Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Book 2: Darkness in the Light.
Chapter XIII – Reunion and Goodbye.
So a little note before we begin, a friend of mine under the username, IGG on Wattpad has posted a story called, Riders of the Storm. They're someone who's been a huge help in the creation of this story, namely in the research of different characters and in the DC universe in general. They've also been a huge help in getting a nice, flowing timeline of events. They have been a consistent help throughout the creation of this story and they've never asked for anything in return. So I'd like to show my appreciation for all the hard work they've done for this story by helping to promote their book.
It's Riders of the Storm on Wattpad and the best way I can describe it to you is as a Berserk meets Witcher and ASOIAF king of story. I've read the first few chapters and I've also read the notes of what they've got planned and it's something I definitely recommend if you like either of those three universes.
Anyway, let's get on with the story.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
"Other Speech variants."
Location/Time.
Saturday 8th November, 4:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
It was dark, the only source of light being a dying light bulb hanging from the tattered and rotting ceiling. All around the room the walls were peeling in places and splatters of blood were all around.
The room was filled with the sounds of grunts and the sound of flesh smacking against flesh. This was suddenly interrupted by a metal door being thrust open and in stormed Sofia Falcone. As soon as she did she paused upon the sight that greeted her of Solomon Grundy smashing his large fists into the body of the broken heap laid on the ground.
"What the fuck is this?!" She snapped out angrily, turning to Talon who was sat upon a chair in the corner of the room. "You have any idea of who the fuck this is?! Of what this could do to us at this point?! The military is rolling across the city! The Justice League are all over the world! If they found out what's going on, that's it for us!"
"Please, you use this place because it's very secure and well-hidden, it's precisely why I chose to use this place," Talon answered dismissively as he looked upon the broken heap that was once the hero, Hawk. A single wave of his hand and Solomon Grundy lumbered to one side leaving Hawk to lay there, unmoving and bloodied. "Besides, the military is too busy solving the problems on the surface to deal with what goes on beneath and the Justice League? Hah, there practically on house arrest and besides for the culprits behind what happened recently, are public enemy number one."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're beating to death a hero closely related to Black Hood. A figure with close relationships to Batman. We don't need that kind of heat when we're so close." Sofia snarled out.
Sighing, Talon got up off his chair and moved towards her. "Tell me, how close are you to finishing off our common enemies?" Sofia paused. "Exactly my point. You've underestimated the Yakuza and the Hammer. Sure you've all but destroyed the Lucky Hand Triad but they were the weakest of the bunch. My people have taken out the Neon Dragon Triad and as of yesterday have taken out the Church of Blood."
Sofia's eyes widened when she noticed Solomon Grundy turn to her and this is when she began to realise the mistake she had made. These guys weren't just common thugs, these were guys who were too strong for her to deal with. Talon had managed to outsmart Wonder Woman, the first Green Lantern and Wildcat. A guy who had reportedly defeated Batman. Solomon Grundy is a guy who was immortal in every sense of the word, and a guy who could contend with the strongest of the Justice League.
These guys were bad news and as quickly as she had forgotten that fact, she was reminded of it with just a simple look from both of them.
"I don't work for you, I work with you," Talon warned. "And right now, I find myself doing more than you and I can assure you that if that's the case for much longer, then I'll kill you now and finish this myself. Am I clear?"
There was a pause, Sofia looking to the two villains with great caution. "Yes." She eventually managed to say, trying desperately to appear strong despite the pounding of her heart. "But there's not much I can do at this point in time with the military."
"Don't worry about them, we have contacts within the government and there's a motion that's already been passed to withdraw the military from cities, especially Gotham City."
This confused Sofia greatly considering that she had always suspected that the government would use this opportunity to clean up Gotham once and for all. She had even made plans to flee the city before that happened.
"It didn't take much convincing. The government have always used Gotham as a dumping ground. Dirty cops are transferred to Arkham Asylum, making it easier for criminals to escape and the worst criminals are dumped in Gotham." Talon explained. "It keeps Batman busy and with the military combatting crime, that gives heroes a lot of free time. Time that could be spent looking into corrupt government officials and they don't want that."
"That still doesn't change the fact that our opportunity to take out Black Hood has passed. That was your job…" As soon as she began to say that Talon reacted violently and Sofia fell back to the ground, clutching her face as blood seeped from the cuts that had opened up.
"Do not lecture me on what happened," Talon said, reaching down with his bloodied clawed hands and gripped her neck. "I'm very much aware of what happened and that was out of my control. But I assure you, that it won't happen again. In a few days, our organisation will orchestrate another event and I can assure you that I will take out my target then. In the meantime, I want you to take out the Yakuza and the Hammer before that time."
"That's impossible. The Yakuza will be taking in troops from nearby branches in this temporary truce. Their numbers will be bolstered. And the Hammer? They're too well dug in and too well trained to take out." Sofia argued.
"That's not my problem." Talon dismissed. "Besides, make use of the two mercenaries you've hired. Using Deadshot is good, but you have another one under your employ. Let them loose as a team and I think you'll find results." Talon said and then walked past Sofia, exiting the room with Solomon Grundy following behind him.
Sofia herself continued to lay there.
Sunday 9th November, 13:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
The city was quiet, a strange thing to be sure.
Gotham was a hotbed of crime, so it was strange for nothing to be happening. For no crime and especially no gunfights considering the gang war taking place was certainly strange. Yet, in a way, it was perhaps for the best that crime didn't take place at this time. Not only had enough damage and lives being lost with the events a few days ago, but military personal were being deployed all over the country to bring order and help with the aftermath of what happened.
It was slow going and total casualties were still being found. Splitting the worlds was one of the biggest catastrophes in modern history.
Sitting quietly upon the sofa, Jason stared out at the TV, the news broadcast detailing the terrible events that had happened. Besides him, Alan Scott was also silently watching the news broadcast. His eyes then turned to the young man on the armchair to his right, Don who held his head in his hands.
While the news focused a lot of time upon covering the events of the splitting of the worlds, very little coverage was being given to what happened during Gotham City prior to and during the event. Wonder Woman's timely arrival certainly made things easier for them. However, it had also driven Talon into a corner and so he had done what he did best. He targeted the weakest link, Hank and despite Alan and Ted's best efforts, Talon had just been too slippery.
