Same italics and disclaimers as before.
Chapter 52: Business as Usual pt 3, Poor Planning
Wonder Woman put a hand to her ear and she slowed to a stop in midair. Cassie flew past her and made a hard turn to stop. "What is it now?" she demanded.
Wonder Woman nodded a few times. "Understood," she said eventually, "Wonder Girl and I'll be there soon." She brought her hand down and turned to Cassie. "We need to get to the Watchtower."
"What? Isn't Madara in El Paso?" whined Cassie, "Shouldn't we be there to help out?"
"Madara escaped," said Wonder Woman glumly as she dove below the clouds, looking for the nearest city with a Zeta Tube, "Naruto's called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation."
Cassie flew after her mentor. "They let Madara escape? The single most dangerous threat we've ever faced?"
"The single most dangerous threat the Justice League's ever faced," corrected Wonder Woman, "You weren't active during the Madara Crisis."
"The whole world was kinda active for that," muttered Cassie, "Between Lexcorp flubbing the international economy, Queen Bee declaring seven different wars, and all those terrorist attacks all at the same time across the world, I think it's safe to say we were all a little involved in that."
"That's not what I meant and you knew it," snapped Wonder Woman, "Those were all ploys intended to scatter and distract the Justice League while Madara tried to destroy the entire eastern seaboard by blowing up a nuclear power plant in Virginia. We were lucky that the Hyugas were able to see through Madara's plan and intercepted him."
Cassie pursed her lips. "You think you could have gone up against Madara? If you'd been there, that is?"
Wonder Woman found what she was looking for and barrel rolled to the left before diving down into a nearby city. Cassie didn't recognize which city it was. "Cassie, can I be honest with you?"
"Of course."
Wonder Woman looked back at her and Cassie saw a light in her eyes, a light she didn't often see, a light of fear. "I don't think I want to find out." Cassie frowned and Wonder Woman fixed with an expression of unapologetic pity before she put her hand to her ear once more. After a few moments, she nodded and lowered her hand. "Naruto wants you to go pick up the hermit," she said, "Her sabbatical is officially over."
Cassie nodded and swung away. She used the sun as a marker and turned to face the east before she boosted her speed and nearly broke the sound barrier as she shot off over Eurasia.
. . .
Tommy whistled lightly as he sloshed along inside the sewers. Tuppence glared at him. "And what's got you in such a good mood?"
"Kinda nice to be proper villains again," he said sheepishly.
Batwoman smirked. "Once a con, always a con, eh?"
"Shut up!" snapped Firestorm, his hair flickering, "Do you not get how serious this is?! We're wanted criminals!"
"Yes," said Tommy simply, "Liberating, isn't it."
"No!" shouted Firestorm, "In fact, kind of the opposite!"
"Actually, I'm not gonna lie, it does feel sort of cool to have helped rip off Lex Luthor," said Professor Stein in his head, "Don't forget, we have Luthor's interfering to thank for merging our minds."
Firestorm rolled his eyes. "Will you lay off? Have you ever considered that maybe it wasn't Luthor and that you're just not as smart as you think you are?"
Professor Stein made a noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and an indignant grunt. "Young man, I have three P.H.D.'s to my name. I practically invented the field of scientific transmutation and have been at its forefront since I graduated Suma Cum Laude from Oxford. So if you're insinuating that I somehow made a mistake in my calculations, I fully invite you to examine my notes. Don't worry, I'll walk you through them and help you with the big words."
"Oh, congratulations," snarled Firestorm, "You got a bunch of papers that say you're smart, but can you take a car engine apart and put it back together with reigned cylinders?"
"If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing it's an idiot," recited Professor Stein, "I'm an academic, an internationally recognized scientist. I'm not supposed to help people get to work. That's your job."
"You forgot world-class perv," muttered Firestorm, "Quit using my eyes to check out T'n'A, you old geezer!" Firestorm stood stock still for a second, his blood freezing over in fear. The others were all staring at him in a mix of horror and fury. "Did I say that out loud?" he said hesitantly.
Tommy stepped forwards, his wide chest filling Firestorm's vision. "You checkin' out my sister, bro? Or my sister's girl?"
"N-no!" stammered Firestorm, quickly backing away, "I-it's just the g-guy in my head!" Tommy glared at him and grabbed him by the chest, lifting him into the air.
Tuppence arched an eyebrow and cracked her knuckles. "Uh, come again?"
"Whoa! Chill!" hissed Batwoman quickly, pulling her girlfriend back a bit, "It's cool, he's telling the truth!"
Tommy glanced at her. "What?"
"It's the Firestorm Matrix," said Batwoman grimly, "It's what gives him his powers. It combines his mind with, uh, oh god what was his name?"
"S-Stein!" shouted Firestorm, "Professor Dr. Martin Stein!"
Batwoman grinned and snapped her fingers. "Yeah, that's it."
Tommy looked back at her. "How'd you know that?"
"I make it a point to know about my allies," said Batwoman coolly, "And also I helped fund the initial Firestorm Project."
Firestorm blinked. "Wait, what? You funded the Firestorm Project?"
"Yes, I just said that."
Inside Firestorm's mind, Professor Stein gasped. "Kate Kane!"
"What?"
"Batwoman is Kate Kane! The Gotham heiress? How have you never heard of her?"
" What does she do?"
"She, uh, she hosts parties and stuff. I think she might be a fashion designer?"
