The Sand Monarch

A.N Another one. This is one of my earliest stories.

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In a world filled with the most unusual of things, another supernatural phenomenon was taking place in the most uninhabited region of the world. In the killing heat of the desert the sand moved and shifted as it gathered slowly rising grain by grain. It took the shape of a human with the size of 1.75 m and an lithe body, the sand sculpture slowly became real and with gasp the being the had formed fell to his knees.

"Huff, Huff"

Gaara the fifth Kazekage had taken breath once again in a world far from his and he seemed to be quite confused about the situation.

'How am I alive?'

'Is this still inside the infinite Tsukuyomi?'

'No, it shouldn't be as I don't feel the push to forget everything else and be happy.'

'I am pretty much annoyed right now.'

Gaara gripped his hands into a fist and punched the ground in frustration, "Damn it"

We lost, that is the only way this can happen'

Gaara felt sadness as his thoughts gathered, 'All of them are dead or am I the one who died.'

"I can't cry for it is a pointless act, if I have time I should try to find a way."

"Though how did I get here and where is this place?"

Gaara questioned but there was no one to answer him, "Did I just form from sand, how?"

"Ughh" He held his head in pain as some information entered it

"A contract has been signed and I have been given a chance to change fate. To help on this quest, I have been imparted a technique for my survival. The place is dangerous so be careful, mortal."

"What? When did I do this?" Gaara wanted to shout but took a breath to calm himself down

'Let's not worry so I was right, I died and I have been granted a chance by some powerful being. But why send me here?'

'Is it because he wants me to gather people to help me fight the enemy?'

"Well that's all I got so I should start moving" Gaara muttered with a clam tone as he felt relaxed with the worries taking the back seat.

Gaara started walking while he felt around with his sand powers which told him that no human habitat was within miles. There were only small critters along with some plants and nothing else

As he walked he felt that his chakra had also been increased to the level of 1 tail, 'Why this person is helping me, I don't know but I am grateful.'

The clothes he had on were the same as the ones he wore during the war and he had his sand container on the back. The sand beneath his feet moved, covering his body to form a defense while the rest was stored. He continued to feed the stored sand his chakra to strength it while as he walked he also checked for minerals to add to his sand.

The speed of walking wasn't slow but he was going at a snail pace according to him, if someone saw him they would think he was running at around 40km/h. He continued collecting minerals to add to his collection, crushing them and mixing them with his sand.

"I should probably check out a human habitat first." Gaara muttered as he sensed through the sand but no human reaction so he had to choose a random direction.

With his full speed he was out of the desert in an instant, he was careful not to cause damage to the surroundings by regulating it with his chakra. He stopped some distance from the city; he realized it had foreign letters which he couldn't read.

He just looked at the ground as his legs were shaking; he just took in breath to calm his nerves.

'Why make me go through this?' He thought as the being was clearly powerful enough to do such insignificant thing

"I should stop trying to relying on someone else, he has done enough. Why am I sounding like a brat?" Gaara muttered as he was really considering something might be wrong with his head as he was acting so different.

The city looked like bustling place filled with a huge population; he felt it through the earth as he walked. The buildings were different and there were so many strange things that he could not identify. To avoid difficulties as he was unable to become part of the crowd without knowledge, Gaara transformed into an eagle.

It was one of the birds that he was quite used to and knew every detail to replicate; he flew through the air while watching the city to find a place of information. Everywhere he saw indecent people and loud music, 'This is a gambling town'.

He realized as he saw too many casinos around the city from his sight, Gaara searched the city for two days for any clues and his frustration built up with no path in sight. He couldn't even understand any word from the books or anything, which made the search pointless.

'I need to find people with power; these normal chakra less people can't help'

'How will they know my language?' Gaara mused as he thought about the hypothetical encounter

"It doesn't matter, I need help" Gaara said aloud to make himself focus on the task and without any more hesitation he released a chakra pulse that traveled through most of the city.

He could sense the things his chakra touched and feel their shape, "That's it". Gaara muttered as his chakra seemed to have touched a barrier, he was about to move when he felt someone appear behind him.

It was a woman in her twenties with black hair, wearing a weird outfit. Gaara looked at her with curiosity and caution as he didn't understand how she appeared.

'Was it like the Hiraishin or was she too fast for my senses?'

On the other hand the woman was also curious about the bird that sitting on the edge of the building, she had felt the mystical pulse and decided to check what was causing it.

'Who is this person and why did he do that?' She wondered but as the bird was not being talkative she decided to open the conversation

"Hello, I am Zatanna Zatara. May I ask who are you?"

Gaara was felt relief going through his body as he understood what she said and decided to at least converse, "My name is Gaara, I did that as I wished to meet someone like you."

"Why would that be?"

"I do not understand what these people speak; you are the first one I have talked to in a while."

Zatanna felt quite surprised that the being with such large power didn't know such basic ability, 'Is he one of those rare talents without a master? But he said he can't understand the people that mean he isn't human. He doesn't seem to be bad a person from this exchange but I should probably get him to tell more.'

"So you are an alien, what's your purpose of being here?"

"I don't know you well enough to diverge those details."

"Hmm, you are right. So how about you follow me from now on and we can get to know each other, this way I can keep you under my watch and you can observe me until you are satisfied. After which you can share your purpose and we can see if I can help. How about it?" Zatanna felt curious about the creature and felt this was most non lethal solution or else she might end up creating an enemy for no reason.

