"I... I apologize."
The man immediately turned to the two boys. "I was wrong. I'll never take your money again."
After saying that, he tried to leave, but Billy Batson blocked his way once more.
"You apologized, but your men haven't."
At his words, the gang leader's underlings quickly followed suit, mumbling their apologies to the two boys.
Billy Batson nodded in satisfaction. "There. Isn't that much better? Who knows, maybe you'll even become friends someday."
He looked genuinely pleased and happy.
But by then, the gang members had already bolted.
The two boys walked up to Billy Batson, hand in hand.
"You're really amazing," they said in awe, though both thought he seemed a little unhinged.
How could they possibly become friends with the same bullies who had just attacked them?
"What's your name?" one of them asked.
"I... I'm Shazam," Billy Batson said.
He didn't dare reveal his real name. He knew that for a kid to suddenly turn into an adult was something unbelievable, and he didn't want to be treated like a monster. Even so, he couldn't deny how much he enjoyed the power that came with being Shazam.
"It's getting late. You two should go home and rest," he said, waving at them before skipping away, light on his feet.
"He's so weird," one boy muttered.
"Yeah, really strange. But he did save us. Next time, let's bring him something tasty. I bet he'd like that."
"Good idea. But the chances of seeing him again aren't high. Gotham City can feel small, but it's huge when you're looking for someone."
Finding a person you'd only met once was almost impossible.
They didn't hold out any hope, while on the other side, Billy Batson was overjoyed by his good deed. The happiness lingered in his chest, unspoken and unshared, keeping him awake with excitement.
"Tomorrow... yeah, tomorrow. I've got to tell Lorien about the good thing I did today," he thought.
Though he was just a kid, he knew Lorien would understand what was going on. After all, he was a smart guy.
Thinking that, Billy Batson suddenly felt tired. He closed his eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he couldn't wait to share his heroics.
"Yesterday I saved two little boys—they really admired me! Oh, and I helped an old lady cross the street too. She was so thankful. I did so many good things! I realized you can do tons of good deeds every single day in Gotham City..."
It was true. In Gotham, accidents and terrible events happened far more often than anywhere else.
It was only natural for Billy Batson to feel this way.
But he really was still a child at heart.
Lorien glanced at Billy Batson, who was happily chattering beside him, and thought just that.
"Oh, right—didn't you say you were going back to your hometown? So you've just been wandering around Gotham this whole time without finding out anything?"
Although Lorien had said he didn't want to get involved in Billy Batson's affairs, he still had Gwen look into it. What he discovered was that the address Billy had mentioned didn't even exist. It was an abandoned park. Lorien hadn't yet decided whether he should tell Billy the truth.
"Aren't I supposed to earn enough money first before going home?"
Billy had always believed he needed to save up before returning, before he could start searching. He couldn't understand what Lorien meant by any of this.
When Billy said that, his eyes were filled with innocence and clear confusion. Seeing him like that made it hard for anyone to tell him the truth.
"Even though I don't want to say this, and I'd rather not break your illusion, I think you should take a look at this file. It has some written records and even photos."
Billy was twelve—old enough to understand what he was seeing.
And he did understand, but his first reaction was disbelief. "This must be fake. How could this be? How could I have ended up in another world? How could my family and my home not exist?"
He flipped through the photos one by one, then shook his head violently. He couldn't accept it.
It felt like someone had told him everything he'd worked for had been meaningless. He'd been working here for half a month, saving money, even planning to give some to his parents if there was any left over when he went home. He had tried calling before, but the line had always been busy. That had made him uneasy, but not enough to dwell on it.
He knew some things weren't worth overthinking. He'd always told himself that—he just needed to get home and see his family again.
But now Lorien had shattered the beautiful illusion he'd built for himself, leaving him completely unsettled.
His eyes blinked rapidly. "I don't know what you're talking about. My parents are definitely at home waiting for me. Once I save enough money, I'll go back and—"
He couldn't finish.
He understood more than he wanted to admit, but he refused to believe it. As if pretending not to see it would make it disappear. He couldn't accept that he had suddenly ended up in another world, surrounded by strangers, with no classmates, no friends, no family.
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
Billy slumped in his chair, looking defeated.
Lorien didn't answer. Instead, he glanced at the time and said calmly, "We'll talk about it tomorrow. It's after work."
He could have made an exception for Billy as an employee benefit, but he didn't intend to cut into his off-hours.
"How can you wait until tomorrow for something this important?"
Billy stared at Lorien with wide eyes, unable to believe it.
But Lorien was serious. He was already packing up his things and urging Billy to do the same.
"My employees don't work overtime. So, let's go."