The man dashed down the alleyway, panting, darting frenzied glances behind him. A hungry chorus of yapping barks pursued him, the sound echoing off the high stone buildings on either side. Dashing the sweat from his eyes, he continued to run, half-stumbling against garbage cans and random debris left from the tenants.

Finally, inevitably, he came to a dead end. The walls were shored off, the passageway had been blocked by a low brick wall. Desperately he leapt for it, scrambled at the bricks, but it was just too high, and the bricks just too smooth. The barking grew closer and closer as his bleeding fingers clutched at the stone.

The man whirled as the dogs came around the corner—dogs of all sorts. Pit bulls, rottweilers, chihuahuas, poodles. They ranged in appearance from well-fed and groomed to ravenous and scraggly. All had a hungry gleam in their eye. Curiously, as they caught sight of the man, their pacing slowed, their barks turned to malicious growls, and they slowly circled him.

Catching up a handy loose board, the man swung it about, screaming, "Keep back! Get away you crazy mutts! What... what on earth is this? I was out jogging!"

The guilty must be punished for their crimes.

The man's head snapped up. "Wha—wha?"

Vengeance must be had.

There was a sudden disturbance in the pack and a feisty Pomeranian shouldered her way forward. At the sight of her, the man let out an inarticulate cry and stepped forward. "Marrel?"

The Pomeranian wagged her tail. Then she smiled with a mouth VERY full of teeth.

"Marrel?" As if following the Pomeranian's cue, the other dogs also smiled, beginning to advance on the man. "Marrel? MARREL! NO! GET BACK!"

Screams echoed off the concrete, rebounding far down the alleyway as the dogs partook of their meal. There was plenty for all.

A few paces away, a tall pale man in a long green cloak surveyed the scene dispassionately. His face beneath the hood was long, gaunt, and perfectly white, and his sunken eyes shone with a green fire. Not a muscle on his face twitched.

Suddenly his head tilted, as if listening to something far away. Without turning, he lifted a hand and crooked a finger. His cloak ruffled in an intangible wind, and suddenly another pale man stood before him, this one clad in a dilapidated circus costume.

"Boston." The Spectre narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean by trying to summon me in such a manner? I do not take kindly to such matters."

"Not a summon. Not a summon, I swear." Deadman spread his hands placatingly. If it had been possible, the ghost would have been sweating. "At least, not a serious one. I just needed a way to contact you and... well, it's kinda hard to find a way, outside of those hedgepenny summoning things that everyone knows you hate."

Spectre snorted, but he did lower his hand. Relaxing visibly, Deadman glanced around to see exactly where they were. "Minneapolis, hm?" He studied the bloodied alleyway below. "What's the story behind this one?"

"Richard Hentley. Aged thirty-five. Killed his wife two years ago for feeding his dog the wrong brand of dog food."

"Seriously?" Deadman glanced down again. "Dude, some people are messed. So you tore him apart with dogs? Ya really go for the ironic touch, huh?"

Without even turning, Spectre responded. "I exercise justice. I mete out vengeance according to the Commission. That is all."

"Says you. I could swear you enjoy your job sometimes."

"Does this conversation have a point, Boston Brand?" A hint of steel entered the angel's voice.

Boston paled (or would have, had his face not been white). "Uh, right. Point. Um, well, I was talking with some of the other ghosts in the area and we... ah... well, see I was doing this job for the Justice Leaguers and I... Ah... Who was that lady I saw you with at the restaurant?"

"You KNOW who she is, Boston, you were following her."

"Right." Boston let out a nervous chuckle. "Right. I guess I was more asking... uh... what you were doing talking to her. You know, as opposed to killing her in various clever and poetic ways."

Spectre turned to him, an eyebrow raised in almost amusement. "And why should I do that?"

"Well... It's what you usually do to humans. And demons. And ghosts, even, though technically we're dead already. And..." Boston's voice died away at the irritated look growing on Spectre's face. "Uh, right. The point is, it doesn't really seem like part of the whole 'angel of vengeance' schtick you're usually on."

Spectre turned back and surveyed the city, apparently thinking over Deadman's question. "I am not merely the angel of vengeance, you realize." He said finally. "I am also the angel of redemption."

"Uriel. Yeah, I remember that from when I was alive, that's what they all said about you. But after I... uh, actually got to KNOW you, well... the whole 'redemption' part was sorta hard to see."

"It is always there. It is just not the most evident part of my work." Spectre sighed. "But yes, it was a part of my duties that I fear I... ignored for some time. Or at least, did not take as much pride in. Not like this." He gestured at the alleyway. "My vengeance was always grandiose, my redemption quiet and unseen. But the two exist contemporaneously, and cannot be separated. I have always been as much about redemption as about justice."

"If you say so." Deadman had a slightly doubtful look on his face. "But still. What's with the lady?"

"Hyuuga Hinata? She is an important instrument in the hands of the Almighty."

"Instrument?"

"As we all are. Both she and her friends will have much to do in the coming events, and it is vital they be prepared to face them. The girl is my connection to them, so that I may warn and guide them through the trials they must face."

Deadman had a somewhat more pensive look on his face now. "Okay." He said. "Okay. I think I get it. But lemme ask you something. What's so important about all these guys? What makes them so important to what's coming?"

"Because," Spectre answered, turning back to the city, "they bear a power long lost to this world."

---------------------------------------------

"Are you sure they're all right? I mean, it ain't normal for them to go pussy-footing around each other all the time like what they've been doing." Cyborg stopped to consider a moment. "Well, okay, I only known the guys a month, but it sure don't SEEM normal."

"Of course it's not normal for them." Robin did not turn from his position at the computer. He and Cyborg were both sitting in the control room of the tower, doing their best to keep tabs on everyone, a task proving rather difficult at the moment. "But think about it for a bit, Cyborg. It's only been a week since that whole crazy mess with the Yamanaka girl where everybody got yanked into everybody else's mind."

"So?"

"So? Cyborg, they were instantly confronted with their teammates darkest fears, visions, and memories. All of us were. That's bound to make them feel uncomfortable around each other. Sure, the memories are a little hazy with everybody right now, but I imagine they're more than enough to keep things awkward."

"I suppose." Cyborg gave an irritable shrug. "Still. All us Titans went through the same thing, and we're not breaking up or nothing."

Robin cocked an eye at his mechanical friend. "Cy, do you even remember the first few days after the incident?"

"Well, we mighta had SOME issues. But we got over those quick enough."

"That's a difference in team structure." Turning back to the computer, Robin began to type in some commands, focusing the screen around a certain area. "Our team is essentially like some kind of informal family—we all live, eat, and sleep together. We handle each other's problems, we deal with each other's secrets... we're pretty close to each other."

"Suppose that's why you were quickest to recover, being super detective and all. You probably knew half of the 'dark secrets' around this place already."

Robin shrugged. "It helped. But the point is, these ninjas aren't like that. Sure, most of them ARE friends, but it's more a 'battle comrade' sort of thing. Again, these guys are soldiers. They've fought side by side through a lot, but because they HAD to, not necessarily because they wanted to. In case you haven't noticed, there are a lot of secrets in that group, and a couple of real tight-lipped introverts. They trust each other, but they're not necessarily as... close as we are."

"So now that they got an idea of what the others are hiding, they're scared of them." A chuckle broke loose from Cyborg. "Never thought knowing your friends could be so scary, huh?"

"It's more than that. Knowing so much about their friends also means that their friends know a lot about THEM. They're afraid what secrets of THEIRS might have gotten out." Frowning suddenly, he added, "And it's not just them, Cyborg. Most of us Titans have been avoiding them as much as they've been avoiding us."

