(Chapter 9 Part Two)
(Konoha. Office of the Hokage)
"I can't wait for this year to be over so I can retire." Tsunade said to herself while she sat alone doing the paper work once again. Though she did love being Hokage the one thing about the job that she hated was all the damn paper work she had to do. Especially in these more peaceful times. Sure there were still rogue shinobi out there and the occasional escort missions but it was nowhere near as bad as it had been in the past.
Just as she finished another document and was about to get to the next on in the mountain she saw her desk drawer light up with a green glow. She quickly then pulled it out.
'Thank you kami!' she thought to herself as she pulled out the communicator with the Green Lantern symbol on it. It was given to her by Naruto when he first came back soon after his first month on the job. It was a way to communicate with him if something happened directly on Ajnin or if something important had happened on his homeworld. But the signal wasn't coming from Naruto's ring as far as she knew.
"Hal Jordan to Konoha. Lady Tsunade are you receiving me?" said the voice of Hal Jordan which Tsunade recognized.
"Hal this Tsunade. How can I help you?" she asked speaking to the communicator.
"Afternoon ma'am. I was wonder if Naruto was still on the surface in Konoha? Cause I haven't been able to reach him." Hal asked.
"Well last I checked he was in the Nara compound playing his monthly game of shougi with Shikamaru." said Tsunade
"Then would you mind if I went down to the surface? There's something I need to discuss with him." he asked.
"I think he has an idea of what you're here about though he didn't tell me what it was Hal. You're granted permission to come down but I think I better go with you. Some of the villagers are still having some disbelief on this Green Lantern Corps or about just space in general." said Tsunade already getting up from her chair.
"Good idea. I don't know my way around your village anyway. Especially since it got rebuilt. I will meet you outside your office." said Hal.
Tsunade put the communicator back the drawer and walked out the door. She then passed by Shizune.
"Shizune I'm going out. I won't be back til later in the evening so I'm leaving the paper work until tomorrow." she ordered.
"You already had a break today. It's not time yet for you to leave." Shizune admonished.
"Hal Jordan is here and we are going to see Naruto." she said. Shizune immediately became quiet when hearing that as the Hokage kept walking out.
'Well at least I can get ready for my date with Iruka...' she thought to herself.
(Nara Compound)
Tsunade and Hal arrived to the Nara compound. At Tsunade's suggestion Hal was out of uniform and in his usual civilian attire of his old brown leather jacket, black t-shirt, jeans and work shoes to make him stand out less in the ground. He still was looked upon strangely but it was better than nothing.
As they walked to the entrance of the compound Hal took the time to briefly explain the situation. How Naruto had managed to make it to Betrassus and took the battle to the Khundians and the Sinestro Corps.
Though she was at first surprised at this news since Naruto didn't tell her anything about what goes on in his duties as Green Lantern often she had a small smile of pride on her face hearing this.
When they knocked on the door Shikamaru's mother, Yoshino, greeted them and escorted them to Shikamaru's room after Hal left his shoes at the door. She opened the door and saw Shikamaru sitting alone with his shougi board and saw that he seemed to be replaying a game on his own.
"Shikamaru stand at attention! The Hokage is here!" his mother ordered seeing that he ignored them when she opened the door.
The young Nara turned to see his Hokage waiting along with her guest and for once stood up to address them.
"Sorry Lady Tsunade. I didn't know you were coming. Did you have an assignment?" he asked.
"No Shikamaru. I actually came with Hal Jordan to find Naruto." said Tsunade.
Shikamaru turned to older man that was next to her. "Yeah we met. Didn't I trap you in my Shadow Possession Jutsu three years ago?"
"Yeah. You did." said Hal remembering how he was paralyzed from the young man's shadow.
"Well no hard feelings I hope." he said.
"None. Just glad we didn't end up having to kill each other." said Hal.
"In any case." said Tsunade getting back on topic from the brief moment of pride that Shikamaru made which was strange given his laid back nature. "I believed that Naruto was here in your family compound."
"He was. He just left about fifteen minutes ago. After our game of shougi he got contacted by a guy named Ganthet on his ring. He told this guy to meet him on training ground seven last I checked."
"Ganthet? I though he was still on Oa." muttered Hal. Tsunade on the other hand noticed how the shougi board was arranged and it looked like Shikamaru was playing by himself.
"Hal would you mind waiting for me outside the compound?" she asked. Hal nodded seeing as she wanted to discuss something with Shikamaru alone. His mother went with him as an escort.
"Are you replaying the game you and Naruto played Shikamaru?" she asked.
"Yeah I am actually." he said looking at the board.
"Don't tell me he actually beat you this month." she exclaimed in surprise.
"No but he almost did. That's the fourth time in the row he's almost beaten me. It's gotten to the point that now I have to keep replaying the game to keep my edge." said Shikamaru with a sigh. "Which is such a drag that I have to do that."
Tsunade has a smile on her face which the turned to a smirk.
"Then be prepared to a lot more of replaying in the future then I think." she said as she walked away.
"Hey!" the young Nara called out as he move to catch up. "What is that supposed to mean?" he asked in a panicked tone.
"Let's just say that our boy might be able to visit more than just once a month." she said again as she was escorted by his mother out of the compound.
Shikamaru sighed and looked back to the shougi board on in his room.
"Great. Now I'm gonna have to make a game plan in advance each time he visits." said Shikamaru as he sat down and went back to replaying his game.
"Though I guess I'm glad he took my advice." he said with a small smile.
(Third Training Ground)
Hal Jordan and Tsunade floated down from the bubble construct that Hal had made to the third training ground. As they did they spotted not only Naruto but Ganthet as well.
Ganthet was sitting in a cross-legged position enjoying the view of the mountains that the ground that came be most used by Team Seven. He had a serene and relaxed smile on his face. But it was not just from the scenery.
Naruto was next to the benevolent Guardian. However, he was not sitting on the ground. Instead, to both Hal and Tsunade's surprise he was sitting on a stool construct and playing a piano construct. And he was obviously good at it judging by the beautiful music he was playing.
Naruto soon finished his the song he was playing and was surprised when he heard the clapping of hands. He turned and found the source.
"Granny! Hal!" he exclaimed as he stood up. His constructs disappearing as his face turned red from embarrassment.
"Don't stop on our account kid. You were pretty damn good. Which song was that?" Hal asked.
"It was a song from Earth's Chopin if you must know." said Ganthet in a relaxed tone.
"I see now that it isn't just the wardrobe outside your uniform that has changed over the years Naruto." said Tsunade with a smirk.
She meant of course that the now tall nineteen version of him that now stood in a red hooded jacket with a black shirt underneath, cargo pants, and combat boots that now made him his civilian attire.
Around the same time after his first patrol both Hal and John had decided that Naruto needed to make sure he had another change of clothes after seeing the orange monstrosity that was his original look. So thanks to some help from Salaak who got his measurements both then and now correctly they managed to get him a more varied wardrobe.
