Injustice: The Path to Hell.
Book 2: Darkness in the Light.
Chapter XXIX – New Members.
"Normal Speech."
'Normal Thought.'
"Demon Speech."
'Demon Thought.'
"Other Speech Variants."
Location/Time.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 12:00.
Washington D.C,
Hall of Justice.
What is the Justice League?
It's a question everyone asks themselves and a question that has many answers.
To some, it is humanity's first and last line of defence against the extra-terrestrial and terrestrial foes that threaten the very existence of mankind. A group of individuals who came together to face the worst of the worst prepared to give their lives in order to save mankind and Earth.
To others, they are the greatest champions of truth and justice the world has ever known. Constantly ready to face any challenge and foe that threatens the little man, no matter how big or small that foe may be. They never rest, always fighting to ensure a peaceful and fair world.
In some cases, they are also seen as a force of nature, unstoppable, uncontrollable and untameable. Beings that rivalled even the ancient godly pantheons of myth, Gods in their own right. A new Pantheon of Gods who, for the time being, a champion for good to prevail over evil.
They were not the first hero team, but they are the standard by which all other hero teams are measured by. A group of beings who have always answered the call, no matter when or where. Whether it be against alien warlords, mystical sorcerers, mad scientists, ancient demons, corrupt officials, shady businessmen and dangerous criminals, the Justice League always rose to the occasion.
Yet, despite all this, no one could truly say what the Justice League was.
Nor could they say for certain why each hero did what they did.
But one thing all could say for certain was that the introduction of new heroes into the Justice League was a momentous occasion. When it was announced that the Justice League would be opening its door to allow new heroes to enter their ranks, it sparked a mass interest. Everyone talked about it, no matter how much they claimed to not care about heroes and their politics.
Like always, the Hall of Justice was swarmed with thousands of people from all across the world, reporters, families, fans and dissenters alike were standing outside. Many dressed in clothes denoting the symbol of their favourite hero, waving flags with the emblem of the Justice League emblazoned upon them. This day would be filled with celebration, a huge festival that would have already been taking place for a few days before the main event, and would continue for a few days following.
"That is why I am honoured to welcome to the Justice League those who set the stage for the world we live in today. Those heroes who fought for peace and justice against those that wished to strip it from the world, those who were a part of the first generation of heroes." Captain Atom proclaimed, waving his hand to his right.
There, stood proudly were, Alan Scott the first Green Lantern.
Albert Rothstein the Atom Smasher.
And Nathaniel Heywood the Citizen Steel.
"But I am also honoured to welcome the young and eager heroes who have proven themselves every bit as qualified as those already amongst our ranks. Those who will be the guiding light for many years to come, when we, the old and weary are forced to retire like those who had come before. They will be the ones to carry the touch and be the heroes that shall protect this world, just as we have done and I am honoured to welcome them as comrades and members of the Justice League." Captain Atom spoke, indicating then to his left.
There, much like the former members of the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron, were the younger heroes, far larger in number. Closest to the podium, mirroring Alan Scott, was Donna Troy the first Wondergirl and now known as Troia.
Then there was Kyle Rayner the newest Green Lantern.
Grant Emerson the Damage, son of the original Atom, Albert Pratt.
Isaiah Crockett the Hot Spot.
Amy Allen the Bombshell.
Ronnie Raymond the newest Firestorm.
And Naruto Uzumaki the Maelstrom.
"Please, welcome them all as the newest members of the Justice League." Upon Captain Atom's words, the crowd erupted in loud cheers.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 13:20.
Earth's Atmosphere,
The Watchtower.
"You're certain that this connection is real?" Captain Atom asked, looking at the files before him.
Koriand'r nodded her head. "Victor found those files while the Teen Titans and I oversaw the villains of the Dark Side Club being put into the prison transports." She replied, Captain Atom turning to look at her and Naruto, the rest of the Justice League having gone out to deal with their own daily tasks, whether that be personal or hero business.
"If Vic found them then you can guarantee it's correct," Dick spoke up, Captain Atom turning to him next, nodding his head in understanding. Nightwing had proven himself time and time again in recent years, truly having stepped out of the shadow of Batman and proving himself a hero in his own right. One of their best and brightest, a rival to Batman some said, though perhaps lacking experience in Captain Atoms' eyes, but far more respected and liked by all than the Dark Knight ever could be.
If Dick trusted that Cyborg had gotten this right, Captain Atom would not question it. Especially considering, that as a former apprentice of Batman, Dick would have no doubt done his own checks to first make sure that this all matched up.
"And this woman, Bernadeth, she escaped?"
Naruto nodded his head, lips twisting into a frown. "Yeah, she opened up some kind of portal, made this huge booming sound when it did. Caught me a little off-guard which bought her time to escape." He was still beating himself up over that, it was clear for them all to see.
"How would you rate her threat level?" Naruto shrugged.
"She handled the Teen Titans pretty easily, but they had already done plenty of fighting before that point. And she came at them one at a time, less by choice, but more by luck considering the circumstances." If it was on purpose, then that would have been a different matter entirely. "However, when I fought her, she was caught off-guard and that's kind of where I thrive, give me a chance to catch you off-guard and it's pretty difficult to stop me. If we were on even footing, I doubt I would have lost considering what Koriand'r described of her, but it certainly wouldn't have been easy. Personally, I'd put her down as a League-level threat."
It was a pretty broad spectrum of threat, but it made one thing very clear.
If you weren't a member of the Justice League, don't engage them unless it's absolutely unavoidable. The last time young heroes went up against League-level threats, had been under Naruto's leadership with the Injustice debacle. Despite having done incredibly well and effectively completing their mission, ultimately, the Young Justice would have paid for success with their lives.
