miss maggie (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bossymarmalade) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thejusticelounge2013-01-13 08:38 am
bossymarmalade) wrote in thejusticelounge2013-01-13 08:38 am
Entry tags:
bad dreams
He woke from the fitful, disturbing dream and blinked into the darkness, unsure for a moment where he was. The soft blue glow of the digital numbers on his bedside clock were his only nightlight, but it reminded him of where he was: The Watchtower. Safe. Two-Face wasn’t there. He blinked a few times more, his brain trying to process the numbers.
He missed his old analog wind-up alarm clock that ticked the seconds of the night away. The rhythm of the tic-toc-tic used to put him to sleep as surely as other children drifted off to a mother’s lullaby. It was a perfectly good clock he’d found that somebody had long ago thrown out, but when Batman arranged for him to join the League and said he had to live in the Watchtower, his few belongings had been gathered up and most of them replaced with newer, “better” substitutes. Not that he wasn’t grateful for new clothes and things…but he just liked that clock. The sound had been comforting.
This one showed the time: 3:15 am, in bright blue numbers. It had a radio (useless in space) and even an iPod dock. It was too bad he didn’t have an iPod to put in it, but even then, he didn’t have any music to put ON an iPod anyway, so he didn’t mind that at all. He was just going to have to get used to how quiet the Watchtower was at night compared to the noises of the city.
He lay there in the dead silence a while longer, but couldn’t get back to sleep. Flinging back the covers he got up and switched on the light, then got dressed. Maybe he could find an actual book with pages in it that he could borrow and take back to his room. Something interesting. He emerged from his room, and wandered the halls. It was nice to see the Med Bay almost empty for a change. The Lounge was empty, and the cafeteria closed for the night except for the hot drinks dispenser, they kept that going for the night staff. Maybe he should try some hot chocolate…
She didn’t drink coffee often, but tonight was just one of those nights for Zatanna. Her thoughts had been racing all evening, bouncing between wedding planning, new spell ideas, housekeeping for her tour, thoughts on ongoing magical cases, and general nighttime worrying. Despite her best efforts to clear her head through her usual methods (writing her ideas down on paper, light reading, or counting to 100 forwards in Backwards Speak) she’d now wound up padding into the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee before poking around the Watchtower to see if anyone else happened to be awake. If she couldn’t sleep, why not spend the rest of the night alert in order to find something more productive to put her energy toward.
Once she’d punched in her somewhat familiar coffee order into the drinks dispenser, Zatanna was left to wait quietly as the machine hummed to life and sputtered to a start toward making her beverage. As she waited on her mug to be filled she wrapped her bathrobe closer to herself, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable onboard the near silent Watchtower, a quiet far different from any city she’d ever stayed in. The hot liquid neared the brim of the mug just as the sounds of another’s footsteps edged their way closer toward her. Perking up in curiosity and budding excitement over having someone to keep her company she called out lightly, “Who’s there?”. Whoever it was, Zatanna dreamily hoped they’d keep her company for as long as she remained awake as she slowly leaned forward to collect the warm mug in her hands.
The boy’s small frame was silhouetted against the lit corridor beyond the archway where he stood, as he peered into the darkened cafeteria. There were only a few track lights on above the beverage service machine, the rest was eerily dark. “Oh! Hi Zatanna!” he brightened when she turned around and he could see her, “It’s just me, Billy…I was going to get some hot chocolate or something.” He stepped in, doubt crossing his face as he wondered if it was allowed that he be there at this time of night.
Zatanna smiled wide over her mug at the young boy who stood before her, “Go ahead, I just got my drink, so it’s all yours.” Stepping back to allow Billy access, Zee slipped into a chair that had been pushed under a small cafe like table nearby the machine. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried the hot chocolate, you’ll have to let me know what it tastes like.”
As she sat quietly drinking in her coffee, Zatanna’s eyes scanned slowly about the darkened room. She trailed over shadowed booths and tried to decipher some objects among the veil of black that seemed to cover portions of the room. Eventually she spotted a clock hiding in one of the rare semi-lit corners of the room. It was now 3:20. “You’re up pretty late Billy…” she commented quietly from her seat, “Something keeping you up tonight?”