Naruto of course protested at first. Until he noticed that he had not brought no other clothes outside what he wore when he first left for Oa. So he had no choice in the matter.
"I advised to him that he needed to take a hobby that didn't involve training or having to fight for his life on a daily basis. After weeks we tried going with music lessons. Not only did he seem to find peace in it but to my pleasant surprise that he actually seemed to have a natural talent for it. He plays it beautifully now every week when he's not on duty. On Mogo of course since he wishes to hide it." Ganthet explained with a growing smile.
"Did you have to explain all of it?" Naruto grumbled. Tsunade and Hal laughed at his response.
"Well at least you have something besides fighting to keep you occupied." said Hal. He then turned serious. "I'm guessing you told him about the plan we made for him to get off world." he said to Ganthet.
"He did." said Naruto in Ganthet's place.
"And what do you think of it?" he asked.
Naruto crossed his arms. "You mean aside from the fact that the council is a bunch of corrupt idiots who think it's their right to pry into every Lantern's business and try to learn their secrets?" he questioned. "No offense Ganthet I didn't mean to include you and Sayd."
"None taken Naruto. In fact I agree with you." said Ganthet. "Which is why it is important that you understand why this needs to be done."
"I know why it has to be done. They want to know how I managed to increase my ring's power on my own." said Naruto.
"Which has been a question on the mind of not just the Guardians but also just about everyone in the Corps. And some of them, though not many, are still loyal to the council." said Hal.
"My question is." said Tsunade getting involved. "Will Naruto be truly be safer on Earth?"
The other three looked a little sheepish.
"Safer would not be the word we would have chosen. Suffice it to say that there are some people on my home planet that give me pause to take on. But he would be off Oa hopefully long enough for this whole thing to blow over." Hal explained.
"And joining this team of younger heroes helps me how?" asked Naruto.
"The team needs more people with both experience and skill. You fit both of those and besides the most experienced of the group, Robin, is thirteen." said Hal. "And you could use more time in a group seeing as how you tend to be a lone wolf most of the time kid."
"I thought that was how the Corps was designed to be." said Naruto.
"That is something that needs further looking into." said Ganthet. "For now though it seems the most prudent course at the moment."
Naruto crossed his arms. "When would I have to be there?" he asked.
"Tomorrow. Batman, a member of the Justice League is giving the team its first official mission briefing then. I already told him to expect you there." said Hal. "Look Naruto-"
"My only real concern is who will be patrolling my sector. If I'm going to this I need to still be able to patrol it and make sure it's safe." said Naruto in a tone that said that he was agreeing to the deal. Although Hal could see that while Naruto did wish to protect his sector of space he was looking at Tsunade which stated he was worried for his home.
"I can arrange it that you will be on the team part time. That way you can still patrol it. That's the best I can do. Is that acceptable?" Hal asked.
Naruto nodded. "Very well. When do we leave for Earth then?"
"Tomorrow morning at eight hundred hours. It's already been a day already and Batman will need everyone on the team for the mission briefing...though we might be fashionably late." said Hal with a smirk.
"Uh pardon me for saying so since I'm completely out of the loop but if what you told me is true and Naruto is going to be on this planet instead of Oa won't he need some paper work or something to establish himself as having a life there?" Tsunade questioned.
"Not to worry Lady Tsunade" said Ganthet with a reassuring smile. "Salaak has already done work on making a profile for Naruto to use when he arrives on Earth. His documentation is complete and will be up and running as soon as he arrives."
"Good." said Tsunade who then narrowed her eyes at the young man in front of her. "Now would you both mind if I talked with Naruto alone for a bit?" she asked in a tone that told them that it was not a request.
Ganthet and Hal looked at Naruto who nodded. They both noticed that he seemed more than a little worried. And this was from a guy who faced an army and didn't flinch.
"Not a problem. Hal I think we should return to Oa for now don't you?" said Ganthet.
"Yep. See you back on Oa kid." said Hal as he changed back into his uniform. From there Ganthet had used his power of teleportation and they both disappeared.
'Thanks a lot guys.' he thought to himself.
'Well maybe if you told more about what you do on your job this would not be happening.' said Kurama.
'Not helping furball.' said Naruto looking at the angry Hokage.
"Look Granny-"
"Don't Granny me young man." she said pointing her finger at him. "Why is that I have to hear all of what happened from Hal Jordan and not you?"
"I didn't want you worry. I had the situation under control." said Naruto.
"Maybe the battle part but apparently not the fallout. It seems like this council of Guardians aside from Ganthet want to try and dissect you to find out more about how you managed to reach this planet. Which I can guess is from the fact that you happen to happen to be a Jinchuriki of Kurama." said Tsunade.
"Good guess." said Naruto. "What was I supposed to do? Iolande, the ruler of Betrassus, had sent a general distress call to any who could help. On top of that the planet has a population of two billion people. I wasn't going to just leave them to whatever Sinestro or her idiot of brother were going to do to it. I didn't care about the consequences of what may happen with the council and neither did Kurama."
"Alright you made your point." said Tsunade. "I would just like to be better informed is all. In case you didn't notice we all worry about you out there. Me and Iruka and the rest of your friends especially."
"Which is now missing one!" he yelled. Tsunade then saw him calm down and have that familiar look of guilt on his face.
"No one blames you for Neji's death." she said putting a hand on his shoulder
"Tenten said the same thing when I put flowers on his grave along with the flowers for Sakura." said Naruto turning so that he wouldn't look at her. But she grabbed both his shoulders to make her look at her. Or down at her now that he was almost a full head taller than her now.
"Then you need to listen more often. If anyone is responsible it's me. I sent him on that scouting mission where he was jumped by sixty skilled rogue ninja. He bled to death taking them out. He did his duty and you had other worlds under your charge that are worse off than we are now." she said.
All of which was true. Since the young lantern left Ajnin was continuing to make strides from the foundation that he had built. The Five Great Ninja Nations along with the Samurai had since built a kind of world government. They each now worked in a cohesive manner but still had sovereign rights to each of their own lands. And even then as the years continued they found it easier to work as one on many issues that had plagued their lands for years.
It was not perfect however as the Shinobi Alliance, as it was still being called currently, still had the constant issue of rogue ninja. Only now since the wars end the rogue's that were emerging were getting more and more desperate. The group that killed Neji was made up of the more rarely skilled rogues. One even had a variation of Haku's kekkei genkai. It was an ice needle jutsu that bled Neji slowly. Even his Rotation jutsu could not stop them all. He managed to kill the rogue and the group but he died shortly after.
The only consolation he got was that he lived to see the curse mark and its tradition of control on the branch families of the Hyuga clan finally end. He died a free man.
Tsunade let him go. "So this world they are sending you to is called Earth right?" she asked changing the subject.
Naruto nodded.
"Do you really think the council won't try anything while you're there?" she questioned again.
