5 Chapter 5: Making Friends and Enemies

Robin is sitting at the super computer in Mount Justice accessing information from the Justice League database to study a certain individual. Like his mentor, he is obsessed with gaining as much information as possible on individuals of interest. It just so happens that the individual he is interested in is the same one that his mentor is investigating. He is so engrossed with going over the mission details that he never hears a person coming up behind him.

"Is there a reason you are looking up information on Naruto?"

Robin hides his surprise well. He turns his head to see Kaldur come up beside him. Kaldur keeps his emotions schooled. "I want to learn more about him. How is it that someone so strong was able to stay hidden?" A video is pulled up of Naruto fighting Amazo. Justice League hacked the cameras at Gotham University to steal the video footage. "I mean he was able to take down an opponent that had the powers of multiple League members. An opponent that nearly killed you, Miss Martian, and Superboy. Aren't you the least bit curious about him?"

Kaldur places a hand on Robin's shoulder. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, but Naruto is a friend and teammate. When he is ready, he will let us in."

"Come on Kaldur, I know he saved your life…"

"All of our lives," corrects Kaldur. "Multiple times." Robin frowns. "Sometimes you need to ignore all that paranoia and have faith." Robin stares at the screen.

August 5th, 12:05pm

Superboy is slammed down upon the ground. Groaning, he stares up at a ceiling that is rapidly becoming a close friend to him. "You are getting better," smiles Canary. She extends her hand which he takes. He is helped to his feet. "Don't throw all your weight into your punches because it leaves you wide open to a counter."

"Right," Superboy dusts off his pants. "I am ready to go again."

Naruto enters into the room. A thud makes him look up. He notices Superboy getting beat up by Canary. When it comes to fighting Superboy is pretty useless. Mister Twister, Mammoth, and Amazo all beat the crap out of the clone. What type of weapon constantly gets beat up? Cadmus didn't do a very good job at creating a weapon. If Superboy wasn't invulnerable to most things the clone would have been killed a long time ago.

"Do you want to join us?"

Superboy understood every word of that. It looks like Cadmus made it so that he could understand Japanese. "I have my own style," replies Naruto.

Canary sends a challenging smirk. "Do you think your style is better than anything I have to offer?"

"No, but I like my style and have no desire to learn a new style."

"How about a spar?"

A shrug comes from the ninja. Canary spreads her legs getting into her stance. Naruto stands calmly not getting into a stance. Superboy takes a step back. The clone is looking forward to this. A fist sails towards Naruto's face. He leans back to avoid it. She twists around going for a leg sweep that he leaps over. Smirking, she goes to strike him in the air knowing that he can't avoid. Or so she believed. Naruto twists around so that he is upside down and plants his hand on her extended arm. A kick comes down from above striking Canary between the shoulder and neck. Pain fills the woman dropping her to her knees. He flips backwards landing on his feet. 'He was able to put that much power into a kick even from that position,' winces Canary.

'So he can beat Canary as well,' thinks Superboy. It isn't that surprising. Naruto is the one that defeated Amazo. An android that took on several members of the Justice League along with copying their powers. As much as Superboy hates to admit it, even silently, Naruto is the strongest member on the team. Apparently even strong enough to take on a member from the Justice League.

"You are fast, but lack any true technique. Against an opponent of equal speed you will not have such an advantage," states Canary. "I can teach you a few moves."

Naruto shrugs, "alright." There is no harm in learning a few moves.

Break

"Take a short break, the others will be arriving soon for team training."

Naruto and Superboy stand down. Canary tosses each of them a water bottle. She knows that the two boys are far from tired. Superboy is a carbon copy of Superman except without all the powers of the Man of Steel. One of the many things that he did inherent from the cloning process is Superman's incredible stamina and endurance. Even after three straight hours of training, Superboy didn't even break a sweat and show no signs of fatigue. Naruto's stamina was almost on the same level which is impressive. He is sweating and showed small signs of exhaustion after the second hour, but he would recover quickly to keep up with Superboy. At this rate the two would have the basics mastered in no time.

Superboy prefers the grappling and throwing techniques to take down his opponents. He is learning to control his strength by channeling his anger. Of course, it is hard to see his true growth as Naruto's superior speed allows him to evade all of Superboy's attacks and counters. Then again, Naruto faces the same problem because all of his physical attacks are useless against Superboy's steel-like body. Naruto prefers joint locks and throws, but Superboy's superior strength allows him to quickly break free of joint locks and the throws do no damage to the clone. The two make for perfect sparring partners as it comes down to a battle of stamina to determine a winner. And a stamina battle between those two can last hours as she witnessed.