"There's your answer. I only take the time to learn about people that actually matter. How do you know Batwoman is this Kate Kane woman?"
Firestorm couldn't see Stein, but he could practically sense his smug smirk. "Because Kate Kane was the only woman who donated to the Firestorm Project."
"Oh. Okay."
"So Kate Kane is a lesbian, huh? That's embarrassing. I know a fair number of men who I saw hit on her shamelessly at fundraisers."
"So Stein is a regular perv, huh?" Kate grinned, "No wonder his wife left him."
"Hey!" snapped Stein, "Clarissa left because she was selfish and couldn't stand the fact that I was changing science as we know it!"
"I thought she left because she didn't want to play second fiddle to your work?"
"I told you that in confidence, now shut up."
Kate whispered something in Tuppence's ear and the Terror Twin's face quickly shifted from one of absolute anger to a pitiful smirk. She wrapped her arms around Kate. "We should keep going," she announced, "Firestorm, lead the way."
Firestorm grimaced and stepped around Tommy. "Got my eyes on you, kid," snarled the bigger man and Firestorm gulped. He quickly put the two women between Tommy and himself and continued down the dank sewers.
"Hey, Ronnie," said Stein, his voice uncharacteristically soft, "I never did ask. Do you have anyone? Girl? Boy? I don't judge."
Firestorm, Ronnie, closed his eyes and his hair steamed briefly. "Yeah," he murmured, "Her name was Serafina."
. . .
Seven months ago, Ronnie was mechanically pushing a wet mop back and forth. He was chewing a few sticks of gum of various flavors and was listening to a podcast of two men discussing vehicles. He mopped long hallways and empty laboratories, occasionally pausing to take long sips from a thermos of coffee clipped to his belt.
Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder and he quickly pulled off his cheap headphones. Behind him stood a short, scrawny man with wavy brown hair, thick glasses, and a white lab coat. "Who told you to clean in here?" he demanded.
Ronnie blinked in surprise. "Uh, I'm supposed to do all three sub-levels, sir."
The man glared at him and grabbed him by his the chest of his janitor jumpsuit. "Do you mean to tell me that you have been in and out of my lab? How long have you been working here?! Did you touch any of my equipment?!"
"Whoa!" Ronnie tried to back away, but the man pulled him closer, "Uh, I-I've only been here a few weeks, sir! Which lab is yours?"
The man bit his lip. "I, ah, I don't remember the room name. It's the big one? It has the Firestorm Matrix contained in a zero-point energy magnetic field?"
Ronnie cocked his head to the side. "Is that the glowing cube thing that hangs in a giant blue laser tube?"
"Oh, thank god," sighed the man, letting Ronnie go, "You couldn't be the one tampering with my work. You're an imbecile."
"Uh…thanks?" The man rushed out of the room and Ronnie shook his head angrily before slipping his headphones back on. He hated working for these laboratory eggheads, they thought they were so much better than him just because they went to school longer than he had. If it were up to him, he'd just work in the garage, help people with their cars and he'd never have to deal with the more pretentious members of society.
But the garage had closed and he was desperate for money. He knew Serafina loved him, but he wouldn't force her to support the both of them. They needed money, and money meant a job. He continued to wet the floor and moved on to the next room. He stepped out into the hallway and looked up from his bucket straight into the eyes of a man in a ski mask holding an assault rifle.
The man and Ronnie froze. Ronnie had never seen a gun before, and the idea that he could be killed in the next few seconds suddenly reminded him of his own mortality. Ronnie glanced behind the armed man and saw that he was at the head of a line of armed men, all wearing masks of one kind or another. Ronnie gulped. "Um, uh, I, ah, I don't s-suppose you c-could just f-forget you saw me?"
The man he was facing swung his assault rifle towards Ronnie. Ronnie yelped and swatted the gun away with his mop. He took off running down the hallway, crouched over as bullets flew over his head. He felt a few of them sear close to his ears and screamed as he slid around a corner. He was unsure of where he was going, but he eventually turned into a lab. The man in the lab coat he'd dealt with earlier was there, checking his instruments and occasionally muttering to himself as he circled a large, blue tube of light where a glowing, red cube was hovering.
He glanced up as Ronnie slammed the door shut behind him, hyperventilating. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, "Didn't I make it clear I don't want anyone in my lab?"
Ronnie was too afraid and panicked to talk, he simply ran from the door to the far side of the lab. The scientist watched him in confusion. Suddenly, the door burst open and the armed men ran in. The scientist stared at them in horror and slowly, with shaking hands, took off his glasses as they surrounded him and raised their weapons. "Dr. Martin Stein?" asked one.
"How much is Luthor paying you to kill me?" the scientist asked meekly.
"More than you can reciprocate to keep you alive," said one of the armed men coolly before he opened fire. His comrades shot as well and the scientist crumpled to the floor, his white coat stained red with blood. "Well that was easy," said the man, "Plant the bombs."
"What about the kid?" asked another man, pointing with his weapon towards Ronnie.
"Are we being paid to kill him?"
"No boss."
"Then he's not worth the bullet."
One of the men nodded and walked up to Ronnie, who was at this point too terrified to consider breathing. "Sorry, kid," said the man, "Nothing personal." He brought down the butt of his gun on Ronnie's temple and he saw a flash of bright light before he blacked out.
