A new chapter! Haven't yet made up my mind on Ben's pairing, though I'll most likely go for Batgirl and have Zatanna with Robin, like suggested by Spiderfan626. I like Zatanna and Robin too, but I wasn't sure because they don't really date and when they do, they don't stay together, which I think is pretty sad, they look like a good match. If anyone has other suggestions, please let me know!
Also, a big thanks to xxxrae97xxx for the nice comment and my apologies to ominking, but I'm not a big fan of harems, so Ben will only have one girlfriend, even if he does deserve with his whole universe gone.
Cadmus
"Time runs short. You must awaken. You must awaken, now!"
Ben gasped as he woke up, eyes wide as he looked around. He was chained inside a pod, just like the one they had found Superboy in. Next to him, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad were in the same position as he was, apparently also just waking up. Ben carefully tested out his bonds, hoping to find a way to escape and use the Omnitrix.
"Master Control would really come in handy right about now," he muttered softly.
The only one who seemed to hear him was Robin, who glanced over for a second before focusing back on the clone standing in front of the pods, staring straight at Kid Flash.
"What?! What do you want?!" Kid yelled at him.
"Quit staring! You're creeping me out!"
"Uh, KF. How about we not tick off the guy who can fry us with a look?" Robin suggested.
"We only sought to help you," Aqualad said to Superboy.
"Yeah! We free you, and you turn on us. How's that for gratitude?" Kid asked angrily.
"Still think he's under mind control guys," Ben told the others.
"What if… what if I am?" Superboy asked whispering.
"He can talk?!" Kid asked shocked, gaining some glares, especially from Superboy.
"Yes. He can," the clone growled.
Ben, Robin and Aqualad glared at the redheaded speedster, who looked back at them with a slight frown on his face.
"It's not like I said it!"
"Those Genomorphs thought you. Telepathically," Aqualad stated, looking back at Superboy.
"They thought me much," the clone replied.
"I can read, write. I know the names of things."
"But have you seen them?" Ben asked.
"Have they ever let you see the sky and the sun?"
"Images are implanted in my mind," Superboy told them.
"But… no. I have not seen them."
"Do you know what you are? Who you are?" Aqualad asked.
Superboy frowned for a second before straightening up and staring proudly at the four imprisoned teenage heroes.
"I am the Superboy," he replied with pride lacing his voice.
"A Genomorph. A clone. Created by the DNA of the Superman. Created to replace him should he perish… or to destroy him should he turn from the light."
"To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration," Aqualad agreed.
"But like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit. Beyond your pod. Beyond Cadmus."
As the Atlantean spoke, Superboy seemed to grow more angry. A deep scowl formed on his forehead, pushing his brows closer together.
"I live because of Cadmus!" he shouted.
"It is my home!"
"Your home is a test tube," Robin reminded him calmly.
"We can show you the sun."
"Pretty sure it's after midnight," Kid Flash cut in.
"But we can show you the moon."
"We can introduce you to Superman," Ben added smiling.
Superboy's eyes widened when he heard that, and he seemed to really consider it all. Just then, the doors opened and Dr. Desmond, the Guardian and one other female scientist walked in.
"No. They can't," Desmond spoke.
"They'll be otherwise occupied."
He turned towards the woman who was with him as they came to a halt in front of the young heroes.
"Activate the cloning process."
"Pass! Bat Cave's crowded enough," Robin quipped.
"People keep telling me one Ben is more than enough," Ben added smirking.
Desmond scowled at the comments, but didn't react to them otherwise. Instead, he turned towards the Guardian.
"Get the weapon back to its pod!" he growled.
"Hey! How come he gets to call Supey an 'it'?" Kid asked.
Guardian walked over to Superboy and put a hand on the clone's shoulder. Frowning, Superboy shrugged him off. Desmond's Genomorph immediately jumped from his master's shoulder to Superboy and its little horns started to glow red. The clone tensed and his eyes went blank.
"You're not a real boy," Desmond told him.
"You're a weapon and you belong to me!... er, Cadmus… same thing. Now get back to your pod!"
Without saying anything, Superboy turned around and did as was told. He left the room quietly while the female scientist started up the cloning process. Several electrically charged needles were injected in the teens' chests and started collecting blood samples. The four imprisoned heroes in training groaned in pain as shocks of electricity went through their bodies.
"Superboy," Aqualad whispered, hoping that his super hearing would pick up on it.
"You live. That gives you the right to follow your own path. A weapon or a person, the choice is yours, but ask yourself: what would Superman do?"
