"Lobo…" Naruto trailed off.
"What the frag! I thought the main man had ya shackled and caged! How the frag did ye get out!" Lobo jumped in surprise.
"Really? You're only thinking to ask that now? You didn't think to ask that question when we aided you against the Green Lantern Honor Guard?" Diana asked incredulously, having come up behind Lobo along with Naruto.
"I thought the crash of my ship might have caused my power suppressors and force field generators to malfunction or something. It seemed like the only logical explanation." Lobo replied in surprise as he struggled to comprehend how in the cosmos these two could have escaped his state of the art holding equipment and facilities.
"Well, that wasn't the case, as you can see. We are simply immune to your….inferior tech." Diana said with a taunting smirk, having been meaning to get one over the foul mouthed bounty hunter for a while now, internally wondering if Nathaniel's mischievous ways were starting to rub off on her already.
"…"
"Celestial Magic and Divine Cosmic Energy. You might want to upgrade your equipment accordingly." Diana deadpanned when she saw the confused look on Lobo's facial features, his eyes widening once again, not in shock or confusion this time, but in realization.
"Yawl were playin the main man the whole time huh? Pieces of trash the both of ye!" Lobo said irritably.
"More importantly, we need to take a bit of a detour. We sensed some disturbing energy signatures on that planet we just passed by. Nathaniel says that it was green lantern energy because it was similar to the one Sinestro and his comrades had, but the other signatures were….well, disturbing….and sinister….to say the least…" Diana trailed off warily.
"The main man should care about this because…?" Lobo asked with genuine confusion, much to Diana's chagrin.
"Thaal Sinestro made it clear that no one was allowed beyond the barrier separating Guardian Space and the Forgotten Zone, and seemed to imply that nobody goes in or out of the Forgotten Zone. And yet, there appears to be a Green Lantern on this side of the barrier. Are you not at least interested in finding out why and how there is a Green Lantern on this side of the Universe? At the very least wouldn't you want to find out about the so called horrors of this side of the Universe considering that this Green Lantern seems to be going up against these so called horrors as we speak?" Naruto asked, hoping to entice Lobo into taking action.
"Nope, not interested at all. The main man is only interested in work that pays. And that work has nothing to do with so called horrors and green fairies." Lobo said stubbornly.
"I see….guess that's why you're only the fourth best bounty hunter in the Universe." Naruto said with a taunting smirk.
"The frag you say to me, you bastich? And what the frag does investigating some stupid horror show have to do with being a bounty hunter?" Lobo asked incredulously.
"Even I know that information gathering is the most important attribute of being a bounty hunter. Knowing everything about everything and everywhere is obviously essential to being a bounty hunting mercenary. Take for instance, apart from Mr Miracle and Big Barda, you have no client base on this side of the Universe, which means that nobody from this side of the universe knows about you. It might boost your ranking if your name and reputation spreads across the Forgotten Zone as well." Diana replied in detail, Lobo giving her a long, scrutinizing stare before finally relenting.
"Frag you both in your buttholes!" Lobo said in resignation, finally relenting as he turned his ship around and headed for the aforementioned planet.
Ten Minutes Later:
"Green Lantern Shyir Rev, you disgraceful piece of filth! Do you have any last words before you die?" Zelius Zox asked with a menacing tone.
He is, well, literally a round ball of flesh with arms and legs sticking out from his gigantic head, which is also the entirety of his face and body. He is wearing an obviously custom made red lantern uniform, which is red and black in colour, and wears his ring on his right hand.
Shyir Rev, the person he was speaking to, is a green lantern who too is wearing his green lantern ring and uniform. He is some kind of brown skinned humanoid creature with two antennae at the top of his head and an elongated mouth with two nostrils at the top of his nose. He is also badly injured with second degree and even some third degree burns on his body, including a broken left arm, and is lying on his back and unable to move due to his injuries.
"Who will get the honor of finishing him off, Zelius? Please say that it is I who will get the honor once again?" Veon asked excitedly.
Veon is also a somewhat humanoid creature, but is purple in skin colour, has a very long and big head and is also a cyclops seeing as he only had one large eye at the center of his head. He is also shaped more like an ape as he seemed to have a crouched posture. He is barefooted and moves similarly with the agility of an ape.
"No Veon, Lord Atrocitus wants to give Razer a chance to prove his loyalty to the cause. Therefore, Razer will do us this honor of killing Green Lantern Shyir Rev." Zelius said with what appeared to be a permanently sinister tone.
"I am obviously down for the cause, but I do not see the point in killing this Green Lantern when all that will happen is that his ring will simply find another host." Razer said condescendingly.
He is the most human-like of the three red lanterns, having the normal human shape and of course, head size, except that he was clearly alien due to the pure white skin color, not pale, but completely white, and the multiple indentations on his skin, even on his face, making him look like he had runes on his body and face. His eyes were also red, his schlera black, and he had dark black hair, a total contrast to his white skin. He was also wearing the standard red lantern uniform, except his was modified to cover even his head, leaving only his face visible for the world to see.
"And we will hunt down the new green lantern all over again and revel in destroying him too!" Zelius said angrily.
"This is pointless, it solves nothing!" Razer said with equal anger and vigor.
"Oh….I see now. You don't have the balls for this do you? Fine, I'll just have to tell Lord Atrocitus that Razer is not fully committed to the cause. I wonder how he will kill you? Quick and fast? Slowly and painfully? Personally I hope it's the latter." Zelius said maliciously.
"I do very much have the testicles for this task thank you." Razer said as he powered up his ring, extending his arm and pointing his ring at Green Lantern Shyir Rev.
"Don't worry kid, I won't hold a grudge against you. I understand that you are in a very difficult position. Do what you have to d…aaargh!" Shyir cried as Zelius blasted him on the chest with red spectrum energy.
