AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.

Co-Written by Engineer4Ever

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Young Justice!

Rise of the Titans

10: Phenomenon

Jump City, November 3rd, 2010

Naruto, Victor and Courtney looked up to see Hal Lantern descending down in a gentle glide. He landed and was joined by the winged heroes Hawkman and Hawkwoman. The Green Lantern had a small grin on his face.

"Glad to see you're staying busy, kid," he said. Naruto offered a small grin of his own.

"Nice to see you, too," he said. His grin widened a fraction of an inch when he added, "Hal."

"I told you not to use my name!" Hal's annoyance was genuine, but there was a small amount of amusement that radiated from him.

"Riiight, Hal Lantern." Naruto winked at him. Hal shook his head and then gestured to his winged associates.

"I'm sure you're familiar with my friends, Hawkman and Hawkwoman?" he asked. The teens nodded. Victor and Courtney straightened up while Naruto tilted his head.

"How do your wings work? Are they even real?" Instead of answering, the Hawks looked at Hal.

"He's got a bit of a ...attitude," he said. Hawkwoman crossed her arms, leveling an amused smirk at Green Lantern.

"And you're certain he's not a Green Lantern?" she asked.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, Shiera." Green Lantern scowled. Hawkman shook his head and stepped forward, holding his hand out to the blond boy. Naruto took it in a tentative shake.

"Superman and Batman told us a lot about you, Sage," he said. "Including why you left The Team. Before you worry, you should know that we approve of your actions, not for what happened, but for the reasons behind it. A Hawk can only fly with two wings, and a flock is not made of one bird."

"...That is probably the weirdest way I've ever heard someone say that you should stick by your friends' sides," Naruto said as he took his hand back. He ignored the inquisitive stares that Courtney and Victor were sending his way. Instead, he mimicked his fellow green-clad hero and gestured to them. "These are my friends Cyborg and-"

"Stargirl. We've been keeping an eye on them," Hawkwoman said. She shook the teens' hands, lingering on Courtney with a small grin. "The League is always looking for more members and Diana has been pushing those cursed with the Y-genome to think about adding more females to the roster."

"O-Oh! Uh, wow, thanks," Courtney said, flushing behind her cowl. As Hawkwoman turned to address Naruto again, she saw Victor give Courtney a small grin.

"Sage," Hawkwoman drew the young hero's gaze back to her. "Despite your actions and Batman's account of what transpired, you are also being considered for a second chance with The Team."

"Well, thanks for the offer, but...I go where The Green tells me to, not The League," Naruto said. He glanced at Victor and Courtney before looking back at the three Leaguers. "If you need a hand, I'll be in Jump City."

"I can understand that. Things are starting to get interesting here," Hal said, stepping forward and crossing his arms as he stared down at Evil Star. "How in the Hell did he get out of his cell on Oa?"

"He didn't say," Victor said. He crossed his arms and glared down at the villain. "All we know is that he demolished our football field and has a problem with the Green Lanterns."

"Speaking of, we really have to work on this thing where I'm mistaken for you guys, dattebayo," Naruto said sourly. He glowered at the Lantern and crossed his arms. "The Green was here first and had champions way before you guys came to Earth."

"Take it up with The Guardians, kid."

"Oh, trust me. I will!"

"Uh-huh." Hal gave the boy a crooked grin and put Evil Star into a green bubble. "Well, I have to go make an intergalactic delivery. Hawkman, Hawkwoman, tell John?"

"Sure. We'll inform him at the meeting." Hawkman nodded. The Green Lantern took off in a stream of light and the winged warrior looked back at the three heroes. "Whether you do or don't join the League, you three are heroes and as such are allies. If there's anything you need, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask."

"...Now that you mention it," Naruto said. He rubbed his chin. "There is one thing I'd like to ask."

"We've been warned about your ramen addiction," Hawkwoman said.

Dammit, Wally. "I wasn't going to ask that," he said. Not a single person present believed him, judging by their skeptical looks. Ignoring their lack of faith, he continued, "Koriand'r, the Tamaranean. Could you tell her where I am? Maybe set up a way to communicate with The Team?"

The Hawks shared an uncertain look before Hawkman put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"The wounds, while bandaged, are still healing, my friend," he said. Naruto nodded and tried not to let his disappointment show. Hawkman squeezed Naruto's shoulder. "Worry not, young Sage. I swear to you that we shall watch out for young Starfire, as if she were our own."

"Starfire?" Victor repeated. Courtney elbowed him.

"Thank you, Hawkman." Naruto said, a sincere smile on his face. Hawkman smiled and retracted his hand. He and his wife removed their helmets. Both were fair-skinned, Hawkman had golden blond hair and Hawkwoman had light auburn. Both of them had blue eyes.

"In this moment, I share a small trust with my new allies. The people call me Hawkman, but my friends call me Carter," Carter said. He tucked his helmet under his arm and reached out with his hand again. "Carter Hall."

"And I am Shiera Hall," Shiera said, smiling as she watched her husband shake hands with the three youths. Once the pleasantries were finished, they donned their helmets again and spread their wings.

"Now, last I checked there were people in need of aid," Hawkman said. He and Hawkwoman took off, their wings causing a small cloud of dust to shoot up.

Courtney and Victor, once they were free of their coughing fit, straightened up and shared grins with each other. Two Justice League members had willingly offered up their identities and friendship. Naruto watched with a smile as it dawned on them.

"Dude," Victor said. "We met the Green Lantern and The Hawks."

"Yeah." Courtney nodded.

"The Justice League knows about us."

"Yeah."

"We are going places, baby!" Victor pumped his fists in the air. "Booyah!"

"First place we should be going is back to the field," Naruto said. He felt a bit bad to interrupt the moment, but duty should come first. They should've gone back to Jump once Hal took Evil Star away, but hindsight is 20/20. He conjured a platform for Victor to stand on and then, with Courtney shooting off ahead of them, flew back to Jump City.

His city.

Jump City, Home of The Sage. Naruto grinned. He liked the sound of that.

Jump City, November 5th, 2010

"MOM!"

The horrified shout jarred Naruto from his meditation. He would've been annoyed by Victor's shout, but seeing as he'd been staying with the Stones for almost a week, he figured it's been long enough for him to sort of glean what was and what wasn't normal behavior for the mother and son duo. The horrified cry was not normal, and he knew something was wrong.

It also helped that The Green had released a strangled cry of pain and Kurama roared with a fury.

"What happened?" he asked as soon as he slid into the dining room. Victor was tapping the side of his head, various scans of light emitting from his cybernetic eye.

"One second I was talking to my mom, the next she vanished," he said. When the light show stopped, he cursed and slammed his fists on the table. "I'm not picking up any residual energy!"

"Can she teleport?" Naruto asked, enveloping himself in The Green's energy and going to Sage Mode. He immediately dropped Sage Mode, ran to the sink and puked. He groaned and braced himself against the countertop. "I can and I can't sense her. That doesn't make sense...That shouldn't be possible! Oh, Kami, someone has disturbed The Green in the worst way."

"Damn it, this isn't a joke! What if a supervillain took her? So, stupid! I have enemies now!" Victor panicked as he continued to ramble off suspects. Naruto, recovering from his disorienting experience, walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Vic!" He leveled Victor with a determined stare when the cyborg glared at him. "We'll find her, but you need to calm down. Winding yourself up is not going to help the situation, trust me, I know. We should call-"

A sudden ringing interrupted him.

"It's Courtney." Victor muttered.

"...Dang, she's good, 'ttebayo," Naruto said. Victor nodded and then took a deep breath to forcibly relax.

"I'll put her on speaker," he said. He walked over to the wall and put his hand against it. His cybernetic eye shone blue before Courtney's panicked voice broke through, accompanied by cries of children in the background.

"Guys!" she sounded relieved."I need your help! Mom and Pat are gone! Right when we were having a late lunch at Spacey's. If it weren't for senior pass, I don't...Michael would've been alone. I've got like six kids here crying for their parents. I-I need surveillance, satellite photos, anything Vic!"

"Courtney, my Mom's gone, too," Victor said, sharing a concerned look with Naruto.

"Shit, Vic, I - no, Michael, shh. It's okay, it's okay." The child's cries continued in the background. A sudden crash made the two jump and the children's screams became louder. "Oh, fu-Sage, you need to get out there and run damage control. Vic, meet me at Spacey's and we'll swing over to the schools."

"We're on it, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said. He suited up, but kept out of Sage Mode, and accompanied Victor to the garage.

"I don't like this. Not at all," Victor said as he got in the hovercar he and his mom designed.

"Neither do I," Naruto said. He caught the device tossed to him and arched a brow. "What's this for?"

"Put it in your ear and keep in touch," Victor said, and waited until Naruto did before he nodded. "Be careful, Sage. We don't know what we're up against."

"You do the same. I'll make some clones to help once we figure out what's going on," he said. Cyborg revved up the engine and zoomed off. Naruto hovered in the empty garage for a minute and set his jaw.

Be real nice if anyone could tell me what they know, he thought.

"Wish I could, Naruto, but I'm as clueless as you normally are," Kurama said. The Green gave him nothing. His eyes narrowed.

That's what I was afraid of.

The kids were gathered and taken to Jump City High School, where multiple seniors and juniors were preparing supplies, entertaining or caring for the younger children. Twenty minutes in, Naruto made thirty clones to cover portions of the city, keeping an eye out for any other youths in trouble (or trying to cause it) while he himself went to help his friends. He was assaulted with questions as soon as he entered the gym.

"What happened?" "Did someone do this?" "Where's my mom?" "Where's my daddy?"

