Author's Note: For anyone interested, there are three advance chapters for Thunder of the Gods available on my : p-atreon/ SkySage24
Taylor could barely resist bouncing up and down in place as she waited for Tawny to begin.
Magic! She was going to learn real magic. Spells and enchantments, just like from the fantasy books she had read when she was younger.
It was almost impossible to believe.
But here she was, on one of the abandoned ships in the Boat Graveyard, standing in front of a talking tiger. They were surrounded by the hulking masses, some as large as small skyscrapers.
Tawny was frowning as he looked around the rusted, abandoned ship, which somehow managed to look grey and gloomy despite the mid-morning sun shining overhead in a clear blue sky. "Is this truly the best place for this, Champion?"
"The best one I know," Taylor admitted. She had to admit that this carcass of a ship, covered in rust and dust, trapped among a crowd of other ships was not exactly what came to her mind when thinking of a magic classroom. But it was the best she had. "There might be better places outside the city."
"Very well," Tawny decided, though he still looked dubious. "Now, let us begin by covering what magic actually is."
Taylor nodded eagerly.
"Magic is the stuff of wonders and dreams, energy that can reshape reality," Tawny began. "But above all, it is the power of the gods. It is the domain of the divine and the celestial, existing outside of the mortal realms."
"So…if you want to use magic you need to have a divine patron? Like how I got my powers?" Taylor inquired.
"Not quite. Magic comes from the Sphere of the Gods, which exists above this reality, but it does not necessarily have to come from a specific god. Drawing upon the power from the Sphere of the Gods without having a specific divine patron is difficult, but by no means impossible."
"The Sphere of the Gods," Taylor blinked, distracted. "How does that work?"
"Well, think of the cosmos as an onion, if you will," To emphasize his words, Tawny held up a hand, a glowing sphere the size of a football forming in his palm, not unlike a hologram. It flashed and swirled, darkening until it was almost pitch black…except for being dotted with countless stars and clouds in colours Taylor had never seen before.
It was the universe in miniature, she realized as she peered at it in awe.
"And like all onions, reality has layers. The universe you know and live in is the mortal realm," One by one, fresh layers of shimmering light formed around the small cosmos, in several different colours from burning red to glittering silver. But the last to form was a shimmering gold. "But there are other realms, and the highest of all these realms, of the layers of the cosmos, is the Sphere of the Gods."
"Wow," Taylor breathed. She wasn't a scientist, so it was a little difficult to wrap her mind around what Tawny was describing. But she could visualize it, and the implications were just…wow. She wondered how the alternate Earth of Aleph figured into all of this. Were there multiple gods and spheres in different realities?
Was this how other heroes and villains got powers? Somehow, everyone knew how to perform magic? But then, what about those who could do cool tech stuff?
So many questions.
"Now, as I was saying, all magic is from the Sphere of the Gods, but it does not necessarily come from a specific divine or demonic entity-"
"Wait, demonic?" Taylor interrupted. "Demons are real too?"
"Indeed they are," Tawny confirmed patiently. "And they are quite dangerous and powerful. Fortunately, they are often at war with each other or with the gods and rarely pay attention to mortals these days."
"Huh." The idea of real demons was scary, but Taylor almost wanted to fight one.
She blinked. Where did that come from?
"Now, if we could return to the lesson at hand?" Tawny asked a little wryly. Taylor had the decency to look embarrassed , realizing she had interrupted her teacher twice now.
"Sorry."
"It is quite alright, Champion. I do not mind answering questions," Tawny assured her. "Now, where was I? Ah yes. While having a divine or demonic patron is not a necessity for wielding magic, you will find that mages with patrons are often more powerful than those without. That said, there are indeed those who can wield magic mighty enough to rival the gods themselves. You have already met one."
"The Wizard?" Taylor realized. "He's that powerful? On his own?"
"Indeed he is. My old friend does derive power from divine pacts but believe me, so many gods would not trust him with their power if they did not also respect him as a peer."
It was strange to think of that kindly, ordinary-looking old man who had made her hot chocolate as someone respected by the gods, but he had given her this power, hadn't he?
