Chapter 9: Makeup and Breakups

A car sailed through the air smashing down in the middle of the street a hundred feet away. People scream and run in terror at the resulting explosion. Gunshots fill the air as the Tokyo police try to put down the monster responsible. Bullets bounce harmlessly off the monster's skin. He picks up another car tossing it at the police causing them to scatter like roaches when the light is turned on. Another explosion fills the street. "Grundy not like being shot at. Grundy destroy everything!" roars the undead monster.

Naruto lands a nearby roof watching the scene unfold. The attack started five minutes ago. Grundy randomly showed up and started to attack everything in sight like a mindless beast. Naruto doesn't know much about the super villain, but something tells him that this Grundy was sent here for other reasons than to cause random destruction. It looks like someone or a group of people are interested in learning more about his abilities.

Ever since the peace summit in Taipei when the world learned of a young hero with no identity, the crime rate that had been dropping in Tokyo had risen by at least 10 percent. Bank robberies and Yakuza attacks on random civilians have been rising. He has been working overtime for the past two weeks helping out the local police in trying to stop the crime. Naruto isn't an idiot. Already he deduced that the League of Shadows must have a hand in this. No doubt the wannabe ninja league was upset that he turned down their offer and humiliated their assassins at the peace summit. This is some form of revenge. And now that the small fries have failed the big guns so to speak are stepping up to bat. On the plus side he hasn't had a dull moment in a couple weeks. All this crime has given him plenty of time to train and increase his skills. Experience is experience even if the battle only lasts a couple seconds. There is also the fact that the people of Tokyo are more grateful than ever about his presence even if he is indirectly the cause of some of this new crime wave.

'Super strength, invulnerability, all too familiar,' thinks Naruto. Grundy is a hulking giant at ten feet tall with pale white decaying skin, blood shot red eyes, and a body that puts body builders to shame. The super villain is a walking mountain of muscle. Still, Naruto has experience dealing with super powered individuals. His hands are already flashing through seals as he leaps from the roof.

"Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet," Naruto sucks in a deep breath making his stomach expand four times its size. Taking aim, he punches his stomach spitting out a ball of concentrated wind about half his size. It flies at high speeds towards the giant. The ball of wind slams into Grundy's back drilling straight into the monster's dense skin. A roar of pain comes from Grundy as he smashes face first into the street. The ball of wind continues to drill Grundy into the street causing a large crater as it explodes.

Naruto lands on top of car. He waits patiently. "Grundy not like pain! Grundy kill you!" Out of the crater emerges Grundy. Grundy's entire back has been ripped to shreds. Slowly the skin is starting to knit back together.

'High level of regeneration that complicates matters.'

Grundy spins around to glare at Naruto. The supper villain leaps at Naruto. Naruto easily dodges the attack and is reminded of his battle with Mammoth. Mammoth was the super powered individual that Cobra enhanced with a combination of Venom and Blockbuster formula. He had used the Sharingan to take down the monster in order to avoid a long battle that would tear up the island. Sharingan has the ability to hypnotize those that it makes direct eye contact with. A simple minded beast like Mammoth that is all brain and no muscle was easy prey for the Sharingan. Naruto ducks under a thrown car. Unfortunately, too many people are watching making it near impossible to find a moment to use the Sharingan. He wants to keep that ability a secret for as long as possible. Poisoned kunai and shuriken? Grundy throws a punch that strikes air. Naruto reappears behind Grundy with a shake of the head. With such a high level of regeneration poison will slow Grundy down, but only for a few seconds. Slowing down a tank doesn't make the metal any less strong. No he needs to find a way to harm the beast that will take it out.

"Grundy not like you moving!"

"Clone no Jutsu!"

Six Naruto pop into existence surrounding Grundy. Grundy pauses looking around in confusion. The real Naruto hides in the shadows as the clones dodge and evade Grundy's attack. Earth and Fire jutsu are not going to work. Well, he does know a few fire jutsu that might work but the Justice League will be on him if he kills Grundy. Stupid heroes and their no killing philosophy. Water jutsu might work, but he needs a water source. He is not Kisame and can't produce an entire lake. At least not yet. Wind was effective but he would have to literally barrage Grundy with wind jutsu to take the monster down. That would kill his chakra reserves and leave him vulnerable. Being vulnerable when others might be watching is not an option he wants to risk. So that leaves him with one style of jutsu.

Grundy grabs the last Naruto, but this one disappears in a cloud of smoke as well. "Grundy kill all you!"

Naruto appears behind Grundy flashing through hand seals. Lightning begins to spark around his body. Out of all the elements lightning style jutsu are the hardest for him to control. It is the element he has the least amount experience in. "Lightning Style: False Darkness!" Opening his mouth, he fires a bolt of lightning that takes the shape of a spear. It shoots forward at jounin level speeds. Grundy spins around in time to be struck in the stomach. Pain fills Grundy as the lightning surrounds his body electrocuting him. The police and various citizens watch the light show in awe. Ending the jutsu, Naruto takes a moment to recover his senses. 'I definitely need to practice my lightning jutsu,' thinks Naruto. He winces as a bit of the lightning burned his tongue and mouth. It is going to take some time for that to heal. Grundy drops to his knees before falling face forward.

