Back again. Been breaking into some streaming on twitch, working on school work, and been generally enjoying some games these past few days.

For anyone who reads Karry Universe, you'll probably recognize the concept of a Kryptonian bond that they used in that story. Don't worry, I got Millie's permission. She's something of a mentor to me, and she has a lot of great ideas. I included this one because this one has a lot of potential for some really REALLY funny scenes :3

Anyways, here is the new chapter.

Also, shout out to DominoMags. She helped me with a few ideas for setting up things in this chapter for later. Go read her stuff. It will make you joypuke your face off. :3

Chapter 6: The New Hero

It had been 2 weeks since Tea and Ben had starting going out. She was a lot... softer with him now. Little gentle touches here and there, tender kisses, teasing comments were just some of what Ben had experienced from Tea. She was enjoying toying with him now that she didn't have to hold back as much. Tonight was their first actual date, but more importantly, it was also the day she would debut as Ultrawoman. Ben looked at Tea, who was cuddled into his side in their bed with Salazar nestled in her arms in a ball. They'd taken to snuggling prior to going to sleep. They still had agreed nothing further beyond that. Ben watched as her chest rose and fell as she slept, and couldn't help but think how peaceful she looked. Funny enough, she reminded him of a fallen angel, her dark hair forming a halo around her and the light giving her an almost ethereal beauty. She was so far out of his league that he didn't know what the hell she saw in him. Though, that might just be the "Parker deprecation" speaking. He didn't have to understand why she'd chosen him, only had to keep her happy until she got sick of him. Ben shook his head to clear the self-loathing thoughts. His sudden movement woke Salazar, who yawned and meowed at him. Ben reached over to the cat and scratched its chin slowly, eliciting purrs from the small black cat. The noises caused Tea to stir, and she sat up a bit, still holding Salazar in her arms.

"Mornin', Benny." She yawned cutely, and stretched in a catlike like manner, which inadvertently drew Ben's attention to her toned stomach which peaked out when her pajamas rode up. She noticed, and gave him a coy smile, but didn't say anything. She just reached over and pull him into a hug, placing her head on his chest. "I can tell you were having self-loathing thoughts. You know I love you, so stop."

That stopped Ben's train of thought. Surely she was just screwing with him.

"No, I'm not screwing with you." She then gained a demure look "Though I can definitely screw you if you want." She traced a finger on his chest.

'Bad touch! BAD TOUCH!' Ben began sweating. "How are you doing that? How are you reading my thoughts?"

"It's...a Kryptonian thing. It's still new, so it's not complete. I doubt it will be a full bond. And to be clear, I'm not reading your thoughts. I just get a general idea of what you're thinking, and I fill in the blanks with how well I know you." She stuck her tongue out at him after her explanation."

"So I'll be able to feel your thoughts as well?" Ben asked inquisitively, as he ran some fingers through her black hair and marveled at its softness.

"I'm not sure. Kara said her and Jason have a full bond. Something about how he came back blew it wide open. She says he uses it to send her risque mental images at work." Tea explained in an amused tone, all the while enjoying the combined sensations of the warmth of the blankets on their bed along with Ben's fingers combing through her hair. She let out a content sigh.

"So it could be partial or it could open the Pandora's Box of giving me insight into the dirty mind you have. Wonderful." Ben stated dryly, before he scooped up Tea into his arms, causing her to squeak in surprise, though Salazar just lazily glanced between the two while he was resting on Tea's stomach. He was not amused by the jostling.

"Come on, I have to get ready for work and I want to make you breakfast first." Ben said affectionately, before placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Shouldn't I be making you breakfast? Since I'm the one who is planning is to binge like five series today on Hulu or Netflix." Tea asked with a raised eyebrow, glancing up at him with those mesmerizing blue eyes that sent shivers up his spin.

Ben was able to tear his gaze away from hers, before he coughed awkwardly. "Um, no. I like cooking for you, and I don't want you to feel like you have to do anything you don't want to." His tone was insecure, which she picked up on immediately.

"Ben, I'm not going to leave you just because you ask me to do somethings. Though, my father didn't program any knowledge of how to cook when he made me." Her face took on a look of annoyance, cursing whoever had made Ben so insecure about himself. She shook her head, before continuing "Is that opening at Lex Corp still open?"

"Uh, yeah but you don't have to take it. Lex said it was just an executive position over the biochemistry division. You're good at bossing people around, so I think you'd-OW!" He was cut off by her punching him in the arm. Lucky for him, she always slept with her suppression bracelet on, or he'd have flown through a wall.

"Don't be mean. I'm not bossy, I just like to stop your slacking sometimes. Plus..." She paused to run a finger down the side of his face slowly and sensually, causing him to gulp audibly. "I think you like when I'm bossy." She looked at him coyly, like a hawk would eye a mouse.

"Er, um, well-" Ben's intelligent response began, but was interrupted by an alarm on his phone blaring to life, offering him an out. "OH WOULD YOU LOOK AT THE TIME IT'S I HAVE TO GO TO WORK O'CLOCK OKAY YOU COMPLETE ME BUHBYE!" Ben then shot out of their bed, leaving an amused Tea and a slightly annoyed Salazar.

Tea chuckled at her flustered boyfriend, while stroking her snuggly companion's fur gently. She picked up the overly docile cat and looked him in the eyes. "Your papa has it bad for your mommy doesn't he, Salazar?" She then touched her nose the cats, who just meowed lazily at her before curling back up in her arms, resuming his nap. As she listened to Ben frantically try to get ready on time, she couldn't help think about just how much happier she was now. Both she and Ben had made such great strides to work past their issues, and while they still had long ways to go, the therapy with Harley was helping a lot. She knew Ben would probably always have a lot of fears as a result of Patty's death that he would carry for a long time, but he was laughing again and expressing himself beyond flat one word responses to questions asked of him. He seemed happier than he had in months, and so was she. Sure, them getting together helped her a lot, but she didn't struggle as much to express herself as she had before. She was still a little haughty because of how strong she was on a universal scale, but she made sure she never lorded over Ben. He did call her his Queen a few times though, to which she was secretly rather pleased. Ben's work in genetics for Lex and Harrison had improved as well, now that he was working in a more official capacity. The three were now being featured on many science magazines, being regarded as starting a new wave of innovation in technology and research across the country. Ben was now pretty famous for both his own intellect as well as being close friends with two of the smartest men on the planet, though many people accused him of riding coattails. Lex told him not to concern himself with the opinions of sheep, a remnant of his villain mentality. What really put Ben on the map of the science world was his doctoral thesis, which was on the use of cloning organs for transplants. Almost the second he walked out with his doctorate in genetics and cloning, he went into a LexCorp and STAR Labs joint facility to implement his work. The first use of his work was to clone a fully developed heart for a 5 year old girl, who was the little sister of one of his students.

Tea couldn't help but smile at how Ben had used his intellect to help people, though when she brought it up, his smile always became strained. She didn't know why, but Ben didn't really talk about his past with her that much beyond that he was a clone. He had promised they'd talk about it soon, and he promised he would tell her everything, she could tell he was worried about how she'd take it from his body language. She frowned at that, realizing that whatever Ben had done must have been really bad. She shook her head. Whatever Ben told her, she promised it would not change how she felt, and she told herself that she would tell Ben about her own past sins in return. Nodding to herself, she went to go make Ben a cup of coffee before he left.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Across town, Ernie Edgars was scared. She had woken up, and for once, she couldn't control her powers. She had kept them hidden from everyone, including Derek. Not because she was worried about being judged, but because as much as she liked heroes, she didn't want to be one. God knows she worried so much about Derek every single time he went out on patrol with Mr. Reilly. She knew she didn't really want to be hero. It had started during the Lightning Storm Incident in Central City. She'd woken up in a bed within Central City General Hospital, she'd been terrified. She hadn't remembered anything except being struck by lightning when she was with her family while on visiting some family there. She was out of it, but she vaguely remembered seeing her parents argue vehemently with a man a red suit. She realized about a week later that it had been the Flash. She hadn't really known why the Fastest Man Alive had been arguing with her parents until she had almost been hit by a car two weeks later. Time had slowed to a crawl, and she had thrown herself out of the way. Only when she realized that the world was still slow after she got to her feet had she realized what was happening. She had the same abilities as the Flash, though to a much lesser degree.

Back to the present, she was freaking out. She was usually able to keep her abilities under control by concentrating. But this time, she couldn't. The most she could manage was her right hand if she really concentrated. She reached for her phone, and called Derek, who answered immediately.

"Hey, Ern. What's going on? You need me to come get you?" He asked nonchalantly, though you could tell her was excited to show off for his girlfriend.

"HelpmeDerek!" Her vocal cords were vibrating so fast her words strung together and shot out rapidly. Derek's voice hitched on the line, and she heard the telltale sounds of him opening a rift. Instantly, she saw a portal open up in her room, and Derek shot out in his Sideways costume, ready to fight off who ever was going to hurt her. She watched in slow motion as he eased up in tension, though he took a step back when he saw her blurred form.

"Ern? ERNIE! What's happening?!" He started to rush over to her, but she help up a hand to stop him.

"Don'tTouchME! Icouldhurtyou! SuperSpeedoutcontrol!" Her words were as quick as lightning, but Derek seemed to get the message, halting his advance. He quickly removed his mask, and she could see every inch of his face in hyperfocus, concern written on his face.

"Ernie, I have so many questions right now, but right now, I need to know how to help you." He was unnerved, and more than a little scared. He looked like he wanted to wrap her in a hug, and while she would normally be all for getting snuggled by her Puerto Rican boyfriend and his hunky arms, she didn't want to shred him. Instead, she point to a card on her desk. The card read: 'Meena Dwahan. Speedforce Researcher and Trainer.'

Next to the name, there was a number for the labs. Frantic to help his girlfriend, he punched the number into his cell, and waited for someone to answer. On the third ring, someone answered.

"Hello?" A tired male voice answered.

"I need help! My girlfriend is having issues from Speedforce! I don't know anything about it, but she pointed to this card as how to help her!" Derek stammered out, trying to get the message across to the person on the other end of the line.

"Son, calm down. You called the right person. I didn't know anyone still had this number though. After Meena disappeared...Not important right now. Where are you? I can be there in a few minutes regardless."

"No! Just tell me where you are! I can rift us to you!" Derek didn't want to wait, and consequences be damned. Ernie needed help. This person was exprerienced with metas, so him being one wouldn't raise too many questions.

"Son, I'm the Flash. I don't know if you're also a meta, but I need you to trust me. Where are you?"

Derek opened his mouth to argue, but his words caught in his throat. He was talking to the Flash, who just happened to be his second favorite superhero!

"Son? You still there?" The voice of the Scarlet Speedster called out in concern.

"Gotham! We are in Gotham, Miagani." He then gave Ernie's specific address.

"Okay, I'll be there soon. I'm going to stay on the line with you kids, okay? In the meantime, Ernie, I want you to think about something calming."

Ernie opened her mouth to acknowledge the speedsters instructions, but her voice accelerated to unintelligible levels. The Flash, to his credit, was somehow able to understand her.

"Don't worry, Ernie. I'll be there in a flash." He said with a warm chuckle, easing some of the tension with his lame joke. Roughly 5 seconds later, a blur of red and yellow appeared in the room, revealing the hero of Central City in all his heroic glory, a reassuring smile on his face.

"Alright, Ernie. So let's help get you unphased." The Flash spoke in kind and patient tone, before moving to assist her.

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Ben was swinging through the city, trying to get to his stupid teacher board meeting. It was apparently the time of year where they'd discuss curriculum. This sucked for Ben, because he needed at least ten minutes to figure out what he was going to do for the day in his classes. He usually just glanced at the end summary for whatever chapter they were supposed to cover, and then BS'd his way from memory. Ironically, he was considered the chemistry teacher in the school for his lectures, which 90% of the time were just shit he strung together on the spot from memory. Chemistry was just a breeze for Ben, but he despite his lack of usual preparation ahead of time, he was still considered one of the best teachers at the school. Maybe Peter was just bad at life in general, but Ben did not have even a third of the issues that the original had with juggling his obligations.

After a few minutes of web-slinging, he landed on the roof of Gotham High, he made sure he was out of side before sliding off his hero suit and quickly dressing in his teacher outfit. His transformation from costumed weirdo into productive-ish member of society was now complete. He stuffed his suit and gadgets into his bag, and headed to the staircase that lead inside. Exiting from the staircase, he found himself among the various students of Gotham High, milling about and laughing with their friends. He even spotted several students that he'd rescued from the Ventriloquist, who'd recently gotten out of the rehabilitation programs they'd been enrolled in to recovery from the effects of Fever. Seeing them alive and happy... it made every sin that he'd committed that night worth it. Shaking his head, he walked towards the teacher's office to check his lesson plan. He needed to start a new unit of material today, since today was the start of a new quarter. He brought a hand to his chin, scratching his five o'clock shadow as he began to muse a bit.

'Hmm...could talk about complex bonding mechanics to kick things off/. Or maybe discuss hero gadgets that utilize complex chemistry? Yeah, that could work...' Ben didn't realize it, but he was mumbling as he thought. A tap on the shoulder brought him out of his thoughts.

"Mr. Reilly, it's time for the emergency staff meeting." One his faceless colleagues told him. He honestly hadn't felt the need to get to know many of his fellow teachers. They definitely worked hard, but they weren't very interesting. Definitely not as interesting as a guy who came back from the dead, a sexy formerly evil clone, a master of the dark arts, or two billionaire geniuses. He nodded at his coworker, before he got out of his personal desk and began walking towards the meeting room. It was weird, because they'd just had a staff meeting the other day. He shook his head as he walked down the hallway, before he arrived at the board room. Idly, he noted the somber looks on the administration's faces, as well as the distinct lack of the principal. He also noted he was the last staff member to arrive. As he took his seat, one of the senior board members rose from his chair, and moved to the head of the room.

"This will not come as a surprise to some of you, but it was decided by the school's board of directors to fire Headmaster Manfred. There were...incidents involving him that could not be overlooked, and he disappeared to avoid them. As such, he is no longer at the head of this school, and we ask that you do not speak to any media figures about this to inflame the situation. We are currently working with police to address the issue. That is all."

Ben's mind was reeling from that information. The headmaster had always been creepy, and he set off pretty much every warning bell Ben had in his skull. He'd have to do some digging, which usually meant texting Jason to ask his dad. Batman knew everything after all, in Gotham at least. He shook his head. He needed to focus on his classes for the day, at least until 3 o'clock.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Tea floated idly above Gotham in her Ultrawoman costume. She again, noted how the black outfit accentuated her womanly figure, and not for the first time, wondered how fun it would be to use it to tease her boyfriend. Ben, despite being a lot more twisted than his progenitor, was a lot more awkward to advances than his genetic base was, whom he had mentioned was successful enough with ladies in his life to be problematic. Tea tiled her head at that thought. She was glad Ben was an awkward mess around people in general. She had less to worry about that way. She'd hate to have to melt him, since it would waste his cuteness.

Xxxxxxx

Elsewhere

Ben felt a shiver run up his spine as he prepared to write the chemical formula for napalm on the board.

'I feel like I should be scared but also...excited?'

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Back with Tea...

As she finished chuckling to herself, Ben wouldn't cheat on her. The only women on the planet who could even hold a candle to her were Amazonians, and considering there were only three that didn't seem to hate men on the planet, she liked her odds. Besides, Ben and her had a connection, which made her sigh contentedly again. Then she bonked herself on the head for being pessimistic. She moved her right hand to her left wrist to use her suits built in coms system to leave Ben a voicemail, since she didn't want to bother him directly. However, before she could, an explosion rang out of the First Bank of Gotham. She could see several henchmen types carrying bags of cash from the bank and loading them into a car. They were dressed in a similar fashion as the villain Bane, meaning they were probably his crew. Slightly pleased that one of Gotham's stronger villains decided to make an appearance on her first outing, she cracked her knuckles and began her descent. She also made sure to send Ben a message saying:

'Fun time at First Bank of Gotham. Wear your best suit;)'

Satisfied, she went to work.

Xxxxxx

Across town...

Ben felt his phone buzz as he finished grading some quizzes that he had given earlier in the day. Looking at it, he saw Tea was doing something at the biggest bank in Gotham. Shaking his head, he rose to his feet, and grabbed his bag with his gear.

'This is probably going to suck and/or be embarrassing.'

xxxxxxxxxxx

Tea landed on the ground with her arms folded, and raised an eyebrow at the thugs loading the car. They still hadn't noticed her, a fact which made her feel annoyed. So naturally, she waltzed over to the front of the car, and shoved her fist through the engine block. The crunching of metal and sounds of the engine dying caused the henchmen to stop, and gawk at her.

"Hello there, boys." She started cheerfully, before she pulled her fist out of the truck's engine. "Now, why don't you be nice and put the money back inside, hmm?"

Her demand was spoken like a request, and that caused them to start to sweat, before they opened fire on Ultrawoman. The bullets impacted her, which caused her to smile wickedly. She tilted her head coyly, as the now inert bullets fell off of her person, which caused the thugs to begin to panic.

"Holy shit, guys, I think she's like Superman!" Thug One said in terror.

"She can't be, you idiot! She doesn't dress like them!" Thug Two said in rebuke.

"But she has his symbol, though she looks a lot better than Supergirl." Thug Three stated lecherously. "What do you say, dollface? You let us go and we have some fun?"

Tea's eyes narrowed, before she got an idea. Walking salaciously over to the third thug, she walked up to him, before she slowly put an finger on his face. He grinned, but before he could reach out to her, she flicked him, sending him flying into a trashcan.

"Sorry, but I'm happily taken, and my boyfriend more man than you'll ever be." She stopped a moment, hearing a familiar heartbeat nearby. She grinned, and turned to see Ben land beside her in his full Arachnid outfit. "And here he is. Cute, isn't he?" She walked over with actual seductiveness, before wrapping herself around her boyfriend.

"Nice to see you have things in hand, babe." He paused a moment, before he looked at her seriously "You didn't kill anyone...right?"

She pouted, though it was reduced in effectiveness since her lower half of her face was covered by her mask. "Of course not. I promised I would be a good girl. And Ultrawoman doesn't go back on her word."

"Riiiight. Anyways, you encountered Bulky Beefcake yet?" He asked, but before he could answer, his spider-sense went nuts, before gunfire erupted. Reacting on instinct, he grabbed Tea, and carried them out of the way. Tea didn't say anything, realizing he was used to fighting with people who were much less durable than she was. She quickly used her heat vision to destroy the thugs' firearms, before she gave Ben a peck on the cheek.

"I don't need you to save me, but it was still sweet." She said softly, before gently caressing his face.

Ben froze, his suits lenses widening, before he opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by her kissing him, their masks only slightly hindering their contact.

"Don't apologize. I know why you did it. I'd rather you save everyone than have you assume they're as indestructible as me."

Patting his cheek, Tea began walking towards the Bank's entrance. She glanced back at Ben, who was still standing still. "You handle any who slip out while I'm handling big bad Bane. 'Kay, babe?" Ben said nothing, but he did make sure she saw him nod.

Having said her piece, she waved to the press who were now gathering, before moving inside. Who knows, maybe their kiss would make the front page.

Xxxxxxxx

Bane was not having a good day. He watched the Banks outer cameras, observing the newly arrived heroes. His eyes lingered on the woman. She exhibited the powers of the bastardo Superman. He shook his head, before put a finger on the communication device he had in his mask.

"Brothers, hold out in stalling. I will be there shortly." Bane spoke smoothly. He was lucky he kept Kryptonite on his person for such an eventuality. Ever since Luthor had gotten out of the game, others had taken to copying his habit of carrying the element with everywhere. Though, a few had learned to not use it on Supergirl. The Red Hood turned the last person who tried something on her into a macabre statue, with a message carved into his chest.

'Touch Supergirl, and you die.' Some hadn't taken him seriously, and had tried to hurt her in multiple ways after the first. Suffice to say, the Hood had made sure they were no longer walking among the living.

"No matter," Bane said to himself, "The Kryptonian will fall, and then the man-spider will too."

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Tea was yawning from boredom. Bane's goons were hardly worth the effort. She could sneeze on them and their be out of commission. She glanced over to where Ben was fighting four of them on his own, taunting them every step of the way. Their groans of annoyance told her that if his powers didn't make them give up, his awful ass quips would. She scoffed, "What a dork."

Before she could tell him to stop screwing around, a booming Spanish voice came from her left. "You should have said goodbye, because death is the only result when you mess with Bane." A fist collided with her face, sending her flying into a nearby car. It was a Ferari, so some pretentious asshole probably wouldn't be happy about that. She glanced at the figure that had smacked her into the now totaled car. The guy was at least 7 feet tall, and made of a solid 350 pounds of muscle. He wore a black tank top, combat fatigue pants, steel toed boots, a Luchadore mask, and had tubes connected from his back to various points on his body. His eyes narrowed at her.

"As I thought. You are almost unscathed. You must be like the Superman." He then reached into his belt, and pulled out a glowing stone. "Fortunately for Bane, and unfortunately for the chica, Bane keeps some Kryptonite on hand in case he runs across the Superfamily." He calmly began to walk closer, not paying attention to the face Tea hadn't changed at all despite the glowing green rock. He stood in front of her, and raised a fist to crush her.

"Any last words? Perhaps for your boyfriend? Though, he shall join you soon after." Bane asked calmly.

"Yeah. I'm not Superwoman. I'm Ultrawoman." Tea spoke icily before she punched Bane in the solar plexus, sending the air out of his lungs, before she slammed his head into the pavement, causing him to pass out. She sighed, and looked away. Glancing around she noticed multiple police vehicles and EMTs had arrived, along with some reporters. She looked over to Ben, who was casually perched on a nearby speed sign, his mask lenses indicating his was curious.

"I thought your people were lethally weak to Kryptonite?" He sounded concerned. Probably thought she was faking it, and wanted to help, the sweet idiot.

"They are. I'm not. I told you, I'm perfect." She then winked at him, and seductively motioned for him to come closer with a finger gesture. "What do you say we get out of here, handsome?"

"Fine. But I want hibachi tonight." Ben stated petulantly. Tea just laughed melodically, before she scooped him up and flew them away.

Tea couldn't help but think that it wasn't a bad way to debut as a hero.

To be Continued...

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So we reach the end of another chapter. I'll be honest. I needed to slow down here . School was starting to pick up, and I actually had the idea to do a HP fic. I may write the first chapter sometime on Friday and upload. In the meantime, you know the drill. I'll see you guys around.

Raizen out.