Naruto x Young Justice Fanfiction

Hi guys and welcome to the 12th instalment of the story,

I read the revies thank you for the praises, and the guy who felt that the story was moving to slow, I'm sorry dude, but there's nothing I can do, were only reaching the half point of the story, and I like long term storytelling, and for me this pacing works, I don't like stories where the main character is fucking OP from the 3 chapter onwards, for me and the things that I write and will write, they have to have a ground to build on

With that being said enjoy the chapter

Chapter 12: This is the worst safari trip ever


Mount justice

"Agh, fucking hell" Nate exclaims in pain as Black canary apply some moisturizer to his back

"Language" Canary reprimanded Nate as she started to put bandages around his torso and back

"My back is like a poorly made barbecue, I think that gives me the right to curse," Nate said as Canary started to put bandages on his arms too "How's my team?" Nate asked in concern as he slipped into one of his black tank tops

"They're fine, better than you physically," Canary said, and Nate stretched his arms to get used to the bandages "Mentally they are all shaken, Batman told us to keep them in the debriefing room, for now, he also said that he wanted to talk to you," she said, and Nate looked at her in confusion

"Why?" Nate asked as they walked towards the debriefing room

"He said he needs to discuss something with you, about your mission to Taipei" Canary said, and Nate understood what Batman wanted

"Probably to discuss if Tornado was the traitor," Nate thought as they entered the debriefing room, he saw his team all seated at a table in the middle of the room, except Conner who was leaning on the table, he also saw batman far away from the table and decided to get things over with "One last thing," Nate said as Canary turn to look at him in curiosity "I'm sorry you had to cut your hot date short," he said with a chuckle and Canary glared at him as he walked towards the Dark Knight

"Canary said that you wanted to talk?" Nate asked as he stood in front of Batman

"Yes, Robin already gave me a report, so I won't ask you what happened," Batman said as Nate crossed his arms and nodded in understanding "What theories do you have about the attack?" Batman asked and Nate scratched his chin

"I have two theories," Nate said, and Batman ordered him to explain them "One this is abduction case, and we were just unlucky to be here when they did it, I think whoever created Red Tornado wanted him back and send the two look at likes to get him," Nate said, and Batman nodded thinking along the same lines

"And two, the one I'm hoping is not true, he is the traitor Sportsmaster told me about in Taipei, which if I may say it doesn't make sense unless he wasn't doing it out of his own free will," Nate said, and Batman nodded and prepare to say something else, but a voice interrupted them

"You knew!?" Conner shouted as he jumped and grabbed the tank top of Nate, the blond winced in pain, his wounds still fresh but push through

"Calm down," Nate said as he pushed back but Conner didn't move an inch

"Don't tell me to calm down Nate!" Conner said with a glare on his face "You saw what that android and his fucked-up family did, they almost kill M'gann" Conner said as Nate grabbed the clone's arms to ease the hold

"Conner what are you doing?" M'gann said in concern as she flew towards the two males

"Nate here knew we had a traitor on our team and said nothing," Conner said still glaring at Nate with anger and betrayal on his voice, he let go of Nate as he walk towards M'gann, Nate clenched his cheeks in pain and looked at his team his eyes resting on Artemis who had wide eyes and a look of betrayal on her face

"Shit" Nate cursed mentally as he saw Artemis start to walk towards him but turn to look at Robin when the boy wonder call him out

"You knew!?" Robin demanded in anger and Kaldur looked at Nate with narrowed eyes as he seem to be thinking about something and then Kid flash took over

"And didn't tell us!?" Wally asked in anger and Artemis passed by the two younger heroes with a glare on his face

"Yes, but I did it to protect…" Nate started to say but was cut off by a slap on his right cheek

The sound of a hand hitting a cheek rang through the debriefing room and Nate had his head looking at the left with a shocked expression on his face

"Protect us from what!?" Artemis asked in anger and Nate turn to look at her but didn't say anything "Knowledge that might've saved our lives, what gave you the idea that you couldn't trust us!?" Artemis demanded and Nate picked up the hidden message in her words "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you trust me?" Nate could see that words in her eyes and dropped his head in shame

"Fuck," Nate thought mentally as any sort of defense died when he saw the looked in Artemis's eyes

"Enough!" Batman called out ceasing the arguments instantly, everyone turn to looked at the dark knight and walked away from Nate "With Red Tornado gone, the team will now be overseen by rotational supervisors" Batman said as he signaled to a buff man with a red costume and a yellow bolt on the middle of the suit "Captain Marvel has volunteered to take the first shift" Batman said, and the buff man smirked

"I'm looking forward to hanging with you guys," he said with a smile on his face and Nate felt something off coming from the guy

"Hanging? No adult would use that word like that, the hell?" Nate thought and glanced at Batman and the Dark Knight noticed him and gave him a slight smirk "What the fuck?" Nate thought trying to figure out what was wrong with the man, but his thoughts were interrupted by Conner

"After I dismantle that fucking robot, you and I are gonna-" Conner started to say to Nate with a snarl but got interrupted by Batman

"Red Tornado is a member of the justice league, making him a league responsibility, you will leave him to us," Batman said as he narrowed his eyes at the young clone "Instead I have another mission for you, one I had planned to give you before all of this fiasco," Batman said as he pointed at the holograms

"Ex-mayor has been put in a medical coma, it is believed he was attacked by Guerilla Gorilla?" Kid Flash read the headline in skepticism and Robin also protested

"Batman please!" Robin said with annoyance in his voice "Tell me you aren't sending un this joke of a wild ape chase" he protested and flinched when he saw Batman glaring at him

"I never joke when it's about a mission," Batman said with no room for argument "I've checked the sources and I've checked the parameters, the ex-mayor attack is just another of the latest that had happened in the last five months," Batman said and turn to look at Nate "Nate you and your team will go to India and check this out," Batman said and Nate noticed he wanted to say more but the team still angry didn't notice and thought the mission was going to be a simple recon mission

"Your team huh?" Wally said taunting and bumping into the shoulder of Nate, the blond winced in pain and glared at the retrieving form of Wally but said nothing as he saw Captain Marvel following the teens and his attention fell back on Batman

"I know you never joke on a mission but something like this would not spike your curiosity unless is something big, what happen to the ex-mayor?" Nate asked in curiosity and Canary smirked

"You are very sharp Nate," Canary said, and the blond teen gave her a small smirk

"Yes, something spikes my interested, reports said that when they rescued the ex-mayor from the jungle, his team of hunters was missing," Batman said as two more pictures of people showed up in the hologram "If you can, track them down, or what is left of them I would appreciate it," Batman said, and Nate narrowed his eyes

"Is it okay for my team to see dead bodies?" Nate asked with narrowed eyes and Batman nodded

"Sonner or later they will face that, I rather you be with them instead of their mentors," Batman said, and Nate looked at him in confusion

"Why?" Nate asked in confusion and Canary answered for Batman

"Because on the end of the day, those kids trust you more than us," Canary said, and Nate wanted to protest but she held her hand "I know that doesn't seem like it right now, but they do, and you know it," Canary said, and Nate dropped his head

"There's one more thing you should know Nate," Batman said, and Nate lifted his head and looked at the Dark Knight in curiosity "The reports also said something else that is the main reason for why I wanted to give this mission to the team," Batman said and then sighed "To you more specifically," Batman said, and Nate raised an eyebrow "The ex-mayor's eyes were pink when they rescued him," Batman said and Nate forgot how to breathe for a second

"Fuuuck" Nate drawled as started to grow pale "And he is unconscious?" Nate asked and Batman nodded "I suggest you keep an eye on him, maybe he won't become a threat and a monster, but he will go to withdrawal very quickly and it's going to get ugly" Nate said, and a sense of foreboding crawled upon the league members present "It would be more merciful if he doesn't wake up" Nate mumble but Batman and Canary heard him and grew tense

"So, what are the parameters exactly for the mission?" Nate asked trying to get a hold of himself

"Find whatever is going on in India and deal with it, if necessary, also try to find the missing hunters and investigate what happened to them" Batman ordered, and Nate nodded but still had a question in mind

"What if I find them alive but they are too far gone?" Nate asked and continue his explanation "You and I have an idea of what occurred to them and if they are in the final stages it's better to put them out of their misery" Nate said with a cold look in his eyes

"If you can, save them, but if you can't" Batman started to say as Nate gather his resolve together "Deal with them as you see fit" Batman ordered and between the lines, Nate could tell he was giving the clear to kill

"I understand," Nate said as he left the debriefing room and head towards the hangar

"Deal with them as he sees fit?" Canary asked Batman sarcastically and the dark knight turn to look at her "You gave him the green light to kill" Canary protested and Batman instead of answering started to type in the hologram

"I didn't give him the clear to kill," Batman said as several pictures of men and women with little skin and looking like zombies popped on the screen "I gave the order to put terminal patients out of their misery," Batman said as Canary and Green Arrow looked at the several pictures of broken and sick people


Cave's Hangar

Nate entered the hangar quickly as he looked at his guns noticing they were at forty percent of capacity "Leaving them in my holsters will keep that percentage but I have to be careful if I run out" Nate thought and looked ahead and saw Conner telling sphere to stay in the cave, he also saw Captain Marvel Telling Robin and Kid Flash that he was going along with the team to the mission

"There is that feeling again, it's like he's a kid inside an adult body," Nate thought as he stared at the form of Captain Marvel, and his eyes winded in surprise "Wait a damn minute, what if that's exactly it?" Nate thought as a smirk started to form on his face, but it quickly faded when Robin and Kid Flash glanced at him

"Translation: he blames us for Red Fiasco," Robin said as he turn to look at Nate "He doesn't trust us" Robin mumble and Kid Flash nodded narrowing his eyes at Nate

"It's a big club," Wally remarked with a snarl on his face and both boys entered the bioship

