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, 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 27: Day 9/16, Tuesday

Cal darted through the door, seeing Batman facing out the large window. Before Cal could say anything, Batman spoke.

"I was SO convinced you were The Protector," Batman said without turning around. "I could have sworn that you were him. Maybe it was a gut feeling… Maybe I just jumped to conclusions… Either way, you died… You died and The Protector continued to show up, saving people... But now some all-powerful being seems to have a keen interest in you and my suspicions keep coming back to me…" He sighed. "I'm sorry for that incident at your school; I was very stressed at the time and shouldn't have done that…" He turned around. "Anyway, I'm going to test your ability to fight. I don't expect you to win, but you and I both know if you are who I think, you will."

'His pride shouldn't allow him to lose…' Batman thought to himself. 'No one who can beat me would take a pass on that chance… Right? Or maybe he will lose intentionally to through me off the scent…' He readied himself to fight. Cal sighed and shook his head.

"I'm not fighting you," Cal said. "I can't fight. No point trying." Batman studied him. "Look, today alone I've had my arm broken, a significant test of will, got cut up by swords, ran through an obstacle course, three times, played a fake war, and just went through an extremely psychologically painful mental test. Can we skip the fighting?" Batman cocked his head.

"Skip my test?" Batman asked. "What is this? High school?" He shook his head. "We're going to fight… No getting out it." Cal sighed and plopped down on the floor. He laid down.

"I'm too tired to fight," Cal said. Batman studied him again.

"Then we'll fight tomorrow," Batman said. Cal shook his head.

"Nevermind," Cal said, getting up. "Let's just do this now, get it over with." He sighed. "I still don't want to do this…" He readied himself to fight. Batman nodded and pounced at Cal, who rolled to the side. Batman swung his foot out and kicked Cal in the side. Cal flew back and crumpled. He stood back up as Batman attacked him again. He punched at Cal, who caught the punch and ducked under his arm, elbowing Batman in the ribs. Batman winced, but swept Cal's legs, causing him to fall to the ground. Cal quickly got up, but Batman kneed him in the face. Cal went down again, blood dripping from his nose. Cal pushed himself up and looked at Batman. Batman studied him again. Without hesitation, Cal ran at Batman. Batman side stepped as Cal reached him, but Cal turned the opposite direction and kicked back, hitting Batman square in the chest. Batman stumbled back and Cal turned back around. Without hesitation, Cal ran towards him and leapt through the air. He pushed his feet forward and Batman blocked the feet, but pushed Cal back through the air. Cal flipped and landed, and Batman threw a smoke bomb. Cal closed his eyes and focused. He listened for the brush of a cape, the click of boots, anything that signaled Batman's location. A faint swish of a cape brought Cal to a crouch just as Batman sailed over his head. Batman landed and Cal crawled to where the smoke was thinnest. He glanced around, but Batman was gone. Realizing his mistake, Cal turned around to see Batman punch him in the face, spin and kick him in the chest. One lung collapsed, one rib broke, 3 ribs cracked, one gushing nose. Cal grunted in pain and spun to the floor. Barely breathing, Cal struggled to get to his feet, wiping the blood from his nose and face. Batman swiftly walked over and kicked Cal in the ribs, sending him rolling away and breaking another rib. Cal yelled in pain and tried to get up as Batman put his boot on Cal's throat.

"Give up?" Batman asked. Cal glared at him. With the last of his strength, Cal wrenched Batman's foot off him, twisting it hard in the process. His foot broke and Batman yelled in pain. Cal shot up and punched him in the stomach. Batman returned the favor and punched Cal, dislocating his jaw. Cal fell to the floor again. Batman limped over to Cal and wrenched his arm behind him. "Give up or I'll break it!" Batman warned. Cal shook his head.

"If there's one thing I've learned it's that you don't give up," Cal said slowly, his body aching in pain. Batman studied him and wrenched his arm back so far it broke. Cal yelled in pain.

