AN: I was always a really big fan of Shazam; I mean, take away the freeze breath, the super hearing and all the different types of super vision, and he's basically Superman. I was first introduced to the character when I was watching a gameplay of a certain videogame on YouTube; and I thought it was weird how DC had it's own Captain Marvel, but then I got over it. And truth be told, I much rather prefer him to the Marvel version of Captain Marvel. But anyway, with the new movie coming out next month; I wanted to do something to showcase how cool he really is. So without further ado, let's jump into this story.
Billy Batson was a fifteen year old boy who was transformed into Earth's mightiest mortal by the wizard, Shazam. Billy was an orphan who bounced around from foster home to foster home. And even after the death of his parents, and the countless hardships that he faced; he never let it destroy his good heart. It is true that there were times when he gave into his anger, and dissatisfaction towards the world; but he didn't lose his good nature. He always carried a spark of goodness inside of him.
In one such example, was when he moved to his new foster home in Philadelphia. He was taken in by Victor and Rosa Vasquez; and he wasn't the only foster kid that they took in. There was also Freddy Freeman, Mary Bromfield, Pedro Pena, Eugene Choi, and Darla Dudley. When Billy first arrived, Darla was so happy that she had a new brother; but Billy insisted that they weren't family, which only managed to hurt Darla's feelings. And at his first day at a new school, Billy saw the other foster kids getting picked on by a couple of bullies. Freddy had black hair, blue eyes, and he walked with crutches; and according to him, those bullies pick on him and his family everyday. And that was something that Billy couldn't stand; sure there was friction between him and his new foster family, but they didn't do anything wrong. So Billy walked up to them, and then began to beat up the bullies, all on his own.
Once those jerks were all on the ground, his foster siblings made sure to thank him for helping them out. He managed to protect them; however, the bullies got back up and started to chase him around town. Billy ran until he came to the subway, where he boarded a train that was currently peeling out of the terminal. When the doors closed, and the train started moving; Billy thought that he was safe. That is until the lights started flickering, electricity was going everywhere, and he was starting to hear a strange voice. The train eventually came to a stop at what looked like the mouth of a cave. As Billy made his way through the cave, he came across some unrecognizable symbols, and weird artifacts.
The voice told him to come closer, and that he was now at The Rock of Eternity. He then came to a room where an old man was sitting on a throne, while wearing a robe with a lightning insignia on it, and holding a staff. When the man saw a boy had been brought to him, he wasn't impressed. The boy had black hair, blue eyes; and he wore a red hoodie, with blue jeans and a pair of sneakers. "My magic must be getting weaker if it brought me a child" the man said. "I'm not a child; and who the heck are you?" Billy said. "I am the wizard, SHAZAM!" he said as he stood up, and lightning began to flash and boom. The Wizard knew that giving his powers to a boy wasn't ideal; but he also knew that his options were becoming very limited. "Let's just get this over with" The Wizard said as he raised his staff to the sky. "Is this the mystical warrior I seek? Is this boy pure good?" As The Wizard asked this question, his magic lightning surrounded Billy.
And then The Wizard could see all the bad things that Billy had ever done. He saw him run from every foster home he's ever been in, he saw how he hurt Darla's feelings, and he saw all the fights he got into. When it was done, Billy was on his knees, trying to regain his strength to stand. "Of course he's not the one I'm looking for. I didn't need the spell to tell me that. Why does the magic insist on wasting my time with these people?" The Wizard said as Billy got to his feet. "What did you just do to me?" Billy asked. "I looked into your life choices, as I have with the others that came before you; searching for a pure good person. But you are not pure good; you're just as imperfect as the other souls that the magic has brought me." "Well you don't look so good yourself, grandpa. You look like you're a thousand years old" Billy said. "I'm far older than that" The Wizard murmured.
