The Mgomo family are the only characters in this story of whom I, the author, claim ownership. Once again, I am not affiliated with DC Entertainment.

The Rock of Eternity

Several thousand years ago

"Shazam, I strongly disagree with this decision," spoke one member of the Council of Wizards.

"As do I," spoke another.

"It matters not to me what you think," said the wizard Shazam himself, softly. He had grown tired of yelling.

"Without naming a champion, you are choosing to hold onto your power indefinitely. You are dooming yourself to sit here possibly until the end of time," said the first wizard.

"Then I shall sit."

"Black Adam was a bad seed," spoke a third wizard. "The odds of you choosing someone like that again-"

"-are higher than you might think. The world is wicked. I shall wait until I sense the Embers burning at their brightest," Shazam said stubbornly.

"The magic lingering within you that long, coupled with the isolation you will be met with after the rest of us have passed, it will surely drive you mad," said the second wizard.

"If I go mad, so be it. My decision has been made," Shazam said firmly. "I will wait."

There was silence for a moment.

"So be it," the first wizard gave up. "Shazam waits."

The others nodded, then the first wizard dismissed them. All went their separate ways, except for Shazam.

Shazam sat, and he waited.

The Rock of Eternity

Fourteen years ago

Shazam had been waiting for a very, very long time.

The other members of the Council of Wizards had died long ago. Part of him was glad they were gone, because if they could see him now, they would see that they had been right. Shazam was miserable, and with every passing moment, he feared that his sanity would leave him for good.

But suddenly, he could feel something. Something he hadn't felt since the second-longest living wizard had chosen her final champion. That was centuries ago.

All the same, there was no mistaking it. He could sense the Embers of Goodness burning.

A champion had been born.

He would have to wait a good thirteen years more before this champion was ready, but he didn't care. He could wait, because the next Champion of Magic, whoever it was, might prove to be the greatest of them all. They would have to be, because they would be the last.

The Rock of Eternity

One year ago

Rio Mgomo was shocked at what she was seeing. A moment ago, she had been at home, heading downstairs to the basement to help her father do some maintenance work. Now, she appeared to be in some sort of cave, and there was some old guy sitting in a big chair, saying things in different languages.

Finally, he said something she understood. "What is your name, girl?"

"My name is Rio."

"Ah, English. Not a language I have spoken many times. No matter. Your full name please."

"Rio Destiny Mgomo," she said immediately. It was like she could feel how important this was, and she didn't hesitate to answer.

"Very good. Now, let us make this quick. My name is Shazam, and you, Rio, have the Embers of Goodness burning brightly within you. I have chosen you to become my Champion."

"What does that mean?" Rio asked.

"All will be explained in greater detail later. For now, just know that I am bestowing great power upon you. You will be able to do things you never imagined. To summon this power, you must speak my name."

"And you said you name was… Shazam?"

"Say it with purpose, Rio!"

"Sha- Shazam!"

"With purpose! Summon your power!"

Rio rolled her eyes, then shouted at the top of her lungs, "SHAZAM!"

Rio felt something surging through her body, almost like an electrical shock, but instead of pain, she felt… power.

"I feel so good! What just happened?" Rio cupped her hands over her mouth. Her voice sounded a little different.

"Turn and see yourself, Champion," Shazam gestured to a mirror slightly behind Rio.

Rio turned around, and was, again, shocked with what she saw. She saw herself, kind of, but not really. She was… older? Certainly taller. Her breasts were definitely bigger. And were those muscles?

She flexed a bit, admiring her body, and her outfit as well. She appeared to be dressed in an extravagant version of the purple top and grey leggings she had been wearing before, and her chest was adorned with a glimmering lightning bolt. "Damn," she said. "I look good. Am I an adult?"

"This is your greatest potential self," answered the wizard. "Use this power wisely, Rio Destiny Mgomo. I regret that I must leave you now."

"I'm sorry, what now?"

"My time has come. The magic is yours now. You will be the last Champion of Magic."

"What? You can't do that! You can't just 'Thirteen Going on Thirty' my ass and then leave!"

"You can return to your natural state at any time. Simply speak the word of power, and you can change at will."

"So… SHAZAM!?" There was the surge of power again, only this time, it was surging out of her. She was back to her normal, juvenile self. "Huh. Well that's awesome."

"It is indeed. Farewell, Rio." With that, the wizard turned to dust, leaving Rio alone.

"Weird." She said, before her vision went fuzzy for a moment. When she could see clearly again, she was back in the basement of her house.

"Could you hand me that wrench, Rio?"

"What?"

"The wrench, right next to your feet. I need it, honey," her father said to her, as if she had been there with him the whole time.

Pasadena, California, United States of America

Later that night

Rio was flying.

She didn't even have to focus very hard. She just somehow knew what she was doing.

She had transformed into her magical adult self again and left her house after her parents had gone to sleep. She just had to make sure this was real. Everything had happened so quickly, she had begun to worry that she had imagined it. But now, she could see miles of city below her, and she could feel the wind on her face and in her hair. This was very real.

Her outfit was different now. She had changed into an orange dress to test out a theory, and she had been right. Whatever outfit she wore when she transformed, her adult self would be wearing a fancier version of the same thing, with the added touch of the lightning bolt symbol on her chest.

She landed in a junkyard where she knew no one would disturb her. "I wonder what else I can do…" she muttered out loud.

"I can teach you, if you'd like," came a woman's voice from somewhere.

"Who's there?" Rio asked, prepared for a fight. "I bet I can take you."

"Come to the vehicle, my dear."

Rio walked cautiously to a nearby busted up car, and saw what appeared to be a woman's face in the sideview mirror.

"Um, hi?"

"Rio Destiny Mgomo," the mirror woman started.

"Just Rio is fine."

"I suppose it will do for now, but we will have to come up with a pseudonym for you eventually. To keep your identity a secret."

"And your identity is…"

"My name is Francesca. I can teach you how to use your power to its full extent."

"Huh," breathed Rio. She trusted this Francesca for some reason. "Okay, I'm game. So when do we start?"

"Now, if you'd like. You seem to have picked up flying rather easily. Would you like to try the lightning?"

"The what now?"

"The Living Lightning. It courses through you. Try it. Choose a target."

Rio, completely willing to learn whatever this woman had to teach her, pointed to a pile of mattresses about twenty yards away from her. She felt a jolt, and a burst of lightning left her body and struck one of the mattresses, lighting the whole pile on fire.

"Daaaaaaaamn," Rio whispered. This was going to be fun.

Pasadena, California

Present day

"Lightning Woman. Nah, that's boring. Lady something. Power Lady! Oh, god, no."

Rio was laying on her bed listening to music, trying to come up with a superhero name for herself. Francesca had told her it was a good idea to do this almost a year ago, but she kept putting it off. By now, the world was well aware of the existence of a woman who could fly, lift trucks, and shoot lightning bolts, but Rio was fairly confident that nobody knew it was really her.

She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't hear her mother knocking on her door. "Rio, honey, you have mail."

Rio got up, opened the door, took the envelope her mother had, and started to close the door again, but her mother put her hand out to keep it open.

Rio looked up to see what else the woman wanted. "Sweetie, I really think I need to know what that is."

"Why? Who's it from?" Rio asked, looking down at the unopened envelope in her hand.

Rio didn't know what was in the envelope, but she had a feeling it was something she wouldn't want her mother to know about. The return address read 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC. The White House.