A/N: So I never knew this, but apparently the U.S Doesn't have Orphanages
"Are they ever going to fix this thing? It's been five hours, I'm sooo booored!"
You're doing a good thing Billy. Have some patience.
'I know that, Solomon. It's not like I'm going to abandon my post and let these people suffer. I'm just... lamenting. That's all.' I had to hand it to Atlas and his legendary stamina though. If it wasn't for that aspect of my power, I would have needed to get off my feet, sitting down and risking passing out. Considering it is now 7am.
You have quite the vocabulary for a 14 year old boy.
'I read a lot. Some Sci-fi, some fantasy, general fiction, and I like reading about history, but more so mythology. Which I suppose goes into fantasy and supernatural categories to an extent, or at least, they did. Now I'm realizing they are non-fiction and history. Or at least based on it. Wow.'
What's the matter?
'I think it's just setting in. The reality of the gods and magic being real. Although to be fair there is still a part of me that thinks I'm dreaming, or that it's been some kind of trick.'
I suppose that is only natural for the era you live in. Doubt is a common trait among humanity in this day and age. It's a pity really.
'Why's that?'
Belief and faith are beautiful things Billy. Not just in gods or magic, but in others. Having faith that your neighbour doesn't mean you harm or that the future holds something brighter or better for you is lost to many in this time.
'Can you blame us though? So much has happened since your time Solomon. Hell, even during your time, and the time of the other five, there was still reason to be distrustful.'
That maybe so, child, but having no faith at all is an existence I wouldn't be able to bare.
'I... don't really know how to respond to that. Except for don't call me child.'
As you wish. And you don't have to respond Billy. I'm not looking to debate. Just... lamenting.
'Touche.' We go silent for a moment before an idea strikes me. 'Why didn't I think of this sooner? Do you guys want to tell me some stories about your ad-'
A scream tears through to my senses and I'm left with a split second decision to leave the generator. Solomon reminds me that many lives count on the energy I'm providing for the hospital, and what ever is happening may not need my attention. I hold firm to the generator, continuously supplying it with power, until the next cry reaches my empowered ears.
"BOMB!"
Solomon tells me to go and I rocket through the hospital. Moving this fast was a little disorienting the first time I did it, guided only by the instincts of the god that supplies me with such speed, but I'm getting a handle on how to control it. I write it off as a perk of the spell that gives me the powers in the first place, and the fact that the gods I'm connected to are ever present when I'm using the power.
I make my way to the fifth floor of the east wing, where the commotion is coming from. Strangely enough I didn't pinpoint that with my hearing alone, but rather an uncanny awareness of my surroundings. Not entirely sure what it is, but questioning it is pointless. I'll just be grateful that it was the case this time.
On the fifth floor by the nurses station is middle aged man that looks a bit worse for wear. He's in dirty clothes, simple jacket, a t-shirt, jeans, and work boots. He's got thin black and grey hair, five-o'clock shadow, and has pasty skin, save for his flushed face.
'He looks angry.'
He looks drunk. Achilles says.
He looks desperate. Solomon infers.
Looking him over, I notice that he's holding a detonator. The wire is running into his sleeve and under his jacket. When he sees me, he turns to face me, revealing himself from the front, and the bomb vest he has on.
'Where the hell did he get that?!'
Doesn't matter. You need to get him out of here. I recognize the urgency in the voice of Hercules, and I focus on the task at hand.
"Everybody stay back! Especially you, you costumed freak!" He isn't really slurring his words, but he definitely is wobbling as he moves. It looks like he's barely holding himself up.
"Sir. I don't intend on doing anything stupid. I'm just here to help." I step forward and the man rapidly swings the detonator hand in front of him towards me, making me stop in my tracks.
"I said stay back!" I put my hands up in surrender, wondering if I can zap him before he can hit the detonator.
Don't. You have no idea if your blast will set off the bomb. Besides, if you look closely, his hand is already holding the trigger.
Shit.
"This is a dead man's switch. So even if you manage to subdue me or knock me out, this hospital is going sky high." I grumble in annoyance and think about what I can do besides running him down. Actually, that's probably what I should do. But why is he doing this?
