I do not own DC or Naruto.
Denial and Loss
New Orleans; July 27th; 9:57PM
The full-moon brightened the city as a single man strutted down the ages-old brick roads with nothing but his cane and his pocket watch which he pulled from his jacket to check the time but, also to stare at the picture of the woman on the inside of the watch.
He strolled along the road until he came across a Psychic's shop named Madam Xanadu; he rolled his eyes with a smile and stepped in through the door. Once inside the room was dark and ominous appearing with candles lit over human skulls, and a doorway with beads as the entrance hung shadowing the inside.
The man took the nearest seat at the nearest table draped in all crimson red table-cloths and upholstery; the table-cloth hung down reaching the ground as the man dusted his black and white suit off before sitting down.
A young woman, looking to be in her late-twenties stepped through the beaded entrance, "Bonjour monsieur, how can Madam Xanadu be of service?" She had glitter splattered under her eyes and jewels bedazzled to her forehead; the old man sighed loudly, "Ah, there is someone with whom you wish to speak? Your wife?"
He tightened his grip on his pocket watch and responded, "Yes, my Enza," the woman smiled coyly and sat down at the table across from him.
"Than the Madam will help you make contact," she winced, "If fate be kind…"
He rolled his eyes and sighed depressingly, "And yet he so rarely is," they sat in silence for a moment before she mockingly cleared her throat opening her palm towards him.
"Oh," he remembered, "Of course," pulling a wad of bills from his jacket-pocket and handing them over to her.
As she tucked them in-between her breasts and smiled once again closing her eyes and appearing to focus intensely; the lights dimmed, the table lifted, the chandelier above rocked back and forth as Xanadu's hair began floating around her, however; the man was completely unimpressed.
"Oh, my darling!" Xanadu spoke in a hum, "How I've missed you! I'm so lonely here, it's so col-"
The Madam was cut off by the man cracking up in uncontrollable laughter as he slapped his knee; everything being effected stopped immediately, "Imbecile! The spell has been broken! Your wife is forever lost!"
The man stood and scoffed grabbing hold of his can for support, "That was supposed the be my wife; heck, my little spitfire would kick me in the ass for spending money on a fake like you."
Madam Xanadu gasped in offence pushing her chair out and standing, "No refunds for non-believers!"
He smiled coyly, "I think we both know who the non-believer here is, Madam," he reached out and grabbed the table-cloth where from underneath the table hydraulics could be seen, "Wind machine, tire-jacks under the table, what a shame too, you have the perfect aura for the work and nothing would have pleased me more than to be reunited with my bride."
He barely turned around before a burly, buff, Italian man with long slicked back black hair grabbed the old man by his collar, "You will join her soon enough, Doctor Fate!"
They vanished in a flash of blinding light as Madam Xanadu ran through the beads and taking off into the back room; unbeknownst to anyone, the old man's cane stood up right on its own and flashed a golden light before vanishing itself.
…
Mount Justice; August 19th; 7:39PM
The sun was setting over the massive Mountain as inside the young heroes trained for their next unexpected mission; Sasuke was on one side of the ring while Superboy and Kaldur stood on the other. Sasuke was shirtless with tight-flexible pants, Superboy and Kaldur were in their normal attire; on the side-lines stood M'gaan, Artemis, Wally, and Naruto in their civilian clothes either eating junk food or watching the fights.
"Initiate combat training; 3, 2, 1."
Sasuke looked up at them with his three tomoe Sharingan and waited as the two approached with their hands up; Superboy leapt first throwing the first punch but had his wrist caught when Sasuke turned his body, Kaldur swung in for a powerful right jab but, the shinobi used the Kryptonian's wrist to move him in front of the jab before kneeing Superboy in the gut and ducking under a right-swing from Kaldur.
During the fight Artemis leaned towards M'gaan, "Superboy is nice don't ya think? Handsome, mysterious; you should totally ask him out," She nudged M'gaan playfully as she giggled in response.
"No way; he's like a big brother to me!" She smiled and looked towards the smiling shinobi as he took two of the strongest on their team at once, "But, you know who would make the cutest couple? You and Wally!"
