Lex ignored the shaking of his subterranean lab, ignored the force strong enough to generate it and ignored the likely source. He clipped the device onto his reluctant ally's belt. Things had long passed dire, he'd kill to simply be desperate. No, for all of his genius, Lex Luthor was out of ideas. He had no more moves, no strategies that could get them out of this. If this didn't work then the entire planet was doomed to be under the thumb of mad tyrants.
This had been their last hiding place, the sole location he could do his work. He shouldn't have been surprised they'd been found but he was. Twenty minutes later and it wouldn't have mattered. Lex forced himself to calm down. Fear and frustration were two enemies he didn't need, he had plenty and they were knocking at his proverbial door. "I have a little more programming to do but that can happen remotely. You need to leave. As soon as everything is uploaded you'll jump immediately." He only received a nod in response. He checked over his work, the uplink was operational, it had plenty of power. "It's good, so get out of here."
"I'll try to buy some time," she said. Lex didn't argue, didn't caution her to protect the device. She knew the situation as best as anyone, Earth's last defender.
"Good luck," he said. She nodded again and took off. He returned to his console. Interdimensional travel wasn't easy to pull off, not even for him but he'd finally cracked it. To think, he might actually live just long enough to be a hero.
As she burst through the doors, her exit stopped the advance of the five assailants. They all soared above her, looking down in disappointment; as if they had the right. She knew one was missing but she couldn't focus on him and hoped Lex could manage.
"You need to stop this, Kara," Clark said.
"Don't act so familiar with me!" she bit back. He shook his head as if at his wits end. He still saw her as the problem.
"Fine, Power Girl, stop. I know you mean well, I know you disagree with our methods but none of that excuses you for working with Lex Luthor. Just stop and come with us. Don't make me hurt you."
"That'd be the only way you'd get me to go anywhere with you. You've betrayed everything you ever stood for, you all have. You usurped rule and maintain it through fear and violence. I won't stand for it."
"Then you fall because no one is above the rules and all will fall in line." Superman blitzed her. Kara intended to intercept him with a right cross but her fellow Kryptonian evaded at the last moment. Kara narrowly dodged the blast from the Green Lantern, the ray passing over her left shoulder. Having to stay perpetually in motion, Kara reached out her right hand and grabbed onto the wrist of Hawkwoman, successfully preventing the swing of her mace.
Kara cocked back her free hand, planning to knock Hawkwoman out in one blow. She felt the binding just as she saw the golden glow of the enchanted lasso. Eyes an angry red, Kara fired her heat vision. Not at Shayera nor Diana but the approaching Martian Manhunter. The red planet native phased through the attack, solidifying just before her to deliver a devastating blow. The impact magnified by Wonder Woman yanking her down and slamming her into the ground. The earth below her buckled and soon gave way, cratering around her.
It was Superman who arrived first, still looking disappointed. "You can't win. You can't stop true justice." Kara unleashed a war cry and sent a blast of her heat vision toward him, discreetly checking the state of her travel device. It was in one piece so she couldn't give up. Leaving the sunk ground, Kara breathed deeply and dusted off her white uniform. There was still hope and she'd keep fighting until there wasn't.
Lex felt an eeriness wash over him as he sat at his workstation. He smoothly reached under it, having long since learned to trust the feeling. He didn't wait for the man to make his big reveal, turning in his swivel chair Lex let off a few rounds of his newly revealed pistol. The Batman avoided them and the trio of shots that followed after. Lex never thought he'd actually hit the "hero" so wasn't panicked when the man closed the distance between them. Nor was he surprised by the well trained punch sent his way.
No, it was Batman's day to be surprised. His attack was caught and Lex's unoccupied fist buried itself into the Dark Knight's stomach. Releasing his hand, Lex punched the bent over Batman hard enough to make him groan. Lex's hammer fist missed as Batman rolled away. Lex removed his shirt to reveal an exoskeleton offering protection and increasing his speed and power.
Overconfident after the first exchange, Lex welcomed the Bat's next charge and overcommitted on a punch. The former hero seized upon the opening, punching Lex twice and finishing with a front kick. Lex's eyes grew wide as he was knocked back into his workstation, the screen now revealing his last update hadn't completely uploaded to Kara's device. Sixty-eight percent complete. Batman tossed two batarangs toward the station, Lex was forced to intercept them. He caught the projectiles charging toward Batman.
