Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Book 2: Darkness in the Light.
Chapter XVI – Facing the Justice League.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
"Other Speech variants."
Location/Time.
Wednesday 31st December, 00:30.
Earths Atmosphere.
The Watchtower.
They had finally done it.
The Justice League was theirs to control and with it, the Earth would soon fall. Then the Galaxy and later the universe would follow in quick succession. With the Justice League now at their disposal, Vandal Savage finally had the weapons he needed to defeat his ally and former foe, the Dark God of Apokolips, Darkseid.
Though he wouldn't do so just yet, Darkseid was still of great use to him and served him better as an ally at this point in time. However, once the universe was conquered then Savage wouldn't hesitate. But until that point, their current alliance was more than satisfactory.
"After all this time, we've finally completed what we set out to do from the very beginning." Queen Bee declared a triumphant smile upon her face. All the little setbacks and bumps in the road no longer meant anything, the Justice League was theirs to command. "All that is left to do now is to decide on what to do next?"
All the eyes of the members of the Light trailed towards the man who had gathered them together, Vandal Savage. None could deny his tactical genius as he had accomplished what all had tried and failed many times before, defeating the Justice League. The question remained now, what would he do next? Certainly, they all had their own ambitions and plans, yet this agreement of theirs was profitable for them all and none wanted to leave just yet.
Seeing the attention focused upon him, Vandal pressed a button on the table, holographic images of five Leaguers appearing. Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and John Stewart.
"These members before you, have already been dispatched to the planet Rimbor. It is a criminal infested planet, a well-known smuggling hideout and information hub across the entire Milky Way Galaxy." Savage began explaining. "There, these Leaguers will reap havoc across the planet, declaring our intent. It is my intention to gather as many of our future enemies together in one place and then, with the aid of our ally, crush them in one fell swoop."
There were a few shared nods, it was a sensible plan, especially when all were aware of the power their ally possessed. Crushing a large force of aliens such as Vandal intended would be a simple matter. Not to mention their own armies being built up and equipped with Apokoliptian technology. Plus, the G-Gnomes of Cadmus and the Justice League being at their disposal as well.
Earth would be more than able to fend off such an assault.
"And the others?" Ra's al Ghul questioned, referring to the other Justice League members.
"Currently the Green Arrow, Flash and Aquaman have been dispatched to capture Roy Harper. Black Canary and Red Tornado meanwhile are using the remnants of our Starro Chips to bring the team of young heroes under our control." Vandal Savage once again pressed a button upon his keyboard, the holographic images shifting and being replaced by twelve others. These were:
Naruto Uzumaki, aka Maelstrom.
Alan Scott, aka Green Lantern I.
Ted Grant, aka Wildcat.
Jason Blood.
Atom Smasher.
Blue Devil.
John Constantine.
Flash I.
Guy Gardner.
Citizen Steel.
Starman.
And Hourman II.
"These are our main priority targets." Vandal stated firmly.
Ocean Master disagreed, scoffing in response. "Our attention should be focused upon Atlantis. With it, I can be King and then, with the armies of Atlantis under my command we do not need to hunt these heroes nor use subtle machinations."
"An invasion?" Lex repeated humour clear in his tone. "By all means, do share your intelligent plan as to how you intend to subjugate the world. All of its contrasting religions and cultures? How you will deal with the constant rebellions and so on?"
"Through force." Prince Orm snapped angrily.
It wasn't a bad plan, all things considered, Savage could admit that. After all, that was why he invited Prince Orm to the Light in the first place, but since then his plans had evolved. Brute force would not be the answer to conquering the world, not as it had been in the past. As Luthor pointed out, conquering the world through force, especially Earth would be impossible.
An Emperor would have to balance all the contrasting cultures and religions. As Julian Caesar and various other Emperors of Rome, he had laid the groundwork for what became the great Empire of Rome. One that stood for centuries and because Savage had understood the effect differing cultures and religions could have.
In order to stop people of the same religion and culture from gathering, to stop them feeding one another thoughts and ideas of rebellion and restoring things back to how they were, Savage had spread them across the empire. Forcing the Gauls to live amongst the Britons. Forcing the Britons to live amongst the Germanic Tribes. The Germanic Tribes south with the Greeks. He stopped them from consolidating into one large group and spread them out across the empire, slowly but surely incorporating them into the Roman culture.
But that had taken centuries of work and required constant attention because as seen in the later years of the Roman Empire, such action was no longer taken. And was a contributing factor to its fall.
No, conquering Earth through force while not a bad plan, was not the correct option in this instance. They needed the world united and under their rule sooner and the best way to do that, would be to take over the world without the people of Earth even realising it. They couldn't rebel against something they didn't even know existed.
"Force? How quaint." Luthor replied mockingly. "We'll be too busy dealing with rebellions to focus on external threats. Truly a wonderful plan of yours, Prince Orm."
And this was another instance of why force was not viable. Everyone had ambitions and egos, eventually, those ideologies and goals would come into conflict and no matter how well you liked the other, eventually one would have to surrender to the other. That was the way of the world and Vandal had no intention of balancing that for centuries to create a united Earth.
After all, once Earth was his, all those gathered here would meet the same fate as the Justice League. That was the only way to secure a truly united world.
"Enough." Vandal said, stopping a potential fight from breaking out, Orm himself already gripping hold of his trident tightly. "Atlantis will be yours as promised, however, our main priority at this moment in time are the heroes still at large. Retired or active, it does not matter. As we have seen recently, if the situation requires it, even retired heroes will return to active duty."
For a moment, Orm remained unmoving, glaring deeply at Luthor as he kept an ever-tightening grip upon his trident. But after a little while, he abated and loosened his grip, leaning back into his seat and while there was still a noticeable tension in the air, it had lessened.
"And how do you propose we deal with them?" Brain questioned. "Certainly the retired heroes are not as powerful as they once were, but they are considerable threats nonetheless. And with five leaguers off-world, and five others dealing with the young heroes, we only have ten additional leaguers. Whereas you have marked twelve targets. Who do we prioritise first?"
"We should target those currently in Gotham." Ra's spoke up. "Naruto Uzumaki, Jason Blood, Green Lantern and Wildcat. There are four right there, with the only true threat amongst them being Jason Blood, more specifically the Demon within him, Etrigan."
"Agreed." Luthor concurred. "And it would provide us the perfect opportunity to eliminate Naruto Uzumaki."
Those words gained quite the vicious sound from Teekl who had been residing quietly upon the silent Klarion's lap. "Our mandate upon Naruto Uzumaki has changed." That earned a noticeable reaction. "Thanks to the information that Talon gained from the Church of Blood, we now understand why our former benefactor is so interested in gaining Naruto for himself. Contrary to our initial theory, he is not the key but is simply a powerful servant that they wished to acquire. The key is a young girl as of yet I identified but going under the code name, Raven."
"So Naruto Uzumaki is no longer a target for elimination but much like the Justice League, a target of acquisition?" Queen Bee asked and Vandal nodded his head. "Hmm, understandable. He has shown great potential having him under our control could prove to bolster our power massively should he develop his powers further."
"Indeed and in the meantime, we shall find this…Raven and eliminate her." Ra's correctly summarised.
"Yes." Vandal agreed. "However our priority at this moment in time is ensuring that our movements do not get discovered. The capture of Roy Harper is our main priority. Should he escape our grasp he could warn the young heroes and in turn, warn the rest of the heroes across the world."
Wednesday 31st December, 08:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Gotham Heights.