"Fucking shit, fine," Nate thought as he glared at the bioship "Act as children and miss the whole fucking point, fuck, I need to calm down, last I need is them hating me more," Nate thought as he entered the ship and walk to the main deck, he took a seat in the uncopied seat next to Captain Marvel and leaned back on his seat as he took out his cellphone to check the hour

"I know you all don't want to speak to me and shit," Nate said out loud without looking at his team "But is nine p.m. right now and it's at least a five-hour flight so we will be arriving there at two in the morning, so get some rest if you want," Nate said as he started to close his eyes and made himself comfortable and when he didn't hear a reply he spoke again "Or don't, I'm too fucking tired to even care," he said as he quickly fell into the land of dreams


Dreamscape

"Rise and shine motherfucker" A man with brown hair dressed in military uniform and armor on his body called out as he banged the metal door and entered the room "Don't make me tell you twice Naruto" the man ordered, and a thirteen-year-old looking Nate stepped out of his bed with dead eyes on his face and glared at the man

"Why did you make me kill all of them?" Nate asked as he had his head down looking at the floor, his face showing no emotion whatsoever

"Only the strong survive in the world Naruto," the man said without moving from the door "You know this, is what we been teaching you ever since you joined us," the man said, and Nate lifted his head, and his eyes were full of anger

"But we all were supposed to be heroes together, you told us that!" Child Nate said with a snarl and the man looked at him in amusement "We were all supposed to be great together and you people took that away from us, why the hell did you make me kill them?" Nate asked anger in his voice

"You know why Naruto, they were weak," the man said as he placed a hand on the boy's head and ruffled Nate's hair "That power you showed yesterday makes you special, and with what we have planned today, no one will be able to stop you," the man said, and the younger Nate looked at him in confusion and fear

"What do you mean?" The younger Nate asked as someone knocked on the door

"Mr. Shaw? We are ready to begin" A female voice said from behind the door and the man smirked

"Gives two minutes, please" Mr. Shaw ordered and turn to look at the boy in the room "You're going to be great Naruto I promise, you will accomplish all of our goals and will make people see the light," The man said cryptically and started to open the door and as soon as the door opened fully the younger Nate kicked the knee of the man and bolted out of the room

He ran through the hallways heading towards the exit but stopped as he saw several guards carrying bodies in duffle bags, he stopped and decided to follow them hoping to find his friends

He saw the soldiers entering a room and he entered behind them and saw how his dead friends were being tossed into the cremation fire without a care

"No" the younger Nate whispered as he fell to the ground with tears in his eyes and he broke down "No, no, no," Nate said repeatedly but stopped when he fell someone putting a taser on his back

"Fucking brat," Mr. Shaw said as the younger Nate started to fade because of the pain "I will not let you throw all the work I have put on for all these years just because you are a fucking crybaby," The man said as he grabbed the right arm of the child and started to drag him away "You're my ticket to entered the light and after today you won't question anything else," the man said as the entered a hallway and two guards were guarding a big hangar door, they opened and Nate could only see the darkness inside of that room "You will become our perfect soldier, be fucking glad brat," the man said as he threw the younger teen into the room

The younger Nate blinked as he only could see darkness around him, he manage to stand up but instead of the younger Nate, the present form of Nate, the seventeen-year-old Nate to be exactly rose in that location and started looking around in curiosity

"Where in the actual fuck am I?" Nate whispered out loud and freak out when he heard his voice echoing in the place "Hello? Is there anybody there?" Nate asked out loud and only his echo answered him

Nate grew frustrated and started to walked through the strange location and kept calling out hoping to get an answer but didn't find any, Nate it felt like minutes before he felt something staring at him

He looked to his right and saw an enormous black wolf staring at him but what stood out was that the wolf had bright green eyes, Nate couldn't move as he felt intimidated by the wolf but then the animal lay on his stomach and Nate walked slowly towards the wolf, he put his right hand forward and when he saw that the wolf made no move to attack, he decided to pet the wolf and as soon as his hand touch the wolf's fur he felt a pain in his head

"Naruto! Help me!" A female voice rang on Nate's head and the dreamscape faded


India

Nate woke up with a gasp and fear in his eyes, he grabbed the handles of his seat in fear as he tried to get his breath under control, he looked around and saw everyone still asleep except Kaldur who looked at him in concern "Fuck, I never had a lucid nightmare like that for a long time" Nate thought as he rubbed his face, he took out his phone to check the hour "1:30 a.m. huh?" whispered out loud and stood up to head towards the exit wing of the ship "Happy Birthday to me I guess" Nate thought realizing that it was the 10th of October now technically

"Are you okay?" Kaldur asked as he had followed the blond to the exit point and Nate turned to face the young Atlantean

"Yeah, I just had a bad dream that's all," Nate said as he sighed "You aren't mad at me for keeping the mole a secret?" Nate asked in curiosity and Kaldur crossed his arms

"I was at first, but then I started thinking what would I have done in your shoes," Kaldur said, and Nate tilted his head in curiosity

"And what would you have done in my shoes?" Nate asked and the Atlantean sighed

"I don't know, to be honest," Kaldur said with a frown on his face "I would probably keep it to myself and question my decision in every turn," he said chuckling in a nervous manner

"Tell me do you regret your decision of not becoming leader of this team?" Nate asked and Kaldur shake his head

"Not even once my friend," Aqualad said and put a hand on Nate's shoulder "I know I'm de oldest but most of my life I have followed my king's orders without a question, being in this team and under your command has given me opportunities to make decisions for myself," Kaldur said and Nate smirked "I was not ready to step into the leader role then, and I still have a long way to go," the Atlantean said, and Nate nodded

"To me, you are on you're very way my friend," Nate said and then looked at the window of the ship "Back to the mole topic, answer me this, do you honestly think there's a mole on our team?" Nate asked and Kaldur think of an answer for a moment

"Well, I believe Tornado was the traitor, wasn't he?" Kaldur asked and Nate looked at him with a deadpan on his face "He wasn't? But…" Kaldur asked in shock

"Conner didn't hear the whole conversation that I had with Batman, he only heard the part of Red Tornado and in his anger, he assumed things," Nate said as he looked at the distance "My main theory is that what happen yesterday with the Reds wasn't a case of Betrayal, but an abduction one and I think Batman thinks the same" Nate said and Kaldur looked at him with a raised eyebrow

"Do you have any proof?" Kaldur asked and Nate nodded

"Yes, I was there when he touched the female robot," Nate said as he remember that moment "As soon as his finger touch the robot a red bolt went into him and his eyes changed to red instead of his usual black eyes, it's small but I think the robots had a contact reprogram on their servers that activated as soon the could touch Red Tornado" Nate explained and Kaldur's eyes winded in shock

"And even if Tornado fight them, if they could touch him, they would've taken control of him easily," Kaldur said, and Nate nodded

"We were just very unlucky to be there when it happen," Nate said with a chuckle and Kaldur sighed

"What I don't understand is where did you learn there was a traitor on our team?" The Atlantean asked and Nate frowned

"Sportsmaster told me on my mission to Taipei," Nate said and Aqualad's eyes winded "Of course, I thought he was full of bullshit, I still do," Nate said and scratched his head "He mention Santa Prisca and Bialya, both missions at the end we did things in the open I announce my presence in Bialya at the end, for fuck says, so that makes me believe there is no traitor on our team," Nate said and then turn to look at Kaldur with a look of conviction on his face "And until I'm proven otherwise, I will choose to believe in my team," Nate said and Kaldur smiled but then frowned as a thought came upon his mind

"I wonder, how will you handle this mission?" Kaldur asked and Nate looked at him in curiosity "I mean the team is not happy with you and they will probably not listen to you" the Atlantean said, and Nate mused as he think of an answer

"I want to test something, if I'm being honest," Nate said with a chuckle and Kaldur looked at him in curiosity "I want to see how they will behave when something like this happens," Nate said as he turn to looked at the distance "If things get difficult I will step up but for now, act as if you're still mad at me and follow whatever Robin and Kid flash do, my gut tells me that Artemis is going to side with M'gann and Conner will go alone, but that's just me guessing," Nate said and then a dark smirk form on his face as he took his face mask out of his pocket "I know they are angry more so than others, but I want to see if the will behave like the adults they claim to be or the children the league still sees them as, if they decide to behave like children then they will hear from me when we get back," Nate said as he dark smirk grew wider and Aqualad gulped in fear

"Go wake the others we have arrived," Nate said as he put on his facemask and he and the Atlantean went their separate ways, Nate headed towards the exit wing and waited for his team, he looked at his guns and cursed "Fuck, forty percent, I better be careful," Nate thought as he felt a sense of foreboding on him "That wolf was new to my dreams, what did it mean?" Nate thought as he heard steps behind him as Robin and Artemis stood side by side of him but didn't say a word to him "This mission is going to be a pain in the ass" Nate thought as the ship open the hatched and Robin and Artemis jumped into the jungle and Nate waited for the ship to park

"Now let's see what you will do guys," Nate thought as the team exited the ship and Nate stood next to Captain Marvel and gave an order to test the water "Turn to stealth, then we can see all the parameters of the mission" Nate ordered, and, in his head, he thought differently "Come on someone take the bait," he thought with a smirk the team couldn't see

"Parameters?" Kid flash asked with a snarl on his face as he tapped his symbol and changed his costume to black "We don't need no stinking parameters" he said, and the Robin took over

"Is a simple recon mission, we know what to do" Robin said with narrowed eyes at Nate and the blond resisted the urge to glare and glanced at Aqualad and the older boy nodded without anyone seeing as he followed the two younger boys

"Guys," Nate said but Robin wasn't having it

"I know you joined by chance, but the three of us," Robin said as he pointed at the original proteges "Started this team because the league was keeping secrets from us, I know you knew that," The boy wonder said and then Wally nodded

"Or did you forget that when you forgot to tell us about the mole" Kid Flash said with a glare on his face as the trio left the scene

