The Captain and the Hero
"Man, this school is huge!"
William Batson stood in front of the marquee for Whitney High School. He gazed in awe at the sea of people that were showing up for the first day of classes. His old school in Fawcett City didn't have a large student population.
Fawcett City was a small suburb of San Francisco and barely had enough of a population to register on a map. The cities main reason for existence was due to the persuasive character of its foremost citizen, Dr. Thaddeus Sivana. His inventions rivaled those dreamt of in Silicon Valley. When Dr. Sivana was imprisoned by Captain Marvel a few weeks ago, William had lost his home.
William was in the care of Dr. Sivana through the foster care system. Having lost both of his parents to mysterious events several years ago, Dr. Sivana stepped forward in a show of altruism. A show was all it turned out to be. The Batsons had left William with a sizable amount of money that he didn't know about in the wake of their disappearance. Sivana had uncovered the records of accounts and insurance paperwork while looking for funding for his next invention. William's parents had joined an expedition into the Brazilian rain forest which was funded by Sivana. When William found out that Dr. Sivana had insured the Batsons heavily, their fate seemed suspicious. Sivana had hinted at his involvement in the fate of the expedition, but the connection could never be proved. William would have his justice when Captain Marvel had broken up the doctor's attempt at stealing an artifact believed to be of alien origin and recovered in the High Desert of Southern California around the same time his parents went missing. Sivana claimed the artifact held the secrets of alien technology if only he could get his hands on it. Captain Marvel had caught Sivana on the grounds of a federal government lab and turned him over to the custody of federal law enforcement.
William stood at the entrance waiting for his new social worker. He had placed William with a new family in Southern California that had a good track record of caring for boys William's age. They were a nice middle age couple who lived a quiet suburban life. William also had a second foster placement child in the home who was on the way to being adopted by his foster parents. William held no hope they would adopt him, and neither did he want to be. Not that they were not a very nice couple, rather he held hope his parents were still alive and he would find them.
A tap on his shoulder shook him from his inner dialogue. The startled youth spun to face his social worker. Instead of the dark haired, slightly balding man with a wrinkled tie William was expecting, a youthful man smiled down at him from under an unruly mop of blonde curls.
"Hello young man," he said with a warm voice. "Can I help you find something?"
William stared at the man before swallowing slightly. New people always caused William to clam up at first. It was his shy nature which kept him from opening up to someone upon first meeting them. William thought it was a good quality as you didn't want to blab your whole life after shaking hands with someone, but he could do without the dry mouth as well.
The smiling man extended his hand towards William.
"I'm Mr. Hinkley." His head leaned slightly to the left and he continued. "And you are?"
William took Mr. Hinkley's hand and shook it unsteadily.
"I'm William Batson."
The man's smile stretched broader across his pleasant visage. "William," he said with a lift in his voice. "I've always liked that name. It has a sound of strength."
William relaxed he felt his breath returning to his lungs. "I'm new here... It's my first day," William stammered out in more of a hurry then he meant.
"Then you're in luck William," Mr. Hinkley turned his head towards the school. "I teach here and I'm heading for the office. May I show you the way?"
William was suddenly nervous again and he shook his head. "I'm waiting for someone here..." the youth looked around him trying to spot his social worker. "He should be here any minute."
"I should be even faster than that." The voice had come from behind Mr. Hinkley, where the person was hidden from sight. "I'm sorry I'm late. You know traffic around here is a nightmare the first day of school."
Mr. Hinkley turned to address the new arrival. "Steve!" he said in recognition. "I thought that was your voice."
"Ralph, how are you these days," he greeted the man as they gave each other a brief hug of friendship. "How is Kevin doing?"
"He is well... even if he is with his mother."
The new man turned towards William. "And how are you this morning William?," a smile was ever present on his social workers face, and it was doubled with seeing what William could only guess was an old friend.
Ralph turned to look at William. "Is this who you're waiting for?"
William nodded his head and croaked out an affirmation.
"Well then, I believe I've done my hero deed for the day," he said bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"Always the Boy Scout Ralph," he grinned. "Now that I know where you teach at, let's grab lunch sometime soon and catch up."
"Definitely Steve." The two old friends embraced briefly then Ralph turned to William. "A pleasure to meet you William and welcome to Whitney High." With that he stepped off and into the walkways of the school.
"Are you ready William?" the social worker intoned.
"Yeah," came the resigned reply. "Ready as I'm ever gonna get."
And the pair walked towards the school office.
Ralph stood in front of his second period class trying to get them to quiet down. While his head said this was an exercise in futility, his training said he could get through to them. The first day always contained the traditional testing of the limits the students could take with their teachers. Ralph had come to expect this and knew the best way to gain the class respect was to treat them with the same respect. Unfortunately, that first day limit was being pushed as some of the new students probed and prodded for a superior position against authority. Setting the limits early and sticking to them was the truest way to gain the trust and respect of his students. It worked well for him in the past. His earliest contests with Tony Villicana proved that determination and maintaining expectations garnered results. Tony had graduated and was now in community college studying criminal justice of all things.
Ralph was starting into the syllabus of the class when the door opened cautiously. One of the school's counselors came in and brought with her a new student.
"I'm sorry to interrupt Mr. Hinkley," she said and adjusted her glasses. "I have a new student."