"Do you give up?" Batman demanded. "Or do I have to continue?!" Batman took Cal's other arm. Suddenly, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, GL, Cyborg, J'onn, Kara, and Barbara burst into the room.

"Stop!" Superman said. And Batman straightened up, turning around to face them. He raised his hands in surrender.

"I was testing him," Batman explained. "Relax!" They all eyed him suspiciously, but no one wanted to question him, except Kara that it.

"Cal miraculously comes back from the dead and you want to kill him?!" Kara yelled. She rushed over to Cal, who was struggling to get on his feet, slipping on his blood around him. Kara knelt over and helped Cal to his feet. Cal struggled to stay conscious as Kara led him away, and Barbara left to find Zatanna. The 6 Justice Leaguers glared at Batman.

"Too far!" Flash said, and they all nodded in agreement. Batman shook his head.

"I took it as far as I needed," Batman said, limping away. "And now I'm very suspicious that Callum Orson is The Protector…" Superman stopped him.

"Explain," he demanded. Batman sighed.

"You all give me a detailed report about what happened in your tests first, then I'll review the tape…" Batman said. Wonder Woman sighed. After a moment of silence, Superman spoke first.

"Well, he had your average strength, but something peculiar happened. His irises flashed gold and he was suddenly stronger than me, but as suddenly as his strength appeared, he lost it…" Superman briefly explained. Batman rubbed his chin, thinking, and nodded. Green Lantern stepped forward next.

"Well, he's got a hell of some willpower, broke through my toughest barriers…" GL explained. Batman nodded, his frown increasing.

"I fought with him," Wonder Woman said next. "He was very considerable for a novice at sword play. Anyway, his reflexes and agility are significantly higher than your average person. He was able to keep up with me fairly well. Also, something peculiar happened with me as well. I clashed swords with him, but some sort of explosion happened. It was so strong I was thrown into the wall on the far end of room and even dented it… I don't remember much because I was dazed, but I am certain that Cal wasn't affected by the blast… But when I recovered, Cal was on the ground and he had been thrown into the wall too… But I am certain that he wasn't affected by the blast… certain…" Batman was deep in thought, nodding. Flash stepped up next.

"My test was also unique," Flash said. "Callum ran through the obstacle course the first time in about 4 and a half minutes. The second time, he ran it in about a minute and a half which is impressive, but the third time… The third time Cal's irises also flashed gold… and he ran the course in 0.48 seconds… Less than a second…" Batman somehow frowned even deeper.

"Callum beat me in the game, and he used very… chancy methods. He pushed the computer's limits, and mine…" Cyborg said briefly. Batman nodded. J'onn stepped forward.

"I put Cal under the influence of the drugs. I monitored his emotions, stress level, palpitation, and heart rate as instructed. At first, he was very calm, but it suddenly changed and Cal was in significant pain and his heart rate was beyond the normal capacity and his stress level off the charts, but his breathing managed to remain controlled and calm. His pain only continued to increase, and his body began to roll off visible golden waves of energy… After a while, his pain was the same, breathing labored, but the emotion most affected was distress, otherwise known as depression. Whatever he saw, it wasn't bringing good emotions. Then, anger became significantly high and his pain disappeared, but that was for a brief moment and his pain flared to an impossible level, and he was primarily sad… His body was still rolling off golden waves of energy… Then his heart literally skipped several beats and he became sad and yet happy at the same time. Then, everything went returned back too normal, including his heart rate and he refused to wake up. But, in the end, he did…" J'onn explained. Batman rubbed his forehead. He started limping away.

"Wait! You still need to explain yourself!" Superman called out. Batman stopped and looked back at Superman.

"I'll I'm going to say is: I'm now absolutely certain that Callum Orson IS The Protector!" Batman stated. And with that, he was gone…

-Break-

Cal sat on the bed, waiting for Zatanna to come heal him, with Kara at his side. She hugged him gently, being careful of the hurt ribs. After Cal winced, but didn't complain, Kara let go and held his hand.

