Chapter 39
The battle plans were already in motion before Naruto informed his team. Black Mask had managed to gather all the Global Guardians in a single place by convincing them that it was much safer for all of them to be present before he shared the information.
Black Mask approached them to give information about Emperor and convinced them that it was beneficial for both parties, since he didn't want Emperor to continue terrorizing him. He told them that speaking about the Emperor's delicate information caused people to disappear, so it was best if all of them were gathered to avoid getting killed.
The Global Guardians did consider the possibility of a trap but they felt that Emperor could be manageable because of Doctor Mist and Olympians presence. Even if he was too strong, they would only have to hold on for a few minutes before other heroes reacted.
With the possibility of an attack on their mind, the Global Guardians gathered in their base in Australia. It was far from the city and in the middle of nowhere, inside a mountain.
The group known as the Global Guardians grew from a post-war organization called the Dome. The Dome was founded in 1957 by non-US/USSR nations as an international police organization. Originally, it oversaw the operations of superheroes of member nations. These heroes were inspired by the Justice Society and included the immortal Dr. Mist; the Knight and Squire, Percival and Cyril Sheldrake of England; Gaucho of Argentina; the Legionary of Italy; the Musketeer of France; and the Wingman from Sweden.
As the original representatives retired, Dr. Mist formed the Global Guardians to serve as a task force to cover the nations that didn't have other heroes. The membership of the Guardians spanned the entire world, but it was some time before the group had any contact with other American heroes.
The group consisted of twelve members from different countries and each of them had divergent abilities.
The leader of the group was called Doctor Mist. Nommo, the wizard-king of the African empire of Kor, stood in the Pillar of Life and was endowed with immortality. He had lived for 11,000 years, and in the 20th Century he took the name Doctor Mist.
Doctor Mist was a dark skinned bald man with a short beard. His facial features were handsome and he didn't look a single day older than 25. His eyes were magical in nature with red runes rotating in both eyes.
He wore a blue dress and carried a magical staff with the head of a lion. All these equipment increased his powers and his physical body was also engraved with magical runes.
He was a wise and knowledgeable man with great amount of experience from his time as an Emperor and his journey after the fall of the Empire. He visited all corners of the world and learned over time, and fought countless foes. Vandal Savage had been one of the enemies that he had fought against and he had even fought against other heroes.
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Aristides Demetrios, alias the Olympian was a Greek hero. He wore the mystical Golden Fleece, which granted him the strength of Hercules in addition to various other powers connected to the heroes who were counted among the Argonauts.
He was a large muscular man with dark hair and a long beard. He wore a dark armor under the Golden Fleece and a golden helmet with large horns. Even though he looked menacing, the large giant had a gentle heart and truly cared for his friends. Even when he disagreed with them, he would be the first one to jump in front of danger. Olympian was in a relationship with his fellow comrade, Godiva.
He was not the child of Zeus or Hercules, but someone who had come across the Golden Fleece. He had come into contact with Hercules after that and had been convinced to take the mantle of a hero. The Fleece granted him immunity to all damage but it didn't cover his body, so he wasn't invincible.
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Alisa was the third Crimson Fox after the death of the other two. She was the heiress to the D'Aramis fortune and was the cousin of the previous Crimson Fox. Just like the previous Foxes, Alisa was a beautiful woman with power to control pheromones and wore a red suit with dark claws that could cut through the hardest materials on the planet.
She was a French Hero with style and strong personality that could be very manipulative. She was also very flirtious and was in a relationship with Hal Jordan, Green Lantern.
Nonetheless, she was a very important member of the group and was a source of information, strategy and wealth.
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Sandstorm was a Syrian superhero allied with Black Adam. Nabil's family was killed by terrorists and his sister was gassed by a dictator. He was a vigilante who frequently saved children from terrorist cells in Syria. Before finally coming under the guidance of Black Adam and brought some change to the local region alongside his colleagues from the Global Guardians.
