It'd been a month since she was introduced to her new prison. Well, it'd been two days of travel, one day of "implementation" and twenty-seven dwelling in this ceil. They had her in a straight jacket and a muzzle. Even her legs were shackled to further limit her range of motion. Make one guard bite through his tongue, break another's neck with her legs, and bite through a final one's jugular and this was the reward.
None of it really mattered, Harley was quite clear on her purpose. She just had to survive long enough to get a clear shot at Amanda Waller. The stupid bitch had the temerity to actually show her face to the former sidekick, so confident in her little precautionary measure. Harley would let her think she was cowed, that the occasional murdered guard was just the outbursts of her fraying mental health. But Harley knew the show was necessary. The irony being that a wild beast bent on revenge was easier to control. Waller had nothing else to bargain with, she couldn't promise to shave off time for crimes Harley hadn't been convicted of so she presented herself as a teaser pony. Harley swore she'd ride that bitch to hell.
Her shackles, controlled from a remote location, were released and she heard the gathering of guards outside. Meal time, a few bathroom breaks, and an hour of yard time were the only breaks she had from her dwellings. The door opened and she stepped through, five armed guards with stun batons at the ready formed a semi-circle just in case she got rambunctious.
Harley exited her ceil, the semicircle becoming a full enclosure once there. The guards escorted her through the drab, concrete hallways that seemed to absorb light and hope in equal measure. The tedious process of navigating the maze of locked doors was finally put to an end as they arrived at the cafeteria, multiple parties already seated at a single table.
The white table cloth and multicourse place setting confused her, Waller sitting at the head of the table enraged her. She didn't bother trying to attack, even if she could get through every guard, the convenient bomb in her skull could be activated faster than she could move. Waller's leash, her security blanket. For now. She walked to the table and sat beside Killer Croc. Deadshot, Bronze Tiger, Captains Boomerang and Cold. This was to be her team, people just as disposable as she was. Harley absently ate her food not focused on anything but how to get free enough to kill Waller.
"He's here, sir." Slade tsk'd at the confirmation. Why Ra's sent him to collect Vandal's body was beyond him but you didn't get to ask questions in the League, you obeyed the Demon's Head's every whim as if it came from God. He was starting to chafe under such strictures and having Ra's's princess tag along was doing him no favors.
It was the dead of night in Kaznia, the royal palace was to be built in a new location so at least they didn't have to contend with security. Although, Slade would have welcomed the action as it would have at least been fitting of his skill set. Retrieval missions were fine, amateur archeology was not. He tapped the ground, the earth was solid but not so hard they'd require machinery, or worst of all, himself to start digging. He looked to the adherent with the imaging tool.
"Put your toy away and get to work," he ordered. No one was around but it was good to stress stealth. Just because seemingly everyone that would care to know about them did wasn't an excuse to get sloppy. Ra's may have forgotten how a secret organization should run but Slade still had his wits and pride. And finally honed instincts that alerted him to danger and when he saw the briefest glint of what he knew to be a seal he didn't hesitate.
"Back to back, now!" he ordered and the six shadows obeyed. Even Talia fell in, pistol drawn. The others had their various weapons at the ready as well, only Slade was empty handed. He reasoned that probably confused the others but if he were right then their weapons were just for show anyway.
"Why did we stop?" Talia asked in a tone that could make anything sound like a demand.
"Shh," Slade replied. He had no time to indulge her. He wasn't a natural at negotiation but if she wanted to leave here alive he was going to have to do his best. "Kid," he called out. "I know you're there," and he did. He couldn't pinpoint where but he could sense it the same way you knew when a tiger had their eyes on you. His body was tense in a way it never got in dangerous situations and that was knowing he had the best chance of leaving here alive.
"Whatever issue you have with this man you need to consider it over."
"Don't act like you don't know what my issues are, Sensei" spoke the disembodied voice. It was deeper than the last time he'd heard it.
"Markovia was years ago and you've had two chances to get the job done." Slade hadn't expected a laugh.
"He seems to not have the good sense to stay dead and I'm nothing if not thorough."
"Whoever you are we are not here to bargain. You will not stand in the way of Ra's- ugh!" Talia's diatribe was ended by a pebble that rocketed toward her and nailed her in the forehead.