The reminder dampened Cyborg's mood considerably. "Yeah." He admitted soberly. "But it's not like we were really getting best buds with them BEFORE the whole thing. If anything, I'd say I feel a lot more comfortable around Sai."

"Never thought to hear anyone say that," snorted Robin. "Still, that's something to be thankful for. You, Sai, and Hinata are about the only people who have an idea of what went on that night. Well, J'onn too, I guess, but he's not really part of the group. The three of you have been largely keeping us from falling apart this week. It's a good thing criminals have been quiet recently, our teamwork lately has been horrible. We need to re-establish some bonds with the ninjas and help them work their own issues out as soon as possible."

"That why you suggested Star take the girls to the mall today?"

"Possibly."

"Slick man. Very slick. Inviting Raven may have been a stretch but still... nice."

Robin shrugged. "Shopping is a near-universal expression of girl-hood. I don't understand it, but I can use it. Raven could stand some team-building, and both her and Star going makes it a bond between teams more than just a bond between individuals. That's why I had all the ninja girls go also."

There was a slight pause. "All of them?"

"Yes..." Robin half-turned. He had a bad feeling about this. "Why do you ask?"

"Well... I can't locate the Hinata one anywhere."

Robin sighed and leaned back in his chair, massaging his forehead. "Now why doesn't that surprise me."

--------------------------------------------

"1st Presbyterian Assembly of Jump City," read the sign outside the building, and Hinata had to suppose that's what the building was for. It looked rather different than any of the temples or shrines she had visited when she was a little girl, but she had expected that. In any case, it was certainly the same building she'd seen in the vision last night, so it must be the one she was expected to visit.

Gingerly she approached the doors. The small, squat building certainly did not seem to get much attention. The brick walls looked solid enough, but the white paint of the doors was flaking, and Hinata could have sworn that the steeple was leaning slightly. The burglar bars over the stained-glass windows also seemed a trifle disturbing.

But still. Building from the vision. She had to go in.

Strangely enough, the door creaked open the moment she put her hand on it. She glanced again at the burglar bars, shrugged, and went right in. Inside, she found herself in a small anteroom of some kind, ringed with coat hangers. Just beyond, there was a pair of simple white panel doors, which she pushed her way through to the wide room beyond. Metallic folding chairs filled a long anteroom, facing a simple microphone at the end. Streaks of sunlight streamed in the bar-darkened windows on either side.

At the moment, though, Hinata's attention was fixated on the elderly man setting up chairs near the front. He had paused when the doors had opened and now turned toward them.

"I'm afraid services aren't until tomorrow, young lady." He said, fumbling for something in his coat. "Sorry, my eyesight isn't good without my glasses—is there something you need?"

"I... ah..." Hinata glanced around hastily. "I... I'm not sure, I was... Someone told me to come here... I don't really know why, I..."

The old man frowned as he brought out a pair of glasses. "Your voice sounds familiar somehow," said he, putting them to his face. "Are you perchance... Ah..." He smiled. "Hyuuga Hinata. Of course. I suppose that's why he's here also. Odd place to meet."

With the glasses now in place, something about the old man finally clicked in Hinata's mind. "You're..."

"Ah. Reverend Norman McCay of the 1st Presbyterian Assembly. How do you do?" He took her hand and shook it distractedly. "Sorry for not introducing myself earlier. Don't mind me, I'm just setting up in here. You're here to see James, I take it?"

"Er... I don't really know... I'm not sure what..."

"Yes, James can be like that." He agreed, nodding with a little sigh. "Still. Even if you're not here to talk to him, I imagine he'll want to talk to you. This way. I believe he's in my office."

Leading the way, the minister made for a small door in the rear that Hinata hadn't noticed before. He gave a few experimental taps on the door, then swung it open. "James." He said briskly, "You have a visitor."

A familiar red-haired figure in a green trenchcoat turned to face her. "Yes," he said. "I summoned her here."

"Y-you summoned me?" asked Hinata, fighting back a swallow.

"I have been told my visions are disturbing, but I needed to see you quickly." Spectre stood to his feet and strode forward. "You see, I must explain exactly why your assistance is so important."

--------------------------

"Thanks for coming up to assist, Bats." Mr. Terrific did not remove his eyes from the screen. "When it comes to interdimensional gateways, you're the expert. And this job really gives me the feeling I'm going to need all the help I can get."

Batman simply gave a nod as he entered the room. "Things have quieted down in Gotham for a bit, this seemed like the best way to help." He cocked an eyebrow at Blue Devil, who leaned against the opposite wall. "What's he doing here?"

"Since he picked up on the difference in the Hyuuga girl, I'm getting the feeling that he might know more about this 'chakra' business," explained Terrific. "Whatever help I can get in this is welcome."

"Indeed." Batman glanced through the glass. "An organic portal... quite the original idea, Mr. Terrific."

"More accurately, an organic projector, similar in design to Superman's Phantom Zone device." Terrific nodded. "Incredibly difficult, given Superman is reluctant to let anyone examine his device, and Kryptonian technology is ages ahead of our own."

"Nor is it particularly organic. Why are you taking this approach? It doesn't seem very efficient."

"Given that the ninjas teleportation seems to have occurred via an organic 'technique,' it also seemed to be the most likely to match their dimensional signature. And organic technology is no longer so elusive as it was." A distant smile crept across his face. "The Imperium invasion did almost more good than harm, really."

"Hm. It still seems likely to take a while." Batman turned to face the scientist. "Very well. What's the largest problem?"

Mr. Terrific glanced up at him. "At the moment? The power source. It's difficult, to say the least to find something to power like this, and even if you could, the power might make a great difference in where the portal opened up."

"So properly use this device..."

"...I'll need to power it with their 'chakra.'" Terrific turned and aimed a wry smile at the caped hero. "You see the problem."

----------------------------

"Seriously, dude? What's with the dinky knife?"

"It is called a kunai."

"Kunai, then." The black girl waved, clearly uninterested in the distinction. "But honestly. How is it that the only weapon you're carrying is a little dagger-thing like that?"

Shino considered for a moment whether this discussion was worth continuing. Something about this flying girl really got on his nerves. "A throwing knife such as a kunai is very helpful for long-range attack, and also for unpowered short range maneuvers. It can be used to stab, slash or block."

"Not arguing with that." The girl shrugged. "But it kinda stinks at all three, if you ask me. It's not really long enough to penetrate well, you need to get unearthly close just to slash with it, and as for blocking..." she made a face. "...the thing doesn't even have a hilt! It's got to be one of the crappiest blocking weapons I've ever seen."

"Bumblebee," Aqualad called from his side of the building. "That's enough."

Bumblebee. Perhaps that was the reason for his dislike of the girl. Neither he nor his allies were particularly fond of bees. Then again, her abrasive, confrontational manner did not help things easier. She had been offensive enough on his first visit here, but this... time had not improved matters.

Fortunately Shino's role in this mission so far had been minimal. Robin had sent Kiba, Beast Boy, and he to track down a possible lead on Kid Flash—a reported sonic boom in Los Angeles. Kiba had picked up the boy's scent quickly enough, thanks to a piece of clothing submitted by a rather peculiar magenta-haired girl. They had followed the trail to the waterfront, and finally to these docks.

There Shino's luck had ended, along with the team's. There were no clues, no trails, and no scents for them to steer by. Robin had suggested they look up the manifests of ships that had docked within the target week, but largely the time had come for theorization.

Which meant he had to provide the voice of logic against the harebrained schemes this 'Bumblebee' girl was proposing.

"It just seems that you should carry more weapons." She was back.

"Bumblebee...!"

"We ARE our own weapons. Each and every one of us contains an entire arsenal of techniques for short and long-range combat that render civilian or mercenary weapons automatically obsolete." Smiling thinly, Shino added, "Kunai are useful only used as a weapon of last resort."

