Chapter 4: Birth of a Hero

CyberActors15: Welcome back ladies and gentlemen to How to Raise a Kryptonian. Before we get into the chapter, let's have a brief recap of what happened last chapter. Last time Ben found himself having to make changes to his life in order to accommodate to having two kids to take care of. Ben got a job at Mister Smoothy, where he met Bruce Wayne briefly. Ben also got a new house to stay in courtesy of Dr Max and Verdona. Lastly, Ben was able to help Kara, if a bit with her nightmares, and she called him Dad for the first time.

Robin: The chapter was so long that you would expect the recap to be a bit longer. But I guess those are all the important things that did occur in the chapter.

Gwen: Regardless of the length of the recap in relation to the chapter, I am still surprised at the content of the chapter. That's got me curious for what's ahead.

CyberActors15: Oh I got the things planned for this chapter. Speaking of which lets get into it.

April 19 2008

It was all over the news, Lionel Luthor, Billionaire and CEO of Luthor Corp, would be hosting the event of the year. This event served multiple purposes, one being a large charity benefit, the other being a chance for companies and businesses which were allied with Luther Corp to show off recent advances as well as try to improve or gain new relations with Lionel Luthor. Additionally this event was meant to showcase advancements for Luthor Corp to show off their own advancements.

At least that is what the public knew. There was no denying the rumours of shady deals, and questionable working conditions, and other such rumours about Lionel Luthor and his business. There was this general idea that this event was created to disprove all those rumours. Those in the underground new better.

This was certainly a ploy to make Luthor Corp look good. But it was also another Shady deal happening in broad daylight. This information was limited to a few. Two of Lionel Luthor's shady contacts would be in town attending his benefit, one the immortal Vandal Savage and the other immortal Ra's al Ghul, and those two targets, specifically Vandal Savage is why the mercenary group gathered today.

The leader of the group, a man named Julius Savage, named after his father's earlier persona, Julius Cesare. Unlike many of his other siblings, Julius was not here with the purpose of assisting his father or helping document his legacy or anything else of the sort. He was here for one reason and that was to ruin his father's fun.

He knew better than most that there was absolutely no way to Kill his father, but killing everyone inside the Luthor benefit that could possibly be an aid to him would at least be enough to be a bother to his father. If anything he would at least be able to kill one of his siblings that were always around his father, and bonus points for being able to get rid of the Demon's head.

Now he had no personal anger against Lionel Luthor or any of his guests, but even if they didn't all know it, they were or could be pawns in his father's game so they were all slated for execution. After he robbed them blind, of course.

His eyes glowed dangerously at the thought of ruining his father's plans. He had better not get too excited however as his forearms were similarly glowing. Yes, he was one of the rare siblings who had inherited and activated the meta-gene, making him a Meta-human. When his father learnt of his powers, Julius's life became nothing short of constant training to be a perfect weapon for his father's arsenal. Julius got sick of it and left and started planning ways to continuously screw over his father's plans.

The latest plan obviously involved, his army of mercenaries, some high tech alien weaponry which he stole from his father and a building full of Lionel Luthor guests.

"Gentlemen, we ready for tonight?" Julius called out.

"Yeah Boss," was the reply he was met with causing him to grin.

"Good. Remember, when we go out there, our objective is to take what we can and blow the place sky high. Also no real names, only code names in the field. So I want you to let me know, are we going to have a good night tonight?"

"Yeah Boss."

Julius's grin on spread as he grabbed his signature equipment, his siege mask. When he put it on he was no longer Julius Savage, he went by the code name Siege.

~00000~

"Daddy, what are you doing?" Kara asked.

It had been a month since Ben, Kara and Conner had moved into their new house, in which there had been a few changes to their lifestyle. Kara's English had improved incredibly in the time and she was almost fluent in the language, as fluent as a super intelligent three year old could be with English as their second language. Additionally Kara had come to accept Ben as her new caretaker and had thus started calling him dad, which obviously made Gwen, Aunt Gwen. Additionally Kara had grown into accepting calling Conner, Conner as opposed to Kon, however it was a name she still continued to call him every once in a while. Ben had as well come to accept his role as an adoptive father. It was still weird as this was still new territory for him but he was adjusting well enough. Conner was still just a baby who couldn't speak any more than incoherent baby speech but he was capable of responding to his name and he understood the difference between yes and no so that was progress.

"Just putting the finishing touches." Ben commented as he stepped away from the nearly completed car.

One of the other changes in Ben's life was his promotion in Mr Smoothy. Although it was never supposed to be a job that he would eternally commit to, Ben did prove to be more than skilled enough to quickly advance up the chain of command in the small smoothie bar, and within no time he was crowned as Manager. And as a result he got an increased pay check. Using some of that pay check he got himself two old cars… and a military tank, don't ask. And using those vehicles, some left over alien tech that Verdona left in the house and a lovely bunch of aliens called Juryrigg, Upgrade, Diamond Head, Grey Matter and Brainstorm, Ben crafted a brand new car, one comparable to his original DX Mark 10. Now it just needed a few finishing touches.

