossed the line.
" Bruce….I didn't mean it that way…" she replied but Batman just turned away and walked to the window.
" I did make a move on Red Hood once during an encounter with the Joker but he escaped before I managed to capture him. It's not that I don't want to throw the shackles at him but after that, what's going to happen to him? He would probably be locked up in Arkham Asylum for the rest of his days unless he is on parole. As much as he is a criminal and a menace to the city, he was still my partner and…I don't want to make the same mistake twice," Bruce muttered as a look of remorse replaced his steely gaze which did not go unnoticed by her.
" Zatanna, I need to know what Naruto has done with Jason because I don't want him killed! Jason might have even killed your roommate if he wasn't careful…so please Zatanna. I need to know how he looks like and his whereabouts because J'onn is away on a mission and you're the only one besides Circe who has the power to track him down through psychometry."
The magician was torn between Bruce's request and her promise to Naruto and either option will result in the possibility of losing a friend or an ally. She was a superhero and nothing mattered most than protecting the lives of the innocent and fighting villains but she couldn't just lead Naruto to a slaughterhouse. Not after he rescued her from those ninjas.
" Zatanna, I need your cooperation! We don't have much time because who knows what might have happened during this period!" Bruce raised his voice which was laced with impatience and frustration.
She took a deep breath and sighed.
" Naruto's at the Starling Condominium at the North end of Gotham. You should be able to get there in twenty minutes if the traffic is minimal," she quietly replied as Bruce gave a silent nod and walked towards the window.
" Bruce! Don't hurt him or lock him up in that madhouse! He is still a friend of mine and is yet to be proven guilty," she told him defiantly as Batman merely ignored her request and disappeared into the night.
Zatanna felt terrible for betraying Naruto's trust but her duty as a superhero came first and if Naruto was responsible for the recent attacks and arsons, he would have to be contained immediately for the safety of the citizens of Gotham.
She closed her eyes and tried not to scream in frustration but managed to calm herself down and headed towards her closet.
" Bruce already knows that I would be following him," she said dryly as she took out her superhero costume from the closet.
Back in Cheshire's apartment…..
Jason couldn't sleep just yet because he had just received a text message from one of his men stating that the other smaller crime syndicates under his reign were revolting and turning against him. Since the news about Red Hood's disappearance spread like wildfire, various rumours had started to be thrown around the neighbourhood.
He was assumed to be either captured of dead with the latter being everyone's preferred choice. With this hasty conclusion, the other crime lords under his protection and reign decided to throw caution to the wind and break free of his grasp. Jason's men did not know what hit them as they were swiftly massacred by the onslaught of gangsters and mobsters.
He had already lost control of several key ports which were for the cargo ships and it seemed that his disappearance had caused a mad scramble for his old title which was the biggest crime lord in Gotham.
Jason grit his teeth in frustration as he knew that his men would be overwhelmed by the onslaught but he was in no state to get down there and sort things out.
" What the fuck is going on here…..?" he murmured to himself as he switched off his mobile phone and placed it on the table.
Batman hopped from rooftop to rooftop in pursuit of the blonde mercenary and his old partner but he was stopped in his tracks as he witnessed a civil war between Jason's men and other rival gangs.
Normally, Batman would have left it to the Gotham police department since he was in a hurry but the emergence of Bane plowing through Red Hood's men caught his attention and he swooped towards the hulking figure.
" You've been running around like a group of headless chickens since Red hood went missing. However, I'm under strict orders to wipe out every last man working for him," growled Bane as he killed another of Jason's men by breaking his neck.
" Orders? From who? The boss would never leave us without further notice and you bastard shouldn't get too cocky because once he comes back and finds out what you have done, he is going to chop you to pieces and feed you to the sharks," another henchman grinned as the masked villain merely bashed his skull open with a punch to the forehead.
" These puny weaklings aren't even worth the money that he paid me," Bane laughed to the men on his side.
" Maybe I can ask him to lower your reward once you've told me his name," a dangerous voice echoed through the streets as the masked villain just smirked and cracked his knuckles.
" Batman, you're too late because all of Red Hood's men here are dead."