"Well I'm only fifteen, and I know there's no such thing as a pure good person." "You're wrong" The Wizard responded. "How long have you been looking for a pure good person?" Billy questioned. "A...A very long time" The Wizard admitted. "So let me let you in on a little secret, since you obviously don't get out much. People are horrible; they disappoint you, they let you down. I've spent my whole life learning that. I tried to be good; but we live in a day and age where being good is a rare thing." "There are pure good people, there must be" The Wizard stated. "You're searching for someone that doesn't really exist. That's why you never found it" Billy lectured. "But you...you said you tried to be good. Do you have the embers of good inside you then, is that it? Is that what I should have been looking for all these centuries? But once this boy's given powers...I can't take them away. It doesn't matter; I have no other choice, do I? There's no more time."
"Does this boy have the embers of goodness within him?" The Wizard asked. And as more lightning surrounded Billy, The Wizard saw all the good that Billy has done. He saw that Billy tried to help people, he saw that he was kind to animals, and he saw how Billy helped his foster siblings. "Yes...yes, you do have potential, I suppose" The Wizard said. After The Wizard was done testing him, he stumbled forward, only for Billy to catch him. "Are you alright?" Billy asked. "Billy Batson, I choose you as champion. The magic word, say it, say Shazam" The Wizard instructed. "Shazam; what's that supposed to do?" "Say it with purpose, with belief. Think of your family, think of everything good in the world. Say it, and you will be transformed into your greatest potential; say SHAZAM!"
"SHAZAM!" Billy said before he was struck by lightning. When the lightning ended, what stood before the wizard was a grown man with bulging muscles, who wore a red bodysuit with the same lightning insignia as The Wizard, a golden belt, boots and gauntlets, and a hooded white cape. The Wizard told him that he was now the Earth's champion, Shazam; and that he now had the power of the Greek gods. The wisdom of Solomon, the strength of Hercules, the stamina of Atlas, the power of Zeus, the courage of Achilles, and the speed of Mercury. The Wizard said that he had to protect the world from The seven deadly sins of man. And he told him that beyond his strength and the spells he could cast, that his greatest strength would be that of family. He told Billy to look after his family, just as he should have looked after his own. And then, not long after giving Billy his powers, The Wizard falls to the ground and seemingly dies.
To some it might have seemed like a mistake, picking a kid to be the Earth's champion. But as time went on, Billy proved to be worthy of the powers that were given to him; and a worthy hero. Billy would defeat numerous foes that posed a threat to the Earth, including his mortal enemy, Black Adam. And although The Wizard was thought to be dead, he would sometimes reappear in Billy's life to give him guidance. Billy also decided not to tell anyone that he was Shazam, not even his foster family. But soon his solo career as a superhero, would come to an end. He would be joined by other heroes, including Victor Stone, aka Cyborg; the only one to know that him and Shazam were the same person.
He told Cyborg not to tell the other heroes about his secret, to which he agreed. He and the other heroes went on to form a team called the Justice League, even though Billy made the mistake of trying to call them the Super Seven, at first. And with his help, the Justice League was able to defeat Darkseid and his evil minions. He also helped stop an army of Atlanteans from invading the surface world.
He's done a lot of good with the Justice League; but then there were times when he started to spend less and less time with the League. He loved being a part of a team, but he just figured that it was time for him to get back to his solo career as a superhero. And when he started to focus on his own life, it actually began to improve a little. He even got past his initial dissatisfaction with his foster family; and as a result, he got closer to every single one of them. Although he became the closest with Darla and Freddy; they were kinda like his best friends.
Billy also didn't get into as much trouble as he used to; all and all, his life was starting to turn around for the better. But no one could have predicted the disaster that was about to befall the people of earth, no one except him.
Vasquez household, current time
Billy was tossing and turning in his sleep; he was having a nightmare. And in this nightmare, Superman was fighting a hulking monster with gray skin, red eyes, and spikes that were protruding from it's body. They were fighting in the city of Metropolis, which now looked like ground zero for a superpowered grudge match. And as the fight went on, Billy noticed that Superman was losing. His suit was in tatters, and he was actually started to bleed. Meanwhile, the monster that he was fighting, seemed perfectly fine. And the fight ended with the monster piercing Superman through the torso with one of it's spikes. And then the dream concluded with Superman lying dead on the ground.
