Heroic Cognizance | Shazam

Chapter 25

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The others shared a look- Cap was being really calm about this. Almost too calm.

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Captain Marvel was freaking out. Well, to be more specific, the part of him that was 13 was freaking out, while the part of him that was millennia-old demigod struggled to keep that childish panic from surfacing. 

So far he was doing well, but he couldn't shake the anxiety that overcame him whenever he looked at the others.

Sure, their images no longer turned monstrous and evil, but the ghosts of the images still remained, flicking into his view when he looked out of the corner of his eye. 

He just wanted to get out of this void and go home-- there was no telling how long he'd been out, and the Vasquezes were going to start worrying about him, not to mention Freddy and Darla--

"Yo, Cap? You got something on your mind?"

Barry's chipper voice pulled the raven out of his thoughts. "Huh?" he asked before his brain caught up with him. "Oh, uh, sorry, just thinking about a way to get out of here."

The blonde nodded, walking alongside him. "You sure that's it?" he asked, tilting his head slightly. "I mean, you kinda went through a lot back there."

"I'm- I'm fine," Marvel replied, letting out a shaky breath. Of course, he was fine- he had to be fine. He couldn't lose his cool now, not in front of the others. He still didn't know if they knew his secret, and if they did, he was sure as Tartarus not gonna give them a reason to doubt him.

Besides, he could always meltdown in front of Darla and Freddy later if it came to that.

"Alright..." Barry said after a moment, his tone betraying his words. "If you're sure."

The speedster fell back to walk with the rest of the group, only for Victor to take his place. He really hoped they weren't taking turns trying to figure him out. He glanced at the former quarterback and gave him a half-hearted smile. 

"I know, I'm doing a terrible job."

"Of what?" Victor asked with a slight smirk as they walked.

"Of making it look like that whole thing was no big deal."

"Well...was it?"

"..."

Victor nodded, nudging the slightly larger man as they continued to head into the void. "Wanna talk about it?" he asked casually.