Breathing deeply, Naruto took one last look at the rows of pens laid out before him on the table. Closing his eyes, he closed off his mind and senses to the outside world, the sound of Rose hitting the punching bag slowly melting away till he was left in nothing but silence.
'Will. Intent. Imagination.' Naruto told himself, referring to the three simple rules Jason had taught him about the usage of magic. It had never been his main focus, spending more of his time focused on improving his skills as a fighter and expanding the usage of his powers. Yet recent events, especially his meeting with Slade had left a new impression upon him.
He could no longer rely upon his powers nor purely his skills as a fighter as he had once believed and now he needed a new, third alternative. Something that could give him that edge and whereas once magic had been purely theoretical, now it was becoming a serious area on which he focused a vast majority of the time. Certainly, he didn't ignore his other training but physically speaking, he had reached the peak of his abilities at this stage. The only way for him to advance further was through experience.
Training constantly like Rose would no longer provide him with any results and while he certainly sparred to maintain his level of skill. The only way to improve would be to face against impossible odds once more.
Scrunching his face in determination, sweat dribbling down his face, Naruto eventually opened his eyes, the dozen pens that had been floating in the sky dropping onto the table with a clatter. Naruto himself braced both hands against the table, chest heaving from the effort of using magic in such a fashion.
It was strange.
Physically he was fine, but mentally, it was another story. The mental concentration required to utilise magic was draining in a way Naruto hadn't experienced since his days of Black Hood when he spent days going without sleep a he hunted crime. Even then, that paled in comparison to the exhaustion he felt now.
Feeling a buzz at his side, Naruto looked to his phone to see a message from Barbara. Taking a moment to recover his breathing, he eventually reached out, unlocking his phone and looking at the message in confusion.
Has any Leaguer appeared in Gotham looking for u recently?
Or anyone else?
"Rose, when you went upstairs to get something to eat, did Jason say anything to you about someone for the JL arriving looking for any of us?" Rose stopped mid-punch, placing it on her hip and flicking her hair over her shoulder. The look she gave him said all he needed and Naruto raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, just asking."
Pushing himself to his feet, Naruto made his way upstairs, Rose following behind after grabbing a towel. It was silent on the first floor which probably meant Jason was in his study and so that's where they headed.
A quick knock followed by an invitation from Jason and the two stepped inside. "Have you heard anything about someone from the JL looking for someone in Gotham?"
Jason paused. "Why do you ask?" Naruto showed him the message and the older man leaned back in thought. "Strange, I haven't heard anything but that's not unusual. I'm not a member of the Justice League so I don't usually know what they're doing until after the fact."
"Alright, thanks." Sending a negative back to Barbara, Naruto went to leave the room expecting to not receive a reply for a few minutes only for his phone not even enter his pocket before it buzzed. Pulling it out, Naruto read the message, it was simply two words.
Get out!
"We need to leave. Now." Naruto stressed, not even hesitating to believe the contents of the message. Barbara wasn't the type to joke about these things and he wasn't about to believe she would start now.
Jason and Rose were not the types to doubt Naruto's seriousness either. "I'll contact Alan and Ted. Find out where Barbara is and we'll meet up with them there, find out what's going on here." Jason ordered and both teens nodded their heads, quickly rushing out of the office and into their respective rooms to gather their equipment, only the essential things like their costumes and weapons. But that was relatively quick and easy, all three exiting the house in a moment with Jason activity the various magical defences surrounding his home before they left.
"They're heading to Blüdhaven," Naruto told them and began rapidly making their way down the streets, keeping to the side and out of sight as best as they could.
Wednesday 31st December, 08:30.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Blüdhaven.
"This is the place," Naruto said to Rose and Jason, leaning against the side of the old raggedy door of the warehouse and knocked against it a few times. For a few moments, there was silence and that's when they all picked up the sound of movement. By that point however it was too late, they had been surrounded. Artemis, Red Arrow and Rocket were on the roof, Aqualad jumping out of the ocean and M'gann floating down from the sky. Superboy and came from the right, and Kid Flash from the left. The door itself opening to reveal Robin, Batgirl and Zatanna.
Each and every one of them ready for a fight.
"So, is this a trap?" Rose asked, hand inching towards her weapon.
"I'm uncertain on that," Jason replied as Naruto remained silent looking towards Barbara questioningly. However, that's when two other figures made their appearance, constructs of green energy slamming Superboy, Kid Flash, Aqualad and Miss Martian to the side of the warehouse while Red Arrow and Artemis were knocked from the sky, caught by a platform of green energy that safely secured them before much like the others, pinning them to the wall.
Rocket turned around rapidly, hands glowing only to see Wildcat staring at her, Green Lantern pointing his ring directly at her. After a few moments, she lowered her arms in surrender as the others tried to figure out exactly how quickly things had gone south.
"So, mind telling us exactly why you tried to ambush us?" Naruto asked and Barbara sighed.
"They didn't try to chip us so we're safe," Barbara said and a ripple of relief spread through the team as Naruto and the others looked thoroughly confused as to what was happening. "Green Lantern, can you release the others and can we all get inside before we found. Then we'll provide you with an explanation for the ambush."
Wednesday 31st December, 09:00.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Blüdhaven.
The Justice League was defeated and under the control of their enemies. The villains victorious and now possessing the most dangerous army in perhaps all of existence. It was a worrying thought, a terrifying one also and left the question of what they were going to do.
No, that was wrong, they already knew what they had to do. Free the Justice League and defeat the villains, that was what they had to do. Each and every single one of them, old and new had to step up to the mark.
"So what do we now?" Artemis asked, breaking the tense silence that had filled the room. More than a few looks were shared around, some silently inquiring for answers while others seemed hesitant in how to reply. Jason, Alan, Ted, even Kaldur, Dick and Barbara knew the answer. But they didn't know how to say it without possibly demoralising the young heroes who still seemed unsure and scared.
Why wouldn't they be?
This was the Justice League, the strongest generation of heroes to exist. Many of its members possessed the power to wipe out cities, countries, continents and even planets with ease. And they were new heroes, just beginning their journeys and discovering their powers. They were retired heroes, old and bodies weakened from years of disuse. None of them were in any position to put up a real fight against the Justice League and have any chance of winning.
Not even the strongest of them.
"It's simple, we do what any hero would do," Naruto answered, stepping forward and attracting all the attention onto himself. "Every one of us knew the risks of becoming heroes, of what we would have to give in order to live a life like this. The Justice League need our help, all the people that will suffer at the hands of Vandal Savage and his compatriots need our help. It's as simple as that, right now you need to make the decision, do you fight or do you give up."
It was the harsh truth, but Naruto knew that right now, a lie would do more harm than good. Each person here needed to know the risks of what they were about to do, especially the younger generation, his generation.
"If you can't do that, the doors right there. No one will judge you, no one will look down on you. Because what's been asked of you is something none of us has prepared for. To be scared is normal, but what determines a hero is how you handle that fear. The bravest man I've ever known gave up his life for another." Ted, Jason and Barbara bowed their heads at those words. "So please, if you don't feel like you're up to the task, then leave. No one is forcing you to stay, just know this, the Justice League will not be holding back."
That statement was punctuated by a deafening silence.
"They will not recognise you, they will not hesitate and they may very well be coming with the intent to capture. But do not doubt for a second that if you prove too dangerous, that they will come with the intent to kill." Naruto told them firmly. "These are not your mentors, your friends, your family. These are puppets under the control of villains and they themselves, are now the very villains we must face. Take a moment, consider if you're really capable of doing this and then make your decision. As I said, no one will judge you."
For a few moments, no one said a word until in a daze, Rocket rose and stumbled away. One by one, others did the same, some like Barbara and Kaldur, the more level-headed and mature heading to provide some support for them.
"We're outnumbered and outgunned," Naruto noted, looking around at their numbers.
"Amongst us, only Etrigan and possibly Green Lantern would be able to go toe to toe with the more powerful members of the Justice League." Red Tornado noted robotically. "However, they would struggle against one of them, there are ten to deal with."
"Like who?" Naruto asked, curious to know a more in-depth understanding of the power structure of the Justice League. Most of his understanding was purely speculation and opinions from various online sites. He doubted it was entirely accurate, in fact, he knew it would not be.
"Superman, Martian Manhunter, Wonder Woman, Doctor Fate, Captain Atom, Flash, Captain Shazam. Hal Jordan, Icon, John Stewart. Those are the ten strongest Justice League members." Alan and Jason nodded their head having expected that while Naruto seemed a little surprised.
"I'd struggle against each of them," Alan noted.
Jason concurred. "Personally I wouldn't stand a chance. Even Etrigan would struggle one on one against them with the exception of possibly John Stewart and Icon. However with the rapid development of their powers in recent years, I would wager that at most, Etrigan could at most occupy one or two, but it would be losing battle." Nor did Jason imagine that Etrigan would be too happy about the idea either. Demons were notoriously prideful, but even now, Jason could feel the lack of enthusiasm Etrigan felt towards the coming battle.
"Is there anyone we can ask for help?" Naruto asked.
"There is," Ted spoke up. "The old guard. Admittedly a few have died or are permanently crippled, but there's still a few members of the Justice Society wandering around. Plus there's that new Green Lantern, Guy Gardner if I'm not mistaken."
"It would certainly provide us more numbers." Jason agreed.
"However, from your own viewing, Wildcat, Green Lantern, it is obvious that neither is as powerful as you were in your primes. I have studied the members of the Justice Society and the Justice League extensively, even with the additional numbers, we would not be able to contend with the most powerful of the Justice League." Red Tornado stated simply.
It was then that Robin came up. "We don't need to. We just need to come up with a way to counteract whatever is giving the villains control of the Justice League."
Wednesday 31st December, 12:45.
New Jersey,
Gotham City,
Blüdhaven.
Rubbing his eyes tiredly, Naruto groaned out as he arose from the quick nap he had taken. They had been working in a little shift as they prepared for the fight to come. Messages had been sent out to the retired members of the Justice Society, both warning them of what happened and also asking for aid. In the meantime, Red Tornado along with Wally, Dick and Barbara had been putting their minds to the task of finding a way to counteract whatever was controlling the Justice League.
It was all quite beyond him and so, the rest had been working on a rotational shift of keeping watch and also resting.
Pushing himself to his feet, Naruto made his way towards Ted, tapping him on the shoulder, a silent signal to swap out. As the older man walked away to get some rest, Naruto stood beside his Atlantean friend, Kaldur as they kept their senses attuned to their surroundings outside.
They didn't say anything to one another, there was no need to fill the silence between them with conversation. It was not an awkward silence that needed breaking, but one of professionalism shared between two skilled young heroes who possessed maturity equal to that of those many years their senior.
It was much like the friendship Naruto and the Hall brothers had shared. Neither side had known the whole truth about the others past, nor did they actively seek out the knowledge about them. There was no need, a friendship was not determined by how much you knew a person but how much you understood them. The same was said for Naruto and Kaldur, did they know the basics of the others past? Yes, but did they actively converse about it? No, they didn't need to because it didn't matter to them what happened in the past.
Just as they did not need to talk to share a friendship and trust for one another, they also didn't need to know everything about the other. It was a strange yet pleasant sensation for Naruto, to find himself suddenly having more and more friends surrounding him.
It had always just been Barbara.
Now he was surrounded by people which was precisely why he was willing to put his life on the line like he had decided to do. When he started out as Black Hood it had been for the sake of Barbara and Jim, to give them a safe world in which to live. Starting first with Gotham, but as Slade had pointed out, there were threats other than just those within Gotham.
Now his ambitions had grown once more, he wanted to save everyone he cared for. He had already failed once with Don and Naruto was going to make sure that it never happened again, no matter the cost. 'If this counter of theirs doesn't work, then as much as they might hate me for it, I'll have to kill the Justice League.'
Never let it be said that Naruto didn't care greatly for those around him. Even if it meant staining his hand with the blood of thousands, Naruto was prepared to do so. Whether it meant climbing up on a mountain of corpses and drowning the world red, he'd do it. His resolve had weakened after Cadmus, but now it was burning brightly once more and he would save those around him no matter what it cost him.
"Are you alright, Naruto?" Kaldur asked, looking toward the blonde whose fist had clenched tightly.
Following Kaldur's gaze, Naruto loosened his fist quickly and took a calming breath. "I'm fine, just anxious is all. It's not going to be easy this fight."
"But you have put yourself with the main force, exposed to the most danger."
"I know. But just because I've done that, doesn't mean I'm not afraid." Naruto pointed out. "This is the Justice League, the strongest heroes to ever exist are amongst them and what do we have? Retired heroes whose powers have grown weaker over the years. Young heroes who have only just begun to develop their powers. Only a fool would go into this fight without some measure of fear, don't you agree?"
Kaldur nodded his head. "I do, but I have every confidence we'll succeed." Here he looked towards where the team were working to create the countermeasure. "They'll make it work and I have every confidence that you will as well. And so will we. I feel fear, but that's outweighed by the faith I have in those around me."
Naruto went to argue another point but paused for a moment before chuckling lightly. "Alright, I trust you. We'll win and you'll owe me a drink of Atlantean wine or whatever you drink down there."
"Are you sure, it's quite strong?" Kaldur questioned and Naruto rose a brow in response, the former giving a small chuckle before nodding his head. "Very well, my friend, if you're certain you can handle it, we'll drink to our heart's content once we win."
"You best bring a lot of it then."
"We'll start off small, you wouldn't want to embarrass yourself, would you?" Kaldur joked and Naruto barked out a laugh, both young men completely forgetting the tenseness of the oncoming fight in favour of levity and jokes at the expense of the other.
Wednesday 31st December, 22:00.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto looked around at the empty desert. They had chosen this place for two reasons, that when the morning sun came around the heat would affect both Aquaman and Martian Manhunter, weakening them both. But most importantly because it was completely empty with no inhabitants for miles in all directions, hopefully, they'd be a safe distance away from civilisation.
And as he thought about it, Naruto realised there'd be a third as well. Apokoliptian tech was no doubt being supplied to this mysterious organisation that had been controlling villain activity for months and possibly even years. All information that was taken from the minds of the heads of the Intergang, Bruno Mannheim after their failed attempt to rob the Metropolis Federal Reserve. So it was very likely that Queen Bee, the ruler of Bialya was also in cohorts with this organisation as well so maybe a reminder of just how powerful the Justice League was would send a little message to her.
Hearing movement behind him, Naruto turned to see Jason Blood, Wildcat and Green Lantern I trudging towards him, their faces set into grim determination. And behind them, another group walked forwards amongst them were Atom Smasher, Blue Devil, Flash I, Red Arrow, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Guy Gardner the fourth and newest Green Lantern, Citizen Steel, Starman and Hourman II.
