6 Moving on.

{Before the chapter begins, let's cover some common ground.

I write whenever I feel like it, I was rushed by Zin_Kohtun (and others) to make a new chapter and I did, but I really didn't enjoy it. It's hard to come up with creativity and motivation when creating a new DC universe with the versions of heroes and villains that you like the most, while being mashed together in the order I like while keeping in mind that the MC aint immortal or eternally youthful and I'll have to make him grow.

Second, don't make suggestion about Omnitrix functions, that's my free play zone right there and no one's allowed to touch it.

If you didn't like the chapter, that's fair and feel free to leave reconstructive feedback. Remember, it's not entirely to point out my flaws out but to help me improve the story.

With all of this said, I hope you like the chapter and stop busting my balls, I'm doing horribly in Algorithmics and Programming and need to study so that I don't get fucked!

See ya later mates, Bye!!!!!!!!}

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While the Justice League was busy with some meeting that no one's curious about, Benjamin was residing in an abandoned warehouse he found while driving aimlessly and was standing in front of a set of tools and his Omnitrix ready to be dialed.

"Ok, time to see whether I try to unlock Master Control, or not." Ben.

There have been many reasons as to why Ben has abstained himself from trying to achieve that. True, Ken Tennyson managed to do it but only because the Omnitrix he hacked was a handmade version made by Ben 10.000.

Benjamin, however, isn't entirely sure about what this Omnitrix can do. Is it the same as the original? Or does it have some new gimmicks? For example: He gave the order to scan the Vampire's corpse to get the DNA sample, even though the original prototype needed the Omnitrix to be in contact with the uncatalogued DNA one way or the other.

But when Ben tried any voice commands, even the ones using original Ben's codes, he didn't get anything.

(Satisfied with the explanation, people???????)

"Ok, but before that. Check out the new Vampire alien in the playlist." Ben.

Ben dials the Omnitrix and founds the silhouette of a being with elongated ears wearing a cape and elegant hair, remember that the silhouette is in black.

"No fricking way!" Ben is ecstatic.

"Ok, Master Control or play? Meh, I can always try to mess with the watch some other time." Ben.

(You would've done the same, don't try to deny it)

As Ben urgently smacks the Omnitrix, the device springs to life, its core emitting a blinding green light. Almost immediately, his body begins a dramatic metamorphosis under the emerald glow. His skin turns as pale as moonlight, smooth and unblemished, taking on the luminous quality of ivory.

Ben's canines elongate into razor-sharp, blood-sucking fangs, his ears sharpen, becoming subtly pointed at the tips, his clothes are replaced by an elegant outfit adorned with green velvet and black coloring.

His eyes undergo a striking transformation, the irises turning a deep, mesmerizing green, bordered by the blackest night.

As the transformation concludes, Ben stands taller, his physique slender yet powerful, 

In this new form, Ben, now a vampire, feels the pull of new instincts and abilities at his disposal, from enhanced agility and strength to perhaps even the power to transform into a bat or mist.

Regardless of the benefits of the transformation, Ben's mind is focusing solely in one thing.

"What should I name this guy?" Ben.

Ben's facing the existential crisis of not giving his new form an appropriate name. Since the original Ben 10 was able to come up with emblematic names, except maybe Gutrot, Benjamin couldn't be any less.

"Deimos, Alucard, Urias, Lykos, Neun, Voight, Hm...…." Ben.

"Aha! I've got it! like the Timeworn Vampire, I dub thyself: Aluzard!" Ben.

(I've played Shadow verse but never Symphony of the Night. That's my statement to the raging fans)

*CRICK, CRICK, CRICK*

The grasshoppers resound.

"It's less dramatic when there's no one around." Aluzard Sweatdrops.

"Well, since the Omnitrix still has some charge, let's see how I fare with him." Aluzard.

He begins to meditate as he feels the otherworldly energy inside him, Aluzard's concentration reaches a breaking point until he...

*POOF*

Dozens of bats appear in his place, Aluzard's body split into all those bats. He begins to do some flight tests and surprisingly realized how easy it was to do so.