"I'll be honest with you Granny. I'm not so sure myself." said Naruto. "But I've read up on the heroes that inhabit this world and let me tell you there are some beings there that make what we can do with our jutsu's look like child's play. A couple of them that I read up on would give even me pause and would not consider fighting unless I had no other choice."
"Even if you used the Sage of Six Paths Mode?" she questioned surprised at Naruto's open admission that there were people that he felt as he was now he would lose against.
"Especially even then. And I have never been in a situation that requires me to use that much power. Both Kurama and I agreed that that mode should only be used as a last resort since we found out about the symbiotic relationship the ring has to our chakra network. The most we have ever used in the last three years is when we had to go to Betrassus." Naruto explained.
Tsunade nodded in agreement of his and the Tailed Beast's assessment
"Besides on top of that the council has an alliance with their organization which is called the Justice League which I guess you could say represents the best of them including the two I mentioned so I don't think they are going to mess with them." said Naruto.
"Well that's all well and good but I also understand that you'll be joining a team of your own." said Tsunade with a smirk on her face.
"Yes." he grumbled thinking that he would have to talk with Hal on how much information he should give out.
"At least you won't be alone and with people closer to your age and that are not from your home planet." said Tsunade.
"Yeah but they are a bunch of rookies in my opinion." he said.
"Weren't we all." said Tsunade. "In any case Iruka and the others are waiting at Ramen Ichiraku." she said. From there they started walking leaving the training ground.
"Hal also told me that the one member of the Sinestro Corps was a woman. Just out of curiosity she didn't happen to be attractive would she?" she asked.
Naruto sighed. "Can we please not have this conversation again?" he asked. Ever since he turned eighteen Tsunade, Iruka, Shizune and whoever asked if he was seeing anyone. To which Naruto continued to say no.
Tsunade knew that part of it was because of what happened with Sakura. Not her death as it seemed that he got over that but more likely the treatment of her to him. He seemed overly cautious when it came to the subject.
Tsunade raised her hands in defense and nodded as they continued their walk to the village.
'Its times like this that I sometimes miss when he was more a pervert.' she thought to herself. Though she was more than happy that Naruto had matured thanks to his time as a Green Lantern and Ganthet's teachings she did feel that Naruto was still not happy yet.
Something that she hoped would change soon.
(Oa, the next day)
Naruto, in full uniform with his scroll on his back, found Salaak at his usual post outside the Guardians council chambers with his control panel.
"Naruto." he greeted "Should you not be off to Earth soon?" the Clarissi asked.
"I told Hal to meet me outside the council chambers. I just wanted to meet you so I have everything identity wise squared away." said Naruto.
"Very well. I will pull it up in a moment." said Salaak indicating the other this on his screens that he was working on wither it was checking in on other sectors or communicating with other Green Lanterns.
"So when is it happening?" Naruto asked which shook the senior Lantern's concentration.
"Beg your pardon?" he asked.
"The questioning, the investigations. The ones you usually start. As I recall you've had it done on the Guardian's behest twice since I became the Green Lantern." said Naruto with a tired tone as he crossed his arms.
"Yes I am aware of this." said Salaak. He knew what he was talking about was the fact that since Naruto took up Space Sector 2813 it had, simply put, never been safer. No sector was without trouble but since that time after his first mission Naruto had done a stand up job. Not to say that the rest of the Corps didn't do good work but Naruto had proven himself a natural at his work.
Taking out criminal organizations, stopping raiders from attacking civilians, he even managed to stop wars between neighboring planets and more often than not he didn't even needed to use violence. The boy was as much a diplomat as he was a warrior. Some of it was the skills he acquired from Ganthet's training in politics and cultures but that only added to the young man's natural charisma and empathy.
Now at first Salaak could understand why the Guardian's, minus Ganthet and Sayd, were nervous at this rate of success since the last time they saw anywhere close to this was with Sinestro and it turned out he had enslaved his home planet of Korugar in his perverse way of keeping order. But after two investigations in two year reviews of his work Salaak had come to one conclusion.
The boy knew what he was doing.
"So when should I expect you to go for three years in a row of you and whoever of the minority that blindly believe to conduct the investigations and questions then?" he asked again. Salaak then had a small smile on his face.
"Actually you will be happy to know that there will be no investigation this time." he said as he pulled up a file on his computer that had Naruto's face on it.
"Wait." Naruto said holding up his hand. "No investigation. The Guardians aren't the least bit curious as to how I got to Betrassus as quickly as I did? You're not curious?"
"Oh no the Guardian's want to know very badly. And I am very curious myself." said Salaak. "But I also know that you have in the last three years proven to be an excellent Green Lantern. And this latest action of yours while against protocol saved many lives. In my mind that should put you up for a promotion for honor guard. And I told them this myself. But since they feel like being angry instead of thankful helping you set yourself up on Earth is the next best thing."
Naruto was dumbfounded at this. He was about to ask more but then Kurama decided to include himself in this matter.
'Kid accept the miracle, say thank you, and move on. We have a schedule to keep.' he grumbled.
Naruto decided to do what his partner suggested.
"Thank you Salaak." he said bowing his head in respect.
"You're welcome. Believe me I didn't feel like doing another investigation anymore then you do." he said.
Naruto smiled under his mask as Salaak explained what he had done.
Naruto's name would remain as his birth name was unique enough that no one or at least a very few had it. His profile would go on that he was born in Tokyo, Japan but his was place with a foster family who moved to the United States. He graduated high school at fifteen and at sixteen moved out of his home and moved to the University of Michigan when he achieved a Bachelor's Degree in the Piano. Salaak told Naruto that was Ganthet's idea which Naruto figured as much though he didn't consider himself that good at his hobby.
The final bit followed his financial accounting. Salaak had set up accounts in multiple places all over the planet in each bank just as it was done whenever he was off world. What surprised Naruto the most was the amount. Adding to the fact that he hadn't really spent any of his money since he stayed on Oa where everything food or otherwise was free in service the Corps he now had a total of sixty million dollars in the United States part of Earth alone. Salaak had already made arrangements for him to have an account on every bank on the planet.
After thanking him for his work Naruto left Salaak to continue his duties. Before he took off he saw a familiar face.
"Tomi-Fai." he called out. "Good to see you."
"You as well Naruto." she said with a soft smile on her face. Since Naruto had rescued the veteran from the clutches of Mallow and the now destroyed outpost in his sector Naruto had kept an eye on her and her recovery from her ordeal.
It had taken a year before Doctor Natu declared her ready for active duty. Since that time Naruto had also helped her readjust to life on Oa even including her with Arisia, B'dg, and Galius in the Dining Hall whenever they were on Oa at the same time. She soon became a member of his circle of friends even though she was a Green Lantern longer.
"Hal told me that you would be leaving for Earth soon. To get away from all the bureaucratic nonsense from the council." she said.
"Word travels fast. Especially from Hal." said Naruto with a roll of the eyes.
"You should know that regardless of how the council sees it and despite whatever curiosities we have everyone know that you did what you had to do to save Betrassus." said Tomi-Fai.
