Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

1 - dating advice

Captain Marvel was kind of a flake. Well, not exactly, but Billy was pretty sure everyone thought he was. He had this persona he used as Captain Marvel- mostly he just tried to be more mature. Act more like an adult. But, when you were an eleven year old boy who was so rarely around adults (aside from his co-workers), it was a little difficult to emulate. Especially when people started talking about stuff Billy could not in any way relate to. That was when he’d do his best to gracefully leave a conversation- hence why he was pretty sure everyone thought he was a flake. 

Billy was on monitor duty. Which sucked, but then again, it meant Billy could spend more time at the Watchtower and not down in Fawcett City. It was getting to be winter, and it was not fun at all to hang out down there in the cold. So Billy would take what he could get, even if that meant sitting in front of a bunch of screens with his only entertainment being to spin himself around in his chair. Who knew being a superhero could be so boring sometimes? 

His shift was almost over at least, and then the next hero would come to take it over. Hopefully it wasn’t the Flash, because he always managed to be late and make people stay over. How you could be the fastest man alive and still always be late was a mystery to Billy. 

A minute later, Barry darted through the door and Billy stopped his spinning and looked up in surprise. Then he glanced at the clock on the display and back at Barry. “You’re early,” He said, vaguely suspicious. He knew Batman had taught them all some way to identify evil clones, but for the life of him Billy couldn’t remember it. Shit. Should he call Batman? Nah, that was even scarier than dealing with a maybe-evil clone. Billy would rather take his chances. 

Barry laughed and threw himself down into the seat beside him, spinning a little himself. “Yeah, but I’m not relieving you of your duty until my shift officially starts.” Billy’s shoulders hunched a little and he glanced back at the screens in resignation. 

“Just keeping me company, then?” He asked. Barry shook his head, face turning a little more serious. 

“I actually need your advice,” Billy looked over in interest and Flash took that as a signal to continue. “We’re friends, so I’m trusting you with this. But I’ve… been talking to this girl.” Billy’s stomach turned over a little and he fought to keep any wariness off his face. This was a dangerous topic for sure. Billy had never been on a date, not that any of his co-workers knew that. To them, he looked like a thirty-something year old man; why wouldn’t he have experience in the romantic department?

Barry obviously didn’t notice his hesitance as he continued. “We’ve actually been on a few dates now. I really feel like I have this connection with her, and… I want to take things to the next level with her.” Barry huffed a laugh, shaking his head at himself and seemingly completely oblivious to the pinched expression Billy was trying to hide. “I mean I want to, like, officially date her. And we’ve talked, and she knows sex is a big part of relationships for me-” Billy blanched, fingers desperately fiddling with some of the computer controls as he cycled through different cameras. “But I don’t know when I should initiate, y’know? I don’t want to seem like some guy who only cares about that, but I do want to move to that level and I don’t know how to go about it. I really don’t want to mess things up.” He sighed, looking dejected, and then turned his gaze on Billy. 

Billy who was sure his face was burning red as he fiercely avoided eye contact by keeping his gaze on the screen. He absolutely did not want to hear about anyone’s sex life, let alone his co-worker’s - fuck fuck fuck. Barry was waiting for response, brow furrowed as he observed him. 

“Uh,” Billy started. He needed to seem like an adult, but this was so awkward and Billy had no idea what he was talking about. “If the time feels right… for both of you. Then you should uh, do that. And ask her if the time feels right.” There, that was great advice, right? Super mature and adult. Perfect. Billy stared at the clock, and right then, it ticked over to the shift change. Billy practically threw himself from his seat, barely glancing at Barry as he rushed from the room. “Sorry, I’ve got a thing. I hope it goes well!” Was all he offered before he was gone. 

Only once he was safely in the zeta did he let his face fold into his hands as he groaned in disgust. 

2 - slang

Despite living on the streets, Billy was not completely offline. Or rather, he talked to enough kids his age that he knew all the slang, all the trends, and all the current internet drama. Honestly, it was one of the few things that actually made him feel like he fit in with people his age. He took comfort in that, in the fact that he could still be interested in petty drama and things kids liked. It meant he wasn’t completely different from everyone else. 

It wasn’t unusual for heroes to hang around the watchtower. It was… maybe peaceful wasn’t the right word, but a necessary reprieve from the constant action that took up most hero’s lives. People like Superman could come up there and have the world be a little quieter. The Flash could move at a speed that felt natural for him without anyone batting an eye. And Billy could sit in comfortable chairs and hang out without any bullies or cops trying to chase him down. 

At that moment, he was in the unofficial rec room (though no one called it that in front of Batman, who insisted there was no room for such a purpose on the tower), and the comfortable chair was swallowing him up enough that he was beginning to feel drowsy. They were designed to provide comfort to heroes who got sore from all the action, but Billy enjoyed them too. 

He had his league tablet in his lap and was currently playing Roblox, even though he was absolutely not supposed to have games on there. He had another tab with official looking documents open that he could switch to if someone came to check on him, but he was pretty sure none of the other heroes would actually be annoyed (except Batman). 