The girl snorted. "I can see that. Certainly don't seem to be good for much else. If you're on your last legs, shouldn't you have something more useful?"

"A weapon," said Shino, doing his best to remain calm, "is only as useful as the person who wields it. I note you yourself carry only two small offensive weapons, ill-suited to stabbing or slashing."

Her face darkened considerably. "At least they can block. AND shoot lasers."

"Will you two cut it out?" Finally cutting in, Aqualad shot both of them an irate glance. "This whole thing is getting us nowhere. Now, as I recall, we were discussing different ways Kid Flash might have got himself caught here."

"No chance." Bumblebee shook her head.

This time Shino could not totally repress himself. He snorted. "You believe your compatriot incapable of failure?"

"Heh. On the contrary, failure is what he does best. But he always pulls out of it, he comes back constantly. At his speed, failures are just speed bumps, he can get over them. It takes one really BIG screw up to take him down." She cocked an eye toward a surprisingly silent Kiba. "You said there was a big fight here, right?"

"From the smell of the place." Kiba nodded shortly. "They're at least a month old, but his scent is all over the place. A bunch of others too..."

"...could be simply dockhands," suggested Beast Boy.

"...and smoke. A lot of smoke and fire."

"Odd, and rather suspicious, given that there is no sign of a fire, or even a report of one in the city's fire department." Shino frowned.

"Geez, kid, you can really smell all that? From a month ago?"

An insulted eyebrow cocked upwards on Kiba's face. "If you're implying..."

"No, if you say those're your powers, I buy it." Bumblebee held up her hands placatingly. "I mean, it's a bit too incredible for someone to make up, so you're probably on the level, but... seriously? All that?"

"This Kid Flash guy was all over the place. And there were a lot of fires."

"Which like Shino said, is odd, because there were no reports." Aqualad glanced around. "Maybe Kid Flash was trying to put them out and got caught then?"

But Bumblebee was shaking her head. "Not if he knew the bad guys were there. See, that's my point. You can maybe catch Kid Flash... IF you can get him off guard. And then you need to hit hard. If he was in a long, drawn-out fight, there's no way he could've lost. At the very least he should have been able to high-tail it out once he realized he was losing."

"Kid Flash NEVER thinks he's losing."

Bumblebee shrugged. "He isn't, usually."

"But apparently he did." Shino returned to the conversation. "Aqualad's allies cannot recall anyone speeding over the water here at the specified time, and Kiba says this is where the trail ends. He must have either boarded a ship or one of your flying machines, neither of which he possessed, so he must have been forced onto one."

"Yeah... bad news about that." Beast Boy snapped his communicator shut. "Robin and Cyborg checked and... there wer no ships leaving that night, and no reported aircraft in this area."

For a moment everyone just gaped at him. "So you're telling me that although Kid Flash WAS here, and now ISN'T here, there is no possible way he could have LEFT here?" Aqualad looked about ready to cry.

Beast Boy shrugged. "That's... kinda what they said, yeah."

Shino narrowed his eyes. Something about this seemed strangely familiar. What was it?

"Wait a second." That was the Bumblebee's voice, but he was just barely paying attention to it. "You guys were doing that... that... shit-and-shun thing earlier..."

"Shunshin." Shino's mind was elsewhere. One of his allies was telling him something... Something about a familiar energy signature.

"Yeah, that. It's like teleportation, right? Could someone have done something like that?"

"Not really." Kiba shook his head. "You need chakra, and we're the only ones who have it. We hadn't even arrived here when Kid Flash disappeared."

"But someone could still have done a teleportation couldn't they?" Bumblebee pressed on.

"Yes." Shino answered, studying a beetle on the end of his finger. "Yes, they could have. And I think they may have done it before." Running through all the facts, he drew his conclusion and faced up to it. "I think," he said, standing to his feet, "that we may need to contact your earth's Justice League."

"The League?" Aqualad looked rather skeptical. "Why?"

"Because I have reason to believe that Luthor is responsible for your friend's disappearance."

-------------------------------------------------

"There is something you must understand about worlds," the man said.  Hinata could NOT look away from his eyes. "They are all, in one way or another, similar. There is no such thing as a truly alienated world, a purely solitary world. They are all alike on some level."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one, they are all infallibly depraved," snorted the angel. "But that is my affair, not yours. The point is that this world is actually not all that different from your own, despite appearances. You could hardly have traveled here had that not been the case. Your friends are, in many ways, quite similar to the people of this one. Some have the same powers, others are similar in personality, a few even share similar goals. And, of course, in simple terms of being, they are all human." He frowned a moment. "Or Kryptonian. Or Martian. Or Thanagarian." He shook it off. "Still, in terms of their souls, they are all very like you."

"W-well... yes. B-but why is that... important?" Most of what the man was saying seemed fairly obvious.

"It is important to make the point to you that separated worlds are not so separate after all. They are connected, linked, what happens in one may affect the other. Events from your world came to affect this world. And, conversely, events from this world have had and shall have a profound effect on yours. Your two separate universes cannot remain separate for forever, they have too much in common."

Pausing for a moment, the angel's eyes took on a somewhat more distant expression. "In the beginning, your world and this had a great deal more in common. The great Sundering had yet to occur, and the reflections were clearer, less twisted. The people of both lived in better communion, the plan for both was much clearer, and both throbbed with the same natural energy."

"Do you mean chakra?"

"No. I mean something else entirely. But chakra is nonetheless crucial to what I have to say, because it is closely connected to the reason of why you came here."

--------------------------------------

"So you need to use this chakra of theirs."

"Problematic, to say the least, given that we know nothing of it. I've been studying the prisoner we have in custody—Suigetsu, he calls himself. Chakra flows through the body in a network, almost like a circulatory system. Apparently, the network is able to split atoms and reform them at will—much like a nuclear reaction, but without the explosion."

"It stabilizes them?"

"Apparently."

"So... the ninjas have apparently the ability to shape matter and energy as they choose."

"Essentially. So far as I can tell, with enough energy they can create almost anything. They can even manipulate the energy itself and apply it to..."

"I know what their different abilities are." Batman cut him off. "And I see how your explanation fits in. But how do they do that? That sort of stuff shouldn't even be possible, theoretically."

"Exactly. Theoretically, it shouldn't be possible, and yet it's happening." A wry grin crossed Terrific's face. "Which means on some level, the theory is faulty, but we don't have time for that. We need to know how they manipulate and use this energy, or better, how to reproduce it."

"But the only ones who would know that is the ninjas themselves."

From his corner, Blue Devil gave a sudden gruff chuckle. "I doubt they'd tell you..."

"Hmm." Batman gave no indication of being affected by Devil's outburst. "So it seems we will need to rely on what data we have managed to glean from outside observation. What have you got, Terrific?"

A few clicks, and a series of images, charts, and reports filled the screen. "My own observations on the Suigetsu prisoner, an analysis of the battle with Superman, the results from my preliminary check of the ninjas, and theories about various facts that the ninjas let slip."

"Enough to work with." Batman nodded. "I have a few things of my own, let's compare notes."

-----------------------

"Now let us go and visit the rooms of dressing!"

"Aw, c'mon, pig-chan, you heard her!" Sakura practically pulled her blonde friend toward the doorway. "You totally need to try on those jeans, they go great with your eyes! And the jacket is SO you."

For a former shopaholic, Ino seemed strangely nervous. "I'll... I'll try on one Fore-head girl, but then can we leave?"

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"There's an awful lot of people here..." Ino glanced nervously over her shoulder.