Artemis looked over at the speedster boy crunching down on a burrito with meat slipping from his mouth, "I have standards unfortunately, plus I come with a lot of baggage."
"Family issues?"
"You could say that; being with me would be complicated for anyone," Artemis noted looking down as M'gaan cleared her throat.
"Not for everyone…" She jabbed a thumb over at the fight as it continued.
Moving his foot up, Sasuke kicked Superboy into Kaldur knocking them both on their backs and as the control center analyzed the results.
"Fail: Aqualad, Superboy."
Sasuke huffed and deactivated his Sharingan and turned his head looking over at Naruto, "Well?"
Naruto didn't look up from his book, "Doing great!" He gave a thumb up without taking his eyes off the text.
"Ugh," Sasuke spat, "You weren't even looking that time!"
"If I looked every single time; it wouldn't be special when you succeed," Naruto's logic was less than sound as this training would never get him to the Honored Sage Mode.
"So, what's on the list after I master Sage Mode?" Sasuke asked walking towards Naruto and blocking the Cave's light from Naruto's book with his head.
"I was meaning to tell you; from now on you're gonna be wearing these around," He made a quick hand sign and placed his hands on the ground where four sets of weighted-bands appeared in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke raised his brow, "No… No way!"
"They're only like five tons each!" Naruto pleaded as he stood up and Sasuke looked back at the weights; "If you want to have any chance at opening even one of the Eight Gates you'll need to spend a long while wearing these first," he grabbed hold of the weights and lifted them towards the shinobi whom rolled his eyes.
"Fine," he grabbed them and began strapping them on his wrists and ankles, "And these will make me faster? And stronger?"
"Over time…"
Artemis and M'gaan approached them both, "What're you two up to?" the Martian asked innocently.
Sasuke motioned to the weights on his body; small ankle and wrist bands made of steel each weighing far more than the average weight-lifter. Artemis coyly smiled, "I can see the improvement is paying off…" she stared at his eight-pack for several seconds before looking away, "No one heard that… that didn't happen," she walked off immediately not making eye contact as Naruto smiled up at M'gaan.
"How've you been adjusting?"
M'gaan watched as Naruto closed his book and stood to make eye contact with the her, "Well, ya know, as well as things can go I guess. But, I really feel like I have a place on this team which is always nice!"
Naruto smiled looking at Sasuke whom didn't see him, "Yea, feeling like a part of a team is a really good feeling," He watched as Sasuke stood up and adjusted to the new weight, punching the air rapidly, still managing fists beyond sound-speeds.
"I can feel it slowing me down; I could use the work out," Sasuke frowned and looked back to Naruto, "How long until I upgrade to heavier weights?"
"Two weeks with each set of weights; only take them off for emergencies," Naruto smiled and Sasuke rolled his eyes as they both reminisced on Gai and Rock Lee.
Suddenly, Superboy stuck his foot out and tripped Aqualad until he hit the ground back-first, "Fail: Aqualad."
"Black Canary taught me that one," he stated as he helped Kaldur to his feet.
Red Tornado came spinning down in a whirlwind from his 'apartment' in the upper quarters of the Cave; Kid immediately dashed over to him having already downed his burrito, "Do you have a mission for us?"
Tornado turned to him stoically responding, "Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," he began walking before being stopped once again by the speedster stepping in front of him.
"Yea, well, The Batman is with The Robin and The Batgirl doing the dynamic trio thing in Gotham but," Wally got slick with his tongue approaching closer, "But, you're off somewhere aren't you? Hot date? Maybe a mission?" he poked the android's chest as it processed what he had asked.
Sasuke walked forwards adjusting his wrist weights, "If we can help, that is," he stretched his shoulder and focused on the android as it paused.
It took several seconds but, Red Tornado turned around and brought up a holoscreen image of an old man in a classy tuxedo; the same man from earlier in New Orleans, "This is Kent Nelson, a friend," the android began as the image also displayed his height, weight, age and other basic information's, "He is 106 years old."
Wally chuckled, "Guy doesn't look a day over 80," nudging towards M'gaan whom only slightly smiled back at him.
"And he has been missing for 23 days; Kent was a charter member of the original Justice Society, the precursor to your mentors Justice League."