It was like every bat was part of a hivemind that was controlled unanimously by Ben's mind alone. He was quite happy for the outcome.

Gathering at one place once again, Aluzard returned back into his vampire form.

"Not bad, now let's see that blood magic—" Aluzard was interrupted.

*EEEE, OOO, EEE, OOO*

"Oh, come on! It was getting fun!" Aluzard.

*BEEP, BOOP, BOOP, BOOP, BOOOOOOOOP*

In a flash of red, Aluzard became Ben once again.

"Welp, back to the grind." Ben spoke as he returned to his workplace.

[3 hours later]

Ben was mentally exhausted, he tried a bunch of different ways to hack the Omnitrix, and failed miserably.

The main problem was that Ben couldn't bypass the security system with Grey Matter alone. He didn't have enough knowledge about galvanic technology, no matter how biologically smart he is, without further information, he won't be able to crack the code.

The only way left would be to transform into Upgrade and do its thing but, since Ben doesn't know how this Omnitrix is calibrated, he could lose Upgrade like the reboot version did.

In cases like these ones, there's only one logical solution: Give up and leave it to future you!!!!!

And so, Ben did. After the fiasco of failing to unlock Master Control, Ben simply trained/played some more with his aliens and went to sleep.

[The next day: Thursday February 29th 7:00 AM]

Ben was using his computer, transformed as Upgrade, to look into Earth's heroes. He's browsed about the famous Justice League and their members' sidekicks, as well as the villains that screw everything up.

'Man, that baldy Lex Luthor surely knows how to evade life sentences. And what's up with the Joker? How come Metropolis has death penalty but Gotham, a city full of psychos, doesn't?' Ben.

'Well, I don't really care, one's obsessed with world domination while avoiding the public eye and the other has a crush on the bat, nothing to involve me. Man, I know I'm only ten and shouldn't think or say this but, the women here as fine AF.' Ben.

'Too bad I'm out of their age range and most are in a relationship but, oh well, that's how life is. Now, what should I do now...?' Ben.

'Build a Harem? Nah, too many women, too little experience. Join a hero team? Nah, too many rules. Make a smoothies and gyros booth? Nah, I'll wait till I'm 16.' Ben.

'Well, time to hit the road and look where to go next.' Ben.

Ben looks at Google-maps and starts scrolling the countries, unable to decide, he imputed all the countries in one of those online roulettes and spun it.

"Baltimore Maryland, huh? Oh well, time for a road trip!" Ben.

Ben exits his computer and proceeds to pack all his things before Upgrading his camper and leaving the warehouse.

[Thursday, Batcave, 4:00 PM]

Batman was revaluating the footage about Ben and his aliens during the Bludheaven incident. He looked for any security footage that showed the transformation sequence between human and alien but found nothing.

While he was investigating, he was also creating countermeasures against the aliens that Ben had shown.

He made capsules that release a foam that extinguish any heat source it touches, Nth metal equipment for Ghostfreak, sticky bombs for XLR8, a blunt and some sonic weapons for Diamondhead.

Just as he was researching, Alfred Pennyworth and Dick Grayson entered the Batcave.

"Master Bruce, it appears you have forgotten about Master Dick's piano recital." Alfred.

Batman looks away from his computer for a second but goes right back at it.

"Come on, Burce! You promised." Dick.

Batman sighs.

"Give me 10 more minutes and I'll be ready to go." Batman.

"Alright, sir. Master Dick, let's rehearse in the meantime." Alfred.

"Sure, thanks Alfred." Dick.

They both left the Batcave and went to the living room. Meanwhile, Batman was still typing in his computer.

[In the Livingroom]

"I just don't get it, Alfred. The man spends his whole night fighting villains but he can't spare a few hours for something about me?" Dick.

"I understand your displeasure, Master Dick. But you must understand that Master Bruce is a...…troubled person." Alfred.

"Over 10 years brooding about his parents' death, I mean, sure, I did the same for the first months I was adopted by him but, he's been doing this since they perished. Why can't he move on like me?" Dick.

"I'm afraid that grief is different to everyone, regardless of age." Alfred.

"*SIGHS* I know, I know, I wasn't trying to be a prick but, I bet it also hurts you seeing him like that." Dick.

"Indeed. When Master Thomas and Lady Martha entrusted Master Bruce with me, I felt honored. I swore to make sure that he would grow with the values that his parents abided and form him into an exemplary man." Alfred.

He then looks saddened.

"Instead, he chose a closed and paranoic lifestyle seeking justice for every victim such as himself. He endangers his life every night against foes too powerful for any normal human to fight, yet he does. If his parents could see him, they would be extremely disappointed at me for allowing such behavior." Alfred.

Dick leaned closer to the butler and patted his back.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Alfred. You did the only thing you thought was the answer to his problem, encouraging him. You knew that he needed support from anyone so that the incident wouldn't consume him completely." Dick.

"I'm also aware of that, however, if something permanent ever happens to Master Bruce, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Sometimes is hard to remember that he's a grown man, and that my opinion has little to no weight on his actions but, it pains me, to see him waste his life away and never enjoying it, regardless of how much good he's doing." Alfred.

Dick just looked at the butler with a saddened expression.

"I experienced the same as him. We both lost our parents in incidents that haunt our dreams. Maybe he feels responsible for suggesting them to walk through Crime Alley while I only watched from the sidelines." Dick.

"But sometimes I feel, that being Batman is his own way to fight the loss. Besides, he's with the Justice League and they have The Flash and Superman, the webs' saying that those two are extremely social people so, at least he'll be out more often." Dick.

"That calms my mind as well, Master Dick." Alfred.

"Right? Look here." Dick.

Dick takes out a makeshift pin with a D and a W.

"What is it, Master Dick?" Alfred.

"It's a pin for when I finally surpass my loss. That day, I'll be Richard "Dick" Wayne." Dick.

Alfred felt some tears coming.

"Oh, Master Dick." Alfred.

"It's not that I'm leaving my Grayson name out of it, it's just that the name would be too long." Dick.

"Regardless of it, I'm happy for you to be taking the next step, and I look forwards to see the day you and Master Bruce can spend a whole day normally." Alfred.

"Thanks, Alfred." Dick.

Just then, Batman came from the stairs dressed in a black tux, ready for Dick's recital.

"I'm ready. We'll be back at 6:00 to 7:00 PM, Alfred." Bruce.

"Understood, I'll keep it in mind when scheduling dinner." Alfred.

"Which car would you like to take, Dick?" Bruce.

"How about the Bugatti Centodieci? You still haven't used it." Dick.

"Alright, let's go." Bruce.

And so, the father-son duo went towards Dick's piano recital.

[Monarch Theater.]

Just as Bruce and Dick arrived, Bruce's watch started beeping. He managed to hide it from Dick long enough so that he would prepare for his recital.

After Dick was gone, Bruce returned to his car and checked out his watch. His watch detects, almost, any type of dangerous energy in the area, regardless of how small the amount is.

'Hm... there's an unusual radiation spike nearby the theater. I'll need to get closer to pinpoint where it comes from.' Bruce.

Bruce taps a few buttons of the car in a specific order and a small monitor appears, showing Alfred.

"Alfred, there's a trace of radiation in the Monarch Theater. Track its source and give me an update as soon as you've got one." Bruce.

"Master Bruce, what about Master Dick's piano recital?" Alfred.

"I can't risk the city being exposed to more radiation; it might be too late afterwards." Bruce.

*CHING*

Bruce hears a metallic sound at the other side of his door but finds nothing, he looks at the entrance to the parking lot and barely sees Dick running out of the parking lot.

Bruce picks up the object and it's revealed to be a pin with a D and a W engraved on it.

"Master Bruce, what happened?" Alfred.

"I think I saw Dick, and I think he heard what I've just said. He also dropped this." Bruce.

When Alfred saw the pin, he was quite mad at Bruce and reprimand him.

"Master Bruce, I can allow many things! I've allowed you to build an underground base filled with all sorts of dangerous gadgets, I've allowed you to fight monsters and gods beyond your power, and I even allowed you to miss on your own life for you to focus on anything but social life." Alfred.

"But, and hear me very clear, the moment you adopted Master Grayson and made him your partner, you made a vow to society and his deceased parents to raise him the best way possible so, I WON'T allow you to emotionally hurt that kid any longer!" Alfred.

Alfred presses some buttons on the Bat-computer.

"There! I've contacted the Justice League and they'll take care of that. So, go and find Master Dick, apologize for your selfishness, and spend the rest of the evening together or I swear in the name of my parents, Jarvis and Julia Pennyworth, that I will dismantle the whole Batcave!" Alfred.

"Understood???!" Alfred.

Bruce nods.

"Very well. Enjoy your evening, sir." Alfred ends the call.

Bruce sighs.

"I haven't seen him that mad since the day I dyed his tuxedos green." Bruce.

Bruce then went to look out for Dick, but he was nowhere in the theater. He asked around and found out that Dick rushed out of the theater a few minutes ago. Bruce rushed outside but without success.

[With Dick]

Dick was aimlessly walking while cursing Bruce/Batman in his head.

'Dumb Bruce! It's always "Batman this" and "Batman that" but when there's time for me?! Did he seriously only adopted me only to have someone to fight with?! Is that how little of an impact I have in his life?!' Dick.

Just then, Dick bumped into someone and both of them fell. The person Dick bumped into was a kid of similar age wearing a green hoodie and was carrying some comics that are now on the floor.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" They both said.

"Me?! It was clearly your fault!" Dick.

"Y'all high class pricks are the same. Do one wrong thing and never own to it, all just because you have a few more bucks than the rest." Spoke the kid in a hoodie.

They both glare at each other until Dick calms himself first.

"*SIGHS*Look, I'm sorry for bumping you and acting so angrily. I'm...… not in a good mood." Dick spoke as he began to pick up the comics.

"Let me guess: your rich parents are neglecting you?" The kid answered while picking up his comics.

"Y-yeah. How did you know?" Dick.

"Be it rich or poor, the attention craving look's the same." The kid.

"Well, at least you don't have to enter some piano recitals and make it a huge event just for him to show up." Dick.

"True, true but what about those with NO PARENTS?" The kid.

"Ah---well, no...…sorry...…" Dick.

"Don't sweat it, I overcame it years ago." The kid.

"Must've been tough." Dick.

"It was, still is. But life has weird ways to bless us." The kid spoke while looking at his left wrist.

"Here." Dick handed the kid's comics.

"Thanks. Hey, you don't happen to ditch that recital, right?" The kid asked while storing his comics in his jacket.

"Yeah, why?" Dick.

"You see, I'm actually new in Gotham and was wondering if you could show me around." The Kid.

"Why me?" Dick.

"You seemed down, and while I don't consider myself an altruistic person, I hate seeing people brooding." The kid.

Dick was thinking about that being a good idea, but between his anger towards Bruce/Batman and the need to really lash out, he accepted.

"Oh, yeah, I really never gave you my name, did I?" The kid.

"Neither have I." Dick.

"I'm Benjamin Myers Tennyson, just call me Ben." Ben spoke.

"I'm Richard "Dick" Grayson. But everyone calls me---" Dick.

"DICK!? HAHAHAHAHA!!! OH MY GOD!! HAHAHAHA!!!" Ben.

"Oh, grow up! It isn't that weird of a name!" Dick.

"Sure, sure, you should really change that part of your name, HAHAHA!!!" Ben laughed.

"If you keep laughing, I won't help you!!" Dick.

"Alright *COUGHS* Alright. *WHEEZES* Let's find some arcade or place to eat first, Gray." Ben spoke while trying his best to not laugh.

"I'm kinda regretting this." Dick.

"No takebacks, you already agreed." Ben.

"You're lucky I have nothing better to do." Dick.

"What about that piano recital?" Ben.

"Shut up." Dick.

"Alright, Dick." Ben laughed.

Dick tries to grab him but Ben begins to run while making fun of his name.

The two kids run through Gotham, not realizing the dangers that lurk underneath.