Chapter Text
Billy was 4 when it happened.
The worst day of his life, he had been having terrible headaches all week, fevers that made everything hurt, could barely leave his bed at all, he had had a nightmare, had heard whispers calling his name and felt burning hands grabbing at something deep inside.
He had woken up screaming, and in that scream, an enormous bolt of lightning had struck down upon the house, destroying the roof and making glass explode, the entire second floor had collapsed, rubble crushing everything underneath.
The headaches and heat had disappeared, but none of that had mattered, as he had sat among the collapsed ruins of the house, rain pouring down and thunder rumbling above.
He had called and cried for his parents, for his sister, had lifted rubble after rubble. But he hadn't found them. And he never got to keep looking for them, for the ambulance and the cops had arrived, he had been led into an ambulance.
But he never made it to the hospital, instead, he had ended up at a lab, a lab where he had been subjected to lots of tests, injections, prodding and scans. A collar had been put on him, and clothes with a number had been given to him.
There had been other kids there, he had been quick to learn to not speak back, speaking back always led to pain, hunger and being thrown into a completely empty room for days.
Sometimes, new kids arrived, and other times, kids were taken away, and they never came back.
As he grew, he came to be less willing to keep his mouth shut and be obedient, anger and resentment building up with each passing day where he was subjected to all kinds of experiments, where people would slice him open just to see how long it took him to heal, his organs would be cut out, bones broken, all to be scrutinized very closely, as if he were nothing but an object to study.
He had been drowned, cut apart, starved, burnt, electrocuted, killed, resurrected and thrown into all kinds of situations, forced to fight against other kids, to use his powers until it felt like something might just snap, and to just stay still while they stuck enormous needles all over his body, even his brain.
When he was 8, he managed to get a hold of the device meant to control the collars, he freed himself and all the kids, and in the midst of the chaos, he escaped alongside all those kids smart enough to run instead of seeking revenge.
He stole clothes to blend in, he had tried going back to his old home, but they were all gone. A whole different family lived there, and the house looked nothing like he remembered.
It had broken his heart, to not know what had become of his parents, his sister… it had intensified his guilt, because it had all been his fault. He had hurt them, had probably killed them.
Maybe, just maybe, the people in the lab coats had been right, he was a monster.
He lived in the streets for a while, stealing food, running from those who would chase after him, either because he was a homeless child or because he was something he couldn't help. Lots of people had tried to hurt him, some had succeeded. He had been called names, belittled and chased away by many.
He even spent a year on an island with other mutants. Chained, forced to overwork himself, starved. He had hated it.
And when he saw the chance, he didn't hesitate to escape.
For a long time, anger was all he had, mistrust, no one could ever be trusted, even less adults. All he had had had been his friends, Freddy, Pedro, Eugene, Darla, Sunny and Dorian.
But even those he lost.
That's when he had met her.
The woman who could, much like him, control lightning.
She had taken him to a manor where other people like him lived. At first, he hadn't trusted them, would sleep outside and make people take a bite from his food just to be sure, would kick, hit and bite anyone who so much as touched him. But with time, he began loosening up, the training wasn't to make him a soldier, or even a killer. But for him to learn to control his power, so his powers wouldn't control him.
As time went on, it began feeling as if for the first time in a long time, he was finally living, his powers grew as he did.
Then the professor found her.
Mary. His twin. Alive.
She, much like him, had similar powers, less powerful and volatile, but she was like him.
She had been living with a kind couple, but because of the constant attacks from the sentinels, the professor ended up taking her in.
Life couldn't be better. As he got back a little bit of what he had lost. Right when he thought he could be happy, when the nightmares began decreasing, when he truly allowed himself to be happy.
It happened.
The world took it all back.
He was 11 when he watched as the sentinels shot his sister, he wasn't fast enough, not strong enough, and she was shot with a beam that burnt her skin and pierced right through her chest. The X-Men didn't let him get to her, Wolverine and Jubilee did attempt to get to her.
But the sentinels had been all over the place, and at the end, he had to watch as the team retreated, leaving his sister behind as he screamed and kicked against Beast's hold. And Rogue touched him, making the world go black.
He had woken up to apologies, but the anger and hatred had burnt like fire, their words had meant nothing, they had abandoned his sister, his sister who he had finally had back, they left her to die.
So he left.
He exploded the medbay and just ran. He ran and ran, he didn't stop, not even as the voices warned him against it. Voices he long ago identified as six different beings. Gods, they had called themselves. Something Mary hadn't had. Voices in her head that called themselves Gods. But their warnings didn't matter, all he had wanted was to escape, to scream, to just disappear and never come back.
