Naruto x Young Justice Fanfiction
AN
Hello people and welcome to the 7th instalment of this story
I'm sorry it took so long I kinda hit a wall writing this chapter but here it is
So, I read your revies and I want to make something clear
Last chapter I made a reference to a bar of Final Fantasy 7, and someone asked me if Tifa, a character form that game, was going to be on the story. I'm sorry but no, I will keep referring to certain games, tv shows and movies but the only characters that will appear on this story will be the Dc comics characters and Naruto, so don't expect characters form different fandoms
So, with that being said I'll let you be, enjoy the chapter and remember I do not own either Naruto or DC comics
"Normal talk"
"Mental links, thoughts and phone conversations"
"Magic spells, demons and AIs "
Chapter 7: A magician never reveals his secrets
Underground
"You said you wanted to see me?" Nate said as he approached the bar as he faced Markus who was cleaning some cups
"Yeah, I have something for you, for your birthday" Markus said with a smirk as Nate stared at him in confusion
"The hell are you talking about?" Nate said in confusion "My birthday is in two months not today" he said as Markus laughed
"I know," Markus said chuckling "But two years ago you came too us for the first time, today's your underground birthday" Markus exclaimed excitedly
"You made that up" Nate deadpanned as Markus scratched his head
"Maybe" Markus said nervously as he crossed "You told me you hate your real birthday, so this is the next big thing I could come up with" Markus said with a smirk
"Thank I guess" Nate said scratching his head nervously "You're a big softie you know" Nate said chuckling
"Fuck you" Markus said as the both of them laughed at that
"So, what's it?" Nate asked curiously, Markus was going to answer until his phone vibrated and he took it out to answer a call he was receiving
"Hello sir, what can I do for you?" Nate heard Markus ask as he looked at friend in curiosity "Yes sir. Yes, he is here. Okay sir I'll tell him. Have a good day sir" Markus said as he hung up and put his phone on his pocket as he turned to look at Nate
"What was that all about?" Nate asked as he looked at the bartender with a raised eyebrow
"The bosses" Markus said in full seriousness "They want to talk to you, now" he said as Nate turn serious and nodded and headed at the very top of the bar
He arrived at the top floor of the bar as he saw a hallway that connected to a massive doors and two bodyguards were standing in front of them, Nate approached the doors as the bodyguards stared at him
"They've been expecting you" the bodyguard on the right said as the one in the left proceeded to open the doors, Nate nodded and entered the room as he saw one desk facing the entrance of the room with three chairs on the other side, and in front of the desk two chairs were facing each other as they were placed in front of the desk, Nate noted a figure on the middle chair seated there
"Please have a seat Nate" the figure said turning around to face Nate, he saw a dark-skinned woman with tattoos al over her body, she had dark hair and golden glowing eyes, she was wearing an outfit people uses for extreme heats in the deserts as the hood was hiding her left arm, she had green cargo pants and black boots, the woman had an intimidating aura as Nate did as she instructed and took a sit on the chair in the right
"Don't we have to wait for the others ma'am?" Nate asked as he looked at the tow empty chairs next to the boss
"Please call me Charlotte" The women said as she lighted up a cigar, she offered one to Nate, but he rejected it "Viktor is busy playing with his toys and with you introducing him to Dr. Roquette they haven't left his lair for a while and he only comes out when things are important" Charlotte said with a chuckle "And Jonny is keeping check on the shadows and looking into the shimmer" She said with a sigh "He is paranoid but his paranoia is always is of use to us, but we have a problem" she said as she put her elbows on the table
"What can I do to help?" Nate asked as he looked at the woman in concern, Charlotte stood up and walked towards the other side of the table
"Walk with me" she said as Nate nodded and stood up as they headed into another side of the room as there was a big window that let them see the underground on its full glory "It's such a beauty, isn't it?" She asked as Nate nodded looking at the busy streets of the underground
"It is, it always amazes me that this has stayed a secret for so long" Nate said with a smile
"Well, that only happens because is in the best interest of the people that it stays a secret" Charlotte said as she took a drag of her cigar "But I don't know how long it can keep being that, nor that it should" She said as Nate looked at her in confusion
"What do you mean?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow "The hole point of the underground is that it is a secret, people come here to make a new life, to change, to disappear, to survive, to live. If you take that away from them…" Nate said not finishing the sentence as he closed his fist in annoyance but watch his words as he didn't wanted to disrespect the woman
"You have a good heart Nate, and don't worry the underground will always stay a secret" Charlotte said with a chuckle
"But the thing you said?" Nate asked in confusion
"It was a test" Charlotte said with a smirk "You see Nate, the things you said is what makes the underground what it suppose to be, people who can't keep this a secret" she said as she crossed her arms, and Nate noticed that her left arm was a bionic one "Have no place here" she said as they both headed towards the main office from earlier
"It's this because I brought the doc here?" Nate said in slight fear as he took a sit in front of the woman
"No, don't worry you are not in trouble" Charlotte said chuckling as Nate sighed in relief "What you did was the right decision, but next time follow procedures okay?" Charlotte said with a smile that make Nate gulped as he nodded "Good, now let's get to the real reason I called you" she said as Nate nodded and leaned back on the chair "Markus has been keeping you posted I presume?" she asked
"Yes, about the shadows and the shimmer" Nate said as the boss nodded
"Good, then I won't have to put you up to speed" she said "The least concerning of the two are the shadows, for now they haven't done something bold and suspicious, but we know they're poking, Jonny thinks they have someone inside" she said lighting another cigar
"He might be right" Nate said as he frowned and looked at the floor
"What makes you say that?" Charlotte asked whit a raised eyebrow
"Its something that happened with my last mission with the team" Nate said as the woman ordered him to elaborate "As you know our mission was to protect Dr. Roquette form the shadows, I faced one of the assassins they send and she called me Red Dragon, it might be because I used a jacket with a big red dragon on the back, but" he said looking at the woman with a frown
