283-Previously on Happiness-
"Enough of this!" Warp shouted, using this chance to leave. His chest-piece glowed white before it opened a portal in front of him. "It's been fun Titans, but I have a very bright future ahead of me."
"Think again!" Naruto shouted from right next to Warp. The man gasped in both surprise and horror as the clock in his hand was replaced by Naruto in a puff of smoke. Out of the corner of his eye, Warp saw the clock in Raven's hands. With Warp distracted, Naruto punched the man in the face, finally landing a damaging blow as all other attacks were useless.
"No!" Warp shouted, blood dripping from his mouth thanks to his cut lip. Making for a hasty retreat, Warp jumped into the portal as Naruto grabbed his leg. But the portal was stronger than Naruto thought as he too began to fall through it.
"Naruto!" shouted Raven with wide eyes, seeing the blond get dragged into the portal as well. Everyone ran for the portal but it closed as soon as Naruto was through. Everyone was quiet as they stared into the spot the portal closed at. "Naruto?" Raven called out but she received no reply.
Opening his eyes, Naruto groaned as pain radiated through him. "What the hell happened?" he asked out loud before noticing how cold it suddenly got. Sitting up, Naruto stared in confusion as he saw that he was surrounded by snow in a very rundown looking Jump City. "What the hell happened?!"
-Story Start-
Rundown was not a good way to describe how Jump City looked. It would be more accurate to describe the city as ravaged by war. Multiple buildings and streets were blown to hell, leaving nothing but rubble in their place. Every window that Naruto could see was smashed to pieces and he could even see bullet holes in every wall. He could hear the sounds of gunshots in the far distance and he could see a fire on the other side of the city, its glow a contrast to the night sky.
But the one thing that made Naruto worry the most was the T-Tower on the other side of the city. Even from the distance he was at, Naruto could see that there was something wrong with the letter-shaped building. The top right part of the 'T' shape was missing and the building even looked slightly slanted.
"What happened here?" Naruto muttered to himself as he began to feel worried. The last thing he remembered was being dragged through the portal that Warp made and then hearing Raven shout his name. "Ah crap," Naruto said in realisation. "I fell through Warp's portal. Did I travel through time?!" he shouted to himself, remembering how Warp mentioned being from the future a few times. It must have been the future as there was never a time when the T-Tower or Jump City was in ruins like this. What he couldn't tell was how far into the future he was.
No point in standing around, Naruto began to walk in the direction of the Titan's home. It was a good a place as any to start and probably the most likely to get answers. But just as he started walking, his foot kicked something metal. Looking down, Naruto saw a cracked metal object with a few wires sticking out the back. Picking it up, Naruto realised it was a part of Warp's suit until he ripped it off just after they went into the portal. He pocketed it, figuring it might help get him home and then began his walk.
Crossing Jump City was not safe at all. Thug's and villains ruled the street, smashing anything in the path of destruction. He would have taken the rooftops instead but could clearly see that there were random people with rifles at the top overlooking the roof edge, ready to shoot anything they wanted. He's only been down two streets and has already fought off more than a dozen criminals. One of whom was kind enough (unconscious) to lend him a black jacket with fur around the cuffs and neck to keep him warm. This helped him blend in more with criminals and also helps keep him warm in this cold weather.
A question kept appearing in Naruto's head and it was beginning to annoy him. Where were all the civilians and heroes? They couldn't have just vanished so something must have happened. And that question not only annoyed him, it also scared Naruto a little.
"Finally," Naruto said as he crossed the water and reached the island and Titan's Tower. Now that he was closer, the building really was slanted as he thought earlier. "Would have been here sooner if it wasn't for that stupid pyromaniac."
That 'pyromaniac' he mentioned was someone who loved throwing Molotov's at cars and stores. It was just Naruto's luck to be seen by the maniac and chased down an alley, which also had a group of criminal's with sharp weaponry.
Walking up to the broken down tower door's, Naruto sighed when he saw the entrance was blocked by fallen debris from the floor's above. It would take an hour at least to get through it and that was with a Rasengan. Not seeing any other choice, Naruto took a few steps back and ran. Concentrating chakra to his feet, he jumped high and landed on the wall high above the entrance. Not wasting any time, he took off in a run towards the top floor. While he's only been in the tower two or three time's, it was hard to forget where rooms were, so he knew exactly where to go.
In the Comm-Room, Naruto glanced in through the shattered window. He couldn't sense anyone inside the building but there was still something off. It felt like something was dampening his sensory abilities slightly. Deciding it was safe, Naruto jumped in and frowned. The room was just as he had expected. Ransacked, wrecked and covered in dust. No one has been here in years.
Ignoring everything else, Naruto walked past the broken and mouldy couch and went down the hall. The first bedroom he came across was Robin's, the nameplate next to the door making it obvious. He stepped into the room but frowned when he saw it was completely empty. The room opposite belonged to Cyborg. What caught Naruto's attention was that the door was locked. A bit of brute force got it opened, no problem.
Just as he expected from the half-man half-robot, the room was filled with electronics and devices. All of it was smashed to pieces. Computer screens were shattered, electronics littered the floor, and cables were tangled and cut everywhere including the roof. Not seeing anything that could help him, Naruto turned to leave but stopped for a second. On the wall next to him, he spotted claw marks. Reaching his hand towards it, he placed each finger in the crevices and saw that each finger was distanced perfectly, like the claws that did this was almost human. Thinking it wasn't important, Naruto dropped his hand and left the room.
