AN: Another chapter for you guys. I hope you'll enjoy what I have in store considering this is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series.

Naruto looked out over the tundra nervously as Diana's invisible jet soared over the ice. He wasn't entirely sure how an invisible jet was even supposed to work, but right now, the only thing he was concerned with was the fact that he could see the ground below them. Several hundred feet below them. It was more than a little alarming.

After a few more minutes of flying, a large spire of ice could be spotted as the occupants of the jet prepared to enter Superman's fortress of solitude. Diana quickly put the plane into a dive as it entered the water before moving through a tunnel in the ice.

"A little sharp on the turn, don't you think?" Batman asked her in his usual tone of voice before Diana turned to look at him with a smirk.

"Sorry if I scared you" she joked as Naruto shook his head.

"Scared? Not really. The fact that we're in an invisible jet is frightening enough" he says with a shrug before the plane surfaced in the cavern and the three stepped out of the cockpit, each carrying a package wrapped for the man of steel.

"So, what'd you get him?" Batman asked as he looked to Naruto.

"Well I wasn't exactly sure what he enjoyed so I just bought him a new release in a series of novels. Has Clark ever read A Song of Ice and Fire?" he asked as Diana chuckled.

"I'm sure I've seen him reading it before" Diana said before shrugging. "In any case, I'm not saying anything; he'll hear you and spoil the surprise."

"You do realize, he can hear that too," Batman answered in a whisper before they started climbing a flight of stairs.

"What did you get him then?" Wonder Woman asked, as she looked at the dark knight curiously.

"He isn't the easiest to buy birthday presents for…" Batman started as he pulled out an envelope.

"Don't tell me you got him a gift certificate to Wayne Industries." Naruto joked as Diana looked at him skeptically.

"Bruce…" She started as the detective shook his head.

"Relax, it's just cash," he said as Naruto and Wonder Woman shared an incredulous look.

"I mean, that do you get for the man who has everything?" he continued before they reached the top of the stairs, and ran into Superman.

However, something was very wrong. He stared at them impassively, a strange purple plant growing out from his chest, with its thorn-covered vines wrapped tightly around the man of steel. The three heroes rushed forwards as Batman started to examine him.

"It seems to be growing through his costume and into his body" he muttered as Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"Into his body? Isn't he supposed to be invulnerable?" Naruto asked as Diana looked on worriedly.

"Is he breathing?" she asked in concern, as Batman shook his head.

"Barely" he responded as he opened a pouch on his belt. "You two start looking around, see if you can find who did this"

"Someone must have breached the fortress" Wonder Woman surmised before she went down a hallway to start searching for any sign of a breach. Naruto meanwhile, took out his Hiraishin kunai reflexively as he looked around.

"I don't like this Bats" he said plainly. Batman meanwhile took a flashlight from his belt before shining it into Superman's eyes. "Pupils aren't contracting even slightly. He must be cut off from all sensation. Kent...where are you?"

Krypton

Inside a dark room and lying in a bed, a man slowly began to wake as a small alarming beeping sound began to sound off from around him. "This is your wake-up alarm." said a computerized voice. As the man slowly stirred in his sleep he began to wake up and slowly looked up to see a floating metal android with a round metal body, two cylinder stems that seemed to act like feet and a oval shaped head on a thin metal neck. The face of the head had a black center with three circular glowing blue eye connected together by a set of glowing blue tracks. "Good morning Kal-El, and happy birthday." the robot said as the man let out a big yawn.

"Thanks Braniac; windows please." Kal-El said as he slowly rose up and sat in his bed.

The far wall in front of his bed then shimmered for a brief second and then slowly faded as it was revealed to be a single window, looking out over a field. The field was, in fact, a wheat field that gently seemed to flow like an amber colored ocean in the wind, as if it were an amber sea of grain. A barn and a futuristic looking tractor could also be seen in the distance and Kal-El just sat there and enjoyed the scenery. As he enjoyed the scenery, he was then brought back to reality when the moan of a woman filled the air. Looking over next to him, he saw the resting body of his wife who wore only a pale red nightgown that was held on her body by two single shoulder straps.

"Please don't tell me it's morning already." she complained as she grabbed her pillow and placed it over her head, trying to block out the morning sun light.

She let out another groan of displeasure as she tried to go back to sleep and Kal-El just smiled. "That's what you get for partying all night." He said as he grabbed her pillow and removed it, taking it away from her.

"I was working." she said in complaint, her long red hair resting on both her body and the bed under her.

"Come on honey, you call that work," he began as he moved in closer to her, causing her to smile. "Covering the opening of the Argo City Museum of Modern Art," he continued as he moved in closer, causing her to smile more. "Hobnobbing with all the movers and shakers." he ended as he placed a kiss on the skin of her shoulder.

"Hmm…a bunch of bores," she retorted playfully as she opened her eyes and looked at her husband. "You could've come, ya know?"

"Next time," he replied with a big smile on his face. But it was a smile and a line that she did not buy easily.