"We can't ignore that," Charlotte said, "What does your gut tell you?" she asked as Nate crossed his arms
"I don't know if they got an inside source, but they're getting information from somewhere and I don't like the fact that we don't know how much they're getting" Nate said in annoyance as he didn't have something clear
"Us neither, Jonny is working on that and when we find out if there is a mole or the leak, we will need your abilities" Charlotte said as Nate nodded
"And about the other problem?" Nate asked with concern
"Yeah, the shimmer problem" Charlotte said as she finished her cigar "This one may be a little more complicated than that, to solve this we will have to stop being a secret to some important people and your role here will be the most important one" she finished as Nate looked at her in curiosity
"What important people? And what is my role?" Nate asked as the woman sighed
"The Justice league" Charlotte said as Nate stared out of words and in shock "You will work as an ambassador of sorts" she said as Nate grabbed his head in irritation
"I don't understand, if we contact the league the underground won't be a secret anymore" Nate said concerned
"We don't plan to contact the hole league, just one person" Charlotte said with a smirk
"Who?" Nate asked in curiosity
"The dark knight himself" the woman said making Nate stand up in shock
"Batman!?" Nate exclaimed in shock, as the gears of his brain started spinning seeing where his boss wanted to go "You want to use my team, that's why you contacted me isn't it?" he said with a frown
"Yes exactly, now before you get mad" she said noticing the frown on the blond's face "I want you to hear our plan" she said as Nate sighed and nodded "Shimmer is out of the underground, in fact, we could turn a blind eye and ignore whatever havoc it causes, after all, it wont cause any problems here" she said
"But?" Nate asked hoping they won't leave it uncheck
"But, its our mess and mistake, and one that we can't solve without help" Charlotte said with a sigh "We will, meaning me and Jonny, we will gather all the information of the shimmer and where did it originate from, and then the underground will ask a mission to your team, and in return we will share all the information to Batman and only him" she said as Nate nodded
"So, do I tell him today?" Nate asked in curiosity wonder what the next steps were
"No, we don't want you to tell him yet" she said "We know his type after all we invited him to be a part of the underground" she said as Nate stared at her in shock
"You invited him!?" Nate asked in shock
"Yeah, we did, but he turned us down. He promised us to let us be, unless we became a problem to Gotham" she said with a sigh "And with shimmer we already are a problem, that's why he will understand when you present him the information" she finished "W just need time to gather everything important there's to know" she said
"And how long it will take?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow
"A few weeks" Charlotte said as she took a book and place it on the table but didn't open it
"So, I'll just present him the info when its ready?" Nate asked confused
"Not exactly, we have info on the past experiments and that sort of stuff, but we to know where its coming from and who is making it" the woman said opening the book "A thing that your covert team would be able to do accomplish"
"So, in reality you want me to give Batman info and ask him for a mission?" Nate asked as he crossed his arms
"Exactly, Markus was right, you're really a bright kid" Charlotte said as she stared at the book "That will be all, have a good day Nate" she said as Nate stood up and bow
Nate started to leave the premises as he put a hand on the door, but a voice behind him stopped him
"There are big things ahead of you Nate" the woman said as Nate turned to face her "Make sure you don't die" she said as Nate nodded and headed out
Nate walked to the bottom floor to meet with Markus as he thought about the conversation with the boss, he had his hands in his pockets as he approached where Markus was
"So, how did it go?" Markus said with a chuckle
"I feel like I've been played" Nate said as he sat in front of Markus "She's intimidating I'll give her that" he said with a sigh
"She sure is, that's why she has been at the top as long as she has" Markus said with a chuckle
"Can we stop talking about her? Anymore and I'll get a headache" Nate said rubbing his forehead "You said you had a present for me?" Nate said as Markus nodded
"Follow me" Markus said as the both of them stood up and walked towards the back exit of the bar
Nate follow Markus into the streets of the underground without a word, Markus lead him into the outskirts of the underground, they arrived at a garage leading into a street as Markus took a key and proceeded to open the doors of the garage
"I've never come this far, who knew a garage was here" Nate said as Markus lifted the doors opening the garage and inside was a motorcycle covered in a black blanket "Holy shit, please tell me you're giving me that bike and not something hiding behind it" Nate exclaimed excitedly and in high pitch voice that made Markus laughed
"Of course, I'm giving you the bike, here help me with the blanket" Markus said chuckling as both he and Nate removed the blanket revealing a black motorcycle
"This is a…" Markus started but an excited Nate interrupted him
"A 1999 Suzuki GSX 1300 R Hayabusa" Nate said crouching and passing a hand through the bike "But this one is customized, isn't it?" Nate asked looking at the escape tubes of the bike seeing they were a little bit bigger than normal
"Yes, it is, the escape and the handle have been change to give it a little bit more handling, and keep the engine from overheating" Markus said as he leaned on a wall "This belonged to my son Jeff" Markus said with a sad smile
"Your son? What happened to him?" Nate asked in concerned at his friend
"He joined a gang in Gotham, and started working for Black Mask" Markus said with a frown on his face
"Shit" Nate cursed under his breath, but Markus still heard him
"Damm right, I found him on the sea or what was left of him" Markus said sadly "This bike is the only thing left of him" he finished as Nate stood up in shock
"I can't have this" Nate said as he looked at his friend in worry
"Look Nate, my son is dead, he has been for 5 years now" Markus said as he took out a cigar "This bike was important to him, but not to me, my memories of him are. And he would kill me if I left this bike gather more dust" Markus said with a chuckle
"A-Are you sure?" Nate said with a studder
"Yeah, it's yours kid" Markus said as he put a hand on the young man's shoulder "It makes sense Nate, here" Markus said as he handed the keys to Nate
Nate grabbed the keys and put them on the ignition as he took a sit on top of the bike, he stared it as he heard the engine run giving Nate goosebumps
"This is fucking amazing" Nate exclaimed happily over the roaring of the engine and turn to face Markus