Ben lifted his hand and slapped on the Omnitrix turning himself into XLR8. Kara squealed in delight as she always loved Ben's alien transformations. With his super speed, he grabbed the car paint cans and applied the paint job before turning into Heatblast and sending the flames over the car.

Once the process was done, the car stood completed with a shiny new paintjob with colours of black and green. Impressed with his handy work Ben let the Omnitrix beep before he was replaced with his original form in a flash of red light… wait red light? It had been a while since that had happened.

As if detecting Ben's thoughts, which was likely what happened considering Ben could change aliens with a thought, Omni answered.

"Ben, please try to limit use of the Omnitrix today as I am currently installing a software update and using the Omnitrix will only delay that process and cause your transformations to time out." Omni said from within the Omnitrix.

"Updates?" Ben asked. "You get software updates."

"Yes, even though the Omnitrix does not require the connection to Primus to function. It is still connected to the network and still receives updates." Omni explained.

"Huh neat." Ben noted before he admired his handy work with his new car. It was a sleek four (five if you counted the middle seat in the back) seater sports car which was mostly white in colour but it was highlighted with Green accents, almost like an inverse to his original DX Mark 10. It even had Omnitrix hubcaps. The inside on the other hand, had a preference for black and green with the seats mostly being black with green accents.

The car was designed to go fast when it needed to and really fast when it wanted to. It was also AI compatible to Omni was able to link with the Car's internal computer. Ben had also installed an under glow for when he really wants to show off. Most would say that sports cars were not suitable for family cars, Ben didn't know why that was but he wasn't worried. This car was designed with max level protection and an incredibly hard shell that could take a few hits from Fourarms. Additionally the inside was so incredibly softly cushioned that no one inside would be able to feel any pain from a crash. Not that he was worried considering that Kara and Conner were incredibly durable.

After admiring his work he turned back to Kara who was watching him with curiosity.

"Looks like I should avoid changing for the day. That's fine I suppose. So want to go for a ride in my new car?"

"Yes." Kara said gleefully. It appeared as though the idea of driving around town really appealed to her.

With her approval Ben quickly placed Kara and Conner into their respective car seats before hopping into his own seat behind the wheel. With the roaring of an engine Ben drove out of the garage and out into the City of Metropolis.

~00000~

First stop on the car ride was S.T.A.R Labs. Ben figured he might as well see what Caitlin and Crystal were doing, alongside introduce the two Kryptonians to the famed laboratory.

Once he arrived he was surprised to find that S.T.A.R Labs was mostly empty and that was a surprise in of itself. However Ben didn't have to worry for too long as he encountered the director of the Laboratory, Dr Paradox, talking with some of the research assistants.

Ben approached at Dr Paradox finished his discussion.

"Greetings Ben." Dr Paradox said upon noticing Ben, Kara and Conner "And hello there, you must be Kara, and this little one must be Conner."

"Hello." Kara said with enthusiasm.

"Hi Doc. Where is everyone?" Ben asked.

"Everyone who isn't attending Lionel Luthor's Benefit today has the day off, and those who are attending, are getting ready for the event or are already setting up." Dr Paradox explained.

"Who's?" Ben asked.

"Lionel Luthor, is the Billionaire CEO of Luthor Corp and he is a powerful man with a lot of influence in the scientific community. Even his son Lex, is a large pioneer in the scientific field." Dr Paradox explained.

"So naturally scientists from S.T.A.R Labs will be at the benefit?" Ben summarised.

"Precisely." Dr Paradox responded. "Alongside Wayne Enterprises and Queen Consolidated, Luthor Corp is a financial backer of all the S.T.A.R Labs in the different cities, even though those companies have their own scientific divisions. Their help is fundamental to our research so we always make it a habit to attend their events."

"Makes sense." Ben commented. "Well I just wanted to introduce these two to S.T.A.R Labs and maybe see if I could hang out with Caitlin and Crystal."

"Unfortunately they will be attending Mr Luthor's benefit. Perhaps another time." Dr Paradox said.

"That's a shame." Ben sighed. "Oh well maybe next time. See you later Dr Paradox."

"Bye." Kara added.

"Goodbye you three. I hope to see you again soon." Dr Paradox said.

With that Ben, Kara and Conner left. It was fine though, there was still a lot they could do in their drive through of the city.

~00000~

"Lane, get in here. I've got job for you!" Perry White.

"Got it chief."

The Daily Planet was a whir of activity as usual. Reporters, journalists and photographers were moving around with their stories that needed to be printed for next day's paper. Despite the hustle and bustle, there was a relaxed air in the building, one that spoke volumes of people inside and their commitment to their craft.