Ralph grinned as he saw William standing slightly behind the counselor. "Thank you Mrs. Hart, we met already this morning."
"Then I'll leave him in your capable hands," she said as she smiled. She turned to William, "If you have any questions, Mr. Hinkley will be happy to answer them or you can come find me. Now good luck Mr. Batson."
Ralph looked over the class momentarily and then looked at William. "Why don't you take the seat over there behind Robert." Lifting his head slightly, he said, "This is William Batson everyone, I hope you all make him feel welcome."
William winced slightly. He knew Mr. Hinkley meant well, but pointing him out as the new guy was like painting a target on him.
"I forgot to ask this morning, but do you go by any nicknames?"
Sitting down William replied with a small stammer. "Billy."
"Billy... I have a friend named Bill." He looked the new student up and down. "It fits," and turned back to teaching.
He heard one of the other students on the opposite side of the room saying in a sing-song manner "Billy's teacher's pet," then snickering with a couple of others. Billy just sunk down into his seat and hoped the rest of the day would get better.
The up side to his day as the new kid was when no one in the cafeteria spit, threw, or dropped food on him. Be that as it may, the word of his teacher's pet status spread quickly and the whispers began.
Now it was three in the afternoon and Billy sat in front of the school in nearly the same spot he started his day. Again, the voice of Mr. Hinkley sounded from behind him.
"Billy," he said as he waved his hands above his head. "Waiting for a ride?"
"Yeah, Mr. Hinkley."
"Did you have an eventful first day?" the teacher asked.
"Typical new kid first day stuff," and looked down at his feet. Strangely, Billy relaxed around Ralph and felt like he could let down the guard most foster kids developed.
"I can imagine," and he moved to stand next to the youth. "Sometimes, when I was the new kid, I just wanted to be someone else. You know what I mean?"
"Totally. It's easier being someone else sometimes, " and Billy laughed inward at the irony of the remark.
"I've always found it more difficult being someone else," Ralph said as he sat down his briefcase. "The real person inside always wants out."
The two shuffled a moment in contemplation of the subject.
"If the hidden person inside the shell is good, then it manages to find a way through any disguise."
Ralph rocked back and forth on his heels as the silence fell again. Billy opened his mouth, then closed just as abruptly and his face took on the look of deep inner debate. He opened his mouth again and sucked in a breath then held it for a moment. The look returned and he let the air out with a long release.
Ralph was an experienced teacher with troubled youth. While Billy gave off no signs of a young man going down the rabbit hole towards a life on the wrong side of the law, he did recognize that Billy held something to himself. From the limited interaction with the young man, he sensed a truthful nature to him. Ralph knew Billy would come to him when he was ready.
Seeing His friend, and Billy's social worker driving into the parking lot, Ralph picked up his briefcase.
"It looks like your ride is here," the teacher nodded in the direction of the approaching car. "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow Mr. Batson," and smiled his bright smile at the student.
Watching Ralph walk away, he felt a tingle that gave him the impression that this teacher was different from those he encountered in his past. He saw Steve park the car and noticed his foster mom was seated in the passenger seat. They both smiled at Billy and waited for him to get in the car.
Well William, how was the first day?" and his foster mother turned to face him over the seat.
Billy saw the expression on her face was one containing hope for him. It looked like she genuinely wanted for him to have a good first day experience.
"I thought you would still be at work?" he said as he realized she was in the car.
"I took the afternoon off so I could come pick you up today." Her voice had a hint of questioning to it. Her expression changed to slight surprise like she didn't understand why this surprised him.
"The first day at a new school always means a trip to the ice cream parlor!" She smiled before continuing. "So, tell me... how was it, or do you want to wait and tell me over a triple cone of peanut butter chocolate?" Then she turned and settled in her seat.
"Now, I do have to get back to the office Mrs. Ross," Steve said and looked at Billy from the rear view mirror.
"No, no Steve," and placed her hands in her lap. "I insist and it is my treat. No argument."
"Well then, I guess I have my orders," and he put the car into reverse.
'Maybe it won't be so bad a day after all.'
The next day, Billy had decided to learn the city bus route. He looked up the schedule and stops the night before and had his journey memorized. He would get to school a little early, but it was that or be ten minutes late. Also he had to walk a block and a half from the stop closest to the school. The new day always held hope for Billy. In Southern California, the majority of mornings were bright and sunny. The Bay area, on the other hand, was almost always a fog bank that didn't burn off until late morning. He stared out the windows and took in all the shops along the streets of the strange city. Billy found himself thinking about the day ahead at school. The brightness of the day dulled as he thought about all the looks and taunts that lie ahead. Now the day was looking down to the young man.
While waiting for a street signal to change, Billy saw a man in a ski mask exit a bank on the corner. He was holding a bag and a gun.
'Holy Moley!' he thought as his eyes widened.
He watched as the man ran across the parking lot and started to get into a car as the bus began to pull away. Acting quickly, Billy reached up and pulled the stop request cord. The tone rang out and the mechanical voice came over the speaker. "Stop requested, please remain seated for the next stop and have a nice day."
Billy tensed as the bus chugged forward and away from the crime scene. He had to get back and apprehend the bank robber before they could get out of view from any authorities. Finally the bus stopped at the end of the next city block. Billy jumped off the bus and surveyed the area. He would need a place with no one else around.