The room to the left of Cyborgs was Beastboy's, but what was odd was that there was a claw mark going threw the name. The door was also missing and the room looked empty except for a bed, some random old clothing, and a few comics lying on the floor. Naruto half expected the room to be an absolute mess but with him being in the future, the place could have been cleaned out for all he knew.
Not seeing anything useful in Beastboy's room, Naruto moved onto Starfire's. He stopped at the door as he saw the entire room missing, floors and walls included. He could see debris down on the ground far from the tower, showing that something similar to an explosion happened here.
Coming to the final room, Naruto hesitated as he stared at Raven's name. He hoped that when he opened her door, he would see her floating as she meditated, or reading one of her many books. But he knew he wouldn't see her and that thought terrified him more than he thought it would. Without realising it, he opened the door and stepped inside. Just like every other room, it was old and any furniture that was here before was either gone or broken. If it wasn't for the fact that Naruto has been here before, he would have thought nobody ever lived here.
If there was one major benefit to being a shinobi, it would be that you can develop a type of sixth sense that lets you know when danger is near. And at this moment, Naruto knew he was not alone in this room. Ever so slightly, he turned his head to look at the door but saw no one. Nothing happened for a few seconds and just as Naruto was about to shrug the feeling off, he heard some glass being stepped on just outside the room he was in.
Making sure to look like his guard was down, Naruto left the room and walked to the Comm-Room. The person will most likely attack in there because the room had more open space compared to the hall. 'They're not very good at hiding,' Naruto thought with amusement. Whenever he turns around, he sees the person just ducking around a corner and he can even hear their breathing. 'They didn't attack me as soon as they saw me, which means they're planning something... Why did it get cold all of a sudden?' The cold was suddenly very bitter and Naruto could clearly see frost appear on the shards of glass on the floor.
Without warning, Naruto's entire body was suddenly encased in ice all the way up to his neck. "Ha! Too easy!" a young voice gloated with a laugh. Naruto would have turned to look at the person if they could, but the person jogged over and stood in front of him, allowing Naruto to see them clearly. It was a boy around his age with medium length brown hair. He wore a thin yellow shirt and black trousers beneath a large black coat, large enough to touch the floor. There was a yellow line coming up from the coat arms that created a large 'X' on the back of the coat. "Now that the fun's over, why don't you tell me why you're here?"
"Who said the fun's over?" Naruto replied with a smirk, confusing the stranger.
"Uh, I did? When I captured you," the boy said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Still holding his smirk, Naruto said, "You might want to turn around then."
Snorting, the boy laughed, "You think I'd fall for that?" The boy shouted as he was suddenly launched forward, slamming into the wall behind Naruto. "Who did that?!" he shouted, standing back up, looking ready to attack.
"That would be me," the real Naruto replied as he stood by his encased clone. The boy just blinked, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he looked at the two Naruto's. The Naruto in the ice disappeared in a puff of smoke, shocking the attacker even more. "What's your name?"
"Name's Iceman," the boy said with a proud look, "Strongest member of the New Titan's!"
For a long moment, Naruto just stared at the boy before finally saying, "Sure, whatever you say." Iceman gained a slightly offended look at how Naruto dismissed his statement. "What year is it? Everyone I've met so far has tried to kill me so no one's answered me yet."
Iceman raised an eyebrow. "Have you been living in some cave or something? It's 2040."
"So I'm 20 years in the future," Naruto mumbled to himself with a frown. While that answered a question for Naruto, it gave him another one. What happened in the past 20 years for everything to turn out like this. "What about the Teen Titan's? What happened to them?"
"Are we playing 20 Questions?!" Iceman shouted, getting annoyed. "Or are we fighting?!" With that shout, Iceman slammed his hands to the ground.
The ground all around the room froze solid and Naruto, acting on instinct, jumped away. This was a good idea as the spot he was in exploded into spikes of ice. As soon as he landed on the floor, Naruto was forced to jump away again and again as everywhere he stood, ice spikes appeared. After two or three jumps, Naruto jumped as high as he could and landed on the ceiling, where the ice hadn't reached yet.
"Hey! I can tell that you're not like the others out there!" Naruto shouted, trying to stop the fight. All he wanted were answers. "So let's just calm down and talk!" Iceman ran forward with his hand raised, creating stairs towards Naruto. His other fist was encased in ice as he reared it back for a punch. "Or not," Naruto said as he ducked towards the roof, avoiding the frozen punch to his head.
Grabbing Iceman's arm, Naruto swung him around and threw him to the other side of the room. Iceman, using his momentum, created a trail of ice and used it to slide at high speed around the room. "You're gonna have to do better than that!" Iceman shouted, firing balls of ice one after another. Dodging the attacks, Naruto was forced to once again jump around the room.
This fight was beginning to annoy Naruto. He wasn't very good at fighting enemies from a distance and Iceman kept his distance. At this moment, Naruto really wished he had Kakashi and Jiraiya teach him more jutsu. Don't get him wrong, he loved the Rasengan and being able to walk on walls and water, but this was just a pain in the ass.