"Oh. Right." Sakura's manner changed instantly. "Well... yeah. We should probably grab lunch soon anyway. Star!" She called to the closing door. "Do you know a place around here to eat?"

"Most assuredly, friend Sakura!" The Tamaranian's voice floated over the doorway. "There is a cafeteria just outside where we may partake of pizza with the sauce! Friend Robin enjoys it most profoundly, as does friend Raven!"

"I never said that." Glancing up from the bench, Raven shot a hard glare at the door. "I said I didn't hate it."

Sakura shrugged. "Okay, sounds good. We'll go there right after this, then."

"Sure we will." Raven rolled her eyes.

"We will, I swear!" cried Sakura, holding up a hand in pledge. "Just these last thirteen outfits, and then we're done!" She disappeared into her own room and hastily banged the door shut behind her.

"Oh, is that all? What was I worried about then?" Raven picked up her book and resumed reading.

"Friend Raven, do you not also wish to do the dressing up?"

"Fine like this." Raven grunted.

"Seriously, girl, you should buy SOMETHING besides that. I mean, the hooded sweatshirt fits your 'cloaked mysteriousness' vibe, but you need to try at least ONE other thing."

"She's right." Ino's voice now floated into the conversation. "You really should have tried on some of those khakis we found back there, they would have..."

"I'm. Fine." Raven sighed. "I only bought the sweatshirt and jeans so that you people didn't have to keep up the henge versions you made." She glanced down at herself and studied the muted grey jacket. A twitch of a smile edged up her face but she ruthlessly repressed it. "Bad enough you gave Starfire the tanktop and shorts, I didn't need you guys hiding my costume all day."

"By the way, that's been bugging me," called out Sakura. "Why do, like, none of you guys have any... normal clothes? I could swear that if I opened up, say, Robin's closet, I'd just find a whole bunch of identical uniforms. What do you guys wear when you go out on the town?"

"Just our uniforms." Raven shrugged. "People here are kinda used to us. The attention IS annoying, so this is better that way, but it seems an annoying way to handle it."

"AH! I look fabulous in this!" Ino's voice rose in exaltation. "Let me see how it looks with the jacket."

Shaking her head, Raven could not suppress a snort. "Why are all you people so obsessed with clothing anyway? Aren't you ninjas?"

"What's that got to do with it?" Sakura's voice took on a dangerous edge.

"Ninjas are supposed to wear black all the time."

"How morbid." Raven could practically hear Sakura's nose wrinkling. "Whatever do they do that for?"

Raven shrugged. "Helps them blend in with the surroundings."

"That can't work all the time. What do they do in the day?"

Stopping to think for a moment, Raven had to admit, "They... probably wear normal clothes for disguise." Actually, now that she thought about it, Raven remembered Robin saying something about ninjas NORMALLY wearing civilian clothes to blend in. The 'black bathrobe costume' (as he called it), was at least partially a carryover from Japanese theater, where the garments represented invisibility.

"See? So we're not so loony as you think." Now triumphant, Sakura's voice floated over the door. "Hear that Ino? Shopping for clothes is good for fashion AND disguise!"

"Should count as training."

Raven sighed and gave it up. All the others were having a good time, who was she to spoil it by being reasonable? Starfire hadn't had a shopping trip in ages, and the Konoha girls obviously loved it, though that Hyuuga...

Raven glanced around. "Hey. Where'd Hinata run off to?'

There was a slight pause. "Ummm... Isn't she out there?"

"I think she... she was with us when we were looking at the jackets." Ino supplied.

"Perhaps friend Hinata is still browsing in the department of jewels," suggested Starfire helpfully. "I think she said something about wanting to stay for the few moments to look at them."

"The Jewelry department? We were there nearly an hour or so ago, she can't still be there. OH! Sakura, those earrings we saw would go PERFECT with this mahogany belt."

"Ohhhhh I'll bet you're right. Let's go right there after this."

"I thought we were going to get lunch." Raven reminded tactfully.

"Darn! That's right. Okay, food first, then jewelry."

"We'll have to eat fast, though. And we'll need to find Hinata first, so she can come to lunch with us." Ino's voice took on a somewhat more troubled tone. "Though that may take a while..."

"Oh, for heaven's sake. I'll call up Robin and have him tell her." Rolling her eyes, Raven took out her communicator. "She can meet us to eat. Maybe then we'll have some sensible conversation." She added under her breath.

--------------------------

"Already you have noticed some strange things about chakra here." The man offered a sudden smirk. "Things, indeed, that you should not have noticed had you never arrived. You know, for example, that it is not necessarily found in all things. You have noticed that it is not as easy to manipulate substances from other worlds. And you have found that it is not essential to war. However, the most important things you have learned have been the similarities. Your Byakugan sees chakra, does it not? What has it seen?"

Hinata struggled to think for a moment. "Th-the strange man at the hospital—all lit up inside. And me, that... thing you did to me. I can see that."

"Very good," nodded the man. "Now think. What does my power share with that of the blue devil?" At her blank look he sighed. "Forgive me. An unfair question, you still do not know enough to answer such a question. Both he and I are spiritual creatures. So is the ghost you saw. Had you been using your Byakugan and had he been incarnate, he too would have been lit up with the strange energy you saw. The girl Raven, also, has a draw upon this energy."

"Tell me," continued he, apparently changing subjects. "The boy Naruto—" Hinata gave an involuntary start, "—carries a demon within him. But you have observed, have you not, that this chakra is different from others. Have you ever wondered why that is?"

Again Hinata struggled for an answer. "It's... it's because it's the Kyuubi's energy..."

"True. But chakra is chakra, an impersonal energy source. Why should it look different than any other?"

Hinata had no reply.

"Because chakra is NOT an impersonal energy source. And because Naruto's energy does not contain merely chakra."

"Y-yes." Hinata grasped eagerly at the straw of understanding. "I-it has the will... the will of the Kyuubi within it. Na-Naruto-kun can't access the chakra without releasing the will. Because... because chakra isn't only physical power, it's..." Slowly comprehension dawned across her face.

"Exactly." The man nodded. "The 'combination of physical and spiritual energy,' is that not what your people say? In reality, what they behold is spiritual energy incarnate in physical form. Thus you see Blue Devil, a spiritual creature incarnate. Thus, too, you cannot behold the ghost with an ordinary Byakugan, because he is not physical. Even with your Byakugan, you would not be able to see me unless I was incarnate, as I am now. Do not try!" He barked as Hinata's hands rose automatically up. "You would be blinded. My power is far, far greater than any you have ever seen."

"Y-yes sir." Hinata lowered her hands. "B-but... the stuff I see in you and the others... that's not chakra." Hinata stated, then hesitated. "...is it?"

"No. It is not." The man smiled. "Chakra is only a portion of true spiritual power, a divided, weakened form of the energy I and the other's possess. Thus mine is fuller, more colorful, and less restricted than your normal chakra pathways. In your world, the nearest counterpart would be demonic chakra, such as Naruto's."

"W-why is that?"

"Well, to begin with, it is more than chakra, it is also intent. But mostly, Kyuubi's chakra is different from those of most because of its source. When the one you call Rikudo Sennin defeated the Juubi..."

"You know of Rikudo Sennin?" Hinata gasped.

The man gazed at her unblinking. "Rikudo Sennin is known by many names on many worlds. On this world, as on yours, he freed its inhabitants from a great slavery. But, as on yours, the inhabitants did not want freedom."

"Not..." Hinata tried to understand. "What do you mean?"

"Rikudo could not banish the Juubi completely because the people did not want him to. They desired the Juubi's power, and some even yearned for the comfort of its illusion. Unable to banish it, Rikudo Sennin instead split it up into several demons, as you know. What you see inside Naruto is a portion of the Juubi's spiritual energy. Other portions of it can be found in the other tailed demons or in certain members of the demonic bloodline, such as the Uchiha."