His attack was feral. Fast, powerful, but lacking refinement and with his advantages revealed it was easy for Batman to weather the attack. The highly trained fighter slipped and evaded the strikes until he was given another opening. Leaving his feet, the detective leapt into the air and pounced on Lex's shoulders.
"Arghhhhhhh!" the bald man screamed as a high voltage shock was delivered to him. Immobilized, Lex could only watch as Batman made his way to the computer to end the upload. "Ninety-three percent," the screen read. Trying with all his might Lex tried to shake off the paralysis of the shock, his flailing knocked over some debris and he saw his discarded pistol. With a great showing of will, Lex grabbed the gun and shakily pointed at Batman.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
"Urghh," Batman grunted after the last shot. He hit the ground and Lex attempted to continue shooting but only heard clicks. Still, the distraction was enough, the upload completed and nothing could change it.
It hurt to be doing this to his cousin, it really did. Superman continued to beat Kara, aka Karen Starr, into the ground with his unleashed super strength. She didn't understand that the Justice Lords had moved past petty debates about freedom. Freedom meant nothing in a world where made men blew up bridges or poisoned water supplies. Safety, people would finally know what it was to be safe. He'd wanted to bring her along, to convince her that this was the only path but time and time again she refused. She questioned him. She talked back and defied him openly. He could forgive that.
He couldn't forgive her for working with Lex Luthor. Not after what he did. Never. Not in a thousand lifetimes. Then to fight so vehemently against his team, unacceptable. Shayera had a broken wrist and a concussion. John was nursing a few broken ribs, J'onn was fine physically but she'd managed to trap him in a prison of fire. Only Diana and he were fully functional and she'd taken to the sidelines to allow him to finish things. His cousin was teetering on unconsciousness, he could tell. One more hit should knock her out. He lifted his fist, sun just peeking over it. He brought it down but was met with fractured earth, not the humanoid he'd aimed for.
No hesitation within him, Superman activated his enhanced vision, increasing its distance and overlaying his X-ray capacity. He saw no sign of Kara. He strained his super hearing and heard nothing of her but he did hear Batman strained breathing. Off faster than a speeding bullet, he stormed the laboratory and witnessed Lex pummeling Batman, his comrade lying in a pool of blood. He saw the gunshot was non-fatal so turned his attention to Lex. Superman backhanded Luthor hard enough he hoped it broke the man's neck. It hadn't but it did knock him unconscious.
That wouldn't do.
Superman picked up Lex and slapped him repeatedly until the man's awareness returned. Once it did he asked one question. "Where is Power Girl?"
"Out of your reach, alien, hahahahaha" Lex teased. Superman's heat vision flared but Batman called out to him before he could fire. It'd be so easy but a quick death was too good for Lex. Now that he couldn't bribe the courts or the prison guards, he'd face true justice. Superman smiled at the thought of Luthor finally at his mercy for years to come. Kara would have to wait, besides what could she do alone?
"Hey, it's the Flash!" a small child yelled. Wally turned and waved to the little boy, his parents having a difficult time containing his excited pulling. In a blink he was in front of the boy and gave him a head pat and a thousand watt smile.
"So, you've heard of me?" Wally asked good naturedly. The boy nodded and introduced himself. The exchange didn't take long but it was something not many of the other Justice League members would do. They were literally above the people they protected, most of them could fly and Batman was just a grim sourpuss (not that Wally would say it to his face). But he was on the ground. Sure, he moved faster than any normal person could perceive but it meant nothing for him to slow down.
It may have seemed like needless preening or him self-centeredly soaking up adoration but he wanted to be visible to the people he served. He wanted to seem real and approachable. Anyone could have been The Flash, he wasn't born with this power so his responsibility was to be good and accountable. He may have reservations about the guy but Wally could admit Naruto Uzumaki had valid concerns.
