DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these shows or characters. TMNT, Batman, Nightwing, you name it. **** copyright laws. I do, although, own the new elementals mystics, the weapons coming up, the new amulets, and the characters' avatars.
"It's been a long time, Karai," Bruce stated, fingering a batarang under his cape. This wasn't exactly the best scenario Bruce could imagine himself in at this moment. His secret was just revealed to a revenge-obsessed pseudo-Shredder who had sabotaged some of his most promising WayneTech projects and experiments.
Normally, when an adversary discovered his alter ego, he would employ a variety of tactics to make sure it wouldn't spread out into the public faster than Californian wildfires. He could have J'onn (the Martian) wipe their mind of the knowledge, make them seem insane so nobody would believe them (Hugo Strange), or he could just scare the living crap out of them. For some odd reason, that usually worked! And then there were those with honor, i.e. Ra's al Ghul and his daughter. But Karai was a totally different story. She pretty much had the same amount of money he does. Bruce doesn't know anything about her training, but if it was far enough to allow her to break into the Ninja Tribunal Monastery, than it must be worth taken note for. Does that fact that she once had almost total control over the New York City underworld count as points against her? Billionaires just aren't what they used to be.
"Indeed, it has," replied Karai in the affirmative as her hand snaked up to her katana slung over her right shoulder. Karai had known Bruce's secret for a couple years, and judging by the unforeign and unsurprised (although you can never count on that fact when you're dealing with THE Batman) look on his face, Bruce had known her deep dark secret, too. Branching off of this fact, she honestly would be surprised if the playboy also knew about all the secret underhanded dealings the Foot has conducted (past term) or that her adoptive father is an Utrom. Speaking of the alien, she had a nagging feeling he had survived their encounter in Turtle Prime. Once again, being a billionaire and having the right resources can afford very interesting results.
"Yeah," piped up Nightwing, striking a thinking pose, "Last time you two met was in the office when you were signing that deal to hand over information from the LexCorp-WayneTech teamup in exchange for handing over humanitarian projects in Africa. That is obviously not counting your alter egos duking it out on top of that Vienna Sausage building at 23rd and Livington in Gotham. I saw the surveillance tapes. Both of you seemed to have a unnaturally strong urge to throw each other unto that pitchfork. I wonder why?" Does he know how to lighten a mood or what?
The two business magnates turned towards each other again, albeit both were sporting small twitches in their faces. "What are you doing in this monastery?" They both yelled at each other simultaneously. They both stepped back in alarm or confusion. During his travels, Bruce had studied under various masters of various arts. As such, he could practically read a person's emotions from the getgo. He could probably read a dead man. And if that didn't work, there were always...other forms of persuasion. That is why Bruce was particularly confused. Why did she speak in a tone that suggested that HE was the intruder. She knew that tone. The tone indicated that you were partly offended, and mostly confused. Unless you were REALLY good at controlling and exhibiting your emotions, that was pretty much impossible. Even Bruce would have trouble exhibiting that emotion with ease.
"I repeat," said Bruce menacingly, the batarang in his hand now in full view and his arm cocked back, "How did you get into this monastery?"
"That is my question," Karai replied equally, albeit with a strained voice.
"Ooh, lovers' spat," said Nightwing, commenting on the situation from off to the side. He, to the utter confusion of the two billionaires, pulled a notebook and pencil out from one of his "hidden" pockets and was writing away furiously. He was also oblivious to the growing irritation radiating from both martial artists. The warning bells in his head started ringing out of control as his senses caught something slicing through the air. His head jerked up immediately to find a shuriken and batarang flying right at him. He hastily jumped out of the way and turned his attention to Karai and Bruce. Both had (noticeable) veins popping on their foreheads.
"Sheesh," he said as he put his blackmail, I mean, writing materials away, "billionaires and their hair triggers." He jumped out of the way AGAIN to dodge another shuriken and batarang. "Just whose side are you on?" he asked/shouted comically at his mentor.
