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DC/Young Justice: Colors

Benjamin David spent half his days in a hospital bed, dying alone in what had become a colorless world without notice. But his time didn’t end as expected. Now, he suddenly woke up in another place. A strange universe where people dress as bats, aliens wear underwear outside their pants, and gods/immortals roam among men. Will his world continue to forever remain only a bleak black, gray, and white? Can he learn that color can be found in even the most unexpected of places? After all, we live in a rainbow of chaos called life. ------------------ Current Days of Upload: Sunday (Indefinitely, I hope) Personal Rating: M+ (Language is censored for my own preferences, but scenes of violence, blood, and death may be present.) ------------------ What to expect from this story... -Slightly Slow-Paced -Slightly Slice of Life -Action, Adventure, Mystery and Discovery (DC began by standing for "Detective Comics" before anything else, and I wish to stand by that origin if possible.) -Slow Power Increase (Strong to Stronger. Come on... it's a high-tiered world. He's got to be strong eventually.) -One Single Female Lead (NOT AN OC! She will be from either Young Justice or DC. I can't satisfy everyone, so don't give me ideas or get your hopes up! Romance will be later in the story.) ------------------ Hey it's the author here. I just wanted to speak to everyone regarding my fanfic. I first tried my hand at a novel due to my love for the hobby known as writing. Didn't go so well if you notice by scrolling to the bottom… As such, I decided to try writing some fanfics instead to improve my skill and bring to life these different ideas that came into my head. I'm starting with this fic right here, inspired by many other DC and Marvel stories. In this novel the MC will have no knowledge of the universe and its inhabitants. He only knows that he is in the DC Universe thanks to his powers. Other than that, he's in the dark as to what kind of place it is. Obviously I can't do this alone, and every bit of support goes a long way. I have managed to put up a Patreon for if someone wants to give me ideas or share my burden. Currently, you can read up to three chapters ahead over there. I want to bring the best possible quality content for everyone, and if I can make some money on the side, why not? Other than the prologue, the first 4 chapters are wonkey in word count, but they're between 4-8 thousand words each. At chapter 5, you'll be getting regular updates with a minimum of 8 thousand words or more. As I said, quality is important, but I'm not perfect. Even though I constantly review the chapters and put them through Grammarly or what not, THERE WILL BE MISTAKES. I can't guarantee to fix every single one of them, but if I accidentally right a huge plot hole or something, please let me know. Burn out is a real thing, and if I have to constantly go back to fix every single little detail, I'll eventually blow a fuse. Your support means the world to me, and I wish to go as far as possible with this story. Thanks! patreon.com/Geo_Ruler ------------------ Note: This is an AU (Alternate Universe) of my design with tweaks to Young Justice, DC Comics, and any other relevant DC works. Disclaimer: I do not own DC, Young Justice, nor any mention towards already owned and existing works, ideas, or other characters. I only own my OC and other certain elements. (Cover is AI generated.)

Geo_Ruler · Anime & Comics
Not enough ratings
29 Chs

Chapter 9: Revelations

It's here.

The dreaded chapter.

...

...

...

...

Just kidding!

Well... more like kind of kidding.

Before we get into that, let me just take back some of what I said about DC lore before.

Even if it's convoluted, I'm just now realizing that the power systems make so much more sense than Marvel in a weird sort of way!

And I'm not talking about the constant nerfs and random powerups they give certain characters sometimes, but about the lore and how it's incorporated through different realms and energies like the ES.

Maybe that's just me personally, but I'm starting to realize that the writers knew what they were doing on that front.

One thing I wanted to let you guys know is that I've had a hectic week, and haven't been able to write as much as I would've liked...

I've been using the time to revise a few things in previous chapters before I re-upload them...

But it's done!

The first story arc has basically been completed!

We've reached an important milestone.

...Well I've reached the milestone and you guys are still waiting...

But you get the point!

Now! I mentioned before I had an idea regarding a certain set of Ben's powers, and this chapter is all about it.

It's a lot of information to take in, but I feel it's important in order to give you an idea of how greatly magnified I plan on making the ES.

Most likely, a lot of you guys will end up being triggered and some of you will probably drop this book.

All I can say is that if you trust me, then you'll stay till the very end of this chapter before deciding how bad it is.

The plot's been planned out, and this won't have too major or minor of an effect if I write my story effectively.

I just wished to let you guys know without going into too much detail about what I am talking about until you reach the end of this chapter.

So before that, let me give a quick shoutout to this week's newest patrons.

A big thank you to @Snack00, and @Davis Nguyen.

I can tell what character you're waiting for thanks to your name @Davis, but just be patient...

One last thing I wanted to let you guys know was that I've made up my mind about goals for Patreon!

For starters, if we manage to reach 40 patrons I'll start uploading one extra chapter for every tier.

We are currently at 25, so we're not that far off honestly.

I thank you all for your continued support and motivation and ask that you continue doing so.

See you at the bottom, and hope you enjoy the chapter!

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Date: May 26, 2007

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

Time: 10:48 A.M.

Recently, changes have gone through the Wayne Manor much more often than usual, with the recent additions of Ben's familiars moving in making the place become brighter once more, just like when Ben and Dick joined.

Currently, Brutus could be seen sitting on his hind legs while watching Alfred cook in an extremely attentive manner.

He had become easily smitten with the man's cooking, waking up bright and early just to accompany him and try to get a few bites for himself before breakfast was served to the manor's residents.

He eventually learned the hard way though that until everyone was up and at the table, he wouldn't be able to joyfully eat his first true meal of the day.

As such, he took it upon himself to be everyone's personal alarm clock, dashing into everyone's rooms and waking them up with a bark, or tugging them out of bed if they took too long to get up on their own.

He spent most of the day hanging out with Ben and Dick, going on walks with either of them and training with them in ways using his magic and close combat using his giant body.

His full height and weight would cramp the Batcave if unleashed, so he regulated himself to being around slightly taller in height and width than them, also going so far as setting himself to at least 4 times their body weight and using his three heads

It became apparent real quick that he was a berserker in combat, but in a more controlled way, with the addition of knowing earth, darkness, and fire magic. One for each head in order from left to right.

His physical strength was subject to increase the more rageful he became, but his mind wasn't so easily lost to that rage.

His connection with the Red Light seemed to give him slight control and immunity to that it seemed.

Wyle on the other hand, was a prankster and troublemaker through and through.

His curiosity led him to observe everything about the manor at first when he moved in, but Ben was wrong in his estimations of how long it would take until the Jackalope finished doing so.

His intelligence is frighteningly high, so he managed to roam the entire manor and Batcave from top to bottom in almost 2 weeks. Although the time seemed long, he would sometimes spend hours on end observing a random portrait, antique, or object that caught his fancy.