Aqualad slipped his armor back over his chest and tightened it, "Of course! Kent was Earth's Sorcerer Supreme! Doctor Fate!"
Wally scoffed, "More like Doctor Fake, guy knows a little advanced science and Dumbledore's it up to scare the villains and impress the babes," he tried whispering but, everyone heard him.
"Actual magic? Never seen that in my dimension; I'd say its just a load of-"
Naruto smiled as he passed them all and closed up his small book once again, "Don't disregard something just because you can't see it; even eyes like ours…" He smiled and turned back to them with his Mangekyou spinning, "Can be deceiving," his entire body spun and warped until he vanished completely into the Kamui dimension.
M'gaan blinked for a moment, "Mysterious enough for me…" She whispered as Red Tornado turned back to the team.
"Kent may be on one of his… walkabouts," He paused before continuing, "But, he is care taker to the helmet of Fate, the source of the doctor's mystic might and it is unwise to leave such power unguarded."
"He's like the great sorcerer priests and priestesses of Mars; I'd be honored to help find him!" M'gaan announced as everyone smiled in agreement aside from Wally who shot his hand up in the air at super-speeds.
"Me too!" he shouted catching everyone's attention but, mostly annoyed glares sent his way, "So honored I can barely stand it…"
Silence erupted from the room as the obvious attempt to relate to M'gaan was down-right sad; Red Tornado whom obviously was unfazed by the tension or stupidity so instead he held a key out in his hand, "Take this, it is the key to the Tower of Fate," Sasuke grabbed hold of the golden key with strange inscriptions on it.
Wally got closer to M'gaan and nudged her shoulder, "What are the chances that we both so admire the mystic arts?" He tried acting smooth but, the Martian girl just flashed a creeped smile as Sasuke slapped him upside the head on the way towards the exit causing Artemis to giggle as the team followed him.
…
The flight in the Bio-Ship was short but, silent; Sasuke looked down at the GPS map and back to the area they were landing, "These are the coordinates but…"
Superboy folded his arms looking at the area with his super-vision, "Nothings there!"
Sasuke sighed and motioned to M'gaan, "Take us down."
Meanwhile, a small ally-cat with a red color licked itself and looked directly at the Bio-Ship as if its camouflage did nothing; it growled before hopping through the window of an abandoned building.
…
Wally sped to a halt in front of Artemis as he scoffed, "Nothing; this isn't simple camouflage," he noted looking out into the large, empty field.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, evolving quickly as his iris' spun quickly from Sharingan to Mangekyou, and finally his left eye shifted into a Rinnegan with six black-tomoe; he glared out into the field looking left and right, "I can't see a thing, not even chakra signatures…"
Artemis folded her arms and sighed, "So, what do you think? Adaptive micro-opto electronics combined with phase shifting?"
Sasuke sighed casually as he stepped passed them, "I'd be able to see through all of that with my Rinnegan; something else is at play here," he held the key up staring at it with his enhanced eyes and noting it as a normal, basic key.
Kaldur placed a hand on his shoulder and grabbed the key from Sasuke's grasp, "Perhaps, a leap of faith…" he trailed off as he stuck the key out in midair and turned it.
The shock was overwhelming as the turn of the key completely revealed a 500-foot-tall tower resembling the Washington Monument in the center of the field. Sasuke backed away, surprised that his eyes couldn't see through this.
M'gaan gulped, "Guys, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore…" the door swung open wide allowing entrance to the entire team.
…
Once inside they all piled into a relatively small room which was dark and ancient; "Uh, where'd the door go?" Superboy asked.
Suddenly, and nearly giving Wally a heart-attack, a hologram appeared in the form of Kent Nelson himself, "Greetings, you have entered with a key but, the Tower does not recognize you; please state your purpose and intent."
They all looked at each other momentarily before Sasuke cleared his throat but, before he could speak, Wally jumped in front of him glancing at M'gaan as he did so, "We are true believers! Here to find Doctor Fate!"