"Back to present business," Karai said as she turned her attention back to Bruce. "As for me, I'm here because I'm an acolyte of the Ninja Tribunal." She fully unsheathed her right shoulder katana and pointed it at Bruce. "Now it's your turn. Why are you here?"
"Acolyte, hah?" Bruce asked quizzically, completely ignoring the question and the fact that he had a 2 1/2 foot katana pointed at him. Typical. "It sounds unbelievable as Karai Saki the Billionaire being the Shredder and crime lord of the NYC underground."
"Former Shredder and crime lord," she corrected before she donned a smirk. "But then again, maybe it is not as unbelievable as THE Batman, aka Bruce Wayne, being out in the broad daylight."
"Oh man," Dick laughed. "Dude, she really nailed you on that one. Oh, HAHAHAHAHA! MY SIDES! Oh man, that's hilarious! HAHAHAHA! First Catwoman and now Karai. Oh man, there is no way I'm forgetting this!" He took out his notepad and pencil again and was writing down info faster than ever. "Wait 'til Alfred gets his hands on this!" Bruce's eyes and eyebrows went up in alarm. There was no way that info was getting to Alfred. He had a reputation to keep after all. He was going chase after that notepad with religious fervor. But, back to more...pressing matters.
"It would seem that both of us belong here. I, too, was recruited by the Tribunal, as was my protege," he told Karai, truth lacing through his words.
Karai, however, was skeptical. She sheathed her katana and stepped back a little. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, waiting for a few moments. On her chest, the Three-Toed Sign of the Dragon glowed. Bruce noticed a major change about her. Her clothes were the same ones she wore during Foot training, but the TTS of the Dragon symbol on her chest had the three toes pointing down, the true sign of the Ninja Tribunal. Her eyes snapped opened, and her amulet's glow vanished. Her eyes did not hold the same luster that they had a couple seconds ago. Those eyes were sharp and held fury. She hastily jumped back and unsheathed both of her katanas.
"There is no way the Ninja Tribunal would recruit someone who has as much dark chi as you do...intruder!" she said as she spat the word with venom. She leapt at him with both katanas poised at him to strike. She was performing a moderately difficult kenjutsu maneuver. Nothing that Bruce hadn't already studied with his sensei. However, he was too shocked by the sudden turn of events, and the slight fatigue from training made sure that he couldn't dodge it without getting cut, AGAIN. There was only two ways to counter it. One was to grab a katana his two hands. But Karai had two katanas, and that already ruled out that option. The other way was to find where the balance in the blade was weakest, then strike there. But the only way to find where the balance in the blade was weakest was to hold the blade yourself and take a few practice swings with it. That's why the technique was only used in training. There was no way he could find the weakest point unlesssss...he hastily closed his eyes and tried to calm down. He focused inwards, and desperately recalled his training half an hour before. The Bat on his chest glowed. Tribal markings crawled all across his costume, making him look feral. His eyes snapped open, glowing. His gaze shifted to the blades about to attack him. Marvelous craftsmanship. Even Bruce had to admire it. But no time for that now. The balance in the blades was almost equal in all areas. However, on one katana, the one in her right hand, a weak spot emerged three-fourths of the way up the blade. On the other katana, the balance was weaker in a spot closer to the hilt.
He only had one chance to do this. He brought his hands up and got ready to hit those precise spots. But there was no time! The blades were coming fast and he could only deflect one before the other one hit. Reacting on instinct, his right arm flew and hit the katana in Karai's right hand. He looked to the other one and saw four inches away from striking his right hip. No TIME!