"Grundy…take nap…"

The former ninja walks over to Grundy and kneels down. Naruto is impressed. A normal person or a ninja would have been killed by such an attack. Even with Kurama healing him that attack would have killed Naruto. Grundy has some crazy regenerative powers to survive that. Or maybe it is the monster's natural invulnerability. Either way, the former ninja was impressed. 'Imagine if he had a brain to go with that power,' thinks Naruto. That is a scary thought. Noticing people taking pictures, Naruto forms a hand seal and disappears in a cloud of smoke.

Mount Justice; September 18th

Megan hums a tune as she makes lunch. It has been a great week. Not only is she a cheerleader at school, but now she is dating Superboy. Sure she almost died on the mission two days ago at Belle Reeve but that doesn't matter since Connor saved and then kissed her. Best mission ever. Megan pauses to see a third lunch. Sadness is in her eyes. That lunch was made for Naruto. Naruto has not shown up to eat lunch or dinner with them ever since the mission to Biayla.

"What happened? Where is Superboy?" Megan snaps awake. She looks over to see the team looking at her. In the bed over lies Superboy strapped down tightly. Aqualad is on a third bed with IV attached to his body. "Superboy…"

Naruto steps forward. "The mission over, take us to cave."

Those were the last words that he spoke to her. She remembers a very quiet trip back to the cave. Upon arriving at the cave, Batman was already waiting for them having received a full report of the mission from Naruto and Robin via transmission. Superboy and Aqualad were taken to the infirmary to be treated. Her uncle is the one that restored Superboy's memories. Megan never felt so bad in her life when Batman pointed out that she left a teammate, no a friend to die.

It was a couple days later that Canary and Kaldur spoke to her. The two comforted her. They reassured her that it was a mistake. Both knew that Megan was caught up in the moment was all. Kaldur forgave her. After school that day, Megan had called in the team to have a meeting. All of them showed up except Naruto. She apologized to the entire team.

Robin gives a smirk, "no need to worry. We all make mistakes."

"Yeah, I can't stay mad at you babe," winks Wally.

"It happens," shrugs Artemis.

Megan smiles warmly at her friends. "Thank you all so much." She wipes her eyes to prevent tears from falling. Her eyes glance around noticing that Naruto is not among the team. Kaldur notices the look and places a hand on her shoulder.

Out of everyone on the team, Naruto was her first friend. He allowed her to connect to his mind. The others were scared and feared her telepathic abilities. Superboy even yelled at her angrily. Naruto on the other hand was accepting. Even told her that she could continue to speak to him mentally if it made her more comfortable. He is the most stoic member of the team and at the same time the most accepting of her. Megan smiles realizing for the first time why it hurt so much that he was rejecting her. It hurt so much because Naruto is her best friend. She wanted her best friend back.

"Hey Naruto, want to help me cook?"

"…"

Giggling, Megan flies over to him. "Come on, it will be fun!" Naruto stares at her blankly. "Fine, how about I cook and you eat?" Naruto shrugs taking a seat at the counter. "Perfect, I am going to try a new recipe."

He would sit there listening to her talk not once complaining.

Megan gains a nervous look. "Sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much…"

"Why are you apologizing?" asks Naruto. Megan looks at him in surprise. "I never said it bothered me. If it did, I would let you know."

Blushing, Megan smiles brightly.

Megan gains a determined look. 'I am going to find a way to make it up to him!' Starting today she is going to get her best friend back.

Watchtower

"It is not magic. Whatever power that the child uses it is similar to magic, but it is not magic," says Zatara.

Batman, Zatara, and Wonder Woman are watching the news footage of Naruto fighting Grundy. Grundy is a dangerous villain with strength almost on par with Superman. Naruto used superior speed and his strange jutsu to defeat Grundy with relative ease. The former ninja revealed the ability to spit use lightning based powers. Altogether that means Naruto can use fire, wind, earth, and lightning. Not only that, but Naruto was able to cast illusions to fool Grundy. With each battle Naruto displays more powers that were previous unknown. Batman wonders what the extent of Naruto's powers truly are.

Wonder Woman smiles with an impressed look. "The child is a trained warrior. I am curious to test his strength for myself."

"Highly doubtful he would fight you at full strength." Wonder Woman and Zatara turn around to see Canary walking towards them. "I have sparred with him several times. He only ever shows a portion of his skill needed to take down an opponent."

"Are you saying he would be able to defeat me holding back?" says Wonder Woman a bit miffed at the implication. She has never faced an opponent she could not beat. Amazons are born warriors. It takes a great warrior to defeat an Amazon. Impressive as the child is, she is confident she can beat him.

Canary realizes her words may have offended the prideful amazon. "I didn't mean that…"

Batman interrupts the conversation. "There has been a large increase in criminal activity in Tokyo. We are not the only ones interested in Naruto's abilities." Canary, Zatara, and Wonder Woman immediately tense up realizing what Batman is getting at. "He reported to me a month ago that an assassin called Deathstroke contacted to him about joining an organization. I believed that it was the League of Shadows. Raj ah Ghul is always looking for people with talents in espionage to join his cause."