For a few seconds, nothing happened, but then, the door was ripped out of its place and Superboy walked in though the by him created hole. Desmond, The Guardian and a Genomorph scientist ran up to him to try and stop the clone, but Superboy easily pushed the aside, knocking them all out with one blow.
"You here to help us, or fry us?" Ben asked skeptically.
Superboy paused for a moment, eyes narrowing as he focused on the brunette. When nothing happened, he smiled.
"I don't seem to have heath vision, so I guess helping is my only option."
Just at that moment, Robin, who had been working on freeing himself that entire time, unlocked his own cuffs and jumped out of the pod, rubbing his wrists with a slight frown.
"Ugh, finally!" he muttered to himself.
"Lucky Batman isn't here. He'd have my head for taking so long."
"Seriously? That's what you're worried about?" Kid asked.
"The whole League will have our heads after tonight!"
"Free Aqualad and Ben," Robin ordered Superboy.
"I'll get Kid Mouth."
"Don't give me orders!" Superboy growled, but he still jumped into Aqualad's pod to get him out.
When they were all freed, the five teens ran out of the room. Dr. Desmond was already back getting on his feet when they passed him by.
"You'll never get out of here!" he called after them.
"I'll have you back in pods before morning!"
"That guy is not whelmed. Not whelmed at all," Robin muttered as he threw some explosive batarangs at the pods.
"What is it with you and this whelmed thing?" Kid asked.
As they ran away, the room behind them exploded. Ben chuckled at the antics of his teammates and grinned at Superboy, who sent him a questioning glare.
"Welcome to the team!" the brunette said laughing.
"We are still 42 levels below ground," Aqualad told the others.
"But if we can make the elevator-"
A big hoard of Genomorph trolls cut off their path towards their escape. The group halted and turned around to find themselves cornered by the smaller, more feline Genomorphs. The trolls attacked first and Ben quickly activated the Omnitrix, slamming down on the transformation he wanted before disappearing in a flash of green light.
"Humungousaur!" the ten feet tall dinosaur like alien roared.
He grabbed the front paw of a troll that was trying to smash Robin and threw the creature backwards into another troll. While Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash ran between the large monsters, dodging them as they tried to reach the elevator, both Humungousaur and Superboy stayed behind to fight off the attacking Genomorphs.
"Ben! Superboy!" Aqualad called out.
"Our goal is escape, not to bury ourselves here!"
Humungousaur nodded and smashed down one more troll before running towards the others.
"You want to escape?!" Superboy asked loudly, grabbing the downed troll by an arm and throwing him into two charging ones with a loud roar.
In the meantime, Humungousaur forced open the elevator doors before transforming into Big Chill. Robin used his grappling hook to get himself up, while Big Chill grabbed Kid Flash and flew upwards. When Superboy finally arrived at the elevator shaft, he took hold of Aqualad and jumped, flying upwards as well. Before long, however, the clone started going downwards again and his eyes widened in shock.
"I'm falling?" he muttered.
Big Chill dove down quickly and grabbed hold of the two falling heroes, dropping them and Kid Flash safely on the ledge of sublevel 15, where Robin was already waiting for them.
"Superman can fly… why can't I fly?"
"Don't know," Kid Flash said.
"But it seems you can leap tall buildings in a single bound."
"That's pretty cool too, you know," Big Chill said in his frosty voice.
"Guys! This will have to be our exit!" Robin yelled, pointing upwards to the descending elevator.
Big Chill grabbed hold of all his teammates and went intangible, pushing them through the still closed doors and into safety. However, they were already waited on by a small pack of Genomorphs. Big Chill used his ice breath to freeze over the creatures while the rest took off running, but when a second group of Genomorph trolls approached, he too flew off after the rest.
"Go left!" Superboy shouted when they approached a splitting in the hall.
The rest of the group obeyed and continued running until they reached a second split.
"Right!" the clone yelled.
Kid Flash did as told, taking a left turn before skidding to a halt when he hit a dead end. He turned towards Superboy, who had been right behind him and glared at the clone.
"Great directions Supey!" he said angrily.
"Are you trying to get us repodded?"
Aqualad, Robin and Big Chill joined them as well, the last one quickly changing back into Ben as he looked back from where they had come, calculating their chances of getting out if they backtracked now. He had to admit they were very slim, if not entirely nonexistent.
"I'm sorry. I don't understand," Superboy muttered.
"Don't apologize! This is perfect!" Robin said grinning.
