Naruto: The Justice League

Chapter 9: One Step at a Time…

"The good half?" Naruto said to his father, watching the large menacing fox... pretend he's 'Godzilla' and the rabbits are the small helpless people. And for some reason, small buildings have erupted from the ground. The large fox knocks over a building and chomps down on a rabbit. "Your kidding...?"

"Afraid not, son." Minato said just before both him and Naruto suddenly shields their eyes as the fox lets out a powerful stream of fire, which burns the bunnies to a crisp.

Blinking at the fiery scene, Naruto turns to his father.

"Any chance of the half's merging back together?" He glances at the large fox from the corner of his eyes, only to see him lying on his back, patting his stomach.

"Your worlds apart." The Yellow Flash replied with a shake of the head. "Not even a summon can enter this world from ours. That jutsu is the only way to cross a dimensional barrier. Even if someone got a hold of that jutsu... the chances of them entering this world is less than five percent." He then turns to look at his son. "And I forgot to mention this... but there is a slight side-effect about having the Kyuubi in you…"

"What is it?" Naruto asks, worried about what might happen.

Minato nods towards a large Sakura tree that Naruto didn't remember being their. Around the tree, Sakura petals fall. Next to it is a small lake, a few Sakura petals floating in it. Both father and son walk away from the now snoring Kitsune.

Minato continues to walk in silence, while Naruto becomes increasingly worried.

Once they reached the lake and Sakura tree, Minato looks over the lake. Naruto bends down and dips a hand in the water and notices how real it feels.

"Son…" Minato began, startling Naruto and almost making him fall in. Holding in a chuckle, Minato continues in a serious tone. "I'm afraid that due to the Kyuubi... your life expand... has been lengthened."

Naruto looks at his reflection in the lake, completely shocked. He blinks a few times, before looking back at his reflection. A Sakura petal hits the water, causing a ripple to shoot through the reflection.

"What...?" Naruto managed to say after a few moments. "What about mom? What if I... fall in love?" Glancing to his right, he spots his father's reflection next to his. "How long?"

"I'm not sure…" Minato whispered. "Could be anywhere from fives years longer to a hundred years. Or you could be a true Immortal... I don't know…" He spots Naruto closing his eyes with a deep sigh. "As for falling in love... you know how your canine's lengthen when you put chakra through them?" Naruto gives a small nod, remembering on Halloween that he didn't even need to buy fake vampire teeth. "When you are truly in love... send chakra to your teeth and bite down on your love's neck... they will gain your life expectancy and live as long as you do…"

Naruto opens his eyes and turns to his father's reflection.

"And mom?" Naruto had to ask.

A chuckle escapes Minato's lips.

"Now, that wouldn't exactly be right, if you know what I mean." Minato laughs again as Naruto quickly turns away with a frown and a blush. "Besides... your mother would likely turn you down. Knowing her... she would probably find away to keep herself from aging…"

Naruto gives a laugh at that.

After a few minutes of silence, aside from a snore coming from across the area. Naruto continues to stare at his reflection, until a large ripple makes it hard to see it. Looking up, he spots his father walking towards the middle of the lake.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asks.

"Preparing to train you." Minato sits on top of the water in a meditation fashion.

"But mom said I can't psychically train in the mindscape." Naruto told his father while pumping chakra to his feet and joining his father on the water.

"That's true, son…" As Minato closes his eyes, a blue aura surrounds him. "But you can train your mind here... to prepare for when you learn a jutsu in the real world." Slowly, droplets of water begin to float out of the water and float upwards. Naruto lets out a small gasp as a weight presses down on him. "Before I show you the library or teach you about seals... I want you to meditate.."

"Meditate...?" Naruto asked once the pressure lifts off him.

Looking towards his father, he notices that the aura or visible chakra is flowing steady around him. With a shaky sigh, Naruto slowly sits in the water. Carefully managing his chakra output. Since he doesn't want to launch himself like a rocket.

Naruto closes his eyes and does what Bruce and his mother taught him to do. But after a few minutes of nothing happening, Naruto lets out a grunt of frustration. Eyes scrunched together.