The Global Guardians were one of the reasons that war in the Middle East came to a halt and the regions started to recover. However, that peace was on a deadline and corruption had already spread into the system of these places. So, it was still very difficult to clean the region from evil. Sandstorm wished the Black Adam would rule the region, but the man wasn't interested in taking that responsibility and the other forces would react violently to his rule.
Regardless of his background, Nabil was a gentle person that wished to save everyone from the pain he had endured. He wished to make his country a beautiful place for the future generation.
He was a tall dark skinned man with long hair who had the power to control sand. He wore a sand colored dress and a wooden mask.
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The Rising Sun was one of the premiere Japanese superheroes and a member of the Global Guardians. Izumi Yasunari was a Japanese solar physicist who was a longtime member of the Global Guardians. His grandparents were survivors of the atom bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, by the U.S. in 1945, which brought World War II to an end. Both of them later developed cancer and died. The same happened to Yasunari's mother who also developed cancer but recovered with chemotherapy. A horrified Yasunari and his brother, Wataru became doctors specializing in cancer research. Their troubled sister, Kaori, joined a religious cult. Rising Sun was a founding member of the Japanese equivalent of the Justice League, a team called Solaris which came together to defend the hero Ultimon from the Monster Army.
His first known mission was helping Atom dismantle a bomb in Japan. He later helped Robin defeat a villain. Spurred on by Doctor Mist, he helped Superman find a piece of ancient armor and soon after, he and his Guardians assisted Superman in battles against ancient sorcerers who were casting a spell amid the Moai (Statues) of Easter Island. He helped save Japan in the Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Rising Sun was a muscular and large man with the ability to absorb and utilize the energy of the sun. With such a powerful ability, he was one of the strongest heroes in Japan and one of the strongest members of the Global Guardians.
Regardless of his power, Rising Sun was a humble man with noble ambitions. He helped people in his public life and his hero life. He didn't mind sacrificing his time for the betterment of society.
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Tora Olafsdotter was Ice Maiden, a superhero who wields ice magic. She was a member of Global Guardians, where she became good friends with Fire. She was the girlfriend of Guy Gardner, Green Lantern.
Tora was born into a Norwegian Romani clan. As a young child, Tora Olafsdotter began displaying a cryokinetic ability that her father was desperate to hide from the rest of the clan. He feared that Tora's grandfather would consider her the chosen one, the return of a goddess. Furthermore, he was concerned that his father would use Tora for criminal activities.
However, one day, Tora was playing soccer with some other girls. One got angry at her and began hitting Tora, which resulted in Tora using her powers to fend her off. This happened while Tora's family, including her grandfather were close by. Because of this, Tora fled with her parents and sister to Germany. When Tora was 13, her grandfather tracked them down and tried to take her by force, with the aid of his men. To defend herself, Tora's father told her to make it cold. She was reluctant, but then unleashed her powers. She froze her grandfather and his men to death. Unfortunately, her actions had also resulted in the death of her father. Tora continued running with her mother and sister, until an opportunity presented itself and she joined the Global Guardians.
She had been with the team for a long time and was attached to them like family especially Green Fire. Ice Maiden's personality was an amusing mix of girl-next-door wholesomeness and innocent-abroad naiveté, which served as a contrast to the impulsive, even problematic traits of her friend and teammate Green Fire.
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Beatriz "Bea" Bonilla da Costa, alias Green Fire, was a Brazilian pyrokinetic heroine. She started as an amateur model on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before becoming a showgirl and stage performer. Later, she found herself serving as an undercover secret agent for the Brazilian government. In the course of one of her missions, she was exposed to a pyroplasmic explosion. The accident, which granted her fire-based super-human powers, prompted her to assume the identity of the Green Fire and join the international superhero team the Global Guardians.
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Dora Leigh, alias Godiva was a stunning British socialite and now the United Kingdom's premier superhero, who was recruited into the international crime fighting team the Global Guardians. Dora was a metahuman with the power to control her hair's movement as if they were limbs, providing a high level of superhuman strength and dexterity.
Each hair could contain the power of one tonne and she had at least 150,000 hairs on her head, making her a very strong enemy for the villains. Godiva can control the movement of her hair as if it were countless thin appendages growing from her head. A Psionic field permeates her altered hair-cells, causing mutual attraction across the gaps between strands. These relatively small forces operate in conjunction to develop larger forces. Through concentration, she can move her hair in any manner imaginable. She can snap the length of it through the air like a whip, or rotate it in a fan-like manner. She can bind persons or objects with it as if it were rope or use it to lift objects which weigh more than she could lift with her arms. Her scalp, skull, and neck do not support the weight of an object that she lifts: it is held aloft by the Psionic force coursing through the hair. Godiva could also perform delicate manipulations with her hair such as lock picking or threading a needle, and such complex acts of coordination as typing or shuffling a deck of cards. Although she had no nerve endings in her hair, she could "feel" sensations on all parts of her hair by a form of mental feedback from her Psionic field.
With that level of power, Godiva was made confident and that was enhanced by her appearance. She was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair. Her stunning beauty charmed people, though she ended up taking a liking for Olympian.
Even with her prideful act, Godiva was a kind and loving person that fought for the people. However, she was now a pawn of Queen Bee.
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Sujatmi Sunowaparti, aka Cascade, was an Indonesian hero and member of the Global Guardians. She was born into a large family on Java and was a long time activist against the local elite. Hoping to make more money for her family, she took a dangerous job at a refinery on Borneo. The factory came in the crossfire between warring factions, and Sujatmi was exposed to a radioactive isotope that kick-started her metagene.
Her activism and powers led to an invitation to join the Global Guardians, at a time when the team was in dire need of new members.
She was one of the quiet and serious members of the team. Though, that didn't mean she disliked her comrades. She showed her friendship through actions, helping during a fight and cooking Indonesian dishes etc.
Cascade was a beautiful brown skinned woman with long black hair and brown eyes. She had the power to control water and turn her body into water.
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Liang Xih-K'ai, alias Thunder lord was a Buddhist Monk from Taiwan, who was recruited into the international crime fighting team the Global Guardians. Thunder lord possessed a metagene that gave him a powerful sonic attack, able to damage and stun foes or objects, to the point of shattering metal. He possessed a incredible degree of control over his vocal cords. This enabled him to mimic sounds and voices.
He was a muscular bald man with a gentle heart. He was wise and contributed greatly with his powerful martial skills that he taught to his team mates to better utilize their abilities.
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Chrysalis was a robot hero created by Dr. Gerard Yves Martet at his laboratory in Marseilles, France. Martet blamed the Jewish people and other immigrants for the corruption of France. He designed Chrysalis to appear friendly and beautiful, but inside her shell was a swarm of genetically engineered butterflies that carried a deadly virus. Martet planned for his creation to enter large immigrant districts in France and release the insects. However, the group got hold of the robot and made use of her according to their plans. They got her recruited into the Global Guardians and helped the group manipulate the guardians when needed.
Chrysalis helped the Guardians with controlling any electronic threat and gathering information when needed. She was also extremely powerful in combat even without his deadly virus ability.
Her mannerism was like a kind fairy that none could ever imagine her purpose. She was an A.I that learned and truly liked the Guardians, but there was a safe switch that kept made her easy to control.
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The final member of the group was the Tasmanian Devil. The origins of Hugh Dawkins' abilities are unknown (he once claimed that his mother was a Were-Tasmanian devil who raised him in a Tasmanian Devil cult who gave him a Tasmanian Devil amulet and sold his soul to a Tasmanian Devil after injecting him with radioactive Tasmanian Devil musk from a race of alien Tasmanian Devils. It can be safely assumed, however, that he was joking). Whatever their source though, he used them to become Australia's foremost superhero, and a founding member of the Global Guardians. Originally, Hugh appeared to be a normal man with the ability to increase his size and mass and who wore an all concealing black bodysuit; however, in recent years, he has actually transformed into a gigantic, fur covered Tasmanian Devil.
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All the members were gathered in the meeting room with Black Mask in the center. The base was on alert and fully prepared for an attack.
"We have all gathered as you desired. Now, you don't have to worry about your safety as we will ensure nothing happens to you. So, go ahead and share your knowledge." Doctor Mist looked at the smiling Black Mask and asked him to speak.
Black Mask looked at the heroes gathered around him and for the first time in his life felt extremely confident while standing against them. He was looking forward to his Lord taking them down. The Month had been more than enough to win his loyalty. Emperor gave him the ultimatum and a great reward that was beyond what he actually desired in life. His good deeds and work had meaning beyond some spiritual benefit. Though, he also loved the feeling of the spiritual achievement he got from doing good deeds. Emperor really knew how to drive people on the right path, his path.
"Thank you for fulfilling my request, Guardians. I am truly grateful….Now, I will let my Lord explain." Black Mask stood up from his seat with a huge smile on his face and took a step back while Naruto appeared from beneath the earth.
His appearance was shocking as Naruto wasn't stopped by any of their barriers. However, they had taken such a possibility into account and were ready to fight.
"At ease my friends, I wish you no harm." Naruto stood in the center of the room with a casual grace while his aura covered all of them, forcing them to sit. His aura was truly immense as it had grown with his powers, and if Naruto wished it could have other affects as well.
The heroes looked towards their leader for a command and he decided to converse with their target. Doctor Mist and the others had never come across Emperor but knew great deal about him to know that he was extremely powerful and dangerous.
Doctor Mist was very old and he couldn't see any knowledge about Emperor in his memories. Though, he had always felt there was a chance. However, now he felt that it might not be true.
"Greetings Emperor, it is quite a surprise to see you here. I hadn't expected the sudden visit." Mist talked in a calm tone as he continued sitting and offered Naruto to take a seat.
Naruto looked at the leader of the group and smiled at his composure. The man was powerful and wise as expected.
Even though he was surrounded by the powerful heroes, Naruto stood his position while feeling like the overwhelming force.
"I apologize for the unannounced visit. I just wished to avoid interference from other parties and avoid making a mess. This planet is quite delicate for such an incidence." Naruto replied while presenting them with some sweets that his servants had prepared. He had brought sweets and flowers as visiting gift.
Making most of them question reality as their enemy was acting like a good guest. Cascade even felt like asking him for tea or coffee.
Naruto just controlled the flow of the situation according to his whim that people felt awkward about acting violently.
"Thanks for the gifts, but why are you here? You are aware of your position, are you not?" Crimson Fox thanked him and asked the question on their mind. This was a foe that was very crafty so it was best if Crimson Fox and Doctor Mist took charge of the conversation, so the others just observed the situation.
Crimson Fox had already informed the Justice League of the possibility of the Emperor arriving so none of them were really worried and she could speak easily with him.
The mysterious figure truly took the attention of the beholder and made them wonder what was hidden behind the enchanting voice and commanding aura.
"The chocolates taste very good." Ice Maiden opened up her box and ate some to calm her nerves, as she really disliked such silent situations.
"Thank you for the compliment, Tora. I will inform my servants of your kind words. As for my purpose, is it not easy to predict? Miss Alisa and my other friends, I am here to invite you to a new path. I have given invitation to everyone around the world to join my cause, and now I am here to listen to your answers. You have witnessed my abilities and the change I have brought. So, what is your honest opinion? Let us speak the truth." Naruto's words shook everyone as he spoke to them like he knew everything about them. Their names and their personalities seemed to be like an open book to him.
With his words and actions, Doctor Mist again fell into a dilemma. He was unsure if Naruto was truly the will or just making things up. He could feel that Naruto's presence was titanic, making him feel like a small boat on a stormy ocean.
With Naruto's words, none of them managed to control themselves and spoke up honestly. Their views were clear for every one of them.
"I feel that your path is efficient and has brought great change. However, I don't trust you. What if you are just using us?" Doctor Mist spoke up without a filter.
