I do not own Naruto or DC

Central City; 8:08AM; October 1st.

Artemis strolled down the early-morning sidewalk with Sasuke sipping from a soda and allowing her to lock her arm with his. The streets were slightly busy as people made their way to work at this early hour but, the walk-way was fairly empty giving the couple plenty of room to romantically strut through the city.

"This is nice," Artemis noted as she looked up at the peaceful blue sky, birds chirping, not a cloud as far as even Sasuke's eyes could see; smiles shun brightly across the city aside from the Uchiha's consistently brooding self, "I'm glad we met up before we head to see the Team."

"Yea," He replied in a monotone, "I've been far too focused on Madara," he approached a garbage can on the side of the path and dropped it in as they walked.

"Right now, let's focus on having a quiet and normal day," Artemis placed her head on his shoulder as they walked, "It's already starting to get cold and its only October." Artemis rubbed her arms through her burgundy long-sleeved blouse; Sasuke wore a long-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless vest paired with black dress-pants which he purchased not too long ago due to the claims from the Team, specifically Barbara, that he simply wears the same thing constantly. If he cared at all about the subject, he would have fought it but, the credit-card Bruce gave him didn't have a spending limit so he simply complied.

"I spent a year or two in the Land of Iron; it got so cold there that entire waterfalls hundreds of feet high would freeze completely," Sasuke reminisced with a blank expression, staring off and practically seeing the sparkling drops of snow.

Artemis chuckled, "Why do you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Past-tense," Artemis specified as they stopped walking on the side-walk, "You're saying it like it's not around anymore…"

Sasuke closed his eyes and turned away, "I just messed up my wording, forget about it."

Artemis was prepared to object when, suddenly and surprisingly, a massive bright green root sprung from beneath the asphalt road and grew into the sky. It reached about three dozen feet tall and took up the entire two-lane street; Artemis turned as she saw Sasuke missing from where he was, "Oh, I am so not forgetting about it…" She whispered as she backed into an ally-way to put her costume on.

Several cars were imbedded into the giant root which did not stay passive as vines flew out from its base grabbing hold of cars and people alike. Sasuke appeared faster than the eye could track holding two female victims in either arm, likely saved from a trapped vehicle, he placed them on the ground and turned to face the monstrosity before him.

"The hell is that thing?" Sasuke activated his Sharingan and looked it up and down, analyzing the inner-structure and noticing something odd. Artemis approached in costume with a cross-bow in hand.

"What're we looking at here?"

"Some sort of living antenna," Sasuke noted, "It's responding to someone's controls at least…" The shinobi was immediately terrified that this was the result of the Deep Forest Emergence Jutsu currently belonging to Madara but, something was off in the way it acted sentiently.

One vine grabbed hold of a child and looked as though it would toss him over buildings, "No ya don't!" Artemis fired an arrow accurately which stuck to the vines girth before detonating and dropping the boy dozens of feet. Before he landed, Artemis sprinted forth jumping and catching the boy rolling to a stop.

"You're okay, you're okay; do you know where your parents are, hun?"

The little boy took his face from her chest and slowly pointed up at the top of a decimated building causing Artemis to close her eyes and hug the boy tighter.

Sasuke watched this and furrowed his brow as it lashed out again at another building tearing through it with six-foot-thick vines, "Screw it, I'm cutting it down." Sasuke vanished in the blink of an eye, it took only a few second but the vines ceased their flailing and the ninja appeared on the opposite end of the root with his hand engulfed in electricity.

Slowly the root slid off its stem and collapsed onto the street; "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" Sasuke turned his head quickly sending a massive orb of flames onto the grounded stem and severed root. It roasted as the police and fire rescue arrived on the scene along with news reporters and pedestrians alike.

Sasuke and Artemis stepped towards one another and shared a glance somehow knowing for a fact that this wasn't the end of whatever started this attack.

…

Louisiana Bayou; 8:26AM; October 1st

A viewing panel watched as Sasuke dispatched of the Central City plant attack; after Sasuke cut it down, a voice stepped forwards with a sinister tone, "The test was a complete success, we may proceed as planned," Spoke a woman with bright red hair and lime-green skin dressed only in plant-wear.

"Agreed," spoke another voice from the shadows in an accent that seemed not native to his tongue, "But, we have operated in the shadows for far too long."

