NOTE: I know I said Kurt and the others would arrive 5 days or so before the others, but . . . screw that, this works better. That's what happens when you right the first four chapters then stop. I'll change the other doc later, but for now, just assume they ran into a giant delay.
NOTE: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENS IN THIS CHAPTER.
Just kidding. But the first bit's a little dry, I know. But they had to get there somehow, right?
NOTE: I'm lazy. I'm tempted to do the translations, but my Japanese is rusty and I don't feel like it. So . . . the world has developed to a point where everyone speaks the same language. Tada! Problem solved! So . . No Konoha Senpuu. It's "Konoha Whirlwind" here, and all those other techniques. I'm not messing with the Japanese today.
NOTE: Don't get pissed at the ending of this chapter. It's a crossover, and I mean it in the strictest sense. The Titans are not the main characters. They're some of them. I'm tired of the "you don't spend enough time on Raexrob" stuff. The only reason it's in titans and not anything else is because Nightwing was the first character I put in it. It was pretty much random. Now, enjoy.
Chapter 5: Arrivals
Cape Town, South Africa
Sakura yawned and stretched as she and the others walked out of the airport. It really was a magnificent place, filled with so many people, but the whole ordeal was very tiring. The boat ride had been a week-long bore, but the plane! She'd never forget first seeing it for the first time, so large and bright. Security was incredibly tight, and at one point, Kakashi actually had to take all their shuriken and headbands and sneak into the cargo hold to hide them so the metal detectors wouldn't catch them. (He went to retrieve them once they'd landed, of course.) When they did manage to get on, though, she thought it would just be like a larger version of the horseless carriages (or 'cars' as Kakashi insisted they call them) they had seen when the first arrived. But no, when they had taken off . . . it was incredible. Sakura couldn't help but grin constantly after that experience.
Behind her, Kakashi stood quietly, reading Jiraiya's newest novel, while Lee supported Neji on his shoulder. The latter had not taken to flying with as much gusto or curiosity as the others, and had spent the entire seven hour flight clutching his knees in terror. As it turned out, having the byakugan made him keenly aware of just how far off the ground they were. While Lee and Sakura had spent their time in the air looking out the windows, he'd refused to even open his eyes after the first five minutes.
"Sakura," Kakashi waved, pointing in the direction opposite her. Nodding, she started back toward him. She couldn't help but giggle at his new clothes. Deciding that an anti-shrapnel vest may attract too much attention on a plane, he'd tossed his old clothing in a knapsack and purchased long, white shorts and a blue Hawaiian shirt. Much to her disappointment, he'd replaced his mask with sunglasses and an anti-contagion mask, keeping his face covered even now.
Seeing the problems with their outfits as well, Kakashi decided to buy Sakura, Lee, and Neji all new clothes as well. Neji got off lucky; Kakashi had gotten him a plain, white suit. But poor Lee . . . he'd received a green track suit that looked, at least to Sakura, completely ridiculous. Even people around the airports and on the plane had stared at him. He, on the other hand, had loved the choice. Noone was surprised.
Sakura didn't mind the black skirt and soft pink tank-top that Kakashi had bought for her, but given the length of the skirt and cut of the shirt, she still got the distinct impression that he was a bit of a pervert. But she felt it looked decent on her, so she kept her mouth shut. Besides, Lee didn't mind it, she noticed, and that was a plus.
"Lee!" she yelled, running up behind him, and grabbing his arm. She was determined to make up the Naruto-misunderstanding to him. "Isn't this place amazing?" They were finally outside, with the strong, hot sunlight shining down on them.
"Yes!" Lee screamed, almost sending the girl reeling, "It's not as big as Metropolis, but it's still so incredible!" He turned his head, looking to her and smiling. Sakura immediately looked away, blushing lightly, but didn't remove her arm.
Behind them, Neji watched and grumbled. "Kakashi," he asked, looking over to the other jounin, "Where are we headed now?"
"Well, this is Cape Town, so it's just outside this city. We go about a mile down the coast until we see the meeting grounds." Neji nodded, still refusing to look forward at Lee and Sakura, who were idly chatting about nothing. It was pathetic.