"Hey!" A tall, athletic teen's voice echoed through the gymnasium. He had dark skin, short cropped hair and wore a red tracksuit, the jacket unzipped to reveal a yellow shirt with a white sun on it. The teen stood in front of Naruto with his arms crossed. "You guys heard Stone, no one knows what's going on, and we're trying to keep the other kids calm! Don't attack someone when they come in the door like that!"

The other kids began to drift away, grumbling or looking rather lost and afraid.

"They're just scared," Naruto said once the kids were gone. He smiled. "Thanks, though."

"Not a problem. The name's Jeff Jackson. Everyone calls me Jax," Jax said, offering his hand. Naruto took it and shook the hand.

"Sage."

"Stone said you'd be coming, he's over there with Courtney Whitmore." Jax pointed the two out. They were sitting off to the side on some bleachers, toddlers and a few older kids seated with them, presumably related to some of the younger children. A small TV was set up in front of them.

"Got it. Nice meeting you, Jax," Naruto said, smiling to the younger man. Jax smiled back.

"Hey, man, after what you did for our city? I'm the one who's stoked to meet you. If you ever need a hand," he said before jogging over to stop an argument between two other students. The blond continued to smile for a minute before he made his way over to his two friends.

"Baa, baa black sheep have you any wool?" A voice on the TV and some kids sang.

"That's such a stupid question." Kurama grumbled. "Of course it does. It's a sheep!"

Not the point, Kurama. Naruto thought.

As he neared, he could see Courtney was holding her brother close, her arms a fortress of protection around the toddler. Behind her, acting as a reassuring wall and holding a hand against the side of his head, Victor sat with a stoic look on his face. A look that said he was only partially aware of the world around him. Which is why Courtney was the one that noticed him first.

"Anything?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I've got clones scouring the city, but The Green's upset. Someone did this, but it wasn't near us," he said. He glanced around the gym, before looking back at her. "How're you holding up?"

"As well as anyone would be, I guess," she sighed. "There's some Seniors missing, and most of the Varsity Football Team were hospitalized by Evil Star, but we've got some volunteers at the hospital who say they're not in their rooms."

"Great. What's next?" he asked. A tugging at his legs made him look down. A young boy, around four or five years old, had taken hold of his pants. He looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Mr. Lantern?"

"Y-Yeah?" Naruto asked. He wasn't about to try and correct a kid. His ego would take a hit, but he'd be Green Lantern today.

"Will you find Mama and Daddy?"

The question made his heart clench and he did a quick survey of the gym again. These kids were all scared, and with good reason. Looking back down at the boy, he found him on the verge of tears.

"Of course we will, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said, plastering the biggest and brightest grin he could muster on his face. He pointed at his chest with his thumb. "I'm a hero after all. I'll find them in no time!"

He was used to being a bit loud and boisterous, but that's not what these kids needed. They need someone to tell them it was going to be okay, someone that was looked up to, but not unapproachable. A clown made people laugh, but a hero made people smile.

And it looks like I'm bad at it. He thought somberly. The boy still looked worried and Naruto almost grimaced. Okay, so his fabulous boisterous personality wasn't working...maybe he could try something else.

"Hey, you guys want to see something cool?" He asked. The kids watched him as he floated back and put his hands into his signature hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke engulfed his form, and when it cleared, five more clones had been brought into the world. The kids gasped in awe and a few clapped in delight. Naruto grabbed the shoulder of one clone and gave it a hard glance.

"Keep their minds busy, but don't do anything dangerous. No Flying, no wall-walking, and no Rasengans...Understand?"

"Right, Boss." The clone nodded before he went over and picked the worried kid up under his arms, hoisting him onto his shoulders. "C'mon, buddy! You want to see some more tricks?"

"Yeah!" The boy laughed as he and other kids began to crowd around the clones. Naruto took a seat next to Courtney and glanced at Victor. He looked back at the girl, but before he could ask her what the cyborg was up to, another voice spoke up.

"Courtney, I got those juice boxes from the Seven Eleven," a blonde girl said, her arms cradling three sealed bundles of apple juice. She set them down on the bleachers next to the secret hero, though that may be blown with Naruto and Vic seated as close to her as they were.

"Thanks, Tara," Courtney said. She adjusted her hold on the half-snoozing Michael and offered him up. "Can you keep an eye on Michael for me? I've got to talk to Vic and, uh, his friend."

Tara looked between the two blonds again as she took the toddler. A small grin spread on her face.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon, Mikey, let's go get some snacks," She said, walking off with the boy in her arms.

"She seemed...nice?" Naruto offered. His weak comment went ignored as his fellow blonde dropped her face into her hands.

"What are we going to do?" Courtney asked, "We can't leave to see if this is happening everywhere or-"

"It's happening everywhere," Victor said suddenly. Naruto and Courtney turned to look at him. "Spain, Russia, England, the social networks are exploding with questions, boasts and comments. And-Hello? Who is this?"

