Lightning Strikes Twice

December 20, 1941

America had been at war for scarcely two weeks, but Fawcett City was already a different place. Lines stretched round the recruiting stations, while posters that called for war bonds, recruits and supplies were put up all around. Men in uniform were a common site, as soldiers shipped off to nearby training camps and posts around the city. Radios sounded off reports of the Japanese advance in the Pacific, while the conflict in Europe boiled over. The city practiced blackouts at night, while school children did duck and cover drills, much to the chagrin of certain locals, who wondered how either the Japanese or the Nazis were going to reach Wisconsin.

C. C.'s department store was a madhouse, full of shoppers driven by the twin needs of Christmas and what many assumed would be impending shortages. Those who could not and would not do without raced through the aisles and displays for that last purchase. All the while, Billy Batson was in the thick of it, talking to anyone and everyone, all the better to get the latest scoop for WHIZ Radio. His life had changed even more in the past year. Keeping his secret had become considerably more difficult with the introduction of Tawky Tawny, an anthropomorphic tiger from a distant land. Tawny was swell when it came to running around as Captain Marvel, but less so when explaining to his foster parents. Dr. Sivana and Mr. Mind were uncharacteristically quiet for the past few months, though there was no shortage of trouble in their absence. It didn't take the Wisdom of Solomon to realize that it was only getting harder and harder to balance both halves of his life.

He was in the middle of talking with a woman convinced that her neighbor was spying for the Italians, that Billy caught a glimpse that sent him back to his earliest memories. The face was different, a bit matured, the hair longer, finally in color, but Billy didn't doubt it for a second. He saw a girl who had to be his sister Mary, the one from the photograph, the only keepsake of their family. Billy uttered a half-hearted apology to his interviewee and scurried after his sister. It was tough going, moving through the press of people, urged on by announcements of sales and shortages. He kept hoping to catch Mary's eye. She was with an older woman in a fancy fur coat with what he assumed was an expensive handbag. Her adoptive mother perhaps?

At last, Billy found a gap in the crowd and slipped through it, clambering over a display of stockings to the annoyance of the employees.

"Mary!" shouted Billy.

The girl and her mother halted, a look of confusion on their faces. Billy immediately realized he had no real plan for how this was to go beyond that initial impulse to reach them.

"Is this a friend of yours from school?" said the woman with Mary.

Mary gave Billy a once over. "No mom.. I've never seen him before."

Confusion became suspicion for the woman. Billy needed an explanation fast.

"I know you."

That did little to help. A few of the employees that he disturbed were speaking to one another, headed in their general direction.

"Where are your parents?" said the woman.

"I don't have any." Billy winced, thinking too late of the Vasquez's. "I..I know you because…oh, this'll sound crazy."

The woman clearly already thought that. Mary had a more ambiguous expression. Out of the corner of his eye, a man from security was making a beeline for them. Now or never.

"I'm your brother," said Billy.

Mary's eyebrows shot up. "What?"

Her guardian took her arm. "I think's time we were going dear. This boy is clearly trying to mess with us."

Billy kept pace with them. "I'm not, really. We were separated when we were little. It's been a long time. I only remembered you because…"

The security guard seized his shoulder, preventing Billy from following them.

"That boy is harassing us," said the guardian.

Billy only had one more chance as he was dragged off. "There's a picture of us together. With our real mom and dad. At the zoo! By the tiger cage."

It didn't do much, but as she was swallowed up by the throng of shoppers, Billy thought he saw a flicker of recognition on Mary's face. The woman with her gave him a dirty parting look. Billy felt awful, even without the added humiliation of being thrown out of the store and told not to return. He debated waiting for them outside, but the woman was unlikely to give him another chance. Maybe it was enough to know that Mary had someone to care for her.

A passing fire truck snapped Billy out of his despair. It might be nothing, but a little action could be just what he needed right now. Billy could fail. Captain Marvel would not.

The emergency in question turned out to be an industrial building fire on the north end of the city, toward Lake Fawcett. There were a number of fire trucks around the outside, spraying water through a gaping hole in the side of the structure. Captain Marvel landed near one of the captains.