"You think it is someone else now?" asks Zatara.

"Possibly, all I know is that Naruto is being targeted. We will have to keep a closer eye on him to make sure that whoever or whatever it is that wants him doesn't get the opportunity," states Batman.

Mount Justice

Water and steel clash against each other. Naruto takes a step back with both hands on the hilt of his sword. Kaldur takes a moment to catch his breath. Both begin to circle each other. Twirling around his water swords, Kaldur rushes in with a feint before attacking from the left. Naruto doesn't fall for the feint blocking the strike from the left and lashing out with a kick striking Kaldur in the side. Spinning around, Naruto sweeps out Kaldur's legs.

Artemis shakes her head. "First we can't beat him in a straight up fist fight and now he is unstoppable with a sword."

"I could so take him," smirks Wally.

"Prove it," smirks Artemis. Wally gulps before walking forward with a confident grin. The speedster charges at Naruto only to have his arm grabbed, spun around, and slammed to the ground. Groaning, Wally lies on the ground. Artemis bursts out laughing having enjoyed that so much. "Oh yeah, you totally took him down."

Megan flies into the room. She lands next to Connor. Her eyes watch as Naruto and Kaldur go back to sparring. Kaldur forms his water bearers into various weapons, but none are a match for Naruto's skill and expertise with a katana. It is a very one sided match. "Is it me or is Naruto getting better?" asks Megan.

Red Tornado speaks up from his position on the other side of Connor. "No, I have been recording his movements since his first spar until now. His speed, strength, and reflexes have increased. Of course, each of you has grown stronger as well. The training that Black Canary is putting you all through is helping to improve your combat effectiveness."

"What's his record now?" asks Connor.

Naruto jumps up kicking Kaldur across the face. "As of this victory, Naruto's undefeated streak is up to 63 wins and 0 losses." Megan's eyes widen in surprise. That is over the span of several months. Smiling, it shouldn't surprise her that much. Naruto did defeat Mister Twister and complete the Santa Prisca mission on his own. And that was when the team was raw, untrained. If he has grown stronger than he is even more amazing than he was then. A determined look appears on her face. Flying into the air, she lands in the sparring arena.

"Can I have next?" asks Megan. Connor, Wally, and Artemis turn to look at Megan in surprise.

"Megan, what are you doing?"

Connor steps forward, but Megan ignores his comment. "Naruto?" She looks straight at him.

Kaldur puts away his weapons. He turns to look at Naruto. Naruto sheathes his katana. "No," says the former ninja.

"But…"

"Kaldur and Superboy have the strength to take the hits," says Naruto. He is speaking in near fluent English.

"What about Robin and Wally?" points out Kaldur.

"Dude!"

Naruto answers without hesitation. "I refuse to fight them as well." Ocean blue eyes glance at Wally who is still nursing his back. He turns around preparing to leave. Sensing negative intent, he ducks under a punch. Megan touches down in front of him and aims a kick. His arm comes up blocking the kick.

'You said that training was meant to help one get stronger. And even offered to spar with me back then. Well I want to become stronger!' Megan continues her furious assault. A blow to the stomach doubles her over.

Conner takes a step forward gritting his teeth. Kaldur raises his arm. "Wait, she is trying to get through to him."

Artemis raises an eyebrow, "by getting beat up?" The archer shakes her head. She learned after the first time she sparred with Naruto. Her ribs still ache in memory of the spar. He doesn't show mercy or hold back. In many ways he reminds her of her father. The main difference is that Naruto doesn't try to kill or have her kill others. Oh, not to mention that Naruto is ten times faster and stronger than her father.

"You have to understand, Naruto was the first person to accept Megan." Kaldur glances at Conner with a knowing look. "Remember when she first used telepathy? How we all rejected her powers, but Naruto was fine with her telepathy. Those two would spend hours talking to each other telepathically." Kaldur watches as Megan stands up attacking Naruto again.

"So what, she is trying to get him to be her friend again through fighting?" says Wally confused. Kaldur nods.

A leg sweep knocks Megan down. "Why are you doing this?" asks Naruto curiously. Megan stands up wincing in pain.

"I just want to train is all…"

Naruto tilts his head dodging her punch. "I can sense negative emotions. It is impossible to lie to me."

"Wait, he can tell when people are lying? Dude, since when did he have that power?" exclaims Wally. Artemis gets a nervous look. Does that mean he knew when Green Arrow was lying about her being his niece?

Superboy frowns, "how many powers does he have?"

Megan pants heavily. "I…" She shifts nervously. "I wanted us to be friends again."

'Friends?' Naruto hides his surprise well. He never considered anyone on the team to be a friend. There is only one person that he ever acknowledged as a friend and that was Kurama. A missing ninja and a Jinchuuriki didn't have the luxury of making normal friends. Kurama was not a normal friend. The friendship revolved around Kurama making snide remarks and criticizing his every move. Granted, he had inherited Kurama's power to sense negative emotions so he knew that despite all the comments Kurama never truly meant them. Well maybe at the beginning, but the two became close.

