Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice or any related characters or properties.

.:10:.
Fireworks

COAST CITY
JULY 5, 00:02 PST
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Naruto flinched in recoil as one of the cultists raised her weapon, aiming directly at his head. He stared at the end of the barrel, a dark circle that prophesized his death. There was no way that he'd survive this encounter; Kobra had already used his body to inexplicably get what he wanted, whatever that was. He was just dead weight now and could barely move.

He couldn't hope for someone to save him. He'd called on Kaldur, and some small part of him prayed to the gods that he would arrive with help surrounding him. The logical part of his brain screamed in defiance: if Aqualad arrived alone or even with help, could this new Kobra with those evil eyes be defeated?

He frowned, but tried not to let the emotions on his face betray his fear and shame. Naruto had just contacted his friend, and the only outcome from this would be Kaldur dying if he stepped foot into this cavern. How could I be so selfish?

The leader of the cult raised his hand, staring it at before clutching it with his fist. Naruto could feel the true power stored within, the man's cold eyes staring at him with indifference. Kobra flexed before clearing his throat. "Put the gun away."

The cultist obeyed, the rifle placed at the woman's side. Her conviction in her leader was unquestionable, as she did not even try to ask why. Her eyes, not hidden by the mask she wore, displayed all of the perverted trust she held for Kobra.

The serpentine eyes flashed directly into Naruto's own, and it was all Naruto could do to not look away in pure, unadulterated fear. The man must have sensed it, because he started to laugh heartily. The sound was so alien, so unlike his personality, that it seemed to echo throughout the cavern. The cult followed suit, somehow forcing themselves to laugh even if only Kobra truly understood the punch-line, following their leader.

"Amazing," Kobra stated, as he took off his robe to reveal an impeccable shirtless torso. The man was incredible fit, not an ounce of imperfection, and it showed this man's true God complex, a level of physical control and obedience that bordered superhuman. "Truly amazing. And I owe it all to you."

"What did you do to me? To yourself?" Naruto forced himself to ask; he needed to know. If he got out of this, or even if he couldn't, perhaps he could send a message to the League or even to Aquaman. Anyone who wasn't stuck within this cavern would do at this point. He had such a horrible pit in his stomach, and he was truly afraid that this man had reached a new level, had somehow upgraded himself to nigh unreachable strengths.

Kobra turned around, staring at his reflection in the pool of water for a long moment, probably admiring the way his arms tensed with pure power. "Your body possesses a unique form of energy known as chakra. This energy flows within you, a reminder of the dimension where you come from." He twisted his head around, but his body stayed exactly where it was; the sight of the man's neck stretching to turn completely around was baffling and disgusting. "The name 'Riptide' is far more appropriate than you could have ever imagined. This chakra has unique adaptive qualities and flows as a current, loosely connecting our dimension with yours. With the right kind of ritual, I forced your body to pull on that connection, yanking some of that power through and giving it to me."

The Atlantean had no reason to assume that the man was lying, so all of this information was too much to take in, but probably true. He'd never seen evidence of this, but the strange man he'd met only days before came back to him. He'd known about the fact that he was a dimensional traveler, so could that man be connected to Kobra? How could so many people know about who he was or where he came from?

"What do you want with me now?"

"I don't want anything from you anymore," Kobra stated, inciting fear in Naruto's gut. Am I expendable now? "I have taken from you everything that I could ever want, but I believe that this calls for a test." The cult leader beckoned him to stand, leaving Naruto completely confused. "Stand and heal your injuries. I will not fight someone who is already on the cusp of death."

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 5, 00:03 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Kaldur forced himself to remain calm, but everything was riding on their success. If there was some way to get out of this pod, get out of Cadmus, and find Naruto on the West Coast, then he could save him.

Too many variables, Kaldur realized with a thought, staring down at the black-haired boy wearing the sigil of Superman himself. The clone watched the three of them carefully, as though trying to bore through their skulls with his enhanced eyesight. Kaldur forced himself not to flinch away when the blue eyes met his own, afraid that they would suddenly burn a hole through his own eye sockets.

"Time runs short," a voice suddenly declared, and Kaldur realized that it was clearly telepathy. Had they given this clone that ability, or was this someone else? "You must awaken. You must awaken now!"

The sound shouted into his skull, and Kid Flash gasped awake. Robin twisted his head to look at the two of them, and Aqualad barely nodded with acknowledgement. He'd tried to remain nearly still, but the clone's eyes were trained to see all. Kaldur did not want to risk another fight with this... Superboy, because he still felt the bruises from their last bout.

"What? What do you want?!" Kid Flash suddenly yelled, and Aqualad realized that Wally had come to the same conclusion that he had about Superboy's telepathy. But he had met Superman, and unless they forcibly changed Superboy's voice, the telepathic voice in his head had not sounded like the Man of Steel at all. "Quit staring, you're creeping me out!"

Robin just looked his friend. "Uh... KF, how about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?"

Aqualad had to agree with that, but as Wally said something else he didn't quite catch, he was reminded of Naruto's predicament. "We need to return to the surface immediately. I will explain in full later, but my friend's life is at risk."

The clone's brow raised ever so slightly, a shoulder tensing, and Kaldur had no idea if that was good or bad news.