"Really?" Naruto questioned. "Even the council loyalists like Boodika?"
"Yes even her...though she's too proud to admit it…" she said with a frown. "What you did though probably hasn't gone unnoticed though and I'm not just talking here on Oa. No doubt Sinestro is going to be looking to take you out now. Between this, you protecting your sector as well as you have, and...saving me three years ago you have grown quite the reputation around the universe." she said.
Naruto notice that last bit she flinched at the memory of her being a prisoner but decided to leave the matter be for now.
"Yeah that why Hal wants me on Earth. To try and get this heat off me. Don't think it will work though. I tend to make enemies rather easily." he said.
"And friends." Tomy-Fai pointed out. "And the latter is in the higher majority."
Naruto smiled at that. "Thanks. Well I better get going. Don't want to be too late for my arrival."
"Yeah. Be careful young lantern." she said.
Naruto nodded and flew off towards the outer atmosphere to meet his escort. But instead of Hal he saw John Stewart up there meeting him.
"John." he greeted. "I thought the plan was for Hal to meet me here so we could get going to your home world."
"He went ahead to make sure you would get access to the Zeta-Tubes which in turn would give you easy access to the Cave where the team is right now getting ready for their first mission briefing." John explained.
"Zeta-Tube?" he asked unfamiliar with that term.
"You'll see when we get there." said John with a smile on his face as they both flew out at best speed, John's and the rest of the Corps version that is, and headed to Earth.
'Gee I wonder why he wanted to be the escort for you?' said Kurama in a sarcastic tone for his rhetorical question that both he and Naruto knew the answer to.
They then both decided to get to it as they just flew out of the atmosphere of Oa.
"She will better for it." he said out of the blue.
"Who?" John asked with a confused look.
"Yrra." said Naruto using Fatality's true name. When John visibly stiffened as he flew Naruto pressed on.
"I let her live because I could see the pain that she was suffering and the anger she had at herself for surviving her planets fate. She didn't need to die she needed to heal." he said knowing that he would ask why.
"Thank you for that." he said with relief in his voice. "Most others would have killed her outright in that battle you were in."
"I'm not most others. And you should learn to forgive yourself for what happened." said Naruto.
"I destroyed her home planet Naruto. I was young and stupid and it cost Fatality everything." said John.
"Yrra is her name. And you need to let go of that pain as well." he lectured. "Otherwise it will just fester."
John and Naruto were silent for the remainder of their trip. But it did leave something for John to think on.
(Mount Justice)
The Team that comprised of Superboy, M'gann aka Miss Martian, Kaldur'aum aka Aqualad, Dick Grayson aka Robin and Wally West aka Kid Flash were waiting in main hall of the Cave with Batman and Red Tornado.
They were still in their civilian attires given this was a mission briefing and they would prepare afterwards. The one exception would be Superboy given that he always wore the same clothes in and out of missions.
Wally who was munching on a bag of chips decided to speak.
"So are we going to get this briefing started or what?" he asked.
"Momentarily. We're still waiting on your new member of the Team to enter before we get started." said Batman.
"New member?" said Dick conveying the Teams surprise at getting someone new so soon. "Who?" he asked.
"Recognized. Green Lantern. Authorization 05." said the computer with the Zeta-Tube having Hal Jordan of Earth appear out of it. He then activated a holographic control panel and typed in a command.
"Access Granted. Naruto Uzumaki. Authorization A14." said the computer using a guest designation.
Out appeared Naruto in his civilian attire with his hands in his jackets pockets with his scroll on his back looking a little bewildered and suddenly appearing to a new place.
"That was interesting." he said looking back at the Zeta-Tube. "Fast though."
"Easy access to the cave too. We'll make sure you get a permanent access code." said Hal. They then both turned to the team. "Hey guys. I like you all to meet Naruto Uzumaki." said Hal.
Naruto waved in response as the others gathered towards him.
"Hi I'm M'gann. This Superboy, Kaldur, Dick, and Wally." she introduced.
"Welcome to the Team." said Kaldur holding out his hand for which Naruto shook.
"Thanks." he said with a small smile. "Sorry to keep you all waiting I was talking with John in the Watchtower before coming here."
"He took you to the Watchtower? Why did he take you there?" Batman asked suspiciously since the Watchtower was meant to be, at least by his standards, a secret. He already had this issue with Oliver he didn't need anyone else talking about it.
"Because it was the nearest Zeta-Tube and it was faster than going through the docking bay door." said Naruto with a shrug that meant that it should have been obvious.
Batman was silent for a moment and turned to Red Tornado.
"A logical conclusion." said the android in his monotone voice.
"We'll talk about this later." said Batman to Hal. "For now let's get started with the briefing."
He then led the team to the center of the hall again and activated a holographic map of and island.
"East Santa Prisca." he began. "This island nation is the primary source of a dangerous, addictive and illegal neo-steroid. The street name for this strength enhancing drug is called Venom. Infrared has shown the plant is still operating at full capacity but all shipments have inexplicably stopped. That is where this team comes in."
"So this is strictly recon right?" Naruto guessed.
"Yes." said Batman "Observe and report. If the Justice League needs to get involved we will." he turned back to the map of the island as it showed two locations. "The plan involves two drop zones."
"So who's in charge?" Dick asked.
Batman and Red Tornado glanced at each other for a moment.
"Work that out between you." said the Dark Knight.
Dick nodded with a smile on his face.
'Oh he's not looking to be the leader. Not at all.' Kurama said sarcastically. Naruto agreed with his partner's.
"So I take it we have to also teach the new kid what's what then?" said Wally after finally finishing his bag of chips and throwing them in a trash can. "I'm assuming he at least knows our abilities and stuff?"
"I'm standing right here." said Naruto. "And to answer your question I knew who and what all of you were before you introduced yourselves."
Naruto had decided to familiarize with each of their profiles while in the Watchtower using his ring. Nothing invasive and certainly nothing that Batman would trace as John and Hal had warned him when he did it.
Batman left via Zeta-Tube gesturing for Hal to follow him.
"Good luck guys. And Naruto keep on them alright." he said before following. Red Tornado flew back to his chambers above.
"What are you some kind of supervisor or something for the League?" Dick questioned
"No like they said I'm your new team member. Part time at least." said Naruto.
Dick glared at him but he, Kaldur and Wally left to their chambers to gear up.
Naruto saw that M'gann had already changed into her uniform as Miss Martian via shape shifting.
"So can I assume you two know where the docking bay is?" he asked.
"We live here so yeah we do." said Superboy.
"Follow us." said M'gann with a smile.
"On the way could you guys show me a room I can put my stuff in?" he asked gesturing to his scroll. M'gann nodded again.
After they found him a room that was up to what he wanted Naruto followed them to the docking bay where M'gann's bioship was. Naruto took a moment to look at it.
"She's beautiful." said Naruto.
