Disclaimer: I don't own DC or Naruto
Happy Harbor; Mount Justice; December 8th, 2013; 2:12AM
Sasuke stormed off from his girlfriend and teammates towards the teleporter tossing the pieces to the mask he shattered out of rage to the ground, clattering in the tense silence of the rest of the team watching.
Suddenly, a pressure warped the fabric of reality in front of Sasuke before he could reach the Zeta-Tube, "AAGH!" Naruto shouted in agony as he was practically flung through dimensions, tumbling onto the cold tile in front of them was almost a relief considering he was burnt nearly to a crisp.
"Naruto?!" Sasuke shouted as he body-flickered to his best friends aid in an instant, half of his body had third degree burns but, the boiling crimson chakra over his skin soon surfaced and began healing the wounds, "Ittai nani ga okotta no?" he muttered as best he could, losing his taste for the English language through the pain.
M'gaan screamed when she finally got a better look, hearing him call out in pain in Japanese was torture, "Someone get him to the infirmary! Now!" M'gaan shouted as she floated across the room to be next to him, clasping his hand. Considering the situation, and his condition, the Martian thought it wise to read his mind to collect the memories of the last few hours just in case.
"Madara… he's planning something… something that will… destroy everything…" They all gathered to listen but, Sasuke was the most intently focused; he tried getting words out through short breaths and burnt lips, his body going into shock even as he healed, "We can't let him call them…" he finally made out.
"Call who?!" Sasuke shouted, getting closer to better hear the injured Jinchuriki's warning.
Naruto huffed in pain as he was picked up telekinetically, just before he was floating far enough up to move him, he grabbed Sasuke's cloak, pulling him in and looking him directly in his already activated Sharingan, "O-O… Otsutsuki!"
Sasuke's vision became distant, almost glazed over; his surroundings became an echo even as Batman and Red Tornado entered the cave through one of the Zeta-Tubes he was just prepared to exit through. "What happened here? Mission report," he ordered but, Pain didn't respond or even move as Naruto was telekinetically floated away with M'gaan and Conner by his side, now staring off into space. "Pain?" Batman announced.
Wally cleared his throat and took a step forwards, playfully nudging Sasuke's shoulder, "Hey, you good, man? What's an Oat-soup-suki anyway?" the speedster asked as clueless as ever.
Artemis still felt ashamed of lying to Sasuke during a mission the way she did but, whatever Naruto just relayed to him completely shifted his demeanor. He just stared and watched as M'gaan lifted him telekinetically and escorted him to the medical bay.
Artemis had never seen him so absolutely terrified before, his pale skin becoming almost paper white. The archer gently placed her hand over his, pulling it up slowly as she stepped in front of him, "Talk to us, please?"
Sasuke blinked for the first time in an unusual amount of time, however his Sharingan made that less than unusual for the shinobi; he looked down into her eyes and gave his head a quick shake, "I'm fine, but what he said… it doesn't make any sense, it can't," he pulled his hand away abruptly and stepped away from her, showing a cold sign that he was still upset.
"Perhaps we would have a more comprehensive understanding of the situation if you explained what an Otsutsuki is and how it pertains to yours and Naruto's world," Red Tornado made an excellent point with his binary and calculated logic, monotonically speaking up amongst the commotion.
Sasuke turned away from them all, biting his thumb nervously as he considered the possibilities, he closed his eyes and gave out an exasperated sigh. It had already been a long day and an even longer night thus far, now he was forced to stroll down memory lane, which was the equivalent of asking Bruce to walk down Crime Alley in Gotham, "I've mentioned Kaguya once or twice, the Demi-Goddess that Madara Uchiha absorbed when he became the Ten Tails Jinchuriki… her sur name was also Otsutsuki," even those who had no idea what was happening like Wally and Roy started to piece together what he was talking about.
Roy unfolded his arms and scratched the back of his head, "So, this Otsutsuki woman is coming back? And this is to our world, right?" he tried to make sense of the explanation.
Sasuke's fists tightened at his sides, almost trembling with an ominous stare down at his feet, "No, I fear something much more sinister is coming… nobody truly knows where Kaguya came from," he finally looked up with his Mangekyou and Rinnegan simultaneously active as he pensively thought about what he read on the Uchiha stone tablet, "Some say she emerged from thin air, others note that she fell from the sky like an angel of death… it was over a thousand years ago so her origin was mostly lost to time."
Batman caressed the chin guard to his helmet as he too tried putting the pieces together, "It's possible that she's some sort of extra-terrestrial, that's how most ancient myths of Gods turns out here on this world," the detective continued as he turned to glance at his second adopted son, "Regardless, if she returns or her people come to avenge her, it means the end of the world," speaking only on his experience watching Sasuke fight and utilize his powers, imagining someone even more powerful with only selfish or evil intent made his skin crawl.