Billy looked up as the door slid open and Superman entered. He offered the man a smile and received a small wave in return before Billy looked back down at his tablet. It was clear he was fresh-off some mission or battle and had just showered off before coming here; it also wasn’t uncommon for heroes to come socialize in the rec room after work. 

Billy listened absently to the noise around him as Superman struck up a conversation with Green Arrow and Green Lantern. He was debriefing on the battle- Lex Luthor again- and lamenting over the billionaire’s weird obsession with him. Billy could relate- Black Adam had the same deal. 

Then Superman was talking about Superboy. The older one that was. Billy knew there were two, and the second one was probably around his age which made him feel a little weird. Especially when he saw that one hanging around with Batman’s current Robin. It might be fun to have superhero friends his age- not that that would ever happen. 

Superman stopped speaking abruptly and Billy looked up in reflex. He was standing with GA and GL with a hand on his hip, frowning down at his phone. It was pretty funny to see the alien with such a comparably tiny device in his hand, but then Billy remembered he currently looked like a 6'4 god playing roblox on an ipad and sobered up. 

“What is it?” Oliver asked, trying unsubtly to peak over Superman’s shoulder. Kal scratched his head, looking confused. 

“Nothing. Kon and I were having a disagreement- the one I was just telling you about- and I don’t understand his response.” Superman moved the phone so his companions could see. Billy looked back at his screen to continue playing as the men tried to puzzle it out. 

“Si-boo?” Green Lantern tried, crossing his arms across his chest. Oliver smacked him and then gestured at the small screen. 

“No, idiot. Look at the ‘au’. It’s like Si-b ow .” Hal rolled his eyes. 

“Well that doesn’t make any more sense.” He suddenly perked up as if he had an idea. “Could it be Kryptonian, Kal? It’s certainly not English." He looked pleased with himself for a moment before Clark was shaking his head and he deflated again. 

“No, I’m still teaching him Kryptonian, and he definitely doesn’t know more than me,” All three men were quiet for a moment before Clark looked over at Billy again. 

“Hey, Captain. Want to give it a try?” Billy smiled, pausing his game somewhat reluctantly as he looked over. He shrugged. 

“Sure. Superboy sent you this? How’s it spelled?” Billy asked. He was sure he wouldn’t know any words they didn’t, but he might as well try to keep up his facade of adulthood. Superman nodded and squinted at the screen again. 

“S-Y-B-A-U,” He offered. Billy blinked. 

“Shut your bitch ass up,” He responded, forgetting until the moment he said it that if they did not know, he definitely shouldn't. 

Green Arrow did a double take, Hal blinked in shock, and Superman reeled back, looking upset. “Captain, why would you say something like that?” He sounded genuinely hurt and Billy winced. He needed to clarify, obviously, since he didn’t want to offend Superman; it was too late now to go back on what he had said. 

He shook his head quickly. “No, I’m not saying that to you . That’s what s-y-b-a-u stands for.” All three men were still and quiet for a moment before both Hal and Oliver burst out laughing. Superman frowned down at his phone. 

“Your son said that to you, Big Blue?” Hal wheezed. 

“Jeez, he takes after Lex, doesn’t he?” Oliver added. Kal sighed and began to type a response on his phone, looking oddly defeated. Okay, good. They didn’t seem to notice anything off about how Billy had known the answer. He closed out of his game and stood up, stretching theatrically as he prepared to make his exit. 

“Right, I’m calling it a night. See you guys later,” He said casually as he made for the door. Right as he stepped through it he heard Green Arrow behind him. 

“Hey, how’d you know-” But Billy was already gone. 

3 - side kicks

Not counting Billy, there were a lot of young superheroes. More than there should be, to be honest; not that Billy had a leg to stand on, but whatever. It seemed like a new sidekick popped up every day, and it was an incredibly divisive topic in the superhero community. Or rather, it used to be a lot more controversial. Before everyone and their super-mother acquired one. Now they were treated as more of an inevitability rather than something to argue against; most of the conflict was based around rules and restrictions and whether it was okay to just take an orphan off the street (looking at you Batman). 

Pretty much every core member of the JLA had one. Flash had Kid-Flash and Impulse, Aquaman had Aqualad, Wonderwoman had two Wondergirls, Superman had two Super boys , Green Arrow used to have Speedy, and Batman had his whole gaggle of Robins. Or maybe ‘colony’ of Robins- or flock? Billy didn’t know whether bat or bird terminology applied better. 

It was somewhat of an in-joke to hassle other heroes about potential sidekicks. Not seriously, really; but maybe after a fight a kid would run and hug Green Lantern and the other heroes would raise their eyebrows and make pointed gestures and everyone would laugh. Billy… did his best to avoid those situations. He had his Captain Marvel persona, obviously, but despite hiding his identity for so long, he still wasn’t great at coming up with lies on the fly. Or bullshitting his way through a situation. If he had any money, he’d invest in acting classes. 

But they weren’t always avoidable. It was post-battle, and the usual routine was happening. The heroes present were slowly coalescing into one general area, whether they were flying in or trudging their way through rubble, or swinging in on a grapple hook. They all slowly collected, quietly chatting amongst themselves and checking that no one had any major injuries. Sometimes after battles, everyone would be rambunctious and high spirited, but that stage usually occurred once everyone had showered off in the Watchtower and were collecting in the rec room. Right after a battle, however, everyone was exhausted, whether physically or mentally. Billy was both. 

He knew he couldn't exactly feel tired in this form, but he hadn’t slept well as Billy the night before and some sort of mental block had carried over into Captain Marvel. He was looking forward to his warm shower and collapsing into a chair in the Watchtower. 

He slowly touched down where the rest of the group had already gathered and tossed a tired smile Batman’s way when the man gave him a glance. He was learning to read the hero- he was pretty sure that was his ‘checking in’ face. Or maybe ‘you sucked in this battle’ but Billy couldn’t quite tell, so he was going with the nicer option. 

Billy was scrubbing a hand through his hair when a solid force collided into his legs. He looked down in surprise; if he had been in his other form, he was sure it would’ve been enough force to knock him over. It was a little girl, maybe seven or eight years old, with dark brown hair and gleaming blue eyes. To Billy’s alarm, she looked close to tears. 

Quickly he crouched down and held out his arms for the little girl to fling herself into; he was good with kids, he liked to think. Partially because he was one, and partially because he had comforted children younger and older than him on the streets. 

“Captain Marvel!” The little girl cried out and pulled back enough that he could see her beaming grin. The teariness in her eyes was already receding, thank the gods. 

“That’s me,” He laughed, returning her grin with equal enthusiasm. There was something about her face, though, that was hurting his stomach. He couldn’t quite place it until-

“Wow, hello mini Marvel! Has anyone ever told you you look just like the Captain here?” Hal Jordan crossed his arms, grinning delightedly. Already the other heroes were perking up and turning their attention, ready to make their sidekick jokes. The little gril was laughing happily, stating that yes they had, and that was why Billy was her favorite. But Billy was staring at her face. That was why his stomach was hurting. She looked just like him, which meant she looked just like Mary. Mary who was- not dead. She wasn’t dead, but it had been so long since Billy had seen her, and even though Shazam assured him she was alive, he still might never see her again. And this little girl was too young to be Mary, but she had been gone by the time Billy was this age, which meant that she had probably looked just like this. And this random little girl’s face was all the mirror Billy would ever get into her life without him. 

He was still smiling, he knew- maybe he didn’t need acting classes after all- but his stomach was cold. No one else seemed to notice anything wrong. 

“Hey, do you have parents, kid?” Oliver asked cheerfully. Kal slapped his arm. Oliver held it gingerly, looking at Superman with a wounded expression. “What, I’m just saying she could be sidekick material…” The little girl giggled happily. 

“I have a mom and a dad,” She added helpfully. And Oliver shook his head with fake disappointment. 

“They’re probably very worried about you, hm?” Billy was glad his voice sounded normal. The girl pouted. 

“Yeah, but I don’t want to leave without you,” There were various coos from the JLA, but Billy saw this as his ticket out. 

“How about I give you a piggy-back ride over to them then?” He offered, his smile still in place. That seemed to please her and he hoisted her onto his back. At least here he couldn’t see her face. When they reached her parents, they both fawned over their daughter (whose name was apparently Addy, not Mary) and thanked Billy profusely. He fumbled his way through the rest of the brief conversation on auto-pilot, and when he took off, the cold feeling was still roiling in his stomach. He didn’t end up going to the Watchtower after all. 

4 - drinking

The heroes were usually in a good mood after a battle went well. Well, tired at first and then happy once they’d cleaned up and were sitting down. Then briefly in bad moods again as they went through the mission report, then back to glee afterwards. Sometimes people even stuck around to hang out afterwards, though Billy usually did not. Scratch that, he never had. 

Because after a big battle, Billy was happy to have his shower and to rest during the mission briefing, and then he was just… tired. Mentally, since he couldn’t really be physically exhausted. And there was also the issue of his co-workers. Don’t get him wrong, Billy loved the other heroes! It’s just that sometimes he felt like a fish out of water. Or rather, like a kid listening to a bunch of adults talk over his head. He felt out of place, was what he meant. And that, on top of his post-battle exhaustion, was usually enough to send Billy back to Fawcett City. 

But today was a good day. Billy slept well for once, and he dealt with everything in Fawcett city cleanly. No bullies or cops chased him down, and he ate a delicious free burrito from a food truck he saved. The battle had been good too; he had felt completely on top of his game, moving neatly and swiftly with the other heroes. No casualties and minimal property damage, and Batman had just hit him with a ‘nicely done’ in his notes at the mission briefing. So why shouldn’t Billy stay to hang out? He was tired, sure, but no more than he usually was. And it was cold back in Fawcett, so he kinda wanted to stay in the warmth of the watchtower for as long as possible. 