As such, once finished, he turned his attention to the people of the manor, following Bruce, Dick, and Alfred along for a few days each and observing their actions, before he ended up content with what he observed as well.

Then… came the pranks!

Bruce had always tested the two boys on everything possible in both direct and subtle manners.

Stealth was a Batfamily mainstream, so the man would strike at unexpected moments in order to see if you were prepared at all times.

But it had nothing on Wyle's pranks.

The Jackalope was a master of trickery and secrets, making stealth one of his foretays.

As such, since around the middle of May, they've all been waking to extremely strange, hilarious, and slightly goosebump arousing, sights and scenes.

Ben woke up one time to find a rebreather on his face, and his room filled with water, without it ever being able to leak through his door and window. He even found a few fishes, eels, and crabs swimming around him.

He took it pretty calmly to be frank as he had already come to terms with the fact that weird sights come with this universe.

Honestly, he wouldn't have made much of a scene if he somehow died in his sleep again, even with his current glowing health.

Dick, however, was less than amused.

He woke up screaming early in the morning one time to the prickling pain of somehow sleeping on a giant cactus, before he ran around the manor chasing after Wyle who was purring in laughter and amusement.

Bruce didn't think much of these pranks since Ben explained how they were extremely realistic illusions when he was initially questioned about them.

Yeah… his mind changed really quickly when he got the drop on him as he went to suit up for his nightly patrol one time and found his batsuits substituted instead for like-sized and look-alike pajama onesies.

He made it personal that day, and has since kept a lookout for anything that the Jackalope tried cooking up against him.

Wyle also attempted a prank on Alfred by hiding all his cooking and cleaning ware for a whole day.

… Which caused Brutus to chase him manically the rest of the time, eventually forcing everyone to order takeout in the end.

But that wasn't the worst of it… for the familiar at least.

He ended up having to remove the butler from his prank list real quick due to Alfred refusing to feed him any of his home-cooked meals for the whole week.

He kept sadly watching on as everyone had their fill, with the butler ordering him fresh grass.

He was a magical creature for god's sake, not an actual rabbit, deer, or antelope!

In a way though, his actions brought an even more positive atmosphere to the manor's residents, as they used it as a fun form of training in addition to it being a nice change of pace from their dreary work.

Finally, there was the younger brother of the two, Kenzo, who made the whole house feel as if a fresh breath of wind swept the entire manor while being accompanied by a jolt of lightning meant to awaken and spark everyone's spirit.

And yes, those metaphors had everything to do with his lineage.

When Ben first found the liger in Selina's apartment, he had to stare in awe at the image his trusty new friend had posed, even when he was lying in a sleepy manner in that bed basket.

On the first assumption, you wouldn't believe a cute little thing like him to have the potential to be such a powerful creature as Ben was told when he read that card.

Then, he bonded with him and fed him the ES energy that best fit, which ended up being a huge shock.

He bonded with multiple parts of the spectrum, the first being the largely used Green Light of Will, Determination, and Bravery, with most of it being focused on the Lime Green Light of Bravery. He also bonded with the Crimson Light of Pride, and the Yellow Light of Fear.

He was not prepared for the information he learned when their contract was finalized.

Turns out, he was a monster in the making as he was a weird love child between a Nemean Lion and a Baihu.

A never before seen familiar with incredible potential didn't even begin to describe his fearsomeness.

The Nemean Lion is a famous mythological creature in Greek mythology that's mentioned in the story of Hercules and his Twelve Labors. It was described to be physically invulnerable to almost every form of attack, its skin practically impenetrable.

The tale differs in the mention of its defeat, but it took Hercules either suffocating it or having to shoot a rock into its mouth to kill it.

This fearsome creature has many meanings in symbolism including courage, strength, bravery, and invincibility.

Meanwhile, the Baihu is one of the four legendary creatures mentioned in Chinese mythology depicted as a giant White Bengal tiger in charge of the West direction.

It was said to be the greatest enemy of all forms of evil, demons included, with images showing it to be wreathed in pure blue flames.

Even more fearsome, is that it was hailed as the king of all beasts.

It symbolizes and holds authority over metals, slight authority over winds, anti-evil, slight authority over fire, beasts, and the season of autumn.

After researching all of this information, Ben was absolutely excited for when this little guy could mature, as if he was even a fraction as powerful as his ancestors, he could be as strong as Superman, or even give him a run for his money.

He could be both invincible in defense, and powerful and fast in attack as well.

No wonder he ended up bonding with multiple parts of the ES.

Ben thought that if he had a title like "true enemy of all evil" and "king of beasts", he'd be prideful and brave while inspiring fear in his enemies too.

Plus, being prideful is a universal truth of all cats apparently.

Selina pretty much confirmed it.

So because of all this information, he knew he needed to give him a name worthy of his potential.

In the end, he decided on Kenzo, as the way he wished for it to be written meant "invincible wind".

He hoped for his new friend's sake that he would be invincible at all times in the face of his enemies, and swift and ruthless in his attacks like the wind.

When he first took the little guy home, he was about as big as a basketball, and only weighed around 2 kilograms. His peachy white fur only had faint spots on them, not fully showing their pattern as of yet.

As a matter of fact, since Ben had his birthday party earlier this year he had grown a lot in the past few months too. He was taller than the average kid his age, standing at around 5 feet 7 inches-

'5.64.'

-and weighing an impressive 160 pounds.

'160.42.'

…He couldn't help but check his exact measurements.

Just so people know how ridiculous that is… the average 14-year-old is between 5 feet to 5 feet 6 inches, and weighs around 113 pounds.

Anyways… back to Kenzo.

Alfred knew what he was doing when feeding the little critter, as in just a little bit more than a month, he ended up almost reaching his waist in height at around 2 feet 11 inches, and weighed about 194 pounds already.

An average lion usually stands at around 3.5 to 4 feet in height, and weighs around 330 to 550 pounds.

Tigers are around the same in height at maturity, but weigh an extra 150-200 pounds!

Magical creature growth time for the win.

Though obviously there is a downside as the presence of such a giant cat would end up having a lot of questions directed at them, but that was mitigated thankfully since he could also manipulate his size and form like his brothers.

It seemed to be something that all magical creatures did in order to blend with the world and not draw attention to themselves.

When lounging around the manor, he assumed the form of something between a Bred mix of a white-furred Ragdoll and a White Bengal house cat, his bright and intelligent blue eyes standing out in that form.

Probably in honor of his tiger ancestor when he showed him the images drawn of his parents on the internet, but who was he to judge?

The presence of the three familiars had done all of them some good, with Ben loving every moment he spent with them, even trying to sleep with them every night.

He'd end up in bed having Wyle and Kenzo curled up at his sides, with Brutus sleeping at the foot of his bed.

Currently, he was in his room with the liger curled up in front of him as he was seated cross-legged in his bed and going through his daily dose of meditation, connecting with the ES, and holding a conversation with his partner and friend ESAMAL.

'What have you been up to buddy?' his spiritual body asked, sitting in the same position in what seemed like an aurora of colors flowing around him.

Directly in front of him was a ball-shaped multicolored light, its presence somehow managing to outshine the aurora.

-Nothing much. I've been reviewing the information I have access to share with you thanks to your connection with the ES.- he replied, bobbing up and down in a pleased manner.

'Oh. I thought you would question some sentient interactions or something in a philosophical manner like you usually do? So why the change in actions?' asked Ben, his face showing his curiosity.

-I was beginning to grow bored by the consistency in doing that. So, I decided to task myself with this responsibility.- ESAMAL replied in a fake regal tone.

Ben had come to learn that since being able to form complete sentences and hold a full conversation with him, ESAMAL was much more expressive in his thoughts and words.

He was able to feel emotions in the exact opposite way compared to Ben.

While Ben had his dulled most of the time and is always in a state of extreme calm, the ball of light felt them more intensely in some ways and was always extremely expressive in his feelings.

When questioned about this the first time, he received an answer he didn't see coming.

-What'd you expect? You already had the gist of it thanks to my explanation from before. I was born from your thoughts, consciousness, and emotions in a literal sense.-

-The Emotional Spectrum holds authority over what its name implies, all forms of emotional energy in the shape of the different colored lights representing them.-

-I can't tell you exactly what happened for you to arrive in this universe as I'm not allowed to say until your authority gets up there, but whatever occurred caused you to generate an extreme amount of emotional energy, more than any creature should be capable of holding. You wouldn't have been able to handle it.-

-Thanks to your Metagene activating, I ended up draining that excess energy and more of your original amounts in order to be created, leading to your survival and current state.- the blob of emotions had explained in a smug tone.

Well isn't that a harrowing thought? He only survived by the skin of his teeth thanks to this guy.

Not that he wasn't grateful. Although he still doesn't understand the full truth, he believed that everything would be revealed with time.

He didn't want to go on a wild goose chase for answers like some idiotic characters do, only to end up dead or in a terrible state when they find out the truth they didn't expect.

Anything could happen in this universe. Impossible is a word that Ben has come to hate thoroughly.

It was impossible for him to survive, yet here he is living alongside what should've been a universe he could've only dreamed of.

Yeah, the word impossible was deleted from his mind the day he realized he was in a place where superpowers exist.

Besides, being in a state of extreme calmness wasn't all that bad.

The best description he could give is that, if before he was looking at his reflection through a dirty puddle of water, now he was able to see and experience everything all around him much more clearly thanks to the water being cleaned up.

Before the life and death energies had harmonized, he already thought that the world was more magnified to his senses compared to his previous life. Now though, he realized what a big fat wad of nonsense that was.

Thanks to the balanced energies, and the recent magical 'baptism' he went through a couple of months ago at the Zatara's, his mind and heart were in perfect sync.

You'll hear people tell you in some stories or sayings about how when they reacted to a situation, their minds said "no" while their hearts said "yes" when they performed a certain action, or vice versa.

Ben was having none of that.

His thoughts and emotions were in perfect harmony, complimenting each other in a way he still couldn't fully understand even with his intelligence, magnifying his decision-making abilities, critical thinking, complex reasoning, and even reactions.

His sense of self has grown in similar ways, with him being unable to completely understand everything about himself.

Of course, as previously mentioned, the only downside is his emotional dullness.

Not being able to properly express your feelings and thoughts is tiring, and actively trying to manipulate your expressions to the public is more so.

It's more maddening than one would think. Misunderstandings are more prone to happen as a result of people being unable to fully understand him sometimes in ways that could be upsetting.

Inside his spiritual plane though, that drawback wasn't as much of a concern, calming his mind and restless soul every time he went there for meditation.

In there, he can change the form of his spiritual body to actually show the change of his emotions on his astral face, forming visual reactions.

Although, the color change is practically uncontrollable here for some reason if the ivory light coming out of his body was any indication.

Plus there was literally only one other person here who could see his reactions, but he took what he got and made the most of it.

You won't hear him complaining much.

Coming out of his earlier thoughts, he came back into focus to listen to his lifelong partner.

'So, is there any new information that I am privy to know?' Ben asked.

-Yes in fact.- he replied in a more serious tone. -You are now able to have access to more information about the ES and some other things about our multiverse and beyond, as you have reached a certain milestone.-

'Wait. So this universe or reality does have its own multiverse? Like Marvel? Why are you only telling me this now?'

-Hey buddy, you only just gained sufficient authority to have been granted this information. It's like some sort of law of reality. If I try and break it in any way, I'll cease to exist. I don't know who put it in place.- ESAMAL complained.

-When you reach the level of authority to learn the information, I do too at the same time. I just find out about it moments before you do then relay it to you. -

-I only know about what you know, and what I can find thanks to your level of authority. Like when you first woke up in this universe. You had a sufficient amount of clearance to know the name of the universe you were in, but not what it truly was. I didn't know what DC was until I searched for it and was able to tell you.-

-In this case, I only shared the knowledge of your theory about a multiverse existing. There was no way to prove it though, until now. This is confirmation for both of us.-

Ben was stunned at that. If before he had his doubts about the possibility of cosmic entities existing in this reality, now he was sure.

And that slightly terrified him.

But he was also excited. That would mean there could be an infinite amount of himself in other universes.

Infinite amounts of his father Bruce Wayne.

Infinite amounts of his mother Mary David…

Calming down for the moment, he questioned him. 'Before that, I had some more questions regarding my Metagene. What can you explain to me about it? How exactly did the ES connect to me through it and why grant me those specific powers?' Ben wondered.

-Again, I can't answer some of that, but I can answer more on the Metagene using this new knowledge available to you to give a better idea of how it works.-

-You already got the gist of it earlier when you explained what you knew to Batman, Black Canary, and Green Arrow, but that explanation was too superficial for my tastes.-

-The Metagene is almost exactly similar to what you understood of the X-Gene from Marvel in that even if related to each other, some children can still end up with different powers compared to their parents. The genes are still somehow hereditary in nature with a template of the parents' DNA being used to form the child's.-

-I'm sure you know who Kurt Wagner's parents were in some Marvel universes right?-

Ben automatically realized where he was going with this.

-Yup.- ESAMAL confirmed his realization. -The blue skin tone comes from his mother Mystique, while his devilish physiology and powers come from Azazel.-

'I get it. But he's not the only example you've based this on right? That would be too presumptuous.-

-Of course not!- He responded as if he was offended. -I have so many people that can be named. Like another less-known character with Mystique once again as the mother, and Wolverine as the father. Or Magneto's oldest daughter.-

'Raze Darkholme and Lorna Dane… I get it now.'

