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 34: Day 13/16, Saturday
To the east the sun began rising, like a soft, warm fire while camping. Superman, Batman, Flash, Supergirl, and Green Arrow stood, watching and waiting for any signs that The Protector was okay or not.
"We need to get his armor off!" Supergirl said. Everyone nodded.
"But we can't," Batman said. Supergirl sighed.
"Maybe Flash could vibrate his armor off!" Supergirl suggested. Flash shook his head.
"Not without possibly harming him further…" Flash said.
"But he could be on the verge of death!" Supergirl said. "We NEED to get through the armor!" Batman sighed.
"As long as we can see the rising and falling of his chest, we hope he comes to and allows us to help. Until then, we do nothing except keep bystanders away…" Batman said. Supergirl nodded in understanding.
"Hey, Batman, have you seen Batgirl recently? I haven't talked to her in a while…" Supergirl said. Batman frowned.
"She's busy, and I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to catch up on your hottest celebrities when she gets back," Batman said. Supergirl frowned, insulted. Suddenly, a portal appeared and Chronos stepped through, hands raised. The heroes braced themselves for a fight, but Chronos spoke before anyone made a move.
"I, what is it people say here? I come in peace," Chronos said. "I just want to help…"
"Why would that be?" Batman asked, suspicious. Chronos laughed.
"Cause I'm the BAD guy!" Chronos said. "Without my good guy I'm just an unstoppable force of evil, pointless force of evil… I just want my hero back… My jelly to my peanut butter…"
"Alright," Flash said, standing down. Batman glared at him.
"You trust him?" Batman asked, surprised. "Of all people-"
"You really don't see it?" Flash asked. "He's like your Joker. He needs you to keep going… He's like my Professor Zoom. He needs me to keep himself going…" Batman sighed and waved everyone down.
"Fine, what help can you give?" Batman asked. Chronos lit up like a boy on Christmas.
"Well, let me just say Flash, uh, Barry Allen right? Yeah, anyway, thank you for being understanding before I mentioned that you would be my next primary enemy, though I understand that I wouldn't be high on your list of favorites," Chronos said, whispering his identity. "Anyway, first I need to know, what caused," he gestured to the crater, "…all this?"
"From what I can tell it's a large, white sun that was compressed down to about that crater's diameter," Batman said. Chronos nodded.
"And only a very powerful being could have done such a feat," Chronos noted. "But who?" he asked himself. Chronos rubbed his forehead and turned to the heroes. "This really isn't good…"
"Why?" Supergirl asked. Chronos noticed her finally and grinned evilly, sending chills down Kara's spine.
"Because A: This messes with my schedule for my plans of taking this world over. And B: If a being powerful enough to compress and shoot a large white sun did this… Well, let's just say that The Protector is lucky to have survived this long…" Chronos explained. "At this point, only whatever being that blasted him or any similar in power can bring him back… Or…" he glanced back at Callum, "The Protector finds the will to come back…" Supergirl swallowed hard, which Chronos noticed. "Don't worry Supergirl, Kara… Danvers, I believe, he's survived me! He's got one hell of a will power. Ah, if only those Green Lanterns had witnessed what I have…" Chronos chuckled to himself. "Anyway, I'll leave you with a hint instead of a definite answer… Who he is won't help you save him. Yet who he's FROM… That's the key to himself… It took me far too long to find out his heritage, but that's the key here," With that, Chronos stepped back through his portal, disappearing and leaving the heroes more confused than ever.
"That was weird," Green Arrow stated. Everyone nodded.
"You're telling me," Flash said.
-Break-
Cal found himself on a nice, suburban street. Compelled to look into the nearest house, Cal peeked through the window. Cal gasped at what he saw. Cal saw an older version of himself standing in the kitchen, cooking a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast. He was wearing an apron over a suit and tie, calmly cooking. Cal watched as a scene soon unfolded.
"Kara, your breakfast is ready!" Adult Cal called out. "Mason, Alura, come eat your breakfast." Soon after, a young boy and girl duo rushed down the stairs, racing each other.
"Good morning, Dad!" the kids said cheerfully, sitting down at the table.
"Good morning, you two," Adult Cal said back. A few moments later, and adult, beautiful Kara walked into the kitchen, wearing matching blue pajama top and bottom. She had just woken up, her blonde hair was wild and her eyes tired. She smiled at Cal, who smiled back, and kissed him.
"Good morning, beautiful," Adult Cal said. Kara beamed.
"You say that every morning," Kara stated.
"And it's still true to this day," Adult Cal promised. Kara kissed him again.
"Good morning, my hero," Kara answered. Both Cals smiled. Adult Cal brought the eggs, bacon, and buttered and jellied toast to the table, taking off his apron. Mason and Alura eagerly dug in. Adult Cal and Kara sat down, Kara taking his hand as she ate.
"Dad, can I try out for soccer practice?" Mason asked hopefully. Adult Cal smiled and nodded.
"Of course," Adult Cal replied. "But, Kara, what do you think?" Kara smiled at Mason.
"Of course," Kara answered. "Why not?" Mason pumped his fist and continued eating.
"Wait!" Alura said. "Can I try out for soccer practice?" Adult Cal and Kara glanced at each other.
"I don't know," Kara teased.
"Can you?" Adult Cal asked jokingly.
"Fine, may I please try out for soccer practice?" Alura tried again. Adult Cal and Kara smiled.
"Yes," they both said in unison. Alura beamed.
"Yay!" Alura exclaimed. The kids finished eating quickly and left to prepare for school. Kara got up and sat in Adult Cal's lap.
"What are you planning on doing at work today?" Kara asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. Adult Cal kissed her and rubbed her hand.
"Planning?" Adult Cal asked. He thought for a moment. "Well, I'm going to catch some murderers…" Kara smiled.
"My hero, always catching the bad guys…" Kara said. She kissed him. "Every day…" Adult Cal stood up abruptly, carrying Kara up in his arms. Kara yelped and giggled.
"And every day there are more and more bad guys," Cal said. Kara kissed him passionately.
"I think there's a bad girl right here at home… Why don't you catch her?" Kara asked seductively, biting her lower lip. Cal smiled and kissed her back.
"Oh, is that what these are for?" Cal asked, producing a pair of handcuffs from his pocket.
"Oh, detective, you've caught me," Kara said, playing along, giggling. "Please don't cuff me!"
"Only if you promise to be a good girl at work," Cal compromised. Kara nodded eagerly.
"Of course! I'll be the best reporter I can be!" Kara said.
"Shake on it?" Cal asked. Kara grinned.
"I'll do you one better," Kara said, kissing Cal. Cal smiled and kissed back. The couple quickly broke, and Cal set Kara down when Mason and Alura appeared.
"We're going to school!" Mason announced. Cal and Kara smiled and waved goodbye.
"Be good!" Kara called out.
"Look out for your brother, Alura!" Cal called out.
"And look out for your sister, Mason!" Kara called.
"Okay, bye!" the kids said. Once the door shut, Kara turned to Cal. Outside, Teen Cal hid in the bushes, watching Mason and Alura run down the sidewalk. When they passed, Teen Cal peeked back into the house.
"Where were we?" Kara asked, turning back to Cal. Cal took her by the waist, pulling her close.
"I love you, but you need to get ready for work…" Cal said. Kara sighed and nodded.
"Shower with me at least?" Kara asked hopefully. Cal shrugged and gestured to his suit.
"I'm afraid I accidently did that without you…" Cal admitted. Kara smiled and gestured for Cal to follow.
"Another shower won't hurt, especially when I'm done with you…" Kara said. Cal sighed and shook his head.
"I should get to work," Cal said. Kara walked back to Cal and kissed him, making him bend over to kiss her by pulling on his tie.
"Let your co-workers solve their own cases for a day," Kara persuaded. "Be a little late because you were… busy…" Cal sighed and looked at the door and back at Kara, who was pouting and doing her best puppy dog eyes. "Being late at least once in a while won't hurt…" Cal sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
"20 minutes," Cal decided. "That's all you get…" Kara opened her mouth, shocked.
"You and I both know you alone need an hour!" Kara protested.
"Fine, however long it takes…" Cal said, sighing. Kara yay-ed and pulled Cal into their bedroom, which had its own bathroom.
Outside, Cal frowned, confused.
"What the…?" Cal asked himself. He started walking down the street. "Where… What…"
"Hello, Callum," a voice said suddenly behind Cal. Cal's eyes widened, and he spun around, slightly panicked. Now in front of Cal where 4 people, 2 male and 2 female. One girl wore completely white, with her dirty blonde hair pulled into a ponytail. The other girl wore completely black, with her black hair curling down to her shoulders. One man wore completely white, as the girl, and he looked very similar to Cal. The other man wore completely black, like the other girl, and his blonde hair had one single streak of black.
"Who-" Cal started.
"Calm down, Cal!" the girl wearing white said. Cal stopped talking, his mouth still open in shock.
"I'm Veronica," the girl wearing completely black said.
