A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 19

Billy was knocked off his feet as dust rained down from the ceiling and the swords on the walls rattled around him. "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen," Billy said determinedly, taking off out of the store and into the fray.

- - -

Billy ran out of the shop to find the mall fallen into mayhem around him. Support beams lay crumpled on the ground, concrete poised to fall and kick up massive clouds of dust. The large trees that had been planted as decor lay fallen in splinters on the ground, cracking the shiny tile on which they fell.

People were running around in a panic around him, looking for loved ones, trying to get people to safety. He took off into the chaos, on a mission to find Mr. Wayne. Though he may have had faith that the billionaire could take care of himself, a superhero he was not.

Billy managed to shove a large sign out of the way as he moved through the crumbling mall, the sounds of screams ringing in his ears. He had to find his foster father before anything happened to the man--

"Help!"

The raven paused. As focused as he was on his goal, he wasn't about to ignore a cry for help. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the cry. It sounded young, like a little girl almost. The girl started to cry, sending the boy's movements into overdrive.

He spun around, searching for the source of the voice. It sounded like it was coming from everywhere- maybe it was bounding off the debris and echoing back to him. "Where are you?! I can help you, just tell me what you see!" he yelled out through the chaos, a larger body slamming into his side as the person ran through the cloud of dust. The little girl said nothing, only continuing to cry.

"Please, I know you're scared but I can help!" the boy cried out, instinct itching at him to shout out the Wizard's name and transform. There were too many people around, there was no telling who could see him change. He still had no idea where Mr. Wayne was, or if he was even okay, and now was not the time to complicate things by adding Cap into the mix.

He couldn't just sit here any longer- that girl could be seriously hurt. Billy took off in the direction he thought the girl's crying was coming from, worn sneakers squeaking on the tile as he looked for her. 

Her voice echoed around him, confusing the boy as he came to a clearing. He saw a small clearing in the center of some rubble, hunched over and shaking. "Hey, hey it's okay- my name's Billy," he said, putting his hands out placatingly towards the figure he could barely make out through the thick dust.

The small girl's crying seemed to quiet for a moment, and the figure shifted. Billy felt a twinge of a smile play at the corner of his mouth before a sense of dread washed over him. The girl's crying morphed into a giggle. 

The small raven furrowed his brow and took a step back, swallowing thickly as the giggle became a manic, cracked cackle. 

"Wh-what-" he stammered, taking another shaky step back, only to bump into something solid.

He turned his attention towards whatever he'd bumped into, only to find that it was what looked like an oversized mallet. The word BAM was painted on the head of the massive hammer, yellow paint chipping slightly. Billy glanced up, towards the familiar mallet's owner. A petite blonde woman with dip-dyed blonde, black and red hair, grinned down at him, leaning on the stick part of the mallet.

"Well, ain't you a cutie?" she said, her squeaky voice making him tense. What- what was Harley Quinn doing here!? Wait...Harley... lately she'd fallen back into her old habits. That meant...