Chapter Text
Stark white halls did not help with the monotonous train of thought that bogged down Captain Marvel’s shoulders. It had been a busy, boring, completely uncool day. The League, including Captain Marvel, had just returned from a mission in space. Something about freeing the aliens there? Cap wasn’t too sure anymore. Solomon’s wisdom prodded his mind, but he was not in the mood for the answer. Faintly, he could sense Billy's growing fatigue and irritation with the day. The steadfast stamina of Atlas kept Marvel from experiencing weakness of any kind, but he could feel the growing sleepiness of Billy in the back of his mind. The boy had not yet had the chance to have a meal nor proper sleep the previous day. No offense to the League, but their schedule was overwhelming after a while, especially for a kid with a full-time job. Batman's meeting had just ended not even ten minutes ago, but Marvel was already making strides towards the Zeta Tubes to take him home to Fawcett. Billy needed his rest if he was going to work tomorrow. Marvel still had to do his report for Batman. The detective had made sure to remind everyone present at his post mission meeting to have it in by the next day. It wouldn't take long to write, all Captain Marvel did was beat villains and take down a couple enemy ships while Superman and the others stopped the alien leader. Their foe never stood a chance, apparently. After all was said and done, everyone was hopeful that the post-mission meeting would be wrapped up in time to be home for dinner. Barry even called his wife to let her know he’d be home soon.
That is, they were, until Batman decided to have a meeting analyzing their effectiveness and strategizing how to improve in the future. The famously dubbed "Bat Meet '' by everyone but Batman. Cap could feel Billy's deteriorating mood the longer the meeting went on. Cap couldn't blame him, honestly. It was a long day and he too wanted to go home to Fawcett. He got so lost in his own mind that Billy managed to slip into the forefront, grumbling the entire time before Cap refocused on the conversation. What did Batman want them to do? Billy complained in his mind, Finish in half an hour?
Marvel’s actions were calculated and analyzed by godly might and wisdom. Yet, despite this, Batman still found ways to improve his efficiency in battle. Batman gave everyone little suggestions in their debriefing packets to improve in the future. It was a nice thought, really. Cap really appreciated the information on most days, even if he couldn’t apply them. He had his own reasons for his decisions. His powers were straightforward, mostly, but one wrong move with magic and everyone would be paying the price. He was satisfied with his own performance, including his ability to keep the other Leaguers safe from the destruction of massive alien invasion ships careening into the void of space.
Cap didn’t mind. He was confident in his ability, and logically, the league could never know the amount of planning that went into every step he made on a mission. So he wasn’t upset, or even disturbed by the advice handed to him. He understood, in the end, the advice was really just Bruce trying to help everyone the way he knew how. Even if that was a tedious and boring meeting that was tearing at Billy’s sanity with every minute elapsed talking about exponential thrust and missile explosion radiuses.
Captain Marvel was also understanding, steadfast, and so very ready to go home . Both Marvel and Billy sighed in relief as Fawcett's exit came into view in the main room as he finally escaped the meeting hall. Zeta Tubes lined the walls, dinging constantly under the droned chatter of other supers and workers coming and going. It was busy, as always.
It was a bit overwhelming, all the futuristic tech beeping and booping with all the lights. Fawcett was….well it wasn’t quiet but it was certainly, decidedly different from the rest of the world. Extremely different, actually. Its technology had its own flair, in its own unique way that Cap was convinced would challenge even the Watchtower’s top-of-the-line devices. However, Fawcett gained technology differently, thanks to its history, and grew in a way that changed it irrevocably from the outside world. Cap thanked the Gods that none of his fellows ever deemed to visit his city, as much as he would love to host them, they would be far too curious about Fawcett’s quirks.
Now, Marvel had no issues talking about the eclectic city he called home. Not at all. In fact, he’d love to. Billy, however… Even the thought of telling someone a funny story, or sharing a snippet of Fawcett culture alerted Billy’s protective nature. This was hardly a “Billy Only” trait. Every Fawcett citizen Marvel had met were insanely protective of the city’s past and weren’t eager to share anything with tourists.
