5 Chapter 5: Time Flies When You're Busy

Hello everyone, it is me! Geo! Once again here with your scheduled chapter!

Man have I missed you guys! Comments and whatnot have been slow this past week! I was honestly expecting more hype to arrive with all the support I received, but I guess it must be due to the slow updates that some people haven't noticed my book yet.

Meh. All in due time I guess.

Let me tell you, writing is a doozy sometimes, especially when you have to go back and double-check your previous chapters to see if you mentioned something previously that went against what you wrote in later chapters.

Plot holes are the enemy of all authors.

I have almost the exact opposite of writer's block, with ideas rattling through my head at inhuman speeds. Sometimes I feel like I can't type fast enough.

I had planned for the first story arc to be around 3 parts long and more than 20k+ words.

Now I'm on the 4th part due to the ideas I expanded the arc on hahaha!

Hopefully there's no more. I'm so hyped for it though! I feel like it turned out amazing so far!

I even have really cool ideas for other stories and I just have an itch to want to write them.

But slow and steady wins the race. I can't afford to write another book at the moment. I just penned it down a something more to think about for later

Some of the ideas you guys gave me are really good, but I still have to think about them and see if they can be incorporated in a way that makes sense later in the story.

Even though it's fictional, explanations of how things work or how actions are achieved need to make sense.

My hat's off to authors who go for technological-themed based stories. I can't understand half that mumbo jumbo when I read it, needless to say, how hard being able to write it probably is as well.

I need to study a lot for certain things regarding science to make some sense before Ben gets anywhere near making inventions.

Now, first things first. I must give a shoutout to the patrons who decided to join and support me through this week.

I'd like to give a major thank you to @Qweku, @Terrence L, @Manuel Araujo, @Wafflebird, and @SHTC. Your support means a lot and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.

And that goes for all of you, I hope you continue enjoying this story as well.

I want to inform you that over the next few chapters until around chapter 15, there will be a gradual time skip into 2 years later. This is my way of pacing the story as best as possible to get you into 'canon', but not at too fast a rate.

I was recently asked by a few of my patrons and viewers about some concerns and questions regarding the story. I'll be once again posting my ideas and thoughts as another note at the bottom of the chapter when you're done if anyone's interested.

Now, hope you enjoy today's chapter!

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Date: January 30, 2007

Location: Upper Northeast Edge Outskirts of Gotham City, New Jersey, Wayne Manor

Time: 3:27 P.M.

Currently, the manor was filled with guests from young to old as they celebrated the birthday of one of Bruce Wayne's, the richest man in Gotham's, sons.

Ben never used to celebrate his birthday much in his past life, and he has no memories of his time here either.

So, it's times like these that he has come to appreciate it more than he could have ever imagined before.

Two separate parties were to be held today. One for his 'acquaintances' from school and their families, and another at around 5 for some of their more 'secret' friends to wish him a happy birthday.

To be honest, he's still not used to the idea of being related to a team of superheroes in some way, no matter how anybody tries to tell him it's cool.

He's already related the Justice League to the Avengers from Marvel, and things don't always end in a happy way for those guys.

But he can't do anything about it. They're his father's colleagues, and he must support his father.

Plus, a couple of them seemed to want to thank him for the events of half a year ago, and this ended up being their idea.

Right now, he could be seen walking to and from meeting people alongside Bruce, while giving the same greetings and thanks to each one of them.

After what was supposed to have been an exhausting hour going through all these people, it was finally time for the cake to come out.

That was arguably the greatest point of the day in his opinion. Alfred makes a mean chocolate masseuse.

Yes, his favorite flavor was chocolate. Vanilla lovers be gone!

As the lights dimmed and the people began to crowd around him and the table setting the cake, and candles on top denoting his age to be 14, he calmly watched as everyone began singing him a happy birthday.

Bruce was standing at his left, with Alfred and Dick standing at his right.

Dick honestly seemed more excited than him at the moment, which he found slightly amusing.

As everyone began clapping and the lights turned back on, Alfred began skillfully cutting the admittedly large cake, giving out portions to everyone as the adults went back to mingling and the kids crowded around Ben.

"Hey what did you wish for?" asked Jimmy, a kid from his math class.

"It was probably him just wishing for his dad to get him some rich gift you know?" spoke up Regina. She was a cheerleader in his English class, and her attitude spoke for itself. She valued money, people's looks, the way she acts around others...

Basically, all the vane and overcomplicated things he finds inconsequential and annoying.

Because of that, he usually doesn't see eye to eye with her on some subjects. One time, he was unable to be in the same room as her due to how she insulted one of the smarter girls in the class because of her jealousy at getting a lower test grade than her.

He had to keep reminding himself that these were children and that this was how they act before maturity, regardless of the fact that he was one or not.

Didn't mean he had to like it.

When Bruce had first brought up the requirement for him to go to school, he didn't reject the idea much, but he definitely complained about the fact that he was already ahead of his potential classmates by whole leagues.

You don't just receive superintelligence, a perfect memory, and not use it.

He was already up to first-level college subjects, and he'd probably be going over acclaimed scientific research papers by the end of the year.

Then came another problem when Bruce brought up the subject.

His age.

His birth records had him listed as born in 1996, and he definitely didn't look like a 9-year old two years ago.

As such, Bruce went to extreme lengths, moving all over Gotham and whatever database had his information listed, before making it somehow more believable in certain ways.

For example, he put him down as born in 1993, but it would then draw even more attention to the fact that his mother had given birth to him at around the age of 13 or 14.

That would have opened up a whole can of worms had someone found out.

So with an even heavier heart, his Father ended up expunging any mention of his name in the databases that somehow had it popped up through DNA tests, before altering his mother's birth date to something more believable, setting up a basic profile for an entire make-believe person named John David, who ended up marrying her and died of natural causes, leaving his son and wife all alone.

He spent months having to travel the world doing that, as his mother wasn't a Gotham native, but a traveler.

