Chương 400: 62
Chapter XLII: The Hunt.
Last Time.
Caribbean Sea May 28, 17:00 EDT.
"It is the best of news." Black Manta joyously said as he presents his son before Vandal Savage and the Ambassador who were on screens.
"My son is whole again. Seeing me in mortal danger was the final catalyst his recovery required. I truly feel blessed."
"Congratulations. In fact, it's been a good day for us all." The Ambassador congratulates him.
Blüdhaven May 28, 20:04 EDT.
Nightwing, and Naruto E. sat in the warehouse, and watched a pre-recorded TV broadcast concerning the Reach ambassador.
"As the Reach's Ambassador to the world. I would like to take this opportunity to thank this great hero. A hero who almost single handed saved Earth from the Warworld. He saved your lives, he saved our lives. Ladies and gentlemen. I give you, Blue Beetle!"
The Ambassador moved to allow Blue Beetle to take the stage.
"Thank you. Thank you all. But it is I who should express gratitude to you, Ambassador." Blue said before he unmasked himself. "For giving an average, normal human being like me the power of the Reach. The power to save the world!"
"Man. If his plans to become a detective don't work out, Jaime could try his hand at acting." Naruto said before walking away as Nightwing turned the TV off.
Now.
The War World May 27, 06:36 UTC.
The Reach has secretly set up shop inside a prison area of the War World.
The Team as well as Mongul and Despero are in red stasis pods.
Green Arrow, Plastic Man, and Zatanna being on guard duty in the key chamber.
"As long as the Ambassador's refusal to allow an attack on the Justice Meat guarding the crystal key chamber, the crystal key is useless to us!" Black Beetle said as he places the key in a protective storage container. "The War World will never truly belong to the Reach." He finished turning to walk with the Scientist.
"Mongul is to blame. By bringing the War World to Earth, he cost us half of our fleet!"
"67.3% actually." The Scientist said getting Black Beetle to growl.
"And alerting the human meat of our hidden invasion force." He said as they walked to the captured heroes.
"The Ambassador has ways of handling the humans. And even though we have endured our setbacks, the Earth's heroes have lost much more. All considered, things have progressed well. That is, with one loose end."
"That loose end, will soon be cut off."
In another section of War World, Arsenal runs from a squad of Reach soldiers, while exchanging fire. Clearly outgunned, he calls for help from the Team while hiding behind a barrier.
"Arsenal to Team. Code Red! Code Red!" He throws a smoke grenade, and uses a built-in grappling hook in his artificial arm to get himself to high ground and elude his pursuers.
"Arsenal to Watchtower! Come in Justice League!" He again radios for help from the Watchtower, but again there was no response. "Arsenal to anyone, come in!"
Gotham City; Naruto's Penthouse May 28, 03:30 EDT.
Kage walked in, followed by a less steaming Jade who walked to her room.
"(Sigh)" Naruto sighed talking off his vest, quiver, and gloves before going to his room. And was slammed onto his bed, pictures falling off the wall as a result.
"What the he…" He trailed off seeing M'gann floating in front of him, clothes dematerializing off until she was nude.
"M'gann? Are you... alright?" He asked seeing the lustful and slightly wild look in her eyes.
He grunted as he was pushed harder onto the bed before she spoke.
"Two months! I've gone almost TWO DAMN MONTHS WITHOUT GETTING OFF!"
She then ripped his pants and boxers off having Naruto nervously look at her.
"W-What about the nearly a year we were broken u-mmph!" He stopped as a torn pillow case was wrapped around his mouth.
"It was hell then, too! Nothing could get me off no matter what I did! So shut up and take it!" She finished sinking down on him, moaning as she did so.
New York City May 29, 12:14 EDT.
The Ambassador calls yet another press conference in front of the United Nations building.
"And in addition to our joint scientific advantages, the Earth has also gained a new hero. One part human individual, one part Reach technology. Blue Beetle is the living embodiment of the peaceful union between our peoples. Plus, he saved us all from the War World! Not too shabby!"
The Ambassador said getting the crowd to applaud.
"And this is only the beginning. Just imagine what the future holds when together we 'Reach' for tomorrow!" A little girl walked over, holding a Wonder Woman doll. As she stopped at the stage, the Ambassador to knelt in front of her.
"Greetings little one. Do you have a question?"
"I-I thought the Justice League protected the Earth… Why didn't they stop the War World?"