"Oh please," she retorted as she began to raise herself up, sitting up a bit more. "I couldn't get you off this farm if I exploded a Quantum Bomb under your…" she began until the ground and everything in the home began to shake for a moment, causing Kal-El to look around with a worried look on his face.

As he continued to look out through the window, "Did you…Whoa!" he let out as his wife grabbed him by his white muscle shirt and pulled him back down to the bed, forcing him to lay next to her once more. Looking over at her, he noticed her giving him a sultry smile as she stared at him with loving and wanting eyes.

"Come here, handsome." she said in a playful but also sultry tone as she placed her hands against his cheeks and chin, pulling him closer to her. He replied in earnest as he place a hand on her hip and pulled her close as well. As they slowly leaned in closer to claim each others lips, they were soon brought out of their romantic mood at the sound of Braniac's voice.

"A gentle reminder, Kal-El and Van-El are expected at Jor-El's laboratory in precisely two hours and twelve minutes. And the back forty is overdue for inspection." he said as he reminded them of today's event list.

"Shut up." Lo-El complained as she grabbed a nearby pillow and chucked it at the floating android; said android just as easily floating around the chucked item as it dodged the incoming pillow. Lo-El just rested her chin in her hand and let out a soft yet annoyed moan.

Batman was examining a container that was at Superman's feet. It was two halves of an oval shaped package, and the dark knight quickly surmised what happened. "It was a gift. Teleported here by some alien culture or powerful world" he continued before his eyes narrowed. "Or someone who wanted you to think that they were grateful" he finished before a dark chuckling could be heard approaching from one of the halls.

"How remarkable" a voice commented as Batman and Naruto turned to see a large humanoid alien, with yellow skin and wearing a purple jumpsuit standing in the doorway, Wonder Woman clutched tightly in his left hand. "You animals really are almost intelligent. That's exactly what happened"

"Oh no. Don't tell me that's who I think it is" Naruto asked dreadfully as he turned to look at Batman.

"Mongol" Batman growled as Naruto's eyes narrowed. He had spent the last couple of days going over old case files from previous Justice League encounters, as a way of getting to know this world and its rogue's gallery of villains better. From what he read, Mongol was strong enough to be a threat even to Superman.

"You recognize me" the villain said in a sadistic tone. "I'm flattered. I'm sure that Superman told you about our previous encounter" he taunted.

"You mean how he humiliated you?" Batman asked, his brow raised.

"A jaundiced account" the warlord growled, his triumphant smirk now gone.

"The only thing jaundiced here is your skin. Seriously, see a doctor or something" Naruto deadpanned as he stepped forward to protect Batman if need be.

Mongol glared at them briefly before turning his attention to Wonder Woman as he examined her, almost as if she were an insect. "What inferior specimens he surrounds himself with. I took her down before she even knew I was there. And I'll take this whole planet just as easily" he taunted before Wonder Woman's eyes snapped open and she slammed both of her feet into Mongol's face, prompting him to release her.

"Maybe not as easily as you think" she smirked triumphantly as Mongol glared darkly at her. "We 'inferior specimens' call it 'playing possum'" she said before preparing to engage his as Naruto ran forwards to help her.

Suddenly, Batman raised his hand to stop both of them. "No" he said seriously as Wonder Woman looked at him in shock.

"No?!" she asked incredulously as Mongol took on a superior smile.

"Clearly the males on this planet are the smart ones" he started as Naruto's eyes darkened. "He wants to know about the plant" he starts before walking over to the man of steel. "The Black Mercy is a telepathic species; it read's the heart's desire and it feeds the individual a totally convincing simulation of it" he laughed before grinning evilly.

"So he's dreaming" Batman summarized as Naruto looked back at Mongol.

"That's just twisted," he said plainly as Mongol gave an almost offended look.

"Oh, this is far deeper than any dream" he said before he titled Superman's face to stare into his eyes. "I wonder where he thinks he is. Sitting on a throne, ruling the universe? All you human garbage fawning at his feet? More honest, don't you think, than this pretense of being the selfless hero"

Before he could say another word, a large claw made of bubbling red chakra struck him across the face, while Wonder Woman struck him in his abdomen. However, Mongol proved to be far stronger than she thought as she shook her hands briefly in pain while Naruto came around and struck Mongol again, without holding back.

The warlord stumbled back before wiping a small trickle of blood from his mouth. "You don't understand. Superman was the only one who could have stood in my way. The rest of you? You're already dead" he chuckled.

Krypton

"Van! Van, your breakfast is getting cold!" Kal-El shouted upstairs to his son from the kitchen while making pancakes. As he continued to cook breakfast, Lo-El sat at the table while reading the paper and drinking a cup a coffee.

"I'm coming!" Van shouted down to his father. As Kal-El made his way away from the stove he quickly skidded for a foot when he stepped on something he hadn't expected to be there on the kitchen floor.

"Whoa!"

