Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice.
A/N: Remember to vote if you haven't! I'll take the poll down a week after Shinobi on Board's next update and leave it up to let you all know what won then after a rotation of updates, to let the people who only read one story know as well, the Shinobi poll will go up for a rotation than the second next story poll since two stories are close to ending.
Also, I read they're revamping the site by Dec. to upgrade it to current internet standards so if you want to backup any stories you should as a person told me back in 2005 when they updated to Web 2.0 a bunch of stories got deleted due to their format not being supported anymore.
Beta: Chaos-PSD.
Chapter XLV: A Tale Of Two Sisters.
Last Time.
Naruto sighed as he stared at a red-haired fair-skinned woman. "It's just the rehearsal, Artemis…"
"You show up on time for other stuff… Like that time you came to the baths when a bunch of us were there."
"For the last time, Diana told me she was the only one there!"
"Sure she did," Artemis replied before turning to walk to the city.
"(Sigh) Why do men want to come here again?" He said before walking after her.
And then hears a yell. "Bomb!"
Naruto looked up before dashing to the city just in time to see an explosion just off of the island
Boom!
A green mist came off it as Superman flew past him. Naruto followed and saw Superman fall as he got to the mist, revealing its kryptonite. Naruto ran past and saw a rock that was destroyed. With a body imprint on it before his daughters dropped by him. "Conner?!"
Naruto glanced at the body before Meg and Donna saw it and took a step. Only for Naruto to grab them and hug them as they started to cry.
Now.
Gotham City April 17, 11:08 EDT.
"You OK?"
Naruto asked Artemis as he caught a cup that Lian knocked off the table. "Sorry," She said as she held her daughter. "My mind's somewhere else."
"Conner?" Naruto asked, dropping the glass on the table. "I know how you feel. It's weighing on me too."
"I alternate between being numb and barely managing to hold it together. I miss Conner. He was like a brother to me. And… And there are some things you can just never prepare for and... Some things you can never get over. I better leave before I start sobbing."
"Hey. Nothing wrong with sobbing." Naruto said, taking Xiang from Artemis as she picked up her purse.
"Yeah. Ah, well, it upsets Brucely." She said petting the dog on the head as he walked in.
"(Woof!)"
"You can come with me on our trip."
"I couldn't get time off from the University, Naruto." She said looking at the new picture Naruto hung up on the opposite wall of the original team with Naruto standing behind them.
Naruto sighed before remembering the last time he saw Artemis like this was when Jade left them when they were young, and then him taking Artemis to live with Zatara for a while.
Konoha April 18 09:02 AM.
Naruto and his family minus his eldest daughters, Artemis, and Jade stood in the living room of a house.
"The girls not here?"
Naruto looked to see a woman walking in from the kitchen holding a bottle of sake and a glass. She's a light-skinned woman of average height with brown eyes and straight, blonde hair. Her hair is waist-length with shoulder-length bangs framing both sides of her face, and pulled into two loose ponytails. She also has a violet rhombus mark on her forehead.
She has a slender frame and a rather large bust. She's wearing a grass-green haori with the kanji for 'gamble' written in black on the back, inside a red circle. Underneath she has a gray, kimono-style blouse, held closed by a broad, dark bluish-gray obi that matches her pants. Her blouse is closed quite low, revealing her sizable cleavage.
She's wearing open-toed, strappy black sandals with high heels and red polish on both her fingernails and toenails, and soft pink lipstick.
Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage (Fire Shadow.)
"No, Donna and Meg still need time to grieve," Naruto replied before another woman walked in holding a pig in a red vest, and a pearl necklace, and a man sat on her left side.
The woman is a fair-skinned woman of average height and slender build with black eyes and hair. Her hair is straight and shoulder-length with bangs that cover her ears and frame her face. She's wearing a long bluish-black kimono with white trimmings, held closed by a white obi, and open-toed sandals with low heels.
Shizune And Ton-Ton.
"Losing a loved one can be hard," Shizune said after Paula took the younger kids out to the backyard.
"Yeah…" Naruto sighed before looking back at Tsunade. "Why are you in my house anyways?"
