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! Let me know in a private message if you'd like to suggest any ideas towards the story and I'd make sure you get a shout out for your credit.
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, Karen (Power-Girl) and more that aren't quite ready to be presented yet. (Lots of characters are Out of Character (OOC), but I try my absolute best to make it as close as I can with the story.)
Chapter 25: Day 9/16, Tuesday
Wonder Woman awaited with 2 swords in her hands. As Cal entered, she tossed one to Cal, who swiftly caught it. Wonder Woman slowly circled him.
"I am Princess Diana of Themyscira," Wonder Woman said. "You may call me 'Diana'. This test," she gestured with her sword. "This test will determine your agility and reflexes, good luck…" With that, she lunged at Cal, whose eyes widened and barely managed to block the stab. Wonder Woman passed Cal after he blocked the stab, slamming the flat of her blade into Cal's back. Cal grunted and knelt down. Wonder Woman studied Cal as Cal quickly got to his feet. Cal forced himself to stand in an unbalanced stance; it felt uncomfortable, but he still felt that it was worth it to hide himself from the Justice League, Batman in particular. Wonder Woman frowned. "Just do what comes naturally," she advised, noticing Cal's discomfort. Cal frowned and readjusted his stance to an equally uncomfortable one. Wonder Woman shrugged and leapt towards him. She struck at Cal's side, and Cal again barely managed to avoid her. She spun, swinging her sword around. Cal ducked and rolled to the side. Wonder Woman stopped, facing Cal. Cal took a deep breath. Wonder Woman flew at Cal again. She stabbed at him, and Cal barely managed to block it, but it still managed to slice a fine cut into his arm. Cal winced, turned around, and kicked Wonder Woman in the stomach. Wonder Woman flew back a few feet. She looked at Cal, impressed. "Well done," she said, flying back at him without hesitation. She slashed at him again, and Cal blocked. She jabbed at him, and he sidestepped. As he sidestepped, she swung her sword deep into his side. Cal yelled in pain and fell to the ground. Wincing, Cal quickly struggled to his feet. He raised his sword. Every muscle in his body was screaming at him to fight back, to win. Cal shook his head briefly, trying to shake off his pride. He could do this, he told himself. He could make a loss seem like he tried. After all, he'd done it before in a time that seemed so long ago… Wonder Woman flew once again towards Cal. She slashed and sliced, jabbed and stabbed. Cal did everything he could to block a majority of the strikes, letting a few find their mark. Finally, Wonder Woman leapt, raising her sword. She brought her sword down on Cal, and Cal unwaveringly held his sword to block hers. As she struck his sword, a small blast of light appeared, and Wonder Woman flew back into the wall, denting it deeply. Cal himself did not waver in his stance, but the after-shock sent him flying into the wall as well. Cal grunted and collapsed to the ground. Wonder Woman struggled to get to her feet. She did and crossed over to Cal. She held her hand out to Cal, who wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand and used his other to let her help him up. He got to his feet and Wonder Woman studied him.
"Some hell of an explosion," she noted. "Zatanna should be in the next room for you… Although I must admit, you did pretty well for someone new to sword fighting." Cal beamed at the compliment. She gestured to the door where Zatanna was awaiting. Cal nodded and went through it. Zatanna noticed his injuries and sighed.
"You really get the crap kicked out of you a lot don't you?" Zatanna asked, quickly casting a spell to heal him. Cal shrugged and nodded.
"I think they figure that since I came back from the dead I'm suddenly invincible…" Cal joked. Zatanna laughed lightly and pointed to the next door.
"I think Flash is in there," she noted. "Good luck." Cal nodded in thanks and entered through the door. As Zatanna said, Flash was there, leaning against the wall. The entire room looked like a caffeinated person threw a bunch of random and various objects together and said, 'run through it all…' Flash shook Cal's hand.
"I'm Flash," Flash introduced himself. "I'm supposed to test your speed, both mental and physical I guess, but a kid like you probably is in a decent enough shape, but hey, Batman's orders." He gestured to the obstacle course. "When I say go, you'll enter through here," he pointed towards the starting line, and Cal could see a treadmill from the outside.