Nightwing fell out of nowhere and dropkicked the katana. The katana snapped out of Karai's hands and the blade plunged point-first into the ground. Bruce could hold his focus and immediately snapped out of FCM. Miraculously, Dick brought himself at the last second together and landed on his two feet close to the grounded katana. Bruce was speechless. Karai was speechless. They both looked over to where the former Boy Wonder had previously been, and saw his notepad and pencil on the ground. It would be simple for anyone to deduce what the situation was and how it got to that point. Dick, just as surprised as Bruce, looked up from his materials and found Karai attacking Bruce. He dropped his notepad and pencil, evident by the fact that they were carelessly lying on the ground. For future reference, Bruce is going to grab that notepad even if it costs him his saw Bruce snapping out of his stupor too late, snapped into action himself, and went after Karai and get those blades away from Bruce. But the real question was, HOW did he get there that fast when Bruce was unable to get away. A glance at Dick revealed that he also was utterly confused and flabbergasted as to how he got there so fast. While they couldn't explain HOW he got there, they could explain WHY. Right there in front of them was Dick in his FCM (Focus/Concentration Mode), with all the cool fire markings and that stuff. That right there practically explained everything.
"She caught you offguard, ha, Bruce? You must be losing your touch," Dick said mockingly with a smirk. He picked up Karai's katana and tossed it back to her. She snapped out of her shock just fast enough to catch the blade by the hilt.
"Shut it, kid," retorted Bruce. Dick winced. He hated being called that. It reminded him of his time under Bruce's shadow. "By the looks of things, you were surprised, too."
"Speaking of which," Dick started. He closed his eyes and calmed himself as he entered FCM. He focused on sensing Bruce's chi. Soon enough, any limits on his chi sensing were lifted and he could see/feel Bruce's chi clearly. It looks like what Karai said was half-right. Bruce's chi was light blue (not sky blue), just like any other human. But it had a black shade, not too dark and not too light...almost like navy blue. This no doubt was caused by his experiences tainting him as a little kid and his career as Batman. She was right. The Tribunal wouldn't recruit someone with dark chi like him, unless... He opened his eyes and turned off FCM.
"You know, lady," Dick began as he turned to Karai, "I can see where you're coming from about Bruce having dark chi and everything. Seriously, I really can. But it looks like there is a reason the Tribunal has recruited him. (Dramatic pause) He can control his dark chi to an extent where he does not become evil or hurt those around him. Show'em Bruce." Bruce growled. He DID NOT like to be showcased around like he was on display at the local carnival. Bruce sunk his eyelids and focused, bringing out the powers and potential than were so long hidden in him. The fire marking traveled up and across his costume. He opened his eyes to show them glowing faintly. His eyes shifted to the notepad lying on the ground. Dick followed his gaze to his prize lying on the ground and froze.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Dick's legs starting automatically moving as he tried to save his oh-so-good-and-funny memories from two minutes ago (imagine Calvin running away from Hobbes with religous fervor). Where was that speed when you needed it? Bruce took out a batarang and fired it at evidence of his misfortunes lying on the ground. You know, there is a reason Bruce can hit a target bullseye 96 out of 100 times. Combine that with FCM and Dick not thinking rationally enought to save his notepad, and you got a batarang going 100+ miles an hour with nothing to stop it. The batarang's edge pierced through the heart of the notepad and pinned it to the ground. At least it didn't slice through it. Dick stopped a few feet away from it and spun around.
"HA! Your plan did not work, evil master!," he shouted as he shook his fist at Bruce. "I can STILL recover my hard-earned work (A/N: Hard-earned work my ****. All he did was sit around and watch other people totally embarass themselves) and there is no way...oh god." And once again, Murphy's Law makes an appearance to once again cement the fact that...it will NEVER stop tormenting people just for the sake of its entertainment. Dick paled as the batarang behind him exploded. Bruce's eyes were as wide as saucers. He was not expecting this. But, the more BOOM, the better. That thing had to GO.
"It look like I might have accidently (key word) packed it with some chi," Bruce chuckled.