COAST CITY
JULY 5, 00:16 PST
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Naruto's skin burned, steam rising off of it as his tattoos controlled the magic flowing beneath. Pain flooded his brain, replaced by small bits of relief as his wounds were restored. The cultists watched with fascination as the electrical burns that had scorched the skin of his bare feet and palms restored to normal, and he had feeling in his limbs again.

The blonde had so many things running through his mind, but not one of them was how he was going to actually fight this man. Escape routes, diversions, distractions, traps... All were more viable methods than fighting him. He saw no exits but the pool of water connected to the ocean, but that was a liability with the electric weapon they had used before, like the cords to jumpstart a glorified car battery.

Surely there was another way out somewhere in the cavern, because Kobra and his goons would not have been able to take the water route. The tunnel was too long without a submarine.

The cult leader stared at him as the last of his wounds disappeared. "Well, it appears that you are ready. I will give you a moment to recover from the use of so much energy, because I assure you that you will need all of your strength."

Naruto did not mention that he was practically a bottomless pit of energy, and that exhaustion rarely occurred. When it did, it was after several hours of constant use and movement. But right now, he was more than a glass half full.

The second he saw his opportunity, Naruto fired a blast of wind from his fist at the sandy floor beneath him. It was so strong that he was sent flying backward toward the only exit he could see. A cloud of the eroded beach erupted from the sudden blast, and the field of vision was so damaged that surely none of them would know exactly where he went in the sandstorm.

But suddenly, Kobra fired out of the cloud of debris, the dust parting as though the man was surrounded by an aura of pure power. His movements were inhumanly fast, and if Naruto allowed close combat, the Atlantean doubted he could keep up with those movements effectively.

He leaped after Naruto, grabbing onto his foot and swinging his weight in mid-air. The Atlantean spun and collided shoulder-first with the ground so hard that his collar bone cracked.

Screaming out in pain, Naruto already began healing like a starfish, knowing that he couldn't afford to not have that active throughout this fight. He didn't know what Kobra could do, but clearly, he was already moving with superhuman strength and speed. This chakra was potent.

A crescent blade of silvery air flickered to life in front of him, cutting through the now settling sandstorm, but Kobra reflexively managed to contort himself out of harm's way, his body twisting like it was made of nothing but flesh. Kobra lurched back to normal form, a sound almost like rubber being snapped, as he landed in front of the boy, and a kick with all of his forward momentum slammed into Naruto's ribs.

The feeling was indescribably harmful, and it took everything Naruto had to focus on the exit while managing to avoid lethal damage. He sighed once and then forced a gritted grin. "Plastic Man could do better than that." Kobra's playful smirk in response was full of no mirth.

Throwing up an arm, he managed to block the oncoming fist, his Atlantean strength initially proving to be enough to block the hit. But then a flood of power seemed to come from the attack, and Kobra overpowered him, snapping his arm back like a twig. Naruto screamed outward as he expelled every bit of wind into his breath.

A pulse of wind blasted outward in all directions, managing to throw all of the cultist spectators into the cavernous walls. Kobra had nowhere to go and was hit hard by it as well, hurling him away and cutting into his muscular torso. The cuts did not heal, a hidden blessing for Naruto to exploit within the superhumanly powerful opponent. Naruto was suddenly aware that if he could just hit him hard enough, fast enough, and often enough, he might just make it out of here alive.

"Amazing," the man stated as he forced himself to recover. "Truly incredible. I applaud your unique physiology. I cannot wait to have the opportunity to learn how to use this new power properly."

Properly? He's not using it correctly right now?

Naruto forced a shield of wind to block the sudden strike, a kick to his left, and the attack was diverted. Only for Kobra to immediately use the swing to axe kick onto his shoulder, cutting straight through the shield. The Atlantean's left arm snapped out of place, sending him into fits of trying to catch his breath. Another punch fired into his gut, and he met the whites of Kobra's serpentine eyes as he was flung backward into the wall.

He caught himself the second before hitting the stone, and immediately propelled himself with both his feet and his element through the air. The sudden leap over Kobra's head managed to surprise him, and the second he landed on nearly the other end of the cavern, he forced another updraft of cutting wind behind him to block any counter-strike.

The pool of water was mere meters away, and within moments, he shoved away one of the cultists brave enough to stand in the way of it and dove within its depths.

He awkwardly swam so fast that he couldn't quite tell where he was going, managing to cut himself with one of the yellow stones lining the wall. It stung but almost immediately healed.

When he was almost certain that Kobra was following him, he turned back around to engage him. "I apologize, sir, but you're out of your realm now."

"This entire world is my realm!" he shouted, but it was clear that he couldn't breathe when he was too stupid to keep his mouth shut. All of these new abilities had flooded his ego and rational mind.

Naruto actually laughed as he forced as much wind magic as he could to spiral in front of him, throwing it backward through the tunnel once more. Kobra couldn't catch himself as the wave of pressurized water hit him, the bubble of air forcing him back through the tunnel and probably out of the pool.

The Atlantean used his powers to push himself through the water faster while also preventing the cult leader from trying to pursue again. Several powerful pulses of wind fired again and again, the water pressure shifting with every moment. The second he found himself within the deep water, connecting to the ocean around him, he sighed contentedly and swam harder toward the ocean floor, using natural barriers to disguise his presence. Because the ocean is an omni-directional medium, it would be hard to find where he was, and he fully intended to use that to his advantage.