"Guess that name didn't offer the protection you thought it did, huh?"
"She is right. If you involve yourself in this Ra's will have to respond and he has the bodies to throw at you."
"He'd run out eventually."
It was Slade's turn to laugh, the kid wasn't wrong and threats weren't going to be effective. "True but just think how bothersome it'll be. Assassins at your door, at your work. Gun fire while you're trying to enjoy your Kung Pao."
"That does sound annoying."
"Of course it does. And while you're fending us off you'll be on the radar of every masked idiot with enough pull to scrape together a crew. Worse yet, everyone will take it as a message that you're a part of the life. The Question was already taking a hard look at you and it wasn't under his own volition."
"The fucking Pajama Detective,"
"Yes. Just walk away, kid."
"I'll leave him to you, Sensei," the voice said and Slade relaxed a little. It had gone well and that feeling of being stalked had vanished. A small part of the legendary mercenary thought it'd been too easy. Not that Naruto couldn't be reasoned with, he still expected more pushback.
Feeling everyone's eyes on him Slade spoke to the group, "Congratulations, you just survived a run-in with the most dangerous person you've ever met."
"So, that was your former student?" Talia asked and Slade rolled his one eye.
"You truly have a gift for stating the obvious, Talia."
"Just dig up Savage so we can leave you mindless brute," she hissed. It would be so easy to snap her neck and put a bullet in the other members on the scene. But it wasn't time yet. He needed to solidify his support before he made his move. He'd remain patient but when the time was right he'd severe the Demon's Head and no magic pit would bring him back afterward.
Naruto flashed back to his penthouse, Mr. Wintergreen not remotely startled when he appeared beside him. The Uzumaki removed his hooded, leather duster and sat at his desk. He rubbed his temple in frustration at the turn of events. Ra's and Vandal couldn't bring anything good but R'as spent most of his time in a nation he controlled and interpol wasn't much help. So, he'd have to either take it upon himself to dismantle the league (as if he didn't have a multi-national to run) or go to the Pajama People and let them deal with it.
The choice was obvious. If he set out to break apart Ra's cult it would end in a lot of people dead; too many to be ignored and he simply didn't feel like enduring that level of scrutiny. Besides, the Boy Scout would do his kicked puppy routine with the, 'how could you kill those defenseless assassins, Naruto!' look in his eyes and no one needed that. Of course bringing this to the Pajama People had its own set of problems.
The first was Batman. Naruto was nearing the end of his patience with the man and if the Detective didn't back off he was going to find himself in deep water. Not only wasn't Naruto afraid of him, he wasn't actually a criminal and refused to be treated as such. But just threatening the man to back off wouldn't work and snapping his spine would result in the Justice League doing something stupid in retaliation.
Some part of Naruto wanted them to. He couldn't explain it but for the last few weeks he'd been in a rather salty mood. He hadn't let it affect how he treated people but he could just feel it. His patience was low, he got annoyed at things he could usually ignore. The more concerning feeling was the desire for a fight. Nothing had helped; not increased meditation, more intensive training, long walks. He just couldn't shake it but couldn't find the source either. Something was amiss but he had no idea what. Even Kurama agreed it wasn't an internal issue. The redhead hoped it passed soon as he didn't enjoy feeling like this.
He refocused on his work as Mr. Wintergreen put his breakfast on his desk; eggs over easy, bacon, toast and some green concoction in a cup he was expected to down. Probably had kale. He hated kale. Mr. Wintergreen didn't care that he hated kale. While enduring the mystery smoothie, Naruto got busy coding. He needed to uncover some dirt about Ra's, maybe upend a plot of his in retaliation and a lure for the Detective.
Coding was very similar to fuinjutsu so when Kushina informed him his clan was known for their sealing abilities it clicked why he'd taken to coding so readily, even with very little in formal education on the topic. Even Lex acknowledged his skills and the man was tight with praise. Not to an asshole, nurture emotional dependency degree, but it took some doing to earn.