Madara Uchiha stepped into the sunlight complete in his crimson war-suit and black under-armor, flipping his hair behind his shoulder as he looked towards his six comrades, "I believe its time we step into… the light."

One of the comrades dressed in purple looks directly at you and chuckles, "Admit it! You can't turn away…!" his insane laughter echoed through the compound as they all prepared to continue to phase two.

…

Mount Justice; 9:34AM; October 1st.

Kaldur and Dick were in the center of the hollow ring, duking it out in hand to hand combat; Kaldur was wearing his training jumpsuit and Dick was in a plain old black t-shirt and pants. Each time one missed the other, the computer calculated points for the attacker or defender; Kaldur threw a right-straight and Dick back flipped out of the way earning him points, however, Kaldur dipped down and swiped the boy-wonders feet out from under him, "Fail: Robin."

Kaldur helped Dick up with a smile just as M'gaan and Naruto entered the room from the hall to their left, they were talking casually with the Martian innocently putting her hands behind her back, "You know they're a couple, right?" Dick whispered as he grabbed his jacket and swung it over his shoulder.

Kaldur smiled, "I believe I knew before they did."

Just then from the opposing corridor came Conner and Wally strolling and talking casually, or well, Wally talking and the Kryptonian just listened to his babbling.

"Should we tell them?" Dick inquired as he looked back to Aqualad.

"It is not our place."

Wally looked over to Zatara and Captain Marvel as they talked and over-saw the training. "So, if Zatara is our baby sitter of the week, why is he still here?" He chided as he then took notice that Marvel was eating a candy bar vigorously, "And why is he eating my snacks!"

"Recognized: Batman A02," the computer interrupted Wally's complaining allowing entrance to the greatest detective on Earth.

The dark knight walked into the room ignoring everyone with a stoic expression and walking directly into the holo-ring, "Computer, display national news."

The computer complied and opened up a large holographic screen projecting the news where Cat Grant began narrating the events from earlier that day, "The initial attack was short lived but, Metropolis was only granted a short reprieve," the video displayed a massive plant creature coiling itself around a building and crushing it into rubble with its tight constriction. "Even with the intervention of Superman and the Justice League there seems to be no end in sight," the video displayed Green Lantern cutting through vines, Hawk-girl being tossed into a building, and Superman rescuing two people from a collapsing structure.

Dick stepped forwards, "Should we get out there?"

"Recognized: Pain B01; Artemis B07."

"What a drag!" Sasuke groaned as he and Artemis approached the group and took notice of the screen, "We just finished cutting one down in Central City like an hour ago…"

Without sharing a glance, Naruto stuck his fist out and with no reaction Sasuke bumped it with his own fist greeting his best friend, "Let's get out there already and start doing some yard work," he stated stoically.

Batman was quick to respond, "No." He firmly ordered, "The League will soon have the situation under control, that's not why I'm here." Batman turned and opened up virtual records of their previous mission reports, "According to your intel Sportsmaster supplied Cadmus' Blockbuster formula to Kobra."

Wally stepped forwards, "Who combined it with Bane's venom to create Kobra Venom!"

Sasuke continued, "Which the Brain used to create his animal army," Things were starting to come together even from missions that felt like they meant nothing at all; a simple rescue mission turned into a battle with the villain known as the Brain with insane intellect mutating animals into his super-human slaves. Sasuke didn't even believe the mission was worth his time but, as it turns out, it was.

"The Brain also used inhibitor collars like the ones at Belle Reve Penitentiary to control the poor animals," M'gaan added.

Artemis raised a brow and looked around, "Batman, is it possible that these plant thingies are on Kobra Venom too?"

Batman nodded in agreement as he pulled yet another virtual screen up displaying chemical test results, "I had Green Lantern run a spot analysis; divine cellulose does contain trace amounts of a Kobra Venom variant."

"These cannot be coincidences," Sasuke stated firmly stepping forwards next to Dick and the others, "Unrelated criminals are cooperating with each other worldwide."

"Exactly," Batman confirmed, "It is now clear that our enemies have formed some kind of secret society of super villains; the attack on Metropolis and Central City are only the beginning."

Robin began typing away at a holo-screen, "You got that right," he typed away on his gauntlet and brought up multiple holo-screens behind Batman showing multiple cities from around the world being attacked by plant creatures. "Plants have sprouted in Taipei, Gotham City, Star City, Paris…" each screen turned to static suddenly and simultaneously.