He slipped a clean mug under the spout and keyed in his preference. “Oh, well, I did go to bed at around nice o’clock last night,” he assured her as the machine whirred and began fill his cup, “But I had a bad dream a little while ago and woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.”
“How about you?” he came over and joined her at her table, leaning over to smell the drink. It didn’t smell very chocolatey tonight. Maybe someone forgot to top up the hot chocolate syrup. “Are you on monitor duty tonight?”
“No, actually I’m not.” She admitted sheepishly as her fingers outlined the rim and sides of her mug, “Just my thoughts keeping me up again, nothing too out of the ordinary. I could probably take over for whoever’s on duty now since I’m up…but I’d rather sit and talk with you.”
Picking up her mug in both hands, Zatanna drew it close to her mouth, but before she took another sip she spoke softly to the young boy, “You mentioned something about having a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?” She took a quick drink from her mug before adding, “I’m sometimes pretty good at sorting through dreams or visions. You might be surprised at how much a quick little symbol in a nightmare could actually mean to you.” Nightmares sending a boy Billy’s age out of bed seemed fairly normal, but with what she knew of the boy and his very adult powers made Zatanna worry his nightmares could be a lot worse than the average child.
“Well…” he looked into his cup, unsure how crazy he might sound. “You remember when everyone was sick, and afraid? Back at Wayne Manor, when you saw me change into Cap?” He looked up at her, and a hint of guilt and regret over that incident played briefly across his face.
“I had a hallucination back then, that Two Face’s voice was all around me. And when I got near a wall, I thought his arm - the ugly one - came out of the wall and covered my mouth. Sometimes, I see that again, only now it’s in dreams, and I’m not in the Wayne Manor kitchen. Sometimes I’m in my old room back in Gotham City, sometimes in my room here in the Watchtower…once I was even back in my old orphanage.”
Zatanna grew quiet as she listened to Billy recount his nightmare. Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she focused on the details. Not many of them had really shared what they had been experiencing while sickened under the modified fear toxin. She’d secretly wondered in the days that followed that terrifying night at Wayne Manor what had been holding the others in equally frightened states. Well, now she knew what had caused Billy to reveal his biggest secret to her.
She darted her eyes up from her mug to focus back on the young boy sitting quietly in front of her as she asked, “Do you think you’re afraid of Two Face, or are you afraid of what the idea of him made you do that night? To expose a secret like that, I’d be pretty scared myself Billy.” The kid had been through so much recently, so it was difficult to tell if the words she spoke were any help to him. Then again, sometimes simply talking about her fears and problems made her feel greatly at ease, maybe it could work for Billy as well.
Billy squirmed a little. He didn’t like admitting he was afraid, no matter how understanding people were, because it just reaffirmed in their minds he was a little kid. Still, he had a responsibility to be honest, especially if he was going to win back the League’s trust.
“I think maybe Two-Face. He stopped me from preventing us from being hurt by him, and in my dreams he stops me from saying the magic word as well. He covers my mouth with his hand.
“Two Face…ok.” She nodded, “I know this isn’t like being scared of something from a tv or a movie where I can tell you it’s not real. That he’s not real. What I can say is that you’re completely safe here.” She reached out a hand to squeeze Billy’s in reassurance before continuing, “Batman- Bruce, is back and I know he’s going to do everything in his power to keep the people of Gotham safe from him. And it’s not just Bruce, everyone on the League is looking out for you. We’re not going to let anything happen to you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Toying with her mug in her free hand, she added quietly, “You’re very brave, and plenty powerful. A guy like Two Face is no match for you, honest. I don’t think anything could stop Captain Marvel or Billy Batson if you were in real danger.” She had to stop herself, not feeling fully sure of how Billy’s powers worked. They might’ve been similar to her’s in that she needed to vocalize her thoughts to get the point across. Then again, being bound and gagged and bleeding out hand’t stopped her before, who’s to say Billy could find a way around having to say the magic word to summon his powers? “How the hot chocolate by the way?” she asked, trying not to get too caught up in her own thoughts.
The boy’s cherub face split into a wide grin. Admittedly, he had felt a lot safer since he’d returned to the Watchtower, but having a personal reassurance from a grownup, especially one who could speak with such strong conviction in her voice, made all the difference. For a moment he even believed her, that even as Billy Batson he could beat Two-Face, but logic and reality and practicality defeated Zatanna’s words: Billy pretending to be something he wasn’t was what had let Two-Face almost kill him and Damian last time…
But she was right about one thing. He was pretty safe, sleeping up here in Earth’s orbit every night. Golly, Two-Face really would have a heck of a time actually getting past all those heroes to get to him. He was totally safe.
As long as he lived aboard the Watchtower, he was safe.
As long as he remained a member of the League…Billy was safe.
He tried not to think about the upcoming Committee meeting where that very question would likely be debated. Maybe he should do something as Captain Marvel to prove he was fit to make grownup decisions and handle his powers properly and responsibly?
Her squeezing his hand brought him back to the here and now, and Billy returned the gesture before she let go of his hand. “Thanks. I do feel safe, up here…” Much safer than he’d felt at Wayne Manor, at least, and that place was a fortress, but he left that unspoken. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault that as Billy, some things scared him that didn’t used to, or that he’d had trouble sleeping since Stephanie had rescued him and Damian from the warehouse fire. Even Cap had insisted that Billy needed to return to living as Billy and not living or sleeping the rest of the summer holidays in Captain Marvel’s form.
“The hot chocolate’s…okay, I guess,” he said honestly, but he tried not to whine. “maybe it’s just a little more watery than I’m used to, but it’s good and hot!” he put a positive spin on it.
“ekaM it retteb…” Zatanna murmured softly, her focus on the small mug Billy had been drinking his hot chocolate from. A minor gesture to try and make the bad memories and lingering nightmares fade, for a moment at least. Her small spell seemed reminiscent of what her Father likely would have done had she come to him with a bad dream, he’d make it better. He always made things better for her…
Once she’d downed the last of her coffee, Zee fidgeted restlessly in her seat, trying to keep attentive on the matter at hand as she suggested, “Do you want to move out to the lounge and try and get some sleep there? I know when I was your age I never liked falling back asleep by myself after I had nightmares…I can set up pillows, blankets you name it.” she drummed her fingers lightly on her mug, magically cleaning it without a word. “I’ll probably be up all night thanks to the coffee anyway, so I don’t mind keeping you company.” she reassured him as she returned the clean mug.
The magician murmured a phrase and in moments the robust scent of quality hot chocolate reached Billy’s nose. He peered into his mug and smiled in delight to see three marshmallows on top, fighting for space in the mug and floating in that perfect, partially-melted state when they were half vanilla-scented foam, and half gooey, sticky, treat.
He couldn’t resist, and took a big sip. The taste and smell reminded him of the orphanage when he was very small. They had hot chocolate at mug up, before bed, just like this. He suddenly recalled a happy memory, of how at Christmastime, they would hook mini candy canes over the edge of kids’ mugs; when they drank the contents would taste like mint chocolate. He lowered the mug and grinned beneath a marshmallow foam moustache. “Thanks, Zatanna! This tastes perfect!”
When she suggested he sleep in the lounge, he wasn’t entirely sure at first. He’d been trying to keep a low profile around the League in general since the fear toxin incident, and things seemed to finally be returning to normal. But as she explained she would be keeping him company, it started to sound more like a sleepover… except he’d be the only one sleeping. He licked the foam from his lips as he considered it. “Sure, I guess… if you’re sure no one will mind? I actually sounds kinda fun! We could turn out all the lights and I could watch the stars until I fall asleep, it’ll be kind of like sleeping outside!” he declared.
Zee sauntered back towards the table, a wide smile budding in delight that her idea seemed to have worked, “Perfect! I can point out the constellations to you as we pass by them maybe.” she reached out across the table to take his hand in her’s, “C’mon, let’s go make the lounge it nice and cozy.”
It took only a matter of moments and a few simple spells to get the room in perfect sleeping order. Plenty of pillow pilled upon the couched and floor, blankets perfect to snuggle up under bundled about, along with the furniture rearranged for plenty of room to spread out on two couched laid next to one another. Plopping herself down happily against the couch and quickly patting the space beside her to ask Billy to join her, “It looks pretty cozy to me, see anything missing?” She secretly wanted to make it perfect for him, so perfect that he’d sleep through the rest of the night without a single complaint. He was such a sweet kid, no one as kind and courageous as him deserved to be haunted by something like that, especially not while he’s all on his own. “You name it you got it Billy.” she promised him as she grabbed a pillow and snuggled it close against her.
He scrambled up onto the couch next to her and bounced a little, feeling a bit excited at ‘camping out’ in the lounge. “Golly, no, everything’s perfect! Nothing missing at all, Zatanna!” he beamed at her.
He positioned himself so he could look out the observation window from where he was lying, to see the stars. “Do you know all the constellations? I’ve tried to find them all but I can never really imagine them with all the lines connecting them so that they look like the pictures they’re supposed to represent. I wish I could find all the ones that represent the gods I get my powers from!”
She smiled down from her seat on the couch toward Billy, “I know most of the Greek gods and goddesses and a few others as well. My Dad would point them out to me when we were on the road sometimes.” She glanced over her shoulder to spot out any nearby constellations, “I think I’ve got Hercules over there-” she pointed out the stars, tracing the outline with her fingers, “See?”
She carefully watched young boy, as his eyes were busy focusing on the stars she’d just directed his attention to. His brow furrowed and his mouth curved in thought, all tied together with his boyish face. She almost wished she didn’t know he was Captain Marvel, that she was unaware of the importance his heroic alter ego stood for. Zatanna dreamt that he could be just the young boy she saw in front of her, with nothing to worry about but the stars that drifted above him, “Do you see it yet?”
“I think…” Billy squinted at the collection of stars, “I think I see his arms and legs, but I can’t really figure out which is which. I’m counting five limbs, not four.” He shook his head, “I don’t know how ancient astronomers saw pictures in the stars. It’s way easier to see things in clouds, don’t you think?”
He missed his old analog wind-up alarm clock that ticked the seconds of the night away. The rhythm of the tic-toc-tic used to put him to sleep as surely as other children drifted off to a mother’s lullaby. It was a perfectly good clock he’d found that somebody had long ago thrown out, but when Batman arranged for him to join the League and said he had to live in the Watchtower, his few belongings had been gathered up and most of them replaced with newer, “better” substitutes. Not that he wasn’t grateful for new clothes and things…but he just liked that clock. The sound had been comforting.
This one showed the time: 3:15 am, in bright blue numbers. It had a radio (useless in space) and even an iPod dock. It was too bad he didn’t have an iPod to put in it, but even then, he didn’t have any music to put ON an iPod anyway, so he didn’t mind that at all. He was just going to have to get used to how quiet the Watchtower was at night compared to the noises of the city.
He lay there in the dead silence a while longer, but couldn’t get back to sleep. Flinging back the covers he got up and switched on the light, then got dressed. Maybe he could find an actual book with pages in it that he could borrow and take back to his room. Something interesting. He emerged from his room, and wandered the halls. It was nice to see the Med Bay almost empty for a change. The Lounge was empty, and the cafeteria closed for the night except for the hot drinks dispenser, they kept that going for the night staff. Maybe he should try some hot chocolate…
She didn’t drink coffee often, but tonight was just one of those nights for Zatanna. Her thoughts had been racing all evening, bouncing between wedding planning, new spell ideas, housekeeping for her tour, thoughts on ongoing magical cases, and general nighttime worrying. Despite her best efforts to clear her head through her usual methods (writing her ideas down on paper, light reading, or counting to 100 forwards in Backwards Speak) she’d now wound up padding into the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee before poking around the Watchtower to see if anyone else happened to be awake. If she couldn’t sleep, why not spend the rest of the night alert in order to find something more productive to put her energy toward.
