Chapter 7

One week after the incident in Gotham found Naruto sitting in his apartment, reviewing a file passed on to him by Batman detailing the abilities, temperament, and former movements of Klarion the Witch Boy.

After Klarion had made his escape with Etrigan, the questions had come, as Naruto had expected them to. It was a worst case scenario, exactly what he had been trying to avoid from the very beginning, but, as it turned out, Batman and Superman were a lot more understanding than Naruto assumed they would be. Though, if he was being honest, he expected more anger on Batman's part.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Naruto decided to reveal his intentions for coming to Gotham City. Or at least half of the truth. He had told them that he came to Gotham seeking Jason Blood's demonic expertise. This much was true, but the rest had consisted of some cock and bull story about investigating the possibility that a demon might be able to get him back to his home reality.

It was low, lying to the people that had helped him so readily when he had come to this world, and it left a bad taste in Naruto's mouth, but there was something to be said about being careful with his secrets. The fewer people that knew about Kurama, the safer they would both be. There was no telling the trouble that would rain down on his and the League's head if the wrong people found out about Kurama's existence. One Akatsuki was enough, he didn't need more mad men killing his friends to try to get at his partner.

Of course, once the situation had been explained, there came the question of taking responsibility for Jason Blood's disappearance. Batman had informed him of the dual nature of Blood's existence. He was at once a man and a demon. Naruto had also been told of the Imperius Brand, the tool that Klarion had stolen from a museum earlier that night and used to control Jason's other half, Etrigan. Batman was stern, one of the sternest men Naruto had ever met, but he was also kind, to a point, and fair. It was decided that Naruto would be given the chance to right his own mistake. Batman had given him a file that created a profile of Klarion and Naruto would be in charge of finding him, bringing him to justice, and freeing Etrigan.

There was, of course, the fact that Klarion had no usual haunts or hideouts, and that he hadn't been seen since his escape, but Naruto was nothing if not resourceful. Klarion would be found, and Naruto would get his answers.

Naruto's studying was interrupted by his communicator ringing. He hastily shoved the small radio into his ear and pressed down on the button to receive the call.

"Go for Shinobi."

"Hey, it's Robin. We're all going on a team outing, you know to bond and stuff. Catch a teleporter to Star City, we'll meet you there."

The line cut off before Naruto could say anything about it. He sighed, stood, and stretched. He was getting nowhere studying this file over and over again. Maybe an outing with friends was just what he needed. He suited up quickly and made his way to the nearest location with a zeta-beam teleporter tube.

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Shinobi was hopping in a leisurely manner across the low rooftops of Suicide Slum. The zeta-beam teleporter was located in the basement of a hotel in New Troy. This begged the question of why the league would trust their main method of quick travel to remain undiscovered in the basement of a very public place, but Batman knew what he was doing. If the League trusted him to choose these locations, Shinobi supposed that was enough for him.

Shinobi arrived at the bridge that crossed Hobb's River and would take him north into New Troy, and jumped onto the suspender and started running across it. He let his body travel on auto-pilot; his mind was on other things. Mainly, it was on how he would find Klarion. It was a large world and he could be in any corner of it. Hell, he'd had a hard enough time finding Jason Blood in one city, finding Klarion, a sorcerer who who didn't want to be found, would be much harder.

He'd reached the top of the first tower of the bridge and stopped to take in the view. The city always looked beautiful from above. You couldn't see all the filth and grime that covered the streets, only a tapestry of lights and darkness that reminded him of the sky back home. He turned his gaze upward, although the city was so bright he could never see the stars and he knew only a vast abyss of empty sky would greet him.

Shinobi watched the dark sky and lost himself for a few moments in the stillness that he could never find in Metropolis. That is until a streak of light like a shooting star lit up against the blackness. He watched it for a second and even considered making a wish until it became readily apparent that the light, whatever it was was coming closer and closer. In fact, it was coming right at him.

Before whatever this light was could strike, Shinobi neatly sidestepped it, taking note of the immense heat of the object before it flew by, back into Suicide Slum, and through a building before it was out of sight. Well, that certainly put a damper on the night. Shinobi reached up to his ear and activated his communicator.

"Call Robin, designation B-01."

As the call was going through, Shinobi started making his way back towards Suicide Slum. He couldn't just ignore this, he knew. He had to investigate and see if the people that lived in the building the object had flown through were all unhurt. He reached the building in question and started to run up the side when Robin answered.

"This is Robin."

"Yeah, Robin, something came up. I can't make it out there with you guys. I'll see you tomorrow at the mountain."

"Wait, wha-"

Before Robin had a chance to complain, Shinobi disconnected the communicator. Robin would understand and he had reached the molten hole the object had left in the side of the building. He entered the building and moved through it using the path of destruction. He made it to the other side and surmised that, by some miracle, nobody in the building had been hurt. Looking out of the second hole in the building he saw whatever the object was had crash landed in a small neighborhood park.

There was a trench from where it impacted that led all the way to a parked car that was much the worse for wear. He quickly followed the trench to the car and looked at whatever had caused this much destruction just through its arrival to this planet. What he found was much different than what was expected.

Inside of the wreckage of the car was an extremely beautiful woman. She had long auburn hair, dark orange skin, and was dressed in a purple outfit that left very little to the imagination. Even stuck in the ruined car like she was, it was obvious that this woman was very tall, perhaps an inch or so taller than Shinobi himself. Her outfit consisted of what was tantamount to a skimpy purple bikini that barely covered her sizable assets and thigh-high purple boots. She also had a some sort of a shoulder cover that ended in a turtleneck collar, though he didn't know what purpose it served if the rest of her outfit was so revealing. He opened one of her eyes to check for any head trauma and was met by solid light-green eyes. There was no iris or sclera, just solid green. What really caught his attention though was the handcuffs that she wore. Though they were less cuffs than heavy duty restraints. They capped off the end of her arms in thick metal and were probably indicative of some form of superhuman strength or ability to project energy from her hands. He had seen stranger powers in his time here, it wasn't out of the realm of possibility.

Shinobi surveyed the street around him and made sure that nobody was hurt. It wouldn't do to leave an injured person out here at this time of night. Suicide Slum was unfriendly to everyone at any time of day, after all. Reassured that there were no injured bystanders about, Shinobi crouched down and extricated this mysterious woman from the wreckage of the car. He held her in his arms and looked at the hastily deserted street once more and decided to leave before a crowd gathered. Shinobi and the unconscious woman disappeared in gust of wind and leaves.

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Koriand'r awoke in a strange place, though the feeling wasn't exactly alien to her. Her sister, Komand'r, had often tortured her into unconsciousness and she was used to waking up in strange and uncomfortable places.

That was another strange thing, though. She was on a bed and her hands were freed. The Psions were always certain to bind her hands, and Komand'r never allowed her to remain unchained for any amount of time. So, if she wasn't in the hands of the Psions that had captured her and her sister, and she wasn't in the hands of the Citadel, where could she possibly be? This certainly didn't look like a slaver ship, so her escape had been successful.

She looked around the room and found clothes scattered about the floor and the remains of her metal bindings that looked like they'd been ground off of her hands by some mysterious force. The bindings lay at the feet of a male wearing a black and orange bodysuit. He was sitting in a chair fiddling with a black knife and immediately looked up when she shifted in the bed. His eyes were blue and his hair was blonde, and when she looked at him he smiled in relief. He said something in excitement but she couldn't understand him.

Koriand'r stood from the bed and walked over to the figure who quickly stood up as well. She touched his face and she could feel him tense up, in preparation for combat, before she leaned in and kissed him. His eyes opened wide in shock and when she broke contact and backed away he immediately went on the offensive.

"What the hell was that? Not that I'm complaining, but why'd you kiss me, huh? And who are you anyway?"

She smiled at his brash attitude before she began to explain.

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Naruto stood in his kitchen, slowly slurping on a cup of instant noodles, while the woman, Koriand'r, was devouring the contents of his refrigerator. He caught a look at her scantily clad backside and blushed before focusing on his noodles once more. He was reminded of the kiss she had given him when she first woke up. She explained that it was a form of lingual assimilation that was common to her species, but he still felt the tingle of her lips on his.

Koriand'r had explained to him the circumstances that had brought her to Earth. She had been given to a rival government by her family to ensure peace for her home planet of Tamaran and had spent six years there before her and her traitorous sister were captured by yet another rival faction called the Psions. There they were experimented on mercilessly before she used a distraction caused by a rescue attempt conducted by her sister's forces to escape. She had flown through space for a long time and blacked out before finally reaching this planet.

It all seemed quite straightforward and Naruto may have believed it if not for the fact that her only pressing concern seemed to be to devour as much food as she possibly could.

"Don't you wanna go back to your home planet or something? Don't you have people waiting for you back home?"

Koriand'r stood up straight in front of the open refrigerator and leaned her head against it. An aura of melancholy seemed to envelop every fiber of her being.

"When my sister betrayed our people and joined the Citadel, she gave them details of all of Tamaran's defenses. Soon after I was given away as a peace offering, she led the Citadel forces in an invasion of Tamaran. My people are gone. There is nothing left for me now."

Naruto was speechless. What did one say to something like that? From what the League told him, he could never go home again, but at least he knew he'd left his world at peace. The enemy was defeated before he had been thrust into this reality, and he could at least rest easy knowing that his friends were happy. Koriand'r had no such comfort. Her family was dead, her people were dead, and her planet was likely occupied by the people who did the killing.

"I'm sorry. I can't imagine what you're feeling," he said lowly.

Koriand'r seemed to perk herself up and quickly gathered a large amount of food in her arms before walking out of the kitchen. She called out from his living room, "don't bother yourself about it. It happened a long time ago."

Naruto followed her out and found her sitting on his couch, food spread over the coffee table while she picked out the things she wanted to eat first. He sat down next to her and watched her sort out the food for a few moments before speaking.

"So, no one's coming to look for you? These citadel people? Your sister? If there's a chance they could follow you here, I've gotta know so I can tell the League."

"My sister would love nothing more than to finish me off herself and complete her revenge against our family. However, when I made my escape they were embroiled in a heated battle. I don't believe they saw me escape, much less were they able to follow me."

Naruto sensed sadness in that statement. Naruto had never had any real family, only his friends, but he could understand being hunted by someone you loved. Sasuke, near the end of his life, had become a being driven by a rage whose source had long since been wiped away. He sought vengeance against Naruto and the remainder of his old comrades for no reason that made sense to anyone except for himself. Naruto had put him down, like a rabid dog, half a year before his final confrontation with Tobi, and it had torn something apart inside of him. There was no feeling worse than fighting against someone you loved; he may never have had a real family, but he understood that much.

Shinobi laid his hand on her shoulder and squeezed it in a gesture of comfort. Koriand'r glanced at him and smiled gratefully before she returned to her meal.

"Well, I've gotta contact someone from the League. I'd let you stay here with me and away from their questions, but you're gonna need their help no matter what you wanna do."

"What is the League?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in ponderance before answering. "The Justice League. I guess you could say they're the protectors of this planet. They do their best to help any innocent soul they can, all over the world. They help the weak and punish people that use their power to bully the little guys."

Koriand'r nibbled at a stick of celery for a moment before devouring it completely. It appeared she'd come to a decision. "Then I will remain here. My people are gone, my planet is in ruins, and I have power that I can use to help the 'little guys', as you said. Besides, I already have one friend here." She smiled brightly at him and Naruto returned it. If that was her choice, then he would support it. That's what friends did for each other.

Shinobi stood from the couch and walked a few steps away. He raised his hand to his communicator again and said, "call Martian Manhunter, designation-" His statement was interrupted by the sound of panicking people and the repeated firing of energy weapons. This was quickly followed by an amplified voice. It was obvious the voice was making some sort of demand, but the impact was lessened by the fact that the voice wasn't speaking any language spoken on Earth.

"They are asking to know where I am. It seems I was followed here," Koriand'r said. She had stood up and her eyes started glowing a brighter green. It seemed she was just spoiling for a fight.

Naruto pulled up his face mask rolled his shoulders in preparation for the coming confrontation.

"Well, Kory, you ready to save the city for the first time ever?"

She nodded and they were off.

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Shinobi and Koriand'r stood on the roof of his apartment building, or at least he stood while she floated in place. It wasn't very tall, only five stories, but it was enough to give them a good vantage point to observe the enemy. There were fifteen that Shinobi could count standing guard around the outside of their ship, which they had landed in the middle of an intersection. From what he could see, they were green-skinned reptilian humanoids and they were covered in black armor that had black wings folded up on the back. It didn't take a genius to surmise that they were capable of flight. If Shinobi had to guess, they would likely take their search airborne as soon as they finished setting up a perimeter for their ship.

Well, he couldn't let them spread out or he might lose his chance at a clean takedown. He turned to Koriand'r and asked, "so, what are your abilities? I mean I could take out the lizard guys and you could take out the ship, or the other way around. I dunno."

"I will destroy the Star-Glider. The Psions left me a new power when they experimented on my sister and I. It's time to put it to good use." She started to float higher and moved until she was directly above the unsuspecting Gordanians.

With the choice made, Shinobi pulled fifteen shuriken from a pouch on his belt. The first order of business would be to take out the weapons. He stacked the shuriken into one neat pillar on his left hand. Next, he closed his eyes and became eerily still, and a moment later they were surrounded by an orange tint. Shinobi opened his eyes and the irises were amber with horizontal bar-like pupils reminiscent of a toad.

Shinobi spread his senses, detecting life signs in a huge area around him. The Gordanians had a unique feeling to them, a sort of cold fury, that made them easy to spot, and Koriand'r burned bright with determination, like a star casting its light upon the world. These signatures were easy to track and he made sure no Gordanians had slipped away into one of the surrounding buildings before deciding to commence the attack. There appeared to be three more of them inside of the ship, but by the time they came out it would be much too late. He looked at Koriand'r and nodded.

As soon as the signal was given he turned back to his targets and began to let fly with his shuriken. He swiped his right hand quickly, back and forth, over his pillar of shuriken, each swipe loosing one more metal projectile covered in wind-natured chakra. His aim was precise and his shuriken all flew true into the energy weapons of the Gordanians. They looked around with a healthy dose of fear and shock and were turning around to retreat into their ship when Koriand'r unleashed Hell from above.

Shinobi had sensed the buildup of energy, but he didn't expect anything like this. From the Tamaranean's hands came a salvo of bright green energy projectiles that bombarded the ship. The wings went first and then the engines before she really started laying into the hull of the ship itself.

With the Gordanians scattered and their weapons disabled, Shinobi decided it was time to join the fray. He jumped from the roof of the building and let out a sharp whistle when he landed. The few aliens around him turned and pulled medieval looking flails from their belts. They began to charge at him. All form of retreat was cut off, and their only recourse was to fight. Their battle cries emboldened their allies and he was soon facing off against the bulk of their squad. Well, there were ways to deal with large crowds.

Shinobi flashed through a set of hand seals and when he was done he took a large breath. When he released it an intensely powerful gust of wind overtook the intersection. The Gordanians were sent flying and cars were moved from their parking spaces. The enemies crashed into their ship, stationary cars, even into each other. When the squall subsided, they all lay on the ground, groaning or just plain unconscious. With his attack completed, Shinobi murmured, "Fuuton: Daitoppa."

He looked around and the damage caused by their attack. It was an easy enough fight to win; these may have been aliens, but, when it came down to it, they were just common rank and file soldiers. Koriand'r landed next to him and look around at her defeated enemies with a vicious smile. The Tamaraneans were a warrior people, after all.

"So, that was some light show you put on. Really cool. But there are still three inside the ship. Probably their leader." It seemed the three Gordanians had decided to rely on the integrity of their ship's hull to protect them, once it had become clear that leaving would likely mean death or incapacitation.

Koriand'r gave him a look of appreciation; from her short glimpse at his abilities she could tell this was a true warrior. It wasn't often you came across somebody who could almost effortlessly decimate a squad of Gordanian soldiers without killing or gravely injuring any of them.

They walked over to the ship and Shinobi knocked on the hull. It was certainly solid, he'd give the Gordanians that much. He looked at Kory and asked, "I don't suppose you're super strong or something?"

"I think I can manage." She thrust her hands into the hull of the ship, piercing through it with some effort and wrenched open a large hole through which they could fit. Shinobi pulled her to the side as fire from energy weapons filled the space she had been previously occupying. He sighed and flashed through a series of hand seals and activated his Lightning Hands technique.

Shinobi looked at Koriand'r and said, "I'm gonna electrify the whole ship, it'll stun them for a bit, so when I let go, I need you to go in there and pull them out." She nodded and he set his hands on the hull of the ship. Sparks, small explosions, and screams were heard from the ship before Shinobi removed his hands and all went silent.

Koriand'r was quick to enter the ship and after a moment three Gordanians flew out, followed swiftly by the femme fatale herself. One of the Gordanians was clad in golden armor, a clear sign of command. He knocked them all out with quick chops to the backs of their necks and prepared to make the call that had been interrupted earlier in the night.

"Call Martian Manhunter, designation 07."

A/N: This one's definitely shorter than the previous few chapters. It was mostly just introduction to a new character and I threw a fight in there so it didn't get too stale, though the quality of the enemies was really just subpar. I needed someone to come after Starfire without jumping right into the confrontation with her sister too quickly. At any rate, Klarion is by no means safe, and Naruto hasn't forgotten about him. You can be sure of that. Next chapter we'll get the interactions with the main team back underway and the fight with Mister Twister, though I'm considering retooling it because of the general blandness that comes with a Red Tornado wannabe. Also, if anyone's interested, the image I used when describing Koriand'r is the second image on Google image search. Just in case someone doesn't know what she looks like or what have you. Hope you enjoy, I guess.