A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 35

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"...dad...?"

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Billy quickly lost consciousness after that, unable to keep up his eyes open with Bruce of all people there. 

He fell limp in the Dark Knight's arms, head lolling to the side as he blacked out.

Bruce let out a shaky breath, laying the demigod down on the concrete floor before pulling off his cowl and running a fist through his hair. He stood quickly, steely expression of calm fracturing as he turned away from Jason and Dick. His heart was pounding, blood was trickling down from a cut on his cheek, sweat bead on his brow. 

He clenched his jaw tightly, staring at a crack in the wall before curling his hand into a fist and suddenly slamming it full force into the concrete with a yell.

He was left breathing heavily, loose strands of hair falling into his face as pain bloomed in his hand. Bruce stared emptily at the spot he'd punched, the concrete as uniform as before, as if his punch did nothing to it. 

A painful reminder he was, at the end of the day, human.

His chest was in knots...he was vaguely aware that Billy had called him dad. It was the first time he'd referred to him like that, and it was just after he'd been used as a sacrifice. Just after he'd... revealed himself. 

There had been the smallest quirk of a smile on the demigod's face before he blacked out, one that told Bruce he trusted him.

He let out a shaky breath, straightening his back, and stiffening his posture. He had to pull himself together. Bruce turned to look at his boys; Dick was kneeling down beside the demigod, the man's head in his lap, and breathing shakily. 

Tears were beading in his eldest's eyes as he muttered something to himself... he stepped towards them, and heard him.

"Bluebird... you.. this isn't... Billy... you can't... blue.. bluebird..."

Bruce glanced at Jason, had his gaze locked on the Captain's face. There was no emotion written there, a blank state staring at an unconscious being, but his eyes were full of pain, full of fear. Jason suddenly turned away, fist clenched tightly around his helmet.

"We have to get him back to the Manor," Bruce said, glancing between the two before kneeling down to attempt to saddle some of the demigod's dead weight.

"Did you not see the same thing I did? Did you not hear-" Jason swallowed thickly, slicking a hand through his hair. "There's a goddess running loose in the streets of Gotham, and we have to catch her."

He knew what Jason was doing. He was trying to run, trying to put his focus on the case, on the mission at hand, so he didn't have to think about what had happened. Billy's screams still echoed in all their minds... not to mention... he glanced down at Marvel.

"And the one man that would know how to do that is-"

'-is a kid, Bruce..." Dick said from the floor, glancing up from where he held Marvel's head. "He's ten..." his voice broke.

Dick felt betrayed. He could see it in his eyes. Sadness, longing, fear, betrayal, anger, a cocktail of swirling emotions in Dick's head, all overshadowed by an all-encompassing sense of guilt. Bruce would be lying if he said a part of him felt betrayed as well. 

It was a small part, overshadowed by the fear and terror wracking his body over what they'd done to him, but it was still there.

He wasn't sure what to feel, wasn't sure if he could, his mind defaulting to numb until things were stable again.