"(Sigh) I wonder about that too. Just as I wonder why they seem to attract so many Outer Space bullies to your planet. Maybe the War World was a bully too big for the Justice League to handle. Good thing your new friends, the Reach, were here too protect you!"
He said as Blue Beetle picked the girl up and placed her on his shoulder. She dropped her doll in surprise having the Ambassador step on it as he took several stops forward.
"Not to worry, though. The Reach will safeguard, but not enter the War World. Until such a time that Humanity is ready to assume control of it. The War World, is our gift to you!" The Ambassador finished getting the crowd to cheer.
Taos May 29, 20:08 MDT.
The four liberated Runaways, destroyed things that are related to the Reach, including signs, posters, a billboard, a delivery truck for the Reach energy drink, and a water tower with Blue Beetle's face on it.
Ring-Ring!
Eduardo answered his cellphone and a video of Lex came up.
"I wonder if the Reach can appreciate the irony of their own creations working against them?"
"Hey! They did not create us!" Eduardo said as the others crowded around him. "They kidnapped us!"
"And experimented on us against our will." Tye said looking down at the phone.
"And with that in mind. If you want to hurt the Reach where it hurts, I believe I can show you the way."
Asami, went to stand behind a building as the others continued and reached up to her ear.
"Kage."
"Yeah, Asami?"
"Lex is going to give us a mission."
"OK, leave your communicator on, I'll send someone with you when you get the details."
The War World May 30, 03:38 UTC.
Deep inside the War World, Arsenal is attempting to hack a console to communicate with the outside world.
"Come on! The Watchtower, the Warehouse, anybody!"
He slams his hands down, getting shocked before he is discovered by two patrolling soldiers.
"Great. And me basically out of ammo!" He hid behind the console having it get destroyed.
"HA! That's what you get you dumb machine." He said before it started to sink down in the floor. "Oh, now you're just being petty!"
He manages to defeat the guards in the ensuing fight, but his arm runs out of power. He takes one of their stingers, and escapes.
Taos May 29, 21:45 MDT.
Back in Taos, Luthor has directed the misfits into a safe house. Inside the living room, a laptop came on with Lex on it.
"Beside me is a Father Box."
They looked to see a rectangular handheld device. The casing is black, with a red, orange and yellow interface.
"It opens a Boom Tube, or a gateway to the War World and back again. It has also been programmed to locate Kryptonian D.N.A."
"Kryptonian? You mean you're sending us after Superman?!" Virgil asked as he sat on a levitating sewer cover.
"Superboy, actually, is one of ten young heroes captured by the Reach." Lex corrected showing a picture of the captured Team.
"Those guys saved us from the Reach!" Virgil exclaimed.
"Precisely, care to return the favor? And in the process deal a huge blow to the Reach?"
"Dude! You're asking us to go inside War World and rescue superheroes? If they got caught, what chance do we have?!" Tye asked getting Lex to look at him.
"Misión suicida! (Suicide mission!)" Eduardo yelled in Spanish.
"Kamikaze! (Suicide!)" Asami followed up in Japanese.
"I'm in." Virgil said after the two getting the others to look at him.
"The Reach won't be expecting us! With the element of surprise and our powers, we might be the only ones capable of saving them. Besides, we owe them!" He finished getting the others to nod, just as Asami turned the computer off.
"What did you do that for?" Tye asked before the door was kicked open.
The Runaways looked to see the Outlaws standing at the door. Fury walks towards them.
"We're going with you!" Fury said getting Tye to stand up. Only to sit back down at the glare he got. "Kage is my father, Superboy is my man, you keep me from going and you won't be able to go big ever again. And I mean that both ways!"
Red Hood sees the shock on the Outsiders faces and places a mildly calming hand on her shoulder. "Uh. Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're convinced, boss lady."
"Dou yatte tsukau no (How do I use this)? How does work, please?" Asami asked in Japanese and slowly in English.
"Give it a location." Oni said having Asami do that, have a Boom Tube Open up underneath them, and fall into it.
The Warworld May 30, 04:00 UTC.
The two groups fell inside Warworld into the midst of a group of seven patrolling Reach soldiers.
"We surrender!" Virgil said as he and Eduardo got on their knees. After pretending to surrender, they quickly take down the soldiers in a surprise attack.
However, the alarm is raised, and the platoon of reinforcements arrive. They retreat, with the soldiers in hot pursuit.