"Am I late?"

Megan flies over to Superboy and Naruto. Superboy sniffs the air looking at Megan curiously. A blush heats her cheeks. "I was trying out a couple new recipes."

"Yo, I am ready to learn teacher!" Wally speeds into the room stopping in front of Canary. He gives the older woman a wink. "Your number one student is here."

"Yeah right," smirks Robin.

Kaldur greets his teammates. "It is good to see you all again."

"Now that everyone is here we can begin team training." Canary types into the console. Suddenly the room changes into an exact image of Star City. Large holographic buildings, cars, and other objects fill the room placing them in the middle of the city. Naruto stares at a car next to him with a critical eye. There is something about this makes it seem like it is more than a hologram. Reaching out, he touches the car to find it quite solid.

Robin smirks, "it is the latest in light bending technology. The objects are made solid."

'It is like creating something from nothing. No jutsu I know can do that,' thinks Naruto in awe.

Canary hits a couple more buttons and the streets fill with holographic people. "The point of this team is to perform covert operations. As successful as your missions have been, you have failed to maintain cover on both missions." Naruto raises an eyebrow. "Well, almost all of you have failed to be covert. It is a moot point because you succeed and fail as a team not as individuals," states Canary. He decides to hold his tongue not needing to point out that the missions succeeded due to him. "The point of this exercise will be to retrieve several items while avoiding being spotted by civilians. With each item you retrieve the difficulty will rise…"

August 3rd, 7:00 pm

"Good work," praises Canary. The team looks a little beat up, but had managed to pass the final team training test. She checks the time to see it is late. "Ok, that will be enough for today. I will come back in two days and we will continue team training."

A groan comes from Wally. "I am taking a looong shower." Wally pulls out his last chocolate bar and begins to munch on it. "Hey Megan, want to go out tomorrow?"

"I have some new recipes I want to try tomorrow. You are welcome to help out," offers Megan.

"On second thought, I have to get ready for school. It starts next week."

Megan gains a jealous expression. "You are so lucky. I wish I could go to school." Robin and Wally look at her as if she grew a second head.

Naruto turns away from the group. He is planning to get a snack before heading for some nighttime training. There are a couple jutsu he wants to work on. 'Naruto, if you don't mind, I have a question on your powers.' Kaldur walks over to the younger boy. The ninja pauses before turning to face Kaldur. A nod is given to let Kaldur know he can ask. Kaldur sends Megan a grateful look for establishing a mental link between the two. 'You are able to manipulate fire, wind, and earth. Are you able to manipulate any other elements?'

'All elements,' answers Naruto.

'Even water?'

'Yes.'

Kaldur gains a pensive expression. 'I would like to test my own abilities against yours one day. My home, Atlantis, is known for its sorcery abilities using water. Though I did end my training prematurely when I became Aquaman's apprentice.'

'I have never heard of Atlantis.'

'It is an underwater kingdom,' smiles Aqualad.

A kingdom that is underwater, Naruto would like to see that. 'Show me this Atlantis one day and I will show you my skills in water jutsu,' says Naruto.

Aqualad smiles in amusement. 'It is a deal.' Naruto throws up a wave before heading to the Zeta Tubes. It is time to head home.

August 7th

Megan watches as Naruto and Superboy spar with each other. At first, she was worried that the two were going to take it out of hand. There was a good reason for that.

Superboy entered the kitchen to find Naruto sitting on the couch eating a bowl of rice. Naruto is watching the news as usual. "Let's go to the training room. I am bored," says Superboy.

Naruto calmly takes a bite from his rice. He came to the cave to train and eat lunch with Megan. She asked him to try a couple of her new recipes. The former missing ninja is not one to turn down a free meal. "Ok," nods the Ninja. Naruto is getting better at understanding the English language, but still has trouble speaking it.

"Can't we just sit down and eat…" Megan's voice trails off as the two boy's left the room. Using her telekinetic powers to turn the oven and stove off, she flies after the two hoping to end the fight before it starts.