"Shush! You imbecile! We do not need your pity or your forgiveness for that matter. Razer, kill him now, mercilessly!" Zelius ordered with hate and malice in both his soul and heart.
"As you wish!" Razer said with resolve, firing a large blast of the red spectrum energy at the green lantern of Colony 12, causing a large explosion to occur as dust and debris went flying everywhere, both Zelius and Veon's eyes widening in surprise as they did not think Razer actually had the stones to go through with it, sinister but proud smiles following soon after from the two aforementioned red lanterns as they were happy that their latest recruit and understudy had finally proved himself a worthy red lantern.
"Well done Razer. You finally proved that everyone was wrong to doubt you. You are finally a true member of the Red Lantern Corps." Zelius said with pride.
"Everyone doubted me? Even Bleez?" Razer asked with a hurt tone.
"Oh Razer, you poor naïve fool. Bleez was the most distrusting of you. She only pretended to have romantic feelings for you in order gain your trust and confidence…so that she can properly assess you." Zelius said with a sinister smirk, Razer's eyes saddening as disappointment settled deep into his soul.
"Cheer up, rookie. Now that you have proven your mettle, perhaps Bleez's feelings for you will change….maybe….big maybe…I mean not that big but still big maybe…" Veon struggled to articulate before Zelius got fed up and consequently, cut his comrade off before he could finish speaking.
"Oh shut the hell up Veon! It doesn't matter what that annoying whore thinks. Razer has much more important things to worry about, like the celebration of his first Green Lantern kill." Zelius said, mercilessly crushing whatever crazy ideas his cycloptic comrade had in mind.
"I'm afraid those celebrations will have to wait a while. Sorry Razer, but you're going to have to find some other Green Lantern to pop your cherry, this one is under our protection." The three Red Lanterns heard a deep and sinister voice from high up above, all three of them snapping their heads in the direction of that voice as they turned to see three individuals floating in the air, one wearing a black and red combat outfit with a demonic looking mask, carrying a technologically advanced large sword on his back, the other a woman with golden combat armor, carrying a shield, lasso, and sword as weapons, the other being a blue skinned man with red eyes, riding on what appeared to be an advanced space interstellar motor cycle.
That wasn't the most surprising thing however, as the most surprising thing was the fact that Shyir Rev was floating right next to the large male individual with the demonic mask, his injuries healing rapidly as what appeared to be golden chains originating from the demon masked individual were wrapped around Shyir Rev and were the sauce of the life force that was regenerating Shyir's injuries.
"Shyir Rev? W-what? How!" Zelius sputtered, rage and madness dancing on the surface of his eyes.
"You…! Who are you? What…are you?" Razer asked as his eyes narrowed dangerously at the masked individual.
"Nathaniel Wilson, otherwise known as Kitsune the Sage God, or Kitsune the Toad Sage, the best Bounty Hunter in the Universe. These are my friends, Goddess of Thunder Diana of Themicyra, also known as Wonder Woman, and Lobo The Bounty Hunter, also known as the Main Man and currently the fourth best Bounty Hunter in the Universe." Naruto introduced himself and his so called friends.
"The frag I am! The main man is no one's friend, and he sure as hell aint no fourth best! I'm number one, Lobo The Best and more importantly, number one bounty hunter in the Universe!" Lobo exclaimed angrily.
"As you can see he is pretty delusional, but his delusions have no bearing on his skills and power. He, along with Diana and I, will absolutely annihilate you three if you do not leave this planet….now." Naruto said as he deactivated his chakra chains, having already finished healing all of Shyir's injuries.
"Thank you for saving my life, and healing my injuries. But, who are you? And why did you save me?" Shyir asked with both gratitude and suspicion.
"I believe Nathaniel already told you who we are, but as for saving you, we were just passing by and sensed that you were a green lantern in danger. We aren't that big a fans of green lanterns after a recent encounter with the honor guard, but there being a green lantern in the forgotten zone made us curious so we came to investigate and saw you about to get killed and we saved you." Diana tried to make the explanation as short but as detailed as possible.
"I see. Thank you for coming then, and for saving my life. As for the green lanterns of the forgotten zone, there are but a few of us. No more than five or six actually. It just so happened that there were some green lanterns on this side of the universe when the guardians put up the barrier. They didn't have time to evacuate everyone I guess." Shyir explained.
"And these Red Lanterns, what are they exactly? I can't recall ever sensing so much hate and rage before in my life. Is it safe to say they are powered by rage?" Naruto asked curiously.
"That is precisely what powers them. It is will for us, rage for them, and love for the Star Saphires." Shyir explained.
"The what?" Lobo asked incredulously.
"They are lantern warriors powered by love, and they are all female. They mostly keep to themselves, they hate the world because they believe people have abandoned love in favor of other less pure emotions. They believe it is the reason the world is so rotten, and consequently the reason the manhunters lost it and began slaughtering everyone." Shyir Rev explained.
"Manhunters? What are those? Bounty Hunters?" Diana asked curiously.
"No, they aren't. Manhunters are the predecessors of Green Lanterns. Sentient Machines created by the Guardians in order to police the universe much like the Green Lanterns do now. Apparently there was a great tragedy where the manhunters concluded that all organic life was to be eliminated in order for there to be true peace and order. The guardians decommissioned the manhunters and rebuilt by creating the Green Lantern Corps." Naruto explained for Lobo and Diana's sake.
"Is that the official story that was released in Guardian Space?" Shyir asked, perplexed.
"That is the story I read in the files that my mother left for me, otherwise, the majority of the people living in Guardian Space have no idea that the Manhunters ever existed." Naruto retorted.
"No wonder no one has ever come to our aid. The guardians censored all information regarding the manhunters. The manhunters were not de-commissioned. Their program evolved far beyond simple de-commission. They have been terrorizing the forgotten zone since that tragedy all those hundreds of years ago. Mostly the scarcely populated planets like Colony 12 have survived till this day. The planets with the largest populations have been fighting off the manhunters for hundreds of years, but only a few remain now. Most of them have fallen and only the emergence of the Red Lantern Corps is the reason the forgotten zone has not been completely eradicated." Shyir Rev explained.