The ninja thinks on the matter. Megan cooks him meals and talks to him on a near constant basis. Kurama never cooked him meals, but did talk all the time. And he must admit that the conversations with Megan are much more enjoyable. Naruto smiles inwardly. It is nice to have another friend. "Then as a friend, please stop this. I have no desire to harm you," says Naruto.

Megan's eyes widen. "So we are friends again?"

"I am confused, but when did we stop being friends?" asks Naruto.

"What do you mean? Ever since the mission to Biayla you stopped talking to me and even stopped showing up for meals," exclaims Megan.

Naruto walks over to the computer. Multiple screens pop up revealing the increase of crime rate in Tokyo and other cities in Japan. "There has been a high increase in crime in Japan as a whole though most of it is centered in Tokyo. Most of it involves Yakuza and local criminals, but there have been a few instances where I ran into villains with super powers and assassins." A screen with Solomon Grundy and Deathstroke appear. "The assassin on the right is known as Deathstroke. He confronted me about a month ago offering me a position in his organization. I assumed it is the League of Shadows, but there are other organizations that work in darkness so I can't confirm it is the Shadows."

Kaldur gains a hard look at hearing this information. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"More importantly, what was your answer?" demands Wally.

"I turned them down and proceeded to fight with Deathstroke. He escaped before I could subdue him, but I am sure he received my answer." Naruto turns to face Kaldur. "I was not aware I had to tell you everything about my personal life."

Superboy steps forward. "We have the right to know when assassins are targeting us."

"Not you, me."

"Why tell us now?" asks Megan curiously. Artemis nods in agreement.

"You wanted to know why I missed the meals. I have been busy is all. I apologize," says Naruto. Megan blushes as a smile lights up her face. So he wasn't ignoring her. She jumped to conclusions. This whole time she was worried for no reason. "As for the not talking, I prefer to listen."

"Hello Megan, I forgot you don't like to talk much," exclaims Megan. He did tell her in the past that he liked listening to her talk and preferred to remain silent. She was such an idiot to think he would hold a grudge. Naruto is not that type of person.

"Naruto," starts Kaldur. "We are a team…no we are all friends. If you have a problem we are here to help."

Naruto gains a hint of amusement. "I don't have any problems. And I don't require any help with them." He closes the images and walks past the team. "See you later, Megan."

Megan waves, "bye Naruto! Come by tomorrow for dinner." A nod comes from the ninja. The Zeta Tubes activate teleporting Naruto back to Tokyo.

Wally scowls, "how can we trust that guy? He is being recruited by the League of Shadows!"

"He turned it down," defends Artemis.

"Yeah, Naruto is our friend," argues Megan.

"Some friend not trusting us with his information." Wally folds his arms across his chest. "I have always had a bad feeling about that guy." Megan and Artemis glare at Wally.

Superboy shrugs, "as long as he is on our side than it doesn't matter to me."

Kaldur looks at Wally. A scowl comes from the speedster.

Break

Conner watches as his girlfriend packs a bagged lunch. "What are you doing? It is Saturday there is no school."

"This isn't for me silly. It is for Naruto," giggles Megan. Conner raises an eyebrow. She decides to elaborate. "I thought it would be nice if we visited him this time instead of him always coming here to eat."

"Pass," Megan's eyes widen in surprise. Conner walks away. "I am going to train for a bit." There is jealousy in Conner's eyes but Megan is unable to see it.

Tokyo; September 22nd

A revving sounds makes Naruto turn his head. Sphere comes rolling next to him. Naruto pats Sphere. He goes back to staring out over the city. It is a quiet day in Tokyo. A rare occurrence but one that he is enjoying to the upmost. Being a hero has been getting boring lately. There hasn't been any criminals or villains to give him a true challenge. He has yet to face an opponent that makes him use his true strength. It seems all the true fighters are in the Justice League. Superman, Captain Marvel, Red Tornado to name a few. Naruto is not sure whether he can beat them or not, but he would love the opportunity to test his skills against them. A chance to fight an opponent that he can go all out against without holding back. He would love that opportunity.

'Naruto?'

Naruto tilts his head. 'Megan?'

'Hey! I came to bring you lunch!'

The ninja looks into the sky. A speck starts to move towards him. That specks soon transforms into Miss Martian. Megan waves happily to him before landing next to him. She takes a seat on the edge of the roof holding a bag. 'I made this lunch for you.' Naruto looks at her curiously. A light blush heats Megan's face. 'I thought it would be nice for a change if we had lunch at your home instead of you always coming to the cave.'

He takes the lunch with a hint of surprise. 'Thank you,' says Naruto. Megan beams. This is the nicest thing that anyone ever did for him.

'This is my first time to Tokyo. It is such a…busy city,' says Megan.

'It takes some time to get used to, but no different from many of the cities in the world.'

Naruto reaches into the bag pulling out a ham, turkey sandwich with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. He begins to eat the sandwich enjoying it. Megan is an excellent cook. A sandwich doesn't take much skill, but it is a testament to her skill that something as simple as a sandwich can taste so good. 'Do you think you can show me around?' Megan's green skin begins to turn white allowing her to pose as a human girl. 'I would love to see the city.'

'I don't mind,' shrugs Naruto. 'I will need to change.'

'Great!'