"Fine. We should get there quickly, then. I'd like to check it out first."
"We're a bit late for that," Kakashi laughed, nodding his head forward. Sakura and Lee had stopped cold behind a large crowd, each person very obviously invited by the Justice League.
"We're supposed to gather intelligence on all of them . . ." Neji muttered in disbelief.
"No. Just the ones that get accepted," Kakashi corrected, leading them around the crowd via a side street.
"This is going to be hard, isn't it?" asked Sakura, jumping to see over the veritable see of people.
"So what do we do if we get accepted, is what I want to know." It was Lee who spoke up, staring at them. "I'm not sure if I don't want to accept Supergirl's offer or not." Noone had an answer, so they wandered in silence until they reached the edge of the city.
"Well, we take care of our mission, which means we need to do our best to impress them," he said, "After that . . . it's your decision."
Namib Desert, South Africa
"Laura?" Jean Grey asked, prodding the small, well-tanned girl in the leg, "We've landed. You need to get up now." Laura didn't stir, but she was awake enough to understand.
"Fine," she grumbled, "In a minute."
"Let her go, Jean," Kurt piped up from behind them, "You know how stubborn she is. She'll get up faster the less you bug her." Laura grumbled a little more, but sat up.
"Shut up, furball." Fuming, she shot to her feet, staring him down, "I don't need you talking about me like I can't hear you." Kurt backed into his own seat, getting as much of his body onto is as possible.
"Hey! Sorry, okay?" he pandered, terrified, "Just don't go all pointy on me!" Laura visibly calmed down, and turned her back to him. To his surprise, she didn't hit him. She didn't even threaten to turn off the holographic watch which kept his blue, fuzzy skin well hidden behind a wall of photonic illusion.
"Guys, can we please act civiliz . . ."
"I'm sorry, you shouldn't be," Laura cut her off, "I overreacted." Kurt looked over at Jean, wondering if she'd done anything to the girl's head, but the eldest mutant shrugged. "Just . . ."
"It's okay . . ." Kurt said cautiously, trying to make sure she stayed calm. He stood up, too, and patted her lightly on the back. She didn't really like it, but she didn't do anything about it. She didn't want to get worked up again.
"We should go now, right?" she asked Jean, changing the subject. Their leader nodded, getting out into the aisle.
"Yeah. We need to get down to the coast before noon, I think," she said, "There's going to be a lot of people, so stay close, alright?" The others nodded.
As they disembarked the plane, all three immediately noticed the intense heat, especially because they had landed the X-Jet in a clearing miles into the desert. Kurt envied the girls, who could easily don light clothing, as they had done, while he was destined to forever walk about in shaggy fur. He glanced down at Laura's, very uncharacteristic, jean shorts and growled. Her small, tan tank didn't help, either. Jean wasn't much better, in a long blue sarong and matching t-shirt.
It took almost an hour to reach the coast, and another three walking down it until they could see the huge mass of people on the beach, two miles down the coastline, with a small forest in the middle.. Kurt sat down hard, staring at what had to be over three hundred people as they milled around on the beach.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he shouted, lying down, "There's no way we'll make it in! Just look at all of them!" Jean sat beside him, shaking her head.
"There are a lot of people who could use a chance like this," she said, "And the world needs the best. So don't go thinking you can back out, Nightcrawler. You either, Laura." Looking back at the younger girl, Jean smiled, "You both are here because the Professor thought we could do some good for the world, and make a better name for mutants in the process, right? Well, then we have to do what we can." The others nodded; they knew this already.
"I was just complaining, Jean," Kurt explained, "You don't have to go into instructor mode every time I open my mouth, you know." Shrugging, he sat up again. Behind him, he could heard the slightest giggle from Laura. "See?" he laughed, "She agrees! And you owe me five, I told you she can laugh." Looking back at her, he smiled.
"Well, then," Jean sighed, obviously put off by the jibe, "shall we continue?" Standing again, she pointed down toward the woods, "Just a little bit further." Kurt and Laura nodded, getting to their feet. As they walked down into the wood, they found themselves caught in an awkward silence.
Kurt didn't mind, really, he found himself staring at the tall, leafy trees in awe. He didn't get much of a chance to see nature that often, so he decided he'd enjoy it while he could. He barely noticed that he had veered from the girls, but he didn't really care. He could just port up to them. It was the trees, and the birds constantly singing in them, that had his attention. He was so preoccupied, in fact, that he didn't see the young, pink-haired girl until he bumped into her.
"Sorry!" he said, jumping backward, "I didn't see you there!" He noticed right away that she was cute, but after living in a house with Kitty and Rouge, he didn't much care. She was shorter than he was, but her slim, long limbs made her seem much taller. "Forgive me?"
"It's fine," she reassured him, "Are you here for the Justice League?" Nodding, she smirked. "Me too. I'm Sakura." She offered a hand, which Kurt readily accepted.
"Nightcrawler," Kurt responded, deciding that he should start using his codename.
"It's nice to meet you," she nodded, smiling, "Are you alone?"
"Huh? No, I'm with . . ." Nightcrawler turned around quickly, suddenly remembering he had fallen behind the others. "I guess I am. My friends seem to have gone on without me." Sakura laughed, pointing over her shoulder.
"That's okay. My friends are down on the path, so I'm alone too." She grinned, looking up at the trees. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Nightcrawler nodded.
"I've been looking. Yeah, they are."
"You're slow, furball." It was Laura, coming up from behind them. "Jean's all worried now, you know. And I don't want to deal with it. Who's the girl?" Gruff as always, she pointed at Sakura, who was smiling at her.
"Sakura," he answered, "And that's . . ." He couldn't really figure out what to call her, so he just shrugged.
"X-23," she offered, giving her old experiment number.
"Odd name . . ." Sakura observed, raising an eyebrow.
"Odd girl," Kurt admitted, shrugging again.
"Hey, shut up, furball!" Walking up to him quickly, she grabbed him by the wrist. "Want me to show Pinkie here your fuzzy little face?" Sakura blinked, confused.
"His face isn't fuzzy . . ."
"Oh yeah?" X-23 punched at the buttons on his watch, not sure which did the trick, until the hologram finally dispersed, revealing Nightcrawler's blue, hairy skin.
"Hey!" His eyes shot over at Sakura, who was backing away slowly, eyes wide with fright. "It's okay, really!"
"Oh, that's not all, Pinkie!" shot Laura, slowly extending the metal claws in her left hand, while draping it over Kurt's shoulder.
"You're . . . monsters . . ." She had the kunai flying through the air before she knew it. The small metal spade slashed across Laura's face, opening a long, bloody gash on her cheek. But for all that, Laura didn't scream, or even move. Instead, her eyes locked onto Sakura's, searing, but still ice cold.
"Monsters?" she repeated, growling, "Little bitch. What do you know?" Her voice was rising quickly, as she separated herself from Nightcrawler, "I hate that word! I'm not a monster!" Suddenly in a dead sprint toward Sakura, she let out a wild, feral scream that echoed seemingly forever. Both claws drawn on both hands, she slashed wildly at the young ninja. Sakura leapt backward, kicking upward into Laura's face as she flew. The mutant reeled backward, but not for long. She spun, regaining control of herself, and launched a much more focused assault on Sakura.
"Stop!" Kurt screamed, but to no avail. Sakura launched two shuriken toward Laura, but she easily dodged to her left, and slashed out at Sakura's stomach. Managing to catch the hand before she was cut, Sakura spun her around, flinging X-23 upward.
"Strong," Laura noted, extending the claws in her feet to catch onto the nearest branch. Stabilizing herself, she sat on the branch, staring down at her prey.
"You have no idea, bitch," screamed Sakura, looking up at her. Reaching into her pouch, she retrieved her fighting gloves, and slid them onto her hands.
"Really, quit fighting!" Kurt screamed again. Sakura, suddenly remembering the second 'monster, bolted toward him, landing a powerful jab into his stomach. Clutching the point of impact, he collapsed onto the ground. Then, Sakura ran straight at the trunk of the tree X-23 was sitting on.
"What, you climb trees, too?" Laura grunted, trying desperately to formulate a strategy. Sakura didn't answer in words, but rather screamed loudly, thrusting her fist into the wood of the tree.
"Holy . . ." Laura shouted, as the base of the tree exploded, and she lost her balance on the branch. Leaping into the next tree, she watched as it fell to the ground, crushing many small bushes underneath. "Really strong."
"Think I'm done?" Sakura ran at the tree she sat in now, and again, splintered the trunk with a single punch. This time, Laura allowed herself to land in the dirt, thinking it better to not destroy the forest completely, and charged at the strange young woman. Aiming each slash and thrust carefully, she threw her claws at her again, each time coming closer and closer to her flesh.
She's good, Sakura though, dodging as quickly as possible, but still losing ground, Too fast. Leaping backward, she whipped a kunai at her assailant. Unable to block, X-23 grunted as it sank into her shoulder, but showed no other response. Pausing for a second to pull it out, she quickly resumed her relentless attempts to cut her opponent to ribbons. Soon, her wound began healing, so even that didn't slow her down.
Sakura dodged again, but slammed her back into a tree. Damn! she thought as the bladed hands came in quickly. She screamed as the two claws on X-23's left hand penetrated deep into her right shoulder, pinning her to the tree.
"I win," said Laura, grinning. Tracing her right hand over Sakura's neck, she growled. "I'd have no real problem killing you, you know." Sakura couldn't speak, the pain was too much. All she could do was grit her teeth and groan. "Too bad I'm not more of a sadist, I would really enjoy this," Laura continued, "but I guess . . ."
"Konoha Whirlwind!" Lee's kick landed square on X-23's ribcage, sending her flying into the nearest tree. Unfortunately, this meant it also ripped her claws forcefully from Sakura's shoulder, making her scream again in pain. "Sakura-san!" he yelled, grasping her by the shoulders, "are you alright?" Sakuran nodded, placing one hand over the wound. Slowly, it began to glow a deep green, the medical jutsu taking effect.
"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute to heal it. Watch out, she's really good." As though to prove the point, they turned to see Laura standing again, in front of the splintered tree she had flown into.
"I'll take care of it," Lee assured her, standing. Placing his legs together, he raised a single hand toward his opponent. "I don't know who you are, or why you want to hurt Sakura-san, but I'll stop you! Behold the fire of youth!"
"You know, I smelled you a mile away," Laura admitted, "I didn't react because I didn't think you'd actually do something that stupid around your friend!" Cursing herself, she extended her claws again, and ran at him. Lee sprinted forward as well, so fast she could barely see him. Sakura could only watch as the two exchanged powerful, incredibly fast blows and swipes. Lee would block a pair of blades from her hand only to find a clawed foot shooting up at him from below. Laura would swing accurately and swiftly, only to find that her opposition was suddenly behind her. Somehow, they managed to go on for over three minutes without either landing a single blow. The only reason they stopped at all was the small, but quickly expanding black sphere between them.
"I told you we were late," Nightwing muttered, as Raven trapped both combatants in a field of dark energy.
"Shut up, I need to concentrate," she snapped.
"Fine," he said, turning back to the fighters, "Now, care to tell me why the blue guy is unconscious, the girl over there is bleeding, and . . . oh yeah, you two are trying to kill each other?" Leaning casually against the nearest tree, he smirked.
"A misunderstanding, I think," interrupted Jean, apparently also deciding that it was safe to appear. Flying slowly over to Kurt, she sighed, shaking her head. Nightwing looked up at her, and gaped. Long, red hair blew in the soft wind, along the face he'd known for years. Deep, emerald eyes scanned the battlefield, cautious and deliberate, but still caring for her comrades. It was her. Raven apparently also noticed, because she suddenly dropped the field around Laura and Lee, who decided to watch instead of fight. Neither Raven nor Nightwing spoke; both stared at Jean, who finally turned to them, looking quizzically at their astounded faces.
"What?" she asked apprehensively. Raven locked eyes with her, unsure, but still amazed.
"Starfire?"