Dick looked at him like he had grown two heads (no pun intended on the alter egos). "MIGHT have pack SOME chi into it. Bruce, you blew up poor little Teki with the force of a grenade! Oh, oh, poor Teki!" Bruce and Karai sweatdropped at Dick's pet name for his notepad. Dick fell to his knees and try to salvage whatever what left of Teki. He picked up it's spine and immediately let it go as the molten hot metal started burning through the fingers of his costume.
Karai sheathed her two katanas. "Well, this is awkward," Karai said the obvious as she watched Dick mysteriously pulled a baseball cap out of nowhere and put it on his chest, weeping.
"Yes, it sure is. But this does not excuse the Tribunal for revealing my secret so carelessly and needlessly," Bruce said with suspicion lacing his tone.
"Do not worry, Wayne. I already knew. My father also knows or knew, it kind of hard to tell." Bruce's eyes narrowed suspiciously at her, giving her the signal how to go on. Karai got the hint. "Last time I saw him, he was trapped or killed in a 'world between worlds', quote on quote. I have a nagging feeling that he wasn't killed."
"I don't care whether you knew or not. That still does not give them the right to..."
"ENOUGH!" roared Juto, suddenly appearing before them with the rest of the Tribunal. Hey, even immortals have a level on their patience. This immortal just happens to be one of the darker and more irritated emos of the group. "Stop this nonsense bickering! You humans squabble like fools, unaware of the destruction that might be unleashed! You are a team, and for such a team of ninja to function, secrets will be revealed! Be warned, we value your lives less than we value stopping the resurrection of the Shredder!"
Dick narrowed his eyes at the Ninjutsu Master of Weapons. He stood up from his crouched position and stared defiantly at Juto. "You know, for a moment," Dick began silently, "Me and Bruce actually thought that you people were unlike the many ninjas that we have met in our travels.
"Kyodai Ken, the League of Shadows," continued Bruce, "All of them...dishonorable. Every one of them, willing to go to the extremes, even killing, to achieve his or their goals. Seeing everyone now, I know one thing for sure. Ninjas NEVER change. Built to be assassins. Destroyers. Not peacekeepers. Nothing ever changes."
And with that, he turned on his heel and continued toward his quarters. Dick spared a glance at Karai and the rest of the Tribunal before he himself turned around and followed his surrogate father. Only the Ancient One and Karai seemed to be the only one disturbed by Juto's outburst.
(at Bruce's and Dick's quarters)
Their little...encounter...with the Ninja Tribunal was the first and last straw for them. If they didn't even value the lives of those they were sending out to fight the Shredder, then why fight for THEM. They'll fight their own way. With honor. They had to contact someone trustworthy fast.
"Dick, we're going change out of our costumes and into some regular clothes," said Bruce, shifting into leader mode. Dick didn't object. "Find something to pack our costumes in and let's break out of here." Batman put his cowl over his head and tapped his ear. "Batman to Justice League. J'onn, can you hear me? J'onn?"
"No answer?" asked Nightwing, even though it was more of a statement. His domino mask was already back on. Bruce shook his head. Dick reached to the comm in his right ear. "Alfred?" Static. "Barbara? Tim? Anyone?" Static. Nothing but pure, blasted static. He turned to the resident part-time Justice Leaguer. Bruce saw the look in his protege's eyes and confirmed that they both had the same amount of success in reaching their comrades.
Dick went into the bathroom and changed. He came out wearing civilian clothes. He was wearing a pure blue polo shirt and black cargo pants. Slung over his shoulder is his costume with his mask in his hands. Many of his weapons were taken out of their "hidden" compartments and put into his cargo pants. His communicator was still in his ear to see if he could get any success in the future. On his chest was his Ninja Tribunal medallion.
He nodded to Bruce, indicating that it was his turn to change. Bruce went in and started changing. Meanwhile, Dick was looking around the room to see if he could find places to put their costumes. Laying around on the floor were two beds. They didn't look like one the more comfortable beds he had slept in, but hey, who was he to complain? And then there were some adorned pillars to keep the ceiling up. Typical. Ah, he found it. Three empty 5-gallon straw baskets in the corner of the room.