Black Adam took out him, Miss Martian and Aqualad while Ultra-Humanite and Poison Ivy were able to keep the rest of the team occupied until the Justice League arrived. The classification of a League-level threat was put in place to avoid such a situation from happening again.
Though admittedly that was pretty difficult to do considering their line of work. One couldn't always predict everything, nor could they prepare for every outcome. Life just wasn't fair like that, retreat sometimes just wasn't a viable option. However, the classification was there to minimise those moments as much as possible.
By classifying Bernadeth as a League-level threat, they could at least avoid young heroes like the Teen Titans putting their lives at risk against a foe they stood no chance against. Or at the very least, pre-emptively call for backup before engaging said foe if retreat was not an option.
"That is concerning." Captain Atom muttered, turning back to the files. "Considering that she was put in charge of the Dark Side Club and the money it funnels into the Goode World Studios, it's more than likely that Gretchen Goode or someone high up in that company is the one she answers to."
"And considering our history, it's likely that whoever they are, is far more powerful than Bernadeth was." Dick finished, frowning just as deeply as the rest of them.
Starfire looked upon the image of the smiling elderly woman, she looked harmless and frail. But in a world like theirs, such people could be the most dangerous. "What does the League wish to do about this then?" She asked. "The Titans will be happy to handle the human trafficking ring."
Captain Atom shook his head, but it was Dick that responded. "That would not be the best decision to make. Goode World Studios has been working closely with Lex Corp, could be purely coincidence, but it's likely that not only is Gretchen Goode the real boss behind the Dark Side Club, but also working with the Light in some capacity. They've kept quiet for a long while, but we've been picking up chatter on a few of their old channels, its likely just diversions, but we can't discount this as the Light moving once more. These human trafficking rings connected to Goode World Studios are more than likely going to have some real muscle guarding them."
Meaning that they didn't want to risk the Teen Titans again so soon after their fight at the Dark Side Club. A smart decision, something that Starfire raised no complaint about.
"The League will handle the trafficking ring," Captain Atom said simply, looking at Naruto. "Would you be willing to lead the new members in taking down this ring?"
Naruto shrugged. "I have no problem with that." He then pointed to the image of Gretchen Goode. "But what we gonna do about her? Doubt revealing the connection with the Dark Side Club will do much, and the connection to the trafficking rings is pretty fucking thin. Those like her are more than able to get some rando to take the fall for them. Throwing shit at a wall and hope something sticks isn't exactly something that's going to work for us in this situation."
Captain Atom shook his head. "No, it won't and the League can't be seen openly investigating a public figure like Goode, not without facing backlash. We can't afford to be facing huge amounts of criticism that would shine a light on all our members when we have some off-world." Nods were shared around, all eyes turning to Dick who raised his hands in surrender.
"Sorry, the Young Justice are spread thin as we are, I just don't have the resources to be able to investigate Goode on top of everything else. But give me a few days and I might be able to move a few things around to look into the Bialya connection." Dick muttered.
"Thank you." Captain Atom replied gratefully.
After the incident in Bialya, well three actually, but the third one, the conflict between the Justice Society and the Justice League, Bialya had been very vocal about not allowing superheroes in their borders for any reason. Considering Lex Luthors influence over the US government and his and Queen Bee's shared connection through the Light, the Justice League were facing serious pressure to respect political borders.
As it was, having the Justice League deal with the human trafficking rings everywhere but Bialya was for the best. Trusting the Young Justice, which in the eyes of the public, didn't exist, with the task of dealing with Bialya was for the best.
"Then I'll have Green Arrow and Plastic Man look into Gretchen Goode." Captain Atom continued.
"I can also contact Detective Chimp to look into it, he owes me a few favours," Dick added on.
"Any extra help would be appreciated."
Naruto, however, intervened at this point. "Why not just have the Teen Titans, look into Gretchen?" He wondered. "They found the connection; they do have the right to look into it and I'll be their support. If things get dangerous, I'll step in and bail them out of trouble."
Starfire smiled thankfully. "It is not that simple, Naruto. I would like to look into Gretchen and finish what we started, but it does not work like that." She replied, confusing Naruto. "The Teen Titans are a public hero team and Gretchen Goode is a beloved public figure. We do not have proof to justify our search should we be caught doing so and we would be held responsible and face the consequences."
"But you were just asking for the Young Justice to investigate Gretchen, what's the difference between them and the Titans?" Naruto questioned.
"Naruto, a lot's changed while you've been away training and you didn't really get invovled in the hero business all that much when you did get back," Dick said. "But the Young Justice is a covert team, the public don't know about its existence. They know about the heroes apart of it, but they don't know about them being part of a covert team. The only public team of young heroes is the Teen Titans and the world isn't exactly happy with the idea of superpowered kids running around without adult supervision. Hell, the Justice League are publicly against the Teen Titans."
"Oh." Naruto muttered, going silent as he looked to Starfire who just smiled sadly, shrugging as if to say, "what do you do?"
'I'm starting to see why Superman questioned why he continued to be a member of the Justice League. There's too much politics, it's like we're getting further and further away from what we are meant to be and be doing.' Naruto thought to himself.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 14:00.
Washington D.C,
Hall of Justice.
The meeting in the Watchtower had continued on for a little while after that, mostly between Dick and Captain Atom, but Starfire as leader of the Teen Titans stuck around to learn a bit more. Though she didn't have as much to contribute, Captain Atom privy to all the goings on of the Justice League and Nightwing being a protégé of Batman and head of the Young Justice, they had far more information to share and she eagerly listened.
