And into the Fire
Billy eyes narrowed as he stared down his sworn enemy. The air around him hung heavy on his shoulders as he tried desperately to conceive a plan to defeat his hated foe.
"No…no that wont work. What if I…no, that's not the answer either. How do I get out of this? Oh, geez…"
A veritable gallery of enemies and crises had challenged the young hero before, vying with his wit and mettle while threatening to bring about calamity to his hometown. The constant strife had gifted Billy with the ability to think quickly and manage myriad situations without getting overwhelmed. He employed these talents on a regular basis. This time, however, the child champion found himself at a loss as to what to do.
Billy gritted his teeth. He had to overcome this. After everything he'd gone through, after all of the maniacal monsters and arcane arch-nemeses, he wouldn't go down easily. The small hero readied himself mentally and resumed his search for the answer that would be his salvation.
Finally conceded that division with decimals, and math in general, was not his strong suit.
Rapping his pencil on his desk, the raven-haired boy sighed pensively. He was never going to get this right.
"Is everything okay, Billy?" a voice queried, shattering his concentration. The boy peered over his shoulder to find his teacher staring down at him with a amused smile. He grinned back before returning his gaze to the partially completed worksheet in front of him.
"Not really, Ms. Berch," he answered quietly. "I just don't get what I'm doing wrong. Even with the answer, it's just so confusing."
Billy watched as his teacher picked up the sheet and examined it for a moment. Noticing his error, she chuckled and handed the paper back.
"You just moved the decimal over too far. It's supposed to be 1.23, not 12.3. That's why your answer is such a small number."
Billy stared at his work for a few seconds.
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."
Ms. Berch failed to stifle a laugh, and Billy couldn't suppress the embarrassed blush that came to his cheeks. At that moment, the bell rang, and the pair regained their composure.
"You'll get it, Billy. Just keep practicing and you'll get the hang of it in no time."
"Thanks Ms. Berch!" the young boy yelled back as he dashed out the classroom and through the hall of his small school. Emerging outside, Billy took a deep breath of the frigid February air and smiled. He tugged on the sleeve of the navy windbreaker to shield himself from the chilling breeze cloaking the quiet town. As he rounded a corner, something in his pocket began to buzz. Billy rapidly ducked into an alley, removed the small Justice League communicator from his pocket, and pushed the large black button in the center of the device.
"Captain," Batman's voice greeted from the other end of the line. "You're needed in Washington D.C."
Captain Marvel touched down outside of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and surveyed the chaos around him. Panicked civilians dashed about, running past police as the azure-clad public servants tried vainly to quell the pandemonium.
Just another day as a member of the Justice League.
The mystical champion looked up to find Green Lantern hovering overhead. He wasted no time in greeting his viridian companion.
"Did you get a haircut or something?" Captain Marvel asked with a grin. "You look different."
"I just need some coffee," Hal replied mirthfully. "Good to see you finally made it. I was worried you'd miss the museum tour. Apparently they're doing an exhibit on magical artifacts. I wonder who thought that would be a good idea."
"Where are…" Captain Marvel began.
"Everyone's already inside," Green Lantern interjected. "Bats asked me to stay out here and make sure the civilians get out safely. He and Zatara are already inside dealing with the bad guys. You should probably join the party before the guests leave."
Captain Marvel merely nodded before swooping into the building. The crimson hero navigated scattered exhibits and crushed rubble, his mind racing with unanswered questions.
Magical artifacts? Batman never said anything about that…
The mighty mortal broke from his contemplation as he entered a ruined atrium and was nearly flattened when Batman hurtled past him into a wall. Captain Marvel turned his attention to the center of the room, where he found Zatara engaged in an eldritch duel with Klarion. He spotted Catwoman on the other side of the hall, carefully cutting a hole in a glass case. She eyed the carved stone inside with a cool certainty, years of experience steadying her hand. Before the feline fatale could finish, the magical champion careened into her, sending her sprawling across the marble floor.
"I'm sorry," the mystical hero said as he hovered above his dazed foe. "If you want a souvenir, you need to buy one at the gift shop."
"I'm not here for a keychain," Catwoman said as she flipped to her feet with stunning alacrity and brandished an ebony bullwhip.
Captain narrowed his gaze. "Why are you doing this?
"A girl's gotta eat," Catwoman answered as she slowly prowled the shining hall, silently searching for a chance to strike. The crimson-clad champion eyed her with distrust and subconsciously floated a little higher off the ground. He had dealt with her before, and had learned from his previous mistakes.
The feline villain noticed her opponent's unease and smiled. "What's wrong, big boy? Afraid of little old me?'
"You're not the type of villain to deal in magic," Captain Marvel commented, ignoring his adversary's mockery. "Did someone send you?"
"Ah-ah-ah," Catwoman replied. "I won give away all of my secrets. Unless you wanna come down here and make me…"
Suddenly, the agile thief leapt towards the partially open display case. With a fluid motion, she flourished her whip and shattered the glass, scattering glittering shards about the room.