-Good. Obviously, it isn't always the case, with exceptions that are born in possession of a greater sum of their parts, inheriting more than just their parents' abilities, or having powers that just plain mutated into something stronger, like Franklin Richards, Luna Maximoff, David Charles Haller…-

-Then there are the unlucky ones. Those who are born of parents of great power and inherited nothing. A perfect example that would counteract Raze Darkholme's existence would be his half-brother Graydon Creed. You'd think that the guy would have similar powers since Sabertooth isn't that much different from Wolverine, but he received nada.-

-Like you usually say, nothing is impossible, with the laws of reality working in ways we can't fathom sometimes. I bring this up in order to mention the one aspect most people usually overlook, but that can still occur without making just as much sense as Graydon and others like him.-

-You can have parents that won't be in possession of the Meta or X-Gene, yet they can still somehow influence your future powers in some way.-

-Even though it's something physical and inscribed in your DNA and can be found under a microscope, there are examples of how some Mutants managed to use their powers in conceptual or ways that don't make sense to the senses.-

-For example, Iceman was able to freeze space-time conceptually on the Quantum Level even though it sounds impossible.-

-Basically, some powers can reach high enough to affect more than just the physical level of reality, and that also explains how some children have the gene for certain powers as well.-

-You have to understand that EVERYONE is potentially capable of having powers in some way or form, but on different levels.-

-That's why some people don't survive the Metagene awakening.-

-It's just like how certain sick people die from some diseases.-

-They're bodies aren't equipped to handle some forms of bacteria or viruses, causing them to die eventually.-

-In this case, the people's bodies aren't able to contain the energy they're exposed to, or they were exposed to the wrong kind.-

-Some people have certain affinities that they're born with, and maybe a reaction could only occur if that specific kind of energy was introduced to them. Like with Kryptonians and sunlight from a yellow sun.-

-With it, they're overpowered hunks of muscle capable of bench-pressing skyscrapers, and without it, they're just slightly more durable than a normal human.-

-But, even if they are introduced to that energy, some people can only absorb it when under a certain amount. Too much can be lethal.-

-This is the reason why some children have a Metagene even when their parents don't. Everyone has an affinity or talent for certain things conceptually even if not activated or shown physically.-

-Another example could be found in what you learned through your magical studies and what Giovanni taught you.-

-In magic, there are different affinities that somebody can have for certain branches. Some may be good with runes, and others may be better at conjurations.-

-The universe takes what the parents have, and somehow grafts it into the Metagene, causing the resulting powers or abilities to relate to their parentage in some way.-

-In your case, your father was Bruce Wayne.-

-Who even though doesn't have a Metagene, holds incredible potential as a fighter, detective, inventor…- ESAMAL trailed off noticeably.

Ben was stunned at that. 'You mean…'

-Your Metagene already had powers preset to be activated by virtue of your birth.-

-Your original powers had you not connected to the plane would have been your photographic reflexes, kinesthetic intelligence, and superhuman intelligence.-

-It was all a part of your Metagene thanks to what was passed down to you through him. You only received the rest of your physical improvements from the ES connection actually.-

-The first three powers benefitted as well, but you still would've had them either way in the end, just slightly weaker.- ESAMAL finished explaining.

Ben was mind blown. His explanation actually made so much sense when he started thinking about it more.

It's not that any one person in this universe was special.

No.

EVERYONE had the potential to be special, but only at different levels.

Even though he was wrong in his earlier thinking that the Metagene was more of a lottery when he discussed it with his father, Black Canary, and Green Arrow, he was also correct in a way.

Forget what power you'll get, you need to pray that you have enough luck to try to survive getting those powers first. Some people just aren't built tough enough or have fate looking down on them to gain powers in the first place.

So if someone had their Metagene activated, but their powers were too overwhelming in some way and went past a threshold they couldn't handle…

The picture of a balloon popping went through Ben's mind, a shudder briefly coursing through his body.

Even with such a child-friendly image, he was spooked.

'Ok. I get your explanation now. So my powers were basically related to my mother and father.'

-Perhaps even your further ancestry, but yes. Although, don't forget your own affinities! Every soul is different, only born into being in a slightly similar manner to their parentage.-

-You already had pre-existing potential regarding those things, Bruce's potential only magnified what you already had.-

-Imagine a few glasses of water ranging between empty or full. That represents the existing potential you were born with for certain different subjects.

-Now imagine the same thing, but for your dad.-

-The water present in his cup carried over to yours, but not in a 1 to 1 ratio. Some of it is lost somewhere along the way, so it ends up becoming a lottery once again where you could hit the jackpot on a certain subject, or go for broke.-

-I know it's confusing, but I'm trying to be as literal as possible.-

'I get it. Thanks.' Ben expressed his gratitude before a thought came to his mind. 'Are you able to tell what I inherited from my mother and father specifically?'

-Yes. But I can't tell you. That goes against the natural order, and I'm not strong enough to drop any hints.-

'How so?'

-Can't answer that buddy. Authority isn't even a problem with this question, you're going to have to figure it out yourself somehow.-

Ben ignored the alarm bells that were sent through his mind for the moment, deciding to get back to their original subject.

'Alright then. Tell me what information I'm now able to learn instead.'

-Alrighty then! As you have no doubt already known thanks to me and Giovanni's past explanation, the Emotional Spectrum is a multiversal and primordial force that existed before even time itself.-

-In the multiverse, time is relative. Certain series of events could happen simultaneously, or not have happened at all.-

-They could have happened in a different way, or with different characters. The possibilities are endless basically.-

-You should already know this due to all the different Marvel universes we discussed earlier. But not every universe has its own multiverse-

-However, what you don't know, or weren't able to confirm until now, was the existence of other types of realities, magnifying those already endless possibilities if that's even possible.-

Ben was starting to realize where his friend and partner were going with this, astonishment managing to cover his features slightly.

'You mean… they exist?' Ben questioned.

The gold-orange aura surrounding his form spoke of his shock.

-You already know they exist.- if ESAMAL had eyes, they'd be rolling in his sockets right now. -How else would you have come from the world that you died in? What part of multiversal don't you get?-

Ben had to let that sink in. All forms of realities did exist outside of time and space, widening his sense of self and the world around him by magnitudes.

At first, he thought that maybe only this universe was an exception.

I mean, you never know. Maybe this was the only other reality in existence instead of his original Earth. No other fictional works could've existed except this one.

Maybe there only exists a fictional superhero universe similar to Marvel in nature, DC being the only other work of fiction in existence with an endless amount of Batmans, Supermans, Justice Leagues…and more.

If this even was a fictional work though.

Since his memories were erased he had no idea of if this was fictional. Therefore by extension, ESAMAL had no idea.

Before, there was technically no evidence to counteract both theories of either only this multiverse existing, or there being more.

Except now of course.

Every TV show, cartoon, movie, animated show… basically any type or form of entertainment, existed outside the boundaries of his world.

'Hang on. Is this why my memories were erased before? So that I'm not constantly questioning whether this is reality or fiction?' the thought suddenly came to him.

It would make so much sense in essence. He remembered reading similar stories or novels where characters questioned their lives, disassociating themselves from the world and their loved ones, deluding themselves into thinking reality was an illusion.

It even happens with regular people in today's society, whether it be here or in his past life.

Madara was probably laughing in his grave…

Letting that thought fester in the back of his mind for later alongside some other of his thoughts, he went back to question ESAMAL.

-Unfortunately, you can't visit those worlds.- ESAMAL replied shortly, ready for his next words.

That drew him up short, his excitement and astonishment being replaced with logical and clear thinking once again.

'Ok, explain yourself.'

-If you ended up in any other world and still somehow managed to connect to the ES, we would be having a different conversation. But unfortunately, you ended up here in DC.-

-To enter those worlds would mean exiting from outside our relative multiverse, and crossing through the Source Wall, the barrier which was first put up by 'The Creator' in order to prevent this multiverse from being destroyed by whatever lies beyond it.-

-The Source Wall is a barrier that each separate universe inside our multiverse holds. So if you go to another universe, they'll have their own Source Wall as well.-

-But other than that, there's one other giant Source Wall that separates this reality from the others.-

-So, if you cross through both somehow, you risk the death and destruction of this part of the entire multiverse and its inhabitants.-

That simple explanation brought Ben up short, yet he still held some hope for that not to be all.

'There's no way around it?'

-Afraid so mate. Think about it. Since it's almost impossible to reach the level of power to brute force through that wall, let's say you find a technical backdoor that definitely doesn't exist.-

-You end up risking a possible way in for whatever is being kept behind it by shining a spotlight on a backdoor they couldn't find before.-

-Again, even though it's practically impossible, let's say that you do manage to reach a level of power similar to 'The Creator'. What reason would you have to go to other worlds at that point, instead of creating your own or something else?-

-It's like what you read and heard about in your previous world. To reach the top, sacrifices are constantly made in both unexpected and known ways. By the time you get there, are you certain you would still be the same person who would've wanted to go to that world and explore just as excitedly as you were right now?-

Ben was silenced at that explanation, realizing the simple truth and wisdom behind it.

When he did manage to reach that level of power… not if… how much would he have changed?

Would he still have the same level of maturity as he did now?

Growing up means experiencing things that while at first seemed new and exciting, eventually became dull and boring somehow.

After a couple of more moments, he responded firmly.

'Then I guess I just have to find a way to reach that level without losing myself in the process. After all, ev-'

-Everything's possible. Yeah yeah I get it, heard it a hundred thousand times from your mouth in my short time of existence already.- ESAMAL interjected, annoyance and exasperation laced through his voice.

'Yet, you still make me end up saying it over and over again.' Ben snorted.

-Anyways…- ESAMAL ignored him. -Let's focus back on what I was saying earlier.-

-Even though you can't go to those worlds, some of those worlds can be brought to you in a way.-

'Before, you had my curiosity. But now, you have my attention.'

-Heh, good one.- ESAMAL chuckled slightly before fake coughing.

-*Ahem*. As mentioned before, all forms of emotional energy that bleed into the universe after a creature feels any type of emotion is eventually absorbed into the ES, forming the multiversal library full of information, granting you different forms of memories, techniques, sensations, impressions, and whatnot.-

-This is due to the fact that after life was born into existence, emotions came first, with thought and individual identities being the result afterward. So, lines of thinking or memories that are born of a certain emotion are usually captured as well alongside those bled emotions.-

-The easiest image I can give you is this. Emotions are supposed to go in the plastic bin, while thoughts, memories, and everything else go in the regular garbage bin.-

-But when the emotions are absorbed by the universe, instead of the two being separated, everything is thrown away all together into one.-

-The ES could be considered an automatic program before I came, where that sort of information was thought of as residual junk to be washed or picked off in order to take in pure emotional energy only.-

-It only takes the recyclable material, and not the garbage. It has no use for that information, nor does it want it.-

-But of course, to us it's priceless. The information was only stripped and dumped somewhere else, not destroyed! It has nowhere else to go other than where the emotional energy ended up, so those pieces of information end up being trapped inside a forgotten and lost corner.-

-Currently, you only had access to the snippets of information I could randomly find, and whatever you managed to learn through your psychometry.-

-But now, you have reached a milestone in your connection with the plane, allowing me to grant you certain bits of knowledge from other universes.- ESAMAL explained, excitement radiating off him in waves.

Ben smiled at that, appreciation and love being bled through his aura at how this little bundle of color was excited on his behalf.

He quickly came back into focus the next moment however as he questioned him.

'What kind of knowledge are we talking about exactly?' he asked seriously.

-It's the same rules. If they're sapient, then they feel emotion and have information to give in some way. As long as you name me a character that you can remember from a certain world or reality, I can see what was absorbed and discarded from their emotions.-

-You can receive any form of knowledge from skills and techniques, memories of someone else's life, a useless map that belonged to that world only, or inventions and blueprints of certain technologies.-

Ben was thrilled at that idea, the previous thought of visiting those worlds vanishing from his mind.

Even though he tries to humble himself as arrogance is the friend of defeat, he has a good awareness of how powerful he was in this universe, especially thanks to his father's teachings.

Other than pure power, preparedness and secrecy can make a whole level of difference.

For example, at the beginning during his debut, most people in the public domain only know that Superman's indestructible.

Yet all it took was some snooping and observation being done by his father and possibly some of the other Man of Steel's enemies to find his weakness to Kryptonite.

Just a tiny piece of green space rock can clinch you a victory against what could be considered a God amongst men.

As for secrecy, Ben realizes the need to differentiate between the good lies and the bad, as there are certain things that are too important to share and others that may cause harm if kept to oneself.

Because of this, he was honest with his family when he told them that he died, but just not where.

He takes his Wildcard persona in that direction too. He usually keeps certain inventions, powers, and skills that he created only to himself, as an unexpected hand to deal with his opponents in moments of peril or need.

God knows how many backup plans or contingencies his father never told him about…

But even with all of this, even though he can't speak for others, he would never say no to more power.

Facts have shown that in a universe like this one, EVERYONE was powerful in some ways, nobody having an absolute advantage over another.

In Marvel, they make it seem like Thanos was all-powerful, a destroyer of worlds, capable of killing the entire universe at the snap of his fingers.

…Then he goes and gets beaten by a girl with the powers of a squirrel in one comic issue.

It's ridiculous, but not entirely inaccurate.

'So, I can find information and knowledge from someone like Anos Voldigoad, or even Goku? WAIT! Can I absorb the memories or experiences from another Bruce Wayne, Richard Grayson, or me from a similar universe?!' he spoke, colors brightening around him at his rising excitement and increasing fantastical thoughts.

-Technically, yes. But unfortunately, you can't absorb them.-

Ben's face froze at that, before he became annoyed and exasperated.

'Stop fooling around. I'm getting tired of all this back and forth. Explain clearly please.'

-I did explain clearly, you just weren't paying attention for some reason.- ESAMAL grumbled.

-Regarding the first two characters, you seemed to miss the part where I said 'under a certain amount of power'. Those guys are way above what I would deem safe.-

-Simply put, I refuse to give you access to information related to them for your own protection.-

'Don't give me that "It's for your own good" speech. Explain clearly.'

-You have no idea how dangerous some beings can become. Obviously, you're still new to this idea of powers and unnatural abilities since you're previous world didn't have them, but just shifting through your memories on some of the guys you read or watched in some work of fiction managed to give me chills by extension.-

-Nothing is infallible or perfect, just like the ES. Even if we manage to unclutter some of that information junk or something, who's to say it's not booby-trapped or rigged in some way?-

-The ES is really thorough when it comes to purging anything trying to hitch a ride on pure emotional energy. But that's it.-

-I already mentioned that the information thrown away is useless to it. So by extension, it's not as carefully screened for potential hitchhikers, or possible viruses for lack of a better term.-

-There are beings out there who are capable of literally splitting their consciousness in some way, or even having sentient pieces of information being born just from their very existence, and more terrible manner of things.-

-If it came from a superpowered being, there could even be some kind of lingering presence of a person's will embedded within somewhere.-

- It's a strange world buddy.-

He was right. In his excitement, Ben was too impulsive and irrational for a moment, something that could've led to disastrous consequences had they gone through with that idea.

It was refreshing in a way that he could feel like this since he was so unused to the feeling after so long.

Maybe it was because he was so used to his natural state of calmness, but he never made a mistake or oversight like this before.

But other than being refreshing, it was also scary in a way.

Was he becoming disassociated with some of his emotions? Not allowing them to affect his thought process?

Or is the true him becoming the one who is always calm?

Saving that disturbing thought for later he turned back to the topic at hand.

'Ok, I understand that part then. But what about absorbing information from another universe's Wayne family? By your logic, there should be versions of my father, brother, and I that exist under a certain level of power.'

-Similar to earlier, authority is not a problem. You and I have been banned permissions by someone high above us in ranking from absorbing information from other universes within this reality's multiverse. Not to mention, even though you should be able to gain info from any universe, you've currently been banned on that front as well, being given access to only 4 universes of your choosing.-

Ben froze at that, his thoughts screeching to a halt. The true weight of what he was just told settling in.

'Who's responsible?' he questioned carefully.

-Can't answer you. I have no idea. The information just came to me on its own. All I know is the reason.-

-Again, even though it should technically be within your right to do so, there's the problem of you gaining knowledge about certain events you're not allowed to know about.-

-Just like in Marvel, the 616 main universe is one of the lynchpins holding that multiverse together. This causes some events to occur in other universes similarly in nature due to them carrying over.-

-There are only some differences that are left here or there.-

'You mean how like how in almost every universe, Peter Parker manages to become Spider-Man due to the death of Ben Parker, and in some you have Gwen Stacy or Miles Morales?'

-Exactly.-

-The way this information gathering works is that you name a character from some reality, and I grab an information packet related to them, and we both hope for the best. Another lottery basically.-

'Hooooooraaaaaaaay.' Ben faux-cheered in obvious sarcasm.

-There's always a chance that the information given to you could be a memory regarding a certain event from another universe. That knowledge can be abused if carried over, which is something the big guns apparently don't want to happen.-

-But that only stands for Dick and Bruce. For you… there's no other Benjamin David Wayne in existence apparently.-

Ben was stunned, trying to figure out what he was just told.

'Wh-'

-Don't even bother. Once again, authority isn't even an issue. That's all I know.-

Ben was silent at that, still trying to digest the information given to him.

'Do we at least know why they don't want me to know more information? In fact, were they the ones who deleted or messed with my memories and aged me somehow?' he questioned, glossing over the fact that there were no other Benjamin David's in existence.

It was strange, he should feel happy that he wasn't cloned or copied in a way, but he also felt slightly sad for some reason.

As if he was alone in a way he never even knew of before.

-I have no idea. And even if we asked, do you think whatever is that powerful would answer?-

'Maybe not. But I risk losing an important aspect of my powers.' Ben thought for a moment.

'Even if I don't get to know more about my universe or the events that could possibly happen, I could possibly gain the memories and experiences of some of the greatest fighters from our relative multiverse, with knowledge of certain sciences being denied to me as well.' he eventually concluded, his aura gaining an intense green color.

He made an important decision, one he will never know the outcome of unless he tried.

-So? What are you going to do?- ESAMAL asked in confusion.

'Whoever you are, I know you can hear me. I recognize and understand your power, and ask that you help me with this limit you've imposed upon me.' Ben spoke as if addressing an invisible figure.

'Since you are powerful enough to deny me and my partner the right to gain memories from this relative multiverse, then surely you should be powerful enough to be able to determine what kind of information I can obtain.'

'So instead of completely denying me this right for no reason, I ask that you take over the filtering of the information I can gain from other universes, but without anything related to the events or people you don't want me to know about.'

Silence settled on their colorful surroundings for a moment, ESAMAL and Ben not speaking or moving at all.

After some more time when nothing happened, ESAMAL spoke up.

-Well, I guess that was a bust. Guess some things really are impossible.-

{Your reasoning is acceptable, and your request has been slightly granted.}

Suddenly, Ben and ESAMAL's figures shook, their very astral forms glitching in and out in some way without warning at the sudden unknown voice.

It was ethereal and static in nature, the voice somehow being so close yet so far to their ears at the same time.

After a couple more moments, they eventually managed to stabilize themselves, unable to completely understand what had just occurred.

'That… Did… Who…?'

Ben was speechless for the first time in his second life..

-I take back everything I ever said before! I'm just a dumb little ball who will forever bow to your whims. I'll never doubt you again!- ESAMAL practically screamed in fear and awe.

Ben decided to ignore him for the moment, taking a second to try and understand the voice he just heard.

Except, he realized something terrifying almost immediately.

'Quick! What can you deduce or remember about that voice?!'

-What are you talking about? It was obviously…-

ESAMAL trailed off, realizing what Ben had as well.

-I can't remember! That's so trippy!- ESAMAL exclaimed.