Naruto could admire her for that.
He had been stood silently for the most part, all really speaking when spoken to. It was clear to him right then and there that the world had really changed drastically from how he remembered it to be.
Captain Atom had been a relative unknown to the people of the world when he had been leading the Young Justice. Only little snippets were known about him and his exploits, he just hadn't been as publicly open about his endeavours as everyone else had been. He had just been powerful, that was all everyone knew, from the way he held himself and the way the members of the Justice League acted around him.
But now here he was, someone that had been unanimously elected by all of the Justice League to be the new leader while Superman was off-world. It said a great deal about his position and the respect the other heroes had for him.
Nightwing however, and the way he interacted with everyone was the strangest thing to Naruto. He still remembered the immature brat, the prickish kid that found a way to get under his skin with but a few words, the eager overachiever desperate to prove himself to Batman. Looking at Nightwing now, it was almost impossible to compare the two, in fact, he seemed to have more in common with Superman than Batman.
The way he led the conversation, added suggestions to plans and seemed to be commanding the room despite Captain Atom being the more senior member was surprising, to say the least. What was even more so was the fact neither Starfire nor Captain Atom seemed to bat an eye at this. But Naruto supposed, that said a lot about who Nightwing was and what he had done in the time he had been away.
Nightwing had stepped up in a big way.
He was the first of the sidekicks to set out on his own, forging a legacy of his own first in the Teen Titans and then as Nightwing. The first and only sidekick to date that had successfully broken away from the shadow of their mentor. Donna Troy, Troia as she was known now had not accomplished that, still intertwined with her past as the first Wonder Girl and as the sidekick of Wonder Woman.
He had also stepped up and taken over the mantle of leader of the Young Justice, simultaneously leading covert operations, leading the Teen Titans, overseeing both their training sessions and deployments, working closely with the Justice League and also completing his own duties as Nightwing.
Quite frankly, Naruto found it difficult to understand why he was so surprised at seeing the way people clearly respected him and his opinion.
But as the meeting came to an end, they broke away, Captain Atom remaining behind and calling further meetings. The Justice League had new assignments and he needed to establish their current tasks clearly before things could develop further. His past as a member of the military meant he was using his time efficiently and getting ahead of this before something caught him off-guard.
Nightwing meanwhile was returning to Mount Justice, preparing his own team for their own assignments. The world of heroes was about to become very busy and Naruto strangely found himself looking forward to getting involved in it once again. Sure, he'd be leading a team again, not something he was overly fond of doing, but it would be good to get out into the field again and do some work, though he would have preferred it to be solo stuff.
However, for now, he had a little time to rest and enjoy the festival.
Paying the hot dog vendor for the meal, Naruto turned away, extending the second hot dog towards Koriand'r who took it gratefully with a smile. Both of them were dressed casually, Naruto in some loose blue jeans, a black shirt and a burnt orange jacket, while Starfire was wearing some short shorts and a white, shoulder-less shirt.
Naturally, as a woman of her tanned skin and unnatural beauty, Starfire elected a great deal of attention. She didn't seem to mind it nor did she seem to pay attention to any of it, though he wondered whether it was simply because she was just unaware or uncaring.
"Can I ask you something?" Naruto questioned, the two continuing down the crowded streets, passing by numerous stalls that sold clothing and merchandise pretraining to the Justice League and even the Justice Society and All-Star Squadron.
Koriand'r hummed, nodding her head as she took a bite of her hot dog, Naruto finding the sight of her struggling to not make a mess as she did strangely...endearing. She was a princess, a former princess, but still acted very formal in all of her interactions, despite the Tamaranean's more open and sexual society. The fact that she could struggle to eat a hot dog without causing a mess was surprising and enjoyable to watch.
"What were festivals like on Tamaran?" He wondered, their sexually liberal and open societal norms made him wonder whether they had festivals like theirs. Or whether it was something like one massive orgy?
Wiping her mouth lightly, Koriand'r smiled brightly. "It depends upon what we are celebrating." She said, his own smile growing in response to her own. Especially when she went on a little tirade on the different festivals they celebrated and how they would traditionally celebrate them.
There were all sorts of things they celebrated and each of them done in their own unique ways that were frankly, fascinating to listen to. Perhaps it was simply Koriand'r romanticising what she could remember of them, or perhaps the way she described them, but Naruto found it difficult not to be enraptured. She was passionate about it, overjoyed to be talking about her home and also a little prideful in the way she tried to truly express to the most minuscule detail in a way to impress upon him what their festivals were like.
Again, it was so different to how Koriand'r usually was, Naruto discovering a new side to her that he had not known about her.
"I'm sorry." He admitted sheepishly, Koriand'r laughing openly.
"It's okay." She replied, taking his hand and leading him towards a little open park where they could sit down. It was busy, many already packed within it, the fountain walls serving as seats as all the benches were taken. "Everyone who knows about Tamaranean society suspects it. It is amusing to see how flustered you humans get when one talks so openly about sex. That is why I left it for last."
In response to his earlier thoughts, yes, some festivals were in fact, massive orgies. Koriand'r had never participated in them considering how young she had been, but she watched it all happening, a planet-wide orgy, the thought alone left Naruto stumped. He couldn't fathom something like that happening on Earth, but he supposed that's precisely why Koriand'r decided to leave it for last, just to fluster him.
It worked.
Sitting down on the grass, Naruto sat back, arms propping him up as he looked out into the bustling city. The festival was in full swing now, people coming and going from the park, taking pictures, laughing joyously. It would no doubt continue like this for some time now and it was a great thing to see that something like this was not being interrupted by a villain looking to make a big scene.
