Naruto crossed his arms and pouted dramatically as he leaned against the wall. His blue eyes shimmered with betrayal—though the effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that his lower lip was quivering in a way that was far too exaggerated to be real.
"I can't believe you just did that."
Raven, who had taken a seat and was calmly sipping water, arched a brow. "Did what?"
"Win by cheating," Naruto huffed, shifting his weight as if the very air around him had been tainted by her actions. "I thought we had something—something pure. And you had to go and ruin it by using magic."
Raven took another sip, her expression as impassive as ever. "I don't recall having that conversation. Are you sure it wasn't in your head?"
"Of course it was in my head, and you heard it!" Naruto threw his hands up in mock despair. "Hmph, I am never playing with you again."
Raven stared at him for a moment before chuckling softly. Naruto could be so serious sometimes, so determined and sharp-minded—but then there were these moments. Moments where he was playful, goofy, and dramatic to the point that she wondered if he had some hidden actor's talent.
She reached over and patted his head like a child, which only made him grumble more. "Don't cry, my big baby. I won't use magic next time."
Naruto looked at her with narrowed eyes. "That's a deal. And no take-backs."
"Of course," Raven agreed with an amused smirk.
Naruto grinned. "Good. Now, let's go meet him."
Raven's expression grew serious again. "Are you sure about this?"
Naruto nodded, stretching his arms lazily before cracking his neck. "I need to at least listen to what he has to offer. If he's smart, he'll have something useful to say. And from what I've gathered, he's not just some normal guy."
Raven sighed, adjusting her cloak. "Well, I'll be watching, so don't let his words affect you."
Naruto smirked. "How sweet. Now, if you would just sing for me, it would be perfect."
Raven scoffed but couldn't stop the small smirk from creeping onto her lips. "Maybe someday I would do that."
Naruto gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. "Is that the day you find love?"
Raven hummed in thought. "If destiny is written as such."
Naruto nodded sagely. "Hopefully, you'll find someone before you get too old."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you should be giving people advice when you haven't even experienced love once."
Naruto grinned cheekily. "But I want you all to have something to be happy about before I get chained by love."
Raven shook her head at his words. "Chained by love..." she muttered under her breath. Not completely wrong.
She understood what he meant. Love was wonderful, but it did come with responsibilities and attachments—attachments that would consume your time, your emotions, your thoughts.
Naruto had learned these things from the people around him, most of whom had been terrible influences. It was clear that a large percentage of the adults in his life had warned him about the "horrors" of love, urging him to enjoy the single life while he could.
Raven sighed. "Terrible influences all around."
Naruto tilted his head. "Did you say something?"
"Nothing," Raven replied, standing up. "Let's go. Ra's al Ghul has been waiting long enough."
Naruto sighed dramatically. "And here I was, thinking you would finally serenade me before I walked into danger."
Raven rolled her eyes and walked ahead. "Not happening, drama king."
Naruto followed behind, grinning. "Yet."
Just as Naruto was about to teleport to Earth, his senses tingled. A presence. Inside the moon.
He frowned, halting his teleportation mid-step. This wasn't normal. He had checked thoroughly before choosing this place as his base—there was nothing here back then. But now? Something—or someone—had suddenly appeared.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. If this was a recent arrival, then it meant whoever was inside had teleported here. But why?
Deciding to investigate, Naruto extended his senses and quickly located a massive hidden base inside the moon's core. His eyes widened as he took in the scale of the structure—it was huge, roughly 20 kilometers in circumference, almost the size of the Forest of Death back in the Leaf Village.
At the center stood an ancient palace, surrounded by a lush, dense forest. A massive lake sparkled under the glow of an artificial sun, which floated in the middle of the underground sanctuary, casting golden light over the strange world beneath the moon's surface.
This isn't normal.
Naruto could sense strong energy signatures coming from both the palace and the statues scattered throughout the area. These weren't just ordinary relics; they held power.
And, more importantly, there was someone inside the palace.
Now, he had two choices: leave it alone and return to Earth or investigate.
Naruto gave the place another sweep with his senses. No immediate threats. Besides, this wasn't his real body—it was just one of his projections. Even if things go wrong, I'll be fine.
That settled it.
Activating Earth Style: Underground Projection Fish Technique, Naruto sank into the moon's surface. The technique allowed him to move through solid ground as if swimming through water, completely silent and undetectable.
Emerging above the hidden base, he took a moment to appreciate the sight. The Roman-style architecture, the grand palace, the mystical symbols etched into the structures—it all hinted at an ancient, possibly forgotten civilization.
Still... doesn't ring any bells.
There was nothing in his database or even the websites dedicated to heroes and villains that mentioned a hidden base inside the moon.
With no further clues, Naruto decided to go straight to the source.
He flew toward the palace, his presence blending seamlessly with nature, rendering him undetectable by any normal defense system. As he entered, the intricate details of the palace caught his eye—glowing runes, unfamiliar materials, and designs that pulsed with raw magic.
This place is special.
But there was no time to examine the structure in detail. His target was inside.
Gliding silently through the massive corridors, Naruto reached a grand hall—and there, at its very center, lay a woman.
The woman was breathtakingly beautiful. Long, silky pink hair cascaded over the polished stone floor. Upon her head sat a silver crown, adorned with a brilliant red ruby at its center and diamonds on the sides.