There was one however who was not relaxed. She was frustrated. She was Lois Lane, the most ambitious reporter in the whole Newspaper Company. She had raven black hair lilac eyes and a personal preference for the colour of purple in her clothing.

The reason for her frustration was because she was never given any of the interesting stories to write on. Admittedly she was pretty young, 23, and had only been working in the Daily Planet for just under a year due to her joining right after college, but regardless of that fact, she had plenty of accomplishments under her belt and knew that she could tackle the real stories not puff piece editorials. But she didn't really have a choice in the matter. Perry White would be giving her a job to handle, but every time he gave her a job, she was always given something boring.

"What can I do for you Mr White?" Lois asked as she entered the office. To her surprise Perry wasn't alone, in the room was some teenager, around 15 or so, with red hair green eyes and freckles. Based on the fact there was a camera around his neck. She assumed he was a photographer but based on the fact that he was a teenager was a bit odd.

"Lane, James Olsen. Olsen, Lois Lane." Perry introduced. "With that out of the way I want you two to cover Luthor's benefit tonight."

"Lionel Luthor's Benefit? Come on Chief, that's not news, it's barely worth must attention." Lois complained. "Why are you sticking me on this job with this kid? Is this punishment for the monster of Metropolis thing?"

Over the past two months there had been a rumour of some monster or monsters skulking around and defeating criminals before disappearing in a green flash. Lois decided to investigate these supposed hero monster claims but her investigation turned up no leads and no evidence that such a creature even existed. Worst part is that she spent a whole two weeks looking into this urban myth when she should have been working on her sports coverage of the football league that was going on at the time.

It's safe to say that Perry wasn't happy that Lois went on a wild goose chase with nothing to show for it.

"Wow Miss Lane really is a snappy as they say." James commented.

"Tell me about it." Perry agreed with a grown before he turned back to Lois. "No this isn't punishment. Regardless of what you may think, Lionel Luthor's benefit is news worthy and is likely to have an effect on the city as a whole depending on what gets unveiled tonight. And I want good hands on deck to capture everything that's important. That's where you and Olsen come in. The kid is a genius photographer and you are an excellent journalist so you two together will be a dream team for this company."

"But…" Lois began only to be cut off.

"No buts Lois. This is your job for today." Perry said as he dismissed the two.

Lois grumbled to herself as she walked out of Perry's office, with James following behind.

"It will be a pleasure to work with you Miss Lane." He said.

Lois stopped and took a breath in. No need to be rude to a kid… even if she had been slightly rude to him earlier.

"Don't call me Miss Lane, James. It makes me feel old" Lois said. "Also I am sorry for my earlier comment."

"No need to worry Miss… uh Lois." James said. "Also you can just call me Jimmy. I'm not a big fan of the name James."

"That's a shame. The name James is quite nice." Lois noted.

"Yeah but sounds like a name better suited for an older more mature African American man than someone of my quirky personality." Jimmy said.

Lois shrugged, she couldn't deny that logic.

"Well either way chief said you were good, so let's see how you do tonight Jimmy. Don't slow me down." Lois said.

"Of course Lois." Jimmy said with a salute one which caused Lois to groan. If she wanted to be treated like a superior officer she would have enlisted for the Army like her father suggested.

~00000~

In another part of Metropolis another young member of the news world was exiting her boss's office, only difference was that she was reporter as opposed to a journalist. She was Cat Grant, a blond haired brown eyed young reporter with dreams and ambitions of her own and similarly to one Lois Lane she had just exited her Boss's office.

Cat had been tasked with the role of reporting live at the Lionel Luthor Benefit, something she was eager to accept. This was a big event which would be hosted by the richest man in all of Metropolis. Reporting on it live meant that she had a free ticket into this event as well as a chance to enjoy the party when she wasn't working. This would be an interesting day for her.

~00000~

"Why am I here?" Bruce Wayne asked himself as he glared outside the window into the streets of Metropolis.

"Because you were invited Master Bruce." Alfred responded from the driver's seat.

"That doesn't tell me why I should bother." The 23 year old billionaire groaned.

"You've been gone a long time Master Bruce, and you are now the CEO of Wayne Enterprises. Making appearances to events like these is good for your social image. Mr Fox seems to think that it is also good for you as a person. Who knows sir, you might even make a new friend." Alfred spoke causing Bruce to send his glare towards his butler before staring back outside.

"I don't need friends Alfred. I haven't needed any new friends for the past 13 year" Bruce said. "I've already got you to fill that role."

"As honoured as I am to hold that position Master Bruce. I hardly doubt an old man like me is a good replacement for a friend your age." Alfred said.

"Having friends won't help me fix Gotham." Bruce commented.