Hinata's mind was reeling. This was really more than she wanted to take on in one day. "B-but... if Naruto's chakra is a portion of Juubi... then what... where's normal chakra from? "

"What you see inside yourself..." Spectre inclined his head slightly, "is the gift of Rikudo Sennin."

-----------------------------------

"A combination of physical and spiritual energy..." There was just the faintest sign of distaste on Mr. Terrific's face. "So they don't quite know themselves."

"Or at least they know that it is related to, though not dependent on, the person's physical strength. The spiritual could simply be related to the will of the person." Batman tapped a few keys on the computer and brought up the transcript of the initial meeting. "Remember, this was during our first cordial meetings with the ninjas. They might have been coloring the facts slightly."

Mr. Terrific considered it for a moment. "Or simply be a way of expressing how the person is able to use and manipulate the ATP energy. As in, the ability to employ an already latent power. Power's no good if you can't use it, after all. Otherwise, perhaps the process is caused by a undetectable psychic influence, which they consider the spiritual aspect."

"Possible. J'onn managed to confirm that the blonde girl is a psychic of some kind." Batman mused. "And that Sai seemed to have some blocking ability. But from their comments, not everyone on their planet can use chakra, so not all of them would have that energy. How would that psychic energy get there?"

"Genetics, I imagine. Perhaps the death of a very powerful psychic, an alien of some kind, could imprint the power on into their genetics somehow, say on a quantum level, allowing them to..."

"For pity's sake, Terrific!" Blue Devil growled. "Your 'Quantum Level psychic energies' mean essentially the same thing as their 'spiritual energy.' It means you don't know what causes it."

Terrific closed his eyes momentarily. "Yes and no. Yes, I don't know what causes it. No, it doesn't mean the same thing. 'Psychic energies' are a delineated natural set of abilities that CAN be studied and explained. 'Spiritual energy' means essentially nothing except that it cannot be understood. Basically, I'm saying that we CAN understand where their power comes from, as opposed to merely giving it a nice label and walking away from it."

"You can tell where it comes from." Blue Devil muttered, but otherwise subsided.

"Anyway, quantum level mechanics are outside our workable range." Terrific shook his head, considering. "And if they DO have psychic signatures, nobody would be able to observe it closely enough to find out how it works, since apparently even J'onn can't work with it. Essentially then, the 'spiritual' aspect of their power is irrelevant to our projector device."

"Focusing on the physical aspect, then—" Batman quirked an eyebrow, "—have you done anything with those mitochondriac structures you noted earlier?"

"I've managed to engineer a few models, and the projector model has them incorporated." Mr. Terrific nodded.

"Good." Batman returned his gaze to the computer. "Conceivably, that's what processes all the ATP energy. Now we just need to give it material to work from."

-----------------------------------

Naruto often felt afraid. Not many people knew this, as he kept it firmly hidden, but it was still true. Mizuki-sensei's betrayal had badly frightened him. He'd been utterly terrified throughout the battle with Zabuza. The written part of the chunin exam had nearly killed him. Orochimaru's appearance... well, that had REALLY nearly killed him. Even going up against Neji had had him scared for a while.

He'd shrugged it off as a child, figuring that it would change as he would get older. But it hadn't. In Naruto's mind, the only thing more terrifying than the Gaara rescue mission had been his battle with Pain. No... he could think of one thing more. But he tried not to think about... that too much.

Strangely enough, none of his battles with Sasuke had EVER scared him.

That was because Naruto was never really afraid of the thing most people expected—that is, the battle itself. Zabuza hadn't scared him, Sasuke had, because Sasuke had nearly died. The written exam had been frightening because of its effect on his teammates. When he'd rescued Gaara, he hadn't been afraid of Deidara, just afraid of what he'd done to Gaara. No part of the battle with Pain had been nearly as frightening as when Hinata had jumped in.

Of course, Naruto felt plenty of fear about dying too—he had rather vivid memories of Ero-sensei throwing him down a massive pit when he was twelve—but he was usually able to shrug past that. It was always hard to figure out what exactly could and couldn't kill you when you had a demon fox in your belly. Still, the pain didn't go away, and for all his bravado, Naruto was afraid of pain too.

But Naruto had never let his fears stop him from doing anything.

Which was why he was now moving, step after terrified step, down the hallway at a horribly brisk pace, seeking out Robin to help him do something he was deathly afraid of doing.

He'd gone to the control room earlier to use one of the machines there. As he had no idea how to work any of the things, he'd had to ask help from the only other person there, Cyborg. Unfortunately, as jovial as Cyborg was, he had been rather adamant about needing Robin's permission to help out with Naruto's problem. Why Robin had decided to hang out in the infirmary today instead of the control room, Naruto didn't know. It was terribly inconvenient, as he felt pretty sure they'd need to use the control room

Naruto rounded the corner to a rather unusual sight. Covered in bandages, a somewhat disheveled Robin was tying a sizeable ice pack over one eye. His other glanced irritably up at Naruto. "How heavy are those weights on Lee's legs?"

"Uh..." Naruto blinked at the unexpected question. "I dunno... he's adding to them all the time. Four hundred pounds, maybe?"

Robin yanked open a cupboard and began to dig about. "What on EARTH does he put in them? Radioactive isotopes?"

"Radio... I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing." Robin sighed. "Forget it. I'm going to have to hand him over to a new trainer, I can't teach him how to use that speed effectively. Still. At least he knows how to use a bo staff now." Grinning a little, Robin downed a few pills. "Pretty good at it, too. I'll have to show him that one Bruce Lee movie where..."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "Wait... you didn't try to fight Lee without his weights, did you?"

Sighing, Robin rubbed a hand over his face and glanced up. "Cyborg said you had a question," he answered. "So ask."

"Ah." Briefly Naruto wondered why Cyborg hadn't just asked it himself. "Um... have you seen Hinata?"

"Has anyone?" Robin chuckled without humor. "Not since this morning. I sent her off with the other girls to the mall."

"Oh!" That had been surprisingly easy. He turned to go. "Thanks!"

"She's not with them anymore, though." Robin's voice stopped him. "As a matter of fact, I'm not sure WHERE she is. She hasn't shown up anywhere on the location grid, and even looking at time records doesn't do anything. She just... vanished from the mall."

"What? You mean even those little bug-trackie thingies you've got on all of us can't find her?"

Robin stopped and looked at him strangely. "How do you know about those?"

"Shino found the one on him." Naruto shrugged. "I just figured you'd put them on everyone."

"Hm." Robin's face was unreadable. "Why didn't you say anything?"

Again Naruto shrugged. "It's pretty reasonable for you to keep tabs on us while we're here. We usually have ANBU tail foreigners in Konoha, so it's the same principle. Plus, if we did want to ditch you, it would be better if you didn't know that we knew."

"Except now I DO know, because you just told me."

"Maybe I didn't tell you everything."

Robin's mouth quirked. "You're smarter than you look, Naruto." He turned and began to feel about in the cupboard some more.

"Thanks? I guess?" Naruto frowned at Robin's back.

"You're welcome." Carrying a fresh load of medication, Robin turned and sat down. "Maybe you leading the others isn't such a bad thing after all."

"What?"

"Forget it." Robin waved. "Go out and find your girlfriend. Talk to Neji, he should be able to spot her if she's still in town."

"No, hang on. What did you mean: 'isn't such a bad thing after all?' Are you..." About this time Naruto's brain caught up to the other part of Robin's sentence. "Also, 'girlfriend'?"

"I said to forget it. It's not my business anyway."

"It's mine." Naruto glared at the bandaged teen. "What do you mean?"

