"You did the right thing Joseph. Our father, he was a scourge. Everyone has an inner battle between good and evil. I think he did consciously try to be good, but he just….he just isn't good, period. His nature is to be bad and he ended up hurting innocent people through his actions even when he was trying to be good. Putting him down was the right thing to do." Rose said, speaking to her brother through the mental communication link that Joseph opened up for them to be able to communicate in secret.
To the outside world it looked like just an ordinary brother and sister moment, tired little brother laying down on sister's lap while she caresses his hair lovingly, providing comfort to the younger, frightened sibling, and for the most part it was true.
However it wasn't the full story, because between the loving caresses and the obvious bond between the two siblings, there was also a lot of diabolical scheming as they plotted against their so called surrogate father, the Jackal. As far as Rose was concerned, the Jackal was just as bad as their biological father, if anything, he was considerably worse than their biological father.
They had no intention of serving under him or following his lead, in fact, they were planning to use his obsession over Joseph's powers against him. How ironic, and how fitting that he was destined to perish at the hands of the weapon he went to such great lengths to cultivate.
"I know sister, I know. It just takes some getting used to you know, using my powers, killing people…killing my own father. Its not something I can get over in a single day." Joseph replied.
Honestly, if anyone, literally anyone else had asked him to do the things that he had done for his sister, he would have flat out refused. In fact, he probably wouldn't have been able to do any of those things even if he tried to, even if he wanted to. However, his sister was so pure in her love and devotion to his…to their wellbeing that he couldn't possibly refuse and still call himself a man, and certainly he couldn't refuse to help her and still call himself her brother.
That was the benefit of them sharing a mental link. There were no secrets between them, no deception, no trickery. Everything they did for each other was done out of pure love, devotion, and loyalty. This was by far the strongest and purest bond he had ever shared with anyone, greater than the one he had with his father for sure, and even the bond he shared with the woman that gave birth to him.
Sometimes he wondered if he would have shared the same bond with his other sibling. He had tried to contact them like he did his sister, but before he could even identify them or even discern their exact location, he had been aggressively rejected, something that he didn't even know was possible as, to this day, no one else had been able to resist his telepathy.
Sometimes he could feel their presence, like they were watching over him or somehow present with him. Joseph liked to think that they were watching over and protecting him, but he couldn't rely on such a fantasy. It was possible that the person was not as kind and loving as Rose, that they were just as bad as their father.
"Forget about that person, brother. They rejected you, and therefore us, just like our father did, just like your mother did by sending you off to that overseas boarding school. It is just the two of us against the world, and as long as we have each other, nothing can stop us." Rose said sternly, but also affectionately.
"My my quite the manipulative older sister aren't you Rose? Manipulation Tactics 101: Isolate the victim, make them believe the entire world is against them, and then make them believe that you are the only one they can trust and rely on. They taught us that in my first year of ninja training." Came an inhumanly deep and barreling voice inside both Rose's and Joseph's heads, in other words, their mental communication link had just been infiltrated, or hijacked, or both, Joseph jumping up to his feet when he felt that all too familiar but at the same time completely foreign presence inside his head.
"J-Joseph…"
"It's them…him! Its him, our other sibling!" Joseph said with both excitement and fear, cutting his sister off before she could say what she wanted to say to him.
"So it's a he after all? But why now? Why make contact with us at this moment after all this time?" Rose asked suspiciously, also on her feet now, having jumped up at the same time as Joseph, both of them standing at attention, ready to do battle if it turned out that this was some kind of attack.
"Why are you here brother? Are you here for revenge? Is it because I killed father? Leave Rose out of this, if you want revenge then you have to deal with me. I'm the one who killed him!" Joseph said protectively.
"I admire your love and devotion to our sister, brother, and your resolve, it is so strong, uncompromising, and unrelenting. You are a great man and an even better brother. However, you've made a critical mistake because you just revealed just how important our dear sister is to you, that you love her so much you would die for her. This means that in order to truly savor my revenge, I must kill her instead of you, I must make you feel the same pain that you have caused me!" Naruto said malevolently.
"You think killing me will be that easy? Heh! Don't get full of yourself you little twerp!" Rose said with both amusement and confidence, her fear a thing of the past as she resolved herself to stay by Joseph's side no matter what, refusing to be used as a weapon against her beloved brother.
"Little twerp? Is that any way to talk to your elder brother, little sister? How rude." The voice said with its own sense of mirth and amusement, shocking Rose into silence as she had thought that she was the first born child all this time.
"You're blocking the empathic link, in fact, even as far as telepathy you have only allowed thought projection. The latter is understandable, but not the former. Why would you feel the need to block off your emotions unless you didn't really have the resolve to go through with it. You don't intend to kill us, I bet you couldn't do it even if you wanted to. So what is it that you truly want?" Joseph asked suspiciously, Naruto unable to help but to internally congratulate Joseph on his skills and deductive reasoning, unable to believe that he was already at this stage considering how long it took Brainwave to get to that same level.
"Most impressive, brother. Tell you what, why don't you come to the training center so that we can meet in person. I have a little surprise for you." Naruto said gravely.
"I can't access the our camera systems, he has hacked into everything…everything. How? Our system is practically impregnable, that's why Deathstroke had to allow himself to get captured in order to get to you." Rose told her younger brother frantically.
"Then we have no choice. We have to go to him, even if it's a tra…" Joseph trailed off as the door to Rose's private quarters, where the two siblings currently were, opened on its own without prompting, at least, without prompting from neither Joseph or Rose, verifying Rose's claim that the entire system was hacked into.
