Same disclaimers and italics as before.
Chapter 8: Denial
Naruto sighed as he re-furled the Hokage's scroll. "Well," he said to himself as he slipped on his hoodie, "To work." He walked out of his room and made his way out of the Cave. It was a bit of a walk from the back door of the cave to his new secret clearing. By the time he reached the clearing, the sun was just rising over the horizon.
Right. How are we gonna do this?
"What do you mean?"
I mean this move requires two people. Naruto made two shadow clones, one of which went to the far end of the clearing to carve a bulls-eye into a tree. It also requires animalistic characteristics to have full effect.
"So you want to utilize my chakra cloak?"
That's what I had in mind. Any abjections?
"I thought you didn't want anyone to know about me? Demonic stigma and all that?"
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I have a dangerously talented Hyuga ninja after me. Hanabi can only do so much if Hiruzen looses control, and her first loyalty is to her family. I need to be able to counter him.
"I thought you could? You seemed to handle him well a few weeks ago."
He was going easy on me Kurama. Typical Rock Lee tactic. When fighting an enemy he knew he was going to fight again, he'd hold back so he could analyze his opponent's techniques so he could win when it counted. I tried to distract him, but Hiruzen was watching me, testing the waters. If I want to fight him at full strength, but not kill him, I'll need to work on my taijutsu. Hence why I'm training myself to learn this move, and hence why I need you chakra cloak.
"Very well, but be careful, kit." Naruto inhaled deeply as he felt his skin begin to burn. He crouched down on all fours and growled slightly as red chakra began to boil over his skin, like scalding bubbles that never popped. He grunted as a single, red tail of chakra sprouted from his tailbone and flicked the air. Besides him, his clone underwent an identical transformation. He groaned as he felt his canines become more pronounced and his nose scrunched up.
Thanks, Kurama. Naruto glanced at his clone and they shared a glance. On the far end of the clearing, the second clone backed away from the tree he had marked and watched as his fellows readied themselves. In tandem, they jumped into the air, twisting their bodies around each other. Almost immediately, they fell to the ground in a heap. They stood up and narrowed their eyes at the tree. They tried again, and once again fell to the ground.
"How did he do it?" muttered Naruto as he and his clone stood up, "He made it look so easy."
"He did it with Akamaru," pondered his clone, "Maybe we have to be in tune with each other like they were."
"But you're me. How much more in tune could we possibly be?" For a moment, they both stared at each other.
"I've got nothing," said the clone with a shrug, "According to the scroll, this is supposed to be a simple move."
"So was the clone jutsu, and I've never been able to manage that one," Naruto grunted, "Okay, once more. This time, try to push chakra out of your legs when you jump, that might be the trick."
The clone nodded and they took their stance. With twin grunts, they pushed themselves into the air while pumping chakra out through their feet. To their credit, they did manage to jump further, but their spin wasn't compatible and they slammed into each other.
"Closer," muttered Naruto as they picked themselves up, "We need to work on our spin."
They spent almost the entire morning working on it. They continued to get closer and closer, but there was always a tiny miscalculation, a slight part they got wrong. "As soon as we get it right once, we can get it right again," muttered the clone after several hours, "But I'm tired. Can we take a break?"
Naruto sighed. "If I disperse you, I'll absorb all your exhaustion."
"Then disperse me last," called his second clone, who was resting lazily against a tree, "I'll make sure you're okay before you disperse me and since I'm not tired, I won't add to your stress."
"Makes sense," said Naruto as he shrugged off Kurama's chakra cloak. His skin felt raw and sensitive, like it was harshly sunburned. "Ready?" The second clone stood up and nodded. The first clone dispersed and Naruto lurched as he felt the morning's workout double itself instantly. He stumbled forwards and the second clone caught him.
"C'mon," said the clone as he threw Naruto over his shoulder. The clone Hiraishined to Naruto's room, where he had left his collection of kunai. Naruto was laid out on the mattress and was practically asleep when his second clone dispersed.
. . .
"Naruto? You up?"
