Clark was back in that same diner where he had met Billy. And where he'd met Black Adam. In fact, he and Billy were sitting at the same table.
They spoke, mostly about things that might go in a follow up article. But they both knew there were other subjects waiting.
"Billy, I have a few things I'd like to discuss outside of the article."
Billy nodded, not hard to guess the general subject. "Well let's take a walk."
The apartment he lived in was the only private place he could think of. He would have been nervous enough about letting a reporter see where, and how, he lived. Even more so with one of the core members of the Justice League. But it seemed there wasn't any choice.
Clark looked at the apartment building that was obviously their destination. At a distance it didn't look any different from the other buildings around it. Once he got inside, it was a different story. It was clear that the place hadn't been kept up. There was graffiti everywhere. Most of it was just foul words, obscene pictures of, well, body parts, the work of kids with too much time on their hands. Some might be criminals marking their territory. Everything seemed in disrepair. He was soon glad he didn't have an enhanced sense of smell to go with his vision. As it was the odor of urine was overpowering. Clark wasn't happy with what he was seeing.
"It's just up here," Billy told him. Clark followed. They stepped around a man sitting on one of the steps. "That guy hardly ever moves from that spot," Billy told him.
They then encountered a young blond woman. If not for the very high heels of her boots she would be only slightly taller than Billy. From her manner of dress, it wasn't hard to guess her line of work; but Billy seemed to be on good terms with her.
"Hi Miss Bambi. How are things today?"
She smiled, seeming genuinely happy to see the young man. "Hi Billy, and it's kind of slow today. Not getting any takers."
Billy gave a doubtful expression. "Really, no one wants the attention of the prettiest girl in Fawcett city?" He said in an incredulous tone.
She smiled slightly at him. "Always the charmer, aren't you Billy?" she said leaning over placing a kiss on his forehead.
Clark grinned at the slight blush on Billy's face as the woman turned a suspicious eye on him.
"Who's your friend Billy?"
"This is Clark Kent. Remember that article about me in the Daily Planet?"
"Yes, I remember. Must be covering the recovery after the meta battle. One of them was your guy from Metropolis, Superman."
Then she asked, "Are these the best accommodations that the paper can give you?"
"No ma'am. It's a follow up article on Billy and other homeless kids."
Billy wanted to get this whole matter out of the way, so he found a tactful way to end the conversation.
"Well, let me give you the grand tour of the Batson residence." He turned to say goodbye to his friend, pointed a finger at her saying, "I got your back."
She responded with "And I got yours."
Billy used a nail he had in his pocket to unlock the door and they went in.
The main room was bare except for a mattress in one corner and a cardboard box that seemed to be serving as a nightstand. He looked up to see the chips in the ceiling. No odors here though. Billy clearly did what he could to take care of the place.
Clark took a look around with his X-ray vision. The cabinets were empty. 'Not a scrap of food in the place'. He thought to himself.
"Guess the only place I have to sit is the floor...Sorry."
"That's alright Billy," Clark said as he sat and leaned against the wall.
"So," Billy started. Other than the article, what did you want to talk about?" Billy was surprised at what a good mood a full stomach gave him. He wasn't nervous or suspicious like he might usually be. He was casually just talking to a friend.
"A few things," Clark told him.
Just then the closet door opened, and an abnormally large tiger walked out. "Mind if I sit in on this little chat?" Tawny asked.
As the tiger sat next to Billy the comic 'Calvin and Hobbs' came to Clark's mind. Fortunately, he held a straight face.
"Well for starters, I want to talk about what you're taking on as a hero."
"I understand," Billy said. "Black Adam taught me all about that." He paused, "How many times have you been tempted to kill one of your enemies?...How tempting is it for Batman to kill Joker or one of the others?
Adam gave me a taste of that. I really wanted to kill him." With a half-smile he said to Clark. "Thanks for helping me find the right way."
"My pleasure Billy. Fortunately, you won't have to deal with him again."
"Don't count on that," Tawny said. Tilting his head toward Billy he said. "People like Teth Adam or the Captain here don't die easily. We might see him again."
"But how?" Clark asked, "We saw him age five thousand years in an instant."
"As you found out the hard way, their powers are magic in nature. Almost anything is possible. Just ask Zatara."
"Zatara?" Billy asked
"A member of the league. He's an expert in magic; I'm sure he'll be interested in meeting you," Clark told Billy.
Billy's eyes went wide. "You want me to meet the Justice League? I mean that would be great, but why would they want to talk to me?"
"You see Superman," Tawny said. "This is why Shazam chose him. Just a few days ago he was tag team partner to the man of steel, but he hasn't lost his humility."
Clark nodded. "And that's just why I think the league needs to meet him."
"How long would I be gone?" Billy asked. "Now that I've got these powers, I need to be here to take care of people."
"You won't be gone very long. You and the others who do this kind of thing need to know each other."
Billy sat for a moment. "Good point. When do you want to go?"
With a smile on his face Clark said. "Meet me, oh let's say up there." He pointed to the sky, "At about noon tomorrow."
Billy nodded. He was excited at this possibility, but also thinking that maybe he was getting too full of himself, to think that the Justice League would have any interest in him. Still he had quickly come to trust Clark's judgment.
"Okay, I'll be there."