"Are you saying that those three evil red monsters are the heroes in all of this?" Diana asked incredulously.
"Three? There are currently six hundred and sixty five active red lanterns. Lord Atrocitus has been patiently gathering his forces from all the fallen colonies. Rage is becoming quite the popular emotion in the forgotten zone. Rage against the manhunters, and hate for the Guardians." Shyir explained.
"So Atrocitus hates the guardians, and the manhunters of course, because…"
"The manhunters destroyed his entire sector, sector 666, killing his wife and son in the process. He is the founder of the Red Lantern Corps and has vowed revenge on the Guardians." Shyir filled in the missing gaps.
"So the so called horrors of the Forgotten Zone are just a pack of Robots and a bunch of emo men and women? Hahaha! This has gotta be the worst joke I ever heard in meh life!" Lobo laughed boisterously, causing aforementioned emo men, the present Red Lanterns, to fume in anger, ironically proving Lobo's point exactly about them.
"Kill them! Kill them all!" Zelius ordered as he, Razer, and Veon charged at the three interlopers, four if one included Shyir too, their power growly significantly stronger due to the extra rage they felt at being humiliated by Lobo.
"Wonder Woman, quickly, take care of them!" Naruto ordered hastily.
"Me? It was Lobo who made them angry. Maybe he deserves a little lesson in manners." Diana argued.
"They were angry go begin with. Lobo will kill them, but if they are the last line of defense against the Manhunters, do you not think that letting them die is the same as aiding the manhunters?" Naruto retorted.
"Then I'll only intercede when it looks like one of them will die." Diana replied.
'Damn! She really doesn't like Lobo does she?' Naruto thought in dismay.
"Okay, fair enough. I just thought that this would have been the perfect chance to test your new powers and get some experience using them against real enemies." Naruto retorted, causing Diana's eyes to widen suddenly as realization dawned on her.
"You know you could have lead with that from the beginning." Diana pouted.
"Perhaps, but I thought you knew what I was thinking." Naruto retorted.
All the while they were having what Shyir thought to be a couple's squabbling, the three red lanterns were giving Lobo an extremely hard time, the three ambassadors of rage proving to have far more teamwork and co-ordination than Lobo could have thought possible given that they appeared to have a large degree of emotional instability.
His energy blasters were rendered practically useless as the Red Lanterns seemed more than agile and fast enough to dodge every single one of his shots, and he considered himself to be a very good shot. They seemed not to be as creative or advanced with their constructs as the green lanterns were but they more than made up for that with their superior physical abilities such as strength, speed, agility, spatial awareness, and reaction time and reflexes. Their battle instincts and ferocity in battle also seemed to give them a significant edge too.
As if that wasn't bad enough, one of them, namely, Razer, seemed to be some kind of scientific genius as he had summoned a number of technologically advanced, red spectrum powered drones, to aid them in battle. In short, Lobo was outnumbered and overpowered, in fact, he would have already died three times were it not for his insane regenerative abilities.
"Lobo is losing, badly. One on one he could have won, he is The Main Man after all, but three on one, and these three in particular? He doesn't seem to stand a chance unless he pulls out a rabbit from a hat. I think this is when you should intercede. Time to test your power, Diana." Naruto suggested.
"Fine, whatever you say." Diana said with a heavy sigh, clearly not a very big fan of Lobo but nevertheless doing as instructed by her mentor and love interest, her eyes turning into glowing, blueish-white energy as the skies blackened, dark clouds forming over the planet known as Colony 12 as Diana summoned her full power and control over lightning storms, Lobo and the Three Red Lanterns all stopping in their tracks as they looked into the skies in confusion.
"Angry warriors of the Forgotten Zone, cease this violence and let us resolve these issues peacefully, maturely, and amicably… or don't, and suffer the consequences of my wrath." Diana said in a dual-like voice, as if two different voices were coming from the same person, as if she wasn't even human, which of course, she wasn't, as she had fully ascended into her Goddesshood, and not only that but appeared to have fully inherited her father's lightning and thunder affinity.
"…"
"Zelius, what should we do?" Veon whispered, unable to hide the fear and concern in his tone of voice.
"Razer! You and your drones take care of Lobo, Veon and I will take care of the witch…!" Zelius snapped, his words however dying in his throat as Diana manifested more than fifty zigzag shaped lightning bolts , the lightning bolts so large and packed with so much voltage and energy that everyone could literally feel the heat and energy emanating from them, not to mention the sound effects from the extremely high vibration frequencies caused by the compressed electrical energy of the lightning bolts.
"Your five drones against my fifty lightning bolts, do you fancy your chances, angry children?" Diana asked in a tone that was both factual and condescending, Zelius for once unsure of himself as he looked at Razer as if to ask if his drones were up to the task.
However, Goddess Diana did not bother to wait for Razer's response, both consciously and instinctively realizing that only a demonstration of her power would yield the result that she wanted, the Thunder Goddess sending exactly five lightning bolts shooting down at lightning speed towards the five drones, and out of the five drones, only one of them, the alpha central drone, able to evade the super fast lightning bolt that came its way, but only briefly, as the lightning bolt instantly changed direction almost like a homing beacon and caught up to the drone, destroying it on impact as a large explosion occurred.
'She wiped out all the drones in an instant! The same drones that were givin the main man hell just a moment ago! Damn! I really do need new and better tech!' Lobo thought in shock and awe, unable to believe just how much stronger than he imagined this Wonder Woman had become.
And it seemed to be a recurring issue he now realized. Yes, earth was still a backwater planet as far as he was concerned, but the potential, willingness, and ability for growth was incredible. He remembered the first time he faced Superman and beat him handily, only to lose a close battle the second time they fought and then proceeded to get obliterated the third, fourth, and the three other times that he fought the man of steel, the guy seemingly getting stronger and stronger after every single time that they fought.
