Same italics and disclaimers as before.

Chapter 68: Natural Selection

"As you know, Shinobi DNA is difficult to work with," said Batman, glowering stoically from the screen, "It took us almost three years just to crack your genome, and that was with full genetic samples."

"Difficult but doable though, right?" said Naruto, a spike of fear driving through him.

"In theory," said Batman slowly, "But the sample you gave me to work with is…incomplete. Observe." There was the sound of a few keys clicking and Batman was suddenly sharing the screen with a diagram of a double helix with several prongs and ladders missing.

"Incredible," murmured Naruto, leaning forwards and lacing his hands together.

"Whatever technique Madara used to reanimate these Shinobi, it involved restructuring their DNA from the pieces of another's," said Batman, "I couldn't tell you the specifics. I've spoken with Dr. Palmer, a few geneticists, and even some Arkham inmates with biology backgrounds. From what they've gathered, what we're looking at should be impossible. Shinobi DNA synthesized from human DNA and mutated with some kind of energy signature we can't recognize."

"Some kind of mixture of chakra and magic, I bet," said Naruto, "You don't bring the dead back to life without bringing a little bit of the afterlife with them, I guess."

"If nothing else, this can help us develop new techniques to use against them," said Batman, "But it'll be complicated. Speaking of complicated, how's the prisoner?"

"Not great," said Naruto with a dismissive wave, "We put Nigma in a body cast, so I doubt he'll be up to escaping anytime soon. Best to keep him in the hospital for the time being."

"Agreed."

"So can you replicate the DNA?"

Batman sighed and looked away. "There are…huge gaps missing here, Naruto. Entire lines of biological coding are literally just dead. If you want this to be a viable transplant, we'd need to find something that could fill those empty spaces, something living to combine your DNA with."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "What about Martian DNA?" he asked, "Martian and Shinobi DNA have proven to be compatible before. The Light even used a sample of M'gann's DNA to shape Madara's body to a more familiar form to ease his soul's transition into it."

Batman frowned. "How do you know that?"

Naruto allowed himself a broad grin. "Nigma has been highly cooperative," he said, "I have a few of my magic users analyzing pictures he took with Icicle Sr. of a Light facility in Tokyo where they summoned Madara's spirit as he was ascending to the afterlife. They needed a familiar vessel for him to inhabit or risk his soul rejecting it. Joker stole DNA from M'gann and I, mine to use as a basis for the Shinobi genome and hers to shapeshift the resulting body into one Madara was used to."

Batman paused for a moment. "There are times I almost forget he's gone," he said, a vague air of wistfulness tinting his voice.

"Don't start mourning now," muttered Naruto.

"To answer your question, no," said Batman, shaking himself slightly, "It may have worked for Madara, but there are…other examples that showed how incomplete the cloning process was, even for those who created it."

Naruto let his hands and face fall. "Jin," he muttered, "Yeah. Got it. No Martian DNA. Then what?"

"You'll have to figure that out on your own," grunted Batman as a small crash sounded above him somewhere.

Naruto bolted up. "What was that?"

Batman sighed. "Damian is still…adjusting. That must have been Alfred seeing what he did to the topiary garden."

"If it helps any, I have experience with suddenly being told you have a son you never knew about," said Naruto, "If you need to talk…"

"I appreciate the gesture, Naruto, but I was never much one for therapy."

Within Naruto, Kurama barked a harsh laugh. "Clearly."

"Besides the info you got from Nigma, anything else to report?" asked Batman

Naruto leaned back and arched an eyebrow. "Can this count as my weekly debriefing to the Justice League?"

"No," said Batman firmly.

"Then you'll have to wait until Sunday. Besides, I'm gonna need to speak with Superman and Martian Manhunter about something anyway."

There was another crash and Batman winced. "Master Bruce!" called a reedy, British voice from somewhere offscreen.

"I have to take care of this," said Batman, typing again, "I'll contact you again when there's an update. Batman out." The screen blinked off and Naruto fell back in his chair, humming slightly. The screen slowly dissolved and reformed itself into Platinum.

"Whew!" she said in exhaustion, "That took more out of me than I though it would. But it proved I can successfully become both a camera, a microphone, and a screen all at the same time."

"It's good that you're pushing yourself," said Naruto, "But don't over exert. No matter what we know about your nanorobotics, we still have no idea what the limits of your AI are."

"Don't worry, boss," she panted, straightening up, "I have things to keep me grounded." The door behind Naruto opened, filling his dark office with light from the hall. "Speaking of which," Platinum grinned.

"Hey robo-babe," said Hiruzen, strolling past Naruto to pull Platinum into a hug. Her bottom half literally melted into him as she started to make out with him.

Naruto scowled. "Jeez guys, c'mon! You don't see M'gann and I making out in front of people like that do you?"

"Yes," said Hiruzen, breaking apart briefly.

"Like, all the time," agreed Platinum.

Naruto waved them off. "What's up, Hiruzen?"

Hiruzen grinned at him. "The Akatsuki members eligible for consideration are waiting in your office. Project Bond is a go, certified and approved unanimously by the Inner Circle."

"Good," said Naruto with a nod, "And Jason?"

"He's waiting on standby," Hiruzen paused, "I'll admit, I still have some reservations about that one."

Platinum stroked his cheek. "You still voted for it, babe."

Hiruzen shrugged. "Out of nostalgia more than anything else. We do need a defined black ops team, but with Jason in the lead? He's a hammer, we need a scalpel."

"That's why Jason is perfect," said Naruto with a smirk, "Give me a minute, will you? I'll join the recruits in a minute."

Hiruzen shrugged and walked out, Platinum still attached to his waist. The second the door closed behind them, Naruto's smile vanished. Think they suspected anything?

"Batman might, you know how perceptive he is."

Naruto nodded and raised his hand, activating his wrist computer. It projected a holoscreen of Terra's Akatsuki profile. Right underneath our noses, Naruto snarled into his psyche, I was so worried about Rose and Jericho that I didn't even notice anything suspicious. If Raven hadn't told me…

"Don't shoulder all the blame," grunted Kurama, "I always sensed her fear, but I figured it was because you intimidated her or she had latent anxiety over the Markovian genocide."

No use regretting it now, I guess. Naruto stated at the picture of Terra and leaned back in his chair. Why Prizeman? Why did she hide who she was? If we'd known she was Markovian Royalty, we could have given her federal levels of support.

"My guess? She didn't want to risk standing out. Being a spy means she had to be as unnoticeable and forgettable as possible."

Makes sense. The photo of her with Deathstroke was clearly taken before the Markovian Genocide. For all we know, she could have been involved with her own family's slaughter.

"What still bothers me is how she got involved with Akatsuki in the first place. She was with Spoiler's unofficial Gotham chapter before we formally recruited her months ago. It was a total fluke, she had no way to know one would lead to another."

Naruto stood up and cracked his neck, clicking the holoscreen away. I guess it's something we can ask her when we bring the hammer down on her. In the meantime, we're agreed on our approach to her?

"Yes," snarled Kurama, a sadistic glee filling his voice. "She's a clearly emotion-driven and sensitive teenage girl who betrayed us and played us for fools. We're gonna break her damn heart."

. . .

Raven sipped down the last of her herbal tea. She was sitting outside a bistro café in Portland, Oregon. The sun was safely hidden behind a thick veil of cloud and fog, keeping her sensitive, pale skin safe from its rays. A dour-looking waiter came up to her table with a droll expression and a notepad. "Can I get you anything else?" he asked in a monotone.

"Just keep the tea coming," said Raven, tapping her empty mug. The waiter took her cup and Raven sighed, leaning back in her metal chair.

"There you are!" said a voice. She looked up to see Zatanna sliding gingerly into the seat across the small café table from her.

Raven gave her a soft smile. "I wasn't sure you'd come."

"No worries," said Zatanna, gently tapping her stomach, "I had to get out of town anyway. Or at least away from my dad."

"Problems at home?"

"Not really," Zatanna shifted to make herself more comfortable in the metal chair, "My dad's living with me until he feels comfortable rejoining society at large. Plus, I kind of need him around. After living with John, it would feel to creepy to live alone."

"Sounds symbiotic," said Raven, accepting a fresh mug of tea from the waiter without even looking at him, "What's the issue?"

"He has almost six years of TV and movies to catch up on!" groaned Zatanna, "Shocker: Dr. Fate wasn't much into pop culture so dad hasn't even seen a screen in half a decade. When he's not sleeping or working with the League, he's laid out on my couch bingeing who-knows-what. It's gotten so depressing to just watch him there."

"I can imagine," said Raven, sipping at the hot brew.

"So anyway, thanks for giving me an excuse to get out of the apartment," Zatanna sighed, "But why Portland? Kind of out of the way, no?"

"I like it here," Raven shrugged, "Dark, gloomy, lots of privately owned bookshops, tea parlors…just kind of my scene. Also Naruto knows I come here so he won't think it's out of the ordinary when this comes up on the monthly Zeta travel inventory."

Zatanna frowned. "You don't want Naruto to know about this? Also, is that waiter gonna come back? I kinda wanted to order a drink."

"Trust me, you don't want anything they serve here," said Raven, taking another sip.

"But you like this place?"

"Like I said, you don't want this stuff. It's made from the most bitter herbs they can get their hands on. And no, I was hoping we could keep this between us magicians."

"Any particular reason?"

Raven reached into the pocket of her hoodie and her fingers curled around the protective tube she kept the scroll of parchment she'd gotten from Themyscira in. "It…concerns him. I think."

Zatanna gave her a peculiar look for a moment before lacing her hands together. "Maybe we should just cut to the chase." Looking around for a moment, Raven took the tube out of her pocket and rolled it across the table. Zatanna took it and carefully uncorked it. "This isn't anything dangerous, is it?"

"The scroll itself? I don't think so. It might be cursed and I just haven't been affected yet. No real way to tell."

"Encouraging," muttered Zatanna but she took out the scroll and unfurled it anyway. Her eyes scanned over it for a few seconds before looking up at Raven. "And what am I looking at here?"

"A scroll I picked up on Themyscira," said Raven, "It's written in the Shinobi dialect of Japanese but neither of the Hyugas want to explain what it says. Obviously, it has some kind of magical significance."

"You haven't brought this to Naruto?"

Raven hummed slightly and put her mug down. "The only thing I got out of the Hyugas was to destroy this and not tell Naruto."

"And you decided to follow half of their instructions and not the other?"

"I've never been one to put all my eggs in one basket," said Raven, "Being a hundred percent committed only makes it hurt more when things don't work out."

Zatanna snorted, turning her eyes back to the scroll, "That's a depressing ideology."

"Have you met me?" Raven asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Fair enough," said Zatanna, "Well I can't read it at all. We know the Shinobi language is similar to Japanese but direct translations are nearly impossible. Our brains literally haven't evolved to be able to process it. But this picture." She turned it over and tapped the drawn image of the grinning white figure. "I can't say I've seen it before, but it's indicative of a lot of cultural symbols of death."

Raven frowned. "I thought it might just be some kind of demon or monster."

"That would be the simple answer," Zatanna said, "But we know that the Shinobi are no stranger to demons, they've been dealing with the Bijuu for most of their history. If that were the case, the Hyugas would have no reason to hide it from you. The way it's drawn, the secrecy around it, this feels more like some kind of Shinobi eldritch god then just an evil entity. Some kind of death icon, like the devil, or the black angel."

"Or the grim reaper," said Raven softly.

"Exactly. So what do you think this is? A story? Instructions maybe? If this is some kind of Shinobi Grim Reaper this might be about how to live forever or something."

"Shinobi are…were a warrior people," Raven reasoned, "They probably wouldn't even want immortality if it were available to them."

"Well, whatever it's purpose. I think you should listen to the Hyugas," Zatanna re-rolled the scroll and tucked it into the tube, "They're powerful, dangerous people. Even in a wheelchair, I'm pretty sure Hanabi could kill half the League. If they're scared of this thing, it's with good reason."

"I'll…take it under consideration," said Raven, "But that's not all. Here." She flicked her wrist and a small black portal opened next to her. With a stretch and a groan, she reached over and grabbed something out of it before it closed. In her palm was a small slip of paper.

"Something else you picked up on Themiscyra?"

"The last prophecy of the former Oracle of Delphi," said Raven as Zatanna read the paper, "I'm passing it around to basically every magic hero I know. Not enough people knew about my prophecy and it nearly destroyed the world. Plus, I'm hoping at least someone knows what it's about."

Zatanna's eyes narrowed as she reread each line. "Most of it's unfamiliar," he said finally, "But obviously it doesn't sound good. Gods falling and heroes dying, yeesh."

Raven cocked an eyebrow. "Most of it? Meaning you recognize some of it?"

Zatanna shrugged. "I've studied magical tomes my whole life, Raven. There's a lot of flowery language used in most of them to get across how powerful we Homo Magi are and how important it is for us to stay in touch with humanity. I can't say for sure if I've ever seen anything about fallen skies or seas bleeding, but I wouldn't be surprised if I did and just can't remember."

A pang of disappointment shot through Raven and she leaned back in her chair. Before she could reply, something began to shake. The tables around them vibrated and people started murmuring anxiously. After a few seconds, the world stopped creaking and people chocked it up to being one of the small earthquakes common to the west coast.

Raven and Zatanna new better though. They'd felt the tremor not in the ground but in their souls. A distinct shiver ran up Raven's spine and she gripped the table. "What was that?" she asked nervously.

Zatanna's eyes were wide with confusion. "A magiquake," she muttered.

"A what now?"

"That's what John called them anyway. Waves of magical energy that erupt from a powerful mystic source when it's disturbed. Before your dad kidnapped you, you were sending them out every few hours and they could be felt by adept enough magicians all the way around the world."

Raven frowned and subconsciously grabbed her wrist. "Did I usually cause earthquakes?"

"No, whoever caused that magiquake must be exponentially more powerful than either of us," said Zatanna. As she finished speaking, both girls felt the wave again and the ground shook for another few moments.

This time, Raven felt a chill that echoed through her psyche. There was a desperation to it, a sad call for help. "It's a distress beacon," she gasped in realization, "Whatever's sending them is doing it intentionally. They need our help." She glanced down at Zatanna's protruding stomach. "Or my help anyway."

"Oh no!" said Zatanna, standing up, "You're not sending me back to deal with my dad while you go off on an adventure and possibly interact with insanely powerful magicians. I'm coming with, pregnant or not, and if you so much as suggest I stay behind I will turn you into a frog so fast you won't even have time to say ribbit."

Raven raised her hands in surrender and rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, yeesh. Feeling hormonal today or something?"

Zatanna scowled at her. "Can you track the source?"

Both girls suddenly stumbled as a third, more powerful wave washed over them. The ground shook so hard that their table moved a full three inches. "I can now," groaned Raven. With a wave of her hand, a smooth black portal appeared besides them and they both dashed in.

. . .

Naruto entered his office silently. The recruits Hiruzen had gathered were standing in the center of the room, facing away from the door and whispering amongst themselves. Naruto rarely interacted directly with specific members of the organization, so being called to his office was a huge event. The only one among them who saw Naruto come in was Spoiler, she leaned against the far wall with her hood down.

To get their attention, Naruto slammed the door shut just as he Hiraishined to his chair. He appeared behind his desk just as everyone else turned to stare at the closed door. "What are you all looking at?" he snapped. They immediately turned their attention back to him and, after gaping in awe for a few moments, gave low, respectful bows to their leader.

Spoiler stood behind Naruto's chair and folded her arms in satisfaction. "I like the picks," she whispered to Naruto, "Is it too cocky of me to say that I have a good feeling about this?"

"Think of it more as optimism," said Naruto calmly as he sat down. Slowly, he went over the line of recruits and made sure he new which one was which.

The first was familiar enough to him: Metamorpho, previously of the illicit Gotham chapter along with Spoiler, Huntress, and Terra. Next to him was the armored recruit who bore an 'S' emblem on his chest and carried a large hammer. He called himself Steel, Naruto had met and spoken to him a few times during training seminars.

Beside him was the one Akatsuki member among them that Naruto was confident he'd never met. She was a short, teenage girl with black hair, fair skin, and dressed like she going to a metal concert. A bright red '13' was stitched into the lapel of her leather vest. She had been nominated by Hiruzen and seconded by Platinum. Naruto had even gone to Tommy Terror to make sure she lived up to their expectations. According to him, she went under the name Traci 13.

Next to her was Firestorm, simultaneously trying to sneak glances at the woman on either side of him while trying not to look like he was staring. Naruto had initially been against his involvement, but Icicle and Raven both endorsed him so he'd acquiesced. Standing on his other side was Huntress, checking her weapons and glaring at Firestorm whenever she caught him looking at her.

The last member of the team was Stargirl, a girl in a star-spangled outfit who used a cosmic staff she'd inherited from her grandmother, who had apparently been a superhero as well. Naruto had only interacted with her twice but had sensed her potential both times. He'd actively fought for her inclusion and was eager to see her transformation.

"If you are standing in this room, then you have been selected for an elite training mission, codenamed Operation Bond," he explained to them simply, "If you accept this mission, you are accepting that you will likely be spending a long period of time isolated with nobody but your assigned mentor for company. Your teachers will put you through your paces, push you to the absolute limit of your abilities. The goal of your mission will be to simply become greater than you are now and form a lasting relationship with your teachers in the process."

Spoiler folded her arms. "Any questions?"

After a moment of silence where the recruits glanced at one another in confusion, Metamorpho hesitantly raised his hand. "Um, why us?"

"You were all chosen by committee," Naruto explained, "Each of you were nominated by a member of the Inner Circle because they believed you were capable of making the necessary emotional connections to your teachers to receive the most optimal learning experience possible."

There was another few seconds of quiet before Huntress stepped forward. "I notice you haven't told us who the teachers are yet. Should we be concerned?"

"I'm not going to send you to train with super criminals or subjecting you to experimental enhancements if that's what you're asking." The recruits looked doubtful and Firestorm even took a step back. Naruto sighed and stood up, placing his hands on his desk. "Let me be clear," he said softly, "You were selected because we believed you were the only people who could make this work. And frankly, you might not. But if you do pull this training mission off, you will return to Akatsuki considerably more powerful, reliable, and battle-ready than before. I don't think I have to remind you of how powerful our enemy is."

The recruits shifted uncomfortably. They all remembered Madara from the battle on the Mexican beach. "Look at it this way," Spoiler advised, "You want to save lives? You want to be the next great heroes and keep the world safe?" She let the question hang in the air like laundry, not waiting for or expecting a response.

Naruto paused before continuing. "Anyone wants out, now is the time." Nobody in the group left and, after a few more seconds of realizing they were not alone in their decision, their conviction became stronger and they stood proudly in front of Naruto's desk.

Traci 13 stepped forwards and put her hands on her hips. "Gonna say that's a 'yes' from all of us, hoss," she said with a grin.

"Excellent," said Naruto, stepping out from behind the desk, "Then pack anything you want to take with you. Chomei will be here soon to deliver you to your new teachers."