'Used to seeing more of the machine type ships. Never seen one that was organic before.' he thought to himself.
'Just be careful. These things tend to have some level of intellect.' said Kurama.
Soon after they arrived Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad appeared ready.
"So now we have not one but two people who prefer being in civvies rather than costumes." said the young speedster.
"I don't need tights. My shirt does fine." Superboy grumbled.
Kaldur decided to move in to keep it from going to a useless argument.
"Naruto I don't want to sound offensive but we each know what our abilities and we all know what we can bring to this team in terms of powers and skill sets. I believed I speak for all of us when we just want to know about you and what you can do." he said.
"Understandable given I just got here." said Naruto. "Well for starters I got this." he then pulled his hands out of his pockets and showed his Green Lantern ring.
"Okay look pal I get that you're a fan of the Green Lanterns and all but we don't need you to-" said Kid Flash thinking it was some toy or tribute to the heroes.
That stopped the minute the ring glowed around Naruto with light bright enough that the others had to cover their eyes.
When the light dimmed there stood Naruto in his full Green Lantern uniform.
Needless to say that they were surprised to say the least. Wally mouth was hanging open with a very comical look on his face.
"You-You're-" he stuttered
"What?" questioned Naruto? "You guys act as if you haven't seen a Green Lantern before." said Naruto as he moved into the ship. "You can ask me any questions you want but right now we need to get moving."
Aqualad was the first to shake off his surprise and from there the team quickly got on board the bioship.
"From what little we have heard of the Green Lantern Corps we were not aware that they take protégé's." he stated.
"We don't. I was trained and given a Space Sector just like Hal, John and everyone else in the Corps. Mine is Sector 2813." said Naruto as he sat down at one of the chairs that the ship produced.
"So that means your...not human?" asked Superboy.
"Correct. My species is humanoid just like Kryptonians and Martians are." said Naruto. This got both Superboy and M'gann to smile knowing that was another alien among the Team.
"So what are you doing here then?" asked Robin.
"How about we save more thorough investigations after the mission." Naruto stated already getting the impression that he was trying to get as much information on him as possible.
"Agreed." said Aqualad with a tone of finality.
As they lifted off with Miss Martian at the helm Naruto started thinking to himself.
'These guys are just kids.'
'You're not that much older than them. On this planet you're barely a legal adult.' Kurama pointed out.
'You know what I mean. Sure from what I read on their profiles they have skills and potential but compared to me and the rest of my friends on Ajnin they are bunch of rookies. And I've done missions like this during my patrols and such. I can do this mission on my own.' Naruto replied.
'Yes you can. But it still nice to be part of a group that can help out even if they are less experienced then you. Robin there will be a good compliment for you stealth wise and the rest of the group can help with escape or if we get into a fight. Beside it stuff like this that helped you when you were inexperienced.' Kurama pointed out.
Naruto took a breath. 'Yeah your right. My main concern though is that this is officially their first op as a team. And we still don't have a leader yet.'
'Nice to see you concerned about that little fact.' said Kurama.
'Don't start I got enough of it from Granny I don't need you harping me on It.' said Naruto. Kurama just smirked.
"We are approaching Santa Prisca." said M'gann as she activated the ships cloaking ability.
"So Greenie we know that Green Lanterns can make constructs from their rings but I'm guessing you got your own skill set to match. Anything we need to learn before we hit drop zone A?" said Kid Flash with a new found curiosity.
"Well I'm a highly trained and skilled close range combatant. Along with that I happened to be particularity good when it comes to stealth." said the young Lantern.
"Since when do Green Lanterns know anything about being stealthy?" said Wally being skeptical.
"Since I joined them actually." said Naruto.
Robin kept quite during this as he saw the island. Mainly because he was eager to prove that his ability as a leader of the team. That did not mean however he was not listening and he figured Batman would like to hear more of this.
Naruto had then told Wally to be ready as he now knew Robin was listening.
"Approaching Drop-Zone A." said M'gann.
Aqualad then moved to a hole that was made in the center of the ship after activating the Stealth-Tech in his suit. From there he dropped into the water below.
The ship continued to move to the next drop zone. Minutes later they got a call on their earpieces from the Atlantian.
"Heat and motion sensors are now on a continuous loop. Move in." he said.
From there they hovered above the drop zone. Harnesses appeared for Robin and Kid Flash as the speedster activated his Stealth-Tech on his suit.
"Check it out." he said showing off to Miss Martian in an obvious attempt to impress her.
"Very impressive." she said. She then transformed her uniform from it's almost school girl suit to a full body suit that resembled her uncle's.
"That works too." said the speedster. "Hey Supey, Greenie, not too late to go for the new Stealth-Tech."
"I'm good." said Naruto.
"No capes. No tights. No offense." said Superboy with his arms crossed.
"It totally works for you." said M'gann with a certain fondness in the tone as she looked at him. She then had her hands up realizing what she was saying.
"In that you could totally do good work in those clothes." she said with a thumbs up. Seeing his indifference to what she was saying Miss Martian just pulled her hood over her face and cloaked to hide her embarrassment.
'So kid too fast is attracted to the Martian but the Martian is obviously head over heels with Superboy but she's too shy to do anything about it yet.' said Kurama. Naruto also noticed how she reminded him of Hinata.
The ship opened. Robin and Kid Flash used the harnesses to land on the ground and Miss Martian floated to meet them while still cloaked. Superboy however decided to drop down without a harness. Naruto decided to fire an energy beam and circled around his waist and set him down as he himself floated down to with team.
"I didn't need you to carry me down. I didn't need a harness." the Boy of Steel grumbled.
"I know that. But making a small earthquake from the landing doesn't exactly help us with the covert part." the shinobi pointed out.
Superboy frowned a bit but knew he was right and decided to just stay silent.
M'gann then took the time to contact their missing teammate.
"Aqualad Drop-Zone B is a go." she said.
"Head to the factory. I'll track you GPS and rendezvous with you ASAP." he responded.
"Roger that." said Robin as he was kneeling using his computer to find the quickest course to the factory on the map.
They soon began their trek through the jungle with Robin, Superboy, and the Flash moving on foot while Naruto and Miss Martian flew low with them. Robin was in front as they traversed the territory passing through the back side of a waterfall. After crossing that Naruto noticed that Robin was looking at his portable computers map again.
"Did you hear that?" Superboy asked suddenly as he looked behind them which made the other three stop.
"No." said Kid Flash "Wait is this a super hearing thing?"
"You do have great ears." said M'gann.
'Oh kami.' Naruto said to himself before turning to see that Robin was gone. Kid Flash was the second to notice when he turned to ask him what to do next.
"Man I hate it when he does that." he said with irritation.
"He blended himself in the shadows. Most likely thinking us to do the same." said Naruto.
"And you would know this how?" said the speedster.
"Because that's shinobi training 101. I do the same thing but normally only when I'm missions on my own not in a group."
Before either of them could ask Aqualad called.