"Arguing in the middle of unknown territories and a mission," Nate thought with amusement as he turn and saw Megan arguing with her face at Conner "So they decided to act like children then," Nate thought with a chuckle and heard the conversation

"I just… wanted to protect you," Conner said, and Artemis stepped up pointing at him with her bow

"Like Nate protected us?" Artemis said and narrowed her eyes at him, and Nate also narrowed his eyes at her "I'm not sure your protection or patronizing is good for our health" Artemis said bumping into Conner's shoulder and followed by Megan

"So, I guess you won't hear the parameters too, right?" Nate called out and Artemis flipped him off and Nate sighed

"Why didn't you stop them?" Conner asked in anger and Nate looked at him with a raised eyebrow "Aren't you supposed to be in charge?" he asked with anger and Nate answer him

"You tell me," Nate said with a glare on his face and Superboy scoffed and took off with a jump

"Um" Captain Marvel mused, and Nate turn to look at him "Did I miss the part where you said what the plan was?" The captain asked sarcastically and was surprised when Nate chuckle

"I planned to separate everyone and report whatever they find," Nate said and Captain Marvel's eyes winded "My team behave like children and still manage to follow my lead, I will count it as a win," Nate said out loud and the league hero chuckle nervously "Now Captain, I have a few questions if you don't mind?" Nate asked politely and the buff man nodded

"You can, I don't mind," Captain Marvel said, and Nate nodded

"Has Batman told the league about me? Especially of my powers?" Nate asked in curiosity as both men travel through the jungle

"Nope, Batman hasn't mentioned anything of you to the league, but I think he talks to Canary about you," Captain Marvel said, and Nate smirked

"Huh, interesting" Nate said as he walked through the jungle "You should know one of my passive abilities is that I can tell when someone is lying to me, it's great when I play poker," Nate said and Captain Marvel chuckled

"That seems awesome dude," Captain Marvel said, and Nate smirked knowing now that his theory was correct

"So, keeping in mind that, please answer me this last question if you might," Nate said, and Captain Marvel nodded with a big smile on his face "How old are you?" Nate asked with a hidden smirk and the smile of the captain faded

"What makes you ask that?" Captain Marvel asked in nervousness and Nate scratched his head

"I think you aren't an adult, that's why you wanted to come with us right?" Nate asked and the man gulped "Hanging with the league must be boring sometimes, so I'll ask again, how old are you?" Nate asked as he narrowed his eyes in a threatening manner

"You promise not to tell anyone?" Captain Marvel pleaded and Nate nodded

"I'll give you my word, I won't tell," Nate said, and Captain Marvel sighed

"I'm twelve years old," Captain Marvel said, and Nate whistle

"And you managed to get into the league, I'm impressed," Nate said and both men chuckle "Don't worry I will not tell anybody," Nate said and then chuckle as he thought of something "When Wally finds out about this, he is going to be so jealous" Nate though and focused back on the league member as he saw he wanted to ask something

"Can I ask you something?" Captain Marvel asked and Nate nodded

"Go ahead," Nate said as they stopped where they were, and Nate turned to look at the league hero

"What are you going to do with your team? I mean, they could get hurt" Captain Marvel said and asked, and Nate just sighed in defeat

"I know, I understand your concerns but even if robin said it the wrong way, right now the mission is a recon one," Nate said as they started to walk forward "I trust in my teammate's abilities, I know they won't get hurt, but if I see that things get out of hand I will step up," Nate said full of conviction "Wait, stop!" Nate said as he put a hand forward stopping the league hero

"What is it?" Captain Marvel asked and Nate pointed at the floor

"I think this is the place where the ex-mayor got attacked," Nate said as he and the hero looked at the footprints, and then the world started to slow down for Nate, and he could see specters of the people that had been attacked

"For what I can tell, four men were hunting some animal, I think the ex-mayor was leading the charge and then they heard a noise coming from there," Nate said as he pointed at some near bushes "When they heard the noise they turn and that's where Guerilla Gorilla was, you can see his footprints here, he surprised the hunters and he took them out easily, there is a sign of struggle, but the hunters didn't put much of a fight," Nate said as he looked at the human footprints and Captain Marvel kept silent as he looked at the young teen in wonder

"Then after he took care of them, he and another gorilla by the looks of the prints carry them away, you can see how the prints put a lot of with as they are deeper than the previous ones," Nate said, and Captain Marvel find his voice

"How did you know all of this? Jus because of the footprints?" The hero asked in wonder and Nate answered without looking at him

"I don't know, I looked at the scene, and then it was like I was there, looking at it as a movie or tv show, it felt weird," Nate said as he turn to look at the hero and Captain Marvel gasped in surprise

"Dude, what happened to your eyes?" Captain Marvel asked and Nate took out his phone and saw his reflection on it, his eyes winded in surprise as he saw his eyes with a bright green color on them, he blinked a few times and the eyes changed back to his normal blue ones

"It's nothing, just late puberty that's all" Nate joked, and Captain Marvel wanted to protest as he was still concerned for the teen, but Nate held a hand up "Did you hear that?" Nate asked as he heard some rumbling heading their way, Nate looked at the floor and saw rocks shaking and grew afraid

Captain Marvel's and Nate's eyes winded as they saw two massive elephants heading their way with some red collars around their necks, Captain Marvel didn't hesitate and jumped to stop one elephant from attacking

Nate dodge a stomp from the other elephant and try to get some space from it, but he saw his right leg was grabbed by the elephant's trunk, the elephant lifted Nate and threw him away from the scene, leaving Captain Marvel alone to face the animals

Nate landed in some bushes as they broke his fall and he groan at the pain of being thrown into the air, he stood up and shake the leaves of his body, he prepared to go back and help the league hero, but felt a presence on his left and turn to look at it

Nate turn his head to the left and he hold his breath as he saw the same massive black wolf with green eyes in his sights, he froze in shock and didn't know what to do, he stared at the wolf's eyes and swore he was being tested

He felt the wolf approving of him and he left a breath out, he noticed that, unlike the elephants he didn't have a collar on his neck, the wolf started to walk away and turn its head as if telling Nate to follow it

"Fuck, I hope you are alright Captain, sorry about this," Nate thought as he decided to follow the wolf and walked behind it, the wolf lead the teen through the jungle at a calm pace, and then it stopped at the entrance of a cave, the wolf sat on the entrance of the cave and looked at Nate

"You want me to go in there?" Nate asked the wolf, and he could swear the wolf nodded its head "Agh what the hell, what do I have to lose" Nate mumbled and entered the cave, he walked through the cave, dodging, and going through several rocks, until he got into a pond

He looked into the pond and saw there was something un the end of it, he took a breath in and dive into the pond and sawn down as he saw a secret entrance at the bottom of the pond, he went into it and then swim through a tunnel filled with water and saw the exit ahead

He kept swimming and then dove upwards as he broke the surface and gasped for air, he looked around and saw a different place altogether, he saw the place and was amazed as he saw the roof shinning with blue gems

He got out of the water and walked into the landscape, he saw ahead and saw light coming through one of the cracks, he walked forward as he saw something under the light and saw a katana in its shed, leaning in a rock pillar, he walked forward and grabbed the katana, he looked at his shed and saw it was completely black and he felt something was missing, he drew the katana out and marble on the beauty of the weapon and then as he stared at the katana he heard a voice on his head

"A sorcerer huh? Interesting" Nate heard a deep voice and his head and gasped as he saw everything turning to black and mist started surrounding his legs, he tried to move around but he find he couldn't move a muscle

"What do we have here huh?" A voice asked as Nate's eyes winded as he saw a massive dragon with red scales around his body land in front of him "It's been a while since a seen a human" the dragon spoke but Nate didn't see his lips move

"Where am I?" Nate asked as he stared at the dragon's eyes

"You're in my realm earthling, I will explain everything but first, what is your name?" the dragon asked, and Nate knew that question posed more trouble than it may seem

"My name is Nate, sir?" Nate said not knowing how to address the dragon

"Now, none of that sir please, I'm still young I mean I'm only 675 years old after all," The dragon said with a chuckle, and Nate's sweat dropped "Nate huh? It wasn't the name your creators gave you but the one you chose, and oddly enough it fits you," the red dragon said and Nate's eyes winded in fear

"How did you know that?" Nate asked in fear and the dragon chuckle

"I see everything of you child, your past, your present, and your possible futures," the dragon said, and he lay down on the floor "You're past is full of blood and it haunts you, so you run from it, hid it all away, yet a part of you keeps searching for it, why?" The dragon asked and before Nate could respond he kept talking "I mean, you made everything you could to leave Naruto behind, why do you keep searching for the people who made you like that?" The dragon asked and Nate thought of a respond

"I feel like I have to do it, for my friends back then," Nate said not fully sure of himself

"I don't know much of human behavior, but don't you think your previous friends would prefer if you moved on?" The dragon asked sarcastically, and Nate dropped his head "You know I'm right because these things I'm talking about are your feelings" The dragon said with mirk on his voice and Nate nodded

"Yes, you are right," Nate said as he lifted his head "If you can see my feeling, you know why it's not as easy as you say" Nate explained, and the dragon laughed

"It is, you know this because you already beginning to leave it behind," The red dragon said and Nate winded and realized that the being was right "You already found something else to protect, new friends, new bonds, and if your mind is not one hundred percent focused on them, the same thing that happened to your other friends will happen to your new ones," The dragon said, and Nate sighed

"I know, I know, but it's hard you know?" Nate said and he could see the dragon smiling at him "But you are right, my past will probably catch me someday, but until then I will focus on my loved ones and my present" Nate said full of conviction and then he grew a smirk on his face "So, can I ask now what is it that you want?" Nate asked with mirk on his voice