But someone had other ideas. The second that he heard the screech, he barely swam out of the way before the same leviathan that he fought before, a scar on his stomach from Naruto's initial attack, appeared far ahead, swimming directly for him.

"That's not good."

His tattoos burned as he sent another message directly for Kaldur, hoping that maybe it would be easier for Kaldur to assist. He forced as much information through the medium as he could, a pulse of silver disappearing from around him as it traveled through the ocean.

Naruto had only a moment to take a breath before the monster attacked.

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 5, 00:20 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Just as Kaldur was sure that they were getting through to Superboy, convincing him to help them escape from Cadmus so that Aqualad could find Naruto more quickly, the door to the chamber opened, revealing two scientists and Guardian, all three with telepathic Genomorphs on their shoulders.

"No, they can't," the assumed head scientist stated, a brunette man with glasses. "They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."

Robin's retort was automatic, but the effect was lost on Kaldur as he actually considered their plan. Cloning them to infiltrate the League... It was ingenious, and they definitely seemed to feel as though they had some confidence in their ability to do so. Superboy, for all intents and purposes, was a perfect copy of the Man of Steel, just younger. Cadmus must have a larger endgame. He shared a glance with Robin, curious if the fledgling detective had already assumed this before he could.

Guardian walked forward and placed a hand on Superboy's shoulder, preparing to take him back to whatever pod they had stored him in. "Help us," Aqualad half-whispered, knowing the boy could hear it. Having the clone's help was a necessity in this moment, and he felt a sense of duty to free him, to allow him to see all the things they had promised him. Superboy deserved to be able to think for himself.

Superboy shoved the hand away with a flinch of his tense shoulder, and the scientist rolled his eyes. "Don't start thinking now." A Genomorph leaped off of the scientist's shoulder and onto Superboy's, its horns glowing a bright red.

"See, you're not a real boy," the scientist declared. "You're a weapon and you belong to me! Well, to Cadmus. Same thing. Now get back to your pod!"

This man was a control freak, someone who had gotten a bit too full of himself and his abilities while serving this secret organization. Kaldur realized that it was probably because of the fact that the man felt like he had breached on the realm of the gods. Like the Cadmus of myth, these people had created and bent life-forms to their will. He obviously was more self-serving, and Aqualad wondered if he could use that to his advantage.

Superboy walked back out of the room, the creature on his shoulder still glowing. The door closed behind him, but Kaldur had yet to give up.

The scientist at the console must have activated the process, because before the rest of them could say another word, the probing needle claws had attached, immediately sending electricity and pain throughout their bodies. Kaldur could feel the siphons absorbing cells from his blood, attempting to get enough genetic material that they could work with. As Aqualad felt the pain, he was briefly aware of a clothed Genomorph being fed orders from the scientist, but it was nearly too much to actually handle. The sight made Kaldur's eyes widen; that was the creature that he saw briefly on the elevator, the shape of his horns a dead giveaway.

Something shifted behind him, and he barely opened his eyes quickly enough to see that Naruto had sent another message, silvery mist appearing again in front of him. This time, it was very clear that he had escaped Kobra's clutches and was in the ocean, but the leviathan that Kobra could apparently control was swimming toward him. The mist shifted into the shape of the words, "Coast City" before vanishing.

Kaldur knew they had only one hope. "Superboy," he began, whispering almost inaudibly through the jolts of electric current, "you live. That gives you the right to follow your own path. A weapon, or a person. The choice is yours. But ask yourself, 'what would Superman do?'" He paused a moment, wondering if he needed to add details about Riptide's predicament, the pain flaring through his body.

But Superboy didn't give him a chance to do so. Within moments, someone suddenly punched at the doors, tearing them apart with monstrous strength. The white-suited clone ripped it completely from its supports, holding it above his head before he discarded it completely. Electricity flared around him from the connection to the power grid, and that must have forced the power for the cloning process to stop.

Relief immediately filled the Atlantean, a small smile coming to his face.

COAST CITY
JULY 5, 00:29 PST
TEAM YEAR ZERO

"Shit," Naruto declared adamantly, twisting out of the way of the tail of the creature. The ancient monster attacked with reckless moves, moves that nearly endangered its life. These were not the moves of a trained predator... these were the moves of a random, chaotic animal.

He focused his attention on attacking chinks in the leviathan's armor, places similar to the scar it already held from the previous encounter with the Atlantean. But he hadn't actually drawn any more golden blood from the nigh divine creature. Tiny but focused blades of wind, shaped almost like diamond bullets, peppered any perceived weak points, but his magic was nearly ineffective.

One spiked tail slashed across Riptide's face, and within half a second, he instinctually reached up to grab it. The leviathan screamed and tried to skewer him between the other two tails, but he swung downward to crash the monster into a rocky outcropping on the small trench below.

He focused a ball of wind into his palm, pouring energy within it until it became a pressurized vortex. The Atlantean angled downward and immediately kicked toward the still recovering creature. It spat acid toward him, a jet of poison eventually slowing down within the water, but Naruto didn't care. He forced his body through the murky acid and slammed the vortex of tearing air into the creature's stomach.