Minato opens one eye and smiles at his son. 'Like looking in a mirror.' His smile turns into a frown as he spots water bubbling under his son. 'Well now... that can't be good.' After he thought that, he suddenly blinks as a gush of water explodes from where his son was just sitting.

"Come, son." Minata called to his burnt son. A twitch appears on the corner of Minato's lips.

Naruto grumbles as he follows his father to where the door to the library is located. His clothes slightly singed. Hair both wet and contains a few burnt spots.

Minato meanwhile smiles at his dripping wet son. 'I did the same under Jiraiya... and Kakashi did the same under me...' He frowns as they reach the door. 'But I was hoping Kakashi would be the one to teach him... guess it can't be helped.' And with that, Minato grabs the doorknob and opens the door.

Naruto shields his eyes as a light hits them. After a few seconds, he lets his eyes adjust to the brightness. Looking around the room, he lets out a gasp.

"It looks just like the library at home." Naruto walks over to a shelf and grabs a book. He reads the title. "History of Tsuchi no Kuni." Putting that book back, he picks up another one with Tsuchi no Kuni on the title. "Tsuchi no Kuni's bingo book?" He places that one back and walks further through the unlimited number of shelves. He pauses as another book catches his eye. Minato just watches on in silence. Naruto picks up the book. "Kenjutsu... featuring moves by Zabuza... Baki... and Asuma? Asuma... I don't understand."

"It appears that this is one of the gifts the Shinigami mentioned before I sealed part of my soul in you." Minato asked, looking slightly confused as well.

"Look at the date. This is at least ten or eleven years after we left our world." Naruto flips through the book until he reaches the last page. A note falls out, which is caught by Naruto. Naruto reads the note, his eyes widen as he finishes. "Why would the Kami of our world... put so much faith into me?"

Minato glances around. 'That a good question... how did that get here? Did Shinigami-sama send it...? Or did Kami...?'

Naruto places the note back into the book and places it back on the shelves. He continues to walk through the library, looking for more gifts Kami may have left him. He pauses as he notices something.

"Why aren't there any scrolls around?" Naruto asked, picking up another book.

Minato shakes his head. "This is your mind... it just transformed the scrolls into something you are more familiar with."

Naruto nods as he continues to walk. That is, until he spots an orange book at the end of the shelf. Without really thinking, he picks it up. "This looks like the book mom reads... only this is a newer issue." He glances to his father, who is looking at some of the books in confusion. "Dad..." Minato turns his head to regard his son. "Is there any way to summon these books to the real world."

Minato gives a smirk as he returns to glancing at the books. "With seals... anything is possible."

Naruto also gives a smirk as he opens the orange book and begins reading.

Naruto yawns as he sits up. Throwing the covers off, he glances to the spot next to him. Only to notice Vixen gone.

"Must have gone shopping as usual." Naruto said as he stretches. He glances to his alarm clock. "Sunday morning. Perfect day to work in the garage."

Walking out of his room and down the hallway in Wayne Manor, he pauses as he nears Cheetah's room. Listening in, he chuckles as he hears her snoring softly. Hope she likes what I did for her... He gives a smirk as he walks to the garage.

An hour later, Cheetah stumbles out of her room. Woken up by the sounds of an engine revving. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she stalks down the hall and towards her destination: The Kitchen.

Once reaching the kitchen, she spots Alfred sitting on stool reading a book. Cheetah clears her throat, which causes Alfred to look up startled.

"Ah... Mistress Cheetah!" Alfred greeted, trying to calm his fast heartbeat. One would think, that living with Two Ninjas and the Dark Knight, he would be used to getting startled by now. "What can I get you?"

Cheetah takes a seat on a stool as Alfred moves to the fridge.

"Um... raw meat... kinda bloody." Cheetah looks down ashamed at what she said. Alfred pulls out a slab of meat from the fridge and smiles as he places the slab on a plate in front of Cheetah.

"Mistress Kushina prepared it for when you woke." He notices Cheetah looking down with her eyes closed as she grabs the slab of meat and bits into it. Blood drips down her chin. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Us nor the Justice League will ever judge you."

Cheetah pauses mid bite.

Kushina takes a sip of her water as she looks at Cheetah, who is currently staring at the floor.

