A/N: So...Indeed.
Not beta'ed. Though I tried to read through it, there will be mistakes.
Also, fair warning - this is AU. There will be changes to events, and this will stray from canon enitrely at a point.
The room was quiet.
Despite the rows of occupied beds, concealed to him by the curtains that protected their privacy as he stood in the middle of the aisle. He could hear their breathing and their groaning as they shifted about in their sleep, but he could not sense them. The room may as well have been empty for all he could feel, the other occupant's figments constructed by his tired mind.
Yet, Naruto knew this all to be real:
He was truly in another universe.
Are you sure they don't have any chakra? He foolishly hoped for a different answer this time, even though he could feel that these people had no reserves at all, and for the annoyed grunt he received from Kurama, he understood nothing had changed from the last time.
"We aren't home," Kurama further confirmed, again, annoyed, "We know that. What we should be working towards now is figuring out if we're safe or not."
The nine-tailed fox paused audibly, and a sort of reluctance came into his tone then, "You did not hold back when you used my chakra, last you were awake..."
I was confused... I just panicked.
"An honest mistake," Kurama said placatingly, "Yet, still, a lot of people must have hurt or killed. If you're still captive to the traffickers that wanted to auction you off, I doubt they're very pleased with you. They would have put you in chains, or maybe even killed you if you were still with them."
For the first time then, Naruto reached to his neck and felt it to be unhindered by the collar that they had placed on him, So whoever saved me is either another tra... trafficking, group or...
"Another, third party."
For a moment, Naruto thought of opening one of the curtains and peeking in to see who was one of the occupants. Which, he thought, would've been a good idea, if he remembered all the faces of the people he had fallen in line with. The only face he remotely recalled was that of the girl who had been killed in front of him, and that would have been of no use because of her fate...
Naruto still wasn't recovered enough for an extended fight. His chakra reserves were still far too low, and he doubted what Kurama had massed so far wasn't anything to depend on yet. Although his body was faring a bit better than his chakra thanks to Kuramas healing, his balance was still off because of his missing arm, and he constantly had to have himself straighten to get his bearings.
I don't think we're prisoners here, he thought, taking some steps towards one of the closed curtains and gently opening it, to find a sleeping girl, who looked to be years Narutos' junior, who also did not have a collar, though he wasn't entirely sure if she even was with them when they were to be sold, The collar was meant to affect whatever abilities they thought I had and the threat they posed, and since whoever saved us removed them, they must not mean us any sort of harm. 'Cause, you know...
"That went further than I thought it would," Kurama grinned, "I'm proud of you, brat."
Naruto took a moment to throw him a middle finger in their landscape, before bringing himself back and closing the curtain.
"You're right, still. It seems unlikely that you're a prisoner here, at least not with the same people," Kurama went on after a snort, "Yet, it won't hurt to be careful. Use what little chakra you have sparingly and make a clone now to gather ninjutsu chakra in case you do need to get into a fight."
Uhhh...Have you been paying attention, furball? Naruto thought, swiping his one hand over his eyes, I only have one hand!
"You made clones in the middle of your fight with the Uchiha brat without even holding up the clone seal. One hand should suffice."
Naruto did remember that but found himself hard-pressed to say he could do it again. It had been an intense moment, even then, and he had been spurred on by fears for his life, and most of all, fears for Sasuke's own, in a different way. He hadn't even registered what he had done then. He had needed shadow clones at the moment, and then in the next, they were there, working in conjunction with him.
I need to figure out how I did that, he thought, before bringing up his left hand in a half-tiger seal, and crossing his middle finger to his index, focusing his best to use as little chakra as possible in the split.
Seconds later, in a push of smoke, stood his clone, to which he instructed to take Naruto's unoccupied hospital bed, and gather as much nature energy as possible.
Walking to the door of the room, passing the enclosed beds and the windows next to them, Naruto hoped to avoid a fight. He hoped he didn't have to worry about fighting every single individual in this universe because they wanted to sell him to someone for one reason or another. It was difficult to imagine an entire universe working and functioning off the enslavement of others, but his experience here brought up the picture.
The door to the room opened before he could reach it, and he found himself jumping back a little, ready for anything.
Though it was just a woman, in a blue top and bottom, who looked to be in just as much surprise at him, even dropping the paper-board she was carrying as she gasped.
A long, drawn-out silence spread between them, and she visibly grew nervous with his defensive posture, though she had yet to adopt one of her own.
"You - You should not be out of bed," She finally said reluctantly, taking a step in, but stopping when he took one back.
"Where am I?" He asked warily.