'Once this is all over and done with, I am so going to train some more,' Naruto thought as he took out a few kunai, thankful he made it a habit to keep his pouch on him. He idly thought about trying to create his own jutsu but doubted he would be able to do that. Putting that thought away for later, Naruto threw several kunai at Iceman, who just laughed every time they missed and impaled the roof.
"Man, you can't aim for shit!" Iceman taunted with a grin.
Returning his grin with a smirk, Naruto responded by pointing, "Look again."
Confused, Iceman looked up. His confusion grew when he saw burning tags attached to the kunai. It was the sizzling noise it made that made Iceman realise what they were. One by one, they exploded the roof. Debris began to fall everywhere and Iceman swerved all over the place to try and avoid it all. One particular piece managed to fall just behind Iceman and shatter the ice he was standing on, causing him to fall to the ground.
From his spot, Naruto saw a huge part of the roof fall towards Iceman. Not wanting the powered teen to die, Naruto ran towards him and grabbed him, jumping out of the window they were next to. Because of how slanted the Tower was, they were a lot closer to the edge of the island than Naruto thought and were falling towards the water. He was thankful for that as he had no idea how they would have survived if they were going towards the ground.
They fell into the water in a splash, both emerging to the surface within seconds. "You okay?" Naruto asked.
Iceman was going to answer until he looked up. "Look out!" he shouted. Also looking, Naruto saw that the Tower hit the ground and now pieces of it and the ground were falling towards them. They both ducked their heads under the water and swam down as hard as they could. Because it was night, it was impossible to see through the water as it was pitch black. Even as he swam down, Naruto could feel debris smash into the water next to him. Not able to hold his breath any longer, Naruto turned and swam upward. Once he broke through to the surface, he gasped for breath, hearing Iceman doing the same.
"Yeah," Iceman said as things finally began to calm down. "I think I'm okay," he finished, answering Naruto's question from before they dived.
"So you're from the past and you're stuck here until you can figure out a way to get back to your own time?" Iceman, or Bobby he told Naruto when they got to shore, said as they stood in front of the T-Tower remains. "Dude, that sucks."
"Tell me about it," Naruto agreed with a nod. "I came here because I was either hoping to find one of my friends or at least get some answers as to what happened for everything to turn out like this."
Bobby laughed a little at that before he admitted. "I don't really know myself. It all happened before I was born. I do know one person that could help but he's a hard ass and doesn't play well with others. He doesn't really tell us what happened either, I should say." Turning around, he began walking towards the city, "This way. I'd imagine my boss would want to meet you."
Watching Bobby walk away, Naruto waited a few seconds as he weighed his options. Should he follow Bobby or should he just go on his own and find answers his way? "Wait up," Naruto called as he caught up with Bobby, deciding this was probably his best bet. "So where is it we're going?"
"Our base," Iceman answered honestly. "It's not that far. We're camped out in this old pizzeria in the middle of the city."
"I think I know the place you're talking about," Naruto admitted but didn't clarify. He found it funny that the New Titan's were stationed where the Teen Titan's use to hang out back in his time. They continued walking into the city, avoiding criminals whenever they could. If they had to fight then Naruto and his clones, combined with Iceman and his abilities, made quick work of anyone that tried to fight.
At the end of an alley, Bobby leaned around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. "There it is," he said with a sigh of relief. Naruto peered around the corner as well, easily spotting the Pizza Corner standing there like it did in his time. Other than a few boarded-up windows and a couple of missing letters from its sign, it looked surprisingly intact, almost exactly like it did back in his time. "Come on, now's the perfect chance," Bobby finished as he began to run for the base.
Naruto didn't trust it though. When he first crossed the city to the Tower and travelled back with Iceman, they encountered thugs and criminals around every corner. Now all of a sudden there was no one around? With that thought, Naruto just managed to grab Bobby's arm, "Something's not right," he warned, his eyes darting around with suspicion.
"What are you talking about? We're safe here," Bobby argued, shrugging Naruto's hand off his arm.
"Just listen," Naruto insisted. They both stayed silent for a few seconds with Bobby giving Naruto an annoyed and confused look. "Do you hear anything at all? Shouting, fighting, gunshots from the city?" Now Bobby gained a look of realisation. "This has to be a trap."
A roar from above surprised both Naruto and Iceman as they looked up. They didn't have enough time to process what they saw as they were forced to jump away from the alley when something crashed into the ground. Snow and pieces of concrete exploded from the impact, showing that whatever it was that hit the ground was incredibly heavy.
A large person stood up from the spot Naruto and Bobby jumped from and once the snow settled, they saw who it was. The person was huge, in both size and stature. They only wore a pair of black trousers, torn off just below their knee's, and it was barely held together as it was. The person, now clearly a man, had long, wild orange hair that reached his mid-back and he had a beard to match.
"Missed," the man said with a deep voice. "You both were lucky to dodge."
"Mammoth," Iceman hissed with a glare, encasing his fists in ice. "I thought I smelt something rotten around here," he taunted.
Hearing the person's name made Naruto realise who this was. Mammoth was apart of the Hive trio, a small-time group of villains who were basically the Titan's rivals. Naruto had only ever seen Mammoth on the news but from what he could tell, the man never used to look like that. "Aw, the icicle got a little friend," Mammoth said, noticing Naruto. "Good, that's another person I get to kill."
"You and what army?" Iceman fired back. He always hated being called an icicle, he just found it insulting for some reason.