Seeing an alley a few dozen yards away he set off in a sprint for it. He flew down the empty path between businesses. Seeing he was far enough from the street, he stopped and stood still for a moment. Raising his head to look at the sky he spoke.
"Shazam!"
Ralph woke up hungry that morning and decided he was in the mood for a bagel. His wife Pam had offered to fix him a more traditional breakfast, but he waived her off with a kiss on the cheek and saying he also wanted to enjoy the early morning air.
There was a little morning bakery and brew in a shopping strip on his way to school and coffee sounded good as well.
Ralph exited the small shop and sat the steaming cup on the roof so he could retrieve his keys. As soon as he placed the key in the door, an alarm sounded from across the street. His experience told him this was no ordinary one, but a bank alarm.
With today's technology, the era of the audible alarm was over, but some older banks still had not made the trade over to silent ones. This was obviously one of them.
"You got to be kidding me!"
Ralph opened his door and put the bag with his food in the seat then took the coffee and put it in the dashboard cup holder, then got into the back seat.
Needing a bit of privacy, he saw the back alley and jogged over to it. he crouched behind the industrial dumpster.
Ralph opened his briefcase and got out a pair of red shoes, a black cape and a belt with a stylized symbol as the buckle. He began to take off his pants and shirt. Beneath the dress clothing he wore a red suit. Emblazoned on the chest was a larger version of the symbol on the belt buckle.
From his vantage point Ralph had a clear view of the parking lot across the street. The car the man had gotten into was now speeding for the exit. He quickly put on the shoes, cape and belt then threw his keys in the briefcase. He ran back to his car, tossed the briefcase in, then shut and locked the doors.
"This better not make me late for first period!" He said out loud to himself.
He ran back to his changing spot in the alley then turned to face out. First taking three steps, he jumped hard and took flight.
As he rose above the rooftops of the homes and businesses, he was startled as he heard the clap of lightning and roll of thunder.
"Not even a cloud in the sky," he thought out loud and looked around for the car he saw speeding away from the bank.
Spotting it, he turned and began pursuit. The ride was bumpy and Ralph nearly crashed twice before coming up on the rear of the vehicle, where he could see two men in the car. Neither one seemed to realize that Ralph was behind them at this point and it meant he could stop the car with little risk.
Ralph came down hard against the trunk. The impact caused him to lose his focus and he started to slip. Instinct made him grab for purchase and he felt the metal of the trunk lid fold up under his grasp. He stumbled as his feet hit the pavement beneath him, but he was able to quickly plant his feet against the ground as the car sped along the street. Ralph closed his eyes and reasserted the pressure of his heels in the asphalt. As the car began to slow, he heard a whooshing sound out in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw the imposing figure standing in the middle of the street.
The tall man with close cropped black hair stood like a statue in the center of the street. His costume was a bright red with a large yellow lightning bolt across the chest.
Ralph loosened his attempt to stop the car as he took in Captain Marvel. To any bystander it would appear as if Ralph was tailgate surfing behind the vehicle. In a split second, Ralph saw the vehicle was not slowing enough to stop. Captain Marvel stretched both hands out in front of him and made a lean forward. The sedan struck the red clad superhero with a thunderous wrenching of metal.
Ralph had not let go of the trunk lid and the sudden deceleration sent him head first through the back window of the car. Luckily Ralph had managed to put his arms in front of his face, or who knows the outcome of the collision.
As hard as the car hit Captain Marvel, it only forced him back about two feet. The front end of the car was a mangled, twisted, steaming mess of metal, rubber and fluids. He stood and slapped the dust from his hands then walked to the drivers door.
The driver and passenger looked dazed as their heads bobbled on top of their heads like a baseball stadium souvenir. That however, was not the sight which made him blink in surprise.
Hunched partially, and literally, through the front seats was his homeroom teacher dressed in a strange red outfit with a cape. He was spitting seat cushion foam from around his mouth while holding the two robbery suspects by their collars.
Captain Marvel stood for a moment just absorbing a sight he nearly couldn't believe. Here was not only a hero he hadn't heard of, but it was one of his new teachers. As he scanned over the debris, he noted the position of Mr. Hinkley and determined he had not come to this situation easily. The back window was shattered and the trunk lid bore marks like fingers.
"Could you use a little help there?" the red clad hero asked.
Ralph turned his head and saw the broad, yellow lightening bolt across the expansive chest.
"Oh, uh... Yeah, that would be great," Ralph managed to stammer out.
Captain Marvel forced open the driver side door and took the man by the arm. Holding tightly, he took a hop up and over the car to the passenger side. Repeating the action, he took the second suspect out of the car. Captain Marvel then walked his quarry to the front of the car, where he also picked up the bumper from where it lay half attached to the car. carefully, he tied the two to a bus stop sign using the already mangled bumper. With the chance of the robbers no longer fleeing, he turned to Ralph who was extracting himself.
"You OK there Mr. H- ..." Captain Marvel tripped over his words as he nearly said Ralph's name. "uh, Mr. Umm... What is your name?"
Ralph looked up at the taller man. "Well, I uh..." Ralph ran a hand over his head, then through the mess of blond curls on top of his head. "I never actually came up with one." The thought drew a smile across his face.