"Superboy Kid. Switch to infrared to see if you're being tracked." he said.
Kid put on his goggles. Using them in infrared he saw a group of armed guards moving in a forward position.
"Squad of armed bozos heading our way." he said.
"Make that two squads. But they'll meet each other before the meet us." said Superboy using his infrared vision.
Immediately afterwards they heard the sound of automated gun fire.
"Don't need super hearing now." said Kid Flash.
"We should move around them to steer clear of them." said Naruto.
"Yeah as soon as I find Rob." said Kid Flash as he ran ahead of them.
"No wait!" Naruto called out but it was too late to catch him as he ran ahead. "He do this often?" he asked his fellow teammates.
"Yeah." said Superboy.
"When he shouldn't." said Miss Martian.
"Great. Come on, let's save his ass." said Naruto knowing how muddy and slippery the mud trail that Wally just ran on and the slope would make him fall on his butt.
He flew ahead of Superboy and M'gann with them close behind. He moved to see that the gunfire had stopped and just like he predicted Kid Flash was on the ground with a gun pointed at his head by a large guy in a mask.
He assumed that he was the leader of his group as he immediately started firing at him. Wally managed to dodge the shots fired in front of him as Superboy tackled the masked man to the ground.
Naruto then moved behind Kid as the speedster ran into the other group who were dressed red cloaks with black mask. The design of their outfits appeared like snakes with deep red hoods and fanged masks. Naruto immediately put a shield in front of Kids back. From there he moved in and took out two of them with a punch and side kick while using kunai constructs to destroy their weapons.
The masked man managed to get Superboy in an arm hold on the ground after escaping his tackle but the young man powered out of the hold and threw him into a tree knocking him out.
Robin jumped down from the trees taking out two more from the masked man's group.
"What is wrong with you guys!? Why didn't you follow my lead vanishing into the jungle?" he questioned.
Kid Flash had just finished pummeling another guy and finishing him off with a flip kick.
"That was plan? Way to keep us informed we're not mind readers." he said before seeing M'gann use her telekinetic power to send two goons into a tree. "Well I'm not."
"You told me I could only read the bad guys mind." said M'gann
One of the masked group was running away but did not get far as Naruto punched him in the gut which caused to gasp and then pass out right in front of Aqualad. He then saw the radio and crushed it beneath his foot.
"How about we tie these guys up. In the meantime would someone fill me in on who they are? I only had time to get you guys profiles not anyone in the enemy category." he said as he grabbed using the ring to make bubbles of the downed foes.
As they tied them up Aqualad filled him in on the who's who. The masked man was named Bane. He was actually one Batman's deadliest enemies nearly killing the dark knight on more the one occasion even breaking his back. And he was the head of the Venom producing industry and this factory had belonged to him.
Had being the operative word given that the opposition in snake costumes was called the Cult of the Kobra. Their leader Kobra, which Naruto found to be more than a little stupid, was worshiped by them as a god.
'Thankfully Orochimaru isn't around then. These guys would go nuts in the worship department if they saw him.' Naruto thought.
"I am sure Batman would have mentioned it if he knew that a dangerous extremist group had gotten hold of Santa Prisca and running the Venom operation." he said.
"Agreed." said Robin. "And since there's no love lost between them I'm guessing Kobra kicked Bane and his people out. That's why normal supply lines have been halted."
"We get it okay." said Kid Flash. "Kobra wanted super cultists. Radio Batman and we'll be in time for-"
"If they were using Venom, a potent steroid, why didn't we encounter them instead of ones who used guns?" Naruto questioned before answering it himself. "They aren't using it they are hoarding it."
"He's right. We don't leave not until I know why." said Robin
"Until you know why?" Kid questioned.
"This team needs a leader." Robin stated.
"And that's you? Dude you're a thirteen year old kid who ducked out on us without a word." Kid stated.
Robin laughed at that. "And you're a mature fifteen? You blew our cover the first chance you got!" Robin fired back.
'And here comes the arguing on who should be in charge.' Kurama observed.
'Uh huh. This could take a while.' said Naruto with his arms crossed.
'You know you could just take over and be the leader kid. I mean if this was a ninja team that needed a jounin that would be you right now.' said Kurama.
'You know how I feel about being a leader. I do better not being the guy in charge.' Naruto responded.
Kurama grumbled but said no more.
"How long do you think it will take for them to finish arguing?" he asked Aqualad.
"A while but not for too long I hope." said Aqualad. "It still begs the question on who should lead. Any thoughts?" he asked.
'Deja vu.' Kurama said with a smirk on his face.
"I just got here so I'm not putting my name in that hat." said Naruto. "We'll see how it goes."
He then turned to Superboy who after saying something to make M'gann smile and blush seem to close his eyes as if he were hearing something with his ears. He then turned to see Bane talking to one of his men in Spanish.
Using his ring he keyed in on the conversation.
"Look at them argue. Free yourself and take them while they are distracted." said the hireling.
"Quiet!" Bane ordered. "I will play along. They will give me what I need."
Superboy and Naruto smiled after he finished.
"Don't trust Bane. He's planning to use us to try and get his factory back." said Naruto to Aqualad moving towards Robin and Kid Flash. He then put gags on their mouths.
"Enough arguing. I'd like to get this job and get back. I haven't slept since I got on this team." he said. He then removed their gags.
Bane took the bait and started laughing.
"Such clever Niño's. But you only know half of the story. Let me show you the rest by getting you into the factory via my secret entrance." he said.
"He does have a secret entrance." said Miss Martian. "But he's hiding something." she then has her eyes glow white. An indication that she was trying to look deeper.
"Ah ah ah Chika. Bane is not so easy." he says with a smile.
At this same time Naruto hanged back from the group and started making hand signs.
"Ugh! He's reciting football scores in Spanish. This could take a while." say Miss Martian.
"It's not complicated. The enemy of enemy is my..." he stared to say before suddenly a swirling ball of air appeared around his head.
Confusion soon turned to panic as the same ball around Bane's head started to draw air from his mouth. Bane soon found it harder and harder to breathe as whatever it was that was surrounding him was sucking the air out of his lungs.
"He's suffocating!" said M'gann.
They didn't know what was going on until Superboy turned and saw their newest team mate with his hand raised clenching into a fist.
"What are you doing to him!?" he yelled as he reached out to stop him. Just as he grabbed his wrist Naruto released his hand. Instantly the ball of air disappeared and all the air that was sucked out of him went back into Bane's lungs. He was coughing while trying to absorb the air back in.
"Showing him that he is not in control." said Naruto as he walked past the others and knelled in front of Bane.
"Listen to me pal. I know you think that you have a plan to try and get your factory back. So here's a newsflash for you." he started then slapped his hand across his captive's face. "Hey! I'm talking pay attention!" he yelled. With Bane now looking directly at him Naruto continued.
"You're not going to get it back. Way I see it you have two choices. One you tell us where this secret entrance and then we will leave you here tied up while we take a look around in what was your factory. Or two I do what I just did again and this time I don't stop. So what is it going to be?" he questioned.