No one really stopped him. Police welcomed his aid against all manner of challenges and while he didn't think there was a risk of them going bad he also realized the Earth didn't have many individuals who could challenge the Justice League should it ever happen. That meant they had to be strong in resolve and disciplined in approach. When the people no longer felt they could approach him, when they expressed they no longer wanted him then Wally would know his time had come.
As he sped along the city streets, he looked to the sky as a rift opened. Wally made a beeline for the nearest skyscraper and scaled it. Upon his arrival he saw someone starting to fall. He slowed down enough not to harm them but caught the person, who looked a lot like Supergirl. Like, exactly like her except for the bobbed hairstyle.
"W...Wally, you're alive?" She forced out and then said, "It worked," before losing consciousness. Not equipped to treat a Kryptonian he ran toward the individual he thought could help. Several states away was no issue and Wally arrived in Metropolis faster than most people could travel a city block. He was relieved that his entrance into the city gained the notice of the person he was looking for, though he hadn't expected company.
"What the hell, another one?" Supergirl complained.
"J'onn, did you get anything?" Superman asked his fellow Justice Lord. He didn't dare interrogate Luthor himself, he knew the temptation would be too strong. The bald man would delight in provoking him into murdering him just to keep his information secret. Superman had no intention of giving Lex the satisfaction. He'd only die after they'd wrung every drop of information out of him.
Instead, he sat at the large circular table where his fellow lords met. The icy chill of the room acting as a portent of something eerie. He needed to find his cousin. He needed to make her understand where she erred and what true justice was.
"Nothing thus far, his mental defenses are formidable," J'onn informed him.
"Press him, J'onn. We need to know where Power Girl went… I need to put an end to her rebellion." He'd given up trying to convince her, trying to convince anyone that this was the correct path. He'd tried it the other way and the people elected Lex Luthor and even that wasn't enough. Wally died because he was too soft to make the hard choices. He accepted that not everyone would agree but he thought his only family would see things from his perspective.
Instead time and time again she defied him. She prevented him from killing Luthor. When the Justice Lords began their guidance of human society she actually broke Luthor out of prison. She was little more than a terrorist clinging to naive ideologies that no longer were applicable. Safety was more important than liberty because the only way the people could really be free was through an assured safe environment.
Men like Luthor wouldn't control things any longer. Men like Joker wouldn't make parents too afraid to go out in public with their children. Villainy would be put down as if they were enemy combatants and the people would flourish. No more messiness, no more tragedy. And no one would be allowed to stand against his mission.
Her return to consciousness left Karen confused and trepidatious. Not only was she surrounded by faces she'd come to see as enemies but a near perfect copy of her, with longer hair, was in attendance. More confusing still, a red haired man was standing over her waving a green cloaked hand across her body. When she attempted to slap it away, admittedly with only a fraction of her strength, he swatted the appendage as if she were some naughty cat.
It was the presence of Wally that reminded her of her mission and made her confident Lex had succeeded. This wasn't her dimension but she hoped these people were still heroes; real heroes. Trying to mask her desperation, Karen told them of her plight, how the Justice Lords became tyrants after Lex Luthor killed their Flash. She spared no details of their cruelty and of her losing effort to break their control and showed the, now defunct, device she used to travel here.
Karen requested their aid. She was informed they needed to confer and asked to step out, though following her was the redhead and Superman, her cousin's counterpart giving her hope.
"I will not speak for the entire League but you will have my assistance no matter what," this Superman said. She heard a scoff.
"And how are you going to get there you big nerd; hope?" the redhead asked. She hadn't expected Superman to laugh.
"You've already decided to fix her transportation device, right?" he asked.
"Wait, this is high tech stuff. What makes you think he can fix it?"
"In this dimension, this is Lex Luthor's son," Superman explained.
"Adopted," the redhead added. "But we can assume the technological development of your dimension is close enough that it shouldn't require too much time to sort you out. I'll return it here after it's fixed." Once he finished speaking he vanished as if he'd never been there.
"Is he a hero as well?" Karen asked. Clark chuckled.
"Not technically but I'm working on it."
"Then why do you complain so much about your studies?" That had been the question Lex asked Naruto on the day the man learned his son could move at supersonic speeds. Naruto didn't understand the question, didn't get the relevance of his studies to being able to do something actually cool. Naruto recalled Lex's sigh. "If you can move that fast without killing yourself then you can perceive reality that fast which means you can read that fast. I'm upping your mental training. No son of mine is going to be a fool fast of foot but slow of mind."