Suddenly, a batarang whizzed through the air and perforated the wall behind them. The batarang beeped before detonating sending most of the men sprawling but had little effect on Bane.
" Stay out of this Batman, this has nothing to do with you. As much as I would love to break your puny spine again, my boss would get really upset if I wasted any more time here," Bane grunted but the dark knight merely narrowed his eyes and hurled himself towards Bane.
Bane swung a large arm towards him but Bruce went under his arm and landed a hard kick to his jaw which sent the murderer staggering.
" Alright Bane, I want answers! Who put you up to this and why were you killing Red Hood's men? Red Hood's been gone for a while now but that doesn't mean that he is dead," Bruce said calmly as he squared up to Bane who merely smirked.
" I would never tell you Batman! So you can just go to hell!" he roared as he threw multiple punches at Bruce who dodged them but was unable to dodge Bane's kick which sent him crashing into the wall.
Bane charged like a bull towards the groggy vigilante who rolled out of the way before throwing a few smoke bombs in his direction.
Bane coughed and tried to clear the smoke which was hampering his vision but Bruce pounced on his back and surprised him with a headlock and chokehold.
Bane growled and tried to grab the dark knight's arms but Bruce quickly hopped off his back after placing a shock pad on the tube connected to the back of his mask. Bane quickly picked up the dumpster and hurled it towards the caped crusader who rolled to the side and sent Bane staggering with a kick to the gut.
As Batman tried to knock him out with another kick, Bane caught his leg in mid-air and flung him against the wall. Bruce slumped to the ground after the force of the impact took its toll on his vision and stability.
" Batman, as much as I would love to continue toying around with you but my boss is expecting me elsewhere and I would just hate to disappoint him," Bane grinned as he lifted an ice-cream truck with ease and dangled it precariously over Bruce's slumped form.
" Well then, I think that you should call him to tell him that you will be late," Bruce replied dryly as he pressed a button on his bat suit which activated the shock pad behind Bane's neck and sending thousands of volts of electricity through his venom flow system- severing the connection and halting the supply of venom to his body.
Bane dropped the truck as the feeling of pain slowly segued into one of ecstasy as the electricity coursed through his body, slowly numbing his nervous system and making him feel light headed. Bane swayed slightly before falling to the ground unconscious with a heavy thud.
Bruce slowly picked himself up and started to search through Bane's pockets to find any sort of communication device. He finally fished out an old-looking mobile phone.
Bruce scrolled through the messages which were nothing more than instructions or a few codenames strung together as a sentence. However, the last message which had been sent about an hour ago was plain clear and simple.
" Report to the West Gotham cargo port once you've taken care of Team Alpha at the East Side. Do not be late."
Bruce narrowed his eyes and realized that the sender's number was private but that did not deter him as he proceeded to contact Alfred.
" Master Bruce, I'll assume that you're not coming home for supper?" Alfred asked Bruce who just sighed.
" I'm sorry but I'll have to take a rain check on that supper, Alfred. Anyway, Alfred, I ran into Bane taking out some of Jason's henchman just now and I managed to obtain his mobile phone after subduing him. He's probably taking orders from someone else because whoever it is, it seems that he doesn't want us to find him."
" Oh my, Master Jason will be very upset to hear about that but I thought that he had disappeared after that arson incident?" Alfred replied.
" I was on my way to interrogate Zatanna's new roommate and hopefully find Jason's whereabouts but I guess that it would have to wait for now. Right now, we have bigger problems to worry about. I'm going to send you the GPS coordinates of Bane's phone and I need someone to bypass the firewall guarding his documents and contact numbers."
" Someone as in me, Master Bruce?" Alfred chuckled as Bruce couldn't help but give a small smile.
" Yes, Alfred. Tell me when you find something because I'm heading to West Gotham to find some more answers," Bruce continued before ending the call. He tied Bane up with some loose cables before speeding off to West Gotham in the batmobile.
Jason was about to doze off to sleep when he heard some loud rapping on Cheshire's front door. He quietly picked up a kitchen knife and crept to the door placing his back against the door and tightening his grip on the knife.
" What do you want? We don't want any visitors!" Jason hissed through the door but the rapping persisted and he began to feel annoyed.
" I'm here to see Naruto Uzumaki! Please open the door, you asshole," came an angry reply as Jason still refused to let her inside the apartment.
" I'm sorry but I think that you've got the wrong apartment. There is nobody by the name of Naruto staying here," Jason lied as Zatanna's vein in her forehead began to throb as she prepared to blast the door open.
" Jason, I didn't expect you to be still up at this hour. It's two in the morning and what the hell do you think you're doing with that kitchen knife?" Naruto raised an eyebrow as he leaned against the doorframe of his bedroom.
" There is an intruder outside the front door trying to break in by claiming that she was looking for you. I was just going to dispose of her quickly until you woke up," Jason retorted as Naruto looked pleasantly surprised and pushed the crime lord aside.
" Don't you fucking push me around like I'm some lackey. We've got an alliance, you got it?" Jason growled but Naruto just shot him a lazy look.
" That's no way to talk to your team leader, Red Hood. Don't push your luck or you'll be swimming with the sharks very soon."
Naruto slowly opened the door and he was stunned as he found Zatanna looking worried outside the apartment. " Zatanna? But…how?"
Zatanna just gave him a weary look and followed him inside. She sent a death glare towards Jason who just ignored her and went back to the kitchen to put back the knife.
" Zatanna! You shouldn't even be here and why did you track me down?" Naruto groaned as he pulled her into a hug as she just buried her face into his neck.
" Naruto, Batman knows that you're here and he's on his way now to interrogate you but more importantly….," she paused as she slapped the blonde mercenary's face so hard that the sound echoed through the living room.
" How could you lie to me about everything and make friends with a bunch of low life criminals!" she raged as Cheshire merely whistled in amusement and sauntered over to Jason who was enjoying the sight of his team leader being scolded.
" Zatanna, it's a very long story but I should have told you from the start that the reason why I wanted to follow you back to Gotham was to form a team strong enough to exact my revenge on Sasuke. I would have wanted another member but it looks as if I've overstayed my welcome," he said slowly but Zatanna took him by the scruff of his shirt and glared at him.
" I wouldn't have been so kind to offer you a trip back to Gotham if I had known that you were recruiting Red Hood and Cheshire to carry out your dark schemes! You do realize that Batman will skin me alive if he found out that I was the cause of this whole fiasco by brining you back to Gotham. I can't let you take back these two back to your world and more accurately, I am not sending them along with you back to Konoha!" she growled as she finally released her grip on his shirt.
" You're all going back to prison once I'm sending Naruto back to his world! Even if I don't I can communicate Batman or request the league for backup and I don't think that you would want Superman and the rest of us chasing after you, right?" Zatanna threatened as Jade merely scoffed at her threats.
" Don't underestimate me, you little tramp. You'll be dead before you even reach for your mobile phone," Jade smirked as Zatanna took up a fighting stance.
" Enough! The both of you! Jade, shut the fuck up and don't you dare harm a single hair on her. Zatanna, I really need your help one more time…..If you don't help me out here, all those years training and all this time spent here would be in vain! I have no right to ask of you this but as a friend, will you help me one more time? If you do, I promise that I'll disappear from your life after that," Naruto explained as the enchantress just shook her head.
" You know I can't do that, Naruto. I'm a superhero and if I did help a bunch of criminals, it goes against everything I stand for and I'll probably be stripped of my League and superhero status. I'm sorry but I can't fulfill your request," she replied strongly as Naruto nodded solemnly before heaving a sigh.
" Zatanna, I understand but do you know any other sorceress'?" Naruto shot her a knowing look as Zatanna's eyes grew wide.
" I know another powerful sorceress who goes by the name of Circe though. She likes to hang out at the Gotham Jazz Club down the road. Why?" she looked quizzically at him but he just smiled at her.
" Nothing much. I just wanted to know who else could pull an ostrich out of their hat or in my case, a mercenary," he chuckled before whispering thank you into Zatanna's ear.
Zatanna merely bit her lip as Naruto kissed her cheek much to his other two teammates' chagrin.
" Great…our leader is smitten with a member of the Justice League. Whoop dee doo…. I guess that he won't be the one dumping her anytime soon," Jason laughed dryly as Jade just chuckled in agreement.