The recruits collectively gasped and Traci 13 stepped back into line with a look of nervous awe. "Chomei?" whispered Firestorm, "The Seven-Tails? We're going to ride the Seven-Tails?"

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Did I stutter?" The recruits glanced at each other in excited amazement before slowly starting for the door. "Wait!" said Naruto suddenly, standing and pushing his chair back, "I almost forgot." The recruits stopped in their tracks to turn back to him. "During this training, you will be representing Akatsuki on a global stage," he said, waving to Spoiler.

She walked over to the wall and pressed it to open a secret closet filled with dozens of crisp, black and red Akatsuki robes. "So you'll be needing these," she said with a grin.

. . .

Raven stepped out of her portal and immediately sank ankle deep into mud. "Oh, well that's great," she groaned, desperately trying to stamp away the mud.

"Yuck," said Zatanna, leaning out of the black vortex, "Foorpretaw seohs!" She stepped out of the portal. As he foot came down, the water split around her shoes, leaving them completely dry.

"Show off," muttered Raven. She looked around and sighed wearily. The two women were standing in a clearing in a swamp. Tall trees surrounded them on all sides, covered with moss and wildlife. Very little natural light made its way through the thick canopy above them, making it a perfect breeding ground for fungus and molds. Crickets and frogs provided a distant background noise.

"Any idea where we are?" asked Zatanna.

Raven rolled her eyes. "It appears we're in some kind of swamp."

"You don't know which one?"

"I…what? Why would I be able to tell one swamp from another?"

Zatanna shrugged. "I don't know. They're dark, damp, secluded, I guess I figured you like them."

"I like my dark and secluded places to be indoors, thank you very much," said Raven, folding her arms.

Zatanna stroked the bark of a nearby tree. "I will say though, there's something familiar about this place. I think my dad used to tell me stories about a swamp. Something about a guardian of something green?"

"Really, my dear?" Zatanna yelped as the bark under her hand shifted and morphed into a human face. After a moment, the face continued to push out, dragging a human body out of the tree. It took only a few seconds more for Giovani Zatara to fully pull himself from the wood, his tux and top hat rumpled and cane in hand. Zatanna caught him as he stumbled forwards. "Did you not like my stories?" he groaned weakly as he straightened.

"Dad?!" Zatanna shrieked, "How did you…what was that?"

"An old Homo Magi teleportation spell," Zatara said with a grin as he brushed himself off, "Unused for centuries, but I figured it would be fitting for this particular mission." He blinked and stared at his daughter, suddenly realizing the full gravity of the situation. "What are you doing here?!" he hissed, "You should be at home, resting! Not here risking life, limb, and pregnancy."

Zatanna folded her arms and arched an eyebrow with a harsh scowl. "Says the man who's still recovering from a six-year possession and definitely can't tell me when I should and shouldn't be on bedrest."

"Zatanna, I'm your father," snapped Zatara, "That means I'm the only one who can tell you what to do."

"Raven! Zatanna! Zatara!" called a voice. They looked up to see Wonder Woman weaving her way through the trees. The Amazon hovered over the water as she drew close. "You all felt the magical distress beacon too?"

"Hard to miss," said Raven, "Where are we?"

"Louisiana," Wonder Woman replied, "Zatanna, what are you doing here? You're far too along to be doing field work."

"Oh come on! Not you too!" cried Zatanna throwing her hands up, "I am a senior master of the Homo Magi. I have been a superhero since I was in training bras. I can handle just about anything, pregnancy or no pregnancy."

There was a gleam of light and a golden ankh appeared in midair besides them. Dr. Fate shot out, a pair of gilded, ankh-shaped swords twirling in his hands. "Where is the danger?" he called, looking around frantically, "I have heard your call, old friend! I am here to-" He turned around and saw the heroes collected behind him, staring intently. "Help," he finished, lamely dropping his swords into nonexistence.

Zatanna scowled and took a step back. "On second thought, you guys got this. Raven?"

"Yup," grunted Raven as she created a portal behind Zatanna for her to back into.

Just as Zatanna vanished from sight, a crash broke through the thick canopy above them and Captain Marvel landed with a splash in the water, seemingly unconcerned that he'd just sprayed water over Dr. Fate. "I'm here!" he said proudly, standing tall with his hands on his hips. He looked around and found everyone staring at him. "Uh, what? Something in my teeth?" He slowly turned around and gulped audibly when he saw Dr. Fate wringing out his cape, glaring pointedly at him. "Oh, uh, sorry about that."

"Don't be," said Raven and Zatara at the same time.

"We are wasting time," snapped Fate, "Where is our host?"

"Who are we here to meet?" asked Wonder Woman.

"An old ally to the Lords of Order," said Fate, folding his arms dramatically, "The guardian of the Green."

Wonder Woman's eyes widened and she hovered back a step. "I…I've heard stories, but I've never met him. What's he like?"

"In a word, stoic," grunted Zatara, brushing off his top hat.

Captain Marvel stepped next to Raven and leaned over to whisper. "You know what they're talking about?"

Raven rolled her eyes and spoke aloud. "They're telling each other ghost stories," she said, "The Green is a magical theory. It doesn't actually exist."

"Don't tell the guardian that," Zatara advised.

"Oh please, you guys are being had," said Raven, putting a hand on her hip, "The Green? A united energy field of pure elemental magic? It's only conjecture! Elemental mages get their power from bending reality based on their own energy, not a hypothetical spectrum of magical essence. Even the Lords of Order and Chaos are more akin to celestial deities than sentient mystic energy signatures."

"Wait, that can't be right," said Captain Marvel with a frown, "I derive my powers from the Rock of Eternity which is part of the Melt, the elemental energy of stone."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "And you've actually seen the Melt? An endless reality of pure rock?"

Captain Marvel rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, well no, but I've felt it. At the Rock of Eternity, I mean. You can sense its power when you're that close to the source."

"Feeling an energy source is not the same as a literal world of pure magic," sighed Raven. Before Captain Marvel or anyone else could retort, the ground started to shake again. These tremors felt different, far more powerful and much closer. Raven took a step back and gasped as the earth beneath the mud started to shift and, much to her surprise, rise. It started as a slowly growing lump of mud, but it continued upwards, shaping itself as branches and moss gave it structure and muscles. Raven could have sworn she even saw a flash of white bone as it formed a humanoid shape.

It was fully formed at almost eleven feet tall. Standing on two feet and with two thick arms, the figure had a gnarled root for a nose and a pair of dark eyes that seemed to be formed from the shadows of trees. Bark covered his arms and chest like armor and grass grew from his shoulders, almost like epaulettes. "Greetings," it said, its voice deep and grating, as ancient and echoing as the earth itself.

Captain Marvel leaned down once again. "Raven," he said shakily, "The pile of mud is talking."

"I know," she replied, equally as shaky.

"It is good to see you again, Swamp Thing," said Zatara, tipping his hat.

"Wait, this monster's got a name?" gasped Captain Marvel. The hulking figure slowly turned to stare down at the two young heroes. As soon as his back was turned, Zatara frantically started swiping his hand across his neck in the universal sign for 'knock it off.'

"I am called the Swamp Thing," the creature grumbled. Raven shivered, feeling like she could hear his voice in her bones. "Who are you?"

"Uh, hi," said Captain Marvel, glancing frantically back and forth between the giant figure and Zatara, "I'm Captain Marvel, this is Raven, we're heroes."

"I am in need of heroes," said Swamp Thing sagely.

Dr. Fate floated up to be eye level with Swamp Thing. "What is wrong, old friend?" he asked with genuine concern, "You've shrunk since last I saw you."

Raven arched an eyebrow and leaned over to whisper to Captain Marvel. "He was bigger?"

"I have so many questions," Cap replied, "And I'm not sure how many answers I really, actually want."

"I have summoned you here because there is a gaping void somewhere in the Green," said Swamp Thing somberly, "For many years, there has been a small vacuum in the realm I protect. It was innocuous enough that I tolerated its existence, content to believe that it was merely a natural phenomenon. However, after all these years, it has suddenly exploded in size, sucking away vast swaths of energy from the Green and continuously growing."

Raven folded her arms. "I mean, sounds kinda like what you get," she snorted, "You leave food out, you get ants, right?"

Swamp Thing turned to her and regarded her with what she assumed was a look of confusion. To her displeasure, she could not sense his emotions like she could everyone else. "Ants are a vital part of any ecosystem," said Swamp Thing, "I do not understand how their presence can be equated to an elemental power vacuum."

Rave waved her hand in dismissal. "My mistake."

"Is there any way to shut down this vacuum?" asked Wonder Woman.

"Perhaps," said Swamp Thing, "If I were to enter the vacuum, I could force the Green to invert in on itself, forming a seal against it. But getting close to it has proven to be…difficult. I require magic stronger than my own if I am to approach the vacuum and save the Green."

"Oh well good thing you've got us now, isn't it," said Raven sarcastically, "Would you like us to save Wonderland too? Or maybe pop over to Middle Earth for some backup?"

"She does not believe the Green is real," explained Zatara before Swamp Thing could voice his confusion.

The elemental hulk lowered himself to one knee so he could peer directly into Raven's eyes. By now, she had more than gotten over her initial surprise and her healthy skepticism had returned in full. "Do you not feel the power of nature with every step you take on this earth?"

"I more feel the resistance of gravity, but call it what you like," Raven said, standing firm, "But if you want to prove to me the Green exists, you could explain why the guy who protects it hasn't done anything about deforestation, global warming, or mass extinctions."

"I have sworn not to interfere with human life," Swamp Thing explain, "I have defended the Green as best I can and have won small victories across the planet."

"Uh-huh, still losing the war though."

"Enough!" said Dr. Fate sharply, glaring daggers at Raven, "Swamp Thing, perhaps if you show us into the Green and lead us to the vacuum, Raven will be more receptive to the power of nature."

"Agreed," said Swamp Thing. He gently placed his hand against a nearby tree and it immediately started to fall apart, imploding and expanding at its center. Where the bark split apart in the middle of the tree, a clear portal opened up and illuminated the entire clearing.

Raven peeked in and her eyes widened. Beyond the portal was an endless plain of rolling grass, pushed by the mellowest of breezes. The sky was not blue and there did not appear to be a sun, rather the entire horizon was filled with pure, white light. The plains slopped into shallow hills. But what really caught Raven's attention was the wave of natural energy that washed over her. She gasped and took a step back, having to fight to keep from accidentally going into Sage Mode.

"Behold," said Zatara in awe, "The Green! An unending plane of boundless nature magic!"

Captain Marvel glanced down at Raven. "Believe now?"

Raven cocked her head to the side. "The plot thickens," she muttered.

"Is that a yes?"

"That's a 'this place is filled with an ancient Shinobi power source and it's entirely possible this is just an alternate universe with some relationship to Naruto's homeland.'"

"Oh. That was going to be my third or fourth guess."

"Still worth investigating," said Raven, turning to Swamp Thing, "What kind of support do you need?"

"The closer I get to the vacuum, the harder it is to maintain my corporeal form," said Swamp Thing, "I will need some of you to keep me stable. The others must protect them from the vacuum itself."

Dr. Fate floated down next to Zatara and either didn't notice or chose to ignore when the magician took a large step back into the mud, away from his former possessor. "We can keep you together," he said, "The others can protect us."

Zatara turned to Wonder Woman. "I have an enchantment to keep Swamp Thing stable, but it requires immense focus. Diana, would you mind…?"

"Of course, Giovani," said Wonder Woman, grabbing him by the shoulders. He nodded to her and closed his eyes, beginning a chant in an ancient language. Swamp Thing started to glow with a golden aura. Dr. Fate put his hand on the behemoth's head and the aura intensified, intersecting with purple light that flickered around him.

"I am prepared to proceed," said the avatar.

"Wish I could say the same," muttered Captain Marvel, hovering uncertainly.

"We're an Amazon princess, a Homo Magi grand master, a Lord of Order, a demon spawn, something that believes it's an elemental avatar, and a champion of the Rock of Eternity," said Raven, "I think we'll be good."

Captain Marvel fixed her with a strange look but nodded. As one, they proceeded into the portal.

. . .

Naruto stood on Chomei's head, his cloak billowing in the wind as the cloud rushed by. "We're almost there," he called back.

"We know!" roared Traci, her eyes wild and spinning as she hugged one of Chomei's horns, "We can see the entire freaking continent!"

"Put me down put me down put me down put me down," Stargirl was muttering over and over like a mantra. She was clinging desperately to one of Chomei's shoulder spikes. Metamorpho stood next to her, his body willowing like his new cloak in the wind.

"Can't you fly?" he asked her.

Stargirl ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut. "Not so high, not so fast."

Firestorm was kneeling down next Stargirl, his flaming hair streaking behind him. "You're probably just not used to being in such low oxygen," he said, "Here." He waved his hand and scrunched his face in focus. After a moment, the air around Stargirl rearranged itself on the molecular level and Stargirl gasped in oxygen.

For a moment, she looked relieved and relaxed. "Thanks," she breathed. Then she tensed up, turned away, and was sick over Chomei's shoulder.

"Guess it wasn't the oxygen," said Firestorm with a cringe.

"Please avoid throwing up over the side from the height of an airplane!" called Naruto over the wind, "At this height, it could kill someone on landing."

"Oh," said Stargirl, her face draining of all blood, "Um, is there a way to catch it?"

"Relax," said Spoiler, peeking up from one of Chomei's armor plates, "We're over the Amazon Rainforest. Worst case scenario, it kills a sloth."

"I love sloths!"

"Enough!" sighed Naruto, "We're here." Chomei grunted and swung himself into a halt. Naruto turned and cracked his neck. "Alright, let's get started. Metamorpho, step forward."

Metamorpho glanced at his fellow recruits nervously before floating up to Naruto as a cloud of gas. He solidified and stood in front of Naruto on Chomei's head. "So," he said nervously, "Is our teacher in the Amazon?"

"Your teacher," Naruto corrected him, "The others will be scattered around the globe, but you'll be right here in South America."

"Is he, like, some kind of Native American sage or something?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow for a moment. "Why would you think that?"

"No idea," said Metamorpho, his voice cracking just a little bit, "Just…seems like it might be something you'd send me to do."

"Ha!" barked Chomei, making Metamorpho jump in surprise, "You ain't meeting no sage, kid!"

"I mean, not in any official capacity," said Naruto with a shrug, "But I paired you with him because I thought he might be able to mellow you out. In person and in the field, you carry a lot of tension, Metamorpho. If you want to be a real hero, you're going to need to learn to control that."

Metamorpho winced. "Sir, with all due respect, if I'm not careful with my powers, I could accidentally turn into a cloud of toxic gas or acid. Or I could float away on the wind and be completely scattered. I have to be constantly aware of myself at all times."

"Yeah, that's what constantly mean," agreed Naruto with a small smirk, "Tell you what, let me control you for a bit."

"Uh, what?" asked Metamorpho with a confused frown.

"Take a leap of faith for me," Naruto elaborated.

"Um, sure."

"Good. Jump off Chomei, turn into the heaviest metal you can, and don't change out of that form until you reach the ground."

Metamorpho paused for a second and stared at Naruto. For his part, the Shinobi seemed completely calm and sincere. After a few seconds, Metamorpho made his choice. He figured he couldn't be hurt either way, he could just turn into a gas at the last second and Naruto would never know. Except he probably would know. But he probably wouldn't care. Probably. Hopefully.

He took one step off of Chomei's head, turned into osmium, twice as heavy as lead. He tumbled through the air, spinning so fast that he lost track of where the sky and earth were. For a few moments, he felt a strange elation, a weird sense of freedom and joy. He'd let go of all earthly worries or concerns and was just a block of metal, moving through the world. Even when he crashed through the upper canopies of the rainforest, he felt like a moving part of nature, not a confused metahuman.

There was a brief shot of fear that went through him as he felt the ground encroaching. What was Naruto's ploy? Was he supposed to bury himself in the earth? What if he hit someone? What was happening?

Then he landed on something remarkably soft, far too soft to be the dirt ground. "Ow!" boomed a loud but gentle, high-pitched voice, "You hurt!"

"What?" grunted Metamorpho as he turned back to his regular self and looked up. He gasped at the giant, white, slimy head that towered above them. "Who…what?"

"Oh!" said the figure, suddenly gleeful and happy, "Sensei is telling Saiken you is coming! You is to be Saiken's student!"

Metamorpho's mouth opened and closed several times before his brain kicked back into gear. "Huh?"

. . .

The Green was heaven. Raven had never been much one for faith, being a demon spawn and all, but the Green, or wherever it was she really was, was basically paradise. As far as they walked, the land was filled with tall grass and low, sloping hills. There was no real noise, just a faint, gentle hum in the distance that Raven suspected had no source.

Apparently, Captain Marvel shared her sentiment. "Wow this place is tranquil," he said, "I can feel my chakras aligning."

"Oh really," said Raven sarcastically, not believing him for a second, "All of them?"

"Course not," said Captain Marvel smoothly, "Just the first seven."

Raven rolled her eyes but allowed herself a small smirk. "I can tell you've really studied the eightfold path."

"They may have skipped over it in my social studies class," Marvel admitted, "But I feel like I got the gist."

"The Green transcends all faith or natural orders," rumbled Swamp Thing behind them, "For it is all natural orders."

"Yeah, yeah, keep talking big guy," muttered Raven.

"Be nice, Raven," Wonder Woman scolded, "We are in Swamp Thing's domain. Be polite to our host."

"We're in a pocket dimension filled with natural energy," Raven countered, "Which he somehow has access to."

"Leave her alone, Diana," sighed Zatara wearily, "Believe me, I had enough trouble trying to convince Zatanna of the legitimacy of magical realms when she was a child. Fortunately, it appears she was able to educate herself in my…absence."

"How's that going, by the way?" asked Captain Marvel, walking backwards to face Zatara, "It must be weird coming out of a possession after six years and seeing your daughter all grown up and pregnant." Everyone but Swamp Thing shot him a deadly glare and Captain Marvel looked around in confusion. "What?"

"Not great, Billy," muttered Zatara through clenched teeth, "It hasn't really been all too fun to have my personality and body leeched on for six years and watch helplessly while my only child is…defiled by a street tramp."

"Whoa!" said Raven, "Constantine might have been an unreliable jerk, but he could provide and was really shaping up to be a good guy before…" she glanced pointedly at Dr. Fate, who was conveniently ignoring the conversation. "You know."

"He was a con artist," spat Zatara bluntly, "He once sold me a bottle of tap water because he convinced me it was fairy tears. He bargained with the demon Neferio because he thought it would be a good birthday prank to his friend. Then, of course, there was the Newcastle incident. The Sentinels of Magic are still cleaning up that mess."

"If I did not know better, Zatara," said Dr. Fate coldly, "I would say you are glad your grandchild might never know its father."

Zatara didn't even hesitate to respond. "And who's fault is that?"

"Enough!" snapped Diana, putting herself between the two men before they could physically confront one another, "You both have valid grievances but you're going about them like children! Put aside whatever tension is here until we've dealt with the problem in the Green!"

"Worry not, friends," said Swamp Thing, "The problem draws near." Indeed, Raven could feel a small pull, a gentle tug forwards in the direction she was going. Like a magical magnet was slowly pulling her into its orbit. The hum of the wind was growing in pitch and the grass around them was starting to whip faster and faster. Swamp Thing's muddy face scrunched in concern. "The vacuum has grown. It widens faster now."

Experimentally, Raven drifted into the air. She rose above the travelling band and was able to see over the next few hills. "Huh," she said slowly, her eyes immediately finding the problem. A couple of hills over, a giant, swirling black vortex was dug into the landscape. It was sucking the wind and grass into it like a hungry mouth. As she watched, it inched its way outward, growing and expanding before her eyes.

Captain Marvel flew up next to her. "Wow," he said, staring at the issue. After a moment, he started to chuckle.

Raven glanced at him. "Okay, I'll bite. What's funny about a 10-meter wide vortex?"

"You're gonna love this," said Captain Marvel, "So when Swamp Thing said there was a vacuum in the Green, for some reason I was picturing an actual vacuum. Like someone had just left a hoover in here or something."

To her own surprise as much as anyone's, Raven chuckled. "You're an idiot," she said.

"I know, right?!" laughed Marvel, "I definitely should have guessed he meant a giant black hole in the ground."

Together, they flew back down to the group, which was now coming over the hill in front of the vortex. The wind had picked up significantly and was now forcing them all to brace against its force. Zatara's charm was holding, but his face was crunched in concentration and every now and then, Swamp Thing would simply flicker like bad reception on a TV. "What now?" shouted Wonder Woman over the wind.

"I cannot maintain my form inside the vacuum," said Swamp Thing. For whatever reason, he spoke normally but his ancient voice was able to be heard fine despite the hurricane gales around them. "But I need to be complete in order to seal it. Zatara must travel with me into the vortex so I may seal it."

"And I need Diana to guide me," Zatara said, "I can barely move while keeping I can barely move while keeping you here, my friend."

Raven suddenly turned her head and stared at the vortex. While the adults considered the logistics of their situation, she drowned them out. Only Captain Marvel noticed her distraction. "You good?" he asked.

"Something's wrong," she muttered.

"I'll say. There's a giant black hole in the middle of a dimension of infinite nature energy. I'd say something's wrong with that, sure."

"No," Raven shot him a glare, "I mean, yeah that's a problem, obviously. But giant black holes in the middle of…whatever you want to call this pocket world…don't usually leak negative emotions, do they?"

Captain Marvel's jovial expression changed to one of concern. "What are you saying? This thing's alive?"

"Not necessarily," said Raven, "But I can sense it. It feels…pain. It's hurt. It's scared. I feel…" Raven suddenly gasped as a shock ran through her body. A cruel laugh filled her ears. The scar on her arm started to heat up, like it was burning all over again. All over her body, she felt the pain of cuts and lacerations that she'd received in her father's care.

"Raven!" shouted Captain Marvel as she fell to her knees. He knelt down beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"A flashback," she muttered, trying to shake the pain out of her head, "This thing…it's leaking trauma…giving me flashbacks." Her mouth opened and closed a few more times before she realized something was missing. "Can't…breathe!" she said, panic starting to run through her.

Captain Marvel paused for a moment. "You're an empath, right? You can sense emotions?"

"Y-yeah."

"Then here," he took her hand and squeezed it gently. Instinctively, Raven started reading his emotions. The strongest was courage and it filled her like a balloon. It stretched out her fears and pains until they were spread too thin to hurt her anymore. After only a few moments, she was breathing normally again and started getting back up to her shaking feet.

"Sorry," she murmured.

"It's fine. You've been through a lot."

"That doesn't normally…," she shook her head again and blinked herself clear, "Never mind. The point is that this thing needs our help."

"So what do you suggest?" Raven spun around. She'd been completely unaware of it, but all the adults were now looking at her and Captain Marvel and probably had been through her entire attack. If she hadn't been so experienced at managing her emotions, the wave of shame and humiliation that rose in her would have made her throw up. As it was, she simply forced it back down.

"We go in," she said simply, "All of us. Energy, even natural energy, can't be created or destroyed so it's not just disappearing into nothing here. This vacuum is taking it somewhere."

"So we all just jump in?" said Zatara.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Like this. Watch." Before anyone could stop here, she drifted into the air and let the wind take her. Faster than she had imagined, it dragged her back to the portal and she was swallowed by it, filling her vision with darkness.

. . .

"Alright," said Naruto, "Pop quiz time! Who can tell me where we are?"

"Don't wanna look!" shouted Traci 13, trying to keep her vision steady.

"Wrong!" said Naruto calmly, "Pretty sure that's not a place. Anyone else?"

Spoiler hugged one of Chomei's horns. "Uh, well were in South America," she tried to reason, "And that was around noon. And the sun was-"

"Africa," said Huntress firmly, "We're over central west Africa. Uganda if I had to guess."

"Correct!" said Naruto, "Now did you know that because you estimated our position on the globe compared to our previous destination like Spoiler was trying to do or-"

"My family made its money off the blood diamonds they trafficked out of here," snapped Huntress, "And they used that money to buy into the Light."

Naruto nodded. "And that makes you feel…?"

Huntress fixed him with a steely gaze. "I'm gonna kill them all."

"Yeah," said Naruto with a sigh, "That's what I suspected. See, Akatsuki isn't above killing. We're not the morally righteous heroes of the League. But we're not murderers either. I've read your reports and reports about you, Helena. You're violent, reckless, and always put the mission first. I admire your ambition and drive, but you have the potential to be so much more than just a soldier. That's why I'm hoping your teacher can give you some perspective, help you see the big picture. Maybe mellow you out a little."

Huntress narrowed her eyes. "What are you playing at here, Naruto?"

"The kind of game where if you shoot a crossbow bolt at me up here, not only will you miss but I'll throw you off this bug," Naruto said dryly, "Actually, that's a lie. I'm throwing you off this bug regardless." Before Huntress could react, the clouds around Chomei parted and a flash of off-white brilliance shown through them. Naruto grabbed her by the sleeve and hurled her towards it.

Huntress screamed in surprise and terror as she flew through the air, but was interrupted when she landed against something surprisingly soft far earlier than she was anticipating. She closed her eyes and clung tightly to the squishy surface beneath her as she continued to move through the air. After a few seconds, her world rumbled and came to an abrupt halt. Realizing that she was somehow still alive, Helena began to open her eyes. She found herself staring into a pair of giant blue pupils ringed by red.

"Greetings, child," said Kokuo gently, lowering her snout to the ground so that Huntress could slide off, "I am the five-tails. I am to be your teacher from this day forward."

. . .

Raven emerged from the darkness into a burst of sudden bright light. She shielded her eyes for the moment or two it took them to adjust before lowering her arm. She was in a laboratory of some kind. She stood in the middle of a platform with thick cables crawling past her. As she looked behind her, she saw them lead to a giant metal circle that housed the portal she'd emerged from. The light, she realized, came from spotlights trained on the portal itself.

The laboratory seemed to be in a warehouse of sorts. Computers and machines spread along the walls, measuring the readings that the vortex put out. Raven followed the path of some of the cables to a series of large vials that were slowly and steadily filling up with soft, green light. Other cables were leading to a catwalk where they plugged into a tube of frosted glass. Raven couldn't see inside the cylinder, but the outline of a body rolled into the fetal position with several tubes sticking out of it was clearly floating in it.

It was only when the others started to emerge from the portal behind her that Raven realized that she was taking all of this in while a small army of scientists and armed guards were staring at her in surprise and amazement from around the lab. It was also then that she first noticed the tall man with an ornate outfit and blue skin standing on the catwalk next to the tube. "Wotan!" she shouted, slipping into a battle stance.

That was all Dr. Fate needed to hear as he flew up and started casting spells at anything that moved. The guards began to fire their weapons and Wonder Woman leapt into action, her bracelets flashing as she deflected the bullets back at them. Zatara was split between forming a magic shield in front of him and dragging Swamp Thing, who seemed to be stuck in the portal, behind him. Captain Marvel walked casually next to Raven, easily taking bullets to the chest with no reaction. "What's the play here?" he asked seriously.

Raven looked around again. The scientists were running in terror, they weren't going to be an issue. Wotan had already engaged with Dr. Fate and they were duking out mystic blasts at each other in the rafters of the warehouse. She trusted Fate to deal with the immortal Viking warlock. But that left the tinted glass tube vulnerable. And she could sense the faint pain emanating from the person inside. It was the same taste of fear that she'd felt in the Green.

She flew up to the catwalk with Captain Marvel next to her. Gently, she placed a hand against the tube. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a calm voice. Raven backed away as a slender, handsome man in a green tuxedo walked around from behind the tube, patting it affectionately. "She's in a state right now," he explained with a smile, "Wake her up and she's libel to go ballistic."

Captain Marvel arched an eyebrow. "And you are?"

"Dr. Jason Woodrue," the man introduced himself, "Duck."

Marvel cocked his head to the side. "Is that like a P.H.D.?"

"No, you idiot!" gasped Raven, grabbing Marvel's cape. She pulled him down hard as a beam of golden light shot by where they had stood. From the ground, she rolled over and glared up at Woodrue. "Thanks, I think."

"My pleasure," he said, seemingly unconcerned with the battle happening around them, "I'd hate for my experiments to get anyone hurt."

"Experiments?" Raven looked around, "And, ah, what exactly are you trying to do here?"

"Oh, this is my life's work!" Woodrue leaned down and offered Raven his hand. She hesitantly took it and he pulled her up, leaving Captain Marvel to push himself up with a grumble. "Years ago, I began experimenting with so-called 'green energy,'" Woodrue explained, "At the time, it was thought to be purely theoretical, spiritual even. A united force connecting all of nature sounds too much like God talk for most scientists. But I took a more practical approach. Eventually, I learned how to tap into this energy field and even apply it to humans."

"Apply it to humans?" Captain Marvel scowled, "What does that mean exactly?"

"The end to world hunger and the energy crisis among other things," said Woodrue with a small laugh, "My experiments sort of got away from me for a time after that, but now that I've reassembled my data, I'm collecting green energy for distribution. With it, my team and I are going to change the world for the better!"

"Cool," said Raven, "So where do the evil sorcerer and the armed guards come into play?"

"Turns out the missing piece of my initial experiments was magic," Woodrue shrugged, "To apply green energy to more than one person at a time, I needed a sorcerer's touch and Wotan was the only one willing to work with me."

"And why's that?"

Wonder Woman blindsided Woodrue and slammed him against the glass tube. It cracked under the sudden blow, but held. "Because he's a lying snake guilty of some of the worst crimes a man can commit!" she snarled, a thin line of blood scratched across her cheek.

"Well that's all I needed to hear," said Captain Marvel, folding his arms.

"Ditto," said Raven, "He was giving off creepy vibes anyway."

"I don't get it," sighed Woodrue, "What I'm doing is objectively good for mankind, but this isn't the first time you hero types have tried to stop me. Doesn't matter, I guess." His hands searched the sides of the glass tube. "I've already absorbed enough green energy to apply it to thousands of humans. But I guess just one more will have to do." Quick as a flash, he yanked a cable out of the tube and, before anyone could react, jammed it in his neck, breaking through his own skin.

For a moment, nothing happened and Captain Marvel scoffed. He was about to voice a witty remark when Woodrue spasmed and backhanded Wonder Woman across the face. Much to everyone's surprise, she was sent flying across the room. Raven stared at Woodrue as he watched his hands. His skin began to darken and fluctuate, hardening like a tree limb. His green suit stretched and shredded as he began to grow taller. His face grew knotted and his hair slowly turned green.

After only ten seconds, Woodrue yanked the cable out of his neck. By then, he was a good fifteen feet tall and seemed to be a giant, living tree. "Well," he said slowly, "that wasn't entirely expected. But effective nevertheless."

"Finally!" said Captain Marvel, floating a few feet off the catwalk, "It's so much easier with a bad guy I don't have to worry about breaking!" He rushed forward and slammed his fist into Woodrue's cheek. Woodrue turned his head to absorbed the blow, but his body didn't move. "Huh," said Marvel slowly, drifting away from Woodrue, "That usually…huh."

"Stand back, Cap'!" shouted Raven, folding her hands over her abdomen. "Art of the Demon! Spinning Hellion!" Black and red demonic energy erupted from her core and slipped through her fingers, shaping it into a thick, spiked worm that spiraled out and wrapped around Woodrue's new, giant plant body. Woodrue grunted and flexed, but the hellion was firm around him, trapping him in place.

"Nice!" crowed Captain Marvel, "What now?"

Raven stared at him incredulously. "What now? What now?! You're a hero, he's a bad guy! Hit him harder!"

Marvel grinned and raised his hands above his head. With a grunt of effort, he blasted lightning from his fingertips down at Woodrue, who cried out in pain from the magical hit. He scrunched his wooden arms together and ripped through the magic worm, forcing it to dissipate. He reached out and grabbed Captain Marvel before jumping off the catwalk and throwing him through the concrete floor.

"All this time," Woodrue muttered as he stood up, "Is this the kind of power she wielded?"

"You!" Woodrue looked up as Swamp Thing finally pushed his way through the portal, destroying its metal generator in the process. As the portal closed, Swamp Thing glared up at Woodrue, who stood a good four feet taller. "You have stolen energy from the Green," he intoned, "It wishes for you to give it back."

"I'd do as the man says," said Zatara, standing beside Swamp Thing, cracking his knuckles. Woodrue paused for a moment before rearing back his massive trunk-like hand. Before he could swing, Swamp Thing's arms extended, shooting out like living vines. They wrapped around Woodrue's neck and pulled him into a row of serves, smashing through all of them.

Zatara ran forward. "Sretupmoc otni skcol!" he shouted, raising his hands. The broken pieces of computers lifted into the air and reassembled into tight handcuffs and ankle cuffs around Woodrue's massive form.

"Only a few minutes ago, I would have said this would hold me," said Woodrue casually, "But now, I can feel the natural energy around us all, connecting us all." He shrugged his head to the side and a giant plant erupted from the concrete under Zatara. Before he could stop it, it wrapped around the magician's body and left him hanging upside down a few feet above the ground, a thick vine covering his mouth. As he struggled, Wonder Woman soared down to cut him loose. A second plant flew up in her face and sprouted a giant flower. She had enough time to stop from crashing into it before she was sprayed in the face by a cloud of spores the flower released. She fell to the ground, choking on the spores before abruptly falling asleep. Raven flew over Woodrue as he pried away the metal restraints and stood up again.

"Your connection to the Green cannot harm me," said Swamp Thing, walking forward, "For I am the Green."

"Indeed," agreed Woodrue. He waved his giant hand and Swamp Thing froze in his tracks.

"Uh, everything okay, big guy?" asked Raven nervously.

"He is controlling the Green within me," said Swamp Thing calmly, "I am doing what I can to repel his foul influence, but I cannot move."

Captain Marvel flew past Raven and wove around Woodrue's swiping hands. Once behind the plant giant, he reared back and rammed his elbow into Woodrue's back, forcing him to stumble forward. Raven created a giant black hand of glowing magic and punched Woodrue in the stomach as he approached her. Once he was doubled over from the blow, Captain Marvel flew underneath his hunched over face. He took a deep breath and puffed out his chest. "SHA-"

A branch shot out of Woodrue's shoulder and shoved itself down his throat before he could say his magic word. Captain Marvel choked as the branch broke off. He yanked it out of his mouth, but drifted to the side as he tried to breath normally again. His flight path took him directly into a collision course with Woodrue's fist which slammed him into the concrete floor once again. "And stay down this time!" growled the giant. He straightened up and leered down at Raven. "Looks like it's just you, little girl."

A limp body flew past Raven and smacked Woodrue in the face. He took a single step back as Wotan's prone form fell to the ground. "Not quite so alone," said Dr. Fate, folding his arms as he flew up next to Raven.

Raven's eyes flew around the room as Woodrue composed himself. "Keep him distracted," she told Fate. He nodded and rushed forward, golden beams erupting from his hands. As Woodrue batted at him, Raven flew down and landed near his giant feet, which now resembled gnarled roots. Carefully, she reached out and grabbed his massive ankle. She gasped as her suspicions were confirmed: natural energy was rushing through Woodrue's new body like blood through veins. She began absorbing some if it through her fingers and balanced it with her physical and spiritual energy. Unlike when she did it through meditation, Raven entered Sage Mode in a matter of seconds. She broke away and raised into the air as purple and black lines raced along her face, forming the image of a second pair of eyes on her forehead. Her pupils elongated to make a pair of birds floating in her eyes. With a grunt, she waved her hand in a slashing motion and sent a blade of black light slicing through the ankle she'd just been holding.

Woodrue gasped when he felt his foot disconnect from his body and fell back both in surprise and pain. He landed on the ground with enough force to shake the floor. Dr. Fate blasted golden light into the giant's eyes before he could recover. Raven soared into the air above the titan's chest and formed a jagged blade of shadows along her arm. With a cry, she dropped like a bullet and shot straight through Woodrue's wooden ribs to the concrete below. The force of her strike carved a five-foot deep crevice in the floor that she lay crouched in, her blade dissipating. With a backflip, she leapt back through the gaping hole in Woodrue's body. Dr. Fate drifted down next to her. "That seemed a bit harsh."

Raven shrugged. "He's got a plant body now. I'm pretty sure he'll be okay. Pretty sure."

Dr. Fate's helmeted head tilted. "Something is wrong," he said softly, "I sense a presence."

Raven lowered her head. "Yeah," she replied quietly, "I sensed them when I first went into Sage Mode. One is hiding behind the portal fixtures. Two more in the rafters, though one of them feels different, like it's not human."

"Should we go on the offensive against them?" Raven had never heard Dr. Fate sound afraid before, but he very clearly was now.

"No," she advised after a moment, "If they're not attacking us then we shouldn't provoke them. Whatever they're here for, just pray it isn't us."

"Guys!" shouted Captain Marvel as he rose from the human-shaped hole he'd made in the floor, "Behind you!" He lifted his hand and pointed it at the roof of the warehouse.

"No!" shouted Dr. Fate, but even he wasn't as fast as the bolt of lightning that left Marvel's hand and blasted through the steel rafters, forcing the two figures crouching there to abandon it and fall to the floor with a powerful grace that no human could replicate. As they fell into the light, Raven saw that one of them was a proud looking young man in a black leather shirt and matching pants. His cheeks were imprinted with a pair of red markings that resembled a set of fangs. His brown hair was pulled back by a blue headband with a metal plate on it, emblazoned with a symbol for a leaf.

The other figure was a large dog the size of a pony. Its shaggy fur was pure white except for black outlines around its mouth and ears. "No wonder it didn't feel human," muttered Raven.

"Oh," said Captain Marvel as he rose to his feet, "I just really messed up, didn't I."