Robin studied him for a moment. "You really want to get into this?"

"Heck yeah! If someone thinks I'm a bad leader I wanna know why!"

"It's not about you being a bad leader," sighed Robin. "It's about you not being a leader at all."

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"Naruto, you don't lead. You inspire, you motivate, but you don't actually lead. You basically let them do whatever they want and figure it's not your problem." Robin made a little gesture with one hand. "You don't really provide them with directions or orders, you just do your own thing and let them do theirs."

"So? Isn't it good to let them make their own decisions?"

"Not to that extent. A team is supposed to work together, they don't just all do whatever they feel like. A leader is supposed to provide the direction and impetus the team needs. He's one who brings the team together, who connects them into a single cohesive unit so that they can function well. And Naruto? You suck at teamwork."

Naruto opened his mouth to argue but Robin cut him off. "No. You do. I've seen you on patrol. Your strategy consists of charge it by myself and get the others to stay back. You insist on being left alone and you refuse to use ANY of your teammates talents, even when they would be helpful." Keeping his glare firmly fixed on Naruto, Robin added. "Remember that patrol two weeks ago? I had you monitoring it from the CONTROL ROOM and you still told the team to stay out of it so you could charge out there. If I didn't know better I'd say you were grandstanding."

Naruto's eyes had just a touch of red. "That's not it. They're my team, I'm responsible for their safety, I can't just..."

"Of course you can't." With a slight bend of his head, Robin acknowledged the remark. "That's part of leading too, you're right, and it's good you know it. But you take it too far. You need to realize what your teammates can do better than you and LET THEM DO IT. You need to give your comrades room to grow, allow them to face challenges. Otherwise you'll just end up isolating them and before you know it, they'll be off on their own doing something crazy just to prove to you they CAN."

Naruto fell silent at that. His mind was running through images of a rain-slicked wood, filled with bodies and a red-eyed shinobi. They're not dead, you realize...

There was an awkward silence. "Well," said Robin, finally pulling himself to his feet. "You asked. I'm going to go outside and just rest for a while, I don't think I'll be up to any more spars today."

"You're sure you don't know where Hinata is?"

"I'm sure."

"Well, I kinda need to talk to her... do you know how I could find her?"

Robin gave a dry snort as he pushed past into the hallway. "I'm not ordering you around... work it out for yourself."

Glaring at Robin's retreating back, Naruto resisted the childlike urge to stick his tongue out. He's just stupid sulking because he can't beat Lee. He thought. Fighting him without his weights... HA! That would have been fun to watch.

Shaking away the ungrateful thoughts, Naruto considered a moment before settling down on the ground. Slowly he blocked out all outside disturbances, reached out with his chakra...

Holy SHIT!

------------------------------------------

"First, you must understand that Rikudo Sennin was enormously powerful, even before he consumed the Juubi. My power would merely blind you if you beheld my true form, his would assuredly kill you unless he desired otherwise."

Hinata inclined her head. She had more or less assumed Rikudo Sennin

"For all his power, however, Rikudo Sennin was unable to completely banish the Juubi, as it had been invited there," explained the man with a small shrug. "As you mentioned, he split the Juubi into the Bijuu to weaken it, but he did more yet. He gave your people the means to resist them by themselves. The legends tell you, do they not, that Rikudo Sennin taught the world the ways of ninjutsu? How to manipulate chakra, how to use the handseals, how to perform jutsus? What they do not say—because they do not know—is that there was no way to do these things before, because before Rikudo Sennin, there was no chakra."

"Wh-what?"

"Not chakra as you know it. As I said before, both Earth and your world shared a similar natural vitality in the early days, an energy that could be found in all things living and unliving. This could indeed be used to perform strange feats, such as those here might call simply magic. Yet when your people invited in the Juubi, he consumed this power and glutted on it, sapping the life from your planet. When Rikudo Sennin defeated the Juubi, he rescued a broken, dying world. But he restored it nonetheless, by taking the Juubi's energy and forming chakra."

The man smiled at her. "Evil cannot be made as if it had never been, and what is done can seldom be undone. Chakra was an echo, and only an echo, of the power your world and this once possessed. But it was enough for what the Sennin desired. It gave your people the power to repel the segmented parts of the Juubi, and perhaps even the full creature itself. Also too, by planting this power in not only humans but the world around them, Rikudo Sennin hoped it might provide people with a subtle connection to each other and to the world around them."

"The natural color of chakra, which you see within yourself, is the result of his work. It was given to the ninjas not to be used as a weapon against each other, but against the Juubi. Certain bloodlines on your world possess an even more special strain of chakra, specifically designed against the Bijuu."

"What bloodline?" Hinata frowned. She had never heard of such a clan before.

"I believe they were called the Uzumakis. Your friend is the last, but that is a talk for another time. The point you must understand NOW is that chakra was designed to repel certain influences."

--------------------------------

"You know..." Mr. Terrific was frowning. "...if the power is psychic, these kids might have a inherent defense against mind control."

"Against our forms, perhaps." Batman shrugged. "In their own world, there's only one form of mind control, and it's nearly impossible to block—that Yamanaka girl's ability."

"None others?"

"They have techniques for manipulating the chakra in the brain. But all that can do is create illusions. Occasionally that can be used to control or interrogate others. They need special methods to break free of something like that, though."

Blue Devil arched an eyebrow. "Such as?"

"They can either suppress their chakra or force it outward. Either will destroy the illusion. The former is preferred, as it is more discreet, but the latter is easier."

"That is... very detailed." Mr. Terrific turned to face the crimefighter. "Where did you find that? It's not in any of the data I gathered."

Batman's expression did not change. "Security footage I lifted from Titan's Tower. Caught a class the one Sakura was giving to the other nins shortly after the Ino incident."

"Spying on your apprentice, eh?" Blue Devil shook his head admiringly. "You are one sneaky..."

"These are techniques used to break mind control?" Terrific interrupted.

"No. Just the illusions. There are few ways of breaking free from the Yamanaka mind control, as I understand."

"Hm. Breaking illusions. But how does that work, I wonder? Why should chakra..." Terrific lapsed into thought a moment.

"Suppose," he said finally, "suppose for a moment that the world these ninjas come from is permeated with chakra. Not just the ninjas, but everything: trees, grass, earth, contain chakra in some form or another."

"Sounds likely." Blue Devil shrugged. "Why?"

"Such a permeation would give the ninjas an additional, if unconscious, sense of their surroundings, an almost sub-atomic connection with the natural world." Long fingers drumming against the control panel in concentration, Mr. Terrific frowned. "Since the flow of chakra in the brain seems limited to the senses and not to motor skills, we may assume that the senses and chakra are closely linked. Very likely, the atomic connection of chakra with nature and other things plays a large role in their enhanced sensory abilities."

"If you can call them that." Batman snorted. "I was able to sneak up on the one big one."

Terrific ignored him. "An illusion, then, when it manipulates the chakra, is seeking to create a false chakra signature of some kind a... a hologram of the mind, say. It is providing atomic messages from things that aren't there. However, because the reason and motor areas of the brain are unaffected, if the victim realizes this, they still have options."

"The methods we mentioned. So how do they fit in?"

"Suppressing their chakra... I suppose that would be breaking the connection with the outside. Simply 'not listening' to the false signals, in a way. It would probably allow your body to identify the foreign chakra and expel it. Pushing it outward though..." Terrific again frowned. "...perhaps... that might re-establish the natural connection? Forcing the false chakra for a stronger connection than it can sustain, thus breaking it? I'm not sure. Very confusing. Interesting though." He nodded. "Extremely interesting."

-------------------------------

"I do believe you're getting better at this, Mr. Nara."