Gaara considered and it was the most logical choice so he consented, "I accept." Gaara said as he transformed into his human form which made Zatanna blink her eyes as she had guessed wrong.

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"I had thought you might be kind of different." Zatanna said as she looked him over, Gaara stood in front of her with the height of 1.8 m, red hair and weird clothing style.

They both stood at similar heights except Zatanna wore heels so she was slightly taller, "Can you at least tell me what you can do?"

Gaara watched her as she observed him and he didn't like the fact that he was unable to measure her, her powers were too different.

"It won't be a secret if we are together so no problem. I control sand, simple enough." Gaara said without elaborating that he could make sand of any solid rock formation so he doesn't need sand, especially now that he started utilizing other metals.

'This place is filled with materials that I can utilize so it will always be home ground.'

Zatanna didn't really take that as face value, he didn't give the image of someone who would share his information so easily.

"That's kind of more mundane than what I had expected but you have that large energy so it must have its use."

"It does its job so it doesn't matter how simple it is."

Zatanna stared at him and it didn't seem like he would give further information, she shrugged her shoulders, "Well that's good enough so I will help you as well."

She muttered words that he could not understand and with a wave of her hand something changed within his mind, he could feel it as chakra was quite sensitive to outside influence.

"What did you do?" Gaara asked with a guarded tone

"Relax, I just allowed you to understand the people of this world. You will hear in your own language while the people in the world would hear in the language suitable at the time. So now your language barrier problem has been solved, you may thank me for this wonderful magic." Zatanna talked in friendly manner like she was at her show

"Thanks" Gaara responded with just one word

'He seems to be the anti social types, very hard to handle.' Zatanna concluded, she really was miffed that the guy never actually took a glance over her for except to measure her powers.

'A first for everything, it does make him better in some ways but it might be bad.'

"You are welcome. As we are done lets go to my apartment, it is better than being so unguarded." She said while looking out at the surroundings and Gaara nodded in agreement.

"We will be teleporting so don't react offensively" She said as she didn't want to have her place trashed by the Gaara.

"No problem, you may proceed."

Zatanna heard his words and did her thing; both were teleported without any difficulty to her place which was protected by her magic.

"Welcome to my humble abode, you may take that room as your own while you are staying here." Zatanna said as she pointed to one of the extra rooms she had for guests.

"I appreciate your help and in return I shall provide my assistance when necessary while I am here, so please request anything within the limits. I would also be visiting the library, if you don't mind." Gaara said in a formal tone as he started walking to the room

"Hmm, I got nothing for now but who knows I might need help. I don't mind you going to the library but please stay out of trouble."

As Gaara was about to enter the room, she stopped, "Oh yeah, I want to ask can you present a magic show in front of an audience. Do things with the sand which can be an attraction?" Zatanna enquired curiously

'This way he can help in the play and I can keep a watch over him along with understanding his abilities better.'

Gaara stopped for a moment and thought over it, "As you wish, I don't mind." He answered as he didn't want to be a burden, this way he can payback for the help and it wasn't gonna give him away in anyway.

'Playing around with sand reminds me about my childhood time before everything turned dark. I can just do those acts.'

"Good, I will handle the procedures and we can have you be part of the show after you show me something interesting. I would like to see something tomorrow and I can see to it that you become stage worthy." Zatanna said as she wondered what he could do with sand

"Very well" Gaara said as he shut down the door behind him. He looked at the room, it was a lot smaller than his own but it had more things for comfort than his room.

He checked the room and sat down on the sofa as he thought on his next action, 'I should just go visit the library already as there is nothing here for me.' Gaara pondered as he stood up

"I will be leaving now" He said in a loud voice and then transformed into an eagle, taking flight through the window

He knew where the library was so he directly headed for it and was there in an instant, he couldn't hold himself back from rushing. He needed to know, the ignorance was killing him. He landed an alley and transformed into a random female civilian that he had seen and entered the library from the entrance.

His appearance was quite attractive which had heads turning when he walked by but he didn't realize such details, it was quite outside of his expertise. He entered and saw that he could understand the signs so he headed for the history side, he flipped through the books at speeds surpassing human limits that any witness would think he was playing around.

Gaara stayed there for many hours going through the history books followed by geography and some science books as he felt curious to see what level these mortals were at.

'They are definitely further than us in this field except for the medical field in which we are quite close. Our medical knowledge is horded while there seems to be spread, I wonder if they can do what Tsunade could do or Orochimaru's cloning.'

He also went through books explain minerals along with the affects of lightning and magnetism.

'There are materials harder than diamond, I will need to collect it' Gaara thought as he bore into the book

It was night by the time he was done so he walked out, 'It was very informative, I will come by again for more detailed research.'

As he walked some men who seemed drunk approached him, "Hey babe, want to hang out with us." The men leered at him with lust which he didn't understand.

"No thank you" Gaara said in his usual cold tone

But the men were drunk on the atmosphere and booze; they didn't no for an answer and surrounded him.

"You are dressed like a slut and acting so high ended. Bitch, come along nicely or we have to play rough." The man in the lead said while his unrestrained eyes went over his body

'Disgusting filth with no morals, I should have checked and chosen a form that was less prone to such problems. Unfortunately, I can't tell the difference much and the clothing is quite normal for our kind.' Gaara thought as he stared at the humans, he was about to act as they were about to get touchy and he didn't want to be touched by some filth.

"Hey boys, what are you doing?" A sultry voice was heard along with sound of high heels on the streets. The men were attracted to the voice and lost their sanity to the beauty that approached them, the way she walked and all the small gestures captivated them and drove them horny.

The woman showed no fear and walked up to them, touching the man in the lead on the jaw sensually. "Why don't you let her go and we can have some fun later."

The men acted like total zombies and nodded, "Good boys, here's my card. Give me a call, now leave." Her beautiful voice compelled them and they left in a daze.

Gaara understood what she had done, 'It worked like a genjutsu and she charmed them. Is she a good person or bad?'

"Hey there, my name is Mary Ann. You must be new here, what's your name?" She spoke in a friendly manner and smiled at him

"Temari and yes I am new here" Gaara said as he didn't have anything do with the woman and he didn't want her to find him with his name. Hiding his inexperience seems useless so he didn't bother

"Sounds like a Japanese name. Well if you are new, you should be careful. I could see that you were about to use your powers against them." Mary said with a curious gaze

Gaara nodded, "Thanks for the help, I am not used to such things."

"Hehe, you got a good figure and wearing such clothes will obviously attract attention. Do you want to join me over dinner, unless you have something to do?" Mary said as her body was almost touching him, her clothes emphasized her curves and didn't hide much.

'Could she be a mage like Zatanna?' Gaara thought as he nodded, getting to know people with power will help in his cause so he didn't decline

"Let's go then, I will show you some good time." Mary said cryptically

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The two walked to a bar nearby that Mary frequented, she lead Gaara there while sticking to him. Which he didn't care about but he couldn't make sense of it as he thought girls only did that with boys. Mary sat down and ordered for them as Gaara didn't care and let her deal with it.

"So how do you find the city till now?"

"Good enough"

"You are a mage, aren't you?"

"Yes"

Mary found the Gaara to be really hard to deal with as he was not very open and socialable.

"I am also one but just a minor; could you maybe help me improve?" She asked with a pure look

"Sorry, I am not qualified to teach and my skills require special conditions. That you do not possess." Gaara answered without hesitation

Mary stared at him and smiled, "What a bummer, I had hoped to grow better at this craft. Well we can still be friends, can't we?"

"Why don't you ask Zatanna? I thought you might know her?" Gaara looked her with observant eyes

"Oh, Zatanna. I know her and we were friends for a time but we got into fight over a guy so she blames me for stealing her boyfriend." She said laughingly

"I know, it might seem childish but it happens."

Gaara didn't know if she was lying or not and he didn't understand relations as well to see any holes in her words.

"Why not make up now, for improvement taking such simple is acceptable." He advised

"I will think about it but let's not talk about her for now. So what kind of magic can you do, as you can see I am charm type?" Mary changed the topic as she felt annoyed at hearing about Zatanna and wanted to know Gaara's abilities

'What is she hiding with such a large reservoir of power?'

"Sorry but we don't know each other much so I will have to refrain from such a secret thing." Gaara said gently

Mary stared into his eyes and sighed, "Okay I understand and you are right so let's be good friends and later you can show me."

"I wouldn't mind" Gaara said as he wouldn't care about hiding from allies

"Good, let's eat the food is getting cold" Mary said with a friendly tone as she started and Gaara followed along, this was his first time eating something from this world except the fruits he stole.

After eating and drinking where she encouraged him to drink, he thought it would be rude so he complied.

"Let's go to this place, it's awesome. I promised a good time and I always deliver." Mary said with drunken movements, looks like she was smashed

Even Gaara was feeling intoxicated and just let her drag him along, they entered a hotel where she started getting nude.

"What are you waiting for let's play?" Mary said as she approached him sensually and touched his body

"What are you doing?" Gaara was utterly lost

"You aren't interested in guys, I could tell so I thought you would be fine with this." Mary whispered into his ear as she nibbled them

Gaara felt some weird reactions within his body at her contact and menstruations, "Sorry but we have only met. Thanks for the night but I will be leaving now." He said as he helped her onto the bed and left in a hurry as he didn't want to stay even a minute.

Mary looked at the door and collapsed onto the bed, "Che, she got away. Next time for sure I will get her. She is so pure it makes me want to corrupt her, ah."

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His heart beating hard, Gaara ran back to the apartment after returning to his original bird form.

'Am I feeling sexually excited?' He felt foreign feeling, on one hand he was happy that he was still a guy and the other he wondered what he should do about such an opening in his defenses.

'No one has done this ever. I guess having such a title does make people wary and coming so close to touch me was impossible before. I shouldn't let woman touch me at their pleasure.' Gaara concluded

"You are late" Zatanna's voice was heard when he entered through the window

"Sorry, I was lost in my studies." Gaara replied once he changed back

"I am coming in" Zatanna said as she opened the door

Gaara understood she would want to check him personally for anything and trusting an unknown factor was too naïve.

"You went to a bar, are you drunk?" She said as she analyzed his appearance

"I just interacted with some people and drank but I am not intoxicated" He replied with a clear tone

Zatanna gazed at him and stood straight, "Okay, how was your outing?"

"It was informative, I learned a lot thanks to your help."

"Well that's good so you won't be needing dinner?" Zatanna asked

"Yes, I have already eaten"

"Okay, rest now and tomorrow you can show me what you got so I can later arrange things for you." Zatanna said with a smile in a friendly tone

Gaara nodded, "Good night"

"You too" She replied as he left

'He has traces of magic on him. What does it mean?'

Gaara lay down and fatigue overtook him, he had utilized his mental capability too much today. The next he woke up and freshened up, he found different clothing waiting for him. It had similar coloring to his clothes, a pair of jeans and a shirt along with a jacket.

'I guess I should put these on to integrate with the public.' Gaara thought as he put on the clothes and walked out to see breakfast ready.

"Come sit, do you like the clothes or do you want something else." Zatanna asked as she sipped her juice

"I am satisfied with them." Gaara muttered as he sat down

"Eat up and then we can do the test"

Gaara nodded and ate his fill, after which she teleported them to the desert area where there were no signs of humans.

"Okay, you can do your thing" Zatanna said as she looked at him with curiosity

Gaara didn't respond and just extended his hand, the sand around them changed shape. It was a beautiful sight as the sand took on the shape of castle then it changed to a flower field and finally it took on their shape. The shapes were extremely detailed and looked completely like the real things.

"Is this enough?"

"It's great; your control over sand is very good for you to make such detailed forms." Zatanna said excitedly

"Thank you, so what do I need to do for the performance."

"Hmm, can you make a small show or battle between beings with the sand" Zatanna said as he held her chin

'This way he might slip and show something from his home'

Gaara complied and showed two snakes fighting, it was an engaging battle and they felt completely real with their reactions.

"That's good. But let's try knights and dragons for more impact." Zatanna said with a smile, she hadn't given up yet as she believed he would slip one day or just tell her.

'It's not like I am forcing him.' She reasoned

"I will check it out"

"Good, let's go back." Zatanna said as she was satisfied with his compliance

'It would be better if he just told me everything else that I want.'

'That really sounds wrong, I should just let time do it's job.' Zatanna realized how her thoughts were taking a dark turn

The duo returned back and Zatanna left him alone to do his thing, so just like yesterday he visited the library transformed into a guy this time.

'Female form is too troublesome' Gaara thought as he went through the books but before going through the ones he needed, he checked the myth side.

He found them interesting, 'these humans really are creative coming with such things with no power or is it because of that they could think out of the limits.'

He went through some books on myths learning about the battles and especially the creatures, 'She might ask for more so let's do it now.'

After finishing that up within thirty minutes, Gaara walked to the geography side where he slowly poured over the books unlike yesterday. Before leaving after 5 hours, Gaara did go through some physic books.

'Nth metal, that thing really is weird and magical. I need some of it but where is it?' Gaara mused as he walked out heading into the city to see if he could learn from just roaming around

'I would have left but a promise is a promise and I might learn more by being on her side along with avoiding trouble.'

"Did you hear about the battle in metropolis?"

"Who hasn't, dude you got to be living under a rock for that to happen. I can't believe so many people died while on Superman's watch, guess even superheroes can't do everything."

"Yeah, it does break the illusion that with superman everything will be okay."

Gaara heard the conversation as he passed by a café, 'Superman?' That was his first time hearing the name as he hadn't looked through any news articles yet.

'What kind of person would this be? How strong is he? How can he be of assistance to my cause?' Gaara wondered as he decided to check out the heroes

'I should also check for the villains, they might be useful' Gaara decided

'But where do I get the information' He was stumped; he didn't know where to go and sat down on the bench outside. He watched the fountain and contemplated his choices when he sensed that the place below was hollow.

"Oh"

Gaara was distracted and had his connect with the earth below and check it out, there were many pathways and he could sense human sized beings.

'What are they doing down there?' He was curious and couldn't find anything else to do so he decided to check it out.

Gaara walked away slowly and walked into an alleyway then rushed back to the place with full speed, sinking into the ground without anyone seeing him. He walked towards the location where he could sense the presences with a cautious gait. He sent his sand eyes ahead of him and he saw corpse like men ahead, 'What are these things? They are dead.'

Gaara concluded that when he couldn't sense a beat but his chakra sense did pick up an energy signature.

'What dark energy is that?' As he was contemplating going ahead, the zombies attacked him so by instinct he had his sand envelop them. He didn't want to have trouble so he had them sink into the ground and walked forward.

'It seems the leader is willing to meet.' He thought as he didn't meet any trouble

"Welcome to my humble abode" A man in a tuxedo and a ghastly face said as Gaara entered into a room which was filled with mystical things.

"What are you doing below the surface?" Gaara asked while he watched for any threat

"Not one for conversations, are you boy. I live under here where the humans can't disturb my job. So who are you?" The man said as he put something's inside a pot

"Gaara, who are you?"

"Eldon Peck, you are a foreigner aren't you. Never seen you before or heard about you, such an interesting ability. How about working with me Gaara?" He said in a friendly tone

"I don't know anything about you so I can't judge what kind of person you are. I am also busy with my own mission so I decline." Gaara answered politely as the man had shown no hostility

"Hmm, why not keep in contact and I will keep the offer open. You are staying here for a time aren't you?"

