The Stamina Of Atlas
The first time Clark Kent met Billy Batson he was doing a story on homeless kids. Disappointed with the Superman stories that he had been turning in his editor had decided to give him some 'dirty' jobs so to speak and had sent Clark down to Fawcett City. Seeing as he was already in a bad mood Clark wasn't in the mood to deal with random pickpockets and kept a closer eye than normal on his wallet. So he was prepared when a small grimy hand reached for his back pocket and caught it in his much larger one.
"And what do you think you're doing?" he raised an eyebrow.
The boy stammered for a few minutes before finally saying, "I just needed some money so I can eat tonight." He looks truly pathetic, he's far too thin for his age (Clark puts him to be around five or six) and his blue jeans and red sweatshirt look to be in danger of falling off him. There are holes in his clothes and his tennis shoes and he's covered in dirt but he meets Clark's gaze head-on. He's genuinely scared but forcing himself to face his would-be executioner.
"You could have just asked," Clark reprimanded.
The boy gave him a look that clearly said that he thought Clark was an idiot. "If you ask then people usually want something in return," he replied.
Clark was confused for a moment then he realized what the boy was talking about. "I suppose stealing my wallet is better than that," he admitted.
The boy gave a careless shrug of his thin shoulders, the sweatshirt slipping to one side and revealing the bruises on his shoulder. "It doesn't pay better that's for sure but it is better."
"Where do you live?" Clark asked, suddenly aware that he was probably talking to a homeless kid and could get his article done sooner than expected.
Another shrug. "Wherever Social Services just got through searching," he answers.
Clark smiles down at him. "My name's Clark Kent and I work for the Daily Planet. What's your name?"
The boy bit his lower lip, hesitation shining in his blue eyes. "Billy Batson," he says at last.
"Well, Billy, I'm supposed to be doing an article on homeless kids. Tell you what, you tell me what I want to know about being homeless and I'll buy you lunch. How does that sound?"
Billy frowned as he thought it over for a few minutes then nodded. "But only if you let go of my wrist," he agreed.
"Sorry about that," Clark apologized as he let go of Billy's wrist and was relieved to see that there appeared to be no bruising. He was really going to have to watch his grip if he stayed around Billy (or anyone else for that matter) for any length of time.
"It's okay," Billy shrugged as he absentmindedly rubbed his wrist. "You didn't mean it," the tone in his voice led Clark to suspect that someone probably had meant to hurt the kid once and succeeded.
"Do you know of any good places to eat around here?" Clark asked.
Billy nodded eagerly. "There's a diner two blocks from here. It's not as upscale as Metropolis of course but it's pretty good."
"Take me to your leader, Earthling," Clark quipped and was forced to join in when Billy began giggling helplessly.
Two hours later Clark had more than enough to write an entire series of articles and a hefty bill from the diner. Billy kept apologizing every other bite and Clark kept telling him that it was fine although he did wonder how one person (especially one so small) could put away that much food. He could even give the Flash a run for his money! Eventually, however, Billy got full and managed to finish his third plate of pancakes before deciding that he couldn't eat another bite. After paying Clark offered to walk Billy back to…wherever he lived and Billy refused.
Once Billy had left the restaurant, however, Clark followed him, his every instinct warning him that something bad was about to happen. Sure enough, Billy was cornered in a dark alleyway by three much older boys.
"Whatcha doin' here, twerp?" one of them asked, pulling up his too big pants.
"Trying to go home," Billy replied, his blue eyes desperately searching for a way out.
"You're in the wrong neighborhood, dweeb," the second boy taunted, carrot red hair falling in his face.
"No this is the right one," Billy said. "I just live two blocks over, in the alley behind the Laundromat."
"Rich kid huh?" the last teenager snorted derisively.
"Either that or a whore," the redhead joined in. "That's not far from where the rest of the whores live."
"That what you are, boy?" the first one asked.
Billy was already shaking his head vehemently, terror shining from his blue eyes. "I'm just a kid," he stammered, tears welling up.
The teenagers opened up their mouths, obviously getting ready for some more insults but Clark had heard enough. Quickly he tore off his suit and glasses, hiding them then stepped into the alley, fully aware of the fact that he looked even more menacing than usual with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face as he said, "What's going on here?"
The teenagers' mouths fell open and they stared at him in shock while Billy brightened, albeit momentarily, before his shoulders slumped again.
"N-nothing, Superman," the third boy stammered nervously.
"Yeah," the redhead laughed. "We were just having a little bit of fun with the kid here."
Superman raised an eyebrow. "Is that right? Are they bothering you, son?"