Naruto and Superboy ignored her the entire way to the training room. Once the two reached the simulator, Superboy activated the basic sparring program where a point would be awarded for each take down. An hour later the two were still fighting. Megan sighs as she continues to watch the two. Her worries disappeared after the first ten minutes. Despite the rather brutal way the two were fighting, she can sense that there is no real anger between the two. Ok so she may have used her telepathy to scan their surface thoughts just to be sure.

A loud thud hits the ground. Superboy stars at the ceiling in anger before rising to his feet. The clone stares at the score to see it is 22 to 0 in Naruto's favor. He knows that it is a spar and the two are not using the true extent of their abilities, but he hates losing especially in a fight.

Megan speaks up, "are you two getting tired?"

The two look at each other. "No," they reply.

"How about we go to the beach and relax? I'll contact the others!" Megan flies over to the consul to send a message to Kaldur, Wally, and Robin. Superboy and Naruto share a glance. Reluctantly, the two stand down knowing that Megan is not going to let the matter drop. "Ok I sent them all a message. I am sure that they will come. Now we need to get on our swimsuits!" Megan closes her eyes. Her clothes begin to vanish forming into a yellow bikini top with matching shorts. "How do I look?" She strikes a pose with her hands on her hips.

"Nice."

"Pretty."

A blush burns Megan's cheeks at Naruto's comment. Superboy raises an eyebrow at Naruto's comment. Naruto stands there not feeling any shame in telling the truth. He knows that Superboy is thinking the same thing. It is obvious to see Superboy checking her out as much as the ninja. Ocean blue eyes discreetly run up Megan's long green legs, flat stomach, and cleavage. It makes the ninja wonder though if that is Megan's true body or just a form she shapeshifted into. She is fifteen years old. Not many fifteen years old have such well-defined curves meaning that in order to be more appealing she could have fixed any small flaws so to speak. Honestly though, he could care less.

"Thanks," blushes Megan.

"Recognized Robin, B01."

"Recognized Aqualad, B02."

In dual beams of light, Robin and Aqualad appear. "Yo," waves Robin in civilian clothes.

"Hello, Wally won't be able to make it," says Kaldur.

Laughter erupts from Robin. "School started for him today," chuckles Robin. "He is going to be so bummed out when he finds out we went to the beach without him."

"Well, since we are all here let's get going!" beams Megan.

Superboy folds his arms across his chest. "I don't have a swimsuit."

Kaldur smile, "I have that covered."

Beach

"It is such a beautiful day," smiles Megan.

Robin raises his hand. "Wait a moment, let's take a second to remember our fallen comrade." He lowers his head in dramatic fashion.

Megan nods in agreement. "Poor Wally."

Naruto does have to admit that it is a beautiful day out. Perhaps Megan had the right idea. It is a good time to relax and enjoy a short break. Even the strongest of ninja need a break from missions and training to recharge. He walks away from the group finding a nice spot in the sand to lay down. Closing his eyes, he enjoys the moment.

Megan goes to call out to Naruto, but Kaldur places a hand on her shoulder. "Leave him, he is enjoying the beach in his own way," reassures Kaldur. Megan gains a look of understanding.

"Time to go hit the waves!" cheers Robin.

August 7th, 8:00 pm

Naruto walks towards the meeting area with Superboy. The two have both changed into mission clothes. Or in Superboy's case, his regular outfit. A feminine scent that Naruto doesn't recognize hits his nostrils. He keeps a calm expression trying to recall the scent but nothing comes to mind. Entering the main room, the others are all waiting. Miss Martian, Robin, and Aqualad are facing a new girl that is standing next to Green Arrow. She is a pretty girl with long blonde hair, olive tan skin, and dark grey eyes. Her long blonde hair is tied back in a ponytail. The girl's uniform is a midriff-baring costume that highlighted her build. It is colored in various shades of green and consisted of a mask extending from the hairline to the cheekbones, a sleeveless top with a stylized arrow tip on the front, fingerless gloves, pants with black knee pads, and black combat boots. She has a black utility belt and pouch strapped on her left leg that were likely filled with assorted tools.

"Naruto, Superboy, come meet the newest member of the team. It is Green Arrow's newest sidekick, Artemis," smiles Miss Martian.

Superboy glances at Naruto. 'Ever met her?'

Naruto shrugs, 'Nope.' Adding another member of the team doesn't sit well with him. There are six members on the team already. The larger the team the harder it is to move in the shadows. At this rate the team is going to have too many members on it to perform any type of covert mission.

Aqualad watches the body language between Superboy and Naruto. It makes him smile knowing that Naruto and Superboy are getting along so well that the two can have a conversation nonverbally and without a mental link.

"Recognized B03, Kid Flash." In a flash of light Wally enters the base.

"The Wall-man is here…" Wally slips falling face forward dropping the beach ball. It bounces past an unamused Batman. Wally looks up to see everyone looking at him.

"Wall-man huh? Great name," smirks Artemis.

Wally stands up and looks at Robin. "Who is this?"

"Artemis, you're new teammate."

"She is my new protégé," says Green Arrow placing a hand on her shoulder.

"What happened to your old one?!"

"Recognized Speedy, B04."

Entering into the base is the former sidekick of Green Arrow. "For one he no longer goes by the name Speedy." A handsome boy dressed in a red and black uniform walks forward.

Green Arrow is surprised. It has been a month since he last saw his protégé. "Speedy you look…"

"Replaceable. And the name is Red Arrow," glares Red. "Does she even know how to use that thing?"

"Yes, she does," glares Artemis.

"We still want you on the team. We have no quota on archers," says Aqualad.

"And if we did, you know who we would pick," smirks Wally.

Artemis rolls her eyes, "Whatever Baywatch. I am here to stay."

Aqualad decides to change the subject. "You came to us for a reason."

"Dr. Sterling Roquette," answers Red Arrow. Robin quickly types up the name bringing up multiple information on the woman.

"She is one of the leading researchers in nano-tech! Went missing two weeks ago."

"Kidnapped by the League of Shadows two weeks ago."

Wally's eyes light up. "You want us to rescue her from the Shadows? Score!" Robin and Wally bump fists.

Red Arrow reaches into his pouch pulling out a small device. "I already rescued her, but not before she was forced to create a device for them." A new image appears. It is a robotic looking bug. "It is known as the fog. Thousands of nano bugs that can destroy everything in sight. The real power behind the nano-bugs is their ability to store data. They infiltrate computer files stealing all the data giving the Shadows information…"

"That can be used for extortion, money laundry, blackmail. Yeah it sounds like the Shadows," says Artemis.

"Like you know anything about the Shadows," scoffs Wally. Artemis sends him a cocky smirk. "Who are you?!"

"Right now she is stored at a local high school where she is safe."

Green Arrow steps forward. "Then let us keep her that way."

"Us? What about your new protégé?" glares Red Arrow.

Batman places a hand on Green Arrow's shoulder. Green Arrow gets the silent message. "You brought this to the team so it is her mission now too."

"Fine, then I am done." Red Arrow heads towards the exit. "Recognized Speedy…" The computer is interrupted. "Update, Red Arrow B04." Those are his last words before the zeta beams teleport him away.

"You have your mission. Head out," orders Batman.

Aqualad confirms the coordinates. "Coordinates received, move out team!"

Happy Harbor 11:59 pm

'Miss Martian link us up. We don't want the Shadows intercepting our communications,' orders Aqualad.

Miss Martian concentrates on every single member of the team. It takes about two seconds to connect everyone's mind. 'Done, everyone is connected.'

'Great, on top of having to work on a prehistoric computer now I have teen think in my head,' grumbles a very annoyed Dr. Sterling Roquette. She is a pretty woman with shoulder length blonde hair and baby blue eyes. Dr. Roquette wears a white coat over an emerald green shirt and black capris.

Kid takes a bite of his chocolate bar. 'Lady do you always complain to those that are trying to protect you?'

Artemis is sitting on the desk next to Dr. Roquette. She glances between Kid and Dr. Roquette. 'Pot, Kettle, have you two met?'

'I don't want to hear any lip from the one that drove Red Arrow from the team,' glares Kid.

'That is so not my fault!'

Dr. Roquette grits her teeth before gesturing at the computer. 'Fate of the world at stake!'

Naruto is sitting on the roof with a bored expression. Fate of the world? That is an over exaggeration. This woman thinks too much of her technology.

He doesn't worry about his thoughts being heard by the others as he knows how to block the mental link. Years with Kurama taught him multiple ways to block mental intrusions. Sometimes he wanted to have a private conversation without Kurama voicing his two yen so he learned to block out the demon that resided within him. Using that same skill he blocks Miss Martian's powers from relaying everything that goes on in his head.

'How about I help Miss Martian and Superboy on the perimeter?'