On my way up here, I had noticed the signs for Oncology and ambulatory care rooms, chemotherapy, and other cancer related terms. Things I didn't know before Solomon's wisdom. So, maybe he's sick? But why threaten everybody here? He's looking frantically around at all the guards who look like they want to pounce him. There are some nurses, doctors, and either patients or patient visitors that look to be ready to do the same. Though I am inspired by their want to help, they are more likely to set him and the bomb off, rather than stop him.
"Everybody needs to stand down, and give him space." The most of them look at me unsure, but recognize that I'm bigger than most of them and am dressed the part of a superhero. Some look distrusting, in fact most do, this is the east side of Fawcett after all, but they all take a step back, still remaining tense. "Sir, let's start from the beginning. I'm Captain Marvel. What's your name?" The man's wild and hectic eyes refocus on me, and he frowns.
"What does it matter?"
"It matters because it seems to me that your alone and desperate. I want to help." The man's face contorts into frustration. Not good.
"I am alone! And it's because of this fucking hospital! They killed my daughter!" Oh crap. "All because our insurance ran out, they stopped giving her treatment!"
"It wasn't like that!" A doctor spoke up, which causes the drunken man to pick up a mug off the nurses station and chuck it at the doc, who narrowly avoids it. The mug shatters, causing everybody to jump and the guards in front of me want to move forward but I grab them by their shoulders and hold them in place. They look surprised by my strength, and I give them a firm shake of my head to reiterate that I don't want anybody else trying something stupid.
"Bullshit! She was 18! Suffering and in pain! You could have helped her! All you needed to do was have a heart!" Tears begin streaming down the mans eyes. He lurches forward a bit and continues. "She may not have been the prettiest to most but she was beautiful to me. She had brains unlike her old man, and the kindness of her mother. A good heart, a good soul, and a good head on her shoulders. All she got from me was my terrible looks."
"I'm sure she'd disagree. You loved her didn't you? She had to have known that."
'I have no idea what I'm doing here.'
You're doing fine for somebody who's never done this before, Billy. Keep connecting to him. He's understandably devastated.
'If you say so Solomon.'
The man looks at me a moment, and my heart breaks. The sadness in his eyes is recognizable. He's all alone. Which means only one thing.
"Where's your wife? How would she feel about all of this?" He shakes his head, fighting back a sob.
"She died five years back. Involved in a major car accident." A pressure I haven't felt for awhile wraps itself around me. Even in this body I can feel its hold.
"Where?"
"The highway, just outside of town. A semi-truck lost control. Plenty of people were hurt, but only her and four others died."
'No.' Everything starts to pull away and I feel like I'm suffocating.
What is it Billy?
'It's... that's... my parents... I can't breathe. Why can't I breathe?'
Billy pay attention! Achilles calls to me. Do not let your anxiety control you. Not now. It's not that you can't breathe, it's that you don't need to as Captain Marvel. Nor do you require food, drink, or even rest, while in this form. His words reverberate through my heart and mind and I begin to relax. The wild panic that was trying to drag me under slowly fades, though remains lingering under the surface.
'Thank you for your courage Achilles. I... I don't know-'
Now isn't the time child. Focus on the task at hand.
'Right.'
"What does it matter now? Nothing is going to change. I'm just going to be labelled a terrorist, and left to rot if not be executed for my crimes." The defeated look on the man's face sends warning bells off in my head.
"Wait! Sir, you don't have to do this!" The man raises his hand, tears still flowing from his eyes, streaming down the contorted face of torment.
"You asked for a name. Her name was Sarah. Sarah Printwhistle."
GRAB HIM NOW! I'm not sure if it was all of them, but multiple of the voices in my head urge me to move, so I access the Speed of Mercury and everything slows down as I rush Mr. Printwhistle.
I go to wrap my hand around his, but feel an odd sensation, similar to the one that lead me to this floor, that causes me to look at the bomb. Something is wrong here. Given I'm using super speed I lift his jacket to inspect it further, and notice there is a timer that was hidden under his coat. It was on the 20 second marker.
"For the love of..." I forgo grabbing his hand and simply lift him up.
I turn to go through an open door and head for a window in a patients room, and leap through it, aiming for the building across the street. Amazingly enough, I actually jump higher and further than I had intended, and land a few buildings over from that. I nearly fall through the roof of the office building I land on but keep going before it can collapse under my weight and the force of said landing. As I look around to the next place I should go, I realize I should just go up. Once I get clear of innocents, I can try and get the bomb off him. Focusing as much strength as I can into my legs I leap straight into the air, likely causing more damage to the roof I was standing on just a second ago.
"Okay, let's get this off you." I reach to grab the clasp and Solomon tells me to stop.
'Why?'
Look at how it's connected. I do as instructed and take a closer look. I don't really understand bombs, but my instincts are telling me if I remove this thing without properly disarming it first, it'll explode. It also looks like it's attached to a device connected to his heart. I groan about lunatics and bombs, before I grab his hand and slow down so I can converse with him.
"Mr. Printwhistle-" I barely get my words out before he screams in terror.
"How did I get up...? YOU!" He gives me an accusatory look, still mixed with fear.
"How do I get this bomb off you?!" We had seconds, and couldn't waste time.
"Why did you take me from the hospital?! They deserve to pay for what they did!"
You don't have time for this Billy.
'Thanks for the reminder Mercury, I totally needed it.'
Stop distracting the boy the bombs about to-
While I have my eyes focused on Mr. Printwhistle's face and listening to the voices in my head, the man spits on me, riling me up a bit.
"Fine! You want to protect the corruption in this town, then I'll just take you with me!"
"How? I have your detonator locked in." I suddenly hear a click which confuses me for a brief second before I realize my error and look down.
I try to move at super speed to separate him from the bomb, but it was too late. He hit the button of another detonator in his pocket with his free hand before I put two and two together and the bomb is mid blast. The light of sparks and fire cover his body as the wires and explosives do their job, the fire looking like bubbles getting larger and larger.
He got his wish. He died a coward.
Not helping Hercules. Solomon retorts.
There is no helping the weakness of men like him.
'Shut up. All of you.'
You dare?
'You bet your ass!'
Shouldn't have slowed down.
'So helpful Mercury!'
All of you stop! This isn't helping!
Billy, you saved lives. You can't always save everybody. Achilles tries to comfort me in vein as I stare at the face of the widowed father, a man who lost his child, resolving himself to kill me for interfering with his vengeance.
Good riddance. Sneers Hercules.
"I SAID SHUT UP!" I throw Mr. Printwhistle's body further away from the city and let myself fall as I watch his explosion in normal time. I hear the gods in my head murmuring and want it to stop so I say the word.
"Shazam." The lightning bolt strikes me and I'm Billy again, in a free fall. The regret and grief of not being able to help Printwhistle gnaws at me immediately, and the fear of falling to my death is suddenly present.
"What the hell was I thinking?!" I wasn't. I just wanted to stop them from filling my head with their opinions of Printwhistle and what should or should not have been done. My first day, and I lost a life. My first grave error in judgment. Instead of hearing him out I could have just acted, done more, done something.
The ground is fast approaching and I don't feel like dying so I say the word again and become Captain Marvel once more right before landing on my feet, cracking the pavement below me. Some people on the street jump in shock, but relax when they see I'm not tossing things around or destroying the city.
Turning back into the Captain doesn't get rid of the guilt or the nauseating feeling of what just happened entirely, but it does help tremendously. That's good to know. I stand there for a few moments, looking down at my hands, before resolving to do better next time.
You should go check to see if the power to the hospital has been restored.
Wordlessly I heed Solomon's words and race back to the hospital, and run past it when I see the lights are back on. I run around the city, helping people as much as I can, carjackings, robberies, hell I even got some kids cat out of a tree. A little awkward since I don't seem to know how to fly, or if I even can, but managed it regardless. I did this for a few hours all over Fawcett before heading back to the orphanage. I stop a few blocks away from my destination and duck into an alley in order to change back into Billy before stepping out and making the trek the rest of the way.
Without the Courage of Achilles or Solomon's Wisdom, I feel the weight of my mistake more heavily. I was hoping to have made up for it by helping others, but that isn't how this works. No matter what good I do, I can't escape my mistakes.
Is this what happens when you don't brute force your way through a problem? Now that I have the power, should I use all of it on everybody? I shouldn't, right? That's why Black Adam was banished. But, I don't intend on ruling Fawcett. Let alone the country, or even the world. Does it really make me that different though? I don't know. I'm just a kid. I probably shouldn't have been given this responsibility.