"Naruto, let us not think of such things," Koriand'r said, noticing the look on his face. "Today is a day of celebration, and there are many Justice League members here, no villain no matter how powerful would want to make a scene today."
"Right, sorry." He responded, smiling lightly as he lay out on the floor, resting his head in his hands. "Force of habit really. Kind of struggling to find my off switch these days." It was meant to be a joke, though she clearly did not find it amusing from the way her frown deepened.
"I am sorry."
Those three words made Naruto sit upright, looking at her in confusion. "What are you apologising for?" He asked in bemusement, smiling. "You have nothing to apologise for."
"But I do," Koriand'r replied. "I promised to help you, but I have been so focused on my new position that I have not been able to help you as much as we would have liked. You are suffering, and yet you still helped us all and have done so much for us where I have failed to return the favour."
"Is that what you think?" She nodded her head and Naruto laughed, looking at him in surprise. "Kori, you have nothing to be sorry about, you've helped me in a lot of ways, more than you realise. Before I came to the Titans, I could stand to be in the same room as a woman, let alone be near them like I am with you right now. Do you know how badly I wanted to run away from the diner when we first met just to put distance between us?"
Koriand'r had in fact not known that, but she did not say it, the unspoken words clear for them both to hear.
"Now, I can sit here comfortably with you, talk freely without any pressure at all. Perhaps that's because I know you, but look around us." She did so, seeing the mix of families, friends and couples surrounding them. "Before coming here, I would be constantly looking over my shoulder, I wouldn't be able to sit still and now look at me. I'm actually relaxing comfortably. Sure, I still don't sleep well and I still don't feel comfortable around women I knew before what happened like Rose, but I talked to her. I wouldn't have had the confidence to do that before and I certainly wouldn't have had the confidence to do this."
He then took her hand, holding it tightly.
Just a simple act, nothing major, but the skin of another woman did not make Naruto freeze, nor did his heart freeze in his chest. It didn't send a chill down his spine or make him shake to his very core. He wasn't frozen in fear like in the past, but instead, he could smile freely, not a fake smile to put people at ease, but a real one.
"To you, it's not much," Naruto told her, giving her hand a squeeze. "But to me, this is more than enough."
Looking down at their hands, slowly, her frown changed, lips lifting into a gentle, beautiful smile. "Thank you." She murmured, a large, goofy grin appearing upon his face that made her laugh lightly, it was so different to his usual smiles. It was carefree and happy, but strangely, it suited him far more.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 22:00.
Washington D.C,
Logan Circle.
Passing the glass of wine back over to Koriand'r with a grimace, he reached for his own glass of whiskey, the only thing that if taken in large quantities could give him a light buzz when mixed with a few other substances specially made for those with metabolisms like them. His face though made her laugh lightly, she took the glass and in a much more refined manner, sipped from her wine.
"Yeah, never been a fan of wine," Naruto admitted.
"I can see that." Koriand'r teased, smiling brilliantly, amused with his distaste for the drink. She personally enjoyed it far more than anything else Earth had to offer in terms of alcohol. "But it cannot have been that bad."
"Believe me, it was." That made her laugh once more, Naruto catching the attention of the waiter. There, he ordered a refill, looking to Koriand'r who nodded her head in thanks, the waiter taking their empty plates. "I don't know how why people like it."
"I could say the same about whiskey." She returned.
Naruto paused. "Okay, I'll give you that, whiskey isn't for everyone. Personally, couldn't stand the stuff before, but it's one of the only things that really gives me a buzz anymore and it's in great abundance back in Gotham, Jason loved the stuff. So, I just got used to it, can't really say when I actually started to like it."
"Then perhaps you could acquire a liking for wine also." Naruto shook his head, Koriand'r laughing in response, the two taking a pause in the conversation as the waiter came back. Both were acutely aware of the looks he spared to Koriand'r, it was subtle, but that was by normal standards. For them, he might as well have just stood and stared at her, the same could be said about the people around them.
But as Naruto glanced around at them, he looked back to see that Koriand'r didn't care in the slightest. She just sat watching him with a smile, very much aware of what he was doing and just shrugged at the silent question he asked her.
He honestly wondered when he started to become aware of her beauty and the way in which people looked at her. It had always been something he was aware of, right from the very first moment he saw her. But it had never been something that had been prevalent to him, it was only recently that it was something he had started to become more aware of.
"I-I have a few questions," Naruto said, his previous train of thought starting to get a little too uncomfortable and needing to change to something else.
"Only if I can make a request of you?" He rose a brow at that. "It is to do with Raven, she was meant to have asked you already, but I know for a fact that she has not."
Naruto blinked, frowning lightly. "Is everything okay? Does it have to do with what happened with Shade?"
She nodded her head, both of them frowning at that. "I was wondering if there was anything you or Nabu could do to help her make Trigon disappear for a little while. Preferably I think we would all like him to be gone permanently, but I know that is not going to be easy. But if there is anything we can do to at least stop him from causing problems, it would be greatly appreciated."
"So, before we go on, just to double check, we are talking about the part of Trigon in her jewel, right?"
"Naruto, I would not be asking you to take care of the actual Trigon, I know that is paramount to suicide." She jested, Naruto chuckling lowly, leaning back into his chair.
"Oh, thank God for that. I honestly thought you'd lost your mind for a moment then." He joked, before getting serious. "As for doing something about it, that's where things get a little problematic, but off the top of my head, I think you're looking at really, only two realistic options to pursue. Naturally, both come with their fair share of pros and cons. But I'll speak with Nabu tomorrow and see what other ideas he has."