Tokyo 6:00 pm

Naruto and Megan are walking down the sidewalk. Both are in street clothes. Megan runs over to a window of a clothing store. 'I love that dress! Oh and that skirt!' Naruto watches her in amusement. He never understood the female's obsession with clothes. Then again, he has seen many males in the city just as obsessed with appearance. He wouldn't think that a shape shifter would care so much about clothes. 'Sorry, I guess I got a little…'

'I told you, no need to apologize. If I was bothered I would tell you,' interrupts Naruto. 'We are here to sightsee so enjoy.'

Megan smiles loving that Naruto is so understanding. 'What do you do for fun?' Naruto looks at her curiously. 'When you are not being a hero,' she clarifies. He shrugs as he continues to walk with Megan at his side.

'Train.'

'Isn't that more work? I mean like, do you watch any movies or play a sport?'

The former ninja shakes his head. 'No,' replies Naruto. Megan frowns. 'I spent most of my life on the run or fighting. Never had time to enjoy a movie or play games.'

'Naruto…'

A shrug comes from the ninja. 'I like to train and create new jutsu.' Naruto pauses as the light changes. 'Also, I love to fight and battle against strong opponents. It is one of the reasons that I choose to be a hero.'

Amusement appears in Megan's eyes. 'Most people become heroes in order to help others,' smiles the Martian girl.

'Did you join for that reason?' asks Naruto. Megan bites her lip. 'I thought so.'

'I like to help people, but you are right. I originally joined the team to find acceptance and gain friends,' admits Megan. Naruto knows that she is telling the truth. 'Why did you join the team?'

That is a good question. The light changes and he crosses the street with Megan at his side. He takes a moment to ponder that answer. Why did he join the team? It was a nice answer to say he joined to one day become part of the Justice League, but that was not the truth. And it was another thing to say that he joined to fight against strong opponents. Once again, not the entire truth. Naruto frowns because he doesn't know the true reason that he joined the team. 'I don't have an answer to that,' he admits.

Megan gives a reassuring smile. 'I am sure you will find it out in time.' An idea strikes her. 'Hello Megan, let's go see a movie!' She grabs his hand dragging him away. Naruto offers no resistance as he lets her pull him in a random direction.

Break

"That was great! It was my first time watching a movie at a theater on Earth."

Megan begins to ramble. Naruto walks over to the girl eating a piece of pocky. Pocky is a flavored stick of candy that is popular in Japan. He enjoys the candy and tends to carry around at least one pack on him at all times. The movie was a dramatic action movie that had lots of fighting centered on various martial arts. There was a love story in it as well. "The movie was good," admitted Naruto. A bit on the over dramatic side and the fight scenes were a bit showy, but the movie as a whole was good. He might come see another in the future.

A couple of teens around the age of Naruto and Megan come out the theater. "I am telling you that Shinobi would have beat those guys easy. Shinobi can spit lightning from his mouth!" exclaims one of the teens.

'Who is Shinobi?' asks Megan. Naruto raises a finger pointing at himself.

"Stop calling him Shinobi, it is a stupid name! The dude is Ninja-Man!"

"No way, it is Shinobi!"

Megan looks at Naruto in confusion. 'I don't have a codename so everyone argues on what to call me,' explains Naruto. 'Shinobi, Ninja-man, Shadow are among the most popular.'

'I had no idea you were so popular,' smiles Megan.

Naruto shrugs, 'I am one of the few heroes of Japanese descent. Plus, it is a source of pride for the country. Ninja and samurai have a deep history in Japan. Me being a ninja is a pretty big deal.'

Understanding appears in her eyes. 'You should come up with a codename,' beams Megan. That smile disappears at the blank expression he gives her. 'Or not.' The two walk outside to see it is completely dark outside. A yawn comes from the girl. 'It is pretty late…well here it is late.'

'You should go back home and get some rest. There might be a mission tomorrow,' says Naruto.

Megan nods, 'I will have to stay up in order so my sleep schedule doesn't get all messed up.' A nod comes from the ninja. She is not like him. He is able to operate at full power with only four hours of sleep. A missing ninja is always being hunted by its village leaving little time to rest and relax. 'Naruto, thank you for showing me around. I had a great time today.'

Naruto turns to face Megan. 'I had a good time as well. Feel free to visit again.' Megan beams. She really did miss spending time with Naruto. It reaffirms that he is truly her best friend. The one person that understands her the most.

Nighttime – Apartment

Naruto lies in bed staring up at the ceiling. Today was…fun. He had never spent a day just relaxing and enjoying the same thing as regular people. For the first time he understood the reason that members of the Justice League create a secret identity. It is nice to walk around the people without having to worry about being mobbed by fans or attacked by criminals. Maybe he will do it again without Megan next time. Closing his eyes, he falls into a light sleep.

September 22nd

Aqualad glances down at Megan. She is unconscious. Sweat is dripping down her face. He lifts up his arm wiping away the sweat that threatened to blind him. Panting, he knows that if he doesn't find a way to escape from this prison of fire then Megan would die and shortly afterwards he would as well. It didn't make any sense. How were they able to enter the cave undetected? The security measures should have alerted the team to any and all intruders. Instead the team was completely blinded sided by the attack.