"Brace yourself sister. We are no longer on home soil, our home ground advantage has gone out the window. It is the same as if we are in enemy territory now." Joseph said as he steeled his resolve, Rose marveling at Joseph's strength as she didn't think he was at this level yet, or maybe he was just rising to the occasion? Nevertheless, whatever the reason, she was eternally grateful to have her brother by her side.
"Okay, lets go." Rose replied as the two of them exited the room, but not before Rose fully armed herself and prepared herself for war.
The walk to the training facility was surprisingly peaceful, and suspiciously devoid of any human contact. Rose didn't want to believe it, but it was pretty clear that the entire base had been cleared out, and it just didn't make any sense to her because how could their entire army of soldiers have been defeated, and more significantly, how could they have been defeated without mounting any form of resistance as there were no signs of battle at all. Could it be that they had been betrayed? But how? How was it possible that their entire army were traitors?
"Stop worrying about all of that and focus on what's ahead. Our brother seems to have similar powers to me so its possible that he controlled them and made them go away. I doubt they went far though, they probably are still close by. He was able to block me from accessing his mind so it's possible that he can block me from accessing other people's minds as well, which is probably why I cannot detect the others." Joseph said tensely.
"I see, but why are you talking out loud? Its not like he cannot hear our thoughts just because we're talking out loud is it?" Rose asked confusedly.
"He cannot, or isn't trying to. If it is the former, then its probably because he basically hacked into a link that I was actively using and maintaining for us to communicate and now that I have shut it down he has no access to us. Theoretically, he would have to create his own link with us, which is not easy when I'm also actively blocking any form of interference." Joseph explained.
"And if it's the latter? If he simply isn't trying to access our minds anymore, what does that mean exactly?" Rose asked with both curiosity and wariness, learning a few things that she didn't even realize she needed to know about Joseph's powers.
"It could mean a couple of things, but most likely, considering his demeanor, the level of experience, power that he seems to have, and the amount of planning he has put into this, I would say that he simply isn't trying to access our minds anymore because he simply doesn't believe he has to." Joseph replied.
"In other words he doesn't see us as a threat? I mean, does he really think he is that smart and that powerful that he feels he can simply not use such an advantageous ability and still beat us? He is underestimating us, which means that he really isn't as smart as he thinks he is." Rose said with righteous indignity.
"Well, whatever the case may be, we're about to find out. I'll go in first…"
"No! Let me go in first. I'm the one with super healing!" Rose whispered harshly.
"I can protect myself with my telekines…" Joseph trailed off as the door to the training room opened.
"Shit! He knows we're here!" Rose whispered as she pulled out a twin pair of dual ballers, each one of the siblings quickly taking positions on opposite sides of the heavy metal sliding door.
"….."
The silence was deafening as both Rose and Joseph tried to control their breathing, both of them trying to steal their resolve for what was to come, wondering what sort of devious and horrific traps their vengeful brother had set up for them, but neither of them willing to back down or abandon their base, their pride refusing to allow them to take the coward's way out, and of course, their curiosity also getting the better of them as they wanted to meet and see exactly what kind of person their brother was.
"Seriously? Do you know how long I have been waiting to meet you guys? Practically my whole life. How long are you going to make me wait?" Naruto bellowed, the deep and inhuman voice of their brother making both Rose and Joseph question their own sanity for going through with their plan, or rather, lack of one.
"…"
"There are no traps and no ambushes waiting for you. I just want to talk. Hijacking your telepathic communication link, hacking your digital mainframe, capturing and subduing your entire army in minutes, without you even taking notice until it was too late. None of that means anything, it was just a show of power and ability so that I can have your respect. Now that I have it, I believe we can have a nice conversation as equals. So come out and let us talk." Naruto said patiently, Rose and Joseph looking at each other's eyes meaningfully, as if having a mental conversation, which ironically is something they could be actually doing, before both nodding at the same time as they both came to an agreement.
"Fine! We're coming out!" Joseph said with his eyes glowing blue, his body also covered by a blue glow as he got ready to use his telekinetic powers at a moment's notice in case this turned out to be a trap, the two siblings walking out almost nonchalantly as they looked all around the training room only to find, much to their surprise, that there really weren't any traps or ambushes whatsoever, just a guy standing at the center of the training center, a very big and scary looking guy at that, especially with that demonic looking mask, no surprise there considering that his voice really sounded completely inhuman.
"A mask? Oh great! Guess you really are your father's son, I mean its pathetic that you would go to such great lengths to imitate that asshole." Rose said with disgust.
"Tell you what, why don't you imitate his deceased state of existence and just die!" Rose said as she quickly pulled out her guns again and started firing rapidly at the her alleged brother.
"Rose no!" Joseph exclaimed, shocked to the core at his sister's reckless actions. He probably could have stopped the bullets with his telekinesis but he was completely caught off guard and too shocked, never having expected his sister to act so hastily. Besides, stopping her bullets could place her at a disadvantage if their brother replied with his own lethal force so even if he had been aware enough to react, he probably wouldn't have.
However, fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on whether their brother would retaliate with lethal force or not, the unfathomable happened, as both Rose and Joseph watched, in both shock and fascination, as their brother's upper body looked like it had split into many copies of itself, which wasn't the case at all as what was actually happening was that he was dodging the bullets so fast that it looked like his upper body was everywhere at once, Rose completely emptying her cylinders without even landing one shot, the multiple after images of their brother finally converging into one again as he returned to his original posture.
Joseph, fearful of their brother's fury, and more specifically, for Rose's life, decided he needed to quickly subdue his brother before the situation escalated any further, stretching out his hand and using telekinesis to quickly pull his brother head first towards the left wall so that he can knock him out.
