Hello there everyone, and welcome to yet another chapter of the Red Fox. It was tough to decide where to pick up from after the last chapter, given that I left so many plot points needing to be explained. In the end, I went with Harley's reveal, since that had the biggest shock factor, and I think my readers want to hear about that first. This chapter will be the final of this slower paced period, after which I'll be jumping right back into the heat of things. The end of the this story is drawing ever closer, and it's going to be one hell of an adjustment when I finally have to move onto something else. Anyways, thank you all for reading and be sure to review.
THANK YOU!-While I'm thinking about, thank you all for helping me reaching 350 reviews, over 400 followers, and nearly 400 favorites, along with over 115,000 views! You guys make it all worth it!
Chapter Soundtrack-Don Henley: In a New York Minute
The group was halfway through their long trip to Jump City, and yet no one had brought up the subject everyone was thinking about; that Harley had a child with the Joker. This was a difficult subject for the jester to approach, but the silence had began to drive her insane. Now was the time to give in to the pressure, "It all started about a year or so before I first saved you," Harley began as she drove her red lamborghini through the streets of Gotham, "I'd gotten pregnant, and since Mr. J was the only fella I'd been with, I knew the baby was his. Thing is though, no matter how much I loved him, I knew he wasn't the fatherly type."
Jason rolled his eyes from the passenger seat, "You don't say?"
"Oh don't be like that," Harley scolded him, "I'm not gonna get into it with you about Mr. J again, so I'm just gonna skip to the part where I decided to leave town until the baby came. I had to be quick, since it wouldn't take him long to figure out I was gaining weight and my boobs were balloonin' up. So, I told him some story about scouting out some new vacations spots for us, and disappeared until the baby came. All of the sudden, I was the mother of beautiful green haired baby girl that I named Deula."
The green hair didn't seem to thrill her son as much as it did her, "Oh good, the hell spawn of the Joker is already taking after him. Isn't that a fun thought?"
Harley knew she deserved this after lying to him about it for so long, "I get why you feel that way, but I'm telling you, she's a sweet little girl. After I stayed with her the first few months to make sure she was alright, I found someone I could trust to take care of her just outside of Gotham. Everyday that I could, I called her and Skyped her, and all that good stuff. Deula knew who her mommy was."
"Does she know who her father was, or what he did?" Jason asked, a question Rose had been wondering about as well.
Silence followed until Harley found the best way to put it, "She kind of knows who her daddy is...she knows he's a clown, who loved to make people laugh, which he was. That's about as close to the truth as I was gonna get with her, at least for now. Anyways, after the Mr. J died and I found you, I knew I'd need to find a safer place to keep Deula until she was ready to face the world. Taking care of you and her ended up being too much me, so a few months after you were on board, I hired the most sane criminal friend that I could think of to look after her."
Rose knew she was going to regret this, "Who, if any of your friends, do you actually consider somewhat sane?"
"Two-Face," Harley answered, earning a glare from both of her passenger's, "What? Other than the coin thing, he's a pretty smart guy. Plus, with Scarecrow movin' in, he didn't have a whole lot to do in Gotham. At first he didn't wanna do it, but lucky me, I got him to flip the coin and it landed on the right side. He'll do anything that piece a' change tells him to do. He moved her out to a safehouse he had just outside the city after that, and he'd check up on my little girl every couple of days while his men keep an eye on the place. I call her as much as I can and she's gotten pretty close with Two-Face. Overall, I think I've been a pretty good mother."
Most of that sounded fine, but something was bothering Rose, "Wait, doesn't Two-Face have half of his face burned almost to the bone? That's where his name came from in the first place. How is a little girl not freaked out by that?"
"She's been around Harvey since she was a baby," Harley said as they entered barely lit tunnel out of Gotham, "Besides, by the time she got old enough to even know there was somethin' different about him, he'd already saved from some crazy nut called Deacon Blackfire. There was something about him wanting to sacrifice her, but Two-Face took him out before he could get too far with Deula. Ever since then, he's been her Uncle Harvey. Anyways, some bastard called Brother Blood wants me to teach Psychology and Acrobatics at H.I.V.E., and he kidnapped Deula to make me do it. So now I've gotta go to Jump City, where he's got her stashed, to make sure she's alright. I can count on you two to help me get her home safe, right?"
Jason was chewing on his cheeks when he answered, "You can always count on me for help, but what I wanna know right now is why you thought it was okay to lie to me for over three fucking years?"
Swearing at Harley wasn't something Jason typically did. The level of how bad this was going to be for her was just starting to become apparent, "Honey, I know what I did was wrong, but with how strongly you felt about Mr. J, I never felt like it was a good idea to tell ya. The longer I put it off, the harder it got to decide when I was gonna fill ya in."
