章 357: 19
Chapter XIX: Humanity.
Last Time.
Naruto shrugged before replying. "I can't help it if women flock to me. Besides, you can't count Mary... She's actually ten." Miss Martian and Artemis looked at him in shock.
"Don't say anything to the others... That's hers to say... She turns sixteen when she calls upon her powers. Perfect secret identity too huh?" Naruto finished walking over to the League with the Team following.
Unknown Location.
"Impressive."
Said a man walking to monitors showing the League fighting the vines. He is a tall, muscular male with medium-dark skin tone, strong, rugged features, broad shoulders, and a square jaw. He also has three pale scars across his face, brown eyes, and black long hair pulled back. He's wearing a long lapel-less dark-blue coat with a red stripe on the edges. He also dons black gloves and boots.
"The plant creatures have proven themselves as useful as protection. And more importantly... The so-called 'Heroes' believe our group exposed itself and has been captured. With the Injustice League acting as our proxy... We can once again operate with impunity"
He looked back as Brain, Klarion, Lex Luthor, Queen Bee, Ocean Master, and Ra's walk out of the shadows and stand beside him. "And shadows can still see our Light." He finished with a smile as the monitors shut off.
Now.
Teton County; October 10, 04:23 MDT.
T.O. Morrow was working on a dismantled Red Tornado talking about the Prodigal Son as Brom checked on Red Torpedo and Red Inferno. "And you Red Tornado... Are the prodigal son... Now. You must have many questions..." After a moment of silence, Marrow shrugged. "That's right... Your voice box is turned off."
"But your eyes, and ears still function perfectly." Marrow removed the wire from Red Tornado before continuing. "As does the prestigious mind I built for you all those years ago."
Gotham; Naruto's Penthouse, October 10, 7:00 EDT.
Dream.
Naruto was sitting on his couch as his girls, in bathing suits, were feeding him ramen. Artemis and Jade are both in dark green bikinis, M'gann is in her yellow bikini, and Diana is in a red one with stars on the top, and five on the bottom. Dinah is wearing a black one, Talia is wearing a purple one-piece with a diamond cut to show her belly button was massaging his shoulder.
And finally was Crystal/Killer Frost, wearing a dark blue one-piece had her head on his lap. "Eat up Naruto." Naruto smiled as he opened his mouth as they reached for him.
TOOT!
Naruto jumped out of his bed as an air horn went off in front of him. He groaned as he looked up, and saw Jade smiling down at him. "Happy Birthday Naruto." She said straddling him and bent down to kiss him. "Come on... Mom's waiting for you." Naruto rubbed his head and got up before getting dressed.
As he got out, he saw Artemis wearing a white shirt under a brown jacket, jeans, and calf-high boots, and Paula putting pancakes on the table. "Morning Naruto." Paula greeted as Naruto walked to the table.
"Morning Paula... You didn't have to do this." Naruto said as he sat down in between Artemis and Jade.
"It's been six years since we all been together for a birthday." They ate breakfast before leaving the apartment. "Wait, Naruto, Artemis." Paula, in her wheelchair, wheeled in front of them and crossed her arms. "No earpieces... This is family time for us." Naruto sighed as he and Artemis took their earpieces off.
As they went into the elevator, one of the doors in the hallway started to open.
Later.
Naruto and the others walked into the restaurant and went to a table. After eating, and getting a slice of birthday cake, they went to a movie theater to watch a matinee. "Oh hell no." Naruto cursed as Jade, and Artemis offered to see Twilight.
"But Naruto..." Artemis said as Naruto shook his head.
"No Artemis. That movie ruined the vampire and werewolf genre... Besides... I have better abs than Jacob, so you two should be drooling over me. Besides all they do in that movie is stare, and stalk each other with the girl putting herself in danger to get her 'boyfriend' to save her."
Artemis sighed as she crossed her arms, "Fine we'll see Toy Story 3, or the new Harry Potter movie." When they left for home, Artemis's phone rang, and she answered.
"Hello... Oh, he's here. We're on our way home now so meet us there." Naruto looked at her as she hung the phone up. "Donna wanted to be sure you were home. You left your cell at home." Naruto raised an eyebrow as they stopped at the complex. They went to the elevator and went to the top floor.
As Naruto opened the door, a noisemaker went off in his face.
"SURPRISE!"
Naruto blinked as he saw the League, and the Team in his apartment with balloons, streamers, and a sign that read 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO.'
" Happy birthday dad." Naruto smiled as Donna, and M'gann floated over with presents.
M'gann blushed as she quickly kissed him on the cheek before turning invisible.
Mount Justice; October 10, 16:58 EDT.
"Pineapple juice... Really?"
Naruto, without his coat, pinched his nose as Captain Marvel waited on Wally whose right arm was in a cast. He turned his attention to the sparing Robin, Artemis, Miss Martian, and Aqualad. "Good job everyone..." Naruto looked to see Black Canary walk to the ring. "It's been a very productive week." She finished as Spoiler walked out of the kitchen. "Except for Wally over there."