"Now you see…" Kushina places her glass down on the table and reaches over to Cheetah. A warm smile spreads across her face as she places a hand on Cheetah's. "... We are incapable of judging you... even though you did this to yourself…" Kushina removes her hand. Cheetah looks up and meets Kushina's eyes. "... doesn't change that fact.." Kushina give a wider smile. "Welcome to the family!"

Cheetah gives a fanged smile which looks more like a predatory smile, but Kushina doesn't looked fazed by it.

After several minutes of silence, Cheetah nods to herself.

"T-that means a lot…" With that said, they both enjoy each others company in silence.

The sounds of them sipping their drinks. Cheetah brings her cup to her mouth only to pause as a question enters her mind. "There's something else…"

"Hmm...?" Kushina takes a sip of her drink.

"Yes... that girl Vixen... she mention something about your son... and a Harem…" Cheetah said simply, question mark hanging over her head.

If Kushina wasn't so composed, she would've did a spit take. She tilts her head as she regards the question. "Well... I'm just happy if he's happy…" She lets out a sigh. The fur above Cheetah's right eye raises, indicating a raised eyebrow. "Even if he falls for multiple girls…" She turns her head to the side and mumbles. "Glad Jiraiya isn't here…"

Cheetah just looks confused since she heard Kushina perfectly clear.

Cheetah wipes her mouth with the napkin Alfred provided her with.

"Where's everyone?" She asked as she looks around.

"I believe Mistress Mari and Mistress Kushina are out testing a new invention. Master Bruce… I believe is at a meeting. And…" Alfred picks up the bloody plate and drops it into the sink. "As for Naruto…" The sound of an engine revving is heard. "I believe he's in the garage… as usual."

"Alright. Thanks… Alfred." Cheetah quickly bolts from the kitchen and rushes to the Garage.

As she gets closer, the sounds of music gets louder and louder.

In the garage, Naruto has his head buried in the engine of his new Dodge Challenger. He stands up with a smirk, as the song 'I'm still here' by John Rzeznik blazes from the car radio. Naruto picks up a rag and wipes the grease from his face. Bending back down, he continue to work on his car. He smirks as a presence is felt.

"Don't just stand there… hand me that Socket Wrench." Naruto called out to Cheetah, who was standing in the doorway.

Cheetah quickly walks over to the tools and after searching through them, she picks up a ratchet.

"T-this?" Cheetah asked.

Peeking out from under the hood, Naruto gives a nod. "That's the one."

Walking over to he car, she hands the tool to Naruto. Deciding to look around the area, she notices a lot of motorcycles.

"You must like bikes?" After she said that, she lets out a small curse. After living under the same roof, that's the only thing she could think of to say.

"Kind of." Naruto replied with a chuckle. "Guess it's in my nature… to feel the wind on my face, like running really fast…"

Cheetah walks over to a nearby bike and admires the Kanji and design. "I can relate. It also feels good blowing through my fur." Naruto leans back from the hood and looks towards Cheetah. "Are all of these yours?"

"The bikes and this Dodge are… the others are my mom's and Bruce's." He takes the rag and wipes his face again. "And the Lotus Car in the back is also Bruce's. He likes to impress girls."

Cheetah lets out a chuckle which actually shocks her.

"Sorry…" She softly whispered.

Naruto slams the hood down on the car. He walks over to Cheetah and puts a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be. You should laugh more often." Cheetah gives him a small fanged smile. "Heh… look at us. The first thing we talked about was cars and laughing." After a few minute's, they both notice Naruto's hand is still on her shoulder. With a small cough, Naruto removes his hand. "Why don't…" Deciding it's time to show her what he did for her, he walks back over to his car. "Why don't we take a drive?"

Naruto opens the passenger side door. The song 'Gifts and Curses' by Yellowcard begins playing on the radio.

"Where?" Cheetah asked as she stops at the passenger door.

Naruto nods his head towards the open door.

"Just trust me." Naruto simply replied.

Deciding to trust him, Cheetah slips into the seat. Naruto shuts the door with a smile and rushes to the drivers side. Once inside, he gives his passenger a warm smile and turns up the volume on the radio. And for once in her life, the noise doesn't bother her. She gives a warm smile back.