"Evening sir. Anyone trapped within?"

Beyond a subtle flinch, the fire captain didn't miss a beat. The locals were used to him showing up at this point. "We think so. I've got three men in there looking for anyone that's trapped."

"What started it?"

"No clue so far."

"Captain!" shouted one of the firefighters nearest to the building. Both men swiveled to the call. The exterior of the structure was falling down, the entire outer wall and roof slumping towards the men that held the hose. Captain Marvel used the Speed of Mercury to sweep the firefighters out of the way.

"What the hell?" said the fire captain.

Billy looped back around to the blaze, intent on flying into it to look for the other firemen and anyone that was trapped. His entrance was met with a fist that shot out from the flames, a punch that knocked him clean through one of the fire trucks and into the sidewalk. His jaw smarted from the blow. Billy could count on one hand the number of foes that could hurt him with their bare hands. Was it Ibac? Or King Kull? One of Nyola's servants?

A hunk of twisted steel was hurled from the fire towards the firefighters, a projectile that Captain Marvel blocked with his body, letting it bounce off of his chest.

"Pull your people back. Its not safe for them," said Captain Marvel, with a confidence he wished was real. The firefighters complied, as a man left the flames.

"I don't know your story mister, but where I'm from we don't greet people with a sucker punch," said Billy.

When he finally got a good look at his mystery opponent, his stomach dropped. The man was in a green costume, with yellow shoulders and red boots, gloves and cape. He had a broad, severe face with a blond undercut. And a swastika on his chest.

"Dummkopf," said the man as he lunged at Captain Marvel.

For what felt like the thousandth time, Freddy Freeman wished that he had said no to coming out here with his grandfather. They were in a boat, but it was small enough that the spray from the lake continued to strike him, a chill reminder that they were among the only fools out on the water at this time of year.

"The perfect time to go fishing," Grandpa had said. "Barely any competition."

Because everyone else was too sensible. The waves were minimal, though Freddy was acutely aware that if they fell in it would be the end of their story with how cold the water was. All this for the chance at some fish. He didn't even like fish.

It was only the way his grandfather's eyes held that glow, as he fixed his bait on the hook and cast out into the icy water that prevented Freddy from complaining. The man could be a lot, but Freddy understood it was no easy task to take him in on such short notice. Fawcett City remained a strange new place to Freddy, far removed from his home back in Massachusetts. What had been his home.

"Anything nibbling on your line?" said Grandpa.

"Nothing at all."

"Yet. Fishing's all about the patience."

Freddy nodded, as he tried to ignore the cold. He noticed a bit of smoke coming from the direction of the shore.

"There's a fire over there."

"Oh, so there is." Grandpa had barely given it a glance, so focused as he was on his line.

Freddy spared a thought for being there by the fire, if only for the chance to see Captain Marvel in action. It was the truly special thing about Fawcett City, what set it apart from everywhere else. He liked Superman more, but Freddy would take what he could get. Since he arrived back in July, there were at least four incidents that involved supervillains showing up in town and getting trounced by the Captain. One of the girls in Freddy's class, Sally Snyder had witnessed his fight with the one the papers called Evil Eye. Even their teacher had listened to her tale of the brawl.

His grandpa shifted his weight. There was a tingle on the line.

"I've got a good feeling about this one."

A thunderclap. Strange. No clouds around them, certainly not any storm clouds. Another. Freddy looked back towards the city. That sound, of distant thunder, continued to roll their way, while his grandpa reckoned with the fish on his line.

"I may need your help kiddo." He reeled the line in, working methodically.

Movement in the sky stood out to Freddy. Two tiny black dots zipped about, finding one another over and over. When they met there was often that sound of thunder.

"Huh."

"Freddy give me a hand please."

The dots were coming closer to the lake, moving faster than any plane Freddy had ever seen. The noise was louder, though if Grandpa noticed, he didn't acknowledge it.

"Freddy." His grandfather's voice held a bit of strain in it now.