"GO!" Fury yelled having them attack, with Tye in his astral form.
At another section of the War World, Arsenal finishes recharging his bionic arm from another console.
"Full power. Now we're talking the same language." He said before hearing hears the sound of a battle.
He ran to the world and watches Eduardo creatively take down his pursuers with a well-placed teleport.
"Dude, did we know your 'Longshadow' was laser-proof?"
"They still hurt." Tye said as Red Hood shot several guards off a platform as Oni attacked with her reversed-bladed sword.
"Find Superboy!" Fury yelled to the Father Box before a white light pointing to her left came over the red screen.
On the other side, Kage, Nightwing, Starfire, and Miss Martian landed in a camouflaged Bio-Ship in the hangar.
"Glad to be back on the World of War, Star?"
"(Inhale) Not letting you get to me." Starfire said after taking a sharp inhale.
"Ooh, are you getting the tick of anger?"
Her eyes glowed green at that before Miss Martian sighed.
"(Sigh) If I had just delved deeper into Green Beetle's mind, instead of him feeding me information-"
"So you're saying this is your fault. Good for a second I thought it was mine!" Naruto said getting deadpan from his green skin lover.
The hatch opened having Sphere roll inside.
"Sphere!" Miss Martian yelled as Sphere beeped as she was hugged by the Martian.
"Can you take us to the others?" Starfire asked having Sphere beep, rev, and turn into her Super-Cycle mode.
"I'll take that as a yes." Naruto said with a smile.
New York May 29, 23:05 EDT.
In the GBS studio's dressing room, the Ambassador prepares for his appearance on the G. Gordon Godfrey show.
"The Meat designated Arsenal continues to allude Black Beetle's soldiers. But of greater interest, four of our former test subjects are also on board, as well as three of the Earth heroes and are attacking our controls." The Scientist informs him of recent developments via holographic communicator.
"What? How did that happen?!" The Ambassador yelled in anger.
Knock-Knock!
A woman with a headset opened the door. "One minute, Mr. Ambassador."
"I'll be right with you!"
She left having him look to the hologram. "Tell Black to terminate both situations! With extreme prejudice."
A few moments later, the Ambassador sat in front of G. Gordon Godfrey on his set.
"Welcome back to the show, Ambassador." Godfrey said having the Ambassador nod.
"Always a pleasure, G. Gordon."
The War World May 30, 04:25 UTC.
The runaways have finally located Superboy. The entire captured Team, Superboy included, are locked in stasis cells.
"Let's get them out!" Fury yelled before Black Beetle attacks them and takes down Tye with one punch.
"Please tell me he did not just take out our big gun in 3 seconds flat." Eduardo said to the others before Black knocked everyone except the Outlaws, and Eduardo away. Fury let out a war cry as she tackled Black Beetle as Arsenal sneak-attacks him, cutting his Scarab, and seals off the room before reinforcements arrive.
"Gracias amigo (Thanks friend). Umm, who are you?"
"A guy with a ten-foot poll up his ass!" Red Hood said shooting Black Beetle. "Damn it! I hate these rubber bullets!"
Arsenal tosses a laser stinger to Ed, and instructs to everyone to keep Black Beetle off-balance so they can stand a chance.
New York May 29, 24:30 EDT.
"So you see, G. Gordon, the Reach is all about intergalactic brotherhood." The Ambassador said from his seat.
"A lovely sentiment. So, please explain to the good folks at home how it squares with the lies you told us, and the fleet of warships you hid beneath our oceans."
"I… think you're forgetting that those ships helped Blue Beetle save the Earth." The Ambassador said before G. Gordon Godfrey brought a clip up.
"Unfortunately, the Reach only has this single ship. Designed for peaceful exploration and Diplomacy. And unequipped with any weapons."
"Now, I don't know what you call that on your world Ambassador. But here on planet Earth we call it a bold-faced lie! How many more lies are you hiding beneath our seas? And how much more propaganda will you ask the human race to swallow and wash down with a nice cold Reach?!" Godfrey asked pulling up his can of Reach soda.
The War World May 30, 04:51 UTC.
Black Beetle is kept at an impasse by Arsenal and the others. He cannot get close enough to inflict any damage before Fury flew to him and punched him in the face.
On the other side of the door, a boom tube opens behind a pair of soldiers who are observing the battle from a monitor. They are taken by surprise, and are taken out by electrified bolas. Deathstroke steps out of the boom tube, and locates the crystal key. He uses a Father Box to open the key's container.
