Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Book 2: Darkness in the Light.
Chapter XVII – Saving the Justice League.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
"Other Speech variants."
Location/Time.
Wednesday 31st December, 23:00.
Earths Atmosphere,
The Watchtower.
Looking upon the monitor before him, Vandal felt a grim smile come to his face. Naruto Uzumaki, Roy Harper, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Guy Gardner, Blue Devil, Wildcat, Citizen Steel, Flash I, Hourman II they were all defeated and only at the cost of Plastic Man, Green Arrow, Atom and Khufu Kha-Tar,
Khufu was a truly unfortunate loss, despite not being as strong as the Justice League members like the Flash II and Hal Jordan, was still incredibly powerful in his own right. On a level similar to that of Aquaman and arguably would stand as comparable to Green Lantern I in his prime, a feat not many could have claimed in that day and age. Things had changed now, the threats heroes faced growing more powerful and demanding they in turn grew stronger.
It was a circumstance that made Vandal's goals more demanding and difficult, but in turn, increased the potential reward in the end.
Turning to his right, Vandal looked to see Klarions fingers dancing rapidly, face set into one of concentration as he moved the puppets he controlled. Unfortunately, their interface and link with their puppets wasn't fully up to scratch as they had initial believed. Admittedly this was because they underestimated the true depths of power that the Justice League possessed, especially the top tier members.
What they originally believed to be their full power was around only sixty to seventy percent and that misjudgement was costing them. What they had was still an overwhelmingly powerful force, it was not allowing them to bring out the full totality of the Justice Leagues powers in most cases.
The only exceptions being those below the level of Aquaman, Khufu and Chay-Ara. They were the only ones they'd been able to accurately predict the limits of their power and while they were able to bring out said strength, the others were weakened. Luckily for them, the more Justice League members taken out by the ragtag team of heroes meant that with fewer puppets, more power could be unleashed by the remaining heroes.
A jump that went from seventy percent to near eighty percent and that number would only increase. However, despite these advantages Vandal would prefer not to lose any more members, he didn't know if whatever chip they were using to counteract the Starro tech could be reversed and if not other means would need to be found to exert control over those lost. The worst-case scenario is that eliminating them was the only choice.
Vandal couldn't afford to lose any, they were all valuable and necessary to the future. They would be the core of his army, its foundations, the elites and his biggest weapon against Darkseid. Just a single one missing could cost him massively and Vandal was not one to let go of a pawn easily while it still served a use.
'Now though, we are set to gain even more of a prize.' He thought, looking upon the downed heroes. Black Canary and Red Tornado were unknown variables and Wildcat and Hourman II were too old, they had no powers and unlike Green Arrow and Batman, were not young enough to compensate for that disparity. However, there was no denying their skill and Hourman II had once possessed the power of precognition. 'I will hand him over to Cadmus, see if they can find a way to bring back and extract his power of precognition. It could prove valuable to our plans moving forward.'
Despite those thoughts, Vandal was also keenly aware that there were still threats present. Naruto and Flash I were still conscious and could still prove a threat. Red Tornado was in pieces and Guy Gardner had exhausted the power of his Lantern Ring. However, Vandal had experience with Lanterns before, he knew that if given a chance to summon their Battery they could recharge their Power Rings.
He was also keenly aware and cautious about the four remaining heroes, Jason Blood, Green Lantern I, Atom Smasher and Starman. They were fresh and Jason Blood would be especially dangerous, especially the Demon residing within him, Etrigan.
'I've already lost Khufu, I can't lose Aquaman, Chay-Ara, the Flash or Hal Jordan. It's time to press our advantage.'Vandal affirmed to himself. "Klarion, send in Captain Atom, Icon, Captain Marvel and Doctor Fate. End this once and for all."
He was also aware that the team of young sidekicks could be somewhere nearby the desert. Klarion had done as he asked, using Flash II's speed and searched the area for any sign of the young heroes. Queen Bee and her soldiers had done the same. He was tempted to send in those troops as well as the four heroes he had dispatched, but at the same time they had a limited stockpile of Apokoliptian weapons, losing anymore would not look good upon them.
Their truce with Darkseid was tentative, ask for too much and Vandal knew he would become a burden to the Dark God of Apokolips. No, at this point in time he needed to solve this himself while preserving what resources they had.
"Access: Captain Atom, 1-2. Captain Marvel, 1-5. Doctor Fate, 1-7. Icon, 1-8." There was a long duration of light, the Justice League members disappearing from the Watchtower leaving them in silence and Vandal turned back to the monitor. He could see the four heroes that had hung back springing into action now, no doubt recognising that they could no longer stay out of this fight and preserve their stamina.
And as he had expected, their attention was focused upon the two strongest and dangerous members, the Flash II and Hal Jordan.
But before he could focus any further upon that, Vandal noticed a blur rushing towards him. Klarion noticed it too, an Eldritch blast of magic lancing out that Kid Flash barely avoided, skidding to a halt by the feet of Vandal. Making a noise of displeasure and frowning deeply, Vandal thrust a kick out, striking Kid Flash in the sternum and knocking him back.
There was a guttural roar, Superboy leaping through the air and landing in a crouch. He came up with a powerful uppercut that Vandal leaned back, spinning round to land a kick into the clones chest. It didn't do much, not that Vandal had expected it to and instead used it to push himself away and put some distance between them.
The clone had learned though, rushing in and never giving him an inch only to be struck by a powerful blast of magic by Klarion that threw him to one side with a cry. "Superboy!" Miss Martian shouted worriedly.
"Use fire." Vandal ordered and Klarion responded, magical fire bursting from his hand forcing all the heroes back, except for one. The young protégé of Icon, Rocket summoning a shield as she flew through it unharmed, directly into a powerful Eldritch blast by Klarion that knocked her back slightly. However, it, in turn, resulted in his concentration being split between controlling the Justice League and fighting the team, which meant his fire attack disappeared.
They were at a disadvantage, Vandal recognised that instantly, but he still had a trick up his sleeve. While they hadn't fully completed their mission upon Rimbor, they will have done enough damage for their plan to work anyway.
"Recall all League away missions."
And moments later a Boom Tube opened, out from it came some of the most dangerous heroes in the Justice League; Batman, John Stewart, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter and Superman flew out. By the reaction the team gave, they also recognised the danger of the situation they now found themselves in.
Wednesday 31st December, 23:00.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
His vision was blurred, darkness creeping in from the edges as Naruto tried and failed to push himself into an upright sitting position. But his body just refused to move, feet lifting off the ground as a sort of counterbalance as he groaned out, the pounding of his head growing louder and more painful as he did so.
"Fuck." He muttered before collapsing back.