Bane was never the type to scare easily. But seeing this Green Lantern's eyes he knew that if push came to shove he would do as he promised.
Needless to say Bane told them what they wanted to know.
They traveled in silence until they approached the place that Bane spoke of where the entrance was. It was on a hill that gave them a good vantage point of the factory.
"You didn't have to do that you know." said Kid Flash.
"And that would be?" Naruto asked.
"Threaten to kill him. I don't know how you did things before but here we don't kill." said Robin as he got his binoculars ready to see was going on.
"If I wanted to kill him suffocation would not be how I would do it…" said Naruto matter of factly.
"Wait you were bluffing him?" asked Superboy.
"In a manner of speaking." said Naruto. "And from what I heard Batman has done it before so don't tell me how to do my job. Especially since it kept us from falling into a potential trap."
"And just how did you do whatever you just did? It seemed like you just controlled the air around him and took the air from his lungs. None of the other Green Lanterns I've seen can do that." Robin asked again.
"Trade secret." said Naruto with a shrug of his shoulders.
Robin stayed silent and moved to look at the activity below.
"A buy is definitely going down but if Kobra isn't selling to the usual suspects..." Robin said.
"We need to identify that buyer." said Aqualad.
"Just what I was thinking." said Kid Flash.
"Yeah. You're the thinker." said Robin sarcastically.
"Sarcasm? Dude a real leader would look for answers." said Kid Flash.
Naruto used his ring to move the boulder out of the way of the entrance of that lead into the factory.
"I believe answers are this way." said Naruto moving ahead of the group.
"So now the potential crazy person is leading us?" Wally guessed to which Robin answered with a punch to his arm. "Ow!"
They moved to the tunnel until they got to a door. Pushing the button on it the door opened to another corridor. Opening that door a crack Naruto and Robin looked to see if it was good to go.
"All clear." said Robin moving to go on ahead before he was suddenly grabbed by Naruto and brought back inside.
"What are you doing!?" he yelled.
"Keeping you from doing another disappearing trick. We getting this straightened out now." said Naruto letting him go. "We already had one incident where you left without telling us and it cause Kid Flash here to break cover."
Robin was about to protest but realized that Naruto was right.
"You may have the most experience and that may have been the flaw with you trying to lead this team. With you and Batman your roles are defined you don't need to talk. But this team is new. And a leader must be clear. It cannot function on an unknown plan that the other members do not know of." Aqualad explained.
"Oh so I'm supposed to hold everyone's hands?" Robin questioned.
"Yeah that's the simple version of it anyway." said Naruto with a shrug of his shoulders.
Robin took a moment to collect himself. He then sighed after taking a breath.
"Who am I kidding? You guys are right." said Robin with a smile. "You should lead us Kaldur. You're the only one who can."
"Please I could run circles around-"
"Wally come on!" said Robin interrupting Kid Flash's tirade. "We both know he's the one we all do. Even the new guy can see that."
Aqualad looked to Naruto.
"You're the only one here that seems to be keeping focus on the mission so yeah you're the obvious choice." said Naruto with a small smile under his mask.
"Hello M'gann it so obvious." said Miss Martian.
"Could have told you that one." said Superboy.
Kid Flash hesitated for a moment before smiling and crossing his arms. "Okay."
Aqualad then walked up to Robin.
"Then I accept the burden. Until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team. Maybe not now but soon." he said.
"Well it was either you or the Green Lantern." said Robin. Naruto coughed to get it off that topic.
"Now that we have cleared up the chain of command...what's the plan?" he asked.
"Robin and Kid Flash with go and retrieve the Intel. The rest of us will stay down here and observe the shipments being moved and hopefully find out who the buyer will be." he explained.
"Funny I was just thinking the same thing." said Robin.
The group then left the hallway and entered the factory. From there the two longtime friends moved into the control tower with Robin using a Batarang which landed on a console next to a Kobra working on the computer. It hit him with knockout gas and from there Robin started hacking in with Kid Flash standing next to him eating a snack that he had in his glove.
Aqualad, Naruto, Superboy, and Miss Martian sat hidden behind some factory equipment watching Kobra taking Venom packages.
"A buy's going down alright but their only taking new product. No one is touching the old Venom." said Superboy.
"Maybe freshness counts?" said M'gann jokingly.
"Or maybe there's something different about the batch they are giving." said Naruto.
"Helicopter coming." said Superboy hearing the rotors of it coming to the landing pad.
"Miss Martian look above and find out who the buyer is." said Aqualad. Miss Martian immediately cloaked and flew out of the entrance of the factory.
"Radio's out." said Naruto suddenly as he was tapping the communicator in his right ear. "They must have put a jamming net around the place when they knew the buyer was coming."
"Then we'll have Miss Martian link us up telepathically." said the new leader.
'Kurama.' Naruto called his partner.
'Don't worry she won't know I'm here. As long as it's just talking our secret is safe.' said the fox.
"Everyone online?" M'gann asked.
Everyone gave their confirmation.
"Good. Robin and I just found out that the Venom is actually Kobra Venom. Which is a combination of Bane's formula from the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus. It's three times stronger than normal venom and permanent." said Wally.
"And Sportsmaster's the buyer. I just got the image of him from Miss Martian." said Aqualad. "But Kobra could not have gotten the formula from Cadmus not without help."
"Which means that this Sportsmaster is also the supplier and is using Kobra to make a new super formula. But my guess is that he's just a pawn of something bigger cause I doubt neither of them have the pull to do this on their own." Naruto said.
"And neither of them have the brains to combine the two formulas. That takes major nerdage." said Kid Flash.
"The phrase here would be that this is the tip of the iceberg. But at the moment we need to stop that shipment." said Aqualad.
"Finally." said Superboy pounding his fist into his hand.
"Here's the plan then." said Aqualad.
(Minutes Earlier)
M eanwhile at the landing bay Sportsmaster accompanied by Shimmer were meeting with Sportsmaster.
"Kobra." the masked man greeted.
"Sportsmaster." Kobra responded. "The shipment is ready." he said.
From there Shimmer presented just a few of the purple vial inside a case. Sportsmaster took one out to inspect it.
"The new Kobra Venom?" he questioned.
"A complete success." Kobra said gesturing to Shimmer's massive brother Mammoth.
"This is a game change changer." said Sportsmaster sending it into the air. "Finally we can go one on one with the-" he was about to finish when a beam of green energy destroyed the vial before it landed in his hand again.
They turned to see Superboy, Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, and, to their surprise, a Green Lantern that they did not recognize.
"If you think that crap is enough to face the Justice League then why don't you try to take us." said Naruto as he lowered his ring hand and gestured for them to attack. Kid Flash ran past the group as they disperse
"Take the shipment and leave." said Kobra to Sportsmaster. Following his advice he turned to leave and just managed to get to the chopper before Superboy leaped from his position and landed causing a shock wave that knocked five soldiers away from him.