Captain Marvel looked Ralph up and down.
"How about the Red and Black Avenger?"
Ralph pulled a sour face at the hero and shook his head.
"No, no, no... nothing like that."
"Well," Captain Marvel started while pointing at the symbol on the front of Ralph's suit. "What's that mean?"
Ralph glanced down, then back up at the other man. "I'm not really sure... You see the suit was given to me and I never bothered to ask."
"It does look something like an infinity symbol," The Captain put a finger to his chin. "How about Captain Infinity?"
Ralph heard the sounds of police sirens coming close. It hit him that he still had to get to school this morning.
"Uh, maybe we can continue this another time," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "I have to be going now."
He backed away and turned.
Captain Marvel looked on as his homeroom teacher took three steps and jumped hard into the air. He fought back a giggle as he observed the instability of flight the man demonstrated.
'Holy moley,' he thought. 'This day is already full of surprises!'
The hero began to pull the damaged vehicle off to the side of the street while waiting for the authorities to arrive.
Billy made it to school with a few minutes to spare. He was able to catch a later bus, though he had to run the block to beat the bell. While he could have easily flown to school then changed, Billy didn't want to risk discovery with so many people around. The magic lightning bolt wasn't the most subtle thing in any situation.
Striding into his classroom, he made his way to his seat. As he passed the teacher's desk, Mr. Hinkley looked up from his briefcase at Billy.
"Good morning Billy, How is your day starting off?"
The question caught Billy off guard and he swallowed hard.
"Just fine Mr. Hinkley. Thanks for asking."
"You look like you've seen a ghost there." Ralph told him.
Billy shook his head no. His mind raced trying to come up with something to say without revealing anything from earlier. Billy was never good at lying and only did so if it would compromise his alter ego. Before he could continue, he was body checked into the teacher's desk by another student. As he looked, he saw it was the student who made up the teacher's pet song yesterday. One of his buddy's gave him a high five as he passed him.
"Leo!" Mr. Hinkley addressed the student. "I believe you owe Billy an apology?" The sentence was more fact than question.
"What for?" Leo mocked surprise.
"We'll discuss your lack of manners after class today." Ralph lowered his voice to talk with Billy.
"You OK?"
Billy nod a half hearted yes. Being only his second day and having his teacher come to his rescue... Billy found the irony humorous.
He found his way to his desk and slumped deep into it. As he placed his forehead into his palms, he heard Leo singing the same tune from yesterday.
Billy folded his arms on the desk and flopped his head face first into them.
Ralph opened his office door to find Bill sitting at his desk and slurping on a fast food drink cup.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to be here when I'm not!" Ralph admonished his partner. Ralph did not have many close friends, but he and Bill had grown to genuinely like each other. He also missed him when he didn't make his presence known for several days. While it was a relaxing break to not go off on some crazy FBI scenario, he had grown fond of the gruff agent.
"Don't blame me there now Ralph," and he pulled his feet off the desk. "You were the one who called this morning and told me to meet you here. And, here I am at your beck and call," he waved at the seat in front of the desk, the one reserved for students. "Now what happened with those bank knuckleheads this morning," he said lacing his fingers in front of him. "It seemed like a cut and dry scenario."
Ralph sat down without giving attention to the fact he was seated in front of his desk.
"Yeah, it was." Ralph relaxed a bit in the seat. "I saw them across the street from a doughnut shop I like and then changed into the suit and eventually stopped them a couple of blocks away."
"Well then, what's with bringing me over the hill for?" he said with annoyance lacing his words.
"It was how I stopped them that is different than usual."
"Whadaya talking about Ralph," he said sitting back in Ralph's chair. "Spit it out."
Ralph was now just as annoyed and barked out at Bill.
"I wasn't alone!" He crossed his arms in a manner as though it was the last word in a fight.
Bill's face flashed with astonishment. After a long moment of silence he spoke up.
"Come again Ralph?"
"I was pulling back on the car's bumper and I saw a flash of red and white when the car suddenly stopped in its tracks." Ralph gave Bill a look like even he didn't know what to say.
"Red?" Bill asked.
"Next thing I know is I'm head first through the back window and my head is sticking through the middle of the front seat." He took a deep breath and continued. "Then there is this big guy standing next to the driver's door asking me if I need help."
"Wait a sec Ralph, go back to the red and white thing."
"Bill... Focus," Ralph's tolerance thinned slightly. "I finally get out of the car and the two robbers are tied to a bus stop with the car's bumper and I'm standing in front of Captain Marvel!" Ralph's voice rose in volume.
Bill blinked a few times before laughing a little.
"Marvel!" he chuckled. "I wonder what he is doing in this neck of the woods?"
"Isn't Fawcett and the Bay area his territory?"
"Yeah, but no one's heard from him in a few months," Bill looked away in thought. "Not since that Sivana guy was put behind bars... Now that's a collar I would have loved to have been involved in."
Ralph sat quietly listening to what Bill knew about the hero.
"After Sivana went to prison, Marvel only showed up two more times for some small time crimes."
Ralph noticed the interest with which Bill talked about the hero.
"You've taken an interest in Captain Marvel there Bill," Ralph said with a little tongue in cheek.