"Indeed, I will think about. Excuse me I have something to do." Gaara said as he turned around

"Why not run that something through me, I might be of assistance."

Gaara stopped and turned around, "Can you provide information about Superman, the other heroes and villains along with some information on the nth metal." He said what he wanted to know, not expecting much but Eldon just laughed.

"Gaara, that's a very simple thing. I can give you that information so take a seat and we can talk."

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While Gaara was talking with Eldon, Zatanna was meeting her boss Benjamin Reymond. He was a handsome guy with money and all; he was knowledgeable about the occult so he was aware that she was a real mage.

"So you want me to hire this guy and you are saying he has unique magic. Hmm, to create story with sand or figures made of sand is interesting but I would like to meet him." Ben said as he sat in his seat

"No problem, thanks boss"

"Call me Ben, no need to be so formal."

"We are at the workplace so we need to follow the rules."

"I create the rules so do comply with my wish. For now, how about we go for dinner?"

"Sorry boss, I am busy today."

"Then tomorrow" Ben didn't give up in his invitation

"Okay"

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"So who do you want to know about first, there are too many super heroes and villains around?" Eldon said as he sat and looked at Gaara with curiosity

Gaara took a seat and got down to business without any hesitation, "First tell me about Superman"

"Hmm, Superman is the most iconic hero of the world. He is well known and an alien from a different planet. He is very strong that most beings can't compare, if he wanted the world destroyed it wouldn't last a second. But just like most of these heroes he is naïve little brat who thinks killing criminals makes you like them so he lets them walk away." Eldon spoke with contempt, no sign of any respect for the symbol of hope

'Does he have a grudge?'

"Why would he do that? Letting people who have already committed too many crimes is an insane choice. It is a waste of resources and asking for retribution in the future, there is no absolute prison." Gaara said as he wanted a better understanding of the man's character

"Haha, right. I am happy that we have similar view but these heroes believe killing is what villains do so they can't do it and it is not within their rights."

"Haha, that is very funny when I first came across it but even till now. So you can say they don't care for their pathetic lives and save people for nothing in return. Which is what they had like to believe in an idealistic world but reality is a cruel mistress as most of them end in tragedy and villains continue their path of havoc. I advise you to keep away from them, the disease might be contagious." Eldon said laughingly

'Is this true or just fake information? How can people like that exist? Even children could make better choices but it can be easier for me to manipulate them. If they are so nice why not ask them to save my world but who can get us there?'

"Thanks for the advice; I will take it into consideration. Anything about the Nth metal?"

"That's tricky; I only know that Hawkman and Hawkgirl have their things made from it. So you would have to find them to know learn more about it. Anything else?" Eldon actually liked the conversation, the boy in front of him was not like the heroes so a good point and he was powerful.

'We are very much alike.'

"Is there anyone who can make portals to different dimensions?" He asked in a calm tone hiding his level of investment in the subject

"I know some people but they are not what you are looking for as they send people to specific locations. But I might look into it for you, how about that?" Eldon said with a friendly smile which did not look anything but terrifying

"Thanks, what can I do for you in return?" Gaara asked as he didn't like owing anyone especially people he didn't trust

"How about some tea and biscuits first before we continue our talk?"

"No thank you, I don't trust you enough." He was very blunt with his response

"Hehe, how sad, But it's the right response as I would be disappointed if you were so naïve." Eldon said in a friendly tone which hid dark secrets behind

"For now let's just talk for awhile and I will find something for you later."

"Acceptable but I would like to inform you that I do not wish to be a part of unethical practices and will kill you if I believe you to be a worthless existence." Gaara said as he released his bloodlust

Eldon was surprised by the feeling, he felt genuine fear within and felt a smudge of excitement.

'The kid has killed, many times more than I would have expected. We are so alike, this going to be fun.'

"No problem, I will make sure we do things that don't cause such conflict."

"Then I look forward to what you will ask, it will help me make the final judgment."

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Time passed by quickly and hours gone by, Gaara walked the streets of the city while thinking of the things he had learnt.

'I need to find someone who can make portals and take others with me but this can cause trouble what if they betray me and make it worse. I need someone who is capable and trustworthy or I need to be strong enough to do this myself. How much time do I actually have? '

'Should I ask Zatanna?' Gaara was lost in thought when he collided with a woman who was accompanying some man. Gaara reacted quickly so that she didn't fall and the woman ended up in his arms.

He looked to see it was Mary, 'She can't tell'. Gaara assured himself but Mary pushed herself up and kissed him, "You are a naughty boy Temari, running away and transforming into a different form."

Mary said sensually as her hand touched his face, which shocked him, "How?"

"You give off the same feeling when I touched you so it was a coincidence we met. A good one as I couldn't forget about you." Mary whispered into his ears

'That's problematic, how do solve this problem? Need to discuss with Zatanna but for now what to do with her.' Gaara mused as he looked at the hyper sexual woman attached to him, 'She is using her body and magic to cause me to feel such reactions, what does she require? If it was at home, I would think for money but here I am insignificant.'

"You don't need to be so confused, I just like you and that's it. You don't need a reason to like someone, just let the heart do its job. How about a date so you can learn more about me?" Mary said in a lovely voice

"What about that man?" Gaara said in a dull tone, he felt really tired from being courted for the first time.