"So…" Cal asked. "That list… With the 10 reasons…" Cal looked at Kara and Kara him. "How did you get that? I remember thinking it, but I never said it out loud or wrote it down… Probably should have done both…" Kara smiled, recalling the memory of Cal showing her the list.

"Well… This bad guy came around and somehow sent me into an illusion where…" She choked up. "Where you weren't dead and Krypton never blew up… We went skydiving basically and I blacked out and it scared you so much that you wrote that list… and gave it to me… and somehow it went from inside that illusion to in my pocket when I woke up…" Kara explained. Cal nodded in understanding.

"Well, I assure you they're all true and I love you…" Cal said, squeezing her hand gently. Kara smiled and kissed him, a kiss which Cal returned. Finally, Barbara and Zatanna walked in, followed by Mason.

"What the hell man?! I was in the middle of my testing and you just go on and get the crap kicked out of you?!" Mason said angrily. Cal sighed. Zatanna sighed also and went over to Cal.

"You're just a magnet for injuries aren't you?" Zatanna asked jokingly. Cal laughed and shrugged.

"Gotta be a magnet for something right?" Cal said. Zatanna laughed. She cast a few spells and Cal was nearly back to normal. Cal rubbed his fixed arm and thanked her.

"Just rest for a bit while the spell heals the broken stuff. It takes a bit longer…" Zatanna said. She nodded and left.

"Well, I'm just going to go give Batman an earful. Have fun you guys!" Barbara said, winking at Kara. She left and Mason waited awkwardly. Suddenly, Barbara appeared again and wrench Mason out of the room.

"OW!" Mason yelled. "Let go! Ok, goodness! Let go!" he said, Barbara dragging him away. Kara and Cal were left alone in the room. Kara tackled Cal onto the bad, straddling him. She kissed him.

"You need to stop getting hurt!" Kara demanded. Cal smiled and kissed her back.

"I can't control that, but I'll do my best," Cal negociated. Kara laughed. She kissed Cal again and laid her head on his chest.

"You know, I really do love you…" Kara said, nuzzling her head in his chest. Cal rubbed her back comfortingly.

"I really love you too," Cal said. Kara closed her eyes, feeling the soothing rhythm of Cal's heartbeat.

"So, how do you feel now that the Justice League is going to turn you into the next Batman or something?" Kara asked. Cal laughed.

"If that means stopping you from getting hurt I'll take it, pain and trouble and all," Cal answered.

"You know I can take care of myself?" Kara asked. "I mean, I'm more likely to have to protect YOU…" Cal chuckled to himself.

"We protect each other," Cal said. "Because I will always do my best to protect you, and you probably won't give me a choice when you protect me…" Kara laughed lightly. Cal began lightly tracing pattern on Kara's back, over her clothes. Kara sighed happily and tried to nuzzle in closer to Cal. Cal felt his eyes get heavy and closed him.

"Hey Cal?"

"Yeah Kara?"

"I'm super tired and your body is warm and comfy…" Cal laughed.

"Go ahead, I'll let you sleep as long as I can…" Kara sighed happily again.

"Thank you… You promise to stay forever?" Cal sighed.

"I can't promise to stay forever, but I promise to always, ALWAYS come back…" Kara giggled.

"Good enough… I love you…"

"I love you too…"

-Break-

The 7 sat at the table. Batman lightly rubbed his foot. Cyborg studied Batman, who was glowering. No one wanted to talk, but Flash spoke up.

"What now?" Flash asked. Batman shrugged.

"A few days ago," Batman said. "Around the world no violence was committed. The few incidents that did happen, hurt no one. There were several reported standoffs, but miraculously every last gun jammed..." He stood up. "And now that we have an all-powerful friend that favors Callum…" He glanced around. "It seems that this being had some sort of reason to keep that day peaceful… But… why?"

"As interesting as that is, I don't see why we're assuming this being favors Callum… For all we know, he favors Kara, or Clark…" GL said. Batman frowned.

"But it were either of them, don't you think more miracles would have happened by now?" Batman asked. J'onn frowned.