Billy awoke from his nightmare in a panic; he shot up from his bed before he began to breathe heavily, and start to sweat. "The same nightmare, again" he said to himself. In truth, Billy has been having this nightmare for the past several days; and it was becoming harder and harder for him to get a goodnight sleep. At first he thought that they were just bad dreams; but after having the same one for almost a week, he knew that their had to be more to it than that. And the only person he could think of who might have even the slightest chance of explaining things to him, was The Wizard. So he got dressed and headed for The Rock of Eternity.
When he got to The Rock of Eternity, The Wizard was surprised to see Billy at such a late hour. "Billy, it's a bit late for a visit, isn't it? Shouldn't you be at home in bed by now?" "Well normally I would be; but I had this...nightmare. Actually, I've been having the same nightmare for a while now; and I was hoping that you might be able to help explain why." "Well that's a bit of an odd request; but I'll see what I can do." Then The Wizard raised his staff in the air while casting a spell. He peered into Billy's mind, and by extension, his dreams. The Wizard saw Billy's nightmare; and when the spell was finished, The Wizard had his own questions for Billy.
"How long have you been having this nightmare?" "Almost a week now; at first I thought that they were just bad dreams, but then I started having them every night. And it's getting harder for me to get a goodnight sleep" Billy stated. "It appears that your connection to the magic is stronger than I thought. Because these aren't just dreams that you're having; what you're seeing, is the future." "Wait, wait; you mean that what I saw could actually happen?" Billy asked. "I'm afraid so; and since the dreams have been happening as frequently as you say, then that means that they will unfortunately come to pass." "It's happening soon, isn't it? That's why the nightmares have been getting stronger" Billy said. "Yes, I'm so sorry" The Wizard answered.
"But is there any way that I can stop that future? Is there any possible way that I can save Superman's life? Billy inquired. "Yes, but it will not be easy; and where there's sacrifice, there will always be sacrifice" The Wizard informed him. "Superman is a great hero; and he means too much to the world. So if I can save his life, then I am going to save his life" Billy proclaimed. And then he left for home.
As the days came and went by, the coming disaster only drew closer. Because an extra dimensional portal, called a Boom-Tube; opened up in the middle of space. And out of this portal, came an asteroid that was headed straight for Earth. Unfortunately, there was a space shuttle between it and the Earth. The crew of the shuttle tried to evacuate, but it was too late; the asteroid had smashed into the shuttle, destroying both it and it's crew. But even after they were gone, the asteroid continued on its path towards Earth; until it crash landed in one of the planet's many oceans.
And soon there was a submarine crew, sent by Lex Luthor to examine the crash site. And apparently, Aquaman had the same idea. He sent his guards down into the Atlantic to investigate what was left of the asteroid. But then a huge creature burst out of the rubble, and killed the Atlanteans. He then moved on to the submarine; he tore open the sub and drown the people inside. When everyone was dead, he moved on. He left the ocean and went on a killing spree through the country. Eventually he came to a small town near Metropolis, where he easily dispatched the authorities that tried to stop him.
And he would have killed more people, if it wasn't for the arrival of the Justice League. Hawkman came swooping down from the sky, and slammed the creature with his mace; the creature was sent through the air, until Hawkman smashed him into a nearby building. The rest of the League was focused on getting the civilians to safety. But as they were doing that, the creature broke free of the rubble, and slammed Hawkman on the ground, before he delivered a punch that sent him into the sky. Hawkman was still alive, but he had been knocked unconscious. So Green Lantern stepped in, but even his constructs weren't enough to stop this thing. He was also knocked unconscious and was about to be killed, until The Flash saved him.
Then The Flash took Hawkman's mace and proceeded to beat the monster at super speed. But then the monster adjusted; he predicted where The Flash was going to be, and he hit him with a super punch that sent him into a wall. He would have killed him, but thankfully Batman threw explosives at the monster's head; it didn't kill it, but it did destroy part of his green bodysuit. Knowing that this was getting serious, Batman put in a call for help; before the monster started chasing him, of course. As the fight went on, Batman threw more explosives at him. "Fall, you bastard" Batman said as the explosives went off.