Koriand'r smiled thankfully. "The final say will have to be Raven's of course, but would you mind sharing what your two options are with me?"
"Oh, of course, I'd never try and force Raven to do something she's uncomfortable with. At the end of the day, the choice is all hers." Naruto agreed vehemently. "As for the two options, the first has a lot of short-term risks with big consequences if it fails. What we'd be doing is finding a way to release Trigon into a containment field and then, just killing him."
"That is very simple," Koriand'r murmured, nodding her head slightly. "And you are right, it is very risky. No doubt a tiny mistake in the containment field and he could escape."
Naruto nodded his head, already worried about the potential consequences if such a thing failed. This was even more so with the Akatsuki out there, they were already working for Trigon and from his experience, each of them was a League-level threat minimum. Sasori and Deidara had not revealed everything they had when he watched them fight the Demons, but from what he had seen combined with his own intuition, Naruto would place them no lower than a League-level threat.
If Trigon were to link up with them, then the potential damage they could do would be monumental, especially if they found a way to weaken the barrier surrounding Earth. The moment that happened, Trigon's real form would be able to invade and that would be the end of everything.
Not very appealing all things considered.
"As for the second option, well this will take a long time to do and is no different to what Raven is doing currently," Naruto admitted. "What she needs to do is surpass the fragment of Trigon in all aspects of magical and mental combat, enough so that she can suppress him. However, the downside is that it will be only slightly better than what she's like now. She might be able to suppress him for years on end, but eventually, he will recover and then bide his time for a moment in which she's extremely vulnerable."
Koriand'r frowned deeply, well aware of the problems both posed. She did not like either option, one posed immediate problems and had a lot of ways in which it could wrong. The other while being safer, had a fair share of risk in the end stage and also in the early stages as well. It would, after all, require Raven to train herself up to a level in which to be able to suppress him completely which could take years if not longer to achieve. At the end of that, it may only provide Raven a few months of reprieve, who knows?
"Which one do you suggest?" Koriand'r asked.
Naruto shrugged. "Hard to say really. I would like to remove this problem for her as soon as possible so in that case, I'd say the first one." He admitted, but his frown did not alleviate. "At the same time, I am conscious of the number of risks that come with that plan and would rather choose a safer option, or at least one with fewer risks. So, in that case, I'd have to go with the second one. At the end of the day though, it's like you said, this is Raven's choice."
There really wasn't an easy option, something that frustrated them both. Life never was simple like that, but they wished just this once, it presented a simple and easy option that would solve all their problems instantly, for Raven's sake.
Naturally though, life decided to be a bitch.
"Then what did you want to ask me?" Koriand'r asked, once again switching the conversation to something lighter.
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Back at the Watchtower, what did you all mean when referring to the Titans as a public superhero team? Aren't the Young Justice public as well?" He knew that the Young Justice had started out as a covert team, but he had thought with the Light and all the things that had happened in the past five years that the Young Justice would have been made public at some point.
Koriand'r shook her head. "No, though we have come close on many occasions that nearly forced that information to be made public. Thankfully, Dick was able to handle it." Naruto leaned forwards in interest. "When he made the Titans, it was to escape from the shadow of Bruce, but as I said, there have been many close calls. In order to stop the Young Justice from becoming public knowledge and to retain its secrecy, Dick decided to use the Titans as a coverup."
"Which is why a lot of the Young Justice members are registered as former members of the Titans?" Naruto deduced, Koriand'r nodding her head. "That's pretty smart, I'll give Dick that."
There was, of course, nothing stopping the Light from revealing the Young Justice to the world, they would have all the information and plenty of evidence that they could reveal. But naturally, when influential people like Lex Luthor and Queen Bee revealed this information, questions would be asked as to how they got this evidence because it would be clear that it wasn't acquired legally.
Of course, the Light could do this all anonymously or have members like Ra's al Ghul, Ocean Master, Vandal Savage or one of their agents reveal this information. However, these options also posed their own fair share of problems.
If they revealed it anonymously, then Batman and the Justice League would just dig deep until they discovered the trail that led directly to the Light and then reveal it themselves. This would be a huge hit to public figures like Luthor and Queen Bee and something they would not be willing to risk. Secondly, if they had other members, the information would be looked upon with a healthy amount of scepticism, many wondering if this was highly edited or perhaps actors dressed up like the heroes. But this also left the opportunity for a counterattack, the Justice League possessing video evidence of the Light and its members meeting upon the Watchtower.
No matter what option, the Light was stuck.
Evidence needed to not only be acquired legally but also in a way that did not implicate themselves. At the same time, they had to be careful when they released the information and were limited to only orchestrating events that put the Young Justice out in the open.
However, Dick had used this to his advantage and used the Teen Titans' already public appearance as cover. Any time a Young Justice mission went sideways and forced them into the public eye, it could be covered up quickly by explaining the members and the mission to be part of the Teen Titans.
"It was a smart move, but one that has led to the Titans being highly criticised by the public." That surprised Naruto, a brow raised in questioning, Koriand'r sighing in response. "When adults see children doing a dangerous activity alone, they panic. But when they see an adult there with them, aiding them and instructing them, they are more relaxed. The public always knew of the existence of young teen heroes, but they could be overlooked and accepted because they were the sidekicks of more experienced and powerful adult heroes."
"But a team of young heroes in one place, with no clear adult supervision and the public panic?" Naruto guessed. "What about the Justice League, what's their stance on the Titans?"
"Publicly? They are against it." She replied simply, Naruto having expected that response. "Privately though, they are not opposed to the Titans."
