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Colin didn't really like to dwell on the details of his past. Everytime he does for too long, his body would shake and he would breath uncontrollably. Yet, his past always has seemed to have stuck with him. Both his parents were the definition of cruel. They would yell and hit him for no reason but for what seemed like their own amusement. Colin had a majority of his childhood memories repressed. He was thankful about being away from his family.
.
It was after his tenth birthday that he last remembered seeing his parents. Colin was curdled up on his racecar bed, hiding under the blanket with a black eye since his mother punched him earlier for being late. He flinched when he heard someone coming up the stairs, and started to shake as he started to wonder what his parents were going to yell at him for. He prepared for the worst as the door opened, yet was surprised when he heard an unfamiliar force.
"Hey kid? You okay?" The voice of an older woman asked the child hidden in the blanket.
Colin slowly shuffled out of the blanket and nervously looked at the woman in a long black shirt with a badge. He could only muster up a shy shake of the head.
"Don't worry kid. I'm here with Child Protective Services, and we want to take you to an orphanage. Wanna come outside the house with me?" The black haired lady asked in a quiet and calm voice, not wanting to scare the young boy.
Colin nervously looked around the room as he stood up and shyly looked up. "W-will I be able to bring all my stuff from the-from the room with me ma'am?" He quietly asked as he held his blanket off.
"Oh of course. We'll come back to the house later. Promise." The woman said as she reached her hand out to the small child.
Colin shyly held the hand of the woman as they both walked out of the room. As they headed downstairs, he noticed that there were red and blue lights shining from the window. He got a little panicked, and quickly looked up at the lady. "A-am-am I in trouble?" He asked in a panicked tone.
"No. You're not in trouble. Your parents are though." She calmly told Colin as she walked out of the house with them. She walked over to her police car, and started to look for her car keys in her purse.
As Colin was waiting for the woman to get her keys, he looked over in the direction of the red and blue lights, and was surprised at the sight of both of his parents trying to fight off the cops that were trying to put them in the car. It felt so weird seeing his usually terrifying parents being so powerless. He looked back at the women once she opened the car. "Um, so do I go to the f-front or back?" He asked while holding his blanket close to him.
The lady looked over as she opened both car doors. "The back seems scary so you can sit in the front." She sweetly told him before she got into the driver's seat.
Colin soon followed suit, and hopped into the front seat. After he closed the door, he put the blanket on himself, and put his seat belt on. "'Um, How far will we be driving?" He quietly asked as he closed his eyes, and snuggled up to the blanket.
The women looked over at the child as she started the car. "About thirty minutes or so. Get some rest kiddo." She smiled softly at him before turning around. He fell asleep not too soon as she drove her way to the orphanage.
.
Colin was thankful for the fact that the world decided to throw him a bone, and place him in the orphanage instead of staying with his parents. The interview he had to do back about a few days after was rather hard for him to do though. He kept breaking down while telling the Child Protective Services employees about what his parents were like.
After that, Colin arrived at the all boys room of the building, which had twelve beds, and started to put his stuff right on the empty bed in the far left section of the room. While he was busy doing that, he didn't notice another boy walking over to him until he was basically right next to him.
"Hey. My name's Zachary. What's yours?" The black haired boy asked. Despite the fact that he didn't seem mean on the surface, Colin was still cautious. He didn't have trust in the stranger, and simply ignored him until he walked away. The ten year old knew it might have been rude to do so, but he wasn't ready to open up just yet.
A bunch of other young boys arrived in the room, most of them getting onto their beds with their stuff, and only a tiny few of them starting to unpack their things. Colin soon finished unpacking everything, and got a newspaper from the box to read. He could've tried to talk to everyone, but he didn't feel like it and would rather read the news. He read the news about superheroes over and over again, amazed by how extraordinary people like the Justice League trio were. Colin started to daydream about either being raised by a superhero, or being said superhero. He was snapped out of his reading when one of the caregivers went into the room.
"Boys! Come downstairs to the dining room! We're having macaroni and cheese!" The young female caregiver called out while peeking from the door. All of the boys excitedly ran out of the room for dinner.
Once Colin was done with his food, he immediately ran back stairs and continued his reading. He kept his gaze away from the rest of his kids and looked out of the window. He was excited to get newer, and better parents soon. Oh how his hopes were too high.
Between ages ten and fifteen, all of the families that adopted him eventually gave up on him. Whether it was in the first week or two months, it all ended with the families sending him back parking to the orphanage.