'I preferred it when people feared me and kept a respectable distance, now strangers get stuck to me.' Gaara thought as he removed her from him and she didn't put up resistance to avoid causing a scene

"He is just my wallet for the day; you gotta take advantage of your powers some way. Is it wrong?" Mary looked at him innocently

"No, I find to problematic with that." Gaara said as he really didn't care about such trivial things

"So now we can go and can you tell me your real name now?"

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

"Gaara is my name and sorry but I am busy now" He said as he walked away at a fast pace and disappeared from Mary's sight.

"Damn, he got away again." Mary said in calm tone but she felt a bit happy meeting Gaara once again

'You can't escape me now Gaara, you shouldn't have given away your name.' She smiled and walked away towards her place, she was packed for the day and tomorrow she decided it is time to hunt him down again.

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

"Zatanna, I need your help" Gaara said as he exited his room and went to the living room

"Earlier than I expected so what is it?" Zatanna said as she looked back from the sofa

"Where can I find Hawk woman?" Gaara said as he decided it was not time to ask any question related to him for now

'I can handle Eldon but she is something else and I don't trust her enough.'

'Not what I expected.' She thought

"Why?" Zatanna enquired as she was curious why he would need to meet Hawkwoman

"I want to get the metal she uses so I need to talk to her." Gaara answered honestly as he didn't think she had help otherwise

"Why would you need to ask from me? You could have found her from the news." Zatanna said inquisitively

"It is better if someone she knows introduces me and you would have followed so it is better to be direct."

Zatanna smiled at his reasons as he was right, "Okay but no forcing her or else you are in for a beating."

"No problem so when can we see her?"

"Today it's already late and tomorrow we are busy so after tomorrow." Zatanna said as she remembered the things planned

"Get ready tomorrow you will meet the boss."

"As you wish and thank you for listening to my request." Gaara said in gentle tone as he went inside the kitchen to eat something

'He smells of a woman, didn't think he would hit off with someone.' Zatanna thought as she went back to watching TV

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

"Welcome, I have heard some interesting things about you." Benjamin said as Gaara entered his office along with Zatanna

"Thank you for your time and this opportunity. What do I need to do?" Gaara said formally

"Nothing much, just shows me what you can do with sand." Ben said with a smile, he really looked down on the ability

'Such a limited magic, only good for a show for the masses'

"Follow me; I have gathered sand for your use." Ben said as he got up and walked out

"Thank you." Gaara said and didn't tell him that he already had some at his disposal but he couldn't see it

'It is better for me that they look down on my ability.' Gaara thought as a surprise attack can be very dangerous

He followed the man to a room that had sand on one corner of the room enough to fill a truck, "Is that enough?"

"Yes, please watch" Gaara said as he walked forward and opened his arms

The sand flowed around him like a close friend and he controlled it to make the story of the Sage of Six paths.

'This way they can't find anything about me and might have wrong conclusions if they decide from it.'

'It's really beautiful; I didn't think he could show something like that.' Zatanna thought as she looked at the constantly changing figures of sand and felt like watching a silent movie

"Clap, clap"

"Well done, you did better than my expectations" Ben said with a friendly smile, to him all was business and this act will create a much a stronger image

"I appreciate the praise but I would like to know when I can start." Gaara took the praise in stride as he wasn't someone moved by other people's words.

"You can start from next week as we need to adjust the program and prepare the things." Ben said as he stood close to Zatanna

"Okay, I will be taking my leave now."

"Good, see you in a few days for the preparations" Ben said with a smile as Gaara walked away

"Thanks boss, didn't I say he was good." Zatanna said with a teasing smile

"Yes and I accepted him so you will be joining for dinner after work today." Ben said as he held her hand and massaged it gently

"As promised but let's get to work now."

"Very well" Ben said as they both separated and he watched her go

'Soon you will be mine, my beloved.'

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

'That man is not trust worthy, he reminds me of Orochimaru.' Gaara thought as he walked out of the Casino

He walked slowly through the city when his sensitive hearing led him to noticing someone scream in terror, the sound was being muffled by the human and automobile traffic.

'There shouldn't be anything strong so I will do it as it is something I noticed.' Gaara reasoned, he might not go out of his way to save the world or anything but people in front of him was another thing

Gaara quickly went through the alleyways and found the place, inside a small house a man holding a book emanating light was doing something to a woman that screamed in pain. He didn't continue to watch and from top of a building Gaara threw a rock spear made from the building he was standing on as he didn't wish for someone to identify him.

The spear moved with enormous speed and pierced effortlessly through the enemy's head causing it to explode into a gory mess. The woman was covered in the blood while the man's body collapsed, 'She can handle it now.'

Gaara thought as the woman stood up with difficulty and left the place as he had his own things to do but once he left and the woman was trying to get out the man stood up once again.

"Where do you think, you are going?" He muttered with a wicked smile as his eyes lit up with dark light

"No, please let me go." The woman begged

"No can do" The man said as he grabbed her head and finished the job of extracting her soul

"Now who was the one that threw the damn spear?" The man questioned as he looked at the rock spear and examined it for any clue

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

"What is this?" the man muttered as he examined it but could not feel any magic from it

"Filthy Meta Humans" He said as he disintegrated the spears and left the place

'I will hunt this bug down next time, it show up' he thought as he had unable to find any trace, Gaara had not touched the spear and it was made using chakra not mana

'I wonder how little Zatanna is doing. That delicious magical power, I will definitely receive it just you wait my naïve little pet.'

