Disclaimer: I warned you all before, I will not be nice anymore. I don't own DC or Naruto, you got a problem with that, then let's go.
Tome Five: Corruption
~Salem, Massachusetts, August 19, 22:13 EDT~
After Naruto and Kent vanished again, Klarion had enough and started to get serious. The Team was scattered around the room with various injuries. Superboy was down from a large sphere of magic encasing him and growing smaller, restricting him and slowly suffocating him. Artemis was pinned to the wall with her own arrows, struggling to get down from where she was pinned. Miss Martian was unconscious at her feet after being thrown headfirst into the wall by the Chaos Lord. Aqualad was coughing up blood as he struggled to move from the ground. Kid Flash was clutching at his right leg, having been broken when Klarion summoned a steel ton weight and slammed it onto his calf. Donna herself was only still conscious and able to fight due to her experience in past lives, but was being beaten down by Abra Kadabra's magic.
Donna slowly pushed herself back to her hands and knees, only to get stomped on the back by Abra. The mockery of a magician sneered down at her before looking to the Lord of Chaos. "What do we do now? Without Kent, the Helmet of Fate is lost."
"Oh...You're so very wrong, silly mortal." Klarion said with a chuckle as he walked over to the downed speedster. Stomping on Wally's broken leg, basking in the cry of pain that came from the redheaded teen, Klarion continued. "The Little Fox will show himself as soon as we threaten his friends' lives. And with that, we will gain the Helmet of Fate, taking Nabu's power for our own."
"I think not." A deep voice echoed around them. Klarion swiveled around and searched for the origin, Abra.
"Show yourself, hero!" said the young Lord of Chaos mockingly.
"You've caused a lot of problems here, Chaotic One." The voice said. Klarion swiveled around and found golden figure floating down from the ceiling. Based on his height, he was once Nicholas J. Blood, but now he couldn't be called Doctor Fate. The cape once covering his back was missing, replaced by golden shoulder pads. The traditional royal blue color had turned to a dark blood red, and the eyes of Nabu were a faded tint of white.
"It is my duty as a Lord of Order to stop you," the being continued before reaching out for Abra Kadabra. "But first, I must punish you for what you have done as my demonic honor demands."
"D-Demonic honor?" Abra Kadabra repeated before he reached for his throat. Air was being deprived of him; in fact it felt like his lungs were the direct targets rather than his throat.
"Alright, mighty Doctor Fate, we surrender." Klarion mocked him with a bow, not seeing the danger unfold in front of him. "You may take us away."
"Foolish boy! I am not Doctor Fate!" The being announced as its eyes turned red and his grip around Kadabra's neck tightened. "I am Lord Fate, and you will suffer under my rule!"
Klarion watched in horror as someone he saw as a weak peacekeeper suffocated the man he had manipulated. This was bad, Nabu didn't kill! Neither did that little fox! So something else was causing this. But what? And how?!
Abra Kadabra's eyes rolled up into his skull and his struggling ceased. Doctor...Lord Fate lowered his hand and the faux magician dropped like a sack of potatoes, either on the verge of death or already crossing the line. The now glowing red eyes turned on the Lord of Chaos and took one threatening step forward. Klarion took a step back, glancing at his fallen ally momentarily, before glaring at the Lord of Order, "You are bound by your oath, Nabu! You cannot kill me!"
"Who says I am Nabu?" Lord Fate asked with a dark chuckle. He raised his hand to deflect the blast that came from Klarion and the red eyes narrowed. "That...Was most unwise."
Lord Fate's form vanished in a flash of red and he reappeared behind Klarion, backhanding the Lord of Chaos forward. Klarion quickly spun around to look up in fear at the menacing form that approached him. Lord Fate cracked his knuckles and his eyes gleamed.
"I would like to say that this will hurt me more than it will hurt you, but I would be lying." He said. From his knuckles sprouted four inch long spikes the same gold as his armor, Klarion's eyes went wide. "And I don't lie."
Naruto groaned as he came to, his hand going up to rub his head. There was the sound of an explosion and he looked over to see Doctor Fate fighting his demon, Kurama. The nine tailed fox snarled as a gold beam hit him, swinging at the nimbly flying Lord of Order with his hand-like paw.