An explosion of bubbles and energy hurled Naruto backward, tumbling end over end in the water. He tried to calm himself down and take control, but there was something wrong. The blonde flickered in and out of consciousness for several seconds, before he finally managed to pull himself to a halt out of sheer desperation.

He had careened uncontrollably nearly forty meters away from the leviathan, which was now lying on the ground, either unconscious or dead. Riptide lifted his arm, covered by tiny scratches that bled impressively for their size. His wrist was completely shattered, fingers twisted into impossible angles.

His healing factor was beginning to take effect, distracting his brain from thinking coherently for a few seconds. His own attack had done that to him, had almost taken his hand completely off, so he made a note to never repeat that exact combination again.

Swimming down as carefully as he could while tucking his broken arm to his chest, vision swirling, he managed to analyze the creature as best he could, for any odd anomalies. His eyes widened when bits of metal were floating around the creature's neck, some sinking to the ground with their weight. Naruto's attack had slashed that machine apart, and something was seriously wrong.

"Is this how he was controlling it?"

The leviathan immediately screamed, the sudden movement stirring a cloud of already rapidly-dissipating ichor. The divine blood seemed to dissipate into the water, but Riptide was prepared this time. A quick spell captured some of it, holding it within a sphere of blue water. The monster suddenly shook, its body twisting around and around, before it pushed past the Atlantean.

Naruto fumbled through the water before he could catch himself, but by the time he managed, the leviathan was gone, this time without leaking any ichor. He supposed he could still track it if he needed to, but it didn't seem like he would need to. Kobra probably wouldn't be able to control it anymore, and as long as he got as far away from Coast City as possible, he would probably escape Kobra. And that was good enough, wasn't it?

He took another long breath and reached for the conch hidden in his bag. His body was completely taxed at this point, and a spell like this wouldn't work without nearly maximum power and preparation time. He needed a medium, and absorbing the energy within the tracking shell would do very nicely.

The Atlantean sigils decorating its surface were bright yellow, and he closed his hand around it and uttered several words, a tiny current connecting to his own system.

He cleared his throat and thought of what he'd need to say with the least amount of words.

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 5, 00:44 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Kaldur carried himself through the great hallways, surrounded on all sides by his powerful allies, both new and old. Superboy threw away entire crowds of genomorphs with impressive strength, Robin glided through the enemies with stealth and special tech, and Kid Flash zipped faster than their reflexes could react. Kaldur was... strangely proud of what was happening, but he'd be more proud if they had escaped.

Despite the fact that these genomorphs did not seem to pose a large threat, Kaldur was very aware of not underestimating them and Cadmus. Kid Flash had just run ahead, but when Kaldur and the others joined him on the top level, the doors had slammed shut as the klaxons sounded, the room dyed with red warning light.

"We're cut off from the street!" he declared as Wally tore himself from the floor.

"Thanks. My head hadn't noticed."

"Now is not the time nor the place for your sarcasm," Kaldur said, regretting his tone but not his message. "Riptide is going to die at Kobra's hand if we do not reach him in time." The Atlantean forced his attention away from the redhead.

"Riptide? The Atlantean kid in over his head?" asked Robin, earning a raised eyebrow from Kaldur.

"He's two months older than you."

"And? I'm more experienced!"

Kaldur bit back his retort about Batman's questionable action of bringing a nine year old into the fold. That was a story for another day.

Superboy rushed over to try to force the door open, slamming the center with his fist and then trying to pry it open with his fingers. Kaldur moved swiftly to join him, trying to add his own superhuman strength into the mix, but they couldn't budge.

"Is there another way around these doors?" asked Kaldur desperately, before looking up. "Maybe we can go through the ceiling."

Robin opened his mouth to probably object, but Superboy already launched himself upward, slamming his entire upper-body against the surface. When it made no motion to even try to budge, Robin looked almost too happy to be correct. "The building's foundation is above us, separated by at least twenty-five feet of solid earth. That's tons of pressure."

"Not even Superman could break through this on strength alone," Kid Flash offered. "Given enough time and heat vision, he proba-" Almost immediately, the clone whipped around, face contorted with what had to be rage. "Uh... sorry, big guy. I didn't... uh..." He backed away several feet with a blur of speed, standing behind Robin, who was furiously typing at his wrist computer to try to hack the opening.

Kaldur was seriously frustrated by this point, angry that they hadn't figured a way out of this mess fast enough to actually do anything. He was tempted to reach for his belt, to try to contact the League for back-up now that they were nearer to the surface. But something held him off, and he had no real idea what it was.

When two of the huge genomorphs stalked toward them, Kaldur immediately honed his attention on them. They were a target for his frustration and concern.

His water-bearers glowed brightly as he pushed himself through the hallway, ignoring Robin's shouts for them to escape down a side path. Kaldur shouted with righteous fury as he made two huge steps, immediately whipping his entire body around to slam a mace into the creature's face, the watery projection cutting into its hide.

The second weapon wrapped around one of the creature's tusks, the whip pulling Kaldur upward as it tightened. The genomorph tried to swat him out of the air, but Aqualad used it to his advantage, landing on the back of the monster's head.

By this point, he could only analyze through peripheral vision that Superboy had come to his aid, throwing the huge behemoth into the metallic wall on strength alone. Kaldur nodded to him and held up his right hand. Magic poured into his eel specialization, and the whip immediately sent a current of electricity directly into the creature's tusk.

