Chapter 7: Magic Time, Siblings?

Wow.

I have to admit, you guys are crazy.

And I mean that in the best sense possible.

There's so much to unpack here with this chapter being uploaded that I just have to let you guys know.

First off is the fact that with this 11k+ chapter, we've officially crossed the 50k word mark.

Take a moment to let that sink in.

For those of you who don't understand the significance of this, let me give you an example.

I'm sure most people have watched the movies or read the books involving the Maze Runner series, or at the very least heard of it.

The first book is a little more than 101k words. So we've just reached half of that with this post.

Your support has not ceased to amaze me throughout this week, with so many positive words or funny photos and videos just uplifting me and motivating me in so many different ways that I went on a writing spree.

I managed to write an additional 30k+ words alone this week during my admittedly short free time, fixing up the very first story arc which is basically completed and just needs the finishing touches on it.

I even managed to think up way more cool and exciting ideas for other novels that I'm thinking about doing a poll on Patreon for later. I'd like to at least make an outline of one and shelve it for later.

Also, for those of you who remember my author's note around chapter 3 about how it was going to be 3 parts...

It's now on part 6 right now, probably ending in part 7 or 8.

All of this was thanks to you guys. I put in so much more time researching DC lore and other things to make this story as entertaining, hopeful, action-packed, and soul-searching/searing deep as possible.

All that and more.

Believe me when I say that the greatest thing an author could have is an outgoing community that makes their voices heard and support or judgment clear.

This whole week, I've received nonstop comments, power stones, collections, and more.

It never stopped. Not once.

Even though I started this for my own self-satisfaction, the very reason I shared this story with you guys was to show my happiness at my ideas and learn through all of your thoughts and input.

So if we authors post our stories and ideas, now you know that we do it because we wish to see any kind of review, idea, comment...

And putting aside authors like myself and some others, there are some who just do this as a hobby and earn absolutely nothing physical or monetary in return.

So the single greatest thing you can do for an author is to please make your voices known because they matter to us, and they motivate us in ways that you wouldn't be able to tell unless you tried it yourself.

Anyways, I went on a rant cause of how incredible a moment this was to me.

I want to also thank you for your patience regarding the many... MANY mistakes I've made in previous chapters, with some I've completely failed to even notice.

I really want to go back and edit them, but I just don't have time to do that for now and need to continue asking for that patience.

Not to mention... I would be deleting so many wonderful comments in the process.

So, if you promise to comment on the chapters once again, I may change my mind about it.

Another amazing thing that happened was the number of Patrons I earned this week.

It came as a surprise to me to just randomly get a message in the middle of work about how someone donated and commented on my work.

So with a big heart, I want to give big thank you to @Ben, @King, @Hurl3z, @Gilgamos, @Crepusculum, @Nikolas, @vexinity, and @HC.

You guys are awesome, and I appreciate you.

Now, two more things before you get into today's chapter for those of you reading this.

I wasn't in the most levelheaded state last week, so I forgot to mention some of my thoughts or ideas clearly for the last chapter.

One person reminded me and asked which version of Sindella this was, and it should be obvious that I'm going for the comic one.

However, I imagine her looks to be that of the Earth-16 one still.

The comic look is distasteful in my opinion, and I feel that they did her dirty.

It was never really expanded on in the comics what the Medulla Jewel was, other than the fact that it was what powered The Hidden City.

I even kept going back into the stories/issues mentioned and looking through other sources to see if the "unknown and special energy" was properly identified.

If one of you knows if it was ever mentioned and could provide a citation or example, I'd appreciate it.

But it wouldn't change anything since I already changed it up and added it so that this "special energy" is a strange sort of spiritual energy, for purposes some of you may have already realized, or still will in later chapters.

And it's easy to label something as special. All I have to do is mention how small the number of people there are that use it, and how rare it is to be seen.

Now the last thing I wanted to let you know is that there will be a gradual time skip in the later chapters, up until the first story arc where there will be a one-year skip, where we'll eventually be stuck in 2009 for a while as I explore the repercussions or another angle of our MC.

Chapter 11 is where the action and plot will gradually pick up for the story, but until then we're still sticking to mostly slice of life.

DC deserves to be explored more.

I think that was it really, but I'll have another note at the bottom explaining some things about this chapter.

That's it for now, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Date: April 12, 2007

Location: Unknown, Somewhere Near/In Gotham, Shadowcrest Manor

Time: 4:28 P.M.

An explosion suddenly sounded as loud as thunder inside the magical manor, yet did not leave it's confines.

Inside the newly installed magical training room, Ben could be seen standing shirtless in front of a training dummy, sweat pouring down his body, yet he didn't seem to react to it.

Currently, his irises could be seen shining in a green light, as he pointed his hand towards the dummy standing some feet in front of him, before firing off a rotating similar color energy ball from his palm.

Another massive explosion managed to drown the room, the backdraft causing his short hair to blow backward before stabilizing once again.

Suddenly, his pupils turned a blazing red, as he charged at the perfectly intact training dummy, the ground turning into a crater in the wake of his speed, before railing a flurry of punches and kicks into the thing. Chip after chip of iron material, flying off it in a slow manner.

After a couple of minutes doing so, he suddenly jumped back, as his pupils once again changed color to a glowing blue and indigo, as he once again pointed his hands at the dummy, this time, causing all the damaged chips, and even the crushed arm, to slowly revert to its normal state.

Exhaling a calm breath, Ben proceeded to walk towards the side of the room where Zatanna and Giovanni could be seen waiting, having watched the entire spectacle.

Reaching out for the towel offered to him by Zatanna, he proceeded to wipe off his entire face, before thanking her.

"That was awesome!" She spoke with slight awe in her tone, her gaze secretly traveling over her study partner's body when she thought no one noticed.

Ben noticed of course, but he didn't care. He thought of it as just a childish crush that would go away after some time. She was too young anyways, and he was sure Giovanni would kill anyone who had any thoughts for his baby girl.

He'd probably join him in that kind of action though. He's come to see the girl as the younger sister he never had, as he did with Dick when he decided to treat him like his actual younger brother.

Maybe it was the only child in him talking, but when he was left alone to his thoughts on the hospital bed in his last universe, he always wondered what it would be like if he had siblings, older and younger.

He managed to get a taste of it in this life, and he loved it.

"Remind me again why you are trying out the maximum power possible when using these spells?" questioned Zatanna, the image of the destroyed training ground a few minutes ago flashing through her mind.

"Don't get me wrong." spoke Ben, as he took a swig of his water bottle while sitting on a bench, Zatanna and Giovanni standing in front of him.

"The spells are extremely helpful with normal use thanks to their versatility, leading me to believe they have great potential in turning around almost any situation given how they are adjusted for combat and certain criteria are met. However, there are also situations that require a little more force, as distasteful as I find it."

