"I see… I see I see indeed. You have a deal, but know that girl is mine, and anything else is on my whim. Understood? Light?"

A man in white and black stood and smiled brightly. "Of course. As long as you grant me the power I desire to finally take the Titans down, I will help you in your endeavor! This magical devil you are looking for will be in your grasp in no time!"

"Then from this point onward, we are partners." As the hands shook, a light engulfed the enthusiastic partner. Grinning as the light faded, the robed figure stepped back. "Welcome back to your sense, Dr. Light."

Light looked at himself, shaking a little as if shocked by his appearance. After clenching his fists together, he looked to the robed figure. "The Titans have made a mockery of me… They fall first. Then those League heroes who locked away my power and my intellect. I will return to the world an even greater threat than when the League made me into a small petty worm to be stepped on. Our agreement is secure, but I want to know the name of the man who gave me back my strength. Who do I thank for this lovely gift?"

"Blood… Brother Blood. And it's truly going to be a pleasure watching you work, Doctor. We still have one more member to find for our little team. But she will not be an easy addition." Behind him stood a few people, one with a glowing pulsing head and another member in a lab coat with a smirk. The darkness had closed off any other features.

"Then let us be persuasive… If she is needed for this plan of yours, then I'm happy to oblige… for my revenge!"

XxX In Jump City XxX

"Today slow for you or something, birdbrain?" Naruto was out eating with Jinx, as Nightwing showed up suddenly.

"Raven said something happened with the magical energy of the world. The long and short is simple, Trigon's appearance messed things up in the magical world, she tried to figure out how to fix it, and suddenly it's repaired without her intervention. I thought of you. Know anything about it?"

Sipping her tea, Jinx just let the blonde talk. Said ninja stood up and sighed. "Yeah, I had some help fixing it. See, demonic energy can tie up ley-lines if there's enough of it. Turns out, it was connected to me at the end of the fight with the big bad daddy of the dark one. Raven noticed, cool. But she wasn't the only one. Constantine came knocking at my door and we got help fixing it where it was tied up, my base. Swamp Thing gave us some help doing it too. What, were we supposed to sit down and wait for you?"

Smirking, the leader of the Titans put out a hand. "Not in the slightest. Wanted to know for sure it was you and not some ancient magical enemy trying to hide out or something. Thanks."

Naruto was a little surprised but smiled back, shaking Nightwing's hand. "Yeah, I guess."

"Things have been quiet lately though. Gets me suspicious. Think I'll be seeing you around more in the coming weeks?"

"Depends, if my hunch is right then yeah, but you'll be wanting me around at that point."

Before the hero could retort, he got a call in from Hinata. "Nightwing, we've got trouble, there's some sort of power source building under city hall. It's only growing and doesn't show signs of stopping. We're being called to investigate."

"On it, thanks for letting me know." He turned his comms off and nodded. "I'll see you later. Try to stay out of trouble, ok?"

"No promises!" With a grin, he waited until Nightwing left. He then frowned and looked to Jinx, who nodded and stood up. "Shall we?"

"Of course, sweetheart, let's go see what exactly is going on." She wrapped her arms around his and they teleported to a nearby seal.

As the two arrived, they found themselves over a rumbling part of the city and looked down to see the ground cracking slightly. "This doesn't seem good…"

It took a good ten minutes before the ground suddenly collapsed, only to see a man in a white mechanical suit and cape blasting light at Raven, knocking her into a nearby building and through it.

Naruto activated his Rinnegan eye and pulled her back enough to not go launched halfway across the district. As Raven stopped, she caught herself from falling in time for everyone to see a large force being built between the blasts of light and the sonic cannon's energy.

Activating a barrier around them, the blonde watched with the pink-haired girlfriend in his arms as the blast shook the entire area to its core. "This guy isn't normal…"

Getting a good look, Jinx gasped. "That's insane… I would say impossible, but you turned that word inside out. That's Dr. Light. He's supposed to be a second rate thief who tried being a full-fledged psycho of a villain."

Inside him, Kyuubi explained. "He's a menace. Dimensional travel is quirky, but time can be fleeting. Dr. Light is a man with exceptional power, the League had trouble with him. If he was second-rate to the Titans before we got here, then every time we heard of him it must have been because he was weakened. I thought the name sounded familiar…"

"He's the one who's usually against the Titans? Well… Now he's a big problem for them. Thanks to us, they at least can fight him on equal footing though." Naruto watched more as Nightwing teleported behind the villain and grabbed on, instantly going for the mechanical suit's power sources. Though it was not effective as the power unit blasted back at him, causing him to fly back in pain.