"Needed a house after retiring as Hokage."
"So you take mine?"
"You only use it like one week a month," Tsunade replied before taking a swig of her drink.
"(Sigh) I'm going into town," Naruto said with a sigh before walking to the door.
Gotham City, April 18 19:22 EDT.
Artemis walked out of the hotel and got into her purple car and drove to the university she works at. As she drove she broke down about Conner and wiped her eyes as a car followed her. Later, she pulled into the parking lot for the library before walking in and passing several students.
"Evening Professor Uzumaki."
"Hey, Mrs. Uzumaki."
"Hello." Artemis nodded and walked into the building.
She then got inside the library and walked to the back. Just as the figure that followed her walked inside. And was grabbed by Arsenal before elbowing him back and jumping into a light.
And revealing she's a young African American girl with an athletic build and medium height. She has brown eyes and black hair arranged in dreadlocks. She has one helix piercing on her ears. She's wearing the Shadows uniform, with a purple bandanna on her forehead and a matching turtleneck, which is pulled up to cover her mouth, leaving only her eyes exposed and taking the shape of a ninja mask.
"Big mistake." She said before another voice spoke.
"Well, someone made one." Arrowette walked out, arrow drawn in her bow. "Drop your weapons."
"You're not taking me back." The girls said as Arsenal aimed his arm at her.
"Uh, not sure where 'back' is, but I'm not opposed to taking you there. You're sure not wanted here."
"No one asked you." The girls spoke before deflecting an arrow and threw a whip with a two-pronged hook that wrapped around Arsenal's arm and had him shoot at Arrowette.
"Watch it!" She said as the girl's whip retracted into the handle. She dodged their attacks and shot her whip out to pull a bookcase down. "We may need to take her more seriously."
"Noted," Arsenal replied, pulling a katana out and clashed with the girl.
Arrowette's eyes glowed blue as she picked an arrow from a list and had one pop out of her quiver. She shot it at the girls who sliced it and threw her whip at Arsenal. He grabbed it in his robotic arm and shocked her.
She opened her eyes and saw Artemis in her costume walk up with her bow straightening into a staff. "You followed me from my home. My home!" She said using the staff to pull the girl's mask down. "You broke the rules. Makes me want to break some rules, too. Spill."
"I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to, um, frighten you?"
"Oh, like you could ever-"
"Let her talk." Artemis interrupted Arrowette, having the girl continue.
"I-I wasn't following you to attack, and I thought these two were working for the Shadows. My name is Onyx. Onyx Adams. And I need your help. Plus, I have help to offer in exchange." Onyx explained having Artemis stare down.
"What kind of help?"
"I've defected from the League of Shadows. Specifically to warn you. Look, can I stand up?" Onyx asked, having Artemis shake her head.
"No. But I'm listening."
"Okay, fine. Cassandra Savage is on her way here. She'll claim she defected and she'll pretend to need your help, but her true intent is to become a mole on your team."
"I think I've heard this one already," Arsenal said, having Arrowette look over.
"About Red Arrow? Or Terra?"
"About Onyx, like two seconds ago." He said as she released the tension on her arrow, walked up to Onyx's head, and crouched down.
"So you want us to believe that Vandal Savage's daughter would believe that she'd ever in 50,000 years betray her father?"
"Hell would have to freeze over." Arsenal joked before they heard a voice behind him and they turned to see Cassandra walking out, left arm missing from the elbow down and the left side of her face scared.
"Well, as a matter of fact, you might want to break out your mittens. I'll only need the one, thanks."
"So this is true? You've 'defected'?" Artemis asked Cassandra who nodded.
"Yes. And I'm asking for your protection."
"I told you that's what she'd say! But I swear she's lying." Onyx said as Arsenal picked her up and held her by the shoulders. "I overheard her plotting with Lady Shiva. That is why I came!
"That's a lie," Cassandra said. "After I escaped, the Shadows must have sent Onyx to sabotage my reception with you. But if you turn me away, you're signing my death warrant."
"Our intel is that you're loyal to your father, fiercely loyal," Artemis explained as she stared at Cassandra.