Seeing how much the Wonder Princess had levelled up just made him realize all the more just how much he needed to up his training regimen, and how much he needed to expand his genius intellect in order to develop new, and far more advanced technology. Otherwise he really would never catch up with these backwater punks, and the main man simply could not afford to have that.
"I will ask you one more time, yield now…or bare the consequences of my wrath." Diana said with a deadly tone.
"….."
"Come, Razer, Veon! Let us report this affront to Lord Atrocitus! He will know what to do about these filthy invaders!" Zelius ordered angrily, of course, said anger being only a scapegoat for his true feelings, feelings of pure, unadulterated fear of the unidentified creature that was threatening to strike them down.
"You would have us run with our tails between our legs? That doesn't sound like a very Red Lantern thing to do, Zelius." Razer retorted with a little bit of mirth in his tone, feeling that a little payback was warranted for all of the abuse that Zelius had put him through ever since he joined the Red Lantern Corps.
"Fool! You dare to question me? What do you know? Have you never heard of the term tactical retreat? Huh!" Zelius exclaimed right in front of Razer's face, his power ring flaring as he struggled to hold back the urge to kill Razer right then and there, the soccer ball shaped man clearly not appreciating Razer's jest whatsoever.
"Before you leave, be sure to let this Lord Atrocitus know that we will aid the Red Lantern Efforts against The Manhunters, but will not tolerate the senseless murder of innocent lives, so says Old God Diana of Themicyra, The Goddess of Thunder, widely known as Wonder Woman, and New God Kitsune of Apokolips and Earth, also known as Nathaniel Wilson the God Sage." Diana replied, Naruto figuratively scratching the back of his head as he tried to figure out when exactly he had agreed to such a thing.
'Women…' Naruto thought with a mental face palm, having already figured out that Diana was not going to be taking no for an answer, and even if she did, and she wouldn't, but even if she did, he probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to abandon her after she came all the way here just to support him.
"Blasphemy! How dare you claim to be a God! There is only one God and that is Lord Atrocitu…mmpph!" Veon mumbled in the end as Zelius came from behind and wrapped his hands around Veon's mouth in order to silence him, not appreciating at all the cycloptic Red Lanterns antagonistic behavior towards The Goddess of Thunder.
"Forgive my absolutely stupid and mentally challenged companion, Lady Diana! He is a mere imbecile, unknowing of any warrior etequite whatsoever! We will report your generous offer to Lord Atrocitus, and Lord Atrocitus, and only he, will decide what to do about it!" Zelius said with special emphasis, squeezing harder and harder on Veon as he got angrier and angrier at, well, the entire situation.
"Very well! We have our own business to attend, but as police officers of the Entire Forgotten Zone, I'm sure it will not be too hard for you to find us when you have an answer for us. I bid thee a safe journey back to your base of operations. Farewell, angry warriors." Diana said as pleasantly as she could, although it only just made her sound even more divine and other worldly to the three Red Lanterns.
"We shall see you soon…." Zelius said ominously, he, Razer, and Veon flying away first from the battle scene, and then from the entire planet itself as they headed towards their home base, a place known as Ysmault.
"Am I the only one that thought those last words sounded extremely ominous?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"He's an angry child, I assumed he always sounded like that." Diana replied.
'She's a little detached from mortal feelings when she is in her Goddess form. She still has yet to assimilate the omniscience of being an actual God. But she will come around with enough training and practice.' Naruto thought with a little concern, just a little, because for as far as he was concerned, it was only a matter of a relatively short time before Diana got the hang of it, such was her talent and will power.
"He doesn't always sound exactly like he did in that last part though…" Naruto replied as he thought that there was just a little too much creepiness and sinister intent in the last words of the ball shaped alien.
"Perhaps so, and perhaps not. It really matters not, whatever plans that they have, if they be sinister, you and I will thwart them. Of that I am certain." Goddess Diana replied plainly and simply.
"Fair enough. I think you can relax now though, they have left the sector already. They are in another part of the Forgotten Zone." Naruto replied clearly and concisely, Diana staring directly at Naruto with her glowing eyes, as if trying to decipher and breakdown his very soul itself, before finally, after what felt like forever, doing as instructed and deactivating her divine power, the 45 remaining lightning bolts fizzing out of existence as the skies also cleared up, her eyes returning to normal and the numerous lightning oscillations that were coursing throughout her body disappearing as if they were never there to begin with.
"You okay?" Naruto asked, also after what felt like forever.
"I'm fine. I just need to get used to it. Being a semi omnipotent being, it is…jarring, and mind altering. I don't know how you constantly have it on and don't lose yourself in it. But I do feel like I understand my father and the other Old Gods much better now, like, why they are the way that they are and why the do the things they do." Diana replied.
"Just remember one thing. Balance is everything. You are fortunate in that you got to first interact with the Amazons and then the humans before you ascended into a God. It gives you something to balance your divine experience with. It grounds you, and gives you a more flexible approach to things as opposed to the other Gods. I suppose I should say we are both fortunate in that way." Naruto said sagely.
"Without the intention to interrupt you or anything like that, but you do realize that our battle with the Red Lanterns isn't over right? When the Red Lanterns fail to win a planet's voluntary surrender and co-operation, they use physical force to conquer and rule it with an iron fist. When that also fails, they destroy the entire planet. When The Red Lanterns return, they will drop the Liberators on Colony 12." Shyir Rev said warily.
"Liberators? That's a bad thing?" Naruto asked confusedly. Wasn't liberation, for the most part, supposed to be a good thing?
"The Liberators are planet destroyers in the form of large red spectrum powered robots. The destruction a single one of them can cause is enough to wipe out entire civilizations. And if they should be defeated, they can turn into a bomb that can destroy an entire planet in an instant." Shyir said fearfully.
"Fear not, Green Lantern comrade. Nathaniel and I will help you to fend off the Red Lantern Armada, and we will deactivate or destroy the Liberators if need be." Diana said confidently.
"Ahem…uh…Shyir, how many people are in this planet exactly? I only ask because I could only sense fifty thousand life signatures on this entire rock, and only around 28 thousand appear to be sentient life forms." Naruto asked curiously, Shyir's eyes widening in surprise at just how advanced and accurate this being's ability to detect life signatures was.
"That is accurate, there are only 28254 sentient life forms on the planet." Shyir replied, shock and awe significantly audible in his tone of voice.
"Then I believe an evacuation would be a more appropriate strategy as opposed to fighting the Red Lantern Armada. I suspect you may not approve, Wonder Woman, but think about it. No lives will be lost if we simply evacuate the planet, all life on this planet will survive, well, with the exception of plant life that is." Naruto explained his reasoning.
"I understand your concerns, and I do appreciate your way of thinking, but I believe that standing against the Red Lanterns is the only way to deal with them. Otherwise, they will just carry on liberating planets until there is nothing left." Diana argued vehemently.
"I get you, but there is much we do not know. Shyir told us that the Red Lanterns are the last line of defense against the Manhunters, and that Atrocitus lost his family and in fact his entire sector. Yet, why go around destroying other sectors? Why would he do something like that?"
"Without the Red Lanterns, the Manhunters would have destroyed the entire Forgotten Zone by now, but with them, the Forgotten Zone is being destroyed anyway, just at a much slower pace. Why is everything happening the way it is? Knowledge is power Diana. We need to know what is happening before we stick our feet in it, otherwise we might just end up making things worse." Naruto explained.
"…"
"Okay, fine." Diana said after thinking it over for a while.
"Shyir? Do you have answers for any of Nathaniel's questions?" Diana asked curiously.
"Atrocitus has gone mad with rage and hatred for the Guardians. He considers his quest to be a noble and just one, which in a way it is, but the problem is that he deems anyone who refuses to aid him or will not do things his way to be a traitor to the cause and therefore an ally of the Guardians, or at least, a potential ally of the Guardians. So his solution to that is to liberate anyone who will not join his cause." Shyir explained in detail.
"That is arguably the most twisted ideology I have ever heard of. This Atrocitus really has gone mad." Diana replied, incensed.
"How does he recruit his Red Lanterns?" Naruto asked curiously.
"Here is the thing. Atrocitus has saved many planets from the wrath of the Manhunters, but he always seems to arrive midway through the destruction. My wife and I have a theory. We believe that Atrocitus allows the Manhunters to partially destroy planets in order to cultivate the emotions of rage, vengeance, and hate. People who have lost loved ones generally feel an insane amount of these emotions." Shyir explained.
"I see now. So he is letting the manhunters cultivate all the rage that he needs in the Forgotten Zone in order to expand and grow his army. I would be impressed if I wasn't so horrified." Naruto replied in awe.
"What I still don't understand is how in the heavens he could stomach using robots to destroy planets when his own galaxy was destroyed by robots. That is just too much of a contradiction." Diana said confusedly.
"They do not call him Atrocitus the Mad God of Rage for nothing, and besides, the Liberators are powered by Red Spectrum energy, energy that he fully controls. There is very little chance that they could be made to turn against him." Shyir retorted.
"You know what I don't understand? How you two ingrates got it into ye thick heads that you are no longer my captives and can go gallivanting around the universe saving meaningless lives!" Lobo said irritably, pointing his universal blaster at the two so called Gods, because he didn't believe in the existence Gods whatsoever. The only thing he believed in was the Main Man getting the job done and getting his money.
"I've just about had enough of you." Diana said dangerously.
"No Lady Diana, he is right." Naruto said, much to Diana's confusion. Wasn't he getting tired of being bossed around by Lobo? Wasn't he getting tired of him interfering in their business?
"We made a deal with him. It would be dishonorable to go back on our word. But do not worry, I'll bring in someone to help these people in our stead." Naruto said as he began chanting what appeared to be a spell, Diana staring at Naruto in shock as she had no idea that he had any affinity for magic whatsoever, an entirely black portal that looked more like a gaping black maw opening in the skies as a beautiful but also terrifying red haired woman came floating out of the portal, eyes glowing green as she revealed herself to the world in all her beauty and voluptuousness.
"The Queen of the Black Abyss is honored to be at the service of her Great God and savior. Tell me, my master, who would you have me kill for you? I will bath in their blood and their screams will reverberate all across the underworld." The beautiful red head said elatedly, clearly happy and excited about being summoned by her master.
"Great Queen of the Black Abyss, Enchantress, I would like you to meet my friends. The blue guy is Lobo the Main Man, this man next to me is Green Lantern Shyir Rev of sector 517, and this lovely lady is Diana the Goddess of Thunder." Naruto said, casually introducing the Enchantress as if she was just an ordinary friend from high school.
"It is…not unpleasant to meet you all. You must all be somewhat special for the master to show you any form of consideration, certainly if he deems you worthy of standing in our presence." Enchantress said with her version of being polite.
"Nathaniel, who is this woman?" Diana asked with some noticeable discomfort in her tone.
"A valued and honored comrade in training. She lacks nothing in the way of skill and power, her only weakness is her lack of understanding of the intricacies and complexities of mortal life. In that respect, I have taken to mentoring and grooming her in order for her to fit and blend into the mortal plain. Saving Colony 12 from the Liberators will be her next task, and a test of her character and development. If she passes this test, she'll be very close to graduating so to speak." Naruto explained in detail.
"Did you just admit to gambling with people's lives as a way to test your protégé?" Diana asked with a disappointed tone.
"I wouldn't have summoned her if I didn't believe in her one hundred percent. Trust me, Enchantress is more than capable of handling herself, and she will protect Colony 12 from both the Red Lanterns and the Manhunters , of that I have no doubt." Naruto said with unwavering faith, Diana looking between Naruto and Enchantress with a scrutinizing stare before finally relenting.
"Okay, if you really believe in her that much, then so will I. At the very least, I believe in you." Diana said with a genuine smile, Naruto smiling back in appreciation, and although Diana couldn't see it behind the mask, she still knew that he was smiling back at her just as fondly as she was at him.
"I think I'm gonna puke!" Lobo said with disgust.
"Oh shush! Just be glad that Nathaniel is an honorable God…" Diana retorted, leaving the rest of the threat unsaid as it didn't need to be said, because it was known, by everyone present that Lobo would likely be dead or otherwise dealt with already were it not for Kitsune keeping his word to him.
"I was…hoping….that we would be working together, side by side." Enchantress said, not pleased at all by the interaction that she had just seen between Diana and her master.
"We will be working side by side once you have graduated. In case you haven't noticed, I am grooming you to be my second in Command in Akatsuki." Naruto replied much to Enchantress's delight, her eyes widening in surprise as she hadn't expected that level of trust and faith from her master.
"What's Akatsuki?" Diana asked curiously.
"A story for another time." Naruto replied cryptically.
"Lady Enchantress, I'm going to transfer to you memories of everything that has transpired up to this point. It should give you an idea of what you should do, and what I want you to do. If you find yourself in a position where you do not know what to do, then look to Shyir for guidance. He is a good man with a good moral compass. I vouch for him." Naruto ordered.
"As you wish, master. Fear not, these Colony 12 mongrels will be safe and sound upon your return. I will annihilate both the Manhunters and the Red Lanterns." Enchantress promised.
"Actually we were going for a more evasive strategy. War is not the desired requirement, but rather escape and survival for the people of Colony Twelve." Naruto said as he made his memories available to Enchantress, who swept them up greedily, taking great pleasure to be able to share something as intimate as the memories of her master.
Meanwhile, Naruto was wondering whether he should bring back up for Enchantress or not. Yes, she was extremely powerful, but at the same time, he had no idea just how powerful these Liberators were nor how many Red Lanterns Atrocitus would bring to Colony 12 for retaliation.
Speaking of Atrocitus, with a name like the Mad God of Rage, and the fact that he was the founder of the Red Lantern Corps itself, he had to be quite the heavy hitter himself, perhaps even more powerful than the Liberators if Naruto had to guess.
Would Enchantress, alone, be able to triumph against those odds? Okay, maybe she wasn't alone, after all, Shyir Rev was there, but at the same time, Shyir didn't seem to be all that experienced at using the Green Lantern ring, nor did he seem to have much, if any combat training prior to obtaining the ring.
Maybe that should be one of his goals before his business was done with the Forgotten Zone, to give some combat training to the Green Lantern of Colony 12. Right now however he had to go. He would have liked to leave a shadow clone behind to start Shyir's training and to help them battle the Red Lanterns if the escape plan didn't go as planned, but as it is he was already wary about splitting his power any further.
He had to leave a very strong shadow clone behind when he left earth in case something bad happened in his absence. Now normally that wouldn't be an issue. But given the fact that he was going to potentially be fighting the genius son of a Sky Father and the General of the Furies of Apokolips, well, who could blame him for wanting to conserve some of his strength.
Back on Earth: Nanda Parbat
"I am told that you called for me. To what do I owe the pleasure of being summoned by the great one? Do I finally get to go on my first mission?" Slade asked in a tone that was neither respectful or disrespectful, which in a way was its own form of disrespect, just a very difficult form of disrespect to prove. He was wearing his full Deathstroke gear, just without the mask, always staying ready it seemed, especially now that he was constantly surrounded by assassins.
"The boy in this picture? Who is he?" The Great One, also known as Ra's Al Ghul, asked with a calm and serene tone of voice.
He is a tall and daunting man with green eyes and black hair with gray streaks, and also has a long black mustache and wild, black eyebrows. He is dressed in a regal manner, with the majority of his clothes covered by a high-collared green cloak with large gold buttons. Underneath, he is wearing a black vest with gold hems, a white undershirt, and a golden sash, and is also wearing black pants and knee-high black boots.
"Oh for heaven's sake! This shit again?" Slade asked incredulously.
"You will monitor your tone, and you will think carefully before you address the great one, or you will suffer the consequences." Sensei said with a grave undertone.
Sensei is Ra's Al Ghul's most loyal acolyte and equally the highest ranked. He is also, as his name suggests, the trainer and teacher of practically every member of the League of Shadows and is a close friend and confidant of Ra's Al Ghul.
He is an old, light-skinned man with white hair and dark brown eyes. He is completely bald on the top of his head, and the rest of his hair extends near his shoulders. His white mustache extends to his cheeks and under his chin. He has a large scar across his chest, and a smaller scar extending from his forehead to just under his left milky eye.
"Consequences my foot! We had an agreement, I would join the shadows and serve the shadows loyally and diligently, and in exchange, you would stay out of my personal life, more importantly, you would leave my past be. I thought you were a man of honor, but you have broken your oath to me from the moment I stepped foot on Nanda Parbart!" Slade said angrily
"You are right, father did make a pact with you, but I did not. So I ask you, who is the boy in this picture? What happened to him, and where is he now?" Talia al Ghul, daughter of the demon, asked, or rather, demanded.
She is a beautiful woman with shoulder length red hair and green eyes, spotting a form fitting black combat suit that only accentuated her voluptuous and sexy figure. She also has a tanto on her back and two pistols on each side of her waist and overall, has the look of an absolutely gorgeous femme fatale.
"What does it fucking matter? He's dead!" Slade replied in frustration.
