In The Interim: Fitting In, Part 1
San Francisco, 3 Months before Initiation
As Ben watched Clark and Diana leave, he could only wave after them in a daze. He still had some trouble thinking clearly.
He could only marvel at his new position in life.
He was a member of the Justice League! Sure, the League wouldn't actually be meeting until a few more months, but he was still a part of it.
It was odd; until yesterday, he'd felt alone. Yes, he had become friends with the League, with the Kents and with Kara, but he'd still felt isolated, but now it was different; now he was a part of something. He belonged.
He went back into his kitchen and grabbed some leftovers from the night before. As he began to eat, his mind began to wander. What will these new members be like? Will they all have powers, or will some be like Batman? I wonder what Gwen and Kevin would say about this?
Thinking about his cousin and best friend dampened his spirits somewhat. He still thought about them, his grandfather, his parents, and Julie often; many times, he'd miss them so much that it would ache. He'd just wanted to keep them safe, and then they were gone.
And he had him to blame for it all. If it hadn't been for him, they'd be alive; Julie would still be alive.
Ben stopped eating and just stared at the table for a while, thinking about her. Sure, they'd had their rough spots in their relationship, but those had been smoothed out years ago. They had even been talking about moving in together when they went to college. Unfortunately for them both, Will Harangue had made Ben so despised on his Earth that no college would accept him.
Ben's thoughts spiraled lower and lower, and he lost track of time; he almost missed his phone alarm went off. Quickly checking it, he realized that it was time for him to go out on patrol. He ate the rest of his food as quickly as he could, then activated the Ultimatrix. He found the alien that he needed, then slammed the dial down.
"GHOSTFREAK!" This alien didn't shout so much as loudly whispered. It resembled a ghost, but with black cracks spreading across its pale body. A single eye peered out; it didn't have any other facial features, and the Ultimatrix dial was displayed on its chest.
Ben had been initially wary of Ghostfreak ever since it had tried to possess him all those years ago; however, Azmuth had assured him that Ghostfreak wouldn't be a problem anymore after the upgrades he'd installed. Since moving into his new home, Ben had used Ghostfreak as a way to leave his home without anyone discovering where he lived.
Ghostfreak became invisible and, using his powers of intangibility, flew up and through his ceiling. Once he distanced himself from his house, he slapped the Ultimatrix dial.
"JET RAY!"
As the manta-like alien flew over the city, he silently thanked Batman again for setting him up here. There was hardly any crime, and it seemed that accidents were uncommon. It hardly needed a superhero.
Jet Ray's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of gunfire. "Damn you, Murphy's Law," he muttered. He flew down to where several police officers were taking cover behind their patrol cars, dodging shots coming from the building in front of them.
"What's the situation, officers?"
One of the cops moved over to him, staying low as he did so. One other positive aspect of this universe that Ben had noted was that the police were a lot nicer to him. Ben also found it admirable in how many of them seemed fearless when facing down supervillains, something that the cops in Ben's reality had lacked.
"We've got a hostage situation," said the officer, "the guy's using a woman as a human shield, and he's taking potshots at us."
Jet Ray nodded, pleased that the police were willing to work with him. "If you can keep his attention, I can get behind him and take him down."
"Are you sure?" The officer didn't ask out of skepticism, he'd seen many of the forms that the shapeshifting hero had; he was more concerned with the hostage.
"I'm positive."
The officer felt a little better. So far, this hero hadn't let anyone down. "Go for it."
Jet Ray slapped the Ultimatrix dial again. The officer shielded his eyes. As the green flash died down, a black and green anthropomorphic battery hovered in front of him. It had large, green eyes and a wicked smile on its face.
"BUZZSHOCK!"
The officer's eyebrows went up; he'd seen a few of the strange forms in person and a few more on the news, but he'd never seen this one before. What couldn't this guy do?
"Okay," Buzzshock said with a grin, "I'll be right back."