"What? Vic, what'd you find?" Courtney asked. He gave her a raised index finger and his organic eye narrowed. It blinked a few times before he gasped.

"Holy cow...It's...It's Robin."

"The Boy Wonder?" Courtney asked in awe.

"Traffic Light's talking to you?" Naruto asked. They leveled him with a look and he shrugged. "What? If he's on the internet then you can communicate, right?"

"Yeah...yeah! Sage, you're a genius!" The cyborg grinned.

"A phrase you will never hear again." The Voice jeered. Naruto was getting better at ignoring it. Instead, he watched Victor's face go through various expressions as he silently communicated with the Boy Wonder. The last expression before Victor spoke again was bewilderment and confusion.

"Uh, he wants to talk to you," he said, looking at Naruto. "Now."

"Yeah, but you and I know that me and technology don't really get along," Naruto said. The last time he tried to use a computer, it exploded. And all he did was push the power button.

"I'll act as a go between. Courtney, it's going through our radio," Vic said. She nodded and put her hand to her ear, an act Naruto copied.

"Okay, you're all set, Robin." Vic's voice broadcasted. There was a bickering over the other line. "Uh, Robin?"

"You do it, Kid Mouth!"

"No, this was your idea! I don't want to talk to him!"

"And you think I do?"

That hurt a lot more than Naruto thought it would. The looks he was getting from Courtney and Victor didn't help at all. Thankfully, the pain was ebbed by the inclusion of a new voice.

"Friend Naruto!" The Tamaranean's cheerful greeting earned more incredulous and confused looks from Courtney and Victor. Koriand'r continued in an exuberant manner,"We need you to come to the cave most quickly!"

"Kori! Man, it's great to hear your voice, 'ttebayo. You guys have any idea what's going on?"

"We do not know! The Batman and Giovanni Zatanna were speaking with us when they vanished!"

"Starfire, let me speak with him."Naruto heard Aqualad say. "Sage, we need every hand we can get. Finding the parents is second only to making sure people are safe. Come to the Cave."

"The Batcave?" Victor whispered to Courtney. She shushed him.

"I'll be there, but I'm bringing two others. Where's the nearest Zeta-Tube?" Naruto asked, ignoring the interruption.

"Los Angeles, California. Why, gonna have Swamp Thing break that one, too? Ow! Artemis!"

"Shut up, you idiot."

"Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible. Sage, out." Naruto let his fingers drop and looked at his friends. They stared at him for a moment after the connection cut out.

"You never said anything about a Cave. A super hero cave, man. How could you not mention a super hero cave?" Victor hissed. "Is it the Batcave!? Have you been to the Batcave?!"

"And what's a Zeta-Tube?" Courtney asked. "Why is it in L.A.?"

"A) I didn't have time and it never came up. B) A Zeta-Tube is a teleporter thing. C), Courtney go suit up. The sooner we go, the sooner we find your parents," Naruto said. She huffed, a bit annoyed at the curt tone, but the questions could and likely would be answered later.

Courtney nodded and hurried out of the gymnasium, stopping by Tara and Jax to explain that she was heading out to make a quick supply run and to tell her dozing brother to behave.

"A Cave, dude."

"Cyborg, don't make me hurt you. I'm not in the mood."

"...I'll just make something cooler than a cave. Maybe a satellite? Nah, that sounds stupid."

Mount Justice, November 5th, 2010

The flight to L.A. was done in record time, due to Cyborg's agreement to piggyback via green construct. They found the Zeta-Tube easily enough, and Victor entered himself and Courtney into the system. The reception upon entry to the Cave of Mount Justice was met with a cool and tense silence from all, but one.

"I am most excited to see you again, Friend Naruto!" The Tamaranean lifted Naruto into the air with a great big hug. Her arms squeezed around his sides and his ribs cracked in protest.

"Koriand'r!" The blond gasped. "Air!"

"Oh! Oops," She released him, "I am most sorry!"

"Well, I guess it's good to see that some things never change." Artemis muttered and shook her head.

Naruto ignored her comment and the glare Superboy had locked on him. He rubbed his sides and smiled at the Tamaranean. He patted her head affectionately before he gave The Team a weak grin.

"Hey, guys," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to the two that accompanied him. "This is Stargirl and Cyborg. Stargirl, Cyborg, this is The Team."

"Already with a new group?" Kid Flash asked him. It held a lot of restrained anger and hinted at something more. Aqualad sent a frown to the boy before he stepped forward and put a hand on his chest, his face unreadable.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Aqualad, leader of The Team. Welcome," he said, offering his hand to Victor.

"Uh, Cyborg. Nice to meet you, too." The cybernetic teenager said. He shook the other boy's hand briefly.