Lo-El just looked at the scene and smiled a bit. "Looks like the dog left you a present." she said with a smile and then turned towards Braniac. "Braniac, could you clean up that—" she began until Kal-El cut her off.

Taking a piece of a paper towel, he began to clean the dog mess off from the bottom of his boots. "No, Braniac. Van was supposed to walk the dog." He took the dirtied paper towel and placed it in the deatomizer before turning back around to continue to talk to both Braniac and Lo-El. "It's his job to clean it up." He then raised his head, "Van-El, I want you down here right—"

"I'm here, I'm here." Van called out quickly from the doorway, his dog Krypto standing right behind him. Hearing his dog whine, he knelt down and wrapped his arms around him. "It's okay Krypto."

"How many times do I have to tell you Van? When you asked for a dog you pr—"

"Promised to take care of it, I know." Van finished, remembering the deal he had made with his father. "Sorry dad."

Kal-El just stood there for a few seconds and then smiled softly at his son. Kneeling down in front of Van, he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry isn't always enough. You have to—"

"Live up to our responsibilities. I know, I know." Van continued as he grabbed a portable deatomizer and began to clean up the remaining dog mess. Kal-El just watched his son and smiled. "This mean I can't come to the party?" He then realized the small blunder he had made and looked at his dad. "Oops."

"What party is that?" Kal-El asked as he went back to flipping a pancake.

"Uhhh…the uhhh…" Van began as he tried to make up an excuse. Lo-El, acting quickly, rushed to her son's side and helped him out.

"You're confused, Van. Little Zod's party isn't until next—" Lo-El began, trying to make up an excuse.

"I told you I didn't want a surprise party." Kal-El scolded.

"And you're not getting one." she retorted playfully and then turned to Van. "Eat your breakfast Van. You and dad don't wanna be late visiting Grandpa Jor-El."

"Indeed." Braniac added as he floated over. "Traffic on the Candor Sky-way is backed up to the Gold Volcano."

"Candor!" Van began excitedly as he rushed for the door. "I forgot!"

Lo-El just flicked her hair as she watched Van and Braniac hurry off and then walked over to her husband. "I don't want a surprise party." Kal-El protested as she leaned against him, placing her hands on his shoulder.

"It's just a small one." Lo-El replied as she gave him a pleading look with a smile on her face.

Kal-El couldn't find it in him to deny his wife when she gave him that face and returned the smile with one of his own. After a moment they both then leaned in forward, gently claiming one another's lips in a passionate kiss.

Naruto shook his head, "Speaking as someone who had fought and defeated two God-like beings, allow me to call bullshit," Naruto quipped before preparing a Rasengan. Batman and Wonder Woman both attacked him from behind, only for Mongol to backhand Diana into the wall and toss Batman into Superman's still comatose form.

The Dark Knight stood up painfully as Mongol attempted to strike Naruto, his fist was blocked by Naruto's chakra claw.

"Interesting, but still a futile attempt" Mongol taunted before Batman formed a new plan.

"Diana! Can you keep him busy for a few minutes? I think Naruto might be able to pull this plant off of Clark!" he called out as Wonder Woman nodded before tackling Mongol through a wall.

"You sure Diana can hold her own against him?" Naruto asked as he stepped over to Batman.

"She knocked him into the Hall of Weapons; that should buy her a few minutes" he said plainly before gesturing to the Black Mercy. "If you want to help, get this thing off of Superman."

Naruto nodded before increasing the size of his chakra claw and grasping the Black Mercy firmly. But after a few minutes of pulling on the plant with all his might, it still wouldn't budge, "Damn it, even my abilities are useless here."

Batman then moved him aside and took out a small cylinder-like device and then aimed it at the plant. He then fired an intense beam of heat from it, cutting into the plant for only a moment. After a moment had passed he stopped the cutting and they both noticed as the plant appeared to be virtually unharmed. Trying to think of what else they could do they soon heard Diana let out a loud grunt in agony as another resounding thud vibrated the fortress. Looking back at Superman, Batman walked up to him, "He'll kill her Clark and then he'll kill us all. Shake it off! Come back to us! Please…"

Hearing Diana scream out again and another thud resounding throughout the cave, Naruto turned around and faced the hole in the wall. "I'll try to help Diana and buy you some time so do whatever you can to get that thing off of him!" Naruto shouted as he sprinted and leapt through the hole in the wall.

Crashing through the wall and slamming into a display wall full of otherworldly weapons, Wonder Woman fell to the ground as Mongul made his way through the newest hole in the wall. While he had been slightly injured by the new warrior, it was only a temporary setback. As he walked through the wall, Wonder Woman looked next to her and grabbed a strange looking weapon and aimed it at Mongul, locking on as he raised his hands in fake surprise.

"Oh dear, is that a neural impacter? I didn't know they were still making those." he said as he lumbered forward. As he moved closer, Diana took aim as she focused on him with the cross-hairs within the targeting scope. "I'd advise you to try the plasma disrupter. It's more of a woman's weapon." That was the last straw for Diana as she finished charging up the weapon.

"Go…to…" and with that she fired an intense beam of energy which let out a shrill-like scream as if someone was in agony. The beam slammed into Mongul who just took the hit and then pushed through the beam, surprising Diana as she looked on in dismay.

Just as Mongul made his way over to her he then found himself being sent into a wall, the attacker being Naruto who had used the Odama Rasengan and slammed it up against Mongul's back. Looking at him while setting the weapon down, Diana was certainly taken by surprised.

"Naruto, what are you doing here?" Naruto just sighed as he helped her up.

"Saving your from getting pounded into paste that's what!" Diana just laughed a bit but soon stopped as they both turned to the sound of Mongul getting up. Looking over at the two heroes, he noticed the warrior that injured him from before.

"So, the Kryptonian has a friend with a power I've never seen before? Interesting." Mongul said as he began to move towards them again. "But you'll have to do a lot better than that to beat me."

While Hokage and Wonder Woman dealt with Mongul, Batman was still trying to get the Black Mercy off of Superman's chest. After trying everything that he had on him, even trying to use a sonic wave emitter, nothing could seem to get the plant to loosen its grip on the Man of Steel. "Grr…nothings working!" Batman shouted out in frustration as he threw the device down to the ground.

He then heard both Hokage and Diana scream out in pain as the fortress shuddered again from the constant attacks and also noticed some smoke and explosions coming from the hole in the wall. "They're in the hall of weapons, that'll buy them time; but not enough." He then placed his hands on Superman's shoulders and tried to plead with him to wake up. "They're fighting for their lives Clark. You need to fight too."

Krypton

As they walked through the city of Candor, Van-El just looked on amazed at how much bigger and louder that the city was compared to their countryside home. After finally entering the building where Jor-El was located, they walked around until they reached the top floor and walked down the hallway. "I can't believe you left all this to live on a farm."

"It's a nice place to visit but—" Kal-El tried to reply until another tremor shook the building, causing him to worry again. "Van, did you—"

"Grandpa!" Van shouted out as he saw his grandfather and ran towards him.

As Jor-El bent over and welcomed his grandson with a warm hug, Kal-El reached into his jacket and took out a portable communicator that was connected to Braniac. "Braniac?"

"A minor and completely harmless tremor. Predicted several weeks ago by the Seismic Institute."

Taking a moment to think about it, he then slid the device back inside his jacket pocket and made his way to meet with his father, having accepted Braniac's answer for the moment.

Naruto was flung hard into a wall as Wonder Woman tried to use the neural impacter on Mongul again, with the same lack of success as the last time. Once the weapon finished discharging, Mongul stood up and towered over her. Taking aim again, she fired only for Mongul to grab the weapon by the barrel and crush it. Upon crushing it he then tossed it away and grabbed Diana by her throat with his right hand, the Amazon princess countering with a left hook to his face which he just ignored as he wrapped his other hand around her throat as well, chocking the life out of her.

Fighting back, Naruto ran over and jumped on Mongul's back but the conqueror grabbed him by the head and flung him into another wall, face first. Diana used this moment of distraction as she jumped up and kicked Mongul in his mid-section but the brute just ignored that attack as well and jumped up and then slammed Diana into the floor, back first, knocking the wind out of her.

"First I'll kill you and the bat and then your little blonde friend over there and then I'll take this planet." he gloated as he began to chock her with both hands again.

"You…won't…win" Diana sputtered out as she tried to pry his hands away from her neck.

"Of course I will." Mongul retorted in a playful but sinister tone. He then grabbed her by the head with one hand and lifted her up before slamming her down into the ground once more. He then raised his foot and slammed it into her ribs, causing her to scream out in intense pain.

Seeing his friend in such pain, Naruto's eyes became slits and emitted a golden glow as he shouted out at Mongul. "Bastard!" In an instant, A chakra claw collided with Mongul's head, knocking him away from Diana.

"What the hell?" Mongul cursed as he saw Naruto reassuming his Rikudou Sennin Mode once more. His cloak manifesting over nine chakra arms. Mongul looked on with a small sense of interest.

"Well, that's a first." He then took another battle stance and he gestured for the Seventh Hokage to make the first move. "Well, it's your move…hero."

Krypton

Walking around the lab, Van-El was as giddy as a school boy as he looked at all the specimens that his grandfather had set inside glass canisters. As he looked at all the creatures and the plants, his curiosity grew even more. "What's this one grandpa? And this?" he asked excitedly as he rushed over to the other side of the lab, looking at more specimens. Then, a strange looking creature caught his attention, causing him to run over and look at it. All of the past events such as the minor tremors and other things that had bugged Kal-El were still plaguing his mind and he had a hard time focusing on the current matter before him. "Whoa! Where'd ya get—" he was about to ask until Jor-El cut him off.

