The Marvelous Adventures of the Superbat Family

Horrible Suspicions

"Here we are," Captain Marvel announced. "Welcome to Casa de la Marvel."

"You actually live here?" try as he might Superman couldn't keep the shock and horror out of his voice as he stared at the building in front of them. It had clearly been abandoned for quite some time as evidenced by the broken windows and graffiti decorating the outside walls.

"For now," Captain Marvel looked a bit sheepish. "It cuts down on door to door salesmen."

Batman chuckled, earning himself two incredulous looks. "Why don't we continue this conversation inside?" he suggested.

"Good idea," Captain Marvel agreed. "My room doesn't even leak."

Superman still looked pained but followed Captain Marvel inside albeit reluctantly. The inside wasn't much better with holes in the floor that Captain Marvel navigated with ease and filthy sayings on the wall that someone had obviously tried to cover up. The room that Captain Marvel led them too was only a little better-there were no visible holes and it was fairly clean showing that someone had tried to make it more homey.

There was a dilapidated mattress in the corner with stained white sheets. A pair of candles sat on top of an old wooden crate and newspaper clippings (of the Justice League no less) adorned the otherwise plain walls.

"I, uh, I know it's not much," Captain Marvel was beginning to look even more emvarrassed than he had earlier.

"It's not raining so it'll suffice for now," Batman's eyes scanned the room, his analytical mind no doubt noticing clues that Superman hadn't.

"And we appreciate you letting us ride out the storm," Superman added. He was still shocked (and horrified) by his friend's living conditions but finding out why and seeing what he could do to help seemed more important. Besides, his Ma would skin his hide if he wasn't polite to his host.

"No problem," Captain Marvel shrugged as he sat cross-legged on the mattress. "I'd offer you guys' something to eat or drink but I don't really have much."

Superman nodded, internally wincing when he saw one fo the Watchtower's takeout boxes in the corner, halfway hidden underneath a child's backpack. "I'm not really hungry anyways." It was only a partial lie-he wasn't starving but a snack would be nice although he could wait until he got home.

"Same here." After a few moments of awkward silence Batman broke the silence with, "Are you autistic?"

Superman choked and sent Batman a dirty look. "Whatever happened to being diplomatic?" he hissed.

Captain Marvel laughed, his teeth flashing as he smiled widely. "It's okay, Superman, really. I don't honestly know," he admitted. "I wasn't in foster care for that long before I ran away and my teachers never cared enough," although he shrugged casually his smile was tight.

Batman made a noncommittal noise as he said, "Is that why you live here? I imagine it would be difficult to get a job without a diploma."

"It is," Captain Marvel agreed. "Not to mention I don't have an ID or anything. My uncle has all that stuff and he'd rather die than give it to me."

Sensing that they had just hit a sore spot Superman thought wildly for a moment then asked, "Do you have any siblings?"

"Not that I know of," Captain Marvel answered. "I was four when my parents died so even if I did I wouldn't remember them."

Although Batman understood the depth fo Captain Marvel's loss he couldn't help but think how grateful he was to remember his own parents. "I remember being that young," he pointed out. True, people's memories worked differently but Captain Marvel could remember a conversation word for word from nine months ago with no problem. People's minds didn't change that much.

Captain Marvel cleared his throat and pointedly looked at the floor as he spoke. "I kind of had a collision with a brick wall when I was five and got amnesia. Everything after that I remember but nothing before that."

"I see," Batman's lips tightened and, judging by the scowl o his face, Superman had obviously come to the same conclusion: Captain Marvel had been abused as a child.

"I'm okay though, really," Captain Marvel continued talking. "I work enough odd jobs to buy food or whatever else I need. If I don't then I usually bring home food or a few medical supplies from the Watchtower."

"That's a relief," Batman sighed. "I thought Flash and Green Lantern were planning on rolling LexCorp and the Watchtower again."

Captain Marvel burst out laughing, his blue eyes lighting up. "I heard about that," he grinned. "I'm pretty sure they were still on monitor duty when I joined."

"They probably were," Superman admitted. Flash and GL were loyal and good in a fight but their maturity level was a little lacking.

They settled into a comfortable silence after that the sound of rain hitting the roof was proving to be very soothing. Batman was gearing up to ask another question when Captain Marvel suddenly spoke up.

"You guys seemed really surprised that it lived here. Why is that?"

Only a bit startled for he had been expecting something similar since learning about their friend's situation Batman replied, "Because we have our legal paperwork we can work full-time jobs so we can afford to live in a real home. We just assumed that you did to," he explained. Anyone else would have probably been offended but Captain Marvel was the type of person to appreciate blunt honesty instead of prettily wrapped lie.

"Oh okay. I was just curious," Captain Marvel nodded in understanding. He looked up, lightning flashing in his eyes for a brief moment in his eyes for a brief moment before saying, "The rain has stopped."

"Thank you for the hospitality," Superman bowed slightly.

"You're more than welcome," Captain Marvel grinned.

Batman and Superman left the building in silence. It wasn't until they were in the air and halfway to Metropolis that Batman spoke.

"I think he's a child," he said abruptly.

"Why?" if it had been anyone else making the accusation Superman would have laughed and called them crazy.

"Even discounting the autism and possible brain damage he acts more like a kid than an adult. He didn't really seem to grasp the concept that we worked and did the Justice League thing at the same time most likely because he has enough difficulty trying to do school which keeps him busy a less amount of time. Not to mention I spotted some schoolbooks plus everything was child-sized."

"I really, really hate magic," Superman growled. "What do you plan on doing about it?"

"Nothing for now. I'd rather he tell us himself. We just need to keep trying to earn his trust."

"Fine," Superman sighed. "But I'm only going along with this because it's you."

"I appreciate it."