'This looks like fun,' Cal thought to himself. 'Now I have to remember, what's a person my age's average speed? I want to say like 15 mph sprinting, but that doesn't sound quite right…'
"And then you'll exit through there," Flash said, pointing to the exit. "We'll have to do this a couple times, but I think you'll get a decent time. Just make sure to pace yourself first, get adjusted to the obstacles." Flash patted him on the back. "Ready?" Cal shrugged.
"As ready as I'll ever be," he said. Flash laughed and Cal lined up at the starting line.
"GO!" Flash said, and Cal took off. He ran up the treadmill, speeding up in order to cross. He leapt over the edge of the treadmill and continued through the course. He weaved between the large pillars, being careful to step in each tire that was placed onto the floor. He swiftly made his way through that section of the course, coming to a monkey bar sort of obstacle. He quickly swung his way across and landed on a shifting platform. The platform tilted in accordance with the applied weight. Cal made his way to the center, but he studied the platform. There was a ledge with rope dangling just out of his reach. He needed a running start as well as elevation to make it. Cal slowly backed up, causing the platform to shift. After a second of waiting, Cal sprinted for the edge of the platform, launching himself into the air and grabbing onto the rope. He grunted and heaved himself up. He managed to climb to the top of the rope, heaving himself over the edge. In the final stretch, there laid a maze. Cal sighed.
'How big is this room?!' Cal asked himself. He began going through the maze, keeping track of which ways he had gone. Whenever he came to a dead end, he turned around and reversed his turns until he was satisfied that he was back on the right track. Left, left, straight, right, straight, straight some more, right, left, right, straight to the finish. Cal crossed the finish line and Flash stopped a timer.
"Not too shabby for your first time," Flash said. "4 minutes and 23 seconds. Not bad, just remember that the maze shifts every time." Flash pressed a button on the wall and the maze changed. "Tell me when you're ready to go again…" He tossed him a water bottle. Cal thanked him and gulped all the water down quickly. After a few minutes of rest, Cal lined back up at the starting line. Flash readied the timer.
"GO!" Flash yelled. Cal took off, sprinting up the treadmill and leaping of the edge. He swiftly weaved between the pillars and stepped in the tires with exceptional speed. He jumped, grabbing onto the bars and swinging across. He landed onto the platform and as it tipped, sprinted to the other side and leapt, grabbing onto the rope. He rapidly climbed up the rope, heaving himself over the edge again. He faced the maze. He quickly and efficiently made his way through the maze, sprinting towards the finish. He crossed the line and stopped, gasping for air. Flash glanced at him, impressed.
"Minute and a half," Flash noted. "Well done…" He tossed him another water bottle. "I think one last time should make Batman happy." Cal nodded and chugged the water. A few minutes later, Cal was rearing to go. Cal stepped up to the starting line. Flash readied the timer.
"Ready for one last time?" Flash checked. Cal nodded, determined. Flash nodded in approval. "GO!" He said, and if it weren't for his speed he would have missed it.
As Flash said 'go', Cal's eyes flashed gold and he took off. In less than a second, Flash observed Cal zoom his way through the course. As Cal crossed, Flash stopped the timer. Cal stood straight up and looked at Flash. Flash checked the timer.
"0.48 seconds…" Flash said slowly. "Not even close to my record, but definitely close enough…" He shook Cal's hand. "Good luck on the next one…" Cal nodded and left for the next room, fining Cyborg inside. Cyborg sat at a table, which was chrome colored and the center area of the table was holographically mapped to a forest area. Cal walked over and sat, puzzled. Cyborg nodded in greeting.
"Hello, I'm Cyborg, used to be known as Victor Stone," he introduced himself. Cal's eyes lit up and Cyborg raised his hand to calm him. "Yes, THAT Victor Stone. Well, enough about me, I'm here to analyze your intelligence, strategy specifically. Allow me to explain the rules. This 'game'," he used air quotes, "is not an actual game. When we're ready to begin, small figurines of troops will be available to you. These troops represent a squadron of that specific type of troop, and they can be placed anywhere on your side of the map. This is not a simulation. This is us controlling 2 rival tribes in a section of the universe that are barbaric and bloody. In this instance, my troops are the 'bad guys' and your troops are the good guys. Either way, their rivalry will end today. Now, after you place your troops, you are going to type in your commands in a keyboard that will appear. This table is like a super computer and will adjust to the commands as you say, or rather, type. Any questions?" Cal tried to process the gravity of the situation.