"I was. Until my father killed my sister Olympia right in front of my eyes. It's been eating me up inside. Eventually, I-I realized I couldn't stay."
"Oh, tell me you're not buying this." Onyx sighed as she rolled her eyes.
"I tried to escape once before... And failed. I thought he'd kill me, but Vandal Savage doesn't believe in wasting a potential asset. So instead, he did this to teach me a lesson." She pointed at her missing arm, face, and a blind eye. "He gave me a choice between the Shadows and death. So I went back to Santa Prisca where Deathstroke and Shiva watched my every move. I had to bide my time before I could escape again."
"There was no 'first escape attempt'!" Onyx yelled from her spot. "She lost that arm on a failed mission to recruit Killer Croc."
"You witnessed that?" Artemis asked Onyx who shook her head.
"No, but…"
"Once a Shadow, always a Shadow. Or so I've heard." Artemis sighed as she closed her eyes for a second. "Neither of your stories is particularly convincing."
"But shouldn't we give them the benefit of the doubt?" Arrowette asked as she held a drawn arrow. "I mean, how can we be sure?"
"I dunno. We may need some help working this out." Arsenal spoke up as Artemis sighed.
Konoha, April 18, 11:23 AM.
Later, Naruto was at a large ramen restaurant before walking inside. He saw a group of people just inside the room.
The first is a woman with fair skin, green eyes, and pink hair that stops right above her shoulders with a partition oriented to the left that makes her purple rhombus visible in the center of her forehead. She's wearing a red sleeveless qipao top that exposes her belly button and falls to her knees. She also has light-colored pants, high heels, a red headband, and white bracelets.
Sakura Haruno.
Beside her is another woman who has fair skin, light blue eyes, and long platinum blonde hair worn in a high ponytail with bangs framing the right side of her face. She's wearing a purple high-collared blouse exposing her midriff, mesh arm warmer on her left arm, and matching apron skirt and open-toed sandals.
Ino Yamanaka.
Beside her is a man with fair skin, narrow brown eyes, and a bored expression. He has shoulder-length black hair tied in a spiky ponytail.
Shikamaru Nara.
Beside him is a man who has a rotund build and markings on his cheeks in the form of swirls. He has spiky, brown hair that's slicked back and braided with a goatee. He's wearing a green haori over chest plate armor, brown pants with a red belt, bandages around his arms, and black sandals.
Chōji Akimichi.
On the other side of the table, at the end is a woman with fair skin, dark brown eyes, and hair that's styled in two braided buns on her head with short bangs covering her forehead. She's wearing a white qipao shirt with long sleeves and red edges, a pair of loose pink pants that reach below her knees, and red sandals. She also has dangling earrings.
Ten-Ten.
Beside her is a man with round eyes, prominent lower eyelashes, and very thick eyebrows. Shiny black hair styled in a bowl cut and wearing a sleeveless jumpsuit with an orange neck warmer.
Rock Lee.
Beside him is a man that has a slightly wild appearance with slightly long brown hair and a goatee, slitted eyes, and red fang marks on his cheeks. He's wearing a flak jacket underneath an open fur coat, black fingerless gloves, gray pants reaching his calves, and sandals.
Kiba Inuzuka.
Beside him is a man with fair skin, brown hair, and wearing a flak jacket with two bug-like emblems on the neck, a full-body suit underneath, and sunglasses.
Shino Aburame.
And beside him is a woman with featureless white eyes and dark blue hair in a bob cut. She's wearing a light purple short-sleeved jacket with a long-sleeved white shirt underneath, light brown shorts, and purple open-toed boots.
Hinata Hyūga.
"Hey, guys." Naruto greeted them as he walked over and sat down.
Gotham City April 18, 19:58 EDT.
Artemis, still in her costume drove her car with her cowl down with Cassandra handcuffed to the door in the back where Arrowette was beside her.
Behind her is Will driving a blue SUV with Onyx handcuffed in the back seat with Arsenal. "Is this the best place to bring these two?" Arsenal asked Will who glanced back through the rear-view mirror.