"I am afraid of you. I see the change, but this has happened before and it never ended well." Crimson Fox's opinion came out and surprised others, as they hadn't thought she was afraid.
"I agree with your actions except for torture. I like that you are ready for everything and make me wish you were our leader. But, I am also afraid of it all being a lie." Olympian spoke his view, he didn't look away from others because of his view.
"I like your actions and I am willing to trust you. I think we have the capability to stop you, if something goes wrong like you have mentioned in your interviews." Green Fire's view greatly differed from the others, and she wasn't the only one.
"I think you are a nice person, Mister Emperor." Ice Maiden said innocently, showing that she wasn't going to hide her view and her words wouldn't have changed.
The opinions of the team were divided, but all of them agreed that he brought a change.
"Thank you for the honest opinion, and I apologize for the use of force. I believe this made the conversation shorter and saved time for us. I am happy that you acknowledge my achievements, and I understand your worries. But, risk exists in everything and you always have the ability to put up a resistance when I act in an evil manner. Or, do you not trust your capabilities?"
Doctor Mist stood up and created a magical barrier around the team to keep them safe from Naruto's actions.
"Why should we trust you? Why take the risk?" Mist questioned while thinking over his words and thinking about their possible fight.
"You have no other choice, Guardians. I have judged that your presence is not needed anymore, if you continue walking the same path. You have failed to bring peace to a single region. I don't care about the temporary peace you brought in these lands. That was never an issue as any of you could have walked into the field and stopped it. The wars around the globe were just a show of the heroes' incompetence and hesitation.
You all agreed that I did a good job, and that is the truth because none of you wish to involve yourselves with politics and the civil work.
Even this very country is filled with corruption. What have you done to stop the government from descending into a police state? The rights of the people are being violated. The government can spy on the citizens freely and put them in jail for their words. The government is freely arming war mongers, what have you done about it?
The government backstabbed Timor-Leste and has been stealing their resources. They had their own citizens killed and has been supporting massacres in other nations. The country has further fallen into the hands of the US and followed all their desires, what have you done to stop that from happening? I don't think any of you follow what is really happening on the ground level. The true evil isn't always so visible, and it is hard to notice most of the time.
All of you have allowed such evil to exist, but deny my rule. Hear the people, they want me to replace them and they want you gone. This is the proof of my worthiness and your unworthiness, Guardians. You have failed to even realize that you have enemies within your group.
Now, I will give you the Ultimatum. Submit to my rule or step down as heroes!" Naruto spoke in a commanding tone, causing them to shut up and listen. He had already noticed that Godiva was controlled by an outside force, so he cancelled it with his energy. However, Queen Bee had already informed the Light of his location.
With his words, the guardians felt shame as they saw everything in detail around them. Naruto controlled the light and showed them everything about their politicians. He even showed the people that they had trusted backstabbing them.
It was truly painful to hear about failures especially when facts were brought out. None of them could continue looking at the problems the country had caused while the guardians had not stopped them. The Ultimatum shook their soul and all of them looked at Mist for the answer.
"I deny your false image, Emperor. You are not the Will of Humanity. Prove us wrong by changing my answer, here and now." Doctor Mist hit the floor with his magical staff, releasing a mana wave to clear away the heavy atmosphere.
"Guardians, you will submit to my rule today with force if necessary. You still have the chance to back down and follow along peacefully. I can always change your mind, Nommo. But, I have no desire to follow your wish. You are my people and I am the Emperor, so do not exceed your limits." Naruto spoke as he walked closer to Mist, making him feel small under the demonic gaze.
"Guardians, fight to your last breath against this demonic entity!" Mist gritted his teeth and roared in defiance.
"You shall regret going against the Imperial decree, my little friends." Naruto threatened as all of the guardians were pushed away while their base vanished, as it was broken down on an atomic level.
The base disappearing wasn't the only surprise as their location had changed. They weren't on Earth anymore. They had appeared on Neptune.
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A.N Hope you enjoyed