By the time Naruto finished his breakfast he'd created his program, nothing too complicated as it was just establishing search parameters and collecting information within the parameters. While Ra's wasn't shy about using violence stateside, he tended to be a little more subtle in Europe and throughout Asia. His plots, from what Lex shared, were often very elaborate. It showed the man's talent for manipulation and his understanding of human psychology but the more nuanced the plan the easier it was to blow the thing to hell. Finesse had its place but it was risky and Ra's interest in Vandal suggested he helped the man infiltrate Kaznian high society. That morsel of information would lead to Ra's having a bad day.
Confident his widget was good to go, Naruto headed to the shower so he could get ready for the day. An hour later he returned to his office to see the results. It was disperse at first but the more he read the more Naruto was able to see the strings and a narrative started to form. It was a good plot, if millions of people wouldn't have suffered should Ra's succeed Naruto may have even praised the man. But people would be harmed so Naruto would take a crowbar to his scheme instead.
Gotham had gotten worse. Bloodletting in the streets was commonplace as the war for the new king of crime heated up. Out of town muscle, high level assassins, and every manner of psychopath haunted the city as Black Mask showed the true depths of his ruthlessness and depravity. The varied factions had started to consolidate and increased the scale of conflicts. Neither Black Mask nor the Maroni Crime Family were willing to coexist by carving Gotham up into territories. They wanted it all.
Batman knew he needed to put an end to this but each organization had upped its game. High level members were never anywhere near anything illegal, they didn't even care guns on them anymore. Financial transactions had gone from desperate attempts to hide cash via fronts to shoddy attempts at coins. But now, they kept their financials on biometric protected hard drives that were hand delivered to foreign banks with no set pattern for deposits, not when nor how they traveled.
Getting the low level thugs stopped their specific acts but none of them could or would roll on their superiors. Gotham PD were doing the best they could but he knew it was up to him to tip the balance. The war had to end with the fall of both factions as letting them entrench themselves into the city would make them able to spread their corruption and insulate themselves for years to come. He couldn't let that happen, he wouldn't let that happen.
It was a lucky break that brought him outside this seedy club. While most of the higher ups in Black Mask's organization were disciplined, one person in particular had pathologies he had to act on. Victor Zsasz was a sadistic, homicidal psychopath and needed to kill. But not just kill, he needed his ritual, he needed to take his time and cut. His kills were distinctive and distinctive was bad when seeking to evade arrest so Black Mask arranged for Zsasz to have somewhere to indulge in his urges. If he could be caught in the act, Batman reasoned, he might be able to break through to Zsasz and get Black Mask once and for all.
He waited on an adjacent rooftop, the night's chill hardly worth commenting on. Zsasz was generally spotted here between the hours of 12-3am and it was 2:30am now. Alfred was going to get on him about pushing himself. He couldn't discount the man's warnings but the pull of obligation made him ignore the valid advice. Gotham was teetering in a way it hadn't in years. He just needed to push through a little longer.
A presence was sneaking up behind him, it removed any thoughts of fatigue from his mind. Foot falls were quiet but heavy, it suggested a bigger person but one trained well enough to adequately control their body. Not a stealth expert but not bad. Batman let him continue to think he was going to get the drop on him. When his would be assailant got closer Batman lashed out, taser in hand but the attack was caught.
"I told you once before, your toys won't work on me, Bat," Bane said. Batman responded with an uppercut that missed the mark but Bane released his arm and the two got into their mutual stances. This was bad. The last time he fought Bane while nearing exhaustion he was thoroughly defeated and there was no telling what backup he had with him.
"Are you two going to be long?" a third voice asked. Both combatants looked to the side to see a hooded figure standing nonchalantly.
"Are you his new sidekick, Chico?" Bane asked. He was answered with a chuckle.
"Not in a thousand years, Tio," Naruto responded cheekily.
"Then I suggest you leave as this won't be pretty and I don't like witnesses."
"Understandable but I have some business with the Detective so why not try to kill him tomorrow. You could arrange a meet up," Naruto suggested.
"Like a duel?" Bane asked sarcastically.
"Like a playdate since both of you idiots are in costumes. One can bring the bottled water the other the orange slices."
Batman knew who it was and while not a fan had grown used to the young man's disrespect. Bane, conversely, didn't and had not respectively.
"Careful, Chico. I don't like violence with no pay but I won't be insulted by you or anyone."
"Then you shouldn't wear that sillyass getup. Where do you even get that? For both of you, how does resupply work? The economy of supervillainy would probably be more fascinating than any of you dimwits playing dress up."