The hologram frowned, clearly the wrong answer was given, the hologram vanished and the ground beneath the opened up revealing a pit of lava several dozen feet below them. They all fell as Sasuke immediately grabbed Artemis by the collar of her shirt and launched a string-tied kunai to the side wall causing him to swing and slam his feet into the wall. M'gaan grabbed Wally by his armpits and managed to stay a-float above the smoldering pit; Superboy grabbed Kaldur's arm before digging his remaining fingers and feet into the wall only narrowly evading the pit.
"Losing altitude; too hot in here," M'gaan noted wiping her forehead and attempting to flying upwards but, only slipping further down.
"You sure are, babe," Wally said quickly as M'gaan ignored him.
"WALLY!" His entire Team aside from M'gaan and Kaldur shouted in unison as he tried to defend himself.
"If I'm about to roast alive, I have the right to speak my mind!"
M'gaan suddenly lit up with understanding, "Wait! We never truly answered the question!"
Sasuke's eyes widened as his kunai slipped from the rock slightly, "Red Tornado sent us to see if Kent Nelson was safe; to ensure the Helmet was safe!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he was about to use it to save himself but, before he could the lava-pit closed up allowing them all to safely land on the bottom of the pit.
…
Kent was shackled by the wrists and shoved forwards towards the Tower entrance as it opened automatically for him; they stepped inside to find a long hall with a room at the end.
"The Tower won't appreciate trespassers," Kent sang before his captor waved a wand at him.
"Mute," he stated as a collar flung to his neck and beeped to life cutting off his vocal-cords.
The boy next to him silently pet the same ally-cat that had been seen earlier, he said and made no expressions but, his devilish eyes and pointed hair could only reasonably mean trouble.
They entered the room with a long painting of a beautiful woman, from her attire, the painting looked several decades old but, Kent smiled at it none-the-less.
A hologram of Kent appeared before them just as it had for the Team only this time it recognized Kent, "Evening Kent, how unlike you to bring guests into the Tower," he raised a brow as if expecting an answer.
The collar around Kent's neck mimicked his voice perfectly, "My friends… have come… to help me," the hologram vanishing as the painting opened up revealing a massive room of staircases moving in every direction, up, down, horizontal, vertical; it was a literal maze as wide as the eye could see.
…
Kaldur immediately felt the stone-cold floor as he landed, placing his fingers to the ground he raised a brow, "This platform, it should be red-hot and yet, it is cool to the touch."
"Don't worry Mega-liscious, I've got you-" Wally wrapped an arm around the Martian's shoulder just as Artemis snapped completely.
"Enough!" She shouted grabbing the speedster by the collar of his shirt and pushing him against the wall as they all watched her explode, "Your little 'impress Megan at all costs game' nearly just got us all barbequed! How could you be so fucking dense?"
Wally grabbed her wrist and pushed slightly separating them, "Since when did this become my fault?"
Artemis slapped his hand off of hers with a growl, "When you lied to whatever that thing was and called yourself a true believer!"
M'gaan raised a brow, "Wally… you don't believe in sorcery?"
The entire team stared him down for several seconds before he finally exploded, "Fine! Yes! I lied about believing in magic, but magic is the real lie! A major load of shit!"
Kaldur sighed looking up from the platform, "Wally, I studied at the Conservatory of Sorcery in Atlantis; the mystic arts is what created the skin-icons that power my water-bearers."
"Ever hear of bio-electricity? Your entire species is a mutation in the human genetic code evolved to live underwater; Hey! At some point, fire was considered magic of the highest degree!"
Sasuke sighed and pushed Wally by the shoulders, "Other than almost getting us killed for a stupid date," he glared at the speedster, "I agree with Wally; magic is just some form of science we don't understand yet."
Artemis scoffed, "You, of all people, don't believe in magic?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes as they shifted back into his regular onyx iris, "I've seen God's who can bend space with their punches and warp reality like it was made of tin-foil; that doesn't make them magical."
"Different Universe, different laws of physics," Artemis argued, "Or lack thereof."
Kaldur smiled at the two, "Let us test that theory…" he reached for a handle to what looked like a hatch in the platform.
Wally's eyes widened, "Wait, the back draft from the lava will roast us…" as Kaldur pulled open the hatch, white specks flew by them as a cold rush of air breezed through the trench, "Alive?"
