Chapter 8 Downtime
Gotham City
August 27
Grunts and battle cries sounded in the air, flashes of light shining through the windows of an old warehouse. Kara punched through her target, a humanoid figure made a mud and clay, but ended up covered in clay for her trouble. Naruto covered Clayface in his blue aura and applied pressure to keep him in place while M'gann used her telepathy to calm Clayfaces nerves and keep him docile.
"Aqualad, now!" Naruto sent over the mental link. But the dark skinned atlantean didn't move.
'Damn it,' Naruto thought through the mental link after several moments and sent Power Stone beams from his eyes, hitting the caps on the emergency water lines, cause them to sprinkle.
'Supergirl, Robin, use your freeze breath and Birdarangs and freeze him solid.' Naruto commanded. Kara took a deep breath and unleashed her super breath while Robin hit Clayface face with several Birdarangs that contained capsules of compressed Liquid Nitrogen, freezing Clayface solid, trapping him in an airtight icy prison.
"You know, it's a good thing he doesn't have to breathe," Kara remarked.
Naruto nodded. "If he needed to, capturing him would have been more of a pain. Now let's head back." They made their way back to the zeta tubes.
As Aqualad passed him Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder. "When we get back, we're gonna have a little chat," he told Kaldur, his eyes hard as steel.
The Cave
"I need to talk with Aqualad." Batman said as the team emerged, dirty and tired from their mission. "The rest of you, hit the showers and head home."
"Just Aqualad." Batman clarified as both Robin and Naruto made no sign of movement.
Robin started walking but Naruto didn't budge. "I need to talk to him as well." Naruto said, noticing Batman's glare. "He's on my team, so I need to address this before it becomes a more serious issue." It was a rare thing for someone to dictate terms to the world's greatest detective, and even rarer when he accepted. Batman nodded and let Naruto take center stage.
"I am sorry you had to alter the plan due to my failures." Aqualad said, his head bowed.
"Just be glad that Clayface didn't require a very complex plan to take down, otherwise if it had been some other villain, one of the other/s might have been injured because of your inaction. You're my second in command, your head needs to be in the game at all times" Naruto said, not willing to pull any punches on this matter.
"I don't know what's got you distracted Aqualad, I'm not M'Gann. But you need to sort it out, so until you do, I'm benching you." The dark skinned teen bowed his head even further, clearly feeling the weight of his shame.
"With that in mind, Kaldur," Naruto said, placing a hand on his friends shoulder, but this time in a more comforting manner. "We are all friends, Kaldur. You know that you can talk to any of us if you have something weighing on you."
Kaldur sighed. "Of late I am not even convinced I belong on the surface world. For so many years it filled my every thought. But now that I am here, my dreams are all Atlantis."
"Atlantis…or someone you left behind?" Batman said, speaking up for the first time.
Naruto sighed. "You need to sort this out, Kaldur, so I'm gonna recommend you take some vacation back to Atlantis. Your time can be spent in both worlds, but your mind has got to be in only one at a time. Anything else makes you a liability." Naruto told him.
"You need to make a decision, Kaldur. And make it soon." Batman said before turning and following his protege out of the room.
Poseidonis
August 27
"Aqualad B 02." the computerized voice of the League's Zeta tubes announced as Kaldur exited the underwater gateway.
"Kaieray, Kaldur'ahm." Aquaman greeted his protege in atlantean.
"Anex Orin." the teen said, bringing a fist up to his brows in an atlantean salute.
As the mentor and student swam along, they carried on their conversation. "The Queen and I are hosting an intimate dinner tonight." Arthur was telling his protege. "You will attend?" he asked.
"Your Majesty…there is someone…special…I had hoped to see tonight-" Kaldur began, but Arthur smiled warmly.
"You may invite a friend." he said.
"Yes, thank you, my king." Kaldur said, a relieved smile on his face.
"Until tonight." Arthur said, breaking off from the teen, who swam to the Conservatory.
Smallville
Kansas
Superman and Kara were driving in a truck that Clark used when he was in his civilian identity. They were driving towards his hometown of Smallville. Kara wondered at the sign that said 'Welcome to Smallville, Kansas - Cream Corned Capital of the World'. They soon pulled up and into the Kent farm.
As they got out, Kara took a good look around. "So this is where you grew up." Kara said.
"It's not that bad," Superman said, causing Kara to shake her head as he must have thought she didn't like it.
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just so different from what I'm used to. It's different from Krypton and even Metropolis." Kara said as a mother hen led a pack of chicks underneath her legs, which was something that Kara marveled at and turned behind her as she followed after them with her eyes for a minute.
"I think I'm going to like it here." Kara said.
"It can be a little quiet sometimes." Clark mentioned as they continued walking.