And with that, Naruto started abusing his perceptive abilities. Combined with his shadow clones and Lex's training, Naruto was a living supercomputer, not that he'd broadcast it. Although he knew Clark and the Fool could achieve similar feats with him able to sprout copies he'd still have the advantage. Resolute in another area in which he was superior to the Superman, and actively repressing more memories of Lex being an actual human/decent father and not a megalomaniac he finished up the device.
He flashed back to the Justice League without a moment's delay but didn't see nor sense Kara anywhere. It was Clark that would emerge from the conference room, heroic game face on.
"That was fast," he remarked.
"I'm good at what I do."
"I'm glad to hear it as I'd hate to wind up in some wayward dimension with no way home. Anything I need to know?" Clark inquired as he took the device.
"It should work the same as when Karen first jumped but the power supply is more stable so you can get back. Oh, and I'm sending my bill to Bruce." Naruto finished with zero shame nor any hint he was joking.
"Add twenty percent on, he's been a bit of a pill lately," Clark responded, engaging in a moment of levity before becoming serious again. "Do you have a backup device?"
"Yes."
"Good. We aren't going there to fight, necessarily, but odds are it'll end in one. If we aren't back in two days… do what you feel you must."
"If you think it'll go bad then stay here and let me handle it because I am not taking your place if you get killed."
"Yes, you would. You wouldn't think twice about it," Clark said, voice filled with an unshakeable surety and absolute faith.
"God, you are so annoying," was all Naruto could muster.
"And as for why not just send you, everyone deserves a chance to redeem themselves. The Justice Lords have crossed a lot of lines according to Karen and I know that's the nightmare scenario for you but they may still be open to returning to the right path and face the consequences of their actions." Blue stared into lavender as the two men let a spell of silence fill the corridor.
"I believe in redemption. I wish more of society was organized to grant it, I wish we knew what it looked like and could incorporate it into healing the aggrieved and the victimized. But how do you redeem those that have placed themselves above society? What is redemption but another place for them to set terms, a last show of their power?"
Clark absorbed the words as he often did when the two spoke about serious matters. The two didn't always agree but Clark understood Naruto's position and more to the point, he understood how the existence of the Justice League made someone like the Luthor heir necessary. Bruce would never agree but if the Justice League was a shield, there needed to be a sword and he'd trust no one in the role like he trusted the red head.
"If these Justice Lords are what you think they are then you can't hold back like you normally do." The Uzumaki's words broke Clark's momentary contemplation.
"I won't, besides with Karen and Kara we'll have the edge on Kryptonian might."
"Speaking as someone that can subvert that "Kryptonian might", you'll forgive my skepticism."
"Hahaha, well, we won't be facing anyone as threatening as you."
Naruto crossed his arms and sighed. The man was too damn good to even allow someone to worry about him. "Just come back in one piece, nerd," Naruto said in departure. The hallway now clear, Clark returned to the conference room to solidify plans. They'd leave in the morning, for what he hoped was just a frank exchange of ideas.
"Did you enjoy it, Karen?" the Kryptonian Justice Lord asked as she helplessly banged against her containment cell. It'd all gone so wrong. The Justice Lords manage to break Lex and the barebones of her plan had been revealed. The collection of former heroes simply laid in wait for her to return with support, Superman blasting the transporter before they could all retreat and activating the containment field an instant later.
She couldn't fight the tears of frustration, of shame, and sorrow that pooled in her eyes. It wasn't enough that she failed but she doomed an entirely different reality to her hell, to the rule of the Lords and the people didn't know what was coming. She felt a calming hand placed on her shoulder, it was the other earth's Clark but she couldn't accept it. She didn't deserve it.
"We didn't come here to fight," he said. "Power Girl wanted us to convince you to return to the right path, to give the people their freedoms back and face their justice. There is no need for violence, for more harm. Please, I beg you, listen to me."