"Kaldur, how is M'gann?!" shouts Superboy.

"She is breathing, but I do not long how much longer she…we can handle this," admits Aqualad. He turns his head to see Robin and Artemis in a similar prison of fire. Artemis is covered in bruises with parts of her uniform burned away to reveal tantalizing views of her skin. She is glaring at the ones responsible. Robin on the other hand is unconscious and hasn't moved for the past five minutes.

Artemis notices the glances. "I think he blacked out. I can feel a pulse."

"This is not good," gulps Kid. Like Superboy, he is trapped in melted metal keeping him trapped. It is times like these he wished that he could vibrate as fast as Flash to get out of this. "How do we get out of this now?"

Megan whispers a name, "Naruto."

Tokyo

Naruto pauses as he is about to make some breakfast. Strange, he felt as if someone tried to call out to him. It felt like Megan. One thing he never doubts in his instincts. Abandoning the breakfast, he forms a hand seal disappearing in a cloud of smoke. He reappears on the roof. At speeds that would make even Kid a bit envious, he leaps from roof to roof until reaching the designated alley. He enters in the phone booth and activates the Zeta Tube. In a flash of light he disappears.

A split second later, he appears in the cave. "Recognizes B06, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto doesn't get a chance to search for the others when a fireball heads straight at him. He moves swiftly in the opposite direction of his attack. Several more fireballs are thrown at him, but he avoids them running down the hallway towards the kitchen. It takes less than a second for him to disappear into the shadows. The former missing ninja hides in the shadows as footsteps fill the air. Soon enough his attacker enters into the kitchen. His eyes narrow upon the enemy. It is an android that looks almost identical to Red Tornado except female in appearance. Drawing a kunai, he prepares to attack. The android turns to look straight at him. It lifts her arms launching a stream of fire. Naruto quickly leaps out of the way tossing the kunai at the android. A swat of the arm knocks the kunai out of the way.

'Fire powers,' thinks Naruto. Red Inferno is the name he dubs her. His hands come together flashing through hand seals. The jutsu he planned to use was never completed when water erupted out of the sink taking the form of a spear and headed straight at him. Naruto dives out of the way tossing several shuriken at Red Inferno as a distraction. Channeling chakra to his legs, he darts out of the kitchen before getting a good look at his second enemy.

Naruto has the cave completely memorized. He heads straight to the hangar. It is a large open area that will give him the best opportunity to fight his opponents. Red Inferno controls fire and judging from the water attack the second opponent controls and manipulates water. Possibly another android though he is not about to jump to conclusions. Assuming leads to under or overestimating and that leads to death.

The ninja enters the hangar and leaps down next to the motorcycles. Behind him is a portion of the lake that is within the cave. The water behind him starts to rise up into a large wave. The tidal waves crashes down upon Naruto. He channels chakra to his feet to stick to the floor and avoid being swept away. Naruto reaches into his pouch slapping a paper bomb onto the floor before swimming away. Forming a hand seal, he activates the paper bomb. The explosion blows a large chunk of the floor away draining the water.

A second red android emerges from the water. It hovers in the air using the water as a platform to do so. Naruto glances backwards to see the first female android. Red Inferno and Red Torpedo stare down upon Naruto. 'Fire and water jutsu are unusable. Bio-metric scanners will be able to detect me even when I am hiding in the shadows,' analyzes Naruto. Fire and water come crashing down at Naruto. Both elements crash upon Naruto creating steam. When the steam clears it reveals a hole in the ground instead of a defeated ninja.

Break

A groan escapes Robin. "Good to see you are finally awake." Robin sits up to see Artemis. He looks around to see that both of them are trapped in a prison of fire. His hands shoots to his utility belt only to find it was gone. "They took that off you and burned it to ashes along with my bow," scowls Artemis.

Robin looks over to see Kaldur nursing a near death Megan. "Why haven't they killed us? What are they waiting for?"

"Dude, let's not rush to our death," says Kid struggling to get free. Superboy is valiantly trying to break free. His eyes are locked onto Megan. He can barely hear her breathing. Even her heart rate is beginning to slow down.

'Megan, I will save you!'

Red Inferno flies down between the two fire prisons. Red Torpedo emerges from the water landing next to its sister. A robotic voice fills the cavern speaking in Red Tornado's voice. "Naruto Uzumaki, you have ten minutes to surrender or your teammates will die."

Kid groans in annoyance. Water starts to rise up from the ground. It starts to swallow up Kid Flash and Superboy. "Great, ten minutes to live. You happy to have your answer now Robs?"

"We need to find a way out," Robin examines the fire prison. "There has to be a way."

Artemis glances at Megan and Kaldur. 'Come on Naruto, you are supposed to be the best. Help us out.'

Break

"Six minutes remain."

Naruto double checks his gear. He calmly walks down the hallway where he smells the rest of the team. There is no point in hiding. His enemies are not searching for him. Red Inferno and Red Torpedo know that he will come to them in order to save the team. That is not the entire truth. It is not his mission to save the team. He has no obligations to save them. The reason he is fighting is because the enemy knows the location of the base. If the enemy can find the team here it means that the enemy might be able to find him in Tokyo.

'Is that the true reason?' wonders Naruto. He thinks back on Megan's question on why he decided to join the team. Back then he didn't have an answer to the question. And he still doesn't have an answer, but he knows that the reason he is trying to save the team is not to hide his identity or keep Tokyo safe from an attack. Megan pops into his mind. She is his friend. A person that he enjoys talking to and spending time with. If he doesn't save her then he will never get to hear her voice or see her again. The mere idea of her death fills him with anger. It is like the first time he fought Akatsuki and learned that they wanted to take Kurama from him. He was so angry that he lost control. Megan had become to mean as much to him as Kurama.

"We are all teammates…friends. You can trust us," says Kaldur.

Aqualad…Kaldur even called him a friend. Artemis stood up for him when Kid tried to call him out as a traitor. Superboy has becoming a good sparring partner. At least for increasing his taijutsu skills. There are people on this team that mean something to Naruto. As much as he may try to deny it, he has come to enjoy spending time with the team. Kurama would be calling him soft right now.

Naruto strikes a button opening the doors to the main reactor room. The doors slide open to reveal Red Inferno and Red Torpedo. On either side of each android is a prison made of fire with two members of his team in it. Robin and Artemis are trapped in the fire prison to the left. A barely conscious Kaldur and a near death Megan are trapped in the fire prison to the right. Naruto's eyes lock onto Megan. Anger fills him at the sight.

Red Inferno launches a fireball at Naruto. Naruto draws his katana slashing through the fireball. He moves at high speeds slashing at Red Inferno, but water rises up protecting the female android. Spinning around, Naruto tosses two pellets at Kaldur before leaping high into the air. Kaldur catches the pellets hiding them behind his back. "Give to Megan to consume," orders Naruto twisting in the air to avoid a fireball. A stream of water wraps around him and slams him into the ceiling.

Kaldur opens Megan's mouth forcing her to chew and swallow the black pellets. A couple seconds later, her eyes slowly open up. "Megan, are you okay?"

"Weak," whispers Megan. She looks at the fire. "What…happening?"

"Naruto watch out!" shouts Artemis.

A fireball heads straight at the pinned Naruto. Naruto channels chakra to his feet to stick to the wall and push off breaking free from the water. The fireball scorches the location he was just in. He tosses a barrage of kunai and shuriken at the androids. Both androids easily dodge the weapons. "Once he falls into the water he is done," says Kid.

Naruto splashes down on the water shocking the team. "No way," says Artemis.

"How is he doing that?" whispers Robin.

"Dude, are you related to Jesus?" asks Kid.

Aqualad stares at Naruto who is standing on top of the water. "What is the extent of your powers? What other elements can you manipulate?" asks Aqualad.

"All."

"Even water?"

"All elements."

'So it is true, he can manipulate all the elements,' thinks Aqualad.

Red Inferno raises both arms launching a stream of water at Naruto. Naruto's hands flash through a series of hand seals at high speeds. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" The water behind the ninja rises up taking the form a giant water dragon. Every member of the team watches in awe as the water dragon roars before charging head first into the flames. It overcomes the flames and continues towards Red Inferno engulfing the fire manipulating android. Naruto prepares to finish the android. He never notices the water rising behind him taking the shape of Red Torpedo.

"Dude…"

"Look out!"

Megan's eyes widen in terror as Red Torpedo creates a blade of water and stabs Naruto straight through the back. The water blade pops out the front of his chest. "Naruto!"

"No," whispers Aqualad.

Naruto stands frozen with his eyes wide. He looks down before turning his head to look at Red Torpedo. Shocking everyone including the android, Naruto bursts into water. A steel blade bursts out the front of Red Torpedo's chest. Red Torpedo looks down at the blade before turning to look at its attacker. Naruto stands behind the android unharmed. Viciously he yanks out his katana before swinging it upward decapitating the android. Red Torpedo's head and body splash into the water.

Kid blinks, "um ok what just happened? I thought we watched him get killed."

The water starts to recede until leaving Naruto standing on the cold hard floor. Several fireballs rain down upon Naruto. Naruto moves swiftly avoiding the fireballs. He wishes that his opponent wasn't an android so he would be able to use his Sharingan. Reaching back, he tosses a half dozen shuriken at Red Inferno. His hands start to flash through hand seals. "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." The six shuriken multiple into twenty shuriken. Red Inferno is unable to burn away all the shuriken and several pierce its metal body. Sparks begin to occur over Red Inferno. Naruto reveals invisible ninja wire in his hand that is attached to several of the shuriken embedded in Red Inferno's body. A hard yank pulls Red Inferno straight towards him. At the same time Naruto channels chakra to his legs enhancing his speed to a point that he becomes a blur to even Kid and Superboy. Naruto reappears behind Red Inferno with sword drawn. Red Inferno splits in half diagonally from a clean cut. The android explodes in a shower of debris.

The fire trapping Artemis, Robin, Megan, and Aqualad dissipates. "Megan!" shouts Superboy.

"I am…okay," says Megan. Aqualad carries her down the steps. She looks over at Naruto. "Thanks Naruto, you saved me…us." Superboy looks away with guilty eyes. Jealousy soon starts to fill him.