The dots were almost overhead now, a flash of color visible from this distance. Red and yellow and green.

"I think that's Captain Marvel," Freddy whispered.

"Freddy!" His grandfather grunted and the fishing rod bucked forward to the edge of the boat. The man leaned with it, his arms extended, as whatever was on the line bolted away. Freddy grasped for the rod too late, as it flew from Grandpa's hands into the lake.

"Dammit Freddy, my pole." His grandpa's face was red, not just from the cold. Still, the man stopped himself, closing his eyes and sighing. Freddy felt ashamed.

"I'm sorry.."

"No, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's just, I was looking at.."

Something hit the water near them with enough force that the resulting wave nearly overturned their boat. Freddy and Grandpa hunkered down as cold water fell on them.

"Good lord," said his grandpa. The boat rocked violently, still reeling from the force.

"There," said Freddy. A man floating facedown in the water.

Grandpa grabbed an oar and gestured for Freddy to do the same. "Let's help the poor sap."

They rowed to the body. A part of Freddy wondered if it could be Captain Marvel. As they began to drag him up from the water the green of the costume dispelled that notion. He was already stirring by the time they got him in the boat.

"You okay friend? That was some fall you…". Grandpa stopped when the man stood up, the swastika clearly visible on his chest.

"Danke, amerikanisches schwein," said the man. With disgust, he delivered a backhanded slap to Grandpa. His grandfather didn't even have a chance to cry out, with only a harsh crack that preceded him flying out of the boat into the water.

"You rat," said Freddy. Without thinking, he picked up an oar and swung it at the Nazi. It clocked the man upside the head, splintering to bits. The man barely paid attention to it.

"Weggehen." Pain exploded in Freddy's midsection, so much so that the frozen water that covered him was almost a relief.

Captain Marvel scanned the lake for any trace of the Nazi. It had ultimately been a mistake to knock him down into its waters. Isolating his foe from the city, where he could hurt others was the goal, but Billy worried that the man was going to slip away at this point.

He heard a shout, then a scream below. The Nazi struck a boy around Billy's age, who toppled into the lake water. Another man sank nearby, another victim. Captain Marvel cursed his own foolishness and dove into the water to grab them.

The old man wasn't moving at all, but the boy was mumbling and shivering as the Captain flew them to the hospital. He muttered out a "Captain Marvel. I see Captain Marvel." Billy urged his body to fly even faster.

The situation in Fawcett City was not the most nuanced conflict Doctor Fate had encountered. That was spare consolation as he fought the Nazi superhuman through the streets. The local defender, Captain Marvel was nowhere to be seen. Kent had arrived to find the Nazi tearing through a city block, indiscriminately attacking anyone in sight.

With a sweep of his arm, Doctor Fate threw a series of cars at the villain, exerting his telekinesis. It was one of the most consistent spells he retained even without Nabu's helm. The first few surprised the Nazi, before he ripped apart the rest of the salvo. At least Kent had his attention. It was all he could do to hold on till the other JSA members arrived. They had been in a state of heightened alert since Pearl Harbor and this German agent was a sign that that was a good call.

"Ah, der Zauberer," said the Nazi.

Doctor Fate dipped below a strike that shattered the wall behind him. Kent caught a shaky breath as he dodged a number of follow-up attacks that arrived with incredible impact. The final blow would have hit him head on had he not caught it in a telekinetic grip.

The man roared as Doctor Fate tried to push back. He felt his brow bead with sweat as he uttered the incantations through grit teeth. It was as though he were rolling a boulder up a hill slick with mud. The man threw another punch that Fate resisted, though each fist swam closer, inching their way to him through his resistance. The Nazi's eyes bore down on Doctor Fate.

"Stirb feigling."

Right as his will broke, there was a blur of red and gold. Not the Flash, but Captain Marvel who collided with the Nazi, as the two combatants plowed through a sequence of already damaged buildings. Doctor Fate fell to his knees to recover, listening to the booming concussive impacts of the battle.

