Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the shows Naruto and Justice League. All rights belong to their respective owners.
Many thanks to my beta-reader, Masamune X23 for helping with this chapter.
"Talking"
"Thinking"
(Jutsu Translation)
"Kurama Talking / Megumi talking"
The Hokage Of The League
Chapter 7: Invasion Part 3 – Alternate Plans – (Invasion Conclusion)
A news helicopter swerved above the city Metropolis, capturing live video footage of the relentless alien's attack. Everyone who was currently watching the channel witnessed the chaotic destruction that the aliens had caused. Walkers could be seen launching repeated waves of crimson colored energy beams at the nearby buildings, leaving nothing but destruction in their wake. What was once a prosperous and lively city was now replaced with ravaged and destroyed buildings, some on fire, others collapsed beyond recognition. Upturned cars that were left behind littered the city's empty roads.
Strangely enough the Walkers did not pursue after any remaining resistants' or civilians. Rather, their attention seemed to be focused on clearing a perimeter within the city's central infrastructure. Though, for what purpose that entailed, no one knew.
One news reporter who was brave enough to stay near the hotspot of the invasion in Metropolis held his index and forefinger to his earpiece as he prepped himself to carry out the news in front of the camera that his trusty cameraman bore on him.
"This is Snapper Carr, reporting to you people live from ground zero in Metropolis, where the aliens continue to clear the area around the impact site." The camera paneled around, showing the military resistant's' moving in formation with tanks and infantry men.
A middle aged man of dark skin and balding hair strode to the gathered military force. He wore a murky green military suit worn only by a general and had held himself with a presence that demanded respect and authority.
The reporter immediately recognized the man as the general who openly opposed Senator Carter's disarmament enactment. Walking up to the general, the reporter presented his speaker up to the general, firing off the question that was everyone's mind. "General Wells, our military seems unable to stop them. Why?"
General Wells scowled deeply in clear irritation. "All of our more lethal missiles have been disarmed thanks to Senator Carter's disarmament plan. And our self-proclaimed protector Superman has abandoned us." Without another word the General moved towards his troops.
"Earlier, Senator J. Allen Carter had this to say." The camera's screen switched locations as it transferred to a conference room. Senator Carter stood on the podium for all to see and question him.
Reporters all stood around him, firing off a collection of questions all at once. Surprisingly Carter seemed to be taking the situation rather well, not showing any sign of worry or anxiety in his demeanor.
Carter cleared his throat, trying to placate the frenzying crowd of reporters in a strong voice. "When I first proposed my peace initiative, no one ever imagined we would face an invasion like this. Now we must stand together and resist this aggression!"
Before Senator Carter could continue with his speech the video switched channels back to the site with the reporter in Metropolis. The man's alert and anxious look told its viewers that something major was about to happen.
"Wait! We have a breaking development." The reporter turned toward the site of the giant meteor as the ground beneath the city began to shake violently, making it difficult for many to stand properly.
Everyone noticed that the meteor began to tremble as if something was moving inside of it. "Something seems to be moving within the crater."
The reporter and the gathered military force watched as cracks formed on the meteor, as if struggling under the strain of whatever was to come bursting out. Before everyone's eyes a long stream of mechanical tentacles burst through the crumbling meteor, snaking their way upwards towards the night sky.
When they reached to a good height of about a large sized building, the tentacles moved towards each other, uniting into a single oddly shaped structure. Amongst the startled crowed stood General Wells who could not help but gape at the assemblage of the foreign alien structure in abject horror.
"Oh my lord" he managed to breath out as the alien structure reformed into an oddly curved factory of sorts. The factory's top level closely resembled the human organ of the heart, with connecting air valves protruding from the top of the structure. Under its side shot out a cylinder shaped drill that burrowed deeply into the city's ground. With each stroke into the ground, disturbingly life-like air sacs continuously deflated and inflated in harmonious motion with the drill. Exhausts of fire streamed out of the valves at the top like a geyser, spewing hazardous columns of smoke. As the smoke accumulated, a loud booming could be heard as lightning struck outward from the smoke.
XxX
~In the snowy mountains~
The gathered group of heroes continued to gaze at the ominous buildup of clouds in silence. Hawkgirl was the first to break the silence as she questioned J'onn. "What are they doing?"
The green Martian replied in his usual flat and even tone. "The creatures are a nocturnal species. They want to blot out the sun and live in perpetual darkness."
Despite the tense atmosphere Flash turned towards Batman. "Friends of yours?" he asked in joking manner, though even his usual upbeat tone seemed to have calmed down considerably as he took notice of how serious the situation was.
Batman barely threw him a sidelong glance, speaking in his no nonsense voice. "It's no joke."
"I don't understand what the problem is. Can't we just whip up a new batch of that nerve gas? Problem solved." Flash spoke up, proud of the fact that he solved their predicament so easily.
J'onn turned to face the speedster. "Unfortunately no, the gas can only be made from a rare Martian plant. Unfortunately the aliens destroyed it when they captured me."
The speedster's mood deflated. "Uh, anyone got a plan B?" he spoke rather lamely.
Diana saw this moment to voice her opinion. "Then we'll have to take out those factories."
Naruto thought about it before he nodded his head in agreement. "I agree with Diana-hime. It's a sound plan. As of now, we should focus our attention of destroying the factories, so their movement will be severely limited when daylight rises."
Diana's eyes' widened marginally in surprise. She had anticipated the man to try and undermine her suggestion. The Amazon teachings taught her how cruel and sinister man's nature was so she had at the very least expected some negative reaction to her presence, but this blonde haired man had done the complete opposite. Perhaps her mother's last words to her had come true after all. Maybe man had changed during the Amazons time of isolation.
Lantern scoffed, obviously not taking a liking to these rookies taking charge. "Lady, this is no time for amateurs-" He paused, turning towards Naruto. "-or ninja wannabes who we know next to nothing about."
Diana's attractive face contorted in anger from hearing this man's insulting words while Naruto's eyes narrowed at the insult. "Perhaps the Amazon teachings were not too off after all." She thought before moving toward the green lantern, stopping when she stood directly in front of him.
"We Amazons are warriors born. Want to test me." She challenged. Lantern stood his ground without so much as a flinch, seemingly willing to take up her challenge.
Seeing the tension between the two heroes, Superman was about to intervene, but he was beaten to it by Naruto, who moved in to pacify the situation. "Now isn't the time to fight you two. Right now there are more pressing matters that we need to get done, and we can't do that if you two start a needless fight." Naruto remarked, lightly glaring at Lantern for the ninja wannabe comment.
Normally Naruto himself would be pissed at the Lanterns attitude towards both him and Diana, but he knew that now was not the time to clash with one another. There were far more pressing matters that needed all of their immediate attention; namely stopping this invasion force.
"He's right John; we should be working as a team." Superman added.
Lantern mulled it over for a moment, and decided to let the matter drop. Whether or not he even liked these two, he knew that working together on a team would be the better option. A full team gave them a much higher chance of beating these invaders rather than going it solo. Both his time in the marines and in the lantern corps had taught him that lesson.
Stewart relented and backed away from Diana. "Fine, sorry your highness." He apologized, albeit a bit bitterly. He brought up his ring which glowed fluorescently green. Using the ring's power John formed a 3D image of all known locations which held the factories. "Tactfully we have multiple objectives, so we need to split into teams."
As soon as John finished his sentence Flash instantly moved forward towards Diana, arm slung around the princess's shoulder. "Dibs on the Amazon." His cheerful personality returned with a vengeance. Diana drew a befuddled expression as she felt slightly uncomfortable with Flash's flirtatious attitude.
Naruto felt amused at the scene but decided to help Diana out, noticing how uncomfortable she looked being in such close proximity with the speedster. "Some words of advice Flash. I'd keep my hands to myself if I were you. The last time I met a woman whose strength was inhuman; she had a very nasty temper and nearly beat a man to death for flirting with her too much. Said man managed to walk away alive, but a couple of souvenirs for his trouble. Two broken arms, six ruptured ribs, as well as several ruptured internal organs."