Naruto scrunched his eye and rolled over in his bed. "Trying not to be."
"C'mon, silly! Superboy and Kaldur are sparring out here!" Naruto rolled out of bed and stood up, his back cracking audibly. He pushed open the door and peered out at M'gann, floating hopefully and shyly outside his door. In a way, she reminded him of Hinata. Remembering Hanabi's story of her sister sent a shiver down his spine.
"Alright then," he said as he walked out of his room and past the Martian, "I've been meaning to step up the training around here anyway. We have new and dangerous threats to deal with, after all." They walked together in companionable silence to the Cave's main lobby, where Superboy had his shirt off and was going toe-to-toe with Kaldur. Wally watched from the sidelines as M'gann and Naruto joined Artemis on the other side of the ring. Naruto had never seen her out of her uniform. She was pretty and her eyes told of some Asian heritage.
Artemis glanced at M'gann as she approached. "Kaldur's, ah, nice," she said conversationally, "Handsome, commanding, you should totally ask him out."
Naruto tensed up slightly, but M'gann quickly replied, "He's like a brother to me!"
"Why so sensitive about green girl, eh kit?"
Shut up, furball. Go back to sleep.
"But you know who would make the cutest couple," M'gann continued, "You and Wally!" They all looked across the fighters to where Wally was stuffing his face with candy bars. "You're so full of passion, and he's so full of…of…"
"It?" finished Artemis dryly as the two girls burst into giggles.
Naruto shot them a glare and cleared his throat. "I got winner!" he called. Just as he yelled it, Superboy and Kaldur were charging at each other. Hearing Naruto's call, they both smirked at the prospect of fighting their captain. Kaldur extended his fist, but Superboy hooked his leg around the Atlantean's ankle and threw him to the ground, causing the computer to announce his victory.
"Black Canary taught me that one," he said proudly as he helped Kaldur back up.
"Alright, Supey," said Naruto as he pulled off his hoodie, revealing a black shirt with a spiraling flame on the front and the swirling crest of the Uzumaki Clan on the back, "You heard the challenge. My turn."
They both adopted a fighting stance and the computer began the match. Superboy dove forwards and Naruto spun out of the way, jabbing the clone in the ribs as he passed. Superboy fell to the ground, but used his strength to launch himself into the air with his hands. He kicked at Naruto's face, but the he brought up both arms to block. The force of Superboy's kick brought him to his knees as the clone landed on his feet. Superboy aimed a roundhouse at Naruto's exposed ribs, but Naruto flattened himself to the floor as the kick went over his head. He spun and tried to trip up Superboy, but he was a clone of Superman himself, and kicking his legs felt like beating on a steel bar. Naruto grunted and swiveled to his feet.
"Why are you even training?" asked Sueprboy as they circled each other, "You're a decent fighter, but your real power is in your, well, your powers."
"I need to know how to fight better at hand-to-hand. You never know when you'll be left without your best tools." With that, Naruto ducked forwards and spun. Superboy grinned as he saw the shinobi was trying to throw him over his own back. The clone took a simple step back and grabbed Naruto's neck, twisting him over onto the floor.
The computer announced Naruto's loss as Superboy helped him to his feet. M'gann and Artemis clapped from the side and Kaldur nodded appreciatively. Wally just continued to eat. "Maybe you should ask Canary for extra lessons," offered Superboy, "She didn't say no to me."
"Might just do that," said Naruto, putting on his hoodie once more, "Thanks. Good fight."
"Likewise." They pounded fists as Red Tornado floated down from his apartment and workspace above the Cave lobby.
Wally tossed aside his half-eaten snack and sped over to the android as he touched down. "Do you have a mission for us?" he asked eagerly.
Naruto could have sworn he heard the robot sigh in frustration, but he must have imagined it. "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibilities," recited Red Tornado.
Wally rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, 'the' Batman is with 'the' Robin doing the dynamic duo thing in Gotham. But you're headed somewhere, right? Hot date? Or a…mission?"
Kladur stepped in front of Wally. "If we could be of service…" He let the sentence hang and Red Tornado tilted his head.