Coming up on the building, I see the facility and the sign for "The Lost and Found Care Home" and sigh. Walking through the doors, I see that nobody is there to greet me, which is a relief, I should have snuck back in rather than just waltz back in, but I'm clearly not thinking straight right now. Which is reason enough for me to go to the bathroom and splash my face.
It isn't until I reach the bathroom door that I realize I'm going into the same bathroom I was in when Shazam called me to the Rock of Eternity. I think back to the night before and after that encounter, I didn't use this bathroom again for the rest of the night. I shake my head, realizing I'm being silly and walk in and head to the sink. Spinning both faucets, I see the water is still reacting normally, and no weird super heated water is being produced.
Washing my hands first, and then splashing my face, I look up into the mirror and see a man staring back at me. Startled I jump back and fall against the wall.
"Ooow." I reach for the dull pain at my back and try to rub it. "That's going to bruise. Ugh." I shake my head and look up to the mirror. Was that what I thought it was? Turning towards the still open door, I reach my foot out and kick it closed, before slowly standing again.
I'm not sure what or who that was, but standing up, I see only myself in the mirror. I inspect to see if any... weirdness is happening in the background, or if my reflection does things completely differently from me. Waving my hands around and making faces reveals nothing. I sigh, somewhat in disappointment, but mostly in relief.
"Last thing I need is anything bad happening here." The man I saw in the mirror, he looked chiselled and well built. So maybe it wasn't a lingering threat, but rather an odd glimpse of what's to come. Ah, now I'm realizing I still haven't looked in a mirror as Captain Marvel. "Shazam!"
As I say the word I immediately regret not contemplating whether or not I'd being wrecking the building with the lightning bolt that transforms me into the Captain. In fact, I'm worried I'll be hitting somebody in the rooms above me, but luckily, the bolt seems to find it's way towards me without causing any damage or harm. I didn't see where it came from, given Billy can't perceive things that fast, so I'd have to pay attention as the Captain.
After the puff of magical smoke clears, I see for the first time Captain Marvel's face. My face in this form belongs to somebody much older than I actually am. Maybe late 20's early thirties? My facial features are... flawless. No blemishes or anything. My face looks to be chiselled out of stone, like the rest of my ripped body. Ripped barely covers what I look like. I look big, sure, but I look cut, and every muscle is toned. It looks like I have maybe 1% body fat in this form. I'm not sure if this is what steroids does to a person, but magic, absolutely wins out in the enhancements category. I don't look too big either, and despite how much muscle I actually have, I am still pretty flexible.
All in all, I'm basically Adonis in terms of looks. If the mortal lover of Aphrodite looked anything like this than I can absolutely understand why she'd want a mortal like him. I briefly think about the women and men that will inevitably be swooning over me and stop immediately when I remember the contrasting reactions to my presence between Ms. Bambi and that nurse. Bambi looked like she wanted to eat me up while the nurse that directed me to the generator looked mildly shook by my attractiveness, but then showed no interest.
Looking over myself, I focus on the lightning bolt emblem in the centre of my suit and wonder if I can alternate the glow it gives off. I focus on wanting it to be dimmer, and see that it actually will dim completely until all that's left is a simple metallic lightning bolt, the metal of which matching the metal along the edges when it's glowing.
"Cool. Though stealth probably won't be a priority in this form, good to know I won't always be a giant beacon asking to be targeted." I'm about to say the word again... but I want to flex some more. I turn around and strain to look over my back to see how my muscles are back there and sure enough, they are well defined and built. I'm a total unit in this form, and that's not even counting the magical properties. In fact, if I remember correctly, the wizard said using this power would transform me into my ultimate potential. Is this what I'll look like in 15 years? I wonder if I can change the appearance of my hair and have a beard?
"Billy! Are you in there?" Oh shit. That's Monica. "Zoe's foster parents are almost here, but she's refusing to leave without seeing you. Billy!" Monica knocks on the door again and I almost speak out loud before remembering I don't sound anything like Billy at the moment. What do I do?
"Hey, Monica! Can I get a hand with something?" I hear Ryan's voice clear as day from down the hall and Monica sighs.
"I'll be right there Ryan!" She goes silent for a moment, but I don't hear her move away. Instead, I hear her hand touch the door, and I worry that she's just going to open it. Not something she normally does, respecting our privacy and all, but if she feels we're in danger, all pleasantries get thrown out the window. "Billy. I know you're in there. I know yesterday was hard. I just want to let you know, I'm proud of you. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you, but you've done so much for these kids, despite what you've been through. The fact she won't leave without seeing you first is testament to that." Tears flow down my face as I listen to Monica's speech. Something feels as if it's swelling and tightening in my chest. It hurts but... it's not bad.