Billy opened his mouth to answer then closed it again when the teenagers glared at him. Reluctantly he shook his head. "No, sir," he whispered. "We were just having fun."
Superman's scowl deepened (as if that were even possible) and he said, "Well why don't I take you home anyways? It's too dangerous for a kid your age to be out and about by yourself." Without waiting for an answer he stepped forward and, after pushing aside the unruly teenagers, took Billy firmly by the hand and led him back to the street. Once they were out of sight of the bullies Superman stopped and turned to Billy and said, "Are you sure you're all right?"
Billy nodded and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "I'm fine," he sniffled slightly.
Superman frowned and used his x-ray vision to check. He could see no broken bones or internal damage but he could definitely make out several, large bruised areas especially around…his lips tightened and he had to force himself to calm down once it became apparent to him that Billy Batson had been sexually assaulted less than forty-eight hours ago. "Billy," he said far more calmly than he felt. "Who hurt you?"
Billy frowned. "What're you talkin' about?" he asked, genuinely confused.
Superman gave him a sharp look. "Someone hurt you not that long ago. You need medical attention…"
He was interrupted by Billy who glared at him with all the vehemence of a child. "I'm fine," he hissed. "And if I go to the hospital that means Social Services and foster homes. I don't like those."
Superman reminded himself that he was talking to a frightened child and spoke slowly and clearly. "I promise I'll do my best to see that you get a decent home where no one hurts you, okay?"
"That's what the last guy from Child Protective Services said," Billy muttered. "Didn't work out so well there, either. Got my collar broken in three places," he sounded almost proud as he said the last part.
Superman frowned in confused then nodded in understanding when he realized that Billy had probably been talking about his collarbone, not an actual collar. "Well I'm Superman, I can probably keep my promises better," he smiled.
Billy shook his head. "Not goin'," he crossed his arms stubbornly.
Superman sighed heavily and was about to protest more when his Justice League communicator went off. "What is it, Batman?" he snapped.
Silence then, "A giant robot is attacking the Metropolis Museum of Art. Flash is en route now but he could use some backup."
"Can't it wait?" Superman asked.
More silence. He could almost see Batman's eyebrow climbing in disbelief as he calculated whether or not Superman was being mind-controlled before he said, "Five people have already been severely injured and there are people trapped inside. Everyone else is busy, that only leaves you."
"Fine," Superman sighed. "I'll be there in five minutes." He turned off the communicator and opened his mouth to say something to Billy when he realized that the boy was already gone. Knowing that he didn't have time to go and look for him the hero let out a sigh of regret before retrieving his civilian clothes and speeding off towards Metropolis.
It was over a month before Clark Kent managed to make his way back to Fawcett City, after managing to convince his editor that they really needed to do a follow-up on the homeless kids article and headed for the spot where he had last seen Billy. He was slightly disappointed when he found nothing but a loud crash as someone sailed past him and through a brick wall quickly caught his attention. "Are you all right?" Clark asked worriedly.
The man sat up and shook his head rapidly before standing back up. "Never better," he grinned. He wore a red costume with a gold lightning bolt on his chest. A gold sash was tied around his waist and he wore gold boots along with what looked like gold versions of Wonder Woman's wrist shields. His cape was white with golden flowers along one side and it was tied somewhat to the side, hanging over one shoulder instead of centered like most caped crusaders.
"Who are you?" Clark asked, genuinely curious as to whom this new hero was.
"Captain Marvel," the man smiled then leapt back into the air. "Stay out of the way," he called. "You might get hurt."
Clark snorted then decided to follow him, just in case Superman's help was needed, which he hoped it wasn't. It would be good for Fawcett City to have its own protector, someone who could watch out for kids like Billy. But he was forced to wince instead when Captain Marvel was thrown again, by a man who was wearing a black version of his costume, minus the cape of course and with pointed ears.
"The Wizard should not have sent a child to fight his battles," the villain chided.
Wizard? Great…that meant magic. Clark sighed and reluctantly decided that it was time to "suit up" as it were and ducked into a nearby alley. Mere seconds later Superman flew out and went to Captain Marvel. "Looks like you could use a little help," he said, offering his hand.
Captain Marvel looked at his hand for a long second before nodding and accepting the proffered appendage. "Maybe a little," he admitted. "I just got my powers like an hour ago and haven't figured out all I can do yet."
"An hour?" Superman repeated then stifled a groan upon seeing Captain Marvel's nod. Even better, a newbie who was so new it wasn't even funny. "Do you at least know who you're fighting?"
Captain Marvel nodded eagerly. "His name's Black Adam; I'm supposed to be his replacement. At least that's what the Wizard told me anyway."