"Well after all we've seen with the suit there..." and took a moment to breathe. "I was thinking that the green guy there gave out another one."
"OK, Bill," he smiled through his words. "Whatever you say."
A knock at the door interrupted the two men. Ralph got up and opened it to find Billy on the other side.
"Hi Billy, what can I do for you?"
"I forgot to write down the pages for tomorrows reading and was hoping to get them from you," he said as his cheeks took on a pink hue.
"Of course, come on in," and waved him into the small office.
"Bill this is my new student. Bill Maxwell, this is Billy Batson." He turned to face Billy. "This is the friend I mentioned yesterday.
"Hey there kid," he barely acknowledged the teenager. Ralph glared at him.
"What!?" Bill looked like a kid being dressed down by his parent.
Ralph tightened his face to his friend.
"Oh, OK... It's nice to meet you Billy," and he extended his hand. The young man took and shook it briefly before simply looking at him.
Bill began mumbling to himself as he looked at Billy. This made him a bit uncomfortable and he began to shift on his feet.
Ralph finally got the information on the assignment to Billy. Billy quickly excused himself before turning and nearly running out of the teacher's office.
"Now that was peculiar." Ralph mused.
Bill mumbled for another few seconds before just shaking his head and saying, "It'll come to me."
Then he looked at Ralph. "We gonna take the suit out for a spin this weekend and work on some fine tuning of the powers?"
"Not this weekend," he said sorry to disappoint his partner. "I have plans with Pam to drive up the coast for a mini vacation."
Bill clapped his hands before rubbing them together vigorously.
"Where we gonna go?" and he pushed himself straight up in Ralph's seat.
Ralph groaned and thought 'Thank goodness lunch is almost over!'
Out in the hall, Billy came to a halt around the corner from Mr. Hinkley's office.
He leaned against the wall and let his head rest back against the brick facade.
'Man, that gave me the creeps!' Billy put his hand to his head. 'He looked at me like he knew me... or knows who I am.'
Looking at his watch, Billy saw he had just enough time to get some lunch. Thankfully the cafeteria would be mostly cleared out.
The major story on the evening news was the appearance of Captain Marvel in the Los Angeles area. Speculation ran rampant about why he showed up in the San Fernando Valley. So called "Captain Marvel" experts threw out theories ranging from the Captain being out here on vacation to him positioning himself to lend assistance for the big earthquake. The last one made Billy laugh.
"Do they think that Cap' has psychic powers?"
Mrs. Ross called from the kitchen. "What was that Billy?"
"Just talking at the TV Mrs. Ross"
"Come on in here and tell me about your day," she asked her foster charge. She liked Billy, but he always seemed so sad. Watching him was like looking at Atlas with the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Sure thing," and he clicked off the TV.
'Just gotta remember not to bring up the bank robbers or the weird guy in Mr. Hinkley's office today.'
Billy had very few people he could confide in and all of them were back in Fawcett City. This last couple of months had dragged on. Moving to a whole new part of the state, followed by starting high school knowing no one... Billy nearly fell into a depression. His foster family attempted to cheer him up by taking him to both Disneyland and Six Flags. He found he really liked the amusement parks and wanted to go back once a week if he could. He also liked the shopping malls, but the depression always followed when he realized that he didn't have the money for the nice things he saw.
The Ross family had two other children. The twin boys were only seven and ran around the house like freakishly small tornados. Both the Ross parents worked outside the home. Though Mrs. Ross only worked part time to be home for the children as they got home. The family lived a simple, quiet life in the middle of a very large metropolitan city. The thought made Billy feel very, very small.
Brushing off his hands, he walked into the kitchen and a smiling Mrs. Ross.
The next month passed with little fanfare. School was school for Billy and he had made a small cadre of friends through the school paper. Billy was encouraged by Mr. Hinkley to join after reading a short story Billy wrote for an assignment.
The best part of being on the paper happened when he went on a field trip to a local news station. While there, he learned how a newscast is produced and televised. He met several of the newscasters including the one who seemed to be enthralled with Captain Marvel. Nancy Bloom often reported on sightings of Captain Marvel across the region, even though Billy knew otherwise. He still liked her enthusiasm, plus she was quite pretty to him. Billy struck up a conversation with her while the others were busy talking with either the camera operator, the sound engineer or simply sitting at the anchor desk. She gave him some tips on sources and how to track them down. At the end, she gave him her email and told him to let her know if he had any further questions. One of his friends ribbed him as they left because Billy sported a huge smile that wouldn't go away.
Another month came and went with Billy becoming more and more comfortable at Whitney High. He found he liked going to the school's home football games and was soon writing about them for the paper. He would email Nancy with copy for help in tuning it up. The tips she gave him always made the piece come across better and improved his copy writing.
It was a rare Saturday where Billy was able to just relax for the entire weekend. With no assignments due the next Monday and nothing major on the horizon, he decided to take it easy and enjoy the day. Mr. and Mrs. Ross had taken the twins to their cousins for a late summer swim date. Billy kindly passed and the Ross', seeing his dedication in school, allowed him to stay home for the day.
He sat down and turned on the TV. Billy flipped across the spectrum of channels available and settled on an old "Twilight Zone" episode. Despite all his best efforts, Billy was never one to be completely idle. In between episodes, he started on his laundry for the week. Satisfied he had made some contribution, he sat back for another black and white episode. Beside him, his cell phone buzzed with an new text.