Naruto nearly laughed out loud when he saw the expression of Flash's face. The speedster's eyes widened to comical proportions and his face turned a shade paler. He gave a nervous look at Diana, gulped, and then slowly etched away from her. Diana felt relief and she sent an appreciative look at Naruto, who nodded in response.
The gathered group of heroes briefly discussed which teams they would pair up with. Out of the entire group here Superman was the most familiar with Metropolis, given that was his city, so it was obvious that he would go there. Hawkgirl was to join him in Metropolis. John paired up with Flash to keep him out of trouble and in line. Flash silently sulked being paired with John, and not the hot Amazon, despite knowing that she could use her super strength to break his body.
Both Batman and Diana chose to stick with J'onn, but for different reasons. Diana was unfamiliar with how the alien invaders operated, and J'onn had the most experience when it came to fighting them. Batman hoped that with J'onn's familiarity with the aliens and his intellect, he would find a weakness for the parasitic aliens.
Naruto on the other hand, had a different agenda. But first he would need to confirm something. He gestured to the Martian, getting his attention. "Hey J'onn, I need you to confirm something for me."
"Is it of great importance? Cause our time could be spent enacting out the plan." J'onn questioned. Naruto firmly nodded his head.
"Are you absolutely sure that there are no plants on Earth that would provide a similar reaction to the nerve gas your people created?" J'onn paused, pondering the question for several seconds before responding.
"To be honest I wouldn't know for certain as I have only limited knowledge on this world's plant life." He finally stated honestly.
"Then do you at least know the formula for the nerve gas?"
"I do know the necessary formula for the nerve gas, but the formula is very specific and complex. It would take far too long to teach it to someone else with the amount of time we have. That and you would need to have some extensive knowledge on the alien's anatomy. Why do you ask?"
"I have an acquaintance that might be able to recreate an altered version of the nerve gas. If we can recreate that gas then we'll have a plan B to fall back on in case the situation goes sour." The gathered heroes understood the blonde shinobi's logic, but there was still a major flaw that they all saw in the plan.
"The idea sounds good but weren't you listening to what J'onn said. Only he has the necessary knowledge on the nerve gasses formula and the invaders' anatomy." Naruto was still unsure of revealing one of his most well-kept techniques so soon, but the situation they were stuck with called for it. For his plan to work he would need to use it to meet their time limitation.
"Don't worry about that. I've got it covered. Though, to be honest I would rather not have to show this, but our current situation calls for it at the moment." He replied, confusing most of the heroes there. Before they could question him, Naruto walked towards J'onn, stopping at an arm's reach of each other.
"Okay J'onn let me get straight to my point. I have mind reading abilities that I can use to 'upload' any information into myself in order to quickly understand it. So for my plan to work I'll need to extract the formula from you in order to fully understand it and get my acquaintance to understand it as well when I upload it into their mind. That is if you allow me to do so since I just wanted your permission first." The Martian thought about it for a moment before he nodded stoically, figuring that this may give Earth the advantage it would need to drive back the invaders. Besides that he sensed through his mental link that the Hokage meant no harm to him.
Without further interferences, Naruto brought up his left hand, gently placing it on top of the Martian's head. The heroes watched silently as both J'onn and Naruto's eyes shut in deep concentration.
When Naruto slowly reopened his eyes the gathered heroes couldn't help but be stunned at the change they undertook. The young shinobi's deep cerulean eyes were now replaced with an intricate ripple pattern and a purple colored sclera.
What was only a few minutes felt like hours for J'onn. When Naruto finally released his hold on the Martian's mind they both relaxed. J'onn rubbed his temples, feeling a little light headed. It was an odd experience to be sure. He had never had another peer through his memories before, not even from the likes of his own kind. Through the mental link he had seen a pair of penetrating ripple patterned eyes that seemed to pierce into his very being. It was an unnerving feeling that he had not experienced in his extensive time alive.
Batman quickly got over his shock before narrowing his eyes into their analyzing gaze. "Strange, I've read on multiple records of meta-humans with telepathic abilities, but never did any reports show signs of changes in eye pattern. He read about people's eyes glowing or even their entire body when they used their telepathic powers but never did their eyes change completely into something else. Is he really a meta-human or something else entirely?" The Dark Knight made a mental note to investigate into the mysterious phenomena at a later date.
Naruto took a few moments to collect himself while his mind coped with the new information. He let his Rinnegan fade back until his eyes returned to their usual bright cerulean. He noticed that the other heroes were giving him a mix of questioning and confused looks. Superman asked the question that was on everyone's mind.
"What exactly was that?" Naruto knew that the Man of Steel was referring to his Rinnegan. Not surprising as no one had witnessed him use the powerful Doujutsu (eye technique) until now.
"We don't have enough time for me to give you a thorough explanation. All you need to know is that it grants me telepathic abilities." Of course he left out the limitations of the telepathic abilities that the Rinnegan gave him, along with its other abilities, but they didn't need to know about that, at least not now. Some of the heroes were displeased with the vague explanation, but they were already short on time as it was.
"I'll see what I can do about recreating the nerve gas, while you guys take down the factories." Naruto spoke.
"We should meet up in Metropolis once were done with our objectives. Is everyone alright with that?" A collection of nods and yes's sounded off.
Batman pulled out a small device from his utility belt and held it up to Naruto. Naruto held it in his palm, inspecting the device with a curious expression. "It's a communications device so that I can stay in contact with you at all times. Keep me in touch with your progress on the nerve gas." The Dark Knight requested, though his voice held a firm tone of authority in it. Naruto just nodded, attaching the communications device onto the side of his ear.
With their plans set, the heroes split into their decided teams, parted ways and went off toward their assigned objectives.
XxX
~Gotham City~
"Someone help me!" a small girl cried out as she ran from her pursuers. The child was a brunette and wore a sundress that was tattered from her constant running. The little girl had been separated from her parents amongst the ensuing chaos. Ever since then she had been running for her life, somehow managing to lose most of her pursuers when they lost interest in her and decided to focus on more crowded areas. Unfortunately for her one of them had been persistent, tracking her down relentlessly.
Her legs ached from the constant running, not use to such a grueling exercise. Her running led her down a dead ended alley. With the alien pursuer hot on her tail, she scampered behind a dirty pair of trash can bins, praying for her safety and that it would just walk past her hastily improvised hiding area.
She panted harshly, taking in as much air as her small body would allow. Clattering footsteps could be heard, growing louder as it neared her location. Her breathing had unintentionally hastened as the footsteps grew closer. She covered her mouth with both hands in attempt to prevent herself from giving away her hiding position.
Fear spread throughout her system as she heard each step slowly move toward her. The sound of footsteps stopped within mere feet away from her hiding spot. Her body was frozen stiff, unable to make any sound or movement while she silently prayed to herself.
"KYAAAA!" she screamed as the alien smashed down the first trash bin with the butt end of his rifle. In an act of desperation the child crawled further away into a wall, wrapping herself in the smallest ball she could manage, as if believing that her small position would hide her away from her pursuer's sight.
The alien parasite bore his weapon's aim sight on the helpless girl, intent on finishing the deed. Before it could however, wines sprouted from the ground, ensnaring around the alien's body. The parasite struggled against the vines, but found that it could not move. Slowly it stopped squirming and let his weapon drop from his grasp, embracing a slow death.
As the parasite's vision faded, it managed to spot the outline of the likely culprit of the attacking vines. Fiery red hair was the last thing the parasite saw before falling limp in its strangled position.
XxX
Pamela glared darkly at the parasitic alien she held constricted within her vines. She couldn't help but feel a large amount of satisfaction in watching her vines inject streams of toxic poison into its body.
Once she realized it had died she had her vines carelessly toss its carcass aside. The body flew to the ground with a sickening crunching noise. The parasites body had turned a rotten purple from the injections of toxins to its body. Pamela watched in disgust as the hideous carcass liquefied into a pool of purple sludge. All of her alien victims had suffered the same fate when she poisoned them with her toxin. Unfortunately for the parasites, their bodies seemed to be highly reactive to her potent toxins, making it much easier for Pamela to help cleanse the city of their presence.