"One minute, Van." Jor-El said as he kept his attention trained on his son. "Something's bothering you." he said as he looked at Kal-El. Placing a hand on his father's shoulder, Kal motioned for Jor-El to follow him to a screen that was situated next to them, showing different areas on the planet that were suffering from seismic activity.

"Here…and here…and here…" Kal-El began as he started to point at certain areas on the map.

"A series of mild tremors, not unusual." said the aged scientist, trying to keep his son calm. "I don't see what—"

"Something's wrong dad. Something's going to happen; I can feel it in—" Kal-EL tried to explain until his father cut him off.

"Oh, so you're a scientist now?" Jor-El asked in a somewhat sarcastic tone.

"Dad…"

"Do I have to remind you of a certain prediction of my own; made, I'm embarrassed to say, only when you were a few days old?" Jor-El stated as he looked at the city of Candor from the window of his lab. "I announced to the world the Krypton was going to explode and it took me years to salvage my reputation."

"But maybe you were right. Maybe…" Kal-El continued until he saw Van walk over to them, curios to know what they were talking about. Jor-El turned to look as well and Kal-El then decided to rethink his current train of thought. "Maybe…I've just been working too hard."

Placing a hand on his sons' shoulder, "The past is dead. Focus on the future." Jor-El just smiled as he tried to calm his sons' mind and then held out his had for Van who ran over to him, the old man hefting him up and holding him in his arms.

"Can we go up to the roof, grandpa?" Van asked excitedly.

"Somebody wants to see the Macroscope." Kal-El said in an amused tone

"Gone on up with your father, Van." Jor-El said as he handed Van over to Kal. "I'll be along in a few minutes." It was then that Kal-El's concerns returned as he could have sworn he just heard his father's voice change just then.

"Let's go." Van said as he slipped out of his father's arms and began to lead him to the roof top. Kal-El let go of his hand as they passed the screen showing the world map and his worries increased even more.

"It's not right." he said as he could tell that something terrible was about to happen.

Fortress: Observation Room

Clark's facial expressions began to change as signs of him slowly regaining consciousness began to appear. While this was happening, Batman was pulling on the Black Mercy as hard as he could, trying to detach it from Clark's body.

"Yes, that's it. Fight it Clark…fight it." he said in an almost hushed tone, still pulling on the Black Mercy.

Fortress: Hall of Weapons

As Diana lay there on the ground, slowly catching her breath, and as Batman tried desperately to free Superman of the Black Mercy, Naruto was currently doing his best to hold his own against Mongul. Luckily for him at his current level, he was more than powerful enough to take down Mongul. Molding one of his Truth-Seeking Balls into a bo staff, Bringing it down in an effort to impale the former warlord, Naruto roared as Mongul caught the weapon with his bare hands but was surprised to feel the brute strength pushing the powerful weapon down onto his heart.

He could easily expect great strength from Superman while the Amazon was only a minor sport but the blonde shinobi was not like any warrior he had faced before. He was willing to kill Mongul if he ever got a good enough opening and Mongul could see it in his movements. They were the movements of someone that was trying to kill his opponent. Using his great strength, Mongul pushed Naruto back and then grabbed him by his arm and then, with a swing, lifted him up and slammed him into the ground face first. He then picked him up by the arm again and slammed him on the other side of the ground behind him, back first. But before he could do so a third time, Naruto used one of his chakra claws like a club and swatted Mongul away from him making him cough up a slight amount of blood.

Wasting no time, Naruto then molded his bo staff into a long sharp blade as he ran at Mongul and let loose a vicious slash against his chest.

"RAAAAAA!"

"ARGH!" Mongul howled in pain as the blow sent him reeling into the far wall. Diana looked on and was glad that Naruto had shown up when he did. While space tech weapons were strong, Naruto's own unique abilities seemed to prove to be a lot more effective against a being such as Mongul.

Grabbing another Truth-Seeking Ball with his chakra arm, Naruto then converted it into a Tailed-Beast Ball. Naruto then started to add his wind-natured chakra to it to create his signature shuriken-like blades. Naruto then hurled it as his target which slammed into Mongul, the blades slicing into him and causing a massive explosion, sending the conqueror right into the wall once more and causing the wall to collapse on top of him. Once the smoke died down, Naruto waited to see if Mongul was truly down for the count. He wouldn't have to long though as Mongul burst out from the icy debris and glared hatefully at the Hokage now covered in various bleeding gashes and burns with his clothing now torn.

"Well, looks like you can hold on longer than most," Naruto said to himself as he readied himself for another battle while Mongul trudged towards him.

"Congratulations," Mongul began as he cracked his neck, "I now want to kill you more than the Kryptonian."

Krypton

As Van looked through the Macroscope, Kal-El looked over the city from the roof top and could have sworn that he had heard a ghostly voice quietly say the words 'fight it'. "Dad." Van called out as another mild tremor shook the building, causing Kal to close his eyes tightly. "Dad, you gotta look at thi—" Van began until he saw his father leaning over the railing as if he was in pain. Kal, seeing his son worried about him, lifted himself up and walked over to him. "What's…What's the matter? Why are you…" Van started as he father got on his knees and placed his hands on his son's shoulders.