Captain Marvel sprung into action. In an instant he was on top of the feline felon. Using his tremendous strength, he easily pinned the acrobatic burglar and wrestled the artifact from her grip.
"I like a man who gets physical," Catwoman said. The acrobatic burglar wriggled out of her captor's grasp and sunk her claws into his shoulder. Captain Marvel instinctively flicked his shoulder upward. Using the momentum, Catwoman vaulted into the air, performed a graceful backflip, and landed silently behind him. The mystical champion turned, shock apparent on his features. Noticing his astonishment, Catwoman grinned and gave a small bow.
"What were you expecting? Don't you know cats always land on their feet?"
"Captain!"
Captain Marvel turned to the sound of Batman's voice just in time for a blast of raging hellfire to crash into him, sending a spray of sparks smattering across the scratched marble and forcing the magical rock from his grip. The floating champion felt himself collide with one of the pillars near the entrance of the exhibit. Shaking off the force of the blast, he stood. Before he could take a step, Zatara and Batmans flew through the tense air and collided with him, knocking him off balance once more. The two magical heroes quickly collected themselves and faced their enemy.
But it was too late.
"You lot may be 'super,' but it looks like you still need some work on the 'hero' part," Catwoman stated tauntingly as she examined the arcane artifact in her hands.
"Later, losers! Nyah nyah!" Klarion taunted before uttering a few magic words. A vortex of scarlet flame engulfed the pair, playing haunting light off the chipped marble floor and filling the air with flickering embers.
I've got to stop them!
Captain Marvel lunged forward with the speed of Mercury, his arm outstretched in an desperate attempt to get the artifact. But his foes were already gone. He turned to Batman, who was staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"I'm sorry. I tried to…" the crimson-clad champion began.
"Don't," Batman interjected. "Right now, we need to go regroup at the Watchtower and plan our next move."
"We all could have done better," Zatara commented while he brushed the dust from his suit. "It's not your fault, Captain."
"Let's get going," Batman stated firmly. "Superman is already waiting for us."
"Ummm…actually…" Captaim Marvel responded, "…something came up in Fawcett…"
Batman stared at his magical companion for a few moments before nodding.
He knows what I mean…
"Alright, Captain, I'll tell the rest of the League. I expect you in the Watchtower tomorrow for debriefing."
Before Batman could change his mind, Captain Marvel flew out of the museum.
"Ugh, I'm never going to get all of this done," Dudley moaned as he skimmed the paper in his hand. He quickly eyed the stack of paperwork on the kitchen table and sighed woefully. He had been filling out paperwork and searching for information for weeks, and yet felt as if he had gotten nowhere.
"Please attach a copy of the minor's medical records and documentation showing…where do they expect me to get all of this? I had enough trouble trying to get any records from that stubborn lady at foster care. I bet half of this stuff doesn't exist at all. I mean, I rescued the poor kid from being buried in the snow, and now these bureaucrats are trying to bury me in paperwork…"
Dudley's gaze flicked to the opened letter on his desk. The pristine envelope seemed to taunt him, the golden "FCDCS" seal whispering silent warning to the aging handyman.
"I mean, what does that damn judge know about kids? So what if I don't have a lot of money? Sigh…what am I going to do?"
"Uncle Dudley! I'm home!"
The white-haired guardian turned and watched his mirthful charge put his backpack down and take off his shoes. A wide grin overtook the boy's features, as he slid across the hardwood floor and stopped in front of Dudley. The weary man opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when Billy wrapped him in a hug.
"Be careful kiddo," Dudley said as he returned the child's loving gesture. "You're going to fall over if you keep doing that. Just like you did last week."
"Okay," Billy acquiesced before letting go of his adoptive uncle and taking a seat on the couch. "So how did your court thingy go? You still haven't told me what you went to do, you know."
"Just fine," Dudley replied, his tone wavering ever so slightly. "It's nothing you need to worry about." Dudley cleared his throat. "So how was volunteering at the shelter, Billy? Did everything go smoothly today?"
A subtle shiver climbed up the little boy's spine.
"Uhh…it went great! Everyone was really nice to me, and we got a lot of the new donations sorted. We might have a canned food drive next week. That'll be really good for everyone.
Eyeing the kitchen table, Billy quickly diverted the conversation.
"What's all that paper for?" the kind boy questioned.
Dudley's eyes widened, and he quickly scooped up the scattered parchment and set it to the side.
"Oh, it's just some bills and stuff," Dudley said with a faux-smile. "It's my homework."
Billy let out a belly laugh. "Well, I already did mine in class."
"In that case, are you hungry?" asked Dudley. "I already made dinner."
"Oh boy, I'm starving!" Billy replied.
The two sat down to enjoy a family meal, oblivious to the ominous figure watching through the window.
A note from the author:
Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay on this story. Life and law school have been hectic, and I've been buried with work for some time now. Thankfully I've got more time, and I'm ready to write the next installment in our young hero's journey. Thank you for your patience and support in these past months. I hope it was worth the wait. Shazam!
-Lotus