Her attire was regal yet battle-ready. A silver cape draped over her shoulders, while light silver armor covered her torso. She wore a short silver armored skirt, silver knee-high boots, and silver gauntlets on both arms.
A warrior.
But not just any warrior—Naruto could tell her body was accustomed to close combat. Even in unconsciousness, she carried the natural aura of a fighter.
Beside her lay a sword with a crescent moon-shaped emblem on the hilt. Naruto's eyes flicked to her forehead—there, the same crescent moon symbol gleamed faintly.
Most importantly, she wasn't normal.
Her energy signature was far beyond human, and—curiously—both the palace and the entire moon seemed connected to her. The gravity around her was warped, fluctuating unpredictably.
What the hell is she?
Despite all this information, Naruto still couldn't identify her. She wasn't in any public records. No mention in hero or villain databases. No folklore or myths that he knew of.
She was a complete enigma.
Naruto floated around the unconscious woman, studying her closely. There were no visible injuries. No signs of a struggle. It was obvious she hadn't planned to fall asleep here.
What put her in this state?
Testing the situation, Naruto controlled the wind and created tiny clones that approached her carefully.
Instantly, the defense system reacted.
Beams of moonlight energy shot out, blocking his clones. But interestingly, they didn't attack—only defended. The system still couldn't detect Naruto himself, proving its limitations.
Instead of forcing his way through, Naruto chose a different approach. He needed to wake her up.
Raising his hand, he gathered moisture from the air and manipulated water, creating a cold, gentle rain that fell directly onto the woman's face.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then—
She stirred.
The moment her eyes snapped open, her body reacted instinctively.
With fluid grace, she grabbed her sword and brandished it in a combat stance, scanning the room for threats.
The gravity around her intensified—Naruto immediately felt the pressure increase to fifty times Earth's normal gravity. At the same time, small light shields appeared around her, hovering like protective sentinels.
Naruto watched in silence, arms crossed, floating a safe distance away.
Interesting.
Her reaction wasn't just fear—it was battle instinct. She had been trained, possibly conditioned, to react like this the moment she woke up in an unknown situation.
Naruto tilted his head. Well, let's see how she handles this.
He remained motionless, waiting for her next move.
The young woman was Laura Klein known as the Lunar Maiden. She was a super hero known on earth and daughter of Hugh Klein.
Hugh Klein was an American astronaut on Apollo XXV, the last manned Moon mission. While on the Moon, Hugh discovered an ancient structure, thereafter referred to as the 'Lunar Villa'. Inside, Hugh found an infant girl in a cradle, and is then confronted by a ghostly consortium identified as The Hundred. Caelius, speaker for the Hundred, explained how they were a group of scholars and philosophers devoted to peace who fled Rome during the time of the emperors. Using alchemical processes, they created the Lunar Villa and attempted to create a champion of their peaceful ideas on Earth. Unfortunately, they accidentally created the villain known as the Centurion instead. To atone for this mistake, and to perpetuate their beliefs, they created a child they called the Praemonstra Supra, meaning "She Who Will Point the Way". Hugh returned to Earth with the infant child, and he and his new wife, Jenny, were allowed to adopt and raise the infant, whom they named Laura.
Although Laura exhibited no outward super powers, she was always a brilliant and athletic child. When Laura turned 16, her powers of gravity control manifested. Hugh and Jenny explained Laura's origins to her, and she and Hugh traveled to the Lunar Villa, where the ghostly remains of the Hundred explained her origin and their purpose to them. At this point Laura embarked on her career as Serenity, the Moon Maiden.
She soon made many friends among the superhero community, was an early member of the Justice League, and shared at least one adventure with the Teen Titans. Throughout this time, her most frequent opponent was the Centurion.
During one of the Centurion's most grandiose schemes, he used a device called an Erasure Weapon, which was capable of erasing a being from history. After erasing several notable heroes from existence, Moon Maiden, along with the remaining members of the Justice League, the Teen Titans, and Infinity Inc. took the battle to the Centurion, in what was known as 'The Century War'. In an act of self-sacrifice, Moon Maiden, took herself and the Centurion high into the sky, and there destroyed his weapon, causing a great explosion, and removing the two of them from history.
Laura had thought that was it but somehow she reappeared in the world. She was extremely happy to be alive and checked things out, and realized that there was no trace of her in the world.
She had never existed and no one remembered her. She was heartbroken when her parent's didn't recognize.
She didn't want to destroy their happy life with their new children and teleported to the Lunar Villa. She didn't have much energy left to stand. Her mental and emotional strain was too much.
Her body felt like lead and Laura didn't resist as she fell to the floor in an unsightly manner.
Her mind was a mess and even though the moon light was healing her to full capacity, she had no desire to wake up. The real world was a nightmare and now she was all alone.
She wanted to drown in her misery and get back her bearing before trying something. The Villa gave her good dreams and suddenly she was hit by water.
There was no such system in the Villa, so she quickly got up. She activated her powers and utilized the Villa to look for an enemy but she found nothing.
Laura was only 18 years old now, though she would have been 23 if she hadn't been erased for a time. She had been a normal girl for most of her time, tomboyish.
Only in the last two years did she learn combat and experienced dangerous situations. She was a brave and kind girl naturally, never having dark thoughts.
Even before learning her origins, Laura had felt the desire to help others and guided them when possible.
She didn't let down her guard even though she found nothing. The water was still there, it wasn't a dream.
'Who is it?'