'I have to kill other living, alive beings across the universe so that Batman and the rest of the Justice League can see how smart I am?!' Cal thought to himself. 'At least if my guys are the good guys I'm doing something right? But is killing off an entire tribe right? Maybe I can at least make this bloodless on my side…' He rubbed his neck nervously. "Nope, no questions," Cal said aloud. Cyborg nodded, studying him. 'So tired of being studied…' Cal thought.
"Well, let's begin," Cyborg said. He pressed a button on the side of the table and Cal saw the edge of the table on his side open to reveal various figurines, all labeled in front of him. Cal took a standard soldier unit and toyed with it in his hands.
"What if I don't play?" Cal asked. Cyborg shrugged.
"Batman said it's either this or they have to go and exterminate both sides before they destroy their world in their rivalry…" Cyborg explained. "Although I warn you, this is far cleaner, but I won't go easy." Cal nodded in understanding, folding his hands over his mouth, thinking. Cyborg thought for a moment, but quickly placed his entire army on the map. Cal was a bit slower. He glanced at his troops, studying their abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. After another minute of thought, he placed half his troops on the board, lining them up in the middle of his side. Cyborg noted this and quickly typed in a command. In a very realistic look, the majority troops moved and stopped at the border, the rest staying back playing defense. Cal held steady, typing in a command. When nothing changed, Cyborg looked at him.
"What?" Cal asked. "I told them to hold their defenses…" Cyborg studied Cal again.
"You don't have to type for that…" Cyborg said. Cal raised his hands in mock surrender.
"I wasn't sure. I just was making sure that they don't do anything out of fear or anxiety…" Cal said. "Some troops in real life panic and make rash decisions. I am double checking that that doesn't happen, so I'll type in the command to hold steady," Cal explained. Cyborg nodded in understanding, still slightly suspicious. He shrugged, believing Cal and typed in another command. His troops moved forward, crossing the border. Cal smirked and typed in another command, making a Special Ops squad pop up next to the edge of Cyborg's line of attackers. A miniature battle commenced and half of Cyborg's troops were defeated by the time Cal's squad had died. Cyborg blew hot air and sighed. Cal sighed and rubbed his forehead. Cyborg clapped slowly.
"Well played Callum," Cyborg complimented. "Waiting for me to enter into your home court and then, while having the upper hand, sacrificing your best team to take out a majority of my army… Well… played…" Cal nodded. Cyborg sighed. "I can still beat you, that was your best team and you just sacrificed your queen piece…" Cal smirked. Cyborg noticed this and eyed him suspiciously. He typed in a command and the remaining troops receded back into his territory. Cal thought for a moment and placed the remaining squads onto the board. He sent his standard troops to the border. The rest found comfortable positions near the border, ready to apply aid if needed. Cyborg waited for Cal to make a move. Cal frowned at Cyborg's patience. Cal folded his fingers over his mouth, contemplating. After a few minutes of a silent standoff, Cal smiled, shook his head, and typed in another command. Suddenly, one of Cal's squads teleported directly next to Cyborg's troops. Cyborg furiously typed and his defenses attack the discovered troops. The troops fought back, but not well enough. Cal's troops fell, barely scratching Cyborg's. Cyborg stared at Cal.
"Well played, Callum. You specifically told the computer to provide information to my scouts that that troop was still in its position, just like the Special Ops squad…" Cyborg noted. "What other tricks do you have up your sleeve?" Cal smiled and shook his head.
"I'm afraid that was my last sneaky trick," Cal said. "I was going to slowly send my forces to encircle you and then attack, but I guess you have better scouts closer to home…" Cyborg studied him, decided Cal wasn't bluffing, and smiled.
"My turn," Cyborg said. He typed into the computer and all his troops swarmed forward. They swiftly surround Cal's border troops in a half circle, and Cal's eyes widened at the surprising speed of his troops and rapidly typed commands. The nearby troops got behind the wall of enemy troops, and the surrounded troops prepared for a fight. Cyborg typed in a simple command, 'Attack', but nothing happened. Cyborg frowned and tried again. Again, nothing happened. Frantic, Cyborg tried once more, but alas, nothing. Cyborg looked at Cal, who shrugged, grinning. Cal typed a command, and all his forces attacked the unprepared offenders. After the mini battle was over, a high percentage of Cal's troops remained alive. Cyborg looked at him in disbelief.