Artemis stands up leaving out of the room. 'Good idea,' agrees Aqualad. He walks over towards the doctor. 'The virus won't be much help to us if we can't locate the weapon. Do you have a way to track it?'

'It is not a weapon it is science, brilliant science.' She smiles proud of her creation. 'And of course I can track it, but I would have to go online. Might as well put a sign ASSSASSINATE ME in neon lights above my head.'

Aqualad places a hand on her shoulder. Dr. Roquette looks up at him. The young man gives the doctor a reassuring smile. 'We will protect you.' Nodding, she goes online tracking the fog.

Outside the school, Miss Martian is at the front gates with Artemis. A light thud makes the two girls turn around. Superboy walks past them. 'Mm, that boy,' smirks Artemis. Superboy turns his head to look at Artemis. The archer stars at him not ashamed that he heard her thoughts.

'He can hear you, we can all hear you,' frowns Miss Martian.

'Oh, I know,' smirks Artemis.

'Miss Martian we are tracking the fog. I need you to reconfigure the bio-ship so that Robin, Superboy, and Kid can fly it,' orders Aqualad.

'On it.'

The bio-ship breaks camouflage landing in front of the school. Kid is first one to arrive giving Megan a flirtatious wink. 'Later Megalicious don't miss me too much.' The speedster sends a glare at Artemis before running aboard the ship. Superboy and Robin soon board the ship. Flying off, the bio-ship soon disappears into the night.

Megan waits until the mental link with Superboy vanishes before turning to face Artemis. 'You embarrassed Superboy back there.'

'I didn't hear him complain.'

'Must you challenge everyone?'

'Where I am from that is how you survive,' responds Artemis. Megan frowns at the girl. The two girls are too busy arguing with each other that neither notices a figure leap over the fence. That figure heads straight towards the school.

Break

Cheshire hides in the bushes. Happy Harbor is a place she never heard of until this night. It is such a stupid name. But that doesn't matter at the moment. She received orders to kill Dr. Sterling Roquette who is currently tracking the fog from somewhere inside this local high school. A strange place to hide considering that the school is so large. There are over a dozen ways to sneak inside. The school was a poor choice to defend the doctor. Her eyes land upon a green skilled girl, a blonde, and a handsome young man walking the perimeter. That explains the poor decision to use the school as a base. Children are protecting the woman. This job will be easier than she originally thought.

A sound makes her tense. Cheshire looks into the sky to see an alien ship appear out of thin air. It lands in front of the school. Her eyes narrow upon a fast moving blur that turns out to be Flash's sidekick, Kid Flash. Kid Flash runs aboard the ship followed by the handsome boy from before and Batman's sidekick Robin. The ship soon takes off into the distance.

'Now they are making it much too easy,' smirks Cheshire. The green skinned girl and blonde begin to argue leaving a wide opening for Cheshire. Running towards the fence, she displays amazing acrobatic abilities by leaping to the top of the fence and landing on it with grace before leaping to the ground. Cheshire is about to enter the school when shadows from above make her slide backwards. The shadow turns out to be shuriken that embed in the ground where she had been standing. Danger fills her sense and she spins around with arms raised. A punch slams into her arms. The power behind it sends her flying through the air. She twists around landing on her feet and skidding backwards several more feet.

Cheshire's eyes narrow upon her opponent. A boy several years younger than her stands across from her with a blank expression. She has to admit that he is very handsome. Not as muscular as the other boy, but definitely better looking. He has a handsome face with bright ocean blue eyes and spikey golden blonde hair. The boy wore a green flak vest over a long sleeve black shirt, fingerless iron clad blue gloves, white pants that were wrapped up at the shins, and open toe black ninja sandals. "I am impressed you managed to see me," smirks Cheshire. "I was sure you were on the other side of the roof before I made my move."

"English…not first…language," replies Naruto.

"Pity, I do enjoy a bit of banter." Cheshire launches a barrage of shuriken. In a movement almost too fast for her to follow, he draws a kunai and deflects the shuriken with ease. The shuriken served their purpose in distracting him. She comes in on his right side with sais poised to plunge into his skin. He catches her left wrist before blocking the right sai with his kunai. 'Fast,' thinks Cheshire. A kick hits her in the stomach launching her backwards. She twists around once again landing on her feet. 'Strong too.'

"Over here!"

Artemis comes around the corner notching an arrow. "I got her."

"Change of plans," Cheshire drops a pellet on the ground. Black smoke erupts as Artemis shoots her arrow.