"What gave it away?" snarled Raven.

"Well the fact that I recognize that guy from Naruto's files on the Shinobi reanimations certainly helped," said Captain Marvel with a shrug, "but also I consider it the most heinous crime to use dogs for evil. They're too pure and good and fluffy to be used like that."

"Gotta agree with you there, big red guy," said the Shinobi casually, "It's bad enough Madara dragged my soul all the way back from the pure world to be his pawn, but turning my Akamaru into his slave? That's just unforgivable."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "You're Kiba Inuzuka," she remembered, "You and your ninja hound Akamaru work as a tag-team and can even join bodies."

"Got it in one, sister," Kiba said, flipping a kunai into his hands, "And I know you know I'm not alone here."

Raven turned and looked at the hunk of ruined metal the other Shinobi was hiding behind. "I remember his presence from Central City," she said, "Shino Aburame. The bug-user."

Shino slowly rose from his hiding place. He looked exactly like she remembered from when he'd helped the Rogues attack the Flash museum. "It appears you somehow can enter Honored Sage Mode, despite not being a Shinobi yourself," he said in his droning monotone, "You were able to sense us by our natural energy."

"Even the dead have an aura, it seems," Raven replied.

"We were sent to help the scientist guy complete his experiment," Kiba said, folding his arms, "We don't really know anything about what he was doing, but having a couple of undying ninja at his back helped him intimidate the right people into giving him the materials and resources he needed to complete the experiment."

"Cool," said Captain Marvel nervously, "Cool. Cool. Cool. Are we gonna fight now?"

"Not necessarily," said Shino, "The programing tags that give us our orders haven't told us explicitly to attack you, but if you attempt to bring in Woodrue, we will be forced to engage."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "So where do we go from here?"

"We'll take Woodrue and the stored stuff he was collecting," said Kiba, jerking his thumb to the canisters of green energy that were left intact, "We're to bring them to a drop point. Don't follow us and nobody has to get hurt."

Raven felt something shift insider her body and dropped to one knee with a groan. Raising her hand, she was briefly horrified to see that her fingers were elongating and her fingernails had sharpened into talons. Black feathers were starting to sprout from her skin. She was turning into an animal, a side-effect of an imbalance in her body's natural energy. She quickly expelled all of it from her system and Honored Sage Mode left her, leaving her physically drained.

Captain Marvel and Dr. Fate shared a look. "Okay," said Captain Marvel, "We don't really have a choice." Together, they swooped under Raven and took her arms over their shoulders. As they flew up to the catwalk, Woodrue's giant body began to float into the air. He groaned, proving that Raven's blow hadn't been fatal. Swamp Thing lurched slightly, but remained immobile. Marvel frowned. "How are they…" he trailed off as he noticed the billions of ants, beetles, and flies that were supporting Woodrue from underneath. "They were there the whole time," he slowly realized.

"Shino could have ended this fight before I even went into Sage Mode," Raven confirmed with a wince, "That's the power of the Shinobi."

Kiba leapt onto Akamaru's back and folded his hands together in a sign. "Man-Beast Clone!" he shouted as a puff of smoke enveloped him and the dog. When it cleared, Kiba had sharpened fingernails, a distinct pair of fangs, and a decidedly more animal face. Akamaru was a perfect copy of him, crouched underneath him. With practiced precision, they both leapt forward at the same time, spinning faster than the eye could follow around each other. "Fang Over Fang!" Kiba roared as their drilling figures blew straight through the walls of the warehouse. They flew back and forth two more times to widen it, but left a big enough hole for Shino's bugs to carry Woodrue through it.

"I imagine we will be seeing each other soon," said Shino as he stepped through the hole, "I wish you good luck in the coming conflict."

"Uh, you too?" said Captain Marvel with a shrug.

Once they were gone, Raven pulled herself out of the grip of the two mages and leaned against the catwalk railing. "Well that couldn't have possibly gone worse."

Swamp Thing creaked as his limbs suddenly reactivated and he rolled his wooden shoulders back experimentally. He quickly tore Zatara down from the plants holding him in place. After Zatara readjusted his suit, he crouched by Wonder Woman and set about reviving her. Dr. Fate hung his head slightly. "The vortex in the Green has been closed," he said, "But the prospect of a rogue agent of the Green under the supervision of the Light is unacceptable."

"For once, we agree," sighed Raven, "Plus, this is potentially an opportunity to seal away up to three Shinobi reanimations."

"Don't overclock yourself," Captain Marvel warned, "That Sage Mode stuff was awesome but you're clearly exhausted."

"I'm half demon, I heal fast," grumbled Raven, "And don't mansplain to me. I'm perfectly aware of how much Sage Mode takes out of me."

Captain Marvel took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. "Sorry. My bad."

Raven rolled her eyes, glancing back at the frosted glass tube in the process. She fully rounded on it and traced her fingers along its curve. She could still feel the fear and pain emanating off of it. "He was afraid of this," she said, "I could feel it. Whoever he has trapped in here…" She glanced over at Dr. Fate, who gave her a stiff nod. With a deep breath, she pushed her index finger against the glass. Black lines raced from where they met, leaving thin cracks in the glass as they raced around it. After a second, the glass tube shattered and a rush of some thick substance spilled out over the floor. Raven backpedaled and jumped onto the railing to avoid getting her shoes wet for the second time that day while Dr. Fate and Captain Marvel simply flew into the air. The figure in the tube, flopped to the ground, limp but twitching with wires and tubes still plugged into it.

"Oh," said Marvel, visibly paling, "Is that-"

"Yeah," interrupted Raven, her eyes narrowing, "That's Poison Ivy."

There was a moment of pause as everyone stared down at the prone, green-skinned, red-headed figure spasming on the ground in front of them. Finally, Dr. Fate summed up everyone's feelings on the matter with a simple phrase. "What is going on here?"

. . .

"We're just zig-zagging all over the globe, aren't we?" said Stargirl, clinging to Chomei's horn, "Aren't we back over North America now? Why didn't we go here first?"

"Because it really doesn't matter what order we do this in," said Naruto, "Giving a specific order to things might make your teachers jealous of one other. Besides, globetrotting can be a lot of fun if you give yourself time to enjoy it."

Spoiler knelt down on Chomei's skull and patted it. "How you holding up, Seven-Tails?"

"Please, I do an equator run three times before breakfast," snorted Chomei, "And please, Seven-Tails makes me sound like a dad. I'm Lucky Seven Chomei!"

Spoiler blinked. "Uh, right."

"Traci!" shouted Naruto, "Front and center!" Traci 13 immediately snapped like a soldier to attention and saluted Naruto.

"You're, ah, you're not gonna throw me off like you did the others, are you?"

"No, no, of course not," said Naruto, waving away her question, "You see that?"

He pointed to a famous and familiar structure some ways below them and to the side. Traci 13 frowned. "Uh, that's the Golden Gate Bridge. We're in San Francisco?

"More specifically, we're currently over San Francisco Bay," he folded his arms and looked down at Traci with his head cocked, "We've never met but I spoke with your instructors as well as some magic experts. Your particular clan of Homo Magi derive their powers from urban environments. Fueled by the strength of an adjacent community, you can bend probability and reality, correct?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Then I feel obligated to tell you that my choice in your mentor was decided by practicality rather than personality," Naruto sat down, folding his legs beneath him. Traci hesitantly did the same. "Until about six months ago, I considered your teacher too unstable to trust with this responsibility. However, he's proven recently that his affliction has subsided to the point where I feel comfortable leaving you with him." Traci was looking unconvinced and uncomfortable, but Naruto pressed forward. "I've grounded him to the Pacific coastline. You'll be traveling with him to cities from Alaska to Chile, but like him you'll have to keep a safe distance to avoid any latent incidents that may occur."

"What exactly are you saying here?" asked Traci nervously.

"That you will have to learn how to be a community unto yourself," said Naruto, "Cities will fuel you, but learning how to be in your own company will be an invaluable skill. And only he'll be able to teach you that."

Traci gulped but nodded. "And who is he exactly?"

Naruto knocked on Chomei's skull. "We ready?" he asked.

"Yup! He just gave me the signal."

"Sounds good," said Naruto, rising to his feet. Traci followed suit. "Oh, and Traci?"

"Yes, sir?"

"One more thing," Naruto put his hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly at her, "I lied to you earlier." His grip on her shoulder suddenly tightened and he shoved her off of Chomei. "Sorry!" he called down to her as she screamed out in panic, "It's just so much fun!"

Traci's heart beat a mile a minute as she twisted in the air. Seeing that she was set to fall directly onto the paved street of the bridge, she shrieked in immediate mortal peril. Then the water of the bay shifted next to the bridge and broke like a tidal wave. A massive figure wove between the suspension spires of the bridge and she landed with a solid thump on a hard surface. She had enough time to establish a grip on some of the thick coral and barnacle on the surface before it splashed back into the water with a belly flop. A wave of water splashed down on her and she grit her teeth against its strength. It cleared after a moment and she looked up. Ahead of her, a giant head and a single, massive eye turned back to look at her.

"Sorry about that," said Isobu softly, "My sensei has a flair for the dramatic and insisted I play into it."

. . .

Twenty minutes after discovering that the warehouse had been in Gotham, Swamp Thing's expression hadn't changed. But Raven could still sense the awe emanating off of him. "So this is what has been causing the sinkhole in the Green for all these years, he murmured." Poison Ivy was lying in a medical cot, an IV drip of chlorophyll slowly pumping into her veins while she continued to sleep.

"I'm surprised you didn't know about her," said Captain Marvel, leaning against the wall of the Watchtower's med bay, "She's kind of a famous super villain."

"I rarely hear about the outside world from my swamps," Swamp Thing replied.

"Poison Ivy is an eco-terrorist," Zatara explained, "She believes mankind is destroying nature and considers herself a champion and mother of plants everywhere. Through her connection with them and her control over pheromones, she has tried multiple times to eliminate some of the most polluting cities on the planet."

"She violates the non-violent nature of the Green," Swamp Thing mused, "But she does so to defend it. Interesting."

"She's also as much a victim as any," said Wonder Woman sharply, "Her connection to the green comes from Jason Woodrue."

Raven was meditating silently in the corner, but perked up at that bit of information. "Looked like you knew him back in Gotham. What's the story between you two?"

Wonder Woman glanced at Poison Ivy and folded her arms. "It was the first case I ever worked with Batman," she started, "This was long before we formally organized the League. We just teamed up occasionally when something was too big for one of us to handle alone. Batman was investigating a slew of disappearances in Gotham and his only lead was a mystic energy signature and a few pieces of a broken Greek relic."

"So he contacted the 3000-year-old magic Greek princess," said Raven, "Makes sense."

"Our investigation led us to Gotham University," Wonder Woman continued, "A lot of the disappearances had been coming from the biology department and most of them were attractive young women. We originally were just going to interrogate a professor, but we ended up busting the case wide open. All the missing students were in a hidden lab beneath the campus. They were held in cages meant for chickens. Some of them had been vivisected. All of them had been injected with various drug cocktails in some of the most inhumane instances of illegal human experimentation I've ever seen."

Captain Marvel narrowed his eyes. "The professor you went to interrogate," he said slowly, "Jason Woodrue?"

"He was obsessed with finding the key to human photosynthesis," Wonder Woman confirmed with a nod, "But when he went so far as to kidnap test subjects, he started losing what little humanity he had to begin with. As I said, a lot of his victims were young women." She wrung her wrists as an ugly snarl crossed his face. "I've fought minotaurs and gorgons," she muttered, "But sometimes the real monsters don't have claws or horns."

"But now they have giant tree bodies," said Raven dryly, "I'm guessing Ivy here was one of his victims?"

"She was his only successful test subject," Wonder Woman sighed, "And she received the worst of his tortures. When Batman and I found her…she was barely alive. We did all we could to help her recover, but I can't say I was surprised when I heard she was sent to Arkham."

"Woodrue was dealing with forces he was unprepared for," said Zatara thoughtfully, "He must have carved into the Green itself with his experiments."

"And once he tasted the power of the Green, he must have seen it as a potential power source," finished Swamp Thing, "No doubt he was going to sell it to the highest bidder, as humans are like to do."

"Or give it to the Light to power more Chemo bombs," Raven suggested.

"Regardless," said Dr. Fate as he entered the room, pushing Hanabi in her wheelchair before him, "I am pleased to announce we have a lead."

Hanabi casually reached back and grabbed Fate's hand. With a twist, she had the Lord of Order on the ground in front of her. He did not cry out, but it was clear he didn't feel comfortable having his arm nearly ripped out of its socket. "I get to do two things around here," Hanabi said with a deadly calm, "I look at screens and I explain things. You get to fly around and fight and do magic all day. And I don't do that for you. So when you come to my space station and hear my intel, you let me explain it, okay golden boy?"

"I meant no offense," muttered Dr. Fate as he was released.

"They never do," responded Hanabi.

"Oracle," said Wonder Woman, "You have news?"

"Yup," said Hanabi, leaning back in her chair, "None of you have a technology background, but luckily an Akatsuki agent called Mr. Terrific was in the area who apparently has multiple P.H.D.s. According to him, the lab you discovered was designed to leech off Poison Ivy's connection to the Green, amplify it, and project it as a portal to the Green dimension itself."

"So you buy into this Green nonsense too?" said Raven in annoyance.

"Like it's the craziest thing you've ever heard," Hanabi countered smoothly, "Anyway, once the portal was opened, the natural energy of the Green was harvested and concentrated into a solid form. Think the living energy of an entire ecosystem condensed into a single atom. Then think that there are quintillions of these atoms forming a liquid and you've more or less got an idea of what we're dealing with here. With that kind of a power source, the Light could take a leisure cruise around the universe and have enough left over to destabilize the global economy. That's the bad news."

Captain Marvel winced. "That's pretty bad. Does the good news even it out?"

"Not even close," said Hanabi, "The good news is that because Poison Ivy's unique connection to the Green was used to open the portal all the stuff came from, she should be able to locate it naturally."

"Well she's kind of unconscious now," Captain Marvel pointed out, "And we can't just hope they don't use the Green energy before she wakes up."

Raven sighed and got to her feet. "Zatara, you wanna get this one or should I?"

Zatara waved to Ivy's body. "Be my guest, Raven." Raven nodded and walked over to the cot. She lay a hand over Ivy's forehead and closed her eyes. With a grunt, she sucked up Ivy's nightmares and forced her to awaken.

Ivy lurched forward with a gasp and a scream, sitting bolt upright in bed. With wide and crazed eyes, she ripped the IV drip out of her arm and scrambled away from the people surrounding her bed. "Away!" she rasped, "Away f-from me! My babies! Why can't I feel my babies?!" Her panic gave way to anger and she launched herself forward, trying to grab at anything she could hurt. Raven was closest and she barely had time to lean back before a hand of wood and moss got between her and a lunging Poison Ivy.

As soon as she grabbed Swamp Thing's arm, Ivy instantly froze. Her eyes focused on the plant in front of her and she slowly followed it up to Swamp Thing's face. He gazed back at her with firm, yellow eyes, but she was looking back with nothing but amazement. "You…you're not one of my babies," she said finally.

"No," said Swamp Thing, "I am called Swamp Thing. I am the guardian of the Green."

"I love you." Poison Ivy's response was so immediate and sincere that it took everyone a few moments to process that she'd even said it.

"I ship it," said Captain Marvel after a few seconds.

"Anyway," said Raven slowly, pushing past Swamp Thing's arm, "Ivy, we need your help."

Ivy glanced back and forth between Raven and Swamp Thing for a few moments. "You…need my help?"

"That's what I said."

Ivy shook her head slightly and grabbed her temple with one hand so as to remain physically connected with Swamp Thing with the other. "I, ah, I remember…being taken from my cell in Arkham. Guards…said it was for a new psych eval…lies…gagged me so I couldn't control them…injected me with…something."

"You have been through much," said Swamp Thing, his deep voice mellowing slightly.

"Woodrue!" Ivy gasped. She took a step back from Swamp Thing in shock at the memory. The second her hand left his arm, she became feral again and lunged at Zatara.

"Mlac nwod!" he shouted before her outstretched fingers could wrap around his throat. She stopped her attack, but bounced on the balls of her bare feet as she wove through the group and made a dash for the door.

Hanabi rolled her eyes as Ivy rushed passed. From her wheelchair, she leaned over and jabbed two fingers into Ivy's hip. Instantly, her corresponding leg went limp and Ivy screeched as she fell to the ground.

Raven stared in confusion before slapping her forehead. "We're all idiots," she sighed, "Swamp Thing, pick her up."

Swamp Thing obeyed and clomped over to Ivy's struggling form. As soon as his arms wrapped around her and raised her to his chest bridal style, she stopped fighting and even leaned into his oak torso. "Safe," she whispered.

"We brought a crazy woman who considers plants her family to a metal box in space," said Raven with a groan, "What did we expect? She'll only be remotely sane when she's touching him."

Dr. Fate put his hands on his hips. "We cannot lose anymore time than we already have."

"Agreed," said Wonder Woman. She carefully approached Swamp Thing and cleared her throat. "Pamela," she said gently, "I don't know if you remember me. We've fought a few times, but I was also there at GU. Batman and I saved you from Woodrue the first time."

"Woodrue," echoed Ivy softly, lost in both her own world and a particularly curled knot around where Swamp Thing's nipple would have been if he were human, "Mmm. No. No Woodrue."

Wonder Woman winced. "Yes, well, Woodrue…he's taken something from you."

Ivy placed her palm flat against Swamp Thing's skin and took a deep breath. "He's taken a lot from me," she said, her voice a little more firm.

"Well he's taken something more," said Zatara, "A bit of your essence, your connection to the Green. We have reason to believe you may be able to track it. Do you feel…different?"

Ivy gazed up into Swamp Thing's blank eyes. "Very," she said breathlessly.

"Okay, that's becoming very annoying very quickly," Raven grunted.

"Oh c'mon!" giggled Captain Marvel, "Everyone's got a little romantic in 'em."

"Please, Pamela, this is very important," said Wonder Woman, "Can you feel like a part of you is missing? Can you sense another part of yourself?"

"Not really," said Poison Ivy, eyes still locked with Swamp Thing, "Feels like I found a part of myself actually."

Captain Marvel drifted over to Swamp Thing and smiled up at Poison Ivy. "Wow! Real love at first sight, huh?" he said.

"Maybe," said Ivy with a small shrug, "I saw him and I just felt like I'd known him for years, like he'd always been a part of me."

"Cool, cool," Captain Marvel nodded, "Always been a part of you. That's so cool, man. When did you first feel like you found him?"

"I don't know," said Ivy after a moment, "Years ago. Around the time Woodrue…I guess when I needed a family, he was just…there."

"Really?" Marvel tilted his head to the side, "You don't have any other family? Nowhere in the world?"

"Oh, goodness no," sighed Ivy, "My parents disowned me after I was first committed and I was an only child…huh." She frowned suddenly and curled up tighter to Swamp Thing. "But," she said slowly, "I…I feel like I might have had…something. A cousin or something?"