Bruce came out of the bathroom also in civilian clothes. He was wearing a black full-sleeve shirt and light grey regular pants (Bruce's outfit at the end of "Animal Act" in TNBA). In direct contrast to his protege, his costume was wrapped up in a bundle. He was trying to keep the pieces of armor that went on the Batsuit from falling. Keyword "tried". He was fumbling. His gadget belt was slung over his left shoulder. His Ninja Tribunal amulet was resting on his chest, which directly contrasted with the black shirt he was wearing. Dick walked up to the older man with the three baskets stacked inside of each other.
"You ready?" Bruce asked as he finally dropped his wares on the floor.
"Yea," Dick said as he took the baskets out of each other. He set the tops to the baskets on the floor. In one basket went his costume and some of Bruce's armor. In another basket went Bruce's costume and the rest of his armor. The other basket had Bruce's gadget belt and the rest of Nightwing's gadgets that he didn't put on himself. Bruce slung the strings to his costume and gadget basket over his right shoulder, while Dick took his basket over his left shoulder. They both turned to face the door into the hallway.
"You do know that the only way to escape out of THE Ninja Tribunal monastery is to use their own tricks against them, right?" Dick asked/confirmed. He knew that Bruce already had that in mind. The billionaire nodded and close his eyes along with his protege. The two crimefighting vigilantes calmed down and fell slowly into FCM. Their amulets glowed brightly, including the TTS of the Dragon in the middle. This times however, the fire and tribal markings did not make their appearances on their skin.
You see, without their amulets, their chi ran throughout their body uncontrolled and easy for the Tribunal to detect. If they slipped into FCM and tried to employ some tricks they saw in the books, they might be able to slip past them. Now that they could feel their chi just like the Tribunal could, both of them focused and tried to supress their chi by making it feel lighter and nonexistent. They both used the chi sensing technique on each other to make sure they were doing it right. It took a lot of tries, but finally they got it down to what they hoped was undetectable levels. Now they just hoped that stupid technique that they taught in the book was enough to get by the Tribunal. They stealthily made their way to the door. Bruce peeked out to see if there was anyone patrolling the hallways. Although, both felt pretty sure they were empty, they could hear Karai walking around her quarters and it didn't hurt to check.
"Just where do you think you are going?" asked a small, low, and squeaky voice suddenly behind them as they about to head out the door. They turned around and there he was, the Ancient One. He was not clothed in his Tribunal garb. Instead, he was wearing his Tribunal armor and a straw hat (A/N: Remember his hat back when he was training Leo? If you don't, it's what Kyoraku Taicho wears on his head). He also ditched the red glowing eyes.
"But, how," asked a stammering Nightwing as he tried to comprehend how their chi supression technique could've failed when the two vigilantes could barely sense each other.
"Ninjutsu Master of Senses," the Ancient One said matter-of-factly. Dick nearly palmed himself in the face. How could he forget it? "You would do well to remember that. It seems your chi sensing has barely made any progress if you cannot detect me behind you. I was not even supressing my chi," he whined. "Although I must commend you on your supression skills. (dramatic pause) Sit down, we have much to discuss. After that, you may go if you please."
Bruce, sensing no deception from the short man, walked towards a tatami mat and sat down. Dick followed right after that. The Ancient One sat across from them.
"I sense you are angered," he began. "Is it because of Juto Shisho's remarks?" Nightwing began standing up, intent on leaving if the Ninjutsu master didn't have anything useful to say. "Sit back down, young Grayson. I'm not done yet." Despite his short size, his voice was one full of authority. He sat back down. "We of the Ninja Tribunal are all warriors. We are also forces of nature. And each one of us has his or her most apparent trait. Hisomi Shisho is known for his silence. Chikara Shisho is known for her strictness in training. Kon Shisho is known for his words of value and encouragement. And finally, Juto Shisho. He is known for his criticism and pointing out weak spots of those he trains."