He had gotten a hold of Hank and used him as leverage before escaping. Then they had disappeared and by that point, heroes were being targeted by the public and they had been unable to pursue. Wonder Woman had returned to the Watchtower and Ted, he had refused to lay down, but his body had given out and he had collapsed unconscious.
Feeling something enter through the barriers surrounding his home, Jason rose to his feet and moved towards the door. And as he opened it, he saw Doctor Fate walking up the path to his front door.
"Nabu." He greeted. "It's been a while; I see that you have found an anchor."
"Yes. This body is matured and a powerful magician." Jason smiled sadly as he looked upon the body. He had felt the magical energies behind what had happened a few days ago and he had felt the power of Nabu return to the world and with it, the disappearance of Zatara. Jason had lived and known Nabu long enough to know what that meant, it had been saddening to him to know that a friend was gone. Nabu was not one to give up his hosts and so Jason had mourned the loss of a friend.
"I see, can I ask why you are here?" Jason asked. "You're never the type to drop by and say hello to an old friend."
"He is here, is he not? The descendant of Kyūbi no Kitsune and the Uzumaki Clan." Nabu inquired and Jason nodded his head, stepping to one side to allow him in. There was always a worry that Nabu would fulfil his duty as a Lord of Order and kill an Agent of Chaos as that was what their duty was and Demons above all else, are often Agents of Chaos. But if that was the case, Nabu would have not civilly presented himself, he would have come and just removed anyone in his way before killing Naruto.
As Jason directed him down the room, Nabu paused as he looked upon the figure of Don who, much like Alan had turned to see what was happening. And for a moment, Nabu paused, gaze focused upon Don as he noticed something within him, but he quickly focused his attention on the reason he came here and continued to follow Jason towards the room at the end of the corridor.
He pushed it open and they stepped to find Naruto unconscious upon the bed, Barbara beside him, holding his hand. The young man had pushed himself too far with his powers to the point of physical exhaustion. So much so that Jason still wondered as to how Naruto had been able to keep it up for so long.
One thing they had discovered early on when working with Naruto on his powers was that his body had limits to how long he could use his powers before. Not in the aspect that he couldn't keep his powers up, but that they would have an after-effect upon his body. The more he used them the more damage they would do to his body and he wouldn't feel those damages until after.
Naruto had kept his powers active for nearly two days and the repercussions of that had been immense upon his body. As soon as he withdrew his power and reverted to normal, Naruto had collapsed, and his physical state had been atrocious.
"Jason, Doctor Fate." Barbara greeted, getting to her feet as she turned to them.
"I'm sorry, Barbara, but we need the room."
Barbara's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Is everything okay?"
Nabu stepped forwards, walking towards the bed. "Everything is fine. I simply have to check some things first." Barbara still seemed unwilling to leave but Jason moved forwards, bracing one arm against her back and directing her towards the door.
"Please, Barbara, don't worry." Jason appeased, before shutting the door and turning to Nabu. "Now, will you tell me what you are planning to do?"
"Are you aware that his magic is being fused with his Demonic Power?" Nabu asked and Jason paused, having not been aware of that at all. "If it continues like this, his magic will be forever crippled."
Jason watched the magic beginning to gather in Nabu's hands. "Then what are you planning to do?"
"I intend to apply a seal to him, one that separates his demonic and magical power, but not entirely. It will constantly flood his magic with demonic power, feeding it and growing it. His powers are immense, and he barely has access to them, but this seal will give him a near-limitless source of magical power." Nabu explained and Jason was left shocked as the ramifications of what he was being told struck him.
"That is…" Jason didn't even know how to explain it.
"When he awakens, I want you to teach him to how to access his magic." Nabu continued.
"You intend to teach him?"
Nabu nodded his head. "He has a great burden upon his shoulders. A great responsibility and destiny that he cannot escape. And he will need all the help he can get to succeed."
Sunday 9th November, 17:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
"You're blaming yourself again, aren't you?" Barbara asked as she laid beside Naruto on the bed.
Naruto gave a low, humourless chuckle. "Is it that obvious?"
"Only to me." She replied, resting her chin on his chest and looking up at him. "I'm not even going to attempt to say that you shouldn't be blaming yourself because you won't listen. You're incredibly stubborn and I'm too tired to try."
"Well, I must be bad then." Shifting, he pulled Barbara closer to him. "Don't worry, I won't be going off the handle."
"But you're still going to look for Hank, right?"
"Of course I am," Naruto replied quickly, eyes narrowing as he looked up at the ceiling. "I held back against Grundy, wanted to see how far I could go without my powers and because of that, it left Hank and Don to deal with Talon. If I had finished off Grundy sooner, things could have been very different, and Hank may not be in danger. And I know what you're going to say, about it not being my fault. But this is who I am."
Barbara sighed, shifting onto her back. "It's because you care, Naruto. After Kushina, you closed yourself off, but you always cared a great deal about those around you. People recognise that and its why despite maybe not initially liking you, they eventually do so. Like Dick and even Wally."
He rose a brow at the last name and Barbara did let out a little laugh in response. "Okay, so maybe not Wally, but he did recognise that you cared, and you worked harder than everyone else because you cared. That's why despite not liking you, he was willing to follow you."
That was something Barbara had been aware of since the beginning when Naruto was first named leader. Wally had always had an ambition for leadership, it was in his personality and on top of being denied said position, plus the fact that it was given to Naruto, it hadn't made their relationship friendly by any stretch of the meaning. In fact, it had been non-existent if not downright hostile in some cases. However, things started changing after a few weeks when it became obvious to everyone that out of all of them, Naruto pushed himself the hardest.
It was an inspirational sight to see and when combined with him blaming his ability rather than looking at others to blame, that resentment began to subside. As a person, Wally was notoriously arrogant and very difficult to work in most cases. A leadership position required a lack of arrogance as a person needed to be able to recognise their shortcomings as well as their teams. Someone like Wally would only be capable of recognising the shortcomings of his teammates and not his own.
"That's why I know that telling you to stop is pointless." She said. "So, do you have any idea where Hank could be? Or are you just going to tear your way through the city till you find him?"
Naruto snorted. "I'm not that bad."
