Just a heads up, getting kinda angsty again this chapter. Never the less, it's a fairly important chapter, so skip at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Young Justice

"Recognized," stated the computerized voice stated, drawing the attention of the waiting team to the Zeta-tubes. "Inu, 17, Kitsune, B04." In a bright flash of light, the two Ninja appeared within the base at Mount Justice. Kakashi walked slowly, matching the equally slow pace of Naruto, the blonde walking with the aid of crutches. It bothered the team greatly to see him like that, but they couldn't unseal his demon powers, and thus reactivate his regenerative abilities, until they were sure the Branding Iron was secured.

Naruto looked around. Besides the presence of the Team, it looked as if the entire Justice League had assembled. He swallowed nervously, noting that each member of the league bore a rather serious, if not at least sympathetic expression. Well, almost each member. Batman looked as stoic as ever, Red Tornado was incapable of changing his expression, and Captain Marvel looked more curious than anything. Stepping forward, the Dark Knight spoke.

"Kitsune, follow us." Turning, he and the league left the room, though like Inu, they at least made sure to pace themselves with the blonde. The team attempted to follow, but J'onn took notice, shaking his head.

"You all need to stay out here," he said, looking to each of them.

"They aren't gonna kick Kitsune off the team, are they?" Wally asked, getting a look of worry from M'gann, and glares from his three male teammates. "What?" he asked, defensively. "You know he's a good guy, I know he's a good guy, but despite being under mind-control, he could have leveled Gotham. And Batman isn't exactly known to be lenient." Robin attempted to argue, but stopped. He had been with Batman long enough to know that Wally had a point.

"Kitsune will not be removed from the team, at least not permanently," the Martian Manhunter replied. "However, plans need to be formed so that something like this won't happen again. The League merely wishes to discuss what weaknesses Kitsune possesses. Afterwards, he will most likely be placed on temporary leave pending Psychological evaluation. Everything will be fine, I promise." Turning, he flew down the hall to catch up with the rest, leaving the team to their own devices.

Superboy clenched his fists, feeling angry and somewhat guilty. Both from understanding what it was like to be under mind-control, and for starting this whole mess. Had he not got into a fight with Naruto, he probably wouldn't have been out and gotten branded by Klarion. With an angry roar, he slammed his fist into the wall, denting and cracking the steel structure. "If I ever see the Witch Boy again, he's going to wish he had Kitsune to protect him," he growled out, and the team agreed. They each knew the risks of the hero job, but Klarion had messed with their teammate's mind, and there would be hell to pay.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Naruto stood, leaning on his crutches, motionless beneath his mask as the assembled League sat before him at a large table. It was actually a little unnerving. Batman was intimidating enough, but being stared at scrutinizingly by the Man of Steel, Superman? Here was a man capable of putting him in orbit with a single punch, and he was basically acting as a judge. Wonder Woman stood and spoke, catching Naruto's attention.

"The League has reviewed the details of your recent fall under the control of Klarion," she said, acting as the spokeswoman for the rest of the league. "Are you ready to hear our decision?" As though Naruto didn't already feel like he was on trial.

"Yes," he replied stoically, his mask and tone giving no hint of his emotions, though J'onn could feel them rolling off the boy in waves. There was apprehension, fear, depression, as well as a lot of guilt. The teen ninja's entire being was in emotional turmoil.

"The Branding Iron of Morgaine Le Faye has been placed in the possession of an old associate of mine, Kent Nelson," Red Tornado announced. "Within the Tower of Fate, Klarion will never again gain control of the Iron." Now was Batman's turn to speak.

"However, in the event you lose control, be it by power-sensory overload or by being taken over again, we need to be assured we can stop you. Inu has supplied us each with Seal tags, but your necklace is key." Nodding to the two Green Lanterns, Jon Stewart and Hal Jordan, they pointed their rings at the shinobi and a tendril of light shot from each, wrapping around the crystal, which began to glow under the light. Batman continued. "The ring of a Green Lantern is the most powerful weapon in the universe. It's only limit is the imagination of the wielder. Among the uses of the rings, energy replication. By replicating the energy signature of the crystal on your necklace, they should be more than able to subdue and suppress your demon power."