"Oh word?" Marvel flashed her an award-winning grin, but she was still looking at Swamp Thing, "Where were they?"

Ivy tilted her head. "I…I want to say Florida, but I'm not sure why?"

Swamp Thing leaned back, breaking eye contact with Ivy for the first time since they'd seen one another. "The Everglades," he announced in his gravelly tone, "It is seclusion and inaccessibility makes it a reliable spot for clandestine transactions."

"Not to mention the high concentration of bug life means Shino would have a homefield advantage," Raven said grimly, "It makes sense."

"Then we need to get to the Everglades," said Wonder Woman.

"Not so fast," Hanabi said, holding up her hand, "We need to stick to our Shinobi protocols. I've already sent out the assembly beacon to the heroes we selected to be counters for Shino and Kiba. Once they're all gathered, you lot can go with them to Florida. As of now, this is both a defensive and offensive mission. You are to stop Woodrue from getting the Green energy to the Light and seal as many Shinobi as you can."

"We can't wait too long," said Dr. Fate, "If they're not ready in ten minutes, we will have to move without them. And I'm being very generous there."

"How decent of your," muttered Hanabi sarcastically as she wheeled herself towards the door.

"I will keep watch over Poison Ivy until it is time to begin the mission," said Swamp Thing.

"We assumed as much," Zatara coughed into his hand. He, Swamp Thing, and Wonder Woman walked to the door.

Raven folded her arms and glanced across the room at Captain Marvel. "Pretty slick, sailor," she said.

"I grew up in the inner city," he said with a shrug, "If there's anything I've learned from crazy people screaming on the curb, it's that most people just want to talk about happy things."

"Like how a loving couple met," nodded Raven, "And once you had her talking about it, she realized that a piece of what connected her with her new lover was missing and projected it as a distant relative."

"It was a stretch."

"Should we be concerned at how well you understand the insane psyche?"

"Nah," said Captain Marvel with a grin, "I just have a way with women."

"Uh-huh," Raven replied with an eye-roll, "Just keep it in your red onesie."

"And on that note," Captain Marvel said, rolling his shoulders back, "I'm going to the bathroom. See you on the dancefloor. And by dancefloor, I mean the Zeta chamber before we go to battle against a pair of undying Shinobi warriors and a giant plant dude."

. . .

"Hot," moaned Spoiler, removing her mask to breath easier, "So hot. Why is hot?"

"Are you asking why the concept of hot is a thing?" asked Firestorm, "Because that's a whole thing that would take a long time to explain."

"I've lost track of our position," said Steel, raising his hand to his eyes to shade them, "But we're obviously in a desert of some kind."

"The Sahara," said Naruto, slapping Steel on the shoulder. Despite Steel's thick, mechanical armor, the force of the friendly pat sent him stumbling forward. "Your teacher lives in one of the harshest environments on the planet, where scorching heat is plentiful and water is scarce."

"Wait, wait, I think I got this one," said Steel proudly, "You matched me up with this mentor because my suit is solar powered, has its own internal cooling system to keep me at a reasonable temperature, and can harvest water molecules from the air. I'm the only one of us who could possibly survive here for more than a week."

"Close!" said Naruto brightly, "Actually, I'm sending you here because the sand will clog up the servos and joints in your suit within the first few days."

Steel stared back at him. "What?"

"You rely too much on your engineering skills," Naruto continued, "Your suit is impressive, but a simple EMP would leave you helpless and you're just too smart to be derailed so easily. I'm hoping your mentor can instill a resourcefulness in you. Learning to work and fight without your tools will make you an invaluable asset in the field."

"But…but," Steel stammered.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I kinda figured that'd be your reaction," he said as he spun around and roundhouse kicked Steel in the chest. The force of the hit and sheer surprise of it sent Steel flying off the edge of Chomei's shell. He managed to activate the rocket boosters in his boots and straighten out, and for a moment it looked like was at least going to control his landing. But then a giant arm of sand shot out of the earth and snatched him from the sky. Steel screamed out as he was dragged forcefully to the sand and trapped against a thick dune.

"Oh," said a growling voice as a second dune attached to the giant hand shifted and rose to form Shukaku, "Thought you were a missile. They get sent over here all the time. Lots of idiot warlords with old cold war stuff. But Naruto didn't say you were a metal man. Are you like that Red Tornado guy?"

Steel stared up at him and slowly drew back the visor on his helmet. "Uh…no?"

"Pity," chuckled Shukaku, "I liked that guy."

. . .

"Oh great," Raven muttered, "I forgot."

Captain Marvel glanced down at her. "Forgot what?"

Raven jerked her head across the room to where Jaime was leaning against the wall, talking with Bart. "That my stupid ex was on the team to take down Shino."

Captain Marvel followed her head and his eyes widened. "Really?" he guffawed, "You and Blue Beetle?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Raven said instantly, "It's over. I just hate that I have to work with him."

"Look at it this way," Marvel advised, "It sucks to work with your ex, but it gets balanced out when you get to fight bad guys with so many awesome people." He waved his arm around the Watchtower Zeta room. "I mean, Red Tornado came out of retirement just for this!"

Raven shrugged. "It's just to deal with Kiba," she said, "Red's tornados can help counter his Fang Over Fang technique."

"And I don't even know who she is," said Marvel, staring across to where black woman in a tight and very revealing animal-skin outfit was chatting with Wonder Woman, "But I'd sure like to get to know her."

Raven punched him on the shoulder. Marvel barely registered it, but quickly stopped his leering. "Her name's Vixen," said Raven dryly, "She's with Akatsuki. Her animal powers make her perfect to go hand-to-hand with Kiba."

"Hand-to-hand you say," said Captain Marvel, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Men," muttered Raven.

"Okay!" shouted Hanabi as she pushed into the center of the room, "I got good news and I got bad news. The bad news is that Firestorm and Naruto are off the grid, so you won't have their backup in the field."

"Oh great," said Jaime nervously, "We're only going up against Shinobi. Not like we'd need backup."

"The good news is we were lucky enough to have Green Lantern Guy Gardner on the Watchtower," continued Hanabi, "He'll be filling in for Firestorm."

"That's right!" barked Guy Gardner as he marched into the room and put his hands on his hips. He was tall and muscular with a ginger crew cut. Instead of the usual Green Lantern uniform, he wore a green, sleeveless vest. "You got the best of the best of the best in your corner," he bragged.

"Oh," groaned Raven softly, "We're all gonna die."

Captain Marvel looked down at her. "Why? What's wrong with Guy Gardner?"

"He's a narcissistic idiot who's so far up his own keister that he doesn't even realize how stupid he is," Raven grumbled.

"Fortunately for you all, I actually have experience fighting with Shinobi," Gardner continued to brag, "I even helped to train the Four-Tails on Oa. Never lost a fight to the big guy."

"I guarantee you he was holding back," sighed Raven.

Unfortunately, Gardner heard her and immediately swiveled around to face her. "Oh please, little lady," he chortled, "I think I'd know if a gorilla the size of a small planet was holding back. I beat him fair and square every time."

"First of all, call me little lady again and I'll introduce you to your own internal organs," said Raven with a fierce scowl, "Second off, the Four-Tails isn't just a Green Lantern. He's a chakra-based entity, literally made of living energy, with a fundamental control over seismic and magmatic sources. With enough concentration, he manipulates the rotation and flow of entire solar systems. Believe me, if he wanted to fight you at full strength, he would have crashed two planets together with you between them"

"Hmm, true, true," said Gardner, feigning thoughtfulness, "But counterpoint, I'm a grown man who knows what he's talking about and you're a hormonal teenage girl who's probably thinking thoughts about a muscular, attractive, older space cop with a magic ring that she probably shouldn't have for people outside her age range." He knelt down and offered Raven a wink. "Long story short, babe, stay in your league and don't try to impress me with any more sass or stunts."

As he stood up and walked away to brag elsewhere, Captain Marvel leaned down to a clearly fuming Raven. "I, ah, I see what your mean about him," he said with a shrewd smile, "The guy has something of an ego problem, huh?"

"He's not the only one," Raven muttered as she accidentally locked eyes with Jaime from across the room. He had the decency to look away in humiliation at first, but then looked back at her and took a deep breath. "Please don't come over here, please don't come over here, please don't come over here," she chanted, closing her eyes.

"Looks like he's coming over here," said Captain Marvel with a small laugh.

"Any chance you can stop him?"

"This seems like a job for Earth's mightiest mortal!" said Captain Marvel with sarcastic bravado, "Hey Hanabi, we doing this or what?"

"You try configuring a Zeta tube to carry over a dozen people simultaneously!" Hanabi shouted back at him, "But yeah, we're pretty much done here." As she spoke, the Zeta tube hummed to life and lit itself up. Raven opened her eyes to see Bart pushing Jaime into the tube.

"Thanks," she breathed in relief, "But what was all that stuff about being the mightiest mortal?"

Captain Marvel rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "I started doing this when I was seven," he said, "Some of the catchphrases and stuff I came up with back then just kinda stuck. One of my archenemies still calls me the big red cheese."

"There's a story there."

"Yup."

After a few moments of pause, Raven glanced up at him. "And…you're just not gonna tell it?"

"Nah," said Captain Marvel, motioning with his head to the Zeta tube, "I'd rather make some new stories. Might even get a better nickname out of it."

. . .

"I've always like the sea," said Firestorm quietly, gazing out over the endless miles of blue water that expanded in all directions, "I could almost never afford to go to the beach or anything, but ever since I got my powers, whenever I need some time to myself or to just relax or whatever, I'd just hang out at Infinity Island or just fly to the nearest coastline. You'd think I'd hate it. People see that my head's on fire and they probably think I'd avoid the water. But they don't see what I see. I see the way the high concentration of sodium chloride interacts with hydrogen dioxide. I see the weird traces of calcium and magnesium that nobody would expect would show up in silt. I really love how the potassium manifests in the sand, always at the exact place where the surf comes in. Nowadays its almost always slightly radioactive, just with all the nuclear tests and whatnot that's infected the seas over the years. But every now and then you find just a sliver of natural saltwater that hasn't been touched by fallout, where it's just clean and pure. And that gives me hope, you know? Like mankind just can't figure out how to completely ruin nature."

For a minute, Naruto simply listened to Firestorm as he dangled his legs off the side of Chomei's backplate. "Is that you talking or Professor Stein?" he asked after a moment.

"Stein's telling me not to be so sentimental in front of you," said Firestorm calmly, "He says I should try to be more debonair, whatever that means."

"But you feel comfortable being yourself?"

Firestorm shrugged. "Way I see it, you're pretty much powerful enough that the fact you don't see me as an ant compared to you is a miracle in its own right."

"Everyone deserves attention," said Naruto with a nod. There was another moment where the two of them just stared out into the horizon, enjoying the stiff cold of the sea breeze.

"This is my stop, isn't it," said Firestorm, "The middle of the Atlantic. I'm the only one who can turn the water around his lungs to breathable oxygen."

"Yes," Naruto confirmed, "But also because you need discipline. Your teacher is perhaps the strictest of all of them. He was raised by the Atlantean Royal Guard and brought up with their rigid principles. I know what it's like to share a headspace with another person and how confusing that can be. Believe me, I wish I got a bit more discipline in my youth, and I don't mean just punishment." He stood up and offered Firestorm a hand. "Down there, you will be training, constantly aware of your transmutation keeping you alive, and dealing with your other half. Both Ronnie Raymond and Martin Stein will need to work together in order to keep pace with all of that."

Firestorm took Naruto's hand and slowly stood up next to him. "Is it okay if I'm a little…trepidatious?"

"Perfectly," said Naruto, "Besides, I'm pretty sure that's only making you more attractive to Stargirl."

Both men turned to look at Stargirl, who had been leaning on her staff a few feet behind them, completely enraptured by their conversation. As soon as she was caught staring, she blushed profusely and straightened herself out. "I…I just…" she stammered. After a few seconds of a half-hearted and incomplete defense, she simply glanced at Firestorm and then turned away. "Emotional vulnerability is hot," she murmured, not daring to look either man in the eye.

"You taught a good chunk of Akatsuki to use critical thinking in the field," Naruto continued as if she hadn't spoken, "But you can do more than just be an instructor. I'm hoping your new mentor can show you that." With that, he pushed Firestorm off Chomei.

Firestorm had been expecting it, however, and easily righted himself to control his descent as he flew towards the ocean surface below. When he got close, Ronnie used Martin's mind and Martin used Ronnie's body to convert the air around his head to pure oxygen, encasing it in a breathable bubble as they hit the surface. "Great," Ronnie muttered as he sank into cold dark, depths, "Now I just have to keep that up twenty-four-seven or drown in the middle of nowhere."

"Beats trying to not accidentally burn our way through a scuba suit," Stein told him inside their shared mind, "At least this way we can work in shifts. When you sleep, I'll keep us alive. When I sleep, you will."

After a few moments, Firestorm frowned. "How much further are we supposed to go?" Before Stein could reply, the water around them began to shift and flow. From the dark depths below them, a series of massive tentacles slowly came into view, slowly moving up to surround them.

"I'm pretty sure this is where we get eaten by Cthulhu," said Stein nervously.

"No," Ronnie said slowly as the rest of Gyuki's massive form rose beneath them, "I don't think it's Cthulhu."

. . .

The Zeta Tube brought the fourteen assembled heroes to Miami. From there, Raven teleported them to the outskirts of the Everglades. "Hah!" she said, hovering above the swamp water as she emerged from her portal, "Not gonna get me twice in one day, nature."

"If anyone's afraid of crocs, now's the time to say so," said Captain Marvel, bringing up the rear, "I mean, it won't change anything, there'll still be crocs out here. But it's good to know who in advance is going to scream."

"Gardner, Tornado, set up a perimeter," said Wonder Woman, taking charge of the situation.

Gardner scoffed. "You got the premier Green Lantern in the sector and you're gonna send him on a perimeter run? Very funny, double-W."

Wonder Woman glared daggers at the man, though he seemed impervious and oblivious to her wrathful glare. "Double-W?"

"I will gladly check the surrounding area," said Red Tornado. While monotonous, Raven couldn't help but feel like he had managed to throw a bit of sass in his voice to goad Gardner. Reluctantly, the Green Lantern followed the android into the brush of the surrounding swamp, grumbling as he did so.

"Alright everyone," Wonder Woman continued, "Unfortunately we don't have the element of surprise on our side. According to Naruto's files on the two Shinobi in question, they were once part of an elite tracking squad. No doubt they already know we're here."

"So what do we do?" asked Static, levitating above the swamp by using his electromagnetic powers to lift a sheet of metal beneath him, "They'll know any strategy we try to use."

"I don't know," Wonder Woman admitted, "Swamp Thing? This is your domain, after all?"

"Despite my natural connection to the Green, Jason Woodrue was able to completely immobilize my corporeal form," Swamp Thing grumbled, "We may not be able to win by strength of numbers alone."

Poison Ivy snaked her arm under his mossy chin and nuzzled up near his ear canyon. "Don't worry, darling," she purred, "I'll protect you."

"And there's the elephant in the room," sighed Jaime, "Why are we trusting our lives to a literal psychopath?"

"As long as she is around Swamp Thing, she'll at least be too infatuated with him to attack us," Dr. Fate pointed out.

"Plus, her plant-based powers are obviously gonna be a big help out here," said Vixen, her voice low and unintentionally sultry.

"First things first, we need to find them," Bart pointed out, "I can do a quick run around the park, but there might be traps if they know we're coming."

"Not worth the risk," agreed Zatara, "A short-range locator spell could reveal them to us."

"Don't bother, Z-Man," said Gardner as he pushed his way back through the thick swamp trees, "We know exactly where those Zom-nobis are chilling!"

"I'm almost impressed that you made up at least two new words in that sentence," said Raven, folding her arms.

Captain Marvel grinned at her. "I actually kind of like Zom-nobi." Raven rolled her eyes, but returned the Captain's grin. From across the group, she felt Jaime's sudden bang of jealousy and wondered what that was about.

"What are you talking about, Gardner?" sighed Wonder Woman, rubbing the bridge of her nose in a vain effort to ward off the inevitable headache he was giving her.

"There's a dirt path a little ways off," said Gardner proudly, "There's a line of Lexcorp vehicles coasting through it silently."

Wonder Woman's eyes widened and she glanced behind Gardner. "Tornado, is this true?"

Gardner scowled. "What, you don't trust me?"

"No," said Dr. Fate bluntly.

"It is indeed true," said Red Tornado, "There were four Lexcorp transport vehicles that we could see, but the levels of pollution in the surrounding air suggested that more trucks had already passed by."

"A caravan," Static chimed in, "Woodrue and the Shinobi must have brought the Green energy here so Lexcorp could make the hand-off."

"But why is Lexcorp handling this?" asked Raven, "Lex Luthor's in hiding and his company is trying to rebrand. Their stockholdings are already in jeopardy, why would they risk doing something that so blatantly links them to ongoing Light operations?"

"It's still Lexcorp," Vixen pointed out, "We can't rule out the possibility that Luthor still has very strong influence within the company."

"Regardless, our directive from here is clear," said Wonder Woman firmly, "We follow the trucks discretely to Woodrue and the Shinobi."

"That still leaves us with a big problem," Zatara pointed out, "As Static said, they'll see through any strategy we might use."

There was a moment of silence where, individually, all of the heroes fully contemplated how there was a strong possibility they had just signed on to a suicide mission. Then, Captain Marvel cleared his throat. "Actually," he said, "I think I have an idea."

. . .

"Listen, Mr. Uzumaki, sir," said Stargirl uncomfortably as she slowly floated in circles around Chomei's back, "I hate to be that girl, but…"

"But you're wondering why we've been flying around equator in circles for the better part of two hours?" Naruto finished. He was sitting crosslegged on Chomei's head, meditating through natural energy as he flickered in and out of Sage Mode. "I've been wondering that myself. I'm waiting for a signal."

"From what?" asked Stargirl, "The League?"

"Your mentor," said Naruto. His eyes snapped open and he smiled. "There it is," he said, raising his hand to the horizon. The sun was setting in the west and just along the rim of the horizon was a solid flash of green light. It was small, as if distant, but clearly visible against the beginnings of the night sky.

Stargirl flew up next to Naruto and peered at the light. "What is that?"

"Your new teacher isn't able to safely enter the solar system," said Naruto as he stood up, "If he does, I have to notify Aquaman at least four hours in advance so he can prepare costal defenses. He's only arrived unexpectedly once and we're lucky he didn't stay long enough to throw the tide completely out of whack."

Stargirl slowly turned to look at him. "Uh…what?"

Naruto sighed. "Your cosmic staff," he said, motioning to the golden rod Stargirl was perched on like a witch on a broom, "It allows you to survive in virtually any environment, yet as far as I know, you didn't leave the western hemisphere until today. Your teacher is going to fill you with the one thing you can't get naturally. Experience."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small item that he handed to her. She examined it with skepticism. "A plastic Green Lantern ring?" she asked, "They used to sell these in the Hall of Justice gift shop."