"I disagree." Barbara teased only to let out a shriek when Naruto tickled her sides. She jerked away from his touch, slipping away and gripping hold of his arms to stop him. Then she shifted her hips, sliding up till she was straddling his waist. "Don't, don't ever do that again."
"As ticklish as always." He muttered, quickly breaking free from her grasp and wrapped both hands around her waist, bringing her down till she was laid flat against his chest. "But don't worry, I already have an idea on who Talon is working with."
"Care to share your thoughts?"
"I'm thinking Sofia Falcone." As soon as the name was spoken, Barbara couldn't help but nod her head in agreement. It was the only thing that made sense considering the current situation. With the Maroni Family being absorbed into the Falcone Family there should have been a lot of internal strife, except that had not been the case at all. Secondly, The Lucky Hand Triad, Neon Dragon Triad, the Yakuza and the Hammer were all at war with the Falcone Family.
Because the Neon Dragon Triad had been annihilated very early on at their docks and the fact that Grundy had been reported fighting against the Lucky Hand Triad, it wasn't a stretch to say he was allied with Sofia Falcone. Which further meant that Talon was allied with her as well.
"Okay, I'll get a list of known Falcone hideouts for you to look at. I'll even ask Alfred to keep an eye out on Gotham for any sign of Sofia if I'm not available." Barbara told him and Naruto nodded his head gratefully.
"Thank you." He murmured, leaning to place a kiss upon her lips, something Barbara eagerly returned as she cupped his cheeks.
Monday 10th November, 05:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
Sitting comfortably in the large leather chair in a well-furnished office, Talon swirled the cup of wine he held in his hand as he looked out the window overlooking Gotham City below. His mask was placed upon the table revealing a handsome face with a few small scars here and there that only enhanced his features.
At that moment, as he looked out the city with no real thoughts about anything, the door opened and in stepped Solomon Grundy, in each hand, he dragged a person into the room. One was a small man in a once well-dressed suit that had been quite badly damaged. The other a beautiful woman dressed in red, ceremonial robes.
"Unhand me, creature!"
"How dare you lay your hands upon the divine being!" Mother Mayhem screeched as they were dumped on the floor before him.
"Welcome, Brother Blood, Mother Mayhem." Talon greeted, both turning to him angrily. Brother Blood snarled, raising one hand in an attempt to gather magic power only for Grundy to reach down, wrapping one of his large arms around both of his. Then he squeezed and there was a sickening crunch followed by blood dribbling out of between the gaps in his fingers. This was followed by Brother Blood letting out a scream of pain and Mother Mayhem cursing both of them.
"Grundy, try not to kill them please." Talon sighed out tiredly, Grundy grunting and lumbering to the side of the room. "Now then, I do apologise about your rough treatment, but I have some questions I'd like to ask you." Leaning forwards with a smirk, Talon clasped his hands together. "Why are you so interested in Naruto Uzumaki?"
Monday 10th November, 05:15.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
As Grundy carried the unconscious body of Mother Mayhem over his shoulders, he also dragged the dead body of Brother Blood behind him, blood trailing along the ground. As much as he would like to kill Mother Mayhem, he wouldn't kill a pregnant woman, not purposefully anyway. All children deserved a chance at life, something he had been denied and he would not be like those that stripped that from him.
Instead, Talon reached over and picked up a phone. "Deadshot, how much progress has Sofia made?"
"The Yakuza are nearly finished, my partners finishing off their last base today. The Hammer however is proving a little more difficult, but they won't last long." Deadshot responded from the other end.
"Very well. As for Sofia, she's served her purpose. Take care of her and then finish the Hammer off, Grundy will be meeting with you." He didn't receive an affirmative, but Talon was well aware of Deadshot's taciturn personality. He'd carry out the orders given to get paid and to preserve his own life.
And as he placed down the phone, Talon couldn't help but laugh. Things were beginning to shape up and this time, he would not fail. 'Naruto, tomorrow you die. That I promise you. But first, I'll make you suffer.'
Tuesday 11th November, 11:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Walking down the bloody corridors slowly, Naruto and Dove looked around cautiously at the various dismembered and bloody bodies scattered all down the corridors. Dove himself rose one hand to his nose in order to try and smoother the smell as he looked around with wide eyes at the blood splattering all over the walls.
"What the hell happened here?" Dove questioned in shock. "It's like they were attacked by a wild beast. Is this Grundy's doing?"
Naruto shook his head. "No, look closely at the wounds. They're too clean and precise. Whoever did this is skilled with a blade and they're strong enough to cleave through bone and muscle with ease. Be careful, whoever did this is not to be taken lightly."
"Got it." Dove nodded his head. "Shall we split up, cover more ground?"
"Yeah, I'll take the basement, you take the roof. Sofia or someone who knows her location has to be here somewhere." As they reached a junction, Naruto turned to the left while Dove made his way to the right.
Pushing open the door leading to the stairs, Dove began climbing up them, stopping at each floor and moving down the corridors to make sure that there was no one hiding. But much like every floor, all that could be found were the dead bodies of the Falcone Family. And as cleared another four floors, Dove began to pick up sounds of combat from the floor above.
Eyes widening, Dove rushed up the final few steps and shoulder slammed into the door, bursting it open. There he looks upon the sight that greets him dozens more dead bodies with only a single figure being alive. A woman clad in an orange and black suit holding two blood-soaked broadswords, one of which she pulled from her latest victims chest with a wet squelching noise.
"W-what, what have you done?!" He cried in outrage as he looked upon the murder.
The figure rose her blade into the air, pointing it at Dove in an open challenge. "Leave, this doesn't concern you." But in response, Dove just lifted his hands into a guard before charging forwards.
Tuesday 11th November, 11:10.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
"Damn him, damn him to hell!" Sofia cursed angrily, slamming her fist into the side of the car as she drove down the highway. She should have expected, should have seen it coming considering the man had already admitted to betraying his previous alliance with the coalition of gangs that opposed her.
Yet Sofia had been blinded by the power and influence she gained as a result of Talon's work and that of his allies. Grundy alone was worth more than all of her men combined, and she wouldn't have minded having him work for her. Yet for some reason, Grundy was working purely for Talon which meant it was a package deal. Talon himself despite never knowing what he wanted or where his loyalties lay, was incredibly skilful and perhaps the more dangerous of the two.
