And When he Cries
Legend of Korra and all related characters belong to Nickelodeon. Shazam and all related characters belong to DC Comics
In a large rock formation sat what looked like an old man. He had a long white beard and wore white robes. He appeared to be troubled about something as he rubbed his head in frustration, sighing in a dejected tone.
"What troubles you Spirit of Lightning?" A young voice called out. The old spirit looked to see the Moon Spirit herself, Yue.
"Nothing child." The spirit said, continuing what looked like an internal argument.
"I am not a child you know? I am at least 87!" Yue said a little indignantly, but with a smile on her face. This made the old spirit chuckle.
"You do realize that makes you younger than every other spirit aside from newborns don't you?" The Lightning Spirit said as he turned, a small chuckle in his voice.
"Come now, I know something must be bothering you." Yue said, a worried look on her beautifully young face.
"I feel a darkness growing. The Dark Spirits are becoming ever more restless, ever more violent. I fear we may be facing another uprising soon." The Spirit of Lightning said as he frowned.
"Should I alert the others?" The Moon Spirit asked, causing the Lightning Spirit to raise his hand in protest.
"No. However it is times like these I wish there was a champion for the Spirit World." The older spirit said as he got up from his throne. He walked over to a small pool that showed the mortal realm.
"But you are our champion." Yue stated simply, with an innocence worthy of such a young spirit.
"I am too tired and too old to continue with that duty. I am finally starting to feel my age. No this is a job for a younger one." The Lightning Spirit said.
"If we are in need of someone to keep us in balance then why haven't you selected a spirit to do so?" Yue asked, growing more confused by the elder spirit's words.
"I had thought of that, but it would be of no use. Many of us barely agree with each other as it is, so to choose one of our own now would lead to even more infighting." The elder spirit said as he looked to the mortal cities. He saw nothing but crime and corruption as always, but held out hope that one day it may end in the mortal realm. Hoped one day they may live in peace. However something caught his interest. A young earthbender. Something about this particular human seemed to speak to the spirit, as he sensed something in the young boy he hadn't felt in a mortal for many years. A pure heart. He had lost his parents right before his eyes due to the actions of a thief, but still his heart was not turned to anger or hatred.
"Perhaps a mortal? Yes, that may do indeed." The Lightning Spirit said as he nodded his head.
"A mortal? Is that wise?" Yue asked as the Lighting Spirit chuckled.
"You were human yourself once. Yes a human shall make a fine champion for the spirits, to bring us balance. This mortal shall be our champion." The elder spirit said.
"Why this particular one?" Yue asked, clearly confused.
"He is pure of heart, I sensed it." The spirit said as continued to watch over the young boy.
"That may be, but you know the dangers of a spirit merging with a human. Only Raava was able to accomplish it and that was already a very special case as it was." The moon spirit said as her elder pondered her words.
"True, it will take a precautionary measure to make sure the boy is not destroyed by my power. But I believe there is time, the boy is but 8 years of age. Surely there will be time to not only figure a way to make him my champion, but also allow him to hopefully grow into a man with such a pure heart as he has now."
10 year old Bolin laid in his makeshift bed, his older brother Mako having gone to run some numbers for the Triple Threat Triads. It made Bolin feel bad that his brother was having to deal with criminals and crooks, but it gave them what little money they had so they could eat. Bolin was just about to drift off to sleep when suddenly he heard a loud crash of thunder. He shot out of bed and looked up to see an old man sitting on a stone throne in front of him.
"H-hi there M-mister, I'm Bolin." The young earthbender stuttered out, smiling nervously. The old man sat there, craning his head to stare at the young man for several long moments.
"I know who you are, young one. I have been keeping my eye on you for you for some time now." Spoke the old man in a surprisingly powerful voice.
"You have?" Bolin asked, an eyebrow arching more in confusion than surprise. The old man nodded his head gravely before sitting straighter in his stone chair and staring a little closer at the young boy.
"Yes, I have. I am known as the spirit Shazam. I have been the Guardian of the Spirit World and Keeper of the Living Lightning since before time had officially begun. I hold residence at the Rock of Eternity, to watch vigil over the world and to keep the Seven Deadly Sins from running amok and ravaging it. I have seen humans rise to dizzying heights, only to be struck down. I have seen ages of heroes come and go, until only legends remain of their deeds." Spirit told Bolin, earning a look of amazement from Bolin as he sat in silent wonder.
"For reasons you shall soon come to understand, I must ask that when you address me, not to call me by my name. Though it may seem rude for the moment, I would ask that you simply call me 'Spirit' for now."
"Uhhh…all right Mister Shaza... Spirit sir." Bolin hesitantly replied. The Spirit just chuckled.
"Now, I trust you have some questions for me? Let's hear them then, if you please." Bolin stepped a little closer to the old spirit.
"Um, what do you need me for Mr. Spirit?" The earthbender queried.
"I hold a position of power and authority in the Spirit Realm and my position must be filled. There must always be a Champion. It is the nature of things and maintains the Balance. However I am getting too tired, too old. Spirits may not die, but we do feel our age at some point and my time has come."