However, much to his and his sister's surprise, their elder brother was somehow able to stop himself just before his head made contact with the wall, pulling himself back to his original position despite Joseph's efforts as he completely defied and overpowered Joseph's telekinetic powers.
"Y-you…you have telekinesis as well? Just how many powers do y-you have?" Joseph asked, breathing heavily as he tried to buy time with conversation, having used up a lot of his strength while trying to overpower his brother.
"Telekinesis? I wish." Naruto replied with a lot of mirth in his tone.
"W-what? Then how did you…?"
"Gravity Manipulation. I pitted my gravity manipulation against your telekinesis. , and my gravity manipulation won. It just means that I'm stronger than you that's all." Naruto said with a casual shrug of the shoulders.
"W-what do you want?" Rose stuttered, internally cursing herself for showing weakness, but who the hell could really blame her in such a stressful situation where it seemed like they were up against an invincible opponent.
"I thought I told you before that I just wanted to talk to you. What? You guys didn't actually believe I came here to kill my own siblings did you? Although I am disappointed that you would not only think so low of me but that my own sister would try to kill me, without even trying to get to know me first." Naruto said with genuine disappointment.
"Yeah, like you expected me to actually believe that you're our brother. And even if you were, the fact that you only came here after Slade died means that you obviously came here for revenge." Rose said stubbornly.
"Is that really the only reason or are you afraid that you won't be able to manipulate and control Joseph anymore if he has another person that he can trust and rely on?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
"W-what? That's nonsense! I love Joseph more than anything in this world!" Rose exclaimed angrily.
"I believe you, but that has no bearing on whether you're manipulating him or not. Lots of people manipulate the people they love, to keep them to themselves, to prevent others from getting between them, to make sure they stay by their side and never leave them, etcetera etcetera." Naruto retorted.
"You are not going to get between us you viper tongued asshole!" Rose said angrily.
"Nor do I intend to. First however, let me kill the revenge narrative. Our father is alive and well, he is the one that called me and asked me to come and talk to you. He doesn't believe you will listen to him and he doesn't blame you. Joseph, he isn't angry at you for trying to kill him. Disappointed, heart broken? Definitely, but not angry. He still loves you and wants to make amends to you, that goes for both of you." Naruto explained calmly and sincerely.
"I'm not listening to anything you say until you show me your face and tell me what you did to my army…" Rose trailed off in shock as their army suddenly appeared on the right hand side of the training room, as if some kind of illusionary wool had just been removed from their eyes.
"W-what? Y-you were in our minds the whole time?" Rose said disbelievingly .
"No he wasn't. This is something else, its more like, he somehow affected the environment itself." Joseph explained.
"You continue to impress me, Joseph. You are correct of course. What I used was an illusionary ninjutsu. Unlike telepathy, it doesn't require me to make contact with the mind of another, but rather for my power to make contact with the environment itself to make it look like something that it isn't." Naruto explained.
"Will I also be able to do something like this?" Joseph asked with intrigue.
"Doubtful, but we can try and find out." Naruto replied brotherly.
"We..?" Joseph asked with hope in his tone.
"You, me, and Rose. I'm not here to get between the two of you, in fact, I admire the way the two of you love each other and look out for each other. I would never try to separate the two of you." Naruto retorted.
"Are you saying that you want to join us? The bond my sister and I have, its nothing like anyone else has. I do not think we can ever have that with you." Joseph said sadly.
"Perhaps. But let me put all the cards on the table and let you decide for yourselves what you want to do." Naruto said, his mask disappearing in a poof of smoke as his voice also returned to its normal tone, Joseph and Rose starring wide eyed as they couldn't believe who it was that was standing in front of them.
"N-Naruto Uzumaki? Y-you're our brother? You're Slade Wilson's son? Did you know that one of our plans was to kidnap you and have Joseph warp your mind so that you we can use your financial resources for HIVE?" Rose asked incredulously.
"Well I guess you can say that freely now that you know it's a nigh impossible task." Naruto said jovially.
"Like what the fuck? Did you always know about us? Why did you let us suffer like we did when you could have done something about it?" Rose said angrily, seemingly trapped in a perpetual state of anger ever since their elder brother came into their lives.
"It is not that I did not want to but rather that I couldn't. It would be much quicker and easier if I showed you rather than explained. If you would allow me, I can share my entire life with you telepathically. It should give you much better perspective than if I just told you." Naruto offered, Rose looking at Joseph to hear what he had to say seeing as he was the expert in all things telepathy.
"Its okay, I'll make sure he doesn't do anything to alter our minds. But first, he has to tell us what he did to our men. Why are they just standing there like that? And why can't I feel their minds?" Joseph asked warily.
"I put a stasis seal on each one of them. They are basically frozen in time until I either remove the seal or deactivate it." Naruto explained.
"A stasis what? How many powers do you have exactly?" Rose asked incredulously.
"Technically I have one power, it is a cosmic force that I have dubbed The Chakra Force. Through training and imagination, I can use this force to create a limitless variety of effects. My only limitation is my imagination and determination. The training is also quite harsh." Naruto explained.
"I hear you talking but you're making no sense. I mean I sort of get it but that comes with a million different questions. Your only limitation is your imagination? Are you some kind of God or something." Rose said incredulously, causing Naruto to laugh amusedly at that insinuation, especially because it couldn't be anymore accurate.
"What are you laughing at?" Rose asked defensively.
"I am laughing at the irony of you saying that without realizing how close you are to the truth." Naruto deadpanned.