"I remember being like you," Superman said. "So sure of your goodness and theirs. Your weakness allowed Lex to run wild, to do as he pleased. There is a better way. I know it scares you but I'll show you and when I return you to your world you will see what a safe and grateful planet looks like. J'onn, you stay and watch them just in case."
"Of course, Superman," the Martian Manhunter answered. He did not enjoy seeing a version of him facing incineration should he attempt to move but he would see this was for the best. "By the way, Naruto Uzumaki was the person that repaired Power Girl's transporter. He is also the adopted son of Lex Luthor," he relayed after taking a quick scan of Karen's mind.
"Another Luthor?" Superman said with a growl as the Martian shared a mental image of the head of LexCorps. "I know where we're going first."
"You don't want to do this," Superman heard his copy say.
"They'd be ashamed of you," Batman was told by his. Both men ignored their empty words as they hadn't lost a comrade yet so didn't understand. Batman activated their transporter, swiftly built by Superman and improved by Batman, prepared to deliver Justice to a world sorely in need.
"Mr. Wintergreen," Naruto called out after he sighed. He'd been meditating and his senses were extended past his normal, resting range. He picked up the Pajama despots as soon as they arrived, "an evil Justice League from an alternate dimension is on its way. Lock the building down, I need to get read and divert them from here."
"Of course, sir, but may I make a suggestion?" Mr. Wintergreen requested as he stood rimrod straight over his charge, who was exiting lotus pose.
"We don't have a lot of time so please be fast," Naruto requested
"I know for something like this you favor your ANBU uniform but if you recall during that brief period you were considering being a hero you designed a suit of flexible and durable armor?"
"Yeah?"
"After each new fitting with your tailor I've had a version 3D printed just in case and while I wish it weren't needed, I think now is the perfect time to give yourself every advantage while concealing as much as possible." Wintergreen passed a fob to Naruto.
"This would have to be keyed to a series of fuinjustu inscribed on my body, something you should know next to nothing about, Wintergreen."
"All will be explained after your victory, sir."
"Uh huh," Naruto said as he pressed a button on the fob and flared his chakra. The matte gray, with royal blue accents, carbon fiber armor cloaked the Ninshu master, with a helmet to match. A green glow was admitted from the eye slits and Yamato was attached to his back, countless other weapons were stored in summoning seals. Blue lightning arc'd across his body and Naruto took off, the suit increasing the potency of his lightning enhancements.
Alone on the veranda the longtime valet retrieved his cellphone and made a call. He heard the person pick up but no greeting was given, which was fine. "It seems our time as William Wintergreen has come to an end. Get to the Penthouse."
"Mah, mah, say less," was the response before he hung up. The man known as Wintergreen entered the Penthouse and turned on the television. The faux Justice League flying in formation had drawn attention and not even Naruto could block all those satellite feeds when they were solely focused on one area. It was why he suggested the suit, that and with it he likely wouldn't need the Kyuubi's chakra. As he waited for the inevitable clash he only wondered how much would be revealed today.
Naruto raced through the skyscraper rooftops, his armor feeling as natural as his own skin. He set a course to intercept the Justice Lords though wished they hadn't attracted the news helicopters. Sure, he could block himself from view but that'd only raise more questions and he didn't want to slip a genjutsu on them and have to control their flight paths, their safety, and fight. Besides, the faster he ended this the safer for everyone but before that he needed to know one thing and as the five "heroes" floated above him he'd have his answer, Batman being levitated by the Space Cop.
"Did you kill the Justice League?" he asked, though his helmet modulated his voice making it sound slightly robotic. He felt their emotions and deduced they hadn't been killed. Kara was, if not alright, alive so he didn't have to drag out their suffering.
"Are you Naruto Uzumaki or his agent," Superman asked, vexed that he couldn't see through Naruto's armor.
"Irrelevant. This world, this dimension isn't for you. Your kind of justice won't be tolerated here. Return to your home and never darken our skies again," Naruto commanded the quintuplet.
"Whoa, who's the new guy facing down the League?" Jimmy Olsen asked Lois. She almost didn't catch his question, too concerned about what the presence of a Clark that clearly wasn't hers meant. It didn't take much to deduce that the armor clad warrior was Naruto and if he were moved to present himself in broad daylight then something was wrong. It meant the shield had failed. She can't remember exactly when Clark started referring to himself and the League as a shield but it was the Thanagarian invasion where she learned who the sword was.
