Same disclaimers and italics as before.

Chapter 14: Alpha Male

Naruto paced uncomfortably. It had been only a few hours since the infiltration of the Cave by the Reds. A makeshift picnic bench had been placed in the middle of the Cave's main hall and the rest of the team was sitting at it, their heads down and faces glum. Around the Cave, various members of the Justice League were helping to reassemble the head quarters and reset the security protocols.

Green Arrow walked over to the table with a bowl of nuts. "Here," he said, putting the bowl on the table, "Eat up."

"Thanks," grunted Wally, "But no thanks."

"Yeah," agreed Robin, "We don't want food, we want answers! What happened with Tornado and his siblings?"

"Eaxctly!" enthused Wally. Green Arrow shrugged and moved to take the bowl back, but Wally snatched it out of his hands and began to inhale the nuts.

Naruto managed a small smile at the sight until he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Batman glaring down at him. "Let's talk." The dark knight led him away from the team towards the far wall. "Robin informed we of the specifics," grunted Batman, "As leader, did you have any prior knowledge about the possibility of a traitor?"

Naruto hesitated. "Tell him, kit," groaned Kurama, "Cat's outta the bag anyway."

"Vaguely," said Naruto after a pause, "There were previous indications that there may be someone on the team with ulterior motives, but I elected to ignore it."

Batman's eyes narrowed. "If you ignored the warnings, why have you spent the last few weeks training extensively?"

"Robin," grunted Naruto, "He's gotten better at hiding from me."

"So you both knew the potential of an inside threat and decided not to tell your team while at the same time training to become stronger than them?"

"Not exactly," protested Naruto lightly, "The sources for my intel were-" He was cut off by a massive hand that could turn coal into diamond wrapping around his throat.

Conner shoved him against the cave wall and Naruto grunted. "You knew?!" roared the clone.

Kurama! A little warning next time?

"Sorry. The kid's temper is on a hairpin trigger."

"That android and his maniac family nearly killed us all!" raged Conner.

"Conner!" M'gann flew up and swooped towards them, "What are you doing?"

"Naruto knew we had a traitor among us and said nothing!"

The team stood up from the table and stared incredulously at Naruto, who was starting to struggle for breath. "You knew?" demanded Robin, "And didn't tell us?" Naruto pushed against Conner and he reluctantly dropped his leader from the wall.

Naruto panted for sweet air before he looked up. "Just wanted…to protect the team."

"Protect us from what?" shouted Artemis, "Knowledge that would have saved our lives?"

"What do you make of this, Kaldur?" demanded Wally. Kaldur nervously rubbed the back of his head and looked away. That was all the answer Wally needed. "You knew too?! Dude! We've known each other for years! Where's the trust?!"

"Enough." It was one word, but it came from Batman so everyone immediately shut up and gave their attention to him. "With Red Tornado…missing," continued Batman, "The team will now be overseen by a rotating supervisors. Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift."

A tall and muscular man in a red military uniform with a lightning bolt across his chest and a white cape trailing him flew out of one of the hallways. "Hi guys," he said with a wave, "I'm really looking forwards to working with you." The team exchanged glances, clearly unimpressed with the new setup.

Conner leaned over and draped his arms over Naruto and Kaldur's shoulders. "After I dismantle Red Tornado," he hissed, "Us three are gonna-"

"Red Tornado is a member of the Justice League," interrupted Batman, "That makes him a League responsibility. You will leave him to us." He took a step back and brought up the hologram screens. "I have another assignment for this team."

A series of headlines flashed on the screen and Wally snorted. "'Gotham Mayor Attacked by Guerilla Gorilla?'" he read aloud.

"Was this the only thing he could find for us?" Conner asked through M'gann's psychic link.

"Batman, please!" insisted Robin, "Tell me your not sending us on this joke of a mission."