Ben looked back over, following Robin's line of sight and grinned as well. There was a vent in the wall.
. . . . .
Ben couldn't help himself as he stretched out. They were finally out of those cramped ventilating shafts. Kid Flash seemed to feel the same as he did as the redheaded speedster put on his goggles and smirked at Ben.
"Ready for that rematch?" he asked.
Ben grinned back and quickly activated the Omnitrix again, transforming into XLR8. The Kineceleran crouched down a bit and grinned .
"Watch the tail!" he cackled before rushing up the stairs, Kid Flash right behind him.
The two used their high speeds to throw every single Genomorph trying to stop them down the stairs and free a path for their slower teammates following after them. When they reached sublevel one, Kid Flash took the lead, grinning in victory as he passed XLR8. Because of that, he didn't see the closing door until it was too late.
"Holy crap!" he muttered before slamming face first into the metal door.
"Alright. You won," the Kineceleran chuckled.
The Omnitrix symbol started emitting a beeping sound before it turned XLR8 back into Ben. The brunette sighed, glaring at the red flashing watch before he helped Kid back up on his feet. The other three arrived shortly after. Superboy and Aqualad immediately tried to force the large door open, without success. Robin looked over at Ben, giving him a questioning look.
"You got anyone in there that can help?" he asked.
"Sorry, out of juice."
A few Genomorph trolls started closing in on them and Robin quickly kicked open a side door, leading the rest of them away from the gigantic monsters. On the other side of the door, Guardian was already waiting for them along with a large group of Genomorphs and Genomorph trolls. The five young heroes took on fighting stances and over a dozen small G-gnomes had their horns lighting up. Ben, Aqualad, Robin and Kid Flash lost consciousness while Superboy was brought to his knees.
When the teens woke up again, all Genomorphs had relaxed, and Guardian seemed to be released from his mind control. Next to the adult hero stood the Genomorph scientist they had seen earlier.
"Guardian?" Aqualad asked uncertain.
"Go. I'll deal with Desmond."
"I think not!" the voice of Dr. Desmond growled.
Several trolls stepped out of the way, revealing the head scientist of Project Cadmus standing behind Guardian with a vial of blue liquid in his hand.
"Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus!" he said before drinking the liquid.
The man fell to the ground, writhing in agony as his body grew and his skin was ripped to shreds by the growing, bulging blue muscle. His eyes turned black, with red pupils and he grinned, standing up again with a mighty roar. Guardian charged first, but was easily slammed to the side with an almost casual flick of the monster's hand. Ben looked down at his watch again, trying to activate the still recharging Omnitrix.
"Stupid watch," he muttered.
"I'm useless here guys!"
"I'm not!" Superboy growled, jumping forward and hitting the monster square in the face.
It didn't seem to have much effect, as Blockbuster just shrugged it off and hit Superboy back. The two beat each other for a bit longer until Blockbuster was able to knock the clone down with one powerful hit. Superboy was back on his feet in no time and he jumped at Blockbuster, but he grabbed Superboy mid-flight and jumped through the ceiling.
"Ok, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robing commented as he used his grappling hook to lift himself and Kid through the hole.
"You think lab coat planned that?" Ben asked as he was finally able to activate the Omnitrix.
"I doubt he's planning anything anymore," Aqualad muttered.
"Four Arms!" the red, four armed humanoid yelled.
The Tetramand jumped upwards through the hole in the ceiling, followed closely behind by Aqualad. Just as that last one landed on the floor, Blockbuster threw Superboy at them, knocking down the Atlantean. As Kid Flash and Robin rushed over to help the other two up, Four Arms rushed forward and hit the monster in the jaw. Blockbuster stumbled back a few steps before growling angrily and swinging a large arm at the Tetramand, throwing him against the wall.
As Four Arms slowly got up again, the other four charged the beast. Kid Flash slid between the monster's legs as he tried to hit the speedster with his fist. As Kid knelt behind the monster's legs, Aqualad and Superboy hit the monster simultaneously, making him stumble backwards and fall over the couching Kid Flash.
"Learned that one in kindergarten," the redhead grinned.
Robin used his batarangs to try and slow the beast when it was getting up again, but he simply swatted them away. Four Arms jumped in between Blockbuster and Robin when the monster charged again and tried to beat him. Blockbuster was too fast and smashed Four Arms in one of the supportive beams, smashing his fist in the Tetramand's face.
"I'm gonna feel that in the morning," Four Arms groaned.