With that, the little battery-alien flew around the side of the side of the building, until he spotted an electrical outlet in the wall. Giggling, Buzzshock dove inside the outlet, becoming pure, living electricity. He traveled through the electrical system of the structure, only emerging when he reached the room with the gunman.
Silently, he peeked around a wall, seeing the guy shooting out of a window. Held in front of him was a young woman, probably in her early twenties. She was clearly distressed, not being helped by the fact that her kidnapper was laughing like a maniac.
Buzzshock waited; he'd need to time this just right. As the gunman reached out to fire again, Buzzshock zipped into the room as fast as he could and fired two blasts of green electricity at the pistol. The shock traveled down the gun and into his body. Buzzshock was glad that the guy was wearing a leather glove on the hand gripping his hostage; it insulated her from getting shocked as well. The would-be murderer jumped back, releasing his hold on his hostage as he did so. The woman fell to the floor and crawled away.
"I don't know what you are," the maniac snarled as he drew a large knife, "but I'm gonna kill you!"
Buzzshock rolled his eyes. "Man, I've heard that so many times it could be my theme song!"
Yelling incoherently, the man slashed his knife horizontally across Buzzshock. The woman screamed as the alien was sliced in half. Buzzshock didn't even look surprised; he didn't need to, as the upper half of him grew legs, and the lower half of him grew arms and a head!
The two Buzzshocks looked at each other and laughed maliciously. They flew to either side of the man and let loose a powerful blast of electricity; the man screamed in pain and collapsed to the floor, twitched a few times, then lay still. One Buzzshock checked the man's pulse, while the other flew over to the freed hostage.
"Are you okay, Miss?"
The young woman nodded. "Y-yes, I'm all right, he didn't hurt me."
Buzzshock nodded, or tried to, since he didn't have a neck. "That's good; hey, if it's okay with you, I'll stay here until the police get up here."
"T-that's fine. Um, thanks for saving me."
Buzzshock smiled. "No problem; it's what I do."
The woman smiled back, a little freaked out that her life had been saved by a flying battery, but grateful nonetheless. The police arrived a few minutes later to take the man into custody, and take the woman to be looked over by paramedics. The two Buzzshocks merged into one, receiving thanks from both police and bystanders as he left.
…
"Well now, the kid's got chops, I'll give him that much." Commented the mystery figure who had observed Ben at the Kent farm all those months ago, idly kicking his legs off the edge of the office building he was sitting on, having watched the drama across the street. "Kinda would have done the same thing myself, to be honest."
"What, you mean sneak your way in? You're not exactly the 'stealthy and silent type'. You're more of the 'charge in like a bull in a china shop wearing blindfolds.' Subtly is not in your natural vocabulary." A mechanical-sounding voice piped up from next to him, coming from an oddly-shaped construct floating next to the man. Its companion frowned at the bot.
"I can be stealthy too, Trip…I just don't do it all the time."
"Thought so."
"Oh, shut up." Trip's partner grumbled.
"But in all honest," The little bot's voice had gotten serious. "Are you sure this is the right course of action? I mean, is it really okay that we're only just…observing Ben Tennyson?"
The man said nothing at first. Then he answered.
"A person can't grow beyond who they are if someone else fights their battles for them. I know that from experience all too well. And believe me Trip that poor kid hasn't even come close to seeing the worst kinds of things this reality can throw at him. But he needs to face those challenges head on… or he'll never be able to leave his past behind him."
…
The rest of Ben's patrol around the city was quiet; no accidents, no crimes to stop, nothing. After finishing his ritual post-patrol smoothie, he headed back home. He considered going back out again when he realized he had nothing to do, when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Master Ben," came a familiar voice, "I trust that you are well?"
"Alfred?" Why was Bruce Wayne's butler calling him? "I'm fine; what's up?"
"Master Bruce will be away from Gotham City for a few days; he would like for you to come here and cover for him at his 'work'."
Ben knew what kind of work Alfred was talking about, considering he had no idea how to run a multinational corporation. He did, however, find it odd that Batman wanted him to cover his crime-fighting duties.
"I'll be right over."