"But," Wally spoke up, "Sasuke and Naruto are from another Universe or dimension, right? We don't have to worry about them here, do we?" Wally tried to give himself comfort as he looked around at the group for reassurance but, the Uchiha quickly shot that down as he turned to face him.
Punching the palm of his hand, Sasuke thought more about what his other half said before he was levitated away, "Not if Madara is contacting them directly, he can warp through dimensions just like Naruto," Sasuke felt more frustrated than he'd ever been before, while at the same time, feeling more foolish than he'd ever been, "I should have been more focused on stopping his plans tonight! Instead I was busy watching everyone else!" the pressure of his chakra sent a gust of air out that forced Batman and Red Tornado's capes to flutter backwards as the others in the room felt it push passed them lightly as well.
"I can show everyone what happened," M'gaan announced herself as she reentered the room with Conner by her side, confidently approaching Sasuke whom calmed himself in response, "I scanned Naruto's mind and memories for what happened before he fell unconscious…" her eyes illuminated bright emerald with a flash which immersed even Tornado's cybernetic brain in an illusion, not one that couldn't be seen through by his scanners but, he was able to experience it none-the-less.
…
Naruto leapt from atop a cliffside with several dusty scrolls in his arms, landing gracefully on the water of the streaming river hundreds of feet below, not making a sound as the silence was nearly deafening. This was how he heard the muttered voices in the distance, chattering in the dead forest where all life should be dust.
Artemis, Conner, Wally, Sasuke, M'gaan, Kaldur, Roy, Batman, and Red Tornado all watched as the shinobi quietly activated his Sharingan and quickly evolved its prowess into its second stage. He looked through the stripped branches of the dead trees for nearly a mile before spotting the ancient Uchiha man standing before a massive hologram generated by some form of Jutsu technique. Naruto reached for his satchel and accidently dropped the scrolls inside of it, picking out a porcelain white Anbu cat mask just like his sensei had donned in his youth.
Naruto dashed between the treetops with restricted movements, keeping every single muscle as quiet as physically possible which he had been trained to do in the academy. Landing just a few hundred feet away, he ducked behind a large boulder getting a better look at the holographic image standing fifteen or twenty feet taller than Madara, clearly being projected that way.
"I don't like the looks of this one bit,"Kurama added internally as Naruto decided not to respond in favor of hearing the conversation.
"And you're sure this world is plentiful?" the vocoded voice inquired.
Madara chuckled arrogantly in response with his hands on his hips, looking up at the silhouetted figure with his dual Rinnegan, "Yes, this new realm is teeming with life not just on Earth but, throughout the stars as well."
The figure was distorted but, seemed pleased by this news, causing Naruto to narrow his eyes suspiciously, "That is enticing, we've thus far already exhausted all life in this Galaxy, and I doubt we'll be finding anything else of importance in the next…" he spoke with a condescending attitude which Madara allowed for some reason, even looking down on the Uchiha, "I'm not necessarily impressed by you defeating and absorbing Kaguya though, she was a low rank agent only sent to nurture the Shinju Tree and become its fruit… sacrificing another superior agent and consuming its fruit without approval is taboo not to mention forbidden."
Madara rubbed his chin with a concerned expression, glancing down at the dirt, "Well, Isshiki may have lost his life but, a new Otsutsuki can take his place in me; when my Earth gave birth to the Divine Tree ages ago our population and nature energy was abysmal."
The figure paused noticing the point Madara was making, as he talked up to them, they finished his sentence, "It still made Kaguya strong enough to kill her superior, if this world is as abundant in life as you claim it to be…" the figure engulfed in shadows flashed a bright yellow Rinnegan illuminating the ash littered forest around them, "We want it for ourselves!" just as though it had been the first time one of them even opened their eyes.
"I already have the perfect sacrifice in mind to summon the tree and then this world will be drained dry, six billion lives condensed into a single Chakra Fruit," Madara smiled and looked back up at the figure who glanced in Naruto's direction, his intensely powerful gaze catching notice of him even as a projection from deep in outer space.
Raising its voice, the projection nodded toward Naruto, "What the hell is that? You said you exterminated the life on this world already?" Before he could finish hearing what the projection had to say, Naruto bolted from the area and into the air collecting chakra into a Bijuu Cloak but, not fast enough as the golden flames barely had time to form before Madara materialized through raw speed above him. The Uchiha clasped his hands together and spiked Naruto in the back sending him back down into the piles of ash that littered the ground.
The Team watched as he stumbled to his hands and feet, spitting up copious amounts of blood as he dropped his satchel and scrolls, his golden Bijuu Cloak finally engulfed his body in chakra flames. Using the flash-step technique to dash across the water at speeds relative to light itself, activating the Mangekyou Sharingan, "You can't run forever! One way or another I'll get my Kyuubi back!" Madara's deep voice bellowed from above the tree line, though they had been stripped of their leaves, the thick branches gave him some cover from his attacker.
Naruto turned and formed two shadow clones by crossing his fingers, each clone formed a Rasenshuriken and launched them directly at Madara who only took them in his hands, absorbing them into an aura with the Rinnegan. This gave Naruto just enough time to escape sight, fully accessing his Bijuu Cloaked Mode, the golden energy giving his speed and reflexes a major boost which allowed him to transport. "Here we go!" he allowed reality to fold over his body as he warped through dimensions. "Not so fast, boy!" Madara used his own identical ability to grab hold of Naruto's ankle in midair, swinging him down so fast his body broke the sound barrier before cratering in the ground below. Naruto stood and shook his head clasping his Mangekyou Sharingan shut, bleeding profusely he knew he could only jump through space-time once more but, he'd need the collected chakra that Kurama hasn't molded yet, "C'mon, we have to tell Sasuke what we just saw! We have to warn them!" he shouted internally to the demon fox living within his psyche.
Kurama looked exhausted as he planted his fists together, "I'm going as fast as I can, kit," He powered down the glowing cloak of energy and ducked behind a massive slab of upheaved rubble, presumably hiding him from his enemy, although, this enemy had particularly good eyes. M'gaan placed her hands over her mouth as she watched him almost hyperventilating out of fear, seeing him being hunted like an animal, it was one of the first times she saw how absolutely desolate his world was.
"Faster!" Naruto shouted out loud to no one but, the group watching knew he was yelling at the demon inside of him, this rude nature was excused by an explosion going off nearby, shattering his hiding spot and sending him into the dirt; "If we don't get away-" it was then that Naruto remembered where he was, recalling his environment and that he had contingencies for times like these. He had been in this exact spot before, glancing around at the clearing he was in, "Perfect…" he whispered.
Madara Uchiha landed from the sky and approached, his crimson armor matching his intense Sharingan eyes, he jumped a few feet into the air and landed gracefully in front of Naruto; "You can't hide from me! And if you try to space-time jump again, I'll catch you for sure," he looked directly into the Jinchuriki's eyes with his ocular prowess, fearlessly looking at the genocidal mad man who destroyed his world.
"You think… you know everything… but," Naruto huffed as he glanced to the ground at Madara's feet with just the slightest hint of suspicion and the Uchiha looked down hearing a click, having triggered pressure sensors with his step, a C4 explosion beneath him went off engulfing the, it gave Naruto the precious seconds he needed engulfing the man in flames.
"Now!" Naruto stood to his feet as the Mangekyou quickly spun in his eyes, chakra funneled into it via the tailed beast within. The explosion was the only thing that could possible have distracted Madara long enough for him to teleport uninhibited.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!" from within the explosion came an even more intense and massive pillar of blazing orange fire partially hitting Naruto in the literal instants before he vanished.
"Kamui!"
…
M'gaan dropped the illusion and they all stood silent for a moment back standing in the holo-ring of Mount Justice; Sasuke was focused on what he'd just heard from the projections and processed the information staring vacantly across the room, "Kaguya could easily destroy a planet, if she was a low-ranking agent…" he couldn't fathom any single entity being that strong in comparison to the Rabbit Goddess, comparing her to a Genin and these new aliens as Kage level threats.
Batman stepped in and took over the conversation, having seen and heard enough to make a decision himself, still overseeing this team as its administrator, "I think the big take away here is that Madara is bringing his plans to the next level; he's going to attempt to grow this god tree and if he succeeds it means the end of the world, one way or the other," the strategic leader of the Justice League turned and summoned a large holographic monitor with a gesture of his hand which contacted the WatchTower, "I'm calling in the rest of the League, this is a planetary threat now," as Sasuke took a step back in deep thought, the holoscreens actively contacting multiple members, the first to answer being Superman.
Artemis approached Sasuke from behind and reached her hand out, to place on his shoulder for comfort, still feeling bad about how poorly their mission went, "It's almost three in the morning, my best friend was nearly burnt alive, I can't figure out who to trust on my own stupid team, my ancestor might end the world any minute now, and you're going to try to sympathize with me?" Sasuke announced before her palm ever even laid on his cloaked shoulder-blade, "There's one thing I hate more than fan-girls, and that's liars."
The blonde archer scoffed and retracted her hand and her sympathy along with it, hating how perceptive he could be and how there was never anything that she could do to surprise him, "I'm just trying to be a supportive girlfriend, or am I not even worth that much anymore? I lied one time and you know exactly why, so, what?!" this shout caught the attention of the Team, prompting Wally, Robin, Roy, Conner, Kaldur, and M'gaan to refocus their attention one after the other.
Turning around quickly, having pulled back his Rinnegan to conserve his chakra, only his Mangekyou Sharingan blazed as he looked into her ever ordinary brown pupils, "It wasn't the lie that pisses me off so much, it's how you threw yourself into danger just to prove a point to someone who doesn't even value your opinion!" referring to Roy who placed his hands on his hips as his only response to the jab. "And then lied about it."