"Hey! A broken arm from fighting the Injustice League." Wally said as Captain Marvel flew away.
"I've really enjoyed being your... 'Den Mother' for the week." Black Canary finished as Naruto walked over.
"Not as much as we did," He said before the tunnel lit up.
"Recognized Zatara, 11." Zatara walked in, brought up a holo-keyboard, and typed on it.
"Access Granted. Zatanna Zatara A01, Authorization Zatara 11."
The tunnel lit up as the Team walked forward. "Team... My daughter. Zatanna."
A teenage girl with medium-length black hair and bright cyan-colored eyes with a slender build walked through the tunnel. Zatanna is wearing a white single-breasted shirt with a black bolo tie, a black jacket, and a black skirt.
(A/N: She's sixteen for this story.)
Naruto smiled at her, causing Zatanna's eyes to light up. "Naruto!" She ran over and hugged him. "Happy birthday." She said kissing him on the cheek.
"Now say it backwards," Naruto said holding her hands.
"Evah A yppah yadhtrib. (Have A Happy Birthday.)" Naruto smiled again before speaking. "Now it's a lock." (1.)
"Hello, Zatanna." Artemis greeted as she hugged Zatanna.
(Flashback.)
Manhattan; July 6, 2004, 20:00 EDT.
Naruto and Artemis walked the streets as the people passed them. "Where are we going Naruto?" Artemis asked as Naruto looked back.
"A friend I met after the invasion." They continued walking until they walked to an apartment complex. Naruto looked at the residents' names at the door before seeing 'G. Zatara.'
Naruto pushed the button beside the name, and after a moment a man's voice spoke up. "Yes?" He asked as Naruto looked at the speaker.
"It's Naruto... A friend and I need a place to stay." After a second of waiting, the buzzer above the door went off as it unlocked, and Naruto opened it for Artemis. "We'll just stay here for a year or two until I get old enough to get a place."
"I know I can just Henge (Transformation) but I shouldn't use my Chakra unless I need to." He finished as they walked to an elevator, and went up several floors.
They walked in the hall, and to a room that read '305' and knocked. Giovanni answered the door with a ten-year-old Zatanna. "Welcome Naruto... Problem?"
"Paula's in jail, and Jade is gone... I didn't want Artemis alone with Lawrence." Naruto explained as they walked inside.
(Flashback End.)
Naruto was pulled from his thoughts when Superboy spoke up as Wonder Girl flew in. "OK, we were talking about Tornado. It's been weeks since his attack, and the League hasn't told us anything." Naruto walked up to Black Canary and crossed his arms.
"Batman has made finding him his top priority."
"If I wasn't against putting my Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) on the members themselves to respect their privacy I would have found him already... The kunai I had Red keep was dropped outside." Naruto finished as Black Canary spoke up after him.
"Red Tornado is League priority. The Team is not to pursue this."
The Team looked at Naruto who shrugged. "I'm kind of with them... Batman made it a League mission... I may have full authority when it concerns the Team. But the Original Seven only agreed to that if I didn't take any mission that Batman or another Member made for the League our own."
"Maybe you could give Zatanna a tour of the Cave," Zatara said as Naruto looked to see Zatanna leaning on a sleeping Wolf.
"You know they're not going to do that right?" Kurama asked Naruto through their link as he walked into the room, and laid down on the couch.
"Yeah... I was actually going to go myself if Paula didn't want a birthday family outing."
Naruto replied through the link as Superboy asked Captain Marvel to take Wolf outside. They walked through the cave as Zatanna appeared beside Naruto. "Hey, when did you...?" Robin asked seeing Zatanna now in new clothes.
She now has a more casual outfit. A pair of white pants with a light violet top and white shoes. She also has white earrings.
"We're really not going to take a tour are we?" Zatanna asked as Naruto looked back.
"No... Even though I promised the League the Team wouldn't interfere with their mission with Red. I never said we couldn't start our own search." He said as they walked to the Bio-Ship.
They flew up, and past Captain Marvel as he was trying to get Wolf to play fetch with a tree. But Wolf was preoccupied with eating Wally's nachos.
"Naruto... The Bio-Ship wasn't authorized for flight." Black Canary spoke through the intercom as Naruto pressed a button.
"Taking Zatanna on a tour of the City. And besides, the Team's been cooped up inside with no missions this week." He replied as Robin spoke up about a plan.
"They looked at every rational place T.O. Morrow could be... We need an 'Irrational' one... A really dumb idea."
Everyone looked to Kid Flash, who blinked. "As a matter of fact..."
Belle Reve; October 10, 18:35 CDT.
"Warden Strange owed us a favor so he let us have five minutes with you." Miss Martian said to Ivo in the interrogation room.