"Kal, I've been chased, shot at, been cooped up in a cave, fought bad guys with the Team, and I even broke a nail." She said, showing him her broken nail on her right hand. "I'm ready for a little quiet."
"If I know my mom, she'll have some of her famous apple pie waiting." Clark said as he walked up the porch steps, "Now come on, let's go meet the folks."
And with that, Clark opened the door to introduce her to his adoptive parents.
August 27th
Happy Harbor
6:00 Pm
While Aqualad was visiting Atlantis and Kara was visiting the Kents, back in the cave, Naruto was flipping through the channels trying to find something good to watch, with M'gann behind him in the kitchen, looking at a recipe book.
"Find anything good to watch?" M'gann asked him.
"Nothing so far." Naruto said, his eyes not leaving the screen as he flipped through the channels.
"Well, would you like to help me make dinner?" she asked.
"I'd love that." Naruto said, as he stood and strode into the kitchen, making M'gann smile.
"Let's see." she said happily. "We're gonna need some brown sugar, a little butter," Naruto ducked in surprise as the martian girl began taking out the ingredients with her telekinesis as she read them out. "Some salt, cooking oil, vinegar, a few eggs, a couple of tomatoes, some milk, a bowl of flower and a-"
The sound of something clattering behind her cut her off. Naruto stood there holding a carton of milk, with a mixing bowl on his head, dripping with broken eggs, and other ingredients. "Darn, and I just washed this too," Naruto teased her as egg yolk dripped down his head.
"Oops." M'gann said, mentally grabbing a towel. She rushed forward, knocking the bowl off his head, and dabbing at his dripping shirt. Naruto watched her with a chuckle escaping his throat. "I'm so sorry. I should have paid more attention. It was too much at once, too much at once. Hello, Megan! That's so me." she babbled. "I…uh…" her ramblings died in her throat as her eyes met his.
Naruto turned himself intangible, letting all the stuff that was on him fall to the floor, before turning himself tangible again with a smile. "I was teasing you, M'gann." Naruto said with a smile. Using his powers, he floated all the spilled ingredients into the air before moving them all into the dumpster.
"You know, as delicious as I'm sure that would have been, I think I know what I'm really in the mood for right now." Naruto said.
"What's that?" M'gann got an idea of what he wanted as he cupped her cheeks in each hand.
"You." Naruto said as he leaned and the two began to kiss.
Red Tornado walked down the hall a few minutes later, leading to the kitchen and entertainment area, only to find it empty. The android turned on his heel and walked away.
M'gann and Naruto were on the couch with her on his lap and him on his back, the two of them in a heated makeout session. M'gann giggled as they heard Tornado walk away. "That was close." Naruto chuckled to himself, which caused M'gann to look amused.
"What?" M'gann asked.
"Oh, it's just us. Sneaking around a Justice League base, making out and all the other good times with the team, it makes me feel like an ordinary kid." Naruto said before he frowned. "Makes me wonder what I was doing all that time in the memories I lost."
"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is," M'gann said comfortingly, holding his hand in hers.
"How am I supposed to know? I've been going to the session's with your uncle and I haven't been able to recover any of the important stuff. I've gotten some memories back but nothing that helps me figure out who I was. Knowing my luck, I'm probably a secret supervillain." Naruto said, a silence washing over the two before Naruto heard his stomach growl. "Guess I'm hungrier than I thought."
"You know what, screw it. Let's get dinner and a movie." Naruto said, causing M'gann to get excited.
"Oh, can I pick the movie?" M'gann asked excitedly, as she had been wanting to see the movie 'Remember Me' since it premiered a week ago.
"As long as I get to pick where we eat." Naruto said, as he was sure it was gonna be a chick flick or something like that.
Naruto got out his Harley Davidson Dyna Lowrider since they where planning to enjoy their evening and M'gann had shifted her clothes to different colors but her skin remained green.
"What do you think? Can M'gann M'orzz pass as an Earth girl?" Naruto looked at her amused for a moment before she spoke up. "Kidding." Her skin changed to a Caucasian girl before twirling. "Meet Megan Morse."
"Come on, times a-wasting." Naruto beckoned for her to get on the bike. She did so, wrapping her slender arms around his waist and giving him a quick kiss on the lips as he turned on his bike and drove into Happy Harbor to enjoy their evening.
Gotham City
August 27, 8 pm
"Just Aqualad." Dick grunted to himself as he practiced his gymnastics. He hung from two suspended rings, flipping his body upside down and back again, even flipping into the air. Trying to do a backflip dismount onto a metal pole nearby, the teen hero slipped and fell, rolling neatly until he hit the wall. Lashing out, he punched a small crater in the wall of the gym.
In the Batcave Bruce Wayne sat in his Batman garb, without the cowl, watching his ward on the monitor with his faithful butler Alfred standing just behind him.