"Oh great, he has a God complex. Could you be anymore cliché?" Rose said, rolling her eyes in disappointment.
"Rose, I think he's serious. Think about it. Nothing he has said so far has been a lie. I don't think he is the type that feels the need to lie in order to impress others. The truth has been more than enough so far." Joseph said, Rose not knowing who was the crazier of the two, her younger brother, or her elder brother.
"Joseph, that's bull shit. How…how can you believe he's an actual God? There are people in the world who would think you and I are Gods if they saw the things we can do. Just because he is more powerful than us…allegedly, doesn't mean that he is a God." Rose said stubbornly.
"There is only one way to find out for sure." Joseph said with steel in his eyes, surprising Rose with how much Joseph was actually willing to allow this guy that they just met to fiddle with their minds.
"Fine, whatever! Just get it over and done with already." Rose said, causing Joseph to smile with gratitude and joy, a smile that melted his sister's heart as she realized how hard it was to say no to him.
Five Minutes Later:
"Now I see where you get the sun kissed blonde hair and the brilliant blue eyes from. Your mother, she really was beautiful." Rose said in awe, having just seen all of Naruto's memories from when he was still a baby up until now, Naruto leaving absolutely nothing at all out of the memories shared, sharing absolutely every moment with his siblings, Rose feeling like he went a little too overboard, like, couldn't he have at least kept his sexcapades to himself?
Still, he was right. Experiencing all of his memories gave them a much deeper understanding of him as a pers…as a God, and also about his motivations. They now knew without a shadow of doubt that he meant them no harm and that he had their best interests at heart. They also understood that it was all their father's fault that they hadn't met him yet as he had forbidden him from making contact with Joseph, which meant that he couldn't make contact with Rose either since he only learned about her through Joseph.
Rose could honestly say she now felt like she had known him all her life, knowing his memories and experiences as if she lived them herself and knowing and understanding his thought process and his plans, it all made her feel so much closer to him. The only issue she had was his willingness to overlook what their father did to him, to them.
She understood that he was a ninja and that he was also a God, therefore the way he processed emotions was different to them, but still, how could he not be angry, how could he not hate that man with all his guts? Sure he had actually spent a lot of time with him, but most of that time was just training and killing people, they never actually did hang out like father and son.
No, she couldn't allow it. Not like this. Okay maybe they made Slade pay a bit by tricking him and then almost killing him, maybe deep down, she was relieved to learn that he was still alive and that he cared about them as his children, but no, she couldn't just allow him to take over their lives like that. They needed to keep their autonomy, and he needed to earn their forgiveness.
"Okay, we accept you, you can join us, in fact, I want you to lead us. I think you can be a better leader than I can be, not that I can't do it, and do it well, but I think you can do better. I like your ideas and your motivations. I believe you are what Hive truly needs, what we truly need. But those are our conditions, you, you lead HIVE, not Slade, not Adeline, YOU! Joseph and I will be your partners." Rose said with conviction, Joseph understanding what his sister was thinking without even needing her to explain or needing to read her mind, although still surprised she was actually able to swallow her pride enough to say all of that out loud.
"What about father then? I somehow doubt he is the following orders type." Naruto retorted.
"He can earn our forgiveness by hunting down and killing The Jackal, only when he brings his head to us will he have earned our forgiveness. Following that, he can continue with whatever it is that he was doing before now. If he wants to be part of Hive then he will have to submit to your authority. He is also not allowed to actively work against us and must report any threats to us that he might come across, and naturally we must do the same for him. We can still look out for each other without him being a part of the organization." Joseph added.
"So he will be a close associate of the organization but not exactly a member?" Naruto asked rhetorically.
"Yes, that goes for Adeline too. Those are our conditions, and they are not negotiable." Rose said with finality.
"Sounds good to me. I would have preferred to get the Jackal myself but I understand why you want to do things this way. Your conditions are acceptable, and I would be honored to be your partner. May HIVE, under our leadership and guidance, bring light to the world from the shadows." Naruto said with a confident smirk.
"Good, now, Joseph, its time for us to share our memories and thoughts with him. This will seal our bond as the Wilson siblings. May our bond hold firm and never shatter, not in this life or the next." Rose declared as Joseph blasted Naruto with his and Rose's memories, emotions, and thoughts, effectively sealing the bond between the children of the most dangerous assassin in the world.
Two and a half Hours Later: Back at The Submarine
"It's done." Naruto said as he appeared out of a swirling vortex.
He preferred to use his own space-time techniques instead of a boom tube due to the fact that he didn't want to give Darkseid even the remote possibility of tracking him down. He knew that one day he might have to fight him anyway, but if it could be avoided, then he would rather not.
He could have used his motherbox to contact his mother, to finally see her again, as a fully conscious being instead of as a baby such as the last time he saw her, but he also didn't want to put her in an awkward and most of all dangerous situation, because he had no doubt the Dark Lord would make her suffer greatly if he found out that she hid him from the Dark Lord, maybe even kill her.
Still, he felt like a much of the void at the center of his being was filled now that he was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually bonded to his siblings. A mother has her place that cannot be filled by anyone, but Kushina, in the short time that Naruto had her, was the best thing that ever happened to Naruto as far as he was concerned. So yes, he was going to be okay even if he never met Golotina again, he would be able to cope, he just hoped that she was also coping well without him.
"What do you mean it's done? Where is Joseph?" Adeline asked warily, Slade not saying anything but the look he was giving Naruto spoke volumes in itself.
"We came to an understanding. Joseph has no intention of going back to the life he had, but he is willing to forgive the both of you. He only asks that you earn his forgiveness." Naruto replied.
