On the 16th day of the hero's 16th year
For one single precious held most dear
By the shade of evil with time in his hands
Choices will be made to determine who stands
The hidden hero will be proclaimed
After a fall leaves him heavily maimed
The day's weather will be fought
By winter, summer, and storms a lot
The land of choice is the original spot
Where she died and now lives reborn
In the world of the original's form
The Road to Happiness, The Long One
A/N: Please review!
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 16: Day 6/16 Day 1 of Training
Cal and Mason stepped through the doorway portal. Cal focused and snapped, causing all the doorways to become bolted shut.
"Wait, what did you do?" Mason asked.
"I paused time," Cal explained. "So we don't actually miss 2 weeks of life. I remember Bartholomew did it when we first went to his place." Mason 'oooh'-ed. They started making their way to Bartholomew's place.
"That makes SO much sense!" Mason said. "And I'm just saying that I still can't believe that you could be so romantic! And a 7-year-old got you to confess that you loved Kara?! I'm not sure whether to be amused or proud…" Cal sighed.
"Look, I told you, it just felt like the right time, and I swore to myself that I'd never lie to her," Cal said.
"So you actually DO love her?" Mason asked, raising an eyebrow.
"…yes…" Mason lit up.
"OOOO! My boy's all grown up, he learned well," Mason said. Cal rubbed his eyes and sighed.
"Me falling in love with someone doesn't mean I 'learned well'," Cal said. Mason shrugged.
"In order to fall in love with someone you have to date them and get to know them. And, in order to date them and get to know them, you have to learn from me to get the girl in the first place. Vis-a-vis, you learned well," Mason said. Cal sighed.
"I'm not going to argue with you about this," Cal said. "You win." Mason fist pumped the air. Cal laughed. They arrived at Bartholomew's doorway, surprised that it was already open. Cal looked around and walked in.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Bartholomew's voice boomed through the mansion. Cal sighed.
"Time's kinda paused in this place. I can't be late!" Cal yelled back. Bartholomew laughed. He walked into the front hallway.
"Touche, but we start fresh and new. Leave your armor on this table," Bartholomew patted the table in-between the 2 stairways. "Meet me in the back yard in 1 minute. Hi Mason." Mason nodded in his direction and Bartholomew disappeared. Cal focused intensely and made his armor appear on the table. He and Mason both made their way to the backyard where Bartholomew was waiting, wearing some monk robe and his hands were folded under his long sleeves. The backyard was very green, with a comfortable rock path from the sliding doors to the grass. There was a glass table with some chairs in the corner. A practice dummy was waiting in the corner of the yard. The yard was walled off behind some trees that lined in front of the wall. The sun shone brilliantly.
"Callum, your training starts here! Mason… I honestly don't need you here, but you can help when the practice disadvantage sparring starts… I'm a bit too old for that and you look like you wouldn't mind beating Callum up a bit… Knock in some sense…" Bartholomew said, his serious tone disappearing when he addressed Mason. Callum turned to Mason.
"Could I ask for a fun favor you might like?" Callum asked. Mason shrugged and nodded. "Would you mind forging and creating this?" Callum reached into his back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, handing it to Mason. Mason took it and nodded, unfolding it and briefly looking at the designs. Mason turned around.
"Hey, real quick. Bartholomew, do you have a map of this place, I forgot and a guide for how you built Cal's armor?" Mason asked. Bartholomew looked confused and nodded.
"On the kitchen counter, I believe you know where the kitchen is," Bartholomew said. Mason and Cal laughed and Mason left. Bartholomew turned to Cal.
"Armor for your girlfriend? Really? Armor?" Bartholomew asked. Cal blushed.
"First, how did you know? And second, I'm going to kryptonite proof it so she has absolutely nothing to worry about," Cal explained. Bartholomew raised an eyebrow.
"I know because I know how to use my powers. And you know if you infuse the armor with extra protection it weakens the armor physically right?" Bartholomew explained.
"I know, but I think that protection from kryptonite is a bit more important considering her strengths and weaknesses," Cal said. Bartholomew shrugged and nodded.
"Fair enough, now on to business. Your training actually starts now," Bartholomew said. The timer started. Bartholomew produced 2 bamboo sticks and swung at Cal. Cal dodged both, stepping back. Bartholomew swung again and Cal blocked the first one with his leg, and grasped the other, swinging around and kicking at Bartholomew, but Bartholomew decided not to play by physical rules. Bartholomew let go of the stick Cal held and teleported behind him. He smacked Cal in the back of the knee and Cal grunted and knelt. Cal rolled to the side as Bartholomew struck again. He scrambled to his feet and faced Bartholomew, who had disappeared. Cal spun around, expecting Bartholomew to be tricky like that, but Bartholomew was nowhere to be seen. With that in mind, Cal turned around and kept looking for him. He heard a snicker from his left, turned, and swung, hitting nothing but air and seeing nothing. Suddenly, Cal felt a stick hit his back and he fell. Cal quickly got to his feet and turned, but he still saw nothing. He felt his stick get wrenched from his hand, disappearing into thin air. Cal looked around confused.
"You didn't think I would actually start from scratch did you? I mean, come on. That would simply be a waste of time. I am starting you on a new lesson plan, mainly composed of breaking that bad habit of yours. The whole 'survival only' doesn't actually work for your job, and we need to fix that. You don't kill, but depending only on survival might get others killed," Bartholomew explained, his voice coming from nowhere. Cal sighed.
"Is this the part where you tell me I need to focus on using the rest of my mind? And then I do that and beat this test?" Cal asked.
"Yep," came the reply. Cal sighed and tried to focus on letting his instinct and mind both work together, but another blow found its mark on Cal's back. Cal fell to the ground and rolled to his feet.
Bartholomew's voice rang out again, "Come on, you don't have all the time in the world here. I mean, you do, but that's what you call cheating. You shouldn't need to focus to mix your mind and your instincts. Just let it flow through you." Another blow found its mark on Cal. Cal growled. After another half hour, Cal was bloody, black, and blue. Bartholomew sighed. By now, Mason was chilling at the table, a soda in his hand and a magazine in his lap. "Let's take a quick break." He reappeared and pulled a soda out of a nearby cooler. He tossed it to Cal. Cal caught it and used it as ice for a bit. Bartholomew pulled out another and began drinking it. They all sat down at the table. Mason was smirking.
"You could at least look a little sorry for me," Cal joked at Mason. Mason laughed.
"Hey, you're the one taking lessons. You're The Current. I'm just The Assistance, The Assistance that you won't let help because you're worried for me," Mason pointed out. Cal laughed.
"And I stick by that concerned outlook," Cal said. He opened the soda and took a drink. Bartholomew sat in silence, pondering how to break Cal's habit. He sighed and took a drink. Mason and Cal glanced at each other.
"Callum, I'm afraid I have absolutely no idea how to break your habit… Like literally no clue," Bartholomew said. He sighed again. "But we are going to spend these 2 weeks to break that habit as best we can. But Cal, I'm serious here, if we can't break this habit, I'm afraid Chronos might use it to his advantage… And I know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you were used to his advantage… So, we're going to start a bit slower. Take that practice dummy, and slowly go through your instincts. Maybe if you can feel your instincts that can bridge the gap…" Cal and Mason both took a drink, synchronized.
"Ok then, how's the armor coming along Mason?" Cal asked. Mason chuckled.
"Each piece of armor is shaped and currently cooling, took almost no time, if you'll excuse my pun," Mason said. Bartholomew looked at him.
"You made all the pieces… in a half hour?!" Bartholomew asked, surprised. Mason looked at him.
"…yeah, it would have been 20 minutes, but I got so excited I forgot gloves for the initial heating," Mason said. Bartholomew's eyes widened.
"…I'm going to check that armor, cause 30 minutes must mean it's not good, either that or you have a serious gift," Bartholomew said. Mason shrugged.
"By all means, check it. I like fire and smithing or forging or whatever it's called is actually pretty fun," Mason said. Cal smiled. Bartholomew got up and went to check the armor. Cal looked at Mason.
"Now that he's gone, can I ask a real favor?" Cal asked.
"You mean the armor wasn't?" Mason asked. Cal laughed.
"Well, it was, but I knew you'd have fun with the fire. Anyway, this favor is a bit more… sensitive…"
-Break-
Cal practiced on the dummy, strike, blow, block. Strike, block, blow. Blow, strike, strike, block. Bartholomew looked on, tired. Block, block, block, strike. The dummy broke in half, the top half flying back. Bartholomew sighed and snapped his fingers, causing the dummy pieces to reattach themselves quickly.
"Again," he said. Cal sighed. He rested his hands on his knees and wiped sweat off his face. He looked at the 7 and a half moons in the sky. The half-moon shined brighter than the rest, ready to match the intensity of the stars. Cal looked down and sighed. He took a moment to catch his breath and straightened up. He sighed and for a brief moment, his eyes flashed gold. Cal proceeded to walk straight away from the dummy. Bartholomew looked on, interested, but didn't try to stop him. Cal stood on the opposite end of the yard, about 50 feet away from the dummy. He materialized a gun pointed it at the dummy. He closed his eyes and let his mind mix with his instincts. Bartholomew tilted his head, intensely interested in Cal's actions. Bartholomew noticed the gun was pointed straight at the dummy's head. But Cal kept his eyes closed, mixing his mind and instincts.
*BANG*
Cal opened his eyes and immediately saw Bartholomew's face. His face was an impressed, but with a confused look. He glanced at the dummy. Unlike his instincts, the bullet hadn't buried itself in the dummy's head. Rather, his mind and melded with his instincts and he shot the dummy in the shoulder. Bartholomew looked on with a slight sense of pride.
"Well, whatever you just did worked, but what exactly did you do?" Bartholomew said. Cal shrugged.
"I don't know exactly, but I did what you told me. I let my instincts and mind join. I just felt… ready…" Callum answered. Bartholomew shrugged.
"Let's call it a night, it's been a long day," Bartholomew said. Cal nodded and Bartholomew disappeared. Cal made his way up to his room, where Mason was waiting in front of his door. Mason stopped him.
"Hey, nice training today," Mason said. Cal smiled and nodded. "Anyway, I finished the armor, but I figured I'd wait to for you to pick the coloring design. Just in case…" Cal nodded and Mason guided him to the armory, where Mason kept the armor. Mason had set it all up, the armor was completely put together, gleaming brilliantly in the available moonlight. Because the armor wasn't painted, it remained a chrome colored mess. Cal smiled and nodded.
"Wow… that looks amazing, better than my armor even!" Cal said. Mason nodded at the well-deserved praise. Cal turned to Mason. "Blue for the main body, red for the boots and gloves, normal symbol of hers, red skirt, gold trim around each piece, and red cape." Mason nodded.
"Consider it done," Mason said. They turned to leave, but Mason stopped him. "Hey, about that… sensitive favor…" Mason paused and looked around. "I'm in progress, but I don't entirely understand why you want this kept a secret from him…" Cal grabbed Mason by the shoulder.
"Look, it's more like he doesn't need to know and therefore he probably shouldn't know, but anyway, how is it going in terms of the specifics?" Cal asked.
"Well, size and look are in progress being made, but the center…" Mason tried to find the right words. "It doesn't seem to… exist…" Cal sighed.
"But would I be able to make it?" Cal asked. Mason sighed.
"I looked in the library all day, I didn't find anything that says you COULDN'T, but… I suppose that doesn't mean you SHOULD…" Mason explained. Cal turned around and looked out the window, admiring the moons.
"For this to be right, I need to have it, made or not…" Cal explained. Mason nodded.
"Look, I get that, but that doesn't mean it has to be this way," Mason said. Cal nodded. They made their way to their rooms in silence, Mason taking his route and Cal his. Cal made it to his room and walked in. A mat and a small desk were all that was in the room. Cal chuckled to himself and laid on the mat.
'Home sweet home,' Cal thought, his eyes already heavy. 'I'm going to miss Kara when these 2 weeks are over… 2 LONG weeks…' Cal's eyes closed and he fell asleep instantly.
-Before Cal paused time, in the Watchtower-
Kara walked through the watchtower, Barbara right beside her. They walked aimlessly.