Once she’d punched in her somewhat familiar coffee order into the drinks dispenser, Zatanna was left to wait quietly as the machine hummed to life and sputtered to a start toward making her beverage. As she waited on her mug to be filled she wrapped her bathrobe closer to herself, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable onboard the near silent Watchtower, a quiet far different from any city she’d ever stayed in. The hot liquid neared the brim of the mug just as the sounds of another’s footsteps edged their way closer toward her. Perking up in curiosity and budding excitement over having someone to keep her company she called out lightly, “Who’s there?”. Whoever it was, Zatanna dreamily hoped they’d keep her company for as long as she remained awake as she slowly leaned forward to collect the warm mug in her hands.
The boy’s small frame was silhouetted against the lit corridor beyond the archway where he stood, as he peered into the darkened cafeteria. There were only a few track lights on above the beverage service machine, the rest was eerily dark. “Oh! Hi Zatanna!” he brightened when she turned around and he could see her, “It’s just me, Billy…I was going to get some hot chocolate or something.” He stepped in, doubt crossing his face as he wondered if it was allowed that he be there at this time of night.
Zatanna smiled wide over her mug at the young boy who stood before her, “Go ahead, I just got my drink, so it’s all yours.” Stepping back to allow Billy access, Zee slipped into a chair that had been pushed under a small cafe like table nearby the machine. “I don’t think I’ve ever tried the hot chocolate, you’ll have to let me know what it tastes like.”
As she sat quietly drinking in her coffee, Zatanna’s eyes scanned slowly about the darkened room. She trailed over shadowed booths and tried to decipher some objects among the veil of black that seemed to cover portions of the room. Eventually she spotted a clock hiding in one of the rare semi-lit corners of the room. It was now 3:20. “You’re up pretty late Billy…” she commented quietly from her seat, “Something keeping you up tonight?”
He slipped a clean mug under the spout and keyed in his preference. “Oh, well, I did go to bed at around nice o’clock last night,” he assured her as the machine whirred and began fill his cup, “But I had a bad dream a little while ago and woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep.”
“How about you?” he came over and joined her at her table, leaning over to smell the drink. It didn’t smell very chocolatey tonight. Maybe someone forgot to top up the hot chocolate syrup. “Are you on monitor duty tonight?”
“No, actually I’m not.” She admitted sheepishly as her fingers outlined the rim and sides of her mug, “Just my thoughts keeping me up again, nothing too out of the ordinary. I could probably take over for whoever’s on duty now since I’m up…but I’d rather sit and talk with you.”
Picking up her mug in both hands, Zatanna drew it close to her mouth, but before she took another sip she spoke softly to the young boy, “You mentioned something about having a bad dream. Do you want to talk about it?” She took a quick drink from her mug before adding, “I’m sometimes pretty good at sorting through dreams or visions. You might be surprised at how much a quick little symbol in a nightmare could actually mean to you.” Nightmares sending a boy Billy’s age out of bed seemed fairly normal, but with what she knew of the boy and his very adult powers made Zatanna worry his nightmares could be a lot worse than the average child.
“Well…” he looked into his cup, unsure how crazy he might sound. “You remember when everyone was sick, and afraid? Back at Wayne Manor, when you saw me change into Cap?” He looked up at her, and a hint of guilt and regret over that incident played briefly across his face.
“I had a hallucination back then, that Two Face’s voice was all around me. And when I got near a wall, I thought his arm - the ugly one - came out of the wall and covered my mouth. Sometimes, I see that again, only now it’s in dreams, and I’m not in the Wayne Manor kitchen. Sometimes I’m in my old room back in Gotham City, sometimes in my room here in the Watchtower…once I was even back in my old orphanage.”
Zatanna grew quiet as she listened to Billy recount his nightmare. Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she focused on the details. Not many of them had really shared what they had been experiencing while sickened under the modified fear toxin. She’d secretly wondered in the days that followed that terrifying night at Wayne Manor what had been holding the others in equally frightened states. Well, now she knew what had caused Billy to reveal his biggest secret to her.
