MARVELOUS
Chapter 14
"Where's Captain Marvel?" were the first words out of Superman's mouth when Batman announced that the meeting was starting. "I know he's on reserve right now but this is an emergency meeting."
"Maybe he's with his apprentice," Flash suggested. "I mean, he's in the infirmary after all."
"He doesn't actually have an apprentice," Black Canary informed them. "The kid in the infirmary? That's actually Captain Marvel's human form."
"Wait a second," Green Arrow demanded. "Are you telling me that Captain Marvel is that homeless kid you were telling me about? The one that was physically and sexually abused?"
"That's the one," Black Canary sighed.
"We let a child into the League?" Superman was furious. The Man of Steel had made his opinion of children fighting crime very clear-he didn't approve of it.
"Speedy's never going to let me hear the end of this," Green Arrow groaned, burying his face in his hands.
"He's homeless?!" Wonder Woman's voice rose several octaves. While the Amazon warrior wasn't overly…maternal she was still a woman and could feel certain instincts.
Hawkgirl slammed her fist on the table. "How could people do that to a child?! I have half a mind to hunt down whoever did this and feast on their corpses!"
Zatara had a green tint to his face as he said, "I can certainly understand your sentiment, however, I would like to point out that I don't believe Captain Marvel would agree with your methods."
"He's just always so happy," Green Lantern Hal Jordan frowned. He had gotten along with Captain Marvel pretty well and would go so far as to consider them friends.
"You would never think he had suffered so much," J'onn agreed. True, there had been times when he could sense sadness or depression coming from his normally cheerful teammate but the same could be said of them all. J'onn had always made an effort to comfort his teammates in difficult times. Captain Marvel usually perked up whenever someone simply acknowledged his presence, leading J'onn to theorize that the man was simply lonely as he was the only one that had never mentioned anyone at all.
"Are we going to kick him out of the League?" Aquaman asked rather abruptly.
Before the arguing could even start Batman cut in with, "And just what exactly do you think that will accomplish? It won't stop him from protecting Fawcett City or taking on Black Adam-it just means he won't have the League to back him up."
There was silence for a long moment then Black Canary said, "What about Young Justice? He likes them."
Batman sighed. "If he feels that we no longer trust him then Billy Batson will disappear for good and he will remain Captain Marvel forever."
"What do you suggest then?" Superman asked with a frown.
Batman smiled inwardly before saying, "Designate him as the official Justice League liaison for Young Justice. That way we don't have to keep sending other League members there to keep an eye on them. Plus, not only will it give Billy stability but the kids won't feel like they're being babysat."
"That's a good idea, Bats," Flash admitted, "but do we even know if he's going to live? Also why is Klarion in the infirmary with him?"
As all eyes turned to him again Batman let out another sigh. "I think Zatara is more equipped to answer that."
Zatara glared at Batman before answering, "Billy is currently in a magically induced coma which was brought on by using an ancient spell that vanquishes evil and restores balance. Unfortunately that spell is so powerful that there is no record of it being used. Since he didn't have enough magic power it drew not only on his life-force but the only source of evil nearby-Klarion. They're still alive but until they wake up I won't know the extent of the damage. Billy hasn't shown any side effects yet but Klarion…well…"
"What is it, man?" Green Arrow snapped. "Stop stalling and tell us already!"
Zatara cleared his throat. "His skin has turned blue."
There was silence then, "I'm sorry but can you repeat that?" Hal asked.
"Have either of them woken up yet?" Batman asked.
Robin shook his head. "Not yet. How did the meeting go?"
"Well the Hawks haven't gone on a murdering spree yet so I'm going to count that as a success."
"Fair enough," Wally shrugged.
"Will Captain Marvel be allowed to remain in the League?" Kaldur asked.
"Yes," Batman confirmed. "As of now he will be the official Justice League liaison for Young Justice."
"Guys!" M'gann flew into the room. "Klarion's awake!"
As they got closer to the infirmary they could hear Klarion demanding to be released even as Artemis tried to calm him down.
"It's all right, Klarion," Batman said as they entered the room. "You're not being held captive."
"Then why did he say I couldn't leave?" Klarion pointed an accusing finger at Superboy.
"He's a villain," Conner said stubbornly.
"You're not a prisoner," Batman reiterated. "We brought you here because both you and Billy were knocked out by the spell he cast."
Klarion calmed down slightly then he caught sight of Billy and he hopped down from his bed then made his way to the other bed.
"What do you think you're doing?" Artemis demanded.
"I don't think he's trying to hurt Billy," M'gann told her.
Klarion rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to hurt him, yeesh. I was just going to make sure he didn't get too badly injured."
"You can do that?" Kaldur asked hopefully.
"Zatara said that he couldn't do that," Wally pointed out, his eyes narrowing suspiciously even as Batman let out a longsuffering sigh next to him.
"That's because it's technically a dark spell," Klarion explained. "Zatara's a fairly decent wizard but since he believes that all those who learn dark spells are evil he will always be held back." He put one hand on Billy's stomach and the other on his forehead, whispering something under his breath.
"Is he going to be okay?" Robin asked anxiously.
"Quiet," Klarion snapped. After a few moments his eyes widened and he removed his hands. "He will live, however, he will no longer age."
"So is he immortal or something?" Conner asked.
"No," Klarion shook his head. "His lifespan has been increased but only by like a decade or two."
"But he's always going to look like this, right?" Batman checked.
"Yes," Klarion nodded.