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

'Now what should I do?' Gaara thought as he sat on top of a building, he had already checked the information and they should be leaving later but now he was free to do nothing

'I realize how empty my life is at this moment.' Gaara mused with a smile on his face as he thought it was of funny that without all that work, he truly had nothing else.

'I should start training, otherwise my chances of controlling the person who can me back are low and it will be pointless to go back as I would not be able to fight.' Gaara thought as he decided to leave the city, he did think of asking for data from Eldon but they weren't close enough

Transforming into an eagle, Gaara flew towards where he had appeared and arrived within a second with his full speed. Gaara landed on the rocky ground and felt that there was no sign of anyone within miles, "It's clear."

'I lack speed, strength and durability along with stamina to fight against Madara. Is it even possible for me to surpass or equal that power?'

'The more I think about it worse it gets.' Gaara mused with a frustrated expression, life of his world hanging onto him

Gaara sat down on the ground in meditation as he decided to train his control further, 'Let's test my limits this time, how deep into the planet can my control reach?'

Closing his eyes Gaara continued to turn the ground beneath him into sand in a straight line which was only 5 inch thick, it went deeper and deeper. Finally he couldn't go further than 700km deep; his control wasn't strong enough to break the hard earth down below.

"Still many thousand kilometers to go" Gaara muttered in calm manner as he was back in his zone

'Let's check with full capacity' Gaara stood up and with his arms open wide he commanded the whole area around him to turn to sand. It was fast on above the ground and slower underneath but after awhile he could see the result of his full power.

"100KM above ground and 20 km below, I really don't know how strong that is." Gaara muttered with uncertainty

'I need something to test my power on just normal rocks won't do. Let's just increase the speed and strength of my physical body.' Gaara pondered and decided to use the force of his capabilities to pressure his own body with hundreds of tonnes pressure applied on his body

He looked no different from outside as he had applied it like his usual sand armor and with it on, he decided to train his close combat skills as he remembered how hard it got when someone broke through his sand, he was out of his zone then.

'Sorry Lee, Naruto I will be borrowing your skills.' Gaara apologized in his head as he remembered in detail everything he knew about these two. Before trying it out, he made sand clones to try them out as he watched from a third person view to see if he was right or not.

This training went on for awhile and Gaara returned to the city, Zatanna had said she would be going out so he had to eat outside today. He walked the streets of the city in male form and was looking for a restaurant when he was ambushed by Mary, who hugged him from behind.

"How did you know?" Gaara muttered curiously as he knew she went directly for him so she knew already where he was.

"Names have power, Gaara. I advice you not to give it away, though really yours is truly a short one. But I wonder how you knew?" Mary said as she stuck to him and they walked together

"Secret"

"I want to know why you are so obsessed with me." Gaara said in cool tone

"Because I like you, it was love at first sight. We are so similar, rule breakers and no need to act like heroes just because we have powers." Mary said in lovely voice

"I do not understand love but as it would just be more troublesome to get rid of you, I will let you accompany me but please do not force my hand." Gaara said in a calm manner, delivering his threats without missing a beat like it was the most natural thing to do

"Hehe, no problems. I am not that kind of girl, we are so gonna have blast. Did you have dinner?" Mary giggled and enquired

"No, I was looking for a place to eat." He answered as he wanted to her to guide him

"Then let me take you to an awesome place to celebrate our everlasting friendship." Mary said in a boisterous manner as she dragged him along

'I really can't believe I feel something for him.'

'It came out of nowhere and he is packed with energy.'

'If I take his powers I would be powerful beyond anything I dreamed off but if I did it I will lose the person I love.'

'I choose love, I am tired of being alone and he probably would murder me with ease.'

'Living in the darkness at least you gives good survival instincts or else I would have perished countless times. I can't let him get away and especially not to that bitch.' Mary had pondered over these thoughts since she met Gaara and this affection had turned to the extreme

Gaara felt a bit comfortable around her for some reason and he followed her along, 'She might be useful with her magic unlike Zatanna who is careful.'

The two of them walked like a couple on a date from afar while from up close Gaara stoic face implied something else.

"Clark, what are you doing here?" A young girl's voice entered his ear as she walked close to him along with her companion

"You have mistaken me for someone else; my name is Ryu not Clark." Gaara replied as he took in the two attractive girls in front of him who were shocked at his appearance which was exactly like Clark Kent

"Sorry" Kara muttered in embarrassment as she moved with her friend Barbara

'Why is she here?'

'Supergirl one of the potential candidates. The other girl should be Batgirl, with the way she moves and accompanying Supergirl is giveaway.' Gaara mused as he left some sand on the girls so that he could see what they see and even hear what they talk about through lip reading.

"You should be careful about taking a form; I would prefer to see that real you." Mary whispered into his ears as they both entered into luxurious place where it seems Mary had VIP arrangements

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

As both of them dined with no problems, more like Gaara just tuned out while Mary talked to him. Gaara noticed a familiar presence close by through the earth as he was training even now and looked towards that direction.

