Charlie was driving his regular pre-school bus route, and picked up Penny Randall, the last stop before going to school. The children were disappointed to be headed there, but Charlie reminded them that only smiles were allowed on his bus.[2]
During the journey the bus crossed a bridge as some of the suspension cables broke. This resulted in the bus being hit by a LexCorp truck and a sports car, sending it halfway over the side of the bridge. The bus was rescued by Superman and Superboy.[3] The children cheered as Charlie wondered when Superman got a sidekick. Shortly thereafter, Klarion appeared over the bus, and took it as his anchor to the mortal plane. Klarion told Charlie he was taking over his "skateboard," to Charlie's confusion. Klarion teleported the bus away in search of heroes who could help him fight Child, taking them all on a journey through time and space.[2]
The bus was on a bridge as it was attacked by Kobra-Venom-enhanced plant creatures. Despite the best efforts of Black Canary, Green Arrow and Red Arrow, the bus was thrown off the bridge, but landed in a baseball mit-shaped energy construct created by Guy Gardner.[5] Klarion teleported them away seconds later.[2]
While the world was magically split into two dimensions, one for adults and one for children, the bus was on a bridge. In both dimensions the bus teetered over the edge of the bridge. It was rescued by Rocket in the child dimension,[6] and by Icon in the adult dimension. Klarion teleported both buses away shortly after.[2]
The bus was caught in the natural disasters caused by the Reach's Magnetic Field Disruptors. Black Canary and Green Arrow were helping the children out of the bus,[7] when Klarion teleported the bus, including the evacuated children, away.[2]
The bus finally halted in its journey as Klarion found the heroes he was looking for at the time he needed them.[2] Charlie and the children ran out of the bus, glad their torment was seemingly over, but soon realized from the chaos wrought by Child that they would be safer in the bus. Charlie recognized Doctor Fate as a member of the old Justice Society of America from a photo he has once seen, but was corrected by Zatanna that Fate was on the Justice League. He was quite surprised to hear Fate was a League member.
After Fate, Zatanna and the Sentinels boarded the bus, Klarion teleported them once more. Charlie drove them through another dimension, following a map made by Doctor Fate. Thirteen discussed Charlie's ten-year journey with him, though he said it had only felt like a couple of hours.[11]
The bus arrived at the Old Salem Animal Shelter. Charlie and the children remained on the bus while Klarion selected a new feline anchor. Then the magical heroes teleported away to battle Child, but not before Zatanna promised Charlie and the children that they would return to send them back to their proper time.[11]
True to her word, Zatanna and Doctor Fate returned to send the bus back. Before they went, Zatanna implored Charlie and the children to get help to deal with the trauma they had experienced during their journey, and gave Charlie a card with Dinah Lance's phone number. Shortly after, Doctor Fate teleported them away.[11]
Moments after Klarion first teleported the bus away to begin their journey through time and space, Doctor Fate returned the bus and its occupants to the same spot. Charlie and the children cheered the end of their ordeal.[11]
2020[]
After ten years of off-and-on counselling from Dinah, Charlie now lived in Atlanta, where he still drove a school bus. Dinah thought Charlie might be the bravest man she ever met.[11]