"We ready?" Wildcat asked, each of the members of their makeshift task force looking to one another, sharing nods as they did. "Then let them know where we are, Maelstrom, Canary."
Sharing a glance at Black Canary, both stepped forwards and spread their legs. Naruto himself let his powers burst to life, quickly jumping to his Three Tailed State as both took in deep breaths.
"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"
"▂▂▂▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!"
Both released their respective sound-based attacks with varying degrees of success and destruction. In terms of pitch, Black Canary's was cutting and much, much louder, almost entirely smothering Naruto's own. Yet she threw hers to the air and it was far more directed, Naruto's was much more widespread and wind-blasted out, the sand dune upon which they stood erupting outwards.
Both Green Lanterns in response conjured various protections against the sound, sand and wind, not only for themselves but for Black Canary who stood directly beside Naruto. However, the combined sound of the two left no question as to where they were.
Wednesday 31st December, 22:05.
Earths Atmosphere.
The Watchtower.
Looking through the monitor, Vandal frowned as he watched the team of heroes prepare themselves. Just as he had feared, Roy Harper had escaped, but in an unforeseen instance, Red Tornado seemed to have malfunctioned before being able to turn the team. He had dispatched Black Canary upon the androids signal disappearing believing he to be destroyed by the team at first.
As unlikely as it was that the team of young heroes had killed their former caretaker, it was the more likely possibility than Red Tornado resisting the effects of the Starro tech. However, it seemed that he had more of an unfortunate error in his planning, something he would have to rectify in the future.
However this would be the pivotal moment of his plans, everything would come down to this battle. 'Black Canary is amongst them meaning they have discovered a countermeasure to the Starro tech. I can't afford to hold back in this fight.'Vandal thought to himself with a deeper frown forming. The Lights success would be determined in this battle, their enemies had gathered together in one place but were armed with a countermeasure. Either they would succeed and have all their biggest threats gathered into one place or they would fail and lose the Justice League.
However in his many years of existence, Vandal had faced many threats and impossible odds, none greater than his first meeting with the Dark God of Apokolips, Darkseid. Compared to then, the odds that faced him now were minuscule.
'However, I cannot afford to take any chances.' He reminded himself. "Klarion, send dispatch those currently on the Watchtower to Bialya, meanwhile recall all League away missions except for Rimbor. Our task there has not yet been finished." With his order given, Vandal brought up a new screen, opening communications with Queen Bee of Bialya. She had a few companies of soldiers armed with Apokoliptian tech nearby and if the situation became dire enough, he would require them.
Vandal could see the sense in choosing Bialya for a battleground, but it also gave him an advantage as well. One he would exploit thanks to the heroes positioning.
Wednesday 31st December, 22:45.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
This had been his childhood dream, back when his parents were still alive. Fighting alongside the heroes of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron. The Justice League had only formed when he had turned thirteen, two years after his mother's death and by that point, his image of heroes had forever been warped and tarnished with that stain.
However, his opinion of the older heroes, of the Justice Society had never changed as by that point, many had retired. He had watched all the movies, all the TV shows, had read the comic books and stories, possessed and played with all the action figures. On more than one occasion he and Barbara would pretend to be various heroes of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron as they fought against the dreaded villains.
Villains like Baron and Baroness Blitzkrieg, Captain Nazi, Swastika, Doctor Alchemy, Doctor Cyclops, Doctor Destiny, Doctor Polaris, Endless Winter, Psycho Pirate and the Rival.
They had been heroes and now he was fighting alongside them, it was just unfortunate that it was against the Justice League. As Naruto stood beside the youngest hero besides himself, Red Arrow, neither saying anything to one another, he looked out over the desert in thought. 'What would you both think of me now?' He wondered to himself and frowned as he thought upon how his parents might look upon him.
But before he could think upon it further, figures began approaching them upon a construct of green energy. "You know what you have to do, Guy?" Alan questioned, looking upon Hal Jordan, the second Green Lantern of Earth and also the most powerful of them all. Even at his prime, Alan had made it clear that he would have struggled against Hal. That was why he had given the task of stalling Hal to the more inexperienced but much younger Guy Gardner. His body would actually be able to withstand the pressure needed to fight against Hal whereas Alan had learned the hard way he was not the fighter he used to be.
And he would need to preserve his stamina for when more of the leaguers arrived, which from what they could see, only a few had.
"I'm seeing not seeing Icon, Doctor Fate, Captain Atom or Captain Marvel though." Blue Devil noted and that's when they all noticed a blur of red zooming towards them. And before any of them had a chance to react, they were all struggling to stay on their feet as a powerful burst of wind struck them.
Slowly as it cleared they all witnessed two blurs, one noticeably slower than the other zipping across the desert. "Looks like Jay's started the party." Atom Smashed noted.
"Well, it would be a shame to let him take all the fun for himself." Citizen Steel added as they began moving forwards also. Much like had been predetermined, Jay Garrick would fight against his protégé, Barry.
"Don't forget your roles." Alan interrupted. "Guy, Maelstrom, Black Canary, Blue Devil, Red Tornado, Citizen Steel, Red Arrow, Hourman it's your turn. Atom you need to remain behind with me, Starman and Jason. If those four heavy hitters arrive it's our job to take of them."
There were nods shared as the rest of the makeshift team rushed forwards to engage. Quickly, Guy took to the air, a powerful blast of green energy striking out towards Hal who erected his own construct, enduring the blast with ease. Clicking his teeth in annoyance at the sight, Guy charged forwards, smashing through the slightly weakened construct only to head straight into a fist of green energy.
Letting out a shout, Guy summoned a hastily erected green energy construct that broke under the strike and after a loud boom sounded out, was flung back as a result of the strike. As strong a willpower as Guy possessed, he was new to the business of not only a hero but also as a Green Lantern only being so for a matter of months. Compare that to Hal Jordan who'd been doing this for years, the difference in skill was noticeable, not to mention that Hal Jordan was already considered one of the strongest Lanterns to be amongst the Corps and well, Guy had his work cut out for him.
Jay found himself in a similar situation, having managed to divert Barry's initial attention away from their group as a whole. But in the meantime was rapidly and failing to block each and every strike that came his way.
Even in his prime Jay would have stood no chance, Barry was faster than he ever was and his blows matched that. Almost appearing as a blur to even himself and it was taking every ounce of skill he had left in his aged body to keep up. Rapidly back-pedalling, he looked to see Barry pulling up alongside him.
Coming to a halt, Jay spun on his heel and turned left only for Barry to quickly close the distance between them. Again and again, Jay slowed and turned hoping to shake Barry off his tail, but the younger speedster was just too fast to lose.
It was only when the fighting around them became fierce that Jay managed to get some breathing room, but only because both were avoiding the aftershocks of the clash between the two Green Lanterns overhead. And soon after, dozens of more heroes clashed and the two speedsters were forced to zoom in and around people.
Jay himself spotted an opportunity, blitzing towards Plastic Man and landing a powerful uppercut. It stalled the man long enough for Red Arrow to fire an arrow that exploded with rapid expanding and hardening foam. Even then, Plastic Man was beginning to seep through and rushing forwards, Red Arrow pulled out a chip they had created and moved towards the trapped, but the escaping hero.
As he did, unknowing to him, Flash II zoomed towards him, hands reaching out to take the chip. However, at that moment, Flash I rapidly spun around, blasting off the ground and leapt forwards. Barry's eyes turned, tracking his movement and while able to twist his head just enough to avoid most of the damage. However, the aftershock of the speedy punch threw him back, both Flash's rolling across the ground before rising to their feet and bursting off once more.