M'gaan reached out and felt the drops, "It's snow!"
Artemis chuckled, "Do you ever get tired of being wrong?" She hopped through the hatch and landed on her feet in a wasteland of snow and ice, one by one they all entered the hatch looking out at the mountains in the distance.
"So, science boys, how do you explain this?" Artemis asked as Sasuke barely even looked at her passing her and focusing in on the distance.
"Pocket dimension; I've seen this too where I'm from, small areas of time and space separated by a thin line of reality," Sasuke allowed his eyes to shift into its three tomoe state where he examined the outline of the area in-depth, "That's how I got here, duh."
Artemis grunted in frustration as everyone scoffed at their disbelief until Sasuke pointed out at something approaching it, "What's this?"
Wally chuckled as Artemis and Sasuke moved towards it, "Maybe its Nelson's magic-wand," he sarcastically chided as they both grabbed hold of the wooden cane with its glowing golden handle.
"I got it," They stated in unison as the cane shun brightly causing the others to cover their eyes, "Ugh, I can't let go!" the cane exploded with energy teleporting the two away as well as the others were left to ponder what had just happened.
…
"Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?" the boy petting his orange tom-cat continued to childishly repeat himself to the larger man's annoyance.
They had been walking for nearly half-an-hour before the Italian man finally grabbed Kent's shoulder and pointed his wand at him, "Tell us where to find the Helmet, now!"
Kent smiled coyly looking down at his neck-brace; the man rolled his eyes in annoyance ripping the device off and pushing the old-man to the ground.
He coughed before looking up at him, "Cant. Having too much fun," his smile faded as the man's wand sent a surge of electricity into Kent's chest causing him to spaz and grind his teeth in agony, "Still having fun?"
The boy smiled and the feline purred, "I am! Zap again! OH or tip him off the edge and watch him splat!"
Abracadabra prepared to push the old-man when his cat let out a loud 'meow' reminding the boy of something, "Yea, yea; I guess you're right we may still need him."
…
Kaldur, Superboy, and M'gaan walked through the snow simply looking for any sign of where they were or possibly a way out.
M'gaan simply sighed, "I don't understand Sasuke; it's almost as though he needs to believe the impossible can't happen without an explanation."
Superboy sneered, "Same for Wally, for guys who can do what they do? It's weird to learn he doesn't believe in stuff like magic."
Kaldur cleared his throat, "They use their understanding of science to explain what they cannot hope to comprehend; to acknowledge the existence of magic would be to relinquish that last vestige of control…"
Wally kicked the snow in frustration, "You all realize I'm right here!"
Suddenly, a door opened in the distance leading to an unknown room but, it was better than a wasteland so, they decided to take a leap of faith.
…
Sasuke and Artemis appeared with Kent's cane in hand; Kent looked down from a platform above them, "Well, would ya look at that?" he mumbled to himself as the staff began glowing and his body followed its example allowing him to float into the air and rush towards the two teens. Kent grabbed his staff and the ropes binding him melted away in seconds, "Hello there," he greeted them as Sasuke looked back up at the captors.
As he landed, the witch-boy became angry, "Get me that helmet!" He shouted in childish envy as Abracadabra moved to follow them.
"In here," Kent announced as his cane's golden energy revealed an elevator door for them to take cover in as bolts of electricity rained down around them. They piled into the elevator as it closed its doors and began its decent, "I'm Kent Nelson by the way," he stated as a slow-chime played in the background.
"Obviously," Sasuke chided nonchalantly as Artemis elbowed him in the gut, the shinobi only sneered at her action.
"My name is Artemis, Mr. Manners here is Sasuke," They greeted each other casually as Kent began to explain.
"Well, Artemis, we're up against a powerful force of mystical nature here," he stated calmly as the dial on the elevator continued up into the double-digits.
"Who? the guy who looks like a Houdini rip off? Pretty sure Flash outted him as a fake using future tech to mimic magic," Artemis folded her arms as Kent smiled.
"Right you are!"
"She is?"
"I am?"
Kent turned towards them, "That Abracadabra is a charlatan, however; Klarion? The boy with the cat? He's an actual Lord of Chaos and one of the most powerful forces of mystic energy known to the Universe."