She assumed every part of Clark would reject someone like Naruto. Oh, she was a military brat so was comfortable around people who were accepting of the need for violence and willing to mete it out. But her farmboy? He was a tried and true dogooder. When she asked he just laughed and said Naruto was as true a hero as himself. Two protectors simply called to action by different criteria. Clark felt he had to get involved, Naruto would if the situation dictated he needed to. An eager shield and a reluctant sword. Light and shadow.
"That's not our Superman, Jimmy," Lois said. She needed to say it, needed to hear it to steel herself for what she was about to see. To remind herself Naruto wasn't doing this to her Clark. To muster the discipline to not treat him differently. "His dress, his body language; it's all wrong." And it was. 'Go get our boy back, Naruto,' she silently bid.
"Ya know, for someone who finds this Superhero stuff dumb, he sure has a lot of costumes," Harley fumed as she sat beside Ivy, the plant manipulator rigid in fear. Neither knew why they were so confident that was Naruto standing off with the Justice League, that were just different enough to call into question if they were the real Justice League.
"You sure zeroed in on the most salient issue, Harls," Ivy said but never looked away from the screen.
"Sorry," Harley said meekly, which caused Ivy to soften.
"No, I am. He can't really plan to fight them, I know you said he's powerful but not face a majority of the League, right?"
"I don't know, he did kill Doomsday before sacking Cadmus in one night. It's hard to tell with Red, he keeps everything so close to the vest."
Ivy found herself nodding before the nickname sunk in. "Red?" she asked and quirked her eyebrow as she turned to Harley.
"Friends give each other nicknames and we became buds grieving over you."
"Does Naruto know that?" Ivy asked.
"Hey!" Harley responded in indignation.
Superman would come first, Naruto knew that. He was their tank, their leader, and their heaviest hitter. And while he could see how the alien would approach, it surprised him that he simply landed in front of Naruto, eyes glowing with the threat of his heat vision. He really just came within arms' reach.
"Last chance," Superman threatened but he'd made such a blunder Naruto would exploit it for all it's worth. A quick genjutsu would delay the Kryptonian's reaction time. With the merest thought the Lava Style: Rasenshuriken formed and was thrusted into the tyrant's chest. He flew back, Wonder Woman charging before the ball of microscopic lava blades could really go to work.
Naruto not only met her charge but retrieved a pair of push daggers. She was a fair bit faster than Shayera or the Green Lantern, who had to focus on speed as if it were another construct. Her volley was experienced, form flawless but even without being able to read her emotions, Naruto was the faster and better fighter. He also had weapons while she was using her bare fists.
The push daggers, coated in wind chakra, and Naruto's lightning fast Wing Chun overcame the Amazonian and she received a dozen puncture wounds, some damaging organs, and several impeding her mobility before she was kicked away. The Green Lantern was next, the heroes coming in waves. It was a mistake, the differences in speed not being accounted for. The Justice Lords weren't a true team and Naruto would exploit it.
After he dropped the Great Winged Mouse Detective on the roof, the Space Cop unleashed a blast from his ring. Naruto refused to relinquish his position so tossed up Minato's teleportation barrier and sent the blast straight through the right thigh of the Batman. Not realizing where it'd gone, the Lantern summoned a saber and took a swing. Naruto grabbed the offending wrist with one hand, and while rotating delivered enough force with his other to break the man's arm at the elbow.
The man began to shout in pain but more importantly, his willpower dipped while Naruto still had the wrist of the hand that contained John's power ring. Naruto lifted his hand, curling his index and middle fingers into a claw. Summoning a blade of wind, he cut the Lantern's hand off and kicked him in the head just hard enough to knock him out.
Finally the rasenshuriken exploded and Naruto could hear Superman's screams. His pained wails, however, couldn't drown out Shayera's own at seeing her lover maimed. She charged but wasn't prepared for, nor fast enough, to dodge the lightning coated tomahawk that cleaved through her shoulder enough to see space between her arm and her body. Naruto was on top of her, relieving her of her mace and bashing her head with it.