"Earn it? How exactly am I supposed to do that…?" Slade trailed off as Naruto threw a flash drive at him.
"In there is all the information Rose and Joseph have on the Jackal. You take out Jackal for them, and that will serve as proof of your commitment and dedication to earning their trust and forgiveness. I offered to take out Jackal myself but they insisted that you be the one to do it." Naruto explained.
"You're lying! That doesn't sound like Joseph at all! He would never say something like that, he would never ask his father to kill just to earn his forgiveness!" Adeline argued vehemently.
"Adeline…actually, it might be true. I mean, he legitimately tried to kill me, if it wasn't for my regenerative abilities I would be dead. Asking me to kill the Jackal, who is the reason all of this happened in the first place, is a far lesser evil than killing your own father." Slade said with a heart broken tone of voice.
"Slade…" Adeline trailed off, not knowing what to say. She had never seen her husband so broken before, not even when she broke up with him and chased him away from their home. All she wanted to do was to hug him, comfort him, and tell him that everything was going to be okay, but she couldn't, not after all the lies and betrayals, not after everything. The most important thing to her now, the only important thing, was getting her son back.
"So what happens after that? Is he going to come home?" Adeline asked hopefully, Naruto looking at her with sad eyes as he shook his head in the negative, not liking to at all to see a mother yearning so longingly for her child and being powerless to do anything about it as it reminded him of his own situation with Gilotina and the late Kushina.
"B-but why? What are we killing the Jackal for then?" Adeline asked as she cried again, unable to help the free flow of tears even though she hated herself for it.
She had told herself that she wouldn't cry anymore, that she was going to be strong, for her own sake, but most importantly, for Joseph's sake. But every word that came out of Nathaniel's mouth just made her want to release the loudest cry that she could master from the deepest depths of her soul.
"Joseph…he has a bond with Rose and I that he never had with you. They used Joseph's telepathy in order to share every memory, every experience, and every emotion that they ever had before, and they do this constantly. I also shared my memories and experiences with them so that they can know that I have their best interests at heart, and in return they shared theirs with me. We are bonded in ways that you couldn't possibly imagine." Naruto explained, taking a momentary pause before carrying on from where he left off.
"Joseph still loves you and he is willing to forgive you and allow you back in his life, that goes for Rose too. But it must be on their terms. After experiencing my entire life through telepathy, they decided to elect me as the new leader of Hive, and they as my partners. The two of you cannot be a part of the organization for obvious reasons, but they are willing to have you as a close associate of the organization and they are also willing to try and rebuild the broken bonds between us. The ball is in your court now." Naruto concluded his explanation.
"How do we know you're not lying to us?" Adeline asked suspiciously.
"He's not lying. Nathaniel would never lie about something like this, in fact, he has never lied to me in his life, and trust me, I have verified everything he has ever said to me. Besides, I just have to kill the Jackal and we'll find out then if he was lying or not." Slade simplified everything.
"Fine, whatever! You just make sure I get my son back. I want him back Slade, you hear me?" Adeline demanded.
"Affirmative. Wintergreen, take this and sort it all out. Point me in the right direction." Slade ordered as he threw the flash drive at his best friend and partner.
"As you wish sir." Wintergreen replied as he got on with fulfilling his mandate.
"Where will you go now? What will you do?" Slade asked.
"I'm going back to my penthouse. I'm in serious need of a nap." Naruto retorted.
"I already know you don't need to sleep dumb ass." Slade said irritably.
"Hehe, oh yeah. Well, actually, Supergirl was at my penthouse when I came over here, and she's still there. I left a shadow clone behind but now that I've done what I came here to do its time for me to go back to her. I would stay and bond with my siblings but you know, things need to go back to normal over there so that the Jackal doesn't catch on. Besides, we already shared everything telepathically, they know everything about me and me them so it isn't like we need to get to know each other better or anything." Naruto replied.
"What about me? Or do I just not matter to you? You're not interested in getting to know me? Or you don't think I want to get to know Joseph's brother?" Adeline asked with a deep frown.
"I uh…well, I…uh…I didn't think…you know since father and mother…you know, since I'm like a love child and stuff…" Naruto sputtered.
"Look I hate your father for what he did, I mean I don't hate him hate him but I hate him you know. But that doesn't mean I hate you. You didn't do anything, you didn't make him create you…uh…you didn't, right?" Adeline asked just to make sure, after all, if God could make Jesus with Marry then what if…
"Oh no! No, not at all. I did not exist until father and mother made me." Naruto said half panicked and half amused.
"There you go then." Adeline said with finality, doing well to suppress her fear of the blonde haired New God, also concluding that getting to know him better might help her to rid herself of that fear, if that was even possible because as it was she constantly felt like she was staring at the face of death whenever he was in her presence.
"Alright mam, I guess I'll stay for a while." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.
Two Months Later:
"Quite an interesting set up you got going on here. The security is quite advanced." Rose said as she looked around her brother's office, not worried at all about being seen with her brother as she officially did not even exist and the identity she was currently using was a false one, going by the name Samantha Midnight as her cover identity.
"Nothing out of the ordinary for a multi billion dollar industry owned by the smartest person in the universe." Naruto retorted.
"Boss who is this woman? I've checked for her identity on the web matrix, I've searched every nook and cranny of it and my conclusion is that she is using a false identity. I couldn't however find her real identity. That has never happened to me before. The only other person that happened with was you." Zalika aka Hack said on Naruto's coms.
She is a woman from Africa, Kenya in particular, where she was kidnapped as a child because of her genius intellect and technological prowess and used to commit high profile thefts as the gang's tech expert.