"But they're not for it either." He pointed out.
Koriand'r sighed once more. "Yes, they have no problem with the Young Justice because it is ultimately, an extension and a branch of the Justice League. They do not undertake the truly dangerous jobs and since your tenure as leader and the first encounter with the Light, the Justice League have been far more diligent in their oversight of the team and the assignments they are given. They are not fully onboard with the Titans, despite understanding how useful they can and have been because they do not have any say in our management nor our dealings."
"So, it's a matter of they tolerate you so long as your useful?" Though it did omit a lot of the nuances of their partnership with the Justice League, Koriand'r could not deny that it was technically true. "Man, things sure do change after five years. I get what Superman meant now."
"What do you mean?" She asked curiously.
Naruto shrugged. "Superman told me that every day he considers leaving the Justice League." From the look on Koriand'rs face, he could tell that news surprised her as much as it did him when he first heard it. "I'm starting to understand why now, everything's too political now. I know that it was already political back when I was leading the Young Justice, but it was never to this degree, back then it was just about considering the public response and respecting political borders to a certain extent. Now it seems like it's all gotten far more complicated."
"Things are much more peaceful since you last were here." Though he had spent months on Earth when taking breaks from his training, Naruto hadn't really been focused on the world of heroes outside of meeting with his friends. Barbara at that time had begun to leave the world behind and so, it was never something the two focused on, instead using their limited time together to get closer and just spend time with one another. "And with peace, comes its own share of problems."
Koriand'r rose her wine glass to her lips, intending to take a sip. "Yeah, I can-"
*Boom*
Before either could do anything though, an explosion erupted in the distance, both shooting to their feet as people looked around in confusion, trying to wonder what the sound was. Looking at one another, they both nodded their heads and following the crowd of people, began to make their way outside to see the smoke rising in the distance.
"Isn't that coming from where the Hall of Justice is?" One of the bystanders wondered aloud, everyone looking to try and see if they could make out what was happening. None dared get closer though, well aware of how destructive hero and villain battles could become.
But amongst the crowd, Naruto and Koriand'r were nowhere to be seen.
Saturday 13th February 2016, 22:05.
Washington D.C,
Hall of Justice.
"What the hell is that?" Naruto wondered, looking down at the strange creature that lumbered out of the side of the Hall of Justice. It was quiet at this time of day, people had returned to their homes with the festival and the surrounding areas being shut down and closed off to the public.
The golem, formed of stone, gold, rock and crystal screeched out to the world that it was alive. With a body and one large, seemingly muscular right arm formed entirely of stone, legs and a skinny left arm made of wood and two wings protruding from its back. Crystals sprouted out from the top of its headless body, almost like hair or some strangely shaped head, with similar crystals sprouting out along both hands, larger ones upon the wood, compared to the smaller ones on the stone. All along its body, gold was dotted, glowing an unnatural colour.
"I have no idea," Koriand'r muttered, looking down at her clothes with a frown.
Naruto noticed it and smiled amusedly. "Guess I did have a reason to worry after all." He jested, both noticing sphere in her cycle form racing down from the sky, Wolf, Superboy and Blue Beetle rushing into action. "Do you wish you listened to me now when I suggested we bring our costumes with us, rather than leaving them at the Hall of Justice?"
Her frown deepened but blew her hair from her face in frustration. She had only just bought these clothes recently and if there was one thing this life had taught her, it was that her clothes often got damaged. That was one of the reasons her costume was so revealing, there was less damage done to her clothes overall, and she had nothing to be ashamed of.
"Don't worry about it, I'll replace them after this is over with." Koriand'r shook her head.
"That is unnecessary." She replied as the two closed in upon the Hall of Justice and the battle taking place just outside. "I will replace them once this is over with. It is just frustrating because I bought them not so long ago."
"Well, I still think you look beautiful whatever you wear." That response caught them both a little off-guard, Naruto quickly picking up the pace afterwards, Koriand'r trailing behind before picking up the speed.
Sunday 14th February 2016, 00:05.
Washington D.C,
Hall of Justice.
The Appellexians.
A race of creatures formed entirely of energy that had possessed hosts formed of different minerals. They had arrived for reasons that had initially been unknown, though Hal Jordan had revealed that their goal had been to see which of the four of them would be able to conquer Earth first.
The reason behind this?
Whoever conquered Earth first would become the new ruler of the Appellexian race.
A simple goal, one that had been the precursor for many foes to also attempt world conquest that the only thing that made them stand out from the rest was what had followed their failed conquest of Earth. They had been the first foes that individually, heroes like Superman had been unable to defeat and so, the Justice League had formed. It was the Appellexians that had led to the formation of the greatest superhero team this world had ever seen.
Though the foes that the Justice League had fought since had continually gotten stronger and more dangerous, there was arguably none more well-known than them. Without the Appellexians, the Justice League would not have been formed in the way it had and perhaps if they hadn't, Earth might not have been the way it was today.
There had been seven.
Seven Appellexians had proven too much for the seven founding members of the Justice League to face alone. What had determined victory for the Justice League though was that even with their unfamiliarity working together, the Appellexians were not only their enemies but also enemies of one another. This had been the determiner of their victory as by working together when they were divided, the Justice League was able to drive them off-world.
In the end, only the hosts of four of the Appellexians had remained, put away in glass cases and stored in the Hall of Justice. Those had been the hosts of Wood-King, Crystal Creature, Stone-God and Golden Roc. As for the hosts of Mercury Monster, Glass-Man and Fire Lord, their bodies had been destroyed within the conflict.
