"Until you've fully adapted and can filter useful data on your own, I recommend you keep the internet connection turned off," Ben told him. "I wired you an external smartphone—your everyday messaging and connectivity needs can go through that instead."
After finishing his note-based advice, Ben headed into the locker room and changed into a new combat suit Batman had recently custom-made for him: a black-and-white "Ben-bro" color scheme, tailored to his current size—small, because he was still fifteen.
[Illustration: Ben in the black-and-white combat suit]
These past few days, to eliminate the hidden risks in Cyborg's system, Ben had been rotating between Upgrade and Grey Matter nonstop.
Now that Cyborg's problems were finally resolved, Ben wanted to actually have some fun with the Omnitrix again—especially the Kryptonian DNA he'd recorded from Superman.
Back in the training hall, Ben looked at Cyborg, who had just stepped off the range.
"Victor! Want to test your skills?" Ben grinned. "Your opponent is… fifteen-year-old Superman."
Cyborg didn't refuse. Weapons across his body unfolded with a smooth mechanical whirr, and he smiled back.
"Okay. No problem."
Ben glanced at the Omnitrix. The hourglass icon had finally shifted from red to green.
He slammed the dial.
Twisting the selector, he stopped when the green frame landed on a humanoid silhouette—something close to his own shape.
"Hero time!"
A flash of green light swallowed him—
—and then… nothing.
Ben didn't feel any different at all.
Other than the Omnitrix symbol relocating to his chest, he looked exactly the same as before.
[Illustration: Ben's "Ultimate Ben" form]
"You sure you transformed?" Cyborg asked, retracting his weapons halfway.
He knew Ben had scanned Kryptonian DNA from Superman. He'd expected Ben to turn into something that looked like Superman—not just… Ben.
"The Omnitrix adjusts the clothing and physiological parameters based on the wearer's build, gender, and age," Ben explained, stretching his arms and rolling his shoulders as he checked his condition. "Kryptonians grow almost like humans, so I'm still in a teenage body."
He frowned, thinking it through.
"And it's probably because I haven't been under yellow sunlight—most of the Kryptonian abilities aren't activated yet."
Ben snapped his head up and barked a command at the training room.
"Training Hall—simulate yellow solar radiation!"
Besides targets and weapons drills, the training system could simulate dozens of battlefield environments and climate conditions.
A moment later, the hall's lighting shifted. A warm, sunlike glow washed over Ben—yellow solar radiation, artificial but potent.
Instantly, he felt it.
Power flooded his muscles like a switch had been flipped.
"Alright," Ben said, exhaling once. "Now we can start."
The instant the words left his mouth, Cyborg's arms reshaped into charged rifles and fired.
Zzz—BOOM!
A concentrated energy beam cut through the air, grazing the tips of Ben's hair as he slipped aside. The tracking beam followed his movement, but it was just a fraction too late.
Ben let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"That was close."
He knew Cyborg had deliberately dialed down the output. If Cyborg had fired at full power, the blast radius and destructive force would've been far larger.
With his current speed—dodging with everything he had and still getting his hair singed—Ben would have already lost against a true full-power shot.
But he wasn't discouraged.
Those weapons were his upgrades. If they couldn't do at least this much, it'd be embarrassing.
And he'd only just started bathing in yellow sunlight. His Kryptonian abilities were only beginning to surface—nowhere near their peak.
Cyborg's targeting system—installed and improved by Ben—was already recalibrating in real time based on Ben's demonstrated speed.
Zzz—BOOM!
The second beam launched with the same output as the first.
This time, Ben didn't dodge.
He planted his feet and raised his arms—choosing to meet it head-on.
His eyes snapped wide.
Twin lances of red heat burst from his pupils and slammed into the incoming beam. The energies collided midair, grinding against each other, canceling out—
—but Ben's heat vision was climbing, rising steadily the longer he absorbed that simulated sunlight.
Cyborg's eyes narrowed.
"Increase output!"
His weapon systems obeyed instantly. The beam intensified, surging hard enough to overpower Ben's heat vision.
BOOM!
The concentrated blast struck Ben's crossed forearms.
A curl of black smoke rose from his skin. He could feel the heat biting in—
—but the pain was muted, more pressure and burn than agony.
When the beam faded, the damage was shallow—and already closing, healing visibly in seconds.
"If that had been Superman," Cyborg said, analyzing the result with calm precision, "this level of attack wouldn't even count as damage."
Ben nodded.
"Compared to an adult Kryptonian, a teenage Kryptonian absorbs and converts sunlight far less efficiently."
Even as the simulated sunlight continued to pour over him, Ben could feel the gap between himself and Superman—an abyss so deep it made him instinctively wary.
But at the same time, his mind felt sharper, clearer.
And that gap began to translate into something oddly concrete—numbers forming in his thoughts as if his brain were calculating along with his body.
"Based on my current growth rate," Ben said slowly, "I'd need at least an hour of sunlight to reach something close to Superman's level."
The answer didn't disappoint him.
Even with only ten minutes of exposure—before his transformation ended—he'd still be strong enough to handle the vast majority of Earth's villains.
He turned back toward Cyborg, ready to continue testing the rest of the suite—
when the Justice Mountain comms crackled to life.
"Justice League members—does anyone have availability?"
Ben and Cyborg both froze.
Cyborg picked up the message on the smartphone Ben had given him, quickly scanning the details.
"It's the government liaison," Cyborg said, voice tightening. "A Navy submarine lost signal in the middle of the Atlantic."
He looked up.
"And in the recording… it sounds like someone is slaughtering the soldiers onboard."
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 80)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 80)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 74)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter20)
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin