Chapter 131 - Chapter 11: Trouble Brewing Back Home

"Before we adjourn the meeting, is there anything else anyone would like to add?" Superman, the chairperson of the Justice League, asked.

They were having their general monthly meeting, the purpose for which was, well, general. In these meetings, things like organizational budget, performance, philosophy, rules and regulations, standards of compliance, and individual performance were discussed, and Superman had struggled to keep this particular meeting on topic as there was the giant elephant in the room that needed to be addressed, the reason for which was immediately apparent as soon as he gave the platform for the others to have their voices be heard.

"I would like to propose an all out assault on Naruto Uzumaki, denial for which should be taken as my official resignation from the Justice League." Aquaman said sternly.

"What? You cannot be serious man. Why? I didn't even know you were close to Wonder Woman." Green Arrow asked incredulously.

"We are not close, however, she is a comrade and a fellow member of the league. If one of us can go missing and the culprit is allowed to face zero consequences, then I do not want to be a part of such an organization. In Atlantis, we protect our own, and in the event that we fail to protect them, we avenge them." Aquaman said with conviction.

"We cannot just attack a man without any evidence, not especially a man as public a figure as Naruto Uzumaki. We need to gather more intel." Superman argued.

"Intelligence that your little sister is hording to herself. You do realize that that makes her an accomplice don't you?" Hal Jordan asked matter of factly.

"She is not my sister, she's my cousin, and there is no evidence that she is hiding anything, and moreover, what could possibly make you think that she was an accomplice in Wonder Woman's disappearance?" Superman asked confusedly.

"She was overjoyed at the prospect of joining the Justice League, she went to see Naruto Uzumaki to investigate Wonder Woman's disappearance, and not only did she come back with no intel whatsoever, but she also did a complete 180 and declined our offer to join the league after she had already accepted the offer. She knows something about Naruto Uzumaki and what he did to Wonder Woman and she's protecting him." Captain Atom added.

"That still does not make her an accomplice to Wonder Woman's disappearance." Superman retorted.

"An accessory after the fact then." Hawkman deadpanned.

"Does everybody feel this way? Does everyone think that Supergirl is guilty of being an accessory?" Superman asked, a deafening silence taking over the meeting room.

"What about you, Bruce? What do you think?" Superman asked warily.

"I think that your cousin has been paying Naruto Uzumaki a visit every single night since the day we sent her to interrogate him, just like she used to when they were dating." Batman deadpanned.

"You've been spying on her? After I warned you to stay away from her?" Superman asked indignantly.

"Can you blame him? She's a suspect Superman. That's what you do to suspects. You watch their every move until you find something incriminating. I think the fact that it is your cousin involved has been clouding your judgement." Green Lantern John Stewart said sternly.

"Give the guy a break. It's his little sister so of course he has a blind spot when it comes to her…" Hawkgirl trailed off as she was cut off by Superman.

"Cousin! Little cousin…"

"Whatever! The point is, you are compromised. You need to recuse yourself of all matters involving Supergirl, that is, if you truly are the symbol of Justice." Hawkgirl said, Batman having to strain very hard to prevent the triumphant smirk that was threatening to appear on his face from manifesting.

"And who would be chairman then?" Flash asked curiously.

"It's obviously Batman. The original three Justice League members were Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. Wonder Woman is missing, Superman is compromised. Obviously, it falls to Batman to lead us until this whole situation has been resolved." Black Canary retorted.

"Might I point out the big guy hasn't in fact recused himself yet" Green Arrow countered, Black Canary looking at him as if to say who's side are you on anyway, Green Arrow at least having the decency to look sheepish.

"It's fine. I recuse myself, effective immediately. However, I shall remain here to monitor your investigation, because as we all know, two of our members, one of them including our acting chairman, have recently been found crossing boundaries and borders that no hero should ever cross." Superman said, referring to the fact that Batman and Martian Manhunter had been found to have attacked Naruto Uzumaki and even read his mind and wiped it clean of its memories of the attack, and the fact that they had been reported by Supergirl to have tried to do the same to her.

"Do as you wish. Now, as acting chairperson, my task is to ask you, Doctor Fate, one more time, tell us who and what Naruto Uzumaki is, and tell us what he has done to Diana?" Batman asked tensely.

"As I have said before, Diana came to the tower to ask me about Nathaniel. Nathaniel happened to be there playing chess with my wife. We chatted briefly before Nathaniel left abruptly, denying Diana the opportunity to ask him the questions that she wanted to ask of him. Diana went looking for him, and three days later, Diana was gone. She didn't tell me where she went, but I can assure you Nathaniel did not kidnap her. He did not see her as an enemy, in fact, before your attack on his person, I'd say he did not see anyone in the Justice League as an enemy." Fate retorted.

"…"

"My second order is the capture and detention of Kara Zor El aka Supergirl. She is obviously hiding information from us, and if not, at the very least she will serve as bait to lure Naruto Uzumaki. If Naruto Uzumaki does not act within two weeks, we will let her go and I will resign from the Justice League." Batman said with conviction.

"Why are you so desperate to make an enemy of Naruto Uzumaki? Would it not be better for us to recruit him into the League as opposed to making an enemy of him? I've done some research into him. He does a lot of philanthropy work, he makes clean energy and seems determined to save the planet from self implosion, and he has singlehandedly reduced worldwide unemployment by 70 percent. This cannot possibly be a villain can it?" Captain Marvel asked with a hefty amount of doubt about Batman's plan.

"Things aren't always as they appear to be, Captain Marvel. This boy was raised and trained by Deathstroke the Terminator, the most dangerous mercenary and assassin in the world. He also comes from a ninja clan and is and was himself a mercenary/assassin. His body guards are Poison Ivy, the worst eco terrorist in the world, Painkiller, a very dangerous thug and assassin who used to work for meta human gang lord Tobais Whale. His other body guard, code name Instant, has no priors and has no criminal profile, but my investigation has lead me to believe he was behind the twelve dozen unsolved bank robberies that occurred all across the country in quick succession a couple of years ago." Batman said confidently.

"Even you cannot deny that all evidence points towards Naruto Uzumaki, Kal El, especially when you factor Naruto Uzumaki's telepathy into the equation." Manhunter said much to everyone's surprise.

"Telepathy? What do you mean J'onn?" Black Canary asked curiously, and warily, wondering just how many super powers this Naruto Uzumaki actually had.

"When Batman and I were….spying on Supergirl, I attempted to read her mind and found that I was being blocked off by another, more powerful telepath who was already inside her mind. I was unable to penetrate her mind or remove the foreign inhabitant. If…if the foreign inhabitant in her mind at the time was Naruto Uzumaki, then it could explain her doing a complete 180 degrees after we sent her to parlay with him." Manhunter suggested gravely.

"Are you saying that Naruto might be controlling Kara with his telepathy?" Superman asked, horrified by the mere thought that his cousin was being forced not only to betray them, but also to do all sorts of things with Naruto that Kal did not even want to think about.

"…"

"I'm sorry Kal, but again, all evidence seems to…"

"I think its high time I made good on my word and paid Naruto Uzumaki a visit." Kal said angrily, cutting of J'onn mid sentence.

"Isn't that a little reckless? And didn't you just say you were recusing yourself?" Hal Jordan asked incredulously.

"From the investigation on Kara and her potential detainment, I said nothing about Naruto Uzumaki." Kal replied, immediately flying towards the Watchtower zeta tube at the fastest speed he could use without blowing everyone away with the after shock.

"Clark wait….!" Batman shouted, but it was too late as Superman had already activated the zeta tube, teleporting himself back to Metropolis from the Justice League's space station.

"Damn it! That idiot! We need to go after him!" John Stewart exclaimed angrily.

"No, leave him be for now! Let us go after Supergirl before Clark changes his mind about letting us detain her." Batman ordered, everybody moving towards the zeta tube in preparation to head to National City.

Back At Metropolis:

"Wow what the fu….Superman? Oh shit! He looks pissed! I've never seen him looking like that." Hourman said warily, having felt the whole building shake when Superman crashed into the impenetrable glass of his boss's window, a window he wasn't so sure would live up to its reputation of being impenetrable when going up against freaking Superman.

"Yeah he looks really pissed." Painkiller agreed, the two of them being the body guards that were on duty on this particular day.

"Bloody Kryptonians. Always such a pain in my ass." Naruto thought irritably, getting up from his desk as he walked towards the glass window in his office.