"I never joke," said Batman with dead sincerity, "I've checked the sources, studied the patterns, this is only the latest in a series of incidents. Naruto, you'll take your team to India to investigate."

Naruto nodded and motioned for the team to get ready for departure. As he passed him, Wally snorted under his breath. "'Your team'. Yeah right." Naruto glared after him as he put on his ANBU mask and headed for the hangar.

"Naruto?" Kaldur walked up behind him, "I need to apologize."

"What for?" asked Naruto as he checked to make sure he had a few kunai on him.

"You asked me to remain silent about the mole," he said, "And I told the mole itself that we were onto him. It is likely that my actions were what led to last night's fiasco."

"Relax," sighed Naruto, "Tornado would have betrayed us if you had spoken with him or not. If anything, we're lucky he showed his hand so soon so we could stem the flow of intel out of the Cave." They walked into the hangar where Connor was telling Sphere he couldn't come.

Captain Marvel flew up behind them and dropped to the ground as he walked into the Bioship. "You're coming with?" asked Robin as he and Wally walked out of another hallway.

"Sure, we'll have a blast!" said Captain Marvel eagerly as he stepped inside.

Robin scoffed and folded his arms. "Translation: he blames us for the Red fiasco. Doesn't trust us."

Wally glanced back at Naruto and Kaldur as he and Robin stepped into the Bioship. "Big club."

Kaldur's shoulders drooped and Naruto padded him on the back. "This'll blow over in a week," he said with a sigh, "They're blowing this out of proportion as it is."

"Oh, really?" Naruto turned to see M'gann floating past them towards the Bioship, her face stony and stoic.

"Et tu, M'gann?"

"You didn't trust us, Naruto," she said, her voice cold and hard, "You didn't trust me. That hurts. A lot." She hovered into the Bioship.

Naruto sighed as he and Kaldur climbed in as well. It was a little crowded with all of them and Captain Marvel, but they made it work. Naruto subtly flipped his mask to the side and flicked up his eye patch. A smile flittered across his face as he stared at Captain Marvel with his Sharingan. "Interesting," he murmured, "Very interesting."

"What was that?" asked Conner sharply from across the ship as M'gann steered it out of the hangar.

"Nothing," said Naruto softly as he flipped his mask and eye patch back into place, "Nothing at all."

"Kind of like what you told us," muttered Wally. Naruto scowled at him and leaned back in his seat.

The following hours were spent in silence as the ship flew towards India. Nothing was exchanged except for angry glances at Naruto and, to a lesser degree, Kaldur. Only Captain Marvel seemed oblivious to the tension on the ship and would occasionally make small talk with individual members of the team.

Finally, M'gann cleared her throat. "Approaching Batman's coordinates," she announced. A hole formed in the floor of the ship and Robin and Artemis hopped out, their weapons ready in case of an attack. When they had secured the area, M'gann landed the ship and the rest of the team walked out.

"Switch to stealth," ordered Naruto, "Let's go over a plan."

"Plan?" Wally sneered as he tapped his emblem and his suit morphed to black, "We don't need no stinking plans."

"It's recon," muttered Robin angrily as he turned away, "We know what to do." Robin ran off into the jungle with Wally behind him.

"Kid, Robin!" started Kaldur, but Robin swiveled and scolded him before he could continue.

"The three of us started this team because the League was keeping secrets from us!" he hissed.

"Or did you and Naruto forget that?" asked Wally as he lowered his goggles over his eyes and ran into the shadows with Robin.

Naruto sighed and stretched his arm. "Okay, so they're gone. The rest of us will have to make do. I was thinking Ms. Martian and Artemis could-"

"Save it," snapped Artemis, "If you don't trust us, we don't trust you." She stormed off into the jungle. M'gann flew after her and spared a glance back at Naruto before disappearing into the foliage.

"Why didn't you stop them?!" demanded Conner, "You're supposed to be in charge!"