Naruto nodded, feeling somewhat relieved, finding the plan sound and reasonable. Now J'onn spoke up. "You will be temporarily relieved of duty for a period of time no less than two-weeks, pending Psychological Evaluation." A clearing of a throat was heard, and the attention of the room was brought to Captain Marvel.

"You have something to add?" asked Batman, and Captain Marvel nodded, standing.

"I think that since the rest of the team actually watched Kitsune almost die, maybe they should get evaluated too," Batman raised a brow beneath his mask, and the rest of the league went quiet as well, contemplating his words.

"I agree," announced Black Canary. "The hero business can be a tough place, even for us. It might be a good idea to see how well the children are handling things. Hell, a few of us could probably benefit from seeing a shrink."

"I agree as well, on both counts," J'onn said. "I'm sure we all have things we would wish to get off our chests." While it was clear a few of the members weren't very keen on the idea, Batman still called it to a vote, with the near unanimous decision being in favor of a full league Psyche Screening. The league stood and began filing out of the room, Kakashi and Black Canary staying behind. Each leaned down and gripped a tag on the arms and legs of the boy, tearing them off with ease. In an instant, Naruto felt the well of demon chakra overflow into his system once more. Not that it was a good feeling. It was like a fire within his blood. Beneath his bandages, armor, and mask, blue eyes melded into red, and the stitches in his arms and chest singed away, the scar tissue that had already formed softening and coloring much like normal flesh, each wound sealing shut flawlessly.

Looking at the crutches beneath each arm, he scoffed before casting them aside, his newly-revitalized strength causing one to lodge into the wall. He stretched his arms and legs a bit, getting a feel for them after a few days of being off his feet. "Ok," he groaned, popping his back a bit. " A little Psyche Eval? I think I can handle that."

"Let's hope the rest of the team are as open minded," joked Kakashi, trying to lighten the situation. He really wasn't too thrilled about seeing a shrink either, but he supposed it couldn't hurt.

Kakashi seemed he had every reason to worry, as aside from M'gann, each member of the team showed some sort of reservation or annoyance. But at the least, they all seemed quite pleased that he'd be allowed to stay on the team. A voice got their attention, before turning to find Green Arrow approaching, a young blonde teen by his side. "Everyone, this is my new Protege, Artemis. I was going to wait a bit longer before having her join the Team, but I figured with Kitsune being on leave, might be best to have her join now," Green Arrow announced, motioning to the blonde. She appeared slender in stature, yet had an athletic build, with hair down to her waist, which she kept tied back in a ponytail.

Artemis' uniform was a midriff-baring costume that highlighted her build. It was colored in various shades of green and consisted of a mask extending from the hairline to the cheekbones, a sleeveless top with a stylized arrow tip on the front, fingerless gloves, pants with black knee pads, and black combat boots. She had a black utility belt and pouch strapped on her left leg that were likely filled with assorted tools. Artemis carried a quiver along her back with a bow and a multitude of multi-purpose arrows.

"It's nice to meet you," M'gann announced sweetly, smiling brightly. Her smile faded to horror and distress when Superboy announced that something smelled like it was burning. "Darn it!" she shouted. "Not again!" Flying off toward the Kitchen, Naruto in tow, they arrived in time to pull a blackened object out of the oven. "My cake..."

"Cake?" questioned Naruto, the martian girl nodded.

"I was going to bake a cake to welcome you back home." Looking at the burned, smoking treat, Miss Martian found her worry slipping away as a pair of lips met her own. Closing her eyes, she melted into the kiss as Naruto's arms found their way around her waist. M'gann was worried someone might see, but a quick mental count told the girl that nobody had followed them into the kitchen, more than distracted with the new team member. Their lips parted and Naruto playfully twirled her hair.