"Are you a hero or a terrorist? Because you're scaring and terrifying all of my employees. This is vandalism and terrorism Superman. I thought you were better than that." Naruto said after pressing a button on his utility wrist watch in order to turn off the sound proofing on the building, Superman's eyes widening as he seemed to have come back to his senses, using his super vision to look at everyone in and around his vicinity, only to pale in shock at the looks of sheer, unadulterated fear in the faces and eyes of the people who were close enough to see him and more precisely, to see exactly what he was up to.

"Take me and fly me to a secure location where we can talk." Naruto said with an exasperated sigh, activating faze shift mode in order to allow Superman to come inside his office.

"B-boss are you sure about this? I could use that technique to…"

"No painkiller. Superman is not an enemy….yet." Naruto trailed off darkly.

"…"

"As you command, sir." Painkiller replied, Superman wondering what sort of technique Painkiller had that could possibly down him of all people, but nevertheless keeping on eye on the kid in case he tried something funny.

"Let's go." Superman said as he grabbed Naruto by the scruff of the neck and flew him to the Saharan Desert at mach 6 speed, a speed that he knew no normal human could survive without any protection or oxygen, hoping to Rao that he and the League were right about Naruto otherwise he would be facing a murder trial soon.

"…."

"That was awkward." Naruto said as he dusted his suit off, feeling a sense of déjà vu as this wasn't the first time that he was flown to the desert by an alien invader.

"So you really are a New God, whatever that means?" Superman asked curiously.

"I'm surprised you didn't think to search for information about us on your Fortress of Solitude, or do Kryptonians not have that kind of information about us?" Naruto asked curiously, Kal's eyes widening in complete surprise, not only at the fact that Naruto admitted that he was a New God, but also at the fact that he seemed to know about his Fortress of Solitude.

"I'm a technologically advanced, cosmically empowered Alien Ninja God, Kal. Of course I know where you sleep." Naruto said with a casual shoulder shrug, causing Kal's eyes to narrow dangerously at the blonde Uzumaki.

"Are you mind controlling Kara?" Superman asked with a tone that promised a world of pain if Naruto gave him the wrong answer.

"I did that once, briefly, in order to protect her from Batman and Martian Manhunter, an event you no doubt know about as Kara said that she would report them to you. That was the first and only time I was in her mind." Naruto replied sincerely, Superman breathing a small sigh of relief when he couldn't detect any lies with his super vision, more specifically, his xray vision.

"Why did Kara do a one eighty after we sent her to you? If you really aren't controlling her, then how did you make her change her mind so suddenly?" Superman asked suspiciously.

"I didn't make her do anything. She made up her own mind." Naruto replied simply.

"But why did her mind change? What did you say to her?" Superman pressed.

"Not that its any of your business, but I told her the truth. I told her I love her and that I'll always love her…even if she is a pain in the ass." Naruto deadpanned.

"That's all? You just told her you love her and she changed her mind?" Superman asked incredulously.

"It's not all that was said obviously, but to summarize it, Supergirl came to a realization that being with the Justice League and being with me at the same time might cause a conflict of interests, loyalties, and emotions due to the Justice League's determination to vilify me. So she decided that as of right now, she would rather be with me than with the Justice League, at least until she figures out exactly who she is, what she stands for, and what she wants to do with her life." Naruto explained calmly.

"I see. I won't lie Naruto, it bothers me that being a member of the Justice League and being with you is causing such a significant conflict of interest. We are the Justice League, we stand for truth, justice and peace. How can an organization with those ideals cause a conflict of interest in your relationship that is significant enough for a potential member to turn us down….if you really aren't a villain?" Superman asked suspiciously.

"This may come as a surprise to you Kal but I honestly do not care about the Justice League or its ideals. I do not see you as enemies, nor do I see you as friends. Up until recently, you have been something not too different from just another non governmental organizational structure. I do respect your resolve, your determination, your will, and even your ideals and philosophies believe it or not, but overall, you just don't matter to me because I don't hate, love, or need you. You are just there, and that's it." Naruto said bluntly.

"If you respect our will, conviction, and ideals, then why not join us? Why not help us to protect and inspire the people of earth?" Superman asked eagerly.

"I said I respect your ideals, I didn't say I necessarily agree with them, nor that I want to be part of your…crusade. If it works for you, good, but I'm not interested. In case you haven't noticed, I've done a lot for the people of earth in my own way." Naruto replied.

"But you could do so much more!"

"I am doing so much more. just because you do not know something is there does not mean it isn't there. Perhaps one day you will know about everything that I have done and continue to do for the people of this planet, but today is not the day, and mind you, I am under no obligation to account to you about my services to the people of planet earth." Naruto countered, Superman unable to counter Naruto's logic is he thought about the time Fate told the league that Naruto had helped him out several times in order to save their very fabric of reality, which essentially meant that Naruto was kind of a hero already.

"….."

"Fair enough. But I hope you know that I will not give up until I convince you otherwise." Superman retorted.

"Well, whatever Kal El, whatever man." Naruto said with an exasperated shrug of the shoulders.

"….."

"….."

"What now?" Naruto asked when he saw the scrutinizing look Kal El was giving him.

"Wonder Woman…."

"She's on her way back as we speak." Naruto retorted.

"From an intergalactic war, that nobody knows about, not even the entire Green Lantern Corps and the Guardians of The Universe?" Superman asked with both incredulity and suspicion.

"Yes." Naruto deadpanned, causing Superman to scowl at him with displeasure.

"Do you think this is a game? The others are on their way to apprehend Supergirl as we speak. This could be an international incident. It could tarnish both Kara's and The Justice League's reputation!" Superman said angrily.

"What do you want me to do? I told you Wonder Woman is coming back today didn't I? This whole matter will be cleared up by the end of the day." Naruto retorted.

Of course, if he wanted, Naruto could have Diana return immediately and intercept the Justice League before they got to Kara, however, he was intentionally biding his time as he wanted to make sure that Kara became estranged with the Justice League. He wanted to make sure that there was no chance at all of her ever changing her mind again about joining the league, and he wanted to make sure that she would run straight to him and the Hive.

This decision however wasn't just about Kara, it was also about Diana. If she arrived in the aftermath of the chaos that the Justice League was about to unleash, or better yet during the chaos, it might very well prove to be the last straw that Naruto needed to pull in order to get her to fully commit to him, and by extension, the Hive.

However, there was a possibility that it could all backfire on him, at least as far as Diana was concerned. That is to say, there was a less likely but entirely possible alternate interpretation of the events that were about to unfold, that being that Diana could in fact find it flattering that the Justice League were willing to go to such extremes for her sake.

If she happened upon that interpretation of the unfolding events, then Naruto could very well lose her, perhaps not in a romantic sense, but certainly in an also very important way, as he would be one God and squad leader short in his army, a God that he had made exponentially stronger as well with his training and teachings.

Still, it was a risk he had no choice but to take. He had to hope that Diana's inner desire to be with him in every way possible, and her love for him, was stronger than whatever bonds that she had with the Justice League. He had to also hope that whatever guilt she might feel at switching sides would be far outweighed by her belief and confidence in him and his ability to lead earth to true greatness.

"I hope you're right Naruto, not just for Kara's sake, but for the sake of the Justice League and the people of earth. If the Justice League collapses, who will protect earth from existential alien threats?" Superman said as he began levitating, preparing himself to fly to National City and hopefully intercept the Justice League before they get to his cousin.

"Everything will be as it should be, Kal. You'll see. Earth is in safe hands." Naruto said reassuringly.

"I hope you're right Nathaniel, I hope you're right." Superman said as he jetted off in the direction of National City.

"W-wait…! Don't leave me h…God damn it!" Naruto cursed. What was it with Kryptonians and leaving people stranded in the dessert? Was it a tradition of theirs or something? He just hoped that they were only doing this because they knew he could get himself back home and that this wasn't something they just did at random.

Moments Earlier: National City

"Hello?" Kara Danvers said as she answered her phone, successfully hiding the irritation she felt at being interrupted, because whoever this was they were getting in the way of her making her deadline.

"Supergirl, meet me outside of National City in this instant. Stop whatever it is that you're doing. The League has urgent business with you."

"Batma…uh…Bruce, is that you?" Kara stuttered, shocked.

"I've sent the co-ordinates to your phone. Hurry." Kara heard as the phone line was cut off, the person on the other side hanging up before she could even reply.