"How? What?" Cyborg stammered. "Why didn't my commands work?" Cal smirked. Cal leaned over the edge of the table, smiling.
"Remember my Special Ops squad?" Cal asked. Cyborg nodded. "Well, they never died." Cyborg's eyes widened. "I figured that since these 2 tribes were mortal enemies; they would know everything about each other for military purposes. With that mind, I specifically commanded them to take out as many enemy combatants as they could without feeling pressured and when they did feel pressured they were specifically ordered to disguise themselves as low rank enemy messengers. Their objective was to continue delivering the messages as they were supposed to, making a copy for our side. Also, I split one squad to cover for the undercover squad. While the undercover squad made their way around, the undercover agents removed the part of any messages concerning the scout's reports. Once the hidden squad was close enough, I made the undercover operatives blow the whistle and, concerning the ignorance of the scouts and enemy squads that noticed and didn't say anything, my agents were promoted as I hoped. With my agents in command, any movement was immediately done, but once everyone was in position, they refused to attack, as you noticed. I knew this plan was a long shot, me not knowing the limits of this war slash computer, but I figured it was the only way I'd get anywhere close to being able to beat you, a human super computer…" Cal explained. Cyborg studied him.
"But I typed in regular spy checks…" Cyborg said, surprised. Cal laughed.
"That's why I had them as messengers," Cal explained. "Messengers are on the move so often that checking their credentials is often ignored…" Cyborg shook his head.
"But then what happened to the bodies of the Special Ops guys? They wouldn't have been declared dead if they didn't die…" Cyborg said, still confused. Cal looked at him confused.
"Come on, I know you can figure this out," Cal said. He gave Cyborg a moment to think, but Cyborg remained confused. "Okay, well low ranking officers, preferably new ones, were killed quietly and disguised as Spec Ops troops. Then they were shot and left for other troops to find. No one would recognize them and no one would look close enough to figure out they weren't killed by the gunshots." Cyborg looked at Cal surprised.
"You really depended on those Spec Op agents…" Cyborg said. "You knew their strength was precision and stealth and you managed to make their weakness, small numbers, to your advantage… There's only one other person able to beat me… And he wasn't nearly as creative as you… His moves were a bit more… ensured and reinforced. He didn't depend on one group as much as you…"
"Batman…" Cal guessed. Cyborg nodded. "I couldn't think of any other way to beat you, at least not with what little I know about you." Cyborg shrugged and nodded.
"Makes sense, after Batman I made sure to prevent as many mistakes that he pointed out to me," Cyborg said. He stood up and stretched out his hand. Cal stood and shook it. "Well played Callum, good game. J'onn should be in the next room. Good luck…" Cal nodded.
"Good game Cyborg, maybe we can play again sometime," he walked towards the door.
"And next time just admit it's a game, saves a lot of tension and or confusion," Cal said, smiling and walking through the door. Cyborg sat back down, smiling, and thought about how he was going to talk about this to Batman.
Cal walked into the next room, where the legendary Martian Manhunter was waiting. In the room, there laid some machines and a hospital bed, along with a few more hospital looking utensils. He extended his hand towards Callum.
"Hello Callum," he said. "I'm the Martian Manhunter, one of the last Martians alive. You may call me J'onn." Cal shook his hand and glanced at the bed.
"What's with the psychological horror set up?" Cal asked. J'onn looked at him, confused. Cal shook his head. "Sorry, I just was wondering what you're testing me on…" J'onn nodded.
"I'm going to be giving you a drug that knocks you out and makes you go through a mental simulation that would be most damaging and or revealing. I will not be in your mind; however, I will be monitoring your vitals: temperature, palpitation, brain activity, which emotions are in control. Good luck," J'onn said. He gestured to the bed. "When you're ready, I'll insert the drugs and you'll be swept into, unfortunately, a living hell…" Cal swallowed, but climbed onto the bed. He nodded to J'onn who also nodded and swiftly inserted the drug into Cal's arm. A few moments later, Cal's eyes closed and he was swept into a mental world of darkness.