But the only effect that the bombs had, was to damage more of the creature's suit.
Vasquez household
Billy was having a rather typical day at home; that is until Freddy and Darla approached him. Freddy told him that there was an online report of some monster who was beating the Justice League. He then showed Billy the pictures on his phone; and the monster that was in them, looked very familiar to him. It had white hair that was styled into a kind of mohawk type look, red eyes, gray skin, and spikes on its body. There was no doubt about it; that was the monster from Billy's dream, the thing that killed Superman.
"It's happening today" Billy said. "What's happening today?" Freddy asked. "Let me ask you something; if you knew that Superman was going to die, and you thought that you could save him, would you?" "Yes" was all that Freddy said. "Even if that meant that you could die by doing so?" Billy asked. "Well, when someone's in trouble, you should do everything you can to help them; even if that means that you get hurt. And sure, no one wants to die; but sometimes that's unavoidable. And it's probably no different than when a firefighter goes into a burning building to save someone; and that's what makes those kind of people heroes. And Superman is the greatest hero of them all; so yeah, I would try to save him if I could, even if it meant that I could die" Freddy said.
"Billy, what's going on; you're starting to scare me" Darla said. Then Billy told them to meet him in the back yard, before he ran to his room, stuffed a piece of paper into his pocket, and then went to meet Darla and Freddy in the back yard. Billy knew that there was a chance that he might not be coming back from this fight; so he chose to finally tell Darla and Freddy the truth. "Guys, there's something that I have to tell you. But you can never tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, ever" Billy said. Darla and Freddy agreed not to tell anyone; so Billy took a deep breath and began to explain things to them.
"I'm Shazam" he said, to which Darla and Freddy both laughed. "Yeah right Billy; Shazam, as in a member of the Justice League, Shazam" Freddy mocked. "SHAZAM!" Billy shouted before he was struck by lightning. And in his place, was the superhero, Shazam. Freddy and Darla were both amazed by what they saw; and Billy still had yet to get to the good stuff. He told them about how he met The Wizard, about how he got his powers, about his time with the Justice League; and finally, he told them about the dreams he's been having. They were both blown away by what he told them; but by then the most unbelievable part of the story, was the dreams he's been having. They now knew that Billy believed whole heartedly that his nightmares were going to come to pass.
"Billy, if what you're saying is true; then the monster that's tearing up Metropolis, is strong enough to kill Superman. And if it can kill Superman, then what chance do you have? Please don't go Billy; I don't want you to die" Darla begged with tears in her eyes. "Darla, I have to at least try. Because if I don't, then Superman's going to die; and if there's a chance that I can save his life, then I gotta take it." Then he got down on one knee, so he could be at eye level with them. "I know I've never really said it before, but I love you both very much. So thank you for being my family; and it would mean a lot to me if you told the others that I said goodbye" Billy said before he embraced Darla and Freddy in a hug.
Then he stood up, took a step back, and prepared to fly away. "Billy...go kick that monster's butt" Freddy said. "Yeah" Darla added as she fought back her tears. Then Billy cracked a smile and shot up into the sky. "AND YOU BETTER NOT LOSE!" Darla shouted.
Metropolis
Clark Kent, aka Superman; was currently at a restaurant called Ace of Clubs, with his girlfriend, Lois Lane. And after much thought, and support from his friends and family; he had finally told her that he was Superman. At first Lois was shocked to know about this revelation; and even more so shocked at herself for not figuring it out sooner. All the clues were right in front of her; she just couldn't see them. But after her initial shock was over, she started handling things much better. She now understood that her boyfriend was a good man who just wanted to do the right thing. He asked her to keep his secret; and he was about to tell her another one, until her phone rang.
Jimmy Olsen was on the other line of her phone, and he told her that a monster who took out half of the Justice League, was reeking havoc in Metropolis. He said that Perry White wanted her in a news chopper and reporting on the scene. When the call ended, Lois looked back at Clark, only to see that he was gone. And on the table, was a letter that said it was his last secret. When she opened it, it said "I Love You." Then Clark was in an ally, where he changed into his Superman attire, and flew off into the sky. However, he didn't get very far; as Shazam was floating in the air, right in front of him with his arms crossed.