"She got away," curses Artemis.

Naruto turns around preparing to head back to his post. 'Our location is compromised, we should head to a new location,' he reports over the mental link.

'Agreed, everyone prepare to move out.' Aqualad pauses an incoming transmission comes in from Robin. "Robin to Aqualad. We are in Philadelphia and at STAR Labs. It…is completely destroyed. STAR Labs is cutting edge technology and now it is in the hands of the enemy. What is our next move?"

Aqualad gains a hard look. 'We rescan for the fog.'

Break

Dr. Roquette sits at the computer typing away. Her eyes drift over to the person that is standing guard. The youngest member of the team that stayed behind to protect her is the one standing guard. He is leaning against the wall staring up at the ceiling. Out of all the members on the team he is the one that acts as if he wants nothing to do with protecting her. Aqualad promised to protect her, but she is not so sure that the kid with her will risk his life to keep that promise.

Naruto has a bored expression on his face. Bodyguard missions used to be his bread and butter back in the Elemental Nations. He has more experience than the rest of the team can imagine. Of course, he didn't succeed in all his missions. He tried his best but he did lose two clients. In his defense the clients were killed by jounin level ninjas that Naruto couldn't beat at the time. Had it happened later on after he developed the Sharingan the result might have turned out differently. No guarantee, but he is confident that with the Sharingan he is on the same level as any jounin. He did managed to kill several members of the Akatsuki, ninja that were borderline Kage level.

'The difference is that I had Kurama too.'

A ninja never overestimates his ability. The truth is that he never would have defeated those Akatsuki ninja without Kurama. And without the demon he lost the ability to spam high level jutsu. His chakra has been cut down from Kage to Chuunin level. On the plus side his Chuunin level chakra control is at jounin level. Even in the negative there is some positive. He has to focus on the positive in order to grow.

"The virus is complete. I am uploading it now," smirks Dr. Roquette.

'Naruto! One of the assassins managed to escape and is heading towards your location!'

Naruto reaches out catching a shuriken before tossing it back at the source. Out of the shadows emerges Cheshire. "You are no fun at all," Cheshire rushes at Naruto. He draws a pair of kunai easily parrying her sais. Gritting her teeth, she pulls out all her moves to break his defense. A swift movement knocks both sai away before a knee buries into her gut. She falls to her knees coughing up blood. "Good thing I didn't come alone," smirks Cheshire.

A figure bursts out of the shadows behind Dr. Roquette. It never gets close to her when a kick drills into the person's stomach sending them through the building wall. Naruto stares at the newcomer. Clearly female though human is up for debate. She possesses short white spikey hair, putrid green eyes that are slits instead of pupils, and scale-like skin. On skin tight green outfit that reveals her curvaceous form along with gauntlets with metal claws that are dripping with poison. "Take him down Copperhead, I'll handle the doctor," orders Cheshire.

"Futon: Daitoppa."

Naruto claps his hands together. Fierce gale force winds erupt from his body blasting Cheshire and Copperhead out of the building. The ninja calmly walks through the hole in the wall. Dr. Roquette kneels behind a computer watching in awe.

"I am going to enjoy drinking his blood," smirks Copperhead. She darts forward at surprising speeds. Naruto draws a kunai blocking her incoming slashes. He is impressed with her speed. This is the fastest opponent he has faced so far. Still, it is not fast enough. Spinning around he kicks Copperhead away before tossing a kunai at Cheshire who tried to sneak past him. Cheshire scowls leaping backwards to avoid the kunai.

Copperhead darts forward moving like a snake to attack from various angles. Naruto is unable to keep up with her movements. She gets behind him and sinks her fangs into his throat. "Mm, your blood is…" Copperhead's eyes widen as mud fills her mouth. Naruto turns into mud.

Cheshire gasps as a hand bursts out of the ground grabbing her ankle. She is pulled straight down into the ground up to her neck. Naruto bursts out the ground behind the buried Cheshire. He stares at Copperhead. "Surrender…you should," he speaks in broken English.

Copperhead flicks her tongue ready to keep on fighting. She freezes up as she picks up on several new scents heading towards them. "Another time hero. Next time we meet I will drain you dry," smirks the woman. She takes off running disappearing into the night.