"Excellent. I will let Master Bruce know, and prepare a room at Wayne Manor for you."
"Thanks, Alfred, I'll see you soon." With that, Ben hung up. With a repeat of Ghostfreak and Jet Ray, he headed for Gotham.
…
Gotham City, Wayne Manor
Jet Ray landed in the forest outside the Wayne estate then changed back to Ben. As he approached the gate, it opened, almost as if someone were watching him approach.
Because that's not creepy at all, Ben thought.
Ben walked up to the door and knocked. A moment later, a young boy, probably in his early teens, opened it.
"Are you Ben?" the kid's eyes were full of suspicion.
"Yeah?" Ben didn't know what to think of this kid. He seemed way too tense for his age.
"Show me the Ultimatrix."
Ben was shocked that he knew about the watch. Then again, he was in Bruce Wayne's house, maybe he was Robin; he'd seen him a couple of times on the news, and he was the right height.
He raised his left arm and lifted the sleeve of his jacket. "Satisfied?"
The boy's frown remained, but he gestured for Ben to come inside. When the door closed, the frown turned into a grin.
"I've seen you on the news; you are awesome!"
Ben blinked. He'd expected anyone near Batman to be a lot more subdued. The boy held out his hand. "Tim Drake. Robin."
After giving himself a mental pat on the back for guessing right, Ben shook Tim's hand.
"Come on," Tim continued, "Barbara needs to see us in the Batcave."
"Who's Barbara?"
Tim froze. "Oh, crap. I wasn't supposed to say who she was. Okay, she's Batgirl, but don't call her by her real name unless she tells you herself. Okay? I don't want her to hurt me."
Ben smiled. "No problem."
The two headed to the Batcave, waving to Alfred on the way; the aging butler merely smiled back.
Once in the Batcave, Ben saw someone sitting at the computer. It was a young woman in a costume similar to Batman's. Ben noticed that her mask didn't connect to her cape; instead, it only covered her face and the top of her head, allowing her long red hair to flow over her cape. Batgirl turned around.
"Hey, Tim," she looked at Ben. "And you must be Ben Tennyson; Batman told us about you."
Ben smirked. "Wow, who knew Batman was a gossip?"
To his surprise, Batgirl laughed. "Yeah, I think he said four sentences regarding you; that must be a new record for him."
Ben rolled his eyes. "So, why was I called here?" He enjoyed casual conversation, but he wasn't on vacation; Batman needed him for something, and he wanted to know what.
Both Batgirl and Tim looked a little upset. "Bruce is away for a meeting overseas," said Batgirl, "he wants you to help patrol Gotham while he was away."
"It's not fair!" exclaimed Tim, "He doesn't trust us enough to take care of things for a couple of days without him!"
Ben thought about it; that really didn't seem all that fair to him, either. Why would Batman not trust the people who knew his greatest secret with patrolling the city for a day or two?
"Well, I'm sorry; I can leave if you want."
Batgirl waved it off. "Forget it; our problem is with Batman, not you." Then an alert beeped on the computer. Batgirl turned her attention to the screen. "Robbery on twenty-ninth street. Police are en route."
"Come on," said Tim, "I feel a need to hit something."
Batgirl nodded. "Suit up." She glanced at Ben. "Both of you."
Ben cycled through his aliens until he found the one he wanted, then slammed the dial down.
"BIG CHILL!"
Batgirl looked the blue mothman up and down. "Not bad, this guy'll fit right in here in this town."
If Big Chill could have smiled, he would have. "Thanks."
Robin came in a moment later, now in his costume; he seemed taken aback by Big Chill's appearance, but he quickly got over it. He and Batgirl got on motorcycles and headed down a tunnel leading out of the Batcave. Big Chill unfurled his wings and hurried after them.
…
When the trio reached the crime scene, the thieves had already left, and the police were taping off the area. The officers noticed them approach and, while they gave nods of greeting towards Batgirl and Robin, they were a little wary of Big Chill. The only reason that they weren't drawing guns on him was because Batgirl told them that he was with them.