Roy himself let out a grunt as he was picked up off his feet by some unseen force. Shaking his head, he pushed himself to his feet and rushed forwards once more managing to plant the chip into Plastic Man's back, the hero going limp while Roy dived to one side. He did so just in time to avoid being impaled by the Trident of the King of Atlantis.
Even so, the explosive force behind the strike once again picked Roy off his feet and threw him through the air where he masterfully rolled to mitigate the damage while simultaneously rolling to his feet and firing arrows towards the approaching Aquaman. Each one packing enough explosive power to destroy a car yet didn't even stall the Atlantean King.
However, as he did, he saw a shadow cover him, the telltale shout of Hawkgirl descending towards him, her mace held high in preparation to bring it down upon his head.
"▂▂▂▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!"
Roy could breathe a sigh of relief at that moment as he continued to fire upon Aquaman. Hawkgirl herself was struck by what seemed to be a wall of pure force that knocked her out of the sky. Black Canary who had noticed Roy's positioning had quickly jumped in to save the young man, but at that moment she too was forced to duck and roll along the ground. The second part of the Hawk team, Hawkman cutting across the land and swinging his mace around.
If she hadn't noticed his approach out of the corner of her eye that strike would have been enough to permanently cripple her and quite possibly kill her. Luckily for her, she did, Hawkman continuing on ahead and arcing through the air to come back only to be struck by a powerful tornado, Red Tornado zooming through the air.
She turned, releasing a canary cry directly at Aquaman, the Atlantean digging his trident into the ground as he fought against the force. As she did, Black Canary quickly came under fire from Green Arrow, his arrows straight and true with the first few being struck out of the sky by Roy's own.
For a few seconds, both mentor and former protégé drew, locked and released their arrows in quick succession, all being intercepted by the other and falling to the ground. But eventually, Roy found himself struggling to keep up, the arrows getting gradually closer and closer to Black Canary who pushed her vocals to the limit, Aquaman pushing forwards with small, strained and hard-fought steps.
If she stopped now, Aquaman would be released.
At that moment two things happened. First, Hawkgirl shot into the sky, targeting Roy and flew down to strike him. The tornado that the Android creation of T. O. Morrow being burst apart with a swing of her mace as she continued on unimpeded. At the same time, Roy was unable to keep up with his mentor as an arrow snuck through and shot towards Canary unimpeded.
Yet they were both saved by the timely intervention of Citizen Steel and Maelstrom. Nathaniel Heywood leapt into the path of the arrow, smacking it aside with one hand, and stood firm, arms spread as to cover a wider base. The few more arrows that snuck through bounced harmlessly off his organic steel body. Grinning at the pinging sound, Citizen Steel burst forwards, rushing towards Green Arrow who rapidly back-pedalled, a stream of never-ending arrows from his enlarged quiver firing towards him.
Each bounced off him without so much as leaving a scratch and Nathaniel got a little too eager and made a fatal mistake. He underestimated Green Arrow who while a powerless hero was a hero of the Justice League nonetheless.
Without breaking his seamless motion of drawing, locking and releasing arrows, pressed a button upon the side of his bow, his quiver shifting and an explosive arrowhead slotting onto the next arrow he drew. Again in the same seamless and fluid motion, fired the arrow that Citizen Steel realised too late was different to the rest.
Unable to change his direction in time, Citizen Steel instead crossed his arms and braced as best as he could. Even then the explosive force behind the arrow knocked him off his feet and threw him back.
Green Arrow followed up, an electrical arrow getting locked into place as he drew back the bowstring. But before he could release it, he picked up movement to his side and turned, firing his arrow while leaping backwards to put some distance between him and his attacker. Hourman II leaning his head to the side mid-jump, dodging the arrow by a hair's breadth as he closed the distance between him and Oliver Queen.
Yet as he did, Hourman II suddenly found himself on the defensive as Green Arrow instead of putting further distance between them as he had expected, instead went on the offensive. Forgoing the arrows on his back, Oliver met him up close and personal, Hourman II was forced to rely upon his instincts and reflexes to save his life.
While he may no longer possess his powers of precognition, the reflexes he had trained in order to effectively rely upon said powers in a fight were still there. Hourman II could safely say that even in his old age, not even the likes of Bruce Wayne had reflexes matching his own. However, even with almost superhuman reflexes, Hourman II couldn't find an opening to attack back, Green Arrow despite being known far and wide as the 'Bow Guy' was anything but that. He was an incredibly skilled martial artist, one of the best in the world it was just that his preferred style of fighting was long-ranged.
It was just a little flicker out of the corner of his eye that warned Hourman II of something coming. Yet his body was already in motion, head leaning back to avoid an unseen strike before suddenly, the space between him and Green Arrow was filled with the rapidly growing Atom.
Raising a guard, Hourman II was able to block the roundhouse kick that Atom followed up with only to be unable to block the bow strike to his face that Oliver followed up with. Grunting and stumbling back, Hourman II caught his footing only to be quickly be beset by the two heroes once more.
He was saved by Wildcat leaping into the fray from the side at that moment and tackling Green Arrow to the ground as he did. Both men tumbled down the hill, breaking off and coming to a stop as they faced one another.
Yet before anyone could do anything, a blinding green light descended upon them all.
At the same time as this sequence of events took place, Naruto burst off the ground, tails whipping out and striking against Hawkgirl's face. It stalled her, whipping her head back but it didn't knock her out of the sky as he had hoped. Either way, as he began to descend to the ground, Naruto was able to reach out, grasping hold of her ankles and brought the hero down with him.
With a shout he swung his arms down, throwing Hawkgirl to the ground where she struck with enough force to cause it to explode upwards. Continuing through, Naruto drew back his fist and brought it down in a crushing strike that collided dead centre with Hawkgirl in the sternum.
A second explosion erupted once more as Naruto gripped her by the wing and threw her out the smoke. "Arrow!" He shouted with no context as the smoke gradually began to clear. Yet as he burst out after Hawkgirl, he widened his eyes to see Guy Gardner trying and failing to hold of a dozen powerful beams of pure green energy. As Naruto followed their origination, he saw Hal Jordan stood, ring extended as dozens of over the top and monstrous-looking cannons released a stream of energy down at Guy Gardner.
"Maelstrom, deal with Hawkman." Red Tornado ordered, breaking off from where he had been keeping the hero in question busy. He did so without even giving a moment for Naruto to register what he has been told before he flew off, powerful and large tornados sprouting to life in order to aid Guy Gardner to fend off against the beams of green energy.
As he did, Hawkman continued on, going to attack Red Tornado's exposed back and Naruto rushed to intervene.
"▂▂▂▃▃▃▅▅▅▅!"
Only for Black Canary to beat him to it, the woman turning away from Aquaman as she released a Canary Cry that threw Hawkman out of the sky. It just so happened that he fell directly beside Hawkgirl who Roy had rushed towards. Upon seeing the two together and Hawkgirl getting to her feet, Roy quickly began firing arrows as he rushed forwards.
Each one exploded but did very little in terms of damage and as he dived forwards, chip in one hand, his eyes widened as he a mace bursting from the smoke and coming towards his face.
Naruto had seen this himself, managing to grab Roy by the back of his shirt and throw him away, but he, in turn, was struck by the mace and for a moment he saw stars. He wasn't even aware that he was flying through the sky and it was only when he collided with the ground did he realise he had been struck.