Metropolis…

Clark Kent pushes up his glasses as he walks through the Daily Planet. He gives a nod of the head as he passes Jimmy Olsen, who is currently looking at a picture of Fox in awe. Clark chuckles, but continues to walk. Until he stops at Lois' desk.

Lois is busy using a magnifying glass on a newspaper clipping. She 'Hmms'.

"Hey, Lois!" Clark greeted, only to see Lois concentrating hard. "What's up?"

Lois regards Clark without moving her head. "I think I may have a lead on Athena's Gem."

Clark shakes his head, remembering that Samurai had the Gem last, but when they searched him, the Gem was gone.

"And…?" Clark urged, curious.

"Your not going to like it." Lois said as she hands the newspaper clipping over to Clark.

Clark looks over the paper, only for his eyes to widen at who's picture he sees…

Somewhere deep in the city of Metropolis…

Lex Luthor leans back in his chair and plops his feet on the desk. A smirk adorning his face as he addresses the shadows.

"It's good to see you again, old friend!" Lex greeted.

In the shadows, a mask is barely seen. But one could tell that once side of the mask is orange.

"Your alive? And not in prison?" Lex raises an eyebrow at that. "Damn! Looks like I lost that bet."

"Yes, well… that's very funny." Lex removes his feet from the desk and digs through his pocket. "So, how are things going with the Titans?"

"Same as you and the Justice League." The figure replied.

"Haha! What if told you of a way to trample them?" Lex said with a dark smirk as he pulls out a small object.

"I would say 'What's the catch?'." The figure said, before mumbling. "As long as it's better than our last confrontation with the League."

Lex continues smirking, unaware of the figures mumbling. He pulls out a purple gem, that's hooked up to a gold chain.

A small string of lightning is seen for a few seconds on the gem. "To think, this powerful object was hiding in the Gotham Museum of all places. Do you know what it is?"

"Fancy jewelry?" The figure grunted out. From his position, he can still feel the power from the object.

Lex pulls up the Gem to eye level and gives it a sensual rub.

"Oh… It's much more than that." A sudden pain in his heart causes Lex to grab his chest. With a painful smirk, he brings the gem to his chest. Lightning flashes from it, causing Lex to jump. Lex gives a deep laugh. "This will keep me alive longer than some pills will!"

"I'm happy for you, but how will this help me?" The figure asked.

"Not only will this keep me alive…" Lex gives a cough. "But with the energy constantly being pumped through this tiny gem… it could power three Metropolis'!" Lex stands up and moves to the large window behind him, and also wondering how the figure can still be covered in shadows. He shakes his head from the thought. "Think of what else it could do." He glances at the figure from the corner of his eyes. "Pump lightning through that toothpick of yours. Power a robot army that can last twenty years. Even… bring the apocalypse. An endless possibility."

"…" The figure's mask tilts to the side.

"What do you say? I plan on making 'batteries' that can hold an enormous amount of it's power." Lex turns to fully address the shadow. "Then I will 'distribute' them all over."

After a minute of silence, the figure speaks up. "How much?"

Lex grows a grin. "For you? Nothing."

"Heh… pleasure doing business with you." The figure turns to the door. His sword gleams when the sunlight hits it.

"A pleasure." Lex turns back to the window. "Maybe I should invite the Joker next…"

What follows next, is Lex Luthor laughing. Mercy Graves walks into the room and waits for Lex to finish his laughter.

10 miles outside Gotham. City of 'Valor'

A crimson Dodge Challenger drives slowly through the city streets. People all smile and wave as the car passes.

"Where are we?" Cheetah asks as she looks through the window.

"The city of Valor. This small city was built by old school heroes years ago." The car stops in a small parking lot. Naruto turns to Cheetah once he kills the engine. "Everyone forgot about those heroes… except for the people in this town. They will never be forgotten." He opens the door. "Come on."

"W-wait…" Cheetah called to the blond ninja.

"Trust me." Naruto closes the door. Cheetah glances at the handle on the door and hesitantly grabs it. With a slow inhale, she opens it.

Outside, Naruto gives a smirk as Cheetah steps out. That smirk turns into a frown as he senses fear coming from her.

"Is this some sick joke." She quietly whispered.

Naruto sighs.

"I promise. I would never do anything to make you feel bad." He holds out his hand. "Just trust me."