This was completely different to anything he had ever experienced before, not even Black Adam had seemed this big of a threat but he had been holding back a great deal. Something Naruto realised more so now than ever before as he watched Hawkgirl stalk towards him, mace held in one hand loosely, her figure relaxed and unworried of him recovering.
Naruto doubted he'd be able to either, not for a good few minutes which he didn't think he would get. The metal of that mace was far more effective than the weapons Talon and his compatriots had used against him. Sure they had been able to affect his healing factor and even slightly disrupt his cloak, but they were stopped by it mostly. That mace Hawkgirl wielded, the one that Hawkman wielded as well just completely bypassed his cloak as if it wasn't there.
He had tried his best to avoid it but not only did his greatest defensive tool, the cloak not stop their attacks but he was neither strong nor fast enough to avoid them. Just holding them both off for a short while had been next to impossible.
Solomon Grundy had been stronger than his Three-Tails form, but he hadn't been all that fast, skilled and lacked any semblance of intelligence. The Undead Talons despite being enhanced were again, neither strong nor fast enough to keep up with him and the only thing that made it difficult to deal with was their insane rate of regeneration, but even then they were more of an annoyance than an actual threat.
Talon was the only one out of all of them that had been dangerous especially with the revelation that he too had similar abilities to himself. However, in a one on one fight, Naruto was more than confident in his victory, especially with his recent growth in talent as a fighter. Even combined, despite having areas in which he couldn't match them, his speed and cloak had enabled him to dictate and control the flow of the fight even when all hope seemed lost.
Now though that was far from the truth.
He was against individuals every bit as skilled, strong and as fast as him, more so in fact. They had unique abilities he'd never encountered before and worst of all, they weren't holding back. Knowing that with his enhanced durability and regeneration he could withstand fatal attacks and survive they came with the intent to kill.
Naruto had thought himself ready to contend with guys like Hawkman, Hawkgirl and Aquaman. But that thought had been shattered in an instant when he had been first hit by the mace and felt the power packed behind it.
As strong as Solomon Grundy was, he paled in comparison to them and the scary thing was, they weren't even the most powerful or dangerous of the Justice League. And unlike Solomon Grundy who was stronger, Naruto no longer possessed the advantage of superior speed. It was an unfortunate situation and one that Naruto recognised for what it was.
His loss.
'I just hope that Alan and the others can draw out the rest of the Justice League. Then Kaldur and the team can sneak on and take out whoever's controlling them.' But Naruto wasn't too sure on whether that would be possible, he could make out the sights of Aquaman, Flash and Hal Jordan still standing strong and entirely ready to continue fighting. 'Damnit! If only I could get control of my body I'd try and distract them long enough for the others to take them out.'
And as Naruto thought along those lines, a peculiar sight reached him, one of Hawkgirl going completely rigid. Then her body began moving, far slower and more robotically than before. Eyes widening, Naruto began to piece together what was happening and his lips turned up slightly, as he once again tried to push himself to his feet.
He stumbled and failed many a time.
But Hawkgirl was moving far too slowly and Naruto's healing factor finally managed to rid him of the pounding headache, vision clearing and body facilities coming back under control. Grin growing larger, Naruto's cloak burst to life, three tails whipping out and while Hawkgirl managed to smack one to the side, she was unable to respond quickly enough to defend against the other two.
Flipping to his feet, Naruto rushed forwards, cloak around his hand withdrawing as he slapped the chip into her neck. It had been a diving manoeuvre, one that had thrown Naruto completely off-balance and so Naruto went into a roll only to spin around and see Flash appear before him, fist mere inches from his face.
Even despite its slow speed, it was far too fast for Naruto to block and could do nothing but watch. But suddenly, Flash jerked down, smashing headfirst into the ground. Jerking back in shock, Naruto looked around with wide eyes to see what was happening.
"The chip, Maelstrom!" Starman shouted, Cosmic Staff extended and the tip glowing as he pointed it towards them, more importantly at Barry. Behind him, Alan Scott created dozens of constructs that rushed towards Hal Jordan who much like the others was unable to properly defend against the assault.
Reacting quickly, Naruto did as he was ordered, placing the chip in Flash II before taking stock of the situation. There was a thundering of footsteps, Atom Smasher charging towards Aquaman as Starman flew to give aid. But then a powerful explosion rang out, Naruto only able to turn in time to see a green blur smashing into the ground as another explosion rang out, force strong enough to shake the desert beneath their feet violently. Sand and debris were thrown into the air, billowing out into a large mushroom cloud that could be seen for miles around in all directions.
Looking through it all, Naruto saw Alan rushing through the air at great speeds, an orange-yellow blur beneath him actually pulling ahead. It was speeds that Naruto could barely keep up with visually, the sand cloud bursting away almost in a natural sandstorm that would rush across the country of Bialya and beyond.
Naruto himself remained rooted to the ground, for the first time just acknowledging the power of the older heroes who had in a single instant turned the tides of the battle once more. 'But if the team are on the Watchtower, that means the rest of the Justice League are on their way here.'
Right on cue, a sonic boom rang out, Etrigan who had leapt in the air after Aquaman who had tried to put some distance between him and the combined assault of Atom Smasher and Starman was suddenly tackled out of the sky by a red blur.
There was a displacement of air, a sound like a gunshot echoing throughout the air as the form of Etrigan flew through the air and smashed into the ground, a deep dozen mile deep and wide crater erupting around him. Up above, Captain Marvel floated, lightning gathering in his hands that he unleashed down in a concentrated blast towards the Demon Lord.
Yet in response, Etrigan fired a powerful eldritch blast that struck the lightning, a blinding explosion erupting outwards from their clash. Etrigan burst from the explosion and smashing a fist of its own into Captain Marvel's face, throwing the hero back for miles. But this was simply just one aspect of the fighting that erupted, Captain Atom, Icon and Doctor Fate arriving moments later, Green Lantern, Starman and Atom Smasher turning to face their respective opponents.
Green Lantern opened up first, powerful constructs in the form of beasts coming to life and charging towards Doctor Fate. In turn, the Lord of Order summoned powerful barriers that Alan's constructs smashed against unsuccessfully. Back and forth the two went, Alan summoning constructs and firing blasts of energy while summoning barriers to protect himself. Doctor Fate in turn masterfully protecting himself while pressuring the first Green Lantern with powerful blasts of magic that knocked Alan back with each strike.
Starman himself let out a shout, pushing his speed to the limit as he flew away from the rapidly approaching Captain Atom. Masterfully dodging all energy attacks thrown his way by the man while returning fire with his own. Energy blasts that Captain Atom didn't even attempt to avoid, simply absorbing the energy within it and using that to empower himself further.