"What makes you ask that?" The red dragon asked the smile never leaving its face

"You help me bust my moral and my convictions, you send the wolf to me so that I could find you, without wanting anything?" Nate asked as his smirk grew wider "I don't buy it" he said, and the dragon laughed

"You're pretty smart, you are absolutely right youngling," The dragon said, and Nate raised an eyebrow "First, just to clear some things, the wolf, I didn't send him," the dragon said, and Nate got confused

"Wait a minute, if you didn't send it, then who did?" Nate asked in confusion and the dragon responded

"Nature works in mysterious ways young man, dangerous man have taken control of the animals in this place, maybe this jungle send you a sign so you can manage to save them" the dragon mused, and Nate nodded

"Good theory, so what was it that you wanted?" Nate asked in curiosity and the dragon stood up

"Two things, they aren't that complicated, one is that I want to fight," the dragon said, and Nate frowned in confusion "For reasons I can't tell you, my spirit will always be in that blade, and I been in this shithole for five centuries, so yeah I'm itching for a fight, so we will bond, and I will be the katana that protects you and your friends," the dragon said, and Nate smirked

"Hey if it helps me protect my teammates, I'm down, what's your second request?" Nate asked as he crossed his arms

"Help me find my brother, I will reveal more later but I sense that you're needed back in the real world," The dragon said, and Nate frowned "So we have a deal?" The dragon asked and Nate stared at the eyes of the dragon

"We have a deal," Nate said, and the dragon smirked as he let out his fangs

"Excellent" The dragon whispered as he let a stream of fire out of his mouth that surrounded Nate "I'll see you on the other side" The dragon said as the fire grew wider and Nate closed his eyes

He open them again and the first thing he saw was that he was on the outside of the cave, he glanced to his right and saw the same dark wolf staring at him curiously, he felt something in his right hand and saw he was holding the katana, it's shed had changed, instead of the basic black shed, now it was a black one with a red dragon on it, he attached the katana on his back and smirked with appreciation

"So, you want me to save the animals, right?" Nate asked the wolf and surprisingly the animal nodded "Wanna help?" he asked, and the wolf again nodded surprising the young hero even more

"Hey, eh dragon? You there?" Nate asked out loud and heard the dragon speak on his mind

"No need to talk out loud, just think what you want to say to me, and I will answer," the red dragon said, and Nate nodded "Besides we don't want people thinking you have gone crazy," The dragon said and both of them chuckle

"So, I didn't get your name," Nate said as he started to head towards, he had left Captain Marvel before, he was followed closely

"I'm sorry young man, but you are not ready to hear it," The dragon said cryptically, and Nate grew confused

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nate asked in confusion as he arrived at the place where he was attacked along with Captain Marvel

"Names to my kind mean a lot to us, so this bond needs to grow before I can tell you," The dragon said, and Nate sighed in understanding

"So, what do I call you then?" Nate said and the dragon mused

"Call me Red, for now, it seems fitting that we share nicknames after all" the dragon said with a chuckle and Nate nodded

"Okay then, Red it is" Nate as he put his focus on the scene before him "Let's see what happened to the captain," Nate thought as he started to picture the scene like earlier

"Interesting power you have there, young man," The dragon remarked, and Nate raised an eyebrow

"You can see it?" Nate asked in surprise and the dragon laughed

"I see everything you see earthling, so yeah I can see the specters too," the dragon said "But enough explaining, you have work to do," the dragon said, and Nate nodded focusing again on the real world

"So, the elephant throws me away, and Captain Marvel is left to deal with the two of them, he fights them for a while and then he accidentally breaks one of the collars that one of the elephants had" Nate mused on his head as he grabbed the broken collar

"Are they using this to control the animals?" Nate asked at the wolf, and he saw how the animal nodded "I've seen this model before, it looks like the collars they use to keep meta-human's power at bay on Belle Reve, why are they here in India?" Nate thought as he decided to figure it out later and focused on finding the league hero

"So, he realized that the collars were the issue and took care of the other elephant, then he decided to come to look for me and went that way," Nate thought as he saw the footsteps heading towards the left of the jungle

He followed the footsteps for a while and stopped when he saw that they change direction "Huh? He stopped and turned to look at the right, and then whatever he saw, he decided to follow it" Nate thought and noticed the dragon had gone silent "Hey Red, you still there?" Nate said mentally and the dragon responded

"Yeah, I'm here but I don't want to mess with your focus, so I'll just be quiet for the time being," The dragon said, and Nate nodded in appreciation

"Thanks, okay so guessing by the fur on the floor, the thing Captain Marvel followed was a tiger," Nate said mentally and continue walking forward "Hey Red, I'll probably have to make a mental link, are they going to hear you?" Nate wonder in curiosity as he followed the footprints through the jungle

"They won't don't worry, because of the bond only you can hear me, you'll have to give them permission so they can meet me, but otherwise they won't notice me" The Dragon explained, and Nate nodded

"Okay then, time to contact my team then," Nate said with a mental sigh preparing for the discussion that was about to begin "Megan, can you hear me?" Nate called out hoping the Martian girl could hear him

"I hear you Nate" M'gann responded with some bitterness on her voice as Nate saw giant bushes on his way

"I need a telepathic link with everyone, now" Nate ordered as he pass through the bushes and saw four oddly looking pillars in a square formation

"Link established," M'gann said as Nate saw in his head what happened to Captain Marvel

"Should he still be giving us orders, and should you be following them?" Artemis asked through the mental connection and Nate started to grow tense

"Guys this is not…" Nate tried to say but Kid Flash interrupted him

"Oh, great Nate's voice on my head," Wally said sarcastically "I've so missed that," he said sarcasm still on his voice

"Hey, Nate! KF, Kaldur, and I were attacked by giant vultures, 'course since we're the moles, you probably think we attacked ourselves" Robin replied in sarcasm with an upbeat tone on his voice making Nate rub his head in annoyance

"If he did, he wouldn't tell you," Artemis remarked, and Nate touched one of the pillars as he stared at the footprints in the middle of the pillars

"Superboy, are you online or sulking away?" M'gann asked over the link and she got a quick response

"Busy call later," Superboy said with a grunt on his voice as he ended the link with the others

"What gets me is how nonchalant he is about not telling us," Wally remarked with a hint of snark on his voice and Robin follow-through

"He should be chalant, way chalant, extremely chalant" Robin exclaimed, and Nate sighed as he started to grow a headache

"How are we supposed to be a team if he doesn't trust us with his secrets?" Artemis asked sarcastically without thinking of her words, as that comment started to piss off Nate

Because of the comment he grew so pissed that he started to ignore the rest of them, he was trying to get his anger under control, he looked ahead and realized that the captain had been captured and cursed

"And you'd know they'd hate it if we keep secrets from them," M'gann told Artemis via the link secretly referring to both of their boyfriends

"Not that we'd ever do that, never," Artemis said confirming the sentiments of the Martian girl

"Yeah right, unlike we wouldn't keep secrets from…"Kid flash started to complain but Nate had had enough

"Everyone shut the fuck up!" Nate screamed via the mental link, and everyone ceased the arguments "Like I tried to say, this isn't the time for this, Captain Marvel has been the capture and if we want to rescue him, we'll need to act as a team" Nate said with a glare on his face as he drew his new katana and cut in half one of the pillars

"Under your leadership?" Wally asked sarcastically and Nate put his katana on the shed again "I don't think s-" Wally was going to say but Nate interrupted him again

"This isn't up for debate!" Nate exclaimed and everyone winded at the tone he was using "You chose me to be your leader when this mission is over if you want to select a different leader, I will fucking gladly step down" Nate said as he started to follow the dragging marks on the floor "But unlit then I'm in charge, is that clear?" Nate asked and nobody could answer except one person

"Yeah, we understand, so what's the plan, Nate?" Aqualad asked making Nate stop in his tracks

"We need to get on the same page, everyone gather up at my location and we will take it from here" Nate ordered and sat on the floor to wait for his teammates

"Well, that went well I guess?" Nate wonder out loud and then realized something

"Hey Red, my back doesn't hurt anymore, did you have something to do with it?" Nate asked through the bond he had with his sword, and he heard a chuckle

"Of course, I'm surprised it took you this long to notice it," The dragon said, and Nate sighed

"Well, I had a lot on my mind," Nate said and the dragon chuckle "What did you do exactly?" Nate asked in curiosity

"A simple healing booster, besides you, were hurt by fire and I'm a dragon," Red said with a chuckle on his voice "Healing those little burns wasn't that complicated," he said

"Well, thank you," Nate said and stood ups abruptly when he heard noises from his right and his left, he drew both of his guns and pointed them at each side respectively, but relaxed when he saw his teammates revealing themselves, he saw that the wolf had grown tense at the sign of unknown people

"Calm down, this is my team," Nate said to the wolf making the team stop and grew tense when they saw the massive black wolf

"Dude, what the hell is that?" Kid flash asked in slight fear as the wolf stared at him

"A wolf, though something is different about him," Nate said and the wolf turn and glared at him when it heard the word him "I'm sorry her, she helped me and wants to help save the animals here" Nate explained and then got curious as the wolf stood up and headed towards Artemis

Nobody spoke as they stared at the wolf in fear, except Nate, he knew that it wouldn't harm anyone, the wolf stood in front of Artemis, the animal was half the size of her and leaned forward as she sniffed the young hero, she then licked the left hand of Artemis and went back to stand next to Nate

"I think she likes you," Nate said with a chuckle as he stare at the dumbstruck face of Artemis and then turn serious as he looked at Aqualad "So, you were attacked by giant vultures?" Nate asked and Kaldur nodded

"Yes, Robin thinks they were enhanced with venom, and I think that whoever is causing this, is controlling the animals with the red collars" Aqualad explained, and Nate nodded

"Yeah, same collars they use at Belle Reve, what is doing all the way here in India?" Nate asked sarcastically out loud "Well, it doesn't matter, we need to save Captain Marvel, if any animal attacks you, aim for the collars," Nate explained but didn't see anyone nodding "Let's get going then," he said as he started to follow the footprints in the ground