-Inside Callum's Mind-
Cal awoke to find himself in a glass container, fluid surrounding him. He breathed through a tube, and he saw a man in a white lab coat walk in.
"Hello Callum," he said. "It seems you have finally avoken today…" His thick German accent and the fluid around Cal made it hard to hear him. "I vas beginning to think you veren't ever going to vake up…" He checked a clip board next to Cal's container. "It seems you are responding vell to the treatments and may be ze only one to survive…" He walked over to the end of the tubes outside the container. He pushed in a vial of something into the tube and it made its way into Cal's body. Cal felt an extreme sense of pain and everything went black.
"WE INTERUPT THIS REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMING TO BRING YOU… TO THE BREAKING POINT!" A voice boomed. Cal opened his eyes to find himself in a dimly lit, dark landscape. Cal was chained, the chains stretched tight into the darkness. Cal looked around and tried to escape the chains, but they were stretched tight. He noticed small pins sticking out of the cuff part of the chains. He frowned, confused. He was eagle spread, hovering, in a dark landscape of nothing. He looked around for the voice. Suddenly, a blonde, well-groomed man appeared. He wore a deep blue suit, which accented his deep, almost righteous, blue eyes. His hair was pushed back and wavy, and he ran his fingers through his hair.
"'Ello Callum!" he said, greeting his prisoner. "Sorry to break you out of that dull simulation, but we thought this time would be better spent with us rather than some psychologically disturbed German mad scientist."
'We?' Cal thought to himself. He struggled to speak. "We?" he asked aloud. Suddenly, he felt a kick in the back, and the chains tightened, pulling Cal apart and digging into his wrists and ankles. He winced, but made no sound.
"Yes, WE," a voice said from behind him. He made his way next to the other man. This man was different, but not very. He had blonde hair and wore a suit, but the hair was curly rather than wavy, and the suit was a deep, vibrant purple, which matched his eyes. The man in purple was less well-kept than the man in blue, but definitely close enough.
'They could pretty much be identical twins,' Cal thought to himself. 'They're probably related.' The 2 men studied Cal. Finally, the blue one spoke up.
"Well, I'll make the introductions Callum. Can I call you 'Cal'? Or is that for friends only?" the man in blue said. Cal shrugged the best he could. "There we go, that ol' Cal silence. You should learn to speak up!" With the word 'up', the man kicked him hard in the ribs. Cal grunted, but kept his mouth shut. The man in blue continued. "I am Time, and this is my brother Space." Space, the man in purple, waved.
"Hello there Cal!" Space said, his eyes glinting evilly in the dim light. Cal winced at the pain again.
"Well, anyway, we're here to give you a thorough talking to. Maybe we come to an agreement, maybe we make your life a living hell. Your choice," Time continued. "Allow my brother to explain." He stepped back and Space stepped forward and began circling Cal.
"Well, let's start at the beginning," he said. "Our Father chose you to defend humans. We are very sick and tired of this 'adoptive chosen one' shit. He values you over us, we, being his actual kids, are jealous and want you to fucking die." He was now behind Cal, and he punched him directly over the liver. Cal grunted and winced again, but no sound came out. Time continued.
"Well, we used our combined efforts to kill you, but Daddy didn't like that too much. He probably won't punish us for a while, but eventually he'll get around to it," Time explained. "We had to freeze your soul in time and then suck it out of you through to kill you… Although I hate you, I will applaud your soul's determination to stay in your body. Space and I both worked up a sweat killing you, which is rare for us. It's funny though, we tried to get Death to take you, but her and her husband were very clear that they weren't going around dear old Daddy to get your precious soul. A few days later, Destiny came up to us and told us to… How did she put it Brother?"
"She said, 'Stay the fuck away from Callum'," Space quoted, staring hungrily at Cal. Time nodded.
"Seems she had a thing for you, considering she basically wrote your life. Well, her and her wife, Karma." He glanced at Space, who was clearly angrily tense. "Anyway, we didn't listen and killed you and now dear old Daddy dearest put us in the bad books. That's all for the history lesson, let's get to the main point…"