" Either that or Naruto is playing on the poor girl's feelings.." she chimed in.
" Zatanna, I think that I left my equipment and costume in your apartment. Mind transporting it over here?" he laughed but Zatanna just looked sheepishly at him and told him about how she transported it to another dimension just when Bruce was about to check Naruto's room.
Naruto's face fell as he had to come to grips that everything he owned as Deathstroke was gone and he didn't even have his costume.
" This is really bad. That bulletproof costume was difficult to make and my arsenal of weapons were some of Slade's best. How am I supposed to do anything now if I can't even face my enemies without them knowing my secret identity?" he groaned.
" Naruto, I'm sorry but it was the only way….It doesn't matter anyway because Bruce is hell bent on finding and interrogating you for a confession. The problem is exacerbated because you just had to kidnap Red Hood and hide him here," Zatanna said.
Naruto frowned in annoyance as he rubbed his temple with his fingers. He didn't know how long it would take to make another costume and restock his weapons. His team couldn't move forward if their leader was handicapped.
" I'll deal with Batman if I have to but for now, I have other things to worry about, he continued grimly as he turned to his other two teammates.
" Naruto, Slade and I did business just before he got sent to your world and I don't think that he managed to test any of his new purchases but from what I heard, he was going through a major overhaul in preparation of executing his plan to eliminate the bat," Jason said as Naruto perked up immediately and threw him a hopeful glance.
" What's your point, Mr Hood? You don't know where is base of operations were and I'm pretty sure that its well hidden to avoid annoying visitors such as yourself," Jade smirked as Jason growled in response.
" Jade, save that kind of talk for later. Jason, if what you have said is true, then I'm guessing that I can restock and hopefully get a spare costume from his place. Could you lead us there?" Naruto asked him as Jason just flashed him a smirk.
" All my weapons are designed in such a way that they give off higher energy level readings compared to other firearms so that I can locate my stolen cargo easily since I have competitors who have the gall to sabotage my shipment at ports and factories. However, since you destroyed my energy reading tablet during our last encounter, we have to go all the way back to my office in East End if you want to locate Slade's place."
" I don't have a choice so we'll head there now to avoid the crowd during the day and before Batman shows up at our doorstep. So everyone, get prepared and let's head out," Naruto said as he proceeded to walk to his room to get his belongings.
" Wait! Naruto, what's going to happen after you've located Slade's base? Are you just going to wage an all-out attack on Gotham ? Please tell me because I've been worried sick about you because you're my responsibility and you owe me for fucking lying to me all this while," Zatanna raged again as she grabbed the blonde's hand before he could set foot into his room.
" I'll leave Gotham for a while to achieve my mission and I'll return with Cheshire and Jason once it's over. Then, I'll be out of your life for good and you'll never have to worry about me causing you any more trouble. I give you my word, Zatanna," Naruto whispered to her but she just gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him closer to her.
" How exactly are you going to return with those two criminals? You need a sorceress to open an inter-dimensional portal back to Gotham."
" That's why I need to ask a favour of you for one last time. Before you refuse, think about it. You get to apprehend the both of them at once and save Batman a lot of trouble and sleepless nights. You might even rise up the ranks in the Justice League for bringing in two of the most notorious assassins," Naruto continued but Zatanna merely pushed him away and glared at him.
" You really have a way of words, Naruto. Fine, I will help you but not because you asked me to but because those criminals belong behind bars in Gotham prison and not gallivanting with some second rate mercenary," she huffed as Naruto's face fell slightly with her tactless comments.
" Zatanna, I'm really sorry but…." but she just put up a hand to stop him and just shook her head.
" Whatever the reason is, I'm sure that it is as grand as your plot. Naruto, you and I might not be seeing each other for a very long time after tonight and I think that I'm about to lose a good friend," she said sadly as Naruto just walked up to her and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand.
" Just a good friend? I think that I'm going to lose something more important than that," he chuckled as he turned back and went inside his room while Zatanna just looked thoughtfully at him.
" Something more important? No….he's just screwing around with me again….. In any case, I'll have to pretend that he wasn't at home when I visited Cheshire's apartment in case Bruce decides to ask me," she thought to herself as she left the apartment.