"The Mata-Human Youth centre," she said as if that was meant to explain all to him.
"It may well be so, to someone who lives here and understands."
"And where is that?" He asked, and she looked at him strangely.
"Taos, in the state of New Mexico," her look turned into a frown, "The United States?"
"I'm not from...this place."
She nodded, "It doesn't matter where you're from, don't worry. You were saved by the Justice League from a meta-human trafficking ring," She stepped to him again, and he did not step back," Now please let me take you to bed, I'll have the counsellor come and explain everything to you later if you're well enough."
"I'd rather you explain everything to me now. I'm fine enough," He retorted, wondering if people from other universes were entirely common here, "I have a friend, who's probably as lost as I am here."
"I'm sure he's fine, and I'd like to make sure you are too."
"You don't even know who he is," Naruto frowned now, "Thanks for your concern, lady, but I'd really just like to know what's going on."
"What's this?"
Naruto turned to a dark-haired man by the door, who had a moustache that reminded Naruto so much of Octopops, that he nearly laughed.
"Director," The lady said, not taking her eyes from Naruto, "He's being difficult."
"I'm from another universe, but she doesn't want to tell what's happening here!"
The lady flushed as a bewildered expression adorned her features, but the eyes of the man next to her widened, "Another universe, you say?"
Naruto was slow to nod at the disbelieving yet intrigued expression the man held and only took note of the different accent the man's voice had.
"Impossible."
"I'm not a liar," Naruto hid the annoyance behind his voice, "If no one here wants to help, then I think I'll just leave."
"That would be stupid, Naruto."
"That won't necessary," The man said to him placatingly, "Let's go back to your bed while we compare notes? Help me understand wherever it is you're from, and I can help you understand this universe. Don't worry, nurse Jenner, I'll run the necessary tests on him."
"No tests," They had saved him, and could have done anything to him in his unconsciousness, but he did not trust them enough to have them doing things to his body just yet, "And... We do this outside."
The man looked at him anxiously then and reached into a pocket, just before one of the windows broke, drawing Naruto's intention in time to watch a dark, circular disk slide between them, the cracking of glass following it as it slowed to a stop. Momentarily curious and raising an eyebrow, he looked back up to this Director and the nurse.
The director looked to be equally as bewildered, "Qué? A hockey -"
A ripple filled the air before he even began hearing the screech that sent him to his knees. It felt as if the sides of his head had been struck, all the way to his brain. A sharp pain resonated from his ears as the sound continued to pierce the air, and his right one felt all the worse because he couldn't cover it at all, W-What the heck is this?!
"Some sort of sound wave from whatever that is!" Kurama shouted from his landscape, as Naruto's vision began to grow dizzy and his mouth began to water with his growing nausea, "Get rid of it before it puts you down!"
It was easier said than done. Just behind it, he barely registered the two people he had been conversing with were down, knocked out or beyond that, he did not know.
Gritting his teeth, he used his legs to slide himself towards, moving his hand from his ear to reach for it. His ears seemed to shatter when he got close enough to grab it and throw it back out the window it had come in from with all his strength. He could hear it still, even as it travelled away from them fast. With his ears continuing to ring, Naruto slumped to the floor.
With his healing, the ringing was quick to begin to subside and began hearing a blaring alarm from the building itself.
"Huh, I thought that would have put you out of it. You're one tough cookie."
Naruto was up again, facing the source of the voice he jumped to his feet.
It was a large, blue-eyed woman, who eyed him with a glint in her eye. A tattoo of what looked like thorns ran up her eye and extended as far as her eye. The noise of the
"I guess we better end this quick, then. Before they show up and ruin our fun."
Then, sudden as a storm, she launched herself at him with near blinding speeds, and he tried to leap away, but she managed to catch his leg and throw him through the wall with her strength and speed.
It didn't stun him enough to daze him, but it did hurt, though he still managed to catch himself in the air before he landed, sliding to a stop in an area that had some of those transports on wheels here and there, here there were no men with strange weapons guarding the place, just other people in normal clothing who seemed to run out of the building and look to the hole in the building side and to him.
"Don't be distracted, Naruto!"
Naruto shifted out of the way fast enough to avoid a streak of flames, and he managed to jump away again from the landing of the same large woman who had thrown him from what he now saw to be the upper floor of the Youth Center. Her impact shook the ground and tore at the ground on and around the spot she had leapt on.
Yet still, there were more that joined his two attackers:
A blond-haired woman with a white top was running at him, passing her tattooed friend with a raised fist. Behind her, a blond-haired man charged with her, similarly dressed with a white top, and torn pants. Though he was marginally bigger than her, inhumanly so - he looked to be bigger than even the Fourth Hokage, who Naruto always thought of being the most muscled person he knew.