"Not like I have much else to do around here." Shikamaru tried to block the man's voice out, tried to concentrate on the board. Though he couldn't be sure, he felt almost as though the man was toying with him, deliberately playing poorly to gauge how far beneath him Shikamaru really was. And even if he wasn't doing that, he could still probably use the game to judge Shikamaru's personality.

"Well, you've certainly adapted toward using new fighting methods," smirked the man. "Granted, they don't seem to be helping you any... bishop to F7... but it does show quick thinking and flexibility. I'm almost impressed."

That was another thing about this guy, his annoying arrogance. Shikamaru would have loved to burst his bubble of superiority if it hadn't been, well, TRUE. The man pretended like he was smarter than anyone else, and it was all the more troublesome because he was. Even now, he was tearing his way through Shikamaru's carefully falsified chess strategy.

Though he really shouldn't be so annoyed by that, because in a way, that's what the falsified chess strategy was SUPPOSED to do. Fail. Mislead the man into assuming Shikamaru stupider than he was. Hopefully, even cause him to make some kind of crucial mistake.

"Rook to C8." Shikamaru finally decided.

"An interesting move." Luthor studied the board. "By the way, I've noticed your hands make a little twitching gesture when you're thinking. A habit of yours, or some kind of nervous condition?"

"Habit." THAT, at least, could hardly be dangerous for Luthor to know. "Or rather, an attempt at a habit of mine. I normally steeple my fingers to think, but with my arms manacled, I can hardly do that, now can I?"

An eyebrow slowly crept upwards on the man's face. "How fascinating. Pawn to D5." For a moment he sat and watched Shikamaru lie in bed, fingers twitching. "Mr. Nara, I do feel disappointed in being unable to play you at full capacity. Suppose I offered to undo those hands of yours?"

Though he managed to keep his head from jerking up, Shikamaru could not control the widening of his eyes. "And why would you do something like that?" answered he, as casually as possible.

"Partly out of a desire to play you at full capacity. After all, your legs are bound already, and you have stated numerous times that you have no intention of leaving so long as you are kept comfortable. Therefore, surely there can be no harm in making you more comfortable while we are playing."

Impossible that Luthor actually believed that. "It'd be nice, if that was all there is to it."

"Ah, you are not easily fooled, are you, Mr. Nara?" The man's pleased tone set Shikamaru to cursing. He should have acted more gullible. "You are quite correct. I would desire you to answer a few more of my questions."

Shikamaru considered it. Giving any kind of answers to this man was dangerous, far more dangerous than anything he might glean from their chess games. And Shikamaru didn't ACTUALLY want to be playing at his best. On the other hand, he couldn't afford to let this man know that, and it would be better if he kept up the illusion of reluctant compliance. And freed hands... Shikamaru could do many things once his hands were free.

Plus, Shikamaru's fingers were REALLY itchy. So he nodded. "I guess I don't see why not." He yawned. "What do you want to know?"

"You'd interrupt our chess game for a round of questions?" Luthor lifted a curious eyebrow.

Shikamaru shrugged. "I don't seem to be getting anywhere on this one anyway. A short break might help me look at it in a new light. Unless you need to keep your focus on..."

"Thank you Mr. Nara, but I'm more than happy to begin questioning now." Putting away his pad of paper for a moment, Luthor stepped up closer to the glass. "First one then. Where is your red-eyed friend?"

This time Shikamaru managed to keep his eyes undisturbed, but his mind inside was racing. Luthor was talking about Sasuke. But how could he know? Had one of the others told him? But why not use Sasuke's name?

Shikamaru decided on a test. "You mean Gennosuke?"

"Yes. Where is Gennosuke?"

Ah-HA. But how did he know about Sasuke's eyes and not Sasuke? "I've been sitting in a padded cell for the past three weeks, and you're asking me?"

"Very well, tell me what you can about him."

Shikamaru shrugged. "What's to tell? He's skilled, mentally unstable, fiercely independent, and doesn't get nearly enough sleep. It's dangerous to be his enemy, it's more dangerous to be his friend."

"All very interesting, but what can this friend of yours DO?"

"Oh, that?" Outright lies were no good with Luthor. One had to dodge with half-lies and misleading truths. "Well, he's got about the same power level as the rest of us. More skilled, of course—he picks up on stuff quickly. Crazy fast too, those eyes give him enhanced reaction time. Some people say he can shoot flames from them, but..." Shikamaru offered a grin to the man, "Well, you know how stories go."

"Of course I do. What else can these eyes of his do?"

The man was definitely fixated on those. How had he heard of them? "Well, like I said, there's lots of stories. Some people say he can shoot fireballs, some say he can summon armor, some say he can..." Shikamaru paused only an instant as a thought struck him, but he quickly covered it up and moved on. "...well, you get the idea. Personally, I think the eye only REALLY casts illusions and just makes people THINK they see all that stuff." Giving Luthor a little wink, he leaned back and nodded sagely. "People lose their heads all the time in battle, they don't really think about whether what they're seeing is TRUE."

"I quite understand you." A small smile tilted the corner of Luthor's mouth. "Have you anything further to add?"

"Nope." Shikamaru shrugged. "Like I said, the guy's crazy skilled. And stealthy. He doesn't give out much on what he can do. No one's quite sure what to think of him."

"Really." The man's smile remained unmoved. "Shall I tell you what I think, Mr. Nara Shikamaru?"

"Go ahead."

"I think that these Sharingan of your friend Gennosuke CAN ignite black inextinguishable flames, summon inpenetrable armor, and cast mind-control illusions on people. I also think that these Sharingan are capable of crossing dimensional barriers if provided the right impetus." Smiling without humor, Luthor added, "Judging from the expression on your face, I also think that you were aware of all of this, and sought to mislead me as to his abilities."

With a blip, the screen disappeared, and Luthor stepped closer to the glass. "Now, Mr. Nara, suppose we drop this little game and deal honestly with each other."

--------------------------

"W-well... what does all this have to do with me?" Hinata toyed nervously with her fingers.

Spectre sighed and considered a long moment. "As I said earlier, Earth too once had this great energy. They also lost it and shattered its true power. A form of it—though not chakra—lingered on for some years within the earth itself and various artifacts of power, until at last Diaprepes king of Atlantis collected all that remained of it within the Trident of Poseidon and used it to repel the demon Ichthultu."

Hinata blinked.

"Well..." Spectre made an impatient gesture. "The point is, Earth has no natural chakra. The closest it has come from spiritual creatures such as myself and Blue Devil, and the occasional visitor from New Genesis. Thus, Earth has very little defense against the sort of disaster chakra was created to prevent."

"B-but... they've gotten along alright so far, haven't they?" Hinata looked to the door. "I m-mean... if there's been nothing before... What's the problem?"

"The problem is that such a crisis is approaching, and rapidly." Spectre's eyes increased their intensity, if that were possible. "Another has arisen here on earth, who wields power nearly tantamount to my own. Already he is gathering his forces, preparing the final stages to his plan. When he is finished, such a crisis shall befall this world as it has not seen in millennia, and I am not certain that I shall be able to stop him. That is why I called you to me. I knew that I should need the aid of your world to oppose this man."

Hinata was a Hyuuga, trained to notice subtle hints, and something about the way the man said the last bit caught her attention. "O-of my w-world? N-not just me? B-but... then... why didn't you just call the others?"

The man's gaze changed slightly. "I did call the others, Hyuuga Hinata. I called all of you."

"Wh-wh-what d-do you mean?" A suspicion was growing on Hinata.

"Surely you cannot think that you are all here, in this place, at this time, simply due to an battletime error on the part of your teacher?" The man raised his eyebrows gently. "As I told you, all events are connected, distinct time-space intervals irretrievably wound with others. It is so with events, it is so with people, and it is so with worlds. All things have their place and plan within the plan, and cannot..."