"I am in control here, Trinket! This body now belongs to me!" Kurama said with a roar.
Naruto groaned and thought back to how this started. After he put the helmet on, Naruto woke up in his mindscape with Kent and the helmet of Nabu. They were in a cage and Kurama taunted them, saying that he was going to take Naruto's body and use Nabu's power to get his vengeance. When asked why, Kurama just laughed and sneered down at them saying only "Because I can."
Nabu and Kent then decided to work together, the elder mage pulling Nabu onto his head and becoming Doctor Fate. They broke out of the cage, and attacked the demon. Kurama knocked Naruto to the side, the blond hitting a wall and falling unconscious for a brief moment of time.
And that was pretty much everything til the present.
Naruto got to his feet and ran at Kurama. "Farewell to the comfort of skin and bone-oof!"
One of Kurama's tails swung at him, pinning him against the cell wall. Naruto groaned, his head lolling forward as the tail slithered around him, wrapping him up. The giant demon's snout curled up into a cruel smirk and he brought the entrapped teen up to look him in his red eyes.
"Foolish boy." Kurama said, backhanding Doctor Fate absentmindedly while he spoke to Naruto. "Your power is my power. Without my cooperation, you are nothing."
"Why are you doing this? We had a good thing going!" Naruto said, failing to understand why Kurama would act out like this so suddenly.
"Before my power was restrained by your true father's seal, but now, thanks to your foolish selflessness, I will return to the world with more power than before!" Kurama said, snarling. "I will rip apart the laws of magic until I find my way back to our rightful dimension, and I will lay waste to it!"
"You can't!" Naruto said.
"I am the Lord of Order now!" Kurama said with a sneer. He slammed Naruto against the cell walls before he brought the whiskered blond back to his eyesight. "You are just an insignificant ant I will crush beneath my feet."
"You're doing all this...for revenge?" Naruto asked.
"Did you just put that together?" Kurama asked scathingly.
Naruto ignored it. "That's stupid! You're taking over my body just for revenge on someone who's already dead?"
"He lives on, boy...in the stomach of the Shinigami, the god of death. He will be helpless as the village he loved oh so dearly is crushed beneath my might. And then I will find that Uchiha bastard and rip his eyes out of his head!" Kurama said with a snarl.
"It'll take too long for you to find the right dimension!" Naruto said, struggling in the tail's grasp. "By the time you do, my body will have given out and you'll have died."
"Not true, for you see my demonic influence combined with the immortality of the Trinket's power, your body will last exactly as long as I want it to." Kurama said. He smirked. "I have all the time in the world."
"No, no, no...I can't have you interfering now, familiar." Lord Fate said, restraining the tiger-like Teekl by crucifying him to a manifested ankh. Klarion cried out the familiar's name in concern and looked at his tormentor in horror. None of his spells were working. Just what the hell was that stupid fox boy? How did he pull on the Helmet of Fate and come out like this?
"I would run if I were you." Lord Fate said, appearing behind Klarion.
Klarion spun around and backed away raising his hand. A beam of magic shot out and Lord Fate took the blast right to the face. Klarion let the magic die down with a terrified yet hopeful grin as smoke covered Lord Fate's head. The Lord of Chaos' smile turned horrified as the helmet remained, looking unscathed and glaring blood red eyes at him.
"That wasn't very nice." Lord Fate said, raising a single clawed finger at Klarion. "Say you're sorry."
"I-I-I..." Klarion struggled to find the words. He couldn't believe that would happen.
"Not good enough." Lord Fate said. He fired a beam of golden magic at Klarion, making the Lord of Chaos writhe in agony. Lord Fate scoffed. "Is it too much, Bitch Boy?"
"I...Will...Kill...You..." Klarion said, glaring daggers at Lord Fate.
"I sincerely doubt that." Lord Fate said. He crushed his fingers into a fist and Klarion's screams grew.
"We have to stop him..." Donna said, trying to get to her feet. "Naruto! Take the helmet off!"
Lord Fate turned to her, releasing Klarion from his spell. He stalked over to her, reaching down and wrapping his hand around her throat. Lord Fate lifted her off the ground with a chuckle. "Naruto? Dear girl, don't you understand? I'm not that foolish boy. I am Lord Fate, the new Lord of Order."