Marvel shrugged it off. That’s what living in a time distortion spell did to a city, he guessed.
He relaxed his shoulders as he approached his Zeta Tube. Trying not to run, Marvel lengthened his steps to quickly slip in before anyone from the meeting could ask him questions, or worse, ask for his report. The one he hadn’t even started yet.
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Home was calm and dark. It was after eight, so the only lights on were the scattered street lights illuminating the streets. The last lamp at the end of a street flickered to life casting the final section of the road into a soft glow. The leerie put down his pole and extinguished its flame. Finally finished with his rounds for the night, he packed up his ladder on his back and set off home; disappearing into the winding streets of Fawcett. Captain Marvel, dressed in red, white and gold appeared in the rusted blue phone booth on the opposite end of the street. Stepping out, a cool fall breeze whistled by, rustling his cape. Another quirk of Fawcett that Marvel, and by extension Billy, had learned in their time with the League was that the lights never turned off on any of their streets. Fawcett, on the other hand, conserved power in the night, leaving only the street lights on Main Street, traffic signals, and essential power running for the city. Although Fawcett was no longer beholden to mandatory conservation laws, habits didn’t break in a day, and it was common to see entire blocks in blackout mere hours after sunset. It left the city feeling more haunted than one expected, almost as if the shadows watched anyone daring enough to brave the streets after nightfall.
On the upside it kept the city in the green for its energy budget.
Marvel, after a thorough sweep of the street, shot off to patrol the city in a quick loop. He had to ensure the entire city was quiet today. No one was getting eaten by a crocodile on his watch. Not today.
It didn’t take long to sweep the city. Fawcett was smaller than most larger cities nearby. Nonetheless, Marvel was able to thwart several muggings, a brave attempt of a Croc trying to eat Mr. Baker’s cat, saving Greg from tripping into a magic portal on 5th Avenue, (Marvel made sure to place safety cones around the hole in case it wasn’t gone by morning), and feeding dozens of homeless people throughout the city with whatever he could scrounge up from local restaurants. More often than not, local businesses left supplies and food on their stoops in case anyone needed it, or in case Marvel happened to take it to someone in need.
An hour later, Cap was satisfied that the city was completely safe for the night. He had to get home quickly, he could tell Billy wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep in the run down apartment he shared with his friends. The boy had to be up soon to get to his job at Whiz Kid Radio. Fawcett was a city full of early risers, unfortunately.
Taking his chance, Marvel landed in a shadowed alley only a couple blocks away from Billy’s lodgings. Light didn’t reach this far from the street, leaving them shrouded in inky black, conveniently away from prying eyes. Listening for wandering souls came up fruitless. Turning his attention to the illuminated street, he found it empty before whispering the word, “Shazam.”
The effect was immediate. Blinding hot, crackling lightning changed their forms, quickly illuminating the entire alley in a golden light. Snapping out of existence just as quickly as it had appeared, in its place stood Billy Batson, boy reporter of Whiz Radio who was very tired, very hungry, and very much so wanted to head back to his friends to go to bed. Now, Billy was checking the street in a frantic state to do just that. No one had seen, or poked their head out to see what the commotion was about. Billy didn’t expect them to, honestly. Everyone was used to random magical bursts of energy in the city at odd hours here. In reality, he didn’t need to be so careful, not in his own city, but working with his coworkers in other locales had instilled hard-to-break habits. Citizens outside of Fawcett had reacted in a myriad of ways; the most common being gobsmacked.
He was just about to walk into the street and finally head home when a sigh erupted behind him, followed by the slight shuffle of clothing.
Holy Moley! Billy spun on his heel to catch the source of the noise. Someone was in the alley with him. Billy only knew this because their eyes glowed , revealing a tall, gaunt figure in the alley, watching him. An eerie green light lit up their cheekbones, sending angular shadows down their face. Billy's eyes couldn't adjust to the darkness of the alley, leaving the stranger's face unseen past his glowing green eyes. Geez, this guy sang creepy, and Billy wasn’t even close to him! And how had he snuck up on Captain Marvel? The Captain Marvel? Seriously, this person was barely five feet away, was Cap losing his touch? Billy squinted, focusing his senses. Billy didn’t have the extremely keen senses of Marvel, but they were still heightened to an unnatural degree. How was this random figure standing behind him? And why was it so hard to pinpoint where, exactly, in the alley they were? (It helped that Billy could see them, but for a moment BIlly could swear the guy was fuzzy around the edges.)
Glowing neon green eyes were fixated on him, making him feel uncomfortable. Billy tried to appear threatening, puffing his chest a bit and squaring his shoulders. After such a long day, the last thing he wanted was to be jumped by a weird magical person.
After an uncomfortably long two minutes, the figure had not moved, or spoken, but maintained eye contact as Billy forced himself to relax under their scrutiny.
He cleared his throat after another minute of silence, “Did you see that?”
Only now did they move. They cocked their head to the side in question. Billy tried not to cringe at how unnatural the angle seemed to take thanks to weird lighting coming from their eyes. Cringing was rude.
Glowstick spoke up in a rattled voice that chilled the air, “See what?”
Billy blinked. Had Glowy really not seen his very flashy, bright, and loud transformation? “The light, just now? Gee, you didn’t see it? Quite the magic burst, it was! It’s too bad I only caught a bit of it from my apartment nearby. Man, I wish I coulda run a bit faster. That would’ve been a great scoop for the morning show!” Billy smiled questioningly, “You really didn’t happen to see anything?”
A slow blink, not unlike a cat as they looked down in thought, “I did not see a light. But I did hear a crack of lightning. Does that help?”
This wasn’t the first time he’s transformed in front of someone and for them to seemingly be unable to connect the dots that he was Captain Marvel. Thank the gods it worked out yet again.“Yeah, actually. Thank you.” Billy approached them calmly, standing a slight distance away before extending his hand, “My name is Billy. I run Whiz Kid Radio, so I’m always looking for the next scoop. Would you mind if I quote you on this event if I decide to run it on the next show?”
Neon eyes widened at his introduction, almost as if they weren’t used to them. Which was preposterous. Slowly, they extended his hand and shook Billy’s hand in a firm shake. “I’m Danny. I don’t mind you quoting me in your radio show, but could you keep me anonymous? I’m new in town. Just flew in a couple hours ago and don’t want to be too popular too soon.”
Mild surprise colored Billy’s face. It wasn’t often someone from the outside traveled to Fawcett on purpose. Especially magical beings capable of flight. Fawcett didn’t have an airport. The only way to get here was either by foot from the nearest town, or driving in on some pretty gnarly roads. It raised several red flags. Outside magic could be worse than an ignorant traveler. But, if all Danny could do was glow, he’d have no trouble blending in here in Fawcett. There was no way to tell how Danny’s magic would affect Fawcett until he was here for a while, and in the meantime, Danny looked like death rolled over. Smiling, he filed all his observations for later and continued the conversation, “Welcome to Fawcett! I’m sure you’ll love it here. Although, I don’t think any hotels are nearby. Do you have someone you can stay with for the night?”
Glow- Danny cringed, “Ah, no, actually. I don’t know anyone here that I could stay with.”
Uh-oh.
Billy could feel Marvel’s gasp in the back of his mind as Billy tried to maintain a neutral face. He didn’t want to scare Danny away. After all, Billy, and by extension Marvel can’t leave an unfamiliar traveler on the streets! They had room at home! Let him stay the night. He could be eaten by the Crocs if you don’t .
Billy had no qualms about inviting Danny to stay at his place, always willing to help someone in need. Keeping a closer eye on Danny was a plus, just to make sure nothing went on the fritz in the next couple of weeks. Incompatible magic usually reacted fast so it wasn’t like Billy would be checking in for too long. The issue was that it wasn’t just his place. Freddy and Mary lived with him, and he was pretty sure they wouldn’t like Billy bringing home a complete stranger with connections to the supernatural.