Of course, the aforementioned boy was none other than Nathaniel Wilson, Slade's biological son and first born child, also known as Uzumaki Naruto. The picture was of Deathstroke and Kitsune, in just their second year of working and training together, when Naruto was only twelve years old. Naruto's face, thankfully, could not be seen behind his Kitsune mask, and Slade couldn't be any happier about making sure that his son knew the importance of protecting his identity.
"You have told me what happened to him, and therefore answered one of my questions, but there were two other questions that I asked you were there not?" Talia asked rhetorically, Slade asking himself for the billionth time why the hell he was tolerating all of this disrespect, what he was even doing in this cult in the first place.
'Oh yeah, I wanted my own army in order to help my children take over the world, and to fight off the forces of Darkseid when he potentially invades the earth.' Slade thought sarcastically, wondering who's bright idea this was to begin with, until he remembered it was his bright little idea.
"Why is this shit even important? What part of he is dead didn't you understand?" Slade asked incredulously.
"The part where you somehow got it into your small little mind that death is of any consequence to the great one." Talia said condescendingly.
"I would suggest you start co-operating with her, Terminator, this isn't an argument you can win, nor is it a fight you can win if that is what is on your mind. Your reputation precedes you, but you are treading dangerous waters, even for you." Bane said with an accent and tone that made him sound like he was both a creep and a wise sage.
Bane is very big and muscular individual with a bald head and a respirator mask that covers his mouth and the top of his head like a mowhawk. Underneath the respirator is a black wrestling mask and he is dressed in a black form fitting top with body armor over it, wearing brown combat pants along with black boots.
He has a number of weapons all over his body but most importantly, has what appears to be fuel injection system on his upper body, said fuel being of course, his venom, a substance that, when injected directly into his system, significantly boosts his physical abilities.
"…."
"He was my illegitimate son, a genius prodigy that had the potential to surpass me by miles. But he died, along with the Uzumaki ninja clan, and unfortunately, along with his mother. I had his body cremated because I didn't want anyone experimenting on his body." Slade said with a forlorn expression, a genuine one too, but only because he was mourning the loss of the Uzumaki clan and not his son, who was alive and well.
"…"
"You have my sincerest condolences, Deathstroke, and my apologies as well. But you see, prior to this boy, you have never taken on an apprentice before, nor did you take on one after the boy passed away. I had to know what was so special about this boy that you of all people would take him under your wing when you didn't even take your own legitimate son under your wing. Speaking of which, where is the little rascal again? I only ask because I heard he disappeared from his boarding school and has not been seen since." Ra's asked suspiciously.
Slade supposed he should have known better. Ra's wasn't an idiot, if anything, he was the idiot for thinking that Ra's would let him join his organization without doing his due diligence, especially when Ra's had expressed a desire to groom him into his successor.
He himself would have left no stone unturned before trusting a mercenary, in fact, he wouldn't trust a mercenary even after doing his due diligence, so what the hell was he thinking assuming that Ra's would be so foolish? What on earth had he been smoking when he came up with this plan?
"He is safe and sound, I can assure you of that. Joseph has made it clear that he doesn't want anything to do with me, in fact, he came very close to killing me. I don't think I have ever been that close to death in my life. However I survived, and I have to find a way to move on without him, he seems to be doing just fine without me, which is all a father can truly hope for. Deathstroke didn't raise no punk, let's just leave it at that." Slade replied as honestly as he could without giving away any vital information.
"You allowed a child to dictate terms to you? And you want to be my successor?" Ra's asked incredulously.
"Last time I checked, it was you who wanted me to be your successor, I had and still have no such desire. What I do desire is for this meaningless conversation to end and for you to give me a mission to complete. If not, then I wasted my time joining the league in the first place." Slade said irritably.
"…"
"What do you think? Damian? What would you do in the face of this insolence if you were the demon head?" Ra's asked his thirteen year old grandson.
Damian is, well, a thirteen year old kid, sporting short dark hair and is wearing black and gold combat armor befitting of Royalty complete with a black and gold cloak on his back and around his neck. He is also wearing black pants and black steal toed ninja combat boots and has a sword sheathed on his left hip.
"Nothing. Deathstroke is more of an ally than an acolyte and a leader as opposed to a follower. Use him accordingly, and treat him as he treats us. If he has secrets he wants to keep from the league, then the league will keep secrets from him. No seat at the big boys table for him." Damian replied much to Slade's chagrin.
However, an idea was in fact brewing in Slade's mind thanks to something Damian said, or rather implied. The kid seemed to imply that because he was already established, that he had too much of a reputation and an ego for Ra's to completely convert him.
So Slade was thinking that maybe he needed to do his own recruiting for the league. Recruit young up and coming talents, groom them and mold them into a team loyal and dedicated to him, and then use them to take over the league when they come of age.
It would be a lot of hard and tedious work, and it would take longer than he wanted, but it could be done, and he was going to be the one to do it, in fact, he had no choice now that he had gotten himself so neck deep in all this league bull shit.
"Your response is tolerable, at best, but not without its merits. You have much to learn young one, but you are on the right path. As for you, Deathstroke, you will begin training with Sensei at 06:00am sharp in the morning. I know you have your skills, I know you have your strengths and your accomplishments, but the second you believe you have nothing more to learn is the moment that you begin to decline. Take this from someone who has been alive for over seven hundred years." Ra's said sagely.
"Six o clock in the morning it is then." Slade said as he turned and left the room, not even so much as waiting for the great one to dismiss him.
"Why do you tolerate his insolence, father? He is powerful, yes, but he is only one man, and we are the League of Shadows." Talia asked angrily.
"Patience my dear daughter. Slade is not the kind of man you run through with your sword, but rather, he is the kind you allow to fall on his own sword." Ra's replied cryptically.
"I know that look. Father, what have you done?" Talia asked warily.
"Me? Nothing, of course. Slade Wilson and I had an agreement. Neither I or any league members get to touch his family and close associates." Ra's said with a sinister glint in his eyes.