"You've been warned and now you'll have to pay for your words." Naruto chuckled again.
"Hey Detective, since I provoked him this can't be considered self-defense so I won't kill him."
Batman wanted to intercede but a chance to get more intel on the Uzumaki, his own deteriorated physical state, and his word he wouldn't kill Bane kept him still. That he hadn't attacked preemptively seemed to confuse the mercenary, at least for a moment but he quickly shook it off and turned toward Naruto.
"Ok, niño, time for your lesson."
"Wait," Bane heard the boy say and smirked. Of course he lost his nerve-, "Use your venom so this won't be a complete waste of time," he requested. The arrogance of the request made Bane do just that and he felt the euphoric rush of venom coursing through his veins. It was a rush and as he bulked up he felt near invincible. He charged at the stranger, fist cocked back and unleashed with a great deal of might. It was slapped away. Bane attacked again and again his punch was slapped away. He grew frustrated, that this mere boy would dare stand before him and attempted a grapple.
He aimed for a double leg takedown but was greeted with a knee strong enough to stop him in his tracks and darken his vision. A shin to his temple sent him reeling as he skidded across the roof. Bane stumbled back to his feet, falling on his first attempt. The second blow concussed him but in his venom induced state he didn't care. The aggression was too easily accessed and his pride was hurt so he forced himself up.
He wanted to rip the boy to shreds, crush his every bone and make him scream in agony. He was going to cave his skull in and enjoy the feeling of the stranger's blood on his knuckles. He would die and it would be gruesome.
"You do realize you can retreat, right?" The words were like a cold bucket of water that lifted the haze. He could. It would be embarrassing but no more so than being defeated and arrested. Besides, he tried to remind himself, this wasn't about ego or bragging rights. He was a professional and his job was the Bat, not this unknown person. A fleeting spark of rationality told him the boy was right.
"Besides, you're much too weak to beat me," and as quickly as it dissipated the fury returned. Bane took a step forward as he planned to charge forward but was stopped in his tracks. A sense of weightlessness gripped him and he felt untethered to the world around him. His vision was again darkening but it didn't stop until unconsciousness befell him and he slumped to the ground.
"I did say you could retreat," Naruto said to the crumpled body before him. He looked over to the Detective. He didn't want to spend much time on what he had to say, besides Bane would be getting back up soon and he'd be the hero's problem. He removed a thumb drive from his jacket and tossed it to the Detective. "The League of Shadows claimed Vandal Savage's body so there's no telling how long he'd been working with Ra's. On that thumb drive are the details of Ra's scheme to break up the E.U."
"And what do I have to do for this information?"
"Understand that if you keep looking into me or if you have oh, say The Question do it for you then you'll be the one beatdown on a rooftop. This is your final warning."
"Are you threat-" Batman didn't get to finish as he felt the air vacate his lungs and his legs turned to jelly, forcing him down to one knee..
"You are absolutely correct, I am threatening you. I am a threat to you. You know why?" Naruto asked as he increased the pressure, "Because I'm not the Clown in it for a laugh. I'm not the bird compensating for a shitty childhood. I'm not the cat that finds you enthralling. I'm not the sad, little man writing limericks to get your attention. I'm not the lovesick scientist frozen in time. I'm not the lawyer with D.I.D. And I'm not some two-bit thug scared of the dark.
I'm a grown man with a real life and no time for your bullshit so understand me when I say this; I'm not afraid of you. I'm not impressed by you. I don't care about you. But if you continue on I will hurt you and no gadget, no plan, no intel gathered in secret will help because just like Bane, you're much too weak to harm me. Stay in your lane, Bruce. I won't tell you again."
Batman felt the immense pressure dissipate and righted himself with little effort. By the time he was on his feet Naruto was gone and Bane was starting to stir. As he cut the tubes feeding the enhancement drug to Bane and restrained him his only thoughts were centered around the Uzumaki knowing his identity. And if he knew one there was no reason to assume he didn't know others. He needed to inform the League.
Later, just before dawn, the Justice League assembled in the Watchtower, though almost none were happy. Batman didn't care, they didn't punch a clock so should have suspected to be summoned. He began by projecting the information Naruto provided him, having already confirmed the contents himself.
