Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Billy Batson, otherwise known as Captain Marvel in the form he was in now, was not having a good day.

It started off ordinary enough, finding his last granola bar in his cabinet (he hasn"t really found the time to go shopping) attempted to teach himself to read a bit better with some abandoned books he found, did some hero work as his other self, and was even able to cash in some money from working a few odd jobs here and there. All and all, a normal day that shouldn"t have been as terrible as it turned out to be.

In his superhero form, Captain Marvel, Billy was nearly invincible. The powers of six gods will do that to you, but apparently there will still weaknesses he had yet to find. Which was why when Billy was finishing up gathering the latest criminals trying to rob the Fawcett City Bank for the police, he didn"t expect for a small little cylinder to be dropped right in front of him. Billy didn"t know if it was dangerous or not, so he picked it up and flew away from the knocked out criminals on the floor. Just as he did this however, a teal colored gas started pouring from the cylinder and wrapped itself around Billy"s head, filling his nostrils and lungs. 

When nothing happened at first, the boy took it as a sign that maybe this was meant for someone else, someone who couldn"t withstand poisonous gasses, when his entire form began to sway. He fell from his place in the air and crashed onto the floor, his vision swimming dangerously fast, strength vanishing as more and more of the gas entered his system. He could only move his eyes as something above him caught his attention.

The last thing he saw before everything went black was a sinister smirk glaring down at him. 

Batman sat in the Watchtower, looking down over the Earth as it passed below him. It was a beautiful sight, one that he was sure he would never tire of. There was just something so calming about looking down and knowing that everything that mattered was right there, protected and loved by the heroes that lived there. It was an odd thought he knew, but it gave the dark knight a sense of control when everything around him seemed out of it. 

"Now entering, Superman," came the monotone voice of a computer, announcing the arrival of the man of steel. Batman looked over his shoulder to see the hero walk to his chair in the conference room where all of the Justice League meetings took place, one which would begin in another 20 minutes. The dark knight nodded at his fellow hero before turning back to the Earth, hoping for some more peace and quiet before the others started to arrive. Thankfully, Superman seemed to understand this need and didn"t say a word as he sat down, taking the time to enjoy the silence as well. Work at the Daily Planet has given him some trouble lately, but it wasn"t anything too out of the ordinary. 

Minutes later, Cyborg and Wonder Woman appeared as well, chatting casually about history documentaries and other generally common things. And when Green Lantern and The Flash came in not two minutes before the meeting was supposed to officially start, Batman knew his peace was over. The two just never knew how to talk in a normal voice volume, something that the dark knight wishes they could understand in one way or another.

Batman finally tore his gaze away from Earth, sitting down in his own chair and taking the moment to look around at the other League members. There was only going to be seven of them here for the meeting today-

Wait. Then why was there only six of them here?

The dark knight narrowed his eyes, though no one could see it behind his cowl, counting everyone that was here. Superman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, and himself. Someone was missing, and a quick glance at the time showed him that the meeting was supposed to start a minute ago. Despite the obvious jokes and jabs at those like Flash for being late to everything, it was very rare for a Justice League member to be late to a meeting unless they explicitly told him about it. And Batman already knew the one who was missing said nothing about being late today.

Captain Marvel. As far as Batman could tell, the red cladded hero has never once missed a meeting, and in fact many times Captain Marvel will get to the Watchtower a few hours before the meeting actually starts. So how was it possible that he wasn"t here?

Something that felt like cold water trickled down his spine as he wondered, a sudden fear gripping Batman. Normally, he wouldn"t worry about it too much, just give the hero a talk and a little intimidation and everything would be fine. But it wasn"t Captain Marvel he feared for, no, it was Billy. Something must have happened to the boy in order for him to not be able to come. Captain Marvel may have the powers of gods, but Billy Batson sure as Hell didn"t. All it would take would be one fucked up person that surprised him for the boy to go down, and despite Fawcett City"s glowing and pristine reputation, he knew that there were more than enough shit shows running around there that would gladly take advantage of a young boy.

Keeping a voice of calm, the dark knight asked, "does anyone know where Captain Marvel is?"

The conversation between the others died down, all of them shaking their head or saying that no, they didn"t know where the Captain was. "Are you sure he"s supposed to be at this meeting, Batman? It"s possible that there was mix up somewhere," The Flash commented casually, as if he could sense the unease coming from the dark knight. 