The android brought up a floor hologram of a familiar face. "This is Kent Nelson," he said, "A friend. He is over one hundred and six years old."
"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety," whispered Wally.
"I believe you are familiar with him, Shinobi?"
"Yeah," Naruto folded his arms and glared at Wally, "Old man Kent took me in when I came to Earth."
"Awkward," sniggered Artemis as Wally shrunk back.
"He has been missing for twenty-three days," continued Red Tornado.
"He said he was taking a trip to New Orleans a few weeks ago. He's probably still there."
"Perhaps," said Red, "He has been known to take extended… walkabouts. For those of you who don't know, Kent Nelson was a charter member of the Justice Society, a predecessor to the Justice League." As he spoke, the hologram of Kent was covered by blue robes and a golden cape, all toped by a shining helmet.
"Of course," whispered Kaldur reverently as he looked up at the hologram, "Nelson was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme! He was Dr. Fate!"
Wally snorted. "More like Dr. Fake," he murmured to Artemis, "Guy knows a little advanced science and 'magics' it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes."
"Kent is caretaker to the Helmet of Fate, the source of the doctor's mystic might," said Red as he turned to face the team, "It is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
M'gann peered up at his floating image. "He is like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars. I would be honored to help find him."
The words had barely left his mouth before Wally's hand shot up. "Me too!" he exclaimed, "So honored, I can barely stand it! Magic rocks!"
Artemis folded her arms and shared a look with Naruto. "How much you bet he's going to mess things up for us at some point?" she whispered.
"It's not a matter of if," he replied, "The question is when?" They shared a grin.
"Take this," said Red as he held up a golden key, "It will grant you access to the Tower of Fate."
"No need, Red," said Naruto, digging his own key out of his pocket, "I got a spare."
"Then I'm assuming you also know the coordinates?"
"Of course. I used to live there, remember."
"What are the chances that we both admire the mystic arts?" Wally asked M'gann as they headed for the hangar.
"So, Wally," said Artemis with a smirk as they boarded the Bioship, "When did you first discover your honest affinity for sorcery?"
Wally glanced at M'gann and grinned. "Well, uh, I don't like to brag, but before I became Kid Flash, I seriously considered becoming a wizard myself."
Naruto was sitting in the back and slowly raised a hand to his eye patch. It took him half a second to flip it up and down, but he saw what he needed to see and chuckled to himself. Wally spun around. "What's so funny?"
"You," said Naruto with a smile, "You have the worst mystic aura I've ever seen. I doubt you could even manage a level one incendiary spell."
Wally scowled at him, but glanced at M'gann again. "Well…that's why I didn't become a magician. I admired it from afar because I wasn't very good at it and devoted myself to science instead. But, I always followed the techniques and practices of the majestic sorcerers of Earth!"
Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Naruto?"
He glanced across the ship. "What's up, Kaldur?"
"It occurs to me that, since you called the Tower home for an entire year, you probably have a teleportation marker there."
"Good guess."
"Which means you could teleport there and bring the rest of us with you."
"Correct."
"So why didn't we?" asked M'gann.
"Honestly?" Naruto said with a sigh, "I'm in no rush."
"I thought this Kent guy was sort of your mentor," said Superboy, "Don't you care about what happens to him?"
"Of course I do," Naruto yawned, "But I've seen Kent-sensei's magic. I've seen what he can do. I care for him, but I don't have to worry about him."
"So why come at all?" asked Artemis, "What's the point of this mission if Kent Nelson is as strong as you say?"
"Well for one thing, Tornado was right," said Naruto, "The Helmet of Fate is too dangerous to leave unguarded for so long. The Tower is a magical beacon, who knows what could end up in there while Kent's out of town. Also," Naruto grinned, "He doesn't know that I know where he hides his sweets. Kent-sensei makes the best brownies I've ever tasted."
Everyone chuckled at that and turned back to face the windshield. "We're approaching the coordinates," said M'gann as they flew over Salem, "But…" her eyes scanned the windshield.