But as bad as all those looked, Atom Smashed was even worse. He had pushed himself to the limits of his power growing into a colossal giant of a figure, one that possessed immense durability and strength. But also one that was an incredibly easy target for the smaller and much faster Icon. He remained firm, guard raised and blocked strikes as Icon flew around his body landing powerful strike after strike.
'They're no longer slow or robotic. Barbara!' Naruto realised very quickly but in that instant, a figure landed before him, trident held in one hand as he stepped out of the smoke. 'Damnit! You better be alright up there cos I don't think I'll be able to help you at all.' Praying to whatever God out there was listening to make sure Barbara was alright, Naruto took a deep breath.
Turning to face Aquaman, Naruto rose his guard, shifting his stance as he looked upon the Atlantean with a frown of concentration. He'd struggled against Hawkman and Hawkgirl, there was no doubt he was going struggle with this guy as well. 'To think I once made fun of him as the fish guy. Perhaps this is karma.'
Despite that moment of levity with himself, Naruto was quickly forced to burst backwards as Aquaman charged towards him. Leaning back, Naruto barely avoided the trident strike, a trident that cut cleanly through his cloak.
'Great, and now I face another powerhouse that possesses a weapon that negates one of my greatest assets.' He thought to himself with a scowl, rolling backwards only to raise his guard as Aquaman lashed out with a powerful kick. A kick forced his guard to burst open as he was thrown back, bouncing and rolling across the ground. Luckily his cloak had protected him, but that single kick had knocked him down to a single tail.
"Ow." He groaned out, two tails quickly forming back as Naruto watched Aquaman rushing towards him. Naruto matched him, rushing to close the gap before Aquaman built up too much momentum. As fast as he was, Naruto was at least able to track his movements and that had to count for something. Yet for every stride he took, Aquaman was taking five or sometimes six.
Another thrust of the trident came his way and Naruto once again avoided by stepping to the side, feet skidding to a stop as his tails whipped round to strike at Aquaman's exposed back. Yet a skilful flick of his trident and the back end of it knocked the first of course. A little spin and the trident cut through the tops of the next two.
Naruto had expected as much as he closed the distance between the two, fist lashing out and smashing against Aquaman's face. The Atlantean King to Naruto's credit actually took a step back, but he was largely unfazed, easily catching Naruto's next fist, bringing him in for a headbutt. Something Naruto blocked by moving his free hand in the path, bones within shattering upon impact.
Grunting in pain, Naruto fell back, spinning to land a sidekick into Aquaman's sternum from his kneeling position upon the ground. It didn't do much, only serving as a decoy as with his now broken hand, Naruto flipped up, landing a kick upon the underside of Aquaman's chin.
Landing in a crouch, Naruto spun and dived towards the slightly off-balance Aquaman and tackled him. It felt like running into a steel wall, but Naruto ignored the pain and with a shout, lifted Aquaman cleanly off the ground before slamming him back into it with a thud.
Quickly taking top position, Naruto used his tails to pin Aquaman's hand left hand and his feet to the ground while with his own left, pinned the Atlantean right hand to the ground. Drawing back his newly healed right hand, Naruto unleashed a plethora of fast and powerful strikes to Aquaman's face. Each one sounded like a gunshot that rang across the area, the ground beneath them buckling under the strikes.
'He's gonna break free any moment now.' Naruto knew that much, he was outmatched in strength so hoping that Aquaman was dazed enough, pulled out a third chip, his last one. But it was at that moment that Aquaman did so. 'Fuck I should have expected!'
Cursing himself, Naruto jumped away, landing in a crouch as Aquaman got to his feet quickly. Obviously whoever was controlling the Justice League was back in full control and they were being extra careful of their chips. It was one reason Naruto had wanted to make sure that Aquaman was dazed enough that his gamble would pay off.
The Justice Leaguers were being cautious and reacted accordingly to try and destroy the chips or disarm him of them. It had happened previously before with Hawkman and Hawkgirl when Roy had attempted it. Naruto had struggled to keep their attention off the archer long enough for Roy to escape with his life.
'I need something stronger. Something that'll keep him dazed long enough for me to put the chip on him.' Naruto told himself, watching as Aquaman turned to face him, only a light dribble of blood coming from his nose despite Naruto having unloaded dozens of fully powered shots to the Atlantean face. 'A lot stronger, but what?'
Wednesday 31st December, 23:05.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
As a former thief and newly turned hero, Patrick had awoken in a number of odds places without any memory of how he got there. Waking up in a desert stuck in some kind of foam with unconscious heroes strewn around him all over the place was certainly a strange one.
'Though I have to say, the view isn't so bad from here.' Patrick chuckled lightly to himself as he looked directly at Black Canary's ass. He may be a hero, but he wasn't your typical type of hero. But before he could begin to fully appreciate the view, he was suddenly struck by a wave of sand and Plastic Man cursed out in shock. "What the fuck?!"
He was quickly silenced when he opened his eyes to see the cause of such a strange occurrence. They're engaged in a brutal duel was Captain Marvel and Etrigan. Back and forth the two engaged blows with Etrigan managing to edge out a slight advantage, but that wasn't saying much. Taking a blow to the face that echoed out across the landscape, Captain Marvel's footing slid back and with grit teeth, came back with a powerful blow of his own. Etrigan's head whipped to one side as he savagely grinned, gripping hold of the heroes wrist before he could pull back.
Pulling the hero forwards, Etrigan struck him in the sternum with a crushing uppercut that picked him up off the ground. Leaping up after him, Etrigan brought down a powerful double-handed hammer strike, Captain Marvel launched back to the ground below just as quickly as he was thrown off it.
Before he could even begin to plummet, Captain Atom flew overhead, energy strikes exploding upon contact with the Demons skin.
Grunting out, Etrigan utilised his vast knowledge and skill of magic to disappear from his vulnerable position in the air. Captain Atom unaware of Etrigan's teleportation ability flew straight through the smoke, fist lashing out and striking nothing but air as the explosion was snuffed out by the smoke. For a moment he floated there, looking around for any sign of Etrigan.
That was when Starman came flying forwards, powerful beams of energy slamming into the rising Captain Marvel. Upon seeing this, Captain Atom went to give his comrade aid only for a shadow to engulf him. He had barely a moment to look out before he was catapulted to the ground below as a result of the punch from Etrigan.
It appeared almost instantaneously to Plastic Man's eyes. One moment he saw Etrigan teleport above Captain Atom, gravity doing its work as it pulled the Demon to the ground. Then a strike rang out, a noticeable displacement of air bursting out dispelling all nearby clouds for miles around. Less than a fraction of a second later, the ground shook, explosion sounding as sand was thrown into the sky.
"What the hell is going on?" Plastic man uttered in shock, catching the sight of another battle out of the corner of his eye. The original Green Lantern facing off against Doctor Fate and despite giving a good fight was being pushed back.
Powerful constructs of green energy ranging from animals both fictional and real bounded across the air. Canons fired green rounds as a brilliant green bubble surrounded Alan Scott who floated in the air and armour of the same green energy surrounding his form. Doctor Fate meanwhile was easily fending off the strikes, a bright fellow barrier shimmered with every strike against its surface but still remained strong.
Then before his eyes, Plastic Man saw Doctor Fate seemingly duplicate himself, dozens filling the sky as magic blasted out in powerful arcs that Alan Scott strained to block. The cannons he created firing upon them. Most survived the strike, summoning barriers of their own to block the energy, albeit nowhere near as successfully as the original.
But they returned by continuing their assault upon Alan Scott with renewed vigour. Explosions ringing out as the two clashed in a mystical and surreal battle that defied whatever fragment of rationality remained in this world.
"Plastic Man." Turning his head, he saw Citizen Steel being pushed to one side, Green Arrows former sidekick, Speedy sitting upright while rubbing his head. "Help Maelstrom."
"What the fucks going on here?"
Roy looked to him irritably. "The League's being controlled. We're trying to stop them with these." Pulling out one of the chips, Roy quickly chucked it towards Plastic Man. "Right now, we're holding off the Leaguers that have come here but I don't know for how long. If we can take out Aquaman, that frees up Maelstrom meaning there'll be three of us able to provide support and capitalise on whatever opening is presented to us."
"There's a lot you missed out, y'know?" Plastic Man uttered, seeping out of the foam holding him in place. "But I get the gist of it, no time for too much chitchat."
Wednesday 31st December, 23:05.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
Twisting his hips, Naruto kept Aquaman at bay as best as he could, tails lashing out. Despite that, the Atlantean King masterfully parried and dodged the strikes, his trident nothing more than a golden blur before he would charge to try and close the distance between him and Naruto. It took everything the blonde had to avoid being taken out managing to somehow put distance between them once again.
Naruto had early on discovered that in a straight-up fight, he stood no chance. That had been a fact that became abundantly clear even from the first clash. Yet Aquaman just kept closing the distance between them, the tails serving as nothing more than a minor annoyance.
Even the occasional use of clones Naruto used served to not even so much as to stall Aquaman. The man had quite literally barrelled through two of them to get up close and personal. Naruto due to being severely weakened in that single instance as a result of creating the clones had barely been able to survive those short few seconds before his tails returned. Yet the seconds had felt like hours to Naruto in that instant.
Switching his stance up to be more defensive, Naruto prepared himself to receive Aquaman's assault only for there to be no need. Just as Aquaman's trident came within inches of Naruto's cloak, the blonde preparing to dodge at the last moment, and an inhumanely large fist smashed into Aquaman's body. Just as it was unnaturally large, the offending fist folded and bent around the Atlantean's body, seemingly swallowing him whole before shutting him out.
Aquaman catapulting across the desert in a blur while Plastic Man appeared beside Naruto. His body was unnaturally thin and tall, fist even more disproportionate to his body.
"Well kid, you seem to be struggling against the fish guy that must be rough." Plastic Man joked and Naruto fought the urge to scowl at the older hero. "I'll take over from here." Then Plastic Man seemingly shrunk in upon himself, before shooting off after Aquaman like a loaded spring.
And for a moment Naruto remained stood there unmoving as he looked at where Plastic Man had once stood. 'That's it!'He realised, turning to watch Aquaman and Plastic Man clash, the elastic hero trying to tie up Aquaman who used his trident to keep him at bay. It was a mystical weapon, one that was capable of piercing through his cloak with ease. By the light scratch that Naruto could see upon the heroes chest, not even his elastic body was capable of withstanding the magical properties of the trident.
But despite acknowledging all of that, Naruto's mind was still alight with the realisation that had come to him. 'I've never tried using my powers in that way, but if I do, it might be what we need to turn the tide.'
Taking a moment, Naruto breathed in deeply, blocking out the sounds of battle all around him. Feet spreading wider apart, Naruto held out his right hand, palm upwards as he gripped his wrist tightly with his left hand as a stabiliser. With his position set, Naruto began gathering his power, never opened his eyes as he instead felt it within him, the flow of his power.
Even without seeing it, Naruto could feel a weight forming upon his hand, forearm straining as he felt his cloak weakening all around his body, a single tail disappearing entirely. But as he did, Naruto felt himself beginning to lose control of the power and it was more his instincts than anything that warned him to move quickly.
Without even a second thought, Naruto's eyes snapped open as he charged forwards, a football-sized ball of pure red energy held in one hand, it distorting and beginning to come undone.
"Plastic Man, move!" Naruto roared as he leapt into the air.
Without even a moments hesitation, Plastic Man leapt away, Aquaman whose back was turned went to defend himself. But Naruto had timed the moment perfectly. Throughout the course of his fight against Aquaman, he had gained a good understanding of the heroes speed. The shout had been made that would allow Plastic Man plenty of time to escape while denying Aquaman the time to move within time.
And with a shout, Naruto thrust the destabilised ball of Demonic energy down upon Aquaman's back, between his shoulder blades and his vision went white momentarily. A dull ringing pounding in his ear as for miles around, the ground erupted upwards.
Plastic Man wasn't even able to get completely out of the way in time, picked up in the explosion and thrown through the sky. Naruto and Aquaman disappearing before his eyes in an explosion of white that temporarily blinded him.
Wednesday 31st December, 23:10.
Earths Atmosphere,
The Watchtower.
It was chaos, pure and simple.
They had come in confident, ready to face off against whatever came their way. Even more confident when they saw it was only two figures, Vandal Savage and Klarion the Witch Boy. Both were foes that they had faced either as a team or as a single hero. Klarion was the one they recognised as the most dangerous and had proven it in those short few moments they had tried to take out the two.
But that was when the five Leaguers arrived and the danger of their mission went up massively. They had come, intent on taking out the controllers of the Justice League, that had been their mission. The other team working to keep the Justice League occupied.
And it had not been easy. That was something they had always recognised, but with Superman, Miss Martian, Wonder Woman and John Stewart, that was four of the strongest Leaguers they had to face off against. Batman himself was an individual that would be capable of keeping even their most skilled fighters occupied. All of that alone was putting them in a very difficult situation.
On the plus side, they were lucky to have two very paranoid individuals who had been trained by perhaps the most paranoid man in the world. Batgirl and Robin had prepared themselves extensively and it was showing in the fact they were still in this fight.