"The cake isn't important," he assured her. "It's the thought that counts. Thank you. I don't think anyone's ever baked me a cake before...and trust me, I've been in the hospital enough times to deserve my own bakery at this point." The martian girl was a bit concerned at this revelation, but decided not to ask. "So...have you told the rest of the team about your Martian form?" The blush he received gave him his answer.

"I've been meaning to..." she replied, softly. "It's just..." A kiss on her forehead caused her to look up into his red eyes.

"Take your time and do it right, M'gann," he announced, placing his hands on the girl's shoulders, which she reached up and took in her own hands as he continued. "And when you're ready, I'll be your support, ok?" Miss Martian nodded and threw her hands around Naruto, burying her face in his shoulder as a sigh of contentment escaped her lips. Deciding to get back and properly introduce themselves to Artemis, Naruto picked up the still hot pan, his re-energized body able to take the heat easily in his bare hand.

"Come on," he said. "I've been giving Wally lots of crap lately. Guess I can share this with him." Taking a small hunk of cake, he threw it in his mouth. For a moment, Naruto said nothing, before he shrugged and ate another piece. "It's not that bad," he admitted to the now beaming Miss Martian.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"How are you feeling, Naruto?" The young blonde looked at the older woman, Black Canary. She and Martian Manhunter had taken to being the Therapists for the team and the league respectively. At least it wasn't Batman doing the analysis.

He popped his neck. "Better. Better than I was in the hospital. The smell, the voices and the white room can make a person insane." He joked. Canary frowned at the emphasis on hospital, and her look turned to concern.

"You don't like the hospital," She confirmed. "Injuries are all part of this job. The job we do…" She shook her head. "Tell me…" She brought her pen over her clipboard until it lightly touched the paper. "What exactly don't you like about the hospital?"

Naruto briefly turned his head, but then sighed. "Being pent up. Trapped. I have all this energy… this drive. Being in the hospital… it always felt as if I was trapped in a cage." Canary nodded. She knew the risks of playing hero, and she hated having her wings clipped. The feeling of being caged terrified her. "But really, what does that have to do about anything?"

Dinah frowned. "Everything," She wrote down a few notes, before her sharp blue eyes snapped to Naruto. "Naruto, you almost died. I know, injuries on the job are common, but kid, you had an arrow pierce your lung." Naruto scoffed at that.

"I've had worse." He replied. But the casual manner in which he spoke worried Canary.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"When you saw it was Kitsune up on that wall, what was the first thing that went through your mind?" Superboy looked at the table him as he thought it over. But after a moment, he slowly lifted his eyes and met the eyes of Dinah.

"It could have been me. 'Should've' been me." He replied, but whispered the last part. Canary quickly wrote something on her clipboard. She paused in her writing, and looked up.

"Care to elaborate?" She watched as the Superman clone stood up, and began to pace back and forth, anxiously.

"If anyone knows what it's like being under someone else's control, it's me. I know what it's like, better than most people." He replied after a few moments. "When Robin, Aqualad, Wally and Naruto found me…" She took notice that instead of using their hero alias', he subconsciously used their real names. "…we were forced to fight and I… I was forced to capture them." She noticed his fists clenched, and it looked as if he was going to smash either the table or wall. "I was created to be a defense against Superman if he ever went rogue. And… and all I could think of… was that, if they never came… If they never found me…" He placed his hand against the wall, and leaned away from Canary. "…God only knows what I would be doing now."

"There's something else too, isn't there?" Canary questioned. She examined every move, every sound, every twitch the young man made. "I was there too, remember? Out of everyone, you seemed the most shaken. Even going so far as demand the League for an explanation." She watched the boy slowly tilt his head so one eye met hers. "What was it that shook the Boy of Steel up so much?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"So, out of the other members of the team, you seem to be taking things better than the rest." Robin released a heavy sigh as Canary's voice echoed around him. He leaned his head back against the head-rest of chair.

"As well as I can." He closed his eyes. "Living and working in Gotham, well… you see some pretty bad things go down." Canary nodded. Gotham was considered by some to be the most crime-ridden city on the planet. But some places, like Bludhaven, were in the running for such a position. And at the age of thirteen, Robin had already been fighting crime with Batman for years. Dinah frowned. Perhaps the reason he was always such a cheerful optimist was because… he had become desensitized to the violence and danger in the world.