"I don't remember giving him this number." Kara thought out loud, the aforementioned number being a number that was only known by her fellow DEO agents, or rather partners, as she wasn't a DEO Agent per se, but was rather someone who worked with the DEO as opposed to working for them.

Normally, Kara preferred not to use her powers to write news articles as she felt that it took away from the 'human' experience, however, ever since she became a super hero, she found that she was using her powers more and more in order to meet deadlines as her super hero life was taking more and more time from her private life, which is why she found herself using her super speed in order to quickly type up and submit her report so that she can leave the office and meet up with the Justice League. Overall, it took just ten minutes in total for her to complete her report, edit it, submit it, and meet up with the Justice League, who were waiting for her some ten miles outside of National City.

"Hey what's up everyone…uh…I mean, Supergirl reporting to the Justice League to help out in anyway that I can." Kara said in as serious and professional way as she could master, although in the end it just ended up sounding corny as hell, especially when she only changed to a professional tone midway through her greeting.

"Kara Zor El, codename Supergirl, put these on and come with us, quietly." Batman said sternly, looking up at Supergirl as she floated in the air, having failed to make an actual landing on the ground, her instincts subconsciously warning her that something bad was going to happen if she touched ground.

"Hand cuffs? Hand cuffs with Red Sun UV Ray emitters? Yeah, I don't think so Batman." Kara said as she used her xray vision to scan the hand cuffs.

"I'd suggest you reconsider, because we won't ask again." Batman deadpanned.

"Who do you think you are? You don't even have any authority to make any sort of arrests, much less ones conducted on innocent people." Kara retorted.

"On the contrary, we do have the authority. It's called a citizen's arrest. Furthermore, there is nothing innocent about someone who is an accessory to a kidnapping of one the members of the Justice League who has helped to preserve the very existence of this planet on numerous occasions." John Stewart retorted.

"Accessory to kidnapping? Are you all insane? I would never kidnap anyone, especially Wonder Woman! She's like….she's my role model for Rao's sake!" Kara said indignantly.

"Maybe you wouldn't actually kidnap her, but refusing to disclose information that would lead to her retrieval makes you just as guilty." Captain Atom said as a matter of fact.

"W-what information? I told you she was fighting an intergalactic war and would return in two weeks. She should be back any day now." Kara retorted.

"Really? How convenient, and untrue! The Guardians would know if there was any intergalactic war taking place right now. There is a green lantern in every corner of the universe." Hal Jordan counter argued.

"Well then obviously there is a corner that they do not know about, or aren't telling you about." Kara said with exasperation.

"Or Naruto Uzumaki asked you to cover for him in order to hide what he really did to Wonder Woman." J'onn said, displaying an insane amount of discipline to prevent himself from just reading her mind, not wanting to estrange himself or the Justice League as a whole any further from Superman, as Superman had pretty much made it clear that his cousin's mind was off limits.

"W-where the hell is this coming from? And where's Kal? Actually you know what, I'm not saying another word to any of you until Kal gets here." Kara said stubbornly.

"Unfortunately for you Superman will not be making an appearance today. He has recused himself from the investigation into his cousin. You know what that means right? It means that even he has some doubts about your innocence, or rather lack thereof." Captain Atom said with a grave undertone, Kara's eyes widening in shock before they narrowed again as she decided that she didn't believe a word that the nuclear freak was saying. Her cousin would never betray her.

"Well, that doesn't matter because I'm not going anywhere with you." Kara said with finality.

"As if you ever had a choice in the matter." Captain Atom said as he blasted Kara from the air with red beams of energy that came from his hands, Kara, despite the violent tension she felt coming from the league from the minute she arrived, unable to react in time because she had not expected that the league would actually attack her.

'What's going on? That blast should not have been strong enough to down me. What did he do to me?' Kara thought as she labored back to her feet, levitating herself but unable to go far at all as she found her anti gravitational field was lacking in power and control.

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. Superman would have figured it out instantly." Captain Atom said as he blasted Supergirl with another barrage of red beams, causing Kara to crash land on the surface again, resulting in a crater to form underneath her as the earth shook violently.

It was at this point that Batman nodded to Flash as he raised his arm in the air, the arm that had the red sun uv ray emitting hand cuffs, Flash, at ultrasonic speeds, snatching the cuffs and speeding towards Supergirl in order to hand cuff her. However, Supergirl was not to be taken down so easily, the girl of steel using her freeze breathe to freeze the surface, thereby causing Flash to slip and fall face first on the slippery surface before getting rag dolled due to the sheer volume of speed at which he was moving as he skated, crashed, and skidded on the earth for a considerable amount of time…and distance.

Supergirl didn't wait around to see the results of Flash's fall as she saw Captain Atom about to shoot her with another blast of what she had come to realize was red sun uv radiation, the Captain using his ability to manipulate atoms and other forms of energy, such as nuclear and radioactive energies, to create his own red sun energy.

"Oh no you don't!" Supergirl said as this time she was first to the metaphorical punch, hitting Captain Atom directly on the chest with her heat vision, thanking Rao that his red sun uv rays had only affected her ability to fly and limited her mobility thus far, because if it had taken away her heat vision as well, then she would have been defeated with that last attack.

"Formation Delta 1 has failed, its time to initiate Formation Omega 2.1. Fate, Captain Marvel, you're up!" Batman ordered, Kara gritting her teeth as she realized that this may very well become her toughest fight yet.

45 Minutes Later:

"Y-you…you won't get away with this. When Kal finds out w-what you did, he'll make you all pay." Kara managed to say, feeling the weakest and most vulnerable she had ever felt after getting beaten up and hand cuffed by the Justice League as if she was some common criminal.

"Superman will do nothing, and if he does try something, he will be put in his place…right next to you." Aquaman said uncompromisingly.

"Hehe! It took four of you just to defeat me. Kal is much stronger than me, I should know after all of our sparring sessions. He'll beat you all, you won't stand a chance. You're all going to live to regret this." Kara said confidently.

"It only took four of us to defeat you because we were holding back, little girl. To capture you without killing you or maiming you requires a certain amount of restraint and finesse. If the goal was to take you out, you would have entered the afterlife in a matter of seconds." Captain Atom said sternly.

"Yeah, well I wasn't trying to kill or maim you either." Supergirl said stubbornly.

"Let it go Supergirl. I have the speed of Hermes, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, and the Power of Zeus. I could beat you singlehandedly with my speed and strength alone, but since you're vulnerable to magic, it makes it all the more likely that I could have done the job on my own. Kryptonians are powerful, but you're not infallible." Captain Marvel countered.

"I….I'm not saying anymore. We'll see when Kal gets here! Oh! Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Kara said with joy and confidence as Superman made a sound barrier breaking arrival.

"Clark, stay back. Or else…"

"Or else what, Batman?" Superman asked venomously.

"Or else this…" Batman said as he pulled out a large rock of Kryptonite from his utility belt and stuck his hand out, only to have to pull his hand back in pain as Superman immediately blasted the glowing green rock with a precise heat vision beam, completely destroying the rock at a molecular level.

"You were saying….?" Kara asked with a sinister smirk plastered on her facial features.

"Superman, stand back! You promised to recuse yourself, or is your word so weightless that we should no longer attach any value to it?" Aquaman asked rhetorically, causing Superman to frown with displeasure as he realized what an awkward position he had put himself in.

"That was before I visited Naruto Uzumaki. I spoke to him, and the whole time we talked I had my super vision activated. I was monitoring everything, his heart rate, his blood pressure, the heat and perspiration on his body, everything. He didn't tell a single lie. He is telling the truth about Wonder Woman, at least he thinks he is." Superman tried to argue.

"That is all meaningless. He is not human, he is a New God. You wouldn't know what his vitals are like when he is lying or not. And even if you discount his New God biology, there is also the matter of him being a ninja who was trained since birth to lie, cheat, and deceive. No polygraph test could accurately ascertain whether he is telling the truth or not." John Stewart argued.

"I agree with him, Superman. He is a New God Ninja Telepath. There are just too many ways he could deceive you. Telepaths, well trained ones, have the ability to re-organize their own memories into whatever suits their goals and intentions at a particular time. He could very well have done that to deceive you." J'onn replied, the frown on Superman's facial features getting deeper and deeper with each word that was spoken by his comrades.

"Kal, don't listen to them. I don't believe a word they're saying, and even if in some warped reality they were telling the truth, that still gives them absolutely no right to attack and detain me. I've done nothing wrong. You know me Kal, you know me like the back of your hand, same way I know you. You and I, we are the last living members of not just the El family, but the entire Krytonian race. If we do not protect each other and look out for one another, then what are we even doing? Why are we even alive? What did our parents sacrifice for?" Kara asked, confident that Kal would see reason and help her take down her former idols, former because she just did not imagine that she would ever look at them the same way after what they did to her.

