Hey everyone back with the next chapter, and I hate saying it but one more chapter and we will be done with the Games. Man a lot can happen in just a couple of days. Now hopefully the next chapter will be the last for the games. Anyway I just want to say thank you to everyone who followed and faved my stories and me. It means a lot to hear from you guys, really it does. Now I will finish the next chapter soon and perhaps take a break from this and move onto the Maverick Emperor again. That needs my full attention. Oh and for my fellow authors out there that like Kingdom Hearts and Ever After High my Co-Author posted a challenge on his page. Go check it out. Now I need to get back to work so see you guys later.


After the first match I headed back to the locker rooms and found that I had people waiting for me there. In the room was Barry, M'gann, Diana, Batgirl and Kara… Yeah, I know I was calling them by the names that I knew them by instead of the names I gave them… It's weird, but I think I was slowly starting to accept my fellow prisoners as people and not just as people I will just ignore… Huh weird. Man, this place is strange it is changing me, and I am not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing… Hell I am starting to act more like a hero, then an ass. This is weird.

"Calder? You there?" Barry asked pulling me back into the world.

Shaking my head, I rubbed the back of my head. "Sorr little lost in thought…Anyway what were you guys saying?"

"Well we were congratulating you on your match but… We're more curious about those swords you have." Diana asked coming closer to examine the blades strapped to my back.

"Yeah, where did you get those five and how did they fuse together with your main sword?" Batgirl asked curiously as she held up her bracer as a small holographic display appeared showing my new swords along with my current one. "Just what kind of power are you wielding here Calder? Your swords, shouldn't be able to fuse like they did, unless they are using some kind of nano tech, but I can't see anything like that."

Grinning slightly, I popped my back. "They're magic… Well they were made with some of the strongest metals here on earth, but what makes them able to fuse and make them stronger." Taking out my main sword I held it out in front of me and chuckled. "My mom enchanted them for me, something about it being a late birthday gift along with the new additions to my wardrobes. Kind of a reminder of where I come from."

"Yes, but this doesn't explain the swords." Kara stressed looking at the swords.

Snapping my fingers, I nodded. "Right, right anyway they are more or less magic swords that I had been working on since I heard the games were going to be here… Mainly because I made a lot of enemies and I wanted more weapons to help me. Now since my weapon sword never had a name I decided to name it myself… Hell I named all of them. The main blade is Gram. The V sword is Tyrfing, the saw tooth blade and its counterpart are called Balmung and Nothung. Finally, the two daggers like ones are Greysteel and Blackiron. Together all of them make a really strong sword." Looking at Gram I smiled slightly.

"You named most of them after Norse weapons." Barry noted with a grin on his face.

Chuckling I nodded "It's in honor of my heritage… I think for right now. Who knows maybe I'll change." Shrugging my shoulders, I put Gram up in the holster on my back. "Anyway, I need to get going I have my next event coming up soon."

"Well I can't wait to see what you do next." M'gann smiled putting her hands behind her back.


The next event I was going to be competing in was the hand to hand one, and again it was changed to allow me to fight. Though this time I was fighting alongside Lady Shiva… Which would not end well given most of the time we interacted she wanted to kick my ass. Granted that was nothing new to me but I figured it wouldn't due to have my 'teammate' wanting to kill me. So, after the next couple of events it was finally time for the hand to hand portion. I left my swords with only one person that I could trust, and that was my mom, who was watching from the judge's box with Diana's mom and the other major adults involved in this little event.

Walking onto the mat, I noticed Shiva already there sitting in the lotus position patiently and quietly. Yet the moment I stepped onto the mat she opened her eyes and stared at me a disapproving look on her face. She didn't say anything though I could tell she was not happy about having me as her partner for this match.

Shrugging I just accepted it, ever since our first meeting she didn't like me. I could deal with that, but the problem is that if we are going to work together we had to at least get along. Oh well the last few days I have been mending fences with people and changing, why not give being a nice guy a try? What could it hurt? "Shiva, can we talk for a moment?"