Mammoth grinned beneath his beard as he took a step forward. Even with a single step and on snow no less, Naruto could have sworn he felt it from where he stood. "I don't need an army," the huge man said as a mark appeared on his left shoulder, right where his heart should be. Squinting his eyes, Naruto could just see that it was shaped like an 'S'. "I learned a few things since we last fought," Mammoth said, indicating to the 'S' symbol still visible on his chest. "After you and that Bitch stopped me, my Master gave me this gift." His smirk then grew into an evil smile as his eyes suddenly glowed a dark red. Bright red energy appeared from the mark and swirled around him. He hunched over as if in pain before he physically grew in size as his skin darkened. Parts of his skin on his arms, chest and neck actually tore and showed the muscle beneath, which disgusted both Naruto and Bobby.
The large man then began to walk towards Naruto and Bobby, getting faster with each step. Acting quickly, Bobby placed his hands down and froze the ground, hoping to at least slow Mammoth down. But it didn't work as Mammoths weight, combined with the strength of his steps, shattered the ice with every step he took. "Shit," Bobby said in shock. That usually worked with the big guy.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as he made a dozen clones that ran to Mammoth as soon as they were created. But a single swing from Mammoth dispelled half of the clones. "Shit," Naruto said, knowing that this was not going to be easy. He focused his chakra and created a Rasengan, but before he could use it, Mammoth was already in front of him. He thrust his hand forward but Mammoth grabbed his arm, the Rasengan disappearing before he was tossed away.
Iceman covered his left fist in ice and he swung as hard as he could. He managed to hit home as his fist collided with Mammoth's jaw. Grinning at the sound of something shattering, Iceman's look of triumph changed to panic as he saw it was his ice that shattered instead of his opponent's jaw. "You're no match for me now. Tonight, you and your friends will all die," Mammoth said, his voice deeper than before. As if he was going to prove what he said, he punched Iceman in the stomach, making Bobby double over in pain, before he kicked the teen away.
Naruto saw all this happened the second he landed and was even more shocked at Mammoth's speed as the giant of a man was already in front of him with his hand around his throat. Gasping for air, Naruto punched and kicked as hard as he could but Mammoth didn't even flinch. Mammoth then lifted Naruto into the air and slammed him into a wall before turning and throwing him to the ground and stamping his foot onto Naruto's back as hard as he could.
"Is that it?" Mammoth asked but neither Naruto or Bobby answered. 'Tsk'ing in disappointment as he saw neither one move, Mammoth began to walk towards Iceman until he heard a grunt from behind. Turning, he was surprised to see Naruto stand up. "You still alive?"
Wiping his mouth in case there was any blood, which there wasn't, Naruto gave a small pained laugh. "You're gonna have to try harder than that. My Grandmother hit harder than that!" he shouted, fondly remembering all the times Tsunade punched him through a wall.
As if he was challenged, Mammoth snarled as he ran to Naruto, who just stood there. As soon as Mammoth was close enough, Naruto jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding being slammed into as Mammoth passed him. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted once again with a hand sign. He created clone after clone, each one being destroyed quickly by Mammoth who was beginning to get annoyed. As all the clones distracted the behemoth, the real Naruto ran to Iceman and helped the teen up. "Go and find your friends while I hold off Mammoth."
Iceman looked as though he wanted to argue but the look Naruto gave him made him relent. "Fine," Bobby said as he made a path of ice for himself. "But don't die, you hear me? I want a rematch when this is all done."
"You got it," Naruto replied before Iceman slid away and out of sight.
Mammoth, destroying the final clone, looked at Naruto and laughed a little. "Do you really think you can take me by yourself?"
"Without him here," Naruto replied, talking about Bobby, "He's not in the way anymore!" Concentrating, he allowed the Kyuubi's chakra to envelop him and change his features. Mammoth looked surprised but brushed the changes off as nothing.
"You think some claws and fangs are going to change anything?" Mammoth stated, "I'm still going to break every bone in your body when I'm done."
"Funny," Naruto said with a snort, another deeper voice overlapping with his, "I was going to say the same thing."
Mammoth was surprised when Naruto vanished and then reappeared right in front of him and before he could react, Naruto punched him hard in the stomach. While the attack wasn't strong enough to cause any serious damage, it was still enough to get a grunt out of Mammoth. While Naruto's fist was still driven into his gut, Mammoth grabbed Naruto and threw him away. Spinning in the air, Naruto landed on a wall and ran to the ground. He ran at Mammoth again and the two traded blow after blow, neither letting up on the other as they both continued their assault.
Swiping down with his claws, Naruto growled in anger as he saw he only scratched the skin, not even breaking it enough to draw blood. Mammoth tried to grab Naruto but the blond ducked and gave Mammoth a barrage of punches to his gut before giving Mammoth a left hook to the jaw. Mammoth backhanded Naruto into the air before grabbing his leg and swinging him to the ground. He repeated this, slamming Naruto into the ground and walls multiple times.
Being slammed into another wall, Naruto managed to twist himself out of Mammoth's grasp. As he stood above Mammoth on the wall, Naruto did his best to strike at the large man's head but Mammoth either took the blows head-on or managed to dodge a few as he tried to grab Naruto again. Becoming enraged as Naruto was always just out of his reach, Mammoth roared as he smashed the wall Naruto was standing on instead. Naruto, not expecting to lose his footing, fell down as Mammoth grabbed him by his head and slammed him to the ground again. Mammoth then picked up Naruto by his arm and grinned. "After all that, you were nothing special," Mammoth said with a sneer.