Sometime later

Everyone had gathered in front of a structure, hiding in some bushes, Nate had ordered them to separate as M'gann, Wally and Robin had gone to a side and the rest of them had gone to the other side

There was no sign of Superboy, and Nate hoped he was alright, he put a hand on top of the wolf to calm her down as she was growling at the building

"I'll fly over," M'gann said as she saw the same pillars that had trapped Captain Marvel

"Negative" Wally said as he put his thermal goggles on "The shield extends like a dome over the whole compound," he remarked, and Robin stared at his hollo pad

"Pylons are insulated," Robin remarked "But one good shock could cause a momentary gap," he said, and Artemis drew back her bow

"Aqualad, think could manage?" Nate asked as he looked at the Atlantean teen

"Yes, I will" Aqualad responded, and Nate nodded

"Okay, then be ready, as soon as the barrier falls, we charge in" Nate ordered, and the team tense preparing for what was about to come

Aqualad charged forward and his arms started to glow blue, he put his hands forward and managed to make a hole in the barrier, Artemis fired her shot and hit the thing that controlled the barrier, Nate saw it go down and charged ahead followed by the rested of the team, Wally ran past him and stopped near Aqualad, and they heard a noise coming from the top of the building

They all looked at the top of the building and saw a Howler monkey on top of it, the collar gave the animal a shock and the monkey started to scream, as soon as it screamed alarms began to sound around the compound as a hoard of howler monkeys started to attack the team

"Remember guys," Nate said as he hit one of the monkeys with the katana still on its cover "Try to get their collars," he said as he grabbed a monkey, that had jumped at him, by the neck and destroyed the collar with his hand

He continued this process of swatting and grabbing the monkeys by their necks as he free them in the process, he felt a presence exiting the building and turn to looked at what it was, he saw Guerrilla Gorilla throwing Megan to the floor and Wally heading to confront him

"Get your paws out of her, you dirty ape" Wally shouted in anger as he ran to attack the ape, but the animal put its chest forward and the young speedster bounce away from the ape

Nate use this momentary detraction too, uncover his katana and even though he was a few meters away from the bad guy, in a blink of an eye he was in front of him and made a slash forward

The ape reacted quickly and put its gun forward to parry and protect him from the slash, the sound of two metal invaded the ears of both opponents, the ape threw a fist at the blond, but Nate put the katana down to protect himself from the impact

But even though he protected himself from any harm, he still got sent a few meters away, he looked up and saw the gorilla firing its machine gun, Nate's eyes winded as he saw the world turning slow and he could see the trajectory of the bullets, he swings his katana around his body, making sure no one got a stray bullet and started to move forward, he got on the space of the gorilla and with a swing of his katana swat the machine gun upwards, ceasing the firing of the weapon, in the same movement, he threw a spartan kick with all his strength and sent the gorilla crashing inside the compound, breaking a wall in the process

The team gathered together and entered the compound and Wally noticed someone alongside the gorilla

"It's the brain" Wally exclaimed as he pointed at a robot with a big human brain attached to it

"Uh," Artemis remarked "We can see it's a brain dingus" she deadpanned at the speedster

"Not a brain, The Brain" Wally clarify, and the machine chuckle

"In the flesh, so to speak," he said as he turn to look at the gorilla "Mallah," The brain said and the gorilla brought forward a device, and four pillars like the ones surrounding the compound showed up and activated themselves

Nate felt gravity push him down and felt like he couldn't move, but they had a plan for this

"M'gann, Superboy, now!" Nate command mentally as Megan's eyes glow and she grabbed the device from the gorilla's hand and deactivate the trap they were in

Then a wall broke as Superboy appeared and next to him a big white wolf, but not as tall as the one Nate had bonded with, stood alongside the clone

Nate took advantage of the confusion and ran forward followed closely by the dark wolf, the canine shoot forward and bite one of the ankles of the gorilla as Nate swing his katana with all his strength, cutting the machine gun in half, he then rolled on the floor and slash as soon as he found his footing, making a dent on the backpack of the gorilla

Then Superboy and the white wolf attacked together and punched the gorilla sending him tumbling back as the rest of the team focused on The Brain

Nate and Superboy stopped and stared at each other for a moment and then they looked at the wolf of the other guy respectively, then they looked at each other back again and shared a smirk, they turned serious again when they saw the gorilla rising again

The gorilla growled at the two teens as the team and a newly freed Captain Marvel, thanks to Aqualad, started to surround the two bad guys

"Try it, I hate monkeys," Conner said with a growl and then Nate smirked darkly

"Come on, give an excuse," Nate said as he put his katana forward "Red here wants to see you bleed," he said as he smirked grew wider, the gorilla took a step forward to battle the two teens, but The Brain stopped him

"No Mallah, this won't be our waterloo," The brain said with an exaggerated French accent and then turn as he stared at the young heroes as multiple compartments started to open around its body "Au revoir mes amis," he said as a loud noise started to ring around the compound

"Get down!" Wally warned as the team, minus Superboy and Nate, took cover, Superboy because he knew he could take it and Nate didn't feel like he was in danger

The sound stopped and everything went black for a moment, a few seconds went by, and the lights turn on again

"Wait, the big weapon thing was… a light switch?" Wally asked confused and Nate chuckle

"Nice magic trick they pull there" Nate mumbled and then looked at Conner "The hell happened to you?" he asked as he noticed the state that the clone was

"I was attacked by wolves," He said simply, and Nate glanced at the white wolf "Where did you get the sword?" Conner asked as he stared at the katana on Nate's right hand

"Ah, this thing?" Nate asked as he put the katana away "Apparently she wanted to give me extra help, so I could help the animals" Nate said as he put a hand on top of the dark wolf "I'll explain more when the mission is done" he said and then Robin interrupted them

"When the mission is done?" The younger teen asked sarcastically, and Wally nodded alongside him "We already finished our mission, we just need to get the animals out of the collars and it's all done" he said as the team nodded except Kaldur who pinched his nose in frustration

"What we want to know, is everything you know about the mole and why didn't you tell us?" Wally demanded and took a step forward but then everybody started to feel cold as Nate stared at them with dead eyes, so they froze on their spot

"Explain huh? You see I don't need to explain things, to fucking children in the middle of a mission" Nate said in an even tone, and no one could find their voice "I'm sorry to break it to you Robin, but the mission ain't done, you were wrong, this isn't a simple recon mission" Nate said and Robin's eyes winded

"But Batman said" The wonder boy manage to say but Nate took the floor

"As you said, something didn't add up, after all these missions he wouldn't send us to this kind of mission without a big reason," Nate said as he stared down at the youngest of the team "So, instead of walking out of the room in anger, like some sort of grounded child, I stayed there and asked him why," Nate said, "Think really hard Robin, four people went hunting but only the ex-mayor got saved, so why are we here?" he asked the young hero and Robin's eyes winded

"We are here to look for them, aren't we?" Robin asked and Nate nodded

"Yes, Batman didn't know anything about the animals, so that was our cover, but in reality, we need to find the missing persons," Nate said as he sighed in defeat "And I don't think we are going to find them alive," Nate said as he saw the team winded in surprise

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked and Nate looked at her

"In the report about the rescue, it said that the eyes of the ex-mayor were pink" Nate explained, and Artemis froze

"Shimmer?" She asked and Nate nod his head as he crossed his arms

"Batman and I think so, but we aren't sure," Nate said and then stared at his teammates "I planned to ask you who wanted to help, make you choose because this sort of things are delicate, so I didn't want to force them unto you, but then you decided to act like children," Nate said and glared at them when he sees they wanted to protest

"I know you're mad, and I don't blame you" He continues preventing any sort of protest "But there's a time and place to complain, the fact that you decided to do it in enemy territory and the middle of the mission is disappointing," he said and some of them dropped their heads in shame

"So, we will split up, M'gann, Aqualad, Robin, and KF you are going to find every single animal and take their collars away, Captain Marvel will oversee you, but he won't help you," Nate said, and they understood "Me, Artemis and Conner will look for the hunters, but like I said I won't force you to it so if any of you two don't want too," he said as he stared at the two mention teens

"I'll help you," Conner said with a looked of conviction, and Artemis nodded signaling she was staying too

"Fine then, so everyone has their jobs, let's get started then" Nate ordered as the ones who were going to liberate the animals left the compound "You two, search this building, see if anything seems out of the ordinary" he ordered the two teens and they got to work

They went their separate ways and searched the building, Nate was going through the computers to see if he could find any information, but the computers were heavily encrypted and it would take a while to decode them, he continue anyway until he felt a tug on his shirt, he looks back and saw the black wolf holding something on her mouth

"What did you find girl?" Nate said as he grabbed the book that the wolf had in its mouth "A journal huh? Wait a minute, this is exactly like the one in Bialya" Nate thought as his eyes winded in surprise "Where did you find this?" Nate asked the wolf and the animal started walking to a part of the building

"Conner, Artemis, I think I found something," Nate said via the mental link and the two of them responded in understanding "Meet me where they had Captain Marvel on" he ordered and waited for them to show

The two other teens showed up and Nate nodded at them "Did you find anything?" he asked the two young heroes, and they shook their heads "Well, the wolf, I need to give her a name, find this and she lead me here," he said as he crouched down and took out the carpet on the floor

"A secret entrance? Classy" Artemis remarked as she saw a door to a hangar with a code on it, "I think is coded, think you could figure it out?" she asked Nate and he scratched his chin

"I can but it would take me a while," He said and then glanced at Superboy with a smirk "I have a better idea," he said as he signal Conner to break the door, Superboy grabbed the handle of the door and pull it with all his strength, breaking the door in the process and revealing a staircase