Pamela's attention turned toward the shaken up child who was frozen stiff in her previous fetal position. The poor child was likely traumatized from the whole ordeal. Unsure of how to approach the frightened child Pamela took slow steps toward the girl, as to assure her that she meant no harm whatsoever. The child watched Pamela's slow movements with wide unblinking tear filled eyes.
Pamela crouched down at the girl's level, gently patting the girls head in her most calming manner. Without warning the little girl jumped into Pamela's arms, burying her face into Pamela's chest. Pamela was momentarily shocked at the child's sudden actions, taking notice of how badly the child was shaking within their embrace.
Being unfamiliar with this type of situation, Pamela just went with her intuition, waving her fingers through the locks of the child's hair in attempt to calm the child's nerves down.
"Sshhh…it'll be okay now." Pamela would utter softly into the child's ear as she continued to hold the little girl. Silently Pamela was cursing herself for not arriving sooner, but she had been preoccupied with helping clearing out the Walkers. Luckily for the child, Pamela had finished off a Walker nearby the alley when she heard the crashing of metal bins followed by a girl's scream. She hoped that the alien had suffered excruciating pain before its death for what it was about to commit. While it was true that she disliked humans for the pain they had caused her, in her eyes this child was still 'innocent' in a sense and vaguely reminded Pamela of herself in her younger years. She figured that was why she felt so compelled to console the girl so earnestly.
After a few minutes of consoling, the child finally managed to calm herself down. "What's your name little one?"
"My name is-" the girl paused to collect her thoughts. "-Kelly…Kelly Dawson." Pamela gave the now named Kelly a warm smile.
"Well Kelly you can call me-" Ivy paused in afterthought. "-Pamela" she finished. She had debated whether to give Kelly her real name, but found herself disapproving the idea of giving the child her old villainess title, preferring to use her real name for this occasion.
"Do you know where your parents are?" Kelly shook her head in dismay that she had been separated from her parents.
"Don't worry; I'll look after you until we find your parents again. How does that sound?" This seemed to brighten Kelly's mood as she eagerly nodded. The two linked hands as Pamela strode them carefully back the way she had come. She would need Selina's help with taking care of Kelly.
XxX
~With John and Flash in Cairo~
John's glowing green eyes surveyed the jungle area where there target was located. A portion of the jungle had been cleared away for the giant factory machine that continued to pump smoke into the air. Surrounding the structure was a small collection of Walkers who stood as guards.
John turned to his partner. "That's our target. Now listen up, here's the plan-" before he could finish however Flash rudely interrupted him.
The speedster's voice sounded impatient. "What plan? We kick their butts right. Let's get this over with." Lantern made move to stop Flash but before he could even get a word in edgewise, Flash was already gone. John sighed in exasperation, starting to regret getting tagged with the impatient speedster.
Flash stopped right before one of the Walkers, bringing his hands to his mouth and pursing his lips into a sharp whistle. The whistle served its purpose, grabbing the attention of the Walker.
"Hey over here!" Flash waved his hands in the air.
As soon as the Walker spotted him, its eye compressed and shot out a charged beam of crimson energy. The beam passed harmlessly by Flash, who easily dodged it by stepping to the side. Flash crossed his arms, taunting the Walker. "HA! Missed me!"
More Walkers joined in and began to fire a barrage of energy beams at the red speedster. Using his impressive speed, Flash easily began dodging all of their attack. He ran right through all of the Walker's long legs without much trouble.
In his inattentiveness, Flash foolishly forgot to watch where he was going, not noticing a decent sized stump on the ground. As soon as he stepped on the stump it exploded in a shower of gunk that sent the hero tumbling into the air. Flash shouted helplessly as he came crashing down into a giant pool of what appeared to be a sickly green colored sludge. Flash struggled to get out of the disgusting waste, but the gunk was constricting his movements, making him immobile.
The shadow of a Walker appeared over Flash's fixed position, intent on disintegrating the speedster. Thankfully for Flash GL had moved into save him from his fate.
"Hang tight hotshot." John flew overhead, thrusting his ring hand and shooting out a blast of irradiant green energy. The energy was strong enough to pierce straight through the Walker's leg, severing the limb from its synthetic body. Without a proper support to stand on, the Walker teetered unsteadily back and forth before crashing harshly into the ground, effectively taking it out for good. Seeing that he had successfully taken out the Walker, John moved to pull Flash out of the foul smelling substance. He prayed that the others were having better luck.
XxX
~With Superman and Hawkgirl in Metropolis~
Superman walked cautiously through the oddly shaped corroder inside of the alien factory, with Hawkgirl not far behind him. Infiltrating the factory had been surprisingly easy as there had only been a few Walkers stationed to guard the factory's exterior.
"Keep a sharp eye out." Superman advised his winged companion.
"I always do." She replied as she tightened her grip on her mace, holding it close to herself in case of a surprise attack. They did not need to wait long as a group of the parasitic aliens fired upon the two heroes.
"Stay back I'll-" Clark prepared himself to take the group down, but he was beaten to the punch, literally. Before he could even finish his sentence Hawkgirl screamed out a war cry as she charged at the group of aliens. Swinging her powered mace, she managed to hit three at once, sending them tumbling into the rest of the group.
Using this opening, Hawkgirl went in for the kill. A wide eyed Superman watched in slight bewilderment as Hawkgirl mercilessly bashed away at the aliens. He almost felt sorry for the poor bastards… almost.
One of them was hit so hard that its body splattered into a white liquid smear on the nearby corridor's wall. Clark nearly flinched at the brutality of it all and mouthed out the only word he could think of at the moment. "Whoa…"
Hawkgirl gave Superman a slightly amused look as she walked past him, leaving behind a broken group of aliens. "What? There's a time for words and a time for action." Superman just shook his head and followed the Thanagarian.
~Gotham City~
Selina wiped some of the perspiration she had been accumulating from the hard work she was doing. After she and Pamela had teamed up with the Bat family, they had slowly begun the process of removing the alien parasites from the city.
Pamela's poisonous toxins had been crucial against fighting the aliens. Their bodies would violently react when affected by Pamela's poisonous plants. Though their temporary alliance with the Bat family left bitter feelings from Batman's protégés, they wisely set aside their differences. Not one of them was willing to give up this opportunity, even if it meant working with past enemies. The cost would be just too high if they failed.
On the side of Selina's peripheral vision, she caught sight of a peculiar scene. Pamela strode towards Catwoman, hand linked with a little girl who couldn't have been no older than maybe 8 years old. The child seemed to shy away the closer they got to Selina's position.
"I see you've been busy." The feline woman commented, voice laced in with some amusement.
Pamela gave Selina a look that said 'You don't know the half of it.' The botanical loving woman retold the story of how she found Kelly, and how she saved the child from a horrible fate. The amusement in Selina's face died as she listened to Pamela's story. The cat lover did take great pleasure in the fact that the damn parasite got what he deserved.
"You know Pamela, she seems to have taken quite the liking to you." Selina chuckled in amusement as Kelly was still hiding behind Pamela's legs, fixated on fiddling with the hem Pamela's stockings.
"Selina's got a good point. I think you now officially have yourself a fan." A familiar voice suddenly spoke, surprising the two women. Seemingly from nowhere the man who they were both on friendly terms with appeared, standing off to the side, arms folded.
Selina smirked when she saw her blonde friend. He was probably the only person who could sneak up on her without her notice. Pamela's surprise wore off after she registered his words, making her slightly blush. She cast a sideways glance at Kelly who was still holding her hand tightly, her other hand clutching the fabric of her stockings.
"Hokage, what are you doing here. Shouldn't you be back in San Francisco, protecting your people there?" Selina questioned the blonde, as she had assumed he would have been a little preoccupied with his city.