Cheetah slowly reaches forward and places her hand on Naruto's hand. Naruto grabs it and pulls her forward. Steadying herself, she gives a small glare Naruto's way.

Together, they begin to walk forward.

Still hand in hand, not that they notice, they walk through the street. People give both Naruto and Cheetah waves and smiles. Which confuses her.

After a few more seconds of walking, a small red haired girl walks up to Cheetah. The girl tugs on Cheetah's fur.

"Wha-?" Cheetah managed to get out. The girl holds out her hand. Hesitantly, Cheetah also holds out her hand. After the child drops something into Cheetah's hand, she takes off with a wide smile.

Naruto stands to the side, he gives Cheetah's other hand a squeeze. Opening the hand, she gasps in surprise as an orange origami Cheetah is resting in her hand. A tear falls from her eye. As she looks around, she notices more people giving her smiles. Turning to Naruto, she asks the question…

"Why…?" Cheetah asked.

"You really want to know?" Naruto replied with a smile. Cheetah nods and looks into Naruto's blue eyes, as he begins explaining what happened.

A week ago…

Firefighters and police offices rush back and forth out of a large burning building. The intense heat from the flames cause people further away to even shield their face.

A police officer with smut on his face walks over to a firefighter.

"I think everyone's accounted for." The officer told him. The firefighter gives a nod, and several hoses fire water full force onto the blazing inferno. A sudden explosion from the first story causes everyone to move back.

A sudden scream from the onlookers, causes everyone to turn in that direction.

A woman suddenly drops her groceries as she looks around the area in a frenzy. Tears threatening to spill out.

"Where's my daughter?" She screamed, causing the police and firefighters blood to run cold.

But before they can do anything, the sound of concrete cracking is heard. Turning back to the inferno, they are surprised at what they see.

Cheetah, in a crouching position, with cracked concrete around her feet. She stands up and stares at the burning building. Glancing around for any possible route in or out. The fire reflects off her fur, causing her fur to have an ethereal orange glow. Without a word to anyone, she rushes into the building.

"W-wait!" The police officer called after her.

Inside the building, Cheetah continues to search for the child. Ignoring the flames licking and singing her fur, she sniffs the air, but curses as the smoke and flames cover up the scent of anything else.

Glancing to her left, a flaming beam is blocking the entrance. To her right, is a stairway that is covered in flames and falling apart. Using her enhanced hearing, a faint scream from above is heard, along with a cracking sound.

Using her quick reflexes, she dodges to the stairway just as the ceiling crashes down where she was just at. Glancing back, she lets loose another curse as the ceiling continues to fall. The building gives a wobble.

Continuing up the stairway, the scream gets louder.

"Hang on!" Cheetah yelled, flames burning her feet.

Once she reaches the floor the scream came from, she leaps off the stairway, just as it gives out, taking most of the ceiling with it.

She takes a look around the area. Flames continue to burn through the floors and walls. All of the doors are closed, with flames burning through them. Hearing a faint 'Help' coming from the 3rd door on her right, she rushes forward, but having to leap forward as the floor starts to give way.

She lets out a grunt as she lands, but continues to run to the door.

She reaches the door. Flames have already attacked the door like parasites. Hearing another 'Help', only much weaker, she inhales. With a determined growl, she kicks the door, and it shatters like glass. Splitters and burning pieces scatter.

With the door broken down, the roomful of smoke is sucked through the doorway like a vacuum.

Spotting a red haired little girl with freckles huddled in the corner, Cheetah rushes forward. As she reaches for the girl, said girl weakly looks up, only for her to back away frightened. Cheetah flinches, but doesn't back away.

"I'm not going to hurt you." She said, trying to calm the girl. "I will take you to your mommy."

"Mommy…?" The girl weakly asked. "You promise?"

The flames begin to burn around the room. The floor begins to crack.

"I promise." Cheetah told her with a smile. "Come… let's get you out of here…"

Cheetah wraps an arm around the little girl. Instead of the girl flinching, she wraps her arms tightly around Cheetah… like a child would her parent.