Bolin may not have been the brightest bulb of the bunch, but he could take a hint.
"Whoa! Wait a minute! I think you have the wrong guy here!" Said Bolin, waving his hands about frantically.
"I did not wish to place this burden on you young one, but things are progressing faster than expected, and we are out of time. Great darkness is on the horizon. I have faced such darkness before, but I can no longer defeat it. I am too weak. Unopposed, it will lay waste to the entire world, with only a care given for power and not the innocents that will stand in its path, giving neither quarter nor mercy. Only you can stop him... my successor."
The earthbender held a look of amazement, but was left speechless. However one question begged to be asked.
"Why me? Why not the Avatar?" Was the only thing Bolin could say.
"The Avatar is meant to bring balance to both the Spirit and Human Worlds not defend the Spirit World. However this threat will oppose both and you will need to stand with her to confront it. As for your first question, it has always been you, Bolin. You possess the qualities needed to bear my power. You will possess my wisdom, my strength, my courage, my power, my stamina, and my speed. All of it shall be yours. I... wanted to wait until you were older, more prepared…more ready…" The spirit said, seeming to shrink in on himself as the young man watched on.
"But there is no time. Never enough time. When you are in need, when injustice is before you, when innocents are endangered say my name. Say it with conviction, say it with purpose, say it with all your might! You are now my Captain in the battles to come." The spirit said as he began to fade back to the spirit world.
"Spirit guy?!" Bolin asked before the spirit began to completely fade, speaking his final words.
"When the moment comes my Captain... say my name." Came Shazam's final words. And with that Bolin was left alone, pondering what the spirit meant.
It was days later and Bolin had assumed it was all a dream. He didn't bother telling Mako about it, mostly because he was afraid his brother wouldn't believe him anyway. The young orphan was heading back to his and Mako's makeshift house. Honestly he should have been back before sundown, but he was busy playing with his fellow street orphans. However as he was passing an alley, was grabbed and thrown against a wall.
"Alright kid, hand over ya money and ya don't get hurt!" A rather rough looking man said as he held a fire knife to Bolin's throat.
"HELP! MAKO" The earthbender shouted, as the mugger pushed the fire closer to his skin, slightly burning it.
"Shut up! I can kill ya before anyone gets here!" However, no sooner had he said that than Bolin had kicked him hard in the shin. The mugger fell over and Bolin bolted down the alley.
"Come on kid! The more you run the more it's gonna hurt!" The mugger shouted as he ran after his prey. Soon Bolin was cornered in a dead end. He was too scared to even think of earthbending his way out. He was too frightened to even move. The mugger walked up close, ready to char the young boy right then and there. The words of the spirit echoed in Bolin's mind at that moment.
"SHAZAM!" He cried out as his eyes started to glow bright gold. A bolt of lightning came down and struck him at that very moment. The mugger stopped in surprise as a full grown man now stood in the place of the boy he was about to kill.
The man was tall, about 6 feet and 6 inches tall. He also wore a red outfit, not unlike a pro-bender wore, but with a golden sash around his waste, golden bracers on his forearms, golden boots, a long white cape with gold trim hung from his neck and went up into a white hood that covered his head. He also had bright golden eyes and a lighting bolt symbol on his chest that seemed to spark with lightning itself!
"O-okay ya circus reject! I know yer game! All smoke and mirrors! Trying to protect that brat! Well let's see ya magic ya way outta this!" The mugger yelled, shooting a blast of fire from his hands. The caped man suddenly leaped up and stayed suspended in the air several feet above the ground, as he tried to dodge the fire.
"Wow! This is so cool!" The Living Lightning bolt said as he laughed in glee, twirling a bit in the air.
"Screw this! I'm not dealin' with no flyin' freaks!" The firebending mugger proclaimed as he tried to run. The caped man however flew after him and reached him quite easily, almost in the blink of an eye. He snatched the mugger up by the back of his jacket and took him into the air.
"You're gonna go to the cops and tell them you rob little kids right?" The caped marvel asked as he turned the mugger around and looked him square in the eye.
"Yeah sure thing!" The mugger said in a panic as he tried to free himself from the inhumanly strong grip of his captor.
"Good, because if you don't I'll find you and beat you up." The flying man said as he was about to fly them to the police station. However the mugger secretly readied his hands to try and burn the other man's face. He brought to flaming palms to the caped man's head, but he didn't burn. He barely reacted at all!
"That wasn't very nice." The caped man said as he then threw the mugger into the distance, the man flying through the air before landing in the harbor. He floated back up, gasping for air, as the caped man flew to where Bolin and Mako made their home.
"This is really cool!" The caped man exclaimed. However he heard Mako about to enter and in a panic cried Shazam once again. With a bolt of lighting he was changed back to Bolin, with Mako rushing in to see a bit of smoke.
"What was that?!" Bolin's older brother asked, clearly worried.
"Oh, just a firecracker I found." Bolin said, deciding to keep this particular secret from his usually overprotective brother.
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