-You've got balls of steel for trying that!-

'It said that the request was granted, but only slightly. Check if you can now tap into the memories of characters from the nearest universe.' Ben spoke, trying to get back on track for the moment.

Although shocked and horrified that somebody was able to intrude into what was supposed to be his private place, he tried not to let that get to him for the moment.

-Alright. Let me see here… yeah I can! Awesome!- ESAMAL exclaimed in excitement.

His emotions were all over the place now thanks to recent events and revelations.

-But there are exceptions here that you need to know.-

'Like what?'

-Just like how each reality has a 'champion' or persons of interest residing within them, this multiverse is home to many of them. So, unless you know or have met one of these 'champions' beforehand in this universe, you can't absorb information related to them from another universe either.-

Ben let that sink in for a moment, the implications of what has just been said only just reaching his head for the moment.

'Isn't that exactly like Marvel? Doesn't that mean my father's a champion since he's a superhero in a way?'

-Can't say. I can tell you that there are many universes where Bruce Wayne is Batman and we could guess like last time, but there's no information to either prove or deny it until we earn more authority.-

-But that's an interesting thought. You could be the son of a main character! Imagine the plot armor you'll get.- ESAMAL joked.

-Be here comes the curveball. You have a permanent limit of only absorbing 5 sets of information from people in this multiverse.-

'What!' Ben was stunned at that, realizing he's been tricked in a way.

He still needs to technically meet a 'champion' or important person to earn their memories from either here or another one of their selves from a different parallel universe.

Plus, there's no telling whether the information he gains can even be helpful. He could just absorb random bits of data relating to a photo, instead of memories on fighting techniques or a subject of interest.

So it all comes down to a choice. Should he play the waiting game for now and wait till he meets new people, or just get it over with and use his chances to get some kind of info from people like Flash and Superman?

Thoughts for later.

'Ok. Ignoring that for the moment and now that an important problem has been solved in some way, how would getting information from characters outside this reality or from another universe work then?' Ben ignored him, wanting to finish up quickly now.

He no longer felt safe here.

-This part is extremely important, so listen carefully.- ESAMAL suddenly spoke, his voice becoming stern.

-As mentioned earlier, I have no way of knowing what's safe for you to take in or not, so you have to name me the four universes first, then the characters from which universe you decide on, and I'll decide if you can do so.- ESAMAL explained with dead seriousness.

'Elaborate.'

-I'm going to be honest. Power levels between characters is confusing. There's no easy way for me to evaluate some characters or persons of interest as more powerful than one another.-

-Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, so I can't just generalize. That would be idiotic.-

-The people in your past world had done something similar to a 'Tier' system, but I find it just plain useless regarding some points.-

-For example, there was one question I can remember from your past life memories where people argued about whether Goku was stronger or Saitama. They tried so hard to prove one side more correct than the other, even though there's no easy way to tell.-

-This led me to a realization that I will be basing our future actions on. For each character or person of interest, their powers can be broken down into things like physical skills, techniques, abilities, and intelligence.-

-The previous risks I mentioned regarding the info packets still stand, but there are some other things you need to note. I've broken it down into steps so that you can easily understand.

-First thing to note though, although the information is random, I can still separate the more dangerous ones from the safer ones.-

-This is thanks to the three easy steps I came up with.-

-Step 1: You first need to name for me a character. If I believe that they are too powerful for you to handle, then I will deny your request to absorb info related to them in any way. This is the easiest and best way to lower the immediate risks.-

-Step 2: If I deem a character acceptable, then the lottery commences.-

-I've already mentioned how random these packs of info can be. They could contain the barest hints of consciousness, just be random bits of memories regarding an object or person, or contain the entire life and experiences of an individual. We have no idea how much depth or storage each packet contains, another technical risk.-

-This leads to the importance of the next step.-

-Step 3: If I believe that your spiritual strength or processing capabilities are too low, then even if the character could be considered weak, I will still deny your request to do so.-

-This is to minimize the risk of you absorbing too much information that you can't handle. You could ask to absorb information from some random low-level Shinigami and I would still deny you cause we don't know how long they lived. What if he lived 800 years and you ended up having his entire life just crammed into you?-

-As I said before, each plane of power operates under different rules. In the ES, it's the strength and depth of your spirit, soul, intelligence, and emotions. That's all that matters here.-

-Other forms of power have no substance and are unable to accomplish anything meaningful in this place. The universal laws here are more spiritual and mental in nature.-

-So if you have enough of either of those forms of strength, then we can slowly increase the power and depth of who you can absorb the info of.-

-Do know that your sense of self is also your greatest strength in here. Whatever grip you have on your identity and knowledge as "Benjamin David Wayne" is the grip to keeping your sanity in cases of emergency.-

-If you end up picking some packet with too much information or a form of will like I explained earlier, then you need to overpower and overcome whatever ends up hitting you, without losing a grip on yourself.-

'Alright I get it. Stop emphasizing the same thing over and over again.' Ben complained, finally getting tired of his constant mentioning of too much information and whatnot.

-Apparently, you don't. The reason I can't stress this enough is simple. If just one of these packets ends up being too much, you could suffer from an information overload even with your supernatural intelligence, causing you to lose yourself.- ESAMAL explained grimly.

-For the negative consequences, the best-case scenario is that you just die from shock, or explode, both spiritually and physically. The worst-case scenario is that some parasite or unknown creature somehow manages to take over your body and unleash horrors upon the multiverse.-

-There's also the fact that not all sapient creatures are of the same race. Other than the fact that some of these non-human beings have either lived or still live (Again, time is relative.) for extremely long amounts of time, they can also probably store information differently than what your human brain is used to.- he finished explaining.

-As such, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!- he shouted suddenly, trying to lighten the mood.

Now, Ben just felt like an idiot.

'Stop rubbing it in.' Ben sighed.

-Now onto one last important thing. I have come up with a measurement for the depth of your connection with the ES, which will grant you more permissions as you grow.- ESAMAL ignored him once again and continued on.

At those words, a number seemed to appear in front of Ben's mind like usual.

'5.03%.'

-That's the percentage of 'authority' you've managed to form with the ES which currently grants you all the information I've just told you. There is a milestone for each 5% that will improve all your current powers and grant you more access to certain information about certain worlds, our own universe, and other things.-

-As you've no doubt noticed, you'd be lucky if you managed to even reach 100% in your lifetime since it took you around 3 years to get to this point. Plus, after each point, it becomes exponentially harder to increase the connection.-

Ben let that bit of information sink in for the moment. It's a lot to take in, especially in such a short time. He thought he would have his hands full with just his emotional manipulation powers, but now he has so many chances at learning other power systems with the knowledge he could potentially gain from here.