"Fix Gotham sir? You went away for 10 years with the intention of figuring out how to do that, now you've been back in Gotham for a month and you still haven't figured out how to fix it." Alfred spoke. "Although it is a noble mission, I do feel the need to stress the importance of a social life. Having friends will certainly help you fix Gotham. Additionally having friends will help you grow as a person and enjoy life."

"There is no enjoyment to be had in life Alfred, not for me at least. Only the next step towards ensuring that others can have a save and enjoyable life." Bruce stated.

Alfred was quiet before he chuckled.

"As noble a statement as that was Master Bruce, I am sorry to say that you still sound like a teenager who is passing through the gothic phase of their life." Alfred said.

"Whatever." Bruce said irritably causing Alfred to smile. His smile was sad but genuine.

Despite the responsibilities that the young master had taken unto himself, he was still that a young master who had yet to outgrow his emo phase. Alfred obviously knew why, as he was still mourning the death of his parents, and he hoped events like this one which Lionel Luthor was hosting would lead to Bruce growing out of the phase and being able to find some new happiness.

~00000~

Similarly to Bruce Wayne there was another young man who wasn't looking forward to the event that his father would be throwing, and that was the 28 year old heir to Luthor Corp Lex Luthor.

"Checkmate."

Lex was shaken from his thoughts as he stared at the smug look of his younger (by 11 years) sister Lena.

"You seem distracted Lex. You don't usually make such careless mistakes." Lena said.

Lex took a moment to stare at the board. True to his sister's words he was indeed making careless mistakes. Likely due to the distracted place in which his head occupied.

"You aren't wrong." Lex commented.

"Let me guess. You aren't at all excited for tonight's festivities." Lena asked.

"Yes. Lionel Luthor's big first step to making Metropolis into the City of Tomorrow." Lex rolled his eyes. "It's annoying to say the least."

"I can understand your disappointment." Lena said. "You and I both know that this is just some ploy to get rid of bad press and rumours."

"You aren't wrong already. Honestly I just wish the old man would just up and die already. If he could then I could take over the company and do something good with it." Lex said.

"You sound so venomous Lex." Lena noted.

"I blame dad." Lex commented before he stood up and began walking. "Either way, let's at least try and keep up appearances that we are a loving family and get through the evening."

Lena followed after brother. As they walked they heard the sound of their mother entering the kitchen, probably in search of a bottle.

"Do you know if our mother will grace the event with her presence?" Lena asked.

"Sure if alcohol graces the event with its presence." Lex commented.

"Perhaps you need a bottle to store all that venom." Lena commented.

She wasn't as cynical as her brother, she shared some of his sentiments but she didn't share his cynical view on the world which was no doubt a direct result of their Mother's alcoholism and their father's general unloving nature. But at least as she grew up, she had Lex so she didn't turn out as angry as he did.

Who knows, maybe when he did Inherit the company he would become happier, but who knows when that would be?

~00000~

It was now mid-afternoon and the benefit was in full swing and many of the guests had arrived, from wealthy business men and woman to charities to company representatives and to scientist organisations like S.T.A.R Labs.

There were quite a few people around, as expected from an event like this but Bruce didn't expect to see the type of people that he did see. To his surprise there were quite a few people in their early, mid and late twenties much like him. Over with S.T.A.R Labs there were a few young scientists. There were some young reporters and journalists from the Daily Planet and Chanel 52 respectively. There were other such young people like Lex Luthor and his younger sister as well as other children of rich and influential people. On top of that, attending the event was the beautiful girl he had met while in Nanda Parbat, Talia Al Ghul, and she was here with her father. It didn't look like there were any other Shadows so maybe Ra's and Talia were on their own.

He assumed that the great one, had business with Lionel Luthor. How the two were connected he didn't know. But that wasn't something he would be eager to find out.

Despite his earlier reservations, he was playing his social card and interacting, mostly with those around his age. He may find no purpose in it but he knew that Alfred was right in maintaining appearances and pretending to be a socialite. Lucky Bruce knew how to act the part. His time traveling really taught him how to act when he didn't want to.

"You don't look like you are enjoying yourself." Bruce commented to the one reporter who looked around his age if not older.

"Aren't you the master detective?" She responded.

Bruce chuckled. He had done some training in deduction and would say he was pretty good at it but he wouldn't call himself a detective.

"No, just making conversation. If it's any consolation, I am also bored out of my mind here." Bruce commented.

"You hide it well." The reporter commented. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."

"Bruce Wayne." Bruce responded.

Lois raised an eyebrow. "Bruce Wayne? Young Billionaire and owner of Wayne Enterprises, Bruce Wayne?"

"Yes." Bruce answered simply.

"I had heard that you came back from oversees. I didn't expect to see you here however." Lois said finding some interest in the famed billionaire. She pointed her pen at him as if it were a microphone. "Any word to the press about where you were for the last 10 years."

"I was being trained by ninjas in the Middle East." Bruce said with a shrug to which Lois laughed.

"Good looking and a sense of humour. I like that about you already. But no real scoop?" Lois asked.

"Nothing that hasn't already been reported on." Bruce said… well besides the training by ninjas in the Middle East and Asia… and Africa and South America… there were a lot of ninjas and secret organizations in the world, but he wasn't about to tell anyone that, even when he didn't know what he would do with such training.

"Boo." Lois muttered.

"There you are Miss Lane…" A glare from Lois caused the red haired boy to stop, "uh Lois. New friend?"

"Bruce Wayne pleased to meet you." Bruce said.

"Uh hi I'm Jimmy Olsen." Jimmy stuttered before he grabbed his camera. "Is Lois interviewing you? Can I snap a picture?"

"No, this isn't an interview. We are just both bored and chatting." Lois answered.

"Chin up Lois, we might find something interesting before too long." Jimmy said optimistically.

Jimmy didn't realise how right he was as, without warning a section of the right wall exploded as a man came charging in. The man wore Black and Red bulky body armour and a black helmet with glowing red visor that looked like claw scratches. Around his body was a red aura of crackling energy. It faded quickly.

"What is up everybody?" He announced, his voice distorted, probably in an attempt to mask his identity. As he spoke more armed mercenaries, carrying very advanced looking weapons, entered through the hole and all the entrances. "I would like to introduce myself. My name is Siege Engine. A mouthful I know but most of my friends just call me Siege, if that helps. Now I don't want anyone to freak out. That will only make things a lot harder than this needs to be. All I ask is that you comply with our needs and no one will be hurt." This was a lie of course but the people inside didn't need to know that.

"Who the hell do you think you are?" Lionel Luthor called up as he stormed up a few of his security force. "How dare you waltz into my building and make demands."

Siege lifted his hand as a signal to tell his boys to not do anything. He let Lionel Luther walk up to him with his security force in tow. They all had guns pointed at him as Luthor stepped closer, his features defined by his anger.

"Ahh so you must be man of the hour. It's a pleasure to meet you. Truly." Siege said. "So how about you tell your boys to put down their toys and I won't have to do this the fun way. Or you could chose to let me have fun. The choice is yours."

Lionel gave the order and one of his security force members shot his gun. Siege's red aura returned to his body and the bullet was stopped in an instant.

"I am really happy you made that choice." Siege grinned beneath his mask before he punched Lionel Luthor and the elder man was sent flying. Both impacts sounded painful, the sound of the hit and the sound of his body hitting the ground over 300 metres away. There was no doubt Lionel Luthor was dead.

Before anyone could react more shots were fired, shots specifically fired to incapacitate. Most of the security force was taken down alongside a few valuable targets like Vandal Savage and Ra's al Ghul.

"So let's begin again. Don't panic, it makes this harder than it needs to be. As you have seen, me and my boys are very competent. So let's skip the pleasantries shall we? Let's start with what we want and what you can do to help us." Siege said.

~00000~

Great part about a morning and afternoon drive was that it really allowed the Tennyson family to enjoy what the city had to offer.

Through their trip they discovered a nice small little café which also catered to Babies, that plus the food tasting good made it a definite starred location which Ben would remember. While driving around, Ben also discovered good places for hanging out, both for adults and little kids which could be useful for Kara and Conner and useful for Ben when he wanted to get back into the dating scene.

Overall, Ben was having a good time, which abruptly came to an end when he turned on the radio and heard the breaking news.

"This just in, a Mercenary group using high tech weaponry have launched an attack on Lionel Luthor's Benefit at the Luthor Corp Hall. Authorities are unable to respond due to all the hostages present and the presence of the group's advanced weapons." The Radio Anchor spoke.

Ben paled at that thought. The S.T.A.R Labs scientists and other innocent people were there.

"Omni. Watch the kids. Take them back to the house." Ben ordered without a second thought.

"Of course. But Ben I need you to exercise caution. The Omnitrix update is not yet complete. The Omnitrix could time out at the most inopportune moment." Omni responded as he took over the car.

"Kara. I will be back later. Omni will take you home." Ben said.

Kara didn't understand the sudden intensity but she nodded in acceptance.

With a flash of Green, Ben was replaced with Big Chill, and he phased through the car and flew into the sky before he changed to Jet Ray and shot off towards Luthor Corp.

~00000~

Things had started to become real tense inside the Luthor Corp Hall. Siege and his men had started setting bombs in the room all of which could go off at any point in time. Some of them had their weapons trained on the people in the room while others robbed the place blind. Some of the Mercenaries were forcing the more rich to transfer large quantities of money into their account.