Cheetah smiles, then frowns as she looks around. That's one problem solved… now to solve the next one…

She closes her eyes as she pictures the foundation of the building from looking at it from the outside. The stairs are out. Can't jump from the window… might hurt the child. That only leaves…

"The roof…" Since the building is very close to another building, one could easily jump from one building to the next. Cheetah looks around the room to figure out how to get up there… with the stairs out and roof collapsing. Her eyes stop on the fire escape. With a burst of speed, she reaches the fire escape. She steps onto the platform, only for the steel to burn her feet. She holds in a curse. Looking down, she growls as everything below them is a burning inferno, that is slowly reaching upwards. "Hang on, Sweetie!"

Obeying her savior, the little girl grips a little more tightly.

Gripping the ladder, Cheetah begins climbing one handed to the top, ignoring the heated steel and the flames seeping through the walls and windows.

After a few agonizing minute's, they finally reached the roof. The building shudders a little. Quickly looking around, she spots a building nearby close enough to jump to.

Tilting her head, she looks down at the passenger in her arms. "Close your eyes… and keep on holding on." After saying that, Cheetah holds the girl closer. They approach the edge of the roof. Another explosion causes the building to shake. Steadying herself, she bends down… then using her legs to propel her forward, she leaps to the other building. Just as flames explode from the roof's door. Along with the roof finally giving out.

Down below, the little girls mother lets out a scream of anguish as the building begins collapsing.

"Damn…" The police man whispered, his hands balled into tight fists.

A few painful minutes past. The building has been reduced to a pile of flaming ruble. The onlookers look away, each trying to hide their tears. The mother drops to the hard ground on her knees, wracked with sobs.

Over the sound of her sobs, the pitter-patter of footsteps approaches.

Following the sound, they spot the little girl and the savior walking past the burning debris. Cheetah has a hand on the girls head and gives it a ruffle.

The little girl rushes towards her downed mother with tears running down her cheek. She embraces her mother.

"Baby! Thank the heavens!" The mother yelled also crying. She grips her daughter tightly, afraid it might be a dream.

"Mommy! She saved me!" The daughter points to Cheetah, only to see her gone, before anyone could thank her.

"Who was she?" A fireman asked, looking around for any signs of the woman.

Meanwhile, Cheetah walks down an alley. She glances back as several happy yells are heard.

As she continues down the alley, her fur begins to retract and is replaced with a crimson suits. The tail and the rest of her back is replaced with a pair of Katana's. The breast area grows smaller and is replaced with a black circle with a silhouette of a fox with nine tails. The ears and muzzle retreat back and is replaced with Blond hair and a mask that covers the lower half of his face.

The man pops his neck and dusts off the soot from his hair.

"The things I do for love…" The man coughs and is surprised when smoke flies out.

"You did that… for me?" Cheetah asked, as a warm feeling enters her chest.

"I told you to trust me, didn't I?" Naruto said with a laugh as Kids begin crowding them. "I helped you with this, and now…you must let your fear go… and embrace the person I know you can become." Naruto pats a child on the head. "One step at a time… Mom, Vixen, Bruce, Alfred, The League… and Me will be right behind you."

A few tears drip from her eyes as the warm feeling in her hearts gets more intense.

"I will… Embrace the new me!" Cheetah yelled out, as the kids tackle them both.

To Be Continued…

Sorry for the long wait, but I've been very busy and been too tired to write. So I wanted to post this story, before they cut off my internet. (Great… I'm going to be sad all week…)

And also, sorry for the flashbacks. I'm addicted to them… but they do get the jobs done. And I was going to do like a movie and have Cheetah look into Naruto's eyes and have his eyes reflect the incident, that's kinda what I went with. And the chapter title was going to be 'Cheetah's Date', but the title I ultimately went with makes more sense… I think.

And as for the songs, I wanted to give a feeling of the atmosphere… through song. Like I did on Brutal Legend.

Next update will probably be Naruto: Beyond, Crouching Tigress and Naruto & Garfield. And for a list of what I'm planning to write or my ideas, check my profile. I'm also doing a Sly Cooper story, which I've been wanting to do for a while and will try to work on the next Fox Mage chapter, the pairing will be Eva instead of Asuna.

Also, expect a few straight Naruto stories that take place on the Ninja world. They won't be crossovers and they take place after Canon.