"We don't have a lot of options. Can't take 'em to the Watchtower or the Premiere Building. I checked with Naruto about that device, and he gave his blessing. He can't make it back for several days though. If the clock tower of his winds up compromised, it's no huge loss. He did say to keep you away from the rocket launchers."
"Ha-friggin'-ha."
"He said that."
"Yeah, great."
"No, honest, he did," Will said, having the clone narrow his eyes.
"OK!"
Up in Artemis' car, Cassandra turned to address the semi-retired heroine. "I know you're Sportsmaster's daughter. You should understand my position."
Arrowette noticed a red dot moving toward Cassandra "Look out!"
She moved forward and was hit in the shoulder with a dart. "Arrowette!" Artemis yelled looking back as Arrowette pulled the dart off.
"I'm hit! Tranq dart…" She trailed off, falling against Cassandra.
"This is helpful."
Artemis stopped the car as a food truck blocked the road in front of her and the side opened to reveal Shadows with guns. The top opened to have more Shadows jump out holding swords. She fixed her cowl and hit a button on her steering wheel. Having a green handle pop up from the middle console, she grabbed it. She then pulled it up to reveal a katana. "Stay put. You're safer here."
She pushed the door open and hid behind it as the Shadows shot at her and showed the car's bulletproof. Behind her, Will glanced back at Arsenal. "The truck."
"On it."
"With minimal property damage."
"Spoilsport."
Will grabbed his clipboard and got out with Arsenal. "Let me out! I can help!" Onyx yelled from her spot only to have Arsenal close the door.
The Shadows in the truck continued firing on the car before Artemis looked up through the window and jumped back as the car door was kicked shut. She then pulled a crossbow pistol out from her lower back and shot darts at the Shadows hitting two of them. She then ran as two Shadows in the truck fired at her forcing her to hide behind the car. Arsenal got up, aimed his arm cannon at the truck, and fired a missile at it.
The Shadows jumped out just as the truck blew.
BOOM!
Noodles fell onto Will and Arsenal before Will looked at the hero. "Property damage!"
"Shadow noodle trucks don't count."
"It will if Naruto finds out that it was a ramen truck!" Will said before blocking a dart with his clipboard and looked up to a roof. "Sniper."
"On it."
"No property damage."
"Spoilsport." Arsenal sighed before running to shoot at the sniper as Artemis fought two Shadows by her car.
Another female Shadow aimed at her only for Will to hit the gun up with his clipboard, having the Shadow fire up in the air. He punched her with his fist and clipboard before knocking her out. And had another Shadow take his board and break it over his knee. "That was my favorite clipboard!" He blocked the pieces as they were thrown at him before being kicked in the chin. "Mother of Goat!"
He wiped his chin before pulling out a pen and clicked it open as the Shadow pulled his sword out of its sheath. Up ahead, Arsenal dodged darts that were shot at him. Will then blocked several swipes before punching the Shadow, having him turn. And then slammed the pen on his back. "Keep the pen. Compliments of Bowhunter Security. Our numbers are right on there."
Looking up, Will saw the female getting back up with her gun. "On second thought, I'm gonna need that back." He pulled the pen out and punched the man in the head before looking at the woman. Arsenal shocked the sniper as Will knocked the woman out and ran to his SUV.
Artemis had her sword knocked out of her hands before knocking two Shadows out by slamming their heads on the ground. And had a garrote wrapped around her throat. Cassandra grabbed the Shadow and choked him out as Artemis gasped and looked up before speaking in a rasping voice. "Thank you."
"I go through more SUVs with you people-" Will stopped as Arsenal spoke up.
"Ignoring you now." He leaned up on the roof and saw the Shadow that was shooting at them was being choked out by Onyx who used her handcuffed hands.
After they walked up to each other, Arsenal spoke to the two 'defectors'. "So, basically, both of you could have freed yourselves at any time."
Onyx nodded as she dropped her handcuffs. "Basically."
"Of course." Cassandra nodded at him.
"And escaped, too."
"Basically."