Cat Grant was watching this while trying to keep her cool. She was a reporter so she should be ready for dangerous situations. That wasn't true, no amount of psyching yourself out could prepare you for something like this. However Cat was at least in a relatively calm state unlike some of the others in the room. She had ordered that her camera man don't stop recording no matter what and the man agreed.

Now she was just waiting. All around her the other young attendees of the party sat and watched. For some unknown reason, the mercenaries had separated the young guests, 29 and younger from the, older guests. Maybe it was a power play or something but it was their current scenario. Cat took notice that the journalist and her photographer seemed relatively fearless. As did the young billionaire, Bruce Wayne, who was watching over the Arabic young woman who had been shot alongside her father. She was greatly disorientated but Bruce was helping her and speaking Arabic? That was a surprise. There was another girl, she was young, like 10 years old, and she had been next to the man with the three scratches on his face. She looked absolutely pissed off. She kept on glaring at Siege as if she knew him personally. There were also a few young members of S.T.A.R Labs, based on their clothes, some from Metropolis and the others from Central City, one Caitlin Snow, Crystal Frost, Cisco Ramone, Hartley Hathaway and Ronnie Raymond. The Metropolis scientists were the calmest out of the scientists whereas the Central City scientists showed more fear. And finally there was Lex Luthor and his Sister Lena. Lena was on the more calm side of the spectrum, however she was in shock, likely due to the sudden death of her father, whereas Lex, he was afraid. Fear gripped his heart and it showed.

Cat had encountered the young genius a few times before today and he was never not composed. But the Lex she saw now, he was afraid, genuinely afraid. Cat only wondered what would happen as a result of awakening to such a level of fear.

But that wasn't important now. Cat put her focus back on the mercenaries that moved around. The situation still seemed pretty hopeless, but she hoped something would change soon.

As if on cue, the universe granted her request as the glass ceiling broke and a red blur flew down and landed in a flash of green light. All the attention was drawn towards the flash of light.

"Something seems to be happening." Cat whispered into her microphone.

Since she was technically still live, that was the signal to the channel to switch back to her video feed allowing the whole city, or at least those watching Chanel 52 to see what was happening.

The green light faded to see a yellow like creature with multiple eyes on its body and a strange green and black hourglass symbol. It took a moment for the eyes to move around and scan the environment.

"Eye See you." It said before slamming the hourglass symbol on its waist. Another flash of light enveloped it turning it into a velociraptor type being with wheels for feet. "XLR8!" the creature yelled before it became a literal blur.

Before anyone could react all the mercenaries which were keeping watch of the hostages were taken down and disarmed. The Velociraptor then stopped in front of Cat and the others.

"Everyone okay here?" we asked.

"We're fine B… XLR8." Caitlin Snow was the first to respond.

"Good. I'm not sure how many people are here so just stay still for now." XLR8 spoke before it slapped the hourglass symbol again and turned into a new creature.

This one looked like a gorilla with silver fur and blue eyes, at least its torso looked like that. Its arms and legs were bubbles and blue vein like energy similarly to its eye colour. The hourglass symbol plate rested comfortably on his right arm.

"Bubble Wrap." Bubble Wrap called out before he snapped his fingers which encased all the hostages in see through bubbles.

"You'll all remain safe as long as you stay in here." Bubble Wrap said before he slammed down the logo again changing him into a red four armed creature with four yellow eyes.

"Four Arms." He called out.

"What the hell are you?" Siege's voice called out. "And why are you ruining my fun."

"The name's Four Arms pal. At least that's what this form is called." Four Arms said as he cracked his knuckles. "I assume you are the leader of these guys."

"Yeah I am. And you made a mistake coming here freak. Now I get to have some real fun." Siege said before his body glowed with his red aura and he charged towards Four Arms.

The alien hero in question didn't move, he only grinned, it had been a while since he got to fight a supervillain and with everyone safe and sound in his bubbles he didn't need to worry about anyone getting hurt, except for the guy in a stupid costume and the rest of his mercenaries.

As Siege got close, Four Arms swung his arms back and delivered a powerful pair of right hooks. With a satisfying crack, Siege was sent flying back.

"Holy Shit." Siege said as he stood back up and stared at Four Arms. No one, besides his dad obviously, had ever survived his attacks. He was basically a walking tank, hence the name Siege Engine. Now not only was there someone withstanding his force but he was also strong enough to punch back? That excited him.

Four Arms only smirked and gave the universal sign one understood by all cultures. With a flick of his fingers on his hands, the message was delivered. Come at me bro.

"Oh this is going to be fun." Siege said as his aura returned brighter than before.

This time Four Arms didn't stand still. He ran to meet his new challenge and as he did so he slapped his hand against the Omnitrix causing the familiar flash of green light to envelop him.

From the glowing light a large yellow sphere shot out and collided with Siege.

"Cannonbolt!" Cannonbolt called out before he rolled towards the red and black themed mercenary again. Siege was more prepared this time and with a flaring of his aura he knocked Cannonbolt up into the air.