*Are you watching the news!*
Billy punched the number for the local station into the remote and was greeted with a scene of chaos.
Ralph was in his hammock in the backyard. Like Billy, he had no work assignments screaming for his attention. Kevin was with his ex-wife and Pam was off on a girls day with some friends. A perfect day by his accounts. The quiet suited him and he even told Bill to leave him alone unless the planet was about to be hit by a rogue asteroid.
Ralph felt himself slipping into twilight sleep and began to surrender to it when he felt his cell phone vibrate. Groaning, he pulled the phone from his pocket and looked to see who could possibly be calling.
*Quick turn on channel 3*
Annoyed at the text message from Bill, he put the cell back in his pocket and settled back into the hammock. Again, his pocket buzzed with insistance.
*Are you seeing this*
Feeling like throwing the phone into the trash, Ralph made his way to the house and turned on the TV. His jaw went slack at the sight. The phone buzzed in his hand.
*Get the suit*
"This is Nancy Bloom coming to you live in Los Angeles where a high rise office structure is threatening to collapse after a sinkhole opened up underneath it less than half an hour ago."
The camera zoomed in over her shoulder to show a commercial office building leaning heavily to one side. Small parts of the building could be seen falling to the ground as far as twenty stories below. The structure threatened to collapse into the three story shopping mall connected to it.
"You can also see just behind the tower, an adjacent smaller tower has collapsed into the rear of the mall." The camera angle changed to show the crumbled remains of a building as it lay across the equally crumbled remains of a high end clothing retailer.
"The collapse of the smaller structure happened during the height of the shopping day. There are no current reports on how many people were in the store at the time of the collapse."
The camera zoomed out, showing the multitude of emergency rescue personnel and law enforcement swarming the area like ants.
"At this time it is unknown as to the cause of the sink hole, and local geologists are unwilling to speculate this early."
The angle changed to show the viewers a partially obscured view of a large hole with several cars tilting down, about to be swallowed into the depths.
"We have unconfirmed reports that occupants of the larger tower are trapped as the angle and depth of the building in the sinkhole has blocked all exits including fire escapes. It is hoped emergency crews can reach them before the building reaches its point of no return."
The camera panned back out to show the first building, now tilting at a greater angle than previously. As the camera zoomed in for a close up of the building, a bright red streak flashed in from above.
"Is it!... Can it be him! ... I hope you are seeing this too, it looks as if Captain Marvel has swooped in and is... what looks like... pushing at the building! I can't believe this!"
Overcome with emotion, Nancy sat down on the ground and began to cry. Through her tears she continued.
"When you think all hope is gone, Captain Marvel saves the day like the hero he is."
The camera focused on the efforts of the red clad hero. As he grits his teeth with the exertion of his efforts, a red blur flies into the building from behind Captain Marvel. Nancy sobs stop and she stands again in shock at the sight she is witnessing.
"*sniff* I'm not quite sure what I just saw, but, something has crashed into... or landed on... the building being held up by Captain Marvel. *sniff* Jeff, see if you can zoom in on the Captain and try to make out what just happened?"
The camera jostled about as the operator tried to get a clear shot around the small trail of debris falling from the building tower.
"We are amazed at the turn of events here. We are going to try to get a better angle on what is happening, but we are being told we can't move from this area. The police have set up barriers and we are confined to the area behind it. Regardless we will continue with this live broadcast until its conclusion."
"Holy moley!" Captain Marvel shouted at the sudden impact next to him. "Are you alright?"
The groan that came out from the smashed window told him that whatever it was still lived.
"Who is in there? I can't exactly let go to come in and help!"
The blond curls of Ralph Hinkley came into view as the newly arrived hero rubbed his head.
"Sorry about that... I have a hard time with the whole landing thing," Ralph said. "Now what can I do to help?"
Captain Marvel blinked several times. He couldn't believe he was seeing his teacher again in this red costume with a black cape. It was equally dumbfounding that he had crashed into the sixteenth floor of the building. Captain Marvel didn't have any time to spend chit chatting and simply set out the task.
"Captain Infinity, I can't hold up this building forever. It will collapse soon as the sinkhole gets bigger," he said with a voice of authority. "I need you to carry any people from the inside to the ground... Can you handle that?"
"I'm not very good with the flying routine, but I'll do my best." Ralph nodded as he spoke.
"You need to do better then your best. Everyone in this building is counting on us for their very lives," and he looked directly in Ralph's eyes. "Believe in yourself! Now go."
The words somehow rang in Ralph's head. Something in the way he said it made him believe that he could do this... and so much more.
Ralph charged into the interior and could be heard calling out for anyone he could find.
"I am at a lack of words ladies and gentleman! For the last hour we have seen Captain Marvel push with his tremendous strength to keep this structure from falling over and costing countless lives. At the same time, we have seen a new figure in red flying into the building and carrying out the trapped occupants one at a time... delivering them to rescue workers on the ground."
On the TV, viewers are hearing Nancy as the footage of Ralph and Captain Marvel working to rescue the trapped people is looped repeatedly.
"We still aren't sure who this new hero is... but rest assured that he is indeed a true hero.."