But then again, children were very resilient. "I can only imagine. Now, what was the first thing you thought when you found out that Naruto is a half-demon?" Robin finally opened his eyes and raised a brow, but gave his answer.

"I was surprised, obviously. And a tad miffed we weren't told, but…" He glanced to the woman before him. "…to tell you the truth… I was scared." It was Dinah's turn to raise a brow.

"Of Naruto?" She asked, but was thankful when the Boy Wonder shook his head 'no'.

"Scared for Naruto," He corrected. "He had to go through all of this. He could have died. He's my friend, and… and I could have lost him."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"It's hard being on a new planet," M'gann said. "But Naruto and the other have been very helpful and supportive." Dinah nodded. She was listing intently to the Martian Girl.

"And how did you feel when you found out that it was Naruto that you were fighting." Dinah asked, but was surprised at how fast the girl answered.

"Terrified! No, beyond terrified!" M'gann exclaimed with a heavy shiver. "I watched as Green Arrow put five arrows into my friend. And when one entered his lung, I couldn't move. Couldn't think. I was just so… scared." Dinah saw a small glisten form in the corner of the girl's eyes. "If he died, left us… me… I don't know what I would have done." Dinah, despite the seriousness of the situation, smiled a little. She heard the girl whisper, 'me'.

"What do you think of Kitsune?" She asked, only to smirk at the blush the young girl made.

"Well, I think he's one of the kindest people I know," she replied. "Even though he has a lot of anger, he has his reasons. But I honestly believe he cares for the team. He doesn't want to be leader because… because he doesn't want to accidentally cause any of us any harm."

"And what do you think?" Dinah pressed. For a moment, M'gann looked unsure, before her amber eyes flicked towards Canary. Those eyes burned with conviction, and it made Canary smile.

"I believe that whatever happens, we're a team. And Naruto is an important member." M'gann didn't know what happened, at first she was in the chair and now, she stood with her hands on the table.

"Perhaps even more-so." Dinah replied. M'gann blushed, and fell back into her chair. She didn't need to read the leaguers mind to know that Canary had caught on.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"What do you think about Kitsune keeping secrets from you and your team?" Kaldur merely shrugged, his expression unreadable.

"Everyone is entitled to them, and we all have them." Kaldur locked his fingers together. "None of us have seen Robin without either his sunglasses or mask. And none of us are going out of our way to force him to show us." Canary frowned slightly. The others had been easy to read, but Kaldur was calm. Batman calm. Possibly the most mature of the group.

"But this is about more than just a teammate's eye color," Dinah replied. Aqualad nodded.

"Indeed. But I reiterate, Naruto is entitled to his secrets," He spoke evenly, not betraying any emotion. "Would it have been nice to know beforehand, yes… but Naruto is my friend. I trust him fully, and trust he would have told us had it truly became an issue."

"And your other teammates. Do you trust them? As a whole?" Kaldur closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he sighed.

"With my life." He answered. Canary studied his face, but could not see or sense any form of lie or dishonesty. Her lips curved slightly as a smile formed.

"Good," She replied. "Trust is something you should never take for granted, and is essential for a team like this." She brought her pen down, and began to write. After a brief moment, she looked at the Atlantean again. "Now, Naruto has stated he has no desire what so ever to lead the team. What are your thoughts on that?"

Kaldur was about to speak, but paused. What did he think? His eyes met Canary's. "I believe that Naruto is headstrong and blunt… that being said, he has the right qualities to lead." Canary watched him. Still, no lie was detected. "He can take command easily, is resourceful, and despite taking a lead role in our mission to Santa Prisca, he didn't make a single rash decision or take the job as anything less serious than it was. He was able to divide us into two teams based on our strengths and our abilities to work together flawlessly. It was a genius idea."

Canary nodded. She read the mission report, and agreed. "And if it was decided he was to be made leader permanently?" She watched him. Still, he was calm. Kaldur leaned back in the chair as he thought it over. After a moment, she gave a small smile at his answer.