"What about you, shisho?" asked Bruce. The short man explained everyone else's personality but his.
"Please, I was never one for formalities. Just call me Ancient One or sensei," he replied. "If you want to know what my personality is like, just use your chi-sensing," he smirked (A/N: If I haven't told you before, the chi-sensing is the Byakugan's chakra-sensing feature).
Bruce activated FCM along with his protege. His focus shifted to trying to feel for the Ancient One's chi so he could view. Once he finished the task, he marvelled at the short man's chi network. His chi was red, and he guessed from this fact that maybe all the other Tribunal respective colors matched the color of their chi network. But what was truly amazing was the way the chi flowed. It flowed freely and made the chi network feel light, both figuratively and literally, instead of dark. Hey, he recognized the way it flowed, it was almost like...his protege that was right next to him! He screamed so loud mentally that it caused a certain being to shrivel up.
He blinked absentmindedly for a second before he clutched his head as if he were in pain. "Oh god," Bruce panted nervously, almost on the brink of insanity. Seriously, how could you ignore all of Joker's and Dick's taunts without getting mentally tainted? "No more trickster's, please" he pleaded to nobody in particular with a whisper.
Unfortunately, it was still loud enough for Dick and (obviously) the Ancient One to hear. The Ancient One gave a wicked smile and pulled something out from behind his back and gave it to Dick. The former Boy Wonder gasped as Bruce looked up.
"Teki!" Dick cryed as he clutched and held onto his dear revived notepad for dear life. Bruce stared on with eyes wide in horror as his protege started writing down what happened ten second earlier. He turned towards the obese master with righteous fury in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. But it was too good of an opportunity to pass up. You're right, my personality is one that contains much humor and mischief. However, there are times when we all have to be serious. Dead serious. And one of these times are now." Dick already stopped writing down embarrassing material in his notepad and was turned towards the master, wearing a dead serious face just like Bruce. The Ancient One continued on. "Do you not remember your first lesson? Perception is not alway truth. All you think you know about this world, about yourselves, even about reality itself, will be tested. That includes your knowledge of the legacy of the ninja. Back in the day, during the first millenia A.D., ninjas were warriors. Yes, ninjas were assassins and mercenaries. But, those ninjas fought with honor. Juto Shisho, Kon Shisho, Chikara Shisho, and Hisomi Shisho are the last remaining ninja of that age. Also, ninja of that age did not have mystical powers like those of the Tribunal. The Tribunal themselves scoured the land in search of masters of the arts to defeat the Shredder. But, we're getting off-topic. Back to the legend of the ninja. Ninja were assassins and warriors with honor. However, their reputation started to tarnish centuries later. It all started when the alien bug known as Ch'rell crash landed on earth as a prisoner after he sabotaged his transport ship. Yes, the same Utrom that adoptive little Karai as a child." Bruce and Dick froze up at this. They weren't surprised that Ch'rell was a prisoner. They were surprised though that he killed his transport ship. I mean what kind of idiot would try to blow up a ship that he was riding in space of all places? Wheels were spinning around like crazy in Bruce's head. Links were starting to make themselves known.
"TCRI?" Bruce asked.
The Ancient One's eyes widened for a moment before settling down. A smirk formed on his lips.