"Well then, who wants to go first?" Nate asked out loud and the other two stared at him "Figures" he said as he started to go down the staircase "shit, does anyone of you has a flashlight?" Nate asked and Artemis give him one

"Here, I keep some of them in my pouch, just in case," she said as she handed one flashlight to each boy

"Thanks," Nate said as he turned on the flashlight and pointed it forward, looking at the stairs "This place is so creepy," Nate said trying to light up the mood

"No shit," Conner said from behind him "It feels like I'm being watched or something like that," he said as they finished walking the stair and faced another door, Nate pushed it forward and immediately the smell of rotten corpses invaded his noses trills

"Jesus fucking Christ" Nate said as he put a hand over his nose to stop the smell, "I think we found them" he managed to say as he stared at the hangar that looked like a prison

"What the hell is this place?" Artemis asked in disgust as she stared at the different cells covered in blood

"I think they tortured them, maybe to see how the shimmer handle their resistance?" He asked not fully sure of himself

"I know this fucked up, but I don't see any bodies," Conner remarked, and Nate glanced forward as he saw another door at the end of the hallway

"Think they are there?" Nate question as he pointed to the door

"Only one way to find out I guess," Artemis said, and Nate nodded as he opened the door, revealing a monitoring room and in front of it was an arena filled with blood and body parts

"The hell happened here?" Conner asked as they stared at the carnage in front of them and Nate saw that there was a video recording in front of him

"They erased the recordings and took out the tapes, dammit," Nate said as he saw there was nothing to salvage here

"Wait, look!" Artemis exclaimed as she saw a man with all his body parts on him covered in blood with swords impaled on his body "Why is he the only one not dismember?" she asked in curiosity and Superboy heard a faint sound

"Wait guys I think he's alive," Conner said and the other two looked at him in curiosity

"What do you mean?" Nate asked as the young clone stared at the man

"I hear a faint heartbeat," he said and Nate's and Artemis's eyes winded in surprise

"Shit will have to go there, be ready for anything just in case," Nate said as he opened one of the doors that lead to the arena, they ran towards the injured man and Nate put a hand on the shoulder of the man "Sir, can you hear me? Are you alright?" he asked in concern as he saw the state of the man

"w-What? W-who are…you?" The man said between coughs and a broken voice

"We are a group of young heroes sir," Nate said, and Conner and Artemis let him talk as they were too shocked by the state of the man to think clearly "We heard of the ex-mayor attacked and came here to check it out, what happened?" Nate asked the man his hand still on the shoulder of the older male

"The ex-mayor huh?" The man said with a light chuckle "I wasn't supposed to be on this hellhole of a trip" He said with strength and started to cough blood "But they offered me money so that I could afford my daughter's tuition, and I took it, I should've known better" The man said, and Nate glanced at the wounds and the placement of the swords

"What's your name, sir?" Nate asked as he put his hand down

"Ethan, my name's Ethan Johnson," The man said and then saw the eyes of the blond teen "I'm not going to make it am I?" Ethan asked and Nate looked at the man's eyes directly

"In all honestly Ethan, it doesn't look good for you," Nate said making the other two heroes look at the floor in frustration

"What… are my options?" Ethan asked in a shallow breath

"I see this going two ways, sir," Nate said, and the man nodded at him allowing the teen to continue "The attack of the ex-mayor happened two weeks ago approximately, it's surprising you lasted this long but I have a theory explaining why, did they gave you a strange pink liquid?" he asked, and the man nodded

"Yes," Ethan managed to say as Nate notice a faint glow of pink in the man's eyes

"It's called shimmer, I think it aloud you to survive this long, but it's fading, isn't it?" Nate asked sarcastically but the man still answered

"Yes, two days ago I started to feel weaker" Ethan explained, and Nate nodded in understanding "So again… What are my options?" Ethan asked and coughed again, this time letting out blood

"We can try and save you, me and Superboy get you to our ship and fly you to the nearest hospital, and hope you survive," Nate said, and the man could tell Nate didn't think he would make it

"You don't like that option, why?" The man said in defeat and Nate sighed

"Because of the drug, one of its side effects is that it destroys your insides and make your immune system useless," Nate said as he looked at the wounds "As soon as they pull out the swords, you will go into cardiac arrest, and in three to eight minutes you will die, I'm sorry," Nate said as he put a hand on the right shoulder of the man "And your body will be too weak to handle any procedures the doctors put you through," Nate said and Ethan sighed and looked down

"What's option number two?" Ethan asked in a defeated tone

"I'll grant you a favor, anything you want I'll do it and I'll see it through, then I'll take one of the swords out causing the cardiac arrest to happen and I'll hold your hand, and if you want you can tell me all about your family" Nate offered and the two young heroes winded in surprise "You'll die in your terms and you will not die alone, and most certainly will not be forgotten" Nate assured the man and Ethan sighed as he thinks what outcome he wanted to go for

"Can you make sure my family is taken care of, especially my daughter's tuition?" Ethan pleaded and Nate nodded

"I'll guarantee you, your daughter will go to any school she wants," Nate said as he grabbed the right hand of the older man

"Then I'll go with option 2, do what you must kid," Ethan said, and Nate gripped his hand "And can you bury me in the jungle? I don't want them to see me as this" Ethan pleaded

"Are you sure sir? There's no turning back" Nate warned, and the man nodded "You two can go if you want, you don't have to see it" He offered his two teammates but both of them shook their heads

"As you said, he won't die alone," Artemis said, and Conner nodded feeling the same way

"Okay then, sir tell me how old is your daughter?" Nate said as he grabbed the sword closest to the man's heart

"She is fifteen, one year more and she's starting high school," Ethan said as he grunted because Nate had started to pull out the sword slowly "She grew so fast, and also my wife's pregnant again, that's why drove me forward to take this job, I wanted to provide for them, even though she told me not to," Ethan said as he started to let tears out of his eyes and Nate grabbed the males body so he could lay the man on his back

"What's your daughter's name?" Nate asked as he lay the man on the floor, his hand still holding the older man's hand

"Samantha," the man said and coughed some more blood

"Samantha Johnson huh? That's a beautiful name" Nate remarked as he put a hand on top of the man so he could feel his heard, ignoring the fact that it started to get some blood on it

"Yeah, her mother pick it for her, that was the deal," Ethan said with a smile on his face and tears pouring out of his eyes "If she was a girl, my wife would pick the name and if it was a boy, I would" Ethan and explained and Nate smirked

"It's a good deal sir," Nate said, "Is there any message you want me to give them?" Nate asked him and Ethan thought for a second

"Can you tell them I love them? And that I'm sorry for not coming back, and that I'll miss them and tell them not to worry?" The man pleaded and Nate nodded

"I will let them know sir," Nate said, and the man sighed

"Can I ask, how old are you?" Ethan asked and Nate nodded

"Its no problem, actually I turn eighteen today," Nate said and the man chuckle

"Helping a man die on your birthday, holy shit kid," the man said with a broken laugh

"Well last time I almost beat a man to death so I guess you can call it, progress," Nate said and both men laugh at than and the man stared coughing blood

"I'm going to miss my wife so much, man…" The man said and starting coughing brutally

"What's her name?" Nate asked and Ethan glanced at him

"Tracy, she is a real beauty I tell you, do you have someone like that in your life?" Ethan asked and before Nate could inquire what he meant, the man continue "Someone you like or love?" Ethan asked and Nate nodded

"Yes, I have a girlfriend, and I like her very much," Nate said, and the man glanced at the blond girl in the room

"Is it her?" The man asked in curiosity

"Yes," Nate said simply, and the man smiled as he started to fade away

"She's very pretty," Ethan said and Nate chuckle

"I know, I'm a very lucky man," Nate said, and Artemis smiled when he said that

"Yes, you are, I felt the same when I met Tracy," Ethan said as his breath started to sound more forced "Oh Tracy, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I love you," Ethan said as he drew his lath breath

Nate leaned on the man's chest and checked for a heartbeat, when he didn't find any, he sighed and let go of the man's hand

"You were a great man Ethan, go and be one with the gods" Nate whispered as he closed the man's eyes

"What do we do know?" Conner asked as both he and Artemis had tears on their eyes

"Help me take the swords out, and then we will bury him somewhere on the jungle," Nate said as he and Conner started to take the swords out of the body of Ethan

"What do we tell the others?" Artemis asked Nate and the blond sighed

"I'll tell everything on the report, now let's focus on this, I want to leave this jungle as soon as possible" Nate said as the two boys kept taking out the swords "Can you look for a shovel, in this place, there should be one in the monitoring room," Nate said, and Artemis nodded as she stood up and ran towards the monitoring room

"You, okay?" Conner asked in concern as he stared at his brother

"Yeah, I've seen a lot of dead people in my lifetime, I guess I'm just numb to it now," Nate said, and Conner sighed

"That's fucked up," Conner said and Nate chuckled "Are you going to tell me about your life sometime?" Conner asked and Nate nodded

"Yeah, I was planning to do it after the mission, I'm telling you, Artemis and M'gann," Nate said and Superboy's eyes winded "Although Artemis already knows some of it," Nate said with a chuckle

"Why just the three of us, and not the whole team?" Conner asked and Nate sighed as they finished taking out the swords

"Because even though I think they're cool and everything," Nate said as he crouched down and picked up the dead man and put him on his shoulders "I don't fully trust them yet with my past," Nate said, and Conner nodded in understanding as the walked towards the monitoring room


Sometime later

The trio had finished burying the man in the middle of the jungle and Nate had shared some words, he also had searched the man's pockets for a wallet, as he forgot to ask him where he lived, he find the man's id and knew that he lived in Gotham, Artemis had cried on Nate's chest for a while and meanwhile, Nate and Superboy stared at the spot where Ethan was buried with sadness on their eyes

"Are you okay?" Nate asked in concern at Artemis, as the trio walked towards where the ship was, and behind them the wolfs were following them