" Is everyone ready? If you are, then let's head on out," Naruto called out to his teammates who were already waiting for him at the front door.
" What took you so long, captain? Making out with your girlfriend?" Jade grinned as Naruto just pushed past her and walked ahead towards Cheshire's car. " I hope your driving isn't as bad as your sense of humour, Cheshire," Naruto replied dryly as he hopped into the front passenger seat of the car while Jason sat at the back.
The moon under siege by stars seemed to lighten the night bringing forth stars that shone and hung in the blackness. The never ending blackness consumed everything. Except the stars which stood out like pebbles in front of a storm. Ever enduring these shone with the night cowered in an inky black sky. The car ride was filled with silence as Jason was already half asleep while Naruto felt his eyes getting heavier with each passing second.
" Naruto, you shouldn't be dating a superhero if you're working with us because it's likely that her teammates will find out and they could play on your emotions to lure you into their trap," Jade said quietly, breaking the silence which hung in the air.
" I'm not dating her and there is nothing going on between us. She is just a good friend of mine who happened to save me," Naruto mumbled as Jade still looked unconvinced.
" What's with all that heavy flirting and the sneaky smooches behind our backs? Don't try to bullshit your way out of this one because I can clearly see that both of you are smitten with each other. Yuck, no offence but she dresses like a whore and you can do so much better than her," Jade said offhandedly.
Every word stung only fuelling the fire that burned inside of me. Every violated phrase was like gasoline to it, my fists began to clench and my jaw rooted.
" Jade, take that last sentence back or else I'm going to throw you out of this car and onto the highway where a trailer can just flatten you," Naruto growled in a low and threatening voice, laced with danger, venom and contempt.
Jade was stunned at the reaction she got from her captain because she had never seen him get so angry before. The look that he was giving her was even enough to make her quake in her boots and mind you that she wasn't easily frightened.
" Zatanna means a lot to me and she is a great woman. If you dare insult or pull a stunt like that again, I will cut your tongue out. Do I make myself clear, Jade Nguyen?!" Naruto growled once more as Jade felt her skin crawl in fear.
" Of course, Naruto. I apologize for being so insensitive," Jade grumbled as the air was filled with new found tension between the two assassins. The tension in the air was palpable and even Jason knew that something happened while he was asleep but he just decided to let Naruto sort it out.
" We're finally here, guys. Jason, could you lead me to your office?" Jade asked the crime lord who nodded and began directing her through the streets.
The black Jaguar finally came to a juddering halt outside a dilapidated building which oversaw the Gotham River.
" I'll rush in and grab the tracking sensor while you guys wait in the car and look out for hostiles. This place is infested with thugs," Jason said as he climbed out of the car and ran into his office.
Naruto still refused to talk to Jade as he was still angry about her comments regarding Zatanna. Jade on the other hand was feeling slightly guilty because she had been on the receiving end of more scathing remarks and verbal insults. She killed anyone who mouthed off against her but this was different. She considered Naruto a friend of some sorts and she didn't like making her friends upset.
" Naruto, don't take my comments about Zatanna too seriously because that's how I address most female superheroes who don't wear long and baggy capes. Even though I don't like her but I'm sure that she has something special for you to have fallen for her," Jade sighed as Naruto gave a small smile even though this was about as close to an apology he was going to get from Cheshire.
" Apology accepted, Jade and you're right, she has something about her that I love," Naruto shrugged but his face soon began to grow red as a tomato once he realized his Freudian slip .
" Did you just say love? The great Deathstroke the terminator is in love with the innocent showgirl! Wait till the press hear about this," Jade grinned as Naruto quickly folded his arms and averted his sheepish gaze away from her smirking visage.
" I'm back with the sensor and I've managed to locate Slade's base based on the energy levels that I'm picking up," Jason said as he climbed back into the car.
" Wait….I'm sure that there are many areas in the city which house your weapons so how do you know that its Slade's?" Jade challenged him as Jason looked aggravated at her.
" Slade was the only one who purchased a large quantity of volatile promethium, the more dangerous and hazardous variation of promethium. The energy readings for volatile promethium is usually one of the highest and so far, there is only one area which shows up with positive results," Jason explained while pointing to the giant red and yellow circle.