No matter if it was a single mother with a child older than him, or two parents with multiple children, they always seemed put off by the ginger. He knew it was mainly because he wasn't a very approachable person. His tendencies to push and slap hands away when the parents suddenly touched him, his unwillingness to open up, and the plethora of phobias he had made him "unable to be taken care of" in the eyes of the parents.
Colin grew a lot less optimistic about every new family that adopted him. Back then, he was wide eyed and excited when the first family that adopted him brought him to their home. He thought for sure that this would be his new permanent home. After about the fourth or fifth time a family brought him back to the orphanage, he became more jaded.
The more and more families he left, the more he started to doubt himself. He started to think that he might not be worthy enough for any family, which causes him to open up even less than before. He ignored the boys of the orphanage, and kept telling himself that all he needed was his superhero newspapers to keep him company yet deep down, he knew he was wrong. He hoped one day that a miracle would happen out of nowhere that would change his life. He was rather surprised at what fate eventually handed him.
.
It was a somewhat cloudy day. Colin was currently walking over to the grocery store that had a newspaper vending machine in the front. He was not only going to get a newspaper for himself, he was also going to get a newspaper for Mandy, who was the caregiver who was there since he first came into the orphanage. He soon arrived at the newspaper vending machine, and started to dig through his hoodie pockets to look for quarters. He just hoped that he didn't have to fend off anyone who wanted to steal the quarters. As he dug through the left pocket, his train of thought was interrupted.
"Agh! Get off me!!" A voice from not too far away yelled out. Colin stopped digging through his pockets and looked around in confusion, wondering where the voice came from. He thought that it was coming from the alleyway nearby and quickly sprinted. He was shocked to find a scrawny teenager with black hair and blue eyes getting assaulted by two larger teenagers, both of which were brunette, and one of them had a baseball cap. He quickly hid behind a nearby trash can, and peaked his head out.
"Give us your money kid!" The hatless brown haired brute aggressively told the weaker looking teen as he held him against the wall.
"For the last time, I don't have my wallet with me! Now let me go!" The teen yelled as he struggled in the other teenager's grips. His face appeared to have turned pale as one of his captors pulled out a knife.
"Wrong move kiddo! Now pay up!" The baseball cap wearing teen said as he pointed the knife at the helpless boy's chin.
Even though Colin knew he was outnumbered, he knew he couldn't just sit there and do nothing. He sprinted away from his hiding place, and sucker punched the teen with the knife in the face before elbowing the other teen, forcing him to let the scrawnier boy go. "Pick on someone your own size you jerks!" He yelled out at the two. Even if he wasn't as tough looking as the two, he wasn't scared of them at all.
As the two brown haired bullies got hit by the ginger blows, the one with the hat dropped his knife. He didn't notice the knife on the ground as he shook his head after the hit, and rubbed his hand across his lip. He was enraged when he saw that blood was on the side of the hand. "How could some fucking homeless looking ginger get a good hit on us!" He angrily thought to himself as he saw his partner in crime was also bleeding from the nose. They quickly turned their attention to the orange haired boy, ignoring how the raven haired kid started to get back up from the ground. "You're making a big mistake you little baby!" The hatless brunette yelled as the baseball hat wearing brute picked his knife back up.
"Bring it on! I can take both of you on!" Colin confidently yelled back at the two as he clenched his fists and got into a fighting position. Even if he was rather reckless, this wasn't his first rodeo in fist fighting. He flinched in surprised when he felt someone tug at his right arm.
"No you can't!" The black haired teen sternly.told the orange haired teen before he quickly ran out of the alley while pulling the other teen by the arm.
Colin didn't have time to tell the other teen that he could handle it before he was running with him. He was shocked by how strong the other teen was since he was easily dragging him. "Is this guy faking being helpless or something?" He thought to himself before his attention snapped to the two brown haired teens behind them.
"ONCE WE GET A HOLD OF YOU, WE'RE GONNA BEAT THE SNOT OF OUT BOTH OF YOU!!!" The hat-wearing bully with the knife screamed out in anger as both he and his accomplice were fuming with anger and hot on the duo's trail.
Colin flinched and made sure not to look behind him. "Okay, so maybe running like hell might be the right choice" he thought to himself as he made sure to keep up with the other boy.
"Name's Billy by the way." He said while looking back at the tangerine haired teen. Billy decided to let go of the right arm since the other boy was running on his own.
"Now's not the time for introductions! We need to get them off our tails!" Colin exclaimed to Billy, not really in the mood to exchange names at the moment. He knows that if they're busy introducing each other, they'll slow down and get pummeled by the bullies.