"Yeah, it's just that is not fair you know," Artemis said, and Nate put a hand on her shoulder

"We will get the ones who did this, I promise," Nate said, and Artemis nodded, and the trio could see the ship ahead of them

"Happy birthday Nate, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," Artemis said, and Nate shook his head

"It's fine, don't worry about it" Nate reassured his girlfriend and Conner also wished him a happy birthday

"Are you still going to do your tradition?" Artemis asked and Nate stopped before they could get close to the others

"Yes, and also want to take advantage of it to talk to you, M'gann and Conner," he said as the two teens focused on him "I'm going to tell you about myself, about my past specifically," he said and Artemis's eyes winded

"You sure?" She asked and Nate nodded

"I'll explain my reasons to you then, okay?" Nate asked rhetorically and Artemis nodded and kept walking forward

"Hey, guys! Looked at this" Wally said as he showed them the guerilla hat that the gorilla had "One word: souvenir" Wally said and put it on his head

"Two words: gorilla's lice" Artemis didn't miss the remark and walked past the speedster

"Huh?" Wally asked in confusion and Nate shook his head and also walked past him, he sat on the ramp of the ship as he stared at the dark wolf

"You know, the animals are safe now, you can leave now," Nate said, and the wolf sat on the ground his intentions were clear, she was following Nate "You want to join me huh? I probably should give you a name" Nate mused, and Artemis chuckled next to him

"So, you're keeping her?" Artemis asked and Nate nodded

"Yeah, although I don't think I have a say in the matter," Nate said as he stared at the eyes of the wolf

"What are you going to name her?" Artemis asked and Nate had an idea

"Ciri," Nate said, and Artemis looked at him in curiosity

"Like in the Witcher 3?" she asked, and Nate chalked nervously

"Yeah, her reminds me of that character," Nate said, and the dark wolf barked in appreciation "She likes it," Nate said with a chuckle as he pets the wolf now known as Ciri

"So, I'm guessing we're both keeping them?" Conner asked as he tow was petting his wolf

"I guess we are" Nate replied and then Robin took a step forward

"Look I need to know why did you keep the mole-intel a secret?" Robin asked carefully and Nate sighed

"Not here, I'll explain on the ship, I want to get out of this jungle ASAP," he said as he stood up and walked towards the inside of the ship but stopped when Captain Marvel grabbed his attention

"Well then here's my stop, I'll see you guys tomorrow," Captain Marvel said as he prepared to fly off

"Not coming back with us?" Nate asked curiously and then he smirked "Got a curfew or something?" Nate asked sarcastically and Captain Marvel froze for a second

"Nah, I have patrol today so I should get going," The hero said as he flew off into the sky

"What a weird man" Nate said out loud as he stared at the retrieving form of the hero and then walked into the ship, he took a seat in one of the chairs on the front, and Artemis took a seat next to him on his left, Ciri decided to lay between the two teens as the other teens took their respective seats

"You know what time is it?" Artemis asked Nate and yawned "I'm tired as hell" she exclaimed as the bioship lift itself

"Four twenty-five in the morning," Nate said as he stared at his phone "Can't believe all of that happened in two hours," Nate said with a sigh and then Robin spoke up

"So, the mole thing?" Robin asked and all the team looked at Nate

"It was on my solo mission to Taipei, I fought Sportsmaster, and Red Arrow fought Cheshire" Nate recalled that mission "As I was kicking that man's ass, he mention Santa Prisca and Bialya, saying he had a source on the inside" Nate explained and everyone's eyes winded in shock

"Sportsmaster told you that?" Artemis asked in shock and Nate nodded "You cannot trust him!" she said with a snap

"I didn't," Nate said making all of them grow quiet "in Santa Prisca and Bialya we weren't silent enough in our actions, so anybody could know we were there, that's one of the reasons I didn't trust him," he said, and Wally asked him something

"What's the other reasons?" The speedster asked and Nate looked at them with a smile

"Well, I trust you, and I don't trust him," Nate said "Its as simple as that, I chose to not say anything because I didn't see the point on causing a rift of mistrust between us" he explained, and Robin dropped his head in shame

"And by the way that we acted, that almost happened," Robin said as he realized Nates thought of process "And then you also had to consider it might be true," he said, and Nate nodded

"It's a possibility, that I'm choosing to ignore," Nate said, and Robin looked at him in confusion

"Why?" Robin asked in curiosity

"Because you are my friends, and I'll choose to believe in you until I'm proven wrong," Nate said with a smile on his face, and everyone smiled and relaxed "I'm still ready to step down if that's what you want," Nate said and then Wally smirked

"All in favor of keeping Nate as our leader?" Wally asked as he raised his hand and everybody mimic his actions

Nate smiled and nodded in appreciation and the turn to look at M'gann who was piloting the ship "M'gann, I need you to change course" Nate said, and the Martian girl looked at him in confusion

"We aren't going to the cave?" She asked as the team looked at ate curiously except Artemis and Conner who went silent

"Yes, but we are going to take a little detour," Nate said as he took out Ethan's id and looked at his address

"Where are we going?" M'gann asked

"Gotham" Nate said simply "It's going to be a long ride guys I suggest you take a nap," he said and then Aqualad asked him something

"What is this about?" the Atlantean asked in concern and Nate glanced at him

"Something I need to do, I will explain everything when I give the report," Nate said as he leaned back and close his eyes and drift into the land of dreams


Sometime later

"Nate, we're here," M'gann said on a mental link she had created between the two of them, Nate woke up and looked around seeing everyone asleep "Should I wake everyone?" she asked, and Nate shook his head

"Nah, let them rest for a while," Nate said as he stood ups started stretching, he put his katana and guns on the seat as he didn't want to come across as intimidating to Ethan's family "Park in the roof and leave the ship in camo mode," Nate said and M'gann did that as he walked towards the exit of the ship

"Good luck," M'gann said even if she didn't know what Nate was going to do

"Thanks, and cut off the link M'gann" Nate ordered as he exited the ship and walk towards the entrance of the building

He walked down the stairs towards the number of the department that was on the id and when he got there, he grew nervous, he put out his facemask and ring the doorbell as he waited for someone to open the door

"Coming!" A female shouted from behind the door as Nate heard it being unlocked, the door opened revealing an early 30's woman with signs of a pregnant stomach "Hi there, can I help you with something?" The woman asked and Nate nodded

"Yes, are Mrs. Johnson?" Nate asked and the woman nodded

"Yes, I am, what's this about?" She asked as concern started to appear on her face

"This is about your husband ma'am, can I come in?" Nate asked politely "This isn't a conversation for the hallway," Nate said, and the woman nodded

"Yes, of course, come on in," The woman said as she stepped out of the way and lead Nate to the living room

"Your husband's a big fan of nature?" Nate asked as he saw the photos of Ethan on safaris and going on trips

"Yeah, he always said that nature calms him down," The woman said as both of them took a seat across from each other "Are you a hero or something?" The woman asked and Nate nodded

"Yeah, I am part of a team of young heroes supervised by the justice league," Nate said and then he crossed his arms "We were sent to India to investigate the attack of the ex-mayor" he explained and Tracy's eyes winded

"Did you find my husband?" Tracy asked in desperation "Is he alright?" she asked

"We did yes, I'm sorry ma'am," Nate said with all the sympathy he could manage as the woman in front of him started to let out tears

"No, no please tell me he isn't dead," Tracy said while sobbing "It can't be true, your lying" Tracy exclaimed, and Nate stood up and took a seat next to her and grabbed her hand

"I'm sorry ma'am but he's gone," Nate said as the woman fell on his chest and started sobbing

It took a few minutes before the woman manage to get herself under control and then settle herself back "How did he…?" Tracy asked and Nate sighed

"Are you sure ma'am?" Nate asked not sure she could handle knowing

"Please, I wish to know" She pleaded, and the blond teen nodded

"We found him in an arena" Nate started explaining his story and hoping he could manage to empathize enough with the older woman


Sometime later

"Are you sure you will be alright ma'am?" Nate asked as he exited the apartment and the woman put a hand on the door

"I'll be alright, you telling me everything helped," Tracy said, and Nate nodded

"Well, if you need anything, you have my phone number," Nate said as the older woman nodded "Trust me, ma'am, I know things may seem awful now, but they will get better," he said, and the woman gave him a small smile

"I hope you're right," Tracy said as she went and hugged Nate "You're a good kid, take care of yourself," she said as she went inside her apartment and close the door

Nate stared at the door for a few seconds and then sighed as felt tired, he walked towards the stairs and headed towards the roof of the building

He entered the roof and saw Artemis waiting for him at the entrance of the ship

"Hey," she said as she stood up and faced Nate

"Hey" Nate responded as they hold hands for a moment

"How did it go?" Artemis asked as she put her arms around his waist and hugged him

"It went better than I expect it, she is a strong woman," he said as he embraced his girlfriend

"Are you okay?" She asked and looked at his face

"I'm tired, but other than that I'm fine," Nate said as he rubbed the cack of Artemis "Like I told Conner, after all these years, I'm just numb to this sort of shit," he said, and Artemis buried her face on his neck "How are you holding on?" he asked in concern and heard Artemis sighing

"I see his face, every time I close my eyes," She said, and Nate nodded "I hate the fact that we got there too late," she said, and Nate sighed

"It comes with the job, the worst part of this is that you have to deal with the fact that can't save everyone," Nate said, and he felt Artemis tighten her hold

"So, what are we supposed to do then?" She asked not lifting her head from Nate's neck

"We save those we can, for the ones we couldn't," Nate said staring at the ship in conviction "We owe them that much," he said and let Artemis sob on his neck


Mount Justice Sometime later

"Where's Captain Marvel?" Batman asked when the team had entered the debriefing room

"He left, something about patrolling, I don't know" Nate explained, and Batman sighed as he pinched his nose in annoyance