'Zatanna looks unusual and her mannerisms don't match with her personality. There is something wrong.' Gaara thought as he turned back to Mary

"Mary, do you know anything about him?" Gaara indicated with his eyes and Mary looked towards that table, her face would have should her annoyance but Gaara was close

"Its Zatanna and that douche bag, he is an asshole who sells souls for increase in his life and power." Mary provided without a problem leaving out the fact she had worked closely with him many years ago

"Thanks"

'As expected, he should have done something to her. But what and how, was she taken by surprise or was she too trusting of the man?'

"We will follow them; she is a friend so I can't let her get hurt." Gaara muttered as he caused some of the ground beneath Zatanna to turn to sand and let it crawl into the clothes of both of the duo without making them notice.

'This way he can't escape through the magical way and I can kill him as long as he is in the city.'

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

Zatanna and Benjamin Raymond dined together like a couple in love, she acted so effeminate and weak in Gaara's eyes. He observed through sand vision for any clues on how she was ensnared and after some time got the jist, 'It's the roses on her person or she drank something.'

"What kind of method do you think he used?" Gaara sat beside Mary and whispered in her ear causing her to tingle with excitement

'He is so teasing me isn't he?' Mary thought as she held back from doing any sensual advances

"Looks like the love potion." She said in husky tone as she whispered into his ears and touché his chest

"Love potion?" Gaara never heard of such a thing

"It is a potion that causes the person to love the first person they see unconditionally."

"Interesting, how does one break out or undo the affect." He asked in a curious tone as he was finding more and more unique things in this world

'Drugs or weapons can also be of use.' Gaara thought as heard her answer

"Sorry, that's beyond my capabilities." Mary said in a pitiful tone as she pouted cutely

"No problem, you have been a great help" Gaara said as he touched her face gently

'She using her charm again.' Gaara understood that she was leading him onto something she wanted so he let her as a compensation for the service.

He ended up kissing Mary, with slow motions and for a long time until she ran out of breath. Gaara touched his lips and felt that was quite a fun experience, and felt curious how it feels after this but for now he was focused on his self given task.

"That was fun; we may do more but later." Gaara whispered in a rare gentle tone with a hint of emotion unlike his stoic tone

"Yes, I will wait" Mary said with suppressed joy, she felt like a maiden again who was experiencing first love

'It might as well be, it's been so long since I had an actual relationship. This time I will make it work, I have already moved on from the truly evil acts leaving just the minor stuff and he doesn't mind.' Mary thought happily as she stuck to his arm and enjoyed his warmth

After some hours Zatanna and Ben left the restaurant in high end car while Gaara didn't have one nor did Mary at the moment.

"I will meet you tomorrow" Gaara pecked her on the lips and disappeared from sight as he rushed on top of building. Once there he transformed into a cat and ran in the direction where he could feel the tracker, they were going towards Raymond's property and it was quite large as Gaara entered it.

Large open field and a Mansion in the center, the car stopped and Raymond led Zatanna inside. Gaara followed inside and his path led him to a room filled with occult items which he didn't understand. Zatanna was standing in the center of a circle while Raymond had a dagger in his hand.

"It is truly unfortunate but I have to send you to Lord Mammon." Ben said in calm tone with a tinge of regret

'I think this is enough' Gaara thought as he commanded the sand that infiltrated the body of Raymond to respond, it caused him to roar in pain and as his heart was pierced through along with other organs.

Gaara didn't leave but he didn't come out, and as Raymond started reacting weirdly Zatanna woke up.

"Come out, who is there?" She demanded

'It seems she was alright and this was just to find information.'

As she looked around the blood touched the circle and a large red hand pierced through, it moved around wildly and caught Reymond but it was not satisfied as it tried to go for Zatanna.

"Mammon" Zatanna growled in anger as she blasted him with magic spells for getting that he was highly resistant to that particular magic and she should have used something else or erased the circle. The hand almost got her when the area around the circle collapsed causing Mammon's hand to withdraw along with Raymond's corpse

Zatanna calmed down and floated in the air as she tried to find the helper, "I know you won't come out but thanks for the help." She said in a grateful tone as she fixed the place up and left, she needed to talk to people in the field about this event.

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

'She needs more control and experience; even then she is a good ally.' Gaara thought as he left the mansion and felt Mary's presence

'She followed me and there is someone beside her.' Gaara mused as he quickly went towards her direction and found the same man from yesterday. He had chained Mary down with something and was placing his hand on her skull.

'He must have killed the other woman. I am sorry for not being able to save you.' Gaara said silently as he felt kind of bad for not being able to save an innocent in front of him

"This time no more games" Gaara muttered as he turned into the shape of Superman and flew, more like he carried himself as he was covered in sand

With a movement his hand, the man was launched into the sky from the earth as the ground threw him up which broke his focus and Gaara smashed his fist into him and dragged the broken body down to the floor.

"You are an immortal being as well; I really hate your kind." Gaara muttered with annoyance as he gathered the pieces and was about to seal him up.

"I have been waiting for you but I never expected it to be you, Superman." The man said in a sarcastic tone as he formed back into complete body

A barrier flashed into existence and his book shone with light, "Payback is a bitch." He muttered as Gaara felt his heart explode.

"Tell them Nicolas sent you."

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A.N Hope you enjoyed and comment

All chars are from the comics

Mary Ann looks like Mary Jane from spiderman comics.