"Put her down!" Kid Flash said, struggling to get to his feet despite his fast regenerative abilities.
"Gladly." Lord Fate said, tossing Donna at the bubble that entrapped Superboy. The bubble popped and the two went flying into the wall, slumping down after hitting it. Lord Fate kept his attention on the speedster. "You're the skeptic, are you not?"
"Yeah...What of it?" Kid Flash asked. Lord Fate's eyes narrowed and he lifted his hand. A golden glow encased Kid Flash's broken leg, levitating it off the ground and making the teen dangle in the air. "Hey! Let me down!"
"You overestimate yourself, boy." Lord Fate said, bringing the levitating leg into his grasp and tightening his grip around it. "You run headfirst into problems and nearly got me killed before I obtained this power. For this, you must be punished." Kid Flash bit on his lip to keep from screaming, just glaring at the mystical entity. Lord Fate chuckled at that. "Fiery. Hotheaded...You need a counter fire to douse you, to keep you in check. Kent had a word for it...Spitfire, I believe. Alas, he is not here and I am not a matchmaker. I am, however, able to slow you down."
"What do you mea-ah-ah!" Kid Flash was cut off as the golden glow surrounded him. To the conscious members of The Team's eyes, he was turned into a tortoise with a red lightning bolt on the back of his shell.
"Hm...Maybe I'll have tortoise soup when I'm finished here." Lord Fate said with a chuckle. He dropped the reptilian Kid Flash to the ground and stepped on his shell when the animal started to move. "Ah, ah, ah. You're not going anywhere. Not until lunchtime."
"Change him back and take the helmet off!" Superboy said, glaring as he got to his feet with Donna. Aqualad also rose to his feet, cradling his ribs. Miss Martian helped Artemis get out of her jam and, holding her head, joined the rest of the team as they stood to face Lord Fate.
"I don't think so. In fact, I..." Lord Fate suddenly cut himself off, freezing in place as he did. The Team shared a look with each other while Donna took a cautious step forward.
"Careful." Aqualad said, being steadied by Superboy when he started to fall to his knee.
Donna reached out and put her hand on Lord Fate's wrist. "It's not a trick. He's frozen."
Miss Martian closed her eyes and zeroed in on Lord Fate's mind, stumbling back with a gasp. "There's a war going on in his mind!"
"How is that possible?" Aqualad asked.
"I told you all before that he had a demonic side. I was generalizing it. Naruto has the unfortunate curse of housing a demon within him, acting as a prison to a beast from another dimension." Donna said, her hand retracting as she bent down to pick the Tortoise Kid Flash up. "That demon must have taken control of Naruto's body when Naruto put the helmet on. The fact he froze means only one thing: Naruto is fighting back."
"You annoying nuisance!" Kurama said with a snarl as he flicked Naruto out of his tail. "You bit my tail!"
"Well as much as I love your hugs, Kurama..." Naruto said with a grunt from where he hit the ground. He looked at his hands and narrowed his eyes. "Fires of Hell, serve me well. Blood's son commands you burn the foe, now cover me from head to toe!"
Naruto ignited in hellfire, rushing forward and throwing a fireball at the demon. Kurama blocked it with his tails, being send skidding back by an accompanying spell from Doctor Fate. The helmeted mage brought his hands together, an ankh-like beam of magic firing at the nine-tailed monster. Kurama had to use his tails to shield himself, being in a limited space.
"You can't win, beast." Doctor Fate said. "The world needs Doctor Fate, and I am more powerful than you."
"You are but a trinket that is no better than myself!" Kurama said from behind his tails. The tails parted and Kurama opened his mouth, firing a giant ball of pure hatred filled energy.
"Move!" Naruto said, tackling Doctor Fate to the ground before the Lord of Order could make a shield.
"Foolish boy! What is wrong with you?" Doctor Fate asked, pushing Naruto off of him. He raised his cape to fend off the force that came from the impact of Kurama's attack. Lowering it, the Lord of Order found a giant crater that nearly collapsed the walls of Kurama's cage before it repaired itself.