"Van…when you were born, it was the happiest day of my life. When I first saw your beautiful little face; your tiny fingers squeezed my hand so tight." Kal-El began as he placed a finger under his son's chin before moving it and placing it against his cheek. "Like you never wanted to let go. I've watched every step…every struggle. I've…but Van…ah, Rau help me..." he continued, whispering the prayer to the Kryptonian god. "But I don't think you're real. I don't think any of this is real."

"Don't say that daddy, please, you're scaring me." Van pleaded as he wrapped his arms around his father, hugging him tightly.

"No, no, I don't wanna scare you, Van." Kal-El said as he returned his son's hug. "You are everything I ever wanted in a son. This…this is everything I ever wanted in a life." he continued as he pulled his off of him and held him by his shoulders, tears streaming down both of their faces. "But I got responsibilities, Van. And…I…have to…go now" And with that he pulled his son into a tight hug.

With that, the planet of Krypton began to shake violently as fire erupted from the mountains and the streets, destroying buildings and monuments alike. As the destruction continued, Kal-El looked at his son, placing his hands around his cheeks.

"Daddy…" Van pleaded with his father, causing Kal-El to hug his son once more as more tears streamed down their cheeks.

"I promise you…I'll never forget!"

With those last words, the planet of Krypton erupted and exploded from the core outwards, sending rocks and violent energy waves rippling out into space. The last thing that Kal-El could even remember seeing was his own son's face as his world exploded all around them.

Fortress: Observation Room

"Yes!" Batman shouted as he finally freed Superman of the Black Mercy's grasp but was soon taken over by the plant itself as it latched onto him, digging into his mind and reading into his hearts greatest desire. "Ahh!"

Falling to his knees, he could easily see both his memories and his greatest desire taking shape in his mind, hearing the all to familiar phrase he had uttered o the fateful night when his parents had been murdered. 'Beware my terrible sword!'

Gotham City

Leaving a theatre which was showing the movie, The Mark of Zorro, a young Bruce Wayne and his parents walked down an alleyway that would lead to the main street so that they could catch a cab. As they walked down the alley, young Bruce was swishing around an imaginary sword while shouting out, "Ha, let all evil doers beware my—" He was soon cut off though at the sight of a figure emerging from the shadows. The man, obviously a thug, walked up to them and aimed a gun at the family while making a motioning gesture with his free hand.

"We'll start with the pretty pearls around the lady's neck." the thug demanded. As the Wayne family huddled together, the thug raised the gun and glared at them. "Now." He began to slowly pull the trigger, the hammer of the gun slowly inching back as it prepared to fire.

It was then that Mr. Wayne rushed forward due to the desire of wanting to protect his family. Pushing up the hand holding the gun, the firearm shot off into the sky as Mr. Wayne kept a firm hold on the arm while delivering punch after punch into the man's face and gut. "Yes!" Young Bruce cheered on excitedly as he watched his father beat the thug for trying to threaten his family.

Fortress: Observation Room

Seeing the desire playing in his mind, Batman let an actual pleasured smile cross his face at the sight. Meanwhile, behind him Superman's eyes began to fill with rage as he could clearly remember what he had just gone through. He then picked up on the sound of Naruto screaming in the background as he continued to pound away at Mongul. Turning towards the hole in the wall, he was off like a missile as he flew through the hole, with only one thing on his mind: to make Mongul pay.

Fortress: Hall of Weapons

Naruto skidded back as he blocked Mongul's punch with both arms, Diana tried her best to push herself up. She had come to her young friends' defense. As she slowly got up, Mongul picked up a battle staff with a bladed edge from the ground and held it above his head, preparing to deliver a fatal blow. Just as Naruto was about to counter, Mongul heard the sound of something coming towards him at a fast rate of speed. Turning his head, he only had the time to see Superman fly straight through the hole in the wall and ram into him, driving him through the floor behind both Diana and Naruto and into the hallway that was set inside the wildlife exhibit which house many different animals from many different worlds, each one the last of their kind.

As Superman dealt with Mongul, Naruto ran over to help Diana as she then collapsed back down to the ground. "Diana!" Naruto shouted out as he reached out to her but found her pushing his hands away.

"I'll be fine, Naruto. You just go help Superman while I go and see how Batman's doing." Naruto, not wanting to leave her by herself in her injured state, reluctantly agreed as he ran towards the hole in the ground.

"Yeah! But you better not die on me!" With that, he leapt through the hole and down to the next room.

Fortress: Animal Exhibit

Crashing into the ground hard, Mongul bounced a bit until he got his footing only to get a club in the face courtesy of Superman using his fists like a club. Superman then went on to sending left and right hooks into Mongul's face again and again, over and over, as he back him up against a wall, his mind set on only wanting revenge while the animals within the exhibit just watched on.