"I couldn't get my hands on the real thing," said Naruto with a shrug, "But I'm told this makes you an unofficial deputy of the Green Lantern Corps."

"Yeah," Stargirl continued to stare at him, "They gave out little certificates with the rings. It was for kids. Cute, but for kids."

"Kids can't fly or shoot cosmic energy blasts," Naruto said dryly, "Unfortunately, I can't toss you off of Chomei for a giggle. You'll just have to fly straight towards the green light. At your top, speed, you should reach it within the next couple days."

Stargirl's eyes widened. "The next couple DAYS?!"

"Yep," said Naruto, pulling out a small picnic basket from the depths of his robes, "Don't worry, I already packed you a few power meals and talked it over with your parents. They're considering this a sort of galactic foreign exchange program."

"I…I don't know," said Stargirl slowly, looking at the plastic ring in her hand, "Can't I train with the Green Lanterns here on Earth?"

"No for multiple reasons," said Naruto, "I guess you're just gonna have to trust me that the experiences you'll have with your mentor will be unique to you and that you won't get them from a Lantern stationed here."

After a few seconds, Stargirl started to lift off from Chomei. She slowly gained altitude and speed until she was a blur along the horizon. Several days later, a few hours after she'd finished the last of her Earth food, she finally tracked the green light back to its source. And she was more than a little surprised to be face to face with a being the size of a continent. "Greetings, little earthling," Son Goku said as he lowered his titanic visage to her, "You have traveled far, but time, as always is scarce. Are you ready to begin your training?"

. . .

Woodrue stood in the center of a swampy clearing of the Everglades. It was a ways off the path that the Lexcorp vehicles were amassing on, but it was his new favorite place in the world. His eyes remained closed as the sounds of the Shinobi and the hired goons loaded the Green energy that he was leeching into the trucks, but he was very busy feeling the earth around him. He felt completely connected to the true source and essence of all nature. The world was falling away piece by piece, leaving only the pure power of the Green.

It was how he could feel the more than a dozen superheroes that were canvassing through the swamp, slowly surrounding them. Woodrue was unconcerned. He could handle them if they attempted to interfere. Already, he was manipulating the Green energy of the nature around them to snake vines closer and closer to them. He heard and felt the two Shinobi reanimations stop working as they too sensed their opponents drawing nearer.

Then there were the first rumblings of thunder. Woodrue frowned and opened his eyes. The clouds above them had grown thick and dark. It had been sunny and bright near moments before. As the clouds grew more troubled, Woodrue's scowl grew. "Oh!" said Kiba suddenly, "Very clever!"

Woodrue glanced over at him. "What?" Before Kiba could respond, a series of lightning bolts showered down upon the clearing. Lexcorp's armed goons immediately cried out and ducked for cover. A bolt went through Kiba's shoulder, but he was unmoved and his arm began to reattach in mere moments. Another struck Woodrue full in the chest, but he too simply absorbed the blow and continued to watch the impromptu thunderstorm.

After almost twenty seconds of repeated lightning bolts, they stopped as suddenly as they came. "What was the point of that?" asked Woodrue as the guards slowly stepped out from their covers in the trees.

"Lightning leaves behind a distinct acrid smell," said Kiba, folding his arms, "It fills the air like burnt hair. Even Akamaru and I can't smell anything over it."

"And the residual electrical charge confuses my insects," Shino added, "They'll be harder to control and I won't be able to detect exact locations either."

"We're far from blind," said Woodrue with a grunt. He could still sense the individual positions of his attackers. Though they seemed to have stopped moving. Woodrue's eyes widened in realization and he took a step back just in time to avoid the falling fist of Captain Marvel. "Well played," he hissed as the hero landed in front of him, "You used the lightning to distract me as well as cripple the Shinobi. While I was paying attention to the skies, you knocked out the Lexcorp detail and switched places with them."

Wonder Woman ripped off the black uniform she'd hastily slipped over her armor and shot forwards. "Stick to the plan!" she shouted as her fists rained down on Woodrue's raised forearm, "Divide and conquer!"

Raven fell back as the others lunged forward. She was the only one present who could seal away the Shinobis' souls and needed time to prepare her ritual. As she lifted into the air and folded her legs underneath her, Jaime leapt in front of her, a defense against any attempt to reach her. "So listen," he said as the armor around his hand morphed into a chainsaw and he sliced his way through a series of vines that erupted from the ground in front of them, "I really think we need to talk some more."

"Really?!" demanded Raven as she struggled to focus, "Is now the time, Jaime?"

"Well we might not get another opportunity."

"We might get a chance to talk if you shut up now and let me concentrate," she growled.

They weren't the only ones holding back from the battle. Swamp Thing and Poison Ivy were standing in the shade of a tree on the outskirt of the clearing. "I should be helping," grumbled Swamp Thing.

"You can't fight Woodrue," Ivy reasoned, "His connection to the Green is stronger than yours. If you get involved, he could even take control of you and force you to fight your friends." She blinked and smiled to herself as she looked down. "It's funny. I feel more lucid than I have in years just by being around you. I can almost feel my stress and psychosis melting away."

Swamp Thing regarded her closely. "You were brought to help. Your connection to the Green is strong enough for you to have some measure of control over it, but not so strong that Woodrue could control you through it. Why do you not join the fray?"

Ivy closed her eyes. "Because…" she slowly looked up at him, "I don't know if I can tell you. I never talked about it with my therapists at Arkham before."

"You did say you loved me," Swamp Thing pointed out, "Though I cannot say I know why."

After a moment, Ivy put her hands out. She lay one against the tree she stood under and one on Swamp Thing's arm as she hung her head. "I can't even bear to look at him," she said, her voice quiet by unwavering, "I told you I can feel my sanity coming back bit by bit with you, but just thinking of him makes me feel like I'm slipping back to my old self, the self that hurts people. I don't want to fight him, I just want to forget he ever happened."

"You have never seemed to have a problem with vengeance previously," Swamp Thing pointed out, "You have inflicted several violent acts in your past."

"But they were in the name of protecting the environment, saving the Earth," sighed Ivy, "I guess I've never really fought for myself before. It was always for a greater cause." Swamp Thing hummed to himself at that, sounding like the creaking of old wood.

Meanwhile, the heroes were working to separate the two Shinobi from Woodrue and each other. Captain Marvel and Static were raining down lightning on Shino, who simply took the electric strikes in stride. With a wave of his hand, a swarm of mosquitos attacked them and the two heroes were forced to lead them on a chase through the skies.

Kiba and Vixen were engaged in fierce hand to hand combat. His swings were feral, but precise. It was clear he was a veteran fighter and several of his blows found homes, forcing Vixen to abandon her offensive strategy. With a snarl, she stepped back and put a hand to a green medallion attached to her belt. She made no effort to block Kiba's next punch and it connected with her cheek. Instead of taking the blow, Vixen merely smirked as Kiba's fist cracked against her skin. "Sperm whales have skin over a foot thick and as dense as copper," she said, "And if an animal's got it, I can mimic it."

"Funny," said Kiba with a grin, "I've got something kind of similar." He wove his hands together and backflipped onto Akamaru. "Man Beast Clone!" As the two turned into their half-beast transformations, Vixen jumped back so Red Tornado could step in. "Fang Over Fang!" Kiba shouted as he initiated the move, barreling towards Vixen. Red Tornado raised his hand and generated a spinning vortex of wind that spun opposite of Kiba and Akamaru's rotation. The Shinobi and ninja hound were thrown backwards and fell to the ground.

"It would seem Naruto's assessment of our abilities was correct," the android droned, "We are perfectly suited to counter both your animal mimicry and drill attack."

"Yeah," said Kiba slowly as he stood up, "But I lived a long, happy life after Naruto left us. And I picked up more than a few techniques he never got to see."

"We know," said Wonder Woman as she glided gently down between Tornado and Vixen, "That's why I was placed on the team selected to deal with you."

"I wish you good luck then," said Kiba, crouching down, "Akamaru and I won't go easy on you." In response, Wonder Woman cracked her knuckles. Kiba chuckled as Akamaru rose and placed his hands in a seal. "Bet you're familiar with this one," he said, "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With a plume of smoke, an exact copy of him burst up standing next to him. The clone leapt atop Kiba and Akamaru leapt atop him. "Man-Beast Transformation Combo! Three-Headed Wolf!"

Another plume of smoke engulfed them and grew substantially larger. It cleared with a triple exhale to reveal a massive, pure white dog with three snarling heads sprouting from its wide neck. "A Cerberus," Wonder Woman said flatly. In response, the three heads roared with enough force to send her hair whipping. She was rooted to the spot, but Vixen and Red Tornado both took steps back. After a moment, Wonder Woman wiped the dog drool off her face and grinned. "Reminds me of my teenage years," she chuckled before throwing herself fist-first into battle.

Captain Marvel wove his way through a swarm of insects, frying those around him with his electric aura. As he flew, he built up a powerful electric charge in his fist. With a cry, he loosed the power of his swing and the built up charge at the very second his knuckles connected with Woodrue's chin. He swung twice more, but he only succeeded in moving Woodrue back a foot. "You know what I love best about this new body?" said Woodrue with a snarl as he reached out and grabbed Marvel by the throat, "How big and strong it is. But I also like the creative stuff I can do with my connection to the Green." As he spoke, vines erupted from his forearm and snaked their way to Captain Marvel. He struggled, but they started to approach his nostrils, mouth, and ears.

Before they could insert themselves in his skull, a golden blade sliced through Woodrue's arm and Marvel dropped to the ground. "You fail to comprehend the power you now wield," said Dr. Fate, the gilded ankh sword in his hands fading away, "You do not deserve it."

Woodrue shrugged. "And yet…" Wood, moss, and vines pushed out of his stump of an arm to reform the limb. He flexed his fingers experimentally before waving them. Both Captain Marvel and Dr. Fate rose into the air as more plants emerged beneath their feet and attempted to wrangle them.

"Lotot tor!" shouted Zatara. The plants that Woodrue summoned withered and died before him.

"Hmm," said Woodrue casually, "Annoying." He turned to Zatara and whipped an arm at him. His fingers turned into long, thin vines that lashed around Zatara's wrists. With a yank, he pulled Zatara into his palm. "It'll be hard to cast your little backwards spells with a broken jaw." Captain Marvel grabbed Woodrue's arm and used it as added leverage to kick him firmly in the ribs. While Woodrue released Zatara, who fell into the swamp with a splash, he turned his attention back to Marvel.

Shino was mostly playing defense, using his bugs as living shields against Static's lightning and Jaime's sonic attacks. Gardner kept trying to get close enough to Shino to punch him, but was always sent backwards by the swarm of insects that rose up to block him. "Fight back, coward!" Gardner shouted with a grin, creating a vacuum construct to suck up a cloud of bugs.

"I cannot summon my giant beetles in this world," Shino said coolly, "But I can still control insect pheromones with my chakra." He waved his hand at Gardner and suddenly a large chunk of his insects swarmed towards the Green Lantern.

"Hey, hey!" shouted Gardner, encasing himself in a protective bubble, "No fair! These things are gross!"

"Good thinking, Guy!" shouted Static as he landed behind Shino and put the Shinobi in a headlock, "Less bugs for us to deal with!"

"You'd think so," sighed Shino as his body dissolved into a mass of beetles. Static quickly brushed them off his sleeves with a shiver.

"An insect clone!" Jaime shouted, "Where's the real one?"

"Here," said Shino as his body rose from the murky waters of the swamp, "I must warn you to get out of the waters." It was too late though, a massive host of waterbugs were making their way up Static's pants.

He cried out in pain as they began to bit into his skin and he used his manhole cover to fly out of the water. With a grunt of effort, he electrocuted the bugs attached to his skin before he fell to his knees. "Raven!" he cried out, "Where are we with that sealing spell?!"

Raven took a deep breath and opened her eyes. They were pitch black and seemed to glow with an inner life. "Ready when you are," she said.

"Guy, trap him!" shouted Jaime.

"Little busy here!" Gardner replied. He remained in his sphere, but now had a series of giant, green flyswatters swirling around him, trying desperately to thin out the massive swarm.

"It's no use," sighed Shino, pulling his hands out of his pockets, "I targeted the most powerful among you to keep him occupied but I have more than enough bugs leftover to avoid any attempt to restrain me. In fact…" he raised his hands and Jaime took a step back. This proved to be a mistake as his vision was suddenly filled with a swirl of insects that spun around him like a vortex. "Hidden Jutsu! Insect Tornado!" Jaime braced himself against the spinning whirlwind of bugs, but found his feet slipping from under him nonetheless. He tried to control his sudden flight with his jetpack, but his Scarab quickly informed him that the mechanics of his armor were being infiltrated and stopped up by insects.

"Hey! Get your bugs out of my suit!" he shouted in a panic.

The swarm of spinning insects continued to spin him upwards, but cleared enough that he could see Shino through the hoard. "I have fought some like you before," droned the Shinobi, "Unfortunately, I know how to beat those who hide behind machines and puppets." He leapt forward as Jaime reached the top of the tornado. The insects dispersed as their master planted his knee into Jaime's stomach, sending him even further into the air. He tried to double up with a mid-air spin kick, but Jaime caught his leg between his ribs and arm.

"You're the real one!" he grunted in pain, "Static! Hit us with everything!"

Static flew up a few feet behind Jaime. "But you'll-"

"NOW STATIC!" screamed Jaime. Static winced and leveled both hands at Jaime's back. He let lose a virtual power plant worth of electric energy at once, forming a visible circuit of power that flowed from his fingers to Jaime's armor to Shino. While the Shinobi seemed unfazed by his electrocution, all of the bugs in a five foot radius of both him and Jaime suddenly dropped dead, fried by the ionized air they flew through. Jaime jerked wildly as his nervous system was overclocked with lightning, but his Scarab was able to control him through his armor and kept a firm grip on Shino's leg. As the bugs fell out of the few chinks in his armor, he spun Jaime's body around and twirled Shino like a hammer.

"Raven!" shouted Static, realizing what was about to happen, "Incoming!" The Scarab let go of Shino's body and he was hurled through the air towards Raven. Thanks to Static's lightning, there weren't nearly enough bugs in the area to catch their commander.

As Shino drew near, Raven clasped her hands together. "Here goes nothing," she said, "Demon Sealing!" She pulled her hands apart to reveal they were now threaded with lines of black magic that wove together like a cat's cradle. She tossed the black strands on the ground and they instantly configured themselves into a pentagram that floated a few inches above the swamp water. Shino landed in the center of the pentagram and hit it like it was a solid surface. Instantly, he was frozen in place.

The black strands began to weave out of the pentagram towards Shino, wrapping around his body. "Well done," he complimented calmly as the lines started to lace over him, "I will warn you though, that in this world I was without my greatest and strongest of insects. The others will not have such handicaps and will prove much stronger adversaries."

"Thanks for the heads up," panted Raven as she fell back onto a grassy hill, "Anything else you'd like to get off your chest before you're trapped in limbo for eternity?"

Shino paused for a moment. "I always hated spiders," he said, "I loved all insects and most all bugs, but I always hated arachnids."

Raven cocked her head to the side and offered Shino a meek smile. "You're kind of a weird guy, huh."

"I never said otherwise," said Shino seriously before a black thread covered his mouth. A few seconds later, his entire body was fully mummified by black wrappings and he sank into the center of the pentagram, flickering out of existence as he did. Instantly, the swarms of bugs in the swamp dispersed, as if they hadn't just been used in battle formations.

"Whew," said Static, landing next to Raven on the grass, "We actually did it. You sealed him away."

"Yeah," muttered Raven, "One down, some sixteen to go or something? I forget how many there were."

"Ow," croaked Jaime as he slowly crawled up next to them, his armor smoking, "Everything…hurts."

"I was just doing what you told me to, man," said Static with a shrug. Jaime said nothing but gave him a weak thumbs up.

"C'mon," sighed Raven, standing up despite her exhaustion, "This just got a lot harder."

Static glanced at her. "We just removed a Shinobi from the equation. How did this get harder?"

Raven nodded to where the other team was fighting the giant three-headed dog, now joined by a flailing, green baseball bat. "Because Guy Gardner doesn't have anything to distract him anymore."

. . .

Chomei floated low over the water and banked around Infinity Island. "I'll admit," said Spoiler as he slowed to a halt, "Once you get over the motion sickness, thin air, and turbulance, you're not such a bad ride, Lucky."

"Remember, first ride is free, then you have to pay," chortled Chomei as he landed in the shallow waters, "I take cash, checks, and most cards. Not American Express though."

Spoiler cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

"They know what they did," Chomei deadpanned.

"Hey, wait a minute," said Spoiler with a frown, "If these trips actually cost us, why didn't we just teleport everywhere?"

Naruto laughed out loud as he jumped off of Chomei's head onto the sandy beach. "First of all, I always fly for free," he told her, "Second off, I don't get to hang out with the Bijuu often enough. And third-"

"You wanted to throw people off of him," Spoiler realized dryly, "Right."

"You have to admit it was fun," Naruto pointed out, "After all, this was your plan. Not only did it get implemented, but it was the first motion that the Inner Circle of Akatsuki voted on as a democratic organization. And it was agreed upon unanimously. If it works, we'll have a squad of elite warriors, almost comparable to Shinobi, all trained by the most powerful beings on the planet and off it. That's not nothing."

"Yeah," said Spoiler with a smile as she slid down Chomei's leg to land in the sand next to Naruto, "But make sure when they write the history books I get my due credit, right?"

"Oh, I don't think that'll be an issue," Naruto replied, "I'm pretty sure all those chosen to be a part of the first generation of new Jinchurikki will be remembered."

"That's what I'm saying. They'll get remembered, but I want to make sure my name is right there along with them."

Naruto stared at her pointedly for a few moments before Chomei sighed. "Not the brightest bulb there, is she sensei?"

"Well that's why she needs you, buddy," said Naruto, "Only you can teach her how to manage having skin in the game while staying objective."

"Wait," Spoiler looked back and forth between Chomei and Naruto, "What's going on?"

"I didn't pick out a Jinchurikki partner for Matatabi out of respect," said Naruto, folding his arms, "Asami is still in her coma but we're working on drawing her out. Until her heart stops beating, she is still Matatabi's partner. But that still leaves poor Chomei here flying solo for his global drops." He nodded to the giant, seven-tailed beetle. "Bet he could use some company."

"Wait," Spoiler repeated, taking a step back, "Wait. Wait."

Chomei burst out laughing. "Hope you weren't joking about getting over your airsickness, kid!" he said, "You're gonna be dealing with it a lot more from here on out!"

. . .

"Guy! Stop!" shouted Wonder Woman.

"What?" he called out, grinning like an idiot, "I couldn't quite hear you over the sound of my amazing awesomeness!" He lifted up the flat green platform that he'd made under the white Cerberus's feet. The giant dog was slipping and sliding on the platform, but managed to keep all four feet under it. "Seriously, is anyone recording this?"