"No better time than after she gets kidnapped," Jason muttered, "I guess I'll just have to get over it. To be clear, I'm still pissed about all this, and I'm not done complaining, but you're only human. You made a mistake, and I'll move past it...eventually."
Harley squealed with joy at that answer, giving her son a little kiss on the cheek, "Oh, thank you baby! I promise, you're gonna love Deula! She's the sweetest little girl that you could ever meet!"
The tone she used was one Jason knew well. It meant he was about to spend the next half an hour hearing his mother rant and rave about whatever was on her mind. This time, he didn't mind though…
"Wow, this place seems pretty dead after how crazy they said it got last night," Kiba remarked, walking into the front door of Wayne Manor with Akamaru by his side. He'd been only major friend of Naruto's who ended up being unable to make it. As he walked in, Ace ran up to him, jumping on his pant leg and yipping happily. It didn't take long for Kiba to pick up the furry bundle energy, "Ace, hey boy! I haven't seen you since you left the village. Naruto and his friends have been good to ya, right?"
Ace yipped once more, the closest he could come to showing approval. After licking Kiba's face a couple of times, he jumped down and started to nip at Akamaru. It seemed he wanted to play with the older dog-nin, who was happy to comply. Being much larger than Ace though, Akamaru was careful with his bites and swipes. With them preoccupied, Kiba was able to get a better sniff of the air in the mansion. After a couple more confirmation sniffs, there was something he couldn't even hope to deny, "This whole place reeks of sex! Man, everybody's getting some but me!"
Though the scent was coming from a few different places, the main source of it was upstairs in the area that Kiba knew Naruto's room was. He figured it couldn't hurt just to see why it was so strong in that area, so he started to make his way for the stairs. A screech of joy made him jump like a small child watching a horror movie, "Awwwww! They're so cute!"
"Wait, what?" Kiba wonder, a blonde girl whizzing past him. He turned around to find Kara, better known as Supergirl, in her street clothes, meaning she must've stayed the night. She had jumped into the wrestling match between the two dogs, giggling the entire time. This was something Kiba had never gotten her to do, "Come on, even the dogs have better game than I do. Screw it, I'm going upstairs."
Kiba left Kara to have her fun with the pups, hopeful that he wouldn't have too much trouble finding Naruto. He hadn't been able to make it to the party, but based on the smell of things, his friend found a way to have a good time without him.
He'd been waiting outside the door for about ten minutes now. When Kiba had knocked on Naruto's door, he'd responded that he'd need a couple of seconds. Considering what he was doing, Kiba should've known better, "Naruto, I'm happy for you bro, I really am, but I can't hang around here all day. Finish up so I can wish you a happy birthday."
"Huh? Oh, shit, that's right," Naruto cursed, after which his friend could hear him running to the door. It opened only slightly so that girl's wouldn't be shown off as the blond exited the room. Once he was out, wearing nothing but a robe, he greeted Kiba as warmly as he could, "Hey man, how've you been? Sucks you couldn't make it to the party last night, but I'm glad you stopped by. How've you been? Any luck with the girls back in the Leaf?"
Kiba shrugged, leaning back onto the wall, "I've been alright. Best I've gotten so far is a mediocre handjob from a civilian chick. I'm telling ya, everyone I talk to says the same thing: civilian girl's have got no skill and no endurance. I need a girl with who'll put some effort into it."
"That hasn't been a been a problem for me," Naruto said with a goofy grin on his face, "All three of my vixens know what they're doing, and them being hot as hell is just a bonus. Hinata's got a chest that even Power Girl's impressed by, and thanks to her family's techniques, she can move her hand faster than anyone I've ever seen, which both me and the girls appreciate! Cassandra's ass looks like it was made by a fucking sculptor out marble, and she's flexible enough to get into any position I could ever ask for! Temari's the most adventures out of all of them, as in she was making out with the other's like it was nothing, and since she learned told her breath so long for the sandstorms she gets back home, she can deepthroat me longer than I ever thought humanly possible!"
This was all too much for Kiba to hear, "Dude, don't even tell me anymore, you're gonna give me a fucking hard on. Seriously though, it's awesome you're doing so well. I can't say much about the other two, but I know Hinata loves you a lot. Make sure you're good to her."
Naruto knew how much his friend cared for his teammate. It was to be expected he'd want what's best for her, "I promise to treat her like the princess she is. So, do you have to go already, or can you hang out a bit longer?"
"Nah, I really did just have time to stop by," Kiba replied, standing up straight, "Happy Birthday. I left some chew toys down stairs for Ace to use. There was nothing I could think to get you, so I figured you might want some stuff for him that only a Inuzuka dog could appreciate. The kinda toys you got around here usually can't hold up against their teeth."
Considering Ace had destroyed every chew toy they'd ever given him, that sounded perfect, "That's the best thing you could've given me. Thanks man, I'll see ya soon as we both got some free time. Take it easy."
"You too," Kiba called back as he head down the hallway. With that taken care off, Naruto was free to head back into the bedroom. He knew he'd have to get back to training and things like that soon, so he was going to enjoy every second he had with them while he could.
Karen Starr was not the kind of woman who got nervous. She was fucking Power Girl! She was one of the most powerful people on Earth! What did she have to be afraid of? As it turned out, the Fifth Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village, who she was currently sitting across from at the Wayne Manor kitchen table. It seem odd that the woman could look so threatening while she breast fed Jikusume, "I'm sure you know why I asked you to come here this morning. After what I saw you and Chojuro doing last night, I need to have a brief word with you."
"Okay," Karen said, weary to make eye contact, "Can I ask why we're doing it in the middle of you feeding your daughter?"
"I'm a busy woman," Mei said, stroking her daughter's head, "Sometimes I've got to multitask. Now then, you and Chojuro are a couple now. At least I assume you are, considering I walked in on your riding him like he was a freaking stallion."
That was a pretty accurate description, "We had a pretty great time last night. Neither of us have put a label on it or anything, but yeah, we're definitely an item."
Mei's facial expression didn't change, "Put any sort of label on it you'd like. The simple fact of the matter is; you're seeing someone I care a great deal about. Chojuro seems to like you, so I'm more than willing to give you chance. I want him to be happy, after all. However, that chance come with a warning...hurt him in any kind of a way or do something that I don't like, and I'll end you. You might have faced some tough shit around here, but you've got no idea what's in store for you if you piss me off. Is that clear?"
"Um...yeah," Karen said, feeling abnormally small under the red head's gaze, "I'll make sure not put him through any kinda real pain."
That answer seemed to please Mei, as her face went right back to its typical pleasant self, "Good. Now then, Jikusume's almost done eating. Would you like to hold her after I get done burping her."
Karen nodded, though she was only half listening to what was being said. She was going to have an interesting conversation with Chojuro the next time that she saw him.
"Oh god, it feels like I got into a fist fight with Bane...again," Barbara groaned as she walked into the living room of her apartment, "What in the hell did I do last night?"
She was attempting to suppress her massive headache when she got a glimpse of the brown haired man sleeping on her couch. Barbara could tell it was Kankuro, but didn't have any clue why he was there, "Oh man, tell me I wasn't that drunk at the party! Okay, he's not in my bed, which is a good sign, but I'm in nothing but my panties, which is a bad sign...a really bad sign...fuck, what did I do?"
Kankuro must've heard her speaking. He opened his eyes and let out a yawn, stretching his arms, "That couch has gotta be one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever slept on. So um...hey Barb, how you feeling?"
"Like a complete idiot," Barbara replied, grabbing the nearest blanket and covering her chest, "Kankuro, please don't take this the wrong way, but last night, you and I, we didn't-"
"No, we didn't have sex," Kankuro assured her, "Although holding that blanket there is kinda pointless. Who do you think it was that put you in bed after you passed out?"
Barbara cringed as she asked, "Fair point, but what actually did happen last night?"
That was the Million Dollar Question, "We made out for a little bit, which I stopped, and then you shoved my head into your bare chest. It was tough, but I managed to convince you to go home, where you tried to jump me again. After that, I put you into bed, jerked off to make sure I wouldn't do anything stupid, and slept here so I could tell you what happened."
"That's all? Thank you Jesus," Barbara said, adjusting the blanket and putting her head in her hand, "This is so embarrassing. Kankuro, you're such a good guy! You deserves some kinda medal for this! I know a lot of guys who would've done something way worse in your situation!"
Kankuro wanted to sigh just thinking about what he'd passed up, "You're telling me. I mean for shit's sake, you've been my dream girl since I was like-"
"Dream girl?" Barbara interrupted him, making Kankuro realize what he'd said, "Are you trying to say you've got a thing for me?"
The first thing Kankuro could think to do was lie, but it seemed too far gone for that to work. From where he stood, all there was left for him to do was double down, "You could call it a thing...you could also call it me being crazy for ya. As in, just being around you makes me go fucking insane. It's more than just a little crush."
Barbara's mouth was gaping open, "I had no idea. That must've made turning me down last night even harder for you."
"No shit," Kankuro agreed, "But I know I'd do it again. Don't get me wrong, I'd give anything to be with you, but not if you're just doing it cause you're drunk. It's stupid, sure, but if I ever do get to have a first time with you, I want it to be one you'll remember."
"It's not stupid. In fact, it's really sweet," Barbara said, shuffling her feet, "Kankuro, you're a great guy, but you can't tell me you haven't thought about how far apart we are in age. I'm what, six years older than you?"
Kankuro had thought about that, more than once in fact, "I know there's a gap, but come on, it's not like you're old enough to be my mom or anything. We're both adults, we can make our own decisions, right? You know decisions like...whether or not you might wanna go on a date with me."
With that last move, the young man really put himself out there. Barbara knew everything he'd said was true, and she had to admit, he was pretty damn cute. Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she did what she mentioned before and rewarded him for being such a gentleman, "Alright, I'll let you take me out on one date for a sort of trial run. You seem like a good guy, so I guess one little date couldn't hurt. You've gotta really impress me if you want a second one though. I'm free tomorrow night, if that'll work for you."
"Hell yeah, tomorrow night sounds great," Kankuro replied, jumping up from the couch, "I'll pick up around what, like 6:00?"
Barbara couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm, "That'll work for me. Now get the hell out of me so I can shower and get the booze smell off from me."
With a grin on his face, Kankuro headed for the door. Something peaking out of Barbara's painties caught his eye as he was leaving though, something he couldn't let slide, "Do you have the kanji for 'Bat' tattooed on your ass?"
"I'm afraid I don't understand what exactly you're proposing, Ms. Waller," Gaara said, taking another bite of his steak, "Well, that's not entirely true. I understand the proposal itself, I just can't fathom the idea that you'd suggest something so foolish."
Waller could see she had an uphill battle in store. She was sitting in an elegant restaurant in the dead of night with seven other individuals seated around her at the table. Each one was a representative of some sort, and she needed all of them on board for the next step of what she had in mind. There was Shikamaru for the Hidden Leaf, who, despite being a jonin, clearly didn't want to be there, along with the previously mentioned Gaara for the Hidden Sand. Sadly, he was the only Kage that could make it. To represent the Hidden Cloud was a dark skinned young man with shaggy white hair by the name of Darui, also the right hand man of the Raikage. Chojuro represented the Hidden Mist, though he found himself a bit distracted by his girlfriend, Karen Starr, who was also present. The granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, a pale girl with jet black haired named Kurotsuchi, was the representative of the Hidden Rock. Lastley there was Dinah Drake, aka Black Canary, as both she and Karen were there to voice any concerns the Justice League might have. It was a large group, and one Waller would need a bulldozer to gain any ground on. As for what exactly it was she was suggesting, well...
"I'll admit, exposing the Great Ninja Nations to the world would be a drastic thing to do," Waller began, a statement that had everyone at the table rolling their eyes, "The extremeness of it is why I need all of you on board. If I take this to my bosses, or anyone else for that matter, without your guy's support, I'll be laughed out of the room. I paid for your meals, now all I ask is a few moments of your time. Can you let me explain before you shoot me down, please?"
A groan came from Shikamaru's place at the table, "How troublesome. I knew I shouldn't have let Lady Tsunade talk me into this. Ah well, let's get it over with."
Kurotsuchi, who already didn't have the best view of Leaf ninjas, found his complaints particularly irritating, "We're talking about changing the entire world here, and all you can say is that it's 'troublesome?' How did the Hidden Rock ever lose a war to idiots like you?"
"We had two of the most brilliant military strategists of all time, a larger army, more resources, and picked our allies more carefully than you did," Shikamaru listed off, silencing his attacker, "Those are facts you should be aware of before you call anyone an idiot, just so you know."
Seeing as Kurotsuchi looked about ready to rip his throat out, Waller decided to intervene, "You two continue this little history lesson later. I don't have you long enough to let you waste time on petty arguments. Now then, as I'm sure you're all well aware, the threats that the Great Ninja Nations faces have begun to overlap with those of the rest of the world. Criminals like the Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul have reached out to vicious shinobi like Orochimaru for help, and we've seen how deadly the results can be. They've opened the floodgates for the technology of our world and the chakra of your world to collide. To put it simply, the bad guys are finding new ways to screw us over, and we haven't been able to do a damn thing about it."
"I don't think anyone at this table would argue with that," Dinah said, taking a sip of wine before she did, "But how would dropping a bombshell like this on the world solve that problem?"
If nothing else, at least Waller knew they were listening, "It would take away the greatest weapon criminals like this have: the shadows. Once the entire world knows what kind things these villains are doing, the villain's job becomes harder. They have to start looking over their shoulders constantly to make sure no one's picking up on what they're doing. People start recognizing the signs, and lower levels of law enforcements know what to look out for. By doing this, we'll be gaining millions of eyes and ears to use in our fights."
Karen had to point out the other side of that coin, "And we'll also have millions of eyes and ears suspicious of every person that sneezes funny. Don't you remember what happened when people first found out about Metahumans? It was like the Red Scare, but with superpowers! How are we supposed to protect these people while also having to put PSA's every other day to tell them not everyone with chakra's bad?"