That's when the portal opened.
And he crashed straight into a wall, the force of the impact knocking him out.
When he woke up, he had found himself in a world he didn't recognize. A world where people with powers weren't hated or casted out, but looked up to.
And that… he hadn't known how to take that, because how? How could people just like a man who could hold entire buildings like nothing? Or a woman with wings? Why did they applaud them? Why did they trust them? Why did they have clothes, toys and any merchandise possible with their pictures?
At first, a most intoxicating hatred had consumed him, he had been jealous, envious, angry. Because why? Why did they get to be happy? Why did they get to be liked? While he had to grow being torn apart and electrocuted as if he were nothing but a lab rat? Why did they get cherished here,
And his kind got hunted like animals? How was that fair?
The voices had gotten stronger since his arrival into this world, had told him about this world. That it wasn't all as it seemed.
The Justice League wasn't untouchable. Lots of people feared them, distrusted them. And metahumans like Flash weren't particularly liked . Most in the League weren't even 100% human aside from Batman and Green Lantern.
He had watched them for a long time, had watched how the world worked, had taken residence in an abandoned building, he survived stealing food and clothes, super speed was useful for that.
The Gods had told him about a word. A word that could enhance his abilities to unfathomable levels.
What no one told him was that the word would also turn him into an adult. With a seriously weird costume.
But he didn't mind.
He didn't use that form much, he favored being small, unnoticeable. That until the Justice League had appeared fighting robots in Metropolis, he had watched it on a TV outside a store.
Had watched how the man of steel was taken down, how all those powerful people who fought to protect those weaker than them were in trouble. And no one did anything to help them. He had spent enough time in this world to have learnt that the Justice League were genuinely good people. He had seen them get hurt, risk death itself to save each other. To protect each other. To protect the world.
That even when the world itself gave them their back, the League still fought for them. They still protected those who couldn't protect themselves.
It was what had made him look up to them. Respect them. Envy them.
So he had called upon the lightning, and with no hesitation he had let Zeus lead him to Metropolis. He had taken every robot down, explosion of lightning after explosion of lightning, punches loaded with his unwavering fury, kicks charged with a strength he had not felt since he saw Mary be taken down.
And he saved them. He saved them all.
It had filled him with an unfamiliar feeling of righteousness, a thrill he hadn't felt since his first missions as an X-Men. When he first believed that they were doing the right thing, that it was worth it.
Long before it all felt… worthless. Before he had to start forcing himself to smile when people were wishing death upon him, before he began protecting the same people who wouldn't hesitate to put a knife through his heart if given the chance. Before he began sitting back and letting the world bury him alive.
Before he realized that it was all a lie, a naive dream. To believe that the world would ever accept mutants. That humans and mutants could coexist.
It had been a feeling he hadn't felt in so long he had almost forgotten how it felt. To be good and actually know you are making a difference. To actually feel good about saving people and not guilty over little voices telling you that you should have let them die.
He saved the League. And then he left.
He heard people talk about him, about the mysterious hero. Not the freak. Not the monster. Not the abomination. But a hero. It had made him smile for the first time in a long time, had made him get the courage to start saving people, protecting those that couldn't protect themselves.
Not even a few weeks later, the Justice League had approached him, asking him to join them. He hadn't been sure, last he had been in a team of heroes, things hadn't gone well.
But he had agreed, wanting to give them a chance.
At first, he tried to not spend too much time around them outside professional stuff, refusing to get attached. Because if he did, he would be the one who would get hurt the most if things went wrong.
But his resolve didn't last long, the League was nothing like the X-Men, their friendship, their loyalty, their trust… they didn't fight among them, they didn't leave their friends behind even if the situation was against them, and Batman didn't force his leadership upon people. If someone didn't want to go on a mission, fine. If someone disagreed with him, they talked it out. He didn't get mad nor got into arguments. He didn't prioritize a member above everyone else.
To him, all members were important, all members were equals. And that… it was so different from Scott, Scott who always got mad if anyone refused to go on a mission, he didn't listen and Jean would always be prioritized above anyone and everyone. If she was hurt, he would get mad at whoever he felt like pinning the blame on.
But Batman wasn't like that. The first time he had messed up in a mission he had been prepared for the shouting, for the refusal to listen, just stubbornness, anger and blame.
But it never came, Batman's tone had been harsh and disappointed, but he never raised his voice. He didn't blame him or refused to give him a chance to speak. He had actually listened to him. It was the day Billy decided to actually allow himself to get close to the League.
He made friends with them. At times, Flash and Hal would remind him of Gambit, or Diana of Storm, and it hurt. Because he missed them, he missed Jubilee, Pietro, Gambit, Ororo, Kurt, Kitty, Logan… but his resentment against the last mission never failed to crush those feelings down. Because they abandoned Mary. They left her to die. They forced him to leave her.
For a long time, he was able to live a somewhat common life, he got a job at a cafe, would rake leaves, mow lawns, wash cars, walk dogs and babysit. The money allows him to get a cheap apartment, food, clothing.
He built his new life from scratch, used his powers, magic, that's what the Gods had said his powers came from. He had made himself fake papers, and would use his adult form to act as his father. He was fine.
Until his past began bleeding into his life.
His Captain Marvel persona was cheerful, bright, goofy. Made to put people at ease, if the hero was smiling, if the hero was joking, it meant everything would be alright. Also.
It gave him a reason to act as if he were fine, smile enough until he himself believes he is fine. Fool himself into a fake sense of happiness. When behind the mask, he was just a scared kid who could barely be around adults, could barely sleep, every single day was a fight he struggled to win.
Captain Marvel was the lie he hid into, to survive, to make everything feel less overwhelming.
But even Captain Marvel couldn't protect him from his past. He couldn't stand hospitals, at all. Made him feel horrible whenever he refused to visit hospitals with the rest of the League. But he just couldn't stand the idea of white walls, needles and the intoxicating smell of disinfectant.
He just couldn't.
It had taken him months before he stopped flinching whenever the League touched him, be it light pats, accidental brushes or just Flash or Green Lantern elbowing him playfully. Or Diana.
She had said his lightning came from her father. Something that led her to calling him her brother, she was far too affectionate for his liking. But he grew used to their touch , eventually.
Same couldn't be said from the rest, adults made him nervous, he still flinched whenever a civilian touched him or threw themselves at him. He still went incredibly rigid whenever he saw lab coats.
But those were little things, none of them affected his job.
That is, until the worst happened.
A mission that made him rethink all he ever thought he knew about this world.
Kids had been disappearing. Metahuman kids.
Finding the man's lab hadn't been hard, a warehouse near the docks. But entering it, seeing all those kids in cages, with handcuffs and several of them with lots of bandages on. To see the bloody table in the middle of it all. Blood still dripping on the floor.
To see the man in the lab coat preparing a needle as a child cried on the table. Strapped and covered in bandages. A deep, vertical gash across his chest.
Something just snapped, he forgot all about Batman's plan, about the stealth, about the rational actions, about the law , he forgot everything as he just lunged at the man, silver lightning crackling as Mercury's speed lit up, vision red as he just slammed straight into the man, sending him flying across the warehouse, the man crashed into several oxygen tanks, he used his speed to pounce once again.
Roughly yanking the man up by the neck, slamming him against the wall as his fingernails dug into the man's skin, fire rushed through his veins as his eyes burnt with lightning, his very blood sizzling with barely contained energy. Rage, hatred, such intoxicating hatred it felt like it might consume him all.
He wanted to make him regret having ever been born, to just tear his insides apart and crush every single one of his bones. To make him scream and beg for mercy. He wanted…
He wanted to kill him.
~
The League hadn't missed how on edge Captain Marvel had looked when Batman had told them about their mission. But it had been believed that it was because of the nature of it, it was never easy when kids were involved.
And it was no secret that Captain Marvel had a soft spot for kids. So it stood to reason he would be on edge.
That is. Until he threw their plan out of the window and just decided to attack, he threw the man across the room, thunder clapping above with such a deafening might the glass from the windows shook. Pinning the scientist against the wall, holding him several inches off the ground and with lightning crackling all over the place. Eyes glowing and plain murder written on his face. A hatred so deep, raw wrath.
Danger.
In the 2 years of knowing him, the League had never seen him angry, they never even thought he could. Apparently.
He could. And he looked terrifying. Static heavy in the air, the overwhelming urge to run making their instincts go haywire.
Diana is the one who snaps out of the initial shock and is quick to approach him.
"Captain?" She called, but he ignored her, his expression thunderous as he squeezed the scientist's throat. Man who was struggling against the grasp, gasping for air. "Captain Marvel, you must release him, if you don't, you are going to kill him."