"What's the plan here?" Kid Flash asked, a bead of sweat running down his face from when Wonder Woman had nearly knocked his head clean off with a single punch. "'Cos we're getting our asses kicked."
"Change of tactics," Batgirl spoke up, from her position by the Zeta-Tubes. She had shut them down, ensuring that no other members of the Justice League could arrive through them. "Miss Martian and Kid Flash, get Martian Manhunter in to a position where Zatanna can hit him with a flame spell."
"Leave Batman and Superman to me and Supes." Robin continued, he too has been analysing the situation as extensively as Barbara. They didn't have any proper powers and unlike Artemis who could provide long-range support and Rose who had a serum that gave her more advantages, they had instead kept back. "With SBs strength, we should be able to take out Batman."
"And Superman?" Artemis asked, firing a plethora of arrows directly towards Batman in order to keep him at bay, Ravager herself getting up close and personal only to be quickly beaten back with a flurry of fast, fluid and powerful strikes. Her enhanced serum ensuring that she could withstand the strike long enough for Artemis' arrows to give her some breathing room.
"I've got something for him," Robin replied, as Ravager back-pedalled rapidly, Batman giving chase. Artemis responded by firing a few more arrows that he dodged with ease only for Robin to come flying through the air, lashing out with a kick that Batman blocked. Gripping hold of his sidekick's ankle, he threw him away, Robin catching himself upon his hands and spring-boarding onto his feet. "Superboy, I've got his attention, direct Superman, to me."
It was at that moment that Superboy came flying, his body being buried into the side of the Watchtower as Superman flew directly towards him. Despite the pain coursing throughout his body, Superboy had enough sense within him to leap out, dropping to the ground as Superman changed directions to follow him down. Wolf leapt in without hesitated only to come flying out moments, yelping in pain.
As soon as he landed in a crouch, Superboy rolled away just in time as Superman smashed into the area he once was. "Trying." He replied Superman, bursting from the smoke, a quick one-two combo striking the clone across the chest followed by a powerful uppercut that threw Superboy back up into the air.
Out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw the one-sided beat down as he retreated from Batman. "Yeah, change of plans, how about I come to you?"
"That'd be…" There was a sudden boom, Superboy catapulting across the Watchtower once more where he collided with the floor, a large crater forming beneath his body. "Good."
With a plan taken care of for Batman and Superman and a rough idea on how to deal with Martian Manhunter, two problems remained Wonder Woman and John Stewart. Two powerful figures who would make the task of taking out Martian Manhunter infinitely harder.
"Kid Flash, you've got Wonder Woman's attention, direct her towards me." Rocket uttered, hands glowing in preparation.
"Zatanna, Artemis focus upon John Stewart," Aqualad ordered. "Batgirl, Ravager, focus upon Vandal Savage and Klarion. If we can distract Klarion we might get the chance necessary to find an opening."
With affirmatives all around, things began to take shape.
Kid Flash rushed, Wonder Woman rapidly closing the gap upon him and he let out a little shout of fright when she thrust her fist down. Wally was barely able to bring himself to a stop as the first was buried into the ground inches in front of him. But he didn't even take a moment to look or thank the heavens as he burst off once more.
Three times Kid Flash came within inches of severe injure and possible death at the hands of Wonder Woman, the senior hero much faster than he was and therefore able to catch up easily. However, through sheer grit and a healthy amount of luck, Kid Flash got within range, Rocket extending her hands out.
A shield began to form yet before it had a chance to fully encompass her, Wonder Woman smashed through it with a single blow. Yet Aqualad managed to intervene jumping within her path, a shield of hardened water forming in front of him. Much like with Rocket's partially formed barrier, Wonder Woman threw one fist almost lazily towards him. It struck the surface and was seemingly faced with no resistance as it continued through, digging into Kaldur's stomach and throwing the Atlantean back.
The shield had in fact provided just enough resistance that the blow didn't kill him. Yet he could feel a few ribs broken as a result of that single blow, his life saved due to the shield managing to absorb some of the initial force.
However, his actions provided Rocket with enough time to try this once more. Kid Flash even going up and managing to sucker punch the Amazonian across the face. She turning to him and going punch, only for her to hit a shimmering blue barrier. Unlike previously, Rocket started forming her barrier behind and beneath Wonder Woman, in her blind spots. As a result, the moment Wonder Woman realised she was in a shield, it was too late.
The barrier fully formed and with it, Wonder Woman was unable to break it in a single strike. In fact, now that it was fully formed the barrier would be in full effect, its ability to absorb kinetic energy ensuring that the stronger Wonder Woman hit it, the stronger it would be in turn.
"KF, catch!" Barbara exclaimed over the link, pulling out a small disk from her utility belt and through the air. Up above, John Stewart who came under fire from Artemis and Zatanna, bolts of lightning and exploding arrows striking out against him noticed the disk and Wonder Woman's predicament.
He also noticed the small disk being thrown towards Kid Flash who was running towards it. Nary any effort or strain was out upon him as he defended against the two young heroines, there seemed to be no further strain as a tendril construct cut through the air, intending to intercept the disk before Kid Flash could get to it. However, Aqualad despite the pain in his chest, jumped in the path, putting all his power into a single swing.
It didn't so much as dent the tendril, but what it did do was knock it off course. Thus allowing Kid Flash to collect the device and rush towards the restrained Wonder Woman. Rocket noticed this and waited, hands extended.
"Nommus Dleihs!" Zatanna exclaimed, a shimmering barrier appearing at Rocket's rear, protecting her from the initial blast fired from John Stewart, intent on taking her out. "Elpitlum Gninthgil Stlob!"
Even as Zatanna and Artemis fired more and more strikes against John Stewart, nothing seemed to change. Not even a single scratch appeared upon his barrier as he fired a sustained beam of energy directly at Rocket. The magical barrier Zatanna he summoned to protect her flickering and on the verge of collapse.
"Not yet!" Aqualad shouted towards Rocket as he rushed forwards, water coalescing around his Water-Bearers as he leapt into the beam of green energy, a shield once again forming. Gritting his teeth, Aqualad spread his legs into a wide stance, extending his arms upwards as he fought against the power of the continuous energy beam. Even as his muscles strained, feeling them tear and burst, even as he was pushed back constantly, Aqualad held on, pouring as much magic as he could into his Water-Bearers in order to protect Rocket as long as he could.
And as Wally closed the distance, dodging the various tendrils sent his way by John Stewart he leapt forwards. "Now!"Upon seeing this, Rocket undid the barrier surrounding Wonder Woman, quickly turning and forming another around her and Aqualad just as his shield broke.