The door to they gym opened just as Dick was opening a bottle of water. "Master Bruce would like to see you." Alfred said from the doorway.
Opening the door to the back of the manor, still looking dejected, Dick was surprised to see a basketball bounce towards him. "What's this?" he asked, catching the ball.
"Training." Bruce said, dressed in work out clothes like the teen. "Hand-eye coordination."
"One on one?" Dick asked grinning.
"If you think you can handle it." Bruce shot back with a smile.
Alfred had to smile as he watched the two play basketball together. It was bonding, no matter the excuse.
Central City
Same Time
Three couples and one teenager sat around a dinner table with a big banner hanging behind them that read Happy Birthday, each of them laughing and enjoying each others company.
"Here, let me get that." Barry Allen said standing up, holding his own plate. "And that, and this, and those and these." he said, speeding around the table to pick up the empty dishes.
"How about that." Wally quickly ate the rest of his food, then stood up holding out his plate.
"Oh, this too. I got it." Barry said racing from the table into the kitchen.
"Thanks Uncle Barry." Wally said walking into the kitchen.
"You're a lucky lady, Iris." Wally's mother told her younger sister. "Our Wally certainly isn't that fast. Not when it comes to clearing the table."
"Mom!" the speedster protested from the kitchen.
"Neither is my Jay." Mrs. Garrick said, patting her husband's arm.
"I know, I know. You're a retired speedster." she said as he was about to argue. "And since it's your birthday we won't argue." Jay looked appeased.
"Wally's fast enough when he wants to be." Barry said walking back in holding a cake with a candle on top. "We're suddenly out of ice cream."
"Wally!" Wally's mother scolded as her son froze with the spoon of chocolate ice cream still in his mouth, the empty carton tucked under one arm.
"Uh, happy birthday." he said sheepishly around the spoon.
Gotham City
August 27 10 pm
Artemis sat on the floor of a run down home, the television on behind her and a roll of arrows on the floor beside her as she tinkered with one. Several toolboxes were open as well. She was wearing simple clothes, jeans, a white shirt and a brown jacket. She looked up as the television turned off behind her.
Holding the remote was a woman of asian descent, sitting in a wheelchair, holding a few pieces of paper. "This came in the mail for you." she told Artemis excitedly, extending the papers.
"You opened it? Mom!" Artemis protested, quickly taking the papers from her mother.
"Oh, just read it!" the woman laughed, too happy to be upset by her daughter's attitude.
On the paper was a large capital G surrounded by a coat of arms. Next to it were the words 'Gotham Academy' written in gold in a red box. A line below that said 'Office of Admissions and Financial Aid'.
"I've been awarded a full Wayne Foundation Scholarship to the Gotham Academy?" Artemis asked dubiously as she read the letter. "But I didn't apply." she said, sounding confused.
"It's not that kind of scholarship." Her mother told her. "You qualify or you don't." She wheeled herself closer to Artemis. "Gotham Academy is very prestigious. You should be thrilled!"
"Yeah…I'm not switching schools." Artemis said casually crumpling up the paper and tossing it over her shoulder so that it landed on the coffee table behind her. "All my friends are at Gotham North."
Her mother picked up the paper and unfolded it, then snatched away an arrow that Artemis had been looking down the shaft of. "You're going." She said with steel in her voice. "Or you give up your extracurriculars." She held out the piece of paper.
"Mom, don't make threats you can't enforce." Artemis said with a grin, standing up and taking the arrow back. But as she turned to walk away her mother caught her by the wrist.
"Artemis, this is a chance to better your life!" she shouted, banging a hand on the arm of her wheelchair. Artemis paused. "A chance I never had," her mother finished, tears now leaking from her eyes.
"Okay, Mom." Artemis said softly, kneeling down and placing a hand on top of her mothers hand that still rested in her lap. "I'll go. I'll go for you." Her mother looked up, stunned, then smiled. Her eyes still shining with tears, she embraced her daughter.
September 3rd
Aquald arrived at the cave in the customary whir of the zeta tubes and a burst of light, completed by the computerized voice announcing their presence. Batman was standing in the combat training arena, holo-screens pulled up around him. "Made your decision?" Batman asked.
"The decision is made. I am here. One hundred percent." Aqualad replied. Naruto nodded and lay a hand on his shoulder.
"Just in time for the team's next mission." Batman said, as the rest of the team filled in. "The watchtower detected an immense power surge in the Bialian desert..."
With Black Manta
Somewhere underneath the ocean, Black Manta stood in his submarine, in an audience with the Light. "I was unable to secure the objective, and was forced to execute plan B." he informed them.
"You did well." A cultured voice came from the screen directly in front of him. "Everything falls into place."
"Indeed," L-1 said to the rest of the Light, "And soon, the young heroes will fall into our trap, and Project Infinity will be back with the Light, where he belongs."
Chapter End