"Stargirl," Courtney said, looking tense and nervous as she held her staff close. She shifted uneasily. "Uh, don't mean to bring up bad vibes, but can you guys stop glaring? Don't we have enough problems?"

"She's...Got a point," Robin said, rubbing his arm and averting his gaze from Sage. Zatanna placed a hand on his shoulder. She smiled at the blonde.

"You're right, Stargirl," Zatanna said, before giving pointed glower to Kid Flash, Artemis and Superboy, the three who were leveling the unfriendly glares at Naruto. He nodded at her gratefully when their eyes met. Koriand'r floated around and shook the two newcomers' hands eagerly.

"It is most wonderful to make new friends! It is wonderful to meet Friend Naruto's new allies!" she said. Victor and Courtney looked from her to Naruto, who shrugged.

"What?"

"You've been making us call you your hero-name this whole time?" Courtney asked. She looked a bit hurt.

"You never asked after Gold was buried," he said.

"Buried Gold?" Kid Flash asked. "What, did you guys meet up to stop a pirate raid?"

"Zombie attack, actually," Naruto said with the straightest face he could muster. Kid Flash stared at him for another moment longer.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not."

"He's serious," Victor said. "A horde attacked Jump City on October 29th, led by Solomon Grundy, aka Cyrus Gold, the Avatar of The Rot."

"...What kind of name is Naruto?" Courtney asked.

"Seriously, that's what you're focusing on, 'ttebayo?" Naruto returned, a brow arched.

"I told you!" Kid Flash glared at Robin. "That news report was serious!"

"I thought it was one of those dumb advertisements for that stupid Walking Dead show!"

"I could have tested my zombie pl-"

"Enough!" Aqualad cut in. He stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Sa-Naruto, we need your help. Men and women around the world eighteen and up have gone missing. Zatanna and Robin suspect mystic involvement, but we can't investigate and leave the children unattended."

"Hold on, aren't you eighteen?" Artemis asked, giving a narrowed look to The Green's Lantern.

"Yeah? And?"

"Why aren't you missing?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You're eighteen?" Courtney asked. Victor and Naruto leveled her with flat stares and she crossed her arms. "Oh, I'm not allowed to play surprised? This is doing a great job distracting me from my parents' disappearance."

"He's only been on Earth for three years," Miss Martian said to Artemis, oblivious of the looks Naruto received for the bomb that she casually dropped. "Maybe his chronological age and biological age don't align with whatever spell was cast."

"Other Dimensional beings do have the occasional immunity to magic," Zatanna threw in.

Naruto tried really hard not to fidget under the stares from Victor and Courtney. He offered them a sheepish smile and gave a weak laugh.

"Surprise? I'm not from this Earth..."

"We are having a long talk about this later," Courtney said.

"Who are you, my mother?"

"Someone has to be." Artemis grumbled.

"Oi! What I did aside, what reason do you have to gang up on me, 'ttebayo?!"

"Girl Code." Artemis, Zatanna, Miss Martian and Courtney said.

"...You just made that up. They just made that up. Right?" Naruto asked, looking at Victor. The taller teen shrugged.

"It's real, dude," Kid Flash sighed. He opened his mouth to say something else when the sink in the nearby kitchen exploded. The water snaked through the air and gathered at the end of Aqualad's water-bearers.

"Now that I have your attention once more, can we all focus?" He requested, a stern frown on his face. After they nodded, Aqualad sheathed the bearers and crossed his arms. "We need to keep all the children from panicking any further. To do that, those with the most recognizable partners will be acting in The League's place. However, Naruto, you don't resemble yours, but you do resemble-"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Naruto groaned. He gestured at his custom outfit. "What part of this says Spandex of Green Lantern!? Seriously, do I not look like a ninja?"

"Eh, more of a masked green commando if you asked me," Victor said. Robin snickered into his hand.

"Shut it, Traffic Light!"

"Hey!"

"Robin, Naruto, please do not make the fighting," Koriand'r requested. She floated over and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Friend Naruto, when I first came to this world, you protected me with the abilities and acts of a Green Lantern. I trusted you because you resembled them. The children of this world will not trust The Green, but they will trust you. Please?"

His thoughts went to the boy at Jump City High. He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed.

"Okay, fine. But none of you can call me Green Lantern. I'm still going to be 'Sage'," he said firmly. Kid Flash smiled and nodded, but it wasn't one he would trust. Similar grins were on Superboy's and Robin's faces. Whatever. He'd take what he could get, and if they tried anything, he'd show them why they called him the Prank King of Konoha.

Naruto held his ring up and was engulfed in a flash of light.

When the flash died down, it revealed that Sage - Naruto, she reminded herself - had changed only the upper part of his costume. Gone was the flak jacket and black shirt, replaced by a long-sleeved shirt that clung to his chest like a second skin. The green cuffs around his arms made the ensemble resemble the second Green Lantern's. Like that Lantern, Sage's new top was primarily black, save for the green collar and shoulders, and the emissive green insignia in the center of his chest.

It was worse than the mesh shirt, she decided. Framing his form and partially covering it was one thing, but putting it on blatant display with a top like that was torture. She banished those thoughts as quickly as she could. She had to focus. It was hard, though. Almost as hard as his-No, bad Courtney!

Keep your gaze away from his abs. Those sweet, rock hard ab-no! Focus! Michael is alone right now! Courtney scolded herself. She should not be ogling her...friend? Associate? Possible eye candy? Her hormones were betraying her, always when she least expected it.

"Passable?" Sage asked, holding his arms out. He glanced at the black gloves that covered his hand and they disappeared.

"Not the pants?" Kid Flash asked.

"You'll never see my legs, Banana Peel."

Oh, great, now she was thinking about his legs.

"Dude. Not funny."

"I have nature having a crisis in my head, a few hundred something kids in my city freaking out because their parents are gone, and now I have to look like the heroes that I'm constantly mistaken for. So yeah, I need every laugh I can get, 'ttebayo."

The snark helped Courtney focus on his face. It was almost as bad as his chest. He'd lost the mask, his headband looked more like one of those samurai face-guards she'd seen in a cartoon. It framed his jawline, made his glowing green eyes pop, and covered his birthmarks. Were they birthmarks or scars?

"What's wrong with The Green?" Aqualad asked.

Wait.

The Green was real?

Crap.

Courtney and Victor shared a quick look. They'd given Sage a hard time over his powers and resembling the Green Lanterns, but The Green itself was a concept that was alien to them. They were urban millennials. To them, trees and grass were just there. Thinking about those Green things having a mind was alien to them, almost as alien as most of the people in the room.

"Besides screaming at me? It's like it doesn't know where anything is. Which, you know, is weird," Sage said, shrugging. "At least, compared to what it's usually complaining about."

"Great, Nature itself has no clue what's going on." Superboy scoffed. Sage gained a dark scowl for just a brief moment before he lightened up and crossed his arms.

"And we do?"

That certainly made the boy of steel clam up. The glare he gave Sage would've melted him on the spot. If, y'know, he had heat vision. Did he have heat vision? What exactly was his relationship to Superman? Wasn't he the last Kryptonian? Who was this guy, anyway?

Courtney resolved to ask Sage about him later. Like when she was asking about him being from another dimension. How was that even possible!?

Focus!

"Robin, we need to broadcast a warning around the world. The sooner we address the kids, the better." Aqualad said.

"It'll take a few minutes to get that arranged," Robin said. He turned to the Cave's computer and began to type into it. "Getting in is easy, keeping the firewalls at bay for an emergency broadcast-?"

"Is a piece of cake. Give me thirty seconds and I'll have a backdoor ready in every station from here to Australia," Victor said as he walked up to the computer. A cable extended from his arm and connected him to the mainframe. He closed his eyes and his cybernetic prosthetics began to glow. A minute ticked by before the glow ended and he grinned. "Done. We've now got links to every broadcast station across the globe. We'll be televised and on the radio. Well, internet radio, anyway."

"...Yeah, I could do that too if I were part robot," Robin said, frowning. He grinned. "Not bad, Victor Stone."

"Same to you...Dick."

"Dick?" Starfire and Zatanna asked, one confused and the other amused. Kid Flash started snickering into his hand. Robin's grin fell and he glared at Vic, while the machine man kept a victorious smile on his face.

"How'd you-?"

"I'm pretty much monitoring the Internet, dude," Vic said. Sage-er, Naruto shook his head and crossed his arms.

"I knew that interweb thing was bad news."

"We go live in five. Let's prepare the message for broadcast." Aqualad instructed, getting nods from all around. Courtney hovered near Victor, but stayed near the

Fawcett City, November 5th, 2010

Billy Batson was not having a good day. His caretaker and guardian, "Uncle" Dudley Dudley, had just vanished out of thin air. The nearest Zeta Tube had just rejected his access code because it didn't recognize him as Captain Marvel, which he was, but only after he said the Word of Power, granted to him by The Wizard, Shazam.

"And I can't even say the Wizard's name because if I do I might be teleported! God, why is everything so complicated?" Billy asked aloud as he strolled past an electronic store. He stopped and backed up when five familiar faces appeared on the screens. Billy stared at them for a minute before grinning and running up to the window of the electronic store. "Yes! The Team's safe!"

"Attention, teens and children of the Earth," Aqualad said on the screen. He placed a hand on his chest and gestured with the other to the heroes gathered at his side. "I am Aqualad, with me are other heroes who worked with the absent members of the Justice League. Robin, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Sage."

"We know that you're scared, maybe even angry that your parents and family are gone," Kid Flash said. "Head to your local schools and stay safe there."

"We know the urge to run wild is tempting, but please try not to," Artemis said. "We urge our fellow young heroes, wherever they are, to help keep others out of trouble. Don't start any fights, now isn't the time."

"We will fix this," Robin said, "We swear to fix this as soon as possible."

"Until then, keep calm, and stay safe," Sage said. He demonstrated his cloning ability. "I am a Lantern with the ability to make my own corps. Fifty of my clones will spread to every city, small or large."

"His new look is awesome." Billy couldn't help but compliment. He shook his head and raced off. "I don't have time for this, I need to get to Rhode Island."

He hurried towards the airfield, praying someone under eighteen knew how to fly.

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"That's all we can do for now," Naruto said. He crossed his arms and made his way to Mount Justice's exit. Doing the math in his head, he grimaced. Almost six thousand clones, the feedback from The Green was going to suck so hard.

"Can you make that many clones?" Stargirl asked, both she and Cyborg leveled him with worried looks. The blond shinobi stopped, turned and gave them both a lopsided grin.

"I haven't done it in a while, but I think I should be able to," he said. "What's a few thousand clones?"

"Uh, you'd need make roughly two hundred, twenty thousand to meet your promise," Robin said after a quick mental calculation.

"Well, no better time to set a new personal record," Naruto said. He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Though, the feedback is going to be a bitch."

"Feedback?" Cyborg asked. "Oh, the memory and exhaustion transference."

"Yeah, you see, every clone I make makes its own connection with The Green," Naruto said. He manifested a holographic image, depicting his ability in a crude drawing. "When a clone dispels, that energy and mental strain comes right back to me."

"But, would not such overwhelming strain bring monstrous pain to the brain?" Kori asked with a frown.

"You say that like he's got a brain to strain," Superboy grumbled. Cyborg and Stargirl frowned, the former stepped over to the Kryptonian clone.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but you need to back off. Whatever the hell Sage did to you guys in the past needs to stay there," he said. Cyborg pointed at the screens and manipulated them, highlighting the inhabited areas around the world. "In case you didn't notice, we kind of have a world crisis going on. So how about you act like the hero you're supposed to be, and stop with all the high school drama?"

A silence filled the cave. Superboy stared down at his feet with clenched fists and tensed shoulders, while the rest of The Team rubbed their arms or shifted awkwardly.

"...Wow, um, thanks Vic," Naruto said, owlish eyes locked on the cybernetic hero. Cyborg rounded on him, his robotic eye glowing.

"You're still here?! Dude, get going!"

"Right! Right, I'm on it!" Naruto shook himself out of his stupor and shot out of the Cave. Once he was clear, he crossed his fingers and made his clones. Two hundred twenty thousand streams of green light rocketed around the planet. The original headed to the group going to Russia and sent a clone back to the cave, to keep some distance from The Team. The wound was still fresh, and he felt worse with each moment spent there.

"You do know that eventually, that the robot and the girl will learn the truth," the Voice said. It was a truth he was preparing himself for, but not fully ready to face. As most did with such hurdles, he ignored it and the Voice growled in response. "You cannot ignore me forever, Brother!"

Watch me, Naruto thought with narrowed eyes. He pushed more energy through his body and willed his speed to increase.

"An airhead, I swear... Alright, so what's our game plan?" Victor asked, turning to Aqualad with arms crossed.

"You should probably return to your city and help keep the peace there," Aqualad said. "The Team will handle finding the source of the problem."

"Wow, that's it?" Victor asked, incredulous and a little upset. He gestured to the cable that retracted into his arm. "Did you not just see me connect to all over the world in less than a minute? I can monitor and filter data faster than any algorithm you've got."

"Hate to burst your bubble, Tin Man, but nothing is faster than The Batcomputer," Robin said. Victor looked at him with a slacked jaw.

"The Batcomputer? Is that what was piggybacking onto my server!?" He asked. He shuddered. "I feel a little violated...You know what that thing had to have seen? How many Gotham-related crimes that are logged in it?"

"Yeah," Robin and Artemis deadpanned. They each pointed a thumb at their respective chests, "We're from Gotham."

"...Oh. Sorry," Victor said with an apologetic grimace. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, are you sure that there's nothing I can do?"

"Vic," Stargirl grabbed his arm and pulled him down to hiss in his audio receptor. "Mikey's still at the school. We have a city to worry about."

"Yeah, but Sage has like fifty clones working the streets and helping out," Victor said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Besides, the more we hang around them, the more we learn about our cross-dimensional Lantern. I still can't believe that!"

He really couldn't. Alien, sure, that was easy to wrap your head around when someone like Superman existed, but other-dimensional being? That's the sort of thing they lock you up for.

"Yeah, me either," Stargirl trailed off. She paused, likely weighing the pros and cons of his argument, but ultimately shook her head. "I can't leave that to him, Vic. I have to make sure Mikey's safe, and I'll feel better knowing you're there at the school with me. You know the city better than Sage or I do."