The team was having difficulty, not used to the suped-up villain at his prime. Naruto watched with intrigue as the villain almost knew the moves were coming, and what surprised him was that he almost seemed like a mirage, or as if Superboy's heat vision was being disrupted before even hitting. This was an all-new Light.

As the battle continued, though, even Raven was powerless, her darkness over shown with light, and before anyone could blink, they were met face to face with Light, for each of them. Naruto's eyes went wide, and JInx gasped. "Clones!?"

Light blinded everything, and not a single thing in the vicinity was spared the heat and violent bombardment of photon radiation. As the light vanished, Light was gone, and the Titans had fallen. Naruto quickly leaped in with his clones and gathered them up. It didn't take long gathering them, but as soon as he did, the earth quaked and everything started to lift around them. His head started to pound and he heard a voice inside his head. "You are the one they call X… Are you not? I see you're on the side of the Titans, this is most interesting that a thief like yourself cares so much for heroes… Psymon Says, SLEEP!"

His knees hit the ground as his body felt heavy, but he chuckled lightly, his eye turning Sharingan and dispelling the magical illusion to put him under. "No idea who you are, asshole… But I am not that easy. Psychic?"

"Why yes, and I am very intrigued by your ability to withstand my normal attacks to the mind. But no one can block me from entering their mind, and yours is wide open. Too easy to get in and play around…"

Grinning, the blonde stood and grabbed the Titans, and kept a feel out for Jinx still nearby. "Yeah? Why would I leave my mind so open? Am I an idiot?"

The voice laughed loudly. "I suppose you are! You're practically inviting me in! You either are cocky enough to think I cannot do any harm, don't make me laugh at that, or you are a moron not knowing what I can do!"

"Or… I don't need to care about my mental space. See, I am not the only one in my mind… I have a roommate!" Naruto grinned wider.

The manifestation of the voice entered his head and smirked, his head bulbous and showing like a glass tank with his brain on display, wrinkled and pale. "You do now, and I will make your life miserable!"

"Not unless I have something to say about that…" The man turned and saw a giant fox, and without warning it bit his head off, causing the vision to vanish and the Kyuubi to grumble. "His psychic abilities taste rancid… Bleh! But that's definitely one of the stronger ones. Forget his name though."

The blonde got every single Titan back to the tower on the roof, along with Jinx appearing beside him. She looked at him. "You alright? You hit the deck a moment there."

"Psychic bastard from the shadows tried to drop me. Kyuubi ate his mental ass. This is getting more interesting… The Titans got their butts handed to them, even after fighting literal Hell. Meaning, they were hit by that douchebag who tried getting in my head too. With them too preoccupied with the mental attack, Light beat them senseless."

"So what do we do? Leave the Titans to wake up and recover?"

After a moment of silence, Naruto sighed. "We may need them in the coming days, as much as I know we should never rely on them, we shouldn't dismiss the opportunity. For now, we make sure they are all awake and unharmed, and then we focus on the next task of what we should do. Their well being is vital, their participation should be welcomed but not expected."

"Understood." She kissed his cheek and smiled before sitting a bit away. After a few moments, she saw movement. "Well, can't keep that new girl down."

Hinata was first to awake, and she saw Naruto and smiled. "It's good to see you… I guess this world's telepathy is different, I was unable to sense the mental attack until it was over. I'll need to get help training against it under Raven soon. Whoever it was, he was vicious."

Chuckling, the blonde unmasked. "You know the rules against psychic types, always presume it's an illusion. Sharingan beats that, and Rinnigan fights back. You still need to train your eyes to see magic instead of just chakra. Energy comes in all forms here."

Next up was Superboy, who groaned loudly. "Someone get the name of that asshole? I felt that same mental attack before I reckon…" Looking around, Connor sighed. "Back to the tower… I'm guessing we lost, blondie?"

Rolling his eyes, Naruto just waited. "Everyone gets up, then I explain. Don't wanna repeat myself. I'll help."

It didn't take long to get everyone awake. Jericho looked to Naruto and squinted, but then turned to Nightwing, signing his confusion. "What is he doing here, and why are we back?"

Shrugging, Naruto sighed. "Alright. Listen up. What happened was, you all got hit by a psychic who helped Light kick your butts to the ground. And he's not the same Light he used to be, he's got himself a lot more power now, Jinx confirms this. Seeing you all down, I got you out of there before anything else could happen to you. No thanks needed, but I'd appreciate it if you could divulge information for me."

"We do not know. We went down and found Dr. Light draining every source there. And then he fought us, much stronger than we ever faced from him before." Starfire looked particularly confused and shook up. "He was using my light against me…"

"Because your power is a photon-based radiation, the same as what he's using." Seeing the confusion, he wondered. "What, never had meta powers like that?"

"Not in the slightest. Last we faced off against Light, he was still using a power source in his suit to charge crystal lenses to fire his light out like a focused blast. No way was he a Meta." Cyborg crossed his arms in thought. "But I get the feeling this has something to do with whoever took our minds and put them under the needle. I almost thought I was malfunctioning."

"Whatever the case is, he has some help. Maybe he is a Meta and either got his powers recently, or he hid them. All we know is we just got beat by him and a Psychic… I could have sworn he said, Simon…"

"He said 'Simon says' like the game. Know it?"

It took a second, but Superboy and Nightwing looked at each other in shock. "Psymon! That guy's back?"

"Who's this Simon?"

The half Kryptonian frowned and his fists clenched. "It's spelled P-S-Y-M-O-N, but pronounced like the game, Simon Says. He's a very powerful psychic, we thought he was out for the count years ago, The League took him down hard."

Raven nodded. "I'll put up protection from his abilities then, I know what I need to do to at least warn us before he tries anything funny."

"Aw, man! So we have a Super Dr. Light and a guy who can fry our brains! What did we do to deserve this!"

"Either way, you guys have to figure that one out yourselves, at least for now. There is a chance this is no coincidence that we have a psychic user AND a powerful enemy coming after you guys." Naruto grabbed his mask and was about to put it on when a clone suddenly appeared. "... Don't tell me there's something you have for me you couldn't read yourself?"

"It's something personal, sorry boss. I did read it, but it still needed to get back to you." As soon as the clone gave the item, it vanished, and the blonde just went rigid. "Shit…" He opened the thing to confirm, it was indeed a jacket with a letter on it. And it did read to him what happened. "Jinx! We have to go!" turning to everyone, he nodded. "Sorry, I'll be back tonight… We NEED to compare notes from here on." He vanished with Jinx in an instant.

Donna frowned at that. "Alright, someone going to explain what he's talking about?"

XxX Back in Pandora HQ XxX

To say the team was on high alert was to undermine the threat they knew was coming. Hive was fighting three clones at once, having managed to do two at once since the other day. Kid was still struggling with raw power, but his skill was improving. Now he had to beat a second clone. As Kid was resting, Gizmo was hooking him up to a revitalization unit he made, trying to increase nutrient delivery and spark faster healing to the team.

Shego and Blackfire were sparring, and Cheshire was learning something very new, sitting in the botanical garden and meditating with a clone. Mammoth was helping carry food around as another clone was cooking lunch. Seeing Jinx and Naruto return, he stopped. "You two are back early, I thought you were going to have a day of relaxation?"

"We were until the shaking started." Putting his helmet on the shelf, he started forward. "Jinx can fill you in, I have to find something real quick."

Jinx came and told him everything, and Naruto found a package in the mailroom. Opening it, he found what he was looking for. "Shit…" Instantly teleporting to Mammoth, he showed the jacket. "Big guy, we got a problem."

Grabbing the jacket instantly, the large muscle man looked shocked. "This is… Shimmer, where is she?"

"No idea. She sent it to us, and the letter says she's being stalked out by others, and can't seem to get into the city. She left it at our mercenary box, so this isn't going to go well…" Naruto almost knew now what was going to happen. "Mammoth, I need you to stay calm and get into your new gear. We're going to try and find her around the outskirts and see who's blocking her way in."

Nodding, the large man went to grab his new gear in a hurry. Jinx looked at her blonde boyfriend. "You don't suspect… This has something to do with saving people that we heard from the message. Do you?"

"It might be. We can't assume it's the case but we can't assume it isn't either. We need to be on guard and ready for this. Until then, we need to get everyone together and start comparing notes on what we're facing. Light's not a pushover anymore, and Psymon is going to be avoiding contact until he can beat my vulpine friend. Not gonna happen though. Whoever else is in on this needs to be calculated and put into our battle strategy. These guys HAVE to be with Brother Blood."

Jinx nodded and stood tall. "Then we fight with everything we have to offer. What is your plan?"

"Simple. We search around as I said, and if Shimmer is not found then we assume the worst… And we go and start comparing notes with the Titans. We may need them." Quickly, he called in everyone for a meeting to tell them everything.

XxX Above the City XxX

Looking down at the city from above, Naruto was keeping an eye on every single area from a bird's view. Ever since the Dr. Light incident, things have been quiet. No simultaneous attacks, not even a single robbery on the other side of town. It almost felt eerily like the calm before the storm.

Below ran a dozen or so of his clones, searching the entire city for any clues of SHimmer, or the barriers she could not pass through to reach them. Everything was too quiet for comfort, and nothing was blocking access except normal routes guarded by security units to outskirt buildings of high importance to rich asshats. The sun was setting, and the blonde groaned loudly. Taking the comms, he started telling the team what needed to happen. "We're empty-handed guys, sorry. Kid, get back with Gizmo and my clones. Don't overdo it, but keep practicing. This is a family matter now. Mammoth, know I'll do everything in my arsenal to get your sister back. Until then, start questioning with Hive around the underground networks. Everyone else, do what you think you need to do. I'm off to see the Titans."

In seconds he was on top of the tower. He waited until he was met with their first responder, this time being Superboy. "Sent me a Kryptonian, huh?"

"Been hearing you were sighted everywhere in the city running around at top speed. Knowing your clone ability means you were scouting for something. The team's been asking around for anything that has been stolen for the time being, and three of us were put on the bench until something big happened." Superboy walked up, though not in an aggressive fashion after hearing more about the blonde. "After Light, and seeing you here, after wanting to compare notes… I guess you're here to talk about what you meant?"

"Exactly." Having come without his suit this time, Naruto walked up to the young hero and offered a hand to shake. "Thanks for not trying to knock my block off the moment I got here."

"Not shaking your hand just yet, not until we know what you're here for." Seeing Naruto retract his hand, the half Kryptonian waited.

"Exactly what I said, comparing notes." Naruto took a breath. "And right now, you'll wanna hear this… Keep eyes on me, grab anything you need to make sure about my intentions here, whatever. We need to talk."

A few moments was all it took until the facade broke down. The young Kryptonian scoffed amused. "You know very well we're not about to let you be a prisoner here. As much of a criminal you are… You're no villain. We've grown, mostly thanks to you. Come on in, I'll give the others a call."

Leading the ninja inside, the two managed to the main room, where Beast Boy and Kid Flash were sitting down. "I'm guessing your leader is benching you for any eventuality and needing the strength stored for another big fight? Smart move, but the less strength you all have on the front lines the less chance you have later if someone can endure fighting you one on one or in smaller groups."

"That was what Hinata said, but we accounted for it. The moment we see something too big for a small group, we head in." Superboy went to get something to drink.

"So tell me, what's got you coming here in such a serious manner?" The local speedster asked as he zipped over.

"Because we're in for a major battle… Turns out, Light's just the beginning. Between him, that psychic, and potentially a much bigger enemy threat looming, it'll be all hands on deck." Naruto went to sit down at the bar area. "I'm just hoping you all handle your end well."

That got the Kryptonian curious. "And why wouldn't we be able to? We've learned not to underestimate even our older enemies this time, we should be able to fight off anything not in the realm of demonic invasions by this point."

"Except this is less big magical power and more magical tactics. See, you already faced Light. Who knows what else they throw at you… But the big bad is much more interested in us than you. I am guessing Light is facing you for a reason his own." Yawning, laying back, the ninja just relaxed.

Green skinned and confused, the old member of the famous Doom Patrol jumped up to ask his own question. "Look, dude, you're telling me we're not ready when we've been able to either handle the big bad at present or help you against the bigger threats thus far? Please, we've not been on our hands all this time. You've given us tons of reason to train harder."

"Good for you all." Narrowing a subtle but uninterested look at the young green animal man, Naruto just shrugged. "But there's still bigger threats. League level threats, so try to be more open-minded to the level of baddies you will be facing from now on."

"Why don't you handle it yourself, then? I mean, we will still do all we can to keep the villains at bay here… But why are you here asking for help?" The young speedster asked. He too, curious and wondering about what the hell the blonde meant.

"Because…" Sitting up, he sighed heavily. "Not only are we looking at a league level threat, but we're also looking at Dr. Light on steroids. And potentially even more, and worse, threats. I could do it, but it's not that simple. All I can say is this; if the future being good depended on gaining allies and completing certain criteria, wouldn't you go that route instead of randomly following your pride or ego?"

"That sounds too much like future manipulation, and timeline changes are always bad. The Flash has always had trouble keeping his time travel practices to a minimum." Knowing full well his mentor's previous attempts to fix really bad events only for things to go wrong elsewhere.

"Exactly, something like causing changes in the past for a better future is a difficult process, random changes with a butterfly effect you cannot foresee the effects of until it's too late to change them back. But what if the process was slow, with only vague criteria being met? Not knowing until things were about to happen and only knowing what kind of things you NEEDED to do, with vague instructions?" Naruto had to explain this well without giving away the fact he was apparently doing this for almost a hundred attempts. "What if, instead of the Flash going back changing one event and coming back to see how bad or good the outcome and ripple of effects were… You softly helped the timeline towards a future you KNOW is alright, without leaving anything to chance from your sudden departure back to the future?"

Though someone who knew scientific theories himself, the younger speedster frowned for a moment before crossing his arms. "I still think it's a gamble, and one that shouldn't be blindly accepted."

The door opened to a returning Raven and Cyborg. "What we miss? Besides our new guest… You come up here one time in years, and suddenly feeling like being a regular guest? I don't like it…"

"Good to see you too, Robo-brain. Any luck?" The blonde stood up as he noticed no one else coming. "And no one else back yet?"

"Not this time, but don't worry. Nightwing will be coming back with WOndergirl soon enough." Raven went to grab some tea, having been at it for hours out there. "Why not leave a message with us? It would take no more of your time than needed here."

"Needs to be directly, or else it may be worded wrongly. Not saying I can't trust you all to be truthful, but if what speed for brains is any indication he'll probably wave off my words as not being fully in line with what he believes is the correct information."

Speeding up to the blonde, the yellow blur was not happy with the accusation. "Yeah? And what makes you say that about me? I'll have you know I'll be able to recite whatever you say perfectly, and will do so if it means showing you just how wrong you are about your assumptions."

"Sit down, speed freak. This needs to be direct to the one I trust most out of all of you. Again, I trust you all to be great heroes here but I trust one of you more than the rest." Naruto sat back down and sighed. "So until he gets here, I am ignoring your comments. Enjoy the silent treatment."

With that, no matter what protests came, Naruto closed his eyes and blocked out whatever his ears tried to pick up. He was thankful that he could still feel the seals energy from his Kunai he gave to the leader of the group, though it was different enough that sensing it was a difficult matter. He would have to be close to feel it, and right now it was incredibly fuzzy on where it was.

Though half an hour went by, as Superboy and Beast boy left for their shift, and then he felt it, and smiled as he stood up and the door opened. "There's the man I need to see."

A little ragged, Nightwing grabbed a towel from the kitchen area as his partner Wondergirl flew up to get the servers updated on their progress. "I heard you were here, still sitting and waiting for me?"

"Indeed… Listen, and listen well. We have a major situation. Some douchebag is calling himself Brother Blood, and he's hunting for magical beings." That got Nightwing, along with Cyborg and Raven, instantly on guard.

"Nuh-uh, no how, that dude is gone and buried! You made sure of it!" Cyborg was not enjoying the thought of that freak again. "What would he be wanting with magic anyway, he's a psychic."

"Not that one, another dude. We have an unknown taking the name, and right now he's coming for this city in search of magically inclined individuals. And his main target happens to be closer to my side of the woods than yours." He stepped up in the middle of the room. "He's after Jinx."

Though a bit of a relief, Nightwing was not convinced they should be. "I'm assuming you're telling us this because you need our help?"

"At some point, yes. I'm not saying you all need to stop what you are doing, but rather lessen the patrols a bit. Only two out at a time, and keep every ounce of strength. Have some training to get even stronger and rotate as needed to keep everyone in peak condition for whatever happens. Light is only the first, and he will not be the last. This Blood guy may have taken someone close to my team already. Who knows what they will do to them, or if they will join him against their will. We need all hands on deck for this, so keep at the ready. This dude is a league level threat, and I am not taking chances."

Everyone looked at each other and waited as silence allowed the information to digest. Nightwing continued getting some nutrients in him before giving his reply. "You want our help, then give us a name. Who was taken from you guys?"

"...If I say, will you try to bring them in without too much harm when the time comes?" Naruto knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it.

"You have my word on it. Consider it us getting even finally if it makes you feel better. But we can't help if we don't have more information." He was right, and the blonde ninja could only agree.

"Alright… Mammoth's sister, Shimmer. She's been off the grid but was taken by someone, I'm assuming Blood. I can't tell you how I know, but trust me. I know. I'm also employing help from John Constantine, I just hope he hasn't fled the city before things get crazy." Naruto started walking to the door. "Will that sort us out for now? I'll be visiting again when I have more information as well. The next week or so will require us to keep in the loop to work together. As much as I refuse to be a hero, I will stand my ground against those looking to hurt me and mine."

Each of the Titans knew that well enough, they have had experiences in the past as well that agreed to such things. Nightwing waved at the blonde. "Don't be a stranger then. Hinata would like to see you more often I wager."

"Will do." With that, he vanished, using his transportation technique. He hoped what he said was vague enough they did not think ill of his information, but also hoped they would understand he was doing this because it needed to be done. Back at base, he sighed heavily. "I get the feeling tomorrow will be the day things take a turn… Why do I feel that it will happen?"