"Shazam, what are you doing here?" "I had Cyborg track your communicator; and I'm here to convince you not to go after that monster. I just don't have a good feeling about all of this; so let me take care of this for you" Shazam said. "If people are in danger, then I am going to help; it's just who I am" Superman said. Then Shazam let out a sigh and said "Then I'm sorry Superman." "Sorry for what?" Superman asked. Then Shazam grabbed a hold of Superman with all of his might, and sent a strong electrical current through his body. He struggled to break free, but Shazam never lost his grip; and this went on until Superman finally lost consciousness.
Then Shazam flew Superman back to the Ace of Clubs, and set him on the bar counter. Bibbo Bibbowski was the owner of Ace of Clubs, and one of Superman's biggest supporters. And when he saw Shazam carrying Superman into his restaurant, he was a little worried; but then he remembered that he and Superman were team mates, so he just chalked it up to him trying to help a friend. Shazam pulled out a letter and handed it to Bibbo. "When he wakes up, could you please give this to him?" he asked. "Sure thing pal" Bibbo said as he took the note. "Thanks" Shazam said before he left.
Shazam was flying over the ruined town, when he saw the beaten forms of the Justice League. And when he saw Cyborg, he flew down to check on him. Cyborg's robot eye was hanging out of his head, his chest was open, and his right arm was missing. "Vic, what happened to you?" he asked knowing full well what happened. "Billy, whatever this thing is, it's unstoppable" Cyborg stated. "I'm gonna take care of this. You stay here and...pull yourself together" Shazam said before he flew away.
Wonder Woman was the only member of the Justice League that was still fighting this monster. However, he once again got the upper hand when he slammed her into the ground, and prepared to stab her with what was left of her own sword. He never got the chance though, as a bolt of lightning struck him dead center in the chest, which sent him colliding into a fuel truck that exploded. Then Shazam went to check on the down Wonder Woman. "Diana, I knew I shoulda got here sooner." "Not...your fault" she said weakly. "Well maybe it is; you once told me to act like a warrior and not a child, and you were right. You just relax, I'll take it from here" he said as he got to his feet. Then she grabbed a hold of his wrist and said "Wait, take him down Shazam. Don't hold back, or he'll kill everyone." And then she fainted.
Billy had never used his powers to kill anyone before, but he knew that this guy wasn't going to go down without a fight. And as he and the monster faced each other, he realized that this was going to be the fight of his life. "I know who you are, and I know what you're here for; and that's not going to happen, not on my watch." Then he and the monster charged at each other; they got into a wrestling match that sent out a shockwave, shattering every nearby window. They were somewhat evenly matched, until the monster closed and reopened his eyes, only to blast Shazam with heat vision. The blast sent him through the wall of a building; and then Shazam realized that he was bleeding, and his suit was damaged. He didn't think that his suit could get damaged, it's magic.
Shazam then charged at the monster, slamming him into another building. The shockwave of the impact was so strong, that it was felt by Lois Lane and the people on the news chopper that was monitoring the fight. "This creature has not been identified by the Government; and is rumored to have left members of the Justice League, wounded or near death. The question is, will Shazam be able to meet the challenge and keep this...Doomsday out of Metropolis. Shazam might be the only hope that Metropolis has, and it doesn't look like he's willing to give up any time soon" Lois said from the copter. The fight between Shazam and the newly christened Doomsday continued; they traded blow for blow before they landed on a suspension bridge.
Shazam wanted to help the people on the bridge, but Doomsday wouldn't give him a second to breathe. Shazam zapped him with lightning, and punched him into the ground, hard. He repeatedly punched him; until Doomsday grabbed him and threw him into a truck, and then he was hitting him with it. He recovered and raised Doomsday above his head. "SHAZAM!" he shouted before lightning came down on Doomsday. His magic hurt Doomsday for sure, but not enough to stop him. He broke free of his grip and continued to beat on Shazam. Then Shazam started hitting him with part of a car; and then Doomsday repeatedly hit him into one of the bridge's support beams. The bridge was falling apart; the support beams were crumbling, and the cables were breaking.