She worked for the gang for years, under duress, until her brother was killed by the gang for stealing from them, and that's around the time her technopathic abilities kicked in and she used her powers to get revenge on the criminal organization that kidnapped her by trapping them in a computer and having a computer virus annihilate all the members, thus earning her freedom.
The missing information in this story is that Naruto is the one who found her and gave her the advice to eliminate her gang members and emancipate herself when he was on one of Kitsune's secret missions in Kenya.
The Kenyan government, at a great financial cost, had hired Kitsune in order to stop the plague on their state that was looting funds and valuable items, a plague they were unable to track down or monitor due to their incredible digital prowess.
Naruto, or rather Kitsune, ever the meticulous one, had managed to track the gang down and also identified their secret, that secret being Zalika herself. After investigating her background, he had kidnapped her and then convinced her to emancipate herself and avenge her brother, convinced her that only she could truly help herself, but only if she had the courage to do so.
Needless to say, she had found her courage and emancipated herself just as Naruto advised, avenging her brother in the process. However she had been at a loss at what to do afterwards, but Naruto had told her she was free to do whatever she wanted as long as she moved away from the life of crime, because otherwise they would inevitably meet again as Naruto was sure that someone else would hire Kitsune and have him deal with her if she continued on that path.
Seeing as Naruto had told her she could do whatever she wanted, Zalika had decided that she was going to become stuck to his hip until such a time that she discovered what she wanted to do, to which Naruto had accepted because, well, he was the one that said she could do whatever she wanted in the first place.
A month later Zalika had sworn an oath to always be at his side and to serve him until her dying breathe, declaring that she liked working for him and wanted to be the force of good hiding in the shadows just like him.
It was then that Naruto decided to train her in the ways of the assassin, as he had done with all of his loyal acolytes, namely, Hack, Brainwave, Instant, Painkiller, Looker, and Hourman.
"Perhaps…and perhaps not. Nevertheless, I would appreciate it if we could get some privacy, the information I'm about to share with you is classified, even for your loyal henchmen." Samantha aka Rose Wilson said with an heir of authority that neither Instant nor Poison Ivy could understand, this being Painkiller's day off hence Instant instead of Painkiller being at Naruto's side.
"I see. I do hope it isn't anything bad." Naruto said for pretend's sake, he and Rose already having their real conversation telepathically, or rather, via mind transfer technique as Naruto would say.
"Nothing of the sort. It is very good news, trust me." Rose said with a confident smirk.
"Alright then. Instant, Ivy, please leave us." Naruto ordered authoratively.
"Sure thing the boss/No!" Instant and Poison Ivy said at the same time, Instant immediately looking at his colleague as if she had grown a whole new head on her shoulders.
"Excuse me?" Rose asked with a dangerous tone, angry on both hers and her brother's behalf at this blatant act of insubordination.
"When you hired me as your PA and Bodyguard, I only accepted because of the clause that I would be privy to all information regarding your business and your future plans. Its been two months and I'm no closer to knowing jack about what's going on! You haven't told me shit! I'm starting to think maybe I should have killed you after all, in fact, why don't I rectify that mistake right now…" Ivy trailed off as she pulled out two sunflowers from the pockets of her blazer, having started to wear a more formal outfit since she started working for Naruto, consisting of a black shirt and a green blazer along with a matching green skirt and a green tie, yes, she has quite a thing for the colour 'green'.
"Damn girl you don't have to pull out the sunflowers for this. What's wrong with you…?"
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you. I'll have you know that I've set up a lot of my flora friends in strategic locations all over this building. So I dare you, just try and teleport me out of here." Pamela said venomously, cutting Instant off mid sentence.
"Should I do it boss? Just give me the word and I'll take care of her." Hack said only to be once again completely ignored by her boss.
"Pam, I know these are business hours, but Samantha and I are not doing Wave Consolidated business. This is other business that has nothing to do with what we do here or my plans related to clean energy and eco activism. In other words, this particular business is none of your concern, so butt out." Naruto said sternly, Poison Ivy's eyes widening as realization dawned on her.
"She's…you mean its personal? Then you, and her…?" Pamela trailed off as she blushed in embarrassment, and envy deep within her heart that she didn't even understand as she was happily in love with Kiteman.
"Can you please excuse us now?" Rose said with mischief dancing in her eyes, content to let Pamela believe that she and Nathaniel were an item, after all, in her experience, it always worked out best when people believed a lie that you didn't even have to tell.
"I…uh…okay, that was very unprofessional of me, to say the least. I…uh…I'm so sorry. We are leaving right now, as in immediately….Instant god damn it when I say immediately it means teleport us away right now!" Pamela exclaimed, taking out her frustrations on Instant, who only rolled his eyes at her as he grabbed her hand and teleported the two of them out of there.
"Scanners show neither the presence of Poison Ivy or her so called flora friends in or outside of your office. All is clear, sir." Hack reported, again not getting any response from her boss, although that in itself was acknowledgement according to their arrangement.
"I thought she would never leave. You really need a stronger leash around that dog of yours." Rose said as she finally sat down, her brother following suit as he sat across from her.
"None of my subordinates are shackled, they can leave whenever they want. Of course I would like them to stay, but nobody is forcing them to stay either. I have no use for people who do not want to be here." Naruto replied.
"Oh I know that, I've been in your mind remember. I was surprised at your methods I have to admit, very un-ninja-like. But they do work very well, I was especially surprised that everyone at Hive chose to stay. I thought we would lose at least half of them when you gave them a choice." Rose retorted.
