The Road to Happiness, The Long One

A/N: Please review!

SSF (Summary So Far): (Just re-read the last few chapters, they're not that long and worth re-reading)

Characters: Cal (Your "average" mysterious male), Mason (Cal's best and most trustworthy buddy), Kara Danvers (Kara Zor-El, AKA Supergirl), Jason (Kara's Ex), Barbara Gordon (Batgirl), Dick Grayson (Nightwing), Clark Kent (Superman), Lois Lane (Superman's wife), Batman, Bartholomew, and more that aren't quite ready to be presented yet. (Lots of characters are Out of Character (OOC).)

Chapter 9

Mason walked back in to the hospital room with clothes and a backpack full of supplies.

"Well, I grabbed 3 sets of clothes, your backup phone, and plenty of supplies of various calibers," Mason said. He set the bag down on the table next to Cal. "Oh, why didn't you put on Netflix?"

"We, unlike you, aren't tech savvy and didn't know how to," Cal said. Mason smiled and stretched his arms.

"Just let me work my magic," Mason said. He pulled some cords and wires and equipment from his bag that he left with Cal and worked his magic. Finally, the Netflix logo appeared and Mason sat down. Kara and Cal clapped and cheered at Mason's glorious magic. Cal got up quickly and went to the bathroom to change. After a bit, Kara peered into the bathroom, noticing Cal's various scars and muscular body. She gasped in both surprise and, noticing Cal's fit body, admiration. She never thought his scars would look so… painful. Cal didn't notice and finished changing by putting on his shirt. He walked back out and climbed onto the bed. They spent the day watching Netflix and having fun, but Kara was troubled by the scars all over Cal. Eventually, the hospital allowed Cal to leave. Kara hugged Cal goodbye and left, leaving him to walk home with Mason.

"So, kissed her did you?" Mason teased. Cal smiled.

"Maybe, how'd you know?" Cal asked. This time Mason smiled.

"I may have asked Kara while you were unconscious," Mason answered. "Speaking of, what happened? I heard Greek, caught the word Chronos, and we both remember what happened last time you were in a coma."

"Don't remind me," Cal shuddered. "3 weeks… Well, I got in the cab and he turned to me and said, 'For The Cause, Callum. Chronos says goodbye!'"

"Chronos… is back?!" Mason asked alarmed. "But last time… I thought... I thought you destroyed him after what happened…"

"I thought I did too, but apparently not," Cal said. "The Cause is back… and so is Chronos. I don't like where this is headed…"

"Neither do I. What did Bartholomew say this time?" Mason asked.

"Well, I had 12 hours to escape this time—" Cal said.

"Wait! You had a time limit this time?" Mason asked. Cal nodded.

"12 hours, and it would 'prepare me for the upcoming future'," Cal said.

"I don't like the sound of that, describe what happened. Let's try to decipher it," Mason said. Cal explained all that had happened in his coma. Mason crossed his arms in thought. "Maybe he was hinting that you are going to need to go through pain and failure to win this time?"

Cal shook his head, "You and I both know it's never that simple. I mean, the guards had keys that ultimately had no reason to be there…"

"Maybe it was just to fit the mood?"

"No, that wasn't there before, but it would have been nice."

"There you go, you need to use something you DIDN'T have last time that could have been helpful," Mason commented. Cal shrugged.

"Maybe, but only time will tell. Besides, I have no clue what would have been nice to have last time that I COULD have this time," Cal said. Mason shrugged.

"As you said, only time will tell. You want to patrol tonight?" Mason asked. Cal nodded.

"I need to get back to work, people need help," Cal explained.

"Preaching to the choir my friend, preaching to the choir," Mason said. Cal smiled.

"When aren't I preaching to the choir?" Cal asked.

"When you aren't talking to me. Race you home!" Mason said, taking off. Cal laughed and counted to 10, running after Mason.

-Break-

"Well, next is a bank robbery… Who robs a bank at night?" Mason asked.

"Someone who has time to," Cal answered. He wore his armor and helmet, which lightly shimmered in the moonlight. "Give me the address." Mason quickly read him the address and Cal leapt onto the nearest roof, heading for the robbery in progress. He arrived before the police, entering slowly yet carefully. Cal made it near the vault when he heard the voices.

"Hurry up! Grab the rest of the money and get out!" a gruff voice yelled. Cal rubbed his shield emblem as tradition and quickly walked in. He wordlessly knocked the leader out, throwing him into another man. He swiftly grabbed the gun from the third robber before he could turn and smacked him in the face when he did with the butt of the gun. The man closed his eyes, clutched his nose, and went down. Cal produced his handcuffs and cuffed them to some desks in the bank's lobby. He heard the sirens and quickly left through the back exit.

"Bank robbery, check," Cal said.

"ALL RIGHT! THAT'S HOW WE DO IT!" Mason yelled. Cal flinched from the volume.

"What's up next?" Cal asked. He heard Mason scrolling through the computerized 911 calls.

"Um, the only one no one can handle right now is a fire in an apartment complex. So far 7 people left inside," Mason said. He said the address and Cal quickly rushed towards the burning building. He snuck inside, avoiding the fire trucks' lines of sight. Cal looked around for the 7 people. He made his way through the floors, getting 6 of the 7 to safety. The 6th occupant cried about her daughter stuck on the 8th floor and no knowing where she was. Cal nodded and rushed to find her. "Cal hurry, the structure is literally about to collapse!" Mason warned. Cal coughed and rushed to find the little girl. He found her hiding in a closet, clutching her teddy bear. She couldn't have been more than 4. Cal heard a crack from inside the walls and grabbed the girl. He held her close and threw himself out the nearest window.

'Crap, too close!' Cal thought as he watched the structure crumble to the ground as he fell. He held the girl close, preparing to cushion her from the 8 story fall. Cal slammed into the ground, HARD, creating a small crater in the ground. He opened his arms to find the girl shocked, but completely unharmed. The parent rushed to her child. Cal struggled to get up. Cal coughed and noticed blood trickling out the bottom of his helmet.

"Thank you!" the mother said, clutching her daughter close. Fire fighters stood in amazement of the hero they had never seen before. One firefighter escorted the survivors to a medical truck nearby.

"Mommy! That angel protected me!" the little girl said.

"I know sweetie, he's truly a protector!" the mother agreed. The firefighters nodded in agreement and began clapping. Cal nodded curtly to the people around him and rushed away quickly, trying to avoid any cameras or other visual possibility of proving his existence. Cal made it to a roof and collapsed.

"…you ok?" Mason asked. Cal sighed and got to his feet.

"Peachy, what's next?" Cal asked.

"Well a warehouse is being broken into," Mason said, giving Cal the address. Cal made his way to the warehouse. He found it and snuck in. He looked around.

"There's nothing here, it's a completely empty warehouse with no one in it…" Cal said, the helmet keeping the sound silent to anyone not wearing it. Mason held his breath and crossed his fingers. Cal walked deeper into the warehouse, looking around. He still saw nothing and began to leave when he noticed a flicker of movement in the corner of his eye. Cal quickly turned and blocked the flying kick. The attacker jumped off Cal's armored arm and landed on his feet. Cal narrowed his eyes. 'Batman,' he thought. 'Shoulda know.' Cal waited for Batman to speak.

"So you're the new reckless hero?" Batman asked. He eyed Cal's armor. "Nice set of armor you got there. Stolen from a history museum?" Cal remained quiet. "I'll cut straight to the point, you are a danger until you have been properly trained. Come with me and I'll train you till I see you're ready."

"Actually, this armor is custom made. And no, I won't be going with you because I'm not a danger to this world or the next," Cal said in his deepened voice. Batman's white lenses narrowed.

"You are coming with me!" Batman said. Cal shook his head. "This isn't a game! You need to be careful in this world!"

"You just want to know anything you can about me! This isn't for the world, but for you!" Cal yelled. Batman growled.

"Last chance to take the easy route, come with me now or you'll never be able to save anyone again because you'll be locked in a prison cell," Batman said. Cal shook his head. He rubbed his emblem and prepared to fight. Batman growled again and ran towards him. Cal breathed deeply and ran towards Batman. Batman leapt at Cal, but Cal slid under him. Batman somersaulted and landed facing Cal. Cal turned to see Batman in front of him and reacted quickly, blocking the punch. Cal blocked Batman's knee and retaliated with a punch. Batman dodged it and slammed his fist into Cal's weakened rib cage. Cal grunted in pain and flew back, slamming against a support beam. Cal recovered quickly and focused on his reflexes. Everything slowed, and Cal rushed towards Batman. He quickly jumped behind Batman and began to choke him. Batman gasped at the struggle to get air and elbowed Cal's gut. Cal's grip loosened slightly and Batman slipped out of his grasp. Batman faced Cal and swiftly kicked Cal in the chest. Cal stumbled back and growled. Batman braced himself. Cal ran and threw himself at Batman. Batman smirked and threw a smoke bomb on ground. Cal ran through it and looked around. Batman swung his foot into Cal's helmet, sending Cal slamming into the ground. Cal struggled to get up, blood quickly dripping from his helmet. Batman stood silently.

'Mommy! That angel protected me!' 'I know sweetie! He is truly a protector!' Cal recalled the moments of the people he had helped. He remembered kissing Kara, her soft cheek, her smile afterwards. He recalled Mason's excited look as he learned they would be saving people's lives. He recalled Bartholomew's encouraging words, 'Callum, no situation is impossible. No one can stop you. You were chosen for a reason. Whenever you lose hope, whenever you are ready to quit, remember those you have saved and consider those who will need saving in the future. You keep going, not for yourself, but for those who need and depend on you.' Cal saw Kara's smiling face, Mason's worried look, Miss Charlemagne's comforting look. Cal shakily stood up. His armor began glowing gold. Batman raised an eyebrow. Cal leaned against the wall. The golden glow began to get brighter and brighter. Batman prepared to finish Cal off. Cal moved to the center of the room and closed his eyes. He waited, opening his eyes as Batman swung at him. Cal caught the fist and glared at him. The golden light from Cal's armor began rolling off him in waves. Cal punched him in the face, sending him flying into the wall. Batman got up and threw a Batarang, which Cal caught and immediately threw to the ground. A split second later, the Batarang exploded, and the smoke didn't make it past the golden light. Batman rushed Cal again and attempted to slam into him, but Cal side stepped and kneed Batman in the side. He flew into the wall again. Batman rose and Cal quickly rushed in. Cal swung quickly and Batman dodged, but Cal was ready. He kneed Batman in the stomach and landed another punch. Batman was sent flying for a third and final time. Batman threw a smoke bomb and when the smoke cleared, Batman was gone with a note in his place. 'You may have won this round, but this isn't over!' the note said. Cal winced. The glowing light began to dim. He took glanced around and briefly took off his helmet to check his nose, which was flowing blood. He focused on healing it and the flowing stopped completely. By now, the golden light was fully extinguished. He put his helmet back on and went home.

-Break-

Cal snuck in through the window to find Mason already fast asleep on his bunk. Cal smiled as he went to change. He finished changing and turned to find Bartholomew sitting on his bunk reading more comics. Cal smiled.

"You know; Mason would love to see you again…" Cal said. Bartholomew smiled and jumped down from Cal's bunk.

"As would I, but I need to talk to you privately, concerning you and your test," Bartholomew said.

"Well, go ahead. I passed and it hurt like hell, but I made it," Cal said.

"Well, as you probably remember, that was to prepare you for your future. It isn't pretty or certain, but I will tell you that nothing is as it seems. 'Callum, no situation is impossible. No one can stop you. You were chosen for a reason. Whenever you lose hope, whenever you are ready to quit, remember those you have saved and consider those who will need saving in the future. You keep going, not for yourself, but for those who need and depend on you.' I told you that as an encouragement. People, whether they know it or not, are depending on you. For the future, sacrifices must be made and they will rival what happened last time," he said. Cal's eyes began to water. "Cal, I know it hurt when she died, but you kept going and beat Chronos IN HIS HOME COURT! You saved that world and countless others nearly at the cost of your sanity. When she died, that feeling kept you going. I know because that happened to me too. I remember how you become almost consumed by whatever fuels that fire. It took me a long, long time to get over my loss. But I did. Anyway, I'm saying that the future is going to be tough, but you, if anyone, can get through it. I'll make sure any DNA, by which I mean blood, is gone from where you bled tonight. Have a good night's sleep, I know you haven't had one for several years." He touched Cal's head and Cal instantly fell into a deep, calming sleep.

-Meanwhile-

"Master Bruce, are you sure this hero is a threat?" Alfred asked. Batman continued to furiously type on the Bat computer.

"We've had this conversation. He's extremely dangerous and reckless. He is talented I will admit, but still reckless and harmful," Batman said. The computer beeped and the screen popped up a detailed report. "Hmm, Callum Orson is this reckless hero… and he's 16… this can't be right…" Batman pushed some buttons and the same report popped up. Batman growled. "A 16-year-old almost beat the crap out of me… How? He beat a highly trained assassin, which would require years of training… but who trained him?" Batman stood up, walked over to the side of the computer, and pulled a blood side from it. He examined the blood and placed it in a cabinet. "He's never been heard of, 16, master martial artist, orphaned, and extremely reckless…" Nightwing entered the cave on his bike. He parked at studied the screen.

"…I know that guy! He's in some of my classes. Why is he on your radar?" Nightwing asked. Batman looked at him.

"You know Callum Orson?" Batman asked in a low voice.

"Well, more like I've seen him around. He's quiet, shy, not at all confident, intelligent," Nightwing said. "He doesn't seem the heroic type…"

"So he becomes someone you would glance over without a second thought? Interesting, the perfect cover. A human chameleon…" Batman said.

"So why are you looking into this guy?" Nightwing asked.

"He's new to the hero business and he's reckless. He's going to get people killed!" Batman clarified. Nightwing crossed his arms.

"Are you sure you aren't doing this for yourself or, you know, being paranoid?" Nightwing asked. Batman narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not doing his for myself, it's because reckless heroes that people die," Batman growled.

"Well, I'm going to bed. I'll see what I can find out about him tomorrow," Nightwing said, going up to bed. Batman waved goodbye halfheartedly, still typing into the Bat computer.