"We all expect Robin to take the role of team leader. But, only when he is ready." Kaldur replied. He seemed to nod to himself. "But, if it is decided to instead give the role to Kitsune, then, I would have no qualms."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Alright, let's be honest," Wally leaned back in his seat, His hands behind his head. "Kitsune can be rude, annoying, vindictive… but I just don't think it'd be the same if he was any other way. At his core, he's a good guy. And I'm glad he is still a member of the team."

"The others say that you two can go back and forth pretty well. And from what I hear, you both have an ongoing prank war?" Canary spoke. She glanced to her clipboard, which had the jokes the two young boys have played on each other. She tried to stifle a laugh, but a smile grew. From Naruto dying Wally's costume pink, to Wally doing the same to Naruto's hair. How it didn't affect their work as heroes, she'd never know. Perhaps underneath all the verbal jibes, and beneath all the merciless pranking, there was some measure of real respect between the two.

"What can I say," Wally announced with a wide smile. "I'm the only one fast enough to pull anything on him without him noticing until it's too late." Canary smiled. She would love to see more of the pranks the two came up, but for now, she had a job to do. She leaned forward. Her pencil at the ready. "What did you think when you learned Naruto was half-demon?" She was ready for a flinch, a grunt, but what she didn't expect was for the Speedster to shrug.

"Well, to be fair, I also just got a heaping dose of magic that my brain had to process." Wally scratched his head. "When his demon form dropped, time just seem to… freeze. Stop."

"That's not that unusual. Your uncle has said on more than one occasion that Speedsters, besides moving fast, can perceive time differently than us," She explained, but frowned as Wally shook his head with a serious expression on his face.

"No," he replied adamantly." This was… different. I don't know how to really explain it. But, it was almost like watching it happen, like it was in slow motion… but my body froze up. I couldn't move. Couldn't help him. Not even with my speed!" She watched as the boy quickly stood, and slowly moved to lean on the wall. His eyes never leaving the ground.

Canary wrote everything down with a frown on her face. Aside from his body, she thought that maybe his emotional responses may have been supercharged as well. Her thoughts were confirmed when the normally cheerful Kid Flash slammed his fist into the wall. She heard several different cracking sounds. His speed increased the force of the punch, and cracked the wall at the point of contact.

"It's not fair…" he announced. He struck the wall again for emphasis with his other fist. Once again, she heard several crack. " As long as I could remember, I've always wanted to be a hero like Uncle Barry. When I got these powers, I thought I'd be just like the Flash." He was turned away from her. She wrote everything, but when she looked at him, she knew he had to be shedding tears. "And when my friend needed me, I just stood there. Doing nothing." Before she could blink, she saw another crack forming on the wall. Followed by another one a second later. "He was twenty feet from me!" She saw a blur, and another crack formed. "Twenty!" He struck again, and she noticed the indentations getting deeper with small red splotches. "God damn…" She stood as he punched again. This time, she saw red splotches hit the floor. "…feet!"

With one more mighty punch, he actually buried his hand into the wall. Canary slowly walked around the table, and moved to comfort the young Speedster. She could hear the sniffle from the kid. He gently pried his hand from the wall, and Canary saw the costume was ripped and bloody. She slowly placed her hand on his shoulder. The boy seemed to be taking things much harder than she thought. She made a mental note to bring this up with the Flash.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"What are the initial results?" Batman asked. He convened the League for a meeting to discuss the current psychological exams. His sharp eyes scanned the room, and paused at the standing J'onn.

"For the most part, I feel as if these sessions did not really show the results we need. A few members of the League have yet to even show up for the examinations, but those that did barely scratched the surface of their problems. Only a single member of the Justice League showed no real signs of psychological trauma on any level." The other members of the League looked amongst themselves. Batman flicked his eyes to Inu.

"Who?" Green Arrow asked. His voice echoed around the room. Seeing the looks, he threw up his hands defensively. "What? Like you people weren't think the same thing. Confidentiality is one thing, but one would expect at least 'some' form of mental scarring from this job. Just look at him." He pointed to Batman.

Inu shrugged. His face unreadable through his porcelain mask. "I agree with Arrow. Besides, why delude ourselves into thinking there's a chance we're the one who's unscathed."

J'onn folded his arms with a nod. "It was Captain Marvel." The aforementioned red, white and gold wearing hero casually leaned back in his chair. He was barely paying attention, so he blinked at the sudden looks. Kakashi eyed the hero of Fawcett City with interest. He was determined to figure out the man and how he managed to keep sane with this job. Batman cleared his throat to silence the murmurs. Once everyone was focused on the matter at hand, he saw Wonder Woman open her mouth to ask a question he himself was interested in.

"And the children?" The Amazon asked. Everyone turned towards the standing Black Canary.

"The results I got from the kids is… interesting to say the least. Of all of them, Robin seems to be dealing with things better than the rest, but that could be because he has seen more horrible things during his time as a side-kick." Batman kept up his stoic, emotionless face, so it was impossible to tell what the Dark Knight was thinking.

The Fastest Man Alive frowned when she turned to him, and he saw the serious expression. "Kid Flash, however, isn't taking things nearly so well. He mentioned that he felt completely helpless and afraid watching Kitsune nearly get killed. Other than that, he punched a hole through a wall. I'm almost positive one of his hands is fractured." Both Barry and Oliver flinched. The latter nearly causing the death of Kitsune, and the former for hearing just how much Wally needed help right now. "He seems to feel like a failure compared to you, Flash. Despite the conflict of interest, I suggest that next time, you talk to him."

The Man of Steel raised a brow. "Next time?"

Dinah could feel all the eyes in the room on her, aside from J'onn's. She nodded. "From what I've seen, I think it's safe to say we make these examinations a regular occurrence. We've barely scratched the surface of these kids' problems." The mentors of those kids each shared a look, aside from Batman, who refused to show even a hint of emotion. As she spoke next, she looked to each mentor. "Kitsune has issues with Hospitals and treats near death as a regular thing. Robin is a thirteen year old boy who will willingly jump in at the first sign of trouble, laughing all the way."

She saw Batman make a slight movement of the head, and that was all. "Miss Martian doesn't really have much real emotional control." She looked at Flash. "Kid Flash has deep-rooted inferiority and self confidence issues. And Superboy has just as much issues as Kid Flash, he settles on working them out with bouts of rage." She shook her head, but continued. "Then there is Aqualad. I couldn't read him at all. He's calm, almost sickeningly so…" She glanced at Batman as she said that. "…I think he's suppressing his true emotions."

"Why not simply disband the Team and have the kids just go out with their respective mentors?" asked Captain Atom. "Or simply have them go back to their normal lives?" He seemed generally surprised at the looks he received from the mentors of the team.

"Despite the merits of that plan, the children would never go through with it," chimed in Aquaman. "When we originally forbade them from performing more actions like their trip to Cadmus, they stated outright that if we did not agree, they would simply cut their ties with us and go out on their own anyway. At least this way we can monitor them and make sure they don't get in over their heads." Batman nodded.

"The kids also won't be able to cope living a normal life. They don't have the heart or the mindset to stand idly by when trouble rears its head," The Dark Knight said, standing. "They all need this. And better they stick together through it. They all need to have friends that not only relate to them, but aren't grown men in tights." Turning to Black Canary, he gave her an unreadable look for a moment, before turning to leave the room.

"Keep up with their sessions as often as you see fit," he told her. "The League will continue to have regular psyche screenings every six months, unless otherwise required. Dismissed." As the league rose, Inu moved and pulled both Flash and Captain Marvel aside.

"We need to talk," he announced, and the two heroes shared a look.

Chapter end.

A lot of people thought I had too much angst involving Naruto. My response is this...get used to it. Naruto is mostly a serious series. Young Justice too, for the most part, is a serious series. If you don't like the darker tones, just don't read my story, plain and simple.

Peace to all my Fans

Fan of Fanfics