Chapter Text
1940
His new powers are exhilarating, exciting, and he flies through the sky at every chance he gets, as soon as the bell for school rings he’s racing out the door, ahead of the kids who call him a “nert” or a “queer” when they think that he can’t hear them, ahead of the teachers who look down at him, child of a single mother, an Irish mother at that. He can hear them in snide voices saying “at least she doesn’t have another twelve little hellions invading our halls.”
He shrugs them off because he couldn’t care less what they think, he has his mother, and she loves him, and though she doesn’t know about Captain Marvel yet, he’s sure she won’t be too mad. He’s saving people. The people of Fawcett city love him, and he can help them, instead of standing by while he watches a boy in his class get punched in the nose for being different. It’s a great feeling.
He lands with his big feet on the roof of his apartment building, the spell is whispered quietly and he crawls into his room. He peers out into the living room where his mom is lying on the couch, asleep, even though it’s only three in the afternoon. She’ll wake up in a few hours and make dinner, and then she’ll probably go back to sleep, he lays a blanket over her still form and goes to get his favorite stuffed animal, Mr. Rabbit, to keep an eye out for her, but then he remembers that he no longer has it. It’s in the hands of a little black girl who couldn’t stop crying after the fire went out.
He smiles as he remembers the look on her face, happy and surprised, and he thinks that if he was Billy Batson, he probably would’ve asked her to go get a milkshake.
Perhaps Mr. Shazam could look out for his mom tonight instead.
1952
The orphanage is cold and somewhat damp in the early winter mornings, but Billy doesn’t mind much, not when he still has a roof over his head. His mom taught him to be grateful of that much. He can scarcely remember her face, but that’s what happens when your mom dies at five. He looks to the bed next to his where Freddy is sniffling, he’s been sick for a while but none of the caretakers want to say what it is. But Billy knows, he’s not stupid.
He sits up and reaches over to the other bed, placing a hand on the other boy’s forehead. His fever’s down, but it won’t be for long. He hears one of the caretakers in the hall. “He’s getting worse, Mary, I don’t know if he’ll survive this, he’s the third one this month, and if you don’t get that thrice-damned brat out of there, he’s going to catch it too.”
Miss Mary scoffs, “That “thrice-damned brat” has been taking care of the other children for three weeks, whatever’s protecting him isn’t going to stop now, and we could use all the help we can get.”
He lifts his hand, and leaves the room, well aware of the caretakers’ eyes on his back. Captain Marvel needs some space to think, and the orphanage sick room filled with coughing children and suspicious caretakers is no place for that. He dodges a punch from Black Adam, and saves the day once again. He saves a cat, rescues a baby, stops an off the track train, and catches a little girl falling to her doom. He smiles as he returns her to her mother, and nods at her mother’s grateful words. The little girl grabs his sleeve as he turns to leave and hands him her stuffed animal, she looks up at him through dark lashes, and her eyes are as dark as the night sky, pushes the bunny into his hands with little ebony fingers, and smiles at him. The stuffed bunny in overalls that has seen better days smiles at him too.
He bends down to her level and doesn’t notice her mother tensing at her side, prepared to move her daughter to safety should he be… dangerous, but he’s not, he’s Captain Marvel, and he’s better than that. “For me?” He asks, knowing full-well that it is. He doesn’t normally take the tokens offered to him, but this time he can’t help it. He takes the stuffed bunny and shoots into the sky.
Curfew is soon, and if he’s not careful, he’ll be late. He lands in the sick room, it’s still the same drab, depressing room that it was before, but he looks at Freddy, and then he looks at the bunny in his hand.
He puts the bunny next to Freddy, makes sure that they’re both tucked in tight, and goes to his room for the night, thinking that for a moment the hospital room had looked just the littlest bit lighter.