He basically understood the gist of it. Since everything is mental and spiritual in nature, abilities or skills that required you to be a certain race or have a certain special constitution definitely wouldn't work for him as they were.

Like the Bloodline Limits in Naruto, or the genetic information of Quirk holders in MHA.

He can't just magically own a Stand somehow without having an Arrow.

But, the knowledge was still priceless. He could study the way certain techniques function, and maybe find a way for it to work for him, reverse engineering the results in some way, even if not exactly.

Maybe even find a packet of info on Kryptonians and Martians from another nearby universe.

He could even have pages of technological blueprints for his own use.

Not to mention all the power systems he can possibly learn or generate as well, and the sheer magical knowledge that can most probably carry over.

Chakra, Ki, Mana, Nen, Cursed Energy, Hamon…

The list just goes on.

In fact, first on his list was definitely Spiritual Power from Bleach, since just from the name it will probably mesh with his spiritual energy.

But there comes a problem with all of this that he noticed right away.

Even if he tries his best, he knows that he can't spend every single waking moment training to figure everything out. There's just so much potential here that will somehow end up being wasted.

What's the point of power if he ends up forgetting to live his life instead?

Obviously, he needs the power to protect this new life of his and those close to him. But if he constantly worries about that, how can he live in the moment like he's been doing?

It's a conundrum, one with no true answer.

One that he'd have to find out for himself just like he's been doing since he arrived here.

Much more clear-headed now, he was able to figure out what better to do.

'Thanks for all the info buddy.'

-I got you amigo. Whenever you want, just pass me the names of the universe you decided on so that I can lock them in, then we'll go for the characters and I'll see if I can let you try to absorb info from them.- ESAMAL emphasized once again.

Though Ben could tell that he was worried about him, he was starting to get tired at this point.

Centering himself once again, and thinking about it for a moment, Ben came up with an idea.

'I have a better idea. Why don't you just access my memory and record every character I can remember? I'll name to you a certain power, skill, energy system, or even technological field that I'm interested in learning about, and you can name me characters that have them. If I feel that they're worth it, I can lock in an entire universe just to be able to absorb info from them.' he spoke up in a moment of brilliance, his aura turning light blue.

'For example, if I want to learn more about my emotional manipulation powers. Even though some characters need a certain item or a special physique to use such a power in some way, you can just filter them out.'

'If I can't do the same without those certain conditions, just the experiences could still be helpful should we both deem it safe. I can find a way to emulate it or improve my own abilities if I can even just gain people's sensations of their abilities or something along those lines.'

-I like the way you think!- ESAMAL exclaimed. -Give me a moment.-

After a couple of minutes, he was given the green light to go ahead.

-Alright. What power were you thinking?-

'Are you serious? I already said it. Go for emotional manipulation. Doesn't matter if it's a skill, power, piece of technology, or whatever.'

-Hmm. Okay, here's a list with the worlds included for reference.-

-

Pokemon: Mespirit

League of Legends: Azakana

Elder Scrolls: All Dragonborn (Performed VIA Illusion Magic)

Danny Phantom: All Pathokinesis Users

Codes Geass: Like every important character with a Geass (Performed VIA Geass)

Sonic: Walter Naugus

-

ESAMAL began listing off different types of characters to Ben, both known and unknown, and even listing off entire worlds related to emotional manipulation like the Code Geass, all while adding funny comments or anecdotes here or there.

Eventually, Ben paused in shock from what he heard after a couple more characters were mentioned.

'Wait! I think I just misheard you. Did you just say what I think you said?'

-Yup. I'm just as surprised, but if you think about it, it falls under the category. Haki is considered a form of ambition manipulation, which is a subset power to emotional manipulation.'

A grin formed on Ben's tired face at that.

'Well, I know the first universe I'm locking in.'

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

All right. I'm going to start off what can be taken away from this chapter with one simple sentence.

THIS WILL NOT BE A MULTIVERSE STORY!

I love a good multiverse story just like any other, but that's not what this is NO SIR!

I've made it abundantly clear that this will be a purely DC/Young Justice fanfic.

However, there are some elements in DC about the wider Omni-verse that aren't explored or made known that allowed me to incorporate the idea into this.

Obviously it shouldn't extend to anything past the sister universes, but hey, it's my fanfic and anything I says goes!

I know that things like this are what makes or breaks a story, but again, his powers will still be revolving around what has already been established and planned for him, not the things you believe he will earn from his 'library.' It's heavily limited in ways that you will later understand and come to find out.

For example, what you can take away about his library is this right now...

1 - Information can range from a random type of sensation, to a being's entire life's memories.

2 - All information can be found and absorbed from any sentient being as long as it's properly absorbed by the ES.

3 - Not all beings are equal in sentience and feelings, so some pieces of information may be found differently.

4 - Even though he should technically be able to take information from any kind of sentient person from any kind of universe, ESAMAL does not allow this. And anyways, Ben's blocked by another being to only able to connect with 4 universes.

5 - Other than his four outer universe limit, he can only gain information from 5 'champions' from sister universes relative the DC multiverse as long as he met them. (An example could be information from another universe's Batman, Robin, Superman, etc.) Note: If done, the amount of information obtained is still random as explained in rule number one.

There's a lot of rules in place and I know it makes it boring for some people, but the point is for him to explore! Making him too strong ruins that.

But at the same time, I need to grant him some kind of power or form of acquiring it that matches what I'm trying to portray of the ES. I need to instill this delicate sense of balance that will have him fighting above his paygrade at some point, but after a believable amount of time and different amounts of discovery.

Plus... the ES is a power that the human mind cannot fathom.

The lore regarding the ES is deeper than you guys might actually realize, and I'll show you through this story.

I hope I've made this clear for all of you and that there's an even more perfect idea of his powers. I know that this was an info dump, and I plan on not doing that again either ever or for a long long long time. I will only be including the other obvious limitations these words imply as things that Ben will discover overtime.

To end your day on some good news! I recently conducted a poll on Patreon in which it was voted on what kind of fanfic you'd like to see in the future if I ever plan another one.

Well... it should be obvious that Marvel won with a landslide.

I am going to be taking my patrons opinions most into account about what they want for now, but I would still like some feedback about which Marvel fic you guys think would be best for later.

I will not be writing another story right now since I don't have time for that and feel like it would take away from the potential this one still needs to express.

But I would still like to have an introductory plot and storyline written and ready and shelved for later.

So, I'll be posting some info about the stories later and you guys can just vote on it for me.

I believe that's all, and I want to thank you guys so much for your time as usual!

You can still earn an extra chapter here and on Patreon when you reach 1.5k stones, but other than that you already know to leave your stones, comments, and reviews on the desk on your way out.

I hope you guys have a wonderful day!

patreon.com/Geo_Ruler

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

-Oscar Wilde

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