"Mark," said the man in black.
"I'm Tiffany," said the girl in white. "And this is Walter," she said, gesturing to the man wearing white. Cal frowned.
"That really doesn't explain anything…" Cal said slowly. The quartet laughed together.
"I suppose it doesn't…" Mark said.
"I'll try to explain this…" Veronica said. "Mark and I are the twins of Chaos. We basically like to… rock the boat… simply put. We make sure that not everything is perfect and happy and good. We are good… but we are nature's rebels…" Cal studied the two wearing black.
"And the other two?" Cal asked. Walter raised his hand.
"Tiffany and I are the twins of Order. We try to keep the boat un-rocked. We try to make things better and as perfect as possible. Happiness, joy, and goodness is what we try to achieve, peace and love as well. I know what you're thinking, but yes, in a way, we are the 'hippies' of the universe," Walter explained.
"And I am dead? I am where? You guys are talking to me why?" Cal asked. Mark laughed.
"Death isn't our deal, but I can tell you what you just saw," Mark said.
"You're in your version of a perfect life," Tiffany stated.
"Most people say they want a normal life, kids, work, home," Walter continued. "But deep down you truly do want the normal life. You want it because you've seen what disasters life holds. This life doesn't have super anything. No super villains, no super heroes, no super powers, nothing of that sort. In this, Kara never had to leave a doomed planet. Kara never had to witness her planet's death or do her best to control her powers. Kara just was born on a farm, grew up with a normal, yet happy, life. Mason never lost his parents, and his parents adopted you at an early age. Mason's parents were also farmers, friends with the Danvers. You met Kara in kindergarten, and on the first day you were shy, but Kara came up to you and said, 'I am going to marry you one day. I can just tell I'm going to fall in love with you…' and kissed you on the cheek."
"This is your own personal version of paradise," Mark continued. "The only being in hundreds of realities that truly wants such… bland, yet joyful, life… Only really you want such a peaceful and perfect life, which makes you unique and puts you on both sides of our scopes. Chaos and Order… Order is your way of life, yet Chaos is in play by how you think and act. You're different…"
"You act, think, and are different from everyone else," Veronica continued. "You make Mark and I proud by being so different and chaotic. Yet you act as kind and polite as possible. You think as cleanly and optimistically as possible. You are as close to perfect as any being can possibly get in truth. With those characteristics, you make Tiffany and Walter proud of your sense of order."
"Walter… You're the… from the…" Cal tried to put his experience into words. "And I'm dead?"
"Veronica told you, we don't know if you're dead. But yeah, I was punished to live a human life in that world, which is about 11.34 times slower than yours…" Walter said.
"What did you do?" Cal asked. Walter sighed.
"We four worked together to… save someone from nature…" Tiffany admitted.
"We were all punished in different ways," Mark said. "I was punished by being forced to endure an exploding sun…" Mark winced. "My black streak in my hair is a constant reminder…"
"I think it makes you look more understanding," Tiffany said, tracing the black streak in his blonde hair. Mark smiled and kissed her.
"Wait…" Cal said. "You two…?" Tiffany nodded.
"Chaos and Order were made for each other… Mark and I are married. Veronica and Walter are married…" Tiffany explained. "Anyway, I had to watch people destroy themselves and each other for an entire century… For an entire century that's all I was able to see…"
"And I had to watch Mark and Walter die in an illusion thousands of times over…" Veronica said, a solemn expression filling her eyes.
"Wait… black and white… like my armor…" Cal said, making the connection. Tiffany and Veronica laughed.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" Tiffany said.
"Same here!" Veronica said. "We made the color scheme reflect the Order and Chaos of the wearer. Meaning, the purer the person, the whiter. The darker the person, the blacker. You're armor is primarily white, and that's something to be proud of…" Cal nodded.
"Well, we've said what we needed to say, time to go," Walter said. Mark nodded and took Tiffany's hand. Veronica took Walter's, and they all disappeared before Cal could protest. Cal sighed in defeat.
Suddenly, Cal appeared in a nursery. He looked around, confused. He saw books on the shelves and baby toys all over the colorful carpet floor. Cal looked into the solitary crib at the side of the room, being careful not to step on any toys. He looked in and saw a peacefully sleeping baby boy. The baby began softly crying, and Cal reached down to try and calm the sleeping child, but his hand passed right through him, like the child was just an illusion. Cal, confused, tried again, but his hand passed through the child again. Cal shot up as the door quietly swung open. Cal backed away slowly.
"Whoa! Look, I'm not here to hurt…" Cal tried to explain, but he trailed off, noticing he stepped through the crib and was halfway through the wall. Cal frowned, confused. The girl who walked through the door paid no attention to Cal, and Cal didn't recognize them. The girl looked over the crib and picked up the baby.
"It's okay Callum," the girl said. "It's okay, Father will be home soon. It's okay…" She gently held the child in her arms. Cal stared, more confused than ever.
"Is that… me? As a baby?" Cal asked himself. The girl hushed baby Callum some more, rocking him gently.
"Callum, do you want me to tell you a story?" the girl asked. Baby Callum stopped crying as his answer. The girl smiled. "Okay, Callum, I'll tell you a story…"
"Once upon a time there was a young prince," the girl began. "The prince traveled all over the lands, searching for something to fill his heart. He competed to hundreds of tournaments, always winning each one. He won riches and honor and power, but still his heart was empty. After his last tournament, one king asked the prince to fight and train in his army. The prince, still looking for his heart, agreed and trained his army. After that, the prince still felt empty and left to wander some more. Finally, he went to a kingdom, where he was imprisoned. When he asked why he was imprisoned, they said, 'Because you trained the army that is coming to destroy us.' The prince realized what he had done and promised to help defend the kingdom to his last breath. The king took his words and pondered them for a moment before making an agreement. 'You defend us till your last breath, and I will pardon you and give you whatever you ask for,' the king offered. The prince agreed. Before the army arrived, the prince told the men under him, 'I trained them one way, and I will train you a better one.' The prince trained them all to beat the army. Finally, the army arrived and the prince looked at the fearful men. He said, 'I put you into this mess, anyone who wishes to leave the fighting to me may leave now.' After that, the men slowly left till one man was left next to the prince. 'Why didn't you leave?' the prince asked. 'This is my home,' the man replied, 'I want to make sure my home is safe no matter what.' The prince nodded. 'Go home,' the prince said. 'Go home and live your life…' The man frowned for a moment, but left. Finally, the prince looked at the approaching army. He went over to the king. With one sentence, the king sighed and took his army and left. The prince went back to the other king and said they would never come back. The king, bewildered, thanked him and offered him anything in his kingdom: riches, women, power. The prince refused it all, saying it was his mess to clean up. The prince said this and left to wander the world some more, looking for his heart. To this day, he still wanders the world, looking for a reason to stay in one place…" The girl looked at the child. "I think I'll call you Cal…" With the nick name 'Cal', Callum giggled happily. "You'd like that name, wouldn't you Cal?" Callum giggled again. Teen Cal watched and listened in awe.
"Why am I here?" Cal asked himself. "Who are you? Where am I? What is happening?" The girl kissed baby Callum and put him back in his crib, where he smiled at the girl.
"I love you Cal," the girl said. "Know your big sister loves you… Goodnight…" With that, the girl left the room, closing the door softly behind her. Cal watched his smaller self fall asleep.
"We have a sister?" Cal asked the small version of himself. Cal thought about the fact that he might have a sister, or if this was just some alternate dimension. Suddenly, a faint hiss broke the silence. Cal spun around to see a viper slither toward the crib. Cal's eyes widened.
"No!" he said, "No, no, no!" He tried to grab the snake, to try and stop it, but he passed through anything he touched. The viper slithered up into the crib where Baby Callum was sleeping. The viper hissed again, smelling the air with its tongue. Baby Callum remained asleep, with his eyes closed. The viper opened its mouth, revealing large fangs, and poised itself to strike. Just before the viper struck, Baby Callum's eyes flew open and the unmistakable flash of gold filled his eyes. The viper disappeared. It didn't burst into flame, blow up, or just die, it simply disappeared. Teen Cal watched in surprise and amazement. Baby Cal looked around the room, rolling over, looking for danger. When the child was content there wasn't anymore, Baby Callum rolled back over and closed his eyes again. Suddenly, the room was distorted and turned into a street, the sidewalk overrun with weeds and grass. Cal spun around, studying the landscape, but behind him were 3 people. One was older, with no hair on his head and a long, wispy white beard. The older one looked... tired, to say the least. Next to him, was a middle aged woman, wearing a comfortable black track suit. Beside her, was a young man, wearing an expensive suit.
"Is this the part where you tell me I'm dead?" Cal asked, slightly hopeful that he saved the officers. "And that I died saving those officers?" The woman between the men shook her head.
"You're not dead," the woman answered. Cal winced. "But neither are the officers." Cal breathed a sigh of relief. "We are Past, Present, and Future. I am Present." Cal motioned at the other two men.
"Past," Cal said, pointing to the young man. "and Future?" Cal gestured to the older man. The three laughed.
"Why does everyone always assume that?" Present asked.
"I am Past," the old man said in a strong, confident voice.
"And I am Future," the man in the suit said. "If you recall one of your nightmares, you ran from me…" Cal frowned.
"Past is troubled and aged, symbolic. Future is young and full of life… Present is adept for any situation, hence the track suit…" Cal noted. "How very symbolic…" The trio laughed again.
"Well, you aren't wrong," Past said. Cal smiled.
"And why am I here? With you?" Cal asked.
"Well, you have some time to kill, and we decided you'd best spend this time learning a thing or too…" Present said, the other two nodding.
"What did I just see?" Cal asked. Past raised his hand.
"You saw the past," Past said. Cal sighed.
"So I have a sister?" Cal asked, turning away.
"Yes," the three said in unison.
"But she's not… like you…" Present said.
"She's not super powered is what she means," Future said.
"But other than that she's like you," Past said.
"Good, rather than evil," Future explained.
"Kind and thoughtful," Past continued.
"Caring," Future said.
"But not nearly as guilt-less as you," Present finished.
"Where is she?" Cal demanded. "What is her name?!" Present sighed.
"That's not for us to say," Future said.
"Though we wish we could," Past said. Cal clenched his teeth in anger.
"Fine, but what did you just show me? What happened?" Cal asked.
"That was one instance that you should have died," Past explained. "There have been MANY times you've avoided death…"
"What did I do?" Cal asked. "The snake just… disappeared…"
"You removed it from existence…" Past explained. "That was the only time you ever removed something entirely…" Cal sighed.
"Are there more memories?" Cal asked. Past shrugged.
"Yes, but I think you get the point. You have been tasked to die too many times…" Past said.
"Now we can talk about what's happening now?" Cal asked. Present nodded.
"You have Kara. You have Mason," Present said, Past clearing his throat at 'Mason'. "You have so much going for you…"
"Okay," Cal said. "And?"
"Well, that's just now… Not forever…" Present said. "How does that make you feel?"
"I understand that, and I'll do my best to keep Kara and Mason alive and well…" Cal said. Past glanced at Future at 'Mason'. Present sighed.
"Mason's missing, correct?" Present asked. Cal nodded. Present sighed. "Look, I can tell you one thing that you don't know, whether that be your sister's name, location, or Mason's location, or your father's name, location… You can have one piece of your choosing…" Cal sighed.
"I know Green Arrow has met my father… I know Mason is missing… I've never heard of my sister before though…" Cal said, sighing. "I want to know my sister's name… but Mason is in trouble…" Cal teared up a bit, eyes watering. "I have a sister…" Cal's breath became shaky. "I have a sister that I haven't known about for years…"
"Callum, not to be a bother," Future spoke up. "But I want you to know that the future is pretty grim at the moment, for you and all those around you… I hate to say it, but… and this isn't supposed to be told, but you know it deep down, but… you WILL die…" Cal sighed and nodded.
"'Every man has his day…'" Cal quoted. Future smiled nodded.
"Well, what do you choose?" Present asked. Cal sighed and looked around. Father, sister, brother. That's what Cal had to choose from. Choose one. Cal tried to think.
'Not my father,' thought to himself. 'I can find him through Green Arrow… That leaves either Mason or my new sister…' Cal shut his eyes and thought. 'Mason… or my sister…' Cal sighed and turned back around.
"Where's Mason?" Cal demanded. Past and Future sighed and handed Present money.
"Thought he'd pick his father…" Past said.
"And I could have sworn he'd pick his sister…" Future admitted. Present grinned and took the money.
"But it's Callum we're talking about… Those in pain come first…" Present said.
"Wait, Mason's in pain?" Cal asked, worried. Present sobered up.
"Unfortunately," Present admitted. Cal grew angry.
"Where is he?!" Cal demanded. "Tell me where he is and wake me the hell up!" Present sighed.
"There's no time like the present," Present joked softly. "Mason is in the lowest level of the very first CADMUS building, which is WAS rundown and unused… I'm sure you're familiar with it, correct?" Cal frowned.
"Where?" Cal asked. "How would I know it?" Present glanced at Past, who shrugged.
"The old CADMUS building," Present repeated. "And as to how you know it, I must have been… mistaken…" The trio turned to leave.
"Wait!" Cal demanded. "Wake me up!" Future turned and grinned, with the other two disappearing.
"We can't," he said. "But you can…" With that, Future disappeared, leaving Cal confused and frustrated. Cal sighed.