Wally spoke up, "Uh, dude?" he asked wondering why Robin had lost connection.

"It's not me; someone is cutting the satellite signal, all satellite signals!" Just as he said this, all five screens displayed the same live video feed of a man with a purple suit and pale white skin breathing on the glass and whipping it for good measure.

"Ladies and gentleman!" the Joker shouted wildly as he cackled, "We interrupt your regularly scheduled mayhem to bring you… this important announcement," he panned the camera over towards a group of men with a single teenage girl tied to a wooden chair in the center.

"No…" Batman muttered as Joker pulled the girl's head by her crimson hair and revealed her face as none other than Barbara Gordan. She was obviously beaten slightly, she had tears running down her face mixed with mascara, a gag and blindfold wrapped around her head, and the nearby men were gently placing their hands on her shoulders.

"From the Injustice League," he suddenly began chuckling uncontrollably again.

M'gaan placed her hands to her mouth in shock at her friend's condition, "Barbara!"

Sasuke tightened his fist immediately not only because they had kidnapped one of his closest friends but, because of who stood in the middle with his arms folded casually. Naruto tightened his jaw and spoke through his teeth, "Madara Uchiha…"

"We are responsible for the attacks on your cities," he spoke in English but his accent was clearly Japanese, "If you wish to save them a ransom of ten-billion American dollars is required; delivery instructions have been sent to the United Nations, there is no time-limit, however; the longer you wait…"

Joker took out a switch-blade and gently dragged it across Barbara's face which she responded to by whimpering, "The more we get to have our jollies…" his laughter kicked up again, even louder than before when suddenly the feed switched back to static.

All was silent for only a second before Batman turned around, "Change of plans; the League will take a small extraction team to-"

Sasuke interrupted, "No," which caused heads to turn in confusion and fear, nobody interrupted the Batman.

"Excuse me?" The growling vigilante asked.

"I'm going, alone, getting Barbara and killing Madara," He stared directly at Bruce without flinching as Robin fiddled with the holo-computer. He played back the footage and froze it.

"Black Adam, Wo-Tan, Atomic Skull, Poison Ivy, The Joker, and Madara? Six heavy hitters, at once?" Robin stated the obvious and looked back to Sasuke, "And you think you can take them on by yourself?"

"I'm the only one who can," He responded staring directly into Madara's crimson eyes.

Batman stepped forwards standing closer to Sasuke to intimidate which, didn't work in the slightest, "The League will not allow you to go at all let alone by yourself; not with the stakes this high."

Sasuke chuckled before laughing heartily at the Bat, "You think I care about what your little 'League' thinks?"

Naruto backed up for second, "Oh boy…" he'd seen Sasuke's temper before and to be honest, he didn't like it.

"I won't let you go," Artemis spoke up with a concerned tone, "Not without me."

Sasuke growled, "Why are you all giving me demands? You think you're in charge here? Your authority over me is a commodity, I allow it because I see no reason to oppose it;" His eyes shifted and warped into the Mangekyou Sharingan in just a few seconds.

"We will stop you," Batman stated narrowing his eyes as Captain Marvel and Zatara stepped next to him.

"Pff," Sasuke scoffed and spoke only a single word as Naruto quickly shut his eyes and awaited the mental-halt of Sasuke's signature Genjutsu but, it never came, "Tsukuyomi!"

Batman, Artemis, Robin, Aqualad, Superboy, Captain Marvel, and Zatara instantly toppled over, collapsing to the ground leaving M'gaan as the last one just barely resisting his mental attack.

"Sasuke…" She muttered while the shinobi stared at her as she toppled to her knees.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way," Those were the last words she heard before she fell to the side unconscious.

Naruto opened one eye and looked around finding himself not trapped in an illusionary-world, "Why didn't you knock me out too?"

Sasuke sighed, "Because you're the only one that understands the threat Madara poses and I need your Sage Mode to track his position."

"Awe," Naruto smiled, "Admit it… you didn't knock me out because we're best friends now," Naruto poked Sasuke's shoulder as he grumbled in response.

"Wrong," he looked back to Naruto with a stoic glare, "Whether we knew it or not; I think we were always best friends," without a smile he turned back to the screen still displaying the image.

"Can you track him?"

Naruto scoffed, feeling slightly offended, "Can I track him? Can I track him?"

"Baka…"

"Yea, Yea, I can track him…" Naruto sat down with his legs crossed and his fists connected; he focused on the Nature Energy around him and his orange pigmentation appeared above his eyes. He searched the globe for the highest Chakra signature he could find aside from Sasuke. He found multiple notable people like Vandal Savage and Ra's Al Ghul but, none were even close to the signature he found in the swamps of Louisiana; once he found Madara suddenly, the evil shinobi turned to him almost noticing his presence. He smiled, "Come and get me," his Sharingan flared up and Naruto was knocked on his back by a shock of energy.

"Damn it!" He rubbed his forehead as his Sage Mode dissipated.

"What happened? Did you find him?"

Naruto nodded, "And he knows we're coming…"

Sasuke pondered for a moment, "The money isn't what he wants, obviously… it's me," he looked back at Naruto and realized something very important, "He wants my eye."

"What? He already has two Rinnegan!"

Sasuke smiled in realization, "Not one like mine; he absorbed your power so, obviously, he'd want the other half!"

Naruto closed his eyes piecing things together, "And the soil he stole from that factory is for the Infinite Tsukuyomi which he can't perform without the third Rinnegan!"

"Which he lost after Kaguya took over his body," He looked up to Naruto once again, "This was his plan all along; he's going to turn the planet into an army of Zetsu and use them to take over other Earth's with the power he stole from Obito's other Mangekyou."

"Why go through all that trouble? Why not just rip it out of your eye and be done with it back at the soil-factory?"

"His ego," Sasuke muttered tapping his palm with his fist, "He needs to prove he's the best."

Naruto smiled as he summoned his porcelain cat-mask, "Then let's go show him who's the best, shall we?"

…

Louisiana Bayou; 10:06AM; October 1st

Madara looked out of the small observatory-building they had taken over; standing on the roof by himself and focusing on his chakra when he suddenly felt the ex-jinchuriki's Senjutsu fixing in on his chakra signature, "Come and get me," he whispered as he flashed his three-tomoe Sharingan severing the connection.

"What was that?" A man in a green hazmat-suit with some sort of deteriorating head heard the shinobi-god talking to himself.

Madara closed his eyes ignoring the man's presence; "Hey, ignoring people is really disrespectful!" his head was engulfed in emerald flames along with his palms as well until Madara finally turned around opening his eyes.

"Then I'm glad I don't particularly respect any of you," his Sharingan spun and Atomic Skull stepped back as Black Adam floated down to the roof.

"What's going on?" He asked in a thick Egyptian accent.

"Our enemies are soon to arrive; we must prepare ourselves," Madara turned back to the swamp completely ignoring Atomic Skull.

"Hey, bastard, why don't you treat us like equals or I'll teach you some manners!" His flames grew brighter as he approached the shinobi with hostility.

Without looking, without moving, without so much as opening his eyes; the Deva Path gripped Atomic Skull by his neck lifting him into the air, "Unfortunately we aren't equals so I'm afraid there will be no lessons learned today; I'd say you'd regret approaching me that way but," a loud snapping noise filled the open air as Black Adam stepped back in horror, "You wont live long enough to recognize your mistake."

The villains body collapsed the floor and Madara didn't move a single muscle; "Adam," he called out as the mystic terror stiffened up at the sound of his name.

"Yes?" He asked politely but, still maintaining his composure.

"Inform the others; we'll have guests soon enough."

…

Sasuke and Naruto teleported into the muggy swamps of the Bayou; "Ugh, I got swamp in my boots," Naruto complained adjusting his mask properly.

"We're gonna have bigger problems than that, look!" Pain immediately pointed up at the sky where Black Adam soared looking down on them and once laying eyes on them taking off towards them.

The sorcerer was nearly equal to Superman in strength and speed with all of the magical abilities of Captain Marvel so, he was no push-over to say the least, "You take the rest of them; I'll take Madara!"

Naruto went wide-eyed just as he spoke his plan, "Wait, wha-" Sasuke activated his Lightning Style: Chakra Release and bolted towards the compound, moving massively faster than sound.

"Not fair!" Naruto quickly shouted before activating his Honored Sage Mode and defending Adam's super-sonic punch with his forearm; causing a shockwave that pushed his heels through hundreds of feet of mud and roots. His arm was already wounded from that punch but, the Sixth Hokage was far from finished even as Wo-Tan and Poison Ivy approached from his rear, "So not fair."

…

Pain flashed through the murky-waters leaving a trail of blue lightning following him up the wall of the building; he arrived on top of the observatory immediately noticing Madara standing with his back facing him.

"You arrived sooner than I anticipated, Sasuke," Madara didn't even open his eyes until Pain spoke up.

"I was motivated; Where is my comrade?"

Madara turned at the sound of his modified voice and opened his eyes, "What on Earth are you wearing? You look ridiculous," He chuckled to himself before gaining a more serious tone.

"Big talk coming from a dead-man," Pain remarked getting into a fighting-stance.

Madara unfolded his arms before taking a deep breath, "Funny. I was thinking the same thing…" He put his hands to his lips causing Pain to leap back hundreds of feet anticipating his next move.

"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku!"

"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Their two pillars of searing flames collided with enough heat to match the surface of the sun; the concrete beneath them began to melt as Sasuke activated his Mangekyou, "Amaterasu!" blazing darkness erupted from the center of the flames consuming his opponents fire, smothering it slowly. Madara suddenly flew through the flames and round-housed Pain in the face sending him off the roof and into the surrounding swamp; a blue-energy ribcage construct surrounded him as he landed back on the melting roof. Madara leapt off the roof and landed a few dozen feet from Pain whom flipped to his feet and shook the daze from his head; Before he could regain his composure, Madara dashed forwards headbutting Pain in the chest sending him through several thick trees before he halted his momentum with his feet.

Pain formed two Shadow Clones besides him as one launched forwards and the other spun turquoise chakra energy in his right hand until it's wind cut like a blade; Pain's clone quickly swung his palms at Madara whom dodged both Rasengan's in either hand with ease. He thrust forwards shoving his fist through the clone until it dispersed like a cloud of smoke but, as the smoke cleared his Eternal Mangekyou barely caught the glimpse of Naruto's signature Rasenshuriken mere inches from his face; he bent backwards watching the attack cut strands of his long hair as it passed over his face.

Madara stood uninjured and casually strutted forwards; "I've been waiting for this… I've been waiting for this very moment when I finally acquire the last piece to the puzzle."

"You need my eye to complete the ritual but, I'd rather gauge it out myself and dice it to pieces before I let that happen!" Pain leapt to his feet and engaged Madara in hand-to-hand combat; each jab and punch was either redirected or blocked until Sasuke threw his palm forwards and shouted "Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palm!" his open palm strikes surprised Madara causing him to go on the defensive until he finished the combo with, "Almighty Push!" with a single palm to the chest Madara was pushed through the air and into the concrete wall of the observatory nearly collapsing the wall.

Pain stepped forwards, unstrapping the weights from his wrists and ankles methodically, his speed would increase by three-fold at least; Madara's head lifted to find Pain dematerialized in sheer speed, flying fist first into his chest and shattering his armor along with the large concrete wall behind him as rubble came raining down around them.

"You've been learning…" Madara pulled himself from what little was left of the wall as it collapsed behind him; cracking his neck he chuckled, "Let's take this up a notch or two, shall we?"

"You took the words right out of my mouth!" Pain shouted as he funneled his chakra through his eyes activating the Mangekyou and Rinnegan at once; Madara focused for just a moment as both of his eyes evolved into the Rinnegan and his red and black armor morphed into a long white cloak. His Truth-Seeking Orbs formed around him and a long staff formed in his hand with small rings hanging from it; his hair turned silver and his Rinnegan shun in the sunlight.

Pain narrowed his eyes; Madara did the same. They both prepared to take off at any given moment when suddenly an explosion ignited in the background causing them both to collide at Light Speed, forearm to forearm, each using all of their power at their disposal. The only difference being Sasuke was struggling to keep up, however; Madara was smiling and enjoying his time. Pain threw his fist forwards with all of his strength and speed but, gasped when Madara caught it mid-swing and redirected the force over his own shoulder sending Sasuke flying into the swamp with a thundering shock-wave.

"Yang Release: Light Fang!" Madara perched his lips and from them spat a thin beam of pure light following his aim as he slashed the beam across Pain's area; his Rinnegan picked this up and allowed him to back flip out of it's range. Pain reached his hands out, "Universal Pull!" he yanked his fists down forcing Madara through a thick tree and into the murky-swamp with an explosion of water.

…

Naruto warped into a tall tree where he hid for a moment activating his Mangekyou Sharingan and observing the fighters as they searched for him. Suddenly, several tree-branches behind Naruto began to warp towards him extending slowly attempting to surprise him. Poison Ivy was out of view controlling the trees telepathically but, Naruto was no fool. He smiled and leapt down from the tree leaving three paper-bombs which detonated sending Ivy into the swamp unconscious.

Adam flew in with a right straight which, with Sage Mode and a Mangekyou, Naruto easily dodged the strike and grabbed Adam's wrist. His strength was just enough for Naruto to get a good look into the dark-mystics eyes and with his Mangekyou mental prowess, Adam fell to the ground unconscious, drooling into the swamp.

Wo-Tan spoke in some ancient language before firing off a beam of mystical energy resembling electricity; Naruto was stunned as the swampy-waters beneath conducted the attack and electrocuted the shinobi allowing the sorcerer to land several powerful strikes ending with an upper-cut that caused Naruto to hit a tree and collapse into the mud.

Wo-Tan sent more mystic lightning into the waters keeping Naruto down until, suddenly, he dispersed into a cloud of smoke. Completely gone, until of course, he came from above with an attack the size of a truck, "Sage Art: Massive Rasenshuriken!" he slammed the attack into the sorcerer whom threw up a mystic shield. The sharp wind-blades from the attack took only seconds to pierce his bubble and hit him directly pushing him deep into the swamp. Naruto huffed and looked down into the crater noticing an unconscious Wo-Tan accounted for; "Maybe, I can still help Sasuke…"

This was the moment when an intense explosion occurred from the observatory; from said explosion, a massive turquois-blue avatar with four arms stood from the ground with Madara in the center. Naruto could never forget it, the level just before Perfect Susanoo, the Complete Bodied Susanoo; it took only seconds for a purple explosion of chakra to fire into the air forming an identical Susanoo avatar each spanning seventy to eighty feet tall.

The collided grasping hands In a deadlock until Madara lifted Sasuke's Susanoo and tossed him through the observatory; Pain's Susanoo formed a bow and arrow in his hands, training it on Madara for only a second before firing it. Instead of an explosion though, Madara's Susanoo caught the arrow in one-hand and snapped it in two with its fingers before it dispersed.

"Impossible," Sasuke muttered as the blue avatar stampeded forwards and tackled the purple Susanoo into the swamp and began pummeling him fist after fist.

Pain caught one of the fists with his own Susanoo, "If I'm going to lose this; you certainly aren't winning it!" he then used his Rinnegan's ability to absorb chakra focusing on a certain signature within Madara himself.

"No!" Madara shouted as he tried pulling away but, as he did, he pulled a golden chakra energy from Madara's body; the energy of the Nine Tailed Fox was held between the palms of his hands.

Naruto smiled brightly, "No way!" Pain immediately launched the energy at Naruto to keep it from Madara just as the mad-man stood from his position and screamed, "You will pay dearly for that!"

Pain put his guard up but, it meant nothing as a blue fist shattered his Susanoo's defenses and slammed into Sasuke's avatar sending him back onto his rear; Madara mangled him, strike after strike, furiously beating the Susanoo avatar until it dispersed and dropped Pain into the mud below.

Madara noticed but, with an enraged growl, he dispersed his own Susanoo, "I am certainly not finished with you yet," he approached the recovering Pain and blitzed him. Sending fist after fist, right cross, left straight; he punched him through several trees until he finally hit the ground.

Madara approached, "You just made my plan that much more difficult; I can't just let you get away with that, now can I?" He picked Pain up by his neck and back handed him through the mud shattering half of his mask revealing his bleeding Mangekyou. Before he could stand, Madara kicked him in the gut sending him into the air before appearing next to him and spiking with both hands back into the ground.

"Stop hurting him!" Naruto shouted with a Rasengan prepared as Madara used his Almighty Push to launch the young Hokage through the forest without even looking.

Madara grabbed Pain by the cloak and stood him up, rapidly jabbing him in the face and chest before sending a final spinal cracking jab to his lower-back. He groaned before collapsing on his back into the swamp, "Never forget; I am the strongest shinobi alive."