"Do you have any idea what you did to me?" Superman demanded as he punched him again and then grabbed him by the scruff of his suit and lifted him before punching him once more before slamming him into the wall.

He then pulled him off the wall and punched him once more before sending him flying across the floor with a powerful right hook. Rushing over to him, he was soon sent flying to the floor himself as Mongul kicked him away. Picking himself up, Mongul strode over towards him.

"I fashioned a prison that you couldn't leave without sacrificing your hearts' desire." he gloated as he cracked his neck, working out the kinks. "It must have been like tearing off your own arm." Mongul stated as he grabbed Superman by the head and lifted him up. Preparing to deliver the finishing blow, he was once again shocked as a pair of black rods rammed into his body and pinned him against the wall, forcing him to let go of Superman.

"I don't think so!" Naruto shouted as he ran over to Superman, helping him up. "You okay?"

"I've been better." he said as he placed a hand to his chest. He then turned towards Naruto, "Thanks…and wha—"

"Let's not get into it right now," Naruto said as he turned to face Mongul who was now massaging his shoulders and back. "Ask me once this bastard is down for the count."

"That's good enough for me."

Fortress: Observation Room

As the sounds of battle below her escalated, Diana slowly made her way to the hole in the wall, crawling on her stomach as she held her injured ribs. As the fortress shook violently from the battle that Superman and Naruto were having with Mongul, Diana made her way over to the opening and pulled herself up. Looking back into the observation room, she noticed Batman's back facing her, his body kneeling on the ground.

"Bruce!" she gasped out in shock as she slowly made her way over to man that she cared for most.

Fortress: Animal Exhibit

Naruto leapt onto Mongul's back and prepared to impale him with his chakra rods. Mongul would have none of that though as he grabbed Naruto and flung him into the far wall. He then turned around and caught a punch aimed for his face and then let loose a punch of his own, send punch after punch into Superman's face and gut instead, sending him to the ground.

As he reached down he was soon sent reeling by a powerful blast of gold and black energy. Hitting the floor face first and quite hard, he pushed himself up and looked over to see Naruto having manifested Kurama's head as it powering up another Tailed-Beast Ball which he then fired right at Mongul. Displaying his own agility, Mongul jumped up inot the air and came down with his fists like clubs, landing a blow onto the top of Naruto's head, knocking him to the ground, dissipating the construct. He then picked him up by the head and held him there, looking him right in his gold pupils.

"I don't know who you are but you have interfered long enough." And with that he began to pound his fist into Naruto's gut, causing the Seventh Hokage to scream in agony. After a few more blows, Naruto's body just dangled there, allowing Mongul to admire his handy work. "My, my, finished already." He had spoken too soon though as Naruto quickly recovered and grabbed Mongul's wrist, crushing it in his grip so as to force the brute to let him go. "Argh!"

"This is for Batman!" Naruto shouted as he slammed an chakra covered fist into Mongul's chin in the form of an uppercut, causing the conqueror to bounce off the ceiling, head first. Landing on the ground, Mongul soon found Naruto grabbing him by the leg and was then quickly swung around like a rag doll. "This is for Wonder Woman!" Naruto roared as he let Mongul and sent him soaring over Superman who watched the fight going on and saw Mongul crash right into another wall. He then looked back at Naruto who was forming two chakra claws from his cloak. Raising the left one, "This one is for Superman!" and then raising the right one, "And this one's for me!" With that he fired another Tailed-Beast Ball in the form of an energy wave, the blast was so powerful that Superman jumped out of the way to avoid. The blast carried on and slammed into the wall. Mongul, barely lucky enough to have moved out of the way in time, noticed the damage that the attack did and was glad that he was not on the receiving end of it.

"Nice try, but you'll have to be quicker on the draw if you wanna hit me." Mongul chortled as he ran at Naruto who ran right back at him. Naruto let his fist fly but Mongul side-stepped the punch and delivered a gut punch of his own, knocking the wind out of him.

Before Mongul could even capitalize though, Superman flew at him and slammed his own fist into Mongul's face. Staggering back a bit, he then caught a fist aimed for his stomach and turned it upwards, causing Superman to grunt in pain before being sent to the ground by a series of punches to the face. Mongul then grabbed Superman by the head with one hand while chocking him with the other. Using his hand that grasped Superman's head, he began to squeeze, trying to crush his skull. Lifting him up into the air, he just smiled a sinister grin as he gloated.

"Happy birthday Kryptonian. I give you…oblivion." Superman, enraged with Mongul for what he still did to him earlier and now for what he had done to his friends, let his anger rise to the surface as he eyes glowed red, activating his heat vision.

"Burn!" With that, he let loose his heat ray vision upon Mongul, burning a gash across his chest, causing Mongul to cry out in pain.