Concentrating some more, Naruto tried to summon more of the Kyuubi's chakra but, to his shock, the chakra was slowly receding back to the seal. His features began to turn back to normal as he glared at Mammoth, his red eyes turning blue. 'Damn it Kyuubi! Give me your chakra!' he shouted to his tenant but there was no reply.
Rearing his arm back, Mammoth gave one last toothy grin before saying, "Now you're gonna die and it was all for nothing!"
"I wouldn't say 'for nothing'," a female's voice said from behind. Spinning around while still holding Naruto, Mammoth growled. "Hey, big boy," a woman with long black hair said in a flirtatious manner. From where he was being held, Naruto could have sworn that it was Starfire he was looking at if it wasn't for the black hair that ended like it was on fire and the clothing. She wore a sleeveless black suit that exposed her stomach and had parts glowing purple. She also wore grey gloves going up to her elbow. Whoever this person was, Naruto could tell Mammoth didn't like her.
"Bitch," Mammoth snarled as he dropped Naruto like he was less important than this newcomer, which actually insulted him a little.
The woman gave a small 'tsk' before correcting Mammoth. "How many time's do I have to tell you? My name is Blackfire," she finished as her fists and eyes glowed purple before she gave Mammoth an uppercut to his jaw, actually managing to launch him off his feet and fly over a shocked Naruto. He landed on the ground with a huge crash, denting the concrete he landed on. Blackfire sauntered over to Naruto and looked him up and down, "So you're this Naruto that Bobby told us to help?"
"Yeah?" Naruto replied with a bit of confusion lacing his voice, mostly directed at how this person managed to land an effective hit on Mammoth when he himself could not while using the Kyuubi's chakra.
"...You don't look like much," Blackfire stated after a few seconds of silence.
"I'm sorry, are you here to help me or just insult me?" Naruto asked with his eyebrow twitching in annoyance as he stood, cradling his left arm against his chest. It wasn't broken, thankfully, but it did hurt like hell.
Blackfire just smiled before turning her attention to Mammoth who was standing up again. "Damn, that usually knocks him down for a few more minutes," she said with a frown.
"Oh did Bobby not tell you?" Naruto asked with sarcasm, "Big, tall, and grotesque there got a 'gift' from his master," he explained, using air quotations for 'gift'. "And whatever that 'gift' is, it's made him faster and stronger than what he was before."
The woman gained a small look of interest before giving Naruto a sultry smile. "Don't worry handsome, once I deal with him we can have our own fun, alright?" Before Naruto could even think of a response, Blackfire floated with her fists and eyes glowing again and flew at high speed towards Mammoth as the giant-of-a-man charged at them in rage.
Naruto stood at the side-lines and watched as the two traded blow after blow, almost mesmerized by how ferocious the two fought. However, he didn't want to just sit on the sidelines so he ran forward and jumped past a surprised Blackfire to land a strong kick to Mammoth's jaw. The second he touched the ground, Naruto spun and punched the back of Mammoth's left knee as hard as he could, forcing Mammoth to fall to his knees. Blackfire was quick to join in as she and Naruto kicked and punched as hard and as fast as they could, battering Mammoth from every angle.
With yet another roar, Mammoth backhanded Blackfire away and then grabbed Naruto's arm. He swung him around in the air before throwing him. Naruto collided with Blackfire and the two landed on the ground before they quickly got back to their feet. "I think we need to come up with a plan," Naruto suggested, seeing that Mammoth only had a few bruises here and there while he and Blackfire had multiple cuts.
"My plan," Blackfire said as she glared at Mammoth, "Punch his head in until his little brain leaks through the cracks!"
Naruto stared at Blackfire until she gave a roar and flew at Mammoth again. "The fuck is wrong with you?!" Naruto said as he shook his head. Even the threats that Zabuza made on the bridge in the Land of Waves still weren't as morbid as that disturbing comment.
"Yeah, she's always been like that," Iceman said as he walked up next to Naruto. "Usually it's best to stay out of her way until she works it out of her system."
"You took your time getting back here," Naruto commented as he turned to look at the ice-wielding hero. "Could you only find Blackfire?"
"No, I found everyone but when I said it was Mammoth that found us, Blackfire told everyone to fuck off while she deals with him," Bobby explained. "Like I said, best to stay out of her way."
There was a loud smack and before Naruto and Bobby had time to look, a purple blur flew past them and into a wall. Turning, they saw Blackfire stumble her way out of the rubble with a few cuts here and there, as well as a furious look on her face. What honestly freaked Naruto out was that the woman was actually growling. She flew at Mammoth again, pushing past and knocking over Bobby at the same time.
But that was when Naruto saw it. An opening. Mammoth was too distracted, letting his hatred for Blackfire control him. Because of this, he was full of openings that Naruto knew he could use to stop the giant man. But Naruto knew a simple Rasengan wouldn't do much as all Mammoth had to do last time was grab his arm. This one had to be stronger. So, creating a clone, they created a regular Rasengan before concentrating as much chakra as they could into it.