Batman clenched his jaw, the cold feeling down his spine freezing into ice. "I"m positive, Flash. I talked to him two days ago to confirm it, in fact. And don"t try and tell me he might just be late, because in the year and a half he"s been apart of the Justice League he hasn"t been late to a single meeting. Call me paranoid, but something about this whole thing just doesn"t feel right."

"How about we try and contact him if you"re so worried, Batman?" Superman suggested. "We shouldn"t jump to a conclusion just yet. Besides, if Captain Marvel really is in trouble, then he can probably handle himself."

But that was the thing. Captain Marvel could go toe to toe with Superman no problem, but if someone got ahold of Billy Batson... Batman wasn"t sure if he would ever forgive himself. After all, he was the only one in the League that knew of the Captain"s identity, and if the others found out that he hid the fact that there was a 12 year old child on the League... well, he didn"t want to think about that. Marvel would most likely be kicked out the League immediately, and then maybe even Batman himself. After all, how could you trust someone who willing put a young child in danger, even if they had a young sidekick just a few years older?

In the back of his mind, the dark knight remembered the conversation he and Marvel had that night one year ago, when he told Batman that even if he was kicked out of the Justice League he would still protect people that couldn"t protect themselves. It didn"t matter if the boy had their approval, as far as he was concerned, his job was to help, just like any hero would do. That heart made him popular with civilians, but could also make him a very large target.

"Computer, contact Captain Marvel," Batman said after he managed to unclench his jaw. 

"Contacting, Captain Marvel," the robotic voice echoed. After two minutes of nothing, it came back again. "Unable to reach Captain Marvel at this time. Please try again later."

Batman shoved his chair back, standing up stiffly and with his whole form tense. The room exploded into sound, some like Wonder Woman and Superman thinking that the dark knight should calm down before he does anything, and others such as Green Lantern and Cyborg instantly siding with Batman in thinking something was extremely wrong with this whole thing. The Flash just stood there with an odd look on his face, as if he were concentrating on something, staring intensely behind Batman at the giant screen.

"Guys," the speedster said, quietly at first, but no one seemed to hear him, especially not as Batman began walking out of the room. "Guys!"

All of their attention snapped to him, their faces falling when they saw what The Flash was staring at. 

On the screen was a call from someone. A call from none other than Captain Marvel. It could have just been a check in, but the heroes didn"t think so. Batman practically ran over to the computer that controlled the screen, accepting the call. The entire screen was then filled with a video call, the majority of it filled with a dark room.

In the center however, was a tied up and knocked out Captain Marvel trapped inside a glass dome.

"Hello there, Justice League!" cheered an overly enthusiastic voice from off screen, instantly setting everyone even more on edge. Batman was already trying to trace the call, knowing that since it was from Marvel"s communicator that it would give off a certain signal that would make it easier to track. Everyone else knew this too, but it didn"t stop the anxiety that gripped at them at seeing one of their strongest heroes simply trapped like an animal. 

"As you can see, Captain Marvel here is quite comfy here, so I wouldn"t worry too much about him. I only want one thing from him- well, more like two things if you"re gonna get picky." From off screen there was the sounds of someone struggling, a young boy if they all had to guess. This made Superman grip the table below him so hard that it started to bend, knowing that his teammate and a child were in this psycho"s hands making his skin crawl. But they couldn"t do anything yet, not while Batman was still trying to figure out where the call was coming from.

The child was shoved in front of the camera, his face covered in dirt and scratches and he was wearing clothes that were threads away from falling apart. His dark eyes darted around him constantly, and when they landed on the Captain he softly croaked out, "Captain Marvel?"

"That"s right, kiddo! Now you get to meet your hero, from your own city! Doesn"t that sound great?"

The kid trembled, furiously shaking his head, and he kept glancing back at the red cladded hero. He looked like he desperately wanted to go over to Marvel and help him somehow, but was too scared to. Another person came on screen, the one the heroes assumed that captured Marvel in the first place, but he looked surprisingly young. Probably just graduated from college if any of them had to guess.

"You see, Justice League, out of all of your members, no one knows who the good old Captain is. Only Black Adam does, but he"s not going to give that away any time soon, and neither will the Captain himself. That is," a crazed smiled appeared on his face, revealing a single gold tooth. "He won"t do so willingly."

Gas started filling the chamber Captain Marvel was in the same moment Batman said, "I have it." Immediately the rest of the League"s communicators went off, sending the location the dark knight found. It was an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of Fawcett City, so old that it didn"t even exist on any maps of the city.

"Let"s go find us a Captain," The Flash mumbled to himself before all of them sprung into action. 

Billy awoke with a grown, his senses filled with something that smelled an awful lot like rotten eggs. When he opened his eyes, all he could see for several seconds was a jade colored gas, reminding him of the teal one that knocked him out-

Wait, where was he? All he could remember was taking down some criminals and then... nothing. Someone had managed to capture him, someone with knowledge on how to knock out Captain Marvel without ever laying a hand on him. Billy never even realized that was possible, given that pretty much everything he"s ever gone up against has never left a physical mark (well, at least on the Captain"s body. His regular, kid body had enough scars to make a seasoned war veteran queasy.)

When the gas finally began to clear, he could see the faint outline of two people, one maybe a year or two older than he was, and another a young adult. "Hello?" he called out to them, trying to stand up only to find out that he was tied to the chair he was sitting in. They were easily broken with the strength of Hercules, but when Billy stood up, he quickly found that he wasn"t just in a strange dark room with people he knew nothing about.

He was trapped in a glass dome in a strange dark room with people he knew nothing about.

"Well hello, Captain Marvel! Welcome to your stay at the Dome! Don"t worry, it won"t be to terribly long, that is," one of the people, the older one, said with a creepy smile on his face. It was the same one he saw before he passed out, Billy realized. "I guess how long you stay here adds up to how long you take to do what I want!" With a fick out his wrist, there was a deadly sharp knife in the man"s hand, and the kid next to him was pressed against his chest with said knife at his throat. Billy could feel dread fill his veins as a single bead of blood ran down the boy"s next from the press of the knife, instantly trying to break down the glass with a mighty shove. But the glass didn"t even budge, and the man tsked at him for the attempt.

"I wouldn"t do that if I were you. You see, this glass was specially made to hold freaks of nature like you, Superman, and even Wonder Woman if need be! Besides, if you keep trying to find a way out," he dug the blade into the boy"s throat, "little Ricky here is going to get hurt. Now there are a few things I want from you and your Justice League." 

Billy set his jaw, looking away from the terrified boy right into the eyes of the man. He knew from experience that direct eye contact could make people uncomfortable and more vulnerable, and if he couldn"t get past this glass, he might as well do whatever he can. The man barely seemed to notice this change, instead deciding to keep spilling whatever villain monologue he had. All he could hope for to save him and the boy was the other League members, and from his quick glance around the room earlier, that could be the case. It seemed this his communicator was used to contact the Justice League given by projected image if the meeting room in the Watchtower, something that could only be seen if you had a direct link to it.

"What do you want?" Billy said as calmly as he could manage, the courage of Achilles helping settle his nerves. He could make it through this. He"s been through much, much worse, and that was when he was not Captain Marvel.

"What I want? Well that"s simple enough." The man walked towards the glass dome until his nose nearly touched it, his crazed eyes becoming very clear to Billy. "I want you to turn into your human self, the one without all the magic mumbo jumbo and crazy powers. Then, I"m going to reveal your identity to the entire world and kill you. And if you refuse to do so?" The man cut a thin line into Ricky"s neck, more and more blood beginning to pour out of it. Not enough to be dangerous, yet, but enough to make the hero understand that this man was serious about what he was talking about.

"If I do this, will he be let go?" Billy guestered to the boy, who looked up at him with wide eyes that were pleading not to do what this mad man asked of him, eyes that said he believed his life wasn"t worth Captain Marvel"s.

But that"s where he was wrong. To Billy Batson, everyone"s life, no matter how seemingly insignificant or important, was more important than his. That"s one of the main reasons he became a hero in the first place, one of the main reasons the Wizard choose him as the Champion of Magic, because no matter what he"s been through, no matter what he"s seen, he"s never once put someone else before himself. And he"s been told many of times by those around him that his big hear would get him killed, everyone from Black Canary to that older lady that runs a diner down on Fox Street. 

Well, he"s already decided that there are worse ways to go. And plus, it wasn"t like anyone would mourn the death of Billy Batson, an 11 year old homeless kid that"s just trying to survive. Everyone would mourn Captain Marvel, especially Fawcett City, who had grown to love their hero with every fiber of their beings. He was unlike most heroes where you could walk into their city and everyone you met would have something nice to say about him, no matter how small or insignificant. 

So yes, Billy would give up his identity and life for this boy, this boy for, if he had to guess, lived on the streets just like he did. This mad man probably thought no one would miss him either, and on the slim chance his plan didn"t go the way he wanted it to he could cut his throat and move on like it was nothing. But Billy still wanted confirmation that he would stay safe during all of this, no matter what happened.

The man rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Of course I"ll him him go, what do you think I am, a monster?" he chuckled at the end of his question, and once again Billy was struck with just how crazed he sounded. The only other thing he"s heard sound like that was the Joker, but there was no way this man was Batman"s dolled up villian. For one, he was too young, which was saying something because to the young boy, pretty much everyone he came across is old to him.

"Well, it"s kind of hard to tell, seeing that you kidnapped a kid and me and is now threatening both with death," Billy couldn"t help but say dryly, narrowing his eyes. The man stopped laughing at that, his crazed eyes turning cruel and mouth curving into a snarl. He was just about to retort with something else, probably a threat or something, Billy interrupted. "Now, let him go, and I"ll do what you asked." 

The man hummed, the anger from before fading to simmer just beneath his skin, ready to come back in full force if need be. "How about you do your little magic trick and then I let him go? After all, I"ve gotta make sure you stay true to your word."

Billy resisted the urge to slam his head against the glass, wanting to appear as complacent as possible, though he knew it would be a hard thing to do. How did this guy ever find out how he went between his mortal form and his hero form? Not even Batman really even knew, though he suspected the dark knight had a few theories, one of them which would probably be accurate. Only two people on Earth knew how he got his powers, and that was him and Black Adam, and there was no way his greatest nemesis would ever tell a mortal, even if he wasn"t dead. Or, as far as Billy knew, he was dead. Being"s like him had a habit of coming back to life whenever they chose. 

"Fine." Billy took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. All he could hope was that this man would stay true to his word, and that somehow, someway the Justice League found his body. He also hoped that Batman wouldn"t be too mad at him... and for that matter, the just of the Justice League as well. He kind of regret never telling them his secret, even if he knew it would have been a crap storm to try and make it through all of their questions and demands.

With that thought, the Champion of Magic lifted his head to the sky, and with a mighty shout called the name, "SHAZAM!"

Instantly there was a bolt of lightning arcing down to Billy, just like every other time he called out the Wizard"s name. But unlike any other time, he was inside a building, meaning the magical lightning had to shatter the ceiling above him and the glass that surrounded him, and that it did. Within a heartbeat there were pieces of debris and shards of glass raining around him, and the familiar feel of the lightning struck his body and took away his powers. It hurt every time he did this, the path of the electricity taking the same route every time, making the scar that covered his entire back, arms, neck and parts of his chest flare with pain. But he didn"t mind anymore, like he used to. The pain was almost comforting in a way he couldn"t describe, the one way he could still connect to the long dead Wizard that gave him this power in the first place.

The man stumbled back in shock, Ricky"s eyes wide with amazement as he saw his hero do this. He"s seen the lightning Captain Marvel would summon the T.V when he was fighting villains, but this was much different, this lightning felt more powerful and purposeful. It entranced the young boy, even as little shards of glass stuck into his skin and made small drops of blood appear.

When the the smoke finally faded away, leaving behind the one who held all of the powers of the gods, everything else in the world seemed to move in slow motion. Both the man and Ricky gasped when they saw a boy, no older than 12, right in the place where Captain Marvel was not one second ago. He was much smaller and skinnier than any boy should be, much like Ricky himself, with ragged black hair and blue eyes that shinned with lightning that his other persona created so easily. 

"What...  no no no no no," the man stuttered, tensing around Ricky with panic in his voice. "That- that can"t be right! It"s a trick, a dirty, twisted trick! And do you know what happens to tricksters!?" He put even more pressure on Ricky"s neck, making him choke as he attempted to stay away from it"s sharp edge. The boy who used to be Captain Marvel"s eyes widened, and just as he was about to lunge at the man, the sound of a small explosion filled the building.

Billy yelped, covering his head with his hands as more debris came raining down, though this time in much smaller amounts. The dust in the air made him cough, and when he looked up he could see the outline of other people, other people who looked surprisingly familiar.

One of them came right down next to him, their pointed ears and long black cape making it very obvious who it was.

"B-Batman?"

When Batman saw the lightning strike the warehouse, he knew instantly that there would be trouble. Whenever there was lightning, there was usually Captain Marvel, but when it was that lightning, a singular, giant strike, there was Billy Batson. Meaning now there would be two young children trying to deal with a madman that had no problem with killing either of them. Knowing the kid, he probably was going to sacrifice himself in order to save the other kid, but there was no way in Hell Batman was letting that happen.

The other members of the League saw the lightning as well, honing in on it as quickly as possible. The Flash was already there, but was waiting for the rest of them to get there, knowing that they had no idea what to expect. When Superman called out that there was a hole in the ceiling of the warehouse, all of them immediately went for it, seeing as it was the easiest way to get it. 

The dark knight turned off the flying motorcycle he had created for occasions when he had to fly with the other heroes, falling gracefully into the hole and landing in a pile of dust and small pieces of the ceiling, turning on the radars in his eyes so that he could see better. 

"B-Batman?" asked a small yet strong voice, one belonging to a young child. The dark knight focused on where the voice came from, seeing a boy with dark hair and nearly glowing eyes staring up at him in wonder. It took him a second, but Batman realized why he knew those eyes, eyes that could only belong to one other person.

Captain Marvel, AKA, Billy Batson. 

Before Batman could reply, the others came in around him, Wonder Woman, Superman and Green Lantern flying down, and The Flash running in with Cyborg. They all took a moment to survey the warehouse, Superman instantly walking up to Billy to make sure he was okay, but the boy hardly seemed to notice. Instead, his eyes widened with what looked like realization, blurting out, "where did they go?"

"Where did who go?" asked Wonder Woman gently, trying to soothe the boy as he frantically began to move around.

"Ricky and that man, the one that brought us here!" Billy"s eyes landed on a set of stairs that were on the far left of the warehouse, calling out, "there! They"re over there!" and trying to run towards what he saw. Batman immediately stopped the boy from going anywhere by putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing, trying to tell him to sit this one out. The dark knight knew the boy would understand what he was asking, but he also knew he wouldn"t be too happy about that. Even though Billy Batson had none of the powers of Captain Marvel, he still had the same heart that was five sizes too big for his own good. 

"Stay here, got it?" Batman said sternly, watching the conflicted look on Billy"s face as he struggled to take the order. But eventually he nodded, and with that Batman was running to the stairs, the other League members following him. The man with the boy they had seen earlier had just disappeared onto what could only be assumed to be the roof.

"Hey Bats, where"s Captain Marvel?" Flash called out to him as he used his grappling hook to get up the stairs quicker, the speedster not far behind him. 

"Worry about it later," Batman growled back, hoping the other would just take it and leave him. Surprisingly, he did, but even now the dark knight could feel the questions bubbling up in the others throats. Somehow he would have to convince them that Captain Marvel got away, but already there were ideas popping into his head. For example, the lightning could be used as a way to explain how he wasn"t here in some way. But that would still leave the question on why the other boy, the one they didn"t see with the man who captured them, was there. 

Damnit. Why couldn"t it ever be easy?

It actually could be, if Batman were to be honest with himself. All he had to do was tell the League that Captain Marvel was actually an 12 year old boy, but he couldn"t do that. It wasn"t his secret to tell. If Billy wanted to, he would do it himself, but Batman wouldn"t betray his trust like that.

In seconds they were all on the roof of the warehouse, and on the very far edge of it they could all see the man and the boy. The man had a knife in his hand, and the tip of said knife was positioned right over the boy"s heart, ready to plunge in at any moment. There was a wild look in the man"s eyes, one that showed no regard for the boy"s life that was on the line. It almost looked like it was a game for him, on that he was having a ton of fun playing. 

Cyborg took a step forward, his arm raised, no doubt ready to set off something in his wide range of arsenal, but he stopped when the man tsked at him, a wide smile growing on his face. 

"I wouldn"t to that," the man said, taking a step closer to the edge. "Not if you want this boy to survive, that is," he gestured to the knife. "After all, I think I can move this knife a lot faster than any of you will be able to react, even if you do have The Flash on your side."

"What do you want, anyway?" demanded Green Lantern, his form slowly glowing brighter and brighter green. Batman knew that meant he was just stalling for time, either waiting for one of them to come up with a plan or thinking up one of his own. If he could get the man talking, they would have more of a chance to help the young civilian that he"s trapped. It was actually a good plan, when you thought about it. The Lantern was much smarter than he let on sometimes, and even Batman forgot about that from time to time.

"Didn"t I tell you already?" the man asked with a irritated tone in his voice. He had in fact told them what he wanted, but he didn"t need to know that. He just needed to keep talking. "I wanted to know who Captain Marvel is... though I guess I know that now, anyway," he laughed, a sinister smirk making its way onto his face. "And let me say, it"s got to the best thing I"ve ever found out in my life!"

Batman felt his nerves prickle at that, knowing that this mad man had probably threatened Billy with this kids life if he didn"t reveal who he was. It was a sick, twisted thing to do, but it was expected of someone like this. 

However, the attention of the rest of the League was immediately peaked when they heard this, as if they suddenly understood what those words meant, realizing that Marvel has revealed his secret identity to this man. They"ve all been curious about their teammates identity for a long while now, even if they never pushed for it. Rumors about anything and everything that came with Marvel has been thought of, everything from him being from Krypton to him actually being a thousand year old god. None of them have ever come close to the truth however, which was the only reason Batman had never given them any thought.

The dark knight stealthily, slid a Batarang out of his sleeve, letting it rest in his palm. If he could get close enough to the man, he could knock the knife out of his hand. If the man decided to jump there were many options to solve that, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern or Superman flying to catch them or Flash running to them, or even Cyborg created something to cushion their fall. 

Just as Batman was about to start creeping forward, an all to familiar voice came through.

"Hey! Leave them alone!"

The dark knight watched, stunned as he saw Billy charge in between the Justice League and the man, realizing too late that they should have pulled him back. The others realized this as well, but when Flash went to run for the boy, he froze when he saw the man press the knife into the boy"s skin, just enough to pierce his clothing. The speedsters eyes darted to Batman"s, hoping for a plan of some sort to get them through this, but the dark knight was at a loss. They couldn"t do anything without potentially getting Billy in the crossfire, or getting the other boy hurt.

"It"s me you want, so come and take it!" Billy continued, slowing down until he was about 15 feet away from the man. "You gave me your word that you would let Ricky go if I changed, so do it!" He spread his arms wide as if to challenge the man. Even without seeing his eyes Batman could imagine the defiance and determination that would be there, the commitment of a hero staying proud and true.

"What the Hell is he talking about?" Cyborg asked, his one eye narrowing in surprise. You could practically see the gears working in his mind, trying to piece it all together. If Batman were to guess, he would put it together rather quickly. 

The man hummed, titling his head as his eyes flashed. "I guess I did give you my word didn"t I? That I would kill you to save the boy," he dragged the knife up to the boy"s neck, lightly brushing the blade back and forth. "But that was before your little Justice League interrupted us wasn"t it? Oh well," he shrugged, taking a step that would take him all the way to the edge. "I guess I could still just let him go."

Before any of them could think to stop it, the man was jumping of the roof, the boy it tow with him. It took Superman barely a moment to snap out of his shock but before he could do anything, a voice called out, "SHAZAM!" Within a millisecond there was the unmistakable crack and flash of lightning, and a gust of wind that Superman knew would be made by someone flying at incredible speed. 

A second later, the boy that had been in the man"s grasp on on the roof, gasping and shaking with nerves and shock. And right next to him... was Captain Marvel. All of the League members, even Batman, were left bewildered at the sight of the teammate they had come here to help save, his appearance seemingly coming out of nowhere. There was also what could only be described as a halo around his body, one made of lightning and pure power that they"ve all seen before, though only once.

Captain Marvel looked up at his fellow heroes, his eyes sparking with lightning, a gaze they recognized from before meeting theirs. A shy smile came to his lips, and in that moment they all knew just why the red cladded hero would sometimes act so naive and innocent, or where his child like comments came from.

"Hi there, guys," Marvel said hesitantly, before leveling his gaze and raising his chin up.

"You know me as Captain Marvel, but," his smile crossed his whole face, one that showed off all the heart that was somehow packed into his body, one that seemed to forget that he was the avatar for the gods.

"You can call me Billy."