Big Chill looked at the store. The window was shattered and from what he could tell from his position, a lot of the jewelry had been taken.
"Aw, great," whined Robin, "Bullock is here." Big Chill noticed a particularly large detective walking towards them.
"Oh, whoopee, the kids are here," Bullock was clearly unhappy to see them. He raised an eyebrow at Big Chill. "And you brought another freak. Great, like I don't need another headache." Before anyone could respond, he turned on his heel and walked away.
"Well, he seemed likable enough." Big Chill's sarcastic remark brought smirks from Batgirl, Robin and a few of the officers that heard him.
"Come on," said Batgirl, "we need to take a look at the crime scene." Batgirl and Robin walked through the door, while Big Chill went intangible and floated through a wall.
"Show-off." Robin muttered, while Big Chill shrugged.
The two partners of Batman walked around the jewelry store, checking out every nook and cranny. Big Chill could tell that they were well trained; they left no stone unturned. After a few minutes, they came back to Big Chill.
"Well we know what was stolen…" began Batgirl.
"We know when the jewelry was stolen…" continued Robin.
"And we know how it was stolen, but we can't figure out who stole it!" finished Batgirl.
"Ha! I knew someday that one of you caped freaks would screw up!" the three turned to see Bullock leaning against the doorframe with a smug grin on his face.
"Hmm… maybe not," said Big Chill, "I've got an idea."
Bullock raised an eyebrow as Big Chill slapped the Ultimatrix dial on his chest, then covered his eyes as a bright green flash lit up the store.
"CLOCKWORK!"
All three of the people in the store had wide eyes as a copper robot appeared in front of them.
"What the heck is this!?" asked Bullock.
"Hang on," said Clockwork, "I'm going to try something." The winder on top of his head began to spin, and the room took on a green hue. The store had an afterimage placed on it; this afterimage showed the interior of the store completely undamaged.
"I can look into, and even show past events to others." If Clockwork had a mouth, he'd have been grinning at Bullock; the detective's mouth had hit the floor. Batgirl and Robin had done a much better job of staying composed, but they still looked impressed.
The afterimage of the window shattered as a sledgehammer flew through it. A woman dressed as a jester did a back-flip and landed on her feet. After picking up her hammer, she proceeded to load a sack with the jewelry in the store.
"Harley!" Batgirl stared at the afterimage with narrowed eyes.
"Who?" asked Clockwork.
"Harley Quinn," explained Robin, "psycho, criminal, the Joker's bi…"
"Robin!" warned Batgirl.
"What?" asked Robin, "She is!"
While this was going on, the afterimage of Harley was walking to the door.
"Oh no you don't," warned Bullock, "you ain't getting away!" he charged the image, but instead of tackling her like he expected, he passed right through her and hit his face against the floor.
"Um, dude?" said Clockwork, "This is just a replay of what happened; like a movie. You can't actually change what happened." Behind him, he could hear Batgirl and Robin snickering.
Bullock stood up and dusted himself off. "I knew that."
The afterimage faded, and Clockwork fell to his knees, panting slightly. Batgirl placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You okay?"
"I'm fine," said Clockwork, "but using time-related powers always drains me a bit."
Batgirl smiled at him. "Don't worry, now we know who to look for. Bullock, would you put out an APB for Harley?"
"Yeah, yeah, sure." The detective sulked off.
"Oh, but I'll miss him," said Clockwork, "he was such a ray of sunshine."
The two other heroes laughed.
…
Later, at the Batcave, the three heroes sat down eating food that Alfred had brought. Unlike Batman, the younger heroes got distracted from their work without three meals a day. As they ate, Ben had a thought.
"So, who's the Joker?"
The other two paused and glanced at each other; apparently this was a touchy subject.
"Think of the complete opposite of Batman," said Batgirl, "and then put him in a purple suit and clown makeup. That's the Joker."
Ben shuddered a little. Then a realization hit him.
"I think I know why Batman sent me here."
Robin tilted his head. "You do?"