"Tonight Naruto Uzumaki hand delivered two pieces of intel regarding The League of Shadows. First, Ra's has had a scheme to break apart the E.U. focusing on greatly devaluing the Euro."
"How would weakening the currency break up the union?" Wally asked.
"It would have had a cascading effect. There are several nations that are unhappy with the union, particularly after the last major recession. The Central Bank, greatly influenced by Germany, imposed austerity on the nations to avoid risking an inflationary spiral. People suffered as a result and it contributed to a rise of nationalistic and isolationist political movements across Europe. If the Euro were to be devalued enough then it would mean another round of austere measures. Also, many nations may assume their own currency would increase in value so there would be no reason to stay within the union."
"How did Ra's plan to accomplish this and how has no one noticed?" Shayera asked.
"He planned to short the Euro and he spent a lot of money doing it. Also, other parties did notice, just not in the way you'd suspect. Russia and China both noticed someone attempting to short the Euro and began doing the same which would have given Ra's cover should his plan have worked. The international community would have blamed both nations and his involvement would have remained hidden. The amount of money involved in these short positions were reaching a critical mass and it threatened to cause a bout of hysteria in the market."
"Why would Ra's do this?" Superman asked.
"It's irrational," Batman said. "Honestly, manipulating one large bureaucracy is easier than manipulating a dozen smaller ones. But Ra's is addicted to being the man in the shadows. To truly be a player in the E.U. he'd have to reveal himself to a degree and he's always believed he could make the times suit him."
"How do we stop it, him?" Diana questioned.
"It's already done. Someone has been buying futures of the Euro. Now with the bet and the counter analysts will cool down and run models to see if the Euro really was weak. They'll find that it isn't and the market will correct itself but without that influx of money as a counterweight we couldn't have done much. Ra's shorting a multi-national currency isn't illegal."
"If Naruto brought this to you should we assume he was also behind righting the market?" John asked.
"I assumed as such. He stands to make a decent profit from it so I don't know if his motives were altruistic. Moving on, he also informed me that Ra's retrieved Vandal Savage's body. If the man's ability to heal is as pronounced as you think it is, Diana, then he's alive and free to plot from the shadows. Finally, Naruto knows I'm Bruce Wayne. Flash, you should assume he knows your real identity as well." Batman said and looked at Superman's face.
"Why aren't you surprised?" he asked.
"Because he knows Kara is Supergirl and isn't stupid. He's never mentioned it so I saw no reason to bring it up," Superman said.
"You may have put us all at risk!" Batman yelled.
"Oh? Why was Naruto in Gotham? I'm sure he could have gotten my attention in Metropolis so why did he hand deliver this information to you?" Superman asked.
"He knew I'd been looking into him, he knew I'd involved The Question into my search and he beat Bane senseless to prove a point to me."
"What else?" Superman asked. There was more.
"Whatever else was said between us will remain between us. This does prove he's a threat-" Batman growled.
"That's enough!" Superman yelled, shocking everyone. "I told you once before you're not always right but you didn't listen so maybe you will now. Naruto is off limits to you. If he does something illegal I'll bring him in myself but your provocations end now."
"Then tell us about his abilities so we can be prepared."
"No. You don't get to decide someone's a threat because they dared to defy you."
"Kal, if you could just make us understand why you believe in him so completely maybe we wouldn't be so suspicious of him." Diana pleaded not just to gain more understanding but to cool things off between Bruce and he.
"Because he has the same thing in him we all have. If he sees someone in trouble he has to help. For a time I thought he might become one of us even if he did it in his own way but an event left him disillusioned and he changed course."
"But what's to stop him from revealing our identities?" Wally asked.
"What would stop most people? He's not a villain, he doesn't harm the innocent so why would he release our identities?"
Batman said nothing but had no intention of stopping his investigations. If Naruto were truly altruistic he'd use his abilities to fight against those who seek to harm and control others, the people who make regular people feel unsafe. That he refused, to his mind, meant the man was selfish and would eventually cross the line. That Clark didn't want to see it wasn't enough reason to not prepare for the inevitable. His thoughts were again interrupted but not by the league. It was the opening of multiple wormholes, the emergence of an armada of spaceships and Shayera's shocked face.