"People work far better, and are far more happy when they are at a place they chose for themselves. Nevertheless, that's not why you're here, you're here because you want to hit a government facility and steal their prized assets. It's risky. There is no telling what goes on in the minds of those guys." Naruto cautioned.
"Which is why it has to be either you or Jericho to take this mission. Alternatively you could have that guy of yours, Brainwave was it? You could have him do it." Rose said suggestively.
"He's not a member of Hive." Naruto deadpanned.
"And why not exactly?" Rose asked with a little bit of frustration in her tone.
"He will choose to join Hive, or he will not, at the time that I think is appropriate." Naruto said sternly.
"You're wasting precious time. Darkseid could literally attack the planet any time. We need an army of not just elite soldiers, but meta humans too. You know this. Are you afraid if they join Hive they will no longer be your toys? Are you afraid of sharing your toys? That is so cliché!" Rose said incredulously.
"They are not toys, metaphorically or otherwise. They are people, that I care about. People that I treasure. Hive has been going through a lot of changes recently, we have to make the changes gradual in order to allow for seamless assimilation. Phase one and two are complete, and with your plan, it seems like phase three is about to take place. My people will then be phase four…if they so choose." Naruto emphasized.
Phase one had been the assassination of The Jackal, which had taken a whole month as the guy had proven himself to be very elusive even for the great Deathstroke the Terminator. But ultimately, their father had pulled through and delivered on his promise, bringing the head of The Jackal to his children as a gesture of goodwill.
Phase two had been the systematic identification and assimilation of all the Hive factions into one, under the rule and control of Kitsune, Hive Queen, and Jericho, and that too had taken an entire month.
"So you approve of my plan?" Rose asked excitedly, ignoring everything else that her brother said for the meantime.
"It is a most brilliant and inspired plan. If we are able to successfully convert them, then they will be an invaluable addition to the organization. Our army's strength could double or even triple just by adding those five individuals." Naruto said thoughtfully.
"We've already developed uniforms and a theme for them. We call them the Royal Flush, and by we I mean me." Rose said excitedly, and arrogantly.
"Interesting. Send me the schematics for their uniforms and weapons. I want to see if there are any improvements I can make." Naruto replied.
"Of course. That was the plan from the get go. Now its time to decide who will go, you,Jericho…or Brainwave." Rose said with a taunting smirk.
"Has Jericho been on a solo mission before?" Naruto asked curiously, ignoring the Brainwave taunt for now.
"No, he hasn't. That's mostly because of me. We haven't been apart since we met, even now he is waiting for me in the car. I'm…finding it a bit difficult to let go. Is that normal? Am I too possessive?" Rose asked with uncertainty.
"You both are, technically. But that's only true if one of you feels like the other is too possessive. If you are both okay and in fact content with the level of possession you hold over each other, then there is nothing wrong with it." Naruto retorted.
"So, it's a subjective matter?" Rose asked curiously.
"Precisely." Naruto retorted.
"I see…" Rose thought, seriously giving the matter some thought Naruto noticed.
"In any case, it's time Jericho went on a solo mission. He needs to be able to stand on his own. There might come a time where you will each have to fight your own individual battles. He will need to know what that feels like and how to overcome it. The same goes for you." Naruto replied.
"I understand. And once the Royal Flush Unit is debriefed, assimilated, and trained, what then?" Rose pressed further.
"Then I will take the necessary steps to assimilate Hive into Wave Consolidated, and will of course breach the topic to my personal combat unit and bodyguards." Naruto replied.
"What about Poison Ivy? You can't seriously be considering bringing in that nut job into the fold can you? She's a loose canon." Rose said skeptically.
"That's part of the reason I have delayed the assimilation. I'm still studying her behavioral patterns, trying to earn her trust and hoping she earns mine. The situation with her is delicate and while Hive is meant to be an organization dedicated to human excellence, she has absolutely no regard for human life or its potential. Change takes time, sister." Naruto explained.
"Use your ninja seduction techniques or whatever. Give her some good New God dick and she will be swooning over you in no time at all." Rose said half serious half joking.
"Those techniques may come in handy one day, but I do not believe this is the time for that. Trust must be earned honestly and sincerely, otherwise it is meaningless, and whatever bond comes from that dishonesty is doomed to self destruct." Naruto replied firmly.
"A ninja with good morals? You're so weird, brother." Rose retorted.
"Yes, well, this ninja is not a mere tool, nor are his subordinates. Every system has to evolve, so think of it as me evolving the ninja code." Naruto retorted.
"Hehehe! You always have some weird philosophical retort waiting don't you? Is there a ninja scroll somewhere in your penthouse full of those?" Rose asked incredulously.
"Perhaps." Naruto said half jokingly.
"Hn, whatever, Mr Enigma. I have to go before Poison Ivy sends her legion of plants to investigate what's going on. I'll see you around brother, and it goes without saying that I love you dearly." Rose said sincerely.
"I love you too, always…forever." Naruto replied with a genuine smile as he walked his sister to the door, the other part of his mind still analyzing the data that his sister had telepathically shared with him.
Long ago, the government kidnapped five Children who had special gifts. One was a big, athletic kid of African American lineage who had super strength and super durability as his powers. The other four were all European American, a girl with the ability to control magnetic fields, another with dangerous telepathic abilities, and two boys, one with the ability to manipulate fire and plasma energy, and the other who had the power of elasticity, basically meaning he could stretch his body and transform it into basically any shape or form he wanted.
These kids, against their will, had been trained as weapons in a secret government facility and it was Hive's plan to liberate them and offer them sanctuary as members of Hive. It was both Naruto's and Rose's hope that Joseph AKA Jericho succeeded in his mission of recruiting the would be Royal Flush Unit.