Naruto gapped at him. "You're kidding me, right? After all that undermining of my authority, you're seriously going to hold me responsible?" Conner rolled his eyes and shoved his palm in Naruto's face before launching himself into the night sky.

Naruto glared after him as Kaldur and Captain Marvel walked up behind him. "Um, I'm sorry," said Captain Marvel, "Did I miss the part where you told us the plan?"

Naruto sighed and started walking off into the jungle. "Look at us," he muttered as Kaldur and Captain Marvel followed him, "The band of rejects. Boy, this brings back memories."

"I'm not a reject," retorted Captain Marvel.

"Really? I assumed you pulled the short straw."

"No! I volunteered!"

"That makes one of us." Naruto brushed aside a bush as he stepped over a small brook. "Stupid team. I was just trying to look out for them without endangering them at the same time."

"If it is any consolation," said Kaldur, "I doubt I would have done things differently. Your logic was sound; it only succumbed to human error."

"What are we looking for, anyway?" asked Captain Marvel.

"A sign of a struggle," sighed Naruto, "That would mark unusual animal activity."

"Oh, so like that over there?" Naruto glanced to where the Captain was pointing. A few yards over was a large clearing. Clearly, large tufts of grass had been uprooted violently and clawed tracks marred the ground.

"Exactly," breathed Naruto as he walked into the clearing, "Good eyes, Cap'n."

"This must be where Mayor Hill was attacked," said Kaldur as he knelt down to examine the tracks.

"Then at least we can confirm his story," agreed Captain Marvel, "Right, Shinobi?" Naruto was gazing into the stars above. "Shinobi?"

Naruto blinked and looked down. "Sorry, just thinking to myself," he said softly.

When I was a kid, all I wanted was to be Hokage. Now that I'm actually a leader, I don't know if I would've made a very good one. Maybe it was best that I left my world before I could formally take up the position.

"Kit, in any other situation, I'm sure I would have some sage advice or something," called Kurama, "But right now, all I can think about is some unbridled anger and pain coming from the west like a couple of tanks!"

Naruto crouched down and snarled. "Get ready," he said aloud, "We're under attack!" Kaldur and Captain Marvel quickly stood with him as the ground began to shake under massive footsteps. A thicket of trees on the far side of the clearing split apart as a massive, grey beast tore through it. It had tusks the size of steel beams and a trunk that hung down to its knees. Small horns poked out of its head, a good twenty feet off the ground. Its muscles were defined and sinew bulged under its skin to the point of tearing it. The beast trumpeted loudly as it charged and the three heroes scattered as it blew by them.

"That," said Captain Marvel as he flew up into the air, "Is one big elephant."

"That can't be natural," said Naruto, his eye narrowing, "Must be genetically modified."

"It looks like it has been infused with the Kobra Venom from Santa Prisca," noted Kaldur as he drew his water bearers. The elephant circled around and charged once more. Captain Marvel flew at it head on, ramming into its thick skull. The beast grabbed him with its trunk and tossed him through a tree with ease.

"Aqualad!" called Naruto as he ran to the side of the beast, "Maneuver seventeen!" Kaldur nodded and Naruto formed a clone as he ran. Kaldur made long water whips with his bearers and ran to the far side of the beast, getting its attention with his painful attacks. "Now!" shouted Naruto and Kaldur abruptly charged the elephant. The elephant lowered its tusks to meet him, but Kaldur slid under the animal. As he crossed under it and ran past Naruto, he deposited one of his water whips into Naruto's Rasengan. "Collaboration Ninjutsu!" called Naruto as he launched the attack, "Typhoon Water Vortex!" The swirling Rasengan combined with the water spun outwards to create a wall of spinning water tornados that slammed against the elephant and knocked it on its side with a painful trumpet.

"What's that?" asked Kaldur, pointing to the animal's neck. Naruto looked over and gasped as he saw the sparking metal around its throat.

"Collars!" he said, "The same kind they used at Belle Reve! These things are being controlled!" There was a roar and they turned to see Captain Marvel grappling with the tusks of another massive elephant. There was a loud snort and the elephant they were fighting slowly got back up. "Go help the Captain!" shouted Naruto as he made twin shadow clones, "I got this one!" Kaldur nodded and jumped back as Naruto's shadow clones charged forwards.

The elephant's small, beady eyes glanced back and forth between them in confusion. Clearly it had never seen three of the same person before. It took about five seconds to recover from its surprise and process that it was under attack. That was two more seconds than Naruto needed. He jumped up and his clones propelled him into the elephant's neck. He gripped the collar and focused for a moment, pumping demonic charka through his arms. His eye became red and his pupil dilated as he ripped off the metal choker.

He fell to the ground, the broken collar lying in pieces around him. The elephant gazed down at him in appreciative confusion. It slowly sauntered off back into the jungle, quickly joined by its brother. Kaldur and Captain Marvel walked up behind Naruto as they watched them leave. "Any trouble?" he asked, cutting off the flow of Kurama's chakra.

"None," replied Kaldur, "But the collars indicate an intelligence behind this attack. The rest of the team may also be at risk."

"Agreed," nodded Naruto, "This is no longer a simple recon mission." He brought a finger to his ear and activated his communicator. "Team? Come in." A harsh burst of static filled his ear and he winced as he killed the line. "Comms are down," he grunted, "And Ms. Martian didn't link us up before she left."

"Actually," Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow and smirked, "You let everyone leave before communications were set."

"They wouldn't listen!" protested Naruto, "How am I supposed to lead people who don't want me as their leader?"

"I don't know," shrugged Captain Marvel, "But back at the Cave, Batman stopped everyone from arguing with one word."

"I'm not Batman," huffed Naruto.

"Batman takes command," Kaldur pointed out, "He has too, for the good of the League."

"It's hard to take something from people who don't want you to have it," grunted Naruto. He looked to the stars once more and traced the constellations Kent had taught him. I wonder if this is how Danzo felt. Thinking he knew what was best for the village and being unable to implement his plans because nobody trusted him.

"The old man was a warmonger," grunted Kurama, "He didn't want to protect Konoha, he wanted Konoha to rule the world. He had delusions of grandeur and the people around him paid the price."

And how am I any different?

"You keep your secrets to protect your comrades, not to control them. Hang on, incoming call from green girl."

Patch her through.

"Shinobi, can you hear me?" Naruto glanced at Kaldur and saw he was receiving M'gann's telepathic message too.

"Go ahead, Ms. Maritan."

"Artemis and I were attacked by animals wearing inhibitor collars."

"Cool! A tiger!" Naruto turned to see Captain Marvel float into the air and give him a wide grin, "I'll be right back!"

"Captain, wait!" hissed Naruto as the hero shot off into a field of tall grass.

"He has the speed of Mercury," said Kaldur solemnly, "We have no chance of catching him."

"Doesn't mean we shouldn't try," muttered Naruto in frustration as he launched himself into the grass, Kaldur following him closely. "Ms. Martian, link up the team. Now."

"Link established," confirmed M'gann.

"Should he really still be giving us orders?" complained Artemis, "And should you really be following them?"

"Shut up," Naruto grunted as he vaulted over a boulder, "Listen, I-"

"Oh, Naruto's voice in my head," Wally butted in, "I soooo missed that."

"Naruto, K.F. and I were attacked by giant vultures," Robin reported, "'Course since we're moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves."

"Please," Kaldur pleaded, "Let us focus on the matters at hand."

"Superboy, you online, or are you just pouting?" called M'gann.

"Later," replied Conner tersely, "Busy now."

"What get's me is how nonchalant they are," ranted Wally.

"They should totally be chalant," agreed Robin. Naruto rolled his eyes as he brushed aside a large palm frond and entered a clearing. In the middle, three metal stakes protruded from the earth, each cackling with electricity. Captian Marvel was nowhere to be seen, but distinctive drag marks showed where his body had been carried off into the jungle. Kaldur examined the metal spikes as the rest of the team continued to debate across their mental link.

"How can we trust him to lead us if he doesn't even trust us with his secrets?" Naruto's eye narrowed.

"Trust is a two-way street!" He closed his eye and breathed deeply."

"Did he really think you or I could have been the mole? We've been heroes for years!" Naruto growled low and soft, an animalistic sound that made Kaldur glance up at him in concern.

"None of us would've kept it a secret."

"I think it's safe to say that this team-"

"Enough!" Naruto's mental voice split into their minds as he punched the nearest metal spike, splintering it into two and making it explode with electric light, "In case you forgot, I never wanted to lead this team in the first place! You elected me to be in charge and I have done everything in my power to keep this team safe. You disagree with my methods? Fine. You want me to step down? Even better. But right now, we are on a mission and Captain Marvel just got himself captured. So, until further notice, I am you leader."

"After all that's happened?" scoffed Wally, "I don't think-"

"I'm sorry," Naruto interrupted, "You seem to be under the impression that I'm giving you a choice in the matter. Any more stupid comments before we get it together and act like a team again?" Silence reigned supreme and Naruto hummed in satisfaction. "Good. Rendezvous with Kaldur's GPS signal. We'll track down the Captain, you track down us. Got it?"

There were affirmative answers across the board and Naruto started to follow the tracks. Kaldur smiled with a broad smile. "That is the Shinobi I know," he said as they walked into the jungle.

Kurama chuckled heartily and Naruto scowled. What's got you in such a good mood?

"Nothing, just…I think a lot of people would be proud if they could see you right now." Images flashed in Naruto's mind of an old woman who looked far younger than she was, a grinning man with red marks on his face and wild white hair, and a happy young couple holding hands.

I hope so, furball, he replied gently, I hope so.

. . .

It took about ten minutes to follow the tracks to a thinly veiled metal compound in the middle of the jungle. Naruto and Kaldur waited patiently for the rest of the team to arrive and formulate a quick plan as they hid in the foliage a distance away from the base.

"I'll fly over," offered M'gann as she entered camouflage mode.

"Negatory," said Wally quickly, "Goggles are showing an electro-magnetic dome over the whole compound."

"A solid electric shock could cause a momentary gap," Robin calculated.

"I see a target," reported Artemis, "Fuse box right by the main door. If someone could cut the right wires, the whole compound could go dark."

Naruto squinted at the door. "Artemis, toss me an arrow." A green shaft flipped from behind a nearby bush and Naruto caught it deftly. He held it in his hand and wrapped his fingers around it as he concentrated. As he unwrapped his hand from it, black markings formed on the shaft of the arrow, a Hiraishin Formula. He tossed the arrow back and nodded to Kaldur.

The Atlantean slid down to the base of the dome and activated his mystic tattoos. He grabbed the dome and ripped it, electricity spiraling up and down his arms. "Now!" called Wally and Artemis loosed her arrow. Naruto traced it through the dome and Hiraishined to it, catching it before it stuck the fuse box.

"Need to know which wires to cut?" asked Robin.

"Nah," Naruto drew a kunai and pushed his mask to the side, flipping up his eye patch in the process, "I got this covered." His Sharingan blazed as he opened the fuse box and took in the wires. They were crossed and mingled together, but his eye followed each line individually checking where they connected too across the compound. With a few quick strokes, he slashed through the right wires. "We're clear. Move in," he reported as he flipped his mask and eye patch back.

The team quickly and silently raced across the clearing towards the compound. Suddenly, there was a wild screech and everyone's heart skipped a beat. "Impossible!" Naruto hissed, "I cut only the right wires!"

Robin pointed above the compound. "Monkey!" Indeed, a solitary ape glared down at the team, a collar wrapped tightly around its neck as it screeched to the heavens. An alarm went off within the compound and a swarm of baboons began to clamber over the roof with angry cries and bared teeth.

"Remove the collars!" ordered Naruto as he grabbed two monkeys by the tail and threw them across the clearing.

"You make it sound so easy!" grunted Robin as he fought off two more. The team dove through the herd of baboons, ripping and tearing away the metal bracers.

"Shinobi!" Naruto glanced over to where M'gann was pointing and his eye widened. Two massive creatures had stepped out of the main doors of the bunker. One was the gorilla he and Connor had encountered in France. He looked incredibly angry and was dressed to the nines in an armory of weapons. Ammo belts crossed across his chest and wrapped around his arms like warmers. He slung a massive gatling gun from over his shoulder and looked ready for battle. But Naruto didn't care. A gorilla with a big gun? Psssh, he could handle that in his sleep.

No, what caught Naruto's attention was the second creature that limped out behind the ape version of Rambo. It was a giant of a gorilla, about the size of a normal elephant, with orange-red fur covering its body. Four thick tails flicked nervously behind it as it stepped into the moonlight. "Son," breathed Naruto in horror, "What did they do to you?" The four-tailed gorilla's beautiful hide was ripped and torn by deep gashes and small spikes erupted randomly across his body. His tusks were twisted and warped and the twin horns that grew from his forehead, his brow in which he had taken such pride, was bent in a horribly unnatural angle, like they had been used as levers to rip the gorilla's skull apart.

M'gann drifted down next to Naruto. "What do we do?" she whispered to him.

"Get inside the compound," he said firmly, "I'll handle Son." She nodded and entered camouflage mode as she flew off. Son scanned the battlefield until his eyes fell on Naruto. When he saw him, the giant ape roared. The ground shook from the force of his scream and he stood on his hind legs, beating his chest in dominance. His knuckles hit the ground and he wasted no time in his charge. Naruto scowled as he crouched down and launched himself at the waiting gorilla. "Make it look good, Son," he muttered as the gorilla roared, opening its massive jaws to accommodate Naruto into its mouth.

"Shinobi!" screamed M'gann as Son closed his jaws. Naruto blinked and found himself in a world of white, the plane of existence only Bijuu and Jinchuriki could access. Kurama sat on his haunches behind him and Son stood before them, his head hung as he tried to hide his scared face.

"Master," he greeted softly.

"Son," Naruto stepped forwards and carefully lay a hand on Son's forearm, "I'm so sorry."

"The scientists," Son said as he shirked away from Naruto's touch, "They asked for volunteers. I needed to earn their trust. They…they called it Kobra Venom. They only told me it was permanent after my transformation."

Naruto fell to his knees and hugged Son's arm. "The others," he whispered, "Are they-"

"They are safe."

"Good," Naruto rubbed one of Son's cuts and clenched his fists, "I swear, they will pay for this."

"At least they were kind enough to ask for volunteers."

"Then why did you say yes?" murmured Naruto, "Why did you take the risk just to gain their trust?"

Son knelt down and rested his head on his hand so his massive head was just above Naruto's eye level. "Because they're the bad guys," he said firmly, "And we're the good guys."

Naruto smiled and patted Son. "I taught you well."

Son snorted. "And so humble too, sensei."

"Do you have any news?"

"Yes. Besides testing the Kobra Venom on me, the scientists were also testing its effects on plant life."

"Why would they want to inject immobile plants with mega-steroids?"

"I don't know yet. Saiken and Kokuo were moved a few weeks ago to a facility in Asia. Isobu was taken the other day, but I don't know where they took him."

"Isobu has one of the strongest defenses," said Kurama with a nod, "Second only to Shukaku. He can handle himself for now. If he or any of you need help, we'll be there."

Naruto stepped back and gazed up proudly at his student. "Take care of yourself, okay? I'd rather be completely ignorant of what our enemies are up to and have you safe and sound than knew everything about them and lose you."

"Of course, sensei."

Kurama grunted and extended his fist. "Stay strong, little nephew," he growled affectionately, "Your father would be proud." Son managed a small smile and pounded his fist against Kurama's.

"We have to go back," said Naruto with a sigh, "Make it look good, okay? And go easy with the lava; M'gann's weak against fire." Naruto pushed out his own fist and Son nodded in understanding as he brought his own down to Naruto's. As their fists met, Son spat out Naruto from his mouth and they all exited the mental plane. As Naruto flew out of his mouth, he spun in the air and landed with a crouch.

"Shinobi!" shouted M'gann as she saw Naruto She flew in front of him and blasted Son with her telekinesis. He flew like cannon into the compound and the wall collapsed under him. "Are you okay?" she asked in concern as Naruto brushed a glop of gorilla spit off his shoulder.

"I'm fine. Everyone inside!" The team quickly ran inside as Son recovered from M'gann's attack. They entered a large, dark room where Captain Marvel was strapped to an operating table with a collar around his neck. Near him was a droid of sorts. It looked like a high-tech trashcan with a brain poking out of the top.

Wally gasped. "It's the Brain!"

"No duh!" said Artemis as she drew an arrow

"In ze flesh," the trashcan slid forward over the ground as Son and the Rambo gorilla stood behind him, "So to speak." The voice was thick with a French accent, but metallic and somewhat monotonous. "Son." The four-tailed gorilla snorted and steam rushed out of his nose. His mouth opened and lava spewed forth, immediately making the room feel like a furnace. "I believe several of your comrades are susceptible to heat, mais non?" said the Brain as Son's lava began to creep forwards. M'gann fell to the ground and leaned on Naruto for support. Her skin felt clammy and sweat beaded down her temple.

Naruto smirked. "Superboy! Now!" The wall behind the Brain imploded with a burst of dust and rubble. As the dust cleared, Conner stepped through the new hole. His shirt was ripped and he stood in front of a small pack of massive, enhanced wolves. A particularly large white wolf crouched next to him, his fangs bared.

The wolves fell on Son and the other gorilla, their teeth mashing. Brain back up and began firing lasers from his metallic body. Kaldur and Conner leapt in front of the others to guard them while Wally freed Captain Marvel. Robin and Artemis jumped over Conner and shot their respective projectiles into the backs of the two gorillas. Both suddenly convulsed with electricity and fell to the ground in pain. The Brain backed up between them as they struggled to their feet. The wolf pack stepped back, but growled in rage at their enemies.

Son roared in pain and anger as he saw he was surrounded. "Try it," challenged Conner, cracking his knuckles, "I hate monkeys."

"No, Son," sighed the Brain with a rush of static, "Zis vill not be our vaterloo." Lights began to flash all over his body and various panels unfurled from it. A humming sound filled the air and it grew in intensity as the two gorillas moved closer to the Brain.

"Get down!" shouted Wally as the humming reached its peak.

"Au revoir, mes amis," said the Brain as all of the lights abruptly shut off. Nothing happened for a moment until the emergency lights kicked in, revealing nothing where the brain and his two gorilla henchmen had just stood.

"Wait," Wally stood up, "That huge weapon thing was…a light switch?"

"I can't sense them, kit," grumbled Kurama, "They're gone."

For better or worse.

"I have feeling it's going to be worse."

. . .

M'gann called the Bioship to the compound so they didn't have to walk far. She was still a bit woozy from the sudden rise in temperature from Son's lava. "I thought he was on our side," she muttered as she leaned on Naruto.

"He is," he said, "We just had to make it look real. Trust me, if he really wanted to hurt us, he'd have gone hotter."