They're related, still, Naruto ascertained, And slow.
Regardless, he raised his arm and dispelled the clone, and felt the sudden rejuvenation hit him when the Senjutsu chakra the clone had managed to gather replenished quite a bit of his energy, and his eyes adopted the toad-like pupils of his sage mode.
"They don't mean to kill you."
Naruto felt the lack of such intentions too.
He dodged the first punch of the girl and caught the fist of the man behind her with more stress than he could have predicted, being pushed back by the mere impact, and the continuation as the man tried to run him over. Briefly, Naruto saw the man raise his left fist to strike at his midsection, and Naruto raised his right to -
The punch connecting to his stomach did send him flying and crashing into one of the transports stationed here, feeling the sudden heat of flames enveloping him. Yet, it didn't quite hurt, and only extended into an uncomfortable tingle. The punch, however, was painful and made him clutch at it with a groan with the flames.
"You fight like you have two arms, runt," Kurama grunted, "And weakened as you are now, you're going to lose if you don't wisen your instincts, now."
"You try fighting with two your whole life and then suddenly have to fight with one," The blond glowered, walking from the flames and damaged metal to:
"We were meant to take him alive!"
"Calm yawl ass down Holocaust. Look, he's still alive "The blond-haired girl pointed to him with a grin, which only grew when her eyes fully settled, "An he's losin' his clothin' too."
Eyes widening, Naruto looked down to see that his robe - or the robe Youth Center had put on him - was burning away. He tried to douse the flames away before they spread enough to reveal more than he wanted to show. There were already burnt spots on it all over the torso, but he luckily managed to stop it all before the hem burned over his private area.
"Focus on the mission," The brown-haired woman growled, "We're running short on time."
Do you think they'll let me go get unburnt clothing? Naruto asked, his voice rising a bit, They'll be able to see it if I fight now!
His query was answered by his adversaries visibly preparing for another offensive, I miss my orange garb.
"The tattooed one looks to be their leader," Kurama put in.
I gathered as much too, Naruto nodded, trying not to think of his clothes.
"Naruto -"
I know, I Know - question, Naruto blew out a breath from his mouth and straightened as he took a slow walk towards them, and addressed their presumed leader, "Someone would only send you after me if they knew of my situation."
It seemed the logical thing. He was entirely new and would have no previously existing profile in this universe. It would make no sense for someone to have an interest enough in him unless they knew what had happened to him, and had some sort of interest in it. And if they knew of Naruto and where to find him...
"What gives you that impression?"
"Where's Sasuke?" Naruto asked, ignoring her coyness.
"Who?" The woman blinked before a scowl adorned her features.
"She's not lying. She doesn't know who he is."
"The other person from my universe," He pushed.
"There's another one?" She looked genuinely happy with the idea, "Don't worry then kid. We'll take good care of him for you."
Naruto gave her an annoyed looked, though that came more from the prospect of her lack of knowledge, and anger at himself for giving them the information of Sasukes' existence. If Sasuke was in this universe too and this woman, or whoever hired her, hadn't known of his existence before, they knew now, and doubtless would go after him in the future as they were with him now.
Naruto huffed, feeling all the more an idiot, "You should count yourself lucky you found me first. I think we've come to terms with the person he will be, but I doubt that'll make him any softer with those he sees as his enemies. Remember that if you ever think to go for him after this. You won't live past the encounter."
The last part was a bluff. He doubted Sasuke would kill them, but he was certain they would be as close to it as one could be. They didn't need to know that, though.
Though confused by his wording, she grinned, "Whatever you -"
In a heartbeat, he summoned what little energy Kurama had regenerated - combing Sage Mode with Kuramas cloak, his pupils adopting the consequential cross-like shape.
When Naruto rushed her and found himself standing in front of her, her plastered smile had not shifted at all, and her eyes still looked to be where he once stood. The rest of the group looked much the same, unsuspecting, unready, slow.
The powerful punch he hit delivered to her torso cracked and shattered the ground they all stood on before it had even sent her soaring. No grunt or scream left her lips when he hit her, and none escaped her lips as she crashed through building after building, until before clearing into an open area, and crashing away from where he could see her unconscious form.
Moving to the ledge of the crater that had spread to where they had all stood, he heard the clap of their boots as the rest of her team landed within it.
Still coated in the yellow chakra of his cloak, he regarded them seriously, "Like I told your boss, tell whoever sent you to lay off. My friend won't be as nice as I've been."