Blockbuster growled and pulled his arm back to hit him again, when Aqualad used his water lassos to stop him. The monster huffed and pulled the Atlantean towards him. Aqualad was easily smashed into the floor. Before Blockbuster could do anything else, Superboy jumped on him, but the monster threw him into another supportive beam that crumbled under the force. Superboy fell on the ground, followed by a large stone that landed on his back, making the clone groan in pain.
Blockbuster hit Four Arms in the face again, knocking the Tetramand out and having him transform back into Ben before focusing on Aqualad. He tried to step on the Atlantean, but Aqualad moved out of the way just as Kid Flash rushed in to help him. Blockbuster grabbed the speedster by the arm and swung him into Aqualad before the other could attack again. Both flew through the air and landed in yet another support beam. Kid was knocked unconscious, but Aqualad was still up. With a feral growl, Blockbuster grabbed the Atlantean and ran him though the beam and into another, hitting him hard. The force made the entire room shake, giving Robin, who had been observing the battle the entire time an idea.
"Of course!" he muttered as he pulled up a structural blueprint of the room.
"KF, Ben! Get over here!"
The two young heroes pulled themselves up and ran over to their youngest teammate. Superboy was back on his feet as well, and he rushed over to where Blockbuster was still beating up Aqualad to help his new friend out. This resulted in another structure beam being pulverized.
After Robin had explained his plan, Ben transformed into Humungousaur while Kid ran over to the fight. He successfully got Blockbuster's attention away from Superboy and led the monster away from his friends with taunts. Before Superboy could go after them, Robin called them over.
"Come and get me you Incredible Bulk!" Kid called out to the monster as he halted in front of a beam.
The monster growled and took a swing at him, which Kid barely dodged and destroyed the beam. At the same time, Robin sent Aqualad, Superboy and Humungousaur to destroy three other beams as well. He himself drew a large cross in the middle of the room and sped away to a safer place while Kid led the monster to the marked spot. When they got there, Humungousaur and Superboy both jumped in front of the monster while Kid moved away and smashed him into the ground.
While Blockbuster was down, Robin let the last three beams explode. Ben quickly transformed back into a human and joined the others running as they tried to escape the roof coming down on them. Superboy and Aqualad jumped over Kid Flash and Robin to shield them from the rubble as they were all buried underneath the destroyed building.
When Ben opened his eyes, he stared around himself and the other's admiring the softly glowing light green dome around them. The others seemed pretty shocked too to find themselves completely unscathed from the rubble. Ben looked down at his green glowing hands and grinned at his perplexed friends.
"Didn't even know I could do that!" he exclaimed.
"Dude, you are going to tell us some stories soon," Kid muttered.
Superboy wasn't even listening anymore, as he walk through the remains of the building and found an unconscious Blockbuster. When he turned back, he found the other four grinning at him.
"See?" Kid Flash asked, pointing at the sky.
"The moon!"
Superboy looked up, awed. A small dot appeared in his vision and he squinted, eyes widening as he recognized the approaching figure.
"And Superman!" Ben grinned.
"Do we keep our promises or what?"
Superman landed in front of the five teens, followed by almost everyone in the League. The flying heroes all floated down while Green Lantern John Steward brought over the non-flying ones on a green platform created by his power ring. Batman was the first to approached, walking up next to Superman while Superboy took a few steps towards them, smiling hopeful at the man who's DNA he carried. Superman's eyes widened in shock before he frowned, destroying all hope the clone had felt.
"Is that what I think it is?" Batman asked.
"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid mock whispered to the League.
"I'm Superman's clone!" Superboy said loudly.
The many heroes reacted in different levels of shock and surprise. Batman glared at the teens.
"Start talking."
By the time they finally finished explaining what had happened, John Steward, Martian Manhunter, Hawkwoman, Hawkman and Captain Atom left together with Blockbuster while the rest of the League heroes stood together to talk. Hal Jordan, the Green Lantern currently still with the other heroes, walked over to Ben and the other teens and crossed his arms.
"I understand that you are used to doing things your own way, but now you're here, you have to follow our rules," Green Lantern scolded, clearly disappointed in Ben.
"You're not the only one anymore, Ben."
"I know," the brunette replied, rolling his eyes.
"Which is why I didn't come here alone."
Hall sighed and took off in the air.
"We'll talk later," he warned before flying off.
As Green Lantern disappeared, Superman walked up, stopping in front of and angrily scowling Superboy. The older Kryptonian sighed as he looked straight into his clone's eyes. The big Boy Scout seemed uncertain what to say for a moment before he finally opened his mouth and started talking.