Wonder Woman herself, suddenly faced with no resistance stumbled forwards on her last punch. Wally himself shot through the air, his earlier speed catapulting him towards her at high speeds. Wonder Woman was able to recover, spinning round and gripping hold of Wally by the neck. "Got you." He taunted before taking a deep breath, as the disk he placed upon her shoulder exploded, toxic gas exploding outwards. Close to it as she was, Wonder Woman inhaled it, burst into a fit of coughs.
It had been a little piece of technology Batman had created as a possible counter-measure to Wonder Woman early on. Of course, she had rapidly grown stronger since then, but the toxic gas held within the disk was formed from some of the most poisonous plants and substances around the world.
Even if it would no longer incapacitate her, it would distract her long enough for Wally to pull a chip from his side pocket and slap it onto her neck. As soon as he did, Wally broke free from her slacked grasp and rushed away. Only for the ground beneath his feet to erupt, a blast of green energy striking down upon him from John Stewart.
"KF!" Artemis cried out watching as the speedster careened through the air, body singed as he collapsed to the ground with a thud, he laying there unmoving. That lapse in judgement cost her as she was knocked off her feet by a construct with enough force to knock her unconscious in a single blow.
That left Aqualad, Rocket and Zatanna to stand there, facing off against John Stewart. A task was infinitely harder than it appeared on paper. Both quickly becoming overwhelmed and struggling to hand on.
Every barrier Zatanna formed was shattered instantly, Rocket herself being knocked around like pinball while Aqualad struggled to dodge and deflect blasts and constructs. With Wonder Woman's defeat, John Stewart's power grew and he unleashed it upon them fully. The difference was noticeable, simply staying conscious was a trying task, defending was all but impossible and attacking? Well, they had long since abandoned that.
Batgirl and Ravager noticed this but were too busily engaged with Vandal Savage, the man had noticed him being their target and moved to intercept them. He was skilled and possessed strength and speed surpassing even Ravager. Coupled with his immortal body, Vandal was naturally able to exert his body further than even the likes of Batman or Deathstroke.
That alone would have given him an incredible advantage, but this was a man who even Batman had recognised as one of the very few individuals on par and possibly surpassing him as a martial artist. The man had lived for millennia, honing his skills and mind serving as both advisors to and being some of the greatest conquerors in human history himself. To say the man had seen it all and done it all was an understatement and simple from the first clashing of blows, Batgirl and Ravager felt that disparity.
"Miss Martian," Batgirl grunted out, ducking under a hook, Vandal grabbing her uppercut. The daughter of Slade Wilson unsuccessfully attempted an attack from behind, her movements quiet and stealthy, yet Vandal heard them all the same. His foot lashing out and Rose manoeuvred her blade across her chest to absorb the impact. Even then the impact threw her off her feet, she flipping to land in a crouch while Batgirl freed her hand. "Can you hold off Martian Manhunter for a little longer?"
Rushing forwards, both girls attacked Vandal from two different directions. "Batgirl go high." Ravager stated, sliding upon the ground, blade cutting through the air dangerously, intent on slicing through his achilles. Batgirl herself didn't hesitate, leaping into the air with a graceful flip, left leg fully extended as he came down with a crushing axe kick.
Yet in a simple movement, Vandal stepped to one side, inside leg lifting up fully out of Rose's blade range while completely avoiding Batgirl's axe kick. Rose wouldn't be so lucky and if it wasn't for Batgirl curling her offending leg slightly and landing in a crouch above Rose as she slid between her legs, Ravager may very well have been taken out of the fight in that instant.
However despite avoiding that possibility, Batgirl was left completely exposed to the sidekick that dug into her side and she gasped out in pain, spittle bursting from her mouth. "Make that never." Rose directed towards the Martian. "This guy is too good."
"Don't worry." Miss Martian spoke back over the other end, face affirming as she flew backwards rapidly from her approaching uncle. His hands extending and swinging around like whips that cut deeply into the stone walls and floor all around. Occasionally protecting herself with a timely use of telekinesis to deflect those she couldn't avoid in time. "I'll do this on my own."
Clenching her fists, M'gann looked towards Martian Manhunter and fired a powerful wave of telekinesis, effectively disrupting the whipping motion of his arms. This opening was all she needed to burst forwards, zooming through the air towards her uncle who had protected himself with a wall of telekinesis.
As she got close, Martian Manhunter hand extended once more, M'gann surrounding herself in a powerful barrier of telekinesis that deflected the blow away as she finally closed the gap. The older and more experienced Martian didn't even attempt to move away and used his telekinesis to shatter the barrier surrounding her. With that gone, he easily managed to reach out, hands grabbing hold of her arms and keeping her in place.
But M'gann had expected and wanted this, her form shifting, growing taller and going from green to a pure white colour. A grotesque being different from the usually beautiful Miss Martian many were used to.
Yet in this form, M'gann was at her most powerful.
No longer hiding who she was, Miss Martian was able to bring out every ounce of power held within her centred in a powerful telepathic strike. It smashed through Martian Manhunters mental barriers with ease and now with the free reign of his mind, M'gann was freely able to manipulate everything about him.
And she conjured the image, the illusion of him being surrounded by fire.
Unable to differentiate reality from fiction, Martian Manhunter was overwhelmed allowing M'gann to telekinetically place a chip into his neck.
Wednesday 31st December, 23:10.
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
All around him, Naruto could see white. He couldn't tell if he was dead, if he was alive, or where he was. All he could see as he looked up – he vaguely recognising the sensation of laying down – was white. His pained bleat couldn't even be heard over the incessant ringing in his ear.
Blinking slowly, Naruto tried to clear his vision, to make sense of what was going on and slowly colours began to bleed into his surroundings. A dark might night sky and the white glowing stars. Flames and smoke erupted across the sky, shockwaves visible to the naked eye ringing out as blurred figures clashed in the sky.
It was like a scene fit for the end of days.
A battle between God-like beings.
'The Justice League!' Naruto realised. 'What's happened? How long has it been?'
It was then he saw the figure of Roy Harper rushing towards him, mouth moving but words indecipherable. And he turned, rolling to his side in an attempt to push his tired and aching body, cloak gone entirely as he looked towards the unconscious Aquaman. He was laid upon his front and from this position, he looked entirely unscathed besides a little charred. Naruto just hoped his injuries were more severe on his front because otherwise, he didn't know how to react to that if he wasn't.
"-om?!" Looking back to Roy, he saw the guy crouching down beside him urgently. Behind him the battle in the sky raging heavily. "-strom?!"
Murmuring out an affirmative, it must have been just as indecipherable as Roy's own words were to him because the bow hero didn't even acknowledge his words besides a momentary pause.