Madara grabbed Pain by the scruff of his neck and activated his own Lighting Release: Chakra Mode enhanced by all of his absorbed power; he dashed towards North America at speeds just shy of light arriving in the center of the holo-ring in Mount Justice. The heroes whom Sasuke had knocked out were just now recovering when they all witnessed the man holding Sasuke by the neck and holding him up, "This man is no God, He is no hero; He is nothing!"

Batman readied himself as best he could but, was too disoriented to even retaliate; "Relying on weaklings like this one," he shook the rag-dolled Sasuke before continuing, "Is what makes this world easier to conquer than any other." Marvel and Zatara fired offf magical lightning which missed its target as he dropped Sasuke to the ground. He was barely breathing when Madara vanished at insane speeds; he left the continent and possibly even the dimension but, that was far from their concern.

Conner, M'gaan, Artemis, Batman, Dick, and Kaldur hovered over him, "Sasuke! Sasuke!" from his own point of view, everything faded to black.

…

After recovering, Naruto dashed to a halt before the observatory, "Damn it, they're gone." His Mangekyou caught sight of the Joker with Barbara in tow still tied up trying to escape with all the mayhem and chaos going on, "Stop! Or I'll kill you on the spot psycho!"

Joker turned, "And you are…?" not recognizing him.

"You shouldn't give a shit about who I am; you should care more about what I'm going to do to you if you don't let her go!" He grabbed a kunai from his belt and held it up.

"Let her go? Certainly," Joker said with a wide smile as he held a pistol to her back which Naruto couldn't see at the moment; he pushed the captive forwards as the shinobi had the kunai pointed directly at him during the transfer.

"Oops…" The gun fired with a loud shot hitting Barbara directly in the lower back sending her face first into the dirt, "Finger slipped?" Joker reasoned as Naruto flew at five times the speed of sound, "Bastard!" kicking the man so hard he'd need a body-cast for six-months; he tumbled to a halt in the mud and even with his broken ribs and internal bleeding, he still chuckled slowly falling unconscious from the pain.

Naruto came to Barbara's side, consoling her and lifting her upper-body as she took deep breaths; "Barb…" he slapped her face gently trying to keep her awake, "Stay with me; I'm gonna get us out of here, okay?"

"My legs…" she muttered in response reaching down to her thighs, "I can't feel my legs!"

Naruto grimaced and lifted her bridle style and teleported them away just as Superman, Hawkman, Green Lantern and the rest of the Justice League arrived to clean up their mess; they had made a horrible mistake coming alone and facing Madara so soon. A mistake they'd both regret for a very long time.

…

Mount Justice; 2:25PM; October 1st

Naruto appeared holding Barbara in the middle of the cave where Sasuke was being moved onto a stretcher; "I've got another one!" he ran over gently handing her to Zatara.

"Yltneg reh etativel," he stated calmly as she slowly lifted out of his hands.

"Naruto!" Sasuke screamed as blood splattered onto the gurney from his mouth; "I got something... to give you!"

Artemis and M'gaan were standing nearby as Batman rushed to aid Zatara in helping Barbara.

"What is it buddy?" Naruto took a good look at Sasuke and he'd never seen him this beaten and broken; his face was bludgeoned and only half of his Pain-mask was in tact. His cloak was burned and torn and it looked like his left arm was broken severely, "Take this..." he reached out with his right hand grabbing Naruto's.

Suddenly, the shinobi felt a familiar rush of power flow through his entire body immediately causing him to jump back and become engulfed in golden flames and cloak of pure energy; his eyes sharpened like those of a feline or fox, "You took back the Tailed Beast energy?"

"Just... one..." Sasuke muttered before his fluttered and eyes shut; Artemis immediately panicked and rushed his stretcher to the medical-bay accompanied by Red Tornado and M'gaan.

Naruto looked deep within himself, entering his own mind-scape; he walked across the dark water that had been empty for so many months until he heard a deep, growling voice echo through the expansive void, "It's good to see you again, kit."

Naruto smiled as the giant-orange furred fox lowered its nose towards him and allowed the young-man to rub his snout, "Kurama... I've missed you..." he hugged the massive snout of the fox whom closed his eyes in reciprocation.

...

I haven't updated this story in a long while but, i thought this would be a good place to put these events. Yes, this is the beginning of a new character arc for Barbara and if you know her at all you know where i'm going with her as a character.

Naruto has Kurama back but, thats it. Madara still has all other 8 Bijuu inside of him.

Please review; anything helps!