"We'll… we'll figure something out. The League I mean. For now I… better make sure they get that Blockbuster creature squared away."
With that, Superman took to the air and followed after Green Lantern.
"Cadmus will be investigated. All 52 levels," Batman spoke up.
"But let's make one thing clear-"
"You should have called!" Flash jumped in.
"End results aside, we are not happy," Batman continued glaring at the teens.
"You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again."
"Hate to break this to you dude, but we will," Ben said crossly.
"Stand down boy," Aquaman ordered.
"Apologies My King, but no," Aqualad stepped up next to the Omnitrix wielder.
"We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important."
"If this about your treatment at the Hall, the four of you-" Flash started before Kid Flash stopped him.
"The five of us, and it's not."
"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us. Or why teach us at all?" Robin asked his mentor.
"Why let them tell us what to do?" Superboy asked.
"It's simple: get on board or get out of the way!"
All five teens stared expectantly at the three mentors standing in front of them.
. . . . .
Coast City, July 8, 04:59 EDT
Ben came rushing down the stairs the second he heard the doorbell and quickly slammed the door open. He grinned tiredly as he found Hal Jordan standing there, smiling back at him. The brunette hero in civilian clothing walked into the house and looked around.
"Your grandmother not here?" he asked.
"She went back to my universe," Ben replied yawning.
"Apparently, Gwen's powers are manifesting, so she's going to stay there for a while to train her."
"What about your training?" Hal asked.
"I barely have the spark. There isn't much to improve on anymore."
"So you're home alone?" Hal demanded to know, raising a brow.
"Yup! Professor Paradox stopped by a few days ago to congratulate me on making the Team, but he left again and took Azmuth with him," the teen shrugged.
"You're left on your own for an unknown period of time?" the hero asked skeptically.
"Relax, dude! I'm actually 20 years old, so I don't see the problem."
"Only you aren't! You're 15."
"Still old enough," Ben muttered crossly.
Hal sighed annoyed and walked over to Ben and activated the teleporter.
"When we come back, you pack your bags and you move to my place until Verdona is back."
Mount Justice, 08:04 EDT
"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League. We're calling it into service again," Batman explained the five boys in their civilian clothes.
Ben was wearing his favorite green jacket with the white number ten left on his chest and a black shirt underneath. He had his hands buried deep in his jeans pockets as he couldn't stop grinning. The rest of the team seemed to be in a similar state.
"Since you five are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado has volunteered to live here and be your supervisor and Black Canary is in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."
"Real missions?" Dick asked skeptically, staring at his mentor from behind his shades.
"Yes," Batman replied.
"But covert."
"The League will still handle the obvious stuff," Flash butted in.
"There's a reason we have these big targets on our chests."
"But Cadmus proves that the bad guys are getting smarter," Aquaman added.
"Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."
"The six of you will be that team."
"Cool!" Ben cheered, before pausing and staring at the heroes questioningly.
"Wait. Six?"
Just then, Martian Manhunter walked into the room, followed by a teenage girl with green skin and ginger hair. She wore a blue skirt and cape and a white version of the older alien's shirt.
"This is the Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian," Batman introduced the new girl.
"Hi!"
"Liking this gig more every minute!" Wally whispered to Ben and Dick before walking over to the newcomer.
"Welcome aboard! I'm Kid Flash. That's Robin, Aqualad, Ben 10. It's cool if you forget their names."
"I'm honored to be included," Miss Martian smiled.
Wally, Ben, Kaldur and Dick walked over to her and started a conversation. Superboy kept standing where he was, frowning as he watched the others interact.
"Hey Superboy!" Robin called.
"Come meet Miss M."
The clone walked up to the rest, making the Martian girl smile. Her shirt turned black, and the cape disappeared as she glanced up shyly at the Kryptonian teen.
"I like your T-shirt," she commented.
Ben elbowed Superboy as the taller teen smiled and Wally threw an arm over his shoulder.
"Today is the day," Kaldur spoke.
Unknown Location
"Can the Light afford to leave Guardian in charge without the G-Gnomes?" one of seven figures asked.
"We have subtler means to control," another replied before turning towards a picture of Superboy, Ben 10, Robin, Kid Flash and Aqualad running through the halls of Cadmus.
"What concerns me are the children. We now know that the League is willing to deploy young heroes to do their dirty work. That's a dark twist."
"Yes, but one that can be played to our advantage," the first one spoke again.
"Even the temporary loss of the weapon may prove useful. Eventually, everyone will see the Light."