"Clark, Supergirl needs to be detained and questioned. At the very least she needs to be assessed for any signs of mind control or telepathic interference. Her actions and behavior have given us cause for concern. You know this to be true." Batman argued.

"…"

"Why are you still listening to them? Kal, look at me! Look what they did to me! That alone should be enough for you to take action!" Kara exclaimed, starting to get angry and irritated now because of her cousin's hesitation, especially since she felt like, had the roles been reversed, she would have stopped at nothing to free her cousin and to protect his dignity and integrity.

"I….I'm sorry Kara. But I already gave my word to recuse myself. You're my beloved and cherished cousin, but if I start putting my self interests first and foremost, if I put my own interests above those of Justice, then it would make me no better than the bad guys. I have every confidence that you will be exonerated, but until then, my hands are tied. I'm sorry." Superman said as he turned away, unable to look his cousin in the eye anymore, especially when she had such a horrified and betrayed look on her face.

"K-Kal…you can't…y-you can't be serious. This has to be some kind of joke!" Kara exclaimed.

"Lady, ain't nobody got time to joke around with you. You better get used to this reality." John Stewart said as he trapped Kara in a bubble of green energy, levitating himself and her as he prepared to fly her straight to the watch tower.

"No! Leave me alone! Kal! Kal! You can't do this to me! I'm your family! I'm your only family!" Kara cried in anguish, Superman closing his eyes as he tried to tune out his cousin's screams. However, Kara and John didn't get very far as a portal made entirely of lightning appeared in the sky, a very familiar person walking out of the portal and seemingly standing on the air itself as she looked down on the earth.

"W-Wonder Woman? How! Impossible! How are you…..!" John trailed off as a human sized lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere and came flying in the direction of Supergirl, too fast for him to react as it destroyed the construct that he was using to carry Supergirl.

Following the maneuver, Wonder Woman was able to fly towards and catch Supergirl before anyone else could even make a move, breaking the cuffs on Supergirl just before catching her as she proceeded to carry the Kryptonian Super Heroine bridal style.

"You are safe now, sister. No one will harm you anymore, certainly not in my name." Diana said with what sounded like a calm fury, although hard to discern with the dual voice that was coming from her, making her sound other worldly, and look other worldly too with those eyes that looked like they were entirely made of lightning.

"W-Wonder Woman…?" Kara asked warily, not really sure if this really was her idol as she, well, she just seemed like an entirely different being.

"Do not doubt, sister. It is I, Diana the Goddess of Thunder, heiress of Zeus. I have ascended, from Demi Goddeess, to Goddess. I have Nathaniel to thank for that." Diana replied.

"You're a Thunder God now, like, like Zeus?" Kara asked curiously.

"Yes, exactly like my father. Nevertheless, for the sake of familiarity, I shall descend momentarily." Diana said as she deactivated her 'god mode', her eyes returning to their normal blue along with her voice.

"I am here to end this charade, and to tender my resignation from the Justice League. One mistake does not take away from all the good that you have and continue to do for the world. I do not approve of your actions today but I also will not hold them against you indefinitely." Wonder Woman said sagely.

"Wait a minute! We spent all this time looking for you and the first thing you do when you come back is to resign? That's bull shit Diana! We deserve better than that!" Hawkgirl said angrily.

"She's right! What the hell is going on Diana?" Canary asked warily.

"It's nothing personal. I respect the league, its objectives, and all the sacrifices the league makes for the greater good. However, something has changed within me, due to my ascension into a full fledged God, and due to the recent experiences I have had in the war that I just fought and won. I no longer see the Justice League as a good fit for me. I still have the same or at least similar enough goals as I did before, but I have a different approach to things now." Diana replied, letting go of Kara as it seemed like she had already gathered enough yellow sun energy to levitate herself on her own.

"What war? The Guardians….."

"Will face the truth that they covered up very soon. They will not be able to hide it anymore. We have fixed the mess they created in the Forgotten Zone. We have destroyed the Manhunters and brought peace and order in the Forgotten Zone, and we have dissolved the barrier that the Guardians used to barricade the forgotten zone from the rest of the universe. All is as it should be. Order has been restored." Diana replied cryptically.

"What the hell are you talking about? What is the Forgotten Zone? And who the hell is 'we'?" Hal Jordan asked incredulously.

"Ask your guardians. Meanwhile, I would request that you do not try to persuade me to rejoin the league. I will not stand in your way, just not with you. I have found love, and I have found new purpose and inspiration. What you just did to Supergirl aside, it isn't like you have done anything wrong, but rather, it is simply a matter of personal growth." Diana explained calmly and patiently.

"What is this nonsense? The Forgotten Zone? Manhunters? Outgrowing the Justice League? What does that even mean?" John asked with both confusion and wariness, wondering what it was that could have changed Diana so significantly that she would want to leave the league so badly, especially because she was one of the original three founding members.

"Your lack of comprehension with regards to my decision is understandable, however in that same breathe, it is not any concern of mine. My reasons are personal, and therefore none of your business." Diana retorted.

"Like hell they aren't! You do not get to just leave without any explanation whatsoever!" Batman said angrily.

"I was unaware that I had joined a gang where the only way to leave is through a coffin." Diana countered, causing a deathly silence to take the atmosphere by the scruff of the neck.

"Diana, I'm sure that's not what Batman means…."

"Isn't it, Kal? You know Batman better than anyone. What do you think he will do now that I have left the league?" Diana asked rhetorically, everyone looking between Superman and Batman expectantly.

"He will put you on 24 hour surveillance and begin formulating plans to take you down permanently. As far as he is concerned, you are now automatically his enemy and an enemy of the Justice League. He will keep pressing and antagonizing you until you either rejoin the league, or until you retaliate. If you retaliate, he will use it as validation that he was right to violate your privacy and to formulate all of those plans to take you down." Kara answered in Kal's place, her words laced with hate and distaste for the Batman, although also laced with truth as no one seemed to have any argument against what she just said.

"You speak as if you know him? I'm surprised." Diana said inquisitively.

"I know people like him. I've been fighting against people like him since I picked up this cape and became a Super Hero." Kara said darkly.

"It sounds like you have a lot to get off your chest. If you ever need an ear to listen, simply pray to me and I shall appear before you." Diana said with a dazzling smile.

"Actually, I've been wanting to talk to you. I do not want to put it off any longer. Is there somewhere we can go? Somewhere private?" Kara asked nervously, Diana wondering what on earth could make someone as confident and sure of herself as Kara was to suddenly act so nervous and timid.

"Well, as a Goddess, it is essential that my word be my bond, otherwise what would be the point of me ascending in the first place? I just promised you that I would listen to you whenever you want to talk, so yes, I will listen to you Kara Zor El, and I will help where I can. I promise." Diana said warmly.

"You're not going anywhere! Fate, Captain Marvel, Captain Atom, Hawkman and Hawkwoman! Formation Beta 3Q!" Batman ordered, but it was already too late as both Diana and Supergirl got struck by lightning from the sky and disappeared, as if they were either disintegrated, or were never there to begin with.

"Damn it!" Batman cursed under his breathe, barely loud enough for anyone to hear except for those with super hearing.

Formation Beta 3Q would have been the perfect formation to defeat both Supergirl and Wonder Woman. The reason for that was because it involved the two Thanagarians, whose weapons and armor had both magical and anti magical properties.

This meant that they could use magic to hurt Supergirl, and use Anti Magic to counter against Diana's magic. Fate was the logical choice because he was the closest thing to a God that the Justice League had and therefore also wielded celestial magic just like Diana. Not to mention he had actually been practicing magic spell casting for centuries unlike Diana, who simply relied on her natural magical powers and weapons.

Captain Marvel would have been useful against both because of his speed, strength, and invulnerability, but also because he too, like Fate, was the closest thing to a God that they had. His celestial magic would also have been a boon against Supergirl, and a counter against Wonder Woman. Captain Atom was in the formation strictly to deal with Supergirl. He could either create Kryptonite radiation or red sun radiation, which would be more than enough for him and Captain Marvel to take out the girl of Steel.