Then Shazam got an idea; he wrapped Doomsday up in the fallen cables, and tied him securely to the top of the bridge. And just when he thought that he had time to catch his breath, Doomsday yanked on the cables, causing the bridge to shake. Soon he would be free of those cables entirely, and Shazam wanted to be ready. "Somebody help my child" a woman's voice said. Shazam looked and saw a boy that was about to be crushed by the falling rubble that was apart of the support beam. Thinking fast, Shazam raced to the boy's rescue. The boy tried to shielded himself from the falling debris, but it never hit; he looked up and saw Shazam holding the debris in place, and keeping it from hitting him.
Shazam noticed a video game on the ground, and he figured that must have been what the boy wanted. He moved the rubble, and was relieved to see that the boy wasn't hurt. "Get back to your mom, kid; don't worry, I got this" he said as he gave him back his video game. The boy took his game and was about to walk away, but turned around and hugged Shazam, before returning to his mom. Shazam flew towards Doomsday; only for him to throw a boat at him. Luckily, Shazam caught in, and sent it right back where it came from. Doomsday smashed the oncoming boat, but when Shazam reached him, he yanked on his hair and slammed him through the ground and into the harbor below. They fought underneath the water for a bit, causing huge splashes to appear in the water.
Then Shazam was thrown out of the harbor, and slammed into the middle of town. Lois and Jimmy were filming the whole fight from the news chopper, and sending it to anyone who would listen. Everyone who was watching the news at home, could see the fight that was happening in Metropolis. Even Darla and Freddy could see what was happening; they and the rest of Billy's foster family were watching the news. But only Freddy and Darla knew that Billy was Shazam; that's why she was so sad to see Doomsday beating him. So Freddy put his arm around Darla, in an effort to comfort her.
Back in Metropolis, Doomsday noticed the news copter flying over his head, so he grabbed Shazam and threw him right at it. When he slammed into the chopper, it started to fall out of the sky. Thankfully, Shazam recovered just in time to catch it and set it down safely on a rooftop. And when Lois saw him start to stumble, she raced to catch him. "You can't do this on your own; you need help. Maybe Superman could-" she began to say, but didn't get a chance to finish. "No, no one else is going to get hurt, including Superman. Look, I know this won't make any sense to you, but I've seen the future. I'm trying to save Superman's life; because if he fights that thing, then he'll die." Lois took a minute to absorb this information, and said "And what chance do you have, if you keep fighting this way?" "I don't know, let's find out" he said.
Then they saw Doomsday roar and charge right at them. "Ok, I guess break time's over" Shazam said. Doomsday leapt at them; but before he could fully reach them, Shazam ripped off the tail of the helicopter, and delivered a powerful strike that sent Doomsday flying through the air. Shazam went after him, and blasted him with lightning, before he punched him further in the sky; he was about to smash him in the head, but Doomsday hit him, grabbed him by his cape, and proceeded to beat him all the way to the ground. He tried to zap him with his lightning, but Doomsday stopped him before he could. They landed in the street, which caused a huge crater to from in the ground, followed by a powerful shockwave.
Lois and Jimmy were then reporting on the ground. "At this point, it's impossible to tell who's the Victor. Though, Shazam has been known to face overwhelming odds before" Lois said before Doomsday burst out of the crater. However, he was attacked by Lex Luthor, who was wearing a robotic battlesuit. Apparently, he was tired of playing second fiddle to Superman; so he tried to show everyone how great he was. He blasted Doomsday with his cannon, and then pummeled him into the ground. But he was so arrogant, that he foolishly tried to acquire a piece of his dna; which gave Doomsday enough time to hit him with heat vision. Doomsday Then ripped apart his battlesuit, tore Lex out of the cockpit, and threw him at a building. Luckily for him, Shazam was able to catch him before the impact, and cushioned the blow; but that didn't stop Lex from being upset at the fact that he didn't win. Shazam returned to the fight, and smashed Doomsday into the Hall of Justice, the headquarters of the Justice League.