"What do you want Calder?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Bending down I placed my hands on my knees. "I'm trying something new, for some reason I am becoming less of an ass, so I want to say sorry about our first meeting." Shrugging my shoulders, I looked at her with a small smile. "Now we have to work together so do you think you and could get along for this match?"

Shiva stared at me considering my words for a moment. "If Katana can trust your judgement then so shall I. Be warned Calder that I will not forgive any more transgressions."

"Got it, I will be on my best behavior." Grinning I stood to my feet and smacked my hands together just as our opponents came onto the field, from Korugar was Lobo… Oh shit… Hand to hand is his jam, granted it was mine as well. Though he was allowed to go all out I bet old Satan face told him to… Great… This will not end well, from the looks of things he is the only fighter Korugar is sending out… Yeah this can't be good. However, that wasn't the end of the bad news.

Stepping out from the Apokolips side was Stompa, which isn't that bad I can handle her easily enough. No, the problem was she wasn't alone. The person walking next to Stompa was a woman out of my nightmares, she had long blonde hair, with bangs hanging over her blue eyes. She was dressed in white armor, with a white short skirt with silver vambraces on her arms and silver boots.

"Gilotina." I growled out in an anger.

"Friend of yours?" Shiva asked standing to her feet the Chinese girl eyed me.

"Not really, she is a member of the furries, though she normally keeps a low profile. She is a master of hand to hand combat, and she gets her name from the fact she can chop people in half like a guillotine. Lucky for us she isn't using her swords or dagger. Listen your best bet is to avoid her attacks." Crossing my arms across my chest I sighed, this couldn't end well Gilotina was perhaps one of the most dangerous members of the furries. If Granny called her here, then things could end badly. "Don't waste any energy on Stompa she will try to cause a miny ground quake and try to knock you down."

Shiva nodded her head in thought. "Very well, and what of Korugar's student?"

"Leave him to me." I said my eyes becoming hard and steely. "Just let me knock Stompa out first then stay out of my way. If Satan sent out Lobo it probably means he's letting him do whatever he wants… Which means this will get bloody." Reaching down to my left arm I gripped it slightly remembering exactly what happened the last time we fought full out. "You want to know the reason why I was kicked out of Korugar? He's the reason. I made a joke about what happened… In reality Lobo found out how strong I was and decided to pick a fight… The damage we caused was outrageous and the fact of the matter is he caused an injury on me… a permeant one."

Shiva stared at me with a concerned look before nodding. "Very well, I doubt that the fight between you two will get that bad, but I will agree."

"Alright sports fans it's time for the hand to hand competition!" Harley and Beast boy appeared on their floating device. "Now we have an interesting line up for today's fight!"

"That's right for Korugar Academy we have the main man himself Lobo!" Beast boy announced with a large grin on his face.

"All the way from Apokolips we got the woman of who puts the omp in stomp! Stompa, and with her is Gilotina, watch out she can slice and dice with those hands of hers!" Harley began to laugh loudly.

"Then for the home team we have the master of all Chinese martial arts the lady assassin who can kick all kinds of booty Lady Shiva!" Beast Boy grinned widely. "And with her is our own resident pain in the butt Calder!"

Shaking my head at the introduction I waited patiently for the bell to go off to start the match. Taking a deep breath, I slowly released the air and as soon the bell for the fight began. Rushing as fast I could I gripped Stompa by the neck and tossed her out of the arena we were fighting in and out and window.

"And she is going, going, going, going, aaaaaaannnnnnnndddddd Gone! Home run for the home team!"

Frowning slightly, I turned my gaze onto Lobo who had a laid-back smirk on his face. "I was told I can have all the fun I want with you, so you better bring you're a-game Cal. Ever since you left I haven't had a decent challenge."

"Let's just get this over with." Slowly walking over to Lobo, I cracked my neck.

That is when we began to trade blows, now I have faced down some strong people before in my life, Diana was amazingly strong, hell Kara despite her inexperience was strong but in the end, nothing ever compared to the pure raw strength of the last Czarnian. Lobo was one of the few people I have ever met that pushed me beyond what I was normally capable of, but not in a good way. There was a friend of mine that was just as strong as I was, and could match me with a blade.

