Elsewhere…

Naruto and Cyborg were engrossed in a heated game of Tekken, their eyes glued to the massive 99-inch TV in the Titans Tower living room. Cyborg had just secured his seventh consecutive win, while Naruto had only managed to win twice.

"DAMN IT!" Naruto yelled, slamming the controller to the floor in frustration.

"HEY, what did I say about breaking my stuff!?" Cyborg scolded, his mechanical eye narrowing.

Naruto's expression turned sheepish. "Heh… sorry." He walked over to pick up the controller, relieved to find it wasn't broken. "But I don't get it, I was doing so well earlier!"

Cyborg chuckled. "That's because I went easy on you the first time. The second time, however, was because you kept spamming the same move over and over. When you do annoying maneuvers like that, you'll easily become predictable."

"Oh, just like real life, cool…" Naruto muttered, selecting a new character on the screen. "What's that guy's name you were playing?"

"Lars," Cyborg replied.

"Lars… call me crazy, but I think I met him before," Naruto said, his brow furrowing in thought.

Cyborg looked confused. "Huh? You mean like you've seen him in a game from your world?"

"No, I mean like face to face. My world's video games don't look anywhere close as good as these," Naruto explained. "And same for Christie. I've never met her, but she sounds awfully familiar."

Judging by Naruto's tone, Cyborg could tell he wasn't joking. This left him curious and wondering if fictional characters could exist in other worlds. It sounded ridiculous, even by his world's standards. "Huh, yeah, that is odd."

Suddenly, Kid Flash sped into the room, plopping down next to Cyborg with a bowl of pretzels, startling him in the process.

"Well, if there does exist a Christie like the one on here, do introduce me whenever we get around to sending you back!" Kid Flash said with a grin.

Excited to see the speedster back, Naruto sat up, hoping for some good news. "I'll see what I can do, but no promises. So how did it go, any luck?"

Kid Flash's smile slowly faded as he paused, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "Sadly… no, the intel we got was incredibly false."

A tired Starfire floated down to the couch, laying next to Naruto with soot marks on her skin. "False indeed, an aggravating one at that."

"What the heck happened, was there a fire?" Naruto asked, concerned.

"Long story," Kid Flash replied.

"I have laid waste to the headquarters of the hateful group known as the Triple-K," Starfire said with a hint of satisfaction. "With certain delight and satisfaction, might I add."

"STAR!" Kid Flash exclaimed, frantic. "I said not in front of Cyborg."

Cyborg looked puzzled. "What're y'all talking abo—" Suddenly, he understood. "Oh… OH. How the hell did y'all end up in KKK territory?"

Kid Flash looked embarrassed. "I… I don't know, just know I was ready to turn around the second I went inside the clubhouse… or cabin."

"I'm pretty sure it was an Airbnb," Starfire added.

"Well, whatever it was, we asked around, came up with nothing, and as soon as everyone left, Star gave those redneck coneheads the beating of a lifetime all over the place—"

"They're all still alive," Starfire interjected from the background.

"—and literally burned it to the—"

"Or so I think," Starfire added again.

"—ground while shouting 'T-M-N!' 'T-M-N!'" Kid Flash finished.

Cyborg was left speechless, making Kid Flash regret elaborating. "Look, it's not like I didn't wanna tell you; I was going to have to eventually. I just wanted to take some time to word it better so you wouldn't be offended in any way—"

Cyborg extended his cybernetic hand towards Starfire for a high five. "GO PRINCESS!"

"BOOYAH!" Starfire responded, their hands clapping together.

Clearly not understanding what had just happened, Naruto looked over at Kid Flash, who just shrugged.

"But no man, it's cool; not like the name puts any fear in my heart if that's what you were thinking," Cyborg said.

"Yeah, kinda," Kid Flash admitted wryly.

Feeling down from the bad news, Starfire sat up beside Naruto and placed her hand on his shoulder. "But fret not, my friend, maybe Robin and Raven will succeed where we have failed."

"Well, I wouldn't call it a total fail, at least an evil group was defeated today," Cyborg scoffed. "'Evil' would be giving them praise; that would have to imply they have sense."

"I hope so," Naruto said, his voice tinged with hope.

Starfire floated off the couch and yawned. "Welp, I'm off to go bathe. This soot has gotten all over my hair and body."

"And please clean your mess when you finish!" Cyborg shouted after her.