" So what? He deserves it." His voice came out laced with several echoes, a static shrill in the background. His words were filled with far too much rage, hatred… resentment. But why? She doesn't understand, but she knows she has to stop him, he isn't thinking clearly right now.
"It's not on us to decide who gets to live and who doesn't. Yes, he did horrible things, and I would also love to see him suffer. But this is not the way, he is not worth it. Right now, the kids are the ones who need us. They need you." Diana kept her voice gentle, but firm.
And her words seemed to have some effect, because his eyes stopped glowing and the lightning crackling all over his body disappeared altogether. He released the man, dropping him on the ground a bit too aggressively before walking over to the table, freeing the child before going over to the cages. Ripping doors off and tearing handcuffs off.
At least that one worked.
~
"You wanna tell me what was that back there?" Batman asked, his voice serious, he was not happy. And still, Billy leaned back against his chair and gave the man a challenging look.
"No."
He didn't feel like telling people about his sob story, even less the League. No one was to ever know the truth, his powers… weren't as simple as he made them sound.
For what the Gods had explained to him, he had been born as a stormcaller, a rare being that hasn't been seen in eons, but he was also born linked to the Rock of Eternity. All stormcallers were, in a sense, children of Zeus. He had an unfathomable amount of magic within him, the Rock's new chosen heir. Reason he had all these Gods connected to him, reason he could shapeshift with an enchantment.
He was a mutant, but he was also magic.
One of a kind, Mamaragan had said.
Point was, the League didn't know the truth behind him, they didn't know he came from another world, they didn't know he was a kid, same as they didn't know his power was caused by him having a slight difference in his DNA compared to regular humans.
He didn't want them to know, afraid of what that might bring. But also refusing to be regarded with pity, he didn't need nor did he want anyone's pity.
Also.
If he didn't speak about it, he could act as if it wasn't real.
So no, he wasn't telling Batman shit.
He was pissed off is what he was, he wasn't gonna apologize for what he did, those kids… that had been him once upon a time. Seen as nothing but a lab rat. An object to be studied, cut open and dehumanized.
“Are you sure about that?” Batman questioned, he was still confused, but not enough to not see that this whole attitude from Marvel came from the fact that for some reason, this whole mission had been personal. What he didn't know yet was why it was personal.
The man still looked irritated, arms crossed over his chest as he glared at Batman, as if Bruce was the one being irrational for so much as asking for an explanation he would not give. Almost reminded him of Jason.
“Yes, I am sure. I won't apologize for what I did nor do I feel bad about it.”
His tone left quite clear he wasn't about to bend the knee on the matter, at all. And Batman had enough experience with teenagers (why was he even comparing a grown ass man with a teenager?), to know that right now, he wouldn't get an answer out of Marvel.
So he went with the other logical choice.
“Fine. You are to be banned from any future missions until you feel like explaining yourself.” Batman told, that got several raised eyebrows.
“Bruce-”
“Alright.” Marvel cut off whatever Superman was about to say, he just stood up and left.
“You can't just bench him. He did nothing wrong, that guy totally had it coming.” Hawkwoman stated, if she had had it her way she would have smashed that scientist's face with her mace. Repeatedly.
“He is far too powerful to go around losing control like that.”
“Who here hasn't done something like that before? We are all human, figuratively speaking, just because he has all that crazy power doesn't mean he has to just plaster on a smile and feel nothing else.” Hal felt the need to point out, because they had all beat one or two villains to a pulp at some point.
Losing control of their emotions wasn't new. Sometimes it couldn't be helped. But there was always a friend to bring them back, to stop them from doing something they would certainly regret.
“It's because he has all that power, that he can't just do things like these.”
“I call bullshit. You don't have powers and you have left criminals in a coma for less . He just burnt that guy's neck, probably won't be able to speak right again, but who cares? My point is, you are being unfair. We saved the kids and we stopped that psychopath. So why is he being punished for something that's happened to all of us at some point?” Aquaman refuted this time.
Because it was true, Bruce left villains in a coma on a weekly basis. So why was Captain Marvel being punished for something that all of them had done at some point?
“He didn't attack him because he was mad, he did it because it became personal.”
“So? That's happened before. Maybe he knew one of the kids, or maybe it reminded him of something. Asking him to elaborate if he wants to leave the bench is like forcing him to tell you things he might not particularly like talking about. I know you want to know more about him, as we all do. But this method is not just vile, but also unfair.” Superman exclaimed, giving his friend a disapproving look.
He knew Batman, and the Batman he knew wouldn't use such heartless methods if a life wasn't at risk. Which certainly wasn't the case here.
“I still think a few days off will do him good.”
~
It hadn't even been a week since ‘the’ incident before Captain Marvel had been called into a mission, fighting robots that couldn't be damaged with nothing but electricity.
A weird team up between Toyman and Grodd.
One of Toyman's machines had exploded, engulfing them in a purple light before everything went black.
~
Batman was the first one to wake up.
His last memories being those of Superman using his heat vision on one of Toyman's inventions, had looked like a carousel of some sorts.
And then the purple light had engulfed them all.
He stood up, inspecting his surroundings with a narrowed look, because they were on top of a building. That couldn't be right, last he checked they had been fighting at a park in Metropolis. And it had been in the middle of the night.
He glanced at the group, taking it to check on everyone, counting heads to make sure no one was missing; Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, Hawkwoman, Martian Manhunter, Aquaman, Captain Marvel, all of them unconscious on the ground, but alive and unharmed. Good.
He took it to walk up to the edge of the roof, the first thing he noticed, was that this was not Metropolis.
It didn't look like any of the cities he was familiar with. It somewhat reminded him of New York, but not quite.
But what made him realize something wasn't right was glancing at a billboard.
President Robert Kelly.
That… wasn't right.
Bruce was 100% there was no president with that name, also.
This billboard had the date wrong. As in it was way back from their own.
2000.
“It's not time travel.” Flash was standing next to him and leaning onto the edge to look down, frowning.
“Then what is it?” Batman questioned, if not time travel, then what was this? Flash didn't answer, he seemed… uneasy.
“I don't know but… I can't feel the speed force.” Barry said, straightening back up to look at Batman. This time, it was Bruce's turn to frown.
“You don't have your powers?”
“That's the thing. I do have them.” Flash stated, holding his hand up and making it vibrate, just for a moment. “But it's just residual speed, once I run out of it. I won't have any of my powers, at all. "
Not comforting at all.
The rest of the League was awake at this point, standing up and looking around. Except for Marvel who looked like he might go sick, he was tense, far too tense.
"Uh, buddy? You alright?" Green Lantern asked, noticing the man's expression, as if he might just pass out.
"Of course I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?" Even if Billy said that, he felt like throwing up, heart racing, and he was glad Superman couldn't hear his heartbeat.
Because this is his world. His world. And all he can remember is all that went wrong here, what he lost, what he had to see, to hear, to feel. And he just wants to disappear.
He felt nauseous, fingers curled into fists as he glanced at the billboard. It seems time moves differently here. He has been gone for three years. But here he has been gone for five years.
Weird.
"We should scan the area." Superman's words catch his attention, and as he sees Hal and Clark take flight, a fear like nothing he's ever felt slams into him with obliterating force, and he is moving before his mind can process what he is doing, jumping onto the ledge and grabbing Superman's cape and Green Lantern's leg, yanking them both back onto the roof. Maybe a bit too harsh, but he's not thinking straight.
"No. You can't fly here. You can't let anyone see you."
Because anyone with powers will be eliminated. And he doesn't want them to be subjected to this, they don't deserve this, not when all they have ever done is protect people and just be kind. But most of all?
He can't lose them. He can't.
"What are you talking about?" Superman asks, confused.
And Billy really doesn't want to answer. But he has to.
"This is not our world. It's a different one." He says, he doesn't need to elaborate, the League wasn't new to ending up in different dimensions.
"How do you know this?"
"I can feel it." He can feel the familiar magic, can feel it like a most overwhelming and disgusting cloak that drapes over him and makes him want to vomit.
"Alright… You can bring us back, right? I mean, Zatanna said something about you being able to jump through the multiverse." Hawkwoman said, Zatanna had said that Marvel could travel the multiverse, it was a necessary ability as the Champion.
Marvel nodded, but as he raised his hand, nothing happened. He frowned.
"I don't get it…" He sounded confused.
"What's wrong?" Diana asked, he shook his head.
"I can't open it. I'm… that's not right." Why couldn't he open the portal? That's never happened before, he mastered this skill a long time ago, but the threads of magic repelled away from him whenever he tried to summon a portal. Why?
He tries again, and again, and again, but the damn portal won't open. And why won't it open?! He needs to get out, he needs to protect the League. He needs to leave before they find him.
And shit, his powers don't work. He can't get them to work. And his hands are shaking. Why aren't they working?!
"Child, you must calm down. I have told you before, your magic reacts to your emotions. Your fear is controlling you. You must calm down."
He bit his tongue at Mamaragan's words. That was easier said than done. How did he expect him to stay calm when he was in the same fucking world as sentinels?! Thunder rumbles above and he glares at the sky as he drops his hand. Stupid weather and stupid mutation. Fuck the sunny day, he is far too uneasy to give a damn about the weather reacting to his emotions.
"Is your magic gone?" Diana's question makes his stomach twist violently, more thunder rumbling above, and he really needs to sit down, he needs to breathe before anyone realizes how weird the thunderstorm is.
"No, I just… I just need to think." He doesn't bother to elaborate, just gets as far from the League as the roof will allow, walking behind a shed filled with pigeons and just crouched on the floor, he is definitely not hiding. His hands cover his mouth, his heart is racing, throat burning, and his vision blurs. He is aware he is shaking.
And it takes a monumental effort to keep all sounds from leaving him. Because Superman will certainly hear him. He doesn't need the League knowing how actually terrified he is right now, because he is back here and he can't leave. He is trapped back into a world that hates him and wants nothing more but to drive a knife through his heart.
A world that took his sister away from him, a world that treated him as nothing but a lab rat, a weapon, a tool.
And he is back. He is back and he can't escape.
Silent tears stream down his cheeks as he bites back a curse, he squeezed his eyes shut as rain began pouring down. And he can't stop shaking God. He hasn't felt this terrified since his first days at the lab.
Thunder roars above with unforgiving might, lightning crackling, the wind picks up. And he can't make it stop. The storm just kept growing and growing somewhere deep inside. Wild and overwhelming.
"Billy, you must control yourself. I know you are scared, but we won't let anything happen to you. Before, we weren't strong enough to reach you, we couldn't protect you then. But we can now." Atlas' words are firm, but gentle, and he wishes he was back at the Rock with them, where everything was safe.
But he isn't. He is back in his world.
And he finds himself pulling his hands back, because the air has grown far too thin, he needs to breathe, breathe. And shit he can't have a goddamn panic attack now.
"It's alright, you are alright. Just take deep breaths. We are here with you, the Justice League is also here. Even if they don't know the truth, no one will let anyone hurt you." Zeus speaks, and it almost feels as if the static in the air has grown, and as he looks up, he can almost feel the weight of a hand rest on top of his head. "You are safe. We will keep you safe. I promise."
It makes the storm inside him settle, it feels warm, safe.
And he lets out a shaky breath, rain stopping, gray clouds disappearing as the first rays of sunlight leak through the clouds. He is fine.
He stares at the sky, feeling the cold breeze blow around, for a moment, an extreme sense of peace fills him.
"You know this world."
He almost jumped out of his skin at the unexpected voice, he jerked up so fast his speed crackled and he almost yeeted himself off the roof. Stopping himself just in the nick of time.
Talk about embarrassing.
"What?" He asked instead, refusing to acknowledge what just happened or how his voice cracked. And he definitely didn't like Batman's expression.
"You recognized within seconds that we were in a different world."
"So? That's literally one of my abilities, I know the fingerprint of every single world." He defended himself, granted, he knew this one like the palm of his hand, enough to recognize it within seconds unlike the others that took a few minutes. But that was beyond the point.
"Maybe, but the way you reacted to Hal and Clark, or the fact that you just summoned a storm for no reason whatsoever-"
"I didn't. Not all changes in the weather have to do with me." He cut off, cringing at the fact that he just interrupted Batman. But no, he refused to let them know he is from this world. He refuses to ever acknowledge again that he is from a world as putrid as this one.
"What are you so afraid of?" Superman's sudden words make him still. What? "I heard your heartbeat, just for a moment, and I heard your breathing. You were afraid, even now, you still are, why?" He wasn't being condescending, he wasn't mocking him or even teasing him.
He looked genuinely concerned. And that for some reason made all of Billy's instincts just reel.
For the first time since he knew them, he felt anger spark.
"I have the courage of Achilles. I'm not afraid, I'm just pissed off because I can't open the damn portal." A simple feat he was finding impossible to do because of his goddamn emotions being all over the place. And he hated their looks. He wasn't afraid, he had the courage of Achilles. He was-
His thoughts came to an abrupt halt when he heard it.
Steps.
Huge. Mechanic. Made the building itself quake, and as he turned around to look over his shoulder, he saw it.
Red eyes that made his blood run cold, and it was way bigger than the ones he remembered.
A sentinel.