In the end, he managed to set up everything in a seemingly perfect manner.

When Ben had gone through all the information set up, he knew people wouldn't notice anything wrong.

It wasn't as perfect as he made it sound, since that would also draw attention, but there were enough believable holes that no one would be able to make a connection to them.

"If I tell you what I wished for, then it wouldn't come true now would it?" Ben replied in his usual calm manner, turning his attention back to his friends.

At first, it used to unnerve people when he spoke like that without his face even changing, but ever since his change during the Joker incident, he had slightly more freedom in controlling his face.

Somehow, they ended up getting used to it when he spoke the same way to everyone, even some of those who were used to being belittled.

His attitude towards them, the way he carried himself, along with his good looks is probably what made people like to hang out with him and made him so popular.

He didn't even notice the respect people had for him sometimes.

He made people feel respected, even when they didn't respect themselves sometimes, gaining his own respect in return.

It's a two-way street. A never-ending cycle.

"You actually believe that nonsense?" asked Regina in an annoyed manner.

Turning his attention to her, he didn't miss a beat when he responded.

"Of course not, but that's basically my cue telling you that I don't want to tell and wish to keep it a secret." he said, putting on a slight smile in order for it to pass off as a joke.

Even if he can move his face more now, it still annoys him how he has to force his face to show off these 'fake' emotions when he's playing up his identity in a public manner.

Everyone laughed at his words, while Regina huffed and rolled her eyes before allowing a slight smile to grace her lips.

Eventually, the party came to an end, as the Wayne family stood at the entrance of the manor, bidding goodbye to their guests one by one, and entering back inside once everyone had departed.

After helping Alfred clean up a bit, they eventually made their way to the Batcave, before suiting up, and following behind Batman since they were already late in their meeting with the other heroes.

In a flash of light, they entered the zeta tube, only to emerge in a private room inside the Hall of Justice, with banners and balloons strewn about and some of the other heroes already present and mingling among each other.

He saw a few unfamiliar, yet still familiar faces as well, knowing for a fact that they weren't a part of the league, but still here anyways.

The fun thing about being Batman's partner is that every day can be considered a test in some way, even the fun things that Bruce will constantly deny are the case.

He loves to brood for some reason, don't ask him why.

Alfred almost told them that one time why he does it before Bruce managed to stop him.

One of the things Ben, and now Dick as well, takes as a serious challenge is hacking the files Batman likes to keep secure.

It got easier for Ben over time since he joined up with him almost 2 years ago now.

His learning speed should already be obvious thanks to his powers.

'2 years, 0 months, 7 days, 4 hours, 28 minutes.'

Just checking.

Since Dick had joined, whenever Bruce isn't available, or not taking Robin into the field, then he would be the one drilling absolutely everything possible into his brother's head.

One thing he noticed was how he seems to be extremely talented at hacking, picking up on it in a quick and efficient manner.

In Batman's files, he has a lot of information on the people in the League, and those solo heroes outside of the League as well.

Right now, he could identify three of such solo heroes present here inside the hall for the first time, probably here as a plus one to some of the League prevalent members, and one other person who was unknown to him yet seemed to be around his age.

The first was the only woman of the three, being around 5 feet 7 inches, wearing a strange bustier-leotard combination, with a blue denim jacket on top, and a choker around her neck.

She has blond hair and blue eyes and is extremely attractive.

Her name was Dinah Lance, and she just started her hero career by the name Black Canary.

She was hovering around Green Arrow, along with the kid from earlier. He was dressed like a mini Green Arrow with the bow and full quiver slung over his shoulders, exactly like what he's assuming to be his new mentor.

'Why is he wearing that hat?' he wondered before turning his attention once again.

The second person he noticed was an African American man around 6 feet tall, dressed in a formal Green Lantern uniform, and speaking with Hal Jordan (yes he managed to figure out mostly everyone's identities. Batman 101), denoting him to be the most likely person to have invited him as his plus one.

His name is John Stewart, and he started his career around the same time as Black Canary as well.

He also goes by the name Green Lantern… which Ben found extremely confusing and strange?

Why not come up with something to separate yourself from the organization you're working for? Is everyone just supposed to call both of you Green Arrow?

'Wait, that happened in Marvel too right?'

He remembered that there was a female Captain America along with Sam Wilson, a couple of Thors, and more than one Hawkeye.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the comics.

'I have a feeling that peace isn't going to last long here.' he sighed in his head.

-You. Me. Both. Friend.-

'Thanks, ESAMAL.'

The last person, he recognized immediately was Giovanni Zatara, a man who began his crime-fighting career around the same time as Bruce.

They could be considered good friends if the fact that he's the first person they're walking up to right now meant anything.

He wore a top hat, a tailcoat over his white wing-collared shirt and bowtie, and had bright green eyes while sporting a mean-looking neatly groomed mustache. He held a walking cane in his hand, putting his weight on it at the moment.

He seemed like a nice and pleasant guy you could get to know.

However, the emotions he was sensing told Ben a different story than the image presented in front of him.

Looking over to Bruce and viewing his emotions as well, the usual sky blue that followed his father's entire persona was present, denoting his default sternness, followed by a cool aquamarine, which showed that he was pleased and content on meeting his friend again.

Which is not something you would see from Batman. He doesn't even show those kinds of emotions with Superman usually.

…Well to be fair he doesn't show his emotions to anyone actually.

"Giovanni." greeted Batman, as he held out his hand for a shake, to which Zatara reciprocated.

"Good to see you, Batman." he responded with a small smile on his face.

"Thank you for taking the time out of your day to be here, I know you were busy."

"It's no trouble, I could use a break once in a while." he responded with a wave of his hand.

"I'm glad. Please, meet Robin and Wildcard." spoke Batman as he motioned toward the aforementioned two.

"Nice to meet you! I read about you in Batman's files. Can you really use magic?" he asked in excitement and slight curiosity, not noticing his immediate mistake.

Ben, catching onto it, scooted away to make some distance, while Bruce got a Bat Glare set up in Dick's direction, to which he was oblivious to at the moment.

Rule #78 of Batman Test rules, never admit your actions whenever he's around.

'God, protect my younger brother's soul since I know nothing can protect his body at the moment. Amen.' thought Ben.

Zatara, noticing all of this had a bit of amusement leak through before it was quickly washed away, while he nodded at Robin's question.

"Indeed I can, however, it's probably not the best time for that at the moment."

Robin visibly deflated at that. "Aww man. I only got to see Ben's powers once, and they weren't even that visual. Just being slightly stronger or faster." he complained.

Ben thought now was a good time to interject himself and get to the bottom of things first.

"Are you able to do anything with your magic? Or are there requirements?" he questioned

"My form of magic is considered extremely versatile, but I must know certain mystic codes and spells beforehand and practice them a bit to use them in the field in case I make a mistake, leading to failure."

Hearing his answer, Ben nodded his head before signaling to Robin with his eyes to leave.

They've built up a great understanding with each other in the last year working with Batman, so he got the message right away. Although he was confused, he trusted Ben, so he left decisively, leaving only Batman, Zatanna, and himself.

"Hmm…" responded Ben. "So, are you able to create a soundproofed area? Because I have a question for you that has been bugging me since I met you, and it may seem personal. But, I don't think I can focus on my party unless I ask you it."

Although confused at Ben's request, Zatara nodded his head at that before lifting his cane in the air a bit and speaking in what seemed to be backward words. Batman shot him a look, asking a silent question at the same time, to which Ben shook his head no.

"emoD fo ecnelis."

Immediately, he tapped his cane on the ground causing a see-through dome to shimmer into being around them before fading away just as quickly. Everyone else in the room noticed the act but didn't comment on it.

However, they kept some of their attention in that general direction to try and find out what was going on.

"What would you like to ask?" he questioned amicably.

"Can you tell me what's bothering you?" Ben asked bluntly.

To which, the reaction he expected occurred, being both shock and confusion.

"I'm sorry?" he questioned.

"Your emotions. Even though you try to hide it, you have all negative emotions splayed across the board at the moment. You're angry, confused, fearful, annoyed, worried, despaired, and even have a little bit of hatred at the moment. So, I want to ask you what's wrong since I won't be able to enjoy my day knowing somebody near me is in trouble and hurting."

Shock, and then anger could be displayed across Zatara's face, but before he could open his mouth, Batman put a hand on his shoulder while giving it a light squeeze, knowing the reaction that would have come had he not.

"He merely means the best. You can't take your anger out on him at the moment. Now that this has also been brought to my attention, I would also like to know what's going on. Talk to us."

In response to Batman's words, his face contorted into many different shapes before he seemed to resign himself as he sighed and his body sagged slightly while he mustered all the energy possible to respond.

"Even though we usually try to stay away from using modern-day technology and objects, Sindella usually insists on us getting check-ups from local doctors, since she constantly argued that 'magic isn't the only thing the planet has any more'."

"Last week at a checkup in the hospital, Sindella was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer." he managed to squeeze out, putting his head into his left hand.

Bruce's shock and surprise were completely apparent to Ben, as he moved to support Zatara who seemed as if he would keel over.

"Is she receiving treatment?" he questioned. A bit of concern actually managed to leak out of his voice.

'Father's been letting his emotions slip a lot more lately.' Ben noticed.

Nodding his head tiredly, Zatara explained. "There is a plan being set up, however, the doctors believe that it's not looking good. Pancreatic cancer isn't usually even treatable."

Confusion marred Ben's face as he heard those words, wondering if he should ask his question without seeming dumb since he knew nothing on the subject.

In the end, he decided to just go through with it.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

"Are you not able to use magic to cure her? Forgive me if this comes off as ignorant as I know nothing of the subject." he questioned in a sincere tone.

Zatara nodded, not seeming to take offense at the question. "I wish it were so simple. In order to use my magic to heal her, I would need to have an image of what I wish to accomplish, or I risk harming her and myself in the event of failure."

"There is also the risk of having enough energy to carry out whatever magical feat I attempt, else the spell could rebound, harming both of us in the process."

Pondering the explanation he received, Ben continued to question. "So as long as you have the image in mind and enough energy, you are able to perform anything with your magic as long as you have the proper mystic codes ready, which is you speaking backward from what I managed to hear earlier when you cast this dome. Is that correct?"

Surprise covered his face, probably at the fact that Ben was able to guess all of that before he nodded his head. "Yes, that's exactly correct."

"Are you magic users able to transfer energy between one another somehow?"

Looking at Ben with a strange gaze, he nodded his head again. "Yes, it is possible with the right spell."

"Do you have someone in mind who you trust completely that would have more energy than you and be willing to share it?"

Annoyance started to bleed through Giovanni's gaze by now at the constant questions, but before he could voice that annoyance, Batman made his presence known once again, after realizing that Ben seemed to be going somewhere with this.

"Answer him. Trust me."

Sighing at those words, he responded. "Yes we have a family friend who goes by the name Kent Nelson he was-"

"The previous Doctor Fate, yes I've read about him…"

A Bat Glare began heading his way as well at his words, just like Dick earlier, before he caught himself.

"...in the old newspaper clippings, Alfred has from the time of the Justice Society. Wasn't hard to deduce his identity after." he quickly finished.

The narrowing of his eyes immediately receded, putting him back in the clear.

"Yes. As you train your magic and drain your energy, you strengthen both at the same time, as if it were a muscle."

"However, unlike how the muscles and bones in the body atrophy with age, your energy and magic can also grow with time as is the case with Mr. Nelson as he is an extremely old and well-taught practitioner." Giovanni eventually finished, respect being heard in his voice at the mention of the man.

Nodding his head at the answer Ben immediately arrived at his intended conclusion, noting it to be a positive one.

"Then there you have it. You have a way to cure your wife." he said.