It had been believed that without the energy provided by the Appellexians, their host bodies were harmless and for over a decade, that had been proven to be true. Except, they had been awoken by the Intergang leaders, Bruno Mannheim and Whisper A'Daire. Not only had they been awoken, seemingly with all the original strength and powers they had in the past, but then had showcased a new ability.
One that allowed them to fuse together.
Having combined their abilities and strength would have made them incredibly more difficult to deal with. "It's a good job they were enemies with one another in the past," Connor noted, running one hand through his hair as he looked at the remains of the Golem. "I doubt the Justice League back in the day would have been able to handle this at their past level."
"You never know." Naruto shrugged, though he did agree with Superboy.
Nowadays, this threat would be easy to deal with for the Justice League, in fact, he would wager that this would be a job for the team or the Teen Titans to handle. But that was because the level of power that heroes were going up against now was far greater than what it had been in the past. Back then, heroes had not been forced to push themselves beyond the limits like they had time and time again since.
Together, Naruto, Starfire, Superboy, Wolf and Blue Beetle had been able to handle it with relative ease. There had been some trouble in the beginning due to the inexperience of Blue Beetle and his eagerness to prove himself. But after he got knocked around a few times, Blue Beetle recovered and got his head on straight. Starfire was integral in this as well, she was naturally charismatic and was more than willing to step up as a leader.
While he and Connor had taken the fight to the Golem, she had taken a moment to say some words to Blue Beetle that made him calm down.
After that, it was a meticulous and perfectly executed takedown, one that the heroes had become incredibly used to performing. Three of them are much more used to dealing with stronger foes and Blue Beetle himself possesses a unique and powerful weapon. "You held back though," Connor said, sitting down beside Naruto on the steps of the entrance of the Hall of Justice.
Naruto smirked, recognising that Connor wasn't being accusatory, but anticipating. "Well, I'd hate to hurt you. I was raised not to bully children." That jest made Connor's smile drop into a frown, narrowing his eyes.
"Fuck off, you hybrid bastard." He snapped, Jamie and Koriand'r looking over cautiously.
"Right back at you, test tube baby." Wolf looked up, this time from his position laid out on the floor.
The two glared at one another, the atmosphere tense before suddenly they burst out into laughter. "Ah, you've been gone too long." Connor slapped him on the back, knowing full well he did it with enough strength that Naruto was forced to root his foot to the ground in order to stop himself from falling onto his face.
The look on Naruto's face said he knew that too.
"Don't think that just because you're a toddler that I won't kick your ass," Naruto warned him.
Connor smiled challengingly. "I'm ready when you are, gramps."
"If both of you boys are done, I do think it is past time we figure out what to do with those two," Starfire interjected, shaking her head in amusement as she indicated towards the two leaders of the Intergang, both still pinned to the walls by Blue Beetle.
Naruto and Connor looked at one another, before shrugging their shoulders. "Rain check on that spar?" Naruto asked, Connor, nodding his head firmly.
"Oh definitely, you're not ducking out of this one."
Smirking, Naruto then moved forward, tapping the blue metallic objects and pinning them to the walls of the Hall of Justice. "What the hell is this stuff even made out of?" He wondered, turning to Blue Beetle. "And why a giant blue staple?"
"Is that really the most important thing about this whole thing, Maelstrom?" Starfire wondered exasperatedly, though a little amused at his antics, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why exactly are the Intergang moving like openly like this in the first place? They have secured themselves as the premier arms dealers in the black market. It makes no sense for them to risk being caught for something as insignificant as releasing the Appellexians."
Connor shook his head. "I'm all ears for ideas."
"Perhaps they got bored?" Blue Beetle offered, though no one took it seriously, not even himself.
But it was something that got the ball rolling, so to speak. "Or perhaps they were probing us?" Naruto spoke up. "Trying to see how quickly we would react in moments of crisis."
"Considering the Justice League is spread thin right now, that is possible." Connor agreed.
With a number of Leaguers off-world for the trial, it had left a pretty big hole left to fill. The work of people like Superman and Batman was by no means small. When you add in the others on top of that, it became a monumental hole that they were struggling to fill. It was because of that, that the Justice League had needed to call in such huge numbers of new recruits in order to better handle it all. Everyone was working much more openly and bringing much more attention to themselves, purposefully diverting attention away from the missing Leaguers.
However, such a tactic would not work for everyone.
The Intergang had decided to test that theory and luckily, they had been on hand to respond because that could have posed a big problem for the Justice League. "But it makes no sense for the Intergang to do it themselves." Starfire continued, frowning deeply. "They would have had other contractors and mercenaries do this job. Not personally get involved, let alone their two leading members."
That made many agree.
"Perhaps, they were testing out a new weapon?" Blue Beetle indicated toward the broken remnants of the machine that had been used to awaken and control the Golem. "Didn't they make an appearance last time when first testing Apokoliptan tech?"
Connor nodded his head. "And after that, it flooded the black market." He smiled humourlessly. "Last time they tested out the merchandise, they decide to try and make a pretty penny on the side as well. This time, they tested out a new weapon and also tried to probe the Justice League. They sure do love to take a mile when given an inch, don't they?"
No one laughed at the joke.
Naruto moved forwards, crouching down beside the broken remnants of the Golem, picking up one of the fragments of the crystals. "Perhaps they weren't just testing the weapon and the Justice League? Perhaps they were also testing to see what Appellexian hosts could do when pushed to the limits?"
"What do you mean?" Koriand'r asked.
"Think about it, the Appellexians when first arriving, they didn't showcase the ability to fuse together like this, did they?" He questioned.