"So, how are Josie and Karen?" Barbara asked. "I haven't seen Karen around here recently…" Kara sighed.
"Karen is still being a rebel; she's been gone for about a month now, but Clark says she's probably on her way back. A month without new shoes is a bit too much for her to handle so she'll probably be here soon. Josie, Josie's still really nice, had some boy trouble recently, technically still having it, but hopefully she'll actually ask me for help one of these times. Lois is still worried Josie's going to use her powers to get her guy, but I know she knows better…" Kara explained. Barbara laughed and nodded.
"If I was a telepath, there is NO way I WOULDN'T get the guy using my powers," Barbara admitted. "I guess it's a good thing I don't have her powers." Kara laughed.
"Yeah, speaking of boyfriends, how's Dick?" Kara asked. "You don't talk about him much…" Barbara sighed.
"Yeah, we kinda agreed that in our line of work it's best if we don't date each other… You know, during the second date…" Barbara said, tearing up. Kara patted her back gently.
"Are you ok? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Kara asked. Barbara sighed.
"You were so happy with Cal, I didn't want you to be dragged down by my stuff," Barbara said. Kara gasped.
"Barbara, just because I'm happy doesn't mean I don't want to hear what's up with you," Kara said. She rubbed Barbara's back. Barbara sighed.
"Yeah… but happiness is the end of a long road, and you seemed to be almost there… I didn't want to drag you down…" Barbara said. Kara sighed.
"Actually, it's more like a mountain if we're being honest," Kara joked. Barbara laughed weakly.
"I guess it is, but you were up there and I'd rather not drag you down…" Barbara said.
"Hey, don't worry… You can always tell me, I'd rather be on your level than above you," Kara said. Barbara laughed.
"Yeah, I would want the same thing if I was you, but I guess I was just putting off telling you because I was jealous of your happiness…" Barbara said. "But it was a friend jealousy you know, like 'I wish that was me' and 'THAT'S my BFF'…" Kara laughed.
"Well, I'm already friend jealous of you, you don't have to deal with Cal and worry about his… needs…" Kara said. Barbara clasped Kara by the shoulders.
"Look, Kara, Cal may be a guy, but he is definitely a polite, loyal, and honest one. If he needs something like that he's not going to go to anyone except maybe himself about it. You have absolutely nothing to worry about…" Barbara said. Kara sighed.
"I'm being too paranoid aren't I?" Kara asked. Barbara chuckled and nodded. "I guess I just know I'm not the prettiest and am still worried that some girl is going to swoop in and take him…"
"Hey, that almost happened once, but as you recall he turned her down…" Barbara said. Kara nodded and looked out the Watchtower window near her. The stars seemed to shine brighter, as if feeling empathy for her.
"She was so pretty and she asked him all cute and polite," Kara started.
"And Cal got all flustered and said he'd have to think about it," Barbara said. Kara nodded.
"You said you'd make her disappear if I wanted…" Kara said. Barbara laughed.
"And I meant it. If Cal said yes I would have whacked him upside the head, Batgirl or no," Barbara said. Kara laughed through her teary eyes.
"We never did find out why he said no…" Kara said. Barbara patted her gently. "I'd like to think it was because he liked me and didn't want me to be jealous… But that's probably not right…"
"Maybe the universe just wanted you 2 together. After all, you 2 ARE a match made in heaven," Barbara admitted. Kara laughed.
"You really think so?" Kara asked. Barbara nodded.
"Absolutely!" Barbara said. Suddenly, Josie's voice rang out in both their minds.
"Kara, Barbara, Karen's back and I think you should get over here soon. She looks really mad!" Josie's voice rang out in their minds.
"We're on our way," Barbara mentally replied. They ran off toward the monitor room, the only place Clark would let Josie help out. They arrived to find Karen wearing her white tank top, which didn't leave much to the imagination, and jeans, which also didn't leave much to the imagination. She sat on the couch in the monitor room with one leg resting over the other. She stood up when she saw Kara.
"Kara!" Karen yelled angrily. Kara stopped in her tracks and attempted to hide behind Barbara.