At those words, anger finally started to bleed into Zatara's gaze as he yanked Batman's arm off his shoulders and peered into Ben's eyes.

"What are you talking about boy? Did you not hear my earlier words? What are these questions supposed to accomplish?" shouted Zatara in a slightly agitated manner.

"I apologize, it came off as slightly more smug than intended."

"I was hearing your words from the very beginning, but apparently you weren't so I'll explain my line of thought, and you tell me if I misunderstood something. If I'm wrong then I'll accept your anger." he responded in his usual calm tone before continuing without waiting for a response.

"You said that in order to use your magic, you needed to have a proper image set in your mind, the correct words prepared for the spell, and enough energy to perform your magic without any risks. Then, your solution is extremely simple, yet you most likely overlooked them due to your current agitated state."

"You need to find someone to help you with both steps involving your imaging, and energy, in order to minimize or remove these risks altogether."

"You seem to already have an option for someone who may be willing to provide you with the energy to carry out such a procedure, now all you need is someone similar who is willing to guide you in explaining how cancer works, how you can properly picture it in order to use your magic, how to remove it safely, and all those technical detials. The role needed for that is most preferably suited for a surgeon. Once again, one you trust of course." Ben eventually concluded.

Stunned silence greeted Ben from both Batman and Zatara before Zatara went to say something, only to reel back.

He did this a few more times, before his negative emotions began to bleed away into the universe, giving way to the blue shades of hope, joy, and excitement. Meanwhile, although there was no outward change as usual, Batman lit up with a shade of crimson, showing his pride at Ben's words.

"A-A-Are you sure about this id-d-dea." he managed to stutter out after a bit of time with a slight mix of nervousness and fear managing to tear through the sudden sprout of hope in his heart.

"Again, you are the expert in magic. You should be telling me. What you told me is probably only the basics correct? However, this should at least give you a direction to work forward with if I'm not entirely incorrect. Did I get anything wrong in my explanation?" Ben eventually asked.

Instead of responding, Giovanni immediately began hugging Ben tightly in excitement, looking like a little child injected with a shot of sugar.

"You were right! Everything you said was almost completely right!" he said as tears actually began leaking through his eyes.

Taking everything as he usually did, with calm, as the new normal color of his pupils indicated, Ben began patting the man's back until he started regaining control of himself.

After a couple of more moments, Zatara seemed to straighten himself up, before taking a handkerchief out from his pocket and wiping his face. "I apologize for my embarrassing display."

"We understand." was Batman's short answer.

"May I ask if you've yet identified what stage she has reached for her cancer? You said earlier that the doctors didn't seem optimistic, so I'm assuming the results may vary at the moment."

"You need a timeframe if you wish to be successful in your task of curing her." asked Ben, his eyes shining in bright yellow as his concern for the man's situation finally began leaking through at this question.

It wouldn't do much if he had given this guy hope, and at the last stretch, they ended up finding out they were too late.

Alarm welled up on Giovanni's face, showing all the answers the men present needed.

"I-I-I forgot. When the doctor explained to us the news, I wasn't in the best state of mind, we hadn't even told our daughter for concern over her reaction." he spoke, fear marking his features while being much more prevalent, causing all his other emotions to drown out.

"Remain calm." spoke Ben, his presence and calm being put to work as usual. It seemed that when his gray-colored pupils became his normal state, it added some kind of calming presence to go along with the normal tone of his voice.

Something he found interesting when he first noticed, and that he questioned ESAMAL on extensively.

-Effect. By. Balance.- it had responded at the time.

"Panicking now will do you no good. Since we have a rough solution, we will make use of it the best we can. At least, instead of despairing alone as you were earlier, we have a plan of action to follow. Let's enjoy the evening first from this good news, and maybe we can visit her together if you'd like." spoke Ben.

At his words, Zatara visibly began to deflate, as his emotions which have been a huge roller coaster seemed to finally take their toll on him, as exhaustion fully took over his features and seemed to settle there.

Ben learned thanks to constant and extensive experimentation that a rapid and fast-paced change in emotions can affect people in tiring ways, draining their energy and spirituality fairly quickly.

It's basically a form of mental drain but of the more dangerous kind.

It's possible for people to die if they feel too much of one emotion in an extreme manner, or too many of such extreme emotional changes in a short time.

While Zatara seemed to have finally gotten his bearings once again, he then picked up on something within Ben's words.

"Who is, 'we'?"

At this, both Ben and Batman looked at each other before they turned to look at Zatara, with a strange look actually crossing Ben's face for the first time in probably forever.

"Now that we know the situation, obviously we won't sit back. Although we don't know much about magic, strategy, command, and coordination is something we are highly skilled at. Since I gave you a plan, that shows that I've practically invested myself into this."

"Emotionally of course. That's how I am if my powers are a testament to anything." added Ben after another moment of thought.

"Also, if you don't have a trusted surgeon like mentioned earlier, I have extensive knowledge regarding the human body and disease that I retained completely during my studies."

Zatara seemed as if he was about to speak before Batman decided that was enough.

"We will be helping you. End of discussion." he spoke, before he began walking off, a ripple in the air going off behind him in what Ben determined to be the dome put up earlier.

'Cool.' he thought.

Turning to Zatara, he leaned in motioning him to do so as well before he whispered to him.

"You didn't hear it from me, but when you're usually paranoid about everyone and everything 24/7, you learn to cherish those few relationships you trust."

At Ben's words, he seemed surprised, before a gold-orange hue surrounded him in what was shock as he looked at Batman's retreating back, before being replaced with aquamarine, showing gratefulness at the implication of the Dark Knight's trust.

Nodding his head, Ben was prepared to follow his mentor before a thought crossed his mind, and his curiosity compelled him to ask his question.

"One more thing, is anyone able to learn magic, or are there some kind of requirements? Because I find myself interested in the prospect."

Zatara turned his gaze back to the boy who had given him many surprises in such a short time, before he seemed to think about something deeply, and nodded his head.

