Elseworld Designation: Earth R-K-1: Major Point of Divergence: The adoption of Kal-El/Superman into the First Roman Imperial Family

A/N: Okay, here is the first chapter. Note that I will be switching a bit from English to Latin in certain places to make it sound a bit more authentic to the setting but will always try to either make it self-explanatory enough or place stuff in parenthesis to convey my meaning.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it and if you have any questions about the historical details or implications I reference here, feel free to leave a comment or message me and I will answer as best as I can.

Roman Empire: Mensis November III, Anno Urbis Romae Conditae DCCXXX

(Or more commonly known in our era as November 3rd, year 23BC, instead of year 730th since the founding of Rome)

The House of Augustus (Domus Augusti): Palatine Hill of the city of Rome

Imperator Caesar Augustus, once known merely as Gaius Octavianus, founder of the Roman Principate and First Citizen of the Roman Empire, allowed himself to sit down on his bed, feeling exhausted. At the not insignificant age of 40, some of the vigors of his youth had started to wane and he still hadn't fully recovered from the negative effects of his brush with malaria that had nearly killed him last spring. And yet, it wasn't just his slow recovery or the enormity of his duties that were keeping him up at night, even as his body craved rest.

No. The supreme commander of the increasingly stronger Roman Empire was afflicted by concerns for the future and they, in turn, were caused by grief.

Marcus Claudius Marcellus, his cherished nephew, only close male relative, and heir apparent to his position as Princeps, had died nearly two months prior. The same plague that had afflicted him had apparently proven to be too much for poor Marcellus, soon after the Emperor in-all-but name had recovered. And even though he had insisted Marcus marry his first cousin Julia, Augustus' only daughter, to keep the consolidation of power of his hard-fought position in their family, their brief marriage had produced no heirs of their own.

So, now, instead of an illness weakening his body, the crucial question of succession was the thing that plagued his thoughts. He had sent word back in Mensis September to his finest general and most loyal childhood friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, to come back from his duties in the city of Mytilene, located on the Greek island of Lesbos, on the eastern reaches of Mare Nostrum. He needed to discuss the topic of succession with the man he trusted most in this world before he could make a solid decision about this important question, even if he already had a potential solution in mind. But while it wouldn't be proper to admit it in public, he could admit to himself in the privacy of his chambers that, in his grieving state, he missed his oldest friend and would be pleased to see him soon.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at the bronze bust that adorned one of his tables. The talented sculptor had begged him to examine it for approval before he had to set sail to the port city of Alexandria and Augustus had told him that he was quite pleased with the statue of his likeness. That it was a bust worthy of the First Citizen.

Watching him smile with such obvious delight was about the only source of brief happiness he had felt that day, so, Augustus decided to extend it by giving him a good story; thereby requesting the sculpture to let him examine it more closely for the night under the candlelight and that he would be sure to send it back to him in time for his journey.

But now that he was watching the bronze statue in the darkened chambers, he couldn't help but think of it as an ill omen...that all he had built and fought for with blood, sweat, tears, focus, and sheer **** of will would be torn apart with his eventual ****, his legacy undone. The thought made him shiver, especially when he thought of the chaotic periods of constant civil wars in the last few decades before his rule began and he made it his mission to focus on the consolidation of Roman power and to make life more peaceful in the heart of the empire.

Something needed to be done and he could only hope that the gods favored him enough to answer the prayers he had been uttering since his nephew's ****.

Abruptly, the Imperator of Rome was snapped out of his thoughts when someone knocked on his door. He turned his head and frowned. He didn't know who was calling on him with news important enough to trouble him at such a late hour but very, very suddenly, he felt a shiver down his spine and into his legs, and surprise enveloped his being.

The Imperator also held the office of Pontifex Maximus, the highest priest of Roman state religion, but he had just realized that in the past, he had only felt this familiar feeling of ut videtur (the closest thing to déjà vu in Latin I could think of) at important junctions of his life...as if the gods themselves had been giving him signs to help him go down the path that would fulfill his glorious destiny.