It cried out, sending a wave of triumph into Kaldur's head. He had to save Naruto. He had to, and all of this made that worth it. As the monster fell to the ground, Kaldur soon found himself back to back with Superboy as they were surrounded. Wally and Robin had disappeared together.

Genomorphs of all types had suddenly grouped around them, and Guardian was at the helm of the group, leading the charge.

The Atlantean's tattoos suddenly burned with a dim yellow light, some of it wrapping around his eyes and touching his temples. The feeling was incredibly uncomfortable, but not painful. "Kaldur! I escaped Kobra and the leviathan."

For a brief moment, Kaldur didn't make the connection, but Naruto had somehow telepathically sent a message to explain that he was out of harm's way. Relief loosened his shoulders for a brief moment, before the situation he and Superboy were in suddenly turned badly again.

"I want to help save your friend." Kaldur briefly stared at the clone out of the corner of his eyes. "You convinced me to save myself. So I'm going to help you save him."

"Thank you," Kaldur said, knowing that he didn't have enough time to explain the situation. Maybe it would be a good idea to keep Naruto's escape from Superboy. After all, he would be a powerful ally, and saving someone else's life might be the motivation to do it.

COAST CITY
JULY 5, 00:56 PST
TEAM YEAR ZERO

The second Naruto emerged from the ocean as far away from the underground cavern as he could manage, he forced himself through the streets. American Independence Day celebrations were still running high, fireworks peppering the sky with bright colors that paled in comparison to Atlantean lightshows created by trained mages.

Even so, Naruto pressed his weakened body forward and tried to locate an inconspicuous hotel that could support him for the night. But the horrible truth dawned on him when he reached for a bag that wasn't there; the only thing he'd brought was the now useless tracking conch shell.

Buying a room was out of the question without any money, so he looked for ideas of what to do to get help and not be isolated. He couldn't use a civilian line to contact anyone he knew, and the Hall of Justice and the Atlantean embassy don't advertise their phone numbers to contact leaguers. Naruto cursed his shoddy memory for phone numbers. He knew where the Coast City Zeta-Tube was, only a few blocks from here, but he didn't have access to that.

After another sigh of frustration, he decided to try for it anyway, moving through the streets and hoping that he could remember where it was. Eventually, he found the library it was disguised in, a twenty-four hour library not far from the university.

The librarian, a squat old man with a hook nose, didn't seem shocked when he wandered inside, wetsuit uniform stained with blood. Naruto's Atlantean characteristics were on full display, which reinforced in him that this was the correct place.

He had nothing to do but awkwardly wait until he could figure out what to do next, or until someone used the Zeta-Tube who knew what to do.

Perusing the books was not a terrible idea, but he couldn't really get himself to move a muscle when he actually found a seat. He made quite a stir, however, when a young woman only a few tables away realized that he wasn't just some kid. A flash of his shark-like teeth forced her to reconsider striking up a conversation.

"Don't worry, I get that a lot," he said. "If you want my autograph, you can make a line over there."

The brunette just stared at him, her bright green eyes oddly distracting, a shade of purple lipstick highlighting her features. After another moment of observation, she brushed a hand behind her ear and returned to her studies and her coffee. "Kid, you're not the strangest thing I've seen in this town. I was there when Green Lantern fought off Parallax above the city."

Naruto had no idea who Parallax was, but he'd met one of the Green Lanterns a long time ago. A flash to the tsunami rushing over him brought back unsettling memories that he didn't want to remember. "Good to know, I guess."

A comfortable silence fell over them for a few seconds as Naruto considered how to ask her if she would allow him to use her phone to call for help. If worse comes to worst, he could use the library's phone, but he didn't want to really connect with anyone on a civilian line.

But before he could pick up the nerve to ask, a tall man with wavy brown hair walked into the room, smiling rather brightly. "Carol! I got us some coff- Oh, you already have some."

"I can take care of myself, Hal."

Her question was lost on the man when he caught sight of the thirteen-year-old sitting a few tables away, obviously inhuman. Naruto would have chalked it up to pure ignorance and probably racism, but the gleam in his eye was so different than he would expect.

"Hey, Carol, I'm gonna go talk to the kid," he said after a moment, before gesturing for him to follow. "Come on, I'll get you some food from the vending machines."

Naruto had no idea if he could trust this guy or not, but eventually, Carol just laughed at the display. "Go on, you can trust him."

After a short moment of hesitation, Naruto did stand and force himself to join the man. Hal clapped him too roughly on his back before beckoning him through the hallway, closing the door tightly behind him. But it confused him completely when Hal didn't even look toward the vending machines.

"Riptide, isn't it?" asked Hal, earning a wide eyebrow.

"Not many people know who I am. I'm a D-list solo act, if anything," he said after a moment, knowing that there was no reason to hide the truth from him with his features and the uniform. "Are you a fan? I was kidding with Carol about autographs before, but you don't look like the kind of guy who would want one from a damn kid. But I should be proud that someone finally noticed me on page six of the newspaper!"

Hal laughed heartily before raising his fist. The second the green light enveloped his hand, Naruto flinched backward and nearly fired a blade of wind at the enemy. But when the uniform finally covered the man's chest, all of the Atlantean's fears were resolved.

"Whoa."

"That's what I was saying only a few minutes ago," Hal offered, now covered in a green aura and holding his ring for all to see. His eyes and cheek bones were covered by a thin mask that would probably work about as well as you'd expect. "Stopping a sorcerer from blocking out the sun. He was way too close to succeeding, but the League got him." He launched into a full tirade about how it was Hawkwoman's mace that destroyed the amulet, but that Zatara couldn't stop Wotan from getting away. Despite all of that, Naruto was still a bit shell-shocked that he was standing in front of a man he had idolized for years.

"But we don't have time for that now, do we?" The man stepped toward the vending machines. "Ring, connect to the server and authorize Riptide for use." He grinned proudly when the ring flashed. "If you ever run into Batman, make sure to remind him that he still hasn't figured out how to stop my ring from hacking his code."

Naruto's eyes flashed wide at the idea of telling off Batman. "I probably won't do that, but thanks anyway."

The row of vending machines fell away into the floor, eventually revealing a hidden panel that disguised the circular machine. "Recognized: Riptide, A03."

The yellow light of the Zeta-Tube activated, but Naruto didn't cross the threshold. He turned. "Wait, before I go, you should know something." He explained his entire ordeal while the machine hummed.

"That's quite the story, kid. I'll help you figure it all out, I promise." Hal twisted around and stared at the ring. "Ring, scan for Kobra's presence in the city. Locate Jeffrey Burr." The ring flashed to display a map of Coast City, hovering in front of them and tethered to the ring. But there was nothing there, no way to scan for him.

"That's not right," Naruto declared, pointing to the area off the coast where he thought maybe the hidden cavern could be. "He's gotta be there. You have to stop him! You might be one of the only people who can now!"

Hal nodded. "Okay, I promise I'll take a look into it. But you shouldn't concern yourself with this anymore. It's not your burden; this is League business now."

A quick shove from Green Lantern sent Naruto into the machine, the light absorbing him into its rays and scattering him into oblivion.

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 5, 01:22 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Kaldur supposed that he shouldn't have expected that to work; plans usually don't when everyone's operating on their own.

"I'm telling you!" Robin shouted after dodging the blue-skinned behemoth that was once a scientist. He rolled out of the way of a follow-up charge, dropping a smoke pellet in his wake. "That plan would have worked."

Kid Flash zipped through the smoke cloud, pushing it away from his body and ensuring that it remained tightly around the creature. "It's a terrible idea! What is it with you guys and ceilings? It won't work!"

Superboy leaped into battle, kneeing the disoriented creature hard enough for him to slide back several feet. Superboy's stubborn weight hit the ground and cracked the concrete. All of his anger was evident on his face, and every inch of his body was a weapon to channel that emotion.

Aqualad eventually reverted back to attempting his plan again, gathering a small bubble of water and forcing it to expand until it was larger than Desmond's misshapen head. He waved it towards the behemoth with his water-bearers, but it wasn't going to even try to work again.

Robin attempted to distract him, hurling one of his signature projectiles, but the formula-enhanced enemy shoved both Kaldur's attempt to drown him until he was unconscious and the shuriken-like object away.

Kaldur took advantage, using the shimmering water to clamp down on the man's arm, the liquid snaking up the musculature. A tug on his magic turned it to ice, freezing it quickly enough that it impaired movement just long enough for Superboy to slam a powerful fist into the creature's shoulder.

The ice cracked, and with it, some of the creature's skin that Kaldur had practically freeze-dried fell away. But Desmond wasn't going to have it, mindlessly reaching outward with his other arm and grabbing Superboy, snapping the boy across his knee and then hurling him away.

"Robin! Can you scan for weaknesses?" Kid Flash offered as he ran toward the creature, his voice going in and out like he was speaking through fan blades. At the speeds he was moving, it was hard to tell why he could speak at all and still hear.

The speedster barely dodged Desmond's arm, performing a quick limbo, and then at the same moment, he scattered his fists into the creature's thigh. Predictably, though, Kid Flash couldn't get enough power to actually succeed, and Kaldur watched as the boy nearly careened into the wall after a chop from the creature's forearm.

"Focus your attention on his arm!" Superboy declared, staring intently on the place where Kaldur had already damaged him once before.

Kaldur took it a step further, realizing that if they could continue to hit that shoulder, perhaps they could at least damage one of the limbs. Without that, maybe they could hit him hard enough from one side to take him down.

A cord from Robin's belt attached to the creature's wrist, even as Desmond tore through the rubble of the failed explosion to try to go after him. Electricity coursed through the monster, and Kaldur took advantage of the momentary screams. At the same moment as Kaldur's rush from one side, Superboy seemed to notice the same opportunity and rushed from the other.

A shoulder from the Kryptonian clone slammed into the man's forearm, at the same time that an Atlantean shoulder slammed into the man's upper-arm and torso. The effect was instantaneous, and the crack reverberated into the open sky, moonlight shining from above.

The grotesque sight of the monster's arm, completely snapped out of place at the elbow, nearly made Kaldur want to puke out of something akin to guilt and disgust. Even so, Blockbuster screamed, and Kid Flash suddenly ran forward and shoved both of the teens away before it could hit them both with a powerful kick in instinctive retaliation.