"Trust me, no magic can stop a Bijudama. Etrigan found that out the hard way." Naruto said, shuddering as he remembered that day he first used the powerful attack. He was all the way at eight tails, fighting Etrigan in the grounds of the Blood Estate. It had certainly gotten the League's attention, but Batman covered it up with a story about the Gentleman Ghost trying to use a spell that would switch his place with Jason Blood and Etrigan.
"We shall see about that." Doctor Fate said, standing up and doing a gesture with his hand. A high incoherent voice came from his lips and his hands extended out, a large green ankh beam firing at the demonic fox. Kurama took the hit, roaring in pain as he was sent backwards.
"This isn't working." Naruto said to himself. He made a large ball of fire appear in his hand and then threw it at Kurama, getting a hit in the fox's red eye. Kurama roared again and built up another Bijudama. Naruto held his hands out at Kurama. "The fox's mouth says too much, it's time for him to learn to hush!"
Fiery chains shot out from his hands and wrapped around Kurama's muzzle, closing it tightly over the incomplete Bijudama. Kurama's eyes widened as his muzzle exploded, the chains wrapped around it breaking and sending Naruto tumbling back. The blond sat up and rubbed the back of his head, groaning as he did.
"Okay, that was a bad idea." Naruto said. The fire around him had been extinguished because of the amount of magic needed for the other spell. He got back to his feet and regrouped with Doctor Fate. "What do we do? That seemed to have hurt him."
"Indeed. It seems he is most vulnerable to his own attacks." Doctor Fate said analytically. The Sorcerer Supreme narrowed his eyes. "We will have to find a way to send a full Bijudama back at him."
"Or I could try to make one on my own." Naruto said, getting a look from Doctor Fate. "Just because it's his power doesn't mean it's not mine. He's in my body and as far as I'm concerned, that makes me his warden. He wants a comfier cell? He better bribe me."
"A strange analogy, but accurate." Doctor Fate said, nodding. "Very well. I will try to buy you some time."
The Sorcerer Supreme rose up from the ground and encased himself with magic before flying at Kurama. Naruto ran to the wall where one of the pipes was. Plunging his fist through the pipeline, Naruto grunted in pain and narrowed his eyes as something washed over his hand. That had to be the demonic energy that had been fueling him his entire career as a hero.
"This is it then, Kurama's power." Naruto said. He closed his eyes and focused on the energy, gritting his teeth as he did. Naruto's eyes snapped open, blood red and slitted before the red turned to purple, and then went from purple to blue and lightened until they were back to his natural eye color. "Embrace the evil, lose the storm, it's time for this mortal to change form!"
Naruto felt his body grow in height and the fur sprout from his skin. Instead of red, it was as golden as his natural hair, like the sun had kissed it. His muscles expanded and contracted as bones snapped into place. When it was all said and done, he found himself rearing his head back, and then the fully changed Vulp let loose a prideful roar.
"No!" Kurama said, outraged. "That is my power! You are not to have it!"
"You don't seem to get it, fuzzbutt!" Vulp said, snarling at the large fox. He rushed at the giant fox until either he started to grow or Kurama started to shrink. They collided with a loud bang that echoed through the cell, Naruto's arms holding Kurama's snapping jaws at bay while Kurama's hand-like forepaws grabbed the blond vulpine humanoid's arms. "I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!"
Doctor Fate watched on with interest, distancing himself from the fight. With the demon distracted, he was welcome to take control of the body that wore the Helmet of Fate.
The Team watched as Lord Fate's costume turned from blood red to a dark blue. The armor that made him look like a terrifying warlord changed back to the more noble and calm helmet and cape of Doctor Fate. They grinned as the red eyes died down into calm blues, though the slitted pupils still unnerved them slightly.
"Naruto?" Donna asked hesitantly.
"The one known as Naruto is preoccupied." Doctor Fate said. He turned to Klarion, who glared at him from the ground. "Be gone from here, Chaos Lord. The Tower of Fate does not welcome you."
"You haven't...seen...the last...of me!" Klarion said between labored breaths as an ankh appeared beneath him, swallowing him whole. His familiar Teekl was absorbed into the ankh it was crucified on and Abra Kadabra found himself being swallowed into the floor. While Klarion was banished back to another dimension with his familiar, Abra Kadabra would awake in a prison hospital. Six months from now, that is.
"What about Kid Flash?" Miss Martian asked. Doctor Fate turned to her and looked at the tortoise in Donna's arms.
"As you were, young hero." He said with a wave of his hand. A gold glow encompassed the tortoise and Kid Flash reappeared as he usually was. He grinned at Donna.
"I knew you'd see the light." He said, yelping when Donna promptly dropped him on his ass. "Hey!"
The youngest daughter of Queen Hippolyta approached Doctor Fate. "What about Naruto?"
"He is preoccupied." Doctor Fate said in a mix of Nabu and Naruto's voices. He turned abruptly and walked to the wall. "You may all leave. The Tower of Fate is no longer at risk."
"Like hell I'm leaving!" Donna said, glaring at the form of the Sorcerer Supreme. "You can't just take over his body!"
Doctor Fate paused and turned around to look at her, his eyes narrowing. "Says who?"
"Jason Blood. Batman. The Justice League. Humanity as a whole!" Donna said. She pointed at him with a scowl on her face. "If you hold his body hostage that would make you no better than Lord Fate."
"The world needs Doctor Fate." The dual voices said sternly. "No matter the cost."
"Who are you to decide that?" Donna asked. "You let Kent Nelson remove the helmet, why won't you allow Naruto to do the same?"
"For as long as I remain in control, the beast within him is held at bay." Doctor Fate said.
"By Naruto." Aqualad said, wincing as he held his side. He took a deep breath before continuing. "You'll leave him to fight the demon off alone. Eventually he will tire and Lord Fate will return. You would risk that just to keep a body?"
"Admittedly it's not a perfect plan." Doctor Fate said, his eyes narrowing in thought. He turned and fully faced The Team. "I guess you raise good points. Come, I will prepare medical services and then remove the helmet."
The Team shared a glance and Donna frowned, but they followed him all the same. Kid Flash grinned as they walked into an elevator. "I knew there was some science to this. A hidden elevator-Ow! Kaldur, what was that for?"
"It is not the time for you to try to decipher the magic of this place." Aqualad said, giving Kid Flash the best glare he could manage. "Because of your foolish comment before, we nearly got ourselves killed and one of our accomplices had been weakened by a counter to his inner demons. Do not think I won't be bringing this up to Batman when we return to The Cave."
"Wha-Dude, I was turned into a freaking turtle! Isn't that punishment enough?" Kid Flash asked.
"No." The rest of The Team said. Skepticism was fine, but in this instance it nearly got them killed and had hindered more than helped.
"For your own safety, Kid Flash, I would suggest you keep your mouth closed." Donna said, giving the speedster a glare from the corner of her eyes. Kid Flash opened his mouth to argue and then thought better of it when he saw Donna look at Doctor Fate. He closed his mouth and stared at the back of Doctor Fate's head, thinking about what Aqualad said.
"You will lose here, brat!" Kurama said, snarling at Vulp. The golden vulpine human had found himself pinned by Kurama, the nine-tails wrapping his hand-like paws around Naruto's neck. "And not only will it be your body, but your life!"
"You'll...Never...Win..." Vulp said, struggling to pull Kurama's paws off his neck. Kurama's grin widened and he opened his mouth to retort, only getting a golden blast for his troubles that sent him tumbling to the back of the room. Vulp rolled to his side, holding his neck as he coughed while an elderly hand reached out to help him up.
"Come on, son." Kent Nelson said, pulling Vulp to his feet. "You can finish this."
Vulp shook his head and coughed. "No...I can't kill him. He's done nothing wrong except for trying to take over my body. I can't blame him for that."
Kent just stared at him before chuckling. "You're a good man, Nicholas. Your father must be very proud of you."
"I hope so." Vulp said, turning and facing Kurama as the demon got back to its feet. Vulp clenched his hands into fists. "This ends now, Kurama. You are the prisoner and I am your warden!"
"No longer will I be contained within you! I will have my vengeance!" Kurama said, snarling at him. "I'll kill you and take over your body, I will end this world and every other until I get what I deserve!"
"I won't let that happen!" Vulp said. He held his hands in front of his chest and closed his eyes. "I've had enough of this monster's drama, powers of my native home, give me the strength to make a Bijudama!"
The ball of energy flickered into view before it started to get larger and larger. Kurama built his own Bijudama up in his mouth, swallowing the complete form before releasing it at Vulp and Kent Nelson. Vulp's eyes snapped open and his Bijudama jumped from the size of a large ball to the size of a planet.
"As I said before: I am your warden!" Vulp said, scowling as he threw the Bijudama at the Nine-Tailed Fox. "Go back to your cell!"
The two attacks collided, but Vulp's absorbed the Kyuubi's mighty blast. Kurama's eyes widened in horror as the planet-sized attack approached him, his tails shooting out in front of him as a makeshift wall in an effort to protect himself from what he believed would be certain death. The large ball of magic collided with Kurama's tails and the fox let out an earth-shaking roar.
Vulp turned and brought Kent Nelson down to the ground with him as the Bijudama exploded. The force of the blast sent them flying nonetheless, Vulp changing back to his normal form as they did. The two humans came out of the blast in a roll, Naruto groaning as he lifted his head. He looked behind him, the smoking form of Kurama lying on his back, unmoving.
"You must finish it." A deep voice said. Naruto turned and saw the Helmet of Fate hovering in front of him. "End the demon's existence now while you can."
"No." Naruto said. He could see Nabu blinking in shock, and Naruto pressed on, turning around and moving his arms. "The prisoner is down, all is well, now I recreate the creature's cell."
Red poles shot up from the ground around Kurama and Naruto smiled as golden reinforcements latched themselves onto the doors along with a large tag on the main doors. The blond walked over to the cell, putting his hand on the gate.
"I'm sorry you were wronged, Kurama, but I can't let you run rampant in my body." Naruto said, turning around to face Nabu and Kent Nelson. He addressed Kent first, since he was still sort of confused over his presence. "Mr. Nelson, why are you still here?"
"I've lived a long life and while I miss Inza, I can wait a bit longer until I see her again." Kent said, smiling at Naruto. He turned to Nabu. "Besides, someone should keep the Lord of Order company until a proper partner is found."
"What?" Naruto asked.
"You were preoccupied with your demonic half, but Nabu recovered control over your body. He had quite the conversation with your friends." Kent said, Nabu remaining silent.
"But the world needs Doctor Fate!" Naruto said in protest.
"Doctor Fate does not need you." Nabu said. "I realize now how dangerous a host you are, containing two minds instead of one. While the world needs Doctor Fate, the multiverse does not need Lord Fate."
"I see..." Naruto said. He held his hand out to Kent. "Thank you, for everything you've done, Kent Nelson. The Sentinels of Magic will never be the same."
Kent smiled and took Naruto's hand. A glow came from the meeting and Naruto looked in his hand to find a golden stopwatch.
"This is...!" He said.
"Solomon's Watch." Kent said with a smile. "I've been looking for a good replacement for a while now. The Sentinels need another senior member."
"I...I don't know...I can't..." Naruto struggled to find words.
"You can. And you will." Kent said. He put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're a good man, a fine magician, and a better hero than I could ever be."
"Thank you."
Naruto's eyes snapped open and he looked at the helmet in his hands. The voices of The Team were akin to white noise for him. He turned the helmet around in his hands and looked at the eyes of Nabu. He thought about the sacrifice Kent made to secure his freedom from a life of never ending service. A weight in his pocket had Naruto reaching behind him and pulling out the Watch of Solomon, adorned with the marks of Fate, Captain Marvel and several other astronomical symbols. Naruto looked back to the helmet and felt tears well up in his eyes.
He walked past The Team and Donna, pushing the helmet into Kid Flash's hands, and walking out to a balcony he subconsciously knew existed, looking up at the crescent moon that beamed down on him. The dark clouds boomed with thunder and the first droplet of rain fell against his cheek. Naruto bowed his head and pressed the button on the side of the watch, letting it snap open. The archaic clock ticked and Naruto took a deep breath.
"Sentinels of Magic, I, Nicholas Jason Blood, call you to organize at the Tower of Fate." He said softly. "Kent Nelson is dead."
AN: Thank you for sticking through my friends, I apologize for the long wait until the tome's end. I know it was horrible of me to do, but what else can I say?
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