"It looks like all the rumors about you are true. You are indeed a brilliant detective," he said. Bruce didn't blush or glow at the praise, but just continued to be the same. "Every employee of TCRI was an Utrom." Bruce look surprised at this. Bruce tried to reach out to TCRI multiple times to strike a deal, but they always turned the offer down kindly. Curious, Bruce tried to hack their computers, but found that their systems were so well protected that Kryptonian technology couldn't even hack it. Although he never did tell Superman that he "borrowed" some of the Kryptonian tech from StarLabs in order to conduct the endeavor. Nor was he ever going to tell him either. What the Kryptonian tech did detect however, was that there was technology that was Kryptonian level or higher in that building. "Those Utroms were the very ones that were transporting Ch'rell in his prison transport ship," he continued. "When the ship crashed, they were stranded on earth. To blend in with the resident, they built electronic exo-suits from the remains of their ship. The prisoner stole an exo-suit and outfitted it in armor, taking the name of the demon for his own. The Shredder. That is what he named himself. He was believed to be the reincarnation of the demon thought to be subdued in the Japanese myths. In order to increase his power and control over Japan, he took the name of the Foot for his own and created the Foot Clan, an army of ninja. These ninja were taught by him. Trained by him. Doomed, by HIM. They were ruthless. They destroyed the name of the ninja. That is why most ninja today have no honor." Bruce and Dick were downcast. They did not expect THIS to be the truth. "However, the TCRI found a way to counter this threat. They made friends with certain humans they could trust. They employed them as Guardians, sworn to protect the Utroms with the true honorable ninjutsu taught to them and their lives. My prize pupil, Hamato Yoshi, was a Guardian. He swore to protect the Utroms at the cost of his life, and that, he did. He was discovered and killed by the Utrom Shredder when he refused to divulge information about TCRI, just like a true ninja," he bowed his head sorrowfully as he recalled the painful memories.
"I'm sorry about my outburst, sensei," Dick said apologetically with his eyes watering up. Bruce refused to let his emotions show, but it was obvious that he was softened up, if the downcast face and the sad frown on his face were any clue.
"You are not blamed for something you don't know. But however, you can be blamed for not expecting this. The world of the ninja is harsh. You may not know what might happen to you in the next day, the next hour, or even the next second. That is why you must be always be cautious and expect the unexpected." And with that he lunged his forefinger and middle finger at Bruce's face. Bruce reacted immediately and brought his hand up to grab the Ancient One's two pointed fingers. The short man stopped and pulled his hand away, putting both of hands behind his back in a careless manner before walking away.
"You are learning to expect the unexpected. Your reaction time is improving. You two would do well to meditate on your training session earlier today. By the well, be sure to get lots of sleep. The unexpected may just make you drop in exhaustion." And with that, he left out of the door.
"So Bruce, what's the verdict," asked Dick. "Are you staying or not? As far as I'm concerned, forget the League for now. I'm sure some of the mystics up there in that orbiting clubhouse have detected something. If we are going to be fighting an ultra-powerful demon Shredder with powers over who-knows-what, we better find a way to fight it on equal terms. And the only way I can think of taken it down is if we train with these guys and develop some powers of our own. I know you are not exactly fond of having superpowers, Bruce. But we're going against the demon Shredder for crying out loud, who I'm fairly sure is at least 5 times stronger than Darkseid/Braniac. I'm going to stay here for now, Bruce. I gotta see this to the end."
"Maybe the Ninja Tribunal isn't as self-centered and dishonorable as we thought they are. Maybe we have a future with the Tribunal. Maybe we can give everyone we know a future to look forward to if we stop the Tengu Shredder. Maybe...just maybe..."
And we finish this chapter at about 5,500 words. I'm sorry for not updating in a long time. If you accept Kakashi-grade excuses, than I have one. I've been using a shared computer. I'm not kidding. Honest to goodness. So just to ease your concerns, no, I'm NOT abandoning the story. If you want spoilers as to Nightwing's weapon, here it is:
/watch?v=jjT-BOwwM_Y (look at the character's weapon)
/photos/37265180N05/4566785446/in/faves-29136307N06/
Those both are close representations at what Nightwing's weapons are going to be, although the Flickr one is MUCH closer. I've changed the timeline of the story. There is more time between the major events of the story to give me the flexibility to fit more cool events into those time gaps. The new timeline is displayed in Chapter 8: Re-editing Update. Also, soon, I might be writing a new story. It's a crossover between Naruto and X-Men Evolution, for those who are fans of either/both shows.
Next on "They Don't Stay Dead, Do They": UNLEASH!