When he awoke, he opened his eyes slowly to see a large pile of what looked like C4 attached to the blue tube of light. He only had a few moments to sit up and see the fallen, bleeding scientist trying to crawl towards him. Then the bomb went off. The heat was more intense than leaning over a hot engine, and, for a moment, Ronnie died.
Then his consciousness connected with a spark of pure, elemental energy. His mind twisted and wrapped itself around another. Deep within their existence, they agreed to save Ronnie's body as his wasn't riddled with bullets. His body became a mass of flame and energy that rejected and absorbed as much of the bomb's explosion as it could, leaving Ronnie burning, gasping, afraid, and very, very, confused.
. . .
"Here," said Ronnie, pointing to a manhole cover above the group, "We should be close to the League's Zeta Tube." Tommy helped his sister and Kate up to the manhole and they climbed out one by one. Ronnie flew up after them and Tommy shoved the manhole cover back into place.
They were in an alley between two buildings. Tommy and Tuppence went to a nearby dumpster and pushed it out of the way, revealing the hidden Zeta Tube. Ronnie sighed in relief and stepped towards it as it power up.
"Hey!" hissed Kate from the end of the alley, "Check this out!" Ronnie groaned as the Terror Twins ran back to Kate. Kate was using her binoculars to look across the mildly busy street at a newsstand. "Look at the headlines," she said, handing the binoculars to Tuppence, "Everything but the Daily Planet has the same tag."
"'Akatsuki Heroes Rob Luthor,'" read Tuppence aloud, "There's pictures and everything."
Firestorm gapped at her. "B-but we were only down there an hour! How could they have published this so fast in the papers?!"
Tommy slapped his forehead. "Of course!" he muttered angrily, "Someone already wrote about what would happen! This was a set up!"
"I. Hate. Luthor," said Kate angrily.
"That slimball!" hissed Tuppence, lowering the binoculars, "He was never robbed! He just made it looked like we did it!"
"He probably hired Cinderblock," sighed Ronnie, "C'mon, let's get back to the Watchtower. The League and Naruto will know what to do." They quickly scrambled into the Zeta Tube and zipped away.
. . .
Hiruzen and Ed emerged from the Chicago Zeta Tube and Hiruzen immediately ran towards Wayne Tower. "Whoa!" Ed cried as Hiruzen pulled him along, "Amigo! Hold up! You're overreacting, man! Like Naruto!"
"At the very least, we need to keep an eye on Platinum," said Hiruzen firmly as he pulled him towards a nearby building. As he ran up the side, Ed gasped and struggled to find a grip in the side of the building before he just teleported both him and Hiruzen to the top of the building.
"At least let me get us there faster!" he begged. Hiruzen rolled his white eyes and gave a curt nod. Ed took Hiruzen by the arm and scanned the skyline for Wayne Tower. Seconds later, they were standing on a balcony near the top of the building.
"Byakugan!" snapped Hiruzen, the viens around his eyes sharpening, "There! She's only two floors below us!" He took off into the building with Ed teleporting frantically behind him.
"Dude!" shouted Ed, emerging with a flash of light in front of Hiruzen, "Will you chill out, man?! Seriously! You're supposed to be the one who keeps his cool! You're acting like a kid!"
Hiruzen pulled up short and glared down at Ed. He breathed deeply and looked away. "Okay," he said with a sigh as his Byakugan deactivated, "I guess I am being a little…hasty."
"Exactly," said Ed with a relieved sigh, "Look, I don't know about you, but there's no way I could beat Platinum, so for the time being let's just go in there and ask her a few questions."
Hiruzen frowned. "What kind of questions?"
Ed opened his mouth to reply but was promptly interrupted by a sudden explosion that burst through the floor. He scrambled back and cried out in surprise as the floor tiles scattered around him. A massive, beefy fist rose through the large hole in the floor and pulled a giant of a man in a blue jumpsuit through behind it. Every muscle in his body seemed to pulsate with inhuman energy and his black hair had been spiked into an almost deadly looking Mohawk. "Well, well," he spoke in a booming voice as he looked down at an impassive Hiruzen, "Looks like we've got us some intruders."
Hiruzen looked up and down the giant before him. "You waited until I'd deactivated my Byakugan to sneak up on us," he said calmly, "Impressive. Usually the big ones aren't so bright."
"The big ones usually don't have enough RAM to make a supercomputer jealous," bragged the giant.
"RAM, huh? Byakugan!" Hiruzen's dojutsu reactivated and he peered through the giant's skin, "I see. Your body is enhanced by internal cybernetic nanobots. Platinum's doing, no doubt. You must be Project OMAC, the 'one man army corps'." Before OMAC could respond, Hiruzen jumped backwards and jutted his palm forwards. "Gentle Fist! Air Palm!" The blast of wind slammed against OMAC's chest, but he didn't even seem to notice him.
Ed teleported next to Hiruzen and grabbed his wrist. "Dude! We came here to talk to Platinum, not fight a monster!"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed. "The nanobots under his skin condensed around the area of impact to absorb the force of my Air Palm. He controls them like I control my sand bots, with a direct neuro-transmitter."
Ed glared at him. "Yeah, that's very interesting. Now let's get outta here before all that science talk crushes us with his bare hands."
Slowly, a smirk grew across Hiruzen's face. "I'd like to see him try."
OMAC grinned and rushed forwards. Ed winced in preparation and teleported him and Hiruzen behind the charging giant. "He's not who we came here for!" he shouted as OMAC rounded on them.
"But he's who we got," snarled Hiruzen, flipping a kunai into the air. OMAC swung at them with his giant fists. Ed teleported backwards and Hiruzen Hiraishined to the kunai. "Hiraishin! Second Step!" he shouted as he issued a powerful leg drop to OMAC's shoulder. As he predicted, the nanobots in OMAC gathered under the skin of his shoulder, an internal armor against his attack. But that was just what Hiruzen wanted. He spun around in midair, landing a drop kick to OMAC's knee. The giant grunted, but didn't buckle. Hiruzen grinned as he saw the nanobots in him try to gather where his foot already was.
"Looks like you can't control your nanobots too well," he noted, "They have to circumvent your internal organs and bloodstream to get to where my next strike will land."
OMAC stepped back and growled. "I'm just a prototype," he admitted.
Hiruzen stood up straight and flicked open his Akatsuki robes, revealing a thick, silver belt slung around his waist. The circlet on his head glinted and the belt disassembled, dissolving into a fog of nanobots that surrounded his body. "Ninja Art!" he snarled, "Sand Coffin!" His nanobots shot forwards and wrapped themselves around OMAC, lacing him into a cocoon of flowing metal.
Ed appeared next to Hiruzen. "C'mon!" he shouted, "That's not going to hold him!" OMAC's fist burst out of the cocoon and Hiruzen scowled.
"Fine," he said, dropping through the hole OMAC made in the floor. He fell two floors down to a wide lab, filled with tables and computers. Ed teleported behind him. "Platinum!" Hiruzen shouted, "We need to talk!"
Ed sighed. "Yeah, I guess it was too late for the subtle approach anyway."
Hiruzen marched through the lab with an angry scowl. "Don't think you can hide, Magnus," he snarled, "Nobody hides from the Byakugan!"
From behind one of the tables, Dr. Will Magnus slowly rose, a small pistol shaking in his hands. "I-I don't know w-why you've come here, Hiruzen," he panted, "But y-you need to leave!"
"Why?!" demanded Hiruzen, "So you can continue reprogramming Platinum, probably for the Light?"
Dr. Magnus blinked in confusion. "What?"
Hiruzen ran forwards and wrapped one hand around Magnus's throat and the other around his wrist. "Where is Platinum? What have you done with her?!"
"I'm here, Hiruzen," Platinum's voice came from a nearby computer that glowed when she spoke, "Let go of Dr. Magnus."
Hiruzen didn't comply. "Who am I speaking to?" he shouted angrily.
There was a pause before the computer screen sharpened and Platinum's robotic face appeared onscreen. "You're talking to me, Hiruzen, Platinum. We're friends, remember? I-I'm downstairs in the testing labs. I'll be right up, okay? Just don't hurt Will."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. "What is your name?"
Platinum blinked. "Hiruzen, I'm Platinum."
"What is your name?!"
"Uh, uh, I'm, uh, the Personal Life and Transit Neurobotic Machine, or PLaTNM for short, but I changed it to just Platinum because it sounded cooler, remember?"
"No, Serling Roquette thought it sounded cooler," hissed Hiruzen, "And she's dead!"
There was a long, empty pause where Platinum's face didn't change. Slowly, she looked away from the camera. "Yes," she said quietly, "Serling died. I…I think it was peaceful. I was still perfecting my body when I realized…I realized I was in control of myself. Serling wasn't controlling me. I don't know if she died when I realized it or if she died before that, but…" She let her train of thought wander off and she looked sadly back at Hiruzen from the screen. "Hiruzen, I…I'm just Platinum now."
Hiruzen scowled and his grip tightened on Magnus's throat. "Prove it," he growled.
Platinum hesitated for a few moments. "Can you wait for me to come up there?"
"Don't try anything," snapped Hiruzen, "I can see anything you have coming." Platinum nodded and cut the feed.
Ed rubbed his temples and sighed. "So she's a sentient A.I.? That's, um, better than her being controlled, I guess."
"She has no proof," said Hiruzen firmly, "Until we have evidence she's telling the truth, we have to assume she's a threat."
"And how exactly can she prove she's telling the truth?" asked Ed, "We can't exactly give her a lie-detector test, hombre, she's a robot."
"A robot who claims to have feelings," muttered Hiruzen. He glanced back up at Magnus, who was gasping and struggling for breath. "And how exactly do you fit into all of this?" he asked.
Before Magnus could answer, OMAC fell through the floor behind them. "Forget about me so soon?" he chuckled as he brushed rubble off his shoulder. Hiruzen sighed and tossed Magnus to the side. The scientist fell through a table and scrambled further down the wide lab.
"Can we not do this?" begged Ed, "Platinum's on her way up, she'll help us settle this, okay?"
"Nobody likes a pacifist, Ed," said Hiruzen, sliding into a fighting stance. OMAC grinned and stomped on the floor. The tiles cracked under his foot and Hiruzen slid backwards, his hands flipping through seals. "Fire Style! Dragon Fire Jutsu!" He spat a large ball of flames from his mouth that coiled and swirled into a burning dragon. The dragon roared like a cackling flame and raced towards OMAC.
The one man army corps laughed and Hiruzen saw the nanobots in his body assemble in his hands. With a grunt, OMAC clapped his hands on the dragon's head as it approached him, the nanobots protecting him from the heat. The fire dispersed, but Hiruzen was charging in too fast for OMAC to counter. "Leaf Hurricane!" he shouted as he delivered a powerful kick to OMAC's head. The giant snarled and stumbled back, but Hiruzen did not let him recover. "Fire Style!" he shouted, his hands moving fluidly, "Flaming Death Mantle!" The pores in his back and shoulder opened wide and leaked flaming chakra. Hiruzen's shoulders erupted into flames and he charged OMAC. He tackled the bigger man, letting his flaming shoulders burn into OMAC's stomach. OMAC cried out and slammed against a wall, clutching his stomach.
Hiruzen rolled off of him and the fires on his shoulders died off. "Well that was fun," he muttered. With his Byakugan, he could see behind him in the lab, where Magnus was typing rapidly at a computer. Hiruzen looked back at him. "I would stop if I were you, Magnus, you're not doing yourself any favors."
Ed teleported next to Magnus and grabbed away the computer, dropping it hard on the floor. "C'mon man!" he sighed in exasperation, "Just relax and wait for Platinum!"
Magnus glared at him and ran towards the wall. "They're not fully operational!" he shouted as he slammed a panel besides a row of raised closets, "But this is as good a field test as any!" The closets flipped open one by one, revealing several human shapes of various color and size, each with an alchemical symbol on its chest. Slowly, their eyes opened, revealing glowing irises. "Metal Men! Protocol Delta! Protect me!" Hiruzen scowled as Ed appeared next to him.
"What are those things?" he whispered to the Shinobi as the Metal Men stepped out of their closets and prepared themselves for battle.
"Project Metal Men," grunted Hiruzen, "Liquid-metal robots modeled after Platinum, designed for rescue and loss prevention."
"Oh," Ed bit his lip, "I don't suppose we could beat them, could we?"
"Fighting Platinum would be tough, but doable," said Hiruzen grimly, "These are basically five versions of her with specialized skills. I'm not gonna lie, I don't like these odds."
As one, the Metal Men crouched down and leapt forwards, vaulting over tables and flowing as they ran, making it hard for Hiruzen to follow their precise movements. They gathered and struck as one, forming a cone of razor sharp blades that aimed directly at Hiruzen. He bent down, readying his Rotation.
"Metal Men! Program Regress! Activation Code P.T. 1-9-5-0-8!" Immediately, the Metal Men froze and began to retreat.
Hiruzen turned as Platinum walked out of the elevator. OMAC struggled to his feet. "You know this punk, P?"
Hiruzen sneered at him. "This punk just gave you internal bleeding."
OMAC growled and stepped forwards, but Platinum put a hand on his chest. "Stand down, Corporal Blank," she said firmly. OMAC grunted, but stepped back down, the nanobots in his body receding deep within his organs.
Ed raised an eyebrow. "Corporal Blank? You serve? I thought Wayne didn't like his workers interacting too much with the government."
OMAC stood up straight and gave a formal salute. "Corporal Buddy Blank, U.S. Marine Corps."
"He volunteered for the nanobot implantation procedure," said Platinum, folding her arms, "We didn't exactly have a large field to pick from and Corporal Blank was the only one physically strong enough to properly test the internal nanobots."
Hiruzen pushed past Ed. "Who are you?!" he snapped at Platinum.
Platinum glared at him and her chest rose dramatically, although she did not breathe. She walked forwards purposefully and Hiruzen readied himself in case she attacked. She stood before him, practically chest to chest. Hiruzen narrowed his Byakugan eye and curled his hands into fists. Ed and Buddy glanced at each other and back at the two. Platinum slowly raised her hands and Hiruzen pulled away. But Platinum was resolute and grabbed him by his head and yanked him forwards. He furrowed his brow, ready for the oncoming head-butt, but he felt no impact on his forehead.
Instead, he felt hard metal gently press against his lips. His eyes snapped wide open in amazement. Platinum pressed her body up against his and Hiruzen's hands unfurled. Platinum's eyes were closed as she sucked the breath right out of Hiruzen's lungs. He stood stock still and didn't reciprocate Platinum's kiss, more from pure shock than lack of attraction. She pressed deeper into him, slowly slipping her metallic tongue past Hiruzen's lips. It was smooth, made of infinitesimal tiny nanobots that experimentally flexed in his mouth. Serling had experienced situations like this before, but this was unfamiliar territory for Platinum.
After a few seconds, Hiruzen slowly removed her hands from his head and pulled back. Platinum suddenly felt very embarrassed and vulnerable. "S-sorry," she said, looking away, "I, ah, I didn't mean to-"
"Ed," said Hiruzen sharply, "We're leaving."
Ed stared at him. "Uh, dude…"
Hiruzen turned and grabbed Ed by the arm before marching towards the door. He pulled Ed through the halls to the balcony they'd arrived on. "Take us back to the Zeta Tube," he ordered.
"Whoa!" Ed pulled away from Hiruzen, "Hang on a sec, dude. Did…I mean, do you know if she was being controlled by someone? Or…"
"She was telling the truth," said Hiruzen, glaring angrily at the horizon, "She's her own person, a self-aware A.I. program made from the left over mental state of Serling Roquette."
Ed slowly smirked. "You can tell that from just a kiss?"
Hiruzen rounded on him and raised his hand to smack Ed across the face. Ed teleported behind the Shinobi and folded his arms in smug satisfaction. Hiruzen turned back to him and looked up with his Byakugan. Through the building, he could see Platinum sitting in the lab. Dr. Magnus and Buddy stood with her, simultaneously consoling her and scolding her. Platinum herself was hard to read. She didn't have a heartbeat Hiruzen could measure or a bloodstream he could watch. He didn't know if she was sad, angry, glad, euphoric, or even apathetic.
"Just get us out of here," said Hiruzen softly, "I need to speak with Naruto."
. . .
Cassie flew expertly through the Himalayan mountains. She let her hands trail down and dust snow off a few mountain tops before she found her destination: a small valley tucked between two nearly vertical cliffs. Though most of the mountains in the range were snow covered or rocky, this valley was one of the grassier areas. However, there were numerous, clawed footprints of burned grass, footprints larger than a tall man lying down. Where the footprints conglomerated was a small, tin hut. Cassie swooped down to the hut and landed with a soft thud on the dead grass.
She was about to knock when the door to the hut suddenly swung open and a rough pike was shoved at her face. The pike's blade was a carved, snarling dragon with detailed scales and a razor-sharp edge. It was about a foot long and six inches at its widest point. Cassie cried out and leaned backwards, catching the blade between her indestructible bracelets. With a grunt, she pulled her arms apart and snapped the blade off of the pike before she backflipped away.
Asami stepped out of the hut, glaring at her broken weapon. Her clothes were burned and in tatters, revealing enough skin for Cassie to blush at. Her skin had darkened and black soot was smeared across her face. "You know how long it took me to make that?" she snarled, "Matatabi had me forge that axe in her tails!"
"Sorry," rushed Cassie, picking up the blade, "You're English's improved."
Asami glared at her and snatched back the blade of her pike. "What do you want?" she muttered, "I'm busy."
"Busy?" Cassie looked around the valley, "Doing what? What exactly do you do when you're not learning from the Two-Tails?"
"Her name is Matatabi," said Asami, walking back into her hut. Cassie followed her, but the hut was barely big enough for one person, let alone two. It had a tiny cot and an even smaller stove, and that was about it. "What I do is my business," said Asami, sitting cross-legged on the cot, "But when you interrupt my hermitage, your business becomes my business. So why did you come here?"
"Naruto's calling an emergency meeting," explained Cassie, "He wants you there. He says your sabbatical is over."
Asami grunted loudly and crossed her arms. "I am not done learning," she said, "Naruto will have to wait."
"He's waited for two months," said Cassie, raising an eyebrow, "And aside from your language skills, I'm not seeing much improvement from when you left."
Asami twisted her blade between her fingers and flipped it like a professional sign twirler. With a flick of her wrist, the blade suddenly was sticking out of the tin wall by Cassie's shoulder. It had moved faster that Cassie could have predicted, propelled by a miniature projection from Asami's fingers. "I have learned more in the last two months from Lady Matatabi than I am willing to bet you have in your one year as Wonder Woman's protégé."
Cassie glared at the Japanese girl and her hands slowly rolled into fists. "Are you calling out my mentor's, uh, mentoring skills?"
"Yes," said Asami calmly, "Now get out of my home." She flicked her finger at Cassie and a projection erupted from her palm, slamming Cassie in the chest and sending the fledgling Amazon flying out of the hut. She landed with a hard grunt in the valley and rolled to her feet.
"Oh, you did not just kick me out of your house!" she growled, "If you could even call it a house!" She drew out her lasso and swung it high over her head. She flicked her wrist and the lasso fell over the entire hut. Cassie grinned as she flew into the air and ripped the hut from the ground, leaving a surprised-looking Asami sitting in the open field.
Asami snarled in anger and crouched down, her blade clutched in her hands. She leapt into the air with a projection and swiped at Cassie, who leaned back and wrapped her legs around Asami's waist in mid air. She shot towards the ground and slammed Asami head-first into the earth below. Asami didn't even pause to absorb the pain, breaking Cassie's hold on her and blasting her away with a powerful projection. Cassie's body was mashed into one of the cliffs and Asami grinned, throwing projection after projection at Cassie.
Cassie fell to the ground slowly, being held up and bashed against the rocks by Asami's onslaught. As she reached the ground, Asami tossed her blade into the air before flipping after it and kicking it at Cassie. It embedded itself in the rocks next to Cassie's neck, cutting a few strands of Cassie's blond hair.
Cassie pulled away from the blade and tripped over herself, falling to the ground. Asami took a deep breath and centered her chi. The fight was over. Cassie pushed herself to her feet and glared at Asami from across the field. "Y-you're coming with me!" she shouted, "My mission is to bring you to this meeting! And I don't fail my missions!"
Asami looked over to the wreckage of tin plates that was once her hut and sighed. "You have done enough damage," she said sadly, "Leave me so I may rebuild." She started to walk towards the metal walls and bent down to pick them up.
Cassie stared at her and bent down to charge her. "This isn't over!"
."Yes, it is, child." Cassie gasped and looked up. On the cliff above her, Matatabi's flaming body was looking down on her curiously with mismatched eyes.
Asami turned to her master and bowed deeply. "Matatabi sensei," she greeted humbly.
"Hello, Asami-chan," said Matatabi, glancing up at her student, "Wonder Girl, why have you interrupted Asami's hermitage?"
Cassie stared up at the giant Bijuu and struggled to find her vocabulary. She'd met only one Bijuu before, when she, Raven, M'gann, Karen, and Barbara had performed an impromptu rescue mission in Bialya. Raven had summoned Shukaku, the One-Tail, to save a plane full of the Reach's teenage prisoners. Cassie had proceeded to make a complete fool of herself in front of one of the most powerful beings on the planet, one of the defenders of humanity against the dangers of the Earth itself. She wasn't about to make the same mistake in front of Shukaku's sister and friendly rival. But she didn't know exactly what to say that wouldn't make her sound like an idiot.
"Naruto-sama has called me for a conference," Asami replied after a long pause, "But my hermitage is not over. I am not ready to return to civilization."
Matatabi hummed thoughtfully and rested her head on her paws. "So my sensei has called for aide?" she said calmly, "I sensed the return of a powerful chakra entity, it must have been Madara Uchiha. If he is truly back, then the heroes of Earth will need all the help they can get." She leaned down into the valley, the heat emanating off her body becoming more intense. "Asami, my pupil, I have taught you all I can. You know how to fight and how to find your inner peace. It is not your hermitage or your studies that keeps you from returning, it is your grief." Asami remained bowed, but her body hiccupped and she turned her head. "You have not put your loss behind you," continued Matatabi, "But you will not be able to move on in this valley. Return to the Justice League and Akatsuki."
Asami stifled a reluctant sigh and nodded. "Yes, Matatabi. I will return."
Matatabi fixed her gaze on Cassie, who had paled and was now fighting a dry mouth. "You are hurt," Matatabi noted, "Physically and emotionally. Your pride in yourself and your heritage holds you back from reaching your true potential."
Cassie gulped audibly and finally found her voice. "I-I'm, ah, I'm gonna just t-take Asami." Asami walked back to her and ripped her blade from the rock wall. She hopped on Cassie's back as the Wonder Girl floated into the air.
"Wonder Girl," said Matatabi as she rose to the Bijuu's level, "If you chose to fight my pupil again, you must either win or face me as a result. I would consider your options a bit more carefully next time."
Cassie's embarrassment mixed with her anger and she blushed deeply. "Thanks for the advice," she muttered as she shot into the sky.
. . .
Naruto sat in the Watchtower's large, empty cafeteria. He had a plate of appealing-looking food before him, but he wasn't hungry enough to eat. The sound of his fork clinking uselessly against his plate echoed around the mess hall.
The doors swung open and Dick walked in., quickly taking a seat across from Naruto. "Are they ready?" asked Naruto.
"We're still missing a few people," said Dick, "Icicle's in the I.C.U. at New Orleans General Hospital. He's got third degree burns over most of his back."
"He took the full brunt of one of the most powerful Fire Style jutsus ever created," sighed Naruto, "It's a miracle he's still alive."
"Batgirl went home," continued Dick, "She needs to recuperate."
"Was she hurt?"
"She went one on one with Madara. Not all of us consider that an easy task."
Naruto glanced up at Dick. "Nobody considers that an easy task, Dick."
Dick waved his hand. "Regardless, she won't be joining us." He paused and bit his tongue gently. "Nobody's seen or heard from Raven."
"And nobody will," said Naruto sadly, "Not for a while, at least."
Dick frowned. "And that doesn't concern you?"
"Of course it does!" snapped Naruto, "But if Trigon has recruited Etrigan, then there's not a lot we can do. At least, not until Dr. Fate gets back from wherever he's disappeared to."
"He's been gone for too long," agreed Dick, "I don't know if we can count on him coming back anytime soon."
"I know," sighed Naruto, "Anyone else missing?"
"Platinum called," said Dick, "She's not coming."
Naruto waited for him to continue, but that was all Dick had to say. "Did she give any reason why?" Naruto prodded.
"She just said she was going to stick with Dr. Magnus for a while."
Naruto grit his teeth. "Hiruzen was right, he's starting to be a bad influence on her."
"She's a grown woman," Dick reminded him, "There's not much you can do to interfere with her personal life."
"We'll agree to disagree," said Naruto with a grunt, "How did the cleanup at Belle Reve go?"
"Pretty bad," sighed Dick with a grimace, "We nabbed about two-thirds of the escapees and moved all remaining prisoners to the far side of the prison. Construction crews are already working or repairing the walls, but for the time being, Belle Reve is working at half-capacity."
Naruto lowered his head. "What about the one-third you missed?"
"Robin and I found tire tracks in the swamp," said Dick, "Someone was waiting for certain prisoners and helped them get away, leaving the others to distract us."
"The Light," grumbled Naruto, "God I hate them."
"Jason's not here."
"Yeah, he's on a mission in Kenya. He wouldn't come even if I called him."
"Also," Dick reached behind him and pulled a rolled up newspaper from his back pocket, laying it on the table, "You should take a look at this."
Naruto read the headline and grimaced at the picture of his teammates apparently robbing Lex Luthor. "It's a set up," he said immediately.
"Of course it is," agreed Dick, "But Luthor has half of Metropolis in his pocket and this news isn't going to stay local for long."
"I'm not one for spinning our public image," said Naruto, tossing the paper away, "But it doesn't look like I have much of a choice."
"What're you gonna do?" asked Dick with a chuckle.
"Gordon Godfrey's been edging me to go on his show for a month," sighed Naruto, "This might be a ploy just to get me to fold to his demands."
"If it's a ploy, it's a good one," sighed Dick as he stood up, "You ready? I think we've got as many people as we're going to get."
Naruto nodded and stood up. Together, the two friends walked out of the cafeteria and started to traverse the hallways of the Watchtower. Naruto paused a moment and stared straight ahead. "You're angry," he said bluntly, "Disappointed."
Dick didn't respond immediately, but eventually sighed and gave in. "Let me ask you something," he said, "When you returned from the Dreaming, you told everyone that Abel, the keeper of all secrets, had revealed to you Madara's ultimate plan and that you had a method of beating him, that you could prepare for when he came back."
"I'm not hearing a question, Dick."
"You said you could be ready," snapped Dick, "Well, he's back. And the first thing he did was embarrass us publically and wiped the floor with our best prison. He made it clear that not only is he here to stay, he showed the world that we can't protect them like we said we could."
Naruto glanced at him. "I'm still not hearing a question."
Dick glared at him. "When you told us you knew Madara's plan, we were too excited to ask for details. All we cared about is that you knew what you were doing and that, when the time came, you could take on Madara. But now, just telling us you're ready isn't enough. We need to know: what is Madara planning? What did Abel show you?"
They'd reached the doors to the Watchtower's war room and Naruto stopped. "Madara's plan is the same that it's always been," he said calmly, "To establish his perverted version of peace by destroying the world. All Abel showed me is how exactly he plans to do it."
Dick looked at him with a grim expression. "And how does he plan to do it?"
"By breaking me," said Naruto. He pushed open the doors and looked out over the assembled heroes that stood before him. "Hello," he called out, "Thanks for coming. Let's get started."
. . .
Artemis leaned into Wally as they walked out of the chapel. "I liked it," she said.
"Me too," agreed Wally. He looked down at Artemis's head and planted a quick kiss on the top of her hair. "Have I told you I love you in the last five minutes?"
"No," she replied with a smirk, "But odds are good you filled your hourly quota."
Wally chuckled and held her a little tighter. That was when a bolt of yellow lightning fell from the sky and cackled directly at their feet. Wally pulled Artemis behind him and sped back several feet to avoid the sudden burst of electricity. As abruptly as it appeared, the lightning bolt faded away. Artemis peeked over Wally's shoulder. "Uh, what was that?"
Wally narrowed his eyes. "No idea, but it left us a gift." Where the bolt of lightning had struck was a crumpled, smoking figure that had not been there before.
Artemis tentatively stepped out from behind Wally. "Is it okay?" she murmured. Wally knelt down and gently nudged the figure and pushed it over. His eyes widened and he took a step back. "Holy…" gasped Artemis, "Dr. Fate!" Indeed, it was the helmeted sorcerer lying unmoving on the ground. Artemis knelt down by Wally and grabbed Dr. Fate's arm.
Suddenly, he grabbed back. Artemis cried out in surprise as he yanked her down so that they were eye to eyehole. "Apokolips!" he rattled in a rasping breath, "He was on Apokolips!"
. . .
Jason quietly scanned the crowd as he stepped out of the tunnel and into the Kenyan airport. It wasn't particularly crowded, but someone could get lost in it easily. But someone with pasty white skin and green hair was sure to leave an impression on people, and this was where the flight plan showed Joker had flown to. Jason calmly made his way towards baggage claim.
On the way there, a security guard suddenly stopped him. "Excuse me, sir," he said casually, "Are you Mr.," he checked a piece of paper in his hands, "Mr. Jason Smith?"
Jason frowned. "Yes, I am," he lied easily, "Is something wrong?"
"It appears there's been some problem with your luggage," said the guard, "The flight plan said you had a shipping case?"
Jason perked up slightly. He'd hidden his Excecutioner's Blade in a large, sealed case. "Yes," he said urgently, "Is it missing?"
"I'm afraid so," said the guard, "Can you come with me please? The flight director would like to apologize in person."
Jason gulped. "Yes, yes," he said quietly. His precious sword? Missing? His heart beat annoyingly fast as he followed the guard to a side room with a waiting table and chair. Jason slowly took a seat and folded his hands. His sword was more than just a weapon to him; it was a symbol of his position in the world. Granted, he hadn't actually killed anyone yet, he was saving the honor of his first kill for the Joker. But he was more than ready to kill, and the Executioner's Blade was representative of that. Without it, was he really ready to make such a drastic move as to take a life?
The guard left the room and shut the door behind him. The sharp click of a lock brought Jason out of his thoughts. He looked up at the door and his mouth opened slightly. A small hole opened in the wall and a lime green gas filtered into the room. Jason stumbled out of his seat and threw it at the locked door. The chair shattered, but the door didn't give. Jason covered his mouth with his sleeve and grabbed a broken off leg of the chair. He kicked at the door, but it must have been reinforced from the other side. Jason backed away and started tapping the walls with the chair leg. The gas was getting thicker and his eyes began to water. He continued tapping the walls until he found a hollow point in the plaster. With an angry roar, he reared back and slammed his fist through the wall.
It was too late. Jason's vision blurred and his body felt heavy. He slipped and fell to the floor. Before he fully faded from consciousness, he saw a large woman in a blue suit and gas mask standing over him. "Sorry, Mr. Todd," said Amanda Waller, "But you have skills that I need."
. . .
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