"Everyone is born with a talent to learn magic, yet it is more prevalent in some than others. You can have either little to no talent, or be an unknown genius. However, you would need a skilled magician to confirm such a thing for you, unless you somehow discover it yourself."

"I had already prepared a simple magical item as a gift for you today, but since you've helped me so much, I can look at your magical potential, before changing your gift, as embarrassing as it sounds, to something that may be more closely attuned to whatever affinity you may have."

Nodding his head at the explanation, Ben stood where he was as he motioned for Giovanni to go ahead.

"wohS em siht yob si lacigam laitnetop."

The second he finished his spell, his eyes seemed to have lit up with an ethereal glow, as he turned his attention to Ben…

Before promptly fainting to the ground a few seconds later as Ben caught him.

'... This seems familiar…'

He could hear the shocked exclamations and gasps that spread throughout his surroundings, the dome probably becoming undone due to its caster's state, when a few people began rushing over.

"What happened to him?" asked Green Arrow in confusion, with Black Canary, the unknown boy from earlier, and Robin right behind him.

Batman came back up a moment later, annoyance at having to return so soon shown in his emotions, helping Ben in steadying his friend's body better, before Superman and Wonder Woman came up as well. Everyone else seemed to crowd around while putting more space in between, clearly interested in the series of events.

One moment, everyone was pretending as if nothing was going on while keeping some of their attention on what seemed like a private conversation before Batman walked away and Zatara seemed to collapse after speaking a few more words with the birthday boy and attempting something.

Interesting didn't even begin to describe the process.

Ben, now the center of attention, didn't really know how to answer that question at first, before he came up with the perfect explanation.

"I tried having him check out my powers using magic, as I did with Martian Manhunter before with his telepathy, hoping for a different result. However, as you can see, no dice."

The Martian in question, sighed at that, giving some validation to his claims, calming some of the more tense people immediately.

Before any further questions or inquiries could make themselves known, Zatara seemed to stir slightly as he woke up, before examining his surroundings if the whirling of his head was anything to go by, before calming down and straightening himself up once again while nodding at Batman in thanks.

He then looked at Ben with a gaze that he couldn't quite describe before speaking to him in a voice filled with awe.

"Your potential for the mystic arts is absolutely incredible. I thought my daughter had the most potential before, but you have her beat by miles."

Surprise seemed to color the room at the magician's words, while intrigue colored Wonder Woman and the Martian, both being more magically informed than the people in the room.

'Muggles.' flashed the meme from Ben's last life in his mind at some of the more exaggerated faces some of the people present were making.

He noticed how some people in this world didn't believe in magic for some reason, a strange thing considering all the weird stuff that usually goes on in the world.

'I feel like a headache is awaiting me in the future.' Ben thought.

Batman just wanted answers.

"Explain."

Turning to his friend, he spoke. "The boy has a deep connection to some kind of plane or force. Planes or domains of the universe usually grant varying potentials in those connected to them in certain different areas of magic. An ice plane would mean a greater increase in ice magic, fire for fire, light for light, and more."

"This particular plane holds immense mystical potential that seems to be untapped, for ALL branches of magic, which seems absolutely impossible."

"Because of this, his overall talent has been elevated by a great amount."

"I first determined his default innate magical talent, which I measured to be around 4/6th's of Zatanna, which is impressive in its own right, with an affinity towards transmutation and alteration magic, before I noticed his connection to that plane and was promptly knocked out due to what I can only describe in words you'd understand as too much 'static' or overwhelming 'background noise'."

Surprise seemed to color the leaguers, as they glanced at each other, not sure what to say.

This seemed to have caught the attention of those not in the know, those being the plus ones, Robin, and Giovanni as well.

Confusion marred Black Canary's face as she questioned the League members, but mostly Green Arrow as Ben noticed, as the boy heard her voice for the first time.

"Is there something we're not understanding?"

The League members turned their gazes to the only Martian in the room, as he stepped up to assuage her and the other's doubts.

"When Batman had first taken Wildcard in, he had him tested for any strange DNA changes that could've resulted in his powers, which came back negative, and took him to meet me in order to conduct a test since it seemed to have been more mentally than physically inclined as they had both determined."

"I attempted to scan his mind to provide a clearer image of the situation, before shortly fainting in a similar manner to Mr. Zatara here."

"I also felt the same things he described at the time it occurred, noticing how there was too much 'noise' and 'feeling or impressions' preventing me from even touching his mind."

While those present took that new revelation into their thoughts, Ben seemed contemplative for a moment.

'These guys are so open with their secrets, and the secrets of others. I purposefully mentioned Manhunter because I wanted them off my case, yet here they are just sharing what's supposed to be private information with people I know nothing about. I need to fix this at some point.' he thought with slight annoyance.

He had nothing against sharing secrets with people, but it has to be in a more controlled manner somehow. Some of the people in this room aren't even part of the Justice League and have only been heroes for a bit.

"Do emotions or feelings affect magic in any way?" he eventually asked, turning his attention back to Giovanni.

Surprise colored the magician's face for a moment, yet he answered almost automatically.

"Yes, they do. I believe I mentioned it earlier but magic is like a muscle, and that can be taken in more ways than the examples I had given regarding energy and power formed over time."

"Just like how some people may react or run faster away from something when they are scared or perform better when playing a sport or during some form of exercise when angry or determined, magic can react the same way to our feelings."

"In a magician's case, if they cast a spell in extreme anger or determination and somehow succeed, it could be anywhere from minimally, to exponentially stronger than if performed during their normal state."

Hearing his words, Ben nodded his head, finding his answer easily enough.

"Then there you have it. My powers connect me in some way to the primordial and multiversal force known as the Emotional Spectrum. As such, I can feel all emotions around me, while so far being able to have total control over my own. It seems that any branch of power that involves emotions in some form, I may have an affinity for, which is as you put it, ALL of magic."

Although his hypothesis seemed like it came out of left field, they had nothing else to go on for the moment, and it made sense, so most of the people present just nodded their heads.

Giovanni and the two Green Lanterns present, however, were not most people.

Alarm, annoyance, and shock clearly came over them as they spoke simultaneously.

"That's impossible!/There's no way you're connected to the Emotional Spectrum!/A multiversal and primordial force!?"

The two Green Lanterns were the first to react to the fact that he was connected to the Emotional Spectrum, while Zatara's reaction was more extreme and focused on something else.

"If you're not lying to me, how are you not dead yet?" questioned Zatara, a grave expression crossing his face at the moment.

Although his face didn't change, Ben's pupils glowing amber orange showed his doubt and confusion. "I'm sorry…?"

"A multiversal force…" began Zatara "is exactly as its name suggests. A force that spans several universes. By several universes, I mean parallel universes and whatever else lies outside our own universe and those parallels as well."

"Imagine the energy produced in a single universe during the big bang, the time that scientists believe all energy present in the universe had gathered before being shaped."

"Your words tell me you are connected to a force that has the energy of that magnitude in almost infinite amounts, most likely at your fingertips."

"However, the most concerning part is if it's a primordial force as well. Usually, planes and domains of power are one or the other, but there can be exceptions. I'm not well versed on the subject."

"Primordial forces are what govern certain laws of reality, and are of a higher order than even multiversal forces since they existed since before even the beginning of creation."

"If you have a connection with this plane as you said, then it's impossible to me that your body hadn't exploded. When connecting to a plane, what basically occurs is that some of its energy enters and melds within you, and your energy does the same, forming the connection."

"Even if it's only a fraction of a fraction of energy, the human body cannot withstand such a thing, hence my point of you supposed to be dead."

A heavy silence settled on the surroundings as the people took in the true weight of the implications of Giovanni's words.

How did Wildcard survive such a thing?

"I also have a couple of questions myself." spoke up John Stewart.

"Since I received my ring a short while, I obviously don't understand everything, but even the Guardians database shows that they can't harness the entire Emotional Spectrum, only settling for the Green Light since it's 'most stable' as they documented."

"And yet you claim you do. Do you understand the weight of your words?" he asked in a heated manner.

Before any tension could even settle, Batman interrupted everyone.

"Enough. Too much information has been brought to light in what was supposed to be a day off. We are not prepared for further investigation or questioning at the moment. Hold off on the questions for now, and let us reconvene on this matter at a later time."

Although some people seemed disappointed with that, they agreed with his assessment as everyone began separating once again, with Green Arrow and his companions remaining along with Batman, Robin, Ben, and Mr. Zatara.

"We will discuss this later at your manor, along with the other subject, at extensive lengths." spoke Batman to Zatara, as they began walking away, leaving the remaining 5 alone together.

"Hey kid." eventually spoke up Green Arrow with a slightly strained smile. "I'd wish you a happy birthday and thank you for the help from before like I planned, but after all we just heard, it seems kinda strange."

In response to his words however Ben just waved them off normally. After dying and being reborn, you become desensitized to certain things. That's one of the reasons he felt he was becoming similar to the Joker at some point.

Whoever doesn't change in the wake of something like that and walks off normally is just insane in some way, and lost a piece of themselves.

However, his reminder of the clown got him thinking.

After his battle against Joker as he had constantly mentioned and brought attention to, he noticed that his pupils had changed from their usual black to a clear shade of gray, and stayed that way.

After returning to the mansion, he poured his time into meditation to converse with ESAMAL to try and figure out what was going on.

In the end, the answer he received would've sent any normal man into cold terrified sweat.

Not Ben of course, and he now knew why.

In the Emotional Spectrum, there are close ties to Death and Life formed in a way he still doesn't understand, with the color black representing death, emotionlessness, apathy, stagnation, and rational thought, emphasizing the mind over the heart.

Meanwhile, white represented life, empathy, and motion, emphasizing the heart over the mind.

Because of his death, when he was somehow transported here, the energy of his death lingered within him even though he was clearly alive when he arrived here, causing his emotions to seem so muted at the time.

Usually, the death energy would have clashed with his clearly living body's life energy, tormenting him to a slow and agonizing death as they clashed.

This would've also led to his emotions and feelings becoming distorted due to the large distance between both energies in the spectrum until he began seeking joy in death more than life while walking to his imminent demise.

Like he said several times, almost like the Joker.

However, the energy somehow began settling inside him as he had his metahuman gene awakened, connecting him to the Emotional Spectrum in some way, where the energies of Life and Death clearly exist together, even if on opposite ends.

Since he had already experienced death in his previous universe, and yet was still clearly alive upon waking up in this one, he managed to "trick" the universe into thinking he was both alive and dead in some way.

The reason for his pupils to have remained black most of the time unless they glowed with different colors in response to some of his feelings when he willed it, was his body expressing in an outward reaction the lingering death energy that was still being absorbed by him.

Apparently, when he had entered Mount Justice, the energies had finally fused together and settled in his body as one, leading to his pupils forever remaining gray in a normal state as they were right now.

His eyes would now glow more often due to the emotions he was feeling unless he tried to actively prevent it.

Which is good because it wouldn't do if he had his cover blown because of something like that happening out in public.

Thanks to the energies settling, his already inhuman mental abilities, received an almost immediate increase once again, pushing his current physical/martial prowess through training to inhuman levels, leaving even Batman stunned on more than one occasion over the past half a year.

Other than the calming aura his body seemed to emanate, he was also aware of people's emotions more so than before, further certifying ESAMAL's testimony of his state back then being a suppression of his own emotions, and his ability to feel others.

The answers he received when he questioned ESAMAL at the time, had him wondering if he could get answers on what exactly happened when he woke up in that landfill inside this universe, with his body aged by 3 years (or de-aged by 6 based on how you look at it).

Thankfully, ESAMAL has slowly begun to learn how to speak, absorbing more and more of Ben's personality and knowledge to form his own.

But, he still has some work to do if his broken sentences were any indication.

-Clearance. Low.-

So it was possible, but his connection wasn't strong enough to find out.

Pushing those thoughts out of his mind for now, Ben refocused on his current conversation.

Increased thought and calculation speeds, means that he was thinking all of that in less than a second.

Turning to Green Arrow, he responded. "You don't have to worry. The world is stranger than most people give it credit. We have people who can come back to life using magical pits, and immortals running around the world in more numbers than we can count."

"Me not dying to something that 'should' have done so doesn't seem so strange in comparison."

While the man seemed to ponder on those words, Ben turned his attention to the only lady present before putting his hand out for a shake.

"I do not believe we have been introduced. My name is Wildcard, it is nice to meet you."

She smiled at his words before accepting the goodwill and shaking his hand as well.

"Black Canary, but you can also call me Dinah."

"I have read up on you, you learned from Wildcat correct? I have heard many good things about him for a long time now and was thinking of visiting his gym, but I never got the time. His hero name partly inspired mine as well. How would you rate his skills?" Ben questioned.

He had heard Selina mention his name a couple of times when he had still been living with her, and she seemed to be appreciative of many things he had done for her.

Part of the reason she named herself Catwoman actually came from the guy as well, so he decided to take a text from her book and make use of the 'wild' aspect and not the 'cat'.

Later, when he was taken in with Bruce and constantly looked over his files, he actually properly learned more about the guy, and could only say that he was absolutely impressive.

To think his powers were him actually having nine lives.

Surprise crept up onto her face as she questioned him in return. "First off, how did you know about that?"

"Batman./Definitely from Batman." he replied at the same time as Green Arrow who finished his contemplation, both looking at each other for a moment, before the archer began chuckling while Ben's eyes glowed dark blue for a moment, showing how he found the situation humorous.

"Batman has files on everything and everyone. I read some of them to you when I was looking through them." Ben clarified.

All of a sudden, he could feel a stare at the back of his head, making him sweat inside his mind.

He didn't think the man would hear him from across the hall.

'God, I ask that you have mercy on my soul as well for I will be joining Dick in the torture of the flesh. Amen.' he thought solemnly to himself for a moment.

To be fair though, his father couldn't beat him much in spars anymore due to their physical difference and his skills.

But he has to go easy on his old man.

Coming back to the present, the second archer seemed to have noticed the change in his eyes and brought it to attention.

"I've been meaning to ask since earlier, but why do your eyes glow in different colors sometimes?" asked the redhead in curiosity.

Canary also leaned in, interested in hearing his answer.

Robin decided to interject at the time though.

"That would be due to his powers. As a consequence of his powers, he doesn't have the normal physical reaction associated with the change in emotions like others anymore."

"Instead, his eyes will light up a certain color to indicate that most of the time. Blue could mean anything between the more positive emotions like excitement, hope, and whatnot. Dark blue as it just lit up like now, however, could either represent joy, happiness or in this case, how he found the situation funny."

Surprise colored the three faces at that answer as they turned to stare at him, with a few people in the room inclining their heads in their direction as well.

They were also listening in at some point.

To all of this, Robin only just shrugged.

"Hey you get used to it, I figured it out with practice."

"Well, that is certainly…impressive." Canary eventually responded, the archers nodding in agreement to her words. "And to your earlier question Wildcard, I find Wildcat extremely skilled and understanding. I recommend you go to his gym if you get a chance. I learned a lot from him."

"I'll do just that, I just wanted another recommendation since I got to meet you." Ben responded readily.

"Anyways." spoke up Green Arrow. "I'd like to formally introduce you guys to meet my new protege, Speedy. Hopefully, you guys get to know each other better."

Speedy, for his part, looked embarrassed at his mentor's words, before schooling his expression and nodding in a polite manner to both other proteges. "Nice to meet you guys."

In response, Robin cocked his head in confusion. "That doesn't make sense. That sounds more like the kind of name you'd give someone if they were a sidekick of the Flash."

Laughter followed his words, as the company of 5 began discussing some topics that didn't go against the secret identities of those trying to keep them.

'Another thing to find a fix for in some way.' filed away Ben for later thought.

Time passed as the day began to wane away, with Ben going to and from the different groups and cliques that were formed with Robin and Speedy following along, the three of them getting along rather well.

Eventually, it came time to cut the cake, and when questioned if he would like to open the gifts then and there, he decided to hold off on those for later when he was in a more private setting.

In the end, although the day came with its fair share of surprises, with more questions than answers being revealed, it was still fairly fulfilling.

He never got to live like this back in his old world, with the monotony of the hospital room he constantly lay in, his hold on life being a constant struggle.

Being in control of your emotions means making sure you feel the full worth of absolutely everything that comes your way, even death.

'Never will I allow this to be taken from me.' Ben resolved to himself at the moment, his pupils glowing green in an intense manner.

If Batman noticed, he made no reaction to it, as he approached him after everything was cleaned up and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Let's go. Giovanni's waiting."

'Well, the day's not over yet.' he sighed to himself before nodding in response.

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BAM! Chapter done! We've now been introduced more to some of the Leaguers, with their stances on our boy being made known slightly more for some, and less for others.

I wanted our MC to play witness to some of the problems that plague the Justice League through the interactions that occurred in this birthday scene.

I'm telling you right now. Some of these guys just can't separate their hero life from their personal lives. Batman especially so!

I wanted to give you guys a bit of info into their personalities once again, while introducing our very first Young Justice character!

Well... second, but Robin doesn't count in my opinion.

Everyone give a hand to Speedy! (Pun intended.)

Also, I believe this chapter covers the previous context some viewers shed light on when questioning if our MC was adopted. For those of you not in the know yet, he's the biological son of Bruce Wayne, but that would draw way too much attention compared to him adopting him.

So, Batman strikes with his deadly skills while forging public records! He's legally adopted as everyone will now continue to believe until Ben or someone else mentions his heritage.