Naruto looks down at the struggling Cheshire. A kick to the head knocks her out cold. 'Copperhead, she had skill.' He almost had to use his Sharingan to keep up with her. Good thing that he created that mud clone earlier. It allowed him to make a switch before Copperhead was able to poison him with her fangs. The way she fought was unlike any he ever encountered. Almost like wrestling with a snake. Next time he will be better prepared.

"You saved me," says Doctor Roquette.

"English…not my language," replies Naruto.

Roquette flushes in embarrassment. This whole time she thought he was cold and uncaring, but the truth was that he didn't speak to her because he didn't speak English well. "Naruto!" Megan flies over to him landing on the ground. 'Are you okay?' Naruto raises an eyebrow. Megan looks over to see the assassin from earlier buried in the ground. A smile appears on her face. 'I guess I worried for no reason at all.'

"You managed to capture her, good work," praises Aqualad. He turns to face Dr. Roquette. "Robin managed to upload the virus destroying the Fog."

Artemis walks over to the unconscious Cheshire. She reaches down removing the mask. Her eyes widen in horror. 'Jade?!' Naruto catches the look Artemis gives upon seeing Cheshire's true identity. He files it away for later.

"Could you tell him I said thank you?" asks Dr. Roquette.

Megan smiles, "I already did."

Naruto looks at Dr. Roquette. "You…welcome."

"He is still working on his English," explains Miss Martian.

"Red Tornado contacted the local authorities. They are going to take care of the assassins. We will take Dr. Roquette back to the cave where she can use the Zeta Tube to head back home," says Aqualad. "Artemis you did good work today. Welcome to the team." Artemis looks away trying not to stare at the unconscious Jade.

Miss Martian approaches Artemis. "It is great to finally have another girl on the team." A small smile forms on Artemis's face.

Mount Justice

"Took down the League of Shadows," smirks Kid. Robin smirks and the two friends bump fists.

Naruto ignores the two. He glances at Aqualad. Ocean blue eyes harden. 'Megan, please link me with Aqualad.' Megan looks at Naruto curiously. She nods doing as he asked.

'Link established,' says Megan. Kaldur looks at Megan in confusion upon hearing her voice in his head. Naruto walks over to Aqualad.

'Aqualad, I did not approve of the team assignments on this mission…'

Superboy speaks up. "Are you two having a mental conversation?" The clone frowns not liking that one bit. Megan looks at Naruto in worry. The ninja gives a nod to the Martian girl. She smiles gratefully before connecting everyone's mind.

'As I was saying, I did not approve of the team assignments on this mission,' starts Naruto.

Wally speaks up with an annoyed look. 'Kaldur is the team…'

'Silence Wally,' orders Kaldur. 'Naruto has the right to voice his opinion like everyone else on the team. Please continue.'

Naruto gains a bit more respect for Aqualad. 'Superboy should have stayed behind to protect Doctor Roquette and Artemis should have been sent on the team to hunt down the Fog.' Superboy and Artemis look at Naruto not understanding why there placement upset him. 'Superboy's invulnerability makes him ideal for taking blows that would kill a normal person. It makes him the ideal shield. Artemis has long range capabilities that would have allowed her to take out the person controlling the Fog from a distance possibly preventing damage to Wayne Tech. She could have even used her explosive arrows to possibly destroy the Fog if the virus failed.'

A silence fills the room. 'He does have a point,' agrees Robin. 'Superboy is the perfect shield. None of the assassins you all fought had the power to harm him.'

'But there is no way Kaldur could have known what assassins were coming,' argues Kid.

'Which is even more of a reason that I should have had Superboy stay behind to act as a shield. If someone with super strength and invulnerability had been sent Superboy would have been the ideal person to take them on while we fell back to protect the doctor,' admits Kaldur. 'And I was worried about Artemis being a rookie that I kept her close instead of putting her where she could have been utilized most.' Kaldur lowers his head. 'Naruto is right, I made a poor call on the team assignments.'

Superboy frowns, 'why bring this up now? The mission is over and we completed it.'

'I wasn't going to start an argument during a mission. And I didn't bring this up to try to oust Aqualad as leader.' Naruto stares straight at Aqualad. 'I brought this up in order to help future missions.' He turns heading towards the Zeta Tubes. In a flash of light Naruto is gone.

'That guy really gets under my skin,' huffs Wally.

Kaldur gains a small smile. "He is looking out for us in his own way. If he truly didn't care than he wouldn't have said anything at all."

Megan smiles, "do you think he will ever see us as more than a team?"

"In time, I have no doubts."