The mass of chakra continued growing until it was twenty times its original size. Naruto could barely hold it up even with the clone helping, so they knew they had to do this quick. They ran at Mammoth, dashing past a shocked Bobby, and shouted, "Get out the way!"
Blackfire held Mammoth's fists as the two struggled to push against the other. Hearing Naruto shout, she looked and grinned, seeing the attack quickly approaching. Deciding to help, Blackfire let go of Mammoths fists and crouched down as the large man tried to grab her. Her fists glowing a bright purple, Blackfire punched as hard as he could at Mammoth's chest, launching him in the air. "Now!" she shouted.
Now having the perfect chance, both Naruto jumped in the air as Mammoth finally saw them near him. But he couldn't do a thing as they slammed their attack into his chest. "Massive Rasengan!" the original Naruto shouted as his clone dispelled, forcing the jutsu to grind into Mammoth. There was an explosion, launching both Naruto and Mammoth in opposite directions. Naruto slammed into a wall, falling to the ground unconscious. Mammoth landed hard on the ground, his impact shaking the earth.
Grunting, Mammoth tried to stand but the attack left him wounded. Even with his thick skin, it somehow shredded through it all and now he was bleeding badly. "D-Dammit," he growled, holding his chest. There was no way he could fight that alien bitch now, so with a growl, the S-mark on his chest glowed before a circle appeared around him. It glowed as he slowly sunk, being watched by both Bobby and Blackfire. "Next time I see you," he said, glaring daggers at Blackfire, "I'll kill you."
"Looking forward to it," Blackfire said back. As much as she wanted the guy dead, it was always entertaining to see him run away. He disappeared, the glowing red circle fading away as if it was never there to begin with.
When Naruto woke up, the first thing he noticed was that he was in an old restaurant. There was dust on nearly every surface. The floors, walls, and roof all had cracks and mould in multiple spots. Every window that he could see were shattered and boarded up. Finally, the lights were off and the only source of light was the candle that sat on top of a small crate next to his makeshift bed.
"You're up," a young voice said happily. Looking, Naruto blinked as he didn't recognise the girl. She had long brown hair tied up in a pony-tail and brown eyes along with a kind smile. She was wearing black cargo pants and knee-high padded boots. Beneath her black leather jacket, she wore a dark blue hoodie with matching gloves. "Bobby said you were tough but I thought it'd be another day before you woke up."
"Where am I?" Naruto asked, slowly sitting up. He was shirtless but his torso was bandaged on some parts.
Lighting another candle so there was more light, the woman answered, "Jump City Pizza Corner. It's our safe house. WAS our safe house, sorry. Because of Mammoth knowing where we were, we'll be moving to a new safe house as soon as we can. Good thing you're awake otherwise Bobby would have had to carry you again. And he wasn't gentle about it the first time either."
Naruto nodded at that. He doubted Bobby would have dropped him but the guy didn't look physically strong so he must have struggled a little. "What's your name? I'm assuming you're a friend because you mentioned Bobby and Blackfire."
"My name is Katherine Pryde, but everyone calls me Kitty because of my code name, Shadowcat," the woman answered with a smile. "And you're Naruto something."
"Uzumaki," Naruto corrected with a small laugh. "So how long was I out for? And where is everyone?"
"In order? You were unconscious for an hour. Don't worry, you're perfectly fine besides a few cracked ribs, cuts, and a possible concussion," answered Kitty, "Blackfire is out patrolling the area in case there are any more ambushes and Bobby's downstairs eating as always."
Getting up to his feet, Naruto saw his shirt and borrowed jacket and put them on, being careful as he did so. Following Kitty, they walked down the stairs and Naruto saw Bobby at a table, eating a sandwich. The only sign of an injury on him was small plaster on his right cheek. "Hey, you're awake!" Bobby said happily, standing up but still eating his food. "How're you feeling?"
"Hurts to breathe a little and I have a headache. But, all things considered, I can't complain," Naruto shrugged with a grin, making the two others laugh.
Quickly finishing his food, while also trying not to choke, Bobby nodded towards the doors. "Come on. Boss wants to meet you."
Kitty walked over as Naruto followed. As he wondered what kind of person their boss was and what possible abilities they have, Naruto watched as Bobby opened the door and all three walked in. They were in some sort of office, with a large table on the middle that was covered in all sorts of maps and paperwork. Hunched over the table, Naruto saw a man with green fur with no top on. "Naruto," Bobby said, "Meet our leader, Animal Man."
Animal Man stood up straight before slowly turning around. As he did so, Naruto's eyes widened in shock as he quickly recognised who this person was. "B-Beastboy?" The former Teen Titan was now taller, a lot taller. His hair had grown out and reached his shoulders and there were three long scars going form the top of his chest to his stomach. Looking into his eyes, Naruto knew this person was not the same Beastboy he knew from his timeline.
Before anyone could do anything, Animal Man rushed forward with impressive speed. He grabbed Naruto by his neck and slammed him in the wall behind him, glaring heatedly at the blond. "You bastard!" he shouted, his voice growling. He didn't care that he was choking Naruto as he continued shouting, "This is your fault!"
"What?" Naruto breathed out, struggling against Animal Man's grip. He was surprisingly strong. "Let go!" Bobby and Kitty stood aside, unsure of what to do. They have never seen their leader so angry before, it actually frightened them a little.