Then they charged at each other, and they both delivered powerful punches to their faces; and the following shockwave was so strong, that it destroyed the whole building. Shazam's suit was now in tatters, and he was bleeding in multiple spots; but he still managed to punch Doomsday a few times before he was knocked to the ground. Doomsday then wrapped his cape around his neck and strangled him with it, until a part of it was ripped off and thrown away. Then out of nowhere, Superman showed up and grabbed a hold of the monster that was killing Shazam. "Billy, I got your note; and you're wrong" Superman said before Doomsday grabbed him and threw him on his back. Shazam barely had any energy left; but when he looked up, he saw that Doomsday was about to plunge one of his spikes into the downed Superman's chest. His dreams were unfolding right before his eyes; but he still wasn't willing to let that happen, he came too far to lose now. So he summoned every ounce of strength that he had left; lightning covered his body, and he charged at Doomsday with enough force, that he actually broke his neck. And the impact was followed by one last huge shockwave.
After the dust cleared, everyone present could see that Doomsday's head was twisted on the wrong way; he was dead, but Shazam wasn't too far behind him in that category. One of Doomsday's spikes had pierced him through the torso; then he slid off the spike and onto the ground. "SHAZAM!" he shouted before he reverted back to normal. He knew that he probably should've stayed in his champion form; but he was dying, and nothing was going to change that. He just wanted to be himself right now. When the rest of the Justice League arrived on the scene, they saw Billy lying in the crater; and Cyborg went to check on him. Victor had fixed his robot eye, but he was still in pretty bad shape. "Billy, come on, hang in there" Cyborg said as he cradled Billy's head. "That thing, is he-" Billy tried to ask. "Yeah, you did it, you saved everyone." "Even Superman?" Billy asked. "Especially Superman" Victor answered. "Good; that's all I ever wanted. To...be...a...hero" Billy said before he closed his eyes for the last time.
By then it was over; Billy was dead, and thanks to Jimmy, who was still filming everything, the whole world now knew that Billy was Shazam. And of all of the people who were saddened by these turn of events; none cried more than Billy's foster family. When they found out who he really was, and saw the ultimate sacrifice he made for others; it just broke their hearts. They realized that the world just lost a hero; but they also lost a member of their family. And at the scene of the fight, part of his cape could be seen blowing against the wind.
A few days later in Metropolis, a big funeral service was held for Billy. Everyone was there, even his foster family. They were given the torn off piece of his cape, as a token of gratitude, and as a way of saying "Sorry for your loss." Most of the League was also in attendance, except for Batman, he doesn't handle grief real well. A big statue of Billy's Shazam alter ego, was made to honor him. Then Superman stood behind a podium to say a few words on Billy's behalf. "Billy Batson gave his life, not only for me, but also for the people of Metropolis. Over the course of the last few days, I've talked to his family; and as a result, I've come to know the person he really was. He was brash like any other child; but he did have a good heart, a heart that let him care about other people. Now I would like to read you the note that he gave me before he died" Superman said as he took out the note.
"Dear Superman, you and the rest of the world know me as Shazam; but I think it's time you knew the real me. My name is Billy Batson; and parts of my story might sound unbelievable to you, but I promise you that every word of it is true. At one point in my life I was just a regular kid; but then my parents died and I was placed into foster care. Then I went from foster home to foster home; but when I was fifteen years old, I was sent to live with my current foster family. And at first I refused to think of them as family, because nothing could replace my real family; but then I grew to love and care for them as my new family. And on that same year, I was chosen by a wizard, to be the champion of Earth. He wanted to find a pure good person to give his powers to, and he said that I wasn't pure good; but he saw the potential of goodness inside of me. So he gave me the power of magic to protect people; and I was given the ability to transform into my hero form by saying the word "Shazam." And I've done some good as a hero; but nowhere near as good as when I fought with you and the Justice League. In case you're wondering why I'm telling you all of this; recently I've been having these nightmares where you were killed by the monster that was tearing up Metropolis. And The Wizard told me that I was actually dreaming the future; so I wrote this note to explain to you why I did what I did. I don't expect to be coming back from this fight; but I needed to save you. The world needs you more than it needs some foster kid. Because you're a better hero than I am; when people see you, they see hope. The world needs Superman; sincerely, Billy Batson." When Superman was done reading the note, he put it away and told everyone his thoughts on the matter.