'W-what?' He questioned as he laid in the sane in shock. 'My cloak, it didn't even stop it?'
"Maelstrom!" Red Arrow shouted and Naruto snapped out of his daze just in time to roll out of the way as Hawkgirl descended upon him, mace smashing against the ground. Reflexively, Naruto thrust his tails forwards only for Hawkman to appear, mace deflecting them with ease before both Hawk heroes flew towards him, rapidly closing the distance between them.
"Shit." Naruto cursed.
"Red Arrow, cover Maelstrom!" Black Canary shouted, quickly recognising that with Hawkgirl and Hawkman dealt with this would become much easier. Behind her, Aquaman closed in only for him to skid to a halt, trident spinning dangerously as he manoeuvred it in a position or block the downward swing of Blue Devil's own trident.
Grunting, Aquaman's knees buckled slightly but he recovered and pushed up, a noticeable displacement of air bursting out as Blue Devil stumbled away. Both trident wielders coming to a stop, staring across to one another, before the former stuntman, Daniel Cassidy fired a wave of flames from his trident.
In response, Aquaman planted the butt of his trident against the ground, a force field of magic sprouting up that protected him from the flames. Yet the flames didn't let up and Aquaman pushed off, bursting through the wave of flames and closed in upon Blue Devil.
Dismissing his fire attack, Blue Devil instead was forced to defend himself against a ferocious assault from the skilled and powerful Atlantean King. It was difficult, as strong and as fast as he was, Aquaman was seemingly stronger and faster. Even with his biology being weakened by the heat of the flames, Aquaman was just too strong and Blue Devil despite blocking and parrying the strikes was constantly knocked backwards.
Wednesday 31st December, 22:50 (Yes this has all happened in the space of 5 mins).
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
"We need to do something." Albert pointed out, anxiously tapping fingers against the side of his crossed arms. Beside him, Alan, Jason and Starman remained quiet. "Guy can't hold off Hal for much longer, even with Tornado there backing him up there losing."
"We still don't know where the other heroes are and we can't afford to be tired before that moment," Jason argued but even he shared Atom Smasher's concerns, they all did. But the fight against the best of the Justice League would be hard enough at their best, if they were tired it would be all but impossible.
"That doesn't mean much if they lose there," Starman said.
Alan frowned. "All they need is to take out another hero." He noted as he watched Black Canary rush to aid Hourman and Wildcat against Green Arrow and Atom. Maelstrom and Red Arrow were fighting against Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Blue Devil was trying and failing to fight off Aquaman and the less said about the two Flash's the better. Same with Red Tornado and Guy Gardner against Hal Jordan. Just a single top tier member like Hal Jordan was taking on two of their powerhouses and winning. There was still nine more to be wary of, some much more powerful than Jordan as well.
"Fuck this." Albert spat going to move forwards to help but Starman stopped him, his cosmic staff resting against his chest. "What?"
And for a moment Starman said nothing, eyes peeled as he looked in the distance. "I think we might have the advantage we need about to arrive. Citizen Steels already moving into position." Looking closer, the heroes did so and despite the tenseness of the situation, some of the worries were relieved from their shoulders.
'About time Nathaniel.' Alan thought to himself, the tight clenching of his fist loosening slightly. 'This might be what we need to tip the tide in our favour.'
Wednesday 31st December, 22:55.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
'This is humiliating.' Citizen Steel bemoaned as he crawled along the ground. He wasn't an arrogant guy, but he knew he was perhaps one of the strongest members of the Justice Society, sure he wasn't on the level of the likes of Atom Smasher or Blue Devil, and certainly not on the level of Flash I, Green Lantern I, Wonder Woman and Doctor Fate. But he was strong and he was skilled, it's why he survived for so long.
It wasn't arrogance, but confidence in his abilities.
Yet as confident in his abilities as he was, Nathaniel couldn't help but accept the sour pill that perhaps he was out of his league a little. He'd always known that in comparison to the threats that the Justice League, the villains they faced back in the day weren't anything special. One of their biggest threats had been Doctor Polaris who suffered from a mental condition that actually limited his use of powers.
Compared to the threats that the Justice League faced, theirs weren't all that special nor did they require heroes like himself to push themselves beyond their limits to achieve new heights of power. Nathaniel would like to say that if they had he'd be every bit as powerful as the current generation of heroes but he honestly couldn't say that for certain.
There had been three powerhouses in the Justice Society. Wonder Woman, Alan Scott and Doctor Fate.
Alan Scott had been publicly seen as the number one hero, the strongest and Wonder Woman the number two. Yet that was no longer the case, Hal Jordan the Green Lantern that replaced Alan Scott was now every bit as strong and more than likely stronger than Alan Scott was in his prime. Wonder Woman herself was still one of the strongest heroes in the Justice League, but comparing her when she was in the Justice Society to what she was like now was like comparing a small hill to a mountain.
There was no comparison, no debate.
Doctor Fate himself was well-known to be a powerful hero and while the public didn't know this, was known to be the strongest hero in the time of the Justice Society, surpassing even Alan Scott by the very heroes he once served beside. The reason for this was because despite being a member of the Justice Society, his appearances were minimal and while impactful every time, the frequency of his appearances detracted him in the eyes of the public and within the team itself.
That all changed after a single fight in which the Justice Society witnessed the Lord of Order battle against his natural enemy, an unknown villain and powerful sorcerer named Mordu, a Lord of Chaos. The very same sorcerer who had single-handedly defeated each one of them without even breaking a sweat.
'And it's crazy to think that whereas before, he was an unreachable figure, he's arguably no longer the strongest anymore. And that's terrifying.' He added in his thoughts, thumbing the chip in his fingers as he watched Black Canary, Wildcat and Hourman II stand battle against Atom and Green Arrow.
Their superior numbers gave them an advantage especially with the archer having run out of arrows and being forced to engage in close quarters. But he seemed skilled in negating his partners Canary Cry, robbing them of one of their greatest assets while both Hourman II and Wildcat struggled against Atom. The size altering hero seamlessly and fluidly jumping between different heights, packing his mass into a single limb as he struck.
So he waited for an opportunity to present itself when either Atom or Green Arrow had a moment of vulnerability he could exploit. Time ticked by slowly, and all around the battles between Aquaman and Blue Devil raged, the demonic hero struggling with all his might to withstand the Atlantean Kings powerful blows, each one sending him skidding backwards. In the far distance, Maelstrom and Red Arrow were in a similar boat as Blue Devil, struggling to fend off Hawkman and Hawkgirl while the two Flash's blurred around the desert, all Nathaniel able to see of their fight being sparks of lighting left in their wake.
And up above the most dangerous fighting waged, Red Tornado and Guy Gardner putting all their combined efforts into defeating Hal Jordan. A man who was proving to be even more dangerous and powerful than any had given him credit for.
All it took was a single moment, however, a moment that was gifted to him by the enemy of all things. Hal Jordan had summoned an entire squadron of fighter jets, each unleashing bullets and missiles. Guy Gardner in response summoned another powerful barrier that cracked and strained under the combined assault, the hero in question gripping his right arm tightly as his ring glowed. Sweat glistened off his brow, teeth gritted and face scrunched in the effort as he tried with all his might to hold off the assault.
But it wasn't enough, not even with Red Tornado forming powerful blasts of wind to intercept the missiles and bullets could halt what came next. A group of missiles flew down, some thrown off course by the backdraft of wind produced from a tornado. But the rest flew true, striking a particularly weak point in the barrier and while most exploded, one managed to sneak through.