Wally blurred into yellow and red just as the kick slammed into the rubble, destroying it immediately as it screamed in outrage. Kaldur closed his eyes as the rubble cloud reached the two of them, and Blockbuster's footsteps bounded after them. An exposed pipe was the first thing he saw when he opened them, nearly blocked by the enemy's oddly-colored calf muscle.

Kaldur barely forced his tired body to roll out of the way, a shield of water catching the powerful punch. "You're not going to hurt my friends!"

The pipe burst and water swirled around him, the Atlantean's control centered on the water-bearers. A veritable whirlpool had formed around him for nearly a few seconds, before he tossed the water over his shoulder with a motion that fought through the pain.

Immediately, the monster was thrown from his feet, just as the element began to vaporize with the last of Kaldur's energy, spent on his eel specialization. All the force of a lightning bolt raced through the whirlpool, hitting both Kaldur and Blockbuster. Their parallel screams tore through the night, and all the Atlantean could see for several seconds was nothing but black.

When he came to, he shook himself awake. His eyes were distracted by the sight of shapes flying down, some lit up by an odd shade of green, and when detail finally returned, it was clear that the League had arrived. All sixteen members had surrounded them, watching the display with forgotten intensity. He found Aquaman's eyes, to try to gauge how he was feeling, but the man was clearly pre-occupied, staring across from him.

"He's awake!" Robin shouted, just as Superboy offered his hand. Kaldur took it, allowing Superboy to pull him up, and Kid Flash supported his weight on the other side. The Atlantean weakly dangled between the two of them, leaning mostly on the clone, whose red sigil was proudly on display.

Aqualad's eyes tried to scan the surroundings, not surprised to see that John Stewart had encapsulated Blockbuster with his ring. Robin and Kid Flash were both relatively undamaged, some of their costumes harmed throughout the attack, small cuts and bruises. Superboy was predictably unscathed, but was staring so intently at the red-caped progenitor of his DNA that he looked so emotionally shaken.

"Move over, Kid Flash!" a familiar voice shouted, and Aqualad turned just in time to see Naruto, grinning with his pointed teeth. The blonde took Wally's place, who was confused but not sure what to expect. Kaldur was glad that the boy was all right, that everyone had survived.

"You... made it."

The blonde just grinned. "Yeah, of course I did. Looks like you're in worse shape than I am though."

Kaldur smiled back, hoping the feeling in his left side was not a cracked rib.

Minutes passed, and the League spread out into smaller groups to deal with the logistics of handling the oncoming media circus surrounding the explosion at Cadmus.

Superman refused to look at his clone. Orin had merely nodded to Naruto, which pained Kaldur in more ways than one. When the King walked over to them, he beckoned for Kaldur to come. "Come on, let's get you back to the ocean. You need medical assistance."

Kaldur glanced toward his friend and didn't move, knowing exactly what Naruto was thinking. "I will be fine here, thanks. Perhaps Zatara can assist." The magician was busy at the moment, helping Stewart secure Blockbuster in magical restraints alongside the ring's constructs.

Orin looked as though he might protest, but Batman stepped forward, raising a hand. "Later, Orin. He is conscious and not in immediate danger. I have much to say to these three."

The pit in Kaldur's stomach formed and would not disappear under the gaze of the Dark Knight.

"The four of us," Robin corrected, earning a small glare from the Bat. Naruto glanced between them, eyebrow raised in surprise.

"I'll just... be over there, if you need me." Kaldur nodded in appreciation.

"Cadmus will be investigated. All fifty-two levels," Batman began. "But let's make one thing clear."

"You should have called!" the Flash declared from Batman's side.

"End results aside, we are not happy. You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives." Kid Flash grew the most sheepish from his words, but Kaldur did not let them effect him. "You will not be doing this again."

"I am sorry," Kaldur said with a cough, barely able to stand on his own feet. Superboy hovered by his side, ready to grab him should the opportunity arise. "but we will. As long as I breathe, as long as I contain the will to fight, I will support my friends." The Atlantean nodded to Riptide, who beamed.

"Aqualad, stand down," Orin declared, but it was far too late for orders.

"Apologies, my king. But no." Aquaman stared at his protégé like he had grown a second head. "Ultimately, despite my condition, we did good work here tonight. Work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful. Important."

"If this is about your treatment at the Hal-"

"No," Kaldur said, earning an indignant look from the Flash. "This has nothing to do with petty feelings of disrespect. This is about saving lives. This is about working together towards a common goal, as peers, so that no one has to suffer their enemies alone."

"He's right, Batman," Robin agreed, surprising Kaldur a bit in ways he hadn't expected or could truthfully identify. "The Justice League formed for very similar reasons. We're stronger together."

"We could probably use some teamwork, maybe some practice," Kid Flash offered with a nervous grin, earning a glare from the other three. "What? You know it's true! We were pretty rough, but we can do it if we stick together long enough."

Robin stepped forward, ignoring his best friend. "Batman, seriously. We're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?"

Naruto grunted. "They use you as glorified back-up. That's not a bad thing, really, because you both support each other. But they are ready for this, Batman, to act on their own."