"Although I am grateful for what Billy tried to do for me, I do not agree with his opinion of himself; nor do I approve of the sacrifice that he made. And after I learned more about him, I now know that he shouldn't of had to make that choice. He was a kid with his whole life ahead of him; and now because of his heroic act, he'll never get to live it. No child should ever be willing to put themselves in complete harm's way just for my sake, that's my job; I'd give my life to save his a hundred times over if I could. And if I could trade my life for his, I would. He thought that he wasn't a good enough hero, but he was one of the best heroes in my opinion. He was given a gift, and he chose to use it to help people. And I think that he and I were more alike than people realize. When I was just a baby, my parents sent me to Earth so that I would survive my planet's destruction; and I could've spent the rest of my life ignoring the problems of the world, but I chose to use my abilities to help people. After losing his whole family, some kind people saw fit to give Billy Batson a second chance; and it would have been easy for him to give up, but he chose to use that second chance to do good. The way I see it, being a hero doesn't have an age limit; Billy Batson was just as much a hero as Shazam was. So now I would like to take a moment and say to Billy's family, that I am truly sorry for what happened. I wish I could have saved him, I really do" Superman said as he faced Billy's family.
Billy's whole foster family were in tears, with Darla being the most emotionally scarred; so Freddy wrapped her up in a tight hug to try and relieve some of her pain. Then the men who were supposed to be escorting Billy's casket, showed up and carried the casket to the tomb. The casket was black with the Shazam lightning symbol on it. And after the casket was placed into the tomb, Superman flew up and lit a fire with his heat vision, right in front of the Shazam statue.
Later that night at the Daily Planet, Clark Kent was deep in thought; he couldn't stop thinking about what happened to Billy. Then Lois walked up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek, before she wrapped her arms around him. "Are you okay?" she asked. "Not really, a child's dead because of me" he said. "No, he's not; and I'm grateful for what Billy did, he saved the man I love. I'm not saying not to feel bad that he's gone; I'm just saying to be thankful that his last act was that of kindness. He was a good kid, and he did what he thought was right; don't take that away from him."
"Lois, Clark; good, you're still here" Jimmy said as he ran up to them." "Yeah, what's going on?" Lois asked. "Police scanners, come on." "Jim, I'm in no mode to chase a story right now" Clark stated. "You will be, trust me; you drive" Jimmy said as he grabbed both of their wrists and ran them to the exit. Then they all got into Lois's car, and drove to Billy's burial site. When they arrived, they got out of the car and saw that the place had been turned into a crime scene. "Is it true?" Clark asked after he, Jimmy and Lois crossed the yellow tape. "You tell me" one of the cops sarcastically said.
When they looked at the tomb, they saw that the doors were ripped off their hinges, the casket was open, and Billy's body was missing. Then it all of the sudden, started to thunder and lightning. "Oh my god" Lois said before Jimmy turned his camera to where she was looking. Up in the sky and amidst the thunderstorm, floated a strange and mysterious figure. Then with a loud boom and a flash of light, the figure vanished, and so did the storm; like it was never there in the first place. "Shazam?" Jimmy questioned as Clark just looked on in a state of wonder.
AN: I know I took some liberties, I didn't mean any disrespect to the character; I just really wanted to have an epic fight between Shazam and Doomsday. Some of the inspiration I used for this story was based on The Death of Superman, and the other half was based on the Shazam comics. Personally I think that Billy Batson is way cooler as Shazam than he ever was as Captain Marvel, because Shazam Sounds like a better superhero name, and I really like his new suit. I cannot wait for the new Shazam movie. And if you didn't like something about the story, then that's all you have to say; don't use the reviews to be mean. Be honest but fair. I don't own Justice League, just my idea for this particular story. STAY AWESOME!