"Damm right she is," Markus said as he took out a black helmet out "Now the final step, you just need to name her" Markus said with a smirk
"Name her?" Nate asked Markus as he faced the bartender in confusion
"Yes, when a man names his ride, it creates a bond between man and machine, this beauty won't be only a means of transportation, it will be your partner in crime, because people come and go Nate" Markus said with a sad smile "The only think a man can rely on are his promises and his ride" the bartender finished
"Did you got that from a movie?" Nate asked mockingly with a smirk, he looked down at the bike ignoring the curses Markus was making at him "Jenny" Nate said in a barely audible whisper
"What?" Markus asked as he heard Nate whispering but couldn't understand what the young man said
"Jenny" Nate said facing the bartender
"Why jenny? Who is she?" Markus asked in curiosity
"Was," Nate said with a sad smile "She's dead" Nate said remembering the girl from his past
"Who was she to you?" Markus asked in worry seeing the young man's face
"She was Naruto first love, until those bastards made him kill her" Nate said as he tighten his gripped the handles on the bike tighter in anger
"Are you sure you want to name it that?" Markus said with a raise eyebrow
"Yes, I owe it to her, to live the life I'm leaving," Nate said with a smile "And every time I see this bike it will remind me to never leave this path and go back to that hell" Nate said facing the bartender with conviction
"Good" Markus said as he handed the helmet to Nate, Nate grabbed it but didn't put it on "Now you're ready, this bike is officially yours" Markus said with a chuckle
"Thanks a lot man" Nate said as he put the helmet on but had the visor up "So how do I get it out of here?" the young blond man asked the bartender
"Turn right and then head straight ahead, a gate will open revealing a connecting road that will put you on the streets of Gotham" Markus said as Nate nodded and put the visor down
"Got it" Nate said as he prepared to leave "I'll see you around" Nate said as he took off headed towards the exit gate
Happy Harbor
Nate arrived at the city in joy s he was riding his new bike, people couldn't see his face but if they could see it, they would se the big smile Nate had on his face
Nate arrived at the outside of the cave as a gate opened revealing a big garage, he saw that there weren't any vehicles, so he diced to park his motorcycle right in the middle of the cave's garage, he took his helmet off and look at his right as he notice there was a machine to fuel his ride.
"Well, that's convenient" Nate thought with a smirk as he put the helmet on the bike and headed into his room but change directions as he heard noises coming from the main room, he entered the room and saw a shirtless Superboy facing a sweating Aqualad, and he guessed they were training and headed to the two girls on his team as he saw them talking ignoring the world outside of them.
"Kaldur's nice, don't you think?" The young blond girl asked the Martian girl "Handsome, commanding. You should totally ask him out" Artemis said
"He is like a brother to me" Megan responded shaking her head "But you know who would make the cutest couple?" Megan asked rhetorically as Artemis looked at her in curiosity "You and Wally" She said looking at the young speedster missing the look of disgust on the blond girl "Your full of passion and he is full of…"Megan trailed trying to find the right word
"It" Artemis completed making the two girls laugh, Megan was the first to get her laugh under controlled as she saw their leader approaching them
"Hey Nate!" Megan exclaimed happily as Artemis turned and saw her leader walking towards them
"Girls" Nate said nodding to the girls as he stood next to Artemis "How long have they been at it?" Nate asked as the blond girl next to him answer
"About 2 minutes or so" Artemis said looking at the middle of the room and saw how Superboy had thrown Aqualad into the floor
"Interesting" Nate said as he took out his jacket and t shirt and put them on the floor as he headed towards the middle of the room not noticing the big blush on Artemis face as she stared at the back of the young man
"I guess I was wrong" Megan said chuckling as she stared at the embarrassed girl "You already have your eye on someone" she said laughing as Artemis hit the Martian's girl arm
"Shut up!" Artemis said as Megan put her hand in her mouth trying to get her laughed under control
Nate ignored the conversation of the girls behind him as he faced the two fighting boys who turned to look at him just noticing his presence
"You mind if I jump in?" Nate asked with a smirk as he saw Kaldur starting to leave "Where are you going?" Nate asked looking at the Atlantean
"I thought you wanted to fight Superboy" Kaldur said as Nate smirked
"Yes, but I also want to fight you" Nate said as he put his guard up "Come on, the two of you against me, that way you actually hit me" he said with a smirk as the clone and the Atlantean frown and put their guards up preparing to beat the hell out of their leader
Superboy charged first as he cut the distant in an instant, but Nate was expecting this as he doge the punch Superboy, he spun and tripped the young clone into the floor as he saw Kaldur heading towards him. Kaldur threw a kick towards the face of the blond man, Nate stepped back and let a kick at the back of the Atlantean pushing him back
He heard Superboy getting up behind him and saw him throwing a punch over his peripheral, he dodge the punch as he grabbed the arm of Superboy and threw him into Kaldur making them fall into the floor
The both of them stand up to, to fight the smirking young blond man but a noise from the above them interrupted their fights as the three of them looked up and saw Red Tornado entering a cave as a hole on the ceiling open and Red Tornado came down from it, the android dropped at the floor and started to head towards the exit of the cave but Wally with his speed stood in front of the android
"Do you have a mission for us?" Wally said confronting the android as the rest the of the team gather closed to them, meanwhile Artemis was carrying Nate's clothes preparing to give them back to him
"Missions are Batman responsibility" The android said in a monotone voice as the young team stared at him while Megan and Artemis steal glances at the naked torsos of Superboy and Nate respectively
"Yeah, but him and Robin are doing their dynamic duo show in Gotham" Wally said as he pointed at the android "But you're heading somewhere aren't you? Hot date or a mission?" Wally asked with a smirk
"If we can be of any help…" Kaldur started trying to sound more respectful than Wally
Tornado looked at the team for a moment until he turn on the HoloScreens revealing an old man with a cane on his right hand "This is Kent Nelson, a friend. He is 106 years old" the android said making the team look in shock except Wally as he leaned back and whispered to Artemis and Nate
"Guy doesn't look a day over ninety" Wally said as Artemis and Nate raised an eyebrow not knowing what the hell he meant