"Save me!" Kara whispered to Barbara. Barbara slowly back up as Karen got closer. Karen pushed Barbara out of the way and stared at Kara.
"Kara!" Karen yelled again. Kara cowered in fear.
'What did I do?' Kara thought to herself.
"A guy saves your life so you start dating him?! And then you don't try to call me or anything for advice?!" Karen asked outraged. Kara breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Look, he's a really nice guy ok!" Kara defended herself. "He saved my life and it was the least I could do…" Kara stopped. "Okay, that came out wrong! I mean that he asked me out and it wasn't like I could say 'no' or anything!" Kara unintentionally blamed Cal, not thinking clearly out of fear of her older sister.
"So he forced you to go out with him?!" Karen asked, outraged. "I will kill him! What's his name and where does he live?!" Karen demanded.
"Uh…" Kara said, trying to avoid making things worse. "I don't know where he lives…" Kara lied. "And I'm not telling you his name!" Karen towered over her and Kara glanced at Barbara for help, but Barbara was nowhere to be found. "I won't tell you his name!"
"Fine, I'll just ask Josie…" Karen threatened. She turned to Josie, who was hiding under her desk. "Josie… What's Kara's boyfriend's name?" Karen asked slowly.
"C-Callum O-Orson…" Josie whispered quietly.
"Thank you," Karen said. She turned to Kara. "Tomorrow I'm going to kill the guy that seems to think he can do whatever he wants by simply saving someone! Although, tonight I need go shoe shopping before I DIE." Kara glanced at Barbara, who had magically appeared behind Karen.
"Karen! You can't hurt him! He's a nice guy and he hasn't given anyone a reason not to trust him! Even Clark said it was ok!" Kara protested. Karen shot her a look of pure anger.
"So Stockholm Syndrome has already set in huh? I'll actually kill him now!" Karen said. Kara opened her mouth to protest again, but Karen walked around her and out of the monitor room. Barbara appeared next to Kara.
"Well, that could have gone better…" Barbara said. Kara looked at her.
"I need to stop her before she kills him!" Kara said. Barbara scoffed.
"You and I both know, 'Good luck with that'… She REALLY isn't opened minded is she?" Barbara said.
"No she is not…" Kara said. "I suppose the best I can do is warn Cal…" She pulled out her phone, but Barbara stopped her.
"But um, not to cause problems, but… Callum doesn't know you're Supergirl… and Power-Girl angrily beating the crap out of him while muttering about him taking advantage of her sister… Who could literally only mean you, Kara, and since everyone seems to know you two are related…" Barbara pointed out. Kara sighed and put her phone away.
"Then what do I do? I can't warn him, I can't stop Karen, I can't do anything…" Kara collapsed on the couch. Barbara sighed and sat down next to her.
"Maybe Clark can do something? Or maybe I can ask Bruce? Barry? Hal? Zatanna? Diana? J'onn? Cyborg? Someone?" Barbara suggested. Kara sighed.
"I honestly don't think any of them could stop her. Once she's set on something, especially if it concerns me, she's pretty much unstoppable. As you like to point out, parts of life are a chess game. Maybe I need to sacrifice my… knight? My point is maybe I need to let Cal find out about me being Supergirl so he WON'T die by Karen…" Kara pondered aloud. Barbara shrugged.
"You remember what happened in 3rd hour? With the golden waves?" Barbara asked. Kara slowly nodded. "Well, it seems that he can take care of himself… Maybe the best move is to stay put…? Let Cal take care of himself?" Kara shook her head.
"But after that he made everyone forget, speaking of, we never did figure out why we remember… He clearly didn't want anyone to know…" Kara pointed out. "I don't want him to force him to reveal himself… Especially when he doesn't want to…" Kara huffed and laid her head in Barbara's lap. Barbara began stroking her hair gently.
"I wish I could advise you here, but I have no clue what to do…" Barbara said. Kara sighed.
"I know… I know…" Kara replied. She laid in Barbara's lap, thinking, for a few more minutes. Finally, Kara got up, pulling out her phone. "I'm going to call Cal, warn him… Let him find out… I trust him… I LOVE him…" Barbara nodded in understanding. Kara dialed his number, and time paused…