Then he had turned on her.
It was around seven in the morning when she finally received news that four of her bases had been attacked and destroyed. Considering that the Yakuza was all but destroyed and the Hammer was so badly beaten, she hadn't believed it was them. But it was more believable until she finally saw a video feed from one of the hidden cameras that revealed Grundy tearing apart her men.
Another had shown Talon and his compatriots. The final one revealing Deadshot and the young mercenary, Ravager that had been acting as her bodyguard since the beginning. She had been betrayed, not only by Talon but also by the mercenaries she had hired.
That angered her and that was all Sofia could think on.
She knew full well that victory was impossible considering that her men were scattered all across the city and were being picked off one by one. But even then, Sofia knew that it wouldn't matter as she had seen first-hand how effective he was. All she could do now was get out of the city as quickly as possible.
But first, she needed to collect a few things before she did.
Tuesday 11th November, 11:15.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Exiting the basement room, Talon looked to where Deadshot and Solomon Grundy waited slightly ahead of him at the bottom of the stairs. Sparing one glance behind him at the broken, bloodied body of Hawk, the door closing to block his view, Talon turned away.
"Any news?" Talon asked.
"Ravager's hitting the last base of the Yakuza. Your undead are finishing off the Hammer, haven't heard anything back from them yet. Though Bronze Tiger does say that they're facing some heavy resistance." Talon didn't show any outward reaction to that considering it had been expected. The Hammer were after all, perhaps the biggest threat out of the Gotham crime families despite being the smallest.
Each of their members is highly trained and highly disciplined. As soon as things had gone on the back foot, the Hammer had locked themselves down in a number of hideouts, compiling dozens of weapons and hundreds of assorted ammunition. They had prepared for a siege long before things had started getting bad and had only better prepared themselves as thing continued. Getting rid of them would not be easy by any stretch of the meaning, something all of them had expected.
"And what of Sofia?" Deadshot shook his head in response.
"She was already gone when I got there. But I've been searching. I'll find her eventually." Talon hummed in thought as they began making their way up the stairs.
"There's no need." He answered. "Naruto will find Hank here eventually and when he does, he'll realise that Sofia was behind this. If I know Naruto, it's that he will not let this go unpunished and if we're lucky, he'll start being Black Hood again."
Deadshot knew about Naruto, remembered the kid from when Amanda had shown them all pictures and profiles of the Suicide Squad members back when they assaulted Arkham. "Are you sure that's a good thing?" He questioned, the three of them entering into the upstairs room.
Talon smirked. "Absolutely." He then looked towards the clock laying slightly askew on the wall, then turned to look out the window, snow beginning to fall down to the ground. Upon seeing this he pressed one hand to the side of his mask, activating the commlink. "Witch Boy, it's time to the retire the old-timers."
Tuesday 11th November, 11:20.
New Jersey,
Gotham City.
Gotham Heights.
With his suit flapping in the wind, Klarion with a vicious smirk on his face stroked the orange cat he held in his arms. "What do you think, Teekl? Ready for the show?" He cackled, looking down upon the city below, people bustling about the snowy streets.
Despite it having only just begun to snow, it had already created a thick blanket that covered the city. A perfect example of what could be accomplished if villains could put aside their differences and work towards a common goal.
Raising one hand into his air, Klarion clicked his fingers and above him, dozens of red portals opened and out from them, plummeted dozens of creatures. Each of them in varying colours of red, green, blue, black, grey, white and all of varying sizes and shapes. Demons each and every single one of them, hundreds all falling to the city of Gotham.
And with the Justice League busy dealing with the destruction and chaos caused by the ice fortresses, each operated by one of the ice villains, Icicle Sr., Icicle Jr., Killer Frost, Victor Fries and Captain Cold. And with the Justice League dealing with that, Gotham would be exposed and vulnerable forcing the retired heroes to come out and deal with it as they had done previously.
Just like was planned, Klarion felt an outburst of demonic energy, far more powerful than any of the weak Demons he had summoned. This Demon he could sense was not just any ordinary Demon, it was a Demon Lord, the one called Etrigan.
Laughing to himself, Klarion suppressed his magic power as to not be found as he sat down, a magic barrier surrounding his body to protect him from the cold. Continuing to stroke the fur of Teekl as he watched Etrigan tear his way through the horde of Demons. Soon joined by another man green blasts and constructs striking out and destroying the Demons. But for everyone killed, dozens more would fall through the portals.
That would keep the two most notable and difficult figures in Gotham kept care of for a long time, allowing them to focus upon their main target. A meow from Teekl in his lap made Klarion frown. "Yeah, yeah, I guess we should go."
Tuesday 11th November, 11:20.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Grunting, Don fell back to the ground, clutching his bloody nose as he looked up, only to see Ravager thrusting her leg out. It struck his chest and threw him back, smashing back into the wall. Winded, he struggled to breathe in air as he gasped out, looking to Ravager as she walked towards him, her blade scraping against the floor.
"Is this all you can do?" Ravager asked and Don struggled to get to his feet. To call their fight such a thing would be a lie, it was a complete slaughter. Initially, he had put up a fight, actually managing to land a few hits here and there. But eventually, he just reached a limit, and he was put on the back foot, it was only now that Don realised that Ravager had just been playing with him in the beginning.
It was frustrating to know that even after all this time, he still wasn't strong enough to win. Especially not against someone younger than himself, which he knew Ravager to be. Her voice was slightly higher-pitched, something you'd find in a younger teenaged girl.
"All you're doing is holding him back." Ravager continued.
"I don't know about that, Rose." Both turned, looking to see Naruto stepping into the room. "He's been doing this for less time than I have, and he's improved massively. You and he may not think it, but he will only get stronger from here."
Rose looked to Don and then back to Naruto with a scoff. "Really? That's as believable as me losing to you."
"So you believe me then?" He smiled, moving forwards to help Don to his feet, Rose moving away and blocking the door with a frown, something Naruto picked up on. "Come on Rose, get out of the way."
"Nah, not yet." She returned still irked by his words. She could beat him, Rose had to believe that. With how hard she had worked, she refused to believe that she could lose, not now and not again.
"I don't have time for this." Naruto told her, frustration clearly evident in his tone.
"Then make time." Rose rebuffed pointing her broadsword at him. "I'm not letting you leave until you do."
"Really Rose, really?"
"I don't have time for this, Hawk's still out there," Don growled out, moving forwards to confront her, but Naruto pulled him back. "Naruto, I don't care what your relationship with her is, but she's getting in my way."
"I know," Naruto told him. "Just be calm for a moment otherwise she'll kill you."
"I'll tell you what you want to know if that makes this fight happen," Rose spoke up, both men turning to her. "Where your brother Hank is, that's what you want, isn't it?
This got a serious reaction and Naruto had to actually struggle to hold Don back. "Where is he?!" He shouted angrily, Naruto resisting his advance forward to Rose who just stood there calm and collected.
"Calm down, Don. You acting like this isn't going to help anyone and certainly not Hank." He whispered in his ear, urgently trying to get him to calm down.
"He's currently being held six blocs from here to the west. Near Gotham Docks. A rundown building that looks like it's about to collapse, you can't miss it." Naruto looked at her out frustration and in this moment of inattention, Don broke free and rushed towards Rose. Yet instead of stopping him, Rose simply stepped aside allowing him through and Don himself didn't bother to fight her.
But when Naruto attempted to follow, Rose stepped in the way, stopping him from doing so. "Rose, seriously, now isn't the time."
"Don't worry, there's no one there," Rose told him. "By this time, Talon, Deadshot and Grundy will have left to deal with Wildcat, Green Lantern and Jason Blood. It's empty, he'll be safe, trust me."
Naruto shook his head. "It's not a matter of me trusting you. But Hank's in this situation because I held back against Grundy. I'm not doing that again."
"Then you're going to have to go through me first because I'm getting this fight and I'm going to win."
"Are you that desperate for a fight?"
"I just want to set the record straight," Rose replied. "And I have no intention of losing this time. Don't worry, it won't last long."
Naruto barely had a moment to react before she was upon him, quickly having to backpedal away from the sword strokes that would have cut deep into his flesh if allowed to hit. She was fast, she was fluid, and she was skilful, it was easy to see how much she had improved over the months since they had last seen each other.
However, Naruto had also been improving rapidly recently and his experience was far larger than Rose's own. As a result, he recovered himself soon as he came under assault and ducked under one strike, gripping hold of her right wrist as he did, stopping her from coming round with a follow-up strike. However she quickly undrew her second blade and thrust it up across her body and Naruto leaned his head to one side, just slightly dodging the strike.
Again he reached out, catching her wrist and pulled both hands up, twisting Rose around so that she stood before him with her back towards him. "Enough Rose, I don't have time for this."
He then pushed her away, Rose stumbling before she managed to catch her footing and turned to him with a snarl. Again she came at him but backhanding one downward slash with a strike of his own he jabbed her in the side. Just a light jab that while not doing much in the way of damage, packed enough power to at least shock Rose so that she was left open to the palm thrust that pushed her away.
Falling to the floor, Rose rolled to her feet and rapidly closed the distance between them. Again Naruto has defended himself masterfully, parrying and dodging her strikes with ease. Upon realising that she couldn't hit him with her swords, she came round with a few kicks, but Naruto blocked one roundhouse kick to his sternum with his knee. With that same leg, he lashed out to strike the inside of her standing leg, buckling her knee and dropping her to the ground.
"Why?" She mumbled out.
"Because you're not used to it," Naruto told her. "You've always been good at fighting to kill, to maim and whatnot, but you've never really had much luck or skill with holding back. In a fight where you don't want to kill your opponent, everyone's at a natural disadvantage, you're just not used to it like I am."
Then he turned to make his way out of the room but paused before he did. "Sorry Rose, it's not exactly a reunion to write home about, but you caught me at a bad time. We can do this another time maybe, just not now."
Watching him go, Rose slammed her fist into the ground with curse. 'I just wanted you to notice me.'
Tuesday 11th November, 11:40.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
Creating a barrier of green energy to protect himself, Alan released numerous constructs of various animals that tore through scores of Demons while he fired energy out from his hands. Yet as he did so, he felt the sweat streaming down his brow grow.
'It's been a while since I've used my power like this, I guess it's not enough just to simply put back on the ring.' Alan thought to him, gaze momentarily flickering to where he noticed Etrigan tearing one Demon in half while releasing a powerful blast of Hellfire from his mouth that engulfed a full city block.
Acting quickly, Alan released a stream of energy that coalesced into a blanket that sheltered the Hellfire and smothered it. At the same time, he strengthened the barrier protecting him as Demons slammed into it in an attempt to rip him apart with their bare hands.
Breathing heavily, he wiped the sweat from his brow and watched as more and more Demons poured through the portals. They had already attempted to shut down a portal, but when they succeeded, another one sprouted to life soon after. Whichever sorcerer was behind this assault, had prepared a spell that enabled these portals to keep sprouting when one was shut down.
Alan had experienced fighting with sorcerers before, beings such as Blackbriar Thorne and Mordru. And in his experience, Alan knew that they rarely used Demons to do their bidding most preferring to use Familiars instead. The reason for that was as Alan had later come to learn was because Demons were difficult to control, only ever truly responding and being loyal to their own kind. However, it still didn't change the fact that this was strange, these Demons didn't seem to have any singular focus of their attack.
They were just wild beasts, attacking everything and everyone in their sight, including their own kind. 'This is a distraction, a decoy.' He quickly summarised, continuing to fire blasts of energy from his hands while fuelling the contracts that attacked the Demons all around him. Alan never stopped, not even as his body grew gradually more and more tired as the minutes went by.
It was obvious to him now that while he had enjoyed retirement, it had not come without a cost. The Starheart had always taken a toll upon his body physically, draining his stamina like any exercise would have done so. When he had been younger, in his prime and fighting in World War II and beyond as a member of the Justice Society of America, he could wield the Starheart with ease. Now, even after such a short amount of time, his body was growing tired.
Not even his battle against the Undead Talon and Solomon Grundy had been this tiring. But that had been a battle against limited opponents who couldn't even fight in the sky. This battle was different, one against hordes of enemies and many of which possessed wings that allowed them to fly.
No escape allowed him to recover and preserve energy. He was constantly under attack from all sides, and he was having to defend and attack simultaneously. And as he once again created a blanket of energy to smother a funnel of Hellfire that Etrigan had released. The Demon Lord possessed sense nor care for the damage he was causing, though he was certainly effective in dealing with vast swathes of enemies.
It was just his hope that things didn't get worse from here.
Tuesday 11th November, 11:45.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Moving quietly across the rooftops, Don kept his head and body low as he scanned across the area for any sign of a building that matches Ravagers description. Much like she had said, it wasn't hard to miss, out of all the raggedy buildings, this was the only one that looked to be on the verge of collapse. All of its windows were broken with only a handful covered over with rotting wood. Large areas of the wall were missing allowing a clear view inside, it looked entirely unsafe, something no one would want to go nearby, let alone set up base in.
Taking another cursory glance around him to make sure other buildings matched the description - there were none he quickly realised - and made his way towards it. Just as he reached the final building across the street from his destination, Don found himself pulled back.
Reflexively he spun around, one fist pulled back to sock whoever was behind him across the jaw. However, it was easily caught in one hand by Naruto who rose one hand to his lips and crouched down even lower. For a few moments, the two kneeled on the rooftop, Naruto occasionally glancing over the top towards the building almost as if he was looking for someone.
"Naruto, what the hell are you doing?" Don whispered loudly.
"Stopping you from rushing into a trap." Naruto shot back, then pointed towards a hole in the third floor where after a few moments of nothing, Don finally picked up sight of movement. A large, grey and muscular figure stalking across the hall and back out of sight.
Solomon Grundy was here.
"Don, I know that you want to save your brother, but you'll accomplish nothing by getting yourself killed." Naruto reminded him and frustratedly, he grits his teeth.
But he took a calming breath and looked to Naruto questioningly. "So what do we do then?"
Tuesday 11th November, 11:50.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"
Shooting up, Floyd looked upwards to where he heard Grundy roaring out in anger at whoever was nearby. Quickly his mind ran through the possibilities as to what could be behind this, but it didn't take long as his gaze flickered to the stairs leading down to the basement. 'Looks like it's time to end this.'
Grabbing the hold of his modified rifle, Deadshot quietly and carefully made his way up the stairs, rifle raised and eyes peeled as he looked towards the door up ahead of him. He could hear the sound of fighting, of Grundy roaring and feel the shaking of the stairs. Even as he focused on the door, he could see the plumes of dust falling from the ceiling and walls as the entire building was rocked. Not a very pleasant thing to be sure, especially considering how rundown this building was.
Reaching the top of the stairs, Deadshot paused for only a moment, taking this moment to centre his breathing before pushing open the door. He burst in, eyes already focusing on the assailant, Maelstrom and without a moment's hesitation, open fire.
Much like he had expected, the young hero parried the first few bullets with his blade, those that he could it have avoided in such short notice. Then with those bullets taken care of, leapt away behind cover, the bullets striking the wall and furniture where he had once stood.
"Been a while, Floyd." Naruto greeted, the man in question chuckling as he reloaded his modified gun.
"It has, how you been."
"Meh, not the best." Placing his blade on the floor, Naruto pulled out a handful of throwing knives. "Things haven't been going too well since my time with Deathstroke."
"Yeah, I heard about that. Was shocked when I learned that Black Hood became Marauder, who's now Maelstrom. How's the hero business working out for you, saw what you did on the news, nearly two days straight of saving kids, I'm grateful for what you did." And Deadshot meant it, after all, Naruto's actions had indirectly saved the life of his daughter.
"Really?" Naruto questioned. "Well if you're that grateful, why not stand aside and let me save my friend?"
Deadshot shook his head, not that Naruto could see. "Can't do that I'm afraid, kid. It's not personal, just business. Any other time I'd happily do so, hell I might have even helped you. But I can't do that, I've got a job to do."
"Nah, I get it," Naruto replied before quickly getting up from cover and threw the knives he had in one hand. He did pay for that, riddled with a few bullets that Deadshot managed to fire before having to duck down and avoid the knives. Grundy who had been waiting - Deadshot being given temporary command over the undead zombie by Talon - released a roar before charging forwards.
Kneeling, Floyd pulled the knife from his arm with a grunt, letting it drop to the ground with a clatter. But just as he went to pick up his gun once more, he was quickly forced to roll to one side as Grundy was thrown back by some unseen force.
"What the fuck?!" He cursed, turning away from the hole Grundy had made in the wall and then back to where Naruto was. However, his eyes widened when saw a red-blue swinging round towards him and without even a moment to react, was struck in the chest and thrown backwards. His back slammed hard into the wall, wind bursting from his lungs and vision temporarily darkening as he collapsed to his knees, coughing and wheezing.
Vaguely he could make out the roar of Grundy through his ears, could even see the form of Grundy rush past him with thundering footsteps towards the figure clad in a red aura. And that's when Deadshot saw the ease with which Grundy was dealt with.
Strong and immortal he may be, but Grundy lacked one thing that would make him truly dangerous, skill. It was a thing drilled into the body and something no one could lose. Deadshot had seen this first hand with the Undead Talons who in Floyd's opinion, were more terrifying. Grundy had the advantage in terms of strength, but his attacks were wild, slow and incredibly easy to predict. For a skilled fighter, even an undead fighter with no intelligence like the Undead Talons, it was easy to avoid due to the instincts trained into them.
And so, Floyd watched as Naruto easily avoided the wild cross, slipping underneath it to drive a powerful uppercut that forced Grundy to hunch over. This was followed by a quick spin, one hand bracing against the floor as his right foot lashed out and striking the zombie on the underside of his chin. With Naruto's natural strength enhanced by his powers and combined with the momentum of his spin, it was no surprise that Grundy was thrown off his feet and slammed through the ceiling.
"So then, care to take me up on my previous offer?" Naruto posed, flexing one clawed hand as he strolled forwards with a calm, confident gait.
Not only did Grundy break through the ceiling above him, he also broke through the roof as well and Floyd a few moments later saw a blur outside as Grundy plummeted to the ground below. 'Talon, you fucker, how the hell are we meant to keep this monster occupied?'
Tuesday 11th November, 11:55.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
As Naruto easily dispatched Solomon Grundy, Don made his way down the dark corridor of the basement. The plan had been simple, Naruto would enter through the third floor and engage Grundy, drawing all attention to him. Then, Don would sneak down and while Naruto kept the villains busy, would free his brother and escape.
Short, simple and effective.
Sure there had been a few thugs here and there in the basement that had not gone up, but that had been expected and Don was able to easily dispatch them. And so, in less than ten minutes in which he checked every door in the basement, he finally reached the last one.
Instead of slowing down, Don sped up and barrelled straight into the door, slamming it open to find Hank sat in the corner of the room. It was still dark, much like everywhere else, but Don could easily make out his brothers figure. One caked in blood and covered in bruises, a sight that angered Don greatly.
But he calmed himself and rushed forwards, crouching down beside his brother and checking his pulse, thankfully he was alive. 'Just unconscious, let's keep him that way.' Careful not to aggravate his brother's wounds, Don gently scooped up his brother in both arms and slowly made his way out the door. There were a few times at the beginning where he had to readjust his grip to make sure Hank didn't fall and the jostling made him groan out in pain, but luckily not awaken. At least when unconscious, Hank wouldn't be aware of the pain his body was in, or at least Don hoped.
"Don't worry, Hank. I'm getting you out of here." He said comfortingly.
"How sweet of you, Don." Head whipping round, Don glared into the shadows where he saw Talon stood. How long he had been there, Don didn't know, but he imagined that the assassin had been there the whole time. "To see you care for your brother as he cared for you. Never once broke he did, no matter how many times Grundy hit him."
Sucking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself, Don's frame tensed in barely restrained anger.
"A shame he won't get to see you after all he's been through. I'm afraid the amount of internal damage done to him is quite great." Talon continued. "The question remains will you be able to get him to help in time?"
"I'll kill you!" Don snarled and Talon laughed.
"I doubt it." Then he rushed forwards and Don knew he wouldn't be able to avoid let alone defend against an attack by holding Hank. So, he did the only thing he could do and turned, crouching down and covering Hank's body with his own.
Even as he felt Talons claws tear at his muscles and skin, Don endured it with only grit teeth.
"I've studied your brother's papers extensively, now I don't know if you and he share the same powers, but I think it'll be a nice little test all the same," Talon spoke, stepping away. "Now then, your back muscles have been shredded which took your brother a few hours to heal from, I've also punctured one of your lungs and your small intensities has been severely damaged. You also have numerous arteries and blood vessels cut. With your powers, you may survive, but I doubt it. I give you at most, less than half an hour at most. So the question is, will you get your brother to help or will you die before that?"
Tuesday 11th November, 12:10.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
East End.
Breathing heavily, Floyd looked down at the ground below, feet dangling in the air and released a light chuckle. 'Should have expected this.' Turning away from the steep drop, Floyd then looked at the only one stopping him from plummeting to near-certain grievous bodily harm if not a possible death, Maelstrom.
He was clad in his hero get up, but the bubbling red aura that had surrounded him was gone, instead of red, slitted eyes stared out at him from the orange and black mask. "You know, you could just surrender?" Naruto offered and Deadshot chuckled.
"Can't do that, looks bad for me." Not that betraying his employer Sofia Falcons didn't already look bad, which was why he needed her dead. After all, a contract ended when either it was completed or the employer was dead. That was the only way that Floyd was going to get out of this whole debacle with his reputation intact, if not then his trustworthiness would take a hit. As a mercenary, your clients had to be able to trust you otherwise finding a job would be more hassle than was needed.
"More so than you getting your ass kicked?" Naruto shot back and Floyd noticed his gaze flickering downwards. Then the grip around him loosened and reflexively, Floyd reached out grasping hold of the ledge just before he fully plummeted to the ground. He looked up, catching the red aura bursting to life around Naruto, a single tail bursting forwards and slicing cleanly through the thick slab of concrete thrown his way by Grundy who stood below.
Then Naruto spun around, tail spinning around and cutting a deep line through the wall as it whipped out at something attempting to sneak up behind Naruto. He could hear the sound of combat inside, but Floyd didn't really feel like getting involved.
He'd gotten his ass handed to him quit handily by Naruto, luckily for him, Grundy seem to have bore the majority of Naruto's strikes. Every time he leaped up from the floor and into the building, the two would engage in a short grapple where Grundy clearly held the strength advantage. However, each and every time he'd be outmanoeuvred and knocked back out of the building. Then he'd have to play cat and mouse, avoiding Naruto until Grundy could come along and take Naruto's attention away from him.
Whoever had attacked Naruto, well Floyd was more than happy to let him deal with it. They certainly seemed to be putting up a much better fight than Grundy at least. 'Talon? Thought he went to clean up the Hammer with Bronze Tiger?'A moment later in confirmation of his guess, Floyd saw both Naruto and Talon falling to the ground, grappling against one another as they fell.
How Talon was doing so without getting his skin burnt like mad, Floyd didn't know. 'Then again, he ain't right himself.' In his long career, Floyd had gained a good sense of people to avoid. Talon was one of those people and unfortunately for him, Floyd wasn't able to do as his instincts screamed at him to do so.
Meanwhile, Naruto's lashed out with a kick, throwing Talon off him and simultaneously using that as a means to flip himself through the air and land on his feet. The ground beneath his cracked as he did, but he landed in a comfortable position within which he could respond to any attack with ease, but no attack came. Not from Talon, not from Grundy, there was nothing.
"What game you playing, Alton?" Naruto asked.
Talon moved forwards, flanked by Grundy. "No game, well, except for the one I'm currently playing with two little birds." Naruto looked at him in confusion, before realisation hit him.
"What have you done?!" He snarled out angrily.
"Me? Nothing much, I just wanted to see if the little Dove could carry the broken Hawk to safety before he died. Of course, Dove might find it a little hard what with me clipping his wings." Naruto moved towards him and Talon rose one hand. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, after all this little gift was one from dear Sofia Falcone and if you don't hurry. Then you might be able to save them both, or at least one of them. Choose to fight and you'll lose them both."
And just like Talon expected, the aura around Naruto intensified, three tails bursting to life as he shot off in the opposite direction. 'That's it Naruto, chase after the birds, then take me to Sofia.'