Captain Marvel wasn't sure when he decisively claimed the upper hand. Maybe it was when he dropped the building on the Nazi. Or when he swung him around by the ankles, cleaving through a construction site. Still, at some point Billy ended up on top of the man, his knee on his chest as he wailed on the man's face.

Many of his battles required restraint, so as not to harm those he fought. At this moment, Captain Marvel entertained no such ideas. Each hit sent out a cascade of cracks into the earth, the shockwave immense. The part of him that urged mercy was at odds with the thought of the boy and his grandfather, their broken bodies sinking into the lake water. Them and all the others hurt by this monster. Billy continued to hit the man far beyond any resistance offered.

It was only when someone grabbed his wrist that he paused. A woman's voice spoke into his ear.

"That's enough."

Wonder Woman held him. Superman and Doctor Fate stood beside her.

"You've won," said Superman. "Don't go too far."

The Nazi's face was a wreck, all red, pulped meat. Billy nearly lost his lunch, from the sight and the thought. He was nearly a murderer.

"I… he..he hurt all those people."

"We know," said Wonder Woman, gently. "But, he's finished. You stopped him."

Captain Marvel stood up, unsteadily. He had dreamed of meeting these others, these heroes. To have it happen under these circumstances was nightmarish.

"I can't..not like this," said Captain Marvel.

"Easy there," said Superman. "We're here for you."

Billy's eyes darted around. He couldn't shake the queasy feeling. Without another thought, he shot up into the air, away from this, away from the nightmare.

"Let him go," was the last he head Wonder Woman say.

The only place Billy's mind could go to was that boy he grabbed from the water. The nurses had taken him and his grandfather, but they hadn't been confident in their estimations. What was Captain Marvel worth if he couldn't save them? He changed course back to the hospital.

Eyes. Many eyes. A light overhead. Stern voices. Focused eyes.

This was all Freddy saw as the darkness ebbed around him. It was as though he were wrapped in a black sheet. His head hurt. His body hurt. Everything was faint.

His fingers brushed on stone, smooth and cold. He was on a floor, inside some sort of cave. Torch light illuminated the hall. Freddy stood and moved deeper inside, drawn towards a glimmer of light. He passed enormous statues, each marked with words like "Greed" and "Sloth". The hall emptied into a chamber that led to a stone staircase ending in a throne. A man in red and gold stood before it.

"Where am I?"

"The Rock of Eternity," said the man.

"What?"

"A sacred place. A place of magic."

Freddy wanted to ask more, but he didn't have the energy. His form here felt uncertain. Dwindling.

"Where's Grandpa?"

"I couldn't save him. I could only help you."

"You mean.." Freddy couldn't confront that reality now. Not here.

"You're dying, Freddy. You're going to die. Unless, you take a piece of my power."

Freddy wanted to argue. How could he be dying? Wasn't he still on the fishing trip?

"Take my power. Make it your own."

"How?"

"Say my name," said the man.

"But, I don't…"

"You know who I am."

The golden lighting bolt. The voice.

"Captain Marvel."

The lightning that struck Freddy Freeman was not any lightning he had seen before, but what all lightning aspired to be, that raw and pure strain, the seam in the beating heart of creation that ran back to the first spark to leap out of the burgeoning heart of life. It was the lightning that carried the promise, the promise of forever, the promise of hope against the ever-encroaching night.

The lightning of Shazam.

When he awoke in the hospital, the doctors called it a miracle. Sure, his left leg no longer worked properly, the damage to his spine too severe, but that he lived at all was unprecedented. His grandfather possessed no such luck.

Freddy stared out the window when they talked to him. During the exercises, the practice with his new crutches, he could only look to the sky. The people from the foster home came to meet him, to prepare him for the next part of his life. Freddy nodded and smiled when they needed him to, but his mind wasn't there. It was roving about, searching for the man who did this to him. Not his savior, no. He knew that Captain Marvel would be revealed to him in time. No, Freddy wanted the man who killed Grandpa. That bastard. Though he struggled with his maimed leg, though his body constantly reminded him of how it had been changed, Freddy understood that now he held power. Real power. The power to make sure that no one could make him suffer ever again.