"And he has been missing for twenty-three days" Red Tornado said ignoring Wally "Kent was a member of the Justice Society of America, but he went by a different name" Red Tornado said as the hologram of Kent changed revealing a hero in a blue and yellow costume with a yellow spartan helmet on his head
"Of course," Kaldur said in surprise as he recognize the old hero "He is Doctor Fate, earth's sorcerer supreme" he said as Wally leaned back again and whispered to Artemis and Nate
"More like doctor fake" Wally scoffed as Nate grabbed the top of his nose in annoyance "Guy knows a little bit of advance science and Dumbledore's it up to scare the bad guys and impress the babes" Wally said mockingly to Artemis and Nate
"Jesus Christ Wally, way to respect your elders" Nate said in annoyance as Wally only looked sheepish "And thanks to you, now I can't get the picture of a 106-year-old man impressing babes out of my head" Nate said rubbing his head as Artemis nodded supporting that statement still having Nate's clothes on her arms
"Kent may be on one of his… walkabouts, but he is the caretaker to the helmet of Fate" Red Tornado continued making the teens face him "The source of Doctor Fate's power and its unwise to leave such powerful artifact unprotected" Red Tornado finished
"He is like the great sorcerer-priest and priestess of Mars, I would gladly help finding him" Megan said as she took a step forward causing the teens to give her their full attention, until Wally decided to barge in putting a hand up
"Me too" Wally said as everyone turn to look at him "I will also gladly give my help" he said making emphasis on the word gladly as Artemis and Nate narrowed their eyes at him "Magic rocks" he said making a rock and roll sing with his hand as Artemis rolled her eyes and crossed her arms unknowingly bringing Nate's clothes closer to her chest "What are the chances? We both admire mystical arts" Wally said smiling at Megan who smiled at him but didn't answer
"Take this" Red Tornado said handing Nate an old brown key "Is the key to the tower of Fate" the android said as he leaved the room
The team stared at the retiring android and then turned at their leader who looked at them in confusion "What?" Nate asked them in confusion
"I think they want to know the next steps captain" Artemis said with a smirk
"Oh" Nate said in surprise "Well, me and sups need to put our shirts, the rest of you wait for us on the ship" he said as the team nodded as Wally, Kaldur and Megan headed for the ship, Superboy walked to where he had put his shirt leaving the two blonds alone
"Here" Artemis said handing the clothes to Nate, as the young man grabbed staring at the girl in confusion with a raised eyebrow "I wanted to give them to you earlier, but Red Tornado's report prevented that" she said as she scratched her head in embarrassment. Nate saw this and smirked
"Thanks" Nate said with a smirk as the two of them stared at each other in comfortable silence a thing Superboy saw but didn't interrupted
"Well, I should get going, those were some pretty cool moves you pull their captain" Artemis said with a smirk
"If you want, I can teach you some" Nate said as he put his shirt on
"I would love that, and maybe I'll teach you some of mine" Artemis said whispering the last part as she stared at the blue eyes of her fellow blond with a seductive smirk, she turned and headed towards the ship
Nate saw her retiring figure as he stared at her ass shameless with his jacket on his hands, a voice to his right interrupted making him turn to the right as he faced a smirking Superboy
"What?" Nate asked with a frown at Superboy as he put his jacket on
"If you keep staring your eyes will fall" Superboy said mockingly "You like her, don't you?" he said mimicking the conversation he had with Nate about him and Megan
"Maybe, shut up" Nate said angrily and with a slight blush making Superboy chuckle a little making Nate frown "Its kind of ironic that the guy who watches reality cooking shows with his secret crush laughs at me" Nate said sarcastically
"Hey, don't you dare disrespect Master chef" Superboy exclaimed loudly
"Your watching Mater chef?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow "Which chapter are you on?" he asked excitedly as they started to head towards the ship
"The one where Christine makes a pie" Superboy said "I hope she wins, she is such a sweet person" Superboy said with a smile
"I know right, and that pie looked delicious." Nate said as the arrived at the entrance of the hangar
"It sure did" Superboy said as they faced the bioship "This conversation never happened agreed?" he said facing the ship with his usual scowl
"Agreed" Nate said nodding turning full serious as they both entered the ship as the boys noticed two empty seats, one next to Megan and the other behind Artemis "Well, that's convenient" Nate whispered causing Superboy to chuckle as he headed to take the sit next to Megan as the blond man took the one behind Artemis and as soon as he sat, he felt the ship starting to lift up preparing to leave the premises.
"We will arrived at New Orleans shortly" Megan said as the team nodded and took off
Salem, New Orleans
The team had arrived at New Orleans and were heading towards the coordinates Red Tornado had provide them in a comfortable silence that Artemis decide to break
"So, Wally" Artemis called in a mocking tone "When did you realize your honest affinity for sorcery?" Artemis asked sarcastically knowing Wally was lying trying to impress Megan
"Well, I-I don't like to brag" he said stumbling on his words as he put his hands behind his head "But before I became Kid flash, I seriously decided to become a wizard myself" he said smiling at Megan making Artemis rolled her eyes and looked behind her as she saw the shaking head of hear leader
Nate shook his head and pinch his nose in annoyance until he felt a dark powerful presences below them but just as soon as he felt it, it disappeared
"We've arrive at the location but…" Megan started but trailed off noticing there wasn't anything there
"There is nothing there" Superboy pointed the obvious and waited for his leader's orders but noticed that Nate was taring at the window with a frown "Take us down" Superboy said as he looked at his brother in curiosity
The ship landed as the team got out of it, they face the empty park trying to find the tower except Nate, he was staring into an orange cat's red eyes that was in alley on the city, the cat tilted its head as Nate narrowed his eyes and swore, he saw the cat smirking at him before leaving the alley. Nate stared at the alley with a frown until a hand on his shoulder stopped his thoughts and making turn back
"You're, okay?" Superboy asked with worry and Nate was going to respond but Superboy interrupted him "Dude your eyes" he exclaimed in worry
"What about them?" Nate asked in fear
"They're red" Superboy said making Nate eyes winded in fear as he took out his phone and looked at his reflection seeing his eyes glowing red, he blinked a few times bringing his eyes to his regular blue color.