"Plus, this also helps me better understand how my self-emotion manipulation powers synergize with each spell, granting me better control in some ways for how I increase or decrease the intensity in certain amounts."

Enlightened at his answer, Zatanna nodded her head, clearly impressed with his thought process.

'As usual.' She thought. 'He's a machine when training or studying.'

That's just one of the things she's come to notice in the few months he's come over to learn magic with her under the tutelage of her father, and now her mother sometimes as well.

All thanks to the help and advice he provided for her mother during their conversation a few months ago.

'Or as he likes to constantly remind accurately when mentioned, 2 months, 13 days, and whatever hours, minutes, and seconds it is right now.' she sighed inside her head.

"Another reason for me seeing their full force is to better categorize their power, utility, time taken to be prepared, and all other aspects, in order to determine which ones are better recorded in the Traveler's Guide."

'Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that either.' thought Zatanna in surprise.

The Traveler's Guide is an ancient artifact in the form of a book able to record spells and mystic codes beforehand to be used at a later date almost instantly.

It's one of the few magical items kept inside the Zatara family artifact, vault, and treasure room all in one. It was found buried together with an Egyptian mummy inside a sarcophagus when opened up inside a museum in Los Angeles.

After the conversation they had where Ben explained how her mother was unconsciously telling herself that dying would be better for her family, Ben continued to go on speaking about how he is willing to make time to work with her, and Zatanna herself, to take control of their spiritual energy, so that instead of risking killing themselves without knowing, they can become better in tune with their 'supreme selves' as he had explained, and "move forward instead of backward".

A few more minutes after that, when the two families were making some small talk, and exploring more about Ben's powers together, Giovanni remembered his promise to give him an artifact better attuned to his magical affinity.

As such, the two families made a trip to the room where they were in for an extremely strange surprise upon their arrival.

After Giovanni had opened the room, Ben was the last one to enter as he was lagging behind the group, taking in the sights of their walls and the items lining the shelves and tables.

Almost instantly, a little more than half of the artifacts inside the room started reacting to his presence, as they began shaking in place, as if trying to move to his hands. Some began screeching, and actually talking and calling out for him to pick them up.

Zatanna didn't even know half those artifacts could talk until then. Needless to say, everyone was instantly on edge when that happened, Batman even automatically pulled out some batarangs on defense with Robin nearly doing the same.

Ben's eyes had scanned the room at the time before his eyes began flashing different colors until all the items were silenced one by one.

When he explained what happened to them, she found it extremely fascinating, making her want to study it in more detail.

"All of these items seemed to be tuned to different types of emotional frequencies, meaning they are suited for different types of people as well. I don't know what this item does…" he pointed at the Staff of Skulls "...but it seems to react better to the negative types of emotions such as anger, hate, greed, desire, and more."

After his explanation, and when everyone had calmed down, Giovanni began explaining the magical artifacts and their uses, to allow him to decide for himself what he wanted since all these items were technically in "perfect" sync with him.

Eventually, he had come across the Traveler's Guide, a sort of ancient magical artifact that seemed to be a failed attempt at the creation of a Grimoire, yet still ended up being a success in a surprising way.

While Grimoires store magic spells for faster casting while lowering the amount of energy used, they are also set in the amount of room that can be made to store said spells by the number of pages set up in the book, and when filled up, no more spells can be added.

But the Traveler's Guide did not have such a function. In fact, it can technically store an unlimited amount of spells if used correctly. The way it works though is the problem.

In order to record a spell, you must put more than the required magic power inside a page first, before inscribing the spell into it and ripping the page out to be used later.

The page will regrow after some time but is blank once again. Meaning, you can't use the same spell until it is once again inscribed into the page.

Although most magicians found such a feature worthless and not worth attention, Ben's eyes expressed how he seemed to have found a goldmine when he heard the explanation.

Even though his eyes didn't change much, she was easily able to tell for some reason.

"I don't care about having to 'restock' those pages, I'm not that lazy. It is the perfect training wheel as well in a way." he had said when it was first explained the functions and uses, as he got hooked on it.

"You said earlier that the amount of magical energy can grow through constant training, spell use, and age. So, ignoring the age part, with this, all I need to do is first master a spell, before consistently recording it in this book to empty my magical energy, allowing it to grow more later."

If the explanation he had given minutes earlier when he was explaining the true problem with her mother wasn't brilliant enough for her at the time, then this was the true first instance she came to witness his strategic and insightful mind.

He always seemed to be looking into the future in some way.

"The only problem I find with it is that it's in the form of a book. Is there no way to change it into something more utilizable? Carrying a book into battle, or ripping pages off it and using it later in a fight would never work in my opinion. It will be a hindrance to my close combat capabilities." he had said, his eyes shining in a light orange hue in which she now knows to have indicated his reluctance.

Even though he really wanted it, he refused to accept it just for its usefulness, taking into account if it would be practical in battle, as he intended to use it more often in the field than just for practice.

Once again, looking into the future before making a decision.

Thankfully for him, her father had explained to him how it could indeed change forms once bound to him, but it had to be a form that was relative to its mass, and capable of recording and releasing the spells in some way.

Immediately, he picked it up before dripping blood on it as instructed earlier by her mother when explaining what to do when he found his chosen artifact, not even hesitating in the slightest or questioning Giovanni's explanation.

"After everything so far, I have come to trust you in an initial manner so far. Though don't tell Batman, he'll give me a lecture on vigilance later otherwise." he had whispered in her father's ears in response to his surprise, with her being right next to him as well allowing her to eavesdrop.

She had laughed out loud when Bruce had turned in their direction, clearly having heard them as well somehow, but not commenting.

And, if the use of their names wasn't enough indication until now, or the fact that she and her father were seeing him train without any form of protection for his identity, it should be obvious that they told them their secret identities as he had hinted at earlier.

Apparently, he explained to them almost two weeks later that he had extensively tested the rules of the contract with ESAMAL, and that they had gone to Martian Manhunter to attempt to read Bruce and Dick's minds, seeing if he could identify them.

He couldn't of course.

Since then, they tested many more methods, noticing how they wouldn't come up on cameras should they be unmasked by accident, their faces blurred somehow, and how they couldn't even speak their names in any form of unintended manner, both coerced or by accident, when wearing their suits.

As such, Ben came to the residence alone around a week later, before formally introducing himself to them to their utmost shock.

"You were extremely forthcoming with us, and I thank you for that. However, I did not wish to go against my father's wishes, even if I do not agree with some of them."

"As such, I can only compromise by finding a safer way to do so, hence the contract. I wish this relationship between families to remain in the future, so honesty is important. I do not believe it to be fair for us to know the real you, and you, not the real us." he had explained calmly when he took off his helmet, before politely asking if her father and mother were willing to help him learn more about magic to fulfill his potential.

They were more than moved by his gesture, before readily agreeing.

Though, Zatanna could tell they were already hooked with him since he had come the day after their conversation first, not even bothering to waste time before taking her and her mother to begin immediate training to understand more about the Medulla Jewel, and their unique spiritual energy.

It made them feel respected, cared for, and not inconsequential.

Since then, for the past few months, he could be seen visiting the manor on his free days, training and studying with her father whenever possible. If her father wasn't available, he would go to her mother and train with her, requesting advice for his magical studies, and checking on her as well.

Zatanna had found his attitude and work ethic to be infectious, so she tried joining him in gusto.

Not noticing her changed attitude, Giovanni accepted, believing that she would only be serious for a few weeks, before changing her tune once again and taking an 'extended' break.

Ben, however, took one look at her emotions, before helping her with whatever she needed.

And she appreciated that a lot, growing to love it a little as well. She would never admit it though.

He noticed how she wanted to take things seriously and tried to make studying and training more fun and understandable, to keep her drive going.

He even explained all of this fully to her as well, trying to allow her to follow along his thought process, and engage her critical thinking.

"I notice the drive for self-improvement easily enough." his voice echoed in her head as she reminisced about when she had spoken to him before.

"Some will, hope, excitement, plus a hint of dutifulness and curiosity are usually the emotional telltale signs to my senses. However, I noticed the look in your eyes first."

"I now know it can be hard at first to put in the work, as I never suffered from such a thing due to my… different circumstances."

"I only first realized the difference between myself and others through Dick, and attempted to readjust things accordingly in order for him to feel and understand my reasons for training on his own, allowing him to explore and recognize his own growing excitement and improvement, pushing for himself and his own expectations, and not those of others."

Afterward, he pushed forward in subjects with her slowly, lowering his pacing to match hers and help her. He even helped her with any schoolwork she had trouble with.

Sometimes, she caught him reading on ahead for more advanced subjects when he probably thought she wasn't paying attention to him, but he promptly seemed to have decided something, as he lowered his pace for her sake again and again. She felt bad for holding him back, and he seemed to notice that, as he assured her that it was ok.

"I know absolutely nothing of magic. I need a good foundation just like everything else before I can attempt to do anything higher leveled. But, I don't know what is to be expected of regular magicians. Learning with you and lowering my pace is helpful to me in that sense, as you are most likely more knowledgeable on that front with how you have known of magic for your whole life."

"I have a deep thirst for knowledge though, and cannot easily curb my wish to read any theoretical knowledge ahead of time. However, I will continue to do as such due to how hard it can be to learn something alone sometimes."

"Studying alone is hard, even for me at times, and I do not wish for your burst of enthusiasm to wane or burn out. So for now, I will attempt to continue with you at your pace."

Since then, she finally admitted to herself that she grew a crush on him.

She ended up stressing to him how it was ok for him to read ahead, as she knows he still has her best interests at heart. It took her a while to assure him that she would no longer be upset that he followed her pace, but that he shouldn't completely do so as that would be limiting himself.

Now, all of his hard work and study was proven today with the spells he had shown in the training ground, being close to perfection in execution and energy usage, two of the many main criteria when it comes to how one can tell if a spell is close to mastery.

The training ground was a new addition Ben attempted to add himself with permission from her parents when they first accepted tutoring him in magic, his father Bruce helping out with some more high-tech equipment, and her dad joined in as well to make it safer for magical shenanigans.

She still found that crazy though. To think he was the biological son of THE Bruce Wayne, a multi-billion dollar celebrity and one of the most famous people in the world.

Coming back into focus, she witnessed her father and Ben talking at length about something, before Ben reached for a necklace in the shape of a deck that she never noticed before, as the chain seemed to disappear with the deck enlarging in size.

"The Traveler's Guide. I now see why you asked if it could change forms, but you never told us what form you decided on." spoke Giovanni.

"Yeah. Why cards?" Zatanna questioned.

"It should be obvious by now, I have a fascination with cards, and even use them as my weapon of choice, like Bruce with his bat-themed persona and his main weapon of choice, batarangs, and Dick his birdarangs and bird-themed persona."

"What exactly makes you like them so much though?" she asked, curiosity on her face.

"That's where my name comes in. All cards can be considered a wildcard in a way. When playing a card game, you can either change a situation slowly in your favor one card at a time, or flip the entire table with just one."

"I feel that life is random and has an infinite amount of unknown results, just like every card game."

"So, I should make it more random, but on my terms and in a better way I can anticipate and understand. That's what you call adaptability, the greatest ability of humanity." he explained lightly, his eyes remaining the same gray as usual, calmness emanating from the fact that he believed his words so strongly, other emotions would get affect the way they were delivered.

His eyes could sometimes change the way his words or actions were interpreted by others.

Eyes she found pretty, as she turned her face away from him.

She was definitely not blushing.

Giovanni for his part, didn't notice as he nodded his head, before speaking up.

"Well, your training has produced incredible results in such a small amount of time. I understand and notice your magical theory to be above most magicians, slightly below mine and Sindella's even. However, I question if the few spells you've shown so far is all that you have mastered?"

"Of course not." responded Ben straightaway. "I don't mind showing them to you, but I like to keep them as my trump cards. The less people that know about them, the less they can prepare for them."

Nodding his head at that, Giovanni just shook his head. "No, that's fine, I do not need to see them. Even if you don't need them, memorizing spells helps magicians better prepare in a certain sense as well. I was only worried that you ignored this point since you seem so prepared."

"Thank you." said Ben with a nod of his head.

"Of course. So, is there any other reason for you coming to the training grounds today?" asked Giovanni.

"Yes actually. I read about familiars and found the concept of a companion interesting and wished to know more."

"I found an old summoning ritual that was extremely dusty and practically ancient in the back of your library. I want to try it out today after the extensive study I've done and wished to use the training room just in case. Is there anything you can tell me about them before I do so?"

Zatanna was surprised at his words, while Giovanni seemed contemplative for a moment.

"Do you have the book with you? I would like to see it first."

Nodding his head at that, Ben waved his hand, a book popping up into thin air before plopping down into his waiting hands.

"Here." he said as he handed it to Giovanni.

One of the first few spells he learned was a kind of space pocket spell. It's a spell that actively drains a certain amount of his power to keep an invisible tear in space open, allowing him to store objects and other items at a certain size, before being able to take them out whenever he wants.

Over time, the space can grow if he continues to feed his magic into the spell, but always at an even rate. For example, right now, the size he started around is 4x4x4 square feet, meaning any one larger item trying to be stored would be pushing it.

As Giovanni started skimming over the book, Zatanna finally managed to calm down as she questioned him.

"So, any reason why you became interested in familiars? You seemed more interested before with runes, transmutation magic, sympathetic magic, mental magic, and soul magic instead."

Tilting his head at her question, Ben's eyes lit up in both light blue and ivory, informing Zatanna of his excitement and curiosity.

"It's not an extremely well-thought reason this time like you're thinking. I was just thinking about pets and how some can be considered man's best friends when I thought of familiars and thought to have one."

Well, he was still allowed to act like his age once in a while. Pets are wonderful.

"The spell in the book basically uses your blood as a medium to determine everything about you, physically and spiritually, before sending a pulse throughout the universe, sending a signal to politely summon a familiar that can best match you."

"I mean think about it. Instead of getting any old dog, cat, goldfish, parrot, or turtle, I can possibly form a pact with a being that by mystical terms can be considered my true equal that will best fit beside me in any way."

Zatanna's eyes practically brightened at his words, her eyes glowing in approval at his idea, as she began to get excited as well.

"That actually sounds amazing! I never thought of it like that, and if the book was as hidden as you said, I probably never would have. Do you think I can get a shot for the ritual as well when you're done?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course. It's your book. But, let's see if it's safe first though when I try it. You can never be too careful. I didn't see any of the magical warning signs that we went over 2 weeks ago, but better to be safe than sorry. That's why I asked your father first."

As he finished speaking, Giovanni looked up from whatever page he was on, before nodding his head.

"Yes, you're correct in your worries. However, from what I have read there is no need for such caution in this matter. I do not ever remember this book ever being in our possession though, which is strange in my opinion." he said as he closed the book and handed it back to Ben.

"Well, you have many books. It's not strange to forget one or two of them."

"You'd normally be correct, but this is the only book I've ever held that holds some form of magical spell or ritual regarding familiars in some way. I believed my memory to be better than that." the man pondered.

"Although, you are probably right. I may just be thinking too much."

Ben became thoughtful for a moment. That sent warnings down his spines. He thought about not going through with the ritual for a moment before he shook his head. "Are you paying attention to who you're speaking to? Paranoid is my last name. I will check it out after I carry out this ritual."

His reasoning for continuing was simple. If someone did manage to put that book in the Zatara's library without anyone noticing, then the next question would be why?

You're powerful enough to get inside one of the most magically protected places on the planet, and you choose to leave a book without any sort of trap left inside of it for the owners to find?

Why not just barge in and kill them?

Somehow, Ben didn't think someone was bored enough to do something like that, so something else must be at play.

Getting up, Ben proceeded to the center of the training room, a piece of chalk appearing in his hand, as he leaned down and began drawing a circle.

Usually, most spells do not require any form of patterned and physical forms, runes, or symbols.

In the case of rituals though, you most always or definitely do.

After drawing the required shapes as described by the book, Ben stood up out of the way, before looking back and forth before the image inside the book and his handiwork, nodding in satisfaction.

Moving to the middle of the ritual site, but careful not to mess anything up, Ben sat in the center circle, before he began speaking in a voice that seemed filled with power.

"In accordance with the will of the 'Spirit of Magic', I invite upon my name a familiar willing to contract with me."

"In accordance with the will of the 'Spirit of Magic', I invite upon my name a familiar willing to contract with me."

"In accordance with the will of the 'Spirit of Magic', I invite upon my name a familiar willing to contract with me."

Slowly, as Ben repeated the incantation, his voice seemed to be increasing in intensity and speed, a brightly gray-colored glow forming over him in the sights of Giovanni and Zatanna spectating from the edge of the room.

The wind suddenly began to pick up inside the training room, an aurora descending upon the top of everyone's heads inside the room like once before a few months ago when they made a contract in the living room.

Suddenly, however, half the gray light seemed to have disappeared.

Noticing this, the father and daughter began to closely examine what was happening and tried to analyze everything properly.

"What happened?" questioned Zatanna. "Half the lights disappeared. Is that good or bad?"

"No, you are mistaken." spoke Giovanni in response.

Understanding was donned on his face after a couple more seconds of confirmation. "It didn't disappear, you can still see the magical ripples in the air still churning around the same area. It only turned colorless, or camouflaged."

As soon as he finished speaking, all supernatural phenomena seemed to have disappeared, calm being restored to the surroundings, as a giant being suddenly emerged inside the room, taking up half the space of the entire training area, similar in size to one of the biggest monster trucks you can see on the planet.

The first thing that stood out was the three heads attached to its neck, all shaped in the form of dogs.

Then, came the sight of the tail swinging in the back of its body, but in the shape of a snake's body and ending in a head.

Its whole body was colored black, with deep red-like veins crawling along its body randomly, as if lava was flowing through it.

A gasp came out of Zatanna's mouth as she and her father ran to meet up with Ben, the sight taking her breath away.

"Is that…?"

"A Cerberus." answered Ben, his pupils lighting up an amber orange. The center head leaned down towards their direction and began sniffing him, before whining happily as it began to nudge his body.

"What's wrong?" asked Giovanni, noticing his confusion. "Are you not happy with the creature you've summoned?."

Ben began looking around the room as he patted its head, some emotion lingering in his eyes. His eyes weren't meant to show his confusion this time, but doubt.

"The thing is, I don't think the Cerberus was the only thing that entered."

Giovanni became serious as he surveyed the room, questioning what was going on.

Zatanna also inched closer to Ben,his presence making her feel safer, as she carefully scrutinized the room, her sight going to the giant three-headed dog once or twice due to its massive frame tugging for her attention.

"What makes you so doubtful, but also know there is something here?" asked Zatanna, having a good idea of his powers during their time spent together.

"The emotions of this big guy and ourselves were like normal moments ago, but they suddenly began distorting in my senses, as if they were close yet far away. It's mainy confusing my sense of location and spatial awareness. So, I can tell you there are 5 sentient beings in this room without a doubt, but I can't tell you where unless I see them physically at the moment."

Suddenly, a weight seemed to appear on Ben's head as he moved his hand there quickly in reflex.

Bringing his hands back down, he was confused. Noticing movement out of the corner of her eyes in Ben's direction, Zatanna turned to face him.

Only to squeal in delight, causing Giovanni to startle in return, as he turned in her direction as well only to be dumbfounded.

"It's so cute!" said Zatanna. "Can we keep it? What species is this, I've never heard of it."

Squinting his eyes, Ben noticed that its mouth curved up at Zatanna's words, forming what seemed like a smile.

"Seems that 'it' can understand us." he spoke up after observing this.

The 'it' in question, was a small rabbit-looking creature around the size of his head, with two deer-like antlers standing tall and proud in front of its ears on the top of its head.

It had hooves for feet, its lower body's form and shape resembling more of an antelope or deer than a rabbit.

Its eyes held an intelligence like that of a human as it nodded its head at Ben's words, showing that it understood them.

"Hmm… I can't recognize this manner of magical creature. Is this ritual not supposed to grant a familiar that can compliment your entire being, both spiritual and physical?" asked Giovanni, confused about the situation.

"Well to be fair, the book never said more than one familiar couldn't be summoned, but it was heavily implied in all the books I've read that only one familiar can only be bound to a person no?" questioned Ben, his amber-orange eyes actually reflecting confusion this time.

"You are correct, I've never seen a magician with more than one familiar, so this is a new experience for me." Giovanni affirmed.

"I believe a Cerberus makes perfect sense for me as it is a creature that both symbolizes and represents balance, loyalty, power, faithfulness, and integrity." said Ben after a moment of thought.

"So, the question remains, what creature is this and what does it symbolize and/or represent?"

Not able to answer their questions right away, Ben decided to first complete the final step of the ritual.

"Well, I'm going to finish the ritual first. Probably best if you guys clear out for a bit."

Nodding their heads, the duo of father and daughter stepped away from him, as he turned his attention to both creatures.

"Would you both be willing to form a familiar contract with me, as equals and not master and servant?" asked Ben.

The bigger one of the two seemed to be confused, seemingly not understanding what he was saying, while the smaller of the two nodded its head happily, able to understand him perfectly apparently.

Turning to the hellhound, Ben took out a card from the "deck" of saved spells from the Traveler's Guide, before it burned in his hand, as he focused on the creature in front of him mentally now, trying to convey his sincerity and emotions to it in a way that would make sense.

He prayed for the day he could do such an action without the aid of magic.

It seemed to have worked, as the three-headed dog began nodding in an understanding and happy manner, barking loudly altogether suddenly as well, causing everyone in the room to cover their ears at the noise.

"Very well, then I hereby declare to you that henceforth, you are my partners and family with the 'Spirit of Magic' and the 'Emotional Spectrum' as witness."

The second he finished speaking, a knife appeared in his hand as he slit his thumb once again, causing blood to float in front of him, before forming into two separate balls that swiftly changed to becoming gray and colorless, and shot into the two creature's bodies.

The reason Ben included the ES as a witness is because he read that by doing so, you sometimes give chances to the creatures to evolve or improve in a beneficial manner that connects to the plane in some way. If the plane master himself approves, then it is a done guarantee.

Obviously, he had ESAMAL on hand to help him with that.

'ESAMAL, you're up buddy.'

-I understand. Sharing certain spectrums of emotional powers now.-

ESAMAL also came a long way in the last 2 months, capable of speaking properly now, and actually holding a conversation in Ben's head.

Before, Ben had to 'physically' peruse the library of information he can access inside his mind as if he was using a mouse cursor on a computer window. Except, the screen for the window is massive, while the mouse cursor is almost nonexistent. As such, it was easy to miss information.

Now, however, ESAMAL can easily find the information he needs, before physically relaying it to him verbally, or slowly feeding it to his mind over time.

Suddenly, red-colored light representing the power of anger began being tunneled into the Cerberus, as it began to seem agitated in some way. Thankfully it stayed in place, appearing to force itself to calm down.

As for the second little guy, it began being drowned in an ivory light, which made sense to Ben as it seemed to be curious by nature to him.

After a few seconds, the lights began to die down, with no outward visible change being shown on the two of them.

Ben wasn't disappointed as he wasn't counting on that much in the first place. He was content with having given them a change anyways.

And who knows, maybe something could've changed and it wouldn't be outward in appearance.

"I now name you to be Brutus." said Ben as he looked at the massive dog, before turning his attention to his second guest.

He was honestly surprised he managed to contract him as well. He was confused on what name would best fit, but he seemed to have a strange epiphany as he spoke as if on reflex.

"And I now name you Wyle."

Immediately, it was as if a missing puzzle piece seemed to click into place, as he could feel the two's presence and understand them easily.

Information began to stream through his mind as he learned more about his new friends and their capabilities.

Turning his attention to the approaching trio, Sindella seeming to have joined them at some point, Ben's pupils lit up with a dark blue and aquamarine glow.

"So?" asked Zatanna with a smile on her face.

"Well, I figured out what type of creature Wyle is." spoke Ben, his eyes being all the tell they needed to understand his state of mind.

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

Date: April 12, 2007

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

Time: 5:46 P.M

Currently, Ben could be seen inside the manor relaxing in the couch inside the living room, with Dick sitting across from him, curiously looking at the normal looking black Doberman sleeping at his brother's feet and the harlequin rabbit sitting up on his lap.

The rabbit was looking back at him in the exact same manner.

"So, I understand what a Cerberus is. I only thought there was one. But, what's a Jackalope?"

After summoning these two guys, Ben had decided to leave them in the care of the Zatara's for a while due to the fact that he wasn't as prepared to take them in as he first thought.

How could he fit a giant as massive as Brutus into his home? Not to mention how much attention they would draw.

Thankfully, the two seemed to have learned a way to shapeshift themselves after a few weeks, able to change their size and forms.

And it was good timing too. During the time they spent there, research was done to figure out what kind of creature Wyle was. The constant pranks that occurred were a telling sign, along with the reason he finally decided to introduce them to the rest of his family in the manor.

"Well first off, the reason there isn't only one Cerberus is because the one guarding Tartarus is definitely not the original, but one born from an ancient breed of a similar creature and evolved in a different direction. Since it happened once, it can happen again, so there are definitely more than one out there in the world hidden and not in a manner that is involved with Hades, Zeus, or Olympians in general."

"As for this guy, that's where things become interesting in my opinion."

"Jackalopes are a cross between a rabbit, deer, and an antelope."

"From what I've just recently learned, Jackalopes are extremely rare creatures and not well known as they are secretive beings and pranksters by nature."

"Secretiveness is one of the things they symbolize among others including trickery, contemplativeness, falsehood, intelligence, cunning, patience, and personal growth."

"I understand how all of these things can relate to me on a deeper level, maybe even more than Brutus. As such, I felt that maybe Wyle was summoned first, but I didn't notice him due to Brutus, and he wished to greet me with a signature 'prank'."

"Wait, you're telling me that secretiveness and falsehood don't worry you at all?" questioned Dick in surprise.

Ben just sighed at that as he looked at Dick calmly. "Of course not. I keep secrets just like anyone else does Dick."

"But not from us right? Me and Bruce? Me?" he questioned incessantly.

"Did my earlier words not make sense? Of course, I keep some even from you and Bruce. While not dangerous in nature to anyone but myself, I'm just not comfortable telling you guys now since it would only make things strange and you'd overreact."

"Then we can get it out of the way now." spoke a gruff voice to the entryway at the left of Ben, as he and Dick turned to see Bruce entering the room with Alfred following behind him.

He had just returned from a party hosted by himself, used to keep his identity held up and focus the public's attention on Bruce Wayne and not Batman.

He took a glance at the rabbit and dog in the house but decided to ask more about them later.

"To be fair Master Ben, you always admonish Master Bruce from hiding certain things from you, so it wouldn't be fair if we didn't do the same."

"In fact, weren't you the one who said not to hide something from you a couple of months back?" Dick joked.

'Damn his increasingly good memory.' Ben thought, reminded about how he threatened the kid with training alongside him if he pulled a stunt like Sindella.

He didn't want to be a hypocrite, yet he was still torn.

Silence settled for a few moments, as Ben's face remained as calm as always. However, to the bewilderment of the other three occupants of the room, Ben seemed to be struggling with something as his irises changed colors swiftly and erratically.

Being startled was the least of their reactions. They were worried as Ben had never acted this way before, showing how he found this to be extremely important.

Finally, he seemed to settle onto some sort of decision as he sighed, and turned his attention to everyone noticing their worries.

"Fine, I haven't been honest with father since we first met, and I guess that includes you two as well up to now."

"You see, when you first found me at Selina's place and questioned me on what happened later on, I lied about not remembering everything." Ben spoke, mainly addressing Bruce.

"Why? Would it have been important in finding out more about you, or were you worried it was something tragic or harmful in some way?" questioned Bruce, calm settling into his features once again.

However, Ben shook his head at that. "No, it's not what you are thinking. I still don't remember everything about my life from before I arrived here. But I remembered something important and scary…"

"Hey, we fight 'scary' on a daily basis. You probably have nothing to worry about." spoke up Dick trying to placate him.

"Well, this is the kind of scary that comes for everyone, yet makes no sense in the current sense."

"You see… I died." he spoke calmly, his pupils flashing back to their previous black from a year ago, the mere mention of the word bringing out his apathy and filling him with coldness.

The expected reaction didn't appear. Everyone was confused as to what he meant, with Dick questioning him.

"Sorry. You mean dying as if you were dead for a few minutes before being resuscitated or something like that, right?"

"No, I mean I truly died. I don't even know how I am alive right now."

Shock and horror covered Dick's face as understood the weight of his brother's words, the same shock crossing Alfred's face before sadness settled in as well, as he moved forward and placed a hand on his young master's shoulder.

Bruce actually recoiled at that explanation, before correcting himself right away.

"And you hid this from us… why?" asked Bruce slowly.

"Didn't I already mention why? Did your reactions not tell you? I remember my name being Benjamin David, now known as Benjamin David Wayne, but I don't even know if I am the same person."

"Memories and experiences dictate who a person is, but I have none from my life here. Even if I constantly remind myself, how can I truly convince myself that I am who I say I am? How can I without sounding deranged like some of the people we fight? Without worrying my family in the process?"

"I remember vividly dying in that hospital bed, the spark of life draining from my body breath by breath, every agonizing heartbeat, the sensation of every individual organ giving out, only to somehow wake up in that landfill. I had assumed the hospital to have dumped me there, but I now know that not to be the case."

"You had asked me when you returned why my eye color changed from the previous black to gray and settled and I deflected your answers because of the truth I found out."

"The color black represents the lingering death energy within my body, which instead of inflicting upon me a slow and agonizing end, somehow began to harmonize with my life energy, leading the universe to believe me to be both alive and dead in some way."

"I don't even know if I'm still human anymore. My pupils turning gray was the change signifying the merging process to be complete."

"Although I don't care for such things, how can I know whether or not you care for such things except tell you and find out? But again, I'm not yet comfortable with telling you."

"Even though you were correct in the fact that you deserve to know the truth as my family, not having to worry about me, I still hesitate in the face of such a horrifying truth."

Silence once again settled into the room, as guilt began appearing in Robin's body as light red in Ben's senses for his insistence on an answer.

Bruce suddenly stood up, as he came to him, and knelt down and hugged him tightly. Brutus growled at the guy for suddenly stepping over him before trying to go back to sleep. Wyle, realizing Bruce's actions ahead of time, jumped away from Ben's lap, his hooves clanking on the ground as he went to lay next to his fellow familiar.

"I will never think any less of you for such thoughts. Perhaps you don't have the memories associated with the Benjamin David Wayne of back then, but you do for the one who is here now. The one who is my son who I've grown to love and of whom I am proud of."

"Forget the 'you' that can't be remembered for now. The actions of the person you are now is what defines you, just as much as your past ones would have as well. And since they don't exist for the moment, then they don't matter for the moment either."

A smile appeared on Alfred's face as he nodded his head. "I couldn't have said it better myself, Master Bruce."

Dick jumped off the couch, before going to hug both of them as well, and Alfred joined in after another moment.

"I thank you then. It is moments like these where I feel loved and appreciate becoming a part of this family." spoke Ben, his pupils shining in swirling colors of purple, indigo, amethyst, and violet.

"Same here brother." spoke up Dick with a laugh.

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

Date: April 14th, 2007

Location: Uptown Gotham City, New Jersey, Park Row (Crime Alley), Selina Kyle's Building

Time: 9:36 A.M.

As she woke up in her bed, welcoming in the sun shining in through her bedroom window, Selina Kyle had to finally admit to herself that she did not have a single good day within these past few months.

In the stated amount of time, she was attempting to gather info in order to plan a heist on a new shipment of diamonds being sold to Rough Cut.

She hated that man with a passion. Especially after that stunt last year in early January where he attempted to ship those poor women, her sister-in-name and friend Holly included.

As such, she put herself back into business, even though she promised Bruce to try and stay clean.

All she can say in her defense was that she was a bad kitty.

She's been doing some heists targeted towards him and his business specifically as payback for that since. Cats can hold long grudges, and she was nothing but patient in her revenge.

However, the guy seemed to have finally gotten annoyed with her as he kept his most trusted men in the dark on his recent actions, changing things up, and making it harder for her to know the current itinerary for the arrival of his goods.

Although she hated the series of events that occurred, she was fond of the memory of how she dealt with it alongside the kid.

Benjamin David, a complete enigma, but in a special way.

She remembered the night when she was stealing from the Sionis family's gang before things went wrong as she didn't account for his newly installed hidden motion sensors. As such, she had to escape under fire from an entire band of 30 goons, all of them being fully armed.

Thankfully, their leader, Roman Sionis, was already dead from the bullet she put in his head a few years ago due to what he did to her sister.

Although, whoever was running the gang now was extremely secretive.

'Good riddance.' she thought when the man came back into her memories.

She didn't remember much due to the blood loss, except jumping from roof to roof, before stumbling at some point and falling on some sort of relatively hard material, yet also soft in some ways as well.

Imagine her surprise when she woke up in a random tent that admittedly stank, next to a young boy she'd never seen before.

She had feared the worst, because what else can you expect in a place like Gotham? Even from the younger people the worst stuff could happen.

She only managed to breathe a sigh of relief when she fully checked herself over and didn't find any form of unsavory actions as she had expected.

In fact, her wounds were fully cared for, being properly cleaned and bandaged in a way. Even if the bandages were admittedly… strange, being only ragged or torn pieces of clothes and strings.

She had carefully assessed the boy, before finding nothing special about him, as she waited for him to wake up and find answers from him.

She had to rescind her previous opinion though, when she got a good look at his eyes the first time.

They were emotionless, as if he was going through the motions instead of actually living. More of a machine than a person.

She didn't let that stop her though as she questioned the boy with her sharpened Cat Claw gloves, asking him why he saved her.

"It seems sad for someone to die in an alleyway all alone with no one to send them off. At least I know I have no one in my life, but how can I know if you do or don't as well?"

The difference between his tone of voice, his total apathy and dead expression, yet the way he conveyed his care struck her in that special way she never thought would cross her mind about a person.

His answer truly stuck to her, making her feel extremely moved as she did in fact have someone to go home to.

Her sister, who has no one to care for her after the traumatizing incident in which Roman literally had her husband's eyes gouged out in front of her, before forcing her to eat them.

'Damn sick son of a-'

"Language." spoke the image of Ben flashing in her mind as she forcefully calmed herself down. It always brought a chuckle out of her when she heard him say that to her face as if it was perfectly normal, every time he heard her try to curse a storm up for whatever reason.

She got so used to it, she'd imagine him chastising her in moments like this.

"It's the remaining Christian in me that I remember being left of what my mother raised." She heard his voice answer when she asked why he stopped her the first time and if he was embarrassed.

"Why would I be embarrassed? This is how I am." he had answered at first before continuing.

"Why curse if you can use cleaner words? Even though people say cursing helps remove all those negative emotions, I found it curious and used my powers to determine it to be false as people usually feel worse when doing so sometimes, especially in groups of people who curse together."

"It's a never ending cycle of rage and aggression. You curse once, then the person next to you will curse once, then you'll curse twice, then they will twice, then it goes on and on."

She had found the answer extremely informative somehow at the time, and thought that it makes sense. Rage leads to more rage, hatred more hatred, hope more hope, and so on.

It made sense the more you think about it. That's what causes mob mentalities to form in groups of people during certain times.

She had to admit, she was missing the little guy being around. Even though she was a stray cat, even she needed kittens of her own to take care of and feel that sense of contentment in her life, like with her cat Isis.

He was always there to talk to her, even if he didn't understand half the words and feelings that came out of her mouth most of the time.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're crazy. Yet, you're clearly sane to me." he had randomly said one time when she said something ridiculous about how she loved rattling a goons brain in an escape one time over dinner.

She had laughed so hard that she was actually out of breath for the first time in forever.

And it wasn't even from the exhilarating feel of her chase from one of her heists, or the satisfying feeling of planning and stealing something valuable under someone else's nose.

No, it was by a random kid that had found her on the street, yet she couldn't be anymore grateful for him somehow finding a way into her life.

As she got out of her musings, she just left the bathroom having finished her daily chores of cleaning her face, brushing her teeth and whatnot before the doorbell suddenly rang.

Wary since she rarely gets any visitors, she scooched towards the door, her signature whip being grabbed on the way and hidden behind her back as she looked into the hall through the peephole, before sighing in relief.

"Speak of the devil." she murmured as she flung it open with a smile on her face.

"Hey Ben, did you miss me?" she questioned in amusement, yet finding herself hopeful at his answer.

Something he seemed to notice as he answers the same way almost every time.

He tilted his head at her question. "We've been through this every time I come to visit. I wouldn't be here had I not missed your presence and wished to spend time with you." he spoke.

Of course she knew this, but it made her happy to hear every single time, since no one was ever willing to visit her as often as he did. He even came on days when he didn't have school sometimes.

Heck, she felt so bad at one point because he visited her more often than she visited her own sister, who probably needed her more often. So she ended up changing her priorities and going over to her sister more than usual.

As she made way for him to enter, she noticed the bag of groceries in his hands as he made his way to the kitchen while noticing her look. "I believed we could have breakfast with each other. Obviously today is a Saturday and I wished to see if there was anything you wished to do together afterwards, if you are not busy of course."

While going to close the door, Selina smiled as she shook her head. "I can always make time for you kid, and I have the perfect first stop for after we're done."

Before she could close the door fully however, she became startled when the sound of a dog's low barking halted her, causing her to do a double take.

She finally acknowledged the presence of a giant Doberman that came up to her waist sitting by the door, looking at her, and seemingly waiting to enter the room.

How she missed him the first time she will never know.

"I apologize. I know that you have a mild dislike for canines, however he needed a walk and is still getting used to my presence so I brought him along." spoke up Ben when he noticed the commotion at the door, pots and pans already out and ready for his cooking session.

Looking at the dog in distaste, she nodded her head reluctantly. "Fine, but you better not go anywhere on the couches, and if Isis wakes up, no playing rough with her. Got it mister?"

She was only speaking to the dog in annoyance, yet her words were mainly meant for Ben to hear in order to keep him on a leash.

So imagine her surprise when the mutt nodded his head and gave an affirmative woof, before trotting on over to Ben's side.

"Don't worry. He can understand most of what you say. His intelligence will still increase over time, the first few weeks are just a faster part of the process, increasing it to the standard level of a 5 year old child roughly."

"I'm sorry, but I'm completely lost by whatever language you're speaking right now. Process? Intelligence of a 5 year old? Was he experimented on or did I miss something?"

"Ah." spoke up Ben, as he started cracking a few eggs, before starting to mix them up, preparing them for omelets. "Again, my apologies. I forgot that you are not yet in the know. I'll explain over breakfast, come help me with these vegetables."

...

"Wait." spoke up Selina, her fork pointed at Brutus, as she squinted her eyes in slight disbelief at what she was told. "You expect me to believe that this guy is a Cerberus, the three-headed dog of myth, and that you also have something between the cross of a rabbit, deer, and antelope at home as well?"

"What's there not to believe?" questioned Ben, his fork coming up to his mouth as he took another bite of his omelet, his pupils lighting up in a mixture of aquamarine and amethyst, showing his pleasure at the taste of his food.

Copying Alfred's cooking skills and forms was one of the best decisions he's ever made in his life.

The only annoying part was memorizing the recipes. Even if he has a perfect memory, it still takes time to flip through a book and whatnot.

"I already told you about my magical studies a couple of weeks ago, and even cleaned your apartment using basic magic last time. Think of this as an extension of my studies, being important for my future." he continued, taking a swig of his orange juice at the side.

"Well when you put it like that, I guess it makes sense. But what about the Jackalope… Wyle right?" to the nod of his head, she continued. "Doesn't he need to be by your side to get used to your presence as well or something?"

"Good question. I thought the same until I noticed that he was much more intelligent than probably even some adults, making him more easily adaptable. In fact, his inquisitive nature took charge when we first reached the manor, and he's been busy exploring every nook and cranny since."

"I give him a month before that wears off and he tries finding something new to do. Also, his disguise as a harlequin rabbit seems to bring more attention than I had thought, making it almost impossible to bring him out in public."

They were considered one of the rarest breeds after all.

Thinking about it for a moment, Selina nodded her head, understanding every point he made.

"Well, I guess having a companion's nice as well. Isis was one of the best things that entered my life since recently, among other things of course." she said with a slight smile at Ben who nodded his head, reciprocating her answer if his pupils shining in purple, indigo, and violet were anything to go by.

"I say however, that you could've done better with a mythical cat or something."

The second her words finished, darkness descended upon the room, a cold chill accompanying it, defying all scientific conventions, causing Ben to flip into action within a nanosecond in reaction as he jumped across the table to Selina, embracing her in a tight hug as he went into a forward roll across the floor near the door, kneeling over her protectively as he looked over his shoulder analyzing everything occurring, trying to determine any possible causes of threat.

However, just as it came, the darkness disappeared the next second, leaving all of the apartment's occupants stunned.

Ben cautiously scanned the room once again, before not finding any difference from before as he stood up and stretched his hand in order to help Selina to her feet.

"That was strange. Nice reaction by the way." she said, getting up and smiling at him, happy at his protectiveness over her wellbeing. Most people would just run and save themselves had that happened, yet he didn't hesitate in caring for her first.

'He's more of a hero than you first thought Bruce, I hope you know that now.' she thought in her mind.

Brutus for his part, was still sitting at the leg of the chair where Ben was previously sitting while eating. He was in a daze at what occurred, before he decided to ignore whatever just happened and tried to go to sleep till he was called on later.

"So what exactly happened?" she questioned, wondering if she had to move locations. She loved her apartment, but it was going to be hard to stay if she was in danger. She was surprised Ben didn't notice anything beforehand. He was always slightly alert to his surroundings, so his powers should have informed him of something.

Ben could easily understand her unasked question, as he ended up scanning the room, noticing a card lying next to his plate in where his seat was.

Instead of going there right away however, he turned his attention to Selina first and checked her over with his gray eyes glowing, looking at something seemingly invisible.

"I have no idea what happened. I sensed it the moment it occurred, but I dread whatever could do that." he eventually replied after he made sure there were no lingering effects of what happened.

"Why's that?" Selina asked, curious about his seriousness.

"I sensed an increase in Black Light energy practically drowning the room, and we both certainly felt the chill. Black Light is the light of death and darkness, meaning we were just washed over with death energy, but in an extremely controlled manner. Had whoever did this been hostile, we'd be erased from existence." he said seriously.

Selina became slightly ashen-faced at those words before she quickly recovered her composure, a testament to her willpower and the kinds of things she's seen over the years as Catwoman.

"Alright, so I'm definitely moving now." she muttered to herself.

"Perhaps not." interjected Ben as he finally moved for the card and picked it up as he addressed her. "Based on the card's precise position, and how no harm has come, I believe they are someone friendly with an interest directed towards me. This card may confirm or deny that conjecture."

"Well now I'm curious as well on what's written there." she said with slight curiosity.

Scanning the card to see if it was laced with toxins or tampered with in some way, he finally opened it up and began reading it out loud.

"Hey there Ben, I couldn't help but check up on you and overheard a few of your friend's words. I found the idea amazing, and ended up depositing one cat-like mythical creature - a liger - with two different bloodlines."

"Thanks to your 'special' trait, you can contract with him as well to be your familiar. He was close to dying when I found him, and that would've been a real waste as his birth was practically a miracle like you, so I felt that you would be perfect together. I hope you grow to love him. Live well this time brother."

"P.S. I have enjoyed and appreciated how you've made the most of your time here so far, but be careful of the rest, as they seem to be upset with you."

The second Ben finished reading the card, it automatically turned to dust in front of them, with Selina gasping in surprise at how that happened.

Ben however wasn't focused on that at the moment since he could easily remember every detail about it with his memory. Instead, one word kept replaying in his mind.

"Brother? Do I have a sibling? No wait, they said something about others… so siblings?" he murmured out loud.

Not to mention, it seems they know about his past life…

Selina quickly shook off her surprise and overheard Ben's words, smiling at them. It's obvious enough that he learned to cherish his relationships, meaning that this will cause him to overthink a lot about whether or not he has more family out there.

Before either of them could continue their musings, the sound of a cat meowing came from across the apartment room, causing Selina to startle for a moment.

"ISIS!" she shouted, concern and regret on her face for forgetting about her favorite little critter, as she dashed to her bedroom with Ben following behind her.

When they entered the room, they were stunned at the sight before them.

Inside a comfortable basket area that was definitely not there before, Isis could be seen cuddling up to another sleeping critter. It was a peachy white, with stripes covering its form, looking like a lion cub.

A liger of mythical descent, and if the words of the card were to be believed, it had two different mythical cat-species bloodlines for parents.

Sighing in relief at Isis being okay, Selina turned her attention to the other occupant inside the makeshift bed, before looking at Ben with an amused smile.

"So? What's the plan?" she asked

To which, Ben could only let out a breath, his features not changing in the slightest as he answered her with his eyes lighting gold yellow.

"I think I'm gonna need a rain check for our hang out." Ben responded, the baby liger's eyes opening up and looking at the room curiously with its piercing blue eyes before landing on him.

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

And there you have it! The reveal of the century.

Or is it?

Maybe it's obvious to everyone who this surprise came from. But are you sure you're correct? Or am I using enough misdirection and messing with your mind too much after you read my words?

Am I in your head yet?

Reverse psychology always gets to people.

Well, moving on.

I believe I already mentioned that the more intricate parts of magic and technology will be explored later, but it doesn't hurt for him to have some spells up his sleeve that he can use for later.

I won't be writing down or recording everyone of them, but just keep in mind that for the foreseeable future, I'll be having him use the ones smaller in scale but high in usefulness when performed in battle with certain situations.

This is meant to highlight his tactical mind more, while also keep him grounded and not spread too thin.

Like do you know how useful a simple 'slip' spell could work on a speedster?

Even if he has superintelligence, he's still human and has a life to live.

You have Braniac in the comics with his incredible intellect, and how does he live his life?

Spending the years just collecting every possible form of knowledge and intelligence, not living for himself at all.

Although that makes for a great backstory and explanation for how he has so many inventions and can do so many things with them by extension, he has no life outside that. It's a terribly boring thing to read more in depth about in my opinion.

But don't worry, his intelligence will shine in other moments for now.

Again I won't be nerfing him, but I do this in order to highlight our MC's personality more and focus on the true powerset I'm granting him.

In fact, alongside his magic, one important part of his powers have already been hinted at through that letter and his actions.

But we won't be seeing an expansion of that until the story arc.

Anyways, I thank you all so much for your continued support and hope you love what you're reading so far.

As usual, the same offer from the previous weeks still stands. Whenever we get 1.5k stones, I'll post one extra chapter alongside next week's.

Leave reviews, post comments, and again, make your voices heard in general.

Looking forward to next week and hope you enjoy your day!