"You know I'm surprised you haven't freaked out yet," Wally commented.
Klarion looked at him in confusion. "About what?"
Artemis rolled her eyes and fished out a compact. "Your skin's blue, silly."
Klarion looked at himself in the mirror. "I look awesome," he grinned.
It was almost a week later when Billy finally woke up. The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the entire Young Justice team. "Hey, guys," his throat was incredibly dry so it came out as a whisper.
"Hey, Billy," M'gann smiled as she held out a cup of water, guiding the straw to his mouth.
"So how're you feeling, kid?" Artemis asked.
After drinking his fill of water Billy said, "Pretty good actually. What about Klarion and Zatanna? Did they make it okay?"
"Yep," Robin said cheerfully. "Although I'm pretty sure that Zatara's never going to let her out of his sight again."
"Klarion's skin is blue," Conner said abruptly.
"Teekl did not seem overly amused," Kaldur sighed. The familiar had scratched him before running away, not returning until after Klarion had woken up.
Wally sniggered. "Klarion liked it though."
"That's good," Billy pushed himself to a sitting position, grabbing Mr. Tawky Tawny and hugging him close.
"Did…did you have time to read our letter?" M'gann asked hesitantly.
"Yes," Billy nodded.
"So, uh, what'd you think?" Wally tried to sound casual but wasn't very successful.
'I think," Billy's voice was quiet as he looked down, "that I accept your apologies."
"We're so happy," M'gann engulfed him in a hug, ignoring his squeak of surprise.
"Back off," Artemis gently extracted her.
"Sorry," M'gann flushed.
"It's okay," Billy smiled at her.
"And the rest?" Conner wanted to know. "Are you going to stay here with us?"
As if sensing Billy's indecision Kaldur said, "Batman has convinced the League to let Captain Marvel be the official liaison for Young Justice if you decide to stay."
"Come on," Robin pleaded. "It'll be fun."
Billy looked at them and smiled. "Sure. Why not? It does sound like fun."
5 Years Later
Mere seconds after Nightwing emerged from the zeta tube he was jumped by someone causing him to grunt.
"Did I scare ya?" Billy asked as he wrapped his arms around Nightwing's neck.
"Nope," Nightwing adjusted his grip so that Billy was resting comfortably on his hip. "Wally and Artemis said hi by the way and that you're going to love the present they got you."
Wally and Artemis had retired three years prior after an armor piercing bullet (courtesy of Deathstroke) had torn his knee to shreds. He could still walk but if he tried to go faster than a jog he risked not being able to use his knee ever again. While Artemis had been quick to retire so she could take care of him she was getting bored with civilian life and no one would be surprised if she took her bow and costume out of storage.
"Cool, I can't wait to get it," Billy grinned.
He had certainly changed a lot since joining the team, Nightwing reflected. It was extremely rare for him to have nightmares now. He also no longer feared touch but was almost always hanging onto someone, usually Conner or Klarion.
"Look what I got," Billy fished a necklace out from under his shirt and held it up for inspection. In the center was a golden shark's tooth with a red seashell on either side. "You-know-who gave it to me for my birthday," he whispered.
You-know-who was Kaldur who was on an extremely long undercover mission. Only the original Young Justice team, including Billy, knew that he was undercover while the newer members thought that he was a traitor. Well, Klarion also knew but he always knew things that he wasn't supposed to.
"It's very nice," Nightwing smiled. "Anything else happen while I was gone?"
"Conner and I are going to stay with Clark this weekend," Billy informed him excitedly.
"That's awesome."
Everyone had been surprised when Clark approached Conner, apologizing for his behavior. The two had started spending more time together with Clark even inviting Billy and sometimes Klarion to come over as well.
"Will Klarion be going to?" Nightwing asked.
Before Billy could respond a new voice cut in. "Me? At the big blue boy scouts house? Never. Besides I need to go home and stock up on magical herbs for my potions." Another welcome change had been Klarion's decision to join the Young Justice team. They had been understandably wary of him at first but he had more than proven himself several times over.
"You've gone there before," Nightwing pointed out.
"That reminds me," Klarion turned to Billy. "Teekl and Mr. Tawky Tawny have gone hunting again."
"Maybe they won't bring us any heads this time," Billy said hopefully.
"I don't even want to know," Nightwing groaned.
"Also Conner is making out with Wonder Girl again," Klarion's nose wrinkled in disgust.
Conner and M'gann had mutually decided to end their relationship four years earlier. They were still friends but had come to the realization that that was all they would ever be. M'gann was busy taking care of her adopted brother, Garfield, while Conner had fallen head over heels for Wonder Woman's half-sister Cassie or Wonder Girl as she was more commonly known.
"So what're you getting me for my birthday?" Billy changed the subject.
"A shrunken head," Klarion beamed.
Nightwing sincerely hoped that he was joking but highly doubted it. He had seen Klarion's bedroom before. It was…interesting to say the least.
"What do you want?" Nightwing was positive that Billy would love the not-even-in-stores-yet Legend of Zelda game he had gotten him but it never hurt to double-check.
Billy hugged Nightwing harder then said, "I've already gotten everything that I ever wanted. What more could I possibly ask for?"
A/N: Now that this story is finally finished I can start working on another one. I'm fixing to go over a half-finished story and see if I can finish it while I finish outlining another one. It'll take awhile since I'm planning for it to be a very, very long story that will span over 20 years once I'm done with it and I have to get all of the events in order before I actually start writing it. I hope you liked this one!