Yet he always challenged me to do better… Lobo pushed me to fight for my life, every step of the way, even as we were just trading punches to warm up. Just one mistake and it would be all over… Even for me. Sending a kick quick into Lobo's side. I took a moment to check on Shiva and see how she was handling Gilotina.

So far their fight was not to bad, Shiva was able to avoid being hit by Gilotina, but the blonde wasn't being hit either. The fight could go either way at this point.

"You shouldn't take your eyes off me dork!"

"Gah!" Shouting in pain I felt Lobo grip my left arm and then he began to hit the area near my wrist and forearm. The part I had always kept covered by a bracer… I told Diana there was a reason why I wore them… those bracers were not just for fighting or protection. They were meant to shield the wound that Lobo had caused. I gave up wearing them thinking that it had healed enough for me to not need it… I was wrong.

"That's right feel the pain you little bitch." Smirking Lobo brought me down onto my knees, as he began to repeatedly beat the same spot, over and over again. Shaking in pain I looked up at Lobo who was grinning sadistically, letting out a growl of anger I caught the hand he was punching me squeezed as hard as I could.

"Fuckin hell!" He shouted letting go of my other arm.

Chuckling I quickly stood to my feet and kneed him in the stomach, not letting up I slammed my head into his and as he was off balance I gripped him by his tank top and began to slam my right fist into his face as hard as I could. "Fucking hell, I hope you like this you stupid piece of genocidal shit!"

Laughing in between the hits Lobo had a grin on his face. "Please you're kill count is as high as mine! We're the same!"

"I killed because it was a fucking war, you did it because you're a monster! We aren't the same!" Knocking the alien on the ground I began to repeatedly slam my fists into his face. "You have no right to say we're the same. You killed your entire planet just because you thought it would be a good time! I killed because I had no choice."

Smirking Lobo kept on laughing. "Yet you enjoyed it! You loved the thrill! You say you're different but we're the same Calder and you know it!" Slamming a fist into my face I felt my nose break, well break is a light term, but I had enough.

"Ah!" Slamming my fist for the final time I knocked the white-faced alien out. Panting I slowly stood to my feet and looked around… Everyone in the arena just simply stared at me in shock. Slowly looking down I could see that Lobo's face was covered in black blood… Looking at my hands I could see my hands were covered in the same blood, slowly I headed back to the locker room, ignoring the stares.


Panting heavily, I fell onto my hands and knees. Closing my eyes, I tried to center myself… I haven't been that enraged in a while… Lobo really did bring out the worst in me. That is why I hated being around him… He was a monster of the highest caliber … And sadly… So was I at some points… I know that, and I have accepted it but… I wasn't the same as he was. He killed his entire race because he wanted to… I killed because I was a warrior… Yes, some small part of me did enjoy it, I am half-war god after all… Hell almost all gods of Asgard are warriors in their own way… The thrill of battle, and the rush when you took down an enemy.

There was a big difference between Lobo and I and yet… He still bugged me. Maybe because he reveled in the fact he was a monster and he and I were painted with the same brush. It never bothered me… At least until I met Lobo. I knew who I was but to see someone who was similar in some ways and instead of brushing it off he just enjoyed it and played up to the fact he was a monster.

"What the hell is happening to me?" I said shakily as I slowly removed the long black glove on my left arm and slowly rolled up the sleeve to reveal a large nasty swollen scar.

"You're changing son." Looking up I saw my father walking into the locker room his hands behind his back a curious look on his face. "Or suffice to say you are growing up. It is a part of life, you have been for the last few years stagnant. Yet the moment you came here it was like a dam burst and you have been changing and in good ways and some bad." Bending down my dad slowly showed me a small black cloth and wrapped it around the area where my scar was. "You're becoming more social, which is good. Yet your arrogance is still there. That is bad."

As the cloth was wrapped around my arm the pain slowly vanished. "What the… What did you do?" I asked looking at the cloth in confusion.

"The cloth is a device of my own making, laced with the power of the Void." A small glint appeared in my father's eyes. "It will remove all the pain and perhaps remove the scar." Shaking his head my father slowly stood to his feet and placed a hand on my head. "Calder, remember what I told you. No matter what anyone says about you, no matter what they think. Only you can decide what you want to be. If you wish to walk the path of the hero, then do it. If you wish to be a monster, then be one. Or continue to walk the middle ground."

Removing his hand my father slowly walked out of the room before stopping and turning to look at me. "Your life wasn't an easy one. You have seen horrors and faced things no child should and for that I am sorry. Yet despite these things you have become a fine young man. Goodbye son."


After my father had left I began to think over everything he had told me, and slowly I began to agree with what he had told me… I was changing and for the last couple of years I had been stagnant and being here had changed me… I was becoming more sociable with people… Nicer in some ways as well. Though I was still an ass I was becoming softer with some of these people, but I still messed with them in my own ways… Maybe being here at the school was a good thing?

Shaking my head, I decided to deal with these issues later, right now I needed some time on my own. I had no other events to be in for the day, so I headed for the robotics lab after picking up my swords. I wanted some time to myself to work on… Well anything really. I had no clear idea on what I wanted to do so I just began to tinker not really sure what I was doing.

I must have been working for several hours because by the time I decided to quit it was already dark… and I had forgotten to turn the lights on in the lab. "Wow I must have been really out of it." Shrugging my shoulders, I slowly stood to my feet and popped my back. "Wonder if the cafeteria is open, I could use some food." As I was musing about eating the door to the lab began to open up… Weird who could be here this late at night? I swear if it's Lena I will kick her skinny butt out.

Turning to face whoever was entering my eyes almost budged out of my head… It was Granny and her goon squad, and from the looks of things they were just as shocked to see me here. Slowly reaching behind me I pulled Gram from the holster on my back. "Granny, girls I'm afraid the robotics lab is closed for the night."

"How did he end up here?" Artemiz asked with a shock looked on her face.

"Stompa no like Calder." The giant woman Stompa glared at me.

Grinning I turned my head. "Hey feelings mutual. Now ladies I am going to have to ask you to leave the lab or else."

"Furries attack!" Granny ordered pointing her staff at me.

Rolling my eyes, I gripped Gram in two hands and waited, the furries always worked the same way, they would surround their target and would try to lead him into someone else and they would finish the job. Speed Queen ran toward me with a grin. Quickly side stepping out of the way, I raised my sword in time to block an attack from Mad Harriet who began to cackle loudly.

"Slice and dice, finally I'll get a piece of you!"

Pushing her away I narrowly avoided having an arrow being placed in my back by Artemiz, now normally arrows wouldn't bug me, but these things came from Apokolips. Those things hurt. Drawing Tyrfing, I swiped at Gilotina as she got to close, for comfort. Jumping into the air I landed on a large work table as the spot I was in was now occupied by Stompa. "Whew… Close one."

"You can't rest yet Cal!"

Eyes going wide I sliced at the metal whip that was sent toward me by Lashina who had a smirk on her lips.

"Furries finish him and find the Responsometer!" Granny called out… Wait the Responsometer? How in the world did they find out about that…? It should be impossible… Unless we had a spy in our midst… But the only people that would know about it was here at the school… Lena! She's the only one that fits the bill, she is new to the school, she is always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and as the IT person she would have access to every bit of the school… But what is she up to? Screw it I'll figure it out later.

As I was fighting off some of the furries I noticed the ones I wasn't fighting were looking for the Responsometer. Shit this isn't good. Jumping off the table I tried to rush some of the others but found I was blocked off by Gilotina who was smirking at me. "Sorry Cal but you're not interfering with our work" Jumping out of the way of her sword and dagger, I made sure there was some distance before I pressed the attack once again. Okay this isn't working, normally I can go for wide area of destruction, but this was a confined area I couldn't do that. Or I could but this lab was one of the few places that I liked… Well that and the furries together were a dangerous combo. Granted if you could separate them or had multiple people on your team you could handle them easily enough.

Though there was some problems. One I was in a confined space and if I switched to hand to hand I would sliced apart, or electrocuted, or shot. Thus, I had a problem. The next one was the fact that furries played for keeps, they were trained to show no mercy and would kill if given the chance… And while I had no problem with it either… Being around the heroes changed me and I wasn't sure if that was good or not.

Jumping out of the way as Lashina sent her whip at me again I decided to try and end this fight. Fusing Tyrfing with Gram I tossed the large blade at Gilotina I drew Balmung and Nothung and ran straight for Granny. Swinging wildly my strikes were blocked by her staff.

"Oh, I am sorry dearie, but Granny has no time to play!" Kneeing me in the stomach I felt the wind get knocked out of me. Dropping my swords, I gripped my stomach for a moment and that is when it was over. I felt Lashina's whip around me and send wave after wave of electricity through my body. Gritting my teeth in pain I think I almost blacked out once or twice…. Seriously I hate alien tech, that crap is dangerous. Most stuff here on earth wasn't a threat to me but… Alien stuff is dangerous… Really dangerous.

"Stompa find pretty." Stompa said after she ripped the safe out of the wall.

Walking over to her Granny grinned. "Yes, now come along furries, oh and bring him along we shall put him in the torture matrix." She said looking at me with an evil grin. "He will be a useful tool in serving Lord Darkseid."

"He's not going anywhere!"

Looking up I saw Batgirl, Starfire, Kara, Bumble Bee and Dina all come in from the upper levels of the lab…. Wow thank goodness, the cavalry is here… I was almost a little worried. Being on Apokolips is not fun. "Howdy campers, boy am I glad to see you."

Gritting her teeth Granny glared at my fellow prisoners. "Furries! Finish these supers!"

And just like that the battle was back on… However, since the furries were all distracted by the girls it gave me ample time to escape. Snapping the metal whip that was around my body I quickly picked up Balmung and Nothung. Running over to where Gram was imbedded in a wall I put Nothung up and pulled the main sword free. "I think it's time for an upgrade." Quickly combining Balmung and Nothung to the main body of Gram I grinned feeling the blade becoming not just thicker but stronger as well… Man whatever magic was worked into these blades… Well I need to thank my mom next time I see her.

Turning around I could see the battle wasn't going well, for either side at the moment. "Might as well get involved." Jumping back into the fray Gram began to glow with a red light… Wait this…? It is… Magic… The magic of the gods… How? Could… Okay I really owe my mom a thank you, it seems that my sword is a channel for magical power… Which meant that I would need to seriously start training and learn how to use these blades properly.

Heading straight for Gilotina I began a fight with the blonde, out of all the furries she was a real danger. As we fought I pressed every single advantage I could get on the furry.

"Tell me Cal, why do you fight for these losers?" She asked using her blades to form an 'x' to hold off my attack.

"Who says I am fighting for them? Maybe I am doing this all for me." Grinning I pressed Gram down, but she had good leverage and was able to hold me off.

"Please, I see through you, always had. You're becoming one of them." Gilotina then broke the guard and quickly side stepped as my sword sliced into the floor. "Case in point!" Gilotina tossed her dagger and I watched as it flew straight for Batgirl… Crap.

"Batgirl duck!" Bending down I jumped putting all my strength into my legs. Flying past the dagger I gripped Batgirl's shoulder and forced her down on the ground, however the dagger still hit something, and it was me. "Gah!" Falling down to the ground I grit my teeth. "Seriously… Today is not my day…"

"Calder, you… You saved me." Batgirl's eyes went wide.

Grinning despite the pain from the dagger in my shoulder I shook my head. "Just pull it out and we call it even."

Nodding Batgirl went around and pulled out the dagger from my shoulder, grunting I slowly stood to my feet just as the furries tried running for the door but were stopped by Big Barda. Okay this should go well. Tossing the blade onto the ground I stabbed Gram into the ground and pulled out Greysteel and Blackiron, when I saw that Gilotina was about to attack Starfire. "Hey Gilotina! Here let me return the favor with interest!" Tossing both of the shorter blades I grinned as the blades struck the blonde through her shoulders and it knocked her out of the fight. Picking up Gram I charged forward only to find my path stopped by Diana who held up hand.