When he brought the platform to his eye level, the three heads of the dog growled at him and it crouched down. "Fang Over Fang Over Fang!" shouted Kiba as the dog burst apart and three spinning drills erupted from the resulting plume of smoke. All three barreled into Guy and he cried out in pain as he took the full force of the attack to his torso. He was plunged the swamp water and thrust even further into the muddy earth. By the time Kiba, his clone and Akamaru cut off their jutsu, he was buried and bruised almost ten feet beneath the surface. Before he could recover, he was immediately crushed by the falling gallons of water that rushed to fill the hole he'd unintentionally helped to create.

"Idiot!" said Vixen, "Hang on, I've got him." She touched her amulet and took on the living nature of an octopus. With that, she dove into the swamp to retrieve her stupid comrade. Wonder Woman turned back to re-engage with Kiba when a tree sprouted under her feet. In the blink of an eye, it wrapped around her legs, trapping them in place. She struggled against them, but they'd solidified and knocked her off balance. Before she could recover, the tree had grown around her torso and was wrapping around her arms.

"I figured it'd be fitting," said Woodrue as he put a hand on her shoulder from behind. At his touch, the tree grew firmer and fully trapped her body within its thick bark. "You make a fine Daphne." Wonder Woman no doubt had a witty retort, but her entire face had become covered in wood. The tree trapping her only grew stronger and thicker by the second.

"Let her out!" shouted Captain Marvel as he flew behind Woodrue. He attempted a kick to the side of the plant man's head, but Woodrue caught his ankle and sent him flying.

"When are you going to learn," he chided, "The Green lets me know your next move before you even make it." As if to prove his point, he pivoted and delivered a roundhouse kick to empty air. With a grunt of pain, Zatara was sent flying back, his invisibility spell faltering before he landed with a crack against a thick tree at the edge of the clearing.

Kiba took advantage of Woodrue's rampage and hurled Akamaru like a discus above the clearing. "Dynamic Marking!" he shouted as a suspicious liquid rained down on the fighters.

"Nope!" said Raven, stepping through a portal before any of the fluid could touch her. The others weren't so lucky and were splattered by pee.

"Eww!" shouted Static as he wiped it off his forehead, "What was that for?!"

Dr. Fate examined the fluid on his fingers for a moment before his eyes widened. "A distraction!" he declared. Before he could react, he was struck on both sides by Kiba and Akamaru.

"Piercing Fang!" Kiba shouted as Fate's body buckled under the force of both drills hitting simultaneously. He was spun into the air uncontrollably where he was an open target for Woodrue, who turned one of his fingers into a spear that he threw at Fate. Raven emerged from her portal in midair and pulled Fate out of the spear's path before helping him to the ground.

From the shade of the trees, Swamp Thing hummed deeply. "Things are not going well," he noted.

"No, I would say not," said Ivy softly, "I can feel the Green trying to resist Woodrue, but he's like a machine, just taking more and more of its power to make himself stronger. In a matter of minutes, he'll be unbeatable."

"Then I have no choice," said Swamp Thing, gathering himself up, "I must trust the Green to protect me from Woodrue's influence."

"You can't," Ivy said flatly, "The Green cannot resist Woodrue and protect you at once. It must have a defender, you can't be compromised." Swamp Thing was not a being who could fully express human emotion and Ivy lacked the proper empathy to fully read others, but despite their unique handicaps Ivy was still able to understand Swamp Thing's fear. Perhaps it was their mutual connection to the Green, but she knew he was afraid of losing his friends, of losing the otherworldly energy force that gave him purpose and life. Slowly, she lowered her head. "Okay," she said softly, "Okay."

Swamp Thing turned to her. "Ivy?"

"Just be ready," she told him as she took a deep breath and stepped out into the clearing.

Woodrue instantly spotted her and gave her a wooden grin as he kicked Static away with leg as thick and strong as a tree trunk. "Pamela!" he called out, "I must admit, it's good to see you survived my second round of experiments." The sound of his voice nearly made her falter, but she continued to put one foot in front of the other. "I'll be honest, I was very afraid of you when we collected be honest, I was very afraid of you when we collected you from Arkham," Woodrue continued, backhanding Captain Marvel, Red Tornado, and Dr. Fate at the same time as they tried to charge him, "But now? My power over nature is greater than yours ever was. I can feel flora on the other side of the planet. I can control an entire kingdom of life at the cellular level. Such incredible powers you wielded and you thought the best thing you could do was try to save the planet?"

"Stop talking," said Ivy as she approached him.

Woodrue simply laughed. "I do wonder," he said as he grabbed Jaime from the air, tore his jetpack off, and slammed it into his face, "Was your poor choice of use with the powers I gave you a result of my experiments? You were always a stupid hippy girl so I was never sure how much I impacted your decision making."

Ivy stopped dead only five feet from Woodrue. Slowly, she looked up at him. The fear in her eyes had been replaced with a burning fire. "Gave me…my powers?" she asked quietly, "Impacted…"

The earth started to tremble and Woodrue looked around in mild surprise. "Huh," he noted, "I can feel the Green moving, but can't predict it or reverse it. But our connection to the Green is shared, I should control you as easily as I controlled the other plant man. Why can't I-"

"You want to know how you impacted me?" Ivy interrupted, her voice stronger. Before Woodrue could respond, a giant venus flytrap sprouted from behind him and immediately bit down on his head. While he struggled to free himself, Ivy plunged her hands into the swamp water. When she pulled them out, her fists were encased in thick mud and wood that sparked with green life. The flytrap released Woodrue's head but clamped down on his midriff before he could move. Ivy leapt up and swung with a roar of anger at his head. Her knuckles connected squarely with his chin and, for the first time, it seemed to make an impact. He grunted in pain and winced away from the blow, which was immediately followed by another.

"What the-" he started.

"You ruined my life!" Ivy screamed in his face as she continued to whale on him, "I was a kid when I signed on as your T.A.! A student! A child! And you left me a freak! A test subject! A victim!" She emphasized each sentence with a punch that did noticeable damage to Woodrue's body. Chips of it broke off with each blow and he was starting to fall to his knees, pulled down further by the flytrap. Moss erupted from the swamp around his legs and wrapped firmly around them. "But I will thank you for one thing, Dr. Woodrue," Ivy panted, pausing her attack, "You gave me a family. An entire globe to replace what you took from me. And now…now I'm gonna kill you with them."

Kiba and Akamaru charged at her, but Raven lowered herself to intercept them. Kiba instantly attacked her with blunt by experienced martial arts, but she was able to counter with a series of protective wards that always kept his blows at least an inch away from her skin. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she chanted as she hurled Akamaru back with a blast of black light.

Vixen gasped as she pulled herself up from the depths of the swamp and pulled an unconscious Guy Gardner with her to the surface. "What happened?" wheezed Dr. Fate, still recovering from his bombardment.

"Idiot was trying to make a construct of a scuba tank," Vixen panted, "But because he was making it underwater, the constructs were already flooded. He was basically drowning himself and couldn't understand why." She looked around with a frown. "What the heck happened while I was gone?"

"A lot," sighed Fate, "I'm going to need a few minutes to recover."

Vixen saw Raven barely handling her own against Kiba and most of the other heroes either knocked out or crawling to cover. There was also a very large and imposing tree that hadn't been there moments before. "Right," she said, fingering her totem and summoning the ferocity of a lion, "I can buy you time." Before she could charge Kiba to assist Raven, Akamaru sniffed the air and sensed the presence of a feline. Even Madara's programming kunai, implanted in his undead brain, was ineffective at quelling the ages-old rivalry between dog and cat. He barreled into Vixen from the side, who skidded across the clearing. "Bad dog," she hissed as the ninja dog barked angrily in response.

Woodrue groaned as he pulled against the flytrap and other plants that had ripped up from the earth to trap him down. "Ivy," he whispered.

"What, Woodrue?" she demanded, grabbing him by the throat as she leaned over his crumbling body, "What could you possibly have left to say to me?"

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she slowly looked down, her body shivering. A long, thin spear had pierced her stomach but was angled upwards, erupting through her upper back. "I've been thinking of calling myself the Floronic Man," Woodrue said casually. With a grunt, he ripped the flytrap and other plants off of him and stood up, pushing Ivy's limp form into the water. She struggled to sit up and grabbed at the thick pike of wood stabbed into her, whimpering and gasping in pain with every heartbeat. "That's what we do, right? We take ludicrous names to pretend we're not the ones actually doing these things or something to that effect." He knelt down next to Ivy and clucked in annoyance. "That doesn't look good Pamela. You might want to get that checked out. Oh, and just a hint for next time, make sure your foe is completely immobilized before going in for the killing blow. You know, take a shot at the king, make sure you don't miss and all that."

Ivy glared up at him, her breathing shallow and weak. Then she started to chuckle a bit. "Fool," she managed to spit, coughing up dark green blood as she did.

"Interesting thing to say to the man who conquered nature itself," said Woodrue casually, "But pray tell, why are you wasting your final words on an insult?"

Ivy choked a bit on her own blood, but spat it away. "The Green…is alive…if you severe…connection…" she let the sentence hang. Woodrue looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on him and he stood up.

"Wait a minute," he said, his voice suddenly filled with fear, "Does that mean when you-" His question was interrupted by its answer. As the light faded from Ivy's eyes, Woodrue's body shrank and softened, quickly losing its wooden qualities. After only five seconds, he stood as a human male, naked as the day he was born in the middle of the Florida Everglades.

He took a few panicked seconds to stare at his reborn body before looking around in a fervor. Many of the heroes he'd just knocked out were slowly coming too. Raven was still playing defensively against Kiba, but it was clear her wards were more powerful than his physical attacks. Vixen was scratched up, but was wrestling Akamaru into submission. Woodrue had time to recognize just how badly he'd messed up and take a step in the general direction of the road when he saw what looked like the trees themselves move.

"Jason Woodrue," spoke a voice as ancient and holy as the Earth. Swamp Thing stepped into the sunlight. He'd grown several feet taller and much bulkier, looking like a golem of folklore or some manner of eldritch giant. His eyes, once simple yellow orbs in his mossy skull, were now sharp and dangerous, filled with a sense of hate that can only come from those unaccustomed to the feeling. "The Green would like to speak with you about your actions."

Woodrue made perhaps the smartest move of his life and ran. Unfortunately, he quickly made the dumbest move of his life and ran towards the vehicles. The Lexcorp trucks had been abandoned in the nearby road before the fighting began, but were still filled with liquid Green energy. Swamp Thing walked slowly through the water and Woodrue reached the road far before him. "The power," he muttered to himself, his eyes desperate and crazed, "Need to get the power back!" He unscrewed the cork on one of the tankers and grabbed the lynchpin that held the liquid energy in place.

"Woodrue!" shouted Swamp Thing from halfway across the clearing, "No!"

"The power!" Woodrue screamed in response. He pulled the pin and the entire back face of the tank fell away, spilling him with thousands of gallons of the stuff. Woodrue screamed as his skin blistered and burned. This was different from his previous transformation, which had felt uncomfortable but natural. This was full on painful, agonizing even. He stared at his fingers in horror as instead of turning into wood, flowers and mushrooms began to sprout from his skin itself. He could feel them latching onto his life energy and sucking at his soul.

Raven finally spotted room to go on the offensive and roundhouse kicked Kiba in the chest. He stumbled back a few feet to where Static and Jaime were waiting to catch him. All three boys fell into the swamp and the two heroes restrained the Shinobi. Satisfied that he wasn't going anywhere, Raven looked around and instantly spotted Captain Marvel struggling to stand. She flew over to him and hefted his arm over her shoulder. "Easy, big guy," she said as she helped him up, "Looks like you were at the wrong end of train."

"Call me Dorothy," he managed to grin at her, "Because I just got my butt kicked by a talking tree."

"We are not safe yet," declared Swamp Thing, glaring at Woodrue. The former Floronic Man was writhing on the dirt path, screaming in pain as more and more plants sprouted from his body.

"Well that's an image I'm not getting out of my head," Raven muttered as she helped Marvel limp over to Swamp Thing.

"By consecrating himself with the fluid, he has become a living portal to the Green," Swamp Thing warned them, "At this rate, his body will implode and raw Green energy will erupt out of him."

Captain Marvel glanced back and forth between Swamp Thing and Woodrue. "And that would be a…bad thing?"

"It would wipe out all non-plant life on the planet."

"Ah. Bad thing."

Raven narrowed her eyes. "You can't stop it?"

Swamp Thing shuddered. "The Green itself could not prevent this. It is like standing before a waterfall and resisting the current."

"Then what can we do?"

After a pause, Swamp Thing hummed. "A powerful enough energy source of another mystic medium might counterbalance the release of the Green," he mused, "But we'd need it now." Green lines were starting to crack through Woodrue's skin.

"Another mystic medium? Like the Green?" asked Raven, "Cap, didn't you say you get your powers from a part of the Melt? Would that count?"

"Perhaps, but this is mere conjecture," Swamp Thing warned her.

"We've been working with theories all day," said Captian Marvel, "And besides, this is the one thing I'm the best at." He pulled his arm off of Raven's shoulder and hobbled over to Woodrue. "Not so tough when you're not a tree, huh?" he said as he hoisted the wailing scientist onto his shoulder, "Raven, I'm gonna need you to catch me."

Raven blinked. "What?"

"No time!" snapped Swamp Thing, "Go!" Captain Marvel shot up into the air and Raven hesitantly followed. The speed of Mercury helped Marvel reach low atmosphere in mere seconds as Raven played catchup.

He took a deep breath and held Woodrue's body over his head and closed his eyes. The green lines that were running through Woodrue's skin had grown thicker and connected. The only bit of actual skin he seemed to have left was his face, and even that was starting to be covered by flora. Just before his body was completely consumed, Captain Marvel's eyes snapped open.

"SHAZAM!"

As the last syllable left his mouth, a bolt of mystic lightning, powered more by purpose and force of will than anything, shattered through the heavens. It slammed through Woodrue, who howled in some of the worst pain a human being can experience, and hit Captain Marvel. Raven arrived in time to see two bodies gently falling away from each other. One was Woodrue, back in his own skin and unconscious. The other was a boy of her age with dark hair and a red t-shirt. She tossed a portal under Woodrue's falling body and teleported him to the ground, but caught the boy in her arms as she flew under him.

"I forgot," she said, "You're what, sixteen?"

"First kid to be elected to the Justice League," the boy said proudly, stretching out in Raven's arms and wrapping an arm over her shoulder. Raven glanced at the hand that now rested there and had to admit that it felt nice to be so close to someone. Then a though crashed through her head.

"You didn't need me to catch you, did you," she said bluntly.

The boy shrugged. "Can you blame me for wanting to be in the arms of a pretty girl?" Raven answered by dropping him. The boy's laughter echoed with her long before a second cry of his magic word summoned another bolt of lightning. By the time Raven landed, Captain Marvel was there to greet her with a grin.

. . .

Naruto's smile vanished the exact second the door to his office was closed. Fun time's over. Work time begins.

"You ask me, work should have come first," Kurama grumbled eagerly, "We've got a kid to mess with."

Naruto walked around his desk and sat down. With a wave of his hand, he summoned a holoscreen that showed Terra's profile. Everything we know about Terra, agent of Akatsuki.

"A.k.a. Tara Markov, royal princess and potentially the last surviving member of the Markovian royal family."

Who has betrayed us to the Light and has been spying on us for months, Naruto finished, But most of that is unimportant for our goals. What we really need to look at is this. He pulled up Terra's psych evaluation and gave it a quick once over. I sent this over to Black Canary this morning. Didn't give her any details, but asked her to assess it and give an example of potential teammates who this individual would have good team chemistry with. She sent me back a list. He pulled up said list for Kurama to view.

"Interesting picks," he noted, "She really thinks Terra and Artemis could work together?"

Mmm, I see it. Artemis has that big sister vibe that you know Terra would cling to. But I was thinking more along the lines of this. Naruto highlighted a name and their profile came up.

"Really?!" roared Kurama with laughter, "Are you serious right now?!"

Naruto was far from laughing. I've already run it through with M'gann, he said, She's the only other person who knows Terra's a traitor. She's already agreed to use him as bait and to play her part in the coming events.

"He's not exactly in our jurisdiction though, is he," Kurama pointed out.

Which is why we contact Kaldur and let him know what's what.

Their mental conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Jason let himself in without invitation and Platinum followed meekly behind him. "What's the point of knocking if…never mind," sighed Naruto.

"Sorry, Naruto," Platinum sighed, "I tried to stop him from barging in, but…well it's Jason."

"I heard you were back," said Jason with a shrug, "I take it Operation Bond has been kicked off in full effect?"

"All we can do now is hope they all through themselves into their training 100%," said Naruto, flicking away the holoscreens, "Which means it's your turn."

Platinum shivered, her nanobots rattling slightly. "Our second unanimous vote."

Jason cocked his head to the side. "You're acting like you don't already have a list of names for me."

Naruto smiled and reached into his desk drawer. He pulled out a piece of paper and placed it on his desk in front of Jason. "When we agreed Akatsuki needed a designated kill squad and that you would lead it, Hiruzen and I collaborated," he said, "The sword you carry is the Executioner Sword, based off one that existed in our homeworld."

"I know," said Jason, taking the paper and looking it over, "You told me when you made it for me."

"What I didn't tell you is that the Executioner Sword was one of seven unique blades used by elite ninja from the Village Hidden in the Mist," Naruto told him, "They were known as the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and were revered as some of the deadliest Shinobi to have ever lived, each wielding insanely powerful swords that made them more than a match for any opponent."

"So you made your list focus on swords?" Jason said, folding the paper, "Out of what, nostalgia?"

"Among other things," said Naruto shamelessly, "Swords are symbols of conflict and death, but also of nobility and righteousness. Plus, there are some pretty powerful blades in this world as well. One of them is even close by."

"Katana," Jason nodded, "I was gonna pick her anyway based on her performance at the Battle of Mexico. Besides me, she's the only member of Akatsuki with a confirmed kill, and the Soultaker Sword is perfect for assassinating undead Shinobi. Alright, so she's in, but I've never heard of half of these guys. Where do I start?"

"The Oblivion Bar," said Naruto instantly, "Neutral territory for magic users in a pocket dimension. Ask any high-enough ranking mage and they'll direct you to a waypoint. The others might be a little harder to track down."

"Sounds good," said Jason, tucking the paper into his Akatsuki cloak's inner pocket, "I'll get Katana and we'll get started." With that, he turned and marched towards the door. Before he walked through it, he paused and looked over his shoulder. "Oh, and expect a visit from Dick in the near future. He's been hounding me to get an audience with you."

"He has my number," said Naruto, shuffling papers around in his desk drawer.

"Well he wants a face-to-face," repeated Jason, "And he wants it soon. Like real soon. ASAP."

Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. "He's hiding behind the door waiting to make a dramatic entrance. Got it."