"Are you joking?! He's the first partner Green Arrow ever had, of course I value his opinion!" Artemis responded with another shout, surprising Roy, and even prompting the shinobi to pause long enough for her to continue, scoffing at him, "Ya know, just because you don't care about anyone else but yourself doesn't mean-" immediately hearing how hurtful it sounded, she cut herself off, taking a second to glance back at M'gaan who gave a less than reassuring expression, almost cringing a bit at the sting of the insult. "I-I didn't mean it like that," she finished glancing down at her feet.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, allowing the Sharingan to fade into the back of his onyx black iris', his expression becoming stoic again as the anger faded, "Yes, you did…" he muttered in response having read her micro expressions and body language before deactivating the ocular jutsu. He turned around to face Batman who was becoming even more frustrated with an entirely different problem.
"Damn it all," he announced even with his deep, authoritative voice, "Madara is going to have to wait at least a few more hours…" as he continued scanning the different holoscreens, Sasuke approached from behind.
"It can't wait, Madara watched Naruto escape with his own eyes and didn't immediately follow, that means he's accelerating his plans," thinking pensively on the condition of the only other person on the planet that could survive an encounter with the ancient man, he didn't like his odds without the League to back him up. "If we don't act now you'll all be slaves to the Infinite Tsukuyomi before you even find him."
Batman dispersed the holoscreens and turned back to face and address the entire team, not just the shinobi closest to him, "We've got multiple simultaneous break out alerts from Belle Reve, Black Gate, Arkham Asylum, Iron Heights, and three other major super villain penitentiaries across the country."
Wally was the first to dash to Sasuke's side using his enhanced speed, the others standing back and absorbing the information, "That can't be a coincidence; we spotted Madara working with major players like Sportsmaster, Klarion, and The Brain and fifteen minutes after Naruto interrupts his E.T phone home call-" he was interrupted by the Bat swiftly.
"I'm aware of the obvious happenstance and the shadow organization we've recently uncovered is clearly behind the breakouts, however; Superman is busy dealing with both Metallo and Parasite simultaneously, Arrow's tied up with Echo, Bullseye, and a good number of mercenaries, the Hawks are assisting Captain Marvel in handling Black Adam…" Batman put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, announcing himself to everyone but, speaking more directly to the shinobi himself, "We'll deal with Madara as soon as physically possible, I've been taking precautions for weeks now and I believe Madara can be dealt with in due time."
"You can't just leave something like this to chance!"
Batman shook his head, with a confident smile that he rarely ever used, "I don't leave anything up to chance, I always have contingencies," he removed his hand from Sasuke's shoulder as this line resonated with Robin specifically, having heard it used before.
"Recognized: Batman A01," the automated voice announced his departure before he turned and left one last message with them, as stoically and nostalgic as ever.
"Stay put," the light from the zeta beams dematerialized his body particle by particle, almost instantly whisking him away at the speed of light.
Kaldur almost chuckled, "He says this as though he doesn't know us at all, or perhaps he already anticipates we'll act regardless and has faith in us?"
"Whatever the reason," Red Tornado mentioned on his own way toward the Zeta-Tubes, "Batman has made his orders clear, how you proceed from here is, as always, up to you."
"Recognized: Red Tornado A09."
Suddenly, they heard a voice they didn't think they'd hear at least until the morning, shout out at them in response to said orders, "Screw that noise, ya know!?" Naruto's voice echoed across the room, prompting M'gaan to gasp lightly, hopping into a levitation that glided her over the air towards him. She took special care when burying her face in his chest, embracing him as tight as she could without irritating the minor first-degree burns left on half of his right-arm.
"You're okay!" she shouted giddily, quickly pecking his unburned cheek with a soft kiss out of sheer happiness.
Naruto had one hand leaned against the wall, however; the burns across his face only twenty or thirty minutes ago had all but been completely healed. "Kurama sure does a lot for you, doesn't he?" Sasuke announced without any enthusiasm, "It's good to see you on your feet again, we've got a mission, you in?" completely ignoring the warning he was just given by his superiors.
"We do?" Artemis asked aloud, having been silent thus far, still thinking about what she said to her boyfriend, or just wondering if they were even together anymore in the first place, "I mean, Batman just said-" she was cut off.
Without even addressing her voice in the room, Sasuke glanced at the rest of the team, who were hesitant to look him in the eye simply due to the nature of the mission and his powers, the last time he was in this situation he put them all to sleep with just the same effort in his expression. "We're going to go kill Madara Uchiha, who wants in?" he wasn't joking nor was he planning to stay very long for them to make a choice, it was now or never.
They all peeked at one another for their responses, each of them flashing the other a determined smile, feeling more included this time, "Well, if you're accepting our help this time…" Wally zipped ten or twenty feet over in half a second, wrapping an arm around Sasuke's neck casually, "I think I speak for us all when I say, we're so in!" they were all in agreement, although; it wasn't long before the shinobi elbowed the speedster in the gut, not appreciating being touched so casually.
"Then let's get to work," Sasuke declared with a determined expression as Naruto made his way over towards the group being supported by M'gaan and her telekinesis, "We know where he's going to plant the God Tree, the swamp land used by the Injustice League was the perfect testing ground."
"How do we know it hasn't already sprouted?" Roy surmised as Robin thought more on what his mentor had said before he left the Mountain base; the boy-wonder quickly pulling up a holo-screen from his gauntlet.
M'gaan caressed Naruto's cheek where a severe burn had been though, as she left him unconscious in the infirmary, she had noticed a bubbling crimson energy that had to be the nine-tails chakra she'd seen on occasion healing his wounds. "Sasuke or I would have sensed such an enormous power; the tree is actually created through the Juubi husk itself," he placed a hand over M'gaan's as she smiled up at him, leaning herself into his side as they intertwined fingers.
"Fantastic! And what is a juubi husk, exactly?" Wally asked the bigger question as he recovered from being elbowed by Sasuke, the latter answering his question as bluntly as possible.
"The demon inside Naruto making him so powerful? Yea, that's only one-tenth of the Juubi, but Madara drained all of its power so, he just needs its body to grow the tree," he lamented casually over the almost unbelievable might of the Ten Tails absorbed by Madara. "Batman has no idea what he's getting himself into, waiting for Madara to finish his plans is what led my world to extinction," Sasuke perked up, turning around just as Dick spoke up.
Robin interrupted him by shouting with excitement, "I knew it!" he announced directly to himself and the gauntlet but, caught everyone else's attention regardless, "Batman doesn't ever trust working with anyone unless he's made a contingency plan for taking them down," he said as he continued to scroll through holographic files projected from his gauntlet.
"Seriously?" Artemis spoke up, prompting Robin to transfer his portable holographic screen's data up to the larger display projected by the holo-ring they stood on, resembling a movie theater screen in size.
"Of course, he's one of the only ones on the League that doesn't have some crazy ability or super-power; Batman compiles data and comes up with plans to take them down, every hero gets one, from Superman to Flash and everyone in between," taking due care to only show off the list of superhero names under Batman's personal contingency file and keeping the plans themselves hidden; the bright blue screen had a single file highlighted by the boy-wonder which is what had excited him.
"Project: Pain," Sasuke read out loud, narrowing his eyes at the system data where laid the date and time it was first submitted, also reading that aloud, "Entered, April 20th… updated November 1st," it was only three days after he arrived in this world and was discovered by the dark knight to begin with, and he was still working on it as of quite recently.
"Damn," Robin lowered his arms and turned to glance back at Sasuke through his domino mask, having spent the majority of his time with the shinobi, he felt a sort of kinship with him, seeing him as a sort of older brother figure.
Roy scoffed, "What's the big deal?" folding his arms coldly.
Artemis was told by Barbara when exactly she met Sasuke and she knew how it felt to not be trusted by the ones you care about most. Only now it was dawning on her why being lied to by her stung so much and made him so disheartened though he only sighed in response, shaking his head slowly in disappointment, "It doesn't matter, what's actually in the file."
Robin narrated the complex schematics and diagrams in the file, including the personal logs from renowned bio-chemist Caitlyn Snow, "It looks like he analyzed scans of your body and chakra network from the night you arrived, and started by pinpointing weak energy channels before the League confiscated Dr. Roquette's weaponized infiltrator Fog," displaying more detailed blueprints and notes made on Sasuke's abilities and vulnerabilities, even logging in certain moments that outlined his mental weaknesses with Itachi and Artemis. The entire team was astonished by the dark-knight's extensive research, "It looks like STAR Labs was able to develop a dispersible nanoparticle agent similar to the O.G infiltrator Fog only, instead programmed to target, and infiltrate, an enemies Chakra network. It could stun or even…" Robin didn't have it in him to finish the report beneath the schematics from one advanced engineer known as Cisco Ramon.
Without hesitation, Sasuke spoke up finishing the sentence for him, "If it can kill me than it might slow Madara down long enough for a combined assault but, by how much I'm not sure…"
Naruto glanced up at the screens and shook his head, "The Fog will never even get close to him, he's too fast and physically strong. He could just swing his arm with enough force and turn the fog to ash!" He made a good point as Sasuke kept his eyes on the schematics, narrowing them before they widened with an idea.
"Can they be used as projectiles?" he proposed without taking his eyes off the blueprints displayed on several screens hovering around him.
Robin sighed again at the lack of trust between the Bat and the Shinobi, though neither Bruce nor Sasuke had ever been totally forthcoming with one another in the first place, "I hate to say it but, Batman beat you to it. They've already produced three arrow-heads filled with the substance for Green Arrow, a few shuriken laced with it for himself, and there's a belt being made for Superman but, it's not finished yet…" Dick glanced up to make sense of the rest of the team's expressions, looking back to scroll through other STAR Labs projects that could be useful.