"No Calder the are beaten. Let it go." She stared at me as the other girls mopped up the furries.

Sighing I spilt the combined Gram up and put all the blades back into the holster on my back. "Very well, but you owe me a fight princess."

"Friend Calder you saved me!"

"Gah!" Eyes going wide I felt a pair of orange arms wrap around my neck. "Can't breathe!"


After calling the proper authorities and securing all the furries and Granny they were going to be taken away by the police. As I was loading Lashina up she turned to look at me, she didn't seem angry or disappointed in fact she seemed rather hesitant. I knew she wanted to ask me something, but I couldn't tell what, finally she opened her mouth and asked.

"Will you come and visit me?"

Frowning a moment, I shrugged. "Anything's possible." Who knows I may, I mean Lashina wasn't that bad. Expect for that one thing….

"Good." Leaning forward Lashina pressed her lips against mine kissing me…. Damn it this is the second time she has done that! However, before I could react she pulled away with a smirk. "That's incentive for you to visit."

"The hell is going on with my life?"


The next morning was the final round of the games, however without the furries we were just down to facing Korugar in few more rounds. Two of them I was going to be in, one was an obstacle course, and the other was facing down a robot that was built by STAR labs itself. Though that match was a team match… Again. I wasn't really looking forward to doing any of that today, mainly because I was tired, sure I had recovered from what happened to me the other day. Yet I was tired and sore.

The first one I had to do was the obstacle course. Walking onto the field I noticed that Blackfire was standing there waiting, I guess she is who I was facing in this match. Slowly rubbing my shoulders, I groaned in pain… I am really sick of these games… Then again it reminded me that I am into as invincible as I usually thought I was.

"Calder, you want to tell me why my sister was gushing about you?" Blackfire stared at me with a raised eyebrow.

Looking at the princess of Tamaran and shrugged. "Fought with the furries last night, Gilotina almost got the drop on your sister."

Eyes going wide I saw a flash of anger pass before her eyes, but she quickly hid it. "Really? Why did you save her?"

"Well besides the fact that we are fellow inmates?" Smiling slightly, I shook my head. "I don't know really, I think this place is changing me Blackfire, I am more… Heroish? Don't get me wrong I am still an ass that enjoys doing what he wants but I think… I am learning to be a person." Shrugging my shoulders, I grunted in pain again.

Frowning for a moment Blackfire looked around. "Tell you what, let's make a bet, if you win at this course I will help you with that shoulder, but if I win you have to buy me lunch."

"Really? One of the famous Tamaranian massages huh?" Now that was an interesting deal. I know I wouldn't having one. When Blackfire and I were together she would give me once in a while when she was in a good mood. "That works for me, you got yourself a deal."

Smiling slightly Blackfire nodded her head. "Just don't be surprised when you lose."

Rolling my eyes, I waited for the announcement for us to start, the obstacle course was being set up. There was a variety of different things set up, walls, pit falls, flame throwers, and robots, and at the very end of the was a crib holding a fake baby.

"Now for the next event! The Hero Rescue! First one to find the quickest path win's the match. On your mark, get set, go!"

As Blackfire took off at record speeds through or over the obstacles, shrugging my shoulders I slowly began to around all the traps and weapons, whistling to myself I ignored all the shouts and while Blackfire was stuck battling some robots I grabbed the fake baby and held it up for everyone to see.

"Cheater! You cheated!" Old Satan face shouted from his stand. "I demand he be disqualified at once!"

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head. "You would say that." I grumbled to myself before shouting out. "It wasn't cheating! The goal was to find the quickest path to the fake baby. You, no where in the rules did it state what path we had to take!"

Old Satan froze at that and frowned as he turned his gaze toward the giant tool who ran these games who sighed.

"He's right… It breaks the spirit of the games, but he is right. You must find the quickest way to the baby." The giant tool answered a little disheartened.

Grinning I placed the fake baby back in it's crib and looked at Blackfire who was staring at me. "Come on you owe me a massage."