He hadn't expected Diana to teleport away, certainly not that fast. That she had more than one way of teleporting had not been accounted for in his plans, in fact, that she had any form of teleportation had not been something he had been aware of until today. How long had she had these powers? Did she really ascend into a true God or had she been hiding her true abilities until now?

If it was the latter, then they were really in trouble because it meant that Diana had been playing them the whole time. If it was the former, then they were still in real trouble because it meant that the Naruto Uzumaki that he had kept surveillance over was not even the real one. Someone posing as his double perhaps? Or was it possible that he had an ability that enabled him to duplicate himself?

That quite frankly sounded insane and crazy. Even if he had such an ability, surely it would have to have limits, right? How could Naruto be so far away that the Guardians, who monitor the entirety of space, did not even know where he was, and still be able to control a duplicate of himself that was on earth?

'But then again, she only said that it was Naruto who helped her to ascend, she didn't say when and where it happened.' Batman thought warily.

"Batman….Batman…..Batman!" Aquaman exclaimed irritably, not liking to be ignored at all, and very much not used to it because in Atlantis, ignoring the King of the Seven Seas was literally impossible.

"What is it, Aquaman?" Batman answered as if he hadn't just drifted off into his thoughts.

"You're still acting Chairperson. What are your orders?" Aquaman asked. He didn't have time to waste standing around in the middle of nowhere. He had an Empire to run and it wasn't going to run itself.

"Manhunter, use your telepathy to scan the entire planet. Find out where Supergirl and Wonder Woman went. Superman, use your super vision and super hearing to do the same. Scan every inch of the planet. Fate, use magic divination to divine their location. At least one of you should be able to find them!" Batman ordered, instantly coming up with a plan of action.

"That's all well and good, but what do we do when we find them? It's pretty clear now that Supergirl hasn't kidnapped Wonder Woman and Wonder Woman hasn't exactly committed a crime by resigning from the League." Flash said with concern as he felt like they were turning into tyrants under Batman's leadership.

"Good point Flash. Supergirl has been proven innocent, effectively cancelling my recursion and automatically reinstalling me as Chairperson. As such, my first order is for the Justice League to leave Supergirl and Wonder Woman alone. There are injustices occurring all over the planet as we speak, and Aquaman has a Kingdom to govern. Its back to business as usual, effective immediately." Superman said uncompromisingly.

"Well, you won't have to tell me twice." Aquaman replied as he jumped so high he might as well have been flying, disappearing into the sky as he headed for the closet harbor in National City.

"Coast City it is!" Hal Jordan said as he activated his ring, flying away in the direction of Coast City at a rapid speed, the others, one by one making their way towards their respective cities with a lot to ponder in the coming days, leaving only Superman and Batman behind, who everyone just knew were going to have a major argument in the wake of everyone else's departure whilst also dreading the tongue lashing that Superman no doubt would have for them on their next meeting.

Mt Myoboku:

"Mt Myoboku? You know about it too? Wait…h-how long have you known about this place?" Kara asked with a horrified expression, wondering if Naruto lied to her when he said that she was the only one that knew about this place.

"Nathaniel took me here right after the war." Diana deadpanned, not going into further details, even though the look on Kara's face told her that Kara knew exactly why Naruto brought her here after the war, or more specifically, what they did, together, at Mt Myoboku.

"I hope this doesn't offend you, but you did break his heart. He was available and I wanted him. So I took him. I take no gratification from any hurt feelings you might have about my taking Nathaniel for myself, but I also do not regret my actions." Diana said transparently.

"N-no…I….I mean I'm not happy about it, not at all, but I understand. I wasn't ready to be with someone like him. I didn't have enough experience or enough emotional maturity. Honestly I'm not sure that I do even now, but the difference is that I'm willing to try now. I'm willing to give him and us a chance, and to put a genuine effort into understanding him and his motives." Kara said with determination and conviction.

"I'm afraid it's a little too late for you. Nathaniel is mine, and I very much doubt you'll outlive me. I am functionally immortal, I was even before I ascended into a full fledged Goddess. Under the yellow sun, you might live for a few thousand years, maybe, but you will never outlive me, and I do not plan on being killed in battle either." Diana replied with her own conviction and determination.

"Those who are first will be last, and those who are last will first huh?" Kara said in dismay.

"Excuse me?" Diana asked confusedly.

"My earth parents were Christians. There is a bible verse where a man asked a prophet what would happen if a man was married and he died, but his wife remarried to another man after his death. The question was who would be the husband of the woman when all three of them got to heaven?" Kara explained.

"And the answer was those who are first will be last, and those who are last will be first? That would mean that the one who married the woman second, would be the husband in the afterlife, correct?" Diana asked rhetorically.

"Yes, exactly. It's the same with me, you, and Nathaniel. I was first, but now I am last, you were last, but now are first. I would prefer to be first and only, but that is impossible now, but I am content to be last, if you will have me." Kara said cryptically, causing Diana to squint her eyes in concentration is she tried to figure out if Kara really was asking what she thought Kara was asking.

"You want….you want us to share him?" Diana asked, surprised.

"Only if it is okay with you. I spoke to Nathaniel about it when you were gone. He said having us both would be a dream come true, but also that he loved you and respected you too much to cheat on you. He said he would never cheat on you under any circumstances, that the only way that we could be together again was if, somehow, miraculously, you agreed to do it." Kara said, suddenly finding the ground to be very interesting as she just couldn't stand the soul searching stare that Diana was directing at her.

"Did Nathaniel put you up to this?" Diana asked as calmly as she could possibly manage under the circumstances.

"N-no! It was all my idea. I told him I didn't mind sharing with you, I told him I didn't mind being second as long as I could be with him! He said that would be every guy's fantasy, to have Supergirl and Wonder Woman as your significant others, he said…..he said he still loves me but has chosen you and will not betray you, because as I said, he loves and respects you too much." Kara said as sincerely and transparently as she could manage, in order for Diana to see right through to her heart and soul and know, without a shadow of doubt, that she was telling the truth.

"Is that when you decided you would approach me yourself? Because you knew he respected me too much to ask such a thing of me?" Diana asked rhetorically.

"E-exactly!" Kara said hastily.

"And if the roles were reversed, if I had come to you when you were his partner, would you have agreed to such a request?" Diana countered.

"I would….! I….I probably….no, definitely, absolutely would have refused. I would have thought you were crazy to even ask such an outrageous thing." Kara replied after seriously thinking about the situation.

"Then why ask such a thing from me? Why would you think I would even consider it? Kara, right now, I have Nathaniel all to myself. His touch, his comfort, his company, his thoughts, his love, his body, his kindness, his heart, everything that is his belongs to me, and I can have any of it at any time that I want. However, if I were to accept your….request, inevitably, there would be times that I would want those things and I wouldn't be able to have them, because at the time, he would be giving any one or all of those things to you. Why would I do that to myself? Why would you ask me to do such a thing?" Diana asked, more out of morbid curiosity than anything else, as she really wanted to know what kind of psychosis possessed Kara Zor El aka Supergirl to make such a ridiculous and unreasonable request from her.

"Because I'm desperate, okay! I'm desperate and miserable without Nathaniel. I want him, I desire him, I lust him, I love him, I adore him, I….I need him!" Kara cried, desperation and agony permeable in her eyes and her facial features.

"…"

"Please say something." Kara said self consciously, not liking the look that Diana had on her facial features, a mixture of concern and what Kara suspected to be pity.

"This is a lot you're asking of me Kara, and that isn't even the worst of it. What's more worrying is the fact that you seem to be miserable without Nathaniel. I believe that a person should be happy and content themselves before they get into a relationship. Right now, it seems like you have made him the center of your world, and I do not mean that in an endearing way. If you cannot be happy without him, then in all likelihood you won't be able to be happy with him." Diana said with concern.

"That's not true. I already know for a fact that I can be happy with him because I already know what its like to be with him. Look at it this way. If someone was a normal content citizen, and then they won the lottery and became a multi millionaire, but something happened and they lost all of those millions of dollars. Do you think they would be happy when they go back to what they were, even if they were happy before the millions? Would they not be miserable, knowing that they had everything in the world and they lost it because of their own foolishness?" Kara asked rhetorically.

"I see your point…." Diana trailed off thoughtfully.

"…"

"So does that mean…."

"Hold your horses, Kara." Diana quickly said, cutting off Kara mid sentence.

"I'm not saying yes, nor am I saying no. I'm simply saying that I need to think about it a little more. I think that more than Nathaniel's trust, it is my trust that you need to earn. I need to be sure that you won't betray Nathaniel again, and betray me in doing so."

"Also, as Nathaniel's life partners, essentially that would make us sisters, and we must be sisters that love, understand, respect, and trust one another if this relationship dynamic is going to work. So for now, lets see if we can become friends and work partners. I'll spend some time in National City helping you out, and then you'll spend some time in Gateway City helping me to clean up the streets. That will enable us to get to know each other, and hopefully, build a bond of trust and understanding between us." Diana said much to Kara's joy as she squealed and jumped on Diana, catching Diana off guard but the Amazonian Goddess returning the hug nonetheless.

"I promise I won't disappoint you. I'll prove myself, to both you and Nathaniel!" Kara said joyfully.

"I believe in you, but you still have to prove that my faith in you is not misplaced. Time will tell, but for now, I guess we can celebrate our new uh…friendship." Diana said as she broke the embrace gently.

"Yeah uh…so what are we going to celebrate… sister?" Kara asked excitedly, causing Diana to roll her eyes in both dismay and amusement at Kara's juvenile but strangely endearing behavior.

"Well…traditionally my amazon sisters and I used to celebrate new friendships and unions by sword fighting." Diana said much to Kara's horror and confusion, wondering in what kind of society would people celebrate by trying to stab one another with swords.

Later That Day: Naruto's Office:

"Welcome back, boss. I'd say you were missed but there really is no difference between having your clone here and you here." Zalika, otherwise known as Hack, said joyfully.

"That is because there literally is no difference. Shadow Clones aren't just copies of me, they are extensions of me." Naruto deadpanned.

"Always have to be a smart ass don't you?" Hack retorted.

"I do. Anyway, this is a surprise. You haven't left the cyber mainframe in months, I was beginning to forget what you look like in human form. What's the occasion? You got a date or something?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Just stretching out my legs. Besides, I want to be seen every once in a while, to feel human, you know. A person can lose their humanity in the cyber stream if they're not careful." Hack replied.

"I feel you. I for one am glad to see you. Its been a while." Naruto said with a genuine smile.

"As am I to see you, the real you that is." Hack retorted.

"Thank you." Naruto replied, a comfortable silence settling in between the two friends.

"So, anyway, I may have two potential recruits for us, one of which is right under our own noses believe it or not." Hack said with a devious smile.

"I know that look, what have you done?" Naruto asked with both amusement and curiosity.

"Well, you know Cisko Ramon? Our Head of the meta physics and dark meta research division?" Hack asked curiously.

"Yeah, I know him. Didn't he recently have an accident in the lab?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"He did have an accident…." Hack trailed off with a sinister smirk.

"You caused the accident? Why?" Naruto asked curiously.

"As an experiment. I've been monitoring his research, and I found a way to turn people into metas. It only has a 60 percent success rate according to my calculations, but I had a feeling Cisko would fall into the 60 percent and not the 40 percent." Hack replied diabolically.

"Could have cost me my lead meta physics and dark meta researcher if your experiment had been a failure." Naruto retorted.

"Indeed. Nevertheless it wasn't a failure, so we're good. Cisko Ramon is now a meta human. I've been tracking and monitoring him. His powers are vibration and wavelength manipulation. High level stuff, he can sense and manipulate all sorts of vibrational frequencies. I venture to guess, but I believe with enough training and practice, he could learn to even sense the vibrational frequencies of other dimensions and universes and of course, teleport to and from them." Hack explained in detail.

"Amazing. He has exceptional abilities. He really would make a great recruitment for the HIVE." Naruto said contemplatively.

"Indeed. The only question is which team would he belong to? We already have a teleporter in our team. Logically he would have to join a team that didn't have one. And yet, his overall ability is unique in that his power can be used for much more than mere teleporting." Hack theorized.

"He'll be on Supergirl's team." Naruto deadpanned.

"W-what? You can't be serious! You're recruiting her? And making her team leader? She's a loose canon! An emotional wreck! A nutjob! Not to mention her stance on…you know…killing! You're a ninja, and your organization operates like a ninja clan. She won't fit in!" Hack argued valiantly.

"Look, I know you don't like her…"

"Of course I don't like her! She betrayed you and exposed your secrets to the Justice League!" Zalika said angrily.

"Yes, she did. But as you know, she is desperate to make amends and to fix things between us. That desperation for my approval and acceptance is a weapon we can use to forge her into a powerful and most importantly, loyal ally. I spoke to Diana just before I came here and she seems to be on board with everything. She believes, after meeting her and spending the day with her, that Kara can be trained and conditioned into a suitable warrior and agent of the HIVE." Naruto replied confidently.

"…."

"You still don't approve?" Naruto asked.

"No I…I get it. I just hate the fact that she betrayed you. But I get it." Hack managed to grit out.

"Okay good. You're my closest friend and confidant Zalika, your opinion matters to me. I'm glad we can see eye to eye on this." Naruto replied.

"Yeah, me too. Anyway, she's Kryptonian, so her potential is immense, and with Vibe on her team, well, that's just crazy." Hack said with well concealed excitement.

"Vibe huh? Did he name himself that or did you name him?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I…I did." Hack said bashfully.

"It's a cool name. Very fitting." Naruto replied much to Hack's relief.

"So, the other recruit?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Well, did you know that Captain Marvel is really a sixteen year old kid who lives in an orphanage?" Hack asked.

"I did." Naruto deadpanned.

"W-what? How?" Hack asked, shocked, Naruto in response give her the most incredulous look she had ever seen before.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I forgot who I was talking to." Hack said sheepishly.

"Understatement of the evening." Naruto retorted.

"Okay okay, but did you know that he has a twin sister that he knows nothing about? I managed to track her down and used brother box to scan and observe her. She has magical potential." Hack said excitedly.

"Now this I did not know about. Interesting. You're sure about this? By the way, what kind of twins are they? Monozygotic, or Dizygotic?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Yes I'm sure. And they are Monozygotic. Why?" Hack asked confusedly, wondering what the hell any of that had to do with anything.

"Monozygotic, and also has magical potential…." Naruto trailed off thoughtfully.

"Tell me Zalika, in your time monitoring her, did you see her at any point displaying any sort of magical ability?" Naruto asked curiously.

"N-no not at all actually. W-what does this have anything to do with anything? Who cares if they are monozygotic or not?" Hack asked in frustration.

"If they are Monozygotic, it means they essentially they have almost the exact same genetic material, the only difference being the y chromosone in Billy Batson. It's possible that when Billy got his powers, those powers could have been split between the two of them, with his sister getting the great wizard SHAZAM's powers too. But she doesn't know the secret activation word, so she wouldn't know how to activate her powers. This is where we come in. Hehehe! Zalika, you have done an amazing job, and taught me a valuable lesson too." Naruto said with both excitement and contemplation.

"Thank you. But uh…what lesson have I taught you?" Hack asked curiously.

"Not to be complacent, not to take anything for granted. The value of information is something that was literally beat into my head as a child growing up in the Uzumaki Ninja Clan. I gathered information about the members of the Justice League, but I didn't look deeply into their families and their background, content to just know their secret identities. Had I done my due diligence, I would have discovered Captain Marvel's sister a long time ago." Naruto explained.

"I see. Well, in that case, I'm glad to have been of help to you. So what now? How do you plan to recruit Ms Mary Bromfield aka Mary Batson?" Zalika asked curiously.

"Bromfield? Did you say Bromfield? Thee Wealthy and Powerful Bromfield family? Their daughter is Billy's sister? Hehe! As if things couldn't get any better. Wow, you really have outdone yourself Zalika. I'm so proud of you." Naruto said with a sinister smirk.

"I'm your most valuable asset for a reason you know." Hack said cockily.

"Indeed you are." Naruto said confidently.

"So, Supergirl, Seargant Marvel, and Vibe. Sounds like we need at least two more before we have a functional HIVE team." Hack said thoughtfully.

"Sargent Marvel huh? I like it." Naruto said with a sinister smirk, causing an almost identical expression to appear on Zalika's face.

"I was thinking about Kiteman being a member of the team. And of course we need a telepath too. A telepath and a magic user for each team is the basic requirement." Naruto replied thoughtfully.

"We have enough magic users, but not enough telepaths. That's a problem." Hack replied.

"Not necessarily. I just need to switch things around that's all. Nobody said a person cannot be both a magic user and a telepath." Naruto retorted.

"What do you mean?"