"I hate magic," Superman muttered. "Any ideas on how to stop him?"
Captain Marvel considered then shook his head. "Not that I know of," he said cheerfully. "From what I can figure out we're both pretty much invulnerable."
The sound of lightning and thunder came from up above and Superman sighed as it began to rain. Just what he needed; to be sopping wet and fighting alongside a newbie. "Well let's go replace him," he said at last.
Captain Marvel grinned widely then the two superheroes flew into the air. Lightning, Superman quickly discovered, was probably Black Adam's weakness, considering how much he tried to avoid it.
"The lightning's so pretty," Captain Marvel breathed.
"You fool!" Black Adam shouted. "Didn't the Wizard tell you that if we get struck by lightning we lose our powers and revert to our mortal forms?!"
"No!" Captain Marvel yelped as he quickly jumped to the side just in time to avoid the next lightning strike. "He failed to mention that before the Rock of Eternity collapsed. Wait, how did I know that's what it was called?"
"Never mind that!" Black Adam yelled angrily. "I'm getting out of here now." And with that the villain turned and flew away so fast that Superman blinked in astonishment. He would have followed Black Adam but just then Captain Marvel screamed.
Superman turned and was even more astonished as he watched the lightning bolt hit Captain Marvel. For a second lightning lit up the sky then it was gone and in its place was none other than little Billy Batson, falling out of the sky at an alarming rate. Superman dove and caught the boy just in the nick of time, feeling Billy's heart race as he held the boy tightly to his chest. "Are you all right?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah," Billy managed to whisper. "Just fine. I'm sorry Black Adam got away though."
"It's all right," Superman said as he landed in a deserted alleyway and made sure Billy was on his feet before letting go of him. "Now, do you want to tell me what happened?"
Billy shrugged. "A wizard gave me magic powers; if I say his name I turn into Captain Marvel, if I say it again then I turn back into plain old Billy Batson."
Superman would have demanded more elaboration but his communicator went off again. "Someone had better be dying," he growled.
"I'll call back later," Flash said quickly after a moment of silence then hung up.
By the time Superman turned around Billy Batson was gone; again. He growled then put on his suit and glasses before resuming his search for the wayward child. There was no way whatsoever that he was going back to Metropolis until he had tracked down Billy and had a long, long talk with him.
Billy Batson wasn't expecting any company. Therefore, he was very surprised when the door to his small apartment opened and Mr. Kent entered. He raised an eyebrow then put on his best scowl. "What do you want?" he asked.
Mr. Kent looked strangely serious as he said, "Billy, we need to talk."
"About what?" Billy wasn't in the mood to play nice guy. He was tired, he had just lost his first villain and with Superman there! The Man of Steel had already learned his secret identity and hadn't looked very happy when he did so.
"About this," Mr. Kent took off his glasses and began to unbutton his shirt.
Billy tensed, ready to turn into Captain Marvel should Mr. Kent try to attack him but instead his eyes grew wide when he saw the Superman outfit underneath. Somehow he knew it wasn't a trick; that Mr. Kent really was Superman.
Mr. Kent left his shirt unbuttoned and sat down on the thin mattress next to Billy. "As you already know my real name is Clark Kent. I know you're new at this hero stuff and I'm still trying to get used to the fact that you're a superhero but maybe we can work at it together. I might not have the same powers as you but we seem to be similar so far so what do you say, Billy? Willing to let me help you out?"
Billy considered it for a moment. The Wisdom of Solomon had told him that both Superman and Mr. Kent could be trusted so, why not? What did he have to lose? "Sure," he said.
Two years later Superman watched as Captain Marvel chased after Kid Flash, the latter triumphantly holding the former's cape as he waved it tauntingly. The rest of the Young Justice team watched from the sidelines, shaking their heads at Wally's antics even as Captain Marvel finally caught up to him and retrieved his cape. There were times when he had wondered whether or not he had made the right decision concerning Billy joining the Justice League and if the child would have survived so long on his own. Billy probably would have but at what cost? Sometimes Superman wondered who really had more stamina, Captain Marvel or Billy Batson?
A/N: Sorry about the last story. I didn't mean to make him come across as a total jerk; I just wanted to write a funny story where he took on all of the Young Justice team and beat them. Plus I knew that this story (and all the other ones) would be sad. Let me know what you think about this story and I hope you guys like it. Please review!
A/N/N: I tried to mesh both Superman/Shazam: The Return of Black Adam (movie) with Superman/Shazam: First Thunder (comic) and think I did a pretty good job. The rest of the stories will be sad, with their humorous moments of course but mostly sad. I know the ending's not great but couldn't figure out what to put instead. Let me know what you think!