"I feel like you don't see the good in yourself all that often. That you think you're just angry and hurt all the time. That's normal for a kid your age, without the added weight of being an orphan. But you have done more than just act like another teenage boy. You're going to do great things Billy. You don't have to if you don't want to, but something tells me without anybodies permission or urging you'll achieve great things." She falls silent for awhile again, before her hand slides off the door and she walks away.
I whisper a thank you and wait until she's far enough away from the door to say Shazam. Back in my mortal form, I fight back the urge to cry and wipe the tears from my face. Now's not the time. Zoe needs me to give her encouragement. I just hope this family will be the one to treat her like a human being. Love and care for her, rather than try and mold her into what they want, or abuse her.
Standing outside Zoe's door I think about what I'm going to say to her, and quite frankly I'm coming up short. This kids been through enough already that I feel like telling her everything is going to be okay this time isn't just a senseless lie, but something she won't believe even if I did. Though I had my doubts, because I always do, I still have hope she will be okay. It's all I can do.
Belief and Faith are beautiful things, Billy. Solomon's words from earlier resurface and I wonder if it's really better that I keep that alive for her. I guess I've already been doing that to some extent, but I wasn't really thinking about it. I just didn't want her to be scared or sad all the time. Like I was.
I reach up and rasp my knuckles against her bedroom door. I don't hear her move or say anything so I decide to speak up.
"Hey, Zo-Bo! It's Billy. Can I come in?" I wait anxiously for a response before I hear the door open slightly before the sound of little feet thumping rapidly away from the door can be heard. Pushing the door open, slowly, I see her little feet disappear under her bed, and I walk slowly into the room.
Zoe's room is... girly. It's not obnoxiously girly, where everything is pink and unicorns are on the wall. She just has flowery stuff everywhere. Frilly shirts and dresses, plastic flowers, a few stuffed animals I've won for her playing carnival games when the staff pool their money to bring us out for fun. She has few toys, and a couple colouring books. She has blue walls with a green carpet. On the walls she's painted some flowers, animals, you name it. She's actually pretty good and probably will become a great artist one day, should she continue to work on it.
"Hmm. Where is my little munchkin?" Walking over to her clothes hamper, I open the lid and peak in. "Nope. Not here."
I then walk over to her closet, and open that up, repeating the words, before heading to her bed and carefully sitting on it.
"I wonder where she could be?" I feel a tiny hand grab my heel and squeeze, which is my cue to pretend to be scared. "Jeepers Creepers! My Achilles heel! What manner of gremlin is attacking me!"
I hear her laughter from under the bed and slide my feet to the sides. She crawls out, her head emerging first and she twists herself to look up at me with a toothy grin and laughter. I return the smile and wait for her to crawl out of the bed on her own. Once she's all the way out, she stands up and turns to me.
"Ah of course it's Zoe!" Zoe is holding a stuffed tiger that's missing an eye. His stitching is starting to come apart around the neck, which reminds me that she asked me to fix it last night.
"Can you fix Tawky Tawny for me?" She holds her stuffed animal out to me and I take it in my hands and examine it.
"I think it might take too long for me to fix Zoe. You're new foster family will be here soon." She pouts at me, giving me the best puppy dog eyes she could. I taught her how to do that. In case she needed help from people outside the foster home. "Don't give me that look. I taught you how to do it. Besides, I said I probably won't be fast enough, but I know somebody who will be." Placing tawny back in Zoe's hands, I pat the bed beside me and she walks over with a curious look on her face before plopping down.
"Who can fix it faster than you?" I smile and stand up, heading over to her dresser where she keeps her sewing kit. She's been practising, but likes it when I help her. I sigh as I take the kit out and place it on her bed, before going to the door and closing it. Normally, the doors stay open if more than one kid is in a room. I still get reprimanded for closing doors, but everybody knows I'm not going to do anything bad to anybody. I've been told as much.
"Okay, this is a secret okay. You have to promise me that you'll never tell anybody about this unless it's an emergency. I mean a huge emergency. Like... life threatening. Okay?" Zoe slowly nods her head. I know she may not understand what conditions I'm talking about completely, but I know she'll keep the secret for quite awhile. "Good. Remember, Zoe, I rather you be safe than keep my secrets. So if you ever have to reveal my secret so you or others can be safe, than do it. I won't hold it against you." She nods again and I take a breath.
"What is it? Tell me already?"
"Okay. So, yesterday during the party, after I spoke to you and then Mary, I went to the bathroom. While I was in there, everything got really cold and the window became frosty. Symbols appeared on the window, and it kind of scared me at first, but I decided I was going to tell one of the grown ups here that something odd was going on. When I was washing my hands, the water was hot immediately and it fogged up the mirror. When I looked at the mirror, there were more symbols." Zoe holds Tawny up to her face and whines a little.
"This secret is scary!" I walk over and put my hand on hers and rub it with my thumb.
"Don't worry, it gets super cool. Trust me." She peaks over her stuffed tiger and just watches me as I continue. "So, when I go to leave the bathroom, instead of ending up in the hallway, I was in some kind of cave. Can you believe that?!"
"Nope!" I nearly fall over laughing at how honest this kid is. "You're making this up!"
"Why do you say that, Zoe?" She humphs and looks away from me.
"You said magic isn't real when Jackie was telling us she wanted to be a witch."
"Right. I forgot about that." Patting the kid on the head, she turns to look at me a little startled, no doubt due to what happened last year. I pull my hand away quickly and apologize. "Sorry, Zoe. I forgot."
"It's okay." She looks down and holds Tawny close. Tears tickle the edges of my eyes and I blink them away. A sniffle is heard, and I clear my throat.
"No. I should be more careful... Do you want to hear the rest of my story?" She nods her head. "Okay. Well, I know what I said about magic before Zoe, but that's because I didn't have any faith. I mean... I don't know how much I have left, but that doesn't mean I should have taken it from you, or Jackie. So, whatever I've got I want you to have okay? So, I was summoned to this place called the Rock of Eternity, by a wizard named Sha- uh, um. I can't say his name yet."
"Why not? Is that a secret to?" I shake my head at her cute little query.
"No munchkin. Well, sorta. It's apart of my secret, but I can't say it without... something happening. I'll show you after. Anyway, The Wizard brought me to the Rock to tell me that I was chosen to be The Champion of Magic. Now that you mention it, the guy who didn't believe magic, being crowned Champion of the very thing he didn't believe in is silly. But hey, it's one way to get me to believe. So, he tells me there is... a problem, I have to solve. It's something nobody else can take on, apparently, and he is too weak to handle it himself. So, he granted me the power of the gods, sorta. All I have to do is say his name and I become a superhero!" Zoe's face is getting more and more shocked as I regale her with my tale. She squeals in excitement as I finish the story and I chuckle as she starts bouncing on her bed.
"Say it say it say it!"
"Alright, alright!" I stand up and take a few steps back, not sure if the lightning would still hurt her despite being magic meant to strike me to change. Wasn't about to risk it. "Okay, I need you to shield your eyes like it's too bright in here, like your trying to look at the sun, okay?" She nods and puts her hands over her face, blocking her eyes but leaving her fingers open enough so she can see me.
"When I say the word that gives me power Zoe, a lightning bolt will strike me and I'll transform. Whatever you do Zoe, please don't scream. Nobody is going to hurt you okay? I'm still going to be here, I'll just... look different." She nods again, but with trepidation this time, and I take a deep breath before saying the word. "Shazam!"
The lightning bolt finds its way into the room and my perspective and senses change as they have every time I've used the word. Zoe had shut her eyes and held back a scream when the lightning bolt came in. She is tense, and I know it's because she's scared of thunder and lightning.
"Okay, Zoe. Time for you to meet Captain Marvel. You can open your eyes." Zoe drops her hands and looks at me in shock and fear. She looks ready to scream, but doesn't. "Shazam!" The lightning bolt hits me again, this time Zoe is looking right at me and shields her eyes when the light becomes too much. She looks back on her own and sees me, Billy, standing in front of her, and I see this look of awe and wonder replace her fear.
"That's so coool! Do it again!" She hops off the bed and starts bouncing around on her feet, urging me to transform.
"Shazam!" She shields her eyes as I start to say the word and I become Captain Marvel once more. She looks to me and stops bouncing.