"Maelstrom?!" Finally, the ringing subsidised.
"Yeah?" It was perhaps a little louder than was necessary by the look upon Roy's face, but Naruto wasn't quite used to hearing his voice, it still sounded quiet to him. Feeling almost like he had spent too long in a nightclub with music blaring constantly then stepping outside where it was quiet.
"You alright?"
Naruto shook his head. "Not really, feel like I've been stuck in a blender. What about him?" The blonde thumbed towards Aquaman. "How longs he been out, we sure we don't need to chip him yet?"
"Already been chipped, Plastic Man got caught in the outer edges of the explosion but he was able to move. Good thing too because Aquaman was getting back up after about a minute." Red Arrow muttered disbelievingly as he looked around at the massive crater, near ten miles in diameter that they were currently situated within. Ignoring the frankly inhumane levels of strength and power the Justice League possessed, just their durability alone was enough to make a shiver go up to his spine.
And more terrifying was the fact that Aquaman wasn't even top tier, he was as he had come to learn from the Flash, was jokingly considered a sort of gatekeeper along with Hawkman and Hawkgirl. He was what stood between all the others heroes, strong or powerless and the truly powerful heroes, almost godlike that were amongst them.
"Fucking hell!" Naruto cursed, looking to Aquaman with yet another level of appreciation. He would never call Aquaman, "just the fish guy" again. That would not only do the man a serious injustice, but Naruto would admit that he couldn't even hold a candle to the man, not yet at least.
It showcased that as much progress as he had made, there was still a long way to go before he reached their level. Talon, Solomon Grundy, they were nothing in comparison to these guys. Even his one-sided beat down at the hands of Black Adam didn't even come close to this. It almost made him afraid to face the former champion of Shazam when the man wasn't holding back.
"We made any more progress?"
Roy shook his head this time. "Not much, Green Arrow and Atom have woken back up. They're helping Atom Smasher with Icon. Plastic Man is helping Starman against Captain Atom. Our Flash woke up, but the other did a serious number on him. He's started moving the unconscious to a safe distance. Though Hawkman should be waking up any time soon hopefully."
"Well, I'll take what I can get," Naruto muttered, watching the destructive battle take place. Battles that made all of his previous fights, even the most recent against Aquaman seem pathetic in comparison. "We're in way over our heads."
"Tell me about it." Roy agreed but stood up, extending one hand to Naruto. "But as you said, we have to be ready to give our lives if need be. You got me hooked with that speech of yours, you better not go get cold feet on me now. Besides, it's us younger generation that has been in the thick of it recently, might as well help these old-timers clean up one more mess."
Naruto smirked, taking Roy's offer and getting to his feet. "When all is said and done, drinks are on me." Roy laughed in response. "You've got a better grasp of the situation than me, who shall I go help out?"
"Can you do that move again?"
Naruto paused, looking down and calling upon his cloak once more. But as soon as the second tail formed, suddenly he couldn't go any further. He pushed, digging deep within him but no more power came and suddenly Naruto gasped for air, clutching his chest in pain as blood burst from his mouth.
"Possibly." Naruto spluttered a little more, wincing at the pain in his chest. "But it apparently exhausts a full tail of power to do so. So I've got maybe two more to go."
Still concerned by the sudden sight of blood, Roy hesitantly nodded his head. "Make that one, everything you've got. Aquaman was up and moving less than a minute after it happened and he's got nothing on the guys left." Roy turned back to the fights taking place, many of the participants moving too fast for his eyes to see. But he had the basic understanding in mind. "Take out Icon, that'll free up Atom Smasher, Atom and Green Arrow. Should also buy us enough time for Hawkman to wake up."
"Think that'll be me and you do then after that." Roy nodded in agreement, looking to his empty quiver. All the spare arrows laying around that Roy had collected, he had to begrudgingly give to his former mentor, Green Arrow. As much as he didn't like to admit weakness, Roy much like Naruto was completely out of his league. He wasn't used to fighting foes upon this level like Green Arrow was and he'd be nothing more than a liability.
A fact that had become abundantly clear to him after his and Naruto's fight against Hawkman and Hawkgirl.
"Yeah, I think it will."
Wednesday 31st December, 23:15
Bialya,
Bialyan Desert.
"You remember the plan?" Naruto asked.
Beside him, Guy Gardner nodded his head. "I got ya. Let's end this." Summoning his Power Battery, Guy placed his ring against it. "In brightest day, in blackest night, no evil shall escape my sight. Let those who worship evils might beware my power…Green Lanterns light!" Engulfed in a pillar of green light, Naruto reflexively closed his eyes as the power of Will returned to Guy once more.
Feeling his body being jerked off the ground, a sense of weightlessness filling him, Naruto opened them to see the world around him passing in a blur as they shot towards the battle between the Justice League.
Etrigan, Starman and Plastic Man were working together in tandem to fight against Captain Atom and Captain Marvel. Despite the three on two arrangement, it seemed to be an even fight with only Etrigan able to actually manage to fight on equal terms against them in strength and speed. Even so, despite being disadvantaged, the heroes continued to fight with everything they had.
Further away, Alan Scott and the newly awakened Hawkman fought against the sorcerer, Doctor Fate. But much like with the two captains, Doctor Fate was proving more than able to fend off the duo. Constructs and magical blasts countering and overwhelming Alan's own while masterfully teleporting both himself and even Hawkman away when said hero got too close. At times, Hawkman would suddenly peel off swinging his hammer into nothing but air, unknowing of the illusion he was caught in.
But perhaps the direst of situations was Atom Smasher, Flash I, Atom and Green Arrow. The three heroes fought against Icon but could do nothing. The former was a bruised mess, having endured the brunt of Icon's blows, even moving to protect his comrades. Flash himself was working his body to the limit, zooming across the area and moving Green Arrow and Atom out of harm's way while they made sure to provide as much a distraction as they could. Just hoping to create an opening that Atom Smasher could use.
They had come close on many occasions and by the light bruises forming on Icon's body, Atom Smasher had managed to land a few glancing blows. But even so, things were not looking good for any side, especially not this one.
Which is exactly where they came in.
As they shot through the air, Naruto focused as hard as he could, pushing more and more power, a single tail of the two he had left forming into a ball. One that rapidly became unstable, straining and morphing as it fought to go wild. It took every ounce of control and will Naruto had to keep it under control, to stop it from exploding right there and then in his hands.
But he held on.
"Now!" He strained out, Guy dismissing the green bubble he had been using to transport Naruto and suddenly the blonde was free-falling, directly towards Icon. It was a sight that all the heroes fighting against the controlled hero noticed and despite not giving anything away, Icon still looked up when Naruto's shadow engulfed him.