They regarded him with a measure of unsurity and confusion, seemingly entirely unaware of what had just transpired. The two blonds within the group began looking angrier than anything else, and, for a moment, Naruto was sure they were going to leap at him when the woman began to speak:
"Wha' you fuckin' -"
A resounding boom suddenly filled the air, and to Naruto's surprise, a near golden, contorting circular pocket that vaguely reminded him of Kaguyas' portals appeared below them, and they sunk into it.
And just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone.
For a long time, Naruto just frowned at their now empty space, It was a portal?
Looking up for a moment, he saw some of the others that had been leaving the Youth Centre had lingered and had strange, flashy devices in their hands, and talking excitedly whilst pointing the flash to him.
This place is weird, he thought, before blitzing to where the lady he had punched should be.
There was a trail that told him of her crash into the ground - it stretched from halfway between the mountain formations and the city to the base of one of the mountains. Yet, at the end of it, he did not find her, unconscious or otherwise.
Dropping the chakra cloak, Naruto fell to his knees, the exhaustion creeping in again as he took some breaths.
"You should have dealt with her better."
She's part of the message, Naruto breathed, straightening on his knees, I won't just kill her.
"It would have sent a stronger message."
Naruto didn't reply, because, then, he felt it.
It was beyond anything he could say he's ever felt. His ability to sense was newly-found for him and almost as old as time for Kurama, and yet somehow, he knew this hatred he sensed was beyond anything even the nine-tailed fox has ever felt, what with the Kyuubis' current resounding silence. It was like a bubble, an entity, that sought all that fragile and sturdy, all that strong and weak ego, to destroy everything that any person could love or hate.
It seemed to suddenly materialise, and then disappear for a moment, before appearing again in the direction of the Youth Centre, viler than before.
W-what is that?
"It's not human," Kurama spoke, calmly, "That much hatred would destroy a person."
Then, as if in response, it suddenly started towards them.
Naruto was quick to stand, his fist clenching at his side.
"Avoid a fight Naruto," Kurama interjected, "Its hatred seems to be pointed at everything and everyone, yet it hasn't killed the people in the city or aimed itself at its buildings. Whatever it is may not be looking for a confrontation."
It was a group of three flying people that flew towards him. At least, they all looked human.
At their head was one that looked to be the oldest, a woman that looked to be almost orange with red hair, in a purple one-piece suit that extended into short a skirt, and that exposed the top of her breasts, an image that made him flush entirely, even as they approached, with two circular green lights emitting from her hands.
To her right was a blue and black boy, whose body was a pattern of the two colours, though he had two protruding hook-shaped rods protruding from each of his shoulders. and Naruto could see what looked like blue flames emitting from his back.
To the orange woman's left was a pale girl in an indigo cloak and a leotard, and she had a purple, resonating aura that covered her entire body. And beyond that, enveloping all of them was this powerful hatred, that he now felt emanated from her. Yet... It was not hers, he soon realized when they drew close to him. It just came from her. She had her own measure of anger and hatred that he sensed from within her, but it was buried, and not something that influenced her now.
They all landed in front of him.
"Hello," The orange woman said, kindly and disarmingly, and Naruto noticed then that her eyes were green too, "I'm Starfire, of the Teen Titans. These are my...teammates, Raven and Blue Beetle."
"Oh...Hey," Naruto returned, What do I say?!
"You're usually more of an idiot than that."
Hey, that weird, angry thing makes me feel uncomfortable!
"Just let them speak, Naruto," Kurama grunted.
"Woah," Raven muttered, eyes slightly wide.
"It's okay," Starfire said placatingly, and doubtless noting his reluctant expression, and Naruto only then noting her foreign tone, "You are amongst friends. We heard that there was trouble, caused by a group that engaged you in battle?"
"Yeah," He gazed to the upturned ground, after a beat, "You aren't with them, right?
"Oh, no. Of course not. We're with the Titans, " She retorted, again mentioning the name as if it's meant to hold some sort of meaning.
"Right, of course, everyone mentions these names," he nodded, not at all knowing the significance, "So, uh, what's the Teen Titans?"
Starfire exchanged a glance with Blue Beetle, though Raven kept her eyes to his, unblinkingly, unwaveringly.
It was easy enough to return it, especially when he saw the source of the hatred on her shadowed forehead.
A/N: As some of you may tell already, this will be a mix of Young Justice and the current DCAMU. So within these bounds, I'll be mixing and creating a story where-in Naruto is part of the universe.
Changes in timelines and such.
Quite an important fight, this one was.
Have a good day!
Don't forget to review, and feel free to dm for any sort of conversation you would like to have with me within this story or beyond.