She darted her eyes up from her mug to focus back on the young boy sitting quietly in front of her as she asked, “Do you think you’re afraid of Two Face, or are you afraid of what the idea of him made you do that night? To expose a secret like that, I’d be pretty scared myself Billy.” The kid had been through so much recently, so it was difficult to tell if the words she spoke were any help to him. Then again, sometimes simply talking about her fears and problems made her feel greatly at ease, maybe it could work for Billy as well.
Billy squirmed a little. He didn’t like admitting he was afraid, no matter how understanding people were, because it just reaffirmed in their minds he was a little kid. Still, he had a responsibility to be honest, especially if he was going to win back the League’s trust.
“I think maybe Two-Face. He stopped me from preventing us from being hurt by him, and in my dreams he stops me from saying the magic word as well. He covers my mouth with his hand.
“Two Face…ok.” She nodded, “I know this isn’t like being scared of something from a tv or a movie where I can tell you it’s not real. That he’s not real. What I can say is that you’re completely safe here.” She reached out a hand to squeeze Billy’s in reassurance before continuing, “Batman- Bruce, is back and I know he’s going to do everything in his power to keep the people of Gotham safe from him. And it’s not just Bruce, everyone on the League is looking out for you. We’re not going to let anything happen to you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Toying with her mug in her free hand, she added quietly, “You’re very brave, and plenty powerful. A guy like Two Face is no match for you, honest. I don’t think anything could stop Captain Marvel or Billy Batson if you were in real danger.” She had to stop herself, not feeling fully sure of how Billy’s powers worked. They might’ve been similar to her’s in that she needed to vocalize her thoughts to get the point across. Then again, being bound and gagged and bleeding out hand’t stopped her before, who’s to say Billy could find a way around having to say the magic word to summon his powers? “How the hot chocolate by the way?” she asked, trying not to get too caught up in her own thoughts.
The boy’s cherub face split into a wide grin. Admittedly, he had felt a lot safer since he’d returned to the Watchtower, but having a personal reassurance from a grownup, especially one who could speak with such strong conviction in her voice, made all the difference. For a moment he even believed her, that even as Billy Batson he could beat Two-Face, but logic and reality and practicality defeated Zatanna’s words: Billy pretending to be something he wasn’t was what had let Two-Face almost kill him and Damian last time…
But she was right about one thing. He was pretty safe, sleeping up here in Earth’s orbit every night. Golly, Two-Face really would have a heck of a time actually getting past all those heroes to get to him. He was totally safe.
As long as he lived aboard the Watchtower, he was safe.
As long as he remained a member of the League…Billy was safe.
He tried not to think about the upcoming Committee meeting where that very question would likely be debated. Maybe he should do something as Captain Marvel to prove he was fit to make grownup decisions and handle his powers properly and responsibly?
Her squeezing his hand brought him back to the here and now, and Billy returned the gesture before she let go of his hand. “Thanks. I do feel safe, up here…” Much safer than he’d felt at Wayne Manor, at least, and that place was a fortress, but he left that unspoken. It wasn’t anyone else’s fault that as Billy, some things scared him that didn’t used to, or that he’d had trouble sleeping since Stephanie had rescued him and Damian from the warehouse fire. Even Cap had insisted that Billy needed to return to living as Billy and not living or sleeping the rest of the summer holidays in Captain Marvel’s form.
“The hot chocolate’s…okay, I guess,” he said honestly, but he tried not to whine. “maybe it’s just a little more watery than I’m used to, but it’s good and hot!” he put a positive spin on it.
“ekaM it retteb…” Zatanna murmured softly, her focus on the small mug Billy had been drinking his hot chocolate from. A minor gesture to try and make the bad memories and lingering nightmares fade, for a moment at least. Her small spell seemed reminiscent of what her Father likely would have done had she come to him with a bad dream, he’d make it better. He always made things better for her…
Once she’d downed the last of her coffee, Zee fidgeted restlessly in her seat, trying to keep attentive on the matter at hand as she suggested, “Do you want to move out to the lounge and try and get some sleep there? I know when I was your age I never liked falling back asleep by myself after I had nightmares…I can set up pillows, blankets you name it.” she drummed her fingers lightly on her mug, magically cleaning it without a word. “I’ll probably be up all night thanks to the coffee anyway, so I don’t mind keeping you company.” she reassured him as she returned the clean mug.
