#calhan

She put her hand up to stop her from speaking, “No, Cal. Now go back up upstairs. I’ll help you look for your shirt when we finish here.”

With one last hostile look towards Slade, she went back up.

“You really shouldn’t rile her up, Slade. Your relationship is already fragile as it is.”

Slade sighed. She was right, and he didn’t blame her for the way she felt. He would feel the same way. However, now was not the time to think of ways to mend their relationship.

Instead of commenting on what Amaya said, he continued on with his findings.

“I was able to get a better understanding of your ancestral history, Amaya, while I was in Asia. And it was rather interesting to say the least and explains why were seeing what were seeing with Cal.”

Amaya perked up. She only knew of what her family told her and it was pretty basic information. The fact that her ex, of all people, was able to give her more information sparked her curiousity. “What did you find? What does this have to with Cal?”

“Before I left, I noticed she had an abnormal amount of strength and durability when she was a baby.”

“Why didn’t you tell me when you first noticed these things?”

“Because I didn’t want to worry you. You weren’t part of that lifestyle, and I didn’t want to expose you guys to it,” He then motioned to Bruce, “That is, until this idiot dragged you into it.”

Bruce grunted, not in the mood to entertain his insults, knowing it would get him nowhere.

“So what else did you find out?”

“After I noticed these things, I went to dig a little deeper to find out why that might be. I researched my side of the family and found nothing. But when I did yours, I realized there was more to it than what we were initially told. I found a scroll that explained everything that happened and was able to bring it back.”

He pulled out an ancient-looking scroll and carefully unrolled it.

Bruce and Amaya took a closer look at it and realized it was in a different language that was unfamiliar to them.

“What does it say?”

“It gives your ancestral history and explains how Cal was able to acquire these abilities. Which is more than we were initially led to believe.”

Bruce looked up, “What do you mean?”

“According to the scrolls, her ancestors were able to control the elements. They were at war with another kingdom that envied their abilities and wished to take it. I don’t know how they were planning to do that, but at one point, there was this one battle that ended it all.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because during it one of your ancestors ate from a tree, they were instructed not to eat from the enemy's land. According to the scroll, it amped up their powers tenfold, and while that’s normally a good thing, in this case, it wasn’t. A darkness overtook him every time he used this newfound power. He had a hard time controlling it to the point that he was hurting those he knew. When the higher-ups found out about it, they banned him and everyone else from using their powers to play it safe, leading to their predecessors being unable to possess it.”

“But what about Cal? She hasn’t shown any ability to ‘control the elements’. The only thing we’ve seen is, like you said, durability, an abnormal amount of strength, and just recently her eyes glowing.”

“I don’t know what she’s capable of now, but somehow she was able to tap into it, and this can go two ways: She learns how to dampen the urge to use her powers or use it and fight the urge to let the ‘evil’ take over her.”

Bruce spoke up, “And we're supposed to just believe you? If you haven’t noticed, you don’t have the most reliable reputation when it comes to honesty.”

“Everything I said came true, did it not? But I wouldn’t expect you to acknowledge it.” His signature condescending smirk made its way to his face, “It must be hard for the world's greatest detective to not figure this out beforehand and have his wife’s ex do it for him.”

“That’s rich coming from the guy who abandoned his family for money.”

Slade's face dropped, “It wasn’t because of that, and you know it.”

It was Bruce’s turn to smirk, “Do I?”

Amaya wasn’t in the mood to play referee for these two grown men. “Let’s get back to the subject at hand.”

“Fine.”

“Now my question is, why did the camp get attacked?”

“The family's descendants found out that Cal might currently be the new holder of this profound power from their ancestors.”

“And...”

“And they found out where she was somehow and tried to get hold of her and take it back.”

“Take it back? How is that even possible?”

“I’m hoping I’m wrong about this, but from what I read, the only way to do so is to destroy the host’s physical body or possibly use her to do their dirty work.”

Amaya gasped “Destroy? But then that means...”

“I know. So you see why this situation has become a bit more dire than before.”

She sat down to process everything she had just heard. Maybe learning her ancestral history wasn’t a good idea after all.

Bruce placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and asked, “Where do we go from here?”

Slade leaned on the table that was behind him, “I have an idea, but I don’t think any of you are going to like it.”

8:00 P.M. EST

Amaya made her way to her daughter’s room, knocking before entering.

“How are you feeling, sweetie?” She said as she sat on her bed and pulled her in for a side hug.

“Still a little sore, but I can manage to do things on my own without help. Is he still here?”

Amaya was thrown off by the sudden change in subject. She was hoping to ease into it, but she guessed now was better than later, “Yeah, he’s been gone for some time.”

“Good riddance. I mean, who does he think he is, showing up like that and unannounced? The nerve of that man.”

“Actually honey, it wasn’t unannounced.”

“What do you mean?”

She ruffled her hair, “Let me tell you a little story...”

Amaya went on to explain their familial history. The powers her ancestors were blessed with, how they were at war, the one ancestor who broke the rules and caused chaos, how their predecessors no longer acquired the power except for one, and now that power is envied by others who are actively trying to take it back.

By the end of the story, Cal was looking at her mom with astonishment, “That’s so cool! Whoever that is, so freaking lucky. Man, do I wish that were me. If I had that, world peace would exist.”

Amaya pursed her lips, “I’m not even going to ask you to elaborate on that.”

“Smart choice, Mom. Smart choice. So who is it?”

“Um, well, honey, that person, it’s… It’s you.”

Cue the dramatic pause

“I beg your finest pardon.”

“It’s you, Cal. You’re the person in the story.”

Cal stared at her hands as she tried to go through everything she had just heard. ‘There’s no way,’ she thought.

“How in the world could someone like me possess such a power? I mean, wouldn’t there be signs?”

Amaya sighed, “There were signs. Some happened when you were younger, while others happened at the camp. That’s what Bruce and the others were looking for and why you got attacked.”

“So then what does this mean now? Are my training sessions gonna be on steroids times five now? Are you guys sending me away?”

“No, sweetie, we are not sending you away, but you do need to leave for a month or two for ‘special training’.”

“You just contradicted yourself. You said I didn’t need to leave, and now you're saying I need to leave.”

She put her hand on her back to rub circles, “What I am saying is it would be best if you did go to learn more about this instead of figuring it out blindly.”

“And… and what does Dad think I should do?”

“He thinks you should go. You’ll be with Slade, and regardless of how you feel about him, he’s the best option we have right now.”

She cupped her face, “At the end of the day, it is your decision. And we will support you no matter what you choose.”

With that, she kissed the top of her forehead and left the room.

Cal stayed awake that whole night, freaked out by the information she just learned but also excited. She has powers? That in itself was amazing to say the least, but frightening at the same time. Having powers is no joke, and if she needed to leave to be able to, then maybe going away was the best thing to do. No matter how much she hated the thought of it.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the DC characters or universes. The only characters and universes I own are the ones I create.

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A/N: I lowkey feel like this chapter is a bit wordy but I had to find a way to get the origin of Cal's powers out there somehow. There is only one last chapter of Camp Justice left and then I'll start posting about the Avengers assemble story!