"Okay, then please report" Batman ordered, and Nate glanced at Kaldur

"Kaldur can you?" Nate asked and the Atlantean nodded taking a step forward

Nate block out the conversation before him as he took out the man's wallet and stared at the id of Ethan, he then felt someone staring at him and turn to his left where he saw Artemis giving him a concern looked, he smiled to signal he was fine and turn his focus back again on the report

"So, after we split up me, Robin, Miss M, Kid Flash, and Captain Marvel liberate all animals from their collars," Kaldur said as he took a step back and Nate sighed and took a step forward

"We were right, weren't we?" Batman said and Nate nodded

"Just like Bialya, they had a center where they tested and made experiments on people with shimmer, it all in here," Nate said as he took out the journal Ciri had found and tossed it to Batman

"And the hunters?" Batman asked as he catches the journal

"Well, there wasn't anything left of them, only one of them was alive when we got there," Nate said as he passed Batman the id "This Ethan Johnson, he was a retired tracker of animals and the ex-mayor hired him to track a tiger, sadly he's no longer with us," Nate said

"What happened to him?" Batman said and Nate sighed

"We found him with multiple swords encrusted on his body" Nate explained and the part of the team who wasn't there winded in surprise

"Then what did you do?" Batman asked and looking at the eyes of the teen he knew his answer

"I told him his options, he wasn't going to make it, so he decided to go out on his terms," Nate said and then took a moment before continuing "And I help him," Nate said, and Batman narrowed his eyes

"So, you killed him?" Batman said without any judgment and Nate sighed

"I ease his pain, but yes I killed him," Nate said, and Batman sighed

"Conner, Artemis what do you think about this?" He asked and Nate nodded at them

"I don't know sir if I'm being honest, I froze," Conner said, and Artemis nodded signaling she felt the same "I didn't know what to do and I'm glad Nate took charge" Conner explain, and Artemis followed

"Yeah, there wasn't anything we could do there, so I'm supporting Nate's decision," Artemis said, and Batman nodded

"I told you could handle it and you did, in that sort of moment you didn't freeze, good job," Batman said, and Nate looked at him in confusion

"You aren't going to say I was wrong not to save him?" Nate asked with a raised eyebrow

"No, the hardest part of this job is the fact that we can't save everyone," Batman said and then looked at the trio that had found Mr. Johnson "If you want Canary can offer you, counsel, don't be afraid to talk to her" he offered, and the trio nodded "If that's all you're all dismissed," he said, and Nate turns to look at his team

"It's been a long two days, get some rest," Nate said, and the team nodded and went their separate ways

"Conner told me you wanted to talk to us?" M'gann asked as she, Conner, and Artemis had stayed in the debriefing room

"Yeah, think you could meet me at my house at 5:30 pm?" Nate asked the trio in front of him "I'll send you the address later, I need a nice nap and a hot shower right now" he mumbled as he started to walk towards the zeta tubes "Come on Ciri, let's go home" Nate said as the dark wolf followed him to the exit


Nate's House sometime later

"Seems like your having fun" Nate exclaimed out loud as he saw Ciri running around his backyard, he looked to his right where he had a cooler with beer on it "Markus send them for my birthday huh? How the hell did he figure out my address?" Nate thought with a chuckle as he heard the doorbell ringing

"Coming!" Nate exclaimed as he stood up from the back porch and went towards the front entrance, he got there and opened the door reveling Artemis waiting outside

"Hey," Artemis said, and Nate stared at her outfit, she wore black jeans and black boots and on top, she wore a white shirt and a dark leather jacket

"Hey, there," Nate said as he grabbed her hand and went for a kiss

It lasted half a minute before they separated to grab air, they stared at each other's eyes for a while, and then Nate smirked

"Is this the sort of welcoming I will get every time I see you?" Artemis asked in a cheeky voice and Nate mused

"Maybe, but I don't know if you could handle it," Nate said mimicking her cheeky voice and she punch his arm playfully his arm "Come on, let's go on the back and wait for the others," Nate said as he leads her towards the backyard, his hand still holding his

"You're a bit early, everything alright?" He asked her as they took a seat on the couches in the back porch

"Yeah, I just wanted to apologize," Artemis said as she put her head on his shoulder and Nate wrapped an arm around her

"Apologize? For what?" Nate asked her in curiosity with a raised eyebrow

"I slapped you," Artemis said, and Nate remembered that "I was angry and blew things out of proportions," she said and Nate chuckle

"It's fine Art, but can I ask a question?" Nate asked and Artemis looked at him and nodded "Why did you get angry specifically?" Nate asked and when he saw that Artemis had a look of confusion, so he decided to explain himself

"I mean, like Wally and Robin were mad because I didn't tell them, Conner was mad because he saw M'gann being hurt and put the blame on me, Kaldur wasn't mad, he just wanted to know my thought process and M'gann got angry because Conner treated her like a fragile person," Nate said as he explains everyone's reasons "And I got a feeling that part of your reasons has to do with our relationship" Nate explained, and Artemis dropped her head

"That day, I told you a lot about my life," Artemis said as she stared at the distance "Even though you already knew, I trust you enough to tell you that, and when Conner revealed that you knew there was a traitor on the team," Artemis said as she took a moment to compose herself "I just felt like you didn't trust me, and suddenly I felt like I wasn't good enough to be trusted," She said as she turns and looks at Nate put his arms around her

"Look, I was wrong in holding that information to you," Nate said as he stared at her eyes "And you will always have my trust, no matter what, as a matter of fact, I want to make a promise between the both of us," he said, and Artemis looked at him curiously

"What promise?" Artemis said and Nate grabbed both of her hands

"From this day on," Nate said as he stared fully at her eyes "No more secrets, no more half-truths, and definitely no lies between the two of us," Nate said, "Even if we keep things from the team, between you and me there will be no secrets, what do you think?" Nate asked her and she thought for a second

"No secrets?" she asked, and Nate nodded

"I will be fully transparent with you, no secrets," Nate said, and Artemis smiled

"Promise?" She asked hopefully

"I promise, and I won't ask you to do the same don't worry," Nate said and Artemis scoff

"And live with the emotional toll, fuck no," She said a chuckle "I'll promise you the same, no secrets between us," she said, and Nate smiled

"Well in the interest of keeping the promise true," Nate said as he took his katana out and place it between the two of them "Put your hand on top of it, I want you to meet someone," Nate said, and Artemis put her hand on top of the blade

She felt a chill going through her back and suddenly she was in a black landscape surrounded by mist, she looked at her boyfriend in curiosity

"Nate where are we?" Artemis asked in concern, and he grabbed her hand in a comforting manner

"The katana had a sentient spirit on it" Nate explained as she looked at him fully "This is his realm" Nate explained as he looked around

"Who?" Artemis asked in confusion and then a booming voice froze her in her place

"Ah Nathaniel, what brings you here?" A voice said behind them, and Artemis turned and winded as she saw a massive red dragon staring at her "And you brought food, how kind of you" The dragon said as he showed his fangs

"Red quit scaring my girlfriend," Nate said with a glare as the dragon chuckle

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself," the dragon said as he laid on his stomach "Girlfriend huh? What's your name girl?" The dragon asked and Artemis found her voice

"a-Artemis s-sir," she said, and Nate patted her back

"Relax, he's a spirit he can't hurt you" Nate explained, and Artemis let out a breath of relief "I just wanted her to met you, Red this Artemis my girlfriend, Artemis, this is Red, my sword," Nate said with a smirk and Artemis blinked in surprise, but when she opened her eyes, she was again back in the back porch

"Amazing, isn't it?" Nate asked with a smirk on his face

"Dude, what the hell?" Artemis asked shock still on her face

"I found him in the forest and bonded with him," Nate said as he put the word out "Pretty neat, isn't it?" He askes sarcastically and Artemis sighed

"Next time you take me to meet a dragon, warm me first" She grumble and Nate chuckled and then looked at the sky as he felt something arriving in his backyard "I think our friends are here," Nate said as the bioship turn off the camouflage and reveal itself

"Nice entrance," Artemis said with a chuckle as Conner and M'gann exited the ship followed by Wolf closely, Ciri appeared in the backyard, and both wolves stared at each other for a while, and then Ciri started to run away, and Wolf followed her

"Hey, guys sorry we are late!" M'gann said and Nate noticed she had a cake on her hands "Happy birthday, Nate!" She exclaimed and Nate turn and looked at Conner curiously

"Sorry man, we were talking about the mission, and it sort of slipped," Conner said with a cheeky smile and Nate shook his head

"It's fine man, don't worry about it," Nate said as he turn to look at M'gann "thanks Megan is nice of you, but I don't like celebrating my birthday," Nate said but put a table closer to the four anyway, he wasn't letting that cake go to waste

"Why?" Megan asked in concern and Nate was going to answer but then an alarm when on his phone

He took out his phone and saw the hour marked 6 pm and sighed, he looked at his pocket and took a case of cigarettes and inside there was a lighter inside, he took a cigar out and put it on his mouth and lit it up taking a drag in the process, Megan and Conner wanted to ask why he was doing this, but Artemis stopped them

"Jesus Christ these are awful," Nate said as he look at the cigar "Happy Birthday Naruto Uzumaki," he said, and Megan asked the first question that popped on her mind

"Who's Naruto Uzumaki?" Megan asked and Nate looked at her the cigar still in his mouth

"Naruto Uzumaki is my real name, well the name my parents gave me," Nate said as the non-humans winded in surprise "I still don't know everything of my past, is all fuzzy in my head, but I can explain why my name is not Naruto anymore, and why I don't like my birthday," Nate said as he put out the cigar and leaned back on his chair

"It all started when I turn eight years old…"

End of chapter 12

And that's a wrap, so what did you think? Let me know in the reviews, and the guy who told me to give Nate the sword of Harm, I'll tell you this, it may happen, or it may not, you'll have to keep reading

I'll see you guys on the next chapter

Adios