Tuesday 11th November, 12:15.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
"Dove!" The exclamation of his code name, made Don look up through blurry vision where he could make out the figure of someone clad in blue rushing towards him. The voice sounded familiar, but he could barely make remember anything his mind slow and breathing laboured.
"Take him." He wheezed out, collapsing to his knees as he tried to push Hank into the arms of Wildcat. "Take Hank."
Ted looked down at them both, hesitating as he looked at the state they were both in. Hank was unconscious and looked dead, considering the position Hank was in, Ted couldn't tell if he was breathing. Dove on the other hand was bleeding profusely, a long, thick trail of blood leading from behind him and down the snowy streets, he had trudged through.
"Please, save him," Don begged through laboured breaths. Clenching his fists, Ted reached out with one hand, checking the pulse of Hank. It was there, weak, but still there. "You have to save him, please. I'll be fine, trust me."
That statement had life to it, but even Ted could recognise that it was a fallacy. But considering the state both young men were in, carrying them both would be a task in itself, getting them to safety in time without aggravating their wounds would be impossible.
"Your powers, keep them active, I'll be back for you Don. Trust me, I'll save you both, I promise." Taking Hank from the back of Don, Ted ran as fast as he could. 'I promise, Don, I'll save you both. Just hold on.'
Collapsing face-first into the ground, Don looked to the back of Ted as he ran away, a small grateful smile coming onto his face. 'Thank you.' Images flashed through his mind, memories of his life. Of his parents, of Dawn, of Ted, of Naruto, and Hank. 'Thank you for everything, for letting me be a part of your life. Live, Hank, live no matter what. Please.'
Tuesday 11th November, 12:20.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
It was snowing.
The streets empty as people rushed into the warmth of their homes to escape the freak storm. Yet Naruto was barely conscious of that fact, he was numb to it all as he stared down at the sight before him.
Moving forwards slowly, bloodstained snow crunching under his feet, Naruto came to a stop and crouched down. One hand shakily reached out, closing the lifeless eyes of Dove as he kneeled there in the snow, unmoving. And he just stared at him, the body of his friend who had once been so full of life, for happiness and naivety that it had been refreshing.
This little gift was one from dear Sofia Falcone.
Clawed fists slowly began to curl, blood dripping into the ground through the gaps in his fingers as the claws pierced the skin of his palm.
Sofia Falcone.
Knuckles whitened as Naruto rose, figure hunched over.
"Sofia Falcone." The aura flared madly as Naruto's breathing became heavy. "Talon." Then without a moment's hesitation, Naruto tensed his legs and jumped into the air, the snow beneath his feet exploding up into the air after him as the ground cracked and cratered. And as he flew into the air, slowly reaching the peak of his jump, Naruto stared down at Gotham City below. "I'll make you pay!"
So another chapter is done and Naruto receives a seal similar to that of the Eight Trigram Seal he received in canon in that it enables Naruto to gain much larger reserves of magic much quicker than any other magician. This is, of course, the start of Naruto learning Magic, but it won't be anything major right now. Don't want to give him too many powers too soon and will take a little time. But we are officially growing closer to the end of season 1, Coldhearted has now finished and Naruto has once again been caught in a trap set by Talon. Rose makes a reappearance and sadly, Dove is dead.
Hopefully, I am shedding light on how destructive the event was and that the Justice League are facing the consequences of their actions. But I also hope that Talons explanation is a good enough reason as to why it's brushed under the rug so easily. It's not forgotten, but it's not longer given mainstream attention. And that's because they want heroes out there on the streets stopping criminals rather than on house arrest and possibly looking at government officials with scrutiny.
Now onto the questions:
Sultan Asil Arslan: Original Green Lantern and you're right, Naruto still has problems. I mean like what happened with Dinah after the training simulation that M'gann took control of. Instead of seeking help for the trauma, he ignored it and Naruto's been doing that ever since Kushina died. That's a lot of shit that's gone untreated psychologically.
Yohnos: Did you not? Oh well, must have been someone else. Either way, I'm not thinking on the lines of those, Naruto will probably just be sticking with some modified grenades or possibly exploding throwing knives kind of like his own version of a Batarang.
NaruLemon Stories: Because Naruto will be a force to be reckoned with capable of going toe to toe with Superboy-Prime 1v1. He doesn't need super OP chains to do any of that stuff when he'll be able to just beat them into the ground with his own fists. That's why I'm talking about making the chains a more situational type weapon. Something that nine times out of ten will be weak against most characters, but in that one moment is super op, like when he fights Demons.
Lord Suyanash: I'm just going to keep it purely to Demons because quite frankly, Naruto is going to be super OP without the chains. As for clones, they will be limited at the start because Naruto's powers and control over said powers is limited. But as he grows stronger, he will gain access and the ability to use more and more clones. Yet this Naruto will always stick to a limit because quite frankly, he doesn't need to use a mob tactic like canon Naruto does.
LFeat: I have watched it yes, including the new season 4 which came out recently. It's an amazing show and I'm sad that it's over. Either way, I like the idea and I think I'll have Naruto use it like Trevor, but I will be sticking to the canon version of the Adamantine Chains.
Yakuza2010: Yes, but help will be limited considering that the Talon will be striking when the League are too busy to help.
SpiralPotat451: I can understand your concerns and that's one thing I'm making careful steps to avoid. I want the relationship to be natural and there will be bumps in the roads and problems that I will not gloss over. As for the harem, don't worry there's plenty of people who have PMed me about problems with said pairing and I've given them an outline of what will happen and all seemed happy and interested to see it play out. So don't just take it as me saying that I do have a natural way to fit the harem into the story.
And I have to admit, I loved your in-depth review of Naruto and Barbara's relationship and how their romance sub-story fits into the wider, overarching story and I loved it. Can't express that enough and it's reviews like that, that get me motivated to keep writing. And yes, again I can understand your concerns and that's why when Naruto and Barbara do break up, it won't be because I need to introduce another girl. Their break-up will be a result of both being the innocent and guilty party. Like a lot of teenage romances miscommunication, general misunderstandings and a lack of context behind certain actions will be the result of their break-up and certainly, their friendship will be awkward afterwards, but it will repair itself as all good friendships do.
But again, loved your review and hope I can read more just like it in the future.
Vizard890: A good theory, but that's unfortunately not the case. Naruto is Naruto and not a clone.