Repost! Sorry for any confusion - I was hit with a follow-up thought and had to make some changes. Also I swapped the position of this chapter with the bad guy chapter because I think it makes more sense if this chapter comes first. [This story is a first draft, after all. LOL!] Sorry again, but I hope you enjoy this (revised) chapter!


Part VIII

Warm, savory smells filled the busy Vasquez kitchen. Mary cut up a cucumber for the salad while Victor stood over the stove, stirring and seasoning. Rosa poured the iced tea, and Pedro and Darla set the table for the family's dinner.

"Darla, honey, go call your brothers to the table," Rosa said, placing a glass by each plate. "And, make sure Eugene turns that game system all the way off this time. I don't want that thing stuck on pause for half an hour!"

Darla blinked behind her glasses and stared anxiously up at Mary. "What about Billy?" she asked her.

"Tell Freddy and Billy they can finish their homework after they've eaten," Rosa said, too busy refilling the ice trays to notice the concerned look that passed between the children.

Eugene and Mary had filled Darla and Pedro in on Billy's 'summons' and the Shazam Family's featured article in the Daily Planet shortly after they, Rosa and Victor had returned with the groceries. With everyone scrambling to get dinner ready, covering Billy's continued absence hadn't been much of a problem. But, if he didn't show up soon…

Pedro winced and shrugged, and Mary set her jaw.

"Darla, what's the hold-up? Go—" Rosa started, then looked up in surprise at a blinding flash just outside the window.

"Was that…? I thought I heard thunder," she said, looking to Victor. "Marido, did we close the van's windows?"

"I'll check!" Mary volunteered, and shot Darla a significant look. The little girl nodded and ran to the living room while Mary headed outside, where the smoke from Billy's transformation was still clearing from the backyard.

"Billy—!" she started.

"Mary! We're in!" the grinning boy exclaimed as he rushed to meet her, literally crackling with excitement.

"In?" Mary repeated.

"The Justice League! All of us! I did it!" Billy cheered. "Oh my god, Mary, that place is so awesome. Their headquarters is literally a space station! IN SPACE! And it felt right being up there, you know? Kind of like... Like how it is here; like I was part of a family. A team! I mean, talking with Superman, Flash, Green Lantern – Batman! Wonder Woman! Holy moley, there's just so much! And you're in it too. I have to tell Freddy. Where is he?"

"He's in your guys' room," Mary said. "He's been covering for you all afternoon. We all have. In fact, Rosa just sent Darla up to fetch you two for dinner. You better get up there before she decides to go herself."

"Oh. Yeah. Right," Billy said, jogging over to climb the trellis to his second-floor window. "But, Mary – we're in!" he enthused, his happy smile nearly splitting his face. "The Shazamily is in the Justice League!"

"That's…amazing," Mary admitted, watching until Billy had pushed in the screen and made it safely through the window. "But somehow, I wonder…" She shook her head, glanced over the fence at the van parked in the driveway, then headed back into the kitchen.

"The van's windows are closed," she announced. "But, it doesn't feel like rain out there."

"Thanks, Mary," Rosa said.

"We've been getting the strangest weather these past few months," Victor said, busily scooping the hot food from the pan to their plates. "Thunder and lightning almost every night, with no storm in sight."

"Maybe it's climate change?" Rosa suggested. "Heat and pressure pockets in the atmosphere?"

"Or, I don't know," Pedro said. "It could be the Shazams. They were in the paper today. If you want to see."

"Yeah," Eugene said, holding up his phone. "I have it right here!"

"Maybe later, son," Victor said. "Right now, I am starving! Darla, did you call Billy and Freddy?"

"I told them to come," she said, "but—"

"Dude! Just stop!" Freddy's angry voice filtered down the stairs.

"What? Why are you being like this?" Billy shot back. "Don't you get it, man? You're a member, same as me!"

"Obviously it's not the same!" Freddy snapped. "God, you're so—! No, forget it. If you don't even—"

"Freddy? Billy?" Rosa called. "Is everything OK up there?"

"Yeah, fine! Just fine!" the boys called back.

"Then hurry up and get down here!" she said. "Your dinner's getting cold!"

The boys' argument lowered to muffled whispers, and they clambered down the stairs with Freddy in the lead. Freddy slammed himself angrily into his chair and balanced his crutch against the table. Billy looked frustrated and bewildered, but just as angry as he slid into the seat across from him.

"Way to wreck a perfect day," he muttered.

"Right. That's what this is," Freddy snarked. "Because it's all about you!"

"Anything you two want to talk about?" Victor said, frowning at the boys.

"No. Uh uh," they said, shaking their heads.

Victor stared at them a moment longer, but when they didn't look up he sighed and said, "Then, let's get this meal started. All hands on deck!"

The family reached over the table, touching hands as Victor recited their mealtime prayer: "Thank you for this food, thank you for this day. Let's hope whatever's eating Billy and Freddy will quickly go away."

Freddy snorted and pulled his hand back.

"The hell is with you, man?" Billy said, and Rosa shot him a sharp look.

"Language," she warned, and popped a grape tomato in her mouth. "Freddy, honey, how about you tell us—"

The doorbell rang, and Victor groaned, his fork halfway to his mouth. Rosa started to rise, but Darla beat her to it.

"I'll get it!" she said, and raced to the front door.

"Hi, kid," said a man with a friendly-sounding voice. "Are your parents home?"

"I'm Rosa Vasquez," Rosa said, striding up to place her hands on Darla's shoulders. "We're just eating dinner now, so if this is—"

"Oh…yeah… Sorry to interrupt," the man said. "This won't take long. I'm here from the Wayne Foundation. Dick Grayson." He held out his hand and Rosa took it.

"The Wayne Foundation?" she said. "The charity?"

"Yeah. Seems your kids have won an athletic scholarship," Grayson told her. "One year, all expenses paid. Equipment, outfits, shoes, everything. Just show this certificate at the gym."

Billy shot a confused look at Mary, and the two of them left the table. Freddy grabbed his crutch and followed, trailed by Pedro and Eugene. Victor put his fork down and turned his gaze to the ceiling.

Rosa tentatively took the certificate and looked it over. "I'm sorry, there must be some mistake," she said. "We never signed up for any—"

"No, no, it's a random drawing," Grayson told her. "The scholarship's yours. Well, theirs," he gestured to the gathered kids. "Whether you decide to use it or not is up to you."

Billy glanced at his siblings, then moved closer to the door. There was something familiar about this stranger – his build, his voice…the shape of his chin…

"You're Billy, am I right?" the man said, staring at him with a similar searching expression. "Billy Batson?"

"Do I know you?" Billy asked suspiciously.

"Sure, big guy. We met at the station," he said, the shadow over the doorway seeming to mask his eyes as he shot the boy a significant look. "Philly's new link's now up and running, by the way."

Recognition hit like lightning. Billy blinked, then paled. "Then you… How did you find—!"

Grayson smirked. "Dude. Never let a ninja detective snatch your phone."

Billy's mouth dropped open, and he pulled his juice-less phone from his pocket.

"OK, I don't know what's going on here," Rosa said. "But, my husband's waiting at the table and our dinner's getting cold. Thanks very much for stopping by Mr... Grayson? But I don't think we'll be needing this—"

"Wait!" Billy said, running up to take the certificate before she could hand it back. "I think we should accept. This is for a year's training, right? For all six of us?"

"Self defense, martial arts, you name it," Grayson said, and looked to Rosa. "It's a good program, Mrs. Vasquez. Did wonders for me when I was a boy. My friend Robin can vouch for it too."

Darla gasped, staring from Grayson to Billy and back.

"Well…" Rosa said, and Billy could tell she was starting to weaken.

"Oh, please?" Darla pleaded. "Please, please please!"

"Yeah, please?" Billy joined her.

"First session starts tomorrow morning, if you're interested. You've already been sent an e-mail with a special link. Use that code there," Grayson pointed it out on the certificate, "and you'll get a text with all the details. But, I've kept you guys long enough. Enjoy your dinner. Hope to see you at the gym."

Grayson headed down the front steps to a motorcycle he'd parked in the street. Rosa and the kids watched him put on his helmet and speed away, then closed the front door, the whole group starting to talk at once.

"Billy, who was that man?" asked Rosa.

"He seemed to know you," Mary said suspiciously. "Did you tell—"

"I didn't!" Billy exclaimed. "Like he said, this was totally random!"

"Then, this athletic scholarship thing is for real?" Pedro asked excitedly, his eyes shining.

"Are we really going to learn martial arts?" Eugene said, kicking and punching at the air.

"Hey!" Freddy said, pounding his crutch on the floor. "Guys! What about me?"

"What about you?" Billy said. "You heard the guy – this scholarship covers all of us!"

"Uh, hello!" Freddy snapped. "I don't know if you've noticed, but gym isn't exactly my best subject."

"Maybe not under regular circumstances. But, this is different." Mary spoke thoughtfully. "I think we should give it a chance. You especially, Freddy. I mean, the sessions are already paid for, right? So, it's not like we lose anything if it doesn't work out."

Rosa sighed.

"Well, it's up to you kids if you want to put in the time," she said. "And it'll be up to you to stick with it once you start. But, if this athletic program thing starts to interfere with your schoolwork—"

"It won't, I promise," Billy said. "Trust me, we can handle this."

The rest of the kids nodded eagerly, except for…

"Freddy?" Rosa said.

Freddy sighed. "Whatever," he said bitterly and clomped back toward the table with Rosa just behind.

"Don't mind him," Mary told Billy as she walked past. "He's been in a funk all afternoon."

"I think he's jealous," Eugene said, smirking.

Billy's face crumpled.

"Look, I did the best I could today," he said. "I don't know what else—"

"Dude, you did great," Pedro said.

"Totally above and beyond, man," Eugene agreed. "Especially if this gym thing is what I think it is. Superhero training school - yeah!" He jumped up and chopped the air, practically bouncing back into the dining room.

Billy started to follow, but Darla pulled his sleeve to keep him back.

"Billy! Was that man from the Justice League?" she whispered, her dark eyes wide behind her glasses.

"Sort of," Billy said.

"Is he..." She glanced around the empty living room. "Batman?"

Billy snickered and shook his head. "I doubt it. I saw him on the Watchtower with Robin. I think his name is Nightwing. But, don't tell anyone, OK?"

"OK! Oh!" Darla squeaked and jumped in place. "If we go to this training thing, will we get to see Robin too?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Billy said and Darla beamed in joy.

"This is so awesome! Oh, my gosh! Now that they know where we live, are superheroes going to come visit a lot now?"

Billy winced. "Darla, I really don't think—"

"Dinner!" Victor bellowed from the dining room.

Billy and Darla shared a grin.

"Hey, race you," he challenged, and the two of them dashed to their seats.


"That wasn't cool, man," Nightwing said as he sped his motorcycle down the highway. "You hack his secret identity, then have me go and—"

"I've known for months who Shazam really is," Batman said, the com system in Nightwing's helmet making his grim voice sound oddly tinny. "I drained his phone because I didn't want him taking photos in the Watchtower."

"How'd you find out?" Nightwing demanded, leaning deeply into a curve as he passed a slower car. "I mean, I saw it, and I still find it hard to believe that big, muscular guy we met at the Watchtower is really a fourteen-year-old kid!"

"Barbara," Batman told him, and Nightwing pursed his lips. "She got me the security footage from the shopping center where Shazam had his confrontation with Sivana back in December."

"Then, you actually saw him transform…?"

"Smoke and lightning obscure the transformation," Batman admitted. "But, it's clear enough what happened. And it matches with what Jason Blood told me about legends he's heard of the wizard S.H.A.Z.A.M.!"

"Takes magic to know magic, I guess," Nightwing said. "But seriously… Knowing what you do… Are you sure it's the right thing, voting this guy into the Justice League? I mean…"

"Better to keep an eye on him," Batman said. "These kids have potential. But they're new. Without that wizard, they'll need support. Guidance. They may run into something they can't yet handle. If that happens, they need to know they have back-up. Someone they can call on for help."

"Maybe. But I know Superman's not going to like this," Nightwing said.

"No one's going to tell him," Batman said bluntly. "Shazam should be in the League. Exposing his mortal identity would do more harm than good."

"If you say so," Nightwing said. "But, I'm telling you, Clark's gonna lose it if he finds out. You know how he felt about me being Robin. Tim too. He thinks all kids should have the idyllic farmland childhood he had. Chickens, corn, soybeans. Me, I'd go nuts, but to him—"

Batman grunted. "It's never that simple when magic is involved. If anything, Superman needs to spend more time around Shazam."

"What do you mean?" Nightwing asked.

"When has Clark ever had a friend with strength and power to match his own? Someone on his own level?" Batman pointed out. "You've heard him – his whole life, he's felt he has to hold back, slow down, pull his punches. With the Captain, that's not an issue."

"So, why the scholarship? If the guy's a match for Superman—"

"Not a match. Superman has a vulnerability to magic. And Shazam only looks like a full-grown adult. His experience and mentality are those of a teenager."

"Right, I get it," Nightwing said. "Superman's an adult with an alien physiology that makes him practically invulnerable to harm. That's the same whether he's in uniform or walking around as Clark Kent. Shazam's just a kid. Well, a magic kid. Sort of."

"He's a mortal who's been given the ability to channel extremely powerful primordial energies," Batman specified.

"Then, his mortal identity is also his weakness. That's why you want us to train him. Him and his family," Nightwing said.

"I've contacted Barbara and Black Canary," Batman said. "They're in. Barbara knows, of course. But, I let Canary think this is part of a neighborhood outreach program. You're all to go as yourselves. No masks."

"Fine," Nightwing said. "They seem like good kids, so I'll play along. For now."

"Dick," Batman started, then went silent.

Nightwing sighed.

"Yeah," he said, signaling his turn onto the exit ramp. "You're welcome."

To Be Continued…


References Include - Batman the Animated Series; Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; Batman vs. Robin; Shazam! Volume 1, by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank; Shazam! (movie); Superman/Shazam: First Thunder by Judd Winick and Joshua Middleton.

More of this story is coming soon. Stay tuned, and please review! :D