"But nothing was said about knowingly having someone else touch his family." Talia said in shock, eyes wide in realization.
"What have you done, grandfather?" Damian asked curiously.
"Nothing that didn't need to be done, young Damian. If Slade Deathstroke Wilson thinks that he is above my reproach, then let him learn, the hard way, what it means to be under the iron fist of Ra's Al Ghul…" Ra's trailed off with a malicious grin, sending a tiny shiver down his grandson's spine, although he did well to conceal his emotions as not even his grandfather was any wiser to his discomfort.
"So are you actually going to tell us your plan or not?" Talia asked impatiently, having long grown tired of her father's roundabout way of answering questions.
"I would rather show you, and I will, as soon as…" Ra's trailed off as a device in his left pocket began beeping.
"As soon as I get the signal, which I just did. Come, all of you, follow me." Ra's said as he headed straight for his personal library, everyone following behind him, everyone being his second in command and personal bodyguard, Sensei, his daughter Talia, her son Damian, and Talia's personal bodyguard and second in command, Bane.
Upon reaching the Library, Ra's went on to pull a book out of the shelves, a book titled 'Mysteries of The Demon', and then proceeded to open the book to a specific page which had a red button at the center of the page, pressing the button which resulted in a section of the library to shift to the side, revealing a hidden room behind the book shelves.
The Demon Head, Ra's, placed the book back in its shelf and proceeded to go inside the room, beckoning the others to once again follow him, not that they needed any beckoning as their feet were already subconsciously compelling them to go inside, curiosity taking full control of their motor functions.
"This is quite the anti climax, grandfather" Damian said as he looked around the very basic and normal looking hidden room, bar except for the extremely large, cinematic screen on the wall on the other side.
"Is it?" Ra's asked as he picked up the remote controller and switched on the screen, the screen revealing what appeared to be some sort of military organization's hide out, different sections of the facility appearing on screen as the screen was split into exactly fifteen different images.
"What is this? Who is that woman on the center screen? The one that is beat up and tied up?" Talia asked curiously.
"That, my dear daughter, is Adeline Wilson, Slade Wilson's wife and mother of his mysteriously missing son." Ra's replied.
"You kidnapped his wife?" Damian asked, both surprised and confused by Ra's behavior because as far as he was concerned, this was most dishonorable and went against everything Ra's taught him.
"Pay a little attention won't you Damian. Have I not taught you better? Does that look like the league of assassins to you?" Ra's asked incredulously.
"No, it looks like…." Damian trailed off as he squinted his eyes in concentration.
"It looks like the Kobra Organization. You hired them to do your dirty work?" Damian asked, still confused as he didn't really see the difference.
"I did not. I merely told a colleague and friend of mine about the situation, and he told an ally of his, who took it upon himself to take action. No orders were given to anyone." Ra's replied.
"Do I have to ask who this colleague is?" Damian asked with a small frown.
"You do not. This is the moment that I reveal to you our….position in the world stage. I have joined an organization of like minded people, the name of the organization is…The Light." Ra's explained.
"The Light?" Talia asked curiously.
"Yes, The Light. All of the members of the Light are equal partners dedicated to a mutual and common goal, that being the evolution, the elevation, and the advancement of human potential, or rather, earth's potential."
"The Light, to that end, will use science, magic, meta physics, technology, bio engineering, or whatever means necessary to achieve our goal, the goal of making earth the strongest and most powerful planet in the Universe, so that we may take our place at the top of the Universe." Ra's explained calmly and patiently, everyone's eyes wide in surprise at the sheer scope and magnitude of Ra's ambitions.
"W-who are these other members?" Talia stuttered, because it had to be some crazy powerful people involved in this scheme if it was ever going to work.
"The structure is as follows, and listen carefully because I will not repeat myself. Ra's Al Ghul the Demon Head as master of the Underworld and leader of the League of Shadows. Vandal Savage as Primus Inter Pares, and as leader of the Immortal Legion." Ra's explained only to be cut off by Talia.
"Immortal Legion? I have never heard of such an organization. And why are you not Primus Inter Pares?" Talia asked with a deep frown.
"The Legion of Immortals is Vandal Savage's secret organization. It consists of himself, Black Adam, who as you all know, is an immortal God, a woman known as Knockout, who is a New God of planet Apokolips, Kobra, otherwise known as Lord Naga, who has attained immortality through ancient mystical sacrificial rituals, and General Immortus, a pseudo immortal who uses a scientific formula to extend his life, with an army of followers and a large arsenal of military weapons."
"Vandal also has The Shade and Cheetah as members of the organization, and both are immortal, Shade through powers he has access to due to his connection to the Shadow Realm and Cheetah because she is the herald of a feline Goddess. Vandal's personal body guards, assistants, and confidants are his two daughters, Cassandra Savage and Scandal Savage, neither of which are as of yet confirmed to be immortal." Ra's explained in detail as he pressed another button on the controller, revealing images of all of the members of the Immortal Legion.
"Commit these names and faces to your memory. As we get closer to our mutual goal, members of the different factions of the Light will inevitably have to work closely together." Ra's instructed his subordinates, who all very carefully and deliberately committed every single detail to memory.
"Impressive. One of his subordinates, Black Adam, has an entire country behind him, another, Kobra, has an international military syndicate behind him, and one other, General Immortus, has his own personal military army. This Vandal must be special to have won the loyalty of these great men, especially if he is Primus Inter Pares of The Light." Damian said thoughtfully.
"He is a person I respect, and dare I say, admire. Vandal is many, many times older than me. Everyone else in the world is a child to me, and yet, I am nothing but a child to him. Having spoken on numerous occasions with him, I can say without hesitation that he is even wiser than I am. He is worthy of our respect, and working with him is both a privilege and an honor." Ra's said much to the shock of his subordinates, none of them ever having heard him speak with such high regard for someone else.
"….."