Damn, it was hard to say no to that kind of logic. Even his processor agreed that the city would be fifty-three point five-seven-three-nine percent safer if he were there with them.

"Alright. We'll head back." Victor sighed. He would just have to find out more about Sage next time, or wait until he could corner the bugger.

"We'll set up a Zeta-Tube to send you back to Los Angeles," Aqualad said with a nod. He stepped up to them and offered his hand. "Thank you for all your help, Cyborg. Stargirl."

"Anytime," Stargirl said with a quick shake of Aqualad's hand. Victor took the hand after she released it.

"Hopefully the next time we meet there won't be a crisis," he said. Aqualad smiled and nodded again, agreeing.

As they entered the Zeta Tube, Victor's audio receptors caught Superboy's soft mutter.

"Don't hold your breath, buckethead."

Naruto's first trip to Russia would be one to remember, primarily because he assigned himself to Krasnoyarsk. A decision that he would forever claim to be one of the best decisions in his life.

The first thing that really made an impression on him was the city's landscape. The Green was strong here. The pines that scattered about between buildings were rich with life, and added color to the otherwise drab urban setting. It was more than what Jump City could say, and considering that was where he decided to plant his feet, that was saying something.

Then he realized that it was cold. Actually, calling the area cold would be an understatement: it was freezing. It was so cold that one clone hocked a loogie and it froze a second after it left the clone's lips. It would've been funny, had the incident not been attempted above the Krasnoyarsk Lion. Hopefully, no one would notice that the Lion's left ear was now imbedded in the street below.

Thank the Parliament that I get some protection from the weather, otherwise my teeth would be chattering, Naruto thought. He had left his clones and the kids that had gathered within the incomplete Strelka Tower to find a Lieutenant Kovar, a young man that was viewed by the people of Krasnoyarsk as their hero. Now he was flying through a small blizzard in northern Siberia to find a kid that should've been helping him.

"Even with the Green protecting you, I think they already are," Kurama said. Naruto wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

Don't have to tell me twice. He balled his right hand into a tighter fist and looked over his new attire. This thing barely does anything. At least my flak jacket kept me warm.

A whisper in the back of his head alerted him to something that endangered The Green.

"Great. Like, I don't have enough on my plate right now?" Naruto grumbled as he headed towards the threat. He flew into the wood, banking around trees to the point that he eventually forgot what direction he entered from, before he spotted a bright glow in the distance. Kurama let out a warning growl, which made him arch a brow. "Whoa, what's got you so upset?"

"The Red has informed me that there is a creature that has been altered from its proper state, its instincts are overridden with the fight response. Be ready."

"For what?" Naruto asked. "A mutant bear?"

"How the hell should I know? I'm only relaying the message."

"Fair enough." The blond relented and pressed on, his body tense and ready for anything. An uprooted, half blasted tree suddenly broke through the foliage, coming from the direction of the glow. Naruto floated up and over it, a brow twitching in annoyance as The Green demanded justice to be served. He glanced down at his ring and scowled at it.

"You are so lucky that your reaction can be chalked up to venting," he muttered before he floated through the tree's flight path. What he came across was the third reason that he was glad he joined his Russian-bound clones.

A boy, somewhere around thirteen or fourteen, was in the middle of a clearing. He had a crimson Russian Star on either shoulder and plastered on the center of the back of his military fatigues. The boy was wrestling some kind of ten-foot-tall creature made of glowing energy.

"Why couldn't it have been a mutant bear?" Naruto asked, looking up at the sky as if it would answer. It didn't. He sighed, then put on a determined scowl and flew into the clearing. The faster that thing was taken care of, the better.

"Incoming!" He shouted to warn the young hero as the blond thrust his ring fist forward. From the ring came a large green recreation of Rock Lee, the construct's leg extended in a flying jump kick. The boy dove out of the construct's way, allowing it to crash into the creature and knock it through the woods. It plowed down no less than a dozen pine trees.

The Green was not amused.

"Sorry, okay? I didn't think it would fly that far," Naruto said with a wince as his Life-Force scolded him. He floated down and stopped next to the boy, offering his hand. "You alright?"

"A Green Lantern?" the boy asked, ignoring the offer and rising to his feet. He held his head for a minute before it snapped up. "The monster!"

"Easy, kid," Naruto tried to calm him down. "You just got whacked pretty hard. Take a moment and-"

"Do not treat me like a child!" The boy scowled at the older teen for a moment, before he sighed and then stood at attention. "My apologies, Green Lantern. My name is Lt. Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar. You may address me by my code name: Star-Fire."

AN: I don't have anything to say other than my head hurts, and it's not related to this. School still sucks up time (for both of us), so we've been pecking away at this chap for a while.

It's done, it's out. Y'all know what we like to see!

Review, komrade!