Artemis walks over to Naruto. "So how did you do that walking on water?"

"Secret," replies Naruto. Artemis huffs in annoyance.

"Great we are all saved, now can you get us out of here?" bemoans Kid.

Artemis smirks, "I don't know. I like you better like this."

"Zeta Tubes are back online. I am sending a communication to the League," reports Robin.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance," says Red Tornado. The team turns to see Red Tornado fly into the room.

"Where have you been? Your brother and sister tried to kill us!" exclaims Artemis.

Red Tornado lands on the ground. The robot superhero stares at the destroyed robots that share many similarities to him. "Zeta Tubes and communication were down. I decided to investigate so I teleported to Providence and flew from there." Red Tornado walks over to the head of Red Torpedo. "I was not aware that I had any family." He kneels down touching the head of Red Torpedo. A small spark is transmitted and Red Tornado's eyes glow red. Suddenly, Red Tornado hovers in the air. Red Tornado creates twin vortexes with its arms sucking up all the air. Aqualad and Megan are the first to succumb to the lack of oxygen. Kid Flash is next followed by Superboy and Robin. Artemis falls to her knees not believing that Red Tornado turned against them. She soon collapses. Naruto falls to a knee as his vision begins to darken. Closing his eyes, he channels chakra to his heart slowing it down to appear passed out.

A minute later, Naruto's eyes shoot open to reveal Red Tornado and along with the head of Red Torpedo gone. He stands up checking on others. All of them are alive though unconscious. Naruto takes a seat on the ground needing to recharge.

Break

Artemis wakes up to find Superman standing over her. "Superman?" Superman gives a friendly smile reaching out with his hand. She takes his hand allowing him to help her up. "What is going on?" Her eyes widen. "Where is Red Tornado?"

Robin turns from talking with Batman. "Gone, so are the bodies of the other two androids." Artemis looks to see Flash and Captain Atom working to cut Kid Flash and Superboy free.

"I can't believe Red Tornado attacked us," says Megan in disbelief.

Soon enough, Superboy and Kid have been cut free. Kid, Robin, Artemis, and Aqualad are sitting at a table not saying a word. Green Arrow walks over to the table placing down a bowl of pretzels for the team to snack on. "Thanks, but no thanks," says Kid.

"Yeah, what we want are answers about Red Tornado and his siblings," says Robin.

"Yeah!"

Green Arrow picks up the bowl and prepares to leave. "Leave the bowl," says Kid. The young speedster grabs the bowl and begins to munch down. Superboy looks over to the side to see Batman and Naruto speaking privately. He uses his super hearing to listen in on the conversation.

Batman has a pensive expression. "You reported that during your mission to protect Taipei, Sportsmaster revealed information on the team's involvement in Biayla. Such knowledge leads there to believe a possible inside source on the team's actions."

"Possibly," agrees Naruto. "Red Tornado's actions and the attack on the cave confirm that our location and identity is not as secret as believed…" In an instant, Naruto spins around grabbing an offending arm and tossing his attacker straight into the cavern wall. The loud noise draws everyone's attention.

"Conner!" gasps Megan. "What are you doing?"

Superboy grits his teeth getting out of the small hole. "He knew! He knew there was a mole on the team and didn't say anything."

"What? Are you serious?" glares Kid.

"How could you not tell us?" frowns Robin.

Kid scowls, "just like he didn't tell us about Deathstroke offering him a position in the League of Shadows."

"Naruto, is this true?" asks Megan.

Naruto turns to face the team. "It was not of any importance."

"Megan was almost killed!" Superboy walks threateningly towards Naruto.

"We all almost died, how is that not important?" argues Artemis.

Batman speaks up in a tone that ends all argument. "Enough." The team turns around to face Batman no one daring to speak out against the Dark Knight. "Since Red Tornado's disappearance the team will be monitored by a rotating staff of Justice League members. Captain Marvel has agreed to take the first shift."

A tall muscular hero in red and gold steps forward. "We are going to have a great time," smirks Captain Marvel.

Superboy turns to glare at Naruto. "When I have dismantled Red Tornado I will deal…"

"Red Tornado is Justice League." Batman stands before Connor. "You will leave him to us." Superboy grits his teeth keeping silent. "I have another mission for you all." A screen pops up revealing a newspaper clip.

Kid frowns upon reading the front. "Guerilla Gorilla attack?"

"Batman please tell me you are not serious about this joke of a mission," scowls Robin.

Batman's eyes narrow upon his protégé. "I never joke about the mission." Robin looks away refusing to meet Batman's eyes. "I have studied the patterns and investigated the sources. Aqualad, you and your team will depart for India and check this out."

Kid glances over at Naruto. "I don't know how comfortable I am teaming up with someone that doesn't trust us."

"I see," says Naruto. "In that case I will put in my resignation to the team."

"Naruto," starts Aqualad.

Superboy glares at Naruto. "Let him go. He almost got us all killed." Megan wants to say something, but doesn't know what to say. Artemis is too angry at the situation and silently agrees with the others. Naruto glances at Aqualad before heading towards the Zeta Tubes. In a flash of light he disappears.