"What does it feel like to be bigger?!" She's basically yelling at this point so I have to kneel down and put my finger to my lips.
"Remember, Zoe, this is a secret. Try to be quiet. The lightning is bad enough. People are probably wondering what's happening. Gotta do this quick."
"Okay- oh, uh, okay Billy." She stops mid excited yell and leans in, cupping her mouth to whisper to me. I smile as I pick her up and give her a hug, which she returns. "Are you super strong? You look strong. You also sound kinda funny." I blow a raspberry at her last remark and she giggles before returning said raspberry
"Oh yeah. I don't know how strong yet, but I can give you an idea. You remember Herakles from Greek Mythology?"
"Yeah. He fights a lion, and has twelve labs." I try not to burst out laughing for hearing the voice of a grown man nobody recognizes in this building would be alarming to say the least.
"Labours. But close." She smiles sheepishly at me. "So the name of the wizard is an acronym for the names of the gods I have powers from."
"So 'H' is Herakles?"
"Yes and no. Remember when I told you about how Romans and Greeks have similar gods, but with different names?" She nods. "Herakles is his name in Greek Mythology, for some reason they went with his Roman name."
"So, Hercules like the Disney Movie?" I nod. "That's cool! Who else?" I go on to explain the powers of the ones attached to the Wizards name and do so while rapidly sewing Tawky Tawny back together, doing it in record time. She is enamoured with my cool new abilities and form. More than anything though, she seemed to be beaming over the idea there was magic after all.
"Do you think you can teach me magic?"
"Well... I don't really know magic yet. I just know the word that turns me into this guy. Once I learn though, if it's safe I'll teach you right away. Otherwise we'll wait till you're older." She pouts again and crosses her arms.
"Come ooon!"
"Zoe, I can't do anything about the fact that I don't know any real magic yet." She just frowns at me before nodding her head in understanding. I sigh, wanting to give her something at least so that her hopes aren't dashed completely. I think about it for a second and look down to her stuffed tiger, before getting a dumb idea.
I put my hand out to her tiger and place my hand over it.
'I hope this doesn't end poorly.'
I get no response, which isn't comforting, but decide to go through with it anyway.
"By the power granted to me by the wizard and the gods, I place you, Zoe, under the protection of Tawky Tawny. Should you ever be in grave danger, Tawny will come to life and save you." Not necessarily with violence, I don't want a tiger eating kids that are being mean or disembowelling her foster parents if they are nice and just trying to reprimand her.
Good, you thought of that while doing this.
Solomon's voice commending me gives me a bit of relief that maybe this will turn out fine.
"I thought you said you'd save me?" I meet Zoe's eyes and nod my head.
"Of course I will. Tawny is just a stand in if I'm trapped or hurt. I don't want to leave you alone Zo-Bo." I wrap her in a hug and she buries herself in my chest. "I'll always protect you."
"How? I know you can't be all over. How will you know to come help me?" That's a good question. I've got pretty stellar hearing now, but I'm sure there is still a limit of how far my senses can reach. Of course, I do have that uncanny awareness thing. Hmm.
"Let me cast another spell."
"I thought you didn't know any magic yet?" Zoe leans back and looks at me. I place my hand on her chest and her hand on mine and smile.
"It's all about belief, and faith. Have faith in me, and I'll be there. Zoe, my little munchkin... my little sister. When you are in need of me, when danger threatens you and your loved ones, call the name of the wizard, and I'll know that you're in trouble and where you are. I'll head right for you to save you." She smiles and nods.
"So, Shazam!" When she says the word, I hear it twice. I also feel a pull in her direction, though not a strong one.
Likely because you are next to her.
'I heard her voice in my head?'
You made it so you'd be able to hear her prayer, Billy. No matter where you are. Even right next to her.
'Glad I didn't use any of my names.'
"Yeah, that actually worked?" This causes me to look at Tawny, and wonder just how I've given a six year old a magic word and a magic item that can come to life.
"That's so cool!" I can sense the magic I have placed on her and the stuffed animal.
"Hey, if Tawny ever does come to life and he doesn't listen to you or goes on a rampage, call me okay?" She nods vigorously.
"Okay, I will!" She pauses for a second, looking at Tawny, before looking at the door and back to me.
"Can you fly?"