Chapter Text
Patterns shifting rapidly, changing color faster than a strobe light at a rave.
Flash has managed to evacuate most of the people in the immediate area. He keeps trying to make 'Seizure Warning' jokes (and legitimate warnings) as he helps people, but he can't afford to slow down long enough for any of them to understand him.
He knows he's hilarious, though.
Superman is groaning in a crater, his weakness to magic detrimental for this fight. Green Lantern is creating a shield for him and Flash makes a pit stop to catch his breath. Batman's attempt to overload the radiant mass by blowing it up with a missile from the Batwing failed, despite being a recommendation from Captain Marvel, their only magic user currently on site.
Wonder Woman is being run ragged, stray fragments of energy shoot out in every direction and would have caused massive civillian casualties without her intervention. She chases down each one, despite each seeming to have different and quite random effects.
Some aren't so bad, like changing colors before dissipating, letting out a flash of light, or making a silly noise or smell. Others explode big enough to shake the ground, unleash mythical monsters that attack without mercy, or release a cluster burst of destructive beams powerful enough to make her arms burn from blocking them, even with her braces.
One fragment that is just out of reach she catches in the loop of her lasso, chest heaving and sweat dripping down her brow. The magic fragment dissapears as her lasso grows so thick she needs two hands to keep a grip on it. The weight throwing her off, the cord now as wide around as a basketball, but she recovers in a moment and flies off to the next one.
Hawkgirl is taking on the monsters as they appear, her enth metal mace very effective against creatures of magical origin.
Lantern, Flash, and Superman try to regroup behind the shield made of green will-power, Batman in their ears getting a new plan together, but this is all happening so fast.
There's no villain here, no one to punch, the sphere appeared out of nowhere. But it couldn't have, someone somewhere is responsible, if only they can figure out-!
There's no time.
Each member of the Justice League sees the same thing. The Magic is boiling out of control, the giant ball of racing, pulsating magic hitting critical mass. Everyone had been warned by Captain Marvel going into this fight that this amount of chaos magic would be nearly impossible to contain.
He was right.
Captain Marvel flies right at it. His teammates shout for him to come back.
Superman is the only one who can still see the Captain's sillouette through the blinding and flashing lights. He also a hears a shout, but because of the magical induced headache, has no idea what is said.
A lightning bolt pierces the clear blue sky out of nowhere and strikes the sphere.
Everyone braces for a bomb to go off.
...
...
Diana's lasso returns to its normal size, the creatures Hawkgirl was fighting crumble and dissapear.
They dare a glance. The sphere is gone. The only trace of it left is a thin blue, pink and green wisps of fog that fades away in moments.
"Did we win?" Flash asks.
"Captain!" Wonder Woman calls as she races towards his last position, immediately followed by Superman.
Laying there unconscious, curled up into a ball on his side, is a child. A little boy, no older than eight and so so small. His worn red hoodie is faded, and the too long and tattered sleeves that have red strings hanging loose are hiding tiny fists by his face, as if they might protect him.
His hood is partially covering his face, dirty black curls of hair peak out and lay on scratched babyfat cheeks.
His jeans are torn, stained, and definitely too big for him. His tennis shoes are practically crumbling, one has no laces and is wrapped in old duct tape to keep it on. The other, the sole is detatching from the top of the shoe, and a little socked toe can be seen peeking through.
Wonder Woman kneels, "Hey... Captain?"
No response. She places a hand on his shoulder, as gentle as she can.
A quiet but high pitched cry rips from his throat as he twitches away. Wonder Woman instantly takes her hand away, but the tiny breathless whimpers that follow break her heart. He's still unconscious, and slowly, his pained noises die down.
The rest of the League approaches at this point, Batman having landed the Batwing nearby.
Wonder Woman and Superman are frozen for a moment. Captain Marvel has been a member of the Justice League for over a year and in all that time, he's never gotten hurt. They have always been confident that he could win any fight, even if he'd rather resolve things peacefully.
The juxtaposition between his normal invulnerability and his current state is hard to process.
Wonder Woman shakes her head of the thought, she has to focus.
"Is that him? It might not be, right?" Superman asks.
When she looks back at the boy, her eyes are drawn to a marking on the boy's hoodie. There, on the left side of his chest over his heart, where many clothing company's would put a logo, is a little yellow lightning bolt. Captain Marvel's, to be specific. There's no mistaking it.
She resolves herself to take care of her brother. She puts one arm under his knees and one around his back, pulling him into her chest.
His breath hitches and he groans in pain, but melts against her just as quick and even snuggles his head into her shoulder.
"I'll ready the medbay on the Batwing," Batman says, turning to walk away without the usual flourish of his cape.
"Flash, could you pull his hood over his face, please?" Wonder Woman asks, not taking her eyes off her brother for anything.
"Yeah, of course." Normally, Flash would say at least one cool one liner after a fight to lighten the mood, but this is so out of left field his mind is going blank.
Superman and Hawkgirl glance back, keeping an eye on the people starting to make their way back to the buildings to survey the damage. Batman must have sent the people an all-clear from the Batwing. They make sure to stand in the way of anyone looking their way.
Flash takes the hood that had fallen back a little when the boy was picked up and places it as far over his face as it will easily go, and since its so oversized, it goes all the way down to his chin. That will keep any irritating sunlight out of his face, and any civillians from catching a glimpse of his face.
Green Lantern creates a smooth path to the Batwing. So at least Wonder Woman won't have to step over and around debris.
Everyone goes into the Batwing and takes a seat, even those who can fly in space.
◇◇◇
Even with Bruce's assurances that Captain Marvel would be secure on the medical bed in the plane, she just couldn't bring herself to let him be anywhere but her arms. The boy wakes up on the Watchtower before Diana has the chance to set him down.
His eyes shoot open.
His muscles tense, heart racing. His legs kick out on reflex in his panic before appearing to be relaxed manually.
"Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?" Flash asks in the softest voice he can manage.
The boy's pale blue eyes dart to each person in the room. Superman can hear his heartbeat speed up with every face he sees.
"Who are you?"
They were afraid of this, they knew it was a possibility but still. Now they'll need to-.
The child looks back at Diana, and in a quiet pleading tone says, "Please don't hurt me."
Everyones thoughts grind to a screeching halt.
The way he said that... it was like he expected his request to be ignored. Like it was futile. To not want to be hurt.
In an instant the rage filling the room is palpable, at every adult who had failed to protect this child.
Fists clenched, prepared to bring justice as soon as they were pointed in the right direction. Wide shocked eyes, that were unfortunately and unintentionally focused on the source of this new knowledge.
The child in Diana's arms goes from scared to full on panic.
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm-," his breath hitches on a sob. "I shouldn't have told you what to do, I know I shouldn't have. I'm sorry!"
The boy has buried his face into Diana's shoulder, entire body shaking like he could fall apart. The sounds of his hyperventilating breaking their hearts all over again. He's clinging like his life depends on it. Or like he expects to be tossed to the ground any moment now.
Diana holds her brother close and makes gentle sushing noises. "It's alright, we aren't angry at you. You are safe here, dear one. You are safe."
The child's breathing is still wild, but it's not getting any worse, so Barry gathers up the confidence to approach. "Yeah, buddy. We just got upset that someone scared you so much. We were thinking 'We're gonna make sure whoever hurt our little buddy is gonna get what's coming to 'em'."
The boy turns his head just enough so one blue eye can peak at the Flash. "What? W-why?"
"Because me and all my friends here, we're superheroes. We save and protect people all the time. And it makes us sad to see you scared," Barry smiles at his coworker. His friend who he respects greatly.
The distraction is helping as little Cap's breathing continues to slow, though still not enough to be called calm. "Why now?"
Diana asks, "What do you mean, dear one?"
"Even if I believed you, I've been wishing h-help would come for years," he brings up a sleeve covered hand to wipe the tears from his red cheeks. Something in him seems to harden. "Please put me down."
Diana reluctantly complies, wanting to keep him close but understaning that if he wants space, she shouldn't force it.
The boy checks over his clothes and fluffs his hoodie. Apparently satisfied with his current appearance, he crosses his arms and takes a defiant stance. As if he hadn't just cried his eyes out a minute ago.
"So, are you gonna tell me who you are or am I gonna have to come up with nicknames?" He turns a mischievous grin at Flash and points a sarcastic finger for emphasis. "I've already got one for you, 'Sparky'."
"No way! That's a dog's name-," Batman gives Flash a glare. He coughs into his hand and redirects, "I'm The Flash, fastest man alive."
"I am Wonder Woman, but you can call me Diana," she says with a comforting smile.
"Hawkgirl," she introduces with a nod. No fluff, no fuss.
"I'm Green Lantern. I'm a super cool space cop," the boy tilts his head, eyes narrowed. The look on the boy's face says he'll believe it when he sees it.
Superman steps up to be next to Flash. "I'm Superman, and the guy in black is Batman. There are some other folks besides us who you might see here, too, just so you know. What do you want to be called?" Clark wants to give the kid an out if he doesn't want to give his real name. So he has a choice. He has a sinking feeling a lot of choices have been taken from him.
The boy looks at the ground, struggling to keep eye contact for very long. "... Billy."
Batman hums. As much as he wanted to learn more about his coworker and know his secret identity, this is not how he pictured finding out. Captain Marvel has always been very private, endlessly friendly and willing to chat and yet never letting even the smallest detail slip about his past, now he has a pretty good idea about why.
"Billy, huh?" Flash grins. Testing the name on his tongue.
Billy, however, doesn't take it for the lighthearted conversation filler it is. "What? Are you dissapointed? Well, get used to it, I dissapoint a lot of people. Most people, actually."
Billy pushes his hood back.
They now clearly see his whole face for the first time, as well as a chunk missing from one of his earlobes. The ear is covered in messy scars.
Hal, ever the silver tongue, says, "Woah, what happened to your ear?" He gets a quick, casual punch to the ribs from Hawkgirl.
Billy's eyes widen like he had forgotten. He snatches his hood back up with both hands, looking at Hal's feet from under the edge of it. "Climbed a fence. Put a blanket over the razor wire. Blanket slipped when I jumped down." He jerks his shoulders in an 'it is what it is' shrug.
◇◇◇
Billy is so scared. These people seem to know him. Well, he can't be sure about that, it's just a feeling. From the way they stare at him.
There's this itch at the back of his mind that he can't place, and it's distracting him from surviving whatever this is.
Because he's surrounded by adults.
Because whenever adults are near him, it's like they can't help but cause him pain.
And that tear-fest wasn't just embarrassing. It was a showcase of his vulnerabilities, how easily scared he really is. He should have never shown so much weakness in front of strangers. He won't be making that mistake again.
Diana and Superman led him to a room they said he could use. He is pretty tired. This building is so strange though. Every room and hallway is made of metal and he hasn't seen a single window, the only plant is an artificial one on the desk in this room they're keeping him in.
He assumes it locks from the outside.
There's a bed bolted to the floor with pale blue sheets, the desk with the plant also has a lamp and some drawers he hasn't explored yet, three chairs and a door that leads to a bathroom.
It's all way nicer than he's used to, if impersonal. Clearly this is not a room used frequently. He decides to avoid touching as much of it as physically possible. Anything he does touch will probably just get dirty or break. It probably isn't intended for him anyway.
No good hiding places, though. Or stashing places when he comes across some food.
He sits in the corner behind the desk, partially hiding him from view of the doorway. His shoulders slump and he lets out a yawn so big it almost hurts.
But he can't relax here.
The doors are weird. They're button operated and raise and lower into the ceiling. There's no way to prop it shut or jam it from his side. Even if he couldn't stop it from opening, he would have at least liked to be able to put a noise maker of some kind there to warn him if and when someone tries anything.
Diana, the woman who was holding him when he woke up, he has conflicting feelings towards. On one hand, her hold felt so strong and yet gentle. Almost something that could be mistaken for protective. On the other hand, strength can turn on a dime into hurting. For some reason she was the only one who gave him a real name.
All of these people seem totally suspicious.
He'll run away the second he gets the chance. He's great at fending for himself anyway.
"Agh!" Billy grips the sides of his head. A blinding wave of static in his mind getting so loud his ears ring for a moment before once again quieting.
His whole body hurts, like he got beaten again, but worse. And maybe he did. His back feels like someone took a sawblade and went wild. He can't feel any external wounds with his hands though, so he wonders how that happened.