"Do you have a divine patron, Mister Tawny?" Taylor asked another question erupting from her lips.
Tawny chuckled. "That would be the Wizard, of course. It is thanks to him that I have the gift of speech, of higher thought rather than simply being another animal."
"Oh, are you…" Taylor hesitated. "...dependent on him for that?" She didn't like the idea of Tawny essentially being a slave, unable to have free will and thoughts on his own.
To her relief, the tiger shook his head. "No. A more capricious and cruel wizard may have done so. Indeed, that was how I first achieved sapience. But my old master and the Wizard came into conflict, and I was able to circumvent my bonds enough to aid my friend. After he defeated my master, he freed me and gifted me with the ability to be who I am now, not bound to any other being or their whims."
"That's great," Taylor said, smiling hesitantly, sensing that she unintentionally stumbled on something personal. Thankfully, Tawny didn't seem to mind, returning to the lesson at hand.
"Now, you, of course, are blessed with mighty magics indeed. You have already used them in many ways, with your transformation, your strength of arms, and your flight. But that is all using magic on yourself, within yourself. Today, we will explore how to externalize that power."
"I'm ready," Taylor said, clenching her fists. She could hardly wait.
"Let us start simple. You wield the Power of Zeus," Tawny crossed his arms. "I'm sure you have felt it within yourself."
The lightning pulsing inside her veins, the way it surged closer to the surface when she got emotional like it was about to erupt out of her…Taylor nodded. "Yeah, I have."
"Good," Tawny moved to stand beside her, instead of in front now. "Now, I want you to strike that with a lightning bolt," He pointed at the abandoned captain's cabin in front of them. "Just a small lightning bolt, nothing more."
"Got it," Taylor said, pointing a finger at the cabin.
"Visualize it, imagine the lightning bolt striking the cabin and blowing a small hole through the wall," Tawny continued. "Then, actualize it. Simply believe that it can happen and it will."
Sparks of golden lightning began to crackle around the tip of Taylor's index finger as she concentrated, and her eyes lit up.
"I'm doing it," She said, excitedly. "I'm really doing it!"
"Yes," Tawny agreed warmly. "And now, you just have to expel it-"
A golden lightning bolt erupted from Taylor's finger before Tawny could finish speaking, far, far larger than she had expected. It was easily twice as tall as her even in her transformed state, and the sound of thunder echoed around them in a boom as the massive thunderbolt surged forward and utterly vaporized the cabin in front of them.
As the smoke of the explosion cleared, Taylor realized it hadn't just vaporized the cabin, it had obliterated a portion of the deck and blasted through the ships in front of them, punching a hole clean through several of them.
As she gawked at what she had done, Tawny straightened up from behind her. "Ah…I wasn't expecting that. Though perhaps I should have, given that this is the Power of Zeus you are wielding."
"Yeah," Taylor said weakly, still dumbstruck by the sheer damage she had caused without even meaning to.
They were both quiet for a long, long time, watching as the smoke began to clear slowly, pieces of metal folding and falling to pieces. Where it was red hot, it seemed to crumple like melted plastic, pieces of it falling to the ocean with a fizzle and steam.
Both them were stunned-
"Hey!" Taylor's head snapped around and upwards towards the source of the voice.
Her eyes widened as she saw a pretty blonde teenager in a one-piece white dress trimmed in gold, a white cape over one shoulder, and a golden tiara on her head. Bright blue eyes were staring down at her and Tawny with surprise, and widened further as they drifted behind her to look at the damage she had done.
Glory Girl. The newest member of New Wave who had been making waves in the city, and was already quite popular.
"You're that new cape," Glory Girl said, the fifteen year old floating downwards to stand in front of Taylor. Without flight, she would have had to look up at Taylor. "The one who beat up Hookwolf."
"Um, yeah," Taylor said, caught off-guard.
"Did you do this?" The blonde asked, gesturing to the devastation behind Taylor.
"I did," Taylor admitted, feeling the colour rise to her cheeks.