It landed nearby, Citizen Steel scrambling to his feet and rushing away, Green Arrow, Atom, Black Canary, Wildcat and Hourman II doing the same. Yet they didn't escape fully, each caught in the shockwave that followed and launched through the air with cries of shock.
As luck would have it, however, Citizen Steel found himself landing near Atom. The size altering hero being just large enough that in his dazed state, Nathaniel was able to place the chip onto his back. With that hero dealt with, he turned to see Wildcat doing the same to Green Arrow.
As he witnessed this, Citizen Steel let out a short laugh, but one that was quickly silenced as his eyes widened in shock. For at that moment, something came faster than the eye could see, striking Hourman, Wildcat and Black Canary and throwing them through the air.
"Move!" Jay shouted, but it was too late, Flash II appearing in an instant before Citizen Steel. The first Flash didn't even know what had happened but all of a sudden Barry's speed exploded to life out of nowhere, completely eclipsing anything showcased before, almost as if he had been holding back the entire time. A single swipe to Hourman's face, a punch to Wildcats sternum and a front kick to Black Canary sent them all flying, all doing so in slow motion as Jay tried and failed to keep up with Barry.
Citizen Steel didn't even see Barry arriving, didn't see the fist mere inches from his face but Jay did. He watched it all as Barry landed a powerful punch, so powerful that a boom echoed across the desert, Citizen Steel being thrown out of the cloud of sand moments later.
Roy himself had been running across the desert, quiver empty and arms aching. He spared a glance over his shoulder to see Naruto doing his best to hold off Hawkman and Hawkgirl, the two forcing the blonde on the defensive. Yet he was being pushed back constantly, barely able to land a strike as he dashed around the area avoiding the maces that both heroes wielded.
It was crazy to him, to imagine that people could ever become this strong, he'd never seen or faced anything like it in his life. He'd always thought that he was ready, that he was a rival to his former mentor, Green Arrow, that he could contend with the Justice League. 'But this is insane.' Roy thought to himself.
It was inhumane, the power these heroes possessed and the scary thing about it was that they weren't even the strongest. Roy may not have known the true depth of the power the Justice League members possessed, but he'd been told enough to get a decent understanding of how to judge who was the greater threat.
Hal Jordan and Barry Allen, they were just monsters in of themselves. Just one of them alone was enough to take on the entire world single-handedly and there were eight others, some stronger than them. Roy had always thought it to be a hyperbole when people referred to them as planet killers.
Well, Roy was now officially a believer.
Yet perhaps more terrifying thought was that maybe, the claim that they were planet killers wasn't an over-exaggeration or a truth, but in fact an understatement. It was almost as if there was still more than those two could show and it was the same with the likes of Aquaman, Hawkman and Hawkgirl, three people who were never considered as dangerous as the others.
Cannon fodder was what some people referred to them as. Strong in their own right, but always kind of dismissed as a none threat.
Well, those canon fodder were completely destroying them.
Seeing a stack of arrows up ahead, some red and some green, Roy picked up his speed only to come grinding to a halt when he saw a figure flying towards him. A glare of sun reflected off their body and that's when the boom hit him, an explosion ringing out and almost deafening him.
He looked only to see Citizen Steel flying through the air towards him, body limp and seemingly robbed of all consciousness. In the corner of his eye, he picked up the sparks of lightning and quickly realised what had happened just as Citizen Steel smashed into Roy, sending both to the ground in a heap.
But it was not only the battle over the hill that began to shift. At that moment, all the current Justice League members seemed to find new depths of power.
Naruto who had just begun to get into a rhythm as he thought against Hawkman and Hawkgirl. Tails lashing out forcing one to defend with fast and powerful swings of their mace that knocked the red whips off course. Meanwhile, Naruto himself closed the distance between the other, fists and legs a blur of motion as he struck out them.
Overall his strikes didn't do much over than leave angry red marks from where his cloak came into contact with their skin. At the same time, he didn't possess the strength necessary to do any meaningful damage either an unfortunate circumstance but one that was nowhere near as bad as the other.
Arguably, despite being outnumbered, Naruto was doing far better than the others. He lashed out with a kick, smacking Hawkman across the face while spinning around, tail swinging around and striking the man in the stomach actually sending him skidding back.
As he did, Naruto braced one hand on the ground, pushing up just in time to avoid a downward strike from Hawkgirl. Two more tails coming around only to be blocked by her wings. With a shout, she flexed her wings outwards, a powerful burst of wind knocking Naruto out of the sky where he flipped, landing in a crouch only to see both fighters converging in on him.
They were fast and powerful, their maces formed of a metal that bypassed his cloak with ease. Their durability was also incredibly able to shrug off his blows while ignoring the toxicity of his cloak as it was nothing more than a minor itch.
He dodged their initial salvo of strikes, managing to get in a few good hits of his own as well. But their speed and strength were much greater than before. 'Damnit this is insane!' Naruto snarled out.
"▄▅▄▅▂▂▃▃▄▄▅!"
The quickly used roar only managed to push them back slightly which was all Naruto had expected but it allowed him to shift his position in order to receive them better this time. Parrying Hawkgirl's mace to one side he landed a cross upon Hawkman's cheeks while coming round with an uppercut to the underside of Hawkgirl's jaw. Spinning around he slammed a back fist into Hawkman's sternum, tails wrapping around Shayera's ankle and swinging her around, knocking both to the ground.
'If I could just take out one of them.' Naruto thought, rushing forwards and as he did, forced the cloak around his right hand to retract leaving it open and exposed as he held the chip in one hand. If he didn't, the cloak itself would eat away at it, much like it had done to his own body and would do if his powers were overused.
He managed to succeed, placing the chip in Hawkman's neck but as soon as he did, Naruto was struck by Hawkgirl's mace. His vision momentarily blackened, the cracking of bones filling the air as Naruto flew back.
And as Hawkman collapsed to the ground unconscious, Hawkgirl stalked towards Naruto, mace held dangerous in one hand.
Yet he was not the only one to be defeated, Guy Gardner finally reaching his limit. He'd tried his best but he was new to this whole hero business having only being a Green Lantern for a few months and while he had distinguished himself as being quite talented, it didn't mean much when faced off against Hal Jordan. That man had been a Green Lantern for well over a decade by this point and had fought some incredibly powerful foes both with and without the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps.
Even while considered very young, Hal Jordan was also considered to be one of the most powerful Green Lanterns in the history of the Corps. A legacy like that wasn't without reason and that was something Guy had experienced firsthand as he was constantly overwhelmed and outmanoeuvred by the more experienced and powerful fighter.
He had exhausted his power ring and it was only the timely summoning of a tornado by Red Tornado that saved his life. But it in turn, that left the android exposed, animal constructs tearing off limbs and sending both Guy and Red Tornado to the ground.
Hal himself floated dangerously in the air, slowly lowering down and Power Ring glowing ominously.
Jay also reached his limits, he having reflexively managed to put one hand on Barry's shoulder after the Flash II smashed Citizen Steel with a supersonic punch. It was a mistake to do so as it brought him within range of Barry who unleashed a barrage of strikes that Jay couldn't even see let alone stop.
With a gasp, blood bursting from his lips, Jay collapsed to the ground, Barry stood above him, lightning arching off his body.
