#dismm

"Robin is magic, huh?" The red-clad man mused to himself. "...okay."

Before Jason can stop him, the man presses two fingers to his forehead. He'd bite, but there's enough self-preservation in his bird-light frame that he doesn't dare do so when the man's palm is bigger than his entire head.

A tingle spreads out from the point of contact and washes over his whole body. The static-ky feeling makes his every hair stand on end, and a buzzing heat quickly makes its way through his skin, permeating his muscles and sinking into his bones.

Alfie's meals had helped ease the sharpness of his cheekbones and the knobbliness of his elbows and knees, but for the first time in recent memory, Jason feels well and truly warm through and through, from his fingertips down to his pixie boot clad toes.

With that warmth comes a new well of strength, subtle, but all-encompassing, coursing through his veins.

Where he'd previously needed his grappling gun and well practiced flips to give him the illusion of flying, he's somehow now certain he could equal those heights with sheer jump strength alone.

It was amazing.

It was suspicious as all hell.

"What the fuck did you do to me?" He hisses, short cape mantling over his small shoulders, all cheer draining from his voice.

"Easy, easy, son. Just a gift, can't have you dying too soon when you're going to be so important to someone someday." Captain Marvel replied flippantly, stepping back to check his work with an easy grin.

Wouldn't that just make Billy's day?

Marvel had long since recognised what the warm tug in his core meant when it led to the boy in front of him even if his host didn't.

It had been years since he'd witnessed a proper soulmate pair, and in his not inconsiderable opinion, Billy was the best, bar none, and deserved every nice thing the world could give him.

If that meant meddling a little with his prophesied other half, then surely no one Upstairs could protest too much.

Well, not when Marvel was shielding his actions from them anyway.

"Take care now!" He chirps, lifting off the ground and immediately disappearing over the horizon in a burst of speed.

Meanwhile, Jason covers his face with his cape, glad for the domino keeping the worst of the dust from his eyes as he shouts in the weird superman reject's vague direction;

Billy and Marvel are separate people...for the time being

In this AU, Shazam had a moment of realization i.e. "Maybe I shouldn't dump enormous power unchecked and unguided on this 10 year old" and made the Living Lightning conscious before he peaced out

The Living Lightning has been in the background, in the body of every champion and fashioned from the powers gifted from the Patrons themselves! Who better to be a guide?

But this is akin to electricity powering a toaster. The electricity makes it work great! Is essential to the toast making process even. That doesn't mean the electricity knows how to be a toaster or has experience actually making toast on its own.

Marvel is very new at being a person! And now he has to guide an even tinier person!

He takes his cues from the Champion's memories, from Billy's memories and nature, and the inherent personality traits inbuilt from the Patrons' essence.

Considering not all of them were picked for purity of heart, this will go juuuust fine.

Let alone the Gods and Solomon's influence.

Billy and Marvel take turns piloting the Marvel form. When they sleep, the memories are shared.

They can also backseat drive to an extent, but whoever is in the fore has the clearest picture of the outside and the most control.

Billy is expected of course, to absorb Marvel back when he's learned enough but-

Well, he's already named him.

We'll see.

Marvel is theoretically in love with love in all its shapes and forms platonic, romantic, etc, though he's not old enough himself to feel much more than 'oh, that's what that is'.

Considering how many Champions have died for love plus the Patrons' whole thing, he kinda had to be.

No worries, the youth of both the Lightning and the host mean certain things are childlocked until necessary/they experience it themselves.

Marvel is so excited for Billy to see his surprise that his eagerness fizzes like soda in Billy’s stomach. It’s infectious – Billy can feel his lips curl as he makes a beeline for home, zipping through the crowds of returning salary workers with ease.  

It's not a big place, a tiny apartment in a building that looks halfway to being torn down, but the landlord doesn't ask questions as long as Billy keeps paying, the place has running water and electricity and most importantly, it's close to the subway he'd first used to get to the Rock of Eternity.

He doesn't need it to enter the Rock of course, Marvel had assured him of that, but it feels like the gate to where his life changed forever and is Important because of it.

Marvel had also suggested living in the Rock itself to save on rent if Billy was so worried about it, but just thinking of sleeping in the same place he'd seen the Wizard get squished so awfully...well, it felt wrong.

Billy hadn't thought he'd be able to sleep if he'd been living there, so little apartment it is.

He toes off his shoes inside of the doorway, nudging them to line neatly against the wall as he locks his door.

"I'm home." He murmurs out of habit, less startled than he had been at first at the sudden tingle along his spine that meant Marvel was responding , was welcoming him home.

"Welcome back." He echoes for him instead, because it's Marvel's home now too- and let's him nudge his thoughts in the direction of his mattress, made more inviting by stray bits of words that promised a new spell to be learnt via dream if only Billy got in bed now.

Billy thinks of arguing a little, Marvel can't get hungry, so he forgets Billy can and needs food sometimes, but he's curious too.

"Okay, okay." He giggles instead at the extra insistent nudge and flops back first into his nest of blankets. Billy closes his eyes and soon enough, Marvel pulls him under.

Krak-Pow!

The scent of ozone is a familiar friend, as is (unfortunately) the much less welcome stench of still water and rotting garbage.

Billy opens his eyes to a crumbling brick face, liberally graffitied in faded gang signs and teeming street art, all competing for room. Billy can recognise a couple of influences from nooks and crannies around the city, but nothing actually dangerous in the way that meant he'd have to get out of dodge yesterday, which meant Cap actually was learning when Billy left him note scraps on what to look out for in the city.

In actual fact...Billy tilts his head, scrutinizing the painted wall with more focus. The niggling details that looked surprisingly like Greek script floated in his mind's eye and a message begins to take shape.

Something wonderful happened today. I can't wait for you to see it.

Which could mean anything.

Kudos to Cap for not leaving something terribly obvious like their Patrons and/or previous hosts' influence would have wanted (ignoring the flaming Monument-That-Will-Be-Forgotten he'd created exactly (1) once and never again to Billy's relief) but the subtlety isn't helping matters this time.

A means to improve his circumstances again, perhaps? Billy likes being an official Cub Reporter thanks to Cap's capture of Dr.Sivanna that one time.

Or petty revenge on his bullies or Uncle E again?

Flying feathers and newly bald bipeds, frantic clucking mingled with boisterous laughter see-sawing between baritone chuckles and the bright notes of childish giggles.

"Behold! Men!" Someone had proclaimed, and the day had become one of the brightest spots in their short, shared memory.