"They were enemies before." Blue Beetle pointed out.
"Right, but even so, what if fusing together is something they can do on their own, but simply choose not to? Or maybe they need to be forced to do it?" Naruto continued, a lump growing in all their chests, a heavy feeling weighing upon them all.
"What are you trying to say?" Connor asked.
Naruto frowned heavily. "What if and this is a big what if that I hope is wrong. But what if, they're trying to find a way to control Appellexians?" Naruto wondered, dropping the crystal to the ground and looking towards the unconscious members of Intergang. "What if they have or are working on a way to contact the Appellexians and either form an alliance or forcibly take control of them?"
"If they have a population similar to the size of humanity, that would be seven billion different host bodies," Starfire muttered, catching on to what Naruto was hinting at, as did everyone else.
"This Golem was formed from only four." Blue Beetle stated, the atmosphere growing heavier with every word spoken.
"And it was by no means weak," Connor added. "If they do have a population similar to humanity, then what would happen if all of them fused together into one huge Golem? And by what we've just seen, just the remnant energy clinging to the host bodies was enough to make them every bit as powerful."
"Though it did require energy to sustain itself." Blue Beetle pointed out, trying to make things less heavy and worrisome. It did little, but it was something.
However, no one liked the thought of what they had just discussed coming to fruition.
Not only would seven billion Appellexians be one of the most dangerous forces in the world.
But if they could all fuse together, and do so repeatedly, they'd be frankly, unstoppable. Whoever controlled them in turn, would also be unstoppable.
It was just their hope that Apokolips and the Light were not allies. From what had been seen already, Apokolips not only possessed a superpowered army but commanders with incredible strength that not even Starfire and Cyborg could handle. If they that, plus the supervillains of Earth and the Appellexians at their disposal, then the chances of the universe being able to stop Apokolips was slim to none.
Though it was unspoken, it was something all had come to a similar assumption. The looks they gave one another showed that they had come to the same conclusion and held the same fears.
But no one dared give voice to them.
As if not saying what they were thinking would make it less real, fearful that by saying it, their thoughts would soon become reality. "
"Someone needs to contact the Green Lanterns." Naruto gravely stated knowing full well that if anyone could stop this from coming about, it would be the intergalactic police force that was the Green Lantern Corp. They just had to hope that a defensive measure would be put in place to prevent something truly disastrous from happening.
If it hadn't already begun.
So another chapter done and with it I first make my apologies for how long it took me to get this out, writers block is a bitch. But here I am with another chapter and hopefully you all enjoyed it. First of all, we get a look at the more political side of the heroes and how peaceful times are causing problems. We see more development in Starfire and Naruto's relationship and we get to the Appellexian incident. As you can see, a lot of what takes place in the season is being done off-screen so that I can avoid treading on familiar territory which is dull and boring.
Anyway, now that that's done, let's get on with the questions:
Stonepotrice: The Parademons we're defeated, most of them by the joint effort of Naruto and Aquagirl. But before that, Starfire and the Titans had done some damage and after Naruto joined in, there were very few left. Meaning that it was mostly just cleanup duty after that. So when Bernadeth retreated, those that were left with picked off quite easily.
Oh yeah, this will be a wake up call to more dangerous threats that exist outside of the pier solar system. They were always aware, but it was such a none issue until now that nothing really needed to be done. That will change from this point on, as you can see from this chapter, they're already closing in on Granny Goodness which will stop the events of Season 3 from happening. As for Trigon, he's said nothing yet, mostly because he isn't fully aware just yet and what he is aware of, Raven already knows most of the information.
Anisuculenticate: Yes, but as explained this chapter, the Light are limited in what they can reveal due to what could incriminate them. If it's illegally acquired, it will incriminate them and raise questions as to how they got this. So, the Light and the heroes are at an impasse, where they both keep each other's identities secret in order to protect one another and in doing so, themselves.
WeAreLegion55: I'm glad you enjoyed and I was able to convey what I wanted, that was my biggest concern but I'm glad to see I did a good job. As for the tailed beast transformations, it will mostly follow the anime/manga, but there will be deviations that will be revealed later on.
Guest: The relationship between Raven and Naruto will be platonic, the two being like siblings. As for Zatanna, she will be with Dick so as much as I would like the idea, I can't add them. Not only that, but I've got the whole journey of the harem plotted out and adding anyone else will make it difficult to add them into it. Love the enthusiasm though, it always is good to see and read, but you're right about Kori and don't worry, we'll be seeing ruthless Kori in the next book.
Guest (KG): Thanks for that, glad to see that you've stuck it out. But don't worry, there's a reason for Naruto's change in character has an in universe explanation that hasn't yet been uncovered yet. But it has something to do with the figure he's been hearing in his head as you can probably tell. As for being OC, don't worry that's always been something people I've said.
Naruto is based off his post-war arc/Boruto version, one that's more mature and older. He also has a different background and childhood, one that's more modern and traumatic in its own way. But I've always known that this will be a problem for a lot of people. To be honest though, I was always going to fuse a lot of Naruto-like elements and lore into DC, and perhaps I've included them too soon or not well enough.
Trevor Preston: No, the Nine Tails power is purely demonic in nature, Naruto doesn't actually have a metahuman ability. His powers come from the serum he took from Deathstroke, the magic he has learned under Doctor Fate and the Parliament of Vapors and honed through combat in Tartarus as well as a little blessing from the White. As for his Nine Tails powers, they are purely demonic a result of the Uzumaki Clan mixing with Kurama back in the past.
Anyway, thank you for these questions and if you have any more, please let me know as I always enjoy reading your reviews and answering your questions.