Snarling, Animal Man threw Naruto across the room. "This!" he shouted as Naruto stood, using the table to help. He gestured to the broken window that showed the sorry state of the city. "This hell is all because of you!"
"I don't understand!" Naruto shouted back, ready in case Animal Man attacked him again. "What did I do?! Tell me!"
"YOU LEFT!" Animal Man roared, grabbing a wooden chair and throwing it towards Naruto. He didn't move, letting the piece of furniture fly past and crash into the wall behind him. "We watched you fall into that portal. You could have just let Warp leave with that fucking clock but instead, you had to stop him. You left us," he said, his voice getting quieter but his words still held his anger. "...You left her."
Hearing this, Naruto looked down. He never thought about that. He never thought about how this would have affected the Titans when he disappeared. "What happened after I disappeared?" Naruto asked calmly, taking slow steps until he was near Animal Man. "I need to know."
But those answers would have to wait as Blackfire burst into the room, nearly knocking over Bobby and Kitty as they stood near the door. "We have to go, now!" she said in urgency.
Something fell from the roof and into the room with everyone. Through the dust, Naruto saw that the thing that fell was a creature made of fire. It lunged at him but Naruto quickly moved away before having to dodge as another creature crashed through the ceiling and then another. Everything they touched lit on fire before the smoke and flames became too much. Grabbing another chair, Naruto slammed it against the one blocking everyone, "MOVE!"
It quickly turned to chaos as there were more of these creatures in the next room and no doubt there were dozens more outside. Naruto was punching and kicking, unable to make any clones because there was no room. Animal Man had shifted and turned into a large bear as he swiped at every creature that came at him as Blackfire fired as many blackbolts as she could. Iceman was using a baseball bat made out of ice to smash his way through. Finally, Kitty, surprising Naruto, was phasing through everyone and everything before attacking from behind with her fists.
They eventually made it outside and, just as Naruto had thought, they were surrounded by dozens, possibly hundreds of those same creatures, possibly hundreds and all of them were floating towards them. "Attack!" roared Animal Man as he shifted into a large green tiger, diving into the fiery army without hesitation. The group split up, taking on as many creatures as they could in hopes of escaping. Creating a dozen Shadow Clones, Naruto grinned as he and his copies pulled out a kunai, wielding it like a knife as they hacked and slashed their way through.
But there were too many of these creatures. One by one, Naruto's clones popped out of existence as the fiery army continued their relentless attack. And something was wrong. His injuries should have healed and his chakra should have been replenished but they weren't. Even as he stabbed one of the creatures in the head, Naruto could tell that his reserves were only at fifty percent.
One of the creatures got lucky as they swiped, their claws slashing across Naruto's back as he fell forward. He didn't know what hurt more, the fact that his back was slashed, or the fact that the creature's claws were made of fire so his cuts were cauterized. The pain was agonising but Naruto gritted his teeth as jumped away from another attack, throwing his kunai and killing the creature at the same time.
As he landed on his side, Naruto was aware of a green eagle flying down and landing near him, changing back into Animal Man. "Get up," the man ordered, with little interest in Naruto's injuries.
Scowling, Naruto stood up, doing his best to ignore his back flaring in excruciating pain. "Thanks for helping me up," Naruto muttered sarcastically with a frown, not liking this version of Beastboy. Just what happened with the former goofy changling? Noticing something, Naruto saw a green triceratops in the distance and a green gorilla nearby. "How?" Naruto questioned, confused as to how there were multiple green animals when there should only be one.
"No time for that," Animal Man answered, punching a creature away with a great amount of strength. "Dammit, there are too many of these things. They're blocking all our exits."
"Why are there so many?" Naruto asked as he summoned more and more Shadow Clones. "And how did they surround us like this? We should have seen them all from a mile away!"
Phasing through the floor, Kitty appeared and quickly grabbed Naruto and Animal Man's arm, allowing a fireball to fly through them harmlessly. "It must have been Mammoth," said the girl, having heard Naruto's questions. "He got away and told his master where we are."
"Then she's near," Animal Man said, his eyes looking around with a heated glare as he tried to find the creature's master. "This is our chance."
"Chance?" Naruto repeated with confusion. "What chance?"
Ignoring the man, Animal Man looked to Kitty. "Find Bobby and Blackfire. I want the three of you to draw their attention for as long as you can, understand?"
Kitty didn't answer, but her eyes showed she did understand as it showed her fear. "Isn't there anything else that can be done?" she tried asking.
"Do you understand?!" Animal Man snarled, glaring at the girl who took a few steps back. She still nodded, not trusting her voice. "Then go."
Turning around, Kitty looked at Naruto with a sad smile, seeing his confusion. "Goodbye," she said quietly before running away and towards where she knew her friends were. If Naruto was confused before, he wasn't anymore. He recognised that kind of goodbye, having seen it only once before from Haku, right before he sacrificed himself to save his master.
"If you want something to do then go help them-" Animal Man began to say before Naruto suddenly punched him hard on the jaw, sending the green man to the ground.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Naruto shouted. "You're using your own friends!"
However, instead of looking angry that he was attacked, Animal Man stood and held his jaw. But his gaze on the blond still showed his anger as he spoke, "They understand the mission. They're willing to die to save this world."
"And you're willing to let them die?! Aren't they your friends?!"