Cannonbolt wasn't worried about the sudden flight trip however. As he decided to slap the Omnitrix again changing his form once again.

"Big Chill." Big Chill called out. "I think you need to cool down and think about what you did."

With his bad pun made, Big Chill let out a stream of ice which caused Siege to be frozen solid.

"Well that was anticlimactic." Big Chill commented before a blast hit him in the back. "Rude!"

Big chill turned and noted that the remaining mercenaries had shown up and had their weapons pointed at him.

"Thanks. You saved me the effort of finding you." Big Chill said.

The mercenaries began to fire but Big Chill responded by going intangible.

Big Chill floated upward before he started spinning in the air and slapped the Omnitrix dial again.

"Spidermonkey!" Spidermonkey called out as he fired webs as he spun. Before gravity pulled him back to the ground the Mercenaries were all webbed to the walls. "Spidermonkey 30. Bad Guys Zero."

If Cat's jaw could drop any further it would have by now. This shapeshifting creature just beat all the mercenaries by himself, and he did so quickly with barely a moment to spare. She was so surprised that she believed she would never be surprised by anything again. That thought was proved false a moment later when a sudden beeping brought all the attention to the creature. Its hourglass plate was glowing red and it looked surprised by this.

"Wait don't!" it called out but it was too late and the creature was surrounded by a flash of red light.

In its place was a young man aged twenty-four. He had brown hair which was connected to his brown short and boxed beard and he had green eyes. He wore a white and black shirt with the same hourglass logo on his shirt and a green jacket that had the same logo but on the back of the jacket. The guy really liked that logo. He also wore blue pants and green sneakers. On his left arm was a watch that also shared the same logo that his clothes had. He was somewhat muscular but that didn't matter because he looked just like a normal human.

"Omnitrix shut down and restarted. Applying Software update." A voice spoke from his watch.

"For real!" He groaned as he glared at his watch. "Omni what was that about? I wanted to have a secret identity this time around."

'This time around? That was an odd thing to say.' Cat found herself thinking as she watched the man complain to his watch.

However she decided to shove the thoughts aside and push forward through the protective bubble, which was surprisingly easy, and go forward with the intention of getting an interview. Her camera guy followed obviously.

"Oh no I won't be outdone." Lois muttered and followed after. "Come on Jimmy."

"Yes Lois." Jimmy quickly got up and scrambled after her.

A little hologram appeared above the face plate of the watch. A little man covered head to toe in a green and black body suit.

"I warned you Ben. I told you that the software update would cause the Omnitrix to work on limited time and energy." The hologram, now dubbed Omni, retorted.

"How about a warning before it's about to go off?" The man dubbed Ben said. "I could have left easily with my secret identity still in toe."

"You've never been worried about a secret identity before." Omni noted.

"I was. Also different circumstances." Ben said dryly.

"Excuse me, Cat Grant, Channel 52. Could I ask a few questions?" Cat immediately asked.

"Lois Lane, Daily Planet, can I conduct an Interview for tomorrow's paper." Lois asked.

"I… wait what?" Ben said noticing the two and their respective camera guys behind the two.

"Who are you?" Cat asked.

"How did you do that?" Lois asked.

Ben groaned and back to Omni.

"See what you did. No secret ID for me." Ben commented before he shut off the hologram. "Uh hi, you can call me…" Ben hesitated for a moment as he thought of what to say… then he remembered all his interactions with the alternate future versions of himself and he recalled the name all three of them shared. "I'm Ben. Ben 10 000, just your local Superhero. As for how I did that…" No sense in hiding the truth now. Ben lifted his arm and pointed at the Omnitrix, "Not going to explain everything. But it's because of the Omnitrix, that I was able to do that."

Ben then turned to everyone who was exiting their respective safety bubble and was staring at him.

"I know I asked this already but is everyone okay?" Ben asked. "No injuries or anything like that?"

It was Lena Luthor who spoke up first.

"Yes. Few guests were attacked and even then they were only knocked down." Lena answered. "One fatality, my father Lionel Luthor."

Ben hesitated. Disappointment crossed his face, he wasn't able to save everyone.

"Damnit." He muttered to himself before he looked up at Lena. "I'm sorry I didn't get here soon enough."

"It's alright. Not everyone can be saved." Lena said. Although she wasn't fond of her father, it was still sad that a person died the way he did.

Ben turned to Caitlin and Crystal. "Doctors Snow and Frost. As far as I know you two are the only ones with medical training. Can you help me check on everyone who was attacked to see how they are doing?" Ben asked.

"Sure Ben." Caitlin said.

"Yeah we can help." Crystal added.

"Also can someone call the police and ask them to come in. I kind of forgot my phone so I can't call them." Ben commented.