The heroes had all moved to the rec room, and now everyone was relaxing in their chairs and chatting it up. Even Batman had stayed, and he was currently speaking with Wonderwoman with what might be his version of a smile on his face. Billy felt good as he tipped his head back on his squishy chair and sighed in contentment. Which of course meant things were about to go wrong. 

Aquaman strutted into the room and in his hands was… a case full of beers. Shit. Some of the others were cheering for him and he was passing out drinks swiftly. Billy didn’t have time to think of a protest before one of the cold cans was shoved into his hands. He looked down at it blankly. He had never tried alcohol. And to be honest, he didn’t really want to. He’d seen too many times what it could do to normally very kind people. 

He looked up as the crack-hiss of everyone opening their drinks echoed through the room and then back to his own. He needed to open it, to drink it, or else someone would look over and get suspicious. He could maybe fake drinking it, or just take tiny sips? Yeah, he could do that. 

He followed suit with opening his drink but didn’t raise it to his mouth yet. He was still watching the others, who had resumed their cheery banter. These were his co-workers who he got along with, and who he even considered his friends. They were literal superheroes for Christ's sake. But for some reason, Billy’s stupid brain was just looking at them and seeing a group of adults drinking. And because of his enhanced senses, he could also pretty much only smell alcohol. This was so stupid because Billy had been around older kids drinking since he started living on the streets and it hadn’t bothered him. But now, just because he was tired, he felt sick. 

Who knew what these people would be like after they’d had a few drinks? One drink, Billy reminded himself. It’s one beer. Everything’s fine. Hal was looking at him, he realized. And at the beer in his hand. Billy smiled and tipped his drink somewhat awkwardly towards the other man. Then he took a sip. And immediately crinkled his nose as the liquid hit his tongue. 

He didn’t even have time to play it off before Hal was cackling and everyone was looking his way. He forced a chuckle too, mind already racing as did his best to figure out what an adult would do in this situation. “Jeez, is it that bad, Captain?” Hal goaded. A few of the other heroes laughed. 

Billy made himself smile apologetically as he lowered the beer to his lap. He did his best to ignore the bitter after-taste in his mouth. 

“Ah, I’m not a big beer guy,” That seemed reasonable, right? Adults had drink preferences. It wasn’t just kids who didn’t like the taste. Aquaman stood up and took the beer out of his hand. Billy almost sagged in relief. 

“You should’ve said something, Captain! We have wine too, or I could make a cocktail-” The man said cheerfully. 

“No,” Billy cut in. He didn’t mean to sound that abrupt, but he was pretty sure wine and cocktails had more alcohol than beer. Which he absolutely didn’t want. But now everyone was kind of awkwardly silent and Billy scrambled for something to say that didn’t sound strange. “I’m… sober.” Was that good? Apparently not, because Aquaman now looked extremely embarrassed as he took a step back. 

“Captain, I’m so sorry! I would not have foisted a drink on you if I had known,” Billy opened his mouth to speak but Superman cut in. 

“If you’re ever uncomfortable, just let us know. We’re friends here, and we absolutely do not want to undermine any progress you’ve made.” The man was looking at Billy with a sincere expression and the others were nodding along emphatically. 

“Yeah man, we’re here for you. Do you want us to stop drinking now? We don’t want to make anything harder for you,” Barry offered. Billy wanted to scream. He hadn’t meant to imply he had dealt with any struggles he hadn’t, but honestly if it kept them from giving him drinks in the future and maybe made them a little more cautious about drinking around him, that was fine by him. He didn’t want to ruin their fun now though, even if he was a little uncomfortable. 

“It’s totally cool, guys!” Yikes, that sounded a little juvenile. “You don’t need to stop on my account. I’m totally fine.” Another brief pause, and then after another smile from Billy, the others tentatively returned the expression and resumed their conversations. Billy kind of needed a moment to collect himself though. 

He stood up, and when Hal looked at him Billy just mouthed the word bathroom and received a nod in return. Then he was happily out the door and away from the smell of alcohol.

5 - fmk

(continuation of last story kinda)

Billy tried not to be in the bathroom for too long. Honestly he was kind of done with the whole night, but if he left now then the JL would think it was because of them, and then they might try to talk to him about his perceived struggles and… yeah. Billy did not want to have to lie about that anymore. 

So once he’d splashed his face off and took some deep breaths, he returned to the rec room with a smile on his face. Maybe he could still turn the night around and have some fun. He tried not to crinkle his nose at the smell of beer again, and he managed to keep his grin in place as he took his seat and settled back into the squishy chair.

And after a bit, he was actually having fun. He got acclimated to the smell, and hardly even noticed it anymore; and the others were slowly sipping their drinks, so no one was drunk or anything. The room felt warm and cozy, and the view of Earth through the window made his heart swell as it usually did, and the conversation buzzed pleasantly all around him. Until, once again, his peace was disturbed. 