"Cool, just thought you should know," said Jason. He closed the door behind him to reveal Dick, in his Nightwing costume, leaning against the wall.

"You guys take all the fun out of being a ninja," he grumbled.

"Learn to sneak up on a Sharingan and I'll be impressed," said Naruto with a grin, "What's up, Dick?"

Dick pushed himself away from the wall and slapped a folder down on Naruto's desk. "We need to talk about this."

. . .

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" With Raven's chant, the tree that had trapped Wonder Woman exploded into fragments of light. The Amazon Princess stumbled out of the nebula with a deep gasp and doubled over as she caught her breath.

When she had composed herself, she stood up and gave Raven a grateful smile. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," Raven yawned. Florida State Police had arrived to impound the Lexcorp vehicles and arrest their guards and Woodrue, who was currently sleeping soundly in the back of a squad car headed for Miami. He'd be on the first flight to New Orleans and then a quick bus ride to Belle Reve.

Gardner was being loaded into the back of one of the many ambulances that had arrived on the scene. "I'm telling you, I'm fine!" he insisted as he pushed an EMT away, "I just got a little knocked out! That's what happens when you fight to hard!"

Vixen sighed and rubbed her forehead. "No, that's what happens when you fight stupid," she barked at him, "You nearly drowned, moron. They need to make sure you don't have water in your lungs."

Gardner fixed her with a sultry look. "If I do, any chance you'll be the one giving me mouth to mouth?"

The EMTs got up to make another attempt to get him in the ambulance, but this time it was Vixen who stopped them. "Allow me!" she growled, cracking her knuckles.

"Looks like I missed quite a fight," said Wonder Woman, looking around, "But we won. That's always a good thing."

Raven pulled her hood over her face. "Not always," she said, motioning to the center of the clearing. Wonder Woman's eyes landed on where Swamp Thing sat. Though returned to his former glory and stature, he sat pensive and saddened at the sight of the limp body that hung in his arms.

"Oh," sighed Wonder Woman sadly, "Pamela." She levitated over the water towards Swamp Thing and Raven decided to follow her. Wonder Woman put her hand on Swamp Thing's shoulder and gazed mournfully at Ivy's body. "Poor girl," she said softly, "She didn't deserve this."

Swamp Thing breathed deeply and carefully extracted the spear from Ivy's chest. "She sacrificed herself to cut off Woodrue's connection to the Green," he said, "The Parliament of Trees has communicated to me that such a sacrifice is worthy of a reward." He placed his hand over Ivy's chest and closed his eyes.

Raven suddenly stopped and tilted her head up. "What the…" she whispered. Later, Raven wouldn't be able to describe what had transpired in that moment, only that something had changed. A force she was at once familiar with and completely foreign to was with them in that swamp. The air tasted and moved differently as worlds rippled and reestablished themselves. Looking around, it appeared only she, and presumably Swamp Thing, were aware of such calamity. Even Dr. Fate did not appear to recognize the huge magical flux that resonated through the clearing, continuing to gingerly rub his stomach and back.

The sensation was gone as soon as it came and Swamp Thing's eyes opened.

So did Ivy's.

"Impossible!" gasped Wonder Woman as Ivy breathed once again.

Swamp Thing leaned over Ivy and looked into her eyes. "Are you alright, Poison Ivy?" he asked.

Ivy stared back up at him and gently lifted herself up to him. With the utmost care and feebleness, she softly planted her lips across his. "Call me Pamela," she said quietly before her eyes fluttered close and she fell into Swamp Thing's arms, deep asleep.

Swamp Thing rose, water pouring off him as he did. "She cannot recover in a human hospital," he announced aloud, "Her connection to the Green must be more firmly reestablished. I will take her to the Parliament of Trees directly for healing." With that, he suddenly started to sink into the swamp itself. By the time it fully engulfed him and Ivy, Raven could no longer sense their presence in the area.

"Wow," said Captain Marvel, coming up behind her, "Guy straight up performs a miracle and then just bounces. Baller moves right there."

"Swamp Thing has never been truly human, as much as he plays at being one of us," Zatara explained as he approached the group. A white bandage wrapped tightly around his forehead and his left arm was in a sling. "He probably does not even consider resurrecting the dead to be a remarkable feat."

"Like I said, baller. If anything, that's even more baller."

Zatara sighed. "Is baller a new thing I'm behind on?"

"Nah," said Raven, slapping Marvel upside the head affectionately, "He's just an idiot."

"Good," muttered Zatara, "Because I don't think I could stomach that one. By the way, Red Tornado has left already." He turned to Wonder Woman with a shrewd smile. "Said something about hating this whole hero business and planning to talk to Naruto about being taken off the team."

"He was effective, but it was unfair to ask him to come out of retirement," Wonder Woman agreed.

Static and Jaime approached the group, their heads hung. "The second Shinobi got away from us," Static sighed, "As soon as he was gone, the dog turned into smoke. We think it might have been a Shadow Clone the whole time."

"We got one," Captain Marvel pointed out, "That a victory any day of the week."

"Our enemies are slippery by design," Wonder Woman nodded in agreement, "There is no shame in defeat at their hands."

"Doesn't make me feel better," muttered Static. As the conversation continued, Raven caught Jaime's eye. When she was sure she had his attention, she motioned to the side and the two broke off.

"Hey," said Jaime when they were on their own and out of earshot, "So I was-"

"We're done, Jaime," said Raven firmly.

Jaime paused. "You…don't want to talk?"

"I've said all I want to say to you," she said, not budging from her position, "I'll work with you, but I don't want to see you outside that armor again."

"Then…" Jaime looked back and forth in confusion, "Then why'd you bring me out here."

"To get it through your head," sighed Raven, "You keep thinking we can talk this out or something but we can't Jaime. I don't want to be with you anymore. I don't know how much simpler I can make it than that." Slowly, painfully slowly, Jaime nodded and drifted into the air.

Raven watched him leave and sighed, feeling a great weight lift from her shoulders. "That looked awkward," said Captain Marvel, appearing next to her, "Was that awkward? I bet that was awkward."

Raven glared at him, but sighed after a moment and her gaze softened. "So, got a new story to tell?"

"Yup!" said Captain Marvel with a name, "Hopefully it'll get me a better nickname."

"You might need a new name period," Raven noted, "Captain Marvel sounds like something a kid would make up. Oh wait."

She grinned cheekily at him and he laughed in response. "I've actually been thinking on that," he said, "You might be right about a name change. I've been playing around with the name…Shaz-"

"Whoa!" said Raven quickly, "Won't that turn you back into your secret identity?"

"Not when I'm not screaming it at the top of my lungs, no."

Raven rolled her eyes. "You live in Fawcett City, right?"

Marvel shrugged. "Yeah." Without another word, Raven made a portal above them and lowered it onto them. They emerged in a park at twilight in the Captain's home city. "Cool trick."

"You should see when I'm trying," said Raven, lowering herself to a park bench.

Captain Marvel gave her a soft smile. "SHAZAM!" he called, transforming back into a teenager with a quick bolt of lightning. As he sat down next to her, Raven arched an eyebrow at him. "I've been him enough today," said the boy with a sigh, "Time to be me for a while."

"And you are?"

The boy gave her a toothy grin and offered her a hand. "Billy. Billy Batson."

Raven took his hand and shook it. "Raven."

"You don't have another identity?"

"Sorta, but I don't like to use it. I don't have a lot of good things associated with it."

Billy leaned forwards. "Wow. That must be rough being one person all the time."

Raven stared at him. "You know that makes you sound like you have multiple personality disorder, right?"

Billy had to laugh at that. "Nah," he said after it faded, "It helps. It's hard to balance a normal life with being a superhero. Having some distance between the two can let you figure out how to be the best of both worlds. Take me for example. I joined the Justice League at seven and I'm a straight B+ student. That's a superhero A."

Raven snorted a laugh and leaned back on the bench next to him. After a few moments of companionable silence filled with the sound of insects chirping in the night, she took a deep breath. "Rachel," she said.

"Huh?"

"My name is Rachel. Rachel Roth." Raven paused for a few moments before pulling her hood back. "I…I don't really know who Rachel is. I've always been Raven, for as long as I can remember. I don't know how to be someone else, let alone whoever Rachel is."

"It helps to start small and concrete," Billy advised, "Like this. Close your eyes." Raven did as said. "Now repeat after me: Rachel has a friend named Billy."

Raven smirked. "Rachel has a friend named Billy."

"He's super cool and rad and can beat anybody at basketball."

At that, Raven giggled. "He's super cool and rad and can beat anybody at basketball."

"Even Shaq." Raven couldn't bring herself to repeat the phrase as she was laughing too hard.

"Really?!" she cried, wiping a tear from her eye, "A beansprout like you?"

"Psh," Billy dismissed her with a hiss and a grin, "If you're gonna doubt me than the exercise won't work."

Raven smiled at him and folded her arms behind her head. "I think I'm good for now," she said. After a pause, she was surprised to feel a tinge of anxiety emanating off of Billy and glanced his way. "You okay, Billy?"

He rubbed his fingers together in what she assumed must be a nervous tic. "There's a pretty good ice cream place a couple blocks from here," he said, "Closes in thirty minutes. We can make it if we run. Wanna get some?" He was careful with how he phrased it, Raven realized. It was a proposal that meant as much or as little as she wanted. The ball was very firmly in her court. She decided her best move was to hit it right back.

"Too tired to run," she said, standing up and offering him a hand, "Tell me the direction and the distance and I'll teleport us there."

. . .

Naruto leaned forward. "An alien prison transport," he murmured.

"In three days," Dick confirmed, "And they seem to have an arrangement with the DEO."

"And you want us to, what, interfere?" Naruto asked, "Jason already brought this to our attention and we deemed it unimportant to our fight against the Light."

"Really?" said Dick with a grin, "Aliens indirectly partnered with the Light transporting an enemy through our orbit doesn't seem like something worth investigating? A potential cosmic ally?"

"We have cosmic allies," Naruto pointed out, "The Green Lanterns, New Genesians. And Adam Strange is working towards converting Rimbor to support the League. We don't exactly have a shortage right now."

Dick pursed his lips. "Naruto, please," he said, "I'm feeling this one. It's important to the DEO, important enough for them to apologize." Naruto sighed and leaned back in his chair. Platinum stood against the wall and folded her arms as she watched the conversation, mostly passive.

. . .

Thousands of miles away, Lex Luthor was watching the same conversation from the same perspective through a wide screen against a wall. "Okay," he said softly, "Let's see if this works. Ivo?" Next to him, Ivo started typing away at a keyboard. With a flourish, he pressed 'enter.'

. . .

Platinum's head twitched and she cleared her throat. "I'm with Dick on this one," she said, "Interrupting a prison transport could strike a pretty significant blow to the Light and the…what did you call them, Dick?"

"The Citadel," said Dick, "I asked around the League about them. They're a race of galactic warlords that basically conquer worlds and enslave their peoples for fun. The Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lanterns can't interfere due to a loophole in their laws."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "Can't the League deal with this then?"

"I spoke with Batman about it," Dick replied, folding his arms, "They think this is too close to the Light for you not to be involved. They won't stop the transport if Akatsuki isn't right there alongside them."

"It wouldn't even be that hard," Platinum pointed out, "We have access to spacecraft and our infiltration team is ready to go at a moment's notice."

Naruto tapped his desk. "I'll have to bring it to the Inner Circle," he said after a few moments.

Dick frowned. "The Inner Circle?"

"As of this morning, the Akatsuki is a democratic organization," Platinum explained, "While Naruto remains the face of the organization and field commander, members of the Inner Circle make major decisions as a group."

"And I've vowed to trust their judgement," added Naruto.

Dick raised an eyebrow. "That still leaves a lot of power in your hands, Naruto."

"Less than I had last week," Naruto countered smoothly, "I'll assemble the Inner Circle tonight and we'll have an answer for you in the morning."

"We only have three days for this," Dick reminded him.

"Only need a few hours," Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "I'll start looking into Citadel space technology just in case. We probably have some resources we can tug on for info on them."

"Then I guess I've done all I can," said Dick, turning towards the door, "I'll wait for your decision."

Before he could leave, Raven teleported into the room, her hood down and hands folded behind her back. "Oh, hey Dick," she said with a nod.

"Hey Raven," he said as he exited.

"Everything okay, Raven?" Platinum asked, "You look…I don't know. Different?"

Raven blinked and gave a small frown. "I…I think I just had a date. And I kinda liked it. Not really sure how to deal with that right now."

"I'm glad you're here," said Naruto, pulling up a holoscreen, "I'm going to send a message to Kaldur about a recommendation for the team. I need you to double up on it."

"First things first, I believe congratulations are in order," said Raven, folding her arms proudly, "I sealed one of the Shinobi, our first major victory against them."

Naruto stopped writing his message and stared at her. "Wha…which one?"

"Shino Aburame," Raven said, "My sealing technique worked like a charm, just needed some time to charge it up."

Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. "Then Madara knows we're ready to fight him. I just wish we were fully prepared."

Platinum perked up. "Are we not? What's wrong?"

"There's a problem with Tsunade's DNA," said Naruto grimly, "Namely, it's dead. Batman's working on finding a way to revive it, but if we can't fill in the gaps of her genetic sequence with a natural source, we can't splice it into my Sharingan."

Raven paused for a moment. "So you need a natural energy source that could regenerate dead cells?" she asked.

"Basically, yeah." Slowly, she put her hands on Naruto's desk and leaned forward with a smile. Naruto looked at her with apprehension. "Uh, Raven? You're smiling, and not sarcastically. It's creepy."

"You are not gonna believe who I met today," she said, ignoring his statement.

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "…Someone who can revive dead cells?" Raven nodded, her smile firmly plastered on her face. "Sounds like you've got a story to tell," said Naruto quietly.

. . .

Luthor watched in silence as Raven told her tale and glanced to the wall behind him. "Well, well," he said softly, "What do you make of that?"

Against the far wall, Madara slowly opened his Rinnegan eyes. "I think," he said, "That they're getting too close. It may be time to take another city, and their interference with the Citadel's prison transport will make an excellent cover."

"Where did you have in mind?" asked Luthor.

Madara strolled forward. Ivo gulped audibly when the Shinobi got within five feet of him. "They have struck their first blow against our reanimations," he said, "They cut one of our heads off, we will take one of theirs. Our target is Metropolis."

Luthor blinked. "M-Metropolis?"

Madara glanced at him sharply. "Is that a problem?"

"Hardly," said Luthor calmly, "But I doubt Queen Bee will sanction using her Chemo tech on another attack. She seems to be stockpiling it."

"Not an issue," said Madara, "I will direct three powerful reanimations towards the city. They will lay waste to it. I expect the Light to match my efforts."

"Of course," Luthor said, "I can have Doomsday and Match on standby."

"That's only two to my three, Luthor," Madara pointed out.

Luthor paused. "I'll check with Deathstroke, see if he has anyone in his Hive training regiment that might measure up. Will you be joining the fray?"

"No," said Madara, "I will confer with our mages. Uzumaki cannot be allowed to awaken the Rinnegan. In the chaos of our attack, one of the reanimations downstairs and I will prevent him from reviving Tsunade's DNA."

"Ah," said Luthor, "The puppets are ready?"

"No, that one's a perfectionist," sighed Madara, "He seems to be excited by this world's weapons technology and is incorporating it into his little toys. I meant the other one."

"Oh," Luthor said lowly, paling slightly, "Oh."

. . .

Terra blinked as she stepped through the Zeta tube into the Watchtower's main hall. "Ah, excellent," said Aqualad, standing before the members of the team as a holoscreen popped up behind him, "Everyone, this is Terra. She is our newest member and our new liaison between the team and Akatsuki."

"Hey," said Terra shyly as a wave of welcomes greeted her. She stood on the side next to Ms. Martian, who offered her smile. Terra hesitantly smiled back. She wasn't sure why Naruto had chosen her to act as a bridge between Akatsuki and the team, but she was willing to take it as an opportunity to gather more information for…him.

"As Terra's presence indicates, Akatsuki has taken a renewed interest in the League's black ops operations," Aqualad lectured, "As such, Naruto Uzumaki himself has sent us a mission." The holoscreen behind flashed up a map of Bialya, with markers indicating where the UN had established forts and outposts along the border. "Akatsuki is planning a major military operation against Queen Bee in Bialya," Aqualad announced, "If successful, their mission could free an entire country from her illegitimate and tyrannical rule. But before they can begin, they need logistics."

"That's where we come in, right?" said Wonder Girl, folding her arms, "We get in undetected, get a general layout of the country that we can't get through satellite imaging, and get out."

"Yes," said Aqualad with a curt nod, "But not you Wonder Girl. You're needed to help with recovery efforts after this afternoon's earthquake in India. No, this mission is priority alpha and we're only sending in our most covert operatives." As one, a handful of the team stepped forward, including Ms. Martian and Robin and a few others Terra didn't recognize. "You too, Terra," Aqualad said, "This is technically an Akatsuki mission as well."

Terra gulped and stepped forwards next to Ms. Martian. "Where do we start?" asked the alien girl.

"Naruto has suggested a series of two man squads," said Aqualad, "I'm inclined to agree with him. Ms. Martian, you'll be with Robin. Bumblebee and Blue Beetle, you're also a team."

"Guess that leaves us," said a voice on Terra's other side. She yelped as a green fly next to her turned into a boy around her age with green skin and a tuft of shaggy green hair. He flashed her a cute grin and she blinked in surprise.

"Yes," sighed Aqualad, "Terra, you and Beast Boy will be a team."

"Yes!" cheered Beast Boy, wrapping an arm around Terra's neck and pulling her in for an impromptu hug, "Getting to hang with the new girl! This is gonna be awesome, you'll see!" Terra could only suffer the uncomfortable hug and wonder just what she'd been thrown into.

. . .

Thanks for the reviews! Keep 'em coming!

So I actually had this entire chapter written and edited about three months ago but literally a day before I was set to post it, my computer crashed and I lost a significant portion of my data. Even after I got a new one, which took some time, it took me a while to muster up the energy to rewrite this entire thing. I made it a big one intentionally because I was making some big changes and wanted to give all the characters time to develop a little.

To be clear, Swamp Thing is in this now and he's always awesome. Can't go wrong with a little Swamp Thing. And just like Billy and Raven, he and Ivy are kinda-sorta-not-really-but-maybe a thing. Just playing around with it a bit for now.

Also, I saw YJ season 3 pt. 1. It was…okay. I don't think I'll take anything from it because I already have my own versions of a lot of the characters they introduced already running around in this story. In fact I already killed off a couple of them. Might do something with that, actually. I will say I love what they did with Halo, great reinvention of the character. Kinda disappointed Cyborg didn't get a lot of development, just a pretty basic and poorly paced origin. Hopefully they do more with him in pt. 2, but regardless there's a reason I haven't introduced him here yet, but I do have a few prominent characters coming in the next few chapters. Which will hopefully be up in the next few months.