The magician murmured a phrase and in moments the robust scent of quality hot chocolate reached Billy’s nose. He peered into his mug and smiled in delight to see three marshmallows on top, fighting for space in the mug and floating in that perfect, partially-melted state when they were half vanilla-scented foam, and half gooey, sticky, treat.
He couldn’t resist, and took a big sip. The taste and smell reminded him of the orphanage when he was very small. They had hot chocolate at mug up, before bed, just like this. He suddenly recalled a happy memory, of how at Christmastime, they would hook mini candy canes over the edge of kids’ mugs; when they drank the contents would taste like mint chocolate. He lowered the mug and grinned beneath a marshmallow foam moustache. “Thanks, Zatanna! This tastes perfect!”
When she suggested he sleep in the lounge, he wasn’t entirely sure at first. He’d been trying to keep a low profile around the League in general since the fear toxin incident, and things seemed to finally be returning to normal. But as she explained she would be keeping him company, it started to sound more like a sleepover… except he’d be the only one sleeping. He licked the foam from his lips as he considered it. “Sure, I guess… if you’re sure no one will mind? I actually sounds kinda fun! We could turn out all the lights and I could watch the stars until I fall asleep, it’ll be kind of like sleeping outside!” he declared.
Zee sauntered back towards the table, a wide smile budding in delight that her idea seemed to have worked, “Perfect! I can point out the constellations to you as we pass by them maybe.” she reached out across the table to take his hand in her’s, “C’mon, let’s go make the lounge it nice and cozy.”
It took only a matter of moments and a few simple spells to get the room in perfect sleeping order. Plenty of pillow pilled upon the couched and floor, blankets perfect to snuggle up under bundled about, along with the furniture rearranged for plenty of room to spread out on two couched laid next to one another. Plopping herself down happily against the couch and quickly patting the space beside her to ask Billy to join her, “It looks pretty cozy to me, see anything missing?” She secretly wanted to make it perfect for him, so perfect that he’d sleep through the rest of the night without a single complaint. He was such a sweet kid, no one as kind and courageous as him deserved to be haunted by something like that, especially not while he’s all on his own. “You name it you got it Billy.” she promised him as she grabbed a pillow and snuggled it close against her.
He scrambled up onto the couch next to her and bounced a little, feeling a bit excited at ‘camping out’ in the lounge. “Golly, no, everything’s perfect! Nothing missing at all, Zatanna!” he beamed at her.
He positioned himself so he could look out the observation window from where he was lying, to see the stars. “Do you know all the constellations? I’ve tried to find them all but I can never really imagine them with all the lines connecting them so that they look like the pictures they’re supposed to represent. I wish I could find all the ones that represent the gods I get my powers from!”
She smiled down from her seat on the couch toward Billy, “I know most of the Greek gods and goddesses and a few others as well. My Dad would point them out to me when we were on the road sometimes.” She glanced over her shoulder to spot out any nearby constellations, “I think I’ve got Hercules over there-” she pointed out the stars, tracing the outline with her fingers, “See?”
She carefully watched young boy, as his eyes were busy focusing on the stars she’d just directed his attention to. His brow furrowed and his mouth curved in thought, all tied together with his boyish face. She almost wished she didn’t know he was Captain Marvel, that she was unaware of the importance his heroic alter ego stood for. Zatanna dreamt that he could be just the young boy she saw in front of her, with nothing to worry about but the stars that drifted above him, “Do you see it yet?”
“I think…” Billy squinted at the collection of stars, “I think I see his arms and legs, but I can’t really figure out which is which. I’m counting five limbs, not four.” He shook his head, “I don’t know how ancient astronomers saw pictures in the stars. It’s way easier to see things in clouds, don’t you think?”