Blue Devil was in a similar boat to the others. He tried his best to fend off Aquaman's strikes, each time he blocked the trident blows sent a painful reverberation throughout his body while also knocking him back a few paces. Daniel would be able to catch himself and would barely dodge the next strike and come round with a strike that Aquaman would block with ease, at most going back a single step.
He'd then respond with a quick flurry of thrusts and powerful swings that Blue Devil was unable to fully block. Cuts opening across his body that while healing, we're slow to do so, the magical properties of the trident slowing down his healing ability.
Eventually, it just became too much.
He rose his trident up to block a downward swing and his arms buckled. Aquaman, sensing weakness hammered down his trident once more and this time, Blue Devil's knees buckled but he still remained standing. The third strike dropped him to his knees and the fourth smashed the trident out of his hand, Aquaman's own stabbing into his stomach and with a heave, lifted Blue Devil into the air.
Blood dripped down the golden trident as Blue Devil was hoisted into the air, feet dangling in midair as Aquaman reached out, one hand wrapping around his neck. He squeezed and Blue Devil gasped for air that was being robbed from his airways. And as the grip tightened, Daniel's vision gradually grew darker and darker till it when fully black.
Aquaman let out a shout of victory, holding the unconscious Blue Devil into the air, the majority of heroes that had resisted the Light laid defeated on the ground. Only four remained now.
So here we are, the first part of the YJ season 1 finale. I'll admit I had hoped to get this done in one whole chapter. But around the 9,000 word mark I realise I've not even reached the halfway point of the final fight and I'd only introduced 2 of the top 10 of the JL, Flash II (Barry) and Green Lantern II (Hal).
Honestly I'll admit this was really fun to write and I hope you enjoyed the fight scene as much as I enjoyed writing it out, but when I went back to edit I did realise that I made a few mistakes. There's a lot of things going on and I wanted to showcase how chaotic a battle on this scale could be. It's a new experience for me and while I greatly enjoyed writing, I won't deny there's parts I'm not too pleased about but I just can't another way to write it. Hopefully though, that doesn't detract from your enjoyment of this fight and I promise to improve in the future.
As you can see, the Justice Society members have been introduced (these are the only ones still alive, the rest are dead or permanently crippled). They struggled immensely as they have grown rusty and their fitness has decreased, a similar problem Alan Scott and Ted Grant are suffering from despite having worked a little harder in the past few days.
It's honestly hard for me to believe how the story got to this point as I never really intended to introduce the Justice Society initially. The only ones I did where Doctor Fate, Wonder Woman, Blue Devil, and Alan Scott in the future and not this early one. But Wildcat, Citizen Steel, Atom Smasher, Hourman II and Flash I were never meant to appear. But I think this story is much better off as a result of it. Even Jason Blood wasn't meant to play as big a role as he had, only appearing in flashbacks and in that one scene where he met with Naruto and Batman as he talked about the Uzumaki clan. But again, I think this story is much better off because of it.
Anyway, I just want to clarify on some of the action. Like I've said, the Justice Society are older heroes and so, they're retirement has resulted in their bodies not being in top shape or able to use their powers as effectively as they had in the past. As for Naruto and Red Arrow, their too young and little out of their depth and so, are doing incredibly well to keep up as they have. The ones doing the best are Black Canary and Red Tornado because they're used to fighting on this level.
Biggest concern is your reaction to Guy Gardner, yes he is nowhere near as powerful as he is in the comics. I did explain that he's a newly made Green Lantern and inexperienced in the use of fighting, especially with a Green Lantern Power Ring. Hal Jordan has been doing this for years and is one of the strongest Lantern users in existence. Just to put this into perspective for you, Alan Scott in his prime was considered to #1 most powerful hero in the world. However, Alan made clear this chapter that even in his prime, Hal Jordan would be stronger than him.
That should give you an idea of just how powerful the Justice League and how Naruto and his makeshift team are doing incredibly well to be fighting for this long against them. They're team is made up of weakened and aged heroes, young heroes, inexperienced heroes and three heroe (Black Canary, Red Tornado and Jason Blood/Etrigan) that are in perfect shape.
Anyway, let's get on with the questions:
DylanTheDemon: They do, yes. Won't spoil them, but they do have weapons that will be seen in the future.
Sly Dragneel: Not loads, admittedly it does look like quite a few people know about his past. But that's because it's all being lumped on Naruto one after the other. Gotham is quite a small, closed off city. But in Book 2, Naruto is being introduced to a much larger world with a lot of intricate and connected backgrounds. He's having to deal with that and it's jarring both for us the readers, but it also reflects the similar experience Naruto is going through.
Vizard890: Naruto was and believed she died from overworking but as we saw this chapter, that isn't actually the case as there is more to the picture than first believed.
Stonepotrice: Actually the villains have been captured, I'll take the fault for that one as I admit I forgot to write that in. But yeah, Talon, Deadshot and Grundy are still alive (can you consider Grundy alive though?). No, Naruto won't be visiting Black Adam and Captain Marvel doesn't have much more information than what he gave Naruto at the start.
Zabuza Momichi23: Glad you're excited as one of them will be introduced in the next few chapters or so. As for Rose, I'm afraid I've decided that she will not be a part of the harem.
Sultan Asil Arslan: Yeah I agree with you about the JL, but I'm glad you liked my interpretation of Superman and how the JL view him.
Mr. Shiki: You're right, it is slightly diminished by him using his power but not even Batman or Slade could have come out of that situation alive. Enhanced Undead Talons, Apokoliptian Tech, Solomon Grundy, Talon, Bronze Tiger, Deadshot, Ravager. That is a line up which is incredibly dangerous to all but the most powerful. The Zone was the culmination of Naruto's skill as a fighter reaching new heights.
And I think there might have been a mistake in the way it's been brought across, I'll own up to that. Talent is not passed down genetically otherwise Naruto would have been a prodigy like Minato. Which he wasn't, Naruto was a prodigy of hard work whereas Minato possessed natural talent. The Uzumaki partook in breeding with the strongest to create stronger offspring. This is stuff like the physical make up of their body, making their bodies more efficient. The talent Deathstroke is referring to is not of his physical state, but his talent as a fighter.
Physically, Naruto without the serum is a top tier human which is thanks to his Uzumaki heritage. But his skills as a fighter is all him. As Jason Blood said, his Uzumaki heritage helped him by providing Naruto a top of the line genetic makeup, but all his skill and talent as a fighter was a result of hard-work and dedication. And through that same hard-work, Naruto is breaking through the barriers that would have limited him before, aided by his Uzumaki heritage.
Fuyuriku: You're right, it is confusing the power levels and to be honest, I've tried the best I can to make things streamline, but that's difficult considering all the stuff that goes on in comics. And as for Talon, well I didn't outright say it, but Talon has a portion of Naruto's power, kind of like his Ginkaku and Kinkaku were pseudo-Jinchuuriki. Admittedly only a Tailless Form, but it's still a boost nonetheless that with all the other combatants, yes Naruto couldn't beat him.
As for the clones, well there's a weakness to that in the fact his power is split equally between them. He either made a clone and cut his power in half while fighting against Solomon Grundy (someone stronger than Superboy who is stronger than 3 Tails Naruto). But ultimately, I understand what you're saying and I am a bit disappointed that you haven't enjoyed this book as much as the first.
Yakuza2010: Yes, though they are stronger than their canon counterparts, for some it's not by much. But for all of them, it'll be a serious wake up call. And well, Hawk will need some time to himself after Doves death, but they will be good friends, yes. As for Killer Frost, well really it's Naruto that owes her favour and not the other way round.