The footage - shot from a distance - showed Ralph landing and handing off victims to paramedics. Without pause he makes sure they are in the care of the responders, then stepping back and flying back into the building.
After more than an hour, Ralph came to hover beside Captain Marvel.
"That is everyone I can find from the tower," He sounded slightly out of breath and was sweating a fair amount. "I even went deeper towards the parking levels and found no one else."
"Ok then, do you think you can take over for me?" Marvel asked.
"What!" Ralph's voice went an entire octave higher.
"We need to bring this building down in a controlled fall or more people could be hurt."
Ralph gave the building a look up and down. The pure size of the structure was daunting at the thought of holding it in place.
"I've never done anything remotely like this before," and he faced Captain Marvel. "I don't know the limits of the suit."
Captain Marvel raised an eyebrow at the admission and filed it away. There was something about the suit his teacher was wearing that gave him his powers.
"I will need to go underground and knock out support pylons in a specific pattern to cause the building to come down from the center and cause as little side collapse as possible."
"You know how to do that?" Ralph asked with a tone of awe.
"Not really," the hero admitted. "but I've been thinking about it and I believe I can do it."
Captain Marvel put on a smile filled with confidence for his teacher. "When you feel the building starting to give out from below, just get out of the way."
Ralph nodded and gulped. He backed into an office and took three steps, leaping into the sky. He circled tightly and nearly lost control before he slammed rather hard into the spot next to the red clad hero. He remained in the air and Marvel felt the weight of the building lessen from his hands.
"There you go... You're doing it!" Captain Marvel cheered him on. "Now let me do what I have to do and we will meet up after."
Ralph could only nod as he concentrated on the task in front of him.
"Did you see that back in the studio?" Nancy yelled into her microphone. "The red suited hero took over holding up the building and then Captain Marvel dove into the sinkhole."
The footage rewound to show an red blur disappear into the ground.
"Seconds later we heard a series of loud pops and then the building just demolished from the inside out... It quite literally disintegrated before our eyes!"
The footage, now only a few seconds old is shown again as it is picked up in the loop.
"A cloud of dust and debris is covering everything and the local area has turned to night... Jeff, pull your shirt over your mouth." She took the blouse she had and pulled up the front to cover her own mouth.
"Try to keep your eyes covered too... Wait Jeff! Get a shot of that."
The camera flashes over to show an red streak emerging from the top of the debris pile and continue upward.
"That was amazing! He made it!" Nancy sounded like a child as she commented on her hero.
"Oh, I hope you all are seeing what I'm seeing."
Upon seeing Captain Marvel come up out of the sink hole, Ralph tried to hover and wait for him, but the suit had other ideas.
Captain heard the scream of his teacher as he fell to the ground and landed in a tuck and roll maneuver. Marvel flew fast to the ground next to Ralph as he was picking himself up off the ground.
"Are you OK Infinity?" Marvel found it difficult not addressing the man across from him as Mr. Hinkley. He had to keep up the notion he didn't know him.
"Yeah," he said as he brushed dust off his trousers. "I still don't have the hang of landing."
Marvel could only stare at him as he began to realize that the man in the suit somehow didn't know how to use it.
"You did good up there." Marvel said with a grin.
"No, you were the real hero," Ralph said as he waved off the flattery. I could have never taken that building myself." and shook a piece of mortar from his hair.
"Then the day belongs to the both of us," and he looked over his shoulder. "We are still needed to search for survivors under the end store and the other collapsed structure." Captain Marvel turned toward the scene and looked back at Ralph.
"Let's get going."
It was growing dusky as Ralph sat at the base of the Hollywood sign.
"Captain Marvel said to meet him here." Ralph paced around the huge letters that were visible from across the city. "We both left just a few minutes ago, and I thought he was right behind me."
He heard the distinct whooshing of a person in flight and he looked up to see Captain Marvel floating down to Earth.
"Sorry I was delayed for a minute," he said and walked to face Ralph. "I ran into that TV reporter Nancy Bloom and she wouldn't let me go until I consented to an interview.
Ralph carried a neutral look on his face. The fame Marvel was getting never held anything for him.
"Anyways," Captain Marvel began again with a little tilt of his head to the ground. "I asked you here for a reason Mr. Hinkley.
Ralph's stomach dropped at hearing his own name. He felt the color drain from his face in shock as well.
"How do you know my name?" he managed to get out after a minute.
"I've known since we stopped those bank robbers back at the end of the summer." Ralph just blinked several times.
"I know who you are," the hero continued. "And I've come to trust you in that time."
Captain Marvel walked a short distance away and paced back towards the blond man. "I know you are a person who can keep his word as well as keep a secret.
Ralph could only stare at the man walking in front of him. "I don't understand."
"You will," Marvel said. The Captain walked back several yards and stopped. He squared his shoulders in resolve, then looked skyward.
"Shazam!"
The flash of light temporarily blinded Ralph and the thunder clap left his ears ringing.
He blinked back tears as he tried to focus on Captain Marvel. Only there was no Marvel. Standing on the spot where the costumed hero stood, was a small boy. and Ralph's jaw dropped.
"Holy Moley!" Billy ran over to his teacher. "I should have warned you about the lightning."
"Billy?" Ralph inquired. "Billy Batson?"