"That's true. We'll have to do a lot of work making sure the public doesn't overreact," Waller agreed, "And yet, I believe the benefits of our two worlds working together will outweigh that cost. It did with Metahumans, and I believe that it would here too."
Darui figured now would be a good time to speak up, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the whole reason the chakra users cut themselves off from the rest of the world because they didn't want anyone else to know about them? Wouldn't going against their wishes kinda kill the entire point of a civilization?"
There was yet another argument Waller was prepared for, "In a sense, but it's looking more and more like that point didn't hold much weight to begin with. Research has shown that what makes someone a chakra user and what makes someone a Metahuman actually aren't all that different. They share several of the same genetic markers, and it was likely the closing off of what was originally a small group of chakra users that cultivated an entire society of them. In other words, chakra users may be a select subgroup of Metahumans."
"Huh, that's a pretty interesting theory," Chojuro said, scratching his chin, "It doesn't stop me from thinking this would be a really bad idea, but a cool idea nonetheless."
"I'm with Chojuro on this one," Shikamaru pipped in, "It doesn't matter what should've been done, what matters is what we do with what was done. I might be able to bring this to Tsunade if you get me some plans that wouldn't stun the public so much, but until you too, I just can't see myself supporting this."
Kurotsuchi was shaking her head off to the side, "Hate to agree with the tree hugger, but there's no way my grandpa would go for it. I'm not saying no for sure, I'm saying you've gotta find a hell of a lot better way to do it."
"Is there anyone here who isn't of that mindset?" Asked Gaara, looking around the room to find that no one was objecting, "Well Ms. Waller, it appears you know what you have to do. Make some adjustments to proposal, and come back to us when you've got something a little more reasonable. Sound fair?"
It wasn't much, but it was likely all that Amanda was going to get, "For the time being, that'll have to do. If allow me to step outside for a moment, I've got to make a few calls. Excuse me."
Waller pushed herself away from the table and walked towards the door. As she left, a white spider crawled up from under the table, making its way towards the center. Dinah raised her arm to smack it, "Nobody move. I'm gonna kill that thing before can crawl on one of our plates."
"Huh, that thing looks kinda familiar," Kurotsuchi remarked before her eyes grew wide, "Everyone, get on the-"
A flash stopped her from finishing her warning. The spider exploded with more force than any of them ever would've predicted, sending everyone at the table flying back. Waller was just outside the blast radius, which meant she was able to turn and watch two matching cloaked figure descend from the ceiling. One was a younger looking blonde man with long hair, and the other was an emotionless looking man with a cloth covering the lower half of his face, and patches of black hair on his head. Slithering out of his cloak, which was black with red clouds, was what looks like some kind of sharpened iron tail. It was the blonde who spoke first, "Ya see Sasori, it's like I told ya; Art is an explosion!"
Sasori's voice was muffled by the cloth, or at least Waller thought that was what was muddling it, "I told you Deidara, explosions are too fleeting to be art. We'll discuss this after we acquire the target. Now, where might he be?"
"I wouldn't worry about him right now," Came Waller's voice, making both men look at the woman to find she had a gun pointed at them, "Both of you, get on the ground, now! Don't think for a second I won't shoot!"
The two aggressors looked at one another, then burst into laughter, "A gun? That's real cute. Sasori, show her how much we're afraid of her toy."
At the speed of lightning, Sasori tail whipped out from his cloak and sliced off the barrel of Waller's gun. She glanced at the now useless weapon and tossed it off to the side, noting Sasori's tail was still on alert. He didn't appear to be finished, "I don't know who you are, and I don't really care. We came here for the Kazekage, and if you intend to stand in our way, then I'll have to show you what this work of art to do."
"If you want me, just turn around," Came the dry drawl of Gaara, making both cloaked shinobi spin around, "You Akatsuki fools came all this way just to strike at me here. Why?"
"There were too many people in the Hidden Sand who wanted to protect you. We figured there'd be less of a fuss if we ambushed you in Gotham," Deidara replied, looking at the heroes all around him who were getting back on their feet, "Obviously, we were wrong about that. It's a good thing we brought some back up. Itachi, Kisame, you guys are on!"
With those words, two more Akatsuki member jumped down from the ceiling, one with long dark hair and onyx eyes, and the other with blue, shark like skin. The dark haired one, Itachi, had a face as stoic as stone, "Hm, there seems to be a rather dangerous predicament here. What do you think we should do, Kisame?"
Kisame, the shark resembling one, grinned to show off his rows of sharpened teeth, "I think we should show the Kazekage what happens when Samehada gets hungry! Let's go boys!"