Captain Marvel was speaking with a tiger, and although that sounded like the beginning of a bad joke, they were discussing serious matters. "So there are no more collars?" The tiger growled in response. "And I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble?" The tiger roared, as if upset the Captain doubted his abilities. "Good," said the captain, "I'll be back for a visit, I promise." He stood up and the tiger walked into the forest. "I think I'll call him Mr. Twany," said the Captain wistfully.

Naruto smiled. "Good name, kid." Captain Marvel gave him a funny glance before Naruto walked over to where Conner and Wally were patting down the white wolf

"The rest of the pack is gone," said Conner as the wolf tucked his head into the clone's shoulder, "So why is this one sticking around?"

"I think he likes you," said Wally. He attempted to pat the wolf, but he swiveled his head and growled threateningly at the speedster.

"Can I keep him?" asked Conner eagerly.

Naruto shrugged. "Sure, but you have to feed and walk him."

"I promise!" Naruto rolled his eye and walked towards the Bioship. Robin was standing in the door and stopped him as he passed.

"Look, I have to know," he said, "Why did you keep the mole intel a secret?" The clearing became hushed as all eyes turned to Naruto.

He paused and took off his mask before facing his team. "I had three sources about the mole," he said, "The first was potentially faulty, so I ignored it. The second source was Sportsmaster."

"What?!"Artemis exclaimed, "You can't trust him!"

"I didn't," said Naruto dryly, "I thought it was probably just a ploy to divide the team."

"Given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded," muttered Robin.

"The third source was one I trust," Naruto continued, "But Saiken…he isn't, um, all there," he tapped his head to show what he meant.

"So with three different sources, at least one of which you knew was reliable, you still withheld the information from us?" demanded Conner.

"No," said Naruto simply, "I may have believed there was a mole at the start, but I quickly realized that none of you were traitors." He looked around and met the eyes of every member of the team. "I have fought by your sides," he said, "Trained with you, worked with you. This team has saved lives by working together. I just had to remind myself of that and I knew none of you would turn on us."

"So you did trust us," murmured Wally.

"But then why did you train so hard these last few weeks?" asked Robin.

Naruto shrugged. "I knew nobody on the team was a mole, but I also knew there was a leak somewhere. I was preparing myself for a confrontation with the true traitor without risking letting them know I was aware of their existence."

"So then Red Tornado-"

"Caught me totally by surprise," said Naruto, "I'd already ruled him out as a possible traitor. A detective, I am not. But I don't have to be." He smiled at Robin. "That's your job."

"So you really were just looking out for us," said Artemis, "I hate to say it guys, but that makes sense."

"But then, why did Kaldur keep quiet about it?" asked Wally.

Kaldur shrugged. "It was I who conveyed Sportsmaster's tip to Naruto. He told me that letting you know about it would only further his plan to cause dissent."

"Thus splitting us apart," Robin nodded thoughtfully, "Good call."

"I'm still ready to step down," said Naruto, "Who wants my job?"

There was a brief pause before Wally piped up. "All in favor of keeping Shinobi as our leader?"

The entire team lifted their hands in support and Naruto glowered at all of them as he put his mask back on. "You guys really hate me, don't you," he muttered as they filed into the Bioship. Captain Marvel floated up into the air. "Not coming?"

"Nah," said the Captain, "Gotta stretch my wings, in a manner of speaking." He shot off over the horizon towards the rising sun and disappeared.

M'gann waited until the rest of the team was aboard the Bioship before approaching Naruto. "So," he said nervously, "Are we cool?"

"Well," she sighed, "You kept something big from me, and that still hurts. But you were only doing it to keep our friends from falling apart, so I guess it was worth it. Still, the last day has been hectic to say the least and it's ultimately your fault."

"So the final verdict is?"

M'gann smirked. "I believe you owe me a date, leader."

. . .

Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!

For those who didn't pick up on it, the Collaboration Jutsu Naruto and Kaldur use is the same one he and Yamato use when they enter the fight against Hidan and Kakuzu.