Sasuke chuckled, "The kid? With the stupid cat? You're joking, right?"
"Wish I was, kid, entities like Klarion are mortal enemies to Lords of Order like Doctor Fate," The elevator door dinged as they approached the top floor.
Sasuke scoffed obviously, "Right, you're a Lord of Order," he turned his head in disbelief as Kent corrected him.
"Me? No, I'm no mystic champion; I'm just an old coat Fate puts on from time to time," he watched as the dial reached the top floor, "And I believe this weather calls for a coat."
The doors slid open with a loud ding ringing through the room, they stepped out of the elevator and onto the roof of the Tower where a single object floated ominously.
"Klarion is after the Helmet and if he gets his sticky little hands on it he'll turn the entire planet into his personal playground of pandemonium," Kent reached for the Helmet before being blasted in the chest by a crimson beam of mystic energy sending him back into Artemis' arms.
"Mr. Nelson!" She shouted as Sasuke got between them and stepped forwards, adjusting his wrist-weights slightly.
"Oh, so you stick your attack dog Uchiha on me, huh?" Klarion allowed two bright crimson flames to ignite in the palms of his hands.
"So, you know who I am? I'm just wondering why you aren't more afraid of me," Sasuke allowed his Sharingan to evolve itself into the Mangekyou Sharingan which flashed in both of his pupils.
"I'm only afraid of one Uchiha and it's certainly not you!" He launched his orb of fire as Sasuke quickly formed a Rasengan in his palm and met the mystic attack dispersing it completely.
Kent pulled himself up, using his cane to prop himself up properly, "Certe toto sentio nos in kansate non iam!" He slammed his cane down and a bubble of golden mystic energy engulfed all three of them including the helmet.
"NO!" Klarion shouted enraged.
Sasuke looked back and forth between the enemy and the dying man in front of them, "The bubble will give you just enough time to do what you have to do…"
"And what's that supposed to mean! Put on a stupid helmet? That won't save us!"
Kent smiled switching his gaze back and forth between Artemis and Sasuke, "Have faith in what you can't explain," he spoke weakly between dying breaths as a tear slipped down Artemis' cheek slowly, "Accept what you can no longer… deny…" he trailed off as his pocket watch slowly dropped to his side with a picture of his beloved wife flashing out. His bod collapsed to the ground and Artemis felt his neck and looked up at the shinobi, shaking her head.
Sasuke tightened his fist as Klarion raged behind the bubble, "GIVE ME THAT HELMET! I WANT IT! I WANT IT! I WANT IT!" Launching massive orbs of crimson flames into the bubble which didn't wave, although; the cane that cast the spell began to disintegrate.
Sasuke looked at the helmet one last time before approaching it, "What're you doing!?" Artemis shouted still holding Kent's body.
"Taking a leap of faith," he mumbled as he lifted the helmet above his head.
"Hey, dumb kid!" Klarion shouted as demonic-symbols appeared surrounding him as he summoned massive claws that dug into the bubble, "You put that helmet on and you may never get it off!"
Sasuke glared at him for only a single second longer before slipping the helmet over his head and eyes and suddenly, everything went dark.
…
Sasuke was in a dark room with only a single light illuminating him, he looked around and sighed trying to make things understandable, "Maybe I'm in my mindscape, or maybe…"
"You still don't believe? Jeez, how did someone as powerful as you get so bullheaded in 17 short years?" The voice of Kent Nelson echoed through the room as Sasuke turned around.
"You?" Sasuke asked backing away slightly, "But you're…"
Nelson chuckled in response as he stepped into the light, "As a doorknob; but don't feel bad, as soon as this little bruhaha is over my spirit will ascend and I'll finally be reunited with my Enza."
"And so, Fate is fighting in my body?" Sasuke looked into the distance and could see Klarion blasting away at Fate as he fought back decently.
"Why don't I take control? With my Kekki Genkai and his magic we could-"
Kent stepped forwards watching the fight himself, "Sorry kid, doesn't work that way."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in anger, "It does for me."
