A Natural Progression | Shazam

Chapter 18

"I agree- the only way we'll know is if we try," he said, shutting his eyes. "G'night, Titus."

- - -

The next week passed rather uneventfully. Billy managed to send in a message to the League saying that he'd be unavailable for a couple of days, so he didn't have to worry about meetings or monitor duty- Cyborg would fill him in on what he missed.

Still, it was weird to just lay in bed all day- it was definitely something he wasn't used to. He ended up playing a lot of videogames with Damien, oftentimes fighting ones where he would have his ass handed to him. He didn't really mind- Damien reminded him of Freddy with how competitive he was.

The rest of his time was spent with Jason and Alfred- Jason would come in an hang out with him or tell him about a case he was working on, maybe he'd tell him how he beat up a couple of crooks or fought alongside Batman- it was cool. 

Sure, he knew Batman personally as well, but Jason was from Gotham. He apparently used to be Robin from what he said, and though Billy hadn't been aware that there was more than one, it was cool to see what someone who had worked side-by-side with the Dark Knight thought of him.

Of course, there was plenty of complaining too- Jason had a tendency to, when he was telling stories, go off on tangents about how annoying someone was during a mission, be that Batman, Nightwing, Batgirl, or Robin. Billy always thought it was funny- they were almost like a family in a way.

Whenever Jason and Damien weren't around, Alfred was often there to fill the space, bringing in a couple of books (or comics if Billy was lucky) and a cup of tea, sitting in the armchair beside the bed, (he'd had Jason help him move it in when the only thing in the room to sit on had been a couple of beanbags) and occasionally helping billy sound out a word.

They talked about the weather, about animals, about history and science, things that BIlly had always been interested in, but had never really gotten a chance to investigate further. "We'll have to enroll you in school fairly soon," Alfred said on what Billy thought was Wednesday, not looking up from his novel about some rich man from the '20s who throws a big party but hides away from his guests the whole time.

"I haven't been to school since kindergarten," Bill said in reply, glancing up from his comic (one about Aquaman and Mera-- he loved Mera) with furrowed brows. "I don't know how to do a lot of stuff."

"Well from the looks of it, you're a very good reader," Alfred said, finally looking up from his book and thumbing a bookmark between the yellowed pages. "We can have you tested to see waht grade you should be in, and we can hire a private tutor to help you get to where you need to be."

The raven rubbed the back of his neck- from what he remembered, school was a lot of fun- getting to learn new things, meeting friends, eating lunch- he could at least give it a try.

"You may even be able to join Master Damien at Gotham Academy."

Billy's eyes widened. He could go to school with his new brothers?! How had that thought not even occurred to him?! Maybe he and Damien could have the same classes! They could sit together at lunch! He smiled widely, giving the butler an affirmative nod. "Sounds like fun!"

Alfred gave him a warm smile, standing up and closing his book completely before setting it down on the armchair. "I'll go get things prepared then," he said before leading the room.