"My friends are dead," Animal Man growled, shocking Naruto. "I watched Cyborg as he was torn apart fourteen years ago. Not long after that, Starfire was taken and tortured, we never saw her again. And Robin was the last to go three years ago. His heart was literally ripped out of his chest as he tried to stop the demons master from killing me, I... I barely made it out alive," he said, his hand idly tracing the scars across his chest.
"...And Raven?" Naruto asked, feeling as though he already knew the answer.
However, before he could answer that, Animal Man's eyes widened as a ring of fire suddenly appeared around him and Naruto. "Look out!" he shouted, pushing Naruto out of the ring just as the fire erupted into a pillar, incinerating everything inside.
Naruto tried to run back in before the fire erupted but it was too late. He was forced to move back as the fire of the pillar was too hot and intense for him. "Beastboy!" Naruto shouted, forgetting that Animal Man doesn't go by that name anymore. The flames stopped and vanished, the only evidence of that they had been there was the scorch marks surrounding the area.
His instincts going off, Naruto dodged to the side and avoided a fireball that was aimed right at him. He was forced to run away as the attacks continued to rain down from above, making Naruto hide behind an overturned car. Taking a deep breath, Naruto tried not to think about Animal Man's death and carefully glanced around the corner of the car, trying to see who was hell-bent on attacking him.
His eyes scanned through the flaming army but not one of those creatures paid him any attention as they focused on Iceman, Kitty, and Blackfire who were fighting to the best of their abilities. Glancing up, Naruto grinned as he just spotted a figure on top of the pizzeria the hideout was in. Getting an idea, he crossed his fingers and shouted, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" creating as many clones as he could as well as a big smoke cloud.
Now surrounded by a hundred identical copies, Naruto panted a little. That cost him more chakra than he thought it would but he would have to make do for now. Each clone knew exactly what to do as they all shouted, as one, "CHARGE!" before running towards the fiery creatures. Naruto joined them, jumping into the fray as he attacked as many enemies as he could. His plan was working as clones were destroyed one by one, creating a rather large cloud of smoke. Using this, Naruto ran through it, hiding as he ran towards the pizzeria undetected. Not wasting any time, he jumped and ran up the wall as fast as he could, reaching the top of the building in seconds.
He reached the top, taking out a kunai just in case the person knew he was approaching. But the figure, wearing a large black cloak, didn't seem to notice him as they had their back to him, probably too focused on the chaos below. Slowly and quietly, Naruto approached the person but as he did, he realised that the black cloak was actually a dark blue colour. A familiar dark blue.
Then, all of a sudden, black energy appeared from the ground and wrapped around him, making sure to keep his hands separated and away from any pockets. They twisted his arm, forcing Naruto to drop his weapon. "That can't be..." Naruto whispered, staring at the energy that held him against his will. Only one person could use this type of ability and if they were wearing a blue cloak, then that could only mean one thing. "Raven?!" Naruto shouted happily, realising who this person was.
But the person didn't move. Instead, they laughed, revealing themself to be a woman. "No, I'm not her," she said, her voice familiar but also different, confusing Naruto greatly. The woman turned, her hood blocking her face as she slowly walked over to Naruto. She wore a dark purple one-piece leotard with black bands going down her arms and legs, with metal boots going up to her knees as well as metallic gloves with claws. But what drew Naruto's attention was the object that held the woman cloak together.
It was his headband. It was cracked and damaged, but it was his.
Once the woman reached him, she moved her hands up and lowered her hood, revealing her dark blue eyes and two whisker marks on each cheek. "Hello, Father," she said laughing as Naruto gained a shocked look.
-Author's Note-
I am so sorry for not updating sooner. A lot, and I mean A LOT has happened this past year.
Basically I got a new laptop in March, a much better one than the one I was using. It's faster and a lot easier to use. Unfortunately, I also discovered that if I use more than one tab while on chrome, with one of the tabs being used for this, and then leave that tab for a certain amount of time, then the page fucking reloads by itself and I lose any progress I made. This has happened a few times but I am being careful not to do that again. I was even re-reading this story and there are a few things I was not happy with. I'm honestly tempted to rewrite the whole thing but I'm not going to. I'm not even happy with the last chapter cause I feel like I was forcing the whole museum thing.
I will understand if no one is happy with the fight scenes in this chapter, as I've always said, I am not good at writing those. There will be an explanation as to why Naruto appeared weaker than normal and why he couldn't use much of Kyuubi's chakra.
But anyway, a lot has happened that distracted me from basically everything. I'm not going to get into too much detail but I lost my dog Monty, the best dog in the world that I've known for 15 years and it left me heartbroken for a long time. Even typing that was difficult. I couldn't work on this story, I could barely focus on work it was that bad. Add that to the lockdown and a few other minor issues, I gained a tremendous amount of stress. Thankfully, lately, everything is going well and I've even managed to finish this chapter. About time, right?
Again, I cannot promise that I will update soon again. I will try my best but that is all I can do. I'm even trying to work on other stories in my spare time.
If I have written something in this chapter that doesn't add up to what I've written before, please let me know and I will fix it. I re-read what I've done and tried to fix it so that this chapter would work.
Thank you all for reading. If you have any questions/suggestions/complaints, please feel free to PM or leave a review and I will do my best to answer.