Nelson raised a brow and stepped back, "What're you going to-"
Sasuke allowed his Rinnegan to appear and spin rapidly as he concentrated his chakra into his pinwheel-atomic eye; both of his eyes surged as blood came streaming from his tear-ducts, "Kotoamatsukami!" A massive surge of mental energy exploded and expanded across the entire helmet.
…
Doctor Fate created a golden ankh in front of himself to defend against a pillar of hell-fire; he was on the ground with Klarion having the clear advantage, he swiped his hands outwards and with a mystical burst he dispersed the demon boys attack.
"Your battle is pointless!" Nabu stated boldly, "You sought to acquire the Helmet before it found a host but, you've failed!" He sent a beam of golden energy which was deflected by a crimson shield.
"Shut it, you old fart!" Klarion manipulated the matter of the concrete roof sending two pillars of concrete into Fate slamming into him but exploding on contact with his aura.
"Insolent brat!" Fate fired a beam of energy at Klarion hitting and disintegrating him completely.
Suddenly, Fate clenched his head, his black eyes became completely overwhelmed by the Rinnegan and Mangekyou over powering his mind; Sasuke blinked for a moment looking down at his costume, "I hate capes," he stated boldly as Klarion reformed in front of him piece by piece.
"You took over Nabu? Maybe Madara was short on the details when he talked about you!" Klarion sent a beam of crimson magic directly at Sasuke whom prepared to defend by blocking his chest but, a golden ankh appeared to obscure the blast instead.
"Nice, let's see if this works," He flashed his Mangekyou Sharingan and stared directly at Klarion whom smiled, "Amaterasu!" the black flames made a bee line for the demon boy but, hit nothing but a crimson shield.
Sasuke backed up and flew into the air firing golden energy bullets from above at a defending Klarion, "Why are you running away, Uchiha?"
Sasuke grunted and flew downwards firing a beam directly at the ground creating a small amount of smoke and ash covering the area; Suddenly, Sasuke appeared and headbutted Klarion quick and painfully as the metal sent him back holding his forehead, "Cheater!" His eyes flashed blood red and his fists became engulfed by a red flame-like energy that expanded several feet into the air creating massive claws.
Fate landed on the ground and focused his energy through his Mangekyou; a purple aura enveloped him surrounding and mixing with the golden mystic energy but, forming something odd. A purple energy became solid in the shape of a skeletal ribcage, it extended just as a human would with four total bones on either side; shoulder bones began to appear as arms formed quickly becoming full on skeletal fists.
"Witness the true power of an Uchiha; The Susanoo!"
These purple chakra appendages moved autonomously with just a single thought from Sasuke's mind; Fate stood passively as he approached Klarion with his Susanoo ready to brawl.
The two pairs of energy-based limbs clash as Sasuke stood his ground and Klarion attempted push against the shinobi sorcerer; "What do you know about Madara Uchiha!?"
"You won't figure it out until it's far too late!"
Sasuke used his actual hands to form an ankh-shaped symbol and fired a beam of golden energy directly into the demon's chest pushing him off his feet, tumbling to a halt.
"I've had enough of this stupid game; I'm gonna get that helmet if I have to rip it off your stupid head!" Klarion stood to his feet in a rage and held his palms out forming crimson energy in between them, cackling with dark magic energy.
Sasuke said nothing as he formed an orb of golden energy between his palms, he then spun blue chakra around that energy forming a Rasenshuriken around the mystical energy causing golden sparks to fly across the blades as they spun.
"Fate Style: Mystic Rasenshuriken!"
Klarion unleashed his blast all at once shouting, "Demon Bomb!" and the two forces of unimaginable raw energy collided at speeds faster than light. The Rasenshuriken cut straight through the witch-boys beam slamming into him physically, "Damn it!" he shouted as the Rasenshuriken slashed through his physical body before detonating in his face with an explosion of blue and yellow energy.
Klarion exited from a portal on the other side of the roof top, he was bleeding and nearly broken completely, "Jeez, I kill one stupid geezer and all of you get your panties in a twist!" Klarion quickly teleported away as Fate fired a beam of golden energy that narrowly missed him.
