Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Book 2: Darkness within the Light.
Chapter IV - Infiltration.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Telepathic Speech."
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
Location/Time
Hope you enjoy this chapter and if you do, consider going over to my Pat Reon and showing some support over there. Here's the link, /Carrots123.
Monday 8th August, 09:45.
Rhode Island,
Happy Harbour,
Mount Justice.
Finishing off the last touches of his breakfast, Naruto let his spoon clatter against the ceramic bowl before moving to place it in the sink. Upon doing so, he noticed the number of other dirty bowls and plates in the sink before looking at the roster to see that it was his day today.
With a sigh, he switched on the hot water tap letting the sink fill up.
Due to him, M'gann, Superboy and Kaldur being the only ones to live in the Cave full time, except for Red Tornado. They had created the roster to help split up chores, though M'gann had insisted on always cooking, the Martian girl having a great love for the culinary arts. The other chores were split evenly between the four of them and it just so happened that today was his day to clean up the dishes.
Which was typical because for the first time in them last few days the weather was actually decent, and by decent he meant thirty-five degrees with no chance of rain. So, deciding to take a break from training for once, Naruto and the others had agreed to spend the day on the beach.
All except for Wally who had already started his school year.
'I'm honestly glad I left school when I did.' He thought in amusement, knowing full well that if he hadn't he would probably be in a similar situation as their resident speedster. While above average in some areas, mainly sports, Naruto wasn't exactly what one would call an exemplary student, which was strange considering his friendship with Barbara Gordon who was the top academic student in their year.
Naruto never really tired at school and the only reason he wasn't actually having to attend summer school constantly was because of Barbara nagging him to do his homework. So it was a good job he left school when he did because Naruto would not have had time for school work on top of being Black Mask or Maelstrom. He honestly didn't know how Barbara or Dick could do it.
"Hey, Naruto." Turning around, Naruto saw the team minus Wally all walking out to the beach clad in swimsuits. "We're off out, don't spend too much time cleaning up." Barbara teased and Naruto shook his head in amusement, his eyes temporarily trailing down her body clad in a simple red bikini.
"Please, I know how to wash dishes quickly, I've been doing it since I was eleven." He shot back and Barbara only gave him a smile before hooking arms with M'gann as the two girls rushed outside. The three boys trailing behind.
Shaking his head, Naruto turned back to the dishes and began cleaning them. Once he was done he stuck them in the dishwasher before switching it on. Back in his old apartment, Naruto could have left the dishwasher off until just before he went to bed, usually washing the entire days dirty dishes and mugs until the night.
But here, he couldn't do that.
His appetite alone was large enough that he could eat more in a single sitting than fully grown men could in a single day. Top that up with Superboy and Kaldur who had equally large appetites. It meant they had to have to very large dishwashers just for a single meal.
However, with that done, Naruto dried his hands off before walking to meet the others outside. M'gann, Kaldur, Superboy and Dick were already in the ocean messing around with the netball. Barbara on the other hand was bathing comfortably on the beach reading a book with the parasol that Kaldur had brought out dug into the ground to give her some shade.
"You know, the others are already having fun in the ocean, right?" Naruto asked as he sat down beside Barbara. "What you reading?"
Barbara tilted her book slightly to show him the cover which read Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. "Yes, I know but I'm just relaxing for a bit. When I get too warm I'll go an take a dip." Humming, Naruto fully laid back as he began to read the book with her, Barbara herself already moving the book in a way to let him read as well.
"So you're at the part where, what's her name becomes headmistress?" Barbara nodded her head turning to look at Naruto with a completely serious look upon her face.
"You've read it?" Naruto hummed in affirmation. "So you watched the film then. You know it's not the same, there are a few differences."
Snorting, Naruto gave her a mock glare. "Yes, I read the book. Is that so hard to believe?"
"Well, yes. I didn't actually know you could read."
"Ha ha." He laughed sarcastically.
"No it's a good thing, honest. I'm proud of you." She continued and Naruto looked at her in complete seriousness. It was only the little glimmer of mischievousness in his eyes that gave away his plans, but Barbara saw it too late.
"That's it!" He quickly shot to his feet, one hand pulling Barbara up by her wrist all the while Barbara cried out in shock, suddenly finding herself being carried by Naruto bridal style, the book in her hand dropping onto her towel.
"Naruto, put me down!" Naruto's didn't listen, walking steadily towards the sea and upon realising this Barbara narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't you dare." She warned, but Naruto continued to walk steadily, the smile on his face growing bigger. "Naruto, don't you dare. I'm warning you."
"Oh, really. What you gonna do about it, huh?" He questioned teasingly and Barbara tried to struggle out of his grasp. Her movements only made it easier because as soon as Naruto got into the water, he let her go. And he may or may not have nudged her a little so that when she landed, she was fully submerged underwater just as a wave crashed over her.
The act made him laugh uproariously as the soaked Barbara broke through the surface with an angry glower on her face. The one could clearly see the smile on her face. "Alright, now I'm pissed." She growled before charging to Naruto and tackled him into the water. He didn't even try to resist, letting her bring him to the ground where the two had impromptu water fight.
Just like when they were younger.
Monday 8th August, 15:00.
Rhode Island,
Happy Harbour,
Mount Justice.
"We need to talk." Looking up from where he had been sat watching TV, Naruto looked to see Batman stood firmly behind him. "The rest of you." The team, each of them laid out on the couch just enjoying the day of relaxation more after spending hours outside in the sun, looked to Batman. "Get ready."
There was no clarification just like always. Batman was a man of few words, but they had learned to deal with it and so, while the rest of the team moved to their rooms, Naruto followed behind Batman. "So, what'd you need?"
"You'll be getting a new team member." The information took Naruto a few minutes to register and when he did, he sighed in irritation. At first, this team was a mess with only him, Barbara, Kaldur, Barbara and Dick taking it seriously and actually training. Even then, Dick was hit and miss sometimes goofing off and treating it like a vacation with Wally and the rest. Not to mention there had been the whole Santa Prisca fiasco with no clear leadership and when they did, those few missions they went on afterwards usually resulted in Wally butting heads with him.
Even then, once all that got sorted out and while he had no illusions as to believe Wally actually fully liked him yet, the speedster certainly seemed willing to follow his lead and accept him as a leader. But that didn't mean they trained, the team training being practically non-existent with the same setup of people training and not training as before.
It had been irritating, but it seemed the Amazo incident had been a wake up call for everyone.
Superboy had taking his training seriously, sparring with Black Canary whenever he could and most times sparring him or Kaldur. It helped a great deal for all of them, especially for him and Kaldur who had long since learned the others fighting styles and knew what to expect.
M'gann after having been sidelined at the end, had started taking her training more seriously with the help of her uncle and under the guidance and help of Barbra, started to use her powers more imaginatively.
Wally was the outlier however, he trained more but only because the others were and when he did, it was half assed. The only time he actually put a hundred percent in was when they actually did team training. In which, Naruto had them split up into two teams, different each time and work together to aid on another in a sparring match.
And the only reason he actually tried hard in that was only to impress Barbara and M'gann.
While he didn't like that for a multitude of reasons, Naruto used this opportunity to get the team used to working together and learning how to work as a team properly. It was going pretty well, some teams worked better than others, but it was a work in progress.
"Right now?" Naruto asked irritably.
The one problem was just that, it was a work in progress. To have a new member come along now would throw everyones game off. Especially if they were a frontline fighter. That position was filled up by himself, Kaldur and Superboy, the three boys having clicked over their many sparring matches and got a good rhythm going. Dick and Barbara were close to mid-range fighters with M'gann and Wally acting as support.
"Yes." Batman responded shortly and Naruto rubbed his eyes. "Is there a problem?"
"You know there is, but you're not going to listen. Do you at least have a profile on them?" The look Batman gave Naruto was his usual one, but there was just something about it that just asked 'who do you think I am?' Seeing this, shook his head in irritation. "Are you going to show it to me because if not, I will flat-out refuse to let them on the team."
Batman raised one brow in questioning.
"You wanted me to lead this team, I'm doing just that. You want me to lead, then I need to know who I'm working with and while I like my team, there's no denying that I don't know everything about them all. But that's not by choice." Naruto explained. "So, give me the profile, or I'll refuse to take them onto the team."
There was a few moments of silence from Batman before his lips twitched upwards in a smirk. Or a least that's what it looked like to Naruto because it was as gone as soon as it appeared.
"I'll get you the profile after the mission." Batman acquiesced and while not overly happy with it, Naruto nodded his head stiffly. He knew full well that this was about as good a deal he was going to get out of Batman.
"Alright. Now, if you don't mind, I'm off to get changed." With that, Naruto turned on his heel as he walked back down the hall, passing by the other member who all took note of the prominent frown on his face. None of them brought it up though, not yet anyway.
Monday 8th August, 15:10.
Rhode Island,
Happy Harbour,
Mount Justice.
After having gotten changed and calming down, Naruto entered the main area if the cave to see the team as well, Batman, Green Arrow and another young girl no older than Wally. She was beautiful, he would admit that with blonde hair and grey eyes. Her outfit also did little to hide her toned and developing figure, but Naruto didn't really focus on that.
"Hi, I'm guessing you're the new member of our team." He walked forwards, hand extended and a friendly smile on his face. Naruto didn't like the fact that he was getting a new member at such a critical point, but he wasn't going to hold it against her. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Maelstrom's my code name."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Artemis." She greeted in turn with a smile shaking Naruto's hand. As she did, Barbara frowned as she noticed the look Artemis was giving Naruto, it was the same look she had been giving Superboy previously. And while she was fine with her looking at Superboy that way, Barbara didn't like her looking at Naruto that way.
"Is that your code name? Or your a actual name?"
Artemis smiled sheepishly. "Right, sorry. It's both."
"Your actual name is also your code name?" Naruto asked dubiously and Artemis nodded her head. "Huh, never would have guessed that."
"And that's what makes it brilliant." Dick quickly interjected. "Artemis is the Greek Goddess of Hunt so couple that with her bow and arrow and well, most like you, will expect that to be her code name. Which makes the fact its her actual name all the more ingenious." He almost sounded jealous after finishing his explanation which got a few smiles.
"Eh, yea." Artemis agreed unsurely, getting some laughter as they realised that Dick hadn't been entirely right.
"Anyway, you've met the others." Naruto continued. "Also, just to let you know, this isn't a vacation like some people thought it was." Here he pointedly looked at Superboy, M'gann and even Dick. "Training is mandatory so unless you've got a good excuse as to why, you're gonna have to train."
Hearing him say that made Barbara's smile grew and Naruto noticed this out of the corner of his eyes.
"Don't say it, I heard myself and I know exactly what I sound like. So don't say it." He warned glaring at her and Barbara made a show of zipping her lips, though the smile on her face only grew.
Sweet, naïve M'gann however didn't know what Naruto meant. "You really sounded like a teacher I saw in one of my favourite shows." This statement caused Barbara to burst out laughing and the others joined in though more subdued than her. None of them knew the full reason why, but by Barbara's reaction and Naruto's strained smile and twitching eye they could tell it was something that he didn't like. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No." Naruto grit out and M'gann just looked from him to Barbara who had at least comedy to muffling her giggles unsuccessfully behind one hand and then to the rest.
"It's alright. It's just Naruto being Naruto." Kaldur said to calm her down and Naruto was insulted to see that it actually seemed to be working. "I believe there's nothing wrong with being a teacher, I'm proud of you for shouldering such burdens. It shows you really were the best choice as leader."
"What's next? Is he going to assign us homework too?" Dick whispered not so quietly and Naruto's twitching became all the more prevalent.
Even Superboy got involved. "Maybe detentions."
"Alright that's it." Naruto three his hands in the air in surrender. "Where's the respect?"
"Respect is earned, not given." Barbara recited Naruto's favourite words that he always used to say to the teacher.
"Artemis." Spinning round, Naruto turned his back on his team and looked to the new member imploringly. "Do not ever, follow their example. They are going to be a bad influence upon you, even my second in command has no respect for me. As for the rest of you." He then turned back to the rest of the team. "I suggest you take a moment to consider your actions carefully, because you are going to regret the day you made any enemy out of me."
With that he spun on his heel and walked away. "Interesting team you've got there." Green Arrow noted as Naruto came to stand beside him and Batman.
"Stick an arrow up your ass." Instead of being offended, Green Arrow just chuckled in amusement.
"So, how exactly did you come across her?"
Meanwhile, Barbara and the rest watched Naruto walk off. "Well, that was interesting." Artemis said after a few moments of silence getting a few more giggles and chuckled from them all. "Is that normal?"
"Nah, that's pretty recent." Dick stated and Barbara shrugged.
"Naruto's starting to act more like his younger self, which is both a good thing and a bad thing." Seeing their imploring looks, Barbara clarified for them. "Naruto had a penchant for playing pranks when he was younger and he was very, very good. I would suggest sleeping with one eye open. You won't escape unscathed, but you might survive long enough for some of your dignity to remain intact."
There was a few moments in which the team considered her warning seriously before shrugging it off as Barbara teasing them. Oh if only they knew the truth.
However, before they could think on this further the Zeta-tube activated, bathing the cave in a bright light. "Recognise: Kid Flash, B-0-3." Out from it stepped Wally clad in a pair of swimming shorts and his arms filled with equipment for the beach.
"The Wall-Man is here. Now let's get this party star…"
Along the way, he tripped upon the parasol and he fell the ground, everything clattering to the floor and the beach ball bouncing between Batman and Red Tornado. The former of which did not look amused in the slightest, not that he ever did, but it was obvious from just the way he looked at Wally, that he was not amused by this sight.
"…ted?"
"The Wall-Man, huh?" Artemis asked snarking and Wally scrambled to his feet, a blush on his face. "Love the uniform. And, what are your powers?"
Seeing Wally's narrowed eyes, the others could just tell this would not be the start of a beautiful friendship.
"Uh, who's this?" Wally didn't even look at her as he asked the question, instead turning to Aqualad.
Before Naruto or anyone else could run damage control, Artemis introduced herself. "Artemis, your new teammate."
"Kid Flash, never heard of you." He shot back a cocky smirk on his face.
"Eh, she's my new protégé." Seeing that situation was quickly going south, Green Arrow stepped in, something Naruto was extremely pleased about.
"W-what happened to your old one?"
At that exact moment the Zeta-Beam activated, the automated female voice sounding throughout the cave. "Recognise. Speedy, B-0-8." Out from it stepped Roy Harper dressed in a completely different outfit to his previous one. Gone was the childish, red Robin Hood outfit and a more tactical, mature suit was in its place.
"Well for starters, he doesn't go by Speedy anymore. Call me Red Arrow." He walked forwards, taking a stop directly in the place of where Wally had face planted, they could all see the smudge of sun cream that he had left behind.
There was a moment of tense silence, Red Arrow looking out other the group as they stared back, before Green Arrow broke from his stupor. "Roy!" There was a tint of happiness at seeing his old protégé again, but there was also bemusement as well. "You look-"
"-Replaceable." Roy finished his sentence in an almost petty fashion. Naruto could actually sympathise with the guy, he knew what it felt like to be lied to and look how that turned out. However, Naruto had to share in a lot of others peoples confusion and even worry. Why was he here, now of all times?
Was he here to join?
Was he here to see Green Arrows new protégé?
Was he here to cause problems?
Naruto didn't have an answer to any of these questions and so he remained silent, cautiously watching to see what would happen.
"It's not like that." Green Arrow quickly replied, hoping to appease and make amends with his former protégé. "You told me you were going solo."
"So why waste time finding a sub? Can she even use that bow?" This time Naruto rolled his eyes, and he wasn't the only one, Barbara and Superboy sharing his sentiments. Roy had already made his intentions to go solo clear and Green Arrow allowed that. There was no rule stating that he couldn't find another protégé nor any clear time limit between what was an acceptable time to search for a new protégé.
It was obvious to them, that his words were born out of petty jealousy.
However, Artemis despite the petty words wasn't going to allow such an insult go. "Yes." She shot back, walking right up to him and staring him dead in the eye. "She can." Yet, despite her invading his personal space, Roy remained firm and unflinching, staring right back at her.
"Who are you?" Wally exclaimed, asking the question that had been on all their minds.
"I'm his/she's my niece." Green Arrow and Artemis answered in perfect timing. Both of them couldn't have looked or sounded more guilty if they tried.
"Another niece?" Dick questioned, just as disbelieving as he was.
Kaldur took a much more, diplomatic approach. Choosing to ignore the ridiculousness of their claims and instead seeking to calm the situation. "But she is not your replacement. We have always wanted you on the team and we have no quota on archers."
Wally, ever the insensitive decided to add more fuel on to the fire that Kaldur had attempted to put out. "And if you did, you'd know who we'd pick."
Seeing Artemis's frown, slightly hurt that one of her teammates was already willing to get ride of her, Naruto decided to intervene. The last thing he needed was for Wally to make things even worse of their new team lineup by making Artemis feel unwelcome. "Actually, you don't." His words were sharp and to the point, attracting attention to himself, most neutral and a few negative. Mostly from Wally and even Dick who glared at him, the former more openly than the latter.
Naruto ignored them and instead stepped out, Roy turning to look at him. His eyes trailing over Naruto's uniform and a sneering scowl appear on his face.
"While Dick, Wally and even Kaldur would choose you, that's only three people. There's still mine, Barbara's, M'gann's, Superboy's and Artemis's votes that count." He stressed the last bit to make it clear that Artemis was a member of the team. He may not like the fact that Batman sprung a new member on him with no forewarning, but Artemis was not at fault for that. At the end of the day, it was Batman's decision and as team leader, also his decision on who got to stay and leave.
His words only made Wally's frown become more pronounced, his glare more heated and even Dick didn't look too pleased. But he at least looked mollified by his words and stressing of the fact that Artemis was already a member of this team. Even Kaldur agreed, nodding his head in understanding,
"You choose to go solo and I can understand why you're angry. But that doesn't give you the right to target Artemis for something she had nothing to do with. Especially not when she's a member of my team. If you have a problem with her, then I suggest you leave."
Again, there was a tense silence as Roy grit his teeth, almost looking like he was about to argue. But his eyes flickered slightly over the looks of everyone else, yet it was when his eyes looked to Batman that he decided against it.
"Why'd you come here anyway, Roy?" Barbara asked, breaking the silence that had fallen.
Roy gave an almost unnoticeable nod to her as thanks for giving him an out. He wasn't too arrogant to see that he'd dug himself into a hole and left himself with no way out, she'd simply just given him one.
"A reason named doctor Serling Roquette."
The name sparked a moment of realisation in Robin, an eager smile coming onto his face as his wrist-mounted holographic computer activated. "Nano-robotics geniuses and claytronics expert at Royal University in Star City." Above him, a number of larger holographic screens popped up, each showing information on Serling Roquette. One such tidbit of information stuck out to them all, information Robin voiced to them all. "Vanished two weeks ago."
"Abducted two weeks ago." Roy corrected. "By the League of Shadows."
This caught all their attentions, even Naruto with his still admittedly limited information on the various criminal organisations had heard of them. Despite not being one of the most powerful threats out there, they were perhaps one of the most lethal. An organisation of highly trained assassins, the Grand Master of which had personally trained Batman who also seemed to be immortal thanks to the Lazarus Pit. Naruto would be a fool not to have read up on them.
"Woah, you want us to rescue her from the shadows?" Robin asked eagerly as he walked towards Roy like an eager child. M'gann and Wally following behind him.
"Hardcore." Wally whispered in equal excitement.
Roy however, dashed those hopes instantly. "I already rescued her." Here he walked straight past Naruto, sparing him a side eyed glare as he did so before coming to a stop by the holographic images. "Only one problem. The League of Shadows had already coerced her into creating a weapon."
Another image appeared showing a stalling robotic insect-like creatures.
"Doc calls it the Fog. It's comprised of millions of microscopic robots." Naruto and Barbara shared a short glance, the frown on her face and the other Leaguers showing him just how serious of a problem this could be. "Nanotech infiltrators. Capable of disintegrating everything in their path. Concrete. Steel. Flesh. Bone. But it's true purpose isn't destruction; it's theft."
Roy could have ended his speech there, it didn't take a genius to realise what the Fog would be used for. Any organisation would have used it for the sole purpose of gathering all sensitive information they could, the League of Shadows from their mandate would go one step further if allowed to.
"The infiltrators eat and store raw data from any computer system. And deliver the stolen intel to the Shadows." There was another tense moment of silence as the full weight of the Fog and the Shadows could do dawned on them and not for the first time either. "Providing them access to weapons, strategic defence, cutting-edge science and tech."
"Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power-broking; yea, sounds like the Shadows." Artemis finished sarcastically, again raising questions as to who she was for all of them.
"Like you know anything about the Shadows." Wally scoffed, hands on his hips at what he thought was the 'rookie' being arrogant. In a way that made Naruto like her even more, Artemis just gave him a smirk that said more than words ever could and it worked like a charm. "Who are you?!"
Seeing the situation going off on a tangent, Roy intervened and brought everyone back to the current problem. "Roquette's working on a virus that will render the Fog inert."
"But if the Shadows know she can do that?" Robin posed the question.
"Then they'll target her." Roy finished. "Right now she's off the grid. I stashed her at the local high schools computer lab." Behind him a map of the school popped up.
Naruto scoffed lightly at his actions. "A school? Like that's safe in anyway." Barbara nodded in agreement, while Superboy remained silent. Yet, Naruto wasn't the only to raise his concerns about Roy's actions.
"You left her alone?" Green Arrow asked disbelievingly.
Roy spared a glare to Naruto having overheard his snide remark before sharply responding to his former mentor. "She's safe enough for now."
"Then let's you and I keep her that way." Green Arrow continued.
"You and I? Don't you want to take your new protégé?"
Before Green Arrow could respond, Batman placed one hand on his shoulder as he stepped forwards. No words needed to be said between the two older heroes, they only sparing a short glance and it seemed that was all it took for them to understand one another perfectly.
"You brought this to the team." Green Arrow said firmly. "It's their mission, which means it's hers now two."
Roy wasn't pleased by this at all. "Tch, then my jobs done." Uncrossing his arms, Roy stalked off as the group watched him walk away.
"Recognise. Speedy-"
"That's Red Arrow, B-0-8. Update." With that said, Roy was engulfed in light before disappearing from the Cave.
"Someone's got a stick up their ass." Naruto grunted earning a smirk from Superboy. "Right, lets get this mission over and done with. Wally, stop being an asshole and get changed." The speedster in question looked ready to argue, but upon seeing Batman's calm, indifferent gaze thought better of it.
No one wanted to be on Batman's bad side.
With a huff, Wally rushed off to get change appearing as blur as he left the main area of the Cave. "Right, Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian. You're job is to secure Dr. Roquette and safely transport her here to the Cave." Kaldur indicated to his two teammates and the three of them made their way towards the Zeta-Tube.
"You're not seriously asking us to bring her to the Cave, are you?" Robin questioned, a thought shared by the others as the retrieval team led by Aqualad disappeared in a flash of light.
"No." Here Naruto turned to Barbara who nodded her head, having an idea of what he wanted. "Batgirl, Artemis, Robin you three go ahead to Gotham and find a secure location there. There, three of us will have the hometown advantage."
While still unsure, Robin nodded his head and followed after Batgirl and Artemis.
That just left Naruto, Green Arrow and Batman.
"Are you sure you can do this?" Green Arrow asked, unsure if Batman had made a mistake, this was a mission even he would find challenging, while not having much in the way of enhanced or superpowered individuals, the League of Shadows were one of the most dangerous organisations in the world, with the Fog at their disposal they would become an even greater threat. As much as Green Arrow trusted the young heroes, he didn't know if Batman had made the right decision to trust them with a mission that had so many things at stake.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "We won't know until we try." Naruto replied and Green Arrow frowned.
"You're not inspiring much confidence."
"Wasn't meant to. Can't really predict what happens on a mission, especially one as sensitive as this so we can't exactly deal in certainties." Naruto explained, a frown on his face as Wally dressed in his Kid Flash uniform arrived. "KF, take the Zeta-Beam to Gotham and get to Batgirl's location. I want you to then find the fastest and most discrete route from the Zeta-Beam to the location they've decided on."
"Gotcha." As Kid Flash moves to the Zeta-Beam, Naruto then turned to Green Arrow.
"You can be sure however, that me and my team will do everything we can to ensure that we succeed." With those words, Naruto pulled up his mask and activated his radio. "Aqualad, when you've secured Roquette, bring her back to the Cave and then wait for my signal."
Monday 8th August, 22:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
"Everyone in position?" Maelstrom asked over the radio, receiving a round of affirmatives. Looking around the computer shop, Naruto took note of Robin who was crouched down beside him, his holographic computer up showing images from nearby CCTV cameras. Up on the roof he knew was Artemis, her bow out ready just in case with Batgirl stood outside at the rear entrance.
It had taken them a while to find a proper secure location that provided both a good defensive position, with plenty of open space and also allowed them to easily spot any possible attackers. However once they had, Kid Flash along with Robin using CCTV had secured the perimeter.
At the same time, Aqualad and his team had secured Roquette and brought her back to the Cave. Naruto had decided to keep her there for now, mostly because they had checked her for possible trackers, both on her body and in her bloodstream (Naruto had learned his lesson after the incident with the Talon). They had found a few, but they had been disposed of quickly before she arrived at the Cave. However, Naruto had not been secure in the idea of protecting the Cave.
He did not know the full depth of the Shadows resources and according to Roquette the Shadows had forced her to build a personal security system into the Fog. It's main aim was to connect itself to the internet and scour every device linked to it for any sign of someone working on a virus or way that could potentially shut down the Fog.
The earlier work she had done in setting up the virus was untraceable, but as she got more and more in depth, specialising the virus to target the Fog, there was no doubt it would alert the Shadows and lead them directly to her. Naruto wasn't going to put the location of the Cave at risk and had ordered Roquette to stop and then inform him when she was getting to stage of creating the virus that would alter the Shadows to her location.
She had done so only a few seconds ago.
"Right, KF bring her in. Miss Martian link us up when you get within range. Everyone else, commence radio silence." Switching off his radio, as did everyone else, Maelstrom then focused entirely on scanning the surrounding area. He doubted the Shadows knew of their location, but he wasn't going to risk the possibility that they might do so. "Anything?"
"Nothing yet?" Robin replied, his eyes carefully checking each screen that showed the video feed of the various CCTV cameras he had linked up to. "KF will be here in a few seconds."
Nodding his head, Naruto turned to look at the rear entrance. "Right, keep your eyes on the cameras, I want to know about everything that makes a move in our general direction." Giving a short nod, Robin turned back to the cameras as Maelstrom turned and made his way to open the back door.
Less than a second after he did, Kid Flash carrying Roquette bridal burst into the room skidding slightly as he came to a stop in the centre of the electronics shop. Roquette herself looked a little uneasy, her eyes scrunched shut and her hair a mess due to the speeds she had moved at.
"Good job, take Robin's place at the front entrance." Kid Flash gave a nod before Naruto looking to Batgirl. "Swap out with Aqualad when he arrives, you'll then link up with KF." He then turned to Roquette. "Dr. Roquette, I apologise for the mode of transportation, but it was the quickest way to get you here."
It took the older blonde a few moments to recover. "T-that's okay." She stuttered, her face quickly regaining its colour as she moved hand to her windswept blonde locks and tried to straighten them out. "Are you sure this is safe?"
"More so than a school." Naruto responded, not properly answering her. He wasn't about to lie and say she would be perfectly safe because there's always a possibility that they could fail. "If you would please take a seat and begin the finishing touches of making your virus, I'd like to stop the League of Shadows before they can get their hands on anything else.
From what they knew already, the Shadows had already attacked a number of top secret labs that had been studying various things such as biological weapons, advanced weaponry and even a number of universities. They were steadily gathering a large pool of information, yet it had no set pattern. There was no one area of information they were targeting specifically.
It was like they were just gathering whatever they could with no real aim besides that.
But before he could think further on this, the rest of the team closed in on their location. "Miss Martian, join with Artemis on the roof. Aqualad take Batgirls position and guard the rear entrance. Superboy, join with me inside."
The backdoor soon opened and in stepped Batgirl followed soon after by Superboy, before it closed he caught a glimpse of Aqualad stepping into sight. "Superboy, stay with Roquette at all times. You're going to act as her shield." When Superboy looked at him questioningly, Naruto clarified. "You're unique physiology means that you're best at acting as a shield, and that's exactly what you're going to do. If anyone gets past the others, it'll be just me and you acting as a last line of defence."
Grunting, still displeased at his role but at least understanding why, Superboy did just that, moving to stand beside Roquette with his arms crossed over his chest
"Everyone, lets settle in for a long night."
Monday 8th August, 22:05.
Philadelphia,
Private Jet.
Sighing, Professor Ojo leaned back from his holographic computer, taking a short break from work at trying to structure the date the Fog had gathered. Beside him the device that held the nanotech rested, its red lights on to indicate its dormant state.
The Fog itself was a masterpiece.
The ability to gather and steal raw data from some of the most secure places in the word with barely any effort on his side. It would make information gatherers obsolete and he was just fine with that, most were untrustworthy. This however, this was the perfect piece of technology. With it, the League of Shadows had access to hundreds of secret experiments as well as information that if sold to the right people, would be worth billions.
The one problem however, was that the data the Fog gathered was not structured in anyway. There was enough data here filled with precious information that could fill entire rooms, yet it was just thrown together in one large pile. So it was left to him to organise the information into some form of structure.
And that was easier said than done.
Still, it was a task he found much simpler. While a member of the League of Shadows, Professor Ojo's skills did not lie in combat. No, his skills lay in engineering, hacking and anything to do with technology. He himself, had built the head piece that he wore at all times, the sole eye capable of firing a powerful blast of energy strong enough to destroy trucks with ease.
When Roquette – a genius that he would begrudgingly admit was superior to him – had designed the Fog, the amount of work needed to control and direct the nanites was far more than most would believe. It required more than simply pressing a button and then it was done. Control parameters had to be set each time, instructions and aims had to be clearly defined and then, only then were you capable of pressing a button and watching the nanites work.
Still, the mission was proving to be easy. The Shadows having tasked him to use the Fog to gather as much data from secure facilities all across America in the limited timeframe of a day. The reason for such a small timeframe was simply because any longer and the task of gathering the data would become much more difficult.
There was no doubt that the various government agencies all over the world, especially in America would be aware of what was going on. How it was happening still probably remained a mystery, but the fact that someone was stealing precious data would not have gone unnoticed.
If they worked any longer than a day then there was a possibility that the League – if they haven't already – would get involved for sure. If that was the case then the Fog would be useless. Against normal armed guards, even special forces then the Fog would only face a few minor inconveniences but would still succeed. However the Justice League was another matter entirely.
It was why the assassins assigned to act as his guards had been doubled.
The Fog would work fine against armed guards, but against the League it would not. They had already shown the ability to defeat nanotech weapons before, the Fog which specialised in information gathering rather than combat, would be easily defeated by the Justice League. That's where the Shadows came in, they would act as distractions and diversions, keeping what League members would be there – if there were any – busy while the Fog carried on its assignment.
It was in that moment that an alert window came onto his computer. Cautiously, Professor Ojo pulled it open and another screen popped up showing a map of Gotham City with a blinking red light.
Frowning, he activated his communication device and another screen appeared showing image of Sensei. He was an old man, who despite his age was still in incredible strength with broad shoulder and strong arms. Yet the most eye-catching feature was the scar coming down across his pale left eye.
"She's revealed herself." Ojo informed and Sensei revealed nothing, his face indifferent.
"Are there any problems with the Fog?"
"No." Professor Ojo shook his head. "It is working perfectly."
This earned a reaction, Sensei allowing a brief cruel smirk to cross his aged features. "Then continue with your mission, Roquette will no longer be a problem."
Monday 8th August, 22:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
"I am unsure of this." Cheshire rolled her eyes at her partners words, the same words he had repeated a number of times since handed the assignment by Sensei. The partner in question was one Eric Needham, also known as Black Spider. After the debacle at Arkham Asylum over a year ago, Eric had been scooped up by the League of Shadows, offering him a chance to correct the world.
Of course Eric Needham accepted without hesitation.
Cheshire just wished he would shut up. The mission they had been given was simple, kill Doctor Serling Roquette. A quick in and out mission with the possibility of her being protected by the same hero who had freed her from their grasp in the first place. However, she wasn't looking at one hero like she expected. No, now she was looking at three with possibility of more inside.
There was the young martian girl who had been involved in the debacle on Santa Prisca as well as another bow wielding young girl, who looked oh so familiar to her. The inclusion of the second girl made her question whether the martian had gone solo or a new member had joined the team of young heroes than had interfered with their plans once more.
When she and her team had moved round to study the rear, it revealed the third member of the group of heroes protecting Roquette, Aqualad. His appearance told her that they were dealing with the same team of young heroes.
'Which means we have five more. Kid Flash, Batgirl, Robin, Superman's clone as well as a Deathstroke's apprentice, Naruto Uzumaki.' She listed off, her two teammates, Black Spider and Hook each looking to her questioningly, after all she had been out in charge for this mission. 'What to do, what to do?'
"What's the plan?" Hook demanded, rubbing the hook that gave him his namesake impatiently.
'I'm glad Sensei decided to give me aid on this mission, but I wish he gave me less annoying ones, even if they're more useful.' She bemoaned internally, before once again studying the group of heroes she could see, more specifically the two on the roof. They would be the most challenging as their biggest advantage right now would be surprise.
And lo and behold, the young heroes were arguing.
"I'll deal with Aqualad, when he's down take out the two on the roof." Cheshire informed, hoping to use her fight with Aqualad as distraction enough to take out the two on the roof. While they maybe bickering right now, that wouldn't always remain the case. Especially if they were attacked as the two would focus solely on the aggressor. No, to take them out she needed them to be even more distracted than they already were.
Moving quickly and quietly, making sure to stick to the shadows and out of sight, Cheshire closed in on the back alleyway leading to the electronics shops rear entrance.
There stood Aqualad a few feet forwards from the door with his arms crossed over his chest as he looked from one way to the other. She could see why Aqualad was seen as the most dangerous despite not being the most powerful.
The skill of an Atlantean soldier, with magic and the brains to go with his brawns. While Superboy was more powerful and Naruto with his unique power and training under Deathstroke should be the more dangerous members of the team, they lacked things to truly make them dangerous. Superboy lacked training and experience, Naruto's lacked control over his powers.
Aqualad did not.
That was another reason why she wanted to take him out as quickly as possible.
Rushing forwards, Cheshire unhooked a number of shuriken and launched them at Aqualad. He, sensing the attack almost as soon as it began, spun around to see the shuriken coming his way. Yet he didn't block them, instead trusting his bodies natural durability to render them useless while he pulled out his Water-bearers.
In most cases, this would work.
Yet, that would only be the case if Aqualad was facing off against normal shuriken. These shuriken while crafted like any normal shuriken, had a certain poisonous substance coating them. One that Cheshire had coated all her throwing weapons in. After all, there was always a chance of a target just managing to avoid a kill shot in time for it to become a non-lethal one. With the poison coating her weapons however, every shot no matter where it landed was a kill shot, just one that might take a little longer than the other.
Grunting as the shuriken stuck into his skin, they weren't deep nothing more than a paper cut deep so when he breathed out the shuriken became unstuck and clattered to the ground uselessly. Yet, it was not that, that made Aqualad grunt, no it was the feeling of the poison coating the blades that made him grunt. The feel of it coursing through his veins was uncomfortable to say the least.
"I'm under attack at my end." He informed and while there a feeling of shock over the mental link they shared, there was also a measure of calmness. It said a great deal about them that being under attack was actually more calming then waiting for the possibility of an attack. "I should be able to handle it however."
"Okay. Inform us if you need back up, we've got Artemis and Miss Martian in reserve." Maelstrom responded, trusting Aqualad to deal with the threat and so having the two young heroines remain in their positions in case of another attacker.
Raising his water swords, Aqualad gazed upon his opponent, analysing the situation before him. "Understood."
While Aqualad had been communicating with his team, Cheshire on the other hand had also been analysing the situation. The fact that Aqualad was still standing despite the Jellyfish Toxin she had coating her shuriken was worrying, she knew that she stood no chance in a straight up fight against a superpowered individuals like young sidekick before her. However, she had hoped to get around this by taking him out with the jellyfish toxin, though that had obviously failed.
Realising this, she drew her sai's out, brandishing them with a twirl before rushing forwards. Cheshire knew that she couldn't win in a straight up fight, nor could she afford to let this drag on. If it did it ran the risk of not only alerting the rest of the team to her presence, but also would've exhaust her to the point she would be unable to complete the mission.
Aqualad reacted quickly to her charge, tensing up as he raised his swords in preparation to defend against her.
It was a short exchange, Cheshire lashing out with a number of swipes that Aqualad avoided, parrying those that got a little too close before Cheshire broke off. Yet, despite the exchange being short, it told Cheshire everything she needed to know.
'So he's not entirely immune after all.' Cheshire noted, a smile coming onto her face as she gripped her sai's more tightly.
For you see, while Kaldur had managed to come out of the exchange unharmed, it was not an easy task. In a number of occasions Cheshire has come close to cutting and stabbing him with her sai's. Now in most cases this would not be a problem, Aqualad's Atlantean physiology would have made dodging a simple task.
But the fact that Cheshire had come close on a number of occasions told her that the jellyfish toxin while not deadly, did have a debilitating effect on Aqualad. His reaction times and overall speed were hindered by the poison and that was all she needed to know.
Rushing forwards once more, Cheshire swung high with one sai while swinging low with the other. Aqualad responded, manoeuvring his water blades in the way of her weapons, blocking them. Cheshire had expected this though and jumped up, slamming her knee into the underside of his chin wiping Kaldur's head back with a grunt.
Before he could even regain his equilibrium, Cheshire spun in midair, landing a spinning back kick to his chest and sending him stumbling backwards.
Grunting, Aqualad managed to regain his balance only to feel a number of pricks on his skin. Looking down at his chest he noticed a handful of shuriken sticking out there, each one coated with jellyfish toxin and each far deeper into his skin than before.
A swipe of his hand and he knocked them all onto the ground before turning to Cheshire only to see her gone.
Cautiously, he moved forwards, water bearers raised as he strained his hearing for any sound of movement. Cheshire though was just too good, she had been able to keep her presence a secret from Kaldur until she was directly in front of him.
And so, weakened by the jellyfish toxin coursing through his veins, Aqualad only had time to realise that someone was directly behind him before something struck his neck, directly onto one of the pressure points.
Gasping, Aqualad collapsed to the ground, only just conscious for a few short seconds more to see Cheshire stood over him. Then darkness claimed him.
Pacing anxiously, Naruto kept his gaze looked on the back entrance. Outside he could only hear silence, the fight between Aqualad and the unknown assailant having taken a short break. The assailant in question seemed to be a young woman from what he had been able to glimpse through Kaldur's eyes.
"What's going on out there?" Wally asked, Batgirl beside him not taking her gaze from where she was looking through a little gap in the shutters.
Naruto looked to Robin who shook his head telling Naruto that he too didn't have a clue on what was going on. 'That's great, it means we're completely blind.' It seemed that the security cameras once monitoring the back alleyway had all been taken out. "Miss Martian, what's going on"
"Aqualad! H-his mind isn't connecting!" M'gann exclaimed. One thing to be aware of about the mental link they all shared that despite all the advantages it provides, it also had a number of weaknesses. Most of these were due to M'gann's current level of skill in telepathy, but even then, it still had a number of weaknesses.
One of these weaknesses was that only M'gann would be aware of who was and wasn't connected. This was down to her own skill with telepathy, she didn't have the current level of control to allow others to have the instinctive knowledge of who was and wasn't connected to the mental link, not without delving deeper into their minds than they were all comfortable with.
As a result, while they could communicate in a way that couldn't be hacked by technological means, it meant that none of them would know when a member of their team had been taken out, except for M'gann. And even she needed to fully focus on the link to see who was connected.
'Shit! So how long has he been out then?' Naruto questioned internally. "Alright, one of you two check to see what's happened. Everyone else, prepare yourselves." With those orders given, Naruto reached round and pulled out his extendable staff, pressing the button one side extending it to its full length.
There was a few moments of silence before he finally received a report. "Aqualad's down, no sign of th-"
Yet, before she Artemis could even finish, the connection suddenly cut out.
'Artemis?! Miss Martian?!' Naruto called out mentally, only to receive nothing. 'Damnit! We're not connected anymore!'
"What's going on?" Roquette asked from where she sat, typing away at her computer safely behind Superboy.
Ignoring her, Maelstrom instead turned to the others. "Robin?" A shake of the head told Naruto that all the security cameras overlooking the building had been taken out. "Right, KF, Batgirl, Robin. Head to the roof and take out anyone you find. Me and Superboy will remain here."
"You gotcha." Pulling down his goggles, Kid Flash pushed open the front door and rushed out. Batgirl and then Robin following soon after.
Watching them go, both Superboy and Maelstrom strained their hearing and while at first there was nothing but silence, the sound of fighting soon broke out. He couldn't tell how many, his enhanced hearing wasn't that great, but it didn't need to be, especially not with the explosion he just heard.
"How many."
Superboy took a few moments, his superhuman hearing far greater than his own. "Two, possibly three. I'm not sure." Both of them took this in different ways, Superboy who had changed drastically in terms of mentality since the Amazo incident had thrust himself into training with a gusto. A desire to get stronger and better rivalling that of Naruto's own. So, for him to be unsure like this due to his powers not being 'good enough' was galling.
For Naruto, this didn't bother him at all. While his senses were not as strong as Superboy's he knew from his own experience how chaotic fighting sounded from a distance. So while not an accurate description, Naruto was more than happy with just a rough estimate.
"No need to worry then for now. They should be able to handle themselves for long enough." Naruto replied
"Long enough for what?" Superboy asked.
Whipping out a number of throwing knives, Naruto launched them into the shadows, watching impassively as the hidden figure parried them. "Long enough for me to deal with our uninvited guest."
Out from the shadows stepped Cheshire who despite wearing a mask, the three of remaining people could tell that she was smiling. "My, my, seems I was caught. And here I thought I would be able to kill her before you noticed." Twirling her Sai's, Cheshire stood before them with one hip cocked to the side. "May I ask, what gave me away?"
"Your scent." Naruto answered shortly, a frown on his face beneath his own mask as he kept his gaze on the assassin. While he had been able to notice her scent, even now, stood before him he couldn't hear anything. Not her breathing, not her heart rate and he hadn't even heard her moving. Whoever she was, she was skilled to almost entirely erase her presence from his view, even when he was actively looking for her.
"Are you trying to say I smell?" Despite her words, Cheshire was far from insulted and instead took a few slow, deliberate steps to the left in order to gain a better view of Roquette. The doctor in question nervously raised her computer just a little bit higher as if hoping that would protect her, she was very aware of why Cheshire had come here.
Instead of answering, Naruto instead moved to stand directly across from Cheshire, keeping Roquette out of her sights. "Superboy, do not leave Roquette's side. I'll deal with her myself."
"Why?" Superboy grunted out, irritatedly taking a step forwards only for Maelstrom to tap one end of his staff against the clones chest, halting his movements.
"Because if we both go for her, Roquette will be exposed. She's going to be looking for that one opportunity to kill her and if we both go against her, that opportunity is more likely to present itself. No matter what, you are not to leave Roquette's side. If you do, she's dead." Naruto ordered firmly, never once taking his gaze of Cheshire. Despite his hopes, Cheshire's body language gave away nothing of what she thought.
Superboy himself looked from Maelstrom, to Cheshire, to Roquette and then back to Cheshire. The glare and scowl on his face deepened further at being delegated to being a simple bodyguard once more. "Fine." He grunted out angrily, moving backwards to stand in front of Roquette and his arms crossed over his chest.
"Thank you." Naruto replied gratefully as he crouched down low. Cheshire herself responded in kind, recognising that Naruto intended to charge at her. "Now, shall we?"
"By all means." Then the two burst forwards simultaneously.
Monday 8th August, 22:35.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
Up on the roof, Artemis notched an arrow onto her bow and cautiously moved towards the back end of the building. After reaching the edge, she pulled back her bow string to its limit and took a deep breath before exhaling to calm her mind.
Moving quickly, she looked over the edge, her bow tracing along the edge of the alleyway as she studied it carefully. "Aqualad's down, no sign of th-"
Before she could finish, Artemis let out a cry of pain as electricity coursed through her body. Unconsciousness claimed her soon after as she collapsed onto the roof in a heap, Black Spider stood over her with a taser in one hand. Calmly, he pocketed the taser before turning to see Hook walking towards the front of the roof, an unconscious Miss Martian laid out on the floor, blood dribbling from a wound on her head.
The two shared a quick nod, not out of respect but more as a signal between the two that they were ready for the next stage of their plan. The plan that a Cheshire had come up with was extremely simple, a large group – in their case, only two people – would attack from the front and direct the defenders attention towards them. All the while, the main attack force would sneak in from behind and catch them in a pincer manoeuvre. It was a simple plan, yet one that had proven time and time again throughout the course of the history as being the most effective way to gain victory.
Yet, before they could even move towards the front a black blur came up the side of the building and slammed into the side of Hook, launching the man across the roof where he eventually came to a halt by Black Spiders feet.
While shocked, Eric didn't hesitate and fired a bunch of webs from his wrist-mounted device. A newly built and far better than his old one, courtesy of Professor Ojo and his technical expertise. With it they, they were capable of firing webs at three times the speed of his old ones and the webs themselves were also far better, their tensile strength dramatically improved.
"Woah!" Kid a Flash exclaimed in shock as the webs wrapped around him like a straight jacket, by reflex he tried to move backwards only for his legs – which had also been wrapped up in the webs – to trip over and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. "What the hell?"
He tried to break himself free, wriggling about only for it to be a fruitless endeavour.
Looking down at Hook who was shaking his head to get rid of his temporary dizziness, Black Spider then turned back to Kid Flash and fired another, smaller amount of webbing that stuck to the speedsters mouth, silencing him. "Get up." He ordered to Hook who glared up at him in turn.
With a shake of his head, Eric made his way towards the front, only to see a shadow descend towards him from the side. He looked up, only just seeing a foot coming towards him before he raised both arms up to cover his face. Even then, the force of the kick aided by the momentum gained by falling from nearby roof put more behind the strike than Eric was capable of resisting against.
As a result, he was flung backwards.
Still, he was not a masterful fighter and parkour expert for nothing as he rolled backwards across the ground and back onto his feet. Yet, his enemy or enemies in this case did not give him any breathing room as he watched Batgirl appear at his side with a number of fast punches and kicks. Each flowed seamlessly into the next, but despite that, Eric weathered the assault easily.
His hands parrying all the punches while dodging the kicks with fanciful footwork. It was with a well-timed knee block that left Batgirl open, the pain of her shin strike his knee leaving her vulnerable.
But before he could capitalise on this opening he was forced to jump in the air and avoid a low sweep from Robin. While in mid air, he only caught a glimpse as a number of Batarangs thrown by the boy wonder struck the ground directly in front of where he would land, each of them beeping ominously.
Realising that if he landed would result in serious injury, Black Spider fired a line of webbing at the nearby wall and tugged on it. The line of webbing went taut and so it pulled Black Spider out of harms way just slightly so that when the Batarangs exploded, he was able to escape unscathed.
Rolling along the ground with a grunt, Eric spun on his knees to face his opponents only to see them crouched protectively in front of Kid Flash. Or Robin was, Batgirl was stood behind him, no doubt handing him something that would enable him to free himself from the webbings. Unfortunately for them, the tensile strength of those webs were far greater than normal.
Monday 8th August, 22:40.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
Knocking one of Cheshire's strikes to one side, Naruto noticed her gaze for a fraction of a second stray towards Roquette's position. However, this momentary lapse of attention, gave Naruto all he needed to come round with a low swipe with his staff, intent on taking out her legs from underneath her.
Yet, Cheshire was able to recover and jump into the air.
This as it turned out, was exactly what Naruto had expected and wanted as he went with the momentum of his swing to come round once more with a spinning hock kick to the airborne Cheshire. Unable to properly move in midair, Cheshire was effectively hopeless. Or so she appeared, contrary to this, Cheshire was more than capable of manoeuvring herself into a way that Naruto's strike aided her.
Raising one foot, she moved it directly in line with Naruto's strike so that when his struck hers, it instead propelled her safely away, where she landed gracefully in a crouch.
The fight had continued evenly like this ever since its beginning. While Cheshire was only slightly more skilled between the two of them, it was only a small gap that allowed Naruto's enhancements to close the gap between the two. As a result, the fight had consisted mostly of Naruto going on the offensive while Cheshire was stuck defending and avoiding while occasionally counterattacking.
However, she always made sure to keep Roquette in her sights. She had hoped to draw Superboy into joining the fight, but no matter how close she got, he never once moved from his spot. Despite his displeasure at the task he was given, Superboy stuck to his orders firmly.
Which was not a good thing for Cheshire.
Like Naruto had explained to Superboy, she wanted them to both come at her – despite knowing she would never be able to win – so that Roquette would be exposed. All it would take then was a simple moment, a single opening that she could use to strike out at the doctor. It didn't even need to be a kill shot, with the jellyfish toxin coating her throwing weapons every shot was a kill shot.
Unfortunately, Superboy had denied her this and so she was stuck trying to figure out a way to salvage this current situation.
But no matter how hard she wracked her brain for an answer, none came. 'I'm well and truly stuck.' Dodging under a swipe of Maelstrom's staff, Cheshire came up with a slash that he stepped back to barely avoid. 'Seems Deathstroke trained you well.'
Knowing that she couldn't win with her current plan, Cheshire instead of continuing to attack in the momentary opening presented to her, she instead jumped backwards and decided to cut her losses for now.
"Till next time, little Uzumaki-kun." Throwing the smock bombs onto the floor, Cheshire quickly made a dash for the back entrance and escaped into the night. Naruto himself burst through the smoke soon after and out the backdoor only to find that Cheshire was gone.
Clicking his teeth in annoyance, Naruto turned to Kaldur before once again looking out onto the main street the back alley led to. 'She was good.' He thought having not expected to meet someone near his own age better than him, especially not after his training with Slade. 'Then again, she is a member of the League of Shadows and even Slade seemed to respect them for their skill.'
Crouching down, Naruto checked Kaldur's pulse and released a sigh of relief when he felt pulse. "Thank god, had me worried for a minute there." Reaching down, he released a grunt as he pulled the unconscious Kaldur to his feet, putting one of his arm over his shoulder while he himself wrapped one arm around Aqualads waist.
Making his way inside, Naruto moved towards one of the seats and placed Kaldur gently in it before looking to Roquette. She was fine from what he can see, terrified for sure, but was physically fine. Superboy who was stood in front of her still seemed irritated, but he at least seemed mollified after having seen their fight.
If there was one thing Superboy had learned, it was that just because some didn't have the strength to match him, didn't mean they couldn't beat him. His continuous losing streak against Black Canary was proof of that and it had led to him having a healthy deal of respect for such fighters. He at least seemed to have realised that he would of being out skilled in such a fight.
"She knew who you was." Superboy pointed out, the frown of concern on his face matching Naruto's own.
"I know." Naruto replied.
A/N: So another chapter done and I decided to cut this short despite we all knowing there should be more. However, I am aiming to not make this a complete carbon copy of the episodes because there's enough fics like that already. I'm going to keep the beginning of the episodes near enough the same and then towards the end, like now I will make changes and sometimes cut things out entirely.
This chapter was an example of both. I didn't want to bog down my story with repetitive story threads, if that was the case you might as well read one of the countless fics out there on Young Justice or go watch the show itself. I'm going to skip parts, gloss over other parts and sometimes change scenes entirely, which is how I think a fic that's changing not the entire show, but only bits of it should be done. Otherwise it just becomes repetitive and boring.
Now, a little note on Cheshire and Naruto and there fight. So I'd like to clear up any confusion that there might be on Naruto's skill level. Before being experimented on by Cadmus, Naruto was at a level of skill that when coupled with his enhancements, was capable of fighting both Barbara and Robin at the same time and win. However, bare in mind he spent months being experimented on, while his skills didn't deteriorate, they didn't grow either.
Barbara and Robin on the other hand were trained mercilessly by Batman to a level where individually they're on the same level as Naruto. It's the same for Cheshire, she was always at a level of skill where (during the Arkham Assault Arc) she could have faced two at the same time and fight them to a draw. In the time since then, her skills have grown to the point she surpassed Naruto post training with Deathstroke. Her higher skill level though is only slightly bigger so that she could take on Naruto and have a fifty-fifty chance of winning.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed and if you did please leave a review. Speaking of which, lets get on with the questions:
Yakuza2010: Familiar faces? Possibly. Any girls outside of the harem? No, but he will be having solo adventures soon. And yes, I did thank you, kept me busy through lockdown.
uchihaNaruto247: I'm glad you liked what I did with M'gann's ability. In the Drop Zone episode she was capable of sharing the image of what she was seeing to Aqualad, but after that I couldn't find any other example of that being used. Which is a bit stupid considering how useful it could be and thats one of the changes Naruto will be bringing to the team.
Dezzal: I've already said why huge changes won't occur, though the way fights happen will. But don't worry, I'll be skipping out a few episodes or have Naruto do his own thing.
Vizard890: It is isn't it, though that would be too much far too soon. I'm trying ti make Naruto's progression of power feel earned. I don't want to give Naruto power boost after power boost simply because the plot dictates it to be so. I want his rate of power to be slow because he has to work hard at improving, kind of like in Book 1. This is where the teams comes into play, I want to show that despite not being instantly OP, they can still do amazingly powerful things by working together, like take on Amazo. Its safe to say that the teamwork of the younger heroes is going to be far better than the older heroes.
As for Supergirl, both and neither, I'm going for a mixture. It may not seem like it right now, but Naruto's presence is having huge ripple effects across the universe, not just on Earth.
nlichristou: Yes, there are though they won't come around till later.
tamagat: Haven't nerfed it, but Naruto hasn't fully tapped into the true depths of the form. Even so, the power we've seen is greater than canon, he just didn't get to show its full power. But I can assure you that the tailed beast forms are each much more powerful than their canon counterpart.
Sultan Asil Arslan: The latter, though as we know, Jason won't stay dead. Even so, the Joker will get what's coming to him and of course, Batman will attempt to stop him.
NaruLemon Stories: Yes they have, but you're right there's still a little tension. I wanted to show that while they've forgiven one another, they still haven't forgotten everything that's happened and that there's still some work to do in order to fix their relationship.