The Dark Knight looked as though he was going to say something, but Superboy cleared his throat. "Why let them tell us what to do?" The dark-haired boy glanced toward Naruto, who was standing not far from the other four. "I did this because I wanted to know what it was like to save lives. To be like..." The words died in his throat. "But now that I've done it, I can't give that up." Superboy had everyone's attention by that point, his facial expression filled with righteous anger.

"It's simple. Get on board, or get out of the way."

WASHINGTON D.C.
JULY 5, 10:16 EDT
TEAM YEAR ZERO

Naruto paced back and forth in front of the address. Apparently, the Fates wanted him to go to Washington D.C., and so, here he was. He didn't know why he was accepting of that, but finding himself teleported into the Hall of Justice after running into much more trouble than he should have been able to handle was disconcerting.

The building, a small shop that sold odd collectibles, sat right on the Potomac, in a great location with tons of tourists and people alike. Unfortunately, it had such a weird look and strange wares that it didn't get much business. Naruto could tell everything he needed to about it, just based on the front window's display of dark-colored trinkets that didn't seem to make much sense.

It's not too late to back out, he reminded himself, repeating Kaldur's warning to him after he explained everything to the other Atlantean. The Fates weren't absolute.

And yet, here he was, pulled here by something that felt like far more than a coincidence. He cursed himself and accepted whatever path had been chosen for him, opening the door into the odd shop.

Immediately upon passing the threshold, the magic was nearly overwhelming to his trained eyes. It felt like a horrible trap for several moments, but eventually, the feeling passed. But no one seemed to be here, waiting for him, despite the fact that he was supposedly going to be here.

Taking the opportunity, he twisted around to leave and was met with the well-dressed stranger from before. The man just smiled once. "Welcome to one of my storage units. I knew you'd come willingly; you will do just fine! Probably more than fine!"

"What's going on?" Naruto declared. "Seriously, I don't know what's happening. Who are you really?"

The man just smiled for several moments, before reaching into his tailored jacket to pull something from it. Naruto's instincts kicked in, preparing for a gun or something else, but when the object extended, Naruto could do nothing but gape in wonder.

It was a bronze staff as tall as the man was, with two ornate snakes made of metal circling each other, seemingly endlessly, and fighting partially near the top. The caduceus, a divine relic that could only mean one thing.

"Yes, your assumption is correct," the man declared, tightening his grip on the staff. "My name is Hermes, Greek god of travelers."

"And thieves," Naruto added, earning an eyebrow raise from the supposed immortal.

"Exactly!" the god declared, blue eyes twinkling. "And with such a mysterious inter-dimensional traveler as my champion, I'm certain I can turn you into a thief as well. You'll need to know much if you are to succeed, and who better to teach than me?"

"With all due respect, Hermes, if that's even who you are, what? I'm still just as confused as before. And couldn't you have told me about all of this the first time we met?"

The god just laughed, a sound that he'd never expected to ever hear. "Of course, but where's the fun in that? You needed to make the first step on your own, and here you are. But now that youare here, I suppose I'll have to dangle the carrot in front of you."

Naruto was perhaps even more confused now, but the god nodded. "I can help you understand what Kobra did."

Any question was immediately ripped away without answers, only to sprout more in their place. "What do you mean?"

Hermes shook his head. "Not now. Come on, I know where my leverage is." The Atlantean grew frustrated, prepared to argue, but the god met his gaze. "For now, what you need to know is that you will join the team that the League is planning."

The Atlantean stared at the immortal's face, unsure if he really believing anything that the god said. "Well, I was probably going to anyway. Kaldur hasn't asked yet, but I'm sure he was going to do so."

"Good. Then I know you'll comply!" Hermes said with a smile. The god moved oddly toward one of the shelves, reaching for a small coin. He'd seen a ton of those before, used sometimes as currency in certain places in Atlantis, called drachmas. This one was etched with additional writing and had a small hole in the center. "Keep this on your person. I'll contact you when I need you."

Hermes flipped the coin, landing perfectly in Naruto's palm, and it was oddly cool to the touch. "You might want to look away for a moment."

Almost immediately, the god disappeared in a shower of bronze sparks, more fantastic than any fireworks display he'd ever seen. Naruto barely managed to turn away in time to just witness it in his peripheral vision, but the pyrotechnics were a result of the god's teleportation.

When he finally realized where he was, Naruto had been forced from the shop, standing outside what used to be one of Hermes' storehouses, probably to hold items or packages that needed delivery. The drachma in his hand felt weighty, like it represented a burden he didn't want to bear, but he stashed it in the pocket of his uniform just the same.

Yo, that's it for now. I know it's a lot going on, but basically, I wanted to use the canon "two-part" premiere to introduce several of the main story points for this "season" and beyond. Did anyone guess that the stranger was Hermes?

You're not supposed to know everything yet. The way the YJ storyline works relies on mystery/intrigue, so I had to add more to the dynamic in order to establish that feeling. If I just shoved Naruto into the mix of the normal canon plot, all the twists and turns would have already been revealed in the show. So this way, I keep that element.

There's some small shifts in the actual action of the Cadmus events, but mainly, it affects the character interactions between everyone else that will lead to some cool differences in their dynamics later on. I'm really proud of the subtlety.

Anyway, leave a review and tell me what you think. I'm submitting this un-Beta'd, so if you see awkward syntax, I am planning on going back and editing the grammar/sentence structure later. I just really wanted to post it now!