Naruto dropped the mace, lightning coursed through his body as he pivoted on his feet 360 degrees around the charging Superman, drawing Yamato in a smooth motion and slashing at Superman's back. It was bare but the blade connected enough to stain itself with blood. The first flash resulted in a slash across Superman's belly. The second pierced his heart, the wind chakra making sure the organ was obliterated. The Kryptonian had been able to follow, though not react, to the teleportation attacks as he grabbed at the hilt of the sword as the light left his eyes.
He turned to the rest of the downed Lords and inhaled before unleashing white hot flames. Flames hot enough to incinerate all but the Amazonian. He made a mental note of her resistance as he unsealed his bow and arrow. He walked sedately as he took aim and pierced his brain. Naruto placed his hand on the roof and sealed the bodies, and still ringed hand, into a storage array and then disappeared without a trace.
The whole fight took less than two minutes.
'Sword indeed,' Lois thought as she watched the aftermath. The combatants had been moving too fast to see the actual fight, something Jimmy was lamenting. She considered telling him that the Daily Planet had the facilities to slow down video but that was something he should have known. Besides, she was more worried about Naruto going to get her Clark and the rest of the real Justice League.
After that, however, she'd have to get with the Uzumaki. The mysterious fighter that killed the Justice League couldn't just disappear. Too many people would want to know who or what the cloaked man was. He could go radio silent but it would only make people look harder or go back into the past to see if they could find any trace of him or other unidentified metas. She didn't envy him.
"I think I'm wet."
"Harley!" Ivy shouted while hitting her girlfriend with a couch pillow.
"What? Friends can turn each other on. Present company is a testimony to that."
"Ugh," Ivy responded.
"Watching do-gooders get mopped is my kink and I won't be shamed," Harley huffed as she flopped on the couch cushions.
'And here I thought you'd lost your edge, you simply became something deadlier than I ever imagined," Lex thought as he watched the satellite feed. He was with Ra's, Slade and Ubu all watching the brief decimation of the mysterious dopplegangers. He met eye to eye with Slade, the smallest glimpse of pride breaking through and Lex gave him the nod.
The elaborate plans weren't needed. His son hadn't gone soft nor would he shrink from what was to come. He felt like a fool, doubting the warrior spirit or will of his son. His son. It was clear that wasn't his full power, instead a victory of cunning. He knew more than his enemies and exploited that fact. It was time to stop cooking up schemes in this frozen wasteland and start preparing him properly and maybe they'd both survive long enough to build something new.
A second later Ubu laid dead with two bullets to the chest. Slade put another in his head for good measure.
"So, this is when you betray me?"
"Who is that aimed at, exactly?" Lex asked.
"I am not surprised by the betrayal of either, simply of the timing," Ra's said but never moved from his seat.
"If it's any consolation, I agree that my son needs an army and the League is a good start but let's be honest, he has nothing to learn from you. What's a demon to a god?"
"A god you say? And you, Deathstroke, do you bow to this new god?"
"I have no idea if Naruto is a god but I do know I fear him a hell of a lot more than I do anyone else I've ever met. And you, for all your plots and need for a successor, didn't understand who you were dealing with."
"Who I-" Ra's retort would be lost to history as Slade shot him in the torso and finished with a double tap to the skull.
"Burn his body, the world has no more use for Ra's Al Ghul. Then collect the woman, her child and your top-" Lex paused for a moment. "No, not top. Select the people most loyal to you that know how to not ask questions. He'll already be agitated, we don't need to further it."
"Will do. Hey, Lex, I bet you're glad you didn't make me kill you after that Hive incident."
"You're good, Slade, but I was prepared to put a billion dollars on your head for getting my son hurt. You aren't that good."
"A billion?" Slade said in genuine shock.
"It was sitting in an account the next day."
"Damn," Slade said in sincere respect.
"Yea," Lex acknowledged. After the debacle with Vandal Savage, Lex had been reconsidering his partnership. He was always going to kill Ra's, if for no other reason than thinking he could do a superior job than Lex had in terms of Naruto's training. But the day's events showed him there was no need to wait. They'd continue to build his army and be prepared for when the long night came. He'd make sure of it.