Lena offered to the do the job and Ben offered his thanks. Cat and Lois still wanted to ask Ben questions but they decided against it, thinking now might not be the best time. Both Bruce and Lex stared at the young man who had entered and saved everyone. Bruce felt awe at his actions but he also felt wary. This Ben 10 000 was almost too good to be true. Lex felt, a lot of things, he felt fear, still rattled at everything that had happened, anger over feeling so afraid and weak, envy over the new comer who had entered and resolved the problem and greed. He wanted that device on his wrist. He wanted to never feel powerless again.

Ben went over to the body of Lionel Luther. He pulled down one of the drapes and used it to cover the body. With that settled he went to check on all the injured victims.

Eyes were on him as he worked. Everyone's eyes as most still couldn't believe what had just happened.

Some could believe what they had seen but were still impressed at the display and others couldn't help but let their curiosity blossom.

One Eobard Thawne, currently disguised as Harrison Wells, Director of S.T.A.R Labs watched Ben curiously. He had known about this hero in the future that he came from but he never got to interact with him a lot. Seeing his first public hero exploits in person was certainly an experience.

As Ben and Caitlin helped Ra's al Ghul and his daughter, the Demon's head regarded this boy with powers he had not seen in his long life. He knew for a fact that this was the beginning of something new and something which would be of great influence in the world to come.

As Ben and Crystal helped the man known in this period of time as Vandal Savage, the first Meta-human watched with intrigue. Since he had met and gain the respect of Darkseid many generations ago, he had grown accustomed the idea of aliens existing and of their various powers. But this Ben 10 000 and his power, was something else. Something that might help bring Savage's goals into the Light.

CyberActors15: Oh my god I actually did it.

Robin: I have no words.

Gwen: That was a long chapter.

CyberActors15: Yeah it was. And it had so many perspectives and perspective shifts.

Robin: Ra's al Ghul, Vandal Savage, Eobard Thawne, Lex Luthor, Lena Luthor, Talia al Ghul and was that Cassandra Savage?

CyberActors15: Maybe. Speaking of Savage. If it isn't Obvious, Julius Savage, AKA Siege is an OC made by me. As far as I am aware Vandal Savage has not important sons except Nabu. Also yes I added a new alien to the Omnitrix. It's only natural, that I would. Also yes readers I know these characters have different personalities to the ones you are used to. Since this before the beginning of Bruce's career I can mess with his personality to allow him to grow into the Batman we know. Same with Lex, Lois and other such younger versions of characters. Also I just want to be clear about this. Bruce is not Batman yet. He isn't even a vigilante yet. Right now he is still Bruce Wayne.

Gwen: I see Ben has officially taken the mantle of Ben Ten Thousand. But now it has me wondering what role Kevin and I will play in this story since you allowed us to travel to this earth with Ben.

CyberActors15: You are going to have to wait and see.

Robin: Now I am on the edge of my seat. What will happen next? Read, Review, Favourite, Follow and stay whelmed to find out.

April 20 2008

Well it had finally happened. Lionel Luthor was dead and in accordance with his will, Lex had been made into the CEO of Luthor Corp. Lex should be celebrating. His deadbeat dad was no longer a pain in his side and he was free to change Luthor Corp as he saw fit, including the name.

But right not celebration was the last thing he tasted. No what he tasted was the burning sensation of a strong whiskey that slid down his throat. He was nothing like his mother, no he wasn't that sorrowful, but taste of whiskey did provide some relief. In front of him the Newspaper written by that reporter, Lois Lane. 'Ben 10 000, the shapeshifting hero!' was what the title read.

Lex had no doubt, this Ben 10 000 was a hero, one who had saved the life of him, his sister and several others yesterday. But despite all that, Lex just couldn't find it in him to like the guy. Not because he failed to save his father. No. Because he showed no fear in the face of a dangerous enemy and he had the power to do it himself. He didn't understand how this Omnitrix worked but he decided he would figure out before too long.

"You have my condolences. What happened to your father, it was tragic."

"I'm not drinking because my father is dead. Good riddance really." Lex said.

Vandal savage stood up from his chair and walked over to Lex.

"So it's our new friend that has caught your interest." Savage said as he picked up the newspaper. "If I am being honest I am too. I wonder what things will come to light with his inclusion in this world."

"What is it that you want?" Lex snapped.

"Calm down Lex. I just want to talk." Savage said. "But I can see that you aren't ready for a chat."

Savage handed Lex a card. "If you need someone to talk to. Call this number. I'm sure we will have much we can agree on." Savage said before he walked back into the shadows from whence he came.

Lex continued to drink his whiskey this time as he looked at the card left by Vandal Savage.

CyberActors15: Boom.

Robin: Well I… I can't.

Gwen: I wasn't expecting that so soon.

Robin: Someone get me a mother ***king table to flip.

Gwen: Language.