"Brother, sister? That woman is your sister? I thought there was a strange bond between the two of you, but I didn't know it was something like this. And this Jericho, who is he to her? Who is he to you? Why did you allow me to listen to this conversation? You never do anything without a reason." Hack asked a whole lot of questions, slightly frustrated by the fact that she even had to ask given the fact that attaining all information on any matter was kind of her specialty.
"Her real name is Rose Wilson, her alias is Hive Queen. Jericho's real name is Joseph Wilson, and my real name as you know…or rather my other name, is Nathaniel Wilson. And yes, they are also, like me, the children of Deathstroke the Terminator." Naruto replied.
"And the three of you are part of a secret organization known as Hive?" Hack asked curiously, her surprise only supplanted by her curiosity.
"We are the ring leaders, with me at the top of the Hierarchical chain. As for the answer as to why I allowed you to overhear the conversation, I think it should be obvious shouldn't it? I mean Rose and I did breach the topic in our conversation." Naruto replied.
"You want to ask me to join Hive? As if you actually need to ask me that question. Of course I will join Hive, I'd be honored, sir." Hack replied excitedly.
"In that case, it is time for me to take your training to the next level." Naruto retorted.
"The next level? There is a next level?" Hack asked incredulously, pretty sure that apart from her boss, no one was a better Hack then she was.
"You have mastered technological and software interfacing…with earth technology, but there are so many different kinds of technology from all across the universe, so many far more advanced technologies then what you are used to. So from now on, we will be focusing on that." Naruto explained.
"I'm assuming you somehow have access to these technologies?" Hack asked curiously.
"Naturally. Your training will take place on Saturdays and Sundays. You can forget about enjoying your weekends for the foreseeable future." Naruto instructed.
"Roger that sir." Hack acknowledged enthusiastically.
"Good. Now contact Instant and tell him to bring Ivy back to my office. You are hereby dismissed." Naruto said with authority.
"Consider it done. Enjoy the rest of your day sir."
"You too." Naruto replied with a small smile, even though hack couldn't see it from where she was.
A Short While Later:
"I uh…I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Pamela said awkwardly, she and Naruto the only ones remaining in his office after he sent Instant away so that he can have a one on one with Poison Ivy.
"That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I called for you so that I can tell you my plan, or rather my goal. It is rather simple. Wave Consolidated is not the only company I own. I have dozens of shell corporations all across the world. I'm using these shell corporations in order to create the illusion of a free market but in actuality I am creating a worldwide monopoly. Eventually I will be the sole producer of all forms of energy and in that way I will ensure that I create a technologically advanced, but eco friendly earth." Naruto explained, Poison Ivy's eyes widening at the sheer scope and magnitude of the youngest billionaire's ambitions.
"You mentioned something about me having the potential to influence who becomes president by funding political parties that support yours and my ambitions. That's a brilliant idea, very inspired, but you've only scratched the surface. In other words, you're thinking way too small." Naruto said cryptically.
"I don't understand…?" Ivy said confusedly.
"I foresee a future where there are no longer any political parties, where the world is united under one banner, my banner. I foresee a future where corporations do not need to fund political parties but simply run countries themselves" Naruto elaborated.
"And since you'll have a monopoly that branches throughout the entire planet, you'll run every country in the world, and therefore the world itself…." Poison Ivy trailed off, eyes wide in shock and awe as she instantly developed a much higher level of respect and admiration for the sunkissed New God.
"Precisely. Now, I'm going to be frank. There is a lot I haven't told you about me, a lot that you do not know. You haven't earned that level of trust yet, and there is no guarantee you ever will. However, I happen to believe in second chances, so I'm willing to give you a chance. Consider me sharing this info with you as a form of graduation, but this would be the equivalent to you graduating high school. As you can imagine, you still have a long way to go." Naruto said sternly.
"I…I understand, sir. I'll do my best!" Ivy said rigidly, unable to help herself as for some reason she couldn't explain she felt compelled to do as this man asked, like she wanted to go out of her way to impress him, and to please him.
"Good. Now, a lot has happened in a short space of time so I will allow you a one hour break just to process everything. You're dismissed." Naruto said, arbitrarily ending the conversation right then and there, Ivy thanking him for his generosity as she made a quick exit of the office, feeling grateful as she felt like she really had a lot to process and needed to re-gather herself.
Quickly locking up the office, Naruto quickly activated the 3D screen in his office and switched on the live Supergirl interview that was playing on Catco News, internally noting just how quickly things had changed in the last two months as before he and Supergirl started hanging out and having dinner together literally ever night, he would have never been caught blowing off working hours to watch a Supergirl interview.
But she had told him about it last night and asked him to watch her first live appearance on screen. As much as he hated to admit it, he would feel horrible if he had to tell her that he missed it. His pride and ego was yelling at him to ignore the interview and not become influenced and changed by a stupid girl in blue spandex, but his mind and heart were telling him that Supergirl was worth all the trouble and that she was the kind of person he needed to associate with in order to remind himself that there really is goodness in the world, pure, genuine kindness and goodness.
"Am I some kind of idiot?" Naruto thought out loud, eyes wide as he realized, or rather remembered that there was no such thing as shirking your responsibilities when you can literally make real life clones of yourself and make them do all of the metaphorical heavy lifting.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto said with his hands formed into a cross hand sign, an exact replica of him appearing next to him and immediately starting with the work that Naruto was meant to be doing.
'Supergirl is turning me into an idiot, or maybe her idiocy is contagious.' Naruto thought as he smacked his head against his forehead.