"Well, occasionally we have our little miracles when we're beating other bad guys…" J'onn pointed out. Wonder Woman, Flash, Superman, and GL all nodded in agreement. Batman shook his head.

"Those were just well thought out plans! We executed our plans as best we could and we won, no miracles!" Batman argued. Everyone else shook their heads. "Seems like you all need a reminder. Since when do we depend on miracles to win? Since when has a powerful being even glanced our way other than to destroy us?"

"This being clearly doesn't want to be obvious, but he had to step in this time to explain the fact that Cal wasn't about to be a zombie…" Superman said. "He seems to be a morally good being though, bring back an innocent…"

"But why bring back only one innocent? How many other innocents die daily?" Batman asked angrily.

"Because death isn't something you can cheat constantly, and maybe this being knew that without Kara in a stable mind something catastrophic would happen or not be able to be prevented…" Cyborg said. Batman glared at him.

"But everything points to Callum being favored by him," Batman pointed out. "The sudden appearance of The Protector as he came into Kara's life… The being bringing him back to life… Chronos… That day of world peace… It's probably not a long shot that The Protector is also favored by this being… But if Callum and The Protector are one in the same then it makes sense…" They all took a moment to think about it.

"But there's no proof," Superman said. Batman shrugged.

"When you're as good as him at keeping secrets, you're not going to find proof so you shouldn't even look. Instead you have to look for the patterns, the hints and clues that point to something…" Batman said.

"But if you line up the pieces however you want your going to SEE what you want…" Flash pointed out. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

"You yourself have pointed that out on numerous occasions…" J'onn said. Batman shook his head.

"But this is different! The facts don't line up any other way!" Batman argued. Wonder Woman shook her head.

"There are no facts! You're simply seeing what you want to see! There's nothing there!" Wonder Woman said. They again all nodded in agreement. Batman still shook his head.

"You may not see it! But I do! And I'm going to be keeping a close eye on Callum while we all train him!" Batman said.

"Well, at least we can agree on one thing," Superman pointed out. "Callum is going to be trained so he doesn't have to die again… And whatever powers he got, he's going to learn to control them for other's and his safety." Everyone agreed.

"Then it's settled, we train him as best we can and make sure he can control himself," Flash said.

"And I'll watch him closely, but from a distance," Batman said. They all either shrugged or shook either heads in disapproval.

-Break-

"DAMN IT! DAMN IT!" Chronos yelled, throwing his desk across the room. Darren, Chronos' second in command, raised an eyebrow and didn't even flinch. Chronos ran his hands through is greasy black hair. "HOW COULD HE BE ALIVE AGAIN?! YOU TOLD ME YOUR MAN SAID HE WAS COMPLETELY DEAD!" Chronos' yelled at Darren. Darren raised his hands, one of which was an advanced prosthetic, colored silver rather than tan, like his skin color. His short black hair was curly and wild. His eyes had an unrelenting blood thirsty look to them, as always. He looked at Chronos.

"My buddy isn't ever wrong when it comes to facts!" Darren promised. "Callum WAS dead, but it seems my man's nemesis decided to intervene, a desperate ploy for a desperate being. This says that without Cal, you'll win. I think you should let me take another…" his eyes glinted deeper. "stab at him." Chronos glared at him.

"What makes you think you can do what a bomb or myself can't?" Chronos asked. Darren smiled cruelly.

"I'm not so sure you're as unrelenting as me," Darren said. "I wouldn't lose… and I wouldn't be seen!" Chronos studied him.

"Alright, ONE chance…" Chronos said. "But if you are caught, I WON'T be bailing you out!" Darren beamed.

"I won't need to be bailed out, because I'll won't be caught. Besides, did I let you down completely last time? Last time when Callum's guardian told his pet girl I still managed to kill someone… He was SO close to seeing things like I do! So… damn… closed… I could FEEL the strain on his sanity!" Darren's eyes lit up like Christmas trees, and waves of bronze rolled off him. "Either him or someone close to him will die… and he won't be a threat either way…" Chronos grinned evilly.