Oliver clapped his hands to draw attention, ignoring Hal smacking his shoulder with a hand-construct for interrupting his conversation. “I feel like we should do some team-bonding,” He announced, being met immediately with eye rolls from half the room. 

“What, like trust falls?” Clark asked skeptically. Oliver batted the suggestion away and continued. 

“No, something fun. Like a game,” He clarified. 

“Truth or dare?” Barry suggested, perking his head up. 

Hal scoffed. “What are we, elementary students?” Barry seemed to sag a little and Billy gave him a comforting smile. He thought it sounded fun, and he wasn’t an elementary student. He was a middle school student, which was much more mature. 

“So what did you have in mind then?” Diana leaned forward, interested. 

Oliver seemed to think for a moment before he spoke, “How about fuck-marry-kill?” Billy wanted to scream again. No, he did not want to play that, but Barry and Hal were already nodding gleefully and Kal was leaning forward with a puzzled expression. 

Hal elaborated. “Everyone takes a turn, and the others name three people, usually celebrities. Then the person has to chose which one they’d fuck, marry, or kill.” Aquaman and Wonder woman both laughed raucously and nodded in agreement as well. Eyes turned to Clark, who nodded reluctantly, looking vaguely pink in the face. When everyone looked at Batman, he was as stone faced as always. But after a moment he raised a hand. 

“Go ahead, children, play your game.” There were hoots all around. No one looked at Billy to check, which was probably a good thing since he wasn’t sure what his face was doing. Could he leave now and not ruin the fun? No, because then they’d know it was because of the game and call it off for his sake and the fun would be ruined. He’d stay for a few rounds, then leave maybe. And do his best to block what was sure to be a disgusting affair from his mind. 

Heaving a deep breath, he tried to settle himself further into his chair as they started. The first turn was given to Oliver since he had been the one to suggest the game, and he was offered the choices of Lex Luthor, the Joker, and Ra’s Al Ghul. His face made a sour expression as he considered. 

“Kill the Joker, fuck Ra’s, and marry Lex,” There was a lot of shouting and it was a moment before Oliver could defend his choices. “I’d marry Lex because he’s rich guys, and I want in on that,” He paused, then tossed a sly glance towards a distressed Kal. “Plus, then I’d be Superboy’s step-dad so…” Clark looked like he was about to start yelling before Diana placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. 

People really got into the swing of the game then, and there was lots of shouting and laments of despair over other hero’s poor choices. Billy stayed very quiet and tried to make them forget he was there. When it came around the circle to Batman, everyone went quiet for a moment. 

Then Hal spoke up, because he was stupid and had a death-wish. “Here’s an easy one, Bats. Two people who always end up kidnapped by villains: Lois Lane and Bruce Wayne; and one bad guy: Ghostmaker.” Everyone was dead silent, and Batman stared at GL with an unreadable expression. Superman was red in the face and not making eye contact with anyone. 

Billy wasn’t really expecting him to answer. “Marry Ms. Lane, because I respect her too much to answer otherwise.” Kal seemed to relax slightly, though Billy didn’t know why. “Fuck Ghostmaker. And kill Bruce Wayne,” That prompted the loudest screaming out of any answer so far, and even Billy was blinking in shock. Bruce Wayne was from Gotham, and from what Billy knew, he was their sweetheart-golden boy. And Ghostmaker was…not very nice. But Batman refused to elaborate, leaning back in his chair almost serenely. 

Then it was Superman’s turn, and after that it would be Billy’s. He was planning to dip out right after Kal so he wouldn’t have to fumble his way through a turn. Oliver grinned menacingly, and Billy was pretty sure he saw Kal gulp. “We’ve gone through a lot of celebrities, so how about some heroes, hm?” Superman was still red in the face, and his foot was bouncing nervously. Billy could relate. He had a horrible feeling he knew where this was going. “Batman, Wonderwoman, and Captain Marvel,” Almost as soon as the words had left his mouth, Billy was checking an imaginary watch and throwing himself out of his chair and towards the door. He could hear chuckles behind him, but he was pretty sure it was his cue to leave. 

Barely looking back, he called over his shoulder. “I’ve got a thing so uh, kill me Kal! Bye!” And then he was gone before anyone could respond.

+1 - birthday presents

No one brought up the game after that, which, thank the gods because Billy did not want to figure out what Superman’s final answer had been. And also lucky for him, no one brought up his supposed recovery from alcoholism to try and talk to him about. Honestly, Billy had been getting really lucky lately, if you were counting those two things. 

He was also very lucky that somehow no one had discovered he was an eleven-year old boy in a grown man’s body. He did his best to seem mature, and he did have a lot of practice, but he knew he was far from convincing sometimes. From practically throwing himself from conversations sometimes, to accidentally making juvenile comments, it was a wonder there were no suspicions. No suspicions he knew about anyway. 

Most of his odd behavior would be chalked up to his unknown origins, luckily. No one knew about Shazam, because if he told people then he’d have to go into when he got his powers and why he was chosen and all that. So he let speculation brew. He’d heard alien, god (which wasn’t 100% wrong), and time traveler among other things. Sometimes when he was feeling down, he’d recall the egregious rumors he’d overheard around the tower. 

Honestly, the thing that tripped him up the most was usually stuff he knew that no one else did. It was easy to explain away a lack of knowledge about taxes if he seemed like an alien, but that time he knew what ‘sybau’ meant? Yeah, that’s not something that really fit in with the backstories people came up with. He really needed to get a handle on what he should and should not know one of these days. But today was not that day. 

Billy had just finished up patrol and he had monitor duty in half an hour, so he thought he might as well pop up there early so he could take a shower. When he had finished with that, he still had fifteen minutes to spare and nothing to do (his league tablet was charging). He meandered through the tower, waving and smiling at any heroes he passed. He was pretty tired though, and mentally bracing himself for the mind numbing monitor duty, so he didn’t really feel like striking up a conversation-

He stopped dead in the middle of the hall. He had overheard something, and it took a minute before his super hearing was dialed in enough for him to locate the conversation. Then he was off, speed walking until he arrived in the meeting room to see Superman leaning back against the table and gesturing emphatically to a stoic Batman. 

“-so hard to shop for kids! I feel like his interests are always changing, so I don’t know if I should get him the doll- sorry- action figure and comics or the console,” Batman turned his gaze to Billy as he strode across the room, grinning. Superman looked over his shoulder and smiled welcomingly at Billy. He opened his mouth to greet him, but Billy was way ahead of him. 

“Did I hear you talking about the Nintendo Switch 2?” Superman blinked, and his smile grew a little confused. 

“Yeah, I’m trying to get Batman’s advice on what I should get Superboy- my son- for his twelfth birthday,” So Billy had been dead on when he’d guessed they were around the same age.

“And it’s between a Switch 2 and what comics? What action figure? Does he already have the original switch?” Billy waited expectantly, a grin still on his face. This was something he could advise on, finally!

Superman turned fully around to face him, thinking for a moment before answering. “Well, yeah he’s got the original. And I was going to get him a Spider-man action figure because he was talking about it the other day. And Spider-man comics.” 

Billy drummed his fingers on the table in thought. “Well, to be honest I’ve heard the Switch 2 is not that different from the original. The specs are better for sure, and games like Zelda look a lot prettier, but unless your son is nit-picky about that sort of thing, it might not be worth all the money it would cost.” Billy shrugged, then moved to the other option.

 “Obviously, I don’t know your son, but personally I’d wa-” He caught himself just in time. “I’d recommend the comics and action figures. For the action figure, maybe Sentinel’s Spiderman figure? The articulation is really cool for posing. And in terms of comics, I don’t know what he has already but I’d recommend Ultimate Spiderman. It’s a classic, but it’s classic for a reason , y’know? People love it, from what I’ve heard.” He finished, and smiled happily at Superman. 

Then he noticed the odd look on the man’s face, and the twitching at the corner of Batman’s mouth. Shit. That was definitely in the realm of ‘stuff he should not know.’ There was a brief moment of silence before Kal spoke. “Thanks for that, that’s… really helpful actually. Do you uh… have kids that age?” His question came out somewhat awkwardly and Billy rapidly debated what he should say. Yes would mean more jokes about a sidekick, but also it would be a potential explanation if anyone ever met him in his natural form by accident. No would make him seem like a weirdo and potentially lead to his cover being blown. Maybe… somewhere in between?

“I have a nephew,” He said stiltedly. Kal’s confusion seemed to clear a bit. Great answer then! He nodded. 

“Right. Well, thanks for your help,” The man smiled at him and Billy grinned back. 

“Anytime!” He looked over at the clock on the wall. “Well I’ve got to get to monitor duty now,” He sighed, stepping back as his smile slipped. As he turned to leave the room, a hand caught on his shoulder and he turned to see Batman. The man was… smiling at him . Was Billy about to die? Before he could panic the man seemed to rifle through his utility belt, and then he pulled out a lollipop. Billy took it without thinking. 

“To make duty a little less boring,” The man explained. Then his smile was gone and he was sweeping from the room, Kal following after looking confused again. Billy looked down at the lollipop in his hand. Cherry. Sweet, his favorite!

Chapter Text

The way the JLA found out ended up being pretty stupid; which, if Billy was being honest, he’d kind of always expected the way they found out to be like that. The ideal scenario was Billy turned eighteen and told them then, preferably in a funny way so no one got too upset. Like maybe he’d throw himself a birthday party at the tower and bring a cake that said ‘finally an adult.’ The more realistic scenario was that Billy made a dumb mistake and the pieces finally came together for someone. What actually happened was Billy fully just fucked up. 

It happened during a battle which was also not ideal. They were all congregated in Fawcett because the threat had kind of been too big for Billy to deal with by himself; or rather, he totally could have handled it but not without egregious property damage. So he called in the JLA to come assist with keeping the battle under control and getting civilians out of the way. 

The threat itself was pretty unusual, but weren’t all villains? Actually, Billy wasn’t sure if this counted as a villain , per say; he thought it might be something sent by a villain. Anyway, it was definitely of a magical nature, which made Billy the most equipped to actually defeat it. It was a massive sort of snake-like creature made out of a stony substance. Batman would probably do his best to get some sample later and figure out what it actually was, but the specifics didn’t matter much to Billy. He just wanted the thing out of his city. 

The rest of the JLA was trying to keep it distracted; the Flash whizzed around it, Batman threw explosive batarangs at its head, Superman was trying to laser it into submission, et cetera. Billy had discovered after a bit of fighting that the only thing that seemed to do actual damage was his lightning bolts. And even then, they were just breaking chunks off and making the thing roar in fury. At this rate, it’d take the whole night to break it into pieces, and Fawcett City could not deal with it for that long. 

Which left Billy with one option. It was a pretty risky maneuver, but he had managed it fine before. He still did his best to avoid using it but… it was probably the only thing that would work. Billy paused, hovering in mid-air, and then sighed. Well, what could he do? He just needed to be quick enough to change twice. 

Heaving a breath, he called out to the monster and shot another lightning bolt at it. The thing screeched and whipped its head towards him, and then Billy was shooting off into the sky. He needed as much time as he could get. The thing followed after him, shooting into the air just behind him. Then, when he was pretty sure he was high enough, Billy paused and shot back downwards to land on the top of its head, clinging onto a horn. 

He only had a moment of the beast's confusion, but that was enough. “Shazam!” He whispered. The sky cracked open and he was blasted with lightning. The monster barely had time to begin its next shriek before its head was shattered into chunks of stone and it began to plummet back through the air and towards the ground. 

So the good news was this: the monster was defeated and Fawcett was safe. Billy even had enough time to transform before he hit the ground! But there was also bad news, because as soon as he mentally congratulated himself while he plummeted, one of the shattered chunks of stone hit him in the head. And he blacked out. Like an idiot. 

It wasn’t for very long- Billy definitely didn’t have a concussion or anything- but when he opened his eyes again, he was way closer to the ground and absolutely did not have time to switch back into the Captain. Still he opened his mouth to shout, in the desperate hope that he was not about to become a Billy pancake, and a force slammed into him. 

The air was knocked out of him, and he choked on the word, coughing violently. Then he looked up. And that was Superman carrying him, a determined set to the man’s face as he shot through the air. Billy could hear the crash as the stones hit the ground behind them. So no Billy pancake, but… this was pretty much just as bad. Billy tucked his face into the man’s chest as they flew towards where Billy was sure the other heroes were. He was being carried by Superman , he might as well enjoy it before his whole life fell apart around him. 

He felt them slow to a stop, and then he felt Superman touch gently to the ground. Billy kept his face tucked into his chest until he felt the man sigh beneath him and gently pry him away like a clingy toddler. Seriously, just like a toddler because the man held him in the air with his hands under his armpits to look at him for a moment. Whatever Billy’s face did was apparently enough for him to set Billy hastily on the ground. He had to force himself to turn and face the rest of the JLA. He was pretty sure the jig was up, or at least that he did not have the lying skills to explain this away. 

When he turned, he was met with the sight of the JLA staring him down and a massive pile of rocks behind them. Which, if Superman hadn’t saved him, Billy would currently be at the bottom of. Damn. 

“Captain,” Wonder Woman started. Then she stopped and just looked at him. 

“So, what was that maneuver you just pulled?” Hal had his arms crossed and a strained smile on his face. “Was it like a transformation spell that somehow killed the monster and left you looking like a six year old?” He laughed stiffly, shoulders tensed. Everyone looked tense actually, but Billy was kind of hung up on one detail. 

“ Six, are you serious? I’m eleven, dude!” The instinct to defend his age was too hard-wired for Billy to stop himself. But the dead quiet after he spoke made him realize what he had just said. Shit. Shit shit shit. No playing this off now. He crossed his arms, hoping he looked defiant and not like a petulant kid. 

The silence only lasted for a moment before everyone was shouting. Billy very pointedly did not try to distinguish their words from each other, because he was not answering until they calmed down and asked questions one at a time like adults .

“Eleven? Holy fuck-”
“Language, there’s kids here-”

“Didn’t he join last year- ”

“Oh God- ”

Batman raised a hand and stepped forward, and that was enough to shut everyone up. Billy swallowed nervously. The guy had been nicer to him lately- not being so harsh during the notes section of mission briefings, giving him lollipops from a seemingly never-ending supply in his belt, even patting him on the shoulder now and then. That being said , Billy was still kind of terrified of him. Especially when he was standing in the center of their group with such an unreadable expression. After a moment of staring Billy down, he nodded. “It’s about time you said something,” The spawned a whole new slough of shouting, and even Billy dropped his arms in confusion. Another hand raise from Batman shut them up again, even more so when the man turned a vaguely incredulous expression on everyone. 

“ None of you figured it out?” He asked. No answer. He shook his head in disappointment and turned back to Billy. Seeing his confused expression, Batman continued. “I’ll admit, I didn’t know the specifics and I wouldn’t have guessed shapeshifting into the Captain, but I knew you were not an adult.” Here a bit of disdain leaked into his tone. “Even if the world’s greatest heroes apparently had no idea they were speaking to a child.” 

Here Kal spoke up. “If you knew, then why didn’t you say anything?” Batman looked unimpressed, and if he made that face at Billy, he was pretty sure he would shrivel up and die.

“You’re the one who's so adamant on not pressuring people to reveal secret identities. On letting them reveal in their own time,” Kal made a strained noise. 

“Yes but he’s eleven ,” he tried. Billy looked behind him to see the man gesticulating wildly. 

Batman just shrugged. “The first Robin was younger. Besides, he’s obviously very capable. And he has us to keep an eye on him.” Billy frowned, re-crossing his arms. 

“I don’t need anyone to keep an eye on me. I was chosen for this job because I can do it on my own.” He protested, staring Batman down. The man shrugged again. 

“And yet,” He said shortly. Billy opened his mouth again but Oliver beat him to the chase. 

“What do you mean ‘you were chosen?’ Did someone do this to you? Give a child superpowers?” He sounded righteously offended and Billy rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah but he was an ancient wizard who’s dead now. He chose me because I’m pure of heart, and therefore the best for the job,” There were several annoyed noises from various league members, but Billy chose to ignore that. “And I’m great at my job, thank you very much.” He raised his chin. 

“Wait,” That was Barry, and when Billy looked at him he had a horrified expression on his face. “We played… fuck- freak- marry, kill with you,” Groans of despair echoed out. Billy wanted to scream because he did not want to be reminded of that. 

“Yeah and you gave me beer. Which was gross. I don’t know why anyone would drink that shit,” He pointed out. Kal made a noise behind him. 

“Langua-”

 Oliver cut him off, waving a hand. “That’s what all kids say; you’ll grow into it.” Billy rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah right.” Billy glanced around at the group again, and now Barry looked nauseous . 

“I… I asked you for advice on my sex life,” He whispered, sounding so ashamed it was almost funny. Billy made a disgusted face, and Hal and Oliver started laughing. Batman was not laughing though. 

“You what.” His tone was flat, and Barry’s face went completely white. 

“I didn’t know,” He tried. Batman was stalking up to him, and then uttering a stream of furious, hushed words. Barry looked closer and closer to passing out, and Billy would feel bad for him if he wasn’t still trying to wipe any reminders of their conversation from his mind. 

A hand fell on his shoulder and Billy turned to see Kal crouching down behind him. He was trying his best to not be offended. He was not that short. Anyway, he kind of had bigger concerns on his mind. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “Are you gonna kick me out of the league?” 

Other conversations went dead silent. Kal looked over his shoulder at the people behind him, and Billy was kind of too scared to look too and see what their faces were doing. After a moment Kal sighed and scrubbed his face with his hand. 

“Against my better judgement, no,” he admitted. Billy couldn’t stop the grin from over-taking his face. “You’ve proven yourself to be a very valuable and responsible League member. But” He held up a finger and Billy tried to get himself under control. “We need rules. Like a curfew and a panic button with you at all times. And we need to tell your parents too,” Billy shrugged. 

“Yeah that’s all fine, but that last thing is not gonna be a problem,” He shrugged. Kal frowned. 

“Do they already know?” Billy shook his head. 

“No, they died.” It was very silent for a second. Kal had a pitying expression on his face, and Billy pivoted on his heel to look at the group again so he didn’t have to see it. “I have no guardians to speak of! So we’ve got no issues on that front,” He said brightly. Batman had somehow returned to his place in front of Billy without making a sound. Barry still had his face in his hands; Billy was pretty sure his knees were shaking. 

“What’s your name?” Batman asked, doing Billy the justice of not bending down to talk to him. 

“William Batson. But you can call me Billy for short,” He admitted; they might as well know his name since they knew practically everything else about him now too. Batman was expressionless. Hal spoke up from his place. 

“Sorry- is that spelled Bat-son? Like b-a-t-s-o-n?” Billy nodded. Hal started snickering, but Batman silenced him with a look. When he turned back to Billy, his face had softened, if that was even possible. 

“Why don’t you come with me, Billy? We can go back to my hou- the cave and discuss this further.” Billy nodded, stretching. He was pretty tired- but then again, when wasn’t he? As Batman set a hand on his shoulder and began to guide him away, Billy looked behind him to wave goodbye. Kal was sighing, shaking his head, and the others were all making pointed gestures and expressions. What was that about? Whatever, it didn’t matter because he was about to see the Batcave and also Batman was handing him another lollipop. All in all, his reveal didn’t go so bad.