The young man shook his head in affirmation. "I know you won't tell anyone who I am," and he tucked his chin into his chest and his hands into his pockets.
"I don't know what to say Billy," his voice was gaining traction. "Of course I'll keep your secret... but why me?"
"Being new here is not an easy experience, and being a foster makes it that much harder." Billy shuffled in place for a second. "I've got no one to talk to about any of this."
"Billy," Ralph approached the boy and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I may not be the best person to talk with about this."
Billy's head came up quickly. "You're the only one I can talk to!" Billy's eyes held a silent plead in them. "There's no one else around that knows what it's like to be responsible for everyone's safety."
Ralph looked down at the youth. "I'm not sure about that Billy."
"Then why did you stop those bank robbers?"
Ralph opened his mouth to speak and found he had no argument to Billy's point. He quickly reflected inward and looked for a moment when he could have let something go and didn't. His mouth closed, then opened before closing for a final time.
"You see Mr. Hinkley... You feel some sort of responsibility to the people of the city." Billy stood up straight. "It's in you... not because of any costume, but because you are a good person who wants to make a difference."
"You know Billy," and Ralph looked out over the city. "You're right. I've never thought about it before."
"So will you be the person I can talk with about all the hero stuff?" his voice turned up in pitch.
"It's a lot to take in Billy," and he ran his hands over his face and then back through his hair. Letting out a breath he said. "Let's get home and we'll talk again this week. It's been a long day."
"It isn't what I wanted to hear, but it's better than I hoped for." Billy's shoulders slumped a little.
"Don't worry Billy, I won't ever reveal who you are to anyone."
"Not even that guy I met in your office a few months ago?
"Oh yeah," and again Ralph blew out a big breath he didn't realize he was holding in. "He is my partner, and he is pretty resourceful. He might figure it out on his own if he gets enough clues. So for now you better keep a low profile as Captain Marvel."
Billy backed up a bit. He looked up again and spoke. "Sha..." Billy quickly caught himself.
"Umm... Mr. Hinkley, you better close your eyes," and he smiled.
"I appreciate that Billy, and you can call me Ralph when we are like this."
OK," a broad smile spread across the young man's face. "And what do you think of Captain Infinity?"
"I never came up with a moniker for myself... And I'm not sure I like it."
Billy's smile fell.
"But let's talk about that later as well."
The smile returned to Billy and he placed a hand in front of his eyes to remind Ralph to cover them.
Seeing his teacher's eyes covered he took a breath.
"Shazam!"
Ralph removed his hand and the red clad hero now stood in place of the shorter youth.
"That's amazing!"
Captain Marvel just gave Ralph a wink and said. "See you in school on Monday." and he leapt into the skies above the city.
Ralph just shook his head in disbelief and muttered. "Not you... but definitly Billy," and he too took to the air.
Ralph arrived home to find an overwhelming Bill waiting in his front room. Pam was also home and both eagerly greeted him as he came in through the back door.
"Ralph!" Pam ran to him. "We saw everything!."
Bill cut in. "Yeah, you rescuing all those people with that Marvel character..." Bill spoke with the enthusiasm of a kid.
Pam drew herself close to Ralph's ear. "You did so good sweetheart," and he felt his neck grow wet with her tears.
Holding her tight he got out. "I'll tell you all about it over dinner... I'm starved."
Bill patted his partner and friend on the shoulder as he chuckled like a little kid. "Oh yeah Ralph... I'll grill up a couple of steaks and you can give me and the counselor the scenario with details!" he faded out as he went into the kitchen.
Pam pulled back and looked at her husband. Her cheeks were streaked with her tears. "You were more brave than I have ever seen you before Ralph." Their was a genuine sound of awe in her words. "and I've seen you do some pretty incredible things. "You saved a lot of people today honey."
She dried up the tears on his neck with her sleeve. "You should be proud."
She drew close to him. "I love you, my hero."
Ralph felt a warmth spread through his chest.
Monday morning saw Ralph at his usual place in front of the class as they came in. Most everyone had come in and Billy was near the end of the procession. He walked in front of Ralph's desk and the teacher gave him a smile. "Good morning Billy. I trust you had a nice weekend?" Ralph teased the youth.
The halls of Whitney high were buzzing with the events of Saturday and the heroics put on by Captain Marvel and the other hero the media had dubbed Mr. Mystery. In all the footage, none had gotten a clear angle on the face of the red costumed hero. Speculation bounded about his identity. Theories that he is Captain Marvel's father, or uncle... or that he was given his powers by Captain Marvel himself. Ralph was grateful that his identity remained anonymous.
"As nice as it could be with all the excitement of Captain Marvel and Mr. Mystery!" Billy batted back at his teacher. He surmised that the new name might not be to Mr. Hinkley's liking, but it was meant in all good humor.
"True enough," Ralph picked up on the verbal game. "Those two were certainly colorful enough," and before Billy could reply in turn, Ralph added. "The answer to your question is yes."
Billy made his way to his seat with an equally broad smile. His day was starting off perfectly. He had a person he could confide in about being a superhero, and he had plenty of news for the school paper for the week. Billy had a good feeling about the shape of things at Whitney.
Until his ears picked up on the tune whistled by Leo followed by "Teacher's pet"
and his smile fell.