For the next few hours Wonder Woman and I helped with clean up. Rounded up the injured and brought them to the hospital, and we helped clean the streets of debris and rubble. Amazing how much work we got done in such a short time. We didn't really fix anything ourselves, but contractors and the like have been given jobs almost solely based on a specialization for repairing damage after a battle between heroes and villains. Fawcett hadn't needed such things yet, but apparently a company called Sivana Industries had started pooling funds for such an endeavour since Captain Marvel showed up. I guess it was bound to happen one day, needing a clean up crew for a post super-fight. Although it is weird, considering they are primarily a tech company, that has also dabbled in archaeological digs. Strange combo.

"All done?" Wonder Woman asks me as I finish unloading the last of the destroyed cars at a wrecker yard. I shake hands with the owner before I fly up towards her with a thumbs up and we start to fly away. No real direction in mind. At least not for me anyway.

'I'm nervous. Don't know what to say.'

Pretty woman got you flustered there kiddo?

"You know Mercury, I was just starting to like you." I hear a laugh as his voice fades into the background. My embarrassment for being called out like that making my cheeks red. Luckily she's looking ahead for now.

"Let's head over to that roof. I want to talk."

'Holy crap.'

Billy, behave yourself. It wouldn't be fair to her if you were to court her as Captain Marvel. Imagine how she'd feel if she found out you were 14.

Gods damn it. Solomon has a point. Probably for the best my teenage hormones don't make me do something stupid like crush and act on said crush for Wonder Woman. I'd be letting my lust control my actions if I did. And that could ruin a future friendship, mentorship... huh. A mentorship from the Amazon warrior would be an honour now that I think about it.

"You alright?" Snapping out of it I realize Wonder Woman and I are standing on the roof of a high rise, and she's staring at me with concern.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just... thinking." She smiles and shakes her head.

"You looked out of it."

"I'm a deep thinker."

"I'm sure." She looks me up and down, a scrutinizing look on her face. "You seem... familiar." That's odd.

"How so?" As soon as I ask the question I remember that Hercules mentioned that she was related to him. Which means she may sense her family on me. Can gods just sense each other like that?

"I'm not sure. I haven't met you before, have I?" I think I'd know if I ever met Wonder Woman before. She stands out amongst the crowd. She's almost as tall as Captain Marvel. As Cap, I'm 6'4, finally got out the measuring tape, and she seems to be 6'1. Man, I didn't realize I liked tall women until now. Damn it Billy, stop being a horny teenager. Wait. Brunette, tall, strong...

'Oh my God.'

Which one?

'Shut up Mercury. I met Wonder Woman earlier today as a civilian and didn't realize it until just now.'

Really?

'Yeah. She saved me from being trampled at the museum when Ibac was causing tremors from City Hall. I got knocked over, but she picked me up almost as soon as I fell and dragged me outside. She was this tall, towering over me, and at some point I grabbed her wrist when I lost my balance, and I felt something under her jacket sleeve. I thought it was bracelet at first, but now I'm certain it was her bracers.'

Looking closely at her face, I can tell she's wearing no make up.

'She clearly was earlier. She also... didn't look this good. It's almost-'

Godly?

'-that's probably as good of a descriptor as we're going to get here.'

That's because Aphrodite blessed her.

'Say no more. Damn! I wish I was older.'

Billy.

'Yeah, yeah. I know.'

"No, we haven't met. Sorry, I was just... trying to think if it was possible to forget somebody as beautiful as you." Although she keeps her smile I can tell she isn't really receiving the compliment. At the same, time, I'm freaking out because I didn't mean to say it like that. "Th-that came out wrong! I'm so sorry!"

Smooth

'I didn't... ah crap baskets.'

"Don't be. I was blessed by Aphrodite. Sometimes I think it's a curse more than anything."

"No kidding. Let's start over. I'm Captain Marvel." I reach out my hand and she doesn't hesitate before taking it and giving me a firm handshake. She's got one hell of a grip. Mad respect.

"Princess Diana of Themyscira. Or, as the world of man calls me, Wonder Woman." We relinquish the handshake and I suddenly feel uncomfortable.

Relax. Her body language does not betray any aggression or irritation. She likely hasn't taken any offence. Solomon's words do little to comfort me, but I know that he's right.

"So, what brings you to Fawcett City? Can't imagine you came here on vacation." She looks at me blankly, making me think she's taken my joke seriously.

"I don't take vacations." That's bad ass. "I came here to get a sense of what you are capable of."

"Oh? What's your take?" I give her a smirk as I stand tall and place my fists on my hips, Superman style.

"You are capable, that's for certain. It appears that you have some sense for keeping damage to a minimal and focusing on saving lives rather than fighting, judging from the reports I've seen. Not to mention the people talking about how you carried the defenceless to safety in a city bus. If what you say about being new to all of this is true, then I'm somewhat impressed." Wow. To say that I'm over the moon right now would be an understatement.

Oh dear. His head is growing rapidly.

'Mercury, be quiet before I crush you with my large head.'

"Wow. Thanks. I don't know what to say. I... wasn't expecting such praise from a member of the Justice League, let alone royalty." I start to rub the back of my head and turn slightly away to avoid meeting the gaze of those ocean blue eyes. At this point, I'm unsure if my nervous demeanour is due to the idea that she was critiquing my work, or that she's so damn pretty.

'Get a hold of yourself Batson. Be a professional.' I mentally slap myself a couple of times to try and pull it together, but she responds before I can fully regain my composure.

"Don't think praise is all I have for you." Uh-oh. "While you did good work, I am concerned that you have yet to understand the severity of losing control of your emotions with the powers you have. I wonder about your temper, or the way you handled the crowd. I regained consciousness when you started to... cut loose on Ibac. I watched as you started showing more and more disregard for your surroundings. Initially, I thought you flying into space was a way to keep your blows from causing more damage to the city, or even risking unsafe combat near those that could not withstand impact with either one of you. Instead, I am told that you were spotted sending Ibac into the moon. The seismic readings that the League was able to gather from the moon during your time there were alarming to say the least." Her tone became more and more stern as she spoke. Clearly she was unhappy with me on that front.

"I-" She lifts her hand.

"You are a warrior, not a child. Act like it." Her authority is unquestioning. Royalty or not, Diana definitely commands respect, but more than that, the absolute best from those around her.

"Yes, ma'am." I haven't been dressed down like this in a while. I feel so embarrassed right now that I want to run or fly away.

"Good." She nods and puts her hand down by her side. "I understand that you are new, and no actual harm was done. All can be forgiven, so long as you've learned from this experience."

"Trust me, I have." Being more careful about using the word as an offensive magic attack being one of the things I learned to be more careful about. It's probably one of the most potent attacks I have right now, but it can be easily used to turn me back to Billy. If I had been doing that in space, or on the moon, I'd be dead.

"Good to hear. Hold on." The Amazon Princess holds her left index and middle finger up to her ear and appears to listen to divert her attention for a moment. Maybe there's some kind of communication going on. Respecting her privacy I refrain from listening in, and wait patiently for her to finish. Probably a Justice League communicator or something like that.

"League is calling me for a situation. I have to go."

"Need any help?" She shakes her head.

"Appreciate the offer, but no. It's nothing like that."

"Ah, alright. Secret club meeting. I get it." She smirks and places her left hand on her hip and tilting her head. "Well, it was nice meeting you. Next time you're in Fawcett, you should try Otto's Diner. His pancakes and waffles are so fluffy. Not to mention he has the best Sundaes. I can take you if you want?" She seems to like the idea, her smile growing a bit wider, though for some reason she's looking me up and down.

Billy.

'What?... Oh. CRAP BASKETS!'

Accidental game is still game.

'Shut up! I'm not even doing this on purpose!'

"I might have to take you up on that."

'Really? Wow. I mean... damn it... I'm confused.'

Relax Billy. We'll figure it out.

"Great. I'll uh... what's that? Need help getting your cat out of a tree? I'll be right there!" I turn to face away from Diana and for some reason run to the edge of the building. I can hear her laughing the whole way. "Nice meeting you Princess I'll talk to you later bye!" I leap off the building and let myself fall to leave her sight as quick as possible. My super hearing picks up her last remark.

"It was interesting Captain. Looking forward to our next meeting." Shortly after I can hear a sonic boom as she flies away.

Smooth one kid. Unsurprising that Mercury would rub salt in the wound.

'Like to see you do better.'

She's my sister.

'So what? Your dad is married to his sister and has had three kids with her. Hades is also married to his brother's daughter, and she cheated on him to have Zagreus, your half-brother-cousin-uncle-nephew – Did I miss one? No. I think that was all of the nouns - Plenty more examples to pull from. Or were you stating the obvious as a way of saying it's in the bag for you because incest seems to be a Greek God's favourite pass time.'

Okay, I get your point. You are only half right though.

'What did I get wrong?'

You humans came up with certain stories to fill in the blanks, and I think Zeus sleeping with Persephone, which gave birth to Zagreus, was a rumour started by Hera to embarrass and humiliate her husband as revenge for all the times he cheated on her. She is a very jealous goddess.

You mispronounced "vile". Hercules cut in with an edge in his tone that screamed loathing. I suppose I can understand why. As long as the story of Hera driving him insane, leading to his accidental murder of his wife and children, is a true story... yeah, I would hate the bitch to.

Right. Anyway, even though many gods have been unfaithful to their spouses, Hades and Persephone are the only two that have remained loyal.

'Whoa, really?

Their marriage represents the cycle of life and death. They were legitimately made for each other.

'That begs the question. Where the hell did you all come from? And I'm not talking Cronus made the gods and Zeus cut open his belly, I'm talking gods in general. Hell, Titans to. How do you exist? Were you people once? Died and became Gods? Your stories being ones of your deeds in life and your godhood was your reward?'

Eeeeh. That depends on who you ask and how they were made gods.

'Come on, Mercury. Give me something.'

It's a bit too soon for you to delve into that complicated celestial soup. Besides, Solomon may understand it better than I.

Me?

Well it isn't called the Wisdom of Solomon for nothing?

Pray tell, who is the god between the two of us?

I think by default of being apart of this little Pantheon of Benefactors you have achieved Godhood my friend. I can almost hear Solomon roll his eyes. Something I thought would possibly be to undignified an act for a legendary King such as himself.

As Hermes said, gods are made in many ways, and depending on which god you speak of, their creation can be as unique as snowflake.

'Examples. Please. The anticipation is killing me.'

Well, take Hercules, or Achilles for example. Both were demigods. You might think they defaulted to godhood at some point in their lives, but the truth is, a god's avatar went down to Earth and mated with a human, granting the child both humanity, and divinity, albeit diluted divinity. When they both proved themselves, Zeus offered them real godhood. This is more ceremonial than anything. Due to their legendary status, and their link to the Sphere of The Gods through their blood, they would be considered gods regardless of their decision.

'What? But I thought Achilles wasn't a god?'

Actually, what I did was more just reject a place on Olympus, and chose to rest in peace in Elysium.

'Why?'

You know the story of how I was dipped into the river Styx. You know why my heel was the only part of me that was left mortal. Correct? I contemplate the story of Achilles being dipped into the Styx by his mother. She was holding him by his ankle, making him completely invulnerable, except for that one spot. When she turned him over to complete the process, his father requested that she leave his ankle, as it would be his only link to his mortal self. His humanity.

'You were respecting your father's wishes.' He does not respond, for he does not need to. Nothing else needs to be said about it. 'Okay, I can understand that, but what about the rest?'

Simple. Hercules became legendary. So, when he died, after all he went through, he became a god. When he did, Zeus offered him a spot on Olympus, and he accepted. Interesting. Sounds like Gods are created by belief more than anything. How though?

Then when good ol' Hercules joined the bunch, we decided to split ourselves in half.

'What?'

That's how the Roman Gods came to be.

'I say again. What?'

What Mercury is trying to say, is that the Romans that started worshipping them, knew them by different names, so in order to preside over that region, they split their avatars and sent them to Rome.

'I'm... still lost. Does that mean Heracles and Hermes aren't in my head right now?'

We never were in your head. You're not that crazy.

'I feel like you might drive me crazy. Dangerous considering what I can do.'

Yes, but messing with you is too much fun. God's gotta have his fun after all. I suppose Mercury has a point. Don't know how often they get to leave Olympus. Does he still get sent to give telegrams from the gods?

As I've come to understand it, Billy, the Greek Gods of Olympus split themselves to preside over their Roman worshippers, intending on being in two places at once. At some point, their Roman counterparts developed into their own entities,leaving the Greek gods incomplete, and causing a world ending threat. They diverted it by making themselves whole again, which happened sometime after the Fall of Rome.

'Oooh. So that's why it's the Strength of Hercules and Speed of Mercury as opposed to the Strength of Heracles and the Speed of Hermes.'

Well, that and Shazam sounds better than Shazah. Or even better, SHAJAM! I snort at the idea of having the Power of Jupiter instead of Zeus. Yelling 'SHAJAM!' to turn into Captain Marvel would be pretty funny. Though I think I would have just turned my ass around and walked away from the Wizard if he had said "I am The Wizard, SHAJAM!" I can't stop giggling.

'Well. As fun and interesting as this conversation has been, I'm going to go do some patrolling. Make sure everything is alright. Then I'm heading to Otto's'

Flying off towards City Hall one last time, I think ab out how unfortunate it is that most of the people that were severely injured, and the few that were killed, were just regular staff. Security, receptionists, assistants. Stanley only managed to kill one politician, and it was the Mayor. Sure, pretty big deal when it comes to all the politicians in city hall, but all that destruction and he hurt more people that have nothing to do with the decisions made or... it's no use dwelling on it.

Because it's only making me want to rip him apart.

Having just finished doing a few more rounds I decide that unless there are any more emergencies today, that I'd like to go to Otto's and get one of those sundae's I was telling Wonder Woman about as a reward. Now that I have a job, I can get them more often. Gotta be smart about my money though, if I ever intend on living on my own.

Walking into the diner as Billy Batson, I look around to see that he place isn't quite busy yet. I'm a little early for the dinner rush, thank the gods, so it's not too crowded. Not that I really mind, but I'm glad there's some quiet after the days chaotic events. I walk over to my favourite booth, the fourth one down from the entrance, and take a seat. Almost instantly, my favourite waitress walks up to me.

"Good afternoon, Billy. Did you hear about that attack on City Hall?"

"Afternoon, Maya. Yeah, I did." Looking up at Maya, I see she's got her raven hair tied up into a high ponytail, showing her slightly round face, and brown eyes. She's 18, but she's shorter than me. She's a first generation Chinese-American, with some Indonesian sprinkled in. She's wearing the classic Otto's Diner uniform, which is a black apron, black, business casual pants, and a pink button up.

All staff, men and women, wear pink shirts year round. Otto Benson, the owner, lost his wife to breast cancer. He holds fundraisers and started a charity to help research for a cure. When he realized that the cure would probably be too expensive for working class people like him to afford, he switched it up, and decided to use it to help pay for the medical bills of those without insurance. The community honours Otto as a role model and hero for his efforts to help those suffering and in need. The man has my utmost respect.

"Were you anywhere nearby when it all went down?" I nodded.

"Sort of. I was at the McKeon History Museum. I was trying to get inspiration. Was going to do a piece about ancient mythology and how there are similarities between the gods of old and the heroes and villains of today. Then the attack happened and of course, I went to go see what was going on." The raven haired girl put her hands on her hips and tried to give me a stern look, but I've known her long enough to see through her mock older sister routine.

"Billy, that was dangerous. You shouldn't have gone without supervision." I scoff at her words and she fails to keep a straight face.

"Oh, please. You and I both know you're chomping at the bit to hear about what I saw." She hesitates for a moment, but I see in her eyes that glimmer of mischief and excitement. Maya was a pretty sheltered kid, only starting to come out of her shell recently. Scrunching her nose, she writes on her pad of paper and heads over to the pass.

"Otto! Billy's here! He'll have..." she pauses and turns to me. "... uh, did you want dinner this early or did you come to satisfy that sweet-tooth of yours?" Right as I'm about to say just he sundae, my stomach growls. Annoying. I would like to eat dinner as well now, but I can eat something at the shelter, saving my money.

"Just the sundae please." She nods.

"His usual sundae!" She yells and places the chit up on the counter. As she does so, another server, Charles Milton, walks by with a stack of dirty dishes. He nods to me with a smirk and I wave.

"One double caramel and fudge sundae, with blueberries and granola, coming right up!" I can hear Otto's ever so slight German accent flow out of the kitchen and fill the diner. The big man is so loud I swear they could hear him from Mars. By the time he finishes yelling his acknowledgement of the order, Maya walks back over to my table and invites herself to sit.

"Alright, now spill."

"I don't know. You should just tune into the show tomorrow to hear all about it." She rolls her eyes.

"Come on! I'll pay for your sundae, just tell me something. Pleeeeease." She makes the puppy dog eyes and I roll my eyes.

"Fine. Save your money. You don't need to pay for my sundae." She smiles and claps her hands.

"Need has nothing to do with it Billy. Now spill!"

"Hey, guys!" We are suddenly interrupted, and we turn to see Cissie Sommerly walking up to the table. She's wearing a dark blue denim jacket, with an Alice In Chains T-shirt underneath, a pair of bell bottom jeans, and simple sneakers. She's holding the straps of her backpack as she makes he way over. I feel my stomach get all twisted up and I turn away from embarrassment. I don't know why this girl makes me so nervous. Okay, I know I like her, but I've never been so uncool around somebody... okay that isn't true.

"Hey Cissie!" Maya calls out. "Billy was about to give me an inside scoop on what he saw at City Hall. Come listen."

"What?!" Maya slid out of the booth so Cissie could sit down in front of me, a look of worry on her face, before they both sat down and looked at me intently. The stark contrast of their faces would be funny to me any other day, but now I have to make sure I don't slip up with my story, while managing my feelings about Cissie.

"So! Is it true Wonder Woman was there?"

"Hold on. I thought you were at McKeon today?"

"I was. For a little while." Her disbelief turns to scrutiny and she folds her arms over her chest.

"So, what? You felt those quakes and hoofed it all the way to City Hall?" Maya looks between the two of us as realization dawns on her face.

"Um... yes? Was I not supposed to do my job? I am a correspondent. Although, my freaking recorder stopped working when I got near the fight." Both of their eyes bug out and Maya is the first to speak up.

"Billy! That's 20 blocks of running!" I look from Maya to Cissie and see that the blonde girl doesn't believe my lie. I really don't want to lie to her, but I have to think of an excuse.

"Right, well, I may have used an abandoned bike to make the trip less strenuous. I got there right as Captain Marvel started fighting Ibac."

"Ibac?" Cissie catches it immediately. Crap Baskets.

"Yeah. Uh, I managed to see some of the fight. Cap told me the guys name before going off to do clean up with Wonder Woman, and promised to give me an exclusive afterwards. Going to meet him later." I can tell that the blonde girl is still suspicious, but Maya has gone from shock back to giddy excitment.

"Oh. My. God! You're so lucky! I wish I could meet Captain Dreamy. Can you ask him his type?" Maya's fantasizing of Captain Marvel causes thoughts of my own that I try to push away. Luckily, a bell is dinged at the pass and she frowns. "I'll be right back."

"Maya. I don't pay you to sit around. Go clean the bar top. After that get on the dishes." At the sound of Otto's deep, gentle voice, I turn from Maya's disappointed face, to see Otto's slightly weathered face. The old guy is in his fifties, but somehow doesn't have that many grey hairs. He sports a trimmed beard and mustache, that are dark brown with a little grey in them. He shaves his head, but it's covered by a chefs hat at the moment. He's also tall. Like, as tall as Captain Marvel tall. And wide. A little fat, yes, but he's crazy strong. I once saw him wrestle two armed robbers to the ground on his own.

"Yes, boss!" Maya sighed as she stood up. "Guess I'll be tuning in after all."

"Who are you kidding. You love WHIZ Radio. You would have tuned in anyway." Maya walks over, grabs my sundae, brings it back to the table, and sticks her tongue out at me. I reach for my wallet and she puts her hand up.

"I told you I got it. No 'if's 'and's or 'but's."

"But I-"

"I said no 'BUT'S!" She shakes her head vigorously while waving her pointed finger from left to right.

"Yes ma'am." She smiles in victory and heads off back to work. Leaving me alone with a suspicious Cissie. We sit there in silence for a bit, me staring at my sundae, her definitely staring at my head. Look at her briefly before looking away, unable to hold her gaze.

In the process I notice there's two spoons on the table. Maya you clever girl. Picking one of the spoons up, I offer it to Cissie, and finally meet her gaze. Silently pleading with her to drop it. She takes a deep breath, shakes her head, and grabs the spoon from my hand.

"Damn it Billy. You're going to make me fat." I chuckle as I immediately start to dig in.

"Don't worry about it. You'd still be pretty." Cissie smiles sheepishly, her cheeks quickly becoming a rose tinge.

"Th-thanks. That's really sweet." I breathe easy hearing her accept the inadvertent compliment, and we dig into the sundae. "Not as sweet as this monstrosity. Why does he let you order this?" I quickly work through my spoonful of icecream, berries, granola, and caramel/fudge drizzle before responding.

"Because I used to get a bigger portion with way more fruit and sugary goodness. He told me he didn't want me to get diabetes. After my parents... once they were gone, I didn't come here for two years. Lived on the other side of town. Then... well I just wasn't around. My first day back here, Otto made me the original Billy Batson special."

"The what?" Cissie finishes her third spoonful of the sundae, and dangles the silverware between her dainty fingers, and leaning her chin on her free hand, to take in the story of that legendary dessert.

"The Billy Batson Special. Much like this it had caramel and fudge with vanilla icecream, but it had strawberries, blue berries, bananas, chocolate chips, granola, whip cream, and a cherry on top. Also, way more caramel. This is the supposed 'healthy option'. I say, I'm being played." Cissie gawks at my description of The Billy Batson Special and nearly drops her spoon.

"How are you alive right now?" I laugh at her response just as I take another mouthful of sundae and nearly choke on it. I regain my composure pretty quickly, but she's giggling at my struggle.

"For starters, I'm a bad ass. Secondly, Otto refuses to make me that sundae except for on my birthday. My parents rule from back in the day. And even then, he still goes light on everything. I used to be able to get it every day I could afford it when I came back, but he reinstated my parents rule quickly afterwards. Something about not wanting to commit assisted sugarcide or something." Cissie laughs again and I join her. We each continue to eat the sundae. I'm starting to feel more at ease around her. Don't know why I was so worried before. She's just another girl. A cool, pretty, and sweet girl, but a girl all the same.

"So, is this our first date?" I start to choke again, and even drop my spoon on the table before grabbing my napkin to cover my mouth. Cissie's smile isn't as confident as it was a second ago, showing signs of uncertainty. Which reminds me of what my mom used to say to me about girls I'd be interested in. About how a lot of the time, they are going to be just as nervous about romantic junk as I will be. I used to joke that I wouldn't be but now I know better.

"If... if you would like that." She looks down for a second before looking back up.

"Would you like that?"

"Yes."

"Wow, that was quick." She let's out a nervous but joyful laugh.

"Oh sorry, ask again." She continues to giggle, putting a hand over her mouth.

"Stop it."

"No seriously, ask again. I'll make it more dramatic."

"You're a goofball, Billy Batson." I give her a knowing look and a huge grin while spinning the spoon with my fingers. She shakes her head, still smiling that beautiful smile. Causing a weird sense of elation. I'm... am I happy? "Would you, like this to be our first da-?"

"Yes. Oh. Crap Baskets. I was supposed to delay my response not hasten it." She giggles again, her face as red as mine likely is. Embarrassment and joy wrapped into one. "Guess I can't help myself."

"I take it back. You're sweeter than this sudae."

"So are you." We just sit there, grinning like idiots for what feels like both eternity, but only seconds. Then she picks up her spoon and sticks it in the sundae, scooping a spoonful, and hesistates while making eye contact with me. Then she sits forward, pushing the spoon towards me. I don't realize what she's doing until it's too late, so by the time I open my mouth to let her feed me the delicious treat, it smears a bit on my face. She makes and oh with her mouth and holds back a laugh while holding her hand over her mouth.

"Whoops. I'm sorry." Her giggle tells me she's not that sorry. I'm not bothered by it at all, but I absolutely will get my revenge. Scooping some sundae of my own, I laugh maniacally.

"Smart move, protecting your face right after striking. I will still get my revenge."

"No you won't." She challenges me with a playful grin and picks up her napkin, holding it over her mouth.

"Oh, you clearly have never heard of my reputation for being Batson. The Dessert Knight! Now come here!" Reaching across the table, she and I start faux wrestling for dessert dominance, laughing and giggling the whole time.

I can't remember the last time I had this much fun with somebody.