"Yeah; it's not because he doesn't trust the two of you. He's been working to help me get a place, and he had to come up with a new identity for me, and that included writing death certificates for my family; I think that what happened to me opened old wounds, and he didn't want it to happen again." He looked at the two. "It's not about not trusting you. It's about not losing you."
Ben knew what he was talking about when he said "old wounds". While adjusting to his new home, he had done some research on Mr. Wayne. He knew how his family had died. It had been tragic; his entire world had been shattered by a punk with a gun.
Batgirl and Robin looked down at the floor, ashamed that their trust in Batman was so easily shaken. Ben was probably right; they were the closest thing that Bruce had to a family, and they had all nearly died during the Thanagarian invasion. Batman was bound to be a little protective for a while.
"I guess you're right." Said Robin slowly.
Ben shrugged. "Hey, I might not know things right away, but when I do, I'm usually right."
Batgirl looked at Robin. "Let's play it safe until Bruce gets back." Robin nodded. Batgirl turned back to Ben and pulled off her mask with one hand while offering him her other to shake. "By the way, I'm Barbara Gordon."
Ben smiled. "Nice to meet you, Barbara." The two shook.
…
The next couple of days were pretty quiet; the worst that the three had to deal with were a few attempted muggings. Otherwise, they stayed at Wayne Manor. Normally, Barbara had to go to college, but her school had a series of financial meetings between the teachers, so she was off for a few days.
They had tried to figure out what Harley Quinn had been up to, but so far, no leads had come up. The rest of the time was spent training. Ben would transform into various aliens, and the other two would try to find ways of beating him. The ones that could go intangible were the most difficult to fight. Still, the skill possessed by the two was undeniable; Ben knew that if he ever tried to fight them as a normal human, he'd be toast.
When Batman finally returned, he gave a gruff thank-you, then told Ben to leave. Ben said his goodbyes to Barbara, Tim and Alfred, then headed home. He didn't know why, but the more good that he did, the better he felt about this whole situation. Maybe it was because he was preventing other families from mourning.
…
After Ben left, Barbara Gordon pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number. After a few rings, the person on the other line picked up.
"Hello?" said a sleepy-sounding Kara Kent.
"Hey, Kara, it's Barbara."
"Oh, hi Babs, what's up?"
"You won't believe who just left Wayne Manor."
"Unless it's a cute boy, I really don't care; it's like four in the morning in Kansas right now."
"That depends; do you find Ben Tennyson cute?"
There was a short silence on the other line; Barbara smiled as she imagined her friend's face reddening in embarrassment.
"Uh, Ben was there? Why?" It could have been Barbara's imagination, but Kara sounded just a little too interested.
"Batman asked him to help out while he was away. I know, really not like him to ask for help, but let's just say it was kind of complicated. Anyway, Ben showed up, helped us out for a few days, and just left."
"How is he doing?" Barbara was a little thrown off by the question.
"Well, he seemed alright to me; there were a couple of times that he seemed, I don't know, off somehow. And he slept less than Batman would."
"Uh, how do you know how much he slept?" Now it was Barbara's turn to blush.
"It's not what you think!"
"What am I thinking?"
"Look, we're getting off-topic." Barbara took a breath. "For the most part, he seemed fine. He got along with Tim, and I think he's funny."
"Did he tell any stories about his adventures?"
"Plenty."
"He's done a lot, hasn't he?"
Okay, now Barbara could hear it in Kara's voice; she just had a little trouble believing it.
"Oh my god," she said, "you like him!"
"What!? I do not!"
"You totally do! You think he's cute, which he is, in my opinion, you care about his emotional state, and you went into 'suspicious-jealous mode' when I made that sleep comment!"
"…You think he's cute?"
"See! You just did it again!"
"Ugh! Babs, I'm not having this conversation right now; I'm going back to sleep!"
"Denial is the first step!" Barbara managed to call out before Kara hung up. After staring at her phone for a moment, Barbara began to think about it. There was just something about those two; she couldn't quite explain why, but Ben and Kara just seemed like a perfect match.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone