Lea got to work writing her essay about Captain Atom. Then, after almost a few days passed, she presented her paper in front of the class where her classmates were surprised. Especially the teacher who was proud of her doing such amazing research and seeing that even someone like Captain Atom can manage to change.
"In conclusion, Captain Atom is an exceptional hero, when it comes to handling the most dangerous tasks in protecting others," Lea said, wrapping up her report. "What makes a hero is not about the powers like Captain Atom has. It's about having the courage, the integrity, and above all...the compassion of a true hero. These are the qualities Captain Atom has shown for everyone to admire."
"Excellent work, Lea," Ms. Jillian the English teacher responded, very proud of the blonde teen. "That was a well-detailed report you put together. You get an A."
"Thank you, Ms. Jillian," Lea responded, being respectful while silently happy for her hard work. "It wasn't easy, but I'm glad to look over my chosen hero in a whole new perspective."
Later at the Watchtower...
Lea arrived as Midnight Hope after school was over. She wanted to head to the training room and later tell Green Lantern the good news on how her report went.
Just then, a familiar voice was talking to Midnight Hope and it scared her a little, "I take it you don't no longer tolerate him, don't you?" Midnight Hope sees who it was. The Dark Knight himself.
"Batman! A little more warning next time, please," Hope responded, keeping her heart rate down. "Also...who are you talking about?"
"Captain Atom. I've recently heard that he's turn over a new leaf." Batman replied.
"Same here. Good for him," Midnight Hope stated, playing it cool. "Guess Captain Atom isn't always an arrogant superhero putting non-superpowered people down."
"Got to say, if someone like you can manage to change Captain Atom's perspective, then perhaps there may be hope for others yet."
This caught Hope's attention. "Uh, I'm sorry, what? Not offense, but that is some wild assumption you have there. Midnight Hope aka I had nothing to do with Captain Atom's sudden change of heart. And even if some miracle that was true, I wouldn't even know how that's possible."
Batman grinned. "You obviously know how." He replied. "And I'm very proud of you."
Midnight Hope blinked in silent shock. Not saying another word, she made her way to the training room.
Oh, my Odym! Batman knows! Who am I kidding, of course, he knows! He's the greatest vigilante detective around! And he just praised me for it! I know I should have admitted how right he was in front of him. But I prefer not showing off on such a big development no other hero has ever done involving a stubborn guy like Captain Atom. Besides, I didn't want word going around that the so-called 'Miss Hockey' was me aka Midnight Hope the entire time. As far as anyone's concerned, Captain Atom had assistance from a regular teen girl in a hockey getup who just showed up by luck. Not many will know that since I chose not to stay for the fame and credit. I doubt the mystery hockey player playing hero was noticeable to the public.
Midnight Hope felt like she was about to hyperventilate, so she constructed a blue paper bag to breath in and out to.
"You don't have to panic. I just wanted to tell you that what you did with Captain Atom, no matter how insufferable he could be, was really impressive." Batman said, whom followed the young Lantern heroine.
The Blue Lantern slowed down the paper bag breathing before ending the construct to speak. "Really? Assisting Captain Atom is that big of a deal? Especially if my Lantern powers were out of commission for a bit?"
"Of course." Batman said. "Originally, I thought after hearing how you reacted towards him the first time, you be the last person to help him save his hometown from his three main villains."
"Technically, I wasn't my complete self when meeting Captain Atom for the first time," Hope reminded. "Doesn't mean what I said to him wasn't true. While it was no secret that I never liked him as much as anyone, I knew what was more important than hating Captain Atom. I was not going to sit around and do nothing when lives were at stake involving three supervillains."
"Regardless, what you did was incredible work." Batman said. "And learning more about his background? That tells me when you're helping to see the roots of why he's like that where it gives him a realization."
"Yeah...I was so annoyed by his complaining attitude that I never stopped to realize why Captain Atom was who he was," Hope admitted, rubbing her neck sheepishly. "I was more focused on being my regular non-superpowered self in disguise to prove Captain Atom wrong on his own stereotyped philosophy. So much that I didn't want his help where he'd make things worse. But then, when I mentioned what I do in situations like this, I guess that's when things started to change for the better. Both for Captain Atom and myself. I learned a lot that day where I'm hoping Captain Atom did, as well."
Batman then offered his hand for a handshake. "That's all I really wanted to hear," He said. "I'm proud of you, Midnight Hope. I really am."
Looking at the hand, Midnight Hope gently smiled and shook Batman's hand. "Thanks, Batman. Just to be clear, no can know that I was the masked hockey player girl who helped Captain Atom. Last thing I need is people connecting the dots of that being me."
"So that must be why you dressed up in random clothes and hockey gear?" Batman asked. "Captain Atom said on the news that he had help from a mysterious Hockey Girl. When he told me about his mystery partner having the initials 'MH' on the jacket, I immediately figured out that it stood for Midnight Hope."
"...Okay, that was not my intention," Hope stated, feeling her cheeks warm on the realization. "What were the chances of my favorite school jacket hoodie having the same initials as my Lantern name? I was caught up in the moment with the new persona without powers. Like you never had anything similar in your line of work."
"Not really," Batman responded, as he tried to remember from his past adventures. "At most, all I had were different costume changes when I went through different timelines or when I helped the Green Lantern Corps fight off Despero. So, nothing much."