"I'm fine" Nate said taking a breath and putting a reassuring hand on Superboy's shoulder, "I don't know what was that but keep this between us while I investigate what the hell this is, please" Nate pleaded as Superboy nodded and the both of them turned to faced the rest of the team as the team's speedster arrived at the scene
"Nothing" Wally said as he put his googles up "Whatever this is, isn't a simple camouflage" he said with a frown
"So, what do you think?" Artemis asked out loud " Adaptive micro-optoelectronics combined with phase shifting?" she asked as she stared at Wally
"Absolutely…" Wally started saying until he saw Megan headed their way "Not. Clearly mystic powers are at play here" he said with a voice crack as he smirked at Megan having his intentions up front
Superboy and Kaldur stared at the young speedster skeptically as Artemis glared at him preparing to confront him but a hand on her shoulder stopped her, she looked behind her seeing her leader there
"We don't have time for that, wait until after the mission" Nate whispered as Artemis nodded but he didn't notice as he was staring straight ahead
Ever since they arrived at this park something had felt off to Nate, especially now, he felt something in front of him but he couldn't place what until he remember the key Red Tornado had given him , he took it out and saw that it had an inscription that said Insert, he stared ahead and took a gamble and put the key forward as he felt the key stopping, he turn it around revealing a massive brown tower in front of them, Nate pushed forward opening the big door as he and his team entered the tower, but Nate couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching them
"Uh?" Superboy asked as the team stared at the medieval looking walls "Where did the door go?" he asked as the team noticed that the door had disappear
Then a glowing yellow hologram of the man they were looking for appeared in front of them "Greetings" the projection said as the team put their full attention towards the projection "You have entered the tower with a key, but it doesn't recognize you. Sate your purpose and intent" the projection said
Nate saw Wally smirked at Megan and took a step forward and the blond man could feel a headache forming
"We are true believers, we are here to see Dr. Fate" Wally exclaimed with his arms up
The projection looked at him sadly as Wally dropped his arms and stared at the where the projection just had disappeared in confusion until he heard the floor cracking
Nate looked down as he saw the floor breaking making him and his team fall down, he saw at the end of the hole there was a river of lava and thought fast grabbing Artemis on the process by her waist "Activated boots" he whispered as his boots glowed blue and he put his feet on one of the walls making him stop "Could you help Kaldur?" he asked Artemis as he stared at her face realizing they were very close, she nodded and threw an arrow attached to a cable as she swing to catch kaldur mid air "That was hot" Nate whispered as he stared at the rest of his team "Everyone okay?" he shouted as the team nodded
"This stupid tower destroyed my favorite boots" Superboy exclaimed as Nate chuckled "I really hope this Kent guy is worth it" Superboy mutter under his breath
"Having… trouble maintaining altitude" Megan said as Nate noticed how she and Wally were starting to fall down slowly "ugh I'm so hot" she said sweating
"You sure are" Wally said without thinking
"Wally!" Artemis and Nate shouted at him reprimanding him
"Hey, inches above sizzling death, I'm entitled to speak my mind!" he shouted as Nate glared at him
"Well, your mind isn't helping right now" Nate shouted not looking at him as he stared at the Atlantean in concern
"My and Megan's physiology are susceptible to heat" Kaldur said sweating a lot "We most climbed up quickly" he said as he looked up trying to get up but failing
"Hello Megan" The Martian girl said weakly "We never said why we came here…"She said taking a breath trying to get her condition under control "Red Tornado sent us, to see if Mr. Nelson and the helmet where fine" she said in between gasps
Right after she said that a panel closed over the lava making it safe to get down as everyone jumped to the panel and only Wally felt on his butt, kaldur bent down touching the panel with his hand
"This thing should be red hot, but its cool to the touch" Kaldur said as he stood up as Nate crouched and put his hand where Kaldur's was moments ago
"Don't worry, I got you Megalicious" Wally said with a smirk as he helped the Martian girl stand up, Nate saw the frown on Superboy's face and chuckled lightly
"Enough!" Artemis shouted as he pushed the young speedster away from the Martian girl "Your little game of trying to impress Megan at all costs nearly got us all barbecued" she exclaimed angrily
Wally glared in return and responded to her "When did this became my fault?" he asked still glaring at the blond woman who didn't miss a beat and responded quickly
"When you lied about being a believer to the hologram, what did you think it was going to happened?" Artemis said
Nate was watching the confrontation with an annoyed face, this was the thing he wanted to prevent for happening in missions, he was prepared to barge in and control the situation but a voice in his head made him ignored the conversation I front of him
"Open your mind" he heard a whisper on his mind as he stared at the platform, he noticed a handle connected to a door and by logic one could tell that if he open it, lava will appeared behind it, but something told Nate this wasn't the case "Be free" he heard on his mind as he opened the door ignoring the shouts of protest from Wally, he opened the door and saw snow coming to his face as he saw a frozen landscape and jumped into it not waiting for his team
He jumped down but was surprised when he found the landscape was tourn to a side as he flipped to land perfectly, he notice his team falling behind him and that Artemis and Wally were still arguing but he ignored it as something was calling him behind him, he turned and looked at a glowing floating cane that he recognized as the one Mr. Nelson had on the hologram, he blinked and realized he already had walked towards the cane, and he grabbed it without realizing
"Hey Nate, are you okay?" Kaldur asked as the rest of the team turned to looked at the quiet blond man
"I can't let go" Nate said as he saw the cane started glowing yellow "Oh shit" he cursed as the cane suddenly flew upwards with Nate attached as both the cane and him disappeared from the landscape, while his team looked at where he had disappeared in worry.