“….”
He couldn’t leave the guy here. It went against his responsibilities as Captain Marvel. Besides, it was rude to just say goodbye and walk away , right?
Decision made, Billy spoke, “My place is nearby. It’s not in the best state, but I can set you up in a room if you want?”
Billy ignored the surprised gasp Danny made. It was quiet enough that if he didn’t have heightened senses he wouldn’t have heard it.
Danny nodded his head, “Sure. Uhm….lead the way?”
Billy shot his best grin before spinning on his foot and marching out of the alley and onto the walkway. Danny’s near silent footsteps padded behind him.
Looking back, Billy took Danny’s appearance in. Danny was definitely homeless. They had a ratty backpack, torn and dirty clothes, and rumpled shoes that may have been Converse once. Their spiky, thick black hair that stuck up at random angles. His frame was lanky, only slightly muscular but it was enough to allude to possible lost muscle mass. He wasn't that tall either. Only about 5’7” if Billy was hearing Cap correctly. Overall, a normal, skinny guy. The only thing weird about him were his eyes, which still had an unnerving focus and glow effect to them.
It didn’t take long before Billy stopped in front of a rundown apartment building that had obviously seen better days. He turned back to Danny, “Home Sweet Home! Follow me, there should be an empty room right over here.”
Billy randomly chose the first door that had the right Vibes ™ and opened it with ease, ushering Danny into the empty space. It was only a single room with a small kitchenette and half-bath, but it would do nicely for one night.
“It’s a bit bare but it's better than sleeping on a bench outside!”
Danny looked at the room like it was made of gold and not expired carpet and dust, “Yeah. It is.” He turned to Billy, looking him in the eyes, belatedly Billy noticed Danny’s eyes were now an ice blue, “Thank you, Billy.”
Billy laughed awkwardly, “It’s no trouble! Welcome to Fawcett!”
With that, Billy retreated outside, quietly shutting the door.
The second Danny’s eyes were off of him he nearly collapsed against the wall. Gosh, he was so tired…and sore…and in for a lecture about stranger danger from Freddy. Again .
Speaking of, the faster he got that conversation over with the faster he could sleep. Begrudgingly, Billy plopped up the stairs to the third floor. The apartments up here were slightly larger, which was better for three kids who needed their own space. And also closer to the roof for convenient access in case a villain targeted their living space.
Billy barely took a step from the stairs when the front door opened to reveal his two roommates glaring at him with two drastically different expressions. Mary, his twin sister, looked at him with a strange mixture of sympathy, curiosity, and a hint of pity at his disheveled appearance. Freddy, on the other hand, had an incredibly irritated glare that demanded answers.
Freddy started, “Where were you man?”
Before Billy could answer Mary added, “We were worried, Billy.”
Ah. Guilt.
Billy sighed, “I’m sorry guys. The mission with the League went well but right after Batman held a really long, really boring , meeting that lasted hours . When Cap finally got out of it it was dark outside, so we just did a quick patrol before coming home…” Billy trailed off.
Freddy leaned against the doorframe, “I’m feeling there’s a “but” coming on?”
Billy smiled sheepishly, “But uh, I ran into this guy that just arrived in Fawcett but had no place to go so I let him stay downstairs in one of the first floor apartments?” It was voiced as a question, but nonetheless had an immediate effect on both recipients.
Mary smiled impishly. Freddy, on the other hand, looked slightly constipated.
Mary spoke before Freddy could formulate a response to Billy’s revelation, “Well, isn’t that kind, huh, Freddy?” Freddy side-eyed Mary, alarmed. Mary continued, “It’s about time we had a new neighbor. C’mon Billy, you look like death turned over. Get some rest, you have to go to work soon right?”
That seemed to take the wind out of Freddy’s sails as Billy shuffled in, beelining straight for his sleeping bag as he collapsed into his blankets. No doubt they would talk about this more in the morning, but for now, Billy closed his eyes and drifted off.