"Brainwave will have to join Supergirl's team, and Raven will join Queen Hive in his place. Raven is both a telepath and a magic user, so she will cover both roles for Team Ultimen. Incubus will join The Royal Flush Unit, and will be the magic user of the team. Enchantress will join team Akatsuki, and will be the magic user and the telepath, along with me being the other telepath. This means that Brainwave will have to move over to Supergirl's team to become their telepath, with Mary as the magic user." Naruto explained patiently.

"What about Team Defiance and Wonder Woman's team?" Hack asked curiously.

"Djinn, like Raven and Enchantress, fulfills the role of both telepath and magic user, and so does Wonder Woman. By ascending into a full Goddess, she has acquired telepathic abilities. After all, how do you think Gods are able to hear the prayers of their servants?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"So Defiance has Djinn, Wonder Woman's team has her, Supergirl's team has Mary and Brainwave, Team Ravager has Raven, Team Jericho has Jericho and Incubus, and team Akatsuki has Enchantress and you?"

"Exactly. A telepath and a magic user for each team. Also, Supergirl's team effectively now makes the quota of a minimum of five members." Naruto retorted.

"Supergirl, Brainwave, Sargent Marvel, Vibe and Kiteman." Hack said inquisitively.

"Exactly."

"Well, we still have to recruit the entire team except for Brainwave, who you will have to convince to shift teams again without offending him. After we recruit them, we'll then have to train them. It could be months, maybe even a year before this team is ready." Hack retorted.

"Then we have no time to waste. Let us get started." Naruto retorted.

"Not yet. You must fill me in on the entire structure of the Kitsune Coalition. Watching yours and the HIVES back was difficult enough as it is. With you now having a galactic empire, I'm gonna need to have access and information. Otherwise I won't be able to do jack for you out there." Zalika said with concern.

"That was my plan anyway. Don't worry, you'll be one hundred percent updated by the end of the month. I just need Diana to spend at least a month with her new team before we go out there again. We'll take you with this time." Naruto said sincerely.

"Oh yeah, when is she meeting her team?" Hack asked curiously.

"She's with them right now."

Undisclosed Location: Secret Kitsune Base

"So it really is true? I have to admit that even I had my doubts. Naruto would never lie but it just sounded too insane to be true." Poison Ivy said as Diana arrived at the base via a lightning based portal.

She was no longer wearing her business suit, now wearing a green formfitting body suit with plant mortifs on it that were a darker shade of green than the body suit itself, a form fitting suit that accentuated her insane and sexually appealing curves.

"If just a few months ago I was told that I would willingly join forces with Eco Terrorist and Mass Murderer Poison Ivy, I would not only have not believed it, but would have been offended. You have a lot to make up for Pamela, and I will make sure you pay it back in full, for the sake of Mother Earth." Diana replied sternly.

"For the sake of mother earth, I am at your disposal." Pamela said with a small bow of the head.

"Good." Diana deadpanned.

"My greetings to the rest of you. I am Diana of Themiscryra. I go by many names, Diana The Thunderer, Diana the Storm Goddess, Diana the Sky Goddess, and Wonder Woman of the HIVE and the Kitsune Coalition." Diana greeted formerly.

"The Kitsune Coalition? What is that?" Pamela asked with a curious frown, wondering why she wasn't aware of the existence of such a thing.

"An Intergalactic Empire, for which Nathaniel is Emperor and I am Empress." Diana stated matter of factly, Pamela's eyes popping out of her head as her lips moved but words failed to escape her throat, shocked by the new revelation as it was something she couldn't fathom whatsoever. She knew she was part of something big, but even she didn't know that it was that big.

"To answer the unasked question, yes, as my field officers, that makes you key figures in the Kitsune Coalition. In fact, you are quite literally members of the Royal Guard. Congratulations." Diana said with both an air of authority, nobility, and divinity altogether, everyone instinctively bowing their heads in respect and gratitude.

"Now, I have been briefed about all of you, as I am sure so have you about me. But I would like you to all please introduce yourself nonetheless and tell me a bit about yourselves, starting with you, Pamela." Diana instructed.

"Uh…yes of course." Pamela stuttered, feeling much more intimidated by Wonder Woman than she ever thought she would be, especially after mastering the sage arts as she had started to think of herself as a Goddess in her own right due to not only the exponential increase in power and ability she got from mastering the sage arts, but also due to the fact that she was now technically immortal as she could siphon the life energy of the earth to keep herself young and strong forever.

"My name is Pamela Isley, I am also known as Poison Ivy. I am 27 years old, and I have the ability to create, manipulate, and control all manner of flora. Recently I have learned the ability to siphon more of the supernatural force known as the Green, effectively becoming what Nar….uh…Lord Naruto refers to as a sage. With this new ability, I have attained super strength, super durability, super speed and super healing, and the ability to sense and identify all sorts of supernatural forces. I can also size shift, but so far I can only make myself bigger, but not smaller." Pamela explained in detail.

"Impressive. Those are indeed exceptional abilities. You will be an asset to the cause. Now, since its ladies first, why don't you go next." Diana said, pointing at the tall visibly alien girl with orange skin, long red hair, and green eyes who also seemed to carry herself with an air of royalty

She was wearing purple form fitting hybrid shorts/short skirt and was wearing a equally purple and equally form fitting sleeveless top that had a cris-cross section around her navel area, leaving large parts of her skin visible. She was also wearing combat boots that were also purple and did not appear to be carrying any weapons on her person.

"My name is Koriandor, rightful but usurped Queen of Tamaran. I am a warrior trained since childhood by the Warlords of Okaara, where due to my skills and abilities, I was given the name Starfire. My abilities are super strength, flight, super speed, super durability, accelerated healing and the ability to create and manipulate ultra violet light in the form of green energy beams that I refer to as Starbolts. I am also a master martial artist in both hand to hand combat and weapons combat." Starfire introduced herself with grace and exceptional professionalism, possessing a voice that was so serene and calming that one would never expect just how much of a dangerous warrior she could be.

"Impressive. Truly. Your resume is exceptional, so much so I would feel blessed in abundance even if it was just you and Poison Ivy in my team. As for your usurped throne, we'll have to have a serious discussion about that some time. As Empress of the Kitsune Coalition, I feel it my duty to help you to retake your throne, but only if it is what you desire." Diana proposed.

"I would love that, Empress." Starfire said humbly.

"Good, now you….Mr…"

"Prince Mon El, Goddess. Prince Mon El of Daxam, son of King Lar Gand and Queen Rhea of Daxam, and sole heir to the Daxamite throne." The young man said courteously.

He had short black hair, blue eyes, and very handsome facial features, almost like Superman, causing Diana to wonder if there was any relation to the El Family. He was also wearing a similar outfit to the ones Superman and Supergirl wore, except his was red in color instead of blue, and his cape blue instead of red. On his chest, in blue, was a symbol shaped like a capital "P" instead of an S like that of the house of EL, and of course, in typical Kryptonian fashion, and also Daxamite fashion Diana supposed, the guy looked like a physical specimen.

"What does the "P" stand for?" Diana asked curiously.

"For my codename, Powerman." Mon El replied.

"You so you have a Kingdom of your own, just like Starfire? Interesting. I wonder if Nathaniel set this up intentionally? That is to say, me being a The Princess of the Amazons, you being the Prince of Daxam, and Starfire being the rightful Queen of Tamaran." Diana thought out loud.

"That is most likely the case, Goddess. I think he wanted us to help each other to take control of our respective Kingdoms so that we can add to the power of the Kitsune Coalition. The challenge however is that unlike with Starfire, my parents are still alive, and so is your mother. Taking the throne would require us to usurp the rightful leaders of our respective Kingdoms, which happen to be our parents." Mon El retorted.

"I do not think Lord Kitsune wants you to kill your parents." Poison Ivy said with conviction.

"Persuade them perhaps, but definitely not to kill them, if that is what you are implying, Powerman." Pamela said sternly.

"I agree with you, at least as far as I and Goddess Diana are concerned. But what about Starfire. Her sister killed their parents and tried to kill her too. She shouldn't have to kill her own sister despite what she did, but maybe we can help her out and be the ones do it for her." Mon El proposed.

"That all depends on whether Starfire wants to take back her throne or not, and whether she wants her sister dead or not. That is something she and I will discuss privately at a time of my scheduling. For now, I'd like the last, but not least of our team to introduce himself." Diana said, directing her gaze at the last member of the group.