Naruto waved of their concerns in a reassuring manner. "San Francisco is in good hands, but how are things on your end? From what I have seen it looks like you have things under control."
Selina nodded. "We formed a temporary alliance with Batman's stooges and managed to drive off most of the aliens that were sent here. All that's left now is clean up duty; that is unless they decide to send in reinforcements."
Naruto took this time to observe Pamela and Selina's appearance. His eyes caught there slightly worn down looks, even though they hid it very well. This was to be expected as they had been fighting off alien attacks nonstop for hours now. They were probably drained from the constant fighting without much time to rest. As powerful as the two were, even with their alliance with the Bat-family they would eventually be overrun in time if they weren't given enough time to properly rest. All the more reason for Naruto to carry out his mission as soon as possible, so he could rejoin with the other heroes.
"That's good to hear. Glad to see that you've got the situation in hand." He paused, assuming an apologetic expression. "Sorry to cut this reunion short but I'm actually here to ask a favor Pamela."
Pamela gave a questioning look. "Oh, and what favor would that be?"
"I'm a little pressed on time right now, so it'll be much faster if I directly give you the details telepathically. And before you ask, yes I do have such an ability. It won't cause you pain, but you may feel a little preternatural from the experience. What I will say is that it could greatly help in the long run in taking out these aliens." Naruto spoke in a hurried manner.
Pamela's expression was one of deep thought as she mentally debated whether or not to accept his request. She recalled their past conversations and how supportive the man had been with her ideals. Without a second thought, Pamlea allowed Naruto to do whatever he planned to do.
Naruto walked up to Pamlea until he was within arm's reach. Murmuring a soft "thank you" to the former eco terrorist, Naruto repeated the same process he had done with J'onn.
Selina and Kelly's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as they witnessed Naruto's eyes shift to the Rinnegan's piercing purple colored eyes with ripple patterns.
XxX
~With Lantern and Flash~
John flared his rang at Flash's feet, torching the substance that currently glued him into the ground; all the while commenting on the speedster's reckless actions.
"Of all the idiotic, bone headed, glory grabbing moves. Haven't you ever heard of the concept of teamwork?!" John lectured as he finished releasing Flash from his self-imprisonment.
An energy beam struck the ground a few feet away from their position, interrupting any further lectures from John. "Uh, maybe we better save the motivational speeches for later." Flash spoke nervously, not wanting to get hit by a blast of energy.
Satisfied with his work, Lantern turned his attention on the incoming Walkers. Flash shook his legs from the remaining substance that stuck to his foot, just in time to dodge a beam that would've hit him.
Surrounding himself in a barrier, John deflected a collection of energy beams. The lantern was taken by surprise when one of the Walkers fired off a jagged looking rock that exploded against his shield, releasing a cloud of gas. Not expecting the surprise attack, John inhaled too much of the gas, making him collapse to the ground.
Acting quickly, Flash spun his arms out, moving them in a circular motion which blew out a strong gust of wind to clear away the gas. Once the speedster saw the green lanterns unconscious form he called out to him in concern but the lantern didn't even stir.
Seeing the quickly descending Walkers Flash took this moment to sling GL over his shoulder and make a break for it into the jungle where they could escape. Better to live another day and fight again then to die there on the spot.
XxX
~With Superman and Hawkgirl~
Both heroes took to flying through the mazelike hallways of the factory to speed up their progress through the factory. They touched down on the ground; Superman noticed that his partner looked very anxious.
"Their close, I can smell them." Hawkgirl spoke with an aura of a hunter in search of its prey. The Man of Steel decided to comment on her odd behavior.
"Are you always so eager to fight?"
"My home planet Thanagar is a warlike world. There, one must strike first or die." The moment she finished her sentence, a stray beam of energy zoomed passed both hero's heads.
Hawkgirl spotted a small group of aliens who began to run off, with Hawkgirl in hot pursuit. The aliens lead the heroes into a room where a door shut behind them, leaving a frustrated Thanagarian and a slightly befuddled Superman.
To their surprise the back door shut behind them, trapping them inside the room. It was then that both heroes noticed some punctured holes off to the side and could assume what would happen next.
Gas began to stream through the holes into the room, enveloping around the heroes. Having no clean air to breathe Hawkgirl keeled down to her knees, coughing harshly. Her grip on her mace loosened as her hands covered her mouth in attempt to keep herself from inhaling any further gas. Seeing their predicament, Superman turned to towards a wall, having the intent to break it down and free them from their trapped enclosure.
"Hang on Hawkgirl I'll- ARRGGGHHH!" As soon as the Man of Steel's hands came into contact with the wall he received a painful dose of high voltage for his trouble. Superman vision faded as he collapsed into unconsciousness with Hawkgirl soon following him.
XxX
Pamela's stance faltered as her mind tried to process the new rush of information. Naruto caught her so as to prevent the former eco terrorist from falling. "Urrgh, you didn't say how disorienting it would be." Pamela managed to breathe out.
Naruto had the decency to look sheepish as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry about that, haven't really had the opportunity to practice this particular skill."
Once Pamela got her bearings down Naruto gave her a questioning gaze. "So do you think it's possible?"
Pamela rubbed her chin in musing. "Well based on the memories you showed me and my own personal experience with the parasites I would say that there's a good possibility of recreating the nerve gas. Of course with a few new modifications added to it. I already have a particular plant in mind that seems to have an interesting effect on their biology, but I will need to modify it to where it won't have any negative side effects to humans in case any somehow come into contact with the gas."
Naruto practically beamed at the good news while Selina and Kelly both has lost puzzled looks with giant question marks overshadowing their heads.
"But-"Pamela interjected, cutting off Naruto's inner celebration. "-Without the proper tools, equipment, and a good conditioned lab, I have no way of testing or mass producing the gas."
Naruto threw a low curse under his breath, making sure that Kelly had not heard him swear. Just when things seemed to be going their way, another obstacle was thrown into their path. Naruto's musings were cut short when his senses spotted three targets to his side. Two of the objects in question he was familiar with but the third was an unknown. On reflex his wrist produced a kunai from his sleeve, in case the unknown turned out to be hostile.
Three figures emerged from the nearby alley; two were surprised by Naruto's presence while the oldest of the three eyes' narrowed seeing Naruto's weapon. "Hokage?" Barbara and Tim questioned.
"Sorry about that, didn't realize it was you guys." Naruto replied in a calm fashion, retracting his kunai from view. "Nice to see you two are doing relatively well considering the invasion and all.
Naruto's eyes briefly took in the appearance of the young man that stood beside both Barbara and Tim. Judging by the man's appearance, Naruto had guessed that this person must be the other addition of the Bat-family, former Robin now known as Nightwing.
As a show of good intention and faith, Naruto raised his hand in front of Dick, hoping to make a good first impression with the former Batman protégé. Dick momentarily hesitated but recalled the time Barbara and Tim told him of how he had helped save their lives in that incident with Ivy and Harvey at the warehouse. Gripping the shinobi's hand firmly, the masked hero gave a crisp nod to which Naruto gave a grin in return, though it went unseen thanks to his mask.
"Good to finally meet the mysterious hero from San Francisco. Batgirl and Robin had made good mention of you from their previous encounter with you." Dick smirked as he noticed the slight looks of embarrassment from his fellow friends who he considered his family.
Naruto chuckled in good humor. "Did they now?"
"Oh yes, especially Batgirl, she just wouldn't shut up about you for months." Said girl furiously blushed and spluttered, trying to deny that statement. "That's not true! Stop making stuff up?!" an embarrassed Barbara shouted, silently thanking for the fact that her mask covered her red tinted cheeks.
The group paused for a moment, looking at each other before falling into a small fit of laughter. The tension that had accumulated ever since the invasion was suddenly lifted off their shoulders. Even the timid Kelly showed an expression of happiness that had seemed to have left the child only a few moments prior. Naruto had a feeling that he would become great friends with Nightwing once the invasion was done and dealt with.