"Yeah…I remember GL telling me that story where I learned a lot from his adventures," Hope replied, not surprised. "Since he and a few other Lanterns have had situations where their rings stop working, I figured that would happen to me one day. It's why I practiced what I know that would be useful later. Being the Masked Hockey out in the field for the first time was a lot more exciting than I expected."
Batman was intrigued. "So, you made yourself some gadgets in case of emergency if your powers stop working." He assumed. Midnight Hope nodded to that statement. "Fascinating."
"Not me, exactly. I know a few people who were able to help me with those resources on future battles," Midnight Hope said, activating them to prove a point while bringing out the small charm from her pocket. "Speaking of gadgets and close people, thanks again for the upgraded skates, Bats. They came in handy as much as my special charm Bat-Mite gave me from deadly attacks like Major Force's blasts."
"You are welcome, Hope. I guess Bat-Mite does have his moments where he does want to help. Especially since he helped me stop the Joker and got his powers back from him." Batman remarked.
Just then, a familiar voice interrupted Batman and Midnight Hope's conversation. "Excuse me. Is this a bad time?"
Recognizing the voice, the Blue Lantern turned around to see who it was.
"Captain Atom!" Midnight Hope exclaimed in surprise, immediately ending the skates and putting the charm away before he noticed. "What brings you here in the training room?"
"Yes. I am curious about this, as well." Batman said.
"Actually, Batman, I came here to talk to Midnight Hope." Captain Atom replied to Batman.
"Me? What for?" Hope asked, very confused.
"Very well, I'll leave you two be." Batman then walks away from the training room.
As Batman left, Midnight Hope was still confused. "So, what do you want to talk to me about?" She asked.
"You see, Midnight Hope, after your criticism opinion about me. I later found myself in a predicament that recently made me realize the error of my ways. And I want to make a good impression on you, if I am to be a good hero and a good example to others who inspired to be heroes, as well." Captain Atom explained. "I want you to help train me, as if I have no superpowers and am just a regular person trying to fight."
Midnight Hope's eyes widened when hearing Captain Atom. "I'm sorry, what? You want me to help you train on a powerless scenario? That seems out of one's element, even for you."
"Well, I had a revelation that opened my eyes recently. Although Batman, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter did try to help me learn about that, I completely ignored it when I got my powers back from Major Force, last time." Captain Atom explained. "So, after my recent mission in my hometown with an odd-looking powerless vigilante girl who helped me opened my eyes. I thought I'd make things right with you. You can help me learn how to fight like a normal person in case I end up losing my powers all over again. Only this time, I'll be ready and a lot smarter and strategic. What do you say?" He even let out his hand.
The Blue Lantern heroine took a moment to think about the changed hero's offer. With a knowing smile, Midnight Hope brought out her hand and shook Captain Atom's.
"I'd say we got a lot of work to do," Hope stated, only to look apologetic. "And before we get ahead of ourselves, I would like to apologize to you from our last meet. It's true that I said a lot of things that came out very bad, but I was not exactly myself when confronting you. Even so, I wanted to find the right moment in saying how sorry I was…even though it was not all a complete lie."
"It's okay, Hope. I can understand that situation," Captain Atom responded, already forgiving her. "After what I experienced involving Psycho-Pirate, I learned how anger can blind us from saying and doing the wrong thing. For what it's worth, I'm sorry, too, for any pain I may have caused involving you."
Midnight Hope nodded in agreement. "I forgive you, Captain Atom. So, um…how do we work on this training session here? Is there some sort of device that keeps you from having powers for such a scenario?"
"Leave that part to me," During the handshake, Captain Atom reverted to his normal human form, but still had his uniform on when he trained last time with it. "Let's get started, Midnight Hope."
The Blue Lantern stared in absolute astonishment. She finished the handshake while trying to process what just happened.
"…Waaaaait…You can shift back to human form on command?!" Hope questioned, whom was unaware of this fact. "Since when?"
"Since always. I…never had a reason to be my non-superpowered self and just stayed being Captain Atom 24/7," Captain Atom admitted, guiltily. "That is, until I met Miss Hockey. If she could take on three mad supervillains with just sports gear and skills, then I might as well follow her example in relying more than my powers."
Midnight Hope couldn't help but smile at that. She may have tolerated Captain Atom, but after learning a bit more about his background and what drove him to become so selfish and arrogant in the first place, it looks like the Blue Lantern might warm up to him enough in letting go all of her hatred and grudge towards him. Only time will tell. But if Captain Atom is willing to train on fighting like a normal person, in case he lost his superpowers for real, then she is more than happy to help him.
"Okay, then. Let's get started," Hope responded, looking forward to this training session and getting in a fighting stance. "Show me what you got so I can see what we can work with. We'll build up from there."
Nodding his head, Captain Atom followed Hope's stance before running in to lunge with his opponent doing the same. No matter how long it will take, Captain Nathaniel Christopher Adams aka Cameron Scott was not going to give up being a better hero. And while he may not know the identity of his mystery heroine being the same one whose training him now, Hope herself does while deeply grateful of Captain Atom making the effort on improving himself.
The End
And that concludes another collaborated story with my best user pal Alvaxerox. I hope you all enjoyed this.