Meanwhile…

Raven regrouped with Robin on an entirely different rooftop, healing his bruises from earlier that were inflicted by Shino.

"Are all these ninjas superhuman like Narts?" Robin asked, wincing as Raven's healing magic worked on his injuries.

"Each and every one, born with chakra by the rabbit goddess he told us about," Raven replied.

"He didn't say anything about a rabbit goddess…" Robin paused, thinking. "D-did he?"

"No, but that's what I call her, since her story sounds similar to that of the Japanese rabbit goddess," Raven explained.

"I thought it was a hare," Robin said, confused.

"Same thing. It's sorta like… you remember the story of the woodcutter who was given three axes by a god, but in some retellings it's a goddess?" Raven asked.

Robin nodded, understanding now. "When we get back home, I'll have Cyborg hack Tyler's phone for any additional data we might need."

"Not that, that right there is certainly an invasion of one's privacy," Raven said, frowning.

Robin smirked. "Hey, we've been doing it for years, why stop now?"

Raven tried to hold back a laugh, shaking her head, then slowly put on a serious face. "Tim…"

"Yeah?" Robin responded.

"I need you to do me a huge favor, and you might not like it," Raven said, her tone serious.

Robin sighed. "Well, since you know me so well, I don't doubt it, but shoot."

Later that day, back in Titans Tower, Starfire had just finished taking a shower. She wrapped a towel around her body, and her skin began to glow bright orange for a few seconds, drying her wet hair and body instantly. Moments later, after brushing her teeth and applying facial cream, she put on her pajamas and left the bathroom.

As the redheaded Titan walked down the hall, she passed by a bothered Naruto, who was heading upstairs to the rooftop. Knowing something was wrong, she then spotted Robin walking toward her.

"Nothing but bad news, I assume," Starfire said.

"Yeah, Raven and I hit a snag. We found someone, but he was murdered by one of Blood's men before he could tell us anything," Robin replied, frustration evident in his voice.

"SHIT!" Starfire exclaimed, making Robin's eyes widen, as he rarely ever hears the princess profanity.

"Sorry, I was hopeful that today would be the day we could find at least a semblance of progress," Starfire said, her voice tinged with sadness.

"In a way, we did… but it was snatched away from us at the last minute," Robin said, as Starfire began to see the sadness and frustration in Robin's eyes.

"We'll find a way, Tim. Sebastian can only escape our grasp for so long before he slips up," Starfire said, trying to reassure him.

"I know… I'm gonna give Nightwing a call and see how it's coming along on his end," Robin said. "In the meantime, can you make sure Narts will be a good boy and not destroy anything again? Out of the five of us, he seems to like you and Bart the most."

"Hollywood would hate him," Robin added with a scoff.

Starfire narrowed her eyes and tilted her head. "What about Hollywood?"

"Nothing," Robin said, waving it off as he began to walk away.

"Well, I was going anyway. Besides, Bart isn't the type for pep talks," Starfire said.

"You'd be surprised, actually. But I'll leave it up to you," Robin replied.

Minutes later, Naruto casually leaped off the tower and landed on the ground, leaving a small crater. The blonde ninja stood at the front of the Titan's Tower, gazing out at the sprawling city straight ahead. The lights twinkled like stars, mirroring the conflict within him.

Should he leave the tower and explore this new world, or stay a bit longer in the safety of his current surroundings? Either way, he couldn't bear the thought of sitting still and doing nothing.

"Are you going to do it this time?" a familiar voice called out, breaking his reverie.

Naruto looked up to see Starfire, dressed in casual clothes, gracefully floating down towards him. As usual, her presence was both comforting and encouraging.

"I'm thinking about it," he replied, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

"Well, go for it," Starfire said with a warm smile. "I'll accompany you if need be."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "Eh?"

At first, he thought she might be joking, but he quickly remembered how honest and straightforward Starfire could be. There was no deception in her offer.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to show me around," Naruto admitted, a small smile forming on his lips. "So I can get a feel of my new surroundings."

"As you wish," Starfire responded, her smile widening.

Still floating, she extended her hand towards him. Naruto hesitated for a moment before taking it, feeling a sense of reassurance in her touch. With ease, Starfire lifted him into the air, and together they soared into the night sky, the city lights shimmering beneath them like a sea of stars.

To Be Continued...