Once the laughter began to die down Dick spoke out to Naruto. "All jokes aside, I overheard some of your conversation with Pamela and I noticed your little predicament."
"Yeah, unfortunately we don't have the proper set up to recreate the nerve gas, so that idea was shut down." Naruto spoke in a slightly dejected voice, put off by the fact that his plan wouldn't work.
"Well…you're in luck cause I just so happen to have a spare lab not too far from here."
This got Naruto and Pamela's immediate attention. "You have a working lab with the proper materials we need?" the botanist questioned.
"It should have all the tools you need for your work, but you'll need to provide the plant for the nerve gas. It may not be as high quality as Batman's but it'll do for now." Truthfully Batman's lab was the more idle location for this sort of work, but knowing how paranoid the Dark Knight was when it came to outsiders, he would never consent to unknowns being let into the Batcave, especially when one of the outsiders was a former villain.
Naruto's good mood had elevated again, his mission hadn't been for not and things were starting to turn around, or so he thought. A burst of static invaded Naruto's ear where he had placed Batman's communication device. The Dark Knight's voice rang firmly through the earpiece, though Naruto's accurate hearing managed to pick out a touch of grim innervations.
"Batman to Hokage, do you read me? What's your status?"
Clicking the earpiece Naruto answered. "This is Hokage to Batman. Everything is good on my end. What's the situation on yours?"
"Diana, J'onn, and I have successfully infiltrated our assigned target, but I was separated from them when we tried to take the ion crystal that powers the factories." The Dark Knight paused with some suspension, as though he himself was still trying to cope with the words he was about to speak.
"J'onn has confirmed that Superman and Hawkgirl have been captured." All movement seemed to cease for Naruto as his mind tried to process what he'd heard. Out of all the heroes there, Naruto had the assumption that Superman would be one of the least likely to fail and get captured. It appeared that they had all grossly underestimated these alien's capabilities if they were able to capture those two.
After a moment's hesitation he replied. "Are you sure?"
"…Yes. Though J'onn says that they are still alive, though for what purpose I do not know." Some sense of relief washed over Naruto as there was still hope of rescuing the captured heroes.
"Though, there is some good news that has come from this. It seems that J'onn was right when he said that they were nocturnal creatures. They seem to react badly to UV rays, which explains why they are so adamant on blocking the sun from view. I'm heading back to my lab to work on the ion crystal that I've obtained. If I reverse its ion charge then I can change the field's polarity to clear the skies."
Naruto managed to smirk a bit. With the skies cleared of that waste and the recreated nerve gas, they now stood a much better chance of getting rid of the parasitic scum. "Alright, once I'm done over here lets rendezvous back in Metropolis. That's probably where everyone else has regrouped to."
"Meet you in 3 hours." Without another word the com-link was disconnected. Naruto sighed audibly, turning to see a collection of faces all looking at him expectantly with an expression that said explain. And so Naruto gave them a brief description of his conversion and his next plan of action. There was still much to be done.
XxX
~Kent Family Farm~
Kara sat at the front porch of her aunt and uncle's home, waiting for this whole ordeal to blow over. Her two icy teal orbs never leaving the site of the growing clouds that had begun to blanket the sky.
She recalled when the aliens had first attacked metropolis. Steel was fighting by her side, and together they managed to take quite a few of them out. Those Walkers had been somewhat of an issue as their energy beams hurt just as much if not even more than Livewire's volts of electricity. Fortunately they had one major weakness that she had been able to exploit. They relied heavily on the support of their long legs, so when one was destroyed they could easily lose balance and collapse on the spot.
After some hours of fighting Clark had come back from who knows where, and he had even brought some new company. A woman with two angel wings and a wicked looking mace flew in with him.
Kara had wondered where he had gone, but had no way of contacting him at the time. He had only given only a brief description of where he went off to but she understood the majority of it. With some argument, Clark had sent her back to Smallville to check on Jonathon and Martha back home to see if they were safe and sound.
Thankfully, the two who the young Argonian thought of as her aunt and uncle had been left unharmed. In fact all of Smallville had been relatively unscathed by the invasion. It seemed that their focus had been on assaulting the major cities and other important sites around the globe.
Repressing an urge to sigh, the young blonde continued to stare at the build-up of clouds in the distance; lost in her own reverie. "Clark mentioned that he teamed up with some other heroes to take down those factories. I wonder how their doing. Did they succeed…or…?" She shook her head, dismissing such a discouraging thought.
The creaking of wood could be heard as the front porches door opened. Jonathon and Martha stood in the doorway; both noticed how intensely Kara would look toward the sites of all the fighting and how anxious she looked.
"I know you're worried Kara, but we can trust our Clark to set things right." Kara's eyes gravitated towards her family, giving them small smile.
"You're right but I can't help but worry over everyone. Clark may have a team to back him up for this one but I still can't help but worry for their safety."
Martha gingerly sat next to Kara on the bench, giving the young hero a gentle and reassuring hand on the shoulder. "We just need to have faith in Clark and his team. I know that they'll solve this whole mess. He's never failed despite the odds before." She assured, though she herself worried for her adopted son's safety.
She and her husband had raised Clark practically his whole life as though he were their real son. Both loved him very much and would be distraught if anything were to happen to him. But both knew to have faith in their son, and believe that he would always return home safely.
Kara wordlessly nodded her head, leaning on the shoulder of her 'aunt'. Letting her mind begin to drift again the young Argonian couldn't help but wonder how a certain blonde haired shinobi was doing.
XxX
~Metropolis~
The shattering sound of breaking glass echoed as a pipe was smashed against a department stores window. A man greedily snatched the T.V. that was up on display. "I've always wanted one of these." The man snickered.
His friend by his side looked unsure and nervous. "Are you sure about this? What if we get caught?"
The man waved off his companion's concerns. "What difference does it make? The world's gonna end anyway." Taking a look around the two made a break for it before the authorities caught them.
Above the city's streets, Diana stood observing the people of Metropolis. Needless to say, Man's world was not giving her a good first impression. She was appalled by what she was witnessing. Many of the civilians were in a complete state of panic, vandalizing stores and shops, shoving others down in the ensuing chaos, spray painting words with "End of the World" on walls, and the occasional maniacal laughter from deranged and traumatized victims.
Diana couldn't help but be revolted by their actions. Instead of joining together to form a proper counter assault against their aggressors, they cowered, opting to cause harm to themselves. "Perhaps mother was right about Mankind. There nothing but untamed savages."
Martian Manhunter stood by her shaking his head slowly. "Do not judge them too harshly. They act out of fear." Diana looked unconvinced by the Martian's words but decided not to judge them so soon after her arrival in Man's world.
It was this moment that Lantern and Flash arrived to meet everyone at the arranged spot. "Sorry were late, had to help some civilians on the way here."
"What did you call us back for?" Flash asked in curiosity. He and John were planning on another attempt to destroy their assigned factory but then they received another mental message from J'onn, asking them to meet him and Diana in Metropolis.
Diana pointed toward the alien factory a few blocks away. "Superman's been captured. He's being held somewhere in there with Hawkgirl."
John sensed that something was amiss. Looking around he found no sign of Batman in the area. "What about Batman?"
Diana's eyes immediately saddened at the mention of the Dark Night. J'onn was the one to tell them of the grave news. "He acted heroically, to the very end."
Both Lantern and Flash were startled at the news. "The Bats gone?" Flash spoke in disbelief. Lantern walked to the ledge of the building, overseeing the site of the factory. "This is not good, definitely not good." He whispered to himself.
"What about the Hokage? How's he?" Flash suddenly asked, hoping that at least the shinobi was alright.
"Hokage is fine. He's still working on his mission so he was unable to meet us here." J'onn assured the speedster.
"In the mean time we should focus on rescuing Superman and Hawkgirl before it's too late." Diana suggested to which the others agreed on.
XxX
Naruto carried two cups of coffee in both hands, taking a short walk down the corridor. Pamela sat on a comfortable cushioned chair, grinding up the necessary plant materials needed to complete the nerve gas. Dick sat nearby on another station, looking through the lens of his microscope, observing the DNA of the parasitic aliens. The distinct smell of fresh caffeine infiltrated the botanist's senses. It was then she noticed that Naruto had entered the lab. Swiveling her chair around the botanist greeted the masked hero.
"Oh Hokage, I didn't notice you there." Pamela casually gestured him towards her. Naruto handed her one of the cups of coffee which she gingerly grasped in her hands. Swirling the contents around in a circular motion Pamela reveled in its sweet aroma. Satisfied with what she saw, she proceeded to taking a long drawn out sip, as did Dick who had taken the other cup of coffee.
"Mmm, just enough sugar and an extra boost of caffeine. Just what my body needed to keep myself going." Pamela thought in ecstasy.
Pamela gave a low moan when she started to feel the effects of the coffee's caffeine kick in. The day's events had really taken its toll on her. She didn't know how much longer she could have gone without some sort of stimulants to keep her body moving and alert. "Thank you Hokage. I really needed some caffeine in my system to keep myself awake." Pamela spoke with gratitude.
"Sorry about making you our errand boy and sending you off to fetch us some coffee." Dick added, feeling somewhat remorseful for sending him off on such a tedious task.
Naruto waved off Dick's apology. "No need for apologies. The least I can do to help you guys is to get some caffeine in your system to keep you guys awake. Besides, I was the one who asked this favor of you in the first place. So how is your progress anyway?"
Dick gestured his hand towards the microscope. "Actually we just perfected the nerve gas."
Naruto made a small sound of surprise. "Really? Already?"
Dick nodded in affirmation. "On normal circumstances this process would have taken much longer to accomplish but since we already had extensive knowledge on both the alien's anatomy and of the original nerve gas, we were able to replicate our own version. In fact this one may be even more effective."
Dick made a gesture towards the microscope. "Here, why don't you take a look for yourself?" Naruto eagerly grabbed a nearby chair and peered into the microscope's lens. Dick slid in a new glassware which contained a sample of the alien's DNA. Obtaining the DNA samples had been simple as many of their corpses littered the streets of Gotham. Applying the newly made nerve gas, turned into a liquid form, Naruto watched in fascination as the nerve gas violently attacked the alien's DNA as soon as the two substances came into contact.
In mere seconds the alien DNA stiffened and ceased all form of previous movement before changing into a sickly purple pigmentation. "W-wow" was all Naruto was able to say.
Dick smirked with a knowing look. "I know right. The color change occurs because of how toxic the gas is to their DNA. Very effective, judging by the DNA 's reaction when coming into contact with the gas."
"Thanks, both of you for doing this." Naruto thanked the both of them.
"No problem, though you owe me a massage later. My shoulders and back are so stiff, it's killing me." Pamlea paused as if remembering something. "Did you and Selina find Kelly's parents?" While she and Dick had been stuck in the lab working of the nerve gas, she had sent Kelly with Naruto and Selina in search of her missing parents.
"It took some time but after a little bit of searching we managed to find her parents among the other refugees in the city. Her parents send their regards and sincerest thanks for saving her by the way." Pamela leaned back in her chair, letting out a huge sigh of relief.
"Well that's good then. I'm glad she got to be reunited with her family." Naruto smiled to himself. He was glad that Pamela had made such progress compared to when he first met her. She had slowly begun transitioning back into society, having more interactions with humans. Now she seemed to have gained some humility and peace with herself.
Before any further conversation could continue, Naruto heard the familiar beeping of his communication device go off again. "Hokage here, Batman."
"I'm finished with the crystal and I'm on my way towards Metropolis."
"Alright, I'll be waiting when you get there." The blonde shinobi replied.
"Batman out." The device clicked off
Naruto looked at both Dick and Pamela. "Well looks like the nerve gas is going to get its first official test run because I need to leave now."
"Are you sure that's wise. Shouldn't we test it on a live subject first, before you go running off with it? However unlikely it is, there is that small possibility that the nerve gas turns out faulty." Pamela advised with worry.
Naruto gave her his reassuring eye smile. "Sometimes you need to learn how to run before you can crawl. Besides, I have my complete and utter faith in your abilities. This gas will without a doubt work just fine." Naruto's reflexes caught a satchel thrown his way by Dick.
"It's been loaded with explosive charges that have the nerve gas injected into them. You only have a handful in there, about a dozen or so, so make sure you make them count. This was all we could make with the amount of time we had. We'll mass produce more of the nerve gas while you're gone. Give 'em hell out there." Naruto nodded in gratitude.
It was then that Dick took notice of something that crossed his mind. "Hey Hokage, how exactly do you plan to get to Metropolis so soon? That's a good distance from here to Metropolis."
Naruto smirked devilishly behind his mask. Molding the necessary chakra, he let his senses stretch until he found what he was looking for. "Like this." As soon as the words left his mouth Naruto suddenly fazed out of existence; as though he were never there to begin with.
Dick was left there standing; mouth slightly agape in a mixture of both surprise and shock at the way the Hokage had seemingly vanished from sight. A low sigh came from Pamela. "He always has had a liking for the theatrics. Good luck out there Hokage. I have a feeling you'll need it."
XxX
~Metropolis~
The second Naruto materialized back to Metropolis via Hirashin (Flying Thunder God), Naruto followed Batman's chakra signal who he had found already waiting for the shinobi at the arranged spot.
"About time you showed. You have the completed nerve gas?" The Dark Knight questioned, skipping any formal greetings.
In response Naruto took out an inert charge from the satchel that Dick had given to him. Batman inspected the explosive charge from all angles, silently scanning the gas's readings from his portable personalized computer he had built in attached to his forearm.
"According to the readings the gas is specifically made to attack only the parasite's nerve cells, rendering them immobile before the after effects will settle in, destroying them from the inside." Nodding in satisfaction to himself the Dark Knight resumed his conversation with Naruto.
"I scouted the area before you arrived and it seems that the rest of the group have already gone on ahead to attempt and rescue Hawkgirl and Superman. Though, it's been some time and I haven't seen any activity yet.
Naruto frowned at this piece of news. "Hold on, maybe I can get a hold of J'onn to see how they're doing." Stretching out his senses, Naruto searched for J'onns chakra signal to establish some form of contact with the rest of the heroes.
Batman noticed the creasing of the Hokage's brows, signifying that he was currently frowning. "Any luck?"
Naruto shook his head in response. "I was unable to get in contact with J'onn, but the good news is that everyone is indeed inside the factory and alive."
The Dark Knight waited for the shinobi to continue, sensing a 'but' coming. "But it looks like they're not moving. Most likely that means that they're unconscious. They probably stumbled into a trap, same as Superman and Hawkgirl did."
"In that case we better get moving. Mind sparing a few of those charges?" Naruto nodded handing the Dark Night half a dozen or so of the explosive charges. "Between the two of us we only have about a dozen of these so use them only when you have to." Nodding stoically the two took off to the shadows, silently using their stealth tactics to infiltrate the factory without notice.
XxX
A muffled voice was heard off in the distance, calling his name. Slowly the Martian began to stir as he tried to shake out the cobwebs in his mind. Once he was fully awake the last Martian recalled the events of the gas room that caught him and the others off guard. He mentally berated himself for letting the parasites take advantage of his abilities, luring him and his comrades straight into a trap.
Turning his head to the side he was greeted to the sight of the real Superman whose arms and legs were anchored to the floor, as was his and the others who were still unconscious it seemed.
"J'onn, you shouldn't have risked your lives for us." The Man of Steel spoke somberly. He had tried in a failed attempt to break his bindings and free himself and Hawkgirl. Unfortunately for him, the parasite's clouds were still blocking off the sun's rays, so he was deprived from his main energy source. As of now he felt drained of most of his power, rendering him useless as he did not have his usual strength to release himself from these binds.
"Would you have done less for me?" the Martian retorted coolly.
A groaning sound could be heard from the Flash who was starting to regain consciousness, as were the others who shortly followed. "Urrghh, my aching head." The speedster groaned in pain.
One of the parasites took notice of the slowly awakening heroes, casually walking towards the platform above them. "Earth's mightiest heroes, welcome." It spoke in a slightly distorted voice which seemed to hold much amusement.
Its body began to morph, changing its fluid looking body into the familiar appearance of Senator J. Allan Carter. "Senator Carter." Superman spoke with disdain.
The presumptuous look on the Senator's face seemed to deepen as it he felt the growing anger emitting from Superman.
"Unfortunately the real Carter never returned from Mars nor will he ever." The fake Senator said in a taunting tone.
Superman grimaced. "And you used me to weaken Earth's defenses."
The fake Carter chuckled. "You were so eager to help cooperate. Thanks to you the humans were utterly helpless against us."
The Man of Steel growled lowly in defiance. "It's not over yet."
"Wrong again Superman." Pressing a switch on the control panel beside him, the ceiling's roof began to open, revealing the dark clouds that had completely covered the sky.
Through the opening a small aircraft shuttle descended. The now awakened heroes watched in silence, wondering what was coming. A group of the parasites gathered in a group, with the Carter impersonator in the lead. They all bowed lowly as the ship's bottom portion leaked smoke, creating an opening. "All hail the Imperium!"
Once the smoke cleared, it revealed a revolting sight to behold. A jellyfish shaped creature with long tentacle appendages slowly gravitated towards them. Its main body seemed to be filled with an endless dark material that swirled like the shadows of the night. Superman glanced at J'onn who was staring intently at the odd jellyfish being. Though, beyond the Martian's expressionless face, Superman could see a deep hatred in the Martian's eyes.
"J'onn J'onzz, it's been a long time." The jellyfish being greeted in a disembodied voice. Tentacle appendages beckoned in a forward motion, raising the floor where J'onn was still trapped in. J'onn's limbs were released from their hold as two guards jabbed electric amplified staffs into the Martian's backside. The Martian hollered in wretched pain as volts of electricity was sent coursing throughout his body, making him bend over to his knees and revert back to his original Martian form from the physical abuse.
"Much better. You have defied us for centuries." The ghostly jellyfish spoke in satisfaction from seeing the Martian in pain.
"And I shall never bow before you or any of your kind." J'onn mentally responded, standing back up in defiance.
"Then I will personally see to finishing what I should've accomplished long ago. The elimination of the last Martian." It remarked darkly, sending its tentacle appendages lunging forward. The rest of the heroes could only watch in horror as the tentacles ensnared themselves around J'onn's form, piercing into the Martian's flesh. They could even see the tentacles move around from beneath J'onn's green skin. J'onn continued to writhe in agony as his body was absorbed into the Imperium's bowels as though he were being eaten and digested.
Superman struggled against his binds as the volume of J'onn's screams seemed to intensify by each minute. "Let go of him you filthy…!"
"Yield to us J'onn J'onnz." The Imperium demanded.
"Never!" J'onn managed to shout back in between screams.
"Why do you continue to struggle? After all these years you have finally lost." Imperium questioned.
"Have I?" J'onn countered mysteriously.
Imperium paused in consternation at the Martian's words. "You're hiding something, deep in the recesses of your mind. Is this another one of your Martian tricks?!" Imperium questioned vehemently, attempting to pry out the answer from the Martian's mind. "What are you hiding from me?"
Sensing the Imperium getting closer into his mind, J'onn mentally signaled for the two in hiding to reveal themselves, as it was now the right moment. "Now!"
As soon as the signal was sent out, one of the bulbous containers that was connected to the ship's main systems exploded. Before anyone could hope to investigate the disturbance, a cry of "Katon: Kyodaina ryu-en-jutsu (Fire Style: Great Dragon Flame Technique) resounded throughout the room. Shortly after, a flamboyant streak of flames struck out of nowhere. The source of the flames originated from a giant ball of fire that took the shape of a dragon's head, bearing a feral looking face.
Flocks of the parasitic aliens tried to move out of its path, but many were unfortunate enough to have been struck by the full front of the devastating surprise attack. The Dragon shaped ball of fire exploded with a resounding boom, creating a decent sized trench in the ship's surface where it had struck. Once the dust and ash began to settle, two figures could be seen amongst the debris.
"Batman? Hokage?" Flash spoke out in surprise.
"It can't be. I thought for sure Batman had been killed back at the other factory." Diana commented in equal surprise.
"I mentally shielded both of them so they couldn't be detected!" J'onn grunted out as he struggled against the tentacle appendages with renewed vigor.
"Sorry were late everyone, traffic was a real bitch." Naruto grinned behind his mask, glad to see that everyone looked in relatively good condition. The young blonde's eyes wandered over to the Imperium. Naruto's eye twitched in disgust when he gazed at the Imperium's form."Urrggh, that's the Imperium? It looks like someone just hawked out a giant wad of phlegm. Oh, just great, now I can't get the image out of my head; yuck!" Naruto thought, suddenly feeling a sense of nausea.
Taking advantage of their broken ranks, Batman pulled out the ion crystal and shoved it into the material of the container in which had been softened thanks to the earlier explosive he had detonated on it. Once placed securely inside the altered ion crystal activated and began the process of what Batman had reconfigured it to do. The once blood orange container had now changed into a cool blue color, quickly spreading throughout the ship's systems.
"Destroy the crystal quickly!" Imperium ordered his followers who had now recuperated from the surprise attack. Batman and Naruto moved to avoid the barrage of fire that was sent their way. The energy beams deflected harmlessly off the surface of the crystal container.
"It's shielded!" the Carter impersonator shouted, having narrowly avoided the flaming ball of destruction.
Eventually the ion crystal had successfully spread throughout the ship's systems, shooting a pillar of light out of the gas vents at the top of the factory. The white-blue column of light pierced the clouds, dispersing them and revealing the warmth rays of the sun.
Rays of sunlight beamed down through the opened roof, forcing many of the parasites to flee out the sunlight's reach. Any parasite unlucky enough to be caught by the sunlight full force instantly began to evaporate, ending in a short but painful death.
Even the Imperium was not immune to this as it too suffered under the blaring rays of the sun. The top portion of its body began to sizzle and bubble up as if it was an egg being cooked under a frying pan. Having been weakened from the sun J'onn took this opportunity to burst through the bowels of the Imperium, grabbing hold of its tentacle appendages and forcing it out further into the deadly rays of the sun.
"You live underground and shun the light, why? Does it burn your pale putrid skin?!" J'onn mocked over the screeching voice of the Imperium.
Flash winced slightly as he witnessed the not so pretty sight of the Imperium being cooked alive. "Ooooh that's one nasty sunburn."
Naruto and Batman jumped down next to the rest of the still restricted heroes. "You set them free, I'll cover you." Naruto said getting a firm nod from the Dark Knight.
"Destroy them!" The Imperium managed to croak out in a panicked voice.
In a small burst of smoke, Naruto released his sword Megami no Ikari (Goddess's Wrath). "So you require my assistance again Naruto-sama?"
Naruto chuckled softly, "Yes, though this time you'll get a more thorough workout."
"Mmm, I do hope they provide us with adequate entertainment." Megami expressed with clear anticipation. Eternally Naruto sighed. Sometimes Megami's personality was at similar ends with Kurama's, at least when it came to their strong desire for battle. Though, that was where their similarities ended. Ironic as she may not have been created had Kurama not suggested they build a sentient sword, yet they were in constant disagreement. Often both would bicker with each other like an old married couple. On occasion it proved to be quite amusing for the young blonde, but there were times when the two just wouldn't shut up.
"It's somewhat frightening how similar you and Kurama act when it comes to fighting." Naruto commented to which the sentient sword gave a huff of indignation.
"Naruto-sama! How could you possibly compare me to that hairy brute of a fox? Please refrain from doing so again." Megami replied in a sickly sweet voice that sounded like a death sentence to Naruto, who knew full well what kind of bodily harm it could do to him.