" Where is this area?" Naruto asked him.
" It's an abandoned military school in West Gotham. No surprise there seeing how Slade was an avid fan of the military," Jason said as Jade began to start the engine again.
" I hope that this is the last stop because I'm feeling rather sleepy," the blonde mercenary said as he stifled a yawn. Before he knew it, he fell asleep once Cheshire entered the highway.
" Naruto, wake the hell up! We have already reached the school," Jason hissed in disgust as he jabbed a finger in his side which jolted the young man from his sleep.
" Jason, you asshole. Couldn't you have woken me up in a better way?" Naruto glared as he rubbed his eyes and made his way out of the car.
The night sky stood an inky canopy of darkness freckled only by the fewest of stars, where just hours ago it had been a blue summer's day. The occasional hoot of a hidden owl was the only sound to permeate the silence until a chorus of slapping footsteps and crunching gravel echoed angrily into the emptiness of the night. As voices quickly followed the owl omitted a screech of protest and took flight.
Jason led the two mercenaries towards the weapon storage room where he blasted the lock open with his pistol and flung the door wide open.
All three of their jaws dropped in amazement as the room revealed to be a big research lab filled with lots of weapons, spare parts, blue prints and folders chock full of documents. A mug full of stale coffee and a plate of mouldy bread lay untouched on the working table while empty magazines and bullet shells were scattered across the marble floor.
" Slade must have been really busy before this. Look at all the stuff he collected," Jade whistled as she picked up an AK-47 and inspected its barrel.
" Naruto,get your ass over here. I found something that you might like," Jason said as Naruto rushed to the Red masked man who was standing in front of Slade's latest costume.
" Jason, this suit looks amazing! ( It's the Deathstroke suit from the Arkham Origins Universe ) This suit is layered with more promethium than my last one plus it's surprisingly light for supposedly bulky body armour," Naruto said as he ran his fingers from the half black half orange mask down to the breast plate of the black body armour.
He proceeded to pick up Slade's old Promethium sword, dual pistols and ballistic staff while delving into his collection of explosives.
" I guess I should suit up since I'm the only one who isn't in costume," Naruto said as he proceeded to wear the body armour and signature mask. He placed his sword on his back, slung his staff across his chest and attached his dual pistols to the side of his suit. Last but not least, he armed himself with an array of grenades and explosives.
" Someone is looking rather dashing again," Jade purred from the back as she sauntered towards the two men.
Jason suddenly pulled out his Desert Eagle.50 AE and unloaded his entire magazine on Naruto much to Jade's shock but Naruto looked pleasantly surprised as the bullets ricocheted off his armour without a single perforation.
" Just as I thought, the whole amour is reinforced with a high proportion of Kevlar and mesh to withstand ballistics fired with a high velocity and greater force. No wonder my Desert Eagle couldn't even make a dent on it. Slade must have spent ages working on it," Jason said looking impressed.
" I'd expect nothing less from the original Deathstroke. He was a brilliant mercenary and weapons expert and I'm going to honour him by using this suit to its full potential!" Naruto declared.
" So now that we've got what we came here for, where do we head now?" Cheshire asked Naruto who reloaded his pistols and dropped the empty magazines.
" If you're hoping for an answer that has the word sleep in it, you're sorely mistaken because he's got something planned," Red Hood snorted.
" Forget about sleep for tonight because I think that it's time we paid a visit to the Gotham Jazz Club to meet a certain someone who could help us get back to my world," Deathstroke chuckled as Jason and Jade exchanged glances with each other.
" Is it Zatanna?"
" It better not be…."
Naruto just put up his gloved hand to silence the both of them before breaking into a devilish smirk.
" Cheshire, mind taking us back to North Gotham? We're looking for a woman that goes by the name of Circe."
A/N : Hi guys, first and foremost, I wish you a Happy New Year and I'm so sorry for the late update. I've been on vacation for about a month and just came back. This is the longest chapter that I have written so far for the story and I can say that it is the build up to the climax of the story. I hope you enjoy the story and please leave reviews, feedback or even PM me if you have any ideas or queries. See you soon!