The first time was when, as a younger man, he had heard the news while studying and undergoing military training in Apollonia, Illyria, that his great-uncle, the peerless Julius Caesar, was assassinated on the Ides of March (15th of March) during the year 709 since the founding of Rome (year 44 BC). Back then, he had rejected the advice of some army officers to take refuge with the troops in Macedonia and sailed to Italy to ascertain whether he had any potential political fortunes or security. Despite the potential dangers, it felt...right. Like a path filled with purpose. And then, when he found out that his uncle had adopted him as his heir on his last will and testament upon his arrival in Rome, he realized what the message the gods had sent him back in Ilyria really was: that fortune truly favors the bold and that he was destined for great things with such a legacy to live up to.

And then...came the decisive Battle of Actium 13 years later (September 2nd, 31 BC). On that afternoon, he got that long and deep chill down his spine for the second time; as if struck by lightning for an instant but without being injured. He had remained quiet then, observing the aftermath of the ferocious naval battle where he finally emerged victorious and broke the power of his bitter rival, the Roman general Marcus Antonius, and of his lover and ally, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt. It was then that it truly sunk in that, for all intents and purposes, he had become the undisputed ruler of the Roman world, in practice at least, if not in actual name.

So, with peace finally achieved, he set about consolidating Rome's power, restoring or expanding much of its infrastructure through public works, and increasing the food supply of the people, works that gained him ever-increasing popularity. And in time, (on 27 BC) the Senate would grant him a rare title; one that had ancient religious connotations in Roman history for those who had been clearly favored by the gods. There too, deities had sent those powerful shivers down his spine.

Thrice had the gods given him such signs to pay attention to. Thrice had he had reason to think the portents were favorable and not to be ignored.

So...why was he feeling a 4th sign now...and for much longer on his spine than the last three combined?

He swallowed hard, unable to shake the feeling that for good or ill, his life and legacy would change forever if he opened the door. Maybe even the future of the Empire itself would be transformed. Uncertainty gripped him for a long, paralyzing moment.

But then he remembered that the last 3 signs proved to be most fortunate for him after sensing the echoing sounds of the will of the gods and acting accordingly. And besides, hadn't he just been praying for a solution to his succession crisis?

Could Jupiter, Mars, or perhaps his patron at the Battle of Actium, Apollo, be placing a worthy heir on his path if he hurried?

Inhaling deeply, Imperator Caesar Augustus walked to the door, feeling the weight of destiny in the process.

A/N: For the record, I am making up the part about that bronze bust being offered for criticism by the artist. However, that one was an actual statue of Augustus that seemed to have made its way to Roman Egypt around that date, before being looted by the people of Kush (nowadays Sudan) that same decade and then being found by archeologists in the ruins of the Meroë, the ancient capital city of the Nubian Kingdom of Kush.

So, that was the best option I could find for now that would fit the date I was aiming for at the beginning of this tale.

The other historical references I mention, however, are largely true like the key dates I mentioned that helped pave the way for his rise to power. And yes, on September 23 BC, Augustus' nephew, unlike his uncle, did die of what is believed to have possibly been a malaria outbreak (the other possible candidate was typhoid fever but I couldn't find a specific name the Ancient Romans would have used for that ailment so...) and this sent him in mourning, not to mention getting him increasingly worried about the line of succession.

He ended up devising what seemed to him like the best solution at the time when Agrippa his most loyal friend and capable general, returned from the Greek island of Lesbos (yes, the Greek island that has been famously associated with lesbianism due to her ancient poet...that miiiight become relevant later in unexpected ways XD) but well...let's just say for now that baby Kal-El's arrival will shake things up for the first imperial dynasty of the Roman Empire. More on that in the next few chapters.

And for those wondering, that GIF was from the interesting TV show called Domina, which features Augustus during the first half of his reign so far.

I hope you are enjoying the story thus far and that your minds are curious, with a gigantic flow of possibilities. Please leave a comment of so and until next time guys, see ya!