"M-my apologies! I'm sorry I ever brought it up." Naruto quickly apologized. If there was one thing that Naruto found even scarier than Megami's lust for battle, it'd be her rage, which all women by nature seemed to have ingrained into their genetics. The blonde's time being practically man-handled and beaten like a ragdoll by both Sakura and Tsunade had taught him that lesson well. The sheer thought of being so brutally trounced by either women would always send a shiver down Naruto's spine.
Shaking off his discomforting thoughts, the shinobi turned his attention back to the matter at hand. Channeling chakra throughout his body, Naruto shot off like a bullet, intent on cutting down as many of the enemy as possible.
Raising his wrist to the side Naruto slashed in a horizontal motion. A second later two parasites had the unfortunate fate of being split in two from the waist. With wind charka infused into the blade, it only made it that more easy to cut into their lymphatic bodies.
Using his superior reflexes, Naruto wasted through the parasites ranks, though plenty more seemed to take the place for everyone he took out. Having given up trying to shoot the blonde shinobi from a ranged position with their rifles, the parasites attempted to overwhelm Naruto by encircling around him. This tactic proved useless as Naruto was more of an up close and personal kind of fighter to begin with.
"So they're trying to constrict my leg room eh?" Naruto smirked, letting the parasites get closer before he sprung his own trap. Throwing Megami in the air Naruto dropped down on his hands. "Konoha Gōriki Senpū! (Leaf Strong Whirlwind)"
Twisting his hands clockwise, the shinobi swung his charka enhanced legs around in a full 360 degree angle, bashing into the sides or temples of anyone unlucky or stupid enough to have gotten within close range. Many were either crushed from the powerful kicks or sent crashing into other allies and knocking them down with them.
Pushing off the ground back to his feet, Naruto deftly caught Megami in midair, before viscously stabbing the sword into the stomach of a fallen parasite. "Chidori Nagashi! (One Thousand Birds Current / Chidori Stream)." Naruto's robust voice boomed throughout the room.
XxX
The piercing discord of what sounded like … an insurmountable number of birds chirping resonated throughout the room, catching the attention of all its occupants.
Many of the heroes who were nearly all freed from their confinements had paused momentarily to witness what had caused such an unusual sound. Reactions varied from many forms of amazement as they bore witness to the Hokage's level of skill.
Diana stood wild-eyed, marveling at the beautiful display of skill that the Hokage showed in his movement. The Hokage's demonstration of sword skill had such fluidity, yet his attacks were carried out with an unpredictable movement that seemed to match his style consummately. Its elegance only amplified as streaks of electrical discharge flowed out of the Hokage's body, giving a painful looking shock to the multiple enemies that surrounded him.
Batman finished freeing the last of the heroes with his small hand held laser. As he watched the parasites that fell victim to the Hokage's electrifying assault stiffen and evaporate from the high voltage, the Dark Knight made sure to categorize yet another surprising ability under the others the blonde shinobi had shown as of so far.
With everyone now free of their confinements, the heroes sprang into action. Though, they all made sure to stay clear of the Imperium for now as they knew that J'onn would've preferred to be the one to end their long going war, and for what the Imperium's race had done to his people.
Flash would speed through their lines, causing them great confusion amongst their troops as they tried in vain attempt to fire at the speedster, only to hit one of their own. Hawkgirl soared high into the air, doing a mid-air back flip before descending upon a group of parasites who had the unfortunate fate of being thrashed viciously by the Thanagarian's electrified mace.
Having gained some of his strength back thanks to the now revealed sun, Superman pushed off into the air, flying straight through the interior of the ship. The holes that were created shined down more rays of sunlight which showed no pity of the shrieking parasites whom had been struck by the UV rays. After tossing a group of parasites that were tangled up by her lasso, Diana followed Superman's example, using her immense strength to sheer off the ship's plating with her bare hands. Lantern encompassed several parasites within a globe of green energy he had created, heaving them out of the ship through the holes made by Superman and Diana, where they would likely either die from the fall of such a height or burn in the sun.
Meanwhile J'onn and the Imperium were still in the mid-process of their prolonged tug of war match. Seeing his followers be defeated one by one, Imperium knew the tables had turned and that now would be his only chance of escape, with everyone distracted by their altercations. Through his tentacles the Imperium send a rush of voltage into the Martian's body, eliciting a pained cry from J'onn whose grip had loosed as he slipped into a semi-unconscious state.
Releasing his appendages from J'onn's prone form, the Imperium hastily began to levitate back into his personal shuttle for refuge from the sun and to escape. The Carter impersonator turned to see his master, who he had sworn his allegiance to abandon him and his people, much to his shock. Disregarding his fellow troops and leaving them to fend for themselves, the Carter impersonator rushed toward Imperium, jumping to latch onto the jellyfish's dangling appendages.
"Imperium!" the Carter impersonator cried in desperation, not wanting to be left behind for the slaughter.
"Unhand me worm!" The Imperium spat out vehemently, flinging off the panicked Carter, sending him to his doom.
Diana and Hawkgirl took notice of the Imperium who was attempting to escape back to his main battle ship with his personal shuttle and moved to intercept him. To their surprise they were stopped in their tracks by Naruto who held his arm out in a stopping gesture.
"What are you doing Hokage? The Imperium is escaping!" Diana shouted with a questioning tone, while Hawkgirl looked rather annoyed by the blonde's interference.
"Just wait, he's not going anywhere. I left him a little present in his shuttle before me and Batman arrived. In fact we also left a few more gifts along the way here." Naruto said with a hidden smirk on his face. The two female heroes shared an uneasy look but relented, putting their faith in the young shinobi.
Naruto turned and called out to Batman who was nearby. "Hey Bats, you mind setting off the fireworks?" The Dark Knight allowed an uncharacteristically small smirk to cross his features before pulling out a detonator and pressing the trigger, "Gladly" was all he said.
Just as the Imperium's shuttle was nearly within the safe confines of the Mothership, loud booms could be heard going off throughout the shuttle, rocking the entire aircraft. Explosions burst through the shuttle's hull, leaking out gas from the newly created holes. The damage done to the shuttle was so extensive that it was unable to stay airborne. Quickly losing altitude the Imperium's shuttle came crashing down.
Anyone who took notice of the falling shuttle, made sure to avoid being crushed by the descending wreckage. The shuttle eventually smashed into the ceiling of the factory, easily breaking through from the sheer force and weight. It continued to fall, all the while smashing through many of the factory's support structure that held the building in place.
The entire factory began to quake from the strain that resulted from all the destruction and the other explosive charges that Naruto and Batman has set off within the factory. "We need to get out of here!" Flash shouted to the others.
"Not before we save them." Superman replied back, gesturing to the people still trapped in several pods to the side. They were most likely the people who the parasites had abducted to assume their identities.
Hawkgirl glided towards Superman and Flash who were taking care of the unconscious civilians, careful to avoid the falling objects from the ceiling. "The whole place is gonna blow!"
Once everyone had gathered Lantern scooped the group of civilians in a sphere of his ring's energy. Diana, Superman, and J'onn had carried the heroes who were incapable of flying. Together, everyone managed to escape the collapsing building safely. Any alien who had somehow managed to survive the explosion were affected by the nerve gas that had spread throughout the area of the factory's site.
The gathered heroes watched as the burning factory exploded, the Mothership hovering high overhead in the skies, making its escape until it was no longer within sight. With most of their forces all but destroyed, it was highly unlikely that they'd be coming back anytime soon to attack Earth again. The dark clouds continued to disperse, giving more room for the sun to shine down on the city of Metropolis. At last the invasion was over.
End
XxX
I hope you all enjoyed this extra-long chapter. If you any questions feel free to either review or pm me. Also, I wish to ask for any advice you lovely readers can provide me, specifically in the area of how well I'm doing and what areas that I could use any improvement in. Things like personifying a specific character or even suggestion for the story are all welcomed. Thanks again and feel free to review. Till next time ^_^