"There's nothing here," finished Superboy as they landed in the town green.
"Naruto?" Kaldur looked up at his leader. Naruto's grin just grew wider as he exited the ship.
Wally ran a quick dozen laps around the field. "Nothing," he said as he skidded to a halt, "This isn't simple camouflage."
"So what?" asked Artemis, her hands on her hips, "Adaptive, micro-optal electronics combined with phase shifting?"
"Absolutely," he nodded, then saw M'gann and gulped, "Not! Clearly mystic powers are at work here!"
Naruto smirked. "Step aside, wiz-kid," he said as he pushed his key into the Tower's keyhole, "Let a real mystic show you how it's done." The Tower shimmered into view and they all gasped. Naruto pushed the door opened and bowed with a flourish. "Shall we?" He entered the tower with the others behind him. "Now," he said as he walked into the main hall of the bottom floor of the Tower, "The Tower has certain defense mechanisms set in place. Everything will be fine, so long as you let me do all the talking, got it?" he glared pointedly at Wally.
"What?" protested the speedster as a golden hologram of Kent Nelson appeared before them.
"Greetings, kid," said the hologram, "How unlike you to bring guests."
Naruto opened his mouth to reply, but Wally sped in front of him. "We are true believers, here to find Dr. Fate!" Naruto smacked his forehead as the hologram frowned.
"Wally," he sighed, "What did I say?" The hologram vanished and the floor collapsed under the group. They screamed as they fell towards a pool of lava. "Tower!" shouted Naruto as he fell, "It's me! We came to make sure the Helmet was safe!" Suddenly, he stopped falling and was yanked back up by an invisible force. As he cleared the edge of the bottom floor, the stone reconstructed itself beneath him and he landed on it with a grunt. "Hey! Get my team out of there!"
"What's wrong, kid?" asked the hologram as it reappeared with a grin, "Don't have faith in your own team?"
"My team? Yes," said Naruto as he stood up, "Wally? No."
"So that was the loudmouth you were telling me about," mused the hologram, "I see potential."
"Of course you do," sighed Naruto, "Just go easy on the others, won't you?"
"Don't worry," the hologram reassured him as the back wall faded away to reveal Kent's study, "The Martian girl already reversed your friend's mistake. Now, I believe you wanted to see the Helmet?"
"Yes," said Naruto, "We just want to make sure it's safe."
"Oh, it's quite safe," said the hologram as the far wall faded away, revealing an endless maze of Escher-esque stairs, "By the way, Kent found some books on summoning contracts. He left them in your room."
"Thanks." They walked a bit in companionable silence through the maze. "I don't remember it taking this long before," said Naruto finally. In front of him, the hologram stopped. "Something wrong?"
"Intruders in the Tower!" hissed the hologram, "They have Kent!"
Naruto's eye widened. "Take me to him!" The hologram morphed into a giant, glowing ankh and Naruto walked through it. He found himself looking up at Kent and two others on one of the landings. One of them was a tall, tan man in a billowing white shirt. The other was a young boy with pointed hair and a suit with an orange tabby cat on his shoulders. "Kent!"
The three figures on the platform turned to him. "Well would you look at that," said Kent with a smirk. Vertically above Naruto, a flash of golden light appeared on a staircase and Artemis and Wally appeared, each clinging to a glowing cane.
"Abracadabra!" exclaimed Wally as he saw the tall man.
Kent turned and smiled at his cane. "Huh, my luck seems to be turning." Naruto drew a kunai and tossed it between Wally and Artemis as Kent suddenly lifted off the ground and flew towards them. He Hiraishined besides them as Kent grabbed the cane. Wally and Artemis let go of it and they all stood up. "In here!" cried Kent as he made elevator doors out of a nearby wall. They all dove in and the doors closed with a ding.
"Everyone okay?" asked Naruto, "The others, are the others alright?"
"They're all fine, Naruto," said Wally.
"Good," breathed Naruto.
"I'm Kent Nelson, by the way," said Kent with a bow of his head.
"No duh," muttered Wally. Artemis and Naruto elbowed him on either side.
"This is Artemis," Naruto introduced, "Manners here is Wally."
"The loudmouth, right?"
"Yup."
Wally shot glares back and forth between the both of them. "Like I'm gonna let people who believe in magic insult me."
"Oh?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "You admit you don't believe in magic?"
"Yes! It's just some scientific parlor tricks with some added thatrics! I mean, c'mon, Naruto! You can't really believe in this stuff, right?"
"Wally," Naruto chuckled, "Most of my powers are based on a network of secondary veins in my body that carry pure energy."
"Well there you go!"
"Most of my powers, Wally, most of them. There are things I can do that even I can't explain, like my Amaterasu for instance."
"The black fires? And you immediately attribute those to magic?"
Naruto winced. Usually, he would confer with Kurama about unknown powers he developed, but even Kurama had no idea exactly how an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan worked. Besides, he didn't want anyone to know about his personal demon. "I don't need to attribute my powers to anything, Wally," he said after a pause, "So long as I can control them and can use them to save lives, I don't question where they come from."
Wally grunted. "Well that's just stupid." Artemis rolled her eyes and slapped him upside the head. "Ow!"
"As riveting as this debate is," said Kent dryly, "Can we focus now? We're up against an enemy with tremendous mystic power."
"Abracadabra?" said Wally, "Tch. Flash proved he uses futuristic technology to simulate magic. Guy's all show and no biz."
"Right you are," nodded Kent.
Artemis and Naruto shared a glance while Wally folded his arms smugly. "He is?" they said in unison.
"Abracadabra is a charlatan," continued Kent, "But Klarion the Witch Boy, the kid with the cat, he's an actual Lord of Chaos."
"The ultimate enemy of a Lord of Order," murmured Naruto.
"Like Dr. Fate.," agreed Kent.
"Right," said Wally sarcastically as he looked Kent up and down, "You're a Lord of Order."
"Oh, no. Not me," explained Kent, "I'm just an old coat Fate used to put on. Until my wife Inza told me there could be more to life." He took out his pocket watch and flipped it open so he could gaze upon Inza's portrait. "Ahh," he sighed, "A real pistol, that Inza."
"Kent, focus," said Naruto gently.
"Right, anywho," said Kent as he tucked away his watch, "Klarion's after the helmet. If he gets his sticky little mits on it, he'll turn the planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium."
"Nice alliteration."
"Thanks." The elevator dinged and the doors opened. They all stepped out into the center of the maze, where a giant, golden bell hung. As they approached it, a door appeared on the ceiling. Kaldur and Superboy fell out of it to the floor while M'gann drifted down. Artemis ran over to help them. "Friends of yours?" asked Kent.
A lightning bolt shot overhead, missing the old wizard by inches. Across a gap in the maze, Abracadabra and Klarion stood watching them. "Friend's of yours?" hissed Wally as he pulled Kent out of the way. Kent hurried to the bell and rang it with his cane. It rang deep and loud as Kent walked into it, vanishing into the metal. Naruto grabbed Wally and pulled him through as well.
They appeared on the roof of the Tower. In the center of the roof, a golden helmet floated above the ground. Kent reached for it, but a bolt of red lightning stuck him directly in the chest. Naruto spun and saw Klarion land on the roof, his eyes red and burning, his hands engulfed in mystical flame.
Kent quickly invoked a spell in a raspy breath and slammed the butt of his cane on the roof. Immediately, Naruto, Wally, and Kent were surrounded by a golden dome. Klarion threw a bolt of magic lightning at them, but the dome deflected it.
"No!" shouted the witch boy in frustration, "I want that helmet! I want it and I want it now!"
"Wow," muttered Naruto, "You never said he was such a whiner, Kent," he glanced behind him and his eye widened, "Kent?"
Kent was on the ground; Wally crouched next to him as he breathed slowly and shallowly. "Looks like… this is it for me…kid," he wheezed as Naruto fell next to him, "The bubble…will give you time…to do what you must."
"Kent," whispered Naruto, a tear forming in his eye, "No, please don't."
"Don't have…much of a choice…here kid," he breathed, "Neither…of us…do." His hands shook as he brought out his pocket watch. "I hope…Inza…made me…cookies. That…reminds me," he said as his breathing slowed even further, "I keep…my brownies…loose floorboard…under…kitchen table."
"I know, Kent-sensei," wept Naruto, tears freely falling down his face, "I've always known."
Kent stared at him and his face broke into a wide smile. "Why…you…sly…son of…a…" His eyes closed and his hand went limp, his watch falling with a clatter to the rooftop. Klarion continued to attack the dome and Wally offered Naruto his condolences, but none of their sounds made it to his ears.
"Kit," Naruto entered his mindscape and turned to Kurama, "Remember Pain. Remember your answer."
Naruto glared up at the nine-tailed fox. That was in another world, Kurama, it doesn't apply here.
Kurama roared in frustration. "That's a total load and you know it!" he cried.
Enough. Naruto began to pull on Kurama's chakra, feeding it into his own.
"If you won't listen to me," pleaded Kurama, "At least listen to Kent." Naruto stopped taking Kurama's chakra and listened. "Kent said that true power comes not from order or chaos, but from a balance of both, do you understand?"
Naruto nodded slowly and retracted from his mindscape. Klarion had made magical claws that were digging into the dome, trying to tear it apart. "Naruto!" shouted Wally as he ducked down, "What do we do?"
Naruto reached up and grabbed the helmet. "We put fate to the test."
"Hey! Stupid kid!" shouted Klarion, "If you put that helmet on, you'll never take it off!"
Naruto raised it over his head. "Wanna bet?" Kurama, you ready?
"Let 'er rip, kit!" Naruto plunged the helmet over his head. Immediately, he felt it, the influence of Nabu in his mind, like a fog of mental invasion that overpowered him. Power surged through Naruto's body as his clothes were covered by the robes and armor of Dr. Fate. Now! Kurama! The demon leapt forward in Naruto's head and clapped his paws around the fog, trapping it within. Naruto felt control of his body return to him as Klarion ripped apart the dome. Naruto flew up in the air and marveled at his own flight. "Well now," he said, his voice rippled by the helmet, "This is interesting, but let's add some chaos to this order."
Kurama grinned and flicked his tails, sending a surge of his demonic chakra through Naruto. His armor and robes became covered with glowing yellow fire and he tensed up as the powers of chaos and order mixed in his body. "So much power," murmured Naruto as he flexed his fingers.
"Give it up, Nabu!" shouted Klarion below him. "Order went out of style in the twentieth century!" He launched twin fireballs at Naruto who simply flicked them back at him. Klarion dove out of the way as they exploded with twice the power he had thrown them. "N-Nabu?"
"You think you're talking to a Lord of Order," growled Naruto as he drifted to the roof, "How cute." He raised his hands and blasts of golden light shot out of his palms. They struck Klarion in the shoulders and pierced straight through his body.
"Ow! That smarts!" shouted the witch boy as he fell to his knees, "How are you doing this?"
"The question is not how, you little brat," Naruto shot forwards, trailing golden light behind him. He grabbed Klarion by the throat and lifted him off the ground. "The question is why." He choke-slammed Klarion into the ground before picking him up and launching him into the air. A hand of demonic chakra sprouted from his back and he formed a Rasengan enhanced with mystical energy in his hand. As Klarion started to fall with a scream, Naruto launched himself into the air, his Rasengan outstretched. The attack collided with Klarion's back and ripped through bone and sinew and muscle until Naruto had punched a hole straight through Klarion's chest. Klarion screeched and kicked Naruto away as he fell to the ground.
The hole in Klarion's chest sealed up as soon as he touched down, but the fear on his face would not leave. "Stop, wait!" he cried as he scrambled backwards, "If you kill me, you'll never find out where I took the little demons!"