Glory Girl's eyebrows rose. "Aren't you a hero? Why are you going around wrecking old ships?"
"I am a hero," Taylor said defensively. "I was just…um, testing my powers. I didn't expect it to do this much damage."
"You did this by accident?" Glory Girl said, bemused. "Damn, that must be some power you've got there."
"Yeah, I don't really have a hold on it yet," Taylor said, rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly.
"I saw," Glory Girl said with a grin, and Taylor relaxed as she saw that there was no judgment in it. "Don't worry, I know how these things happen. I'm new to my powers too, and I've been having trouble controlling them."
"I know what you mean," Taylor agreed, only just realizing that Tawny had abruptly vanished.
"So do you have a name?" Glory Girl asked curiously, crossing her arms. "A cape name, I mean," She added hastily. "Not asking for your real one."
"I haven't really come up with one yet," Taylor admitted. "I've been busy." She honestly hadn't given much thought to what her cape name should be.
"Well, you should pick one before the media or the PRT give you one and it sticks," Glory Girl said with a laugh. "You know my name, of course."
"Yeah, of course," Taylor said, unable to resist smiling back. "Glory Girl. Victoria Dallon."
The newest member of New Wave had been on the team for less than a year, but she had already made some impressive showings in the news. Taylor had seen headlines about her, and she had to admit, Glory Girl was even more dazzling in person. And of course, like every other member of New Wave, her identity was public. Taylor had seen people arguing about the news, about whether or not it was smart to have a teenaged cape whose identity was exposed, but New Wave had gone ahead with it.
She supposed it wasn't really a choice, considering Victoria had done interviews since she had been Taylor's age, even before powers.
"Call me Victoria," Glory Girl said, extending a hand. "Anyone who took down that bastard Hookwolf is a friend in my book."
"Thanks," Taylor said, tentatively taking the offered hand. Glory Girl's grip was strong…but maybe not as strong as her own. Taylor tried to relax it to avoid hurting the other girl.
"So, you want some company while you wait?" Glory Girl-Victoria asked.
Taylor blinked. "Wait?" She asked dumbly. "Wait for what?"
"The PRT, of course," Victoria told her. "I don't think I'm the only one who saw or heard the huge lightning bolt and explosion. They're going to show up to investigate. You could leave, of course, but…"
"...yeah, no," Taylor said, cringing. "I should stay to explain." As embarrassing as the idea was, she knew what sort of alarm it might cause in the city at the idea of an unknown parahuman causing explosions, even out here in the Boat Graveyard where no one could be hurt by them.
"So, do you want some company?" Victoria repeated. "I don't have anything else to do right now."
"Sure," Taylor said more confidently than she felt. Emma had been her only friend for years, and without her around, Taylor wasn't quite sure of what to say to another girl around her age.
Well, Taylor realized, she probably looked older while in her Shazam form.
Victoria leaned forward, a gleam in her eyes. "So tell me more about how you beat up Hookwolf? My family has been trying to get that bastard for years."
Now that, at least, was something Taylor could talk about it. "Well, I was just flying when I heard a cry for help…"
"Oh man, that's awesome," Victoria laughed. "The idea of you swinging Hookwolf around like that: classic!"
"Thanks," Taylor said, smiling. Victoria's good cheer was infectious and she found herself enjoying talking to her.
But their conversation was abruptly interrupted as Taylor heard the sound of a motorcycle nearby, and looked towards the street to see Armsmaster driving up.
Time to face the music, then.
Victoria followed her gaze, spotting Armsmaster herself. "Hey, don't worry about it," She assured Taylor. "You caused a bit of a mess, but you didn't hurt anyone. Armsmaster is kind of stuck-up, but he's super cool too, he's not going to make a big fuss about you blowing a hole in a few old ships."
"Yeah, here's hoping," Taylor muttered, rising up into the air.
"I can come with you, if you want," Victoria offered. "We could talk to Armsmaster together."
"...I'd like that." Taylor admitted quietly.
"Then let's go!" Victoria said, taking off in the direction of the leader of the Protectorate, Taylor following after her.