"Spill Ivo. Where is T.O. Morrow, and his Reds?" Superboy asked as Wonder Girl picked up her lasso.
"No, wait, Donna. Zatanna has something for this." Naruto said through the link he has through Kurama's chakra.
"Now why would I know how to find Morrow?" Ivo asked as Kid Flash walked up.
"Because... And here's a dumb idea. You're his rival in tech., and would know him better?" Ivo smirked before crossing his arms.
"Let me rephrase... Why would I tell you anything?" He asked as Naruto sighed.
"OK go for it."
Miss Martian, thinking Naruto's talking to her tried to read Ivo's mind.
"Please... Like I never faced a telepath before."
Zatanna appeared before Ivo and spoke a spell. "Trulb tuo S'worrom eurt noitacol. (Blurt out Morrow's true location.)" Ivo suddenly started talking.
"He's in an underground base under Yellowstone National Park 100 m below surface."
Yellowstone National Park; October 10, 20:22 MDT.
The Team went into their stealth outfits as Naruto turned to Zatanna. "You... Got a change of clot..." He stopped as smoke covered Zatanna for a moment.
"Emit ot yrt tuo eht wen kool. (Time to try out the new look!)" As the smoke cleared, it showed Zatanna wearing a feminine variation of her father's costume.
She's now wearing a white shirt, bow tie, and gloves, a low-cut yellow vest, a black blazer, black mini-shorts with gray stockings, and black boots reaching midway up her calves.
"I'm liking what I'm seeing." Artemis slapped Naruto on the back of the head.
"Not now." She said as the other ran or flew out.
As they were running, several red tornadoes knocked them to the ground as Red Tornado flew to them. "Why Tornado?!" Miss Martian asked as Wonder Girl flew up, looked to the ground, and flew to Red Tornado.
Red Tornado created small tornado's around his arms and hits Wonder Girl to the ground as Zatanna ran in the middle of the group.
"Etaerc a... a... dleihs dnuora ym! (Create a... a... shield around my!)"
She stopped as Red Tornado grabbed her by the throat, and threw her away.
"Eat this!" Spoiler yelled bringing her staff out of its holster and jumped at Red Tornado.
Naruto ran to him, only to get sucked up by a tornado that's sucking the oxygen in the area out.
"Quite the performance brother..." Red looked back to see another male robot talk to him.
He's a tall red robot with no ears or nose. Both his eye sockets and mouth are red and the latter is shaped like a snarl. He bears a yellow triangular symbol with a dot in the middle on his chest and forehead and displays bright red lines running across his body that resemble lava streams.
He pointed to the ground with 'PLAY DEAD' carved into it. "But it was only a performance... I have all of your memories Tornado... Plus a next-gen processor... I know your next move before you do."
Before Volcano could do anything, he dodged a kunai from Naruto, who dropped his bow, and quiver. "But you don't know all of mine."
Suddenly, a flaming yellow chakra shroud covered Naruto. He has six magatama markings around his neck, two distinctive pieces of hair-like horn, and swirl designs that appeared around him. The patterns on the shroud extend partway down his arms and legs.
(A/N: The first Chakra mode.)
Naruto opened his eyes, showing they are orange before disappearing. Naruto reappeared behind Red Volcano, and punched him to the ground, creating a crater. Naruto lifted his forefinger, and two small hands came out and formed a small Rasenshuriken (Spiraling Shuriken). "Mini-Rasenshuriken! (Mini Spiraling Shuriken!)" Naruto threw it down, and hits Red Volcano's chest, creating a hole.
Naruto dropped down, and crushed Red Volcano's head before the cloak went away. He felt stares on him and turned around to see the Team stare at him. "What?" Naruto asked as they rushed to him, and rapidly asked questions.
Later, the Team was working on Red Tornado's voice box before Aqualad spoke up. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself for the Planet."
Red Tornado looked to him before speaking. "The planet would have survived... It was humanity that was saved." Aqualad puts his hand on Red Tornado's shoulder.
"My point is that you were never the mole."
"No, I left to protect you, and to find my creator, Morrow." Red Tornado said before Superboy spoke up.
"Why did you volunteer to be our 'Den Mother' in the first place?!"
Red Tornado looked at the ceiling before replying. "I was the pragmatic choice... I require no sleep, I have no secret identity, so I have no second life to live."
"But you do have advanced A.I. programming. Design to adapt, learn, evolve." Kid Flash explained as Miss Martian slapped her head.
"Hello, Megan! You wanted to become more human."
Spoiler walked up and continued. "And you couldn't learn that from the League... They're a bunch of stiffs."
"You're not going to lean emotions from Batman," Robin said as Naruto was talking to the other Reds after finding out Tornado convinced them to help.
"Well, Torpedo... Aquaman could use help with Atlantis after the recent attack, and kidnapping of Mera... Inferno. You could try the League to see if you can join."
To Be Continued.
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