But by that point, it was too late.
With a shout, Naruto pushed every ounce of power he had into the ball and thrust his hand forward. The already unstable ball of energy came undone when the second tail of power was pushed into it. But when said ball came into contact with Icon, that was all it could take.
There was a moment of stillness before a blinding light shot out, followed soon by an explosion of flames and smoke so thick it looked like a nuclear bomb erupted in that very area.
The devastation it brought would only bring credit to that theory as shockwave rang out, the ground miles below exploding upwards. Even the heroes nearby were not safe, rocked by the force as Icon and Naruto disappeared from view.
"Don't stop!" Roy shouted as he looked towards the heroes still standing nearby. His shout cut through the sudden silence that had befallen the battlefield, springing them back to life. Atom Smasher turning, hands clapping together to disperse the smoke, all-seeing the sight of Naruto and Icon plummeting to the ground in a rapid spiral, neither showing any signs of slowing down.
Flash rushed forwards, intent on catching Naruto whose cloak had disappeared. Even with his serum, a fall from that height would kill the blonde and by Guy's rapid dive, constructs shooting out to try and catch the falling figure of the blonde he too realised what was at stake.
Yet try as they might, they could see the blonde's body rapidly approaching the floor and there was a moment in which Flash watched the whole world ground to a halt. A pit forming in his stomach as he realised that neither he nor Guy would be able to catch Naruto in time.
He was going to die.
In that instant though, Flash felt something rush past him, he almost being blown off his feet as a red blur passed him at speeds surpassing anything he had ever seen before. And just as the blonde was about to smash into the ground just as Icon had a mere fraction of a second earlier, this blur caught the blonde, skidding along the ground.
And as this figure came to a halt, Flash was the first to notice that it was Barry.
The speedster having not even a moment to come to terms with his surroundings and situations before his body moved. He hadn't need to consider what was happening, all his eyes had seen was someone in danger, two people desperately trying to save bum and Barry had moved without thinking, purely upon instinct.
Placing the boy down on the ground, Barry looked to see the boy groaning in pain to realise he was done for the day. "Barry, catch." Reacting quickly, he caught the chip thrown his way by Jay. "Put it on Icon, I'll explain everything after."
Nodding his head, Barry disappeared in a flash as Jay appeared beside the downed blonde mere seconds later.
"Naruto, you alright?" Jay asked urgently.
"Not really." The blonde groaned out moments later.
"Just rest then, you've done more than enough."
So I think this is the best place to leave it off. I've tried to write other scenes following this but nothing seems to flow right and it just seems needless. We all know what happens after the Justice League are beaten and to be honest, both sides of the heroes were gaining the advantage. With Icon down and Guy Gardner with a newly recharged power ring, the battle in Bialya was all but finished. Same with on the Watchtower, Wonder Woman was taken out as was Martian Manhunter. Batgirl and Rose were dealing with Vandal (and losing), but John Stewart was under heavy fire and the Superboy/Robin duo dealt with Batman and Superman in the same fashion as in canon.
However, this is officially the end of YJ season 1, the 6th arc just another 33 to go. This is honestly crazy to me because the first book of this story had 180,000+ words and a total of 18 chapters, minus data profiles and notices. This book has officially 200,000+ plus words and a total of 17 chapters in just the first of three arcs. Admittedly the next two arcs should be nowhere near as long as this chapter, but I can't say for certain as this story has a tendency of writing itself.
I'm also massively thankful for the positive response to the last chapter. I was a bit worried how some might react to Naruto getting beat again, but it seemed like all enjoyed it which I'm really happy you all did. Naruto did very well, especially this chapter and as Roy said, he lacked experience of fighting foes on this level where guys like Green Arrow did have experience. This goes for Naruto as well, he lacked experience fighting foes on this level which was his biggest downfall. But the time skip Arc shall change that.
Anyway, I think that I've got past the first of the biggest hurdles in this story. YJ season 1 was a big challenge for me simply because of the amount of characters, their powers and trying to find a balance was incredibly difficult. But I think I've done a decent job and I think this success should get me all the way through this and the next book, hopefully. And furthermore, I hope to continue improving my writing so that things get even better.
Anyway, let's get on with the questions:
Sultan Asil Arslan: Yep, ever since starting this fic I've gained a new appreciation for all DC characters, strong and 'weak.' And I'm keep a lot of the stronger characters in line with their actual canon counterparts so I'm doing the same for all DC characters. Which is one of the reasons why Naruto, Red Arrow and the Justice Society struggled massively. But it all comes down to experience and that's something Naruto lacks when it comes to fighting on this level, hell all of them did. Also Grail will be making an appearance later in the story.
Redwolf1521: Don't worry, what happened between Slade and Naruto will be addressed in the next chapter. I purposefully decided to withhold what happened because at this point in time, showing what happened had no narrative purpose. It would have only disrupted the flow but I've found a better place for it to appear in.
Stonepotrice: Well as you can see, Robin and Batgirl did come prepared this chapter what with Robin brining Kryptonite and Batgirl preparing the gas bomb that affected Wonder Woman. But those 'Doom' protocols are under an even higher and more top secret security vault that even Robin and Batgirl don't know about and even if they did, they wouldn't be able to get inside. They prepared as best as they could without airing to the world that the Justice League have effectively been beaten. As you saw when Batman disappeared after his fight with Talon in Arc 2, criminals will capitalise upon that weakness.
If it was known that the Justice League had been beaten then that would have given not only criminals, but the government possible incentive to try and do it themselves. It would have only caused more problems down the line like I'll express in the future.
Vizard890: Yep, Naruto when he gains full control of all 9 Tails will be a top tier being capable of rivalling the likes of Superman and whatnot. Hence why people want him, they want power like that for themselves. And I'm glad you've enjoyed it, the JS don't have the power and never did have the power to rival the JL. But they had experience that allowed them to match them for a little while before eventually getting overwhelmed. As you can see though, it also helps that the JL were limited by the Starro Tech.
AnimeIsLife0407: There's a number of reason for that. First there's too many characters to showcase all their unique traits like Guy's smack talk. Secondly, Guy's pretty new as a GL that he was being so overwhelmed by Hal that it took everything he had to simply defend let alone talk.
Yakuza2010: They're friends normally and friends go drinking together at times. I won't showcase it because it's needless and serves no real purpose, but Naruto, Kaldur, Roy and a few others would be celebrating there win after this battle. And not really, Naruto admires the JS growing up, but the experiences that the JS went through are vastly different to what's happening now. I'll be explaining this further, so I won't spoil anything. And not really, no.