"We don't ever get a break, do we?" Dinah depended, watching as Kisame charged Gaara, "Karen, you need to get Waller out of here before she gets killed by the crossfire. Then get your ass back here so we can kick the hell out of these guys!"
Nodding, Karen made a mad dash for Waller, watching Kisame out of the corner of her eye. Gaara could see him coming head on from where he was, so the Kazekage built up a wall of sand to protect himself. When Kisame reach that wall, he took a large swing at it with his blade, an attack that should've proven useless. Much to Gaara's shock, however, his sand began to lose its structure, Samehada slicing right through it. It was as though the blade was sucking the chakra from his usually impenetrable defense. Once his protection was gone, Gaara expected to see Kisame standing in front of him. Instead it was Itachi, and the Kazekage made a fatal flaw in regards to him. He looked the Uchiha directly in the eyes, "I think it's time you got some rest, Mr. Kazekage."
Itachi's Sharingan was activated, and more than able to knock Gaara unconscious. The double play the two Akatsuki members had pulled caught him completely off guard. In the near instant it took for that to occur, Karen had reached Waller, which displeased Sasori. He wasn't a fan of being threatened, "You don't get to point a weapon at me and leave as if nothing happened. Let's see if you ladies can make it out of this."
"Oh shit, what's he got coming?" Karen wondered aloud, trying to get Waller behind her, "If you wanna live, don't move!"
Sasori had ripped off the mask over the lower portion of his jaw, revealing a mostly wooden face. It seemed to be that of a puppet, which soon opened it's mouth and aimed itself at the two women. Like a monsoon, a rain of senbon shot from Sasori's mouth, each of which was dipped in poison. That was something the puppeteer wanted them to be well aware of, "Those senbon are so toxic, even one would insure you a slow and painful death! I'm afraid it's all over for the two of you!"
Hearing this, Chojuro shot up to attention. With the growl of the feral beast, he charged at Sasori, his blade up and at the ready, "If you fucking touch her, I'll kill you!"
"Lovely, another fool," Sasori depend, sending his tail whizzing towards the swordsman, "I'll make short work of you!"
Chojuro hardly had time to register that the attack was coming, but that wasn't a problem. With a blue chakra covering his blade, he slashed at the deadly tail two times, slicing it into three even pieces, all of which hit the ground with a metallic clang. Sasori didn't have time to be shocked, as Deidara pulled him back to avoid any other attacks, "We don't have time for this! Let's grab the kid and get out of here!"
Grabbing some clay out of a pouch slung over his shoulder, Deidara molded a bird the same color as the spider from before. A puff of smoke burst from it that engulfed the entire room, destroying anyone's ability to see. Out of that smoke flew a gargantuan white bird that all four Akatsuki members rode on. Poking outside the bird's beak were Gaara's feet. Before any of the shinobi or superheroes could act, the bird broke through the ceiling and flew off. By the time the smoke was completely clear, the Akatsuki members had vanished, taking the Kazekage with them. As soon as he could see, Chojuro sprinted to Karen to check up on her, "Karen, are you alright? Those senbon, did they knick you at all?"
"Chojuro, my skin's like steel, they never had a chance of getting hurt me," Karen remarked, pointing to all the senbon on the ground around her, "You were so busy with Sasori, you didn't even notice they all bounced right off. I was just trying to make sure that Waller didn't get hit...Waller!"
As she spoke, it occurred to Karen that she hadn't thought to check on Waller since the senbon attack. She whipped around to see if her friend was alright, finding Amanda searching her body to see if any of the poisons had gotten to her, "Doesn't looks like I have any marks on me. I think I'm in the clear."
"Are you sure?" Darui asked, looking her up and down, "From what I've heard, even a drop of Sasori's poison is enough to take out even the biggest of guys."
"For pete's sake, I'm fine," Waller instead, starting to wobble, "I'm just a little...a little bit...tired…"
Waller fell to the ground with that last word, everyone running to see what was wrong. Much to their terror, there was a small knick on the side of her leg. By usual standards, it would be nothing, but when dealing with Sasori, a knick was all that was needed. Karen didn't waste anytime in picking her up, "We need to get her to a hospital, now!"
"Bruce, you know I'm not the sorta person who makes a big deal outta nothing," Jiraiya said as his feet clanked on the metal floors of the Batcave. The entire group was frantic, trying pick up the pieces after what just happened, "So when I say this is serious, I mean it. The Akatsuki aren't the kinda people you can rush into a fight with and come out alive. What just happened with Gaara and Waller is all the proof you could ever need of that. We can't let anger cloud our judgement. Right now, we need a real plan, not blind fury."
Walking beside the Sannin was the previously mentioned Bruce, along with Clark and Diana. This was a matter so important that it required the presence of the entire trinity. A threat like that was few and far between, and the fact that Naruto and his friends were involved didn't make matters any better. Bruce wanted his son to stay out of the war zone for a while, "I believe you, but we need to make this quick. Waller could be dying in that hospital, and I'll never forgive myself if I don't give Naruto the chance to say goodbye. Assuming what you're saying is true, just how much danger is Gaara in? I've only ever dealt with one Akatsuki member before, and beating him wasn't exactly a cakewalk."
Clark had to clear something up before they moved on, "This group, the Akatsuki, could you explain them to me one more time? I know they're from the same place Naruto is, and that they want the power he and few others have inside them, but where my knowledge on these guys stops."
"Sure, brushing up on them actually wouldn't be the worst idea. Always good to know what you're dealing with," Jiraiya remarked, leaning up against the Batcomputer as they reached it. Bruce sat down in front of it and began to pull up Akatsuki files as the white haired shinobi continued, "Like you said, they're from the Great Ninja Nations and want the power of the Tail Beasts, like the Kyuubi, but there's more to it than that. They're a group of S-ranked, meaning incredibly dangerous, criminals who are attempting to recover all nine of the Jinchurikis, like Naruto, and extract their power for unknown reasons. They're coming dangerously close to accomplishing said goal, as only Gaara, Naruto, and a Hidden Cloud ninja by the of Killer Bee still remain with their Tailed Beast intact. Based on this, my sources thought it was pretty safe to assume the Akatsuki was gonna be sending some of their agents to Gotham fairly soon. I was already planning on meeting with you guys about it when the whole fiasco in the restaurant went down."
Taking a look at the files Bruce had pulled up, Diana couldn't help but be disturbed by the fact that only a few of them had pictures or an ability list on them, "These members, it doesn't look like you know much about them. What makes you so sure they're as dangerous as you say?"
"First off, there's Bruce's encounter with Kakuzu," Jiraiya said, something the other heroes remembered well, "Second, the ones I have been able to confirm, Kisame Hoshigaki and Itachi Uchiha, are even more dangerous than he was. That's not even counting the ones we just confirmed tonight like Sasori and Deidara, and ex-members like Orochimaru. As far as I can tell, you've gotta be the worst of the worst to be invited to join the Akatsuki. I can't even imagine how powerful the person who keeps all these guys in line must be."
Bruce's fear for his son's life began to grow, "The Uchiha name I recognize as Sasuke's brother. Apparently he's one nasty piece of work. Kankuro's told me some stories about Sasori as well, none of them pleasant. Lovely to think they're after my son. So, what about Naruto? What's the best course of action we can take for him?"
That was tricky question, even for Jiraiya, "Tough to say. He's a strong kid, and he's got decent control over both the Kyuubi's power and his Sage Mode. There's a little bit of work I could do with him, but I honestly think he may have surpassed me. If we wanna train him to be ready in case we can't stop these wackos, we're going to have to branch out and ask Killer Bee for some help."
"Killer Bee? You mean the Hidden Cloud ninja you mentioned before?" Diana asked with a raised eyebrow, "What makes you think he can help?"
"Killer Bee's one of the few people known to man who's nearly perfected his connection with his tailed beast, The Eight Tails-Gyuki," Jiraiya began, well aware that they'd need more infomation, "Naruto and Kurama have a pretty good team going, but they could be so much more given the proper training. Killer Bee and Gyuki have this synergy with their abilities that the kid and the Kyuubi just don't have yet. Once their powers are properly combined, there'll be no stopping them."
Considering how powerful they were already, Clark didn't see how they could turn it down, "I know it's Bruce's call, but these Akatsuki guys are even half as strong as Jiraiya seems to think, Naruto's gonna need this. Besides, it's not like more training could hurt him, right?"
Diana wasn't so sure of that, "They say absolute power corrupts absolutely. Naruto's a good kid, but giving someone as young as he is those kind of abilities could change that. I hate saying things like that, but someone's gotta play the devil's advocate here. Bruce, you wanna weigh in on this?"
"Hm? Well of course I do," Bruce had actually been going over a list of concerns is head when she asked, "If I were ask him to take on this training, where would Naruto have to go? Could it be done here, in Gotham?"
"To be frank, I have no idea," Jiraiya said, half shrugging, "Your son isn't a normal case for them. They don't need him to get in touch with his tailed beast; that part's already been done. I know that step is something they have a special place for, but anything that comes after it is a mystery to me."
That was far from the answer Bruce had been hoping for, "I guess we'll have to put a pin in that. Killer Bee, and the rest of the Hidden Cloud, can we trust them?"