"Of course," Cassandra said before the two looked at each other
Later, in a clock tower that Naruto used during Scarecrow's attack back in 2015, Artemis locked the two up in cells Naruto had installed before going to Cassandra's room first who explained her story. "Those Shadows were after me, not Onyx. It should be obvious now she's lying."
Outside, Red Arrow watched a tape of Artemis talking to Onyx. "They attacked Savage to make her story seem truthful. But she's lying."
He looked up to see Artemis walking out of a door beside the elevator in the main room as the computer spoke. "Temporary Cells A and B secured."
Artemis looked at Terra who was in a green and black bodysuit and cowl. "Terra, you knew them both when you were a Shadow. What do you think?"
"Onyx had talent. But she wasn't bloodthirsty enough for Slade's tastes. He never thought she'd make the cut. Which would explain why she might run. But Cassandra was always a true believer. She worshiped her father. Hard to believe she'd ever betray him, the Light or the Shadows. In that world, she'd be quite the scandal."
"Um, yeah, no," Argent spoke up from her spot behind Terra. (1.)
"If I learned anything from Naruto's files, it's that no matter how hard it is to admit your dear old dad's one of the bad guys, sooner or later, you have to walk away. You know what I'm talking about."
"Some walk away," Red said, gaining Artemis' attention. "But some follow in dear old dad's footsteps. Icicle, Jr. comes to mind."
"Yes, what is that expression?" Terra asked, hand on her chin. "The falling apple does not bounce far from one's head."
"I think you're conflating genetics with gravity." Arsenal smiled before looking at the holo-screen of the two cells. "But, yeah. As the tree is bent, so grows the twig."
"Sometimes the apple doesn't even fall." Red picked up after Arsenal. "It just sits on the branch and turns rotten."
"Are we still talking about Cassandra and Onyx?" Arrowette asked, looking over. "Cause all this apple stuff has made me very confused and kinda hungry."
"Orphan, you were a Shadow, too," Artemis asked Orphan who turned to stare at her. "Should we trust Cassandra?" Orphan shook her head at that. "Onyx?" Again she got a head shake.
"They could both be moles." Red Arrow said, walking up to the screen before Arsenal smirked.
"And he's a former mole, So he'd know-Ow!"
Red Arrow elbowed Arsenal before speaking. "It's an old Cold War strategy: The bad guys send us two options, and don't care which one we trust."
"But wait, if they're both equally untrustworthy, doesn't that make them both equally trustworthy?" Arrowette asked, raising a hand to her chin.
"True." Argent mused as she glanced at Arrowette. "Both could be legit, but the Shadows got them to mistrust each other."
"Geez, kick 'em both loose and let the Shadows sort 'em out," Arsenal spoke, having Artemis shake her head.
"No. If there's even a chance one of them or both are telling the truth, we have to protect her or them. You get the idea. Everyone deserves a chance at redemption."
Gotham City, April 19, 07:15 EDT.
In a park, Jade wearing her baseball cap jogged in a black tank top, tight leggings, and shoes. She ignored some of the looks she got as her breasts bounced and sweat dripped down her midriff and onto the seal that was on her lower back.
"Thought you would only dress like that when Naruto was here."
She stopped and looked to see Artemis with Brucely sitting on a bench.
To Be Continued.
A/N: Thanks for reading and let me know of any mistakes.
Beta: Chaos-PSD.
1. Just a reminder she's an OC to take Spoiler's place due to us bringing her in early.
Sorry about Naruto's scene, gotta stretch his stuff out over these four Ch's
Remember to vote if you haven't! I'll take the poll down a week after Shinobi on Board's next update and leave it up to let you all know what won then after a rotation of updates, to let the people who only read one story know as well, the Shinobi poll will go up for a rotation than the second next story poll since two stories are close to ending.
Also, I read they're revamping the site by Dec. to upgrade it to current internet standards so if you want to backup any stories you should as a person told me back in 2005 when they updated to Web 2.0 a bunch of stories got deleted due to their format not being supported anymore.
Next to be updated will be Maelstrom Huntsman.
Nothing else to say.
Talk To You Later,
Lone Wolf Out.🐺