Seriously though. The man can accomplish anything with his stealth skills.

So many things that will be discussed or shown in later chapters have already been hinted at, and this just goes to show how there will never be a dull moment for our protagonist. Problem's will rear their heads in so many different ways.

That takes me to some of the concerns I was mentioning by some patrons and viewers.

Question #1: When will there be fights or combat?

Believe me I feel your action and beatdown cravings! It wouldn't be a DC fic if there wasn't some blood-boiling fistfights or superpowered slugfests being written.

Right now I've been focusing a little more on the slice of life elements that I mentioned, with hints at the later arc I have planned being dropped here or there.

I had planned for this to continue until Chapter 10 where you will be getting more and more action and fights until the first story arc around 5 chapters later, but I ended up on a writing spree and chapter 10 ended up becoming chapters 9 and 10 because of the more than 16k+ words I wrote.

I told you. Sometimes I feel like I can't write fast enough.

So, you're going to have a long wait for the action to commence unless you're on Patreon since they're only three chapters away from the action.

I hope I've written believable action scenarios actually...

Question #2: How are power levels looking? Will he become overpowered quick or be nerfed?

Let's be real. No one in DC can be considered weak unless you're considering the comedy relief like Kite-Man or Condiment King. Power Levels are relative, and I want to write a believable story where our MC will win when it's obvious, where he'll tie or win in questionable scenarios, or just outright lose cause of overwhelming odds being stacked against him.

He's already OP in a way, but he won't becoming strong unless I allow it. There won't be Superman levels of strength being displayed by him, but there's more to power than just hitting something hard or fast as some characters in fiction have shown (Name some of them for the less-informed nuts.). His powers, inventions, and skills will make up for it.

As for nerfs...

THERE WILL NOT BE A NERF! I HATE THEM SO MUCH!

As mentioned before, I'm of the opinion that being a competent author means proper pacing in events and gradual increasing or decreasing in intensity when it comes to those events.

I would rather drop the story and rewrite it if I somehow make him too overpowered than nerf him right after unless it's in a believable scenario.

DC writers were so uncreative in my opinion. They took one look at Golden-Age Superman, realized how overpowered they made him, then wrote the one issue where the random fortune teller found kryptonite as a jewel and weakened the strongest guy on Earth.

That was the first issue where kryptonite was introduced.

In order to mitigate the possibility of my MC getting too overpowered, I wrote a whole info dump chapter for chapter 9 explaining how his powers will work, how he will be growing, and what to expect from him in future scenarios. I'm counting on the fact that some people will probably curse me or drop the story when they see what I have in stored regarding his powerset and skills, but the hints towards the very first major change I made to the DC universe will be dropped there as well.

Question #3: I like the superhero name, but I want it to be something better. Will it be changed eventually?

Uh... Duh.

All I'm saying is that everyone grows in more examples than one.

The only example I'll give you is Robin becoming Nightwing after he decided he didn't want to take after Batman.

No more comments on this please. Change is a thing and comes in every form like names too. I think I've already explained how I don't want to stick to just one idea or fact.

Question #4: What is the canon looking like in the story? Will it be following Young Justice?

This is a really important question in my opinion, since this was the basis behind my story.

I LOVE Young Justice. I loved the idea of how you take the children or younger heroes and put them together on a team to grow alongside each other while their mentors whether the storm for them until they're ready.

I know Teen Titans came first and was the same idea, but I feel like Young Justice made them more mature and real compared to that.

Something about shaping a giant building like the letter T just didn't instill much confidence in me.

But even though this fic was born from my love for Young Justice, it just doesn't feel complete without elements from all of DC accompanying it.

As such, I moved forward with this fic with the intention of making it an Alternate Universe with themes of Young Justice and DC being altered to fit my narrative.

I started out with the Young Justice Timeline given by the producers, before adding onto it or changing somethings to better fit my later plot.

Some characters who were never mentioned or seen will make an appearance. Like Metallo who was never shown in Young Justice and I mentioned in Chapter 3.

Other characters will still make an appearance, but not always in the way you think. Maybe some birthdates will be changed up as well to make things more believable.

I planned for something like 50% Young Justice, 20% New Earth, 20% Prime Earth, and the last 10% are my own ideas, plots, or random snippets or things I take from other itineration's or universes.

All in all, this is a DC & Young Justice fic. Some elements from the Young Justice canon will be present in order for me not to run out of ideas or possible plot points, but I will be adding my own plot or changes as well.

I want to show these characters as real people, showing their sorrow, joys, rage, and every other form of emotion.

I will try to keep an attention to certain details, but once again I'm not perfect.

Those were the main questions I wanted to cover and I hope it allowed you to make a decision on whether or not you wished to continue alongside me with this story.

I thank you all so much for the support I've received in the last 2 weeks, and I ask for you to continue.

I love to see your comments, thoughts, ideas, funny memes, anything in general! It lightens my spirit and shows me the wonder that fills this community.

I know that the updates are slow, but I can't really do anything about it for the moment. I still don't feel like I have enough chapters in reserve for just in case.

My previous offer from last chapter still stands though. Whenever this book reaches 1.5k in power stones, I'll drop another chapter on here and on Patreon. I'm still thinking about whether or not I should add goals for extra chapters on here, and I've already come up with an initial plan for Patreon.

That's all I had to say on the story, so before I go I have three things to say.

First thing I ask is that you please leave more reviews cause we're real close to having the book rated and I want to see it soon! I want to witness the rise or fall of this book, and stay till the end!

I could've left a review myself, but it just wouldn't have felt authentic in my opinion since my opinion is obviously biased so I obstained for now. Maybe I'll write my own review later when it won't make much of a difference.

Second, drop your power stones and comment. Motivation is a thing, and I ask for more.

And lastly, if you're interested, join my Patreon and check me out on FF.net

There's so many different ways to support me, and they all mean a lot to me.

Thank you all!

patreon.com/Geo_Ruler