Naruto stopped moving and stared at Klarion. "The cubs," he growled, "You took the cubs. Where are they?!" Klarion whimpered and his cat leapt forwards and morphed into a massive tiger to defend its master. Naruto glared at the cat and smiled beneath the helmet. Raising his hands, he made a clone. It looked exactly like him, as Dr. Fate in the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. As one, they crouched down on all fours and aimed for the cat. With snarls, they launched themselves into the air and twisted around one another, swirling at speeds that would make heads spin.
"Ninja Art!" shouted Naruto as he and his clone hit the cat head on, "Crowned Fang Over Fang!" The cat roared in pain as the attacks drilled into it, driving it back against the battlements of the tower and over the edge. Naruto and his clone refused to let up, continuing to force their helmeted attack into the cat's skin, digging as far as they could. The cat hit the ground with a crunch and a screech. Naruto leapt off of it as his clone grabbed the cat by the throat and began to incant a spell. After a moment, the clone exploded like a grenade, burning the cat to ash.
Naruto stood and watched as the feline disintegrated. Without his familiar, Klarion would be banished from the physical plane until he could find another. Naruto sat on the ground and retreated into his mindscape. Kurama was holding a struggling cloud of existence under his paws. He giving you any trouble?
"Are you kidding? It's like dealing with a newborn cub. As soon as you separate its power from its body, it's so easy to control."
Release him. I want to speak with him. Kurama shrugged and opened his paws. The cloud shot out of it and engulfed Naruto. His mindscape faded away and was replaced by an existence made completely of the color blue. Naruto floated through blue space for a moment before the golden helmet appeared before him. "Nabu?" he inquired.
"How dare you, you arrogant brat!" hissed the Lord of Order from the helmet, "To restrain me? You are insane!"
"And you are annoying," said Naruto dryly.
A hand landed on his shoulder. "Give him a few decades. He grows on you." Naruto spun and gapped at Kent, standing behind him nonchalantly. "Oh, don't look so surprised," smirked Kent, "I've worn this thing so long, it makes sense my soul would get sucked back into it."
"Kent-sensei," whispered Naruto, "I'm so sorry."
Kent waved it off. "We all die, kid," he said, "At least I got to go down swinging."
"Listen to me, child," growled Nabu, "The Earth needs Dr. Fate. You have a good enough affinity for the mystic arts to serve as my host body."
"And you can control him if need be," Kent pointed out.
"Shut up, both of you," said Naruto firmly, "I'm no sorcerer. I'm a ninja, a shinobi. I draw some of my powers from magic and I can overcome Nabu, but I'm not the one to be Dr. Fate. Still," he turned to the helmet, "You're right. The Earth needs Dr. Fate, so I'm going to give you my word that if I find someone willing to serve as your host, with a strong enough magical aura, I'll give you to them."
"In the meantime," Kent interjected, "I'll stick around. Keep you company."
Nabu thought for a moment. "The deal," he decided, "Is acceptable." The helmet vanished and Naruto was left alone with Kent.
"I'm sorry, Sensei," he sighed, "In my anger, I took out the familiar before I took out Klarion. I couldn't kill him."
"Good," said Kent. Naruto turned to stare at him. "Killing isn't our way," Kent stomped his cane down to emphasize his point, "We find our own answers to the problems of the world, but killing isn't the right one." He smiled and there was a twinkle in his eye. "Something tells me you already knew that. Right, Kurama?"
Kurama snorted above them "You dispense wise advice, Nelson," he growled, "Unfortunately, you only gave it to the kit when he needed it least."
"Call it one of my few failings," said Kent with a grin.
"Are you going to be alright in here, sensei?" asked Naruto.
"Oh, I'll be fine. Nabu and I go way back. If memory serves correct, we had a chess game going that we never finished."
"I guess…this is good-bye, Kent."
"So it is, Naruto. What do you have to say about that?"
"I say that it was an honor to be under your tutelage, Kent-sensei." Naruto bowed to his teacher.
Kent smiled. "It was an honor to teach you, Naruto Uzumaki." He returned the bow and they stood up. "Always remember," he said as Naruto moved to take off the helmet, "You and your friends are the next generation of superheroes. I for one think we're leaving the world in pretty responsible hands."