Billy remembers exactly why the bottoms of his feet hurt, though. When he closes his eyes he tries to shut out the sounds of leather hitting them.
"You wanna try running away again, huh? We'll see if you can! I bet you won't even be able to stand when I'm done with you, you disgusting, ungrateful brat! In fact, I should make you stand after this, until you collapse, see if that gets through your empty skull."
Maybe...
Maybe a quick nap won't hurt...
But the sounds still haunt him.
◇◇◇
The League came to the obvious decision that they should be as comforting for Billy as possible. No overwhelming him, or getting in his space, or trying to interrogate him about his situation. Batman also guessed that the boy was additionally intimidated by being surrounded, so they were to try and interact with him one or two at a time unless and until new information is gathered to contradict that theory.
Batman is very unhappy about not getting Billy a proper medical exam immediately, whether the kid is in pain or not, which he clearly is. But he was outvoted that Billy might panic and hurt himself further resisting them, and he should rest and eat first. As well as let them build some rapport. If he still has any of the Captain's powers, he could put up quite a fight. It's not ideal, but it's what they agreed to.
As such, Barry takes a deep breath before knocking on the door to Captain Marvel's room. He's always had the assigned space since he joined, it's strange that this will be the first time he's using it.
"Hey, Billy?"
He doesn't hear a response, or movement.
"Hey, um. I'm going to get some food, I wanted to know if you were interested in joining me? Is it alright if I open the door?"
At that he does hear a bump, the squeak of sneakers on the smooth floor and a restrained groan of pain. Oh, Barry hopes he'll let them check his injuries soon.
After a moment, a little voice answers, "Okay."
Barry presses the button to open the door and smiles down at the boy. Billy's hood is pulled back, showing off his supremely messy hair. His stance is defiant but cautious as he assesses Barry and looks around. There's no one else in the hallway. From the way the kid is blinking and a brief eye rub, Barry wonders if the kid was asleep.
"What kind of food?" Billy says, trying to sound uninterested and looking away like he doesn't really care. He's not fooling anyone.
"We've got a few options; several kinds of pizza, then there's taco salad, chicken parmesan, and a bunch of fruit are fresh from today. But there's also leftovers from over the week, and ingredients to make things yourself if none of that sounds good." Barry doesn't know why he feel so nervous just listing the food options they have.
Billy perks up, bites his lip as he thinks it over, then nods and takes a careful step into the hallway.
Barry takes stock of Billy, and the room behind him with a glance so fast no human could notice. Everything seems fine, except the bed is clearly untouched. Maybe he was wrong and Billy hadn't been sleeping?
Flash has to use every ounce of his self control to walk at a slow pace. Sure he has to do that every day as a civillian, but he just wants so badly to whisk the kid away and feed him.
The walk to the Watchtower cafeteria is slow and quiet... too quiet. Is Billy walking lightly on purpose, or is that just how he walks? Maybe it's just because kids are lighter.
The cafeteria tables are filled with the food Barry got out, every surface covered but the one he set aside for eating at. It took about two seconds to get it all out, (he was being lazy). He wanted everything to be ready when Billy arrived.
What he does not expect, is Hal to already be there and digging in.
Barry clears his throat, "Hey, Lantern. Billy and I were just about to eat, mind if we join you?"
"Not at all," Hal says, his mouth full and a small chunk escaping.
For some reason, that makes Billy give the smallest twitch.
Barry smiles down at Billy before striding in and claiming an untouched pizza. While Billy's here he's going to try to eat at a normal speed, but he doesn't bother with a plate, grabbing the whole thing and taking it to the table with Hal.
Billy hovers just inside the door, looking at the food like museum exhibits.
Hal and Barry exchange glances. Hal swallows and tries to help, "Just grab whatever looks good and join us, Billy."
Billy freezes in place at being addressed. After a moment, he does approach one of the tables. In the same manner one might approach a venomous, coiled snake. He keeps glancing around the room, at the two heroes, the exit, and back at the food.
Barry starts eating again, hoping that not being stared at will ease the pressure. Hal, who people forget goes on diplomatic missions across space, doesn't need any prompting to do the same.