The runaways take Arsenal's advice, attacking Black Beetle from all directions, keeping him off balance and confused of which one to attack.
"I am starting to get annoyed!"
Meanwhile, Arsenal fumbles with the controls of a stasis cell.
"Shouldn't we be freeing some of the good guys?" Eduardo asked Arsenal.
"No." Arsenal replied.
Losing his patience Arsenal blasts it open with a laser stinger, releasing Mongul.
"Uhh, amigo (friend), you don't seem clear on who we are here to rescue."
"Trust me, I'm clear."
Black Beetle is apoplectic with rage upon seeing Mongul; Mongul himself is not happy upon seeing a Reach agent. Black Beetle abandons his battle, and rushes off to beat Mongul up.
This distraction gives the rescuers a free hand to finish their mission.
"You get the Team, I gotta get something!" Arsenal orders the others to free the Team, while he searches for the crystal key. He find it is gone before he gets Guardian's shield, Wonder Girl's lasso, and the utility belts of Robin and Batgirl.
Back with the others, Red Hood rolled away from the fighting aliens and lands beside Oni and Grifter who was leaning against the wall out of breath and looking rather weak from being in Stasis.
"Nice mask." He commented before he, and his partner ran to join their leader who was helping Superboy.
"Hey. You okay?" Impulse asked Grifter who seemed out of it. He places a hand on his should, which Grifter quickly shrugs off.
"I'm fine, let's go."
With everyone free and Black Beetle busy with Mongul, Arsenal re-opens the door he sealed earlier in the fight. Expecting to see a squad of soldiers, they instead see their bodies and Nightwing, Starfire, Kage, Miss Martian and Sphere standing over them.
"Hello, fearless leader."
"Everyone safe?" Naruto asked.
"For now, but let's get out of here before those two declare a winner!" Arsenal recommends a retreat before the Black Beetle/Mongul fight is decided.
"That's the plan!" Naruto yelled getting the others to run to the Bio-Ship.
"You guys want a spot on the Team?" Naruto asked the Runaways as they stopped at the Ship.
Only for them to be interrupted by Bumblebee who was yelling at Arsenal on his opening of the airlock without warning was a move that could have killed the entire team.
"My thinking resulted on you being free!"
"Arsenal." Naruto said in a commanding voice. "This isn't the first time you put your friends, and innocent civilians in danger due to your grudge against Lex. When we get back, you're off the Team until you can prove you care about what happens to them and not just yourself."
The runaways protest as Arsenal's guidance allowed them to survive Black Beetle and save the day.
"That wouldn't have happened because he knows Blue Beetle is undercover and the Team has something that can call me instantly to their side!"
The Runaways are displeased by Arsenal's dismissal, and offer Arsenal a spot on their team instead. Arsenal accepts, and the teens take a boom tube back to Earth as the Outlaws were behind them, getting ready to get on the ship.
"Son of a bitch, I just got Conner-!" Fury yelled as she was sucked in the portal.
Naruto notices that Asami is using a Father Box, but they teleport out before he could say anything.
Taos May 30, 00:33 MDT.
The Runaways, and the Outlaws with Arsenal in tow, teleport into their hideout.
"I take it the mission was a suc..." Lex trailed off seeing Fury, the Outlaws, and Arsenal.
"'Sup, baldy? How're the pins in your ankle?" Fury asked with a smirk as her team left.
"Lex has you doing his dirty work? This guy's the reason I'm missing 8 years of my life, and my arm! Don't you get it? He didn't care if you rescued the Team! Or if you even lived! He was using you... As a distraction to lure Black Beetle away from the crystal key so one of his other pawns could steal it!"
"Mmm, Deathstroke's more of a bishop actually." Lex said before continuing. "But I'm not sure I understand the problem. You rescued the heroes and dealt a blow to the Reach. Isn't that exactly what I promised you?"
Tired of being used, Asami tosses the Father Box on the laptop, and blows both away with a chi blast.
"No more 'promises'." Virgil said as Asami put Naruto's headband around her neck, due to putting on protective gear for skateboarding.
Fury saw this and smiled figuring her father got someone to train again.
Later, out in the wilderness, on a highway to the mountains illuminated by a starry sky, the five head out for parts unknown on skateboards, or sewer cover in Virgil's case.
To Be Continued.
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