Naruto hesitated. "Even Wally?"
Kent burst out laughing. "That one might need a little spitfire of his own," he chuckled, "You could stand a woman's touch too. Maybe that…"
Naruto quickly took off the helmet before his sensei could embarrass him. The world of blue fell away and Naruto exited his mindscape. He looked up at the Tower and sighed. The sky was dark and a crescent moon shone. Soft moonbeams of light hit the earth around him as Dr. Fates' robes and armor disappeared. Naruto reached into his shirt and pulled out the necklace Kent had given him. It's once shiny metal was now dull and rusted. He knelt down and scooped up some dirt with his hands. He buried the necklace and intoned one of the few spells Kent had taught him. Slowly but surely, a small dogwood tree began to grow over the patch of dirt. It bloomed upwards until it stood as tall as Naruto, its green leaves bristling in the late summer wind.
The doors to the Tower opened and his team walked out, an unconscious Abracadabra slung over Superboy's shoulder. Wally dashed forwards and stood in front of Naruto. "Dude!" he shouted, "That was incredible! You were all like…like 'boom!' and 'Pssh!' and 'Haa!' and he was all like 'oh, help me pussy cat!' That was so cool! The way you made a clone of Dr. Fate and you spun around each other! That was so sweet!" Wally noticed the wide smile that filtered across Naruto's face and straightened up. "But, uh, it wasn't magic," he said firmly, "The helmet must enhance the energy veins you told me about or something."
"Keep telling yourself that," said Naruto as he hefted the helmet under his arm.
M'gann put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about Kent," she said softly.
"We all are," agreed Kaldur with a nod.
"Thank's guys," he said quietly, "Let's go home."
. . .
Naruto put the helmet on the shelf next to his Hokage scroll. He took a step back and admired the golden helm. There was a knock on his door. "Come in," he said without taking his eyes off the helmet.
Artemis walked in and sat down on his bed. "Can you believe Wally still doesn't believe in magic?" she exclaimed, "After all we just went through?"
"It doesn't matter," said Naruto with a shrug, "Just because he doesn't believe in it doesn't mean it's not true."
"Fair enough," she sighed as she lay down on his bed, "You know, this is really comfy."
"Right? Memory foam. Great stuff."
"I wouldn't mind sleeping on this a night or two." Naruto paled slightly and glanced back at her. Artemis had her hands behind her head and was looking at him seductively.
Fortunately, there was another knock on the door. "Come in!" Naruto called quickly.
M'gann floated in and Artemis nearly fell off the bed. "I just remembered I have…things to do," she said as she passed M'gann out of the room. They shared a glare and moved on.
"Hey Naruto," said the Martian brightly, "Wally just gave me two tickets to a magic show tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?"
Naruto turned to face her and a slow, cruel smile crept over his face. "I have a better idea," he said as he approached her, "You take a ticket to Wally and pretend you're going with him. I'll take a ticket to Artemis and pretend I'm going with her."
M'gann blinked. "Why would we do that?"
"I believe I owe Wally a prank."
"Okay, but what will we do?"
Naruto smirked. "I'll buy us two more tickets and we'll see two shows for the price of one."
. . .
The monitors of the Light were assembled in a room deep underground. "Klarion has been banished," said one of them, "It will take time for him to reform in this plane, if he comes back at all."
"He'll be back," another reassured, "He has too much at stake in our plans."
"True. In the meantime, what of our guests?"
"They train constantly. They have already beaten every assassin in the League of Shadows that I've given them to spar with. They plan to strike against one Naruto Uzumaki, but nobody can find him in any records. He doesn't seem to exist."
"And the package Klarion delivered to us before he was banished?"
"Ve're holding zem in my compound," said a third member, the one with a thick French accent, "They vill be safe vith us for now, but ve should move zem in ze near future."
"Can they be trained?" asked a slightly female voice.
"Mais oui, madam," replied the Frenchman.
"Then they will be trained to obey the light."
. . .
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