"Good luck!" Chronos said. Darren looked at him.

"Luck is for the weak!" Darren said. He snapped and disappeared. Chronos kept smiling to himself and rewound the time around the desk, causing it to return to its upright position with all its items on it.

"Cal's guardian angel wouldn't dare make another appearance, not with his non-obstruction rules…" Chronos scoffed. "Rules! As important as they are, putting them on yourself would be ridiculous!"

-Break-

Cal woke up slowly. He glanced at the clock, noticing it was nearing midnight. Cal sighed and wiped the cold sweat off his head. He briefly went over his nightmare. Something deep inside him told him to get up. Gently, in order not to awake Kara, he slid out from under her. He stood up and glanced back at Kara, who, still asleep, groaned slightly and nuzzled the bed, missing Cal's warm chest. He noticed Mason in the bed on the far side of the room, asleep, tossing and turning. Smiling, Cal left the room, sensing something wrong. He followed his instincts and found himself in the training room. He looked around, noticing several rooms, each with glass walls. The main area was completely empty, which confused Cal. He walked over to what he thought was a lighting control pad. After messing with some buttons, Cal realized it was a control pad for a simulator. He pressed a few buttons and the room turned into a war zone. Burning cars, flaming wreckage, vast wasteland. Cal looked at the terrain. He realized how sad this would be to see, to experience, to have to go through. Without thinking, he pressed play and slowly walked to the center of the room. Just watching, he saw an army surround him. They had guns, aimed and ready to fire. Sighing, Cal looked at each of the drones, disguised as military men. One by one, Cal studied each of them. It seemed they were waiting for Cal's first move. Sighing, Cal sat down. Cal could tell they were confused.

"I'm tired of fighting…" Cal admitted. "So… tired of a repetitive cycle. Fight, then arrest, day after day, month after month, with constant flow of criminals. Some didn't deserve the positions they were in. Some were forced into their positions. Others grew up that way, knowing no other way of living. And yet more and more people find themselves on the wrong end of the law. Justice is difficult to understand and even more difficult to prove…" He sighed. "'When nothing is good, look for it. Better yet, BE the good…'" Cal quoted. "'Wait not for bad to happen, but instead create your own good…' 'Leave the bad for police, begin the good for yourself…' 'Trusting in someone is a long process, but even the slowest process will be completed eventually. It's just a matter of time…'" He looked at the drones. "Am I allowed to tell anyone? Am I forced to keep this secret to myself for as long as I live? She entrusted me with her secret, but am I allowed to entrust her with mine? Why am I not allowed to tell people? What is the worst that could happen? After all, I trust her and she trusts me. I should tell her… Right?" The drone's expressionless eyes looking into his. "Good talk," Cal said, getting up. Upon movement, the drones reacted.

"Target provided hostile movement. Permission to take out!" the leading drone said. They lifted their guns and pulled the trigger. Without a care, Cal's eyes flashed and he leapt into action. Grabbing the nearest drone, Cal used it as a shield. While they fired, Cal took the drone's weapon and shot each of the drones square between the eyes, saving one left. With one left, still firing, Cal shot the gun out of its hands. Leaving its gun, the drone unsheathed a knife and ran towards Cal. Cal grabbed the drone's wrist, trapping its knife arm between his arm and body. The drone struggled to free its arm, punching Cal in the lower back. Cal winced and elbowed the drone in the head. The drone recoiled, loosening its grip on its knife. The knife dropped and Cal spun around. The drone recovered and tried to punch Cal, but Cal blocked it and kneed the drone. The drone hunched over and Cal swiped the drone off its feet, slamming it into the ground. Taking the knife, he raised it above his head, ready to stab the drone…

Cal threw the knife away. He got up and walked away from the simulation, leaving the drone's internal computer system confused at Cal's action. Cal left and walked into the hallway.

"There's been enough unnecessary loss of life for an eternity," Cal said. "And there's no reason to practice killing…" His senses took him to a different room, where Bartholomew was waiting with a gift…