"It doesn't matter," Jiraiya dismissed the question, "Trust is something most of the Hidden Villages are being forced into right now. The Leaf, Sand, and Mist are all allies, and the Cloud knows that the Akatsuki need to be taken care of above all else. Some Hidden Leaf Ambassadors made sure of that. Pretty soon even the Hidden Rock, who hate our guts more than Superman over here hates Kryptonite, are gonna cave in and start working with us. There's no need to worry about anyone betraying our side right now."
Diana felt as though she was only now grasping the gravity of the situation, "There's one thing that still bothers me...how did this just now come to our attention? You make these guys sound as though they have the potential to stomp out the entire world. If the Akatsuki are as bad as you say, why weren't they snuffed out sooner?"
There was the question that had been plaguing the Sannin for months now. The only response he could come up with wasn't one he was particularly proud of, "Because they were smarter than we were. These guys knew just how to fly under the radar, building their influence in shadows and dark corners they were certain we'd never check, and they were right every time. Half the conflicts the Hidden Leaf has been taking down over the past few years have been things the Akatsuki started up in secret to keep us distracted. Sure, there was a group of criminals out there, but not one dangerous enough for us to do anything about. We we're fighting a battle of espionage, and we didn't even know it. No wonder we got our ass kicked."
"Well the shadow war is over now," Bruce remarked, standing up from his chair, and cracking his knuckles, "These guys have come into the light, so that's where we're gonna kick their asses. Waller was the one who introduced me to my son, and I can't let this attack her go unpunished. We need to get a team ready to retrieve Gaara. Myself, Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro are all going for obvious reasons. Jiraiya, I'll trust you to decide who else is coming with us. You know these guy's skill set better than I do, so you know what we'll need to take them. Once we get done visiting Amanda...we're going to make the Akatsuki wish they'd stayed in the dark."
While things grew more hectic above Gotham, the same was happening down below. In a bedroom located in the lair of the nefarious League of Assassins, a woman was throwing what could only be described as a tantrum. Tables had been flipped over, glass broken, and anything still in one piece was scattered across the stone confides of the room. The one doing all this damage to said lair was Talia Al Ghul, daughter of the late Ra's Al Ghul. With the latter's death being confirmed to be permanent, she was next in line to take control of the League. That meant certain things had come light, and as it turned out, they were things that sent her over the edge.
"How could father have kept this from me from so long?" Taila screamed, banging her fist against the wall, "All this time, I thought he was keeping me busy because he wanted to see if I was ready to be his successor. Now I find out he just didn't want me to know what had become of my beloved!"
Nyssa, Talia's sister, did her best to calm her, "It's going to be alright, I promise you. Yes, Bruce is married, and has a family, but that doesn't change what must be done in the name of the League of Assassins. Father trusted you to insure his work went on. You must move past the Wayne's and rally our organization to become what it was always meant to be!"
It took all the restraint Talia had not to slap her sister when she told her to get over her long lost lover. Bruce meant more to Talia that Nyssa could ever understand. Still, her sister had a point. She had to think of what was best for the League. Composing herself, Talia addressed her sister properly, "You're absolutely right. I need to think of the League and not myself in this instance. Bruce Wayne, or more accurately the Batman, has been a thorn in our side for too long. Please, go fetch Damian for me. It's time for my student to receive his first mission."
Abaddon was growing stronger. He was discovering that he could do things no other 'human' could do. This was something Abaddon learned when a policeman found his way into the alleyway he called home. The officer had of course taken issue with the dead body of the hooker he found near Abaddon, a corpse that looked as though it had been rotting several days. Said corpse was soon joined by another, as Abbadon showed the officer what becomes of people who bother his home. The interesting part didn't come until after he explored the dead policeman's body though.
There were these things that Abaddon could grow from his fingers, these slithery, vine like things. He could control where they went and when they sprouted out of him. They'd proven useful for getting things out of the nooks and crannies, (Abaddon had discovered them while trying to dig something out of the sewer) and it was when he was searching the dead body that he got an interesting thing about them. Using these vines, Abaddon began to dig around the officer's insides, going in through his nostrils and mouth. At first it was nothing but squishy bits of the useless flesh, but when he got the skull, Abaddon became interested in the brain. Abaddon had been digging out and consuming pieces of the policemen for a while and nothing special had occurred. Yet, when he began to do that with the brain, something strange happened...he began to learn.
With every piece of brain that Abaddon took in, new pieces of knowledge became apparent to him. Skills that he'd never heard of we're suddenly simple to understand. He knew how to shoot a gun, how to load it, how to tie a shoe, how to use a radio, things he'd never dreamed off before! Before long, Abaddon wasn't even eating the brain, he was sucking it in through the vines, learning with each piece he absorbed. The policeman's skull was now empty, but Abaddon didn't care. In fact, he was all too pleased with his new discovery, "Interesting...I wonder if other humans have things for me to learn?"