Nate saw himself glow yellow as he landed on the top of some medieval looking stairs, he looked around and he noticed how all around the room where similar looking stairs pointing at every direction, he looked up and noticed three figures two of them were standing and one of them was on the floor
The one on the floor smirked at Nate, as the young blond saw the old man glow yellow and started flying towards him, the old man arrived at where Nate and the blond hero couldn't help to chuckle nervously
"I think this is yours" Nate said nervously as he handed the cane to the old man, the old man smirked and grabbed the cane with his two hands, and Nate noticed how the rope on his hands disappeared, the old man stood up and pointed the cane to a wall behind Nate
"In here" the old man said as Nate stood up and saw how where previously there was nothing but a wall, now an elevator stood there, Nate stood up and followed the old man into the elevator, they both turn and looked at the intruders as Nate saw the short one starting to generate a red lighting, but the doors of the elevator closed before the lighting could get at them
Nate let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and face the old man "I'm Nate, pleasure to meet you Mr. Kent" Nate said as he hold a hand in front of him
"The pleasure is all my young man" Kent said as he took the hand of Nate with his own, when he did that Kent's eyes glowed yellow for a moment and smirk "Its always good to meet talented young men" the old man said
"So, those two, friends of yours?" Nate asked sarcastically
"Abra Kadabra and Klarion the witch boy, they're here for the helmet of Fate" Kent said with a frown
"Abra Kadabra? I've heard of him" Nate said as he crossed his arms "One of flash enemies, the speedster proved that the guy only knows how to do parlor tricks, how the hell did he got you?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow
"Kadabra is a charlatan" Kent scoffed "I was surprised by the other one and didn't noticed him until it was to late" Kent said as he gripped the cane in anger "Klarion is the one we should be concern, he is the lord of chaos" the old man said as he frowned at the elevator doors
"Aren't you the lord of Fate? Surely you could have take him on" Nate asked in confusion
"I'm just an old coot Fate used to put on, until my wife Inza convinced me that there was more to life than that" Nelson said as he took out a pocket clock with a picture of his late wife "She had a fire in her, your eyes remind me of her" the old man said as Nate scratched his head nervously
"Thanks?" Nate said nervously as the old man put the clock on his pocket again
"Anyhow, the time for reminiscing is over, we can't let Klarion take the helmet otherwise he will make the planet into his own personal playground of pandemonium" Kent said turning serious
Nate nodded as the elevator rang and the doors open, in front of them was a massive yellow bell, Nate stared at it in wonder for second until the old man spoke at him
"Friends of yours?" Kent said as he looked at the side and Nate noticed how his team entered the room as they fell on one of the stairs, Nate was going to addressed them until he felt a presence to his left
"I think yours are back" Nate said as he grabbed the old man and dodge the blast, the old man smiled as he stood up and punch the bell with his cane making it glowed as he entered the bell and Nate followed him closely
They both appeared on the roof of the tower as Nate saw a spartan yellow helmet floating in the middle of the place Kent approached the helmet intending to put it on but a red blast shoot to his chest preventing the old man from grabbing the helmet
"Mr. Nelson!" Nate shouted as he grabbed the old man preventing him from falling and looked ahead as he noticed a pale shirt figure with a cat on his shoulder "Are you alright?" Nate said as he helped Nelson get up, the old man started changing something that Nate didn't understand and hit the floor creating a glowing dome surrounding them
"Pretty good for an old man don't you think?" Nelson said as he fell on the floor, Nate catch him before the old man could fell on the floor as Kent took a few breaths "The bubble will give you enough time to do what you need to do" Kent said as Nate looked at him in confusion
"But I don't know what I need to do" Nate said in confusion as the old man chuckled
"Kid you're afraid of something that's happening to you, aren't you?" The old man asked with a cough
"How did you-?" Nate started but the old man interrupted him
"How did I knew?" the old man chuckled "I saw it when I first moment I met you, you're meant for greatness kid, but you fear it, sometimes you have to take a leap pf faith kid, other wise you will regret things" the doctor said as he closed his eyes and drew his last breath
Nate put two fingers on the neck of the old man searching for a pulse, but he couldn't find anything, he saw ahead and noticed how the witch boy was attacking the dome, Nate felt numb as he stared at the deceased old man until he felt someone talking on his head
"Nate, we need help, tell nelson we need Dr. Fate" Megan said on his mind as she projected the mental image of the team being attack by Abra Kadabra, he saw how Artemis was being caged and the mental link cut off as he saw the villain attacking Megan, he frown and looked at the helmet his decision made already and put it on
Nate blinked and found himself in his dream world, he looked at the red sky as he rubbed his face in annoyance
"Quite the adventure your having Nate" The voice said as he appeared in front of Nate
"This day couldn't get any worse, can it?" Nate asked his doppelganger sarcastically
"Oh Nate" the voice chuckled as Nate started at him in confusion "Things can get worse any time, isn't that right Doc?" the voice said staring behind Nate making the young hero turn back
"That is the way of life my friend" Kent Nelson appeared behind him as Nate stared at the old man in surprise "This is a nice mindscape you have here young man" Nelson said then he stared at the doppelganger of Nate "And I'm not a doctor young man" he said with a smirk
"My mistake sir" The voice said sarcastically as him and Kent looked at Nate
"What is going on?" Nate asked the old man as the voice created three couches for everyone to sit "You died" Nate said as he stared at the old man
"I did, I put a part of my soul on the helmet, once this is done my spirit will ascend and I'll reunite with my beloved" the old man said with a smile on his face as everyone took a sit on the couches "Right now Nabu is handling Klarion, and normally I would offer to watch but you're a especial case young man"
"What do you mean?" Nate asked in confusion as he stared at the old man
"I told you that is always a pleasure to meet talented young men," The old man said with a chuckle "Tell me when was the first time your eyes changed color?" the old man asked
"How did you-?" Nate started saying but stopped as he saw the smirk of the old man "A few weeks ago, right when this team was form, I had a conversation with Mr. sarcasm here" he said pointing at his look-at-like "When I woke up my eyes were purple for a moment before they change into their regular color" Nate said rubbing his head
"And that's the only time that has happened to you?" Nelson asked with curiosity
"No" Nate said as he sighed "It happened again before we entered the tower" he said
"Explain to me what happen" the old man order and Nate nodded
"When we arrived, I noticed a presence lurking, and when we dropped, I saw a cat" Nate explained trying to remember everything "I couldn't stop looking at the cat util it took off, and then my brother told me my eyes were red" Nate explained as he saw his hands shaking "The hell is happening to me?" he said closing his hands into fits
"Its m-" Nate heard the old man started to ay but everything else he said Nate couldn't hear it as he saw how the old man went mute for a moment
"What did you say?" Nate asked as the old man looked at him in confusion
"If I may" the voice said interrupting the conversation "I know you want to explain him what's happening old man, but he won't be able to hear you, old man" the voice with a chuckled as Nate frowned at him in annoyance
"What do you mean young man?" Kent asked the clone
"Our childhood wasn't the best old man" The voice said chuckling as Nate nodded "Nate here has trauma a lot of it, his mind, this landscape is preventing that trauma to reach Nate" he said as the old man stared at him in confusion
"But that doesn't explain why he can't access his gift" the old man exclaimed in confusion
"His gift carries trauma Nelson" the voice said sarcastically "And he is not ready, he is close but not quite yet" the voice said looking at the castle of the mindscape
"Well, what a shame then" The old man said with a sigh
"That doesn't help me at all, the hell is wrong with me and why the hell I'm here!?" Nate shouted as he stood up
"Calm down young man, we can't tell you about your first problem but the second one" Nelson said as he chuckled "Your body has been taken by Nabu and your soul has been trapped here forever" Kent said nonchalantly as Nate stared at him in shock
"What!?" Nate said as he grabbed the shirt of the old man "What do you mean I can't have my body back!?" he exclaimed hysterically letting go of the shirt "There's many things I haven't been able to do, I haven't go to Japan, I haven't fell in love" he started listing gasping in realization at the last statement "I haven't had sex," he whispered as the old man looked at him confused not hearing what the young man said
"What was that young man?" Kent said as he looked at the hysteric blond
"I haven't had sex!" Nate exclaimed hysterically "I'm going to die a virgin" he said as he curled like a ball on the floor as the voice and Kent sweat drop at the hysterical teen
Nate was sobbing on the floor util he saw a floating helmet arriving at the landscape and he quickly stood up in anger
"Hey motherfucker let me out so I can have sex!" Nate exclaimed angrily facing the helmet
"Your being hysterical" the voice said but Nate practically teleported in front of him
"Easy for you to say, you don't realize what is at stake" Nate said sobbing while shaking the shoulders of his doble
"Young man calm down" Kent Nelson said as he sweat drop at the scene in front of him
"Don't tell me to calm down, you're 106 years old you already live your life" Nate said as he dropped to his knees "I just wanted to love someone" Nate said in defeat as the old man looked at him in pity
"Nabu, this is over, please let the young man leave" Kent said as he faced the helmet giving hope to Nate
"I refused" The helmet said as Nate dropped his head in defeat as a dark cloud formed above him "Earth needs Dr. Fate, I refuse to leave this body full of potential" the helmet said making Nelson frown
"I know he has potential, he will make the perfect candidate" Kent said, "But right now something is preventing him to reach that potential, and I think if you stay, he will never achieved that potential" Nelson explained as the helmet grew quiet
"And what do you propose?" Nabu said "I refuse to be locked up, hidden away from the world, useless, while chaos reigns in this world" the helmet exclaimed as Kent started to think
"That won't happen again" the previous vessel of the helmet said "This young man here" Kent said pointing at the crying man "Will take the helmet with him and make sure to put it to good use" Kent said as Nate stood up and nodded vigorously
"Your fucking pathetic" the voice said in annoyance as he rubbed his face looking at Nate
"And meanwhile I'll keep you company here on the helmet" the old man said as it made Nate freeze
"What the hell? You said you were going to ascend and meet your beloved, I can't take that away from you" Nate said in sadness as the old man put a hand in his shoulder
"Young man I already waited long to meet her again I can wait a few millennia more" Kent said as the helmet spoke again
"The bargain is acceptable, I have move your friends to the roof and also that charlatan" Nabu said as Nate nodded
"Thanks" he said as he tuned to face Nelson "Are you sure about this?" he asked the old man as Nelson smiled and nodded
"Let this old man give you a last piece of advice" Kent said as Nate nodded "Find yourself a partner, your own fire, someone who challenges you and makes you a better man, you have someone on your mind already" The old man said as the image of a blond girl passed through Nate's mind "Don't wait to much kid or you might regret it" the old man said with a smile as the world started to glow white around Nate
Nate blinked as he felt something on his hands and looked down and saw he was holding the helmet of doctor fate in his hands
"Nate are you alright?" he heard a feminine voice asked him as he stared forward and blinked trying to get his eyesight under control, the first thing he managed to see was brown concerned eyes staring at him as he saw Artemis looking worriedly at him and noticed his team behind her looking at him also in concern
"Yeah, I'm fine now" he said as he smiled at the blond girl who smiled in return "You caught the charlatan didn't you?" he asked the team as they nodded, and they showed him the man out cold
Nate nodded and stood up as he looked down at the deceased body of Kent Nelson, he approached him as he noticed he had something on his hand, he grabbed it and noticed it was the watch he had earlier, he opened it and saw a photo of a woman, he guessed this was Inza the late love of Kent
"You were really lucky old man" Nate whispered as he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned s he faced of concern of Artemis "Your own fire young man" he heard the old man say on his head as he smiled and placed his hand on top of Artemis's
Mount justice
Nate was placing the helmet next to the ither souvenirs Wally had collected, he had to handed to the speedster the idea to take memories from missions, was pretty cool, he took a step back admiring the souvenirs Wally had collected until a cough from the hallway interrupted his musings
"If you keep staring at that it's going to burn" A voice said from the hallway as Nate turned and saw Artemis leaning on the door frame smirking at him "Tornado wants a debrief of what happened captain" she said as she entered the room and stood next to him "And Wally is still trying to impress Megan with magic which is causing Superboy to get annoyed at him, but I don't know why" she said with a scoff
"I know why" Nate said with a chuckle as Artemis looked at him in shock "And I'm not telling" he said as he laughed at the betrayed looked of Artemis, she hit his arm and demanded him to tell her, he stared at her eyes and couldn't help to give in "Fine but you'll have to keep it a secret okay?" he said as the young woman nodded vigorously "First I have to ask, do you like him? I mean Superboy" he asked as the woman thought it for a moment
"No, I thought he was hot, but he is too quiet for my tastes" she said as she looked at her captain and unknowingly bite her lips as she stared at the torso of the man in front of her a thing Nate missed
"He likes Megan" he said as Artemis froze in shock as she looked at his eyes
"No way!" she exclaimed as Nate smirked and nodded
"That's not the best part, she likes him to" he said "The two are so obvious is a surprise they aren't dating" he said as the young woman looked at him in confused
"What do you mean?" she asked him as they both arrived at the entrance of the debriefing room
"Look closely and discreetly at how they behave around each other and the looks they send each other" Nate said as he saw they were nearing a hearing distance for Superboy "And remember keep this between us, he'll never forgive me if he knows I told you" He pleaded as the woman nest to smirk
"Don't worry captain" Artemis said smirking "My lips are sealed" she said as they walked into the debriefing room as the team and Red Tornado were expecting them
"I know you're used to this with Batman, but please tell me what happened" the android said in his usual monotone voice as he faced Nate, the blond teen nodded and turned to looked at Megan
"Meg," he simply said as Megan nodded as she started to talk, Superboy smiled at her a thing only Artemis noticed making her smirk
"Nate was right" Artemis thought as she heard the report of how the team had arrived at New Orleans and searched for the tower
"We entered the tower and after some complications" Megan said as Artemis scoffed and Wally scratched his head sheepishly "We arrived at a frozen landscape that had in the middle Nelson cane, Nate grabbed it as it took him away and disappeared, then a door revealed and we entered and faced Abra Kadabra, we weren't a match for him, but doctor Fate helped us take him down" she finished her report as Nate nodded
"Good job" Nate said facing Megan as she step back and Nate step forward as he began speaking
"The cane teleported me to where Mr. Nelson was, he then took me to where the helmet was being hided, we were followed by Klarion the witch boy and he killed the old man, Megan told me they're were being held hostage by the other bad guy and I didn't hesitate and put it on" Nate said as he scratched his head "I didn't see the fight, as I was having a conversation with Kent but I guess Klarion escaped and after a few moments of beginning we convince Nabu to let me go and then I was on the roof again staring at the team, that's when we decided to call you and the rest is history" Nate said as he put his hands in his pockets "I'm sorry for your loss" Nate said as he looked at the android in worry
"Don't be, you did a good job out there" The android said in the same monotone voice he had always "You're dismiss" Red Tornado said as Nate nodded and turn to face his team, he started to speak but Artemis spoke first
"Yeah, we know the drill captain, no need to tell us" Artemis smirked as she saw the twitching eyebrow of Nate, the team smiled and headed towards the kitchen, the smirking girl stood next to Nate as he mock glared at her, both of them didn't noticed how Superboy and Megan were staring at them with a knowing smirk
The group entered at the living room as Aqualad and Wally took a couch for themselves as Megan and Superboy took another, and the two blonds took the remaining one for themselves
"So, who would like to start?" Nate asked feeling the mocking smirk of Artemis behind him
"I have a question if you don't mind me asking" Kaldur said facing the blond teen as Nate nodded letting Kaldur ask his question "How did you managed to convinced Dr Fate to let you go?" the Atlantean asked as Nate chuckled and scratched his head in embarrassment
"Uh, Nelson did most of the talking" Nate said with a nervous chuckle "I didn't handle well the fact my body was being taken" he said nervously as the team looked at him in confusion
"How did you handle yourself?" Artemis asked in curiosity
"That's something I will take to my grave" Nate said seriously as he changed the topic "So, anything else?" he asked with a nervous smile
"You dodge this one captain" Artemis whispered as Nate gulped without looking at the blond woman
Nate leaned back on the couched as he saw the team arguing about the mission and Wally's behavior, but Nate ignored the conversation as he looked at his thighs where his hands were, he closed his fist remembering the conversation with Kent and his annoyance
"What the hell is happening to me?" Nate asked himself in frustration as he stared at his closed fists until he felt a hand on top of his left fist, he looked at his left and saw he worry face of Artemis. Nate grabbed the hand of Artemis and nodded reassuring the girl as they separate their hands and focus on the conversation in front of them.
End of Chapter 7
And that's a wrap people
So, what do you think? Good or bad? Let me know on the reviews and I'll see you on the next chapter
Adios