Mammoth turned to look at Superboy.
"What are you waiting for?" he asked. Mammoth roared and charged at the young man only to find himself slammed by large host of water.
"Sorry not in the plan." said Superboy with a smile as Aqualad used his Water-Bearers as he focus his magic to pour water from a water tower at the large villain.
Supeboy's smile was short live as Sportsmaster returned and was using a laser crossbow and firing it at him. He knew it wouldn't kill him but it would keep the young Kryptonian from destroying the helicopter.
Little did he know that M'gann, while still cloaked floated inside it.
Kid Flash was taking out Kobra goons left and right which left Naruto and Robin to take on Kobra and Shimmer.
"I got baldy if you get the red head." Naruto suggested.
"Alright but just because you asked nicely." said Robin.
Kobra gestured for Shimmer to do the same. From there he and Naruto stood alone.
"You don't seem to be the type to get your hands dirty." said Naruto cracking his knuckles.
"True." said Kobra before taking off his cloak leaving his well-toned body bare. "But sometimes even a god must stoop to conquer."
"Please. I know someone who is far more worthy of being a god to this cult then you." said Naruto getting into a stance.
"I doubt that. But you do have an advantage over me." said Kobra with his arms crossed behind him.
"Don't worry. My ring will not be used." said Naruto.
Kobra smiled at that thinking without his ring that the boy was helpless. That changed quickly when a fist shot at him out of nowhere and slammed into his face forcing him to step away.
Naruto moved forward to continue. Kobra managed to use the moment to block the right cross and tried to counter with a spinning back kick to the head. The young Lantern dodged it and backed way with Kobra entering a fighting stance. He then charged with a kick that landed on Naruto's chest. He was forced away but turned it into a flip to recover. From there it was the two skilled warriors that fought even.
However, there was a clear difference as none of the blows that Kobra landed hurt Naruto in any way that seem to fatigue up. In contrast Kobra was starting to breath hard, had several bruises and was bleeding from the lip.
"Is that all you got? I mean your good but I've faced better." said Naruto.
Angered at this Kobra attacked again with left side kick to which Naruto blocked it. Kobra then used the momentum to land his right elbow to Naruto's face momentarily dazing him. He then made a right cross but Naruto recovered enough to punch the inside of his arm not breaking the bones but severally harming the ligaments and muscles beneath. From there he pounded on Kobra's chest with a series of punches that broke four of his ribs, kicked him in the right knee that sent him kneeling and spinning into an uppercut that sent the mad cultist leader flying.
Kobra landed on the dirt hard but managed to get up though his right leg buckled. Immediately following that they saw the helicopter, which had managed to get into the air, explode and plummet with Sportsmaster jumping out of it with a parachute.
"So glad that Bane left explosives in his control room." said Naruto looking at M'gann and Superboy who both had smiles on their faces though Superboys clothes were a little worse for wear.
"That's my cue." said Naruto snapping his fingers. From their Kobra looked on as the factory exploded into cinders via Naruto's exploding tag constructs that were laced inside.
Needless to say Kobra was pissed
"I am plagued by mosquitoes!" he yelled. From there the rest of the team gathered around Naruto.
"Shimmer is nice and tied up. Put a good fight though." said Robin rubbing his shoulders.
Kobra realized that the odds were not in his favor. Not in fighting this new Green Lantern and certainly not fight the rest of this team.
"Another time then."he said as he limped toward the shadows but was soon stopped when Naruto used his ring to put binding cuffs on both his arms and legs.
"There isn't going to be a next time. Cause you're going to jail." said Naruto
All Kobra could do was stare at them hatefully before Naruto knocked him out with a punch and hefted him on his shoulder.
"Way to go new guy." said Wally.
The team then gather around the center of the launch pad to look upon their work.
"We definitely picked the right guy to lead." said Robin with confidence to Aqualad. "Making you the perfect guy to explain this mess to Batman." he finished laughing with relief.
"Can we do that tomorrow I think we're all tired." said M'gann
"Agreed. There's a bed in my new room and I intend to use it. After I drop him off to a jail cell. Any place in particular?" said Naruto. M'gann called the Bioship while Naruto hanged back with Aqualad waiting for instructions.
"I suggest using Belle Reve. Its a prison used to house super criminals. I believe Kobra would qualify."
Naruto nodded.
"You did well as leader." said Naruto being serious.
"And you did well working with the Team." said Aqualad joining the others.
'Maybe this team has potential after all.' said Naruto.
'Yeah. Though something tells me that this is only the beginning.' said Kurama.
Naruto thought the same.
(Mount Justice, July 23, 10:01 EDT)
"A simple recon mission. Observe and report." said Batman right to Kaldur's face as the team were in the main hall of the cave in civilian clothes.
"Which we would have if they hadn't thrown a jamming net around the factory. Since we couldn't we took the best action possible to stop that shipment. And on top of that Kobra is now sitting in a nice cozy prison cell in Belle Reve with your government's agents lining up to question him." said Naruto defending his new allies. Batman stood there in silence for a minute before pacing before them tabling that outburst for now.
"You'll each get a written report detailing your many mistakes." he lectured. "Until then...good job."
That caught them all off guard.
'Didn't see that coming.' thought Kurama.
"No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust is what determines success. And who you choose to lead shows character." he said before walking off to a Zeta-Tube.
Needless to say the team was happy with the result.
Naruto then moved to a Zeta-Tube himself.
"Naruto where are you going?" asked M'gann.
"I still have a sector to patrol." said Naruto. Seeing their confused faces he explained. "Basically I'm part time here. When we are not on missions I go out on patrol of my sector when I can. Don't worry you'll still see me around."
"Oh great." said Wally once again in a sarcastic tone.
From there Naruto said his goodbyes to the rest of the team and move to the Tube. Before leaving however he needed to change his designation.
"Computer update designation of B07." said Naruto.
"Confirmed. Call sign change?"
"Green Lantern." said Naruto as he changed into his uniform.
(Unknown location)
"All I managed to procure was one vial of Kobra Venom." said Sportsmaster to his employers on the video screens.
The group known as the Light.
"But the vial can be used to re-engineer the drug and make it viable." said the screen of L-6. "But what the young heroes. First Cadmus, then Mr. Twister, now Santa Prisca."
"Including the inclusion of their newest powerhouse in the form of a Green Lantern." said the voice of L-3.
"Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three times is enemy action." said the growling voice of L-1. "And enemies of the Light will not stand."
(End Chapter)
Got this out before Christmas. Thank goodness for small miracles. Sorry about the wait. Again. As you doubt know by now my update speed is somewhat sporadic. Mainly because I do this because I like it and have fun with it. And also because real life, especially now, just sucks. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the first meeting with the Team. It sure took me long enough. And again thanks to my betas Jebest4781, austinjak0, and hopefully soon Nightlance44 for making this mess of a chapter better.
See you all later...though not too later I hope.