Fortress: Observation Room

Hearing Mongul's tortured howls and seeing the burning red glow from with the remains of the room behind her, Diana used all of her remaining strength to push herself up and carry herself over towards Batman. What she saw though shocker her to no end as she noticed the Black Mercy now latched onto his body. "Hera, no!" Thinking of what she could do to save him, she reached out and began to yank as hard as she could on the plant, trying her hardest to pull it off of Batman. "Bruce!"

Gotham City

As he watched his father beat down on the alley thug, young Bruce cheered his father on as best he could. "Get 'em dad, get 'em." He continued this cheer as his father continued to beat down on his family's attacker. It was while he was watching this scene take place that he could have sworn he had heard a woman shout out his name.

'BRUCE!'

At that moment, young Bruce soon began to notice the favor of the fight shifting towards the mugger as he pushed Mr. Wayne away from him and took aim with his gun. The last thing that young Bruce would see was the flash of the gun fire and the last thing he would ever hear was the sound of the gun shot.

Fortress: Observation Room

Finally detaching the Black Mercy from Batman's body, Diana now found herself trying her hardest to wrestle with the alien plant while keeping it at bay. The Black Mercy, meanwhile, kept lashing out at her with is strange looking tongue, trying to ensnare another victim as Batman looked on from the other side of the room.

Fortress: Animal Exhibit

Using a powerful right hook, Mongul sent Superman right into a wall and then, with a kick to the gut, sent Naruto skidding across the floor. Turning his attention back to Superman, Mongul slowly trudged over towards him, wanting to finish him off once and for all. "You should have stayed in whatever happy fantasy that the Black Mercy granted you."

Mongul then rushed at Superman but soon noticed Naruto jumping in his way. It didn't matted much as he collided with Naruto and still kept on going, crashing into Superman as well. He then went on to punch the both of them over and over and then slam them down to the ground. He then jumped into the air and brought his fist down upon the both of them like a club, demolishing the floor beneath them and sending them all down to another lower level of the fortress.

With clouds of ice and dust kicked up from the impact, Superman and Naruto slowly got up as did Mongul and Superman was not happy at all. "Happy?" Superman grabbed Mongul and lifted him up fully before punching him hard in the face, sending him careening right into the base of a huge statue. Superman then flew over to Mongul and began to pound away at his face repeatedly, letting out all his rage and frustration as he continued to punch away at Mongul's face like it was a punching bag. "Do you know what I've lost?" He continued to pound away, causing rubble from a broken part of the statue where they had crashed through when they went through the floor moments earlier to fall around them. "What I've—" Superman then looked up at the statue of his parents and hesitated, thinking back to the world that the Black Mercy had shown him for a brief second. But it was all Mongul needed.

Grabbing him by the head, Mongul brought Superman down into a powerful knee smash which he rammed right into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Falling to the floor, Superman watched as Mongul went over and picked up a huge boulder. Naruto also watched and his own rage began to fill the very fibers of his being as he started to add Shukaku's chakra into his Rasengan.

"You know, for a moment there…I almost believed you were gonna kill me." Mongul chortled as he hefted the huge boulder above his head. "How stupid of you to hesitate like that. Not a mistake I'll make, I can assure you-AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Mongul screamed in agony as Naruto slammed a Magnet Release Rasengan into Mongul's body, penetrating his thick skin.

"DIE!" Naruto roared as Shukaku's markings started to cover Mongul's entire body. But it wouldn't last long as Mongul swatted him away but found that he could not move at all after that.

"Why you little punk! How dare you—"

"Excuse me?" a voice called out from above. Looking up at the hole in the ceiling, Mongul saw the one thing he was hoping he wouldn't. Standing by the hole was Batman and lying on the ground next to the hole in front of him was Wonder Woman, with the Black Mercy firmly wrapped around her arm. "But I think this is yours." And with that she hurled the Black Mercy at Mongul who found himself unable to move out of the way due to the Magnet Release immobilizing his entire body. The Black Mercy soon attached itself to Mongul and it then once again began the process of siphoning off energy from its new host while giving them a convincing dream to live in.

10 Minutes Later

Standing before the unconscious form of Mongul who now had the Black Mercy strapped to his body Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and Naruto who had released his Six Paths Mode and reverted to normal, watched over the evil warlord as he dreamt his life away. Walking up to Superman, Diana extended a strange looking flower to him.

"This…this was your birthday present. A new breed of rose…called the Krypton. But…" she began as she handed him the rose.

"Don't worry about it." he assured her as he took a whiff of the Krypton's scent and then looked at the statue of his parents. "I promise you…I'll never forget."

The four of them looked at the statue for a moment longer and then returned their gaze upon Mongul. "I wonder what he's seeing." Diana asked with a small sigh. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders.

"Who knows and I sure as hell don't ever want to find out."

"Whatever it is…it's too good for him." Batman said in an angered tone as Mongul smiles weakly as cries of agony and sounds of war echoed in his mind.

AN: Okay that's all for this chapter. I hope Naruto and Mongul's battle was to your liking. The next chapter will focus on Sasuke as he goes on a mission with Wonder Woman. Until then, be sure to read and review.