Suddenly he broke off and glanced away. "What is that fool doing here?"

Hinata had only the barest of warnings before the door burst open and a blur of orange streaked in. A glowing ball of blue in its palm shot forward at the green trenchcoat, and there was a mighty explosion.

Slowly the dust cleared, and there in the office, facing a thoroughly calm Spectre over a shattered desk, stood Naruto.

"Get away from Hinata, you freak!"

--------------------------

"This theorization is all well and good, but you're missing one thing." Blue Devil spoke up. "The kid Naruto. How do you explain that insane amount of energy he has?"

"Hm." Terrific nodded. "A valid point, he is definitely an anomaly. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Yeah, but you wouldn't listen to them," snorted the demon.

"Probably not. They would nonetheless be useful, though." Terrific eyed the other thoughtfully. "The fact that you reacted to his presence does indicate a similarity in your conditions... perhaps your mutation has a chakra-like counterpart in the boy."

"I keep telling you, these horns and tail AIN'T a mutation."

"No, you tell me they're physical attributes given to you by a demon. However, even you admit that the horns and tail are merely physical and have no actual spiritual or even magical function. That counts as a mutation. If you want to call it a demonic-assisted mutation, fine, but it's still a mutation."

"It's physically impossible for the boy to contain that much energy within that much space." Batman frowned. "At least, impossible for a normal body structure, which our medical examination showed he was. So we must assume he is getting the extra energy from another source."

"Within, most likely. He made comments during the meeting about having a fox in his belly... apparently where he believed this 'demon' to be. That's also where we saw the strange markings on his stomach." Here Mr. Terrific came to a halt. "But... he doesn't have room there."

"Not by the theory you're working from, anyway." Blue Devil agreed.

"That means somewhere we're wrong." Terrific nodded. "A surrounding aura of psychic power, perhaps? But J'onn would have sensed that. Perhaps the ink... but no. Even if it was tightly packed energy, it would be impossible. "

"Even pure ATP energy tightly stored would take up far too much space," nodded Batman. "It would be more than three times the size of the boy himself."

"Could it be, oh, I don't know, a DEMON, like the boy suggested?" Blue Devil asked sarcastically.

Mr. Terrific started to respond, then paused. "An extra-dimensional force... that might..." he turned to Batman. "Could the markings on the boy's stomach serve as a dimensional gateway of some kind? Similar to the one that brought them here in the first place?"

"It is... possible." Batman conceded after some thought. "I've noticed some of the others store books, weapons, and random items within scrolls through the use of these 'seals.' A dimensional gateway would certainly make that possible."

Mr. Terrific nodded. "And if this Naruto had one specially infused into his system, it could theoretically supply his body with a dimension's worth of chakra. An extra-dimensional source...there would be virtually no limit."

"That doesn't explain his reaction to me." Blue Devil reminded them.

"Call it an extra-dimensional entity if it makes you feel better." Mr. Terrific rolled his eyes. "The effect is the same in either case."

"Hm." Batman stood to his feet. "Interesting as this has been, speculation is largely pointless until we get more concrete information from the ninja themselves. Explaining the circumstances may make them more willing to assist." Gazing at the projector, Batman added, "How exactly do you intend to use the chakra?"

"That would be easier to know if I knew what chakra was." Terrific snorted. "Ideally, I'd use it to power a replica of the original projector—say, a cloned version of this 'Sharingan' that they consider so powerful. But the only person on this world with one is that fugitive Uchiha Sasuke, and there's been no sign of him."

---------------------------

Robin saw the speedboat long before it reached the island. Not many people went pleasure cruising out at this time, and even fewer found reason to come this way. Tourists occasionally came, but this boat moved too swiftly and directly to be a sightseer. It cut through the water straight for the island.

"Robin..." a voice crackled in his earpiece.

"I see it." He assured Cyborg. "Do you have a visual?"

"Not yet... the angle is bad. I can hit it with a repulsor shot, though."

"Negative. Let it come in here." Robin eyed the boat. "It looks like the owner wants something."

Slowly Robin made his way over the banks of the island, stopping before the tiny bay. He waited on the dock as the small boat cruised over to the coast and began to putter toward him. Behind him, he felt rather than saw Starfire float into position as the boat touched land.

From the boat stepped a tall slim woman clad in purple, clutching a crossbow. Her uncharacteristically disheveled hair hung over a pair of equally uncharacteristic anxious eyes.

"Huntress." Robin nodded. "What can we do for you?"

"I need your help." The woman stated. "Question's missing."

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Author's Note/Promo: FREE STUFF! I've mentioned a few times on here my book The Nephilim Protocol, the story about the conflicted teen half-angel imprisoned on an Alaskan island. There's a couple chapters posted in my stories if anyone's interested, BUT more importantly, I'm currently running a Kindle Promotion where you can get the ebook for FREE! So run onto Amazon, grab a copy, read it and tell me what you think! Drop a review, tell your friends! There's a short selection below:

Jackhammer's hand chops into my neck with terrible weight. I fall back, but even through the haze of pain I'm ducking left, left, because while the moves are unfamiliar, there's still only so many ways to attack.

And also, to line him up with Bally.

The edge of Jackhammer's hand strikes my shoulder instead of my head, but it hits with the force of a pile driver, and the sheer force of it slams me back down to the ice. My jaw slams against it, too. Instantly, the whole lower half of my face feels like the bone is glowing red-hot metal. My whole chest hurts, too, and I feel like I'm being stabbed through the heart.

No time. I can't let this paralyze me. I roll right and hear Jackhammer's fist strike the ground. I roll again. Ordinarily, I'd put one leg under me. Instead, I keep rolling as I tuck my legs together. I can already hear Ball Buster's feet pounding toward us.

I roll around. I come up on my back, my legs folded and facing Jackhammer. He looks pleased but confused—he doesn't seem to recognize the move.

My legs spring out like a catapult, straight into his chest. This knocks him backwards and up a bit. This means he's unable to dodge as Ball Buster leaps past me and rockets up straight at him. Jackhammer has just the barest of moments to prepare before Bally's substantial weight slams into him, and the two of them are carried up into the air. I whip my legs up, using the momentum to carry me to my feet. I jump after them. I have just the faintest awareness of my friends below, fighting the others desperately.

We knew we needed to take them down fast. We knew we needed to take down Jackhammer and Sidewinder first. And we were pretty sure Jackhammer was going to go straight for me.

I crash into deep snow, sending it exploding upwards like an artillery shell. We're about fifty yards from the fight zone, just a little bit outside the crowd. Already, they're turning around to watch. With luck, Jackhammer's crew will think he can handle himself. Hopefully, they won't realize how much practice Ball Buster and I have with running in deep snow.

Jackhammer is floundering, trying to wade through the waist-deep snow. Ball Buster is leap-running back in and out of his reach. Jackhammer turns when I crash into the ground. His glowing eyes seem to shine brighter—or at least they do before Bally jumps into the air and kicks him into the ground.

I almost feel bad about this. But ganging up on Jackhammer was the only way we could think to take him down quickly. And back in the ring, three of my friends are taking on four of his. This needs to be sorted fast.

So, as Jackhammer struggles to his feet, I jump in again and land, feet first, on his midsection. He crashes back down with me on top of him. Air explodes out of his lungs. But his glittering red eyes are wide and furious, and one stone-covered hand chops straight into my legs.

Pain vibrates up and down my shins. I fall backwards into the snow. The deep powder works against me, too. I flounder as I hear Ball Buster attack him from the right.

A crash in the snow behind us. A newcomer.