Sasuke turned to make eye contact with Artemis and Roy at the same time, who happened to be standing nearly side by side coincidently, "We can make this work, but it has to be together." More than ready to redeem herself in the eyes of both her team leader and her lover, Artemis vigorously agreed with a determined nod, while Roy still had questions.
"Count me in," she added.
Roy took a step forwards with his arms open, "What exactly are you planning?"
Ignoring them both, Sasuke turned to Naruto, Robin, and Kaldur, "Kid Flash and Naruto are the fastest, sneak into Star Labs with Robin running point, objective is to steal the contingency being developed for me," he choked out the word and hesitated turning around to face Artemis, Roy, M'gaan, Wally, and Conner; he gave a long sigh, "While they do that, the five of us have some talking to do, as much as it irritates me to say it."
Naruto stopped and faced Sasuke, "I don't wanna leave you by yourself, so I'm using Kurama's chakra to leave a shadow clone with at least half my power with you," he quickly crossed his fingers and announced, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
An explosion of white smoke appeared beside him leaving an identical doppelgänger of the Jinchuriki, the clone stepped aside next to Sasuke who didn't seem phased in the slightest.
The original Naruto took a stance standing beside Wally and Dick as all three of them were sucked through the Kamui, allowing reality to fold over space-time as they vanished, leaving the rest of the group to settle their differences.
Sasuke activated his three-tomoe Sharingan again in both eyes, conveying that he meant serious business, the crimson shine sent chills down the backs of everyone present, "These eyes see secrets, I know when people are lying… to me or even themselves. I like to stay out of peoples business because I couldn't care less but, at least a few of you have some explaining to do."
They glanced about one another, darting eyes to the ones that seemed the most guilty but, it seemed that each one of them felt that way about at least one other, leaving each one to silently eye the other, "I have something to say," Conner announced first and foremost, though Sasuke was hoping his own girlfriend would speak up first, he settled on hearing what Superboy had to say, Conner had been quite the enigma up until now, "I went back to Cadmus by myself two weeks ago, I found out, among other things, that the human half of my hybrid DNA comes from… Lex Luthor," he looked to his feet in shame. They were all well aware of his capital crimes and super-villain funding machinations so, this was shocking news to say the least.
Red Arrow scoffed, "No wonder I didn't trust you, Luthor is your daddy!" he said with as much contempt as he could muster. Sasuke simply watched using his Sharingan to analyze their argument to ensure nobody was being dishonest, caressing his chin as he thought pensively on what he should say next.
"He's just the donor for the genetic sample but, he contacted me while I was there and gave me these," Conner was quick to defend himself on that point, pulling out from his pocket a rectangular black container which slid open to reveal patches. Similar in design to a nicotine patch only, in the shape of Superman's House of El symbol. Its primary purpose was a far cry away from curing an addiction, "When I put one on, it suppresses my human DNA giving me access to full Kryptonian powers… I wasn't sure what to do with them but, I've tested one or two of them and they definitely work," Conner didn't mention the rageful outbursts that had occurred on both occasions but, it didn't seem pertinent at the time.
Sasuke took a few intimidating steps forward to pass Kaldur and M'gaan, looking the half-Kryptonian in the eyes, "When was the last time you were in contact with Luthor?" his question demanded honesty but, Conner was more than willing to provide.
He scowled a bit, looking back down at the capsule, wanting to crush it in his hands but, he hesitated, "I tried to clock him at the speed of sound instead of taking them but, he said a phrase that shut me down and left them in my hands… like Cadmus programming, I was frozen…" he was clearly pissed at his surrogate father, and Sasuke could sense that it was sincere, "When I came to he left me with these and I couldn't seem to get rid of them," he glanced down at them in shame, "I hate monkeys and mind control…" he scoffed.
M'gaan spoke up with a sorrowful expression, "I can go into your mind, if you'll let me, and clear any brainwashing that you might still have in your head," before she could continue, Sasuke interrupted her acting as an unstoppable mediating force of nature.
"Afterwards, I think Artemis has something she needs to tell everyone…" Sasuke glanced to the side where the blonde archer stood with a frown, slanting her footing, and putting a hand on her hip with attitude.
"Oh, do I exist now?" Artemis quipped obviously feeling hurt by being ignored, though they all looked toward her without a word and didn't address her complaint, "Fine… fine, I don't exactly come from the best family life," she turned around and waved a hand through the air summoning a holo-screen and after a few seconds of typing the hard-light keys, three mugshots were displayed in front of them, "You've all had the pleasure of meeting my big-sister, the assassin Cheshire…" she said ironically with a hint of sarcasm, "But, you've also met my mercenary for hire father, SportsMaster; luckily enough my Mother, the ex-mercenary Huntress, is retired and served her time," she nearly choked on her own voice as she couldn't bring herself to turn back around. "Now she gets to sit in a chair for the rest of her life because of the bad decisions that I-" choking on her words, she shook her head, sniffling and refocusing her composure, "the bad decisions that she made."
In awe, they all watched the profiles for each villain as they floated above the blonde archer, taking note of how Huntress lost her ability to walk; the silence was palpable as they simply stared at her back, head hung low in shame.
Sasuke closed his eyes without changing his expression, though finally hearing her tell the truth was a relief he knew the details weren't necessary, only the truth they all needed to hear, most importantly a certain skeptical archer. "Why hide this from us? If Batman and Green Arrow already know, what's the point?" Roy implored aggravatedly, almost feeling foolish for wasting his time suspecting her of betrayal.
Artemis hesitated for a moment, "I was afraid… okay?" slow tears welled in her eyes as she glanced up at her family tree still facing away from them, "I was terrified that this was my one shot to step out of their shadows and you all might not accept me if you knew, you might never have trusted me," sobbing into her hand for only a second or two before sniffling and regaining the majority of her composure by wiping away her lone tear. "I had to be sure that I'd proved myself before I told anyone."
"Doesn't look like your boyfriend is surprised," Roy almost started shouting again but kept his voice at an agreeable tone, "Didn't you think lying in the long game like this would be a bit counterproductive?" though this retort went widely ignored.
Wally gave a sweet smile surprisingly mature even though she wasn't facing them still, he reassured her with a soothing tone, "I promise, none of us would judge you, your killer-relatives doesn't define your family. I feel like this whole team is a family and we'd never kick you out just cuz' of that," she still didn't turn, sniffling a bit and wiping a tear from her left eye before it could fall down her cheek, it wasn't until she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder that she decided to turn around.
Totally in shock, Artemis turned only to find Sasuke standing less than a foot in front of her, grabbing her by the back of the head, he gently brought her head into his shoulder. Wrapping his arms around her torso and the other resting gently on her lower back. She exhaled over his shoulder, chin sitting comfortably on it, facing the rest of the team who were also mostly in shock. It was rare that their leader showed any public display of affection so, she stood there without even reciprocating the hug, "I love you," he whispered as those words echoed in her ears, tears of joy began to stream down her cheeks prompting her to finally return his embrace, tightly gripping her arms around his back. Blinded by revenge and hatred, he never truly got to tell Sakura how he felt about her, how he truly felt, and then she was gone so quickly. If Madara ends up winning the final bout, he needed to know that she knew, she needed to know that his feelings were true.
"I love you too," she practically squeaked as her whispered voice cracked, they parted only long enough to look each other in the eye for an instant before closing the distance between their lips, brushing softly together with passion. It was brief but, for them it was as if time stood still absorbing the moment, he'd never shared those words with her before and certainly had never been this affectionate around others.
Artemis pulled away, holding him by the shoulders as he reached up and wiped her tear off her cheek with his thumb gently, "There's something else…" she announced, sniffling a bit and wiping her tears as she regained her composure in seconds, "Sportsmaster and Cheshire want me to join them, they wanted me to betray you guys and meet them on Infinity Island by 6AM, they said that I was going to join their organization," the idea gave her chills prompting her to hug her shoulders tightly.
Robin chimed in to elaborate with what he knew, "Batman thought there might have been someone puppeteering the Injustice League from behind the scenes, obviously they call themselves the Light."
Naruto and Sasuke both gave each other pensive glances, immediately understanding Madara's plot once and for all, "Infinity Island," they both announced to one another in unison, though Sasuke immediately turned away to bring up geological surveys of the area on the digital screens hovering above them.
Conner folded his arms over his chest, "So there must be some connection between this island and the god-tree thing, right?" he inquired rightfully so.
Sasuke didn't take his eyes off of the screen but, Naruto decided to answer on his behalf, "Batman told Sasuke that someone with Madara's abilities totally annihilated the League of Shadows single handedly, his best guess was that he absorbed the Leagues resources, all of them."
"Including the Island where Cheshire, Black Spider, and all of the other assassins we've faced were dispatched to," Sasuke finished, finally enlarging the screen he was typing across to show them all the now deserted temple island, "The island is in the perfect position on the equator, Madara now has full access to it, and checking satellite imagery…" they all glanced up to the zoomed in view from space where the islet was cleared completely of the former temple and any grass or greenery.
"He's going to use the Island to perform the Infinite Tsukuyomi," Sasuke deadpanned as he turned back to face them, "I was so sure it was the swamp-lands but, it was all misdirection…"
Wally cleared his throat with a light-hearted chuckle, "So, who else has secret betrayal they're not going through with, anyone?" he joked but, wasn't expecting M'gaan to step away from Naruto, her hands shamefully behind her back.
"That would be me," she insisted.
Wally nearly choked, "I swear I was kidding…" he said with his hands up.
"No, this has been going on long enough," the Martian girl used her hands to gesture at the holographic computer screens, summoning a file on the tyrant ruler of Biayla, "When we were in Biyala I was approached by Psimon and Queen Bee, they threatened me to join them on Infinity Island at 6 too or else they'd expose who- or what I really am," her voice was low and somber, tears welling in her eyes.
"What are we talking about here? Are you a different species? Or just like, bald or something?" Wally sort-of joked nervously.
M'gaan stepped back, "It's probably best if I just show you all… the true me… even if you hate me for it," as she spoke, her lime-green skin turned paper white, her arms elongated as her fingers did the same, the muscles on her arms and abdomen became more clearly visible as well. They all took a few steps back, out of sheer surprise though and not the disgust she was expecting, "I'm so sorry, I'm disgusting…" her large head had no mouth on its face, only capable of speaking telepathically to them all.
Her clawed hands covered her eyes as she visibly shed tears down her wrinkled pale cheeks, only being brought out of her self-loathing by a hand wrapping itself around one of her fingers, "I knew," Naruto said as she glanced down at him, her true height being closer to ten-feet-tall.
"Y-You did? And you still loved me?" this is when she took the time to look around at the team staring at her with warm expressions of understanding.
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling nervously, "Of course! I love you no matter what you look like, ya know?" his cheeks turned rosy at the same time, even as she morphed down back into her more familiar form as Megan with her lime-green skin and freckled cheeks. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, locking lips while the team just observed.
Sasuke sighed, rolling his eyes, "Hey, dobe, remember the madman about to summon a world-ending mind control tree?"
M'gaan was enamored, kissing him repeatedly as he gave a thumbs up and continued to enjoy the rewards of loving his girlfriend just the way she was.
"Anyone else?" Wally was almost afraid to ask.
Sasuke answered for them, having been the one that could tell something was going on from the get-go, "No, that was all of them," he turned to Roy who had been observing the entire time, getting in his face with his three-tomoe Sharingan active, and staring into his eyes, "This is why I trust my Team, because each one of them had the opportunity to betray us, and each of them came forward. I never doubted them. You should ask yourself why you did," he walked passed the scoffingly frustrated archer and grabbed Artemis by the shoulder, pulling her away from the rest of the group. Leaving them to silently discuss how all of this could have happened and when each of them had been initially approached by the Light.
"Are you going to break up with me?" Artemis almost blurted out, very glad that he had removed them from the crowd of their friends, "Because if you are, I totally get it, but you have to understand…" she was slowed down by his hands gently wrapping around her waist, "…I… was just… trying…" she lost the words as he lightly gripped her chin with two fingers pulling her gaze upwards into his Sharingan eyes.
"I forgive you, I've been lied to my whole life by my friends, my brother, the village elders… just please, don't lie to me," his whisper was intoxicating, she blinked a few times as she felt the emotion behind them, tears welling ever so slightly.
"I promise I'll be honest from now on, I'm so sor-" she was cut off when he finally closed the distance and locked her lips with his own, his tongue being the first to take charge in her mouth, dancing with her own and exploring every nook of her warm mouth. It only lasted less than a minute but when they separated leaving a thin trail of saliva, Artemis had only momentary lust in her eyes, "When we kill Madara I am so going to rock your world."
Conner cleared his throat, having super-hearing, he blushed and made a point he forgot to mention, "I should add that Luthor wanted me on Infinity Island by 6 too, said if I did I could get more patches… he doesn't know I haven't run out yet," he held open the box containing one last DNA suppressing 'shield' waiting for use.
Sasuke pulled away quickly, separating quite abruptly from Artemis as he reapproached the group with a strengthened demeanor, "Than it's perfect, we ambush them right when they think they've splintered our group and crippled our friendships…"
Roy chuckled and folded his arms across his suit, "And then what? Fight the combined forces of Queen Bee, Sportsmaster, Lex Luthor, and Madara Uchiha all at once?"
"When Robin gets back with the contingency weapons, yea, that's exactly what we do; we keep him occupied-" Sasuke turned to look over at a more than enthusiastic, and no longer covered in lipstick, Naruto.
"And I wipe the entire island off the face of the map, no island, no god-tree," Naruto sauntered over to the leader of their group, holding out a fist for him to bump as he had during the war.
Sasuke rolled his eyes once again, not even looking in his direction as he slowly bumped fists with him; the others noticed their bond, especially M'gaan and Artemis, whom both found it endearing how strong their bond was. "Everybody gear up, we've got a mission to take care of."
Roy finally gave a short smile, "And what about Batman's orders?"
Sasuke didn't smile, he hardly emoted at all but, the call back was unforgettable, glaring at them all with his Rinnegan and Mangekyou flaring up in the pupils of his powerful eyes, "We didn't come for a playdate."
…
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