"Good evening, Empress. I am Ronnie Raymond aka Firestorm. My power is that of pyro kinesis and transmutation. I can pretty much transmute any inorganic material into whatever I want it to be. Transmuting organic material is a little difficult though. I'm not able to do that yet, and honestly, I'm not sure I want to try." Ronnie said warily. He was wearing a red and black suit that covered the majority of his body except for the head, and had hair and eyes that looked like they were literally made of fire. He also looked like Caucasian teenager and had a very good looking physique.

"Oh yeah, I also have super strength, super durability, super healing, and the ability of flight. I can also fly pretty fast, I almost beat Powerman the other day." Ronnie added as an after thought.

"Almost winning is still equal to losing." Powerman retorted.

"I'll beat you next time. You'll see." Firestorm countered with a cocky smirk.

"Is that a challenge?"

"Oh hell yeah! The heat is on! Come at me Powerman! You better not back down!" Ronnie said excitedly, causing Diana to roll her eyes in dismay.

"I'm literally working with children." Diana said with both amusement and exasperation.

"Okay, well, its nice to meet you all, and thank you for the detailed explanation of your abilities. Now I want to know if there are any particular weaknesses that I should know about?" Diana asked curiously.

"None for me." Poison Ivy replied arrogantly.

"I have a bit of a hard time dealing with water based powers, and I have a harder time transmuting water based abilities, but overall, no, no particular weaknesses." Firestorm retorted.

"I used to have a fatal weakness to lead. Lead was basically my Kryptonite you could say, but Lord Kitsune has cured me so that I no longer have that weakness. I do however still have a weakness to red sun UV rays as I become stripped of my power under a red sun." Powerman replied, everyone looking at Starfire expectantly as she was the only one yet to disclose her vulnerabilities.

"I have no particular weaknesses. I do absorb ultra violet light to boost my powers, but even without an external source, I can produce my own ultra violet energy. My Starbolts are weaker without an external source and my flight speed is lesser. However, my super strength, invulnerability, and super speed are innate abilities that do not require ultra violet light manipulation." Starfire explained.

"I see. Well, thank you all for your honesty and trust. Now it is my turn to give you my trust. I will now tell you about my abilities." Diana said as she told her new teammates everything that they needed to know about her, her role as Squad Leader, their role as a squad both in the HIVE and the Kitsune Coalition, her plans and expectations for them, and their individual roles within the squad.

Vlatava: Royal Palace

"It is an honor to meet your acquaintance, Queeen Perdita Vladek." Deathstroke greeted, prostrating himself in front of the Queen of Vlatava, along with his team, consisting of Mist, Livewire, Terra, Djinn, and Windfall.

He was still wearing his usual outfit, the only difference now being the ring he had on his right second finger, and the spider gauntlet that he had on his left hand. Djinn, the new addition, was on his left side, an Arabic 16 year old looking girl long brown hair and purple eyes, dressed in arabic garbs that were also purple in color and having no visible weapons on her person. On Deathstroke's right side was Terra, next to her Livewire, and Mist, with Windfall being on Djinn's left hand side.

"Deathstroke the Terminator, and team Defiance. The honor is mine. Please rise so that I may address you eye to eye, and if only for me, please remove your headgear so that I know that I really am speaking to The Terminator." Queen Perdita said with a thick Eastern European accent, but with good English vocab nonetheless, the blonde haired, blue eyed 16 year old Queen seemingly carrying the heavy load of being Queen of a volatile nation very well for someone her age.

"As you wish, your majesty." Slade replied as he got up on his feet, followed by his subordinates, who were following his lead as Slade then proceeding to remove his mask without even touching it, the mask seemingly disappearing into his neckline.

"Nano technology? Impressive. I wish our military had that type of advanced technology, then maybe we wouldn't be having so much trouble with the rebels." Perdita lamented.

"If you had this kind of technology, then the rebels would have it too. You would still be in the same situation. It is not technology that you require, it is skill and talent. That is why you hired me, or rather, us." Slade retorted.

"Perhaps you are right. In any case, this is a special case entirely. Vertigo and his meta human hit squad are decimating my troops. At this rate, they will murder me and take over the nation in no time at all. Markovia, despite our close ties, have refused to offer any aid to us. This comes in the wake of an assassination by meta humans on the life of the King and Queen of Markovia. Baron De Lamb has taken over, but I am suspicious of that man. I do not trust him, and I fear that both the disappearance of princess Tera Markov and the extermination of the King and Queen is not only a power play by Baron De Lamb, but is directly related to what is happening here in Vlatava." Perdita expressed her concerns, not even realizing that Tera Markov was in the same room as her, standing right in front of her, Tera thankful for the mask that was covering her face around the eyes.

"You are wise beyond your years on this mortal plane, your majesty. There is no doubt in my mind that these are related incidents. The question, however, is who do we have to kill to fix your problems, and what are you offering for our services?" Slade asked, not opposed to diplomacy but not at the expense of business.

"I don't offer monetary compensation, but something far more valuable to someone in your line of work." Perdita retorted.

"Something more valuable than money? Your majesty, you do realize I am a mercenary do you not? What could be more valuable to a mercenary than money?" Slade asked incredulously.

"Power and security. I offer to give you the title that I stripped from Vertigo, the title of Count. Bare in mind, this title not only gives you noble status in Vlatava, but also gives you diplomatic immunity wherever you go around the world. Think about it, the ability to go anywhere in the world and take on any job without the possibility of being arrested and detained for your ummm…..deeds." Perdita offered much to everyone's surprise, even her own advisors wanting to object but knowing better than to interrupt ongoing negotiations.

"What makes you think I won't try to kill you and take over Vlatava like Vertigo did? And why didn't you ask your friends from the Justice League secret task force to help you? I had heard that you were particularly close to a Beastboy." Slade retorted.

"I do not know for sure what you will do with your title, but I know that anything is better than Vertigo taking over the country. I would pay you in monetary terms but the Royal Budget has been depleted due to the losing effort in the war. You are my last resort, and…as they say in America, you are my 'fuck you' to Vertigo." Perdita replied.

"You still have not answered my question. Why not ask Garfield and the Justice League Covert team to help you? Why us?" Slade asked suspiciously.

"It's simple. I love Beastboy too much to make him experience the horrors of war. This is not some fight with an eccentric criminal mastermind. This is real, savage, and brutal war. Besides, the Justice League officially are not permitted by International Law to interfere in political warfare. If they are caught interfering, the UN will place heavier sanctions on them, making it impossible for them to make any real difference. Lex Luthor will make sure of that, he is after all UN president, and a member of The Light." Perdita explained.

"This is a complicated matter. We uh…..have a truce with The Light, an agreement to not interfere in each other's business. By ending your war, we could be starting another, bigger war with ourselves and the Light." Slade retorted.

"Who is we?" Perdita asked curiously.

"…"

"I see. I guess I will have to accept my fate then. It appears I miscalculated. I had no idea you were in league with The Light. Imagine my stupidity, hiring The Light to defeat The Light."

"We are not The Light, we just have a non aggression pact with them, but that doesn't mean we cannot help you." Slade retorted, causing Perdita to perk up suddenly as hope returned to her eyes.

"What do you mean?" Perdita asked curiously.

"Usually I only accept payment after the job is done, but in this case, an exception needs to be made. I cannot interfere in The Light's business or actively attack them, but what if they interfere in my business and actively attack me? Surely I have the right to defend myself and my interests, don't you think, your majesty?" Slade asked with a devious smirk, Perdita's eyes widening as realization dawned on her.

"You mean for me to make you Count right now, and as Count, The Light's attack of Vlatava and your Queen will equate to a violation of your non aggression pact, and if they insist on continuing their attack, then you will be well within your rights to defend the throne and your people." Perdita said excitedly.

"Precisely. Now if I were you I would hurry up and get my affairs in order. Oh, and while we're at it, give me a list of Vertigo's known associates so that we can prepare accordingly." Slade instructed.

"Right this instant! Counsellor Vidic, get this man his list. Senator Krochoviak, bring me a scroll and my Royal Seal so that we can coronate The Terminator, now! Hurry!" Perdita ordered.

End Chapter

Next Chapter: DEFIANCE VS HIGH EVOLUTIONARY

The High Evolutionary:

Leader: Count Vertigo (L8)

SUB COMMANDER: Zoom

MEMBERS:

Mirror Master, Dr Light, Dr Polaris, Atomic Skull, Weather Wizard, Manchester Black

Defiance:

Leader: Deathstroke the Terminator

Sub Commander: Terra

MEMBERS:

Livewire, Mist, Djinn, Windfall