Klarion reappeared in another corner as Sasuke approached him, both of his intense eyes fully visible behind the helmet; "Fine keep the stupid helmet, who needs it!" Klarion launched a massive fireball in Sasuke's direction, easily deflecting it and swatting it away. By the time he looked back to his enemy, the battle field was empty.
Artemis left Kent's side, gently placing his head on the ground before approaching Sasuke who stared out into the stars, "This power; I have full control over it…" he stared down at his hands, "With my powers combined with Fate's? Madara wouldn't stand a chance…"
…
"I know what you're thinking kid but, don't get ahead of yourself," Kent Nelson spoke up inside the helmet, "You either keep the helmet on or you take it off now, you may have blindsided Nabu but, you try and put this helmet on again and you'll be in a hell of a lot of trouble."
Sasuke pondered for a moment, "So, if I keep the helmet on I could save the world now and never take the helmet off or take it off now and never put it on again."
"Nabu will soon return to his right-full place and your Genjutsu is wearing off; clearly you either live your life or face the wrath of a Lord of Order…"
…
"Sasuke?" Artemis asked once again this time he turned to her stoically, "Do what you feel is right."
After several minutes of silence and inner-thoughts running down his brain like a streaming river, Sasuke reached up and pulled off the helmet releasing all of Fate's power and his costume.
He placed a hand on Artemis' shoulder, "Thanks, again," he smiled but, didn't let her see it. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel when you begin to fall in love, this felt pretty close to him.
They turned to the peacefully resting Kent Nelson, they walked towards him and grabbed his golden pocket-watch and placed it in his cold hand, tightening his grip on it.
Artemis leaned into Sasuke as they closed their eyes for a moment of silence, they lost a hero that day, and more than that, a friend.
…
Mount Justice; August 20th; 3:48AM
Sasuke stepped up to an empty room with two shelves on each side; one side empty and one side had a few discarded items including but, not limited to a Kobra Cultists Mask, a cybernetic eyeball from Mr. Twister, and Cheshire's mask.
He stared at the wall as he held the Helmet of Fate in-between his arms, "souvenir," he said softly to himself placing the helmet on the shelf next to the other items.
Artemis knocked on the wooden doorframe alerting him to her arrival, "Hey, I think we need to talk…"
"About?"
Artemis rolled her eyes, "About you knowing my sister is an assassin for the League of Shadow's and why you covered for me!" She shouted in a whisper emphasizing her words.
"Look, my abilities allow me to see secrets, I can see through masks and compare faces; you two are obviously siblings," Sasuke leaned against the walls and slid down by his back landing on his ass.
"You always look so hurt," Artemis finally pointed out the elephant in the room, "Care to share why?"
"No," Sasuke stated nonchalantly, "But, maybe someone knowing the real story is best for my own conscious… who knows," He brought his knees up and placed his forehead down on them.
"When I was nine years old my brother slaughtered my entire family except for me," Sasuke came from nowhere with an intense sentence that caught Artemis off guard, "It wasn't until later I found out that the elders of my family were planning on taking over the village and my brother was assigned to wipe them out."
Artemis looked down at the ground and away from Sasuke's eyes as they turned crimson red, "Growing up, I didn't know the reason my brother had done what he did so, ever since, I had been trying to train to kill my brother. When we finally had our final clash, it wasn't until after I killed him was I told the truth about the Uchiha slaughter."
Artemis gulped as a straight faced Sasuke let a single tear, just a single one, slip down his cheek, "He killed aunts and uncles, cousins and even his own parents for the safety of the village but, in the end, he couldn't bring himself to kill his own little brother."
Artemis cleared her throat, "We all have demons, Sasuke, it's how you deal with them that matters," she moved to place her hand on his but he pulled away.
"Don't get too close to me, Artemis, it's dark inside," Sasuke looked away trying to avoid her gaze but, she placed a finger to his chin pulling him closer.
"Let's share our demons, together," their lips came closer and closer until a loud banging was heard down the hall; they separated, quickly adjusting themselves.
M'gaan casually walked down the hall with Wally following suit behind, "Guess who got us two tickets to a magic show?"
They stood and cleared their throats, it's getting late, they both approached the doors and as they walked to the teleporters, Sasuke and Artemis couldn't help but, grin just a bit.
…
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