Billy nodded as he ran across the street after making sure to quickly look both ways. "I know somewhere where they can't catch us!" He exclaimed to the ginger as he made a sharp turn into a nearby subway entrance.
Colin wasn't sure what Billy was even planning as he ran across the street as well. He wasn't sure if going to the subway is a good idea since all he could think would help them is being obscured by the train to get away. He then remembered the fact that they'll get beat up if they don't get away so he decided to follow the mysterious teen into the subway. After he rushed down the stairs, he was surprised to see Billy inside a stationary subway train. "Strange, didn't hear the train stop while I was going down the stairs. How long has it been still?" He thought to himself, finding this a little strange.
"Come on! Get in!" Billy called out as he extended his arm out towards the teen running towards the train. His plan seemed like it was to get inside the train before it leaves the station.
Colin flinched when he heard the two boys yelling as they were making their way down the subway. He quickened his pace, and sprinted inside the train. As sat down on the floor exhausted, he looked around his surroundings and was incredibly confused by the fact that it was oddly empty. There wasn't anyone else in the train besides him and Billy. 'What the…?"
"There they are!" The hatless teen yelled as they saw the boys inside the subway train before the duo furiously running towards them.
Colin backed away and held up his arms in fear. "This is it, we're done for." He fearfully thought to himself. His eyes shot open when he heard that the doors move, and put down his arms when the doors closed right before the two brunettes could rush inside the train.
The two teens started to bang on the subway door. "Cowards! Get out of here right now and face us like men!" The teen with the hat yelled as he and his accomplice hit the door while glaring at the ginger and raven haired boy.
Colin cackled at them before walking up closer, and putting his middle finger up so they could see. He flinched when he felt Billy pull him away from the door and onto a nearby seat. Before he could ask him about why he pulled him away, he felt the train was starting to move. As the train left the station, the orange haired boy held onto the metal pole.
The two brutes started to run after the train while fuming with rage. "This isn't over you punks!!" The brown haired teen with the baseball cap yelled out as they both stopped running when the train fully left the station.
As the train was going to its regular speed, Colin soon adjusted to the speed and slowly let go of the pole. He took a moment to just look at the ceiling and took a breather. "I did not expect my day to end up like this." He thought to himself.
Billy noticed that the other boy looked like he was starting to space out. "Um, you okay?" He asked while looking at the ceiling as well, wondering if the ginger was looking at something specific.
Colin looked back at Billy. "I'm fine. Trust me. Just glad to have a break from all this chaos" he assured the raven haired teen before slowly looking away. "The name's Billy by the way." He said rather nonchalantly.
Billy was surprised by how nonchalant the ginger was about telling his name to what was basically a stranger to him. "Nice to meet you Colin." He said to the other boy. He held out his hand for him, expecting a handshake.
Colin raised his arm up, but didn't move it since he was rather unsure if he should give a handshake to this Billy kid. "Even though he did kinda save my ass from getting beaten up, I still don't know him that well." He thought to himself before he put down his arm, and looked away from Billy. "Thanks, by the way." He told the other teen.
Even though Billy was disappointed about Colin not shaking his hand, he understood people had boundaries, and it was best not to try and break them. "You're welcome. I should be the one thanking you for the same thing. Why'd you do it? Especially since I'm just a stranger." he curiously asked the teen who was looking away from him.
Colin looked back at Billy, and simply shrugged at the question. "Why not? Just because you're a stranger doesn't mean I can't help you. It was the right thing to do." He told the black haired boy, not seeing why it was a question worth asking. He assumed anyone would help some random kid from getting mugged. He yet again noticed how empty the train was. There was not a single person other than the two teens in sight. "Do you even know where this train is going?"
Billy looked over at the window, and back at Colin. "Let's just say, it's weird. Hold on tight." He said before he walked out of his seat, and knelt down on the floor of the subway train.
Colin was absolutely confused by what the other boy just told him. The actions of Billy afterwards only further increased his confusion. "What are you doing? You look ridiculous." He asked the raven haired teen, starting to wonder if he should try to get out of this empty train.
Billy merely looked annoyed at Colin before facing forward, and closing his eyes. Nothing seemed to happen for a little bit and it looked like he was just doing something random. After a little while, the train had slowly started to speed up faster than usual. As the train went faster, the lights of the subway sped by as blurs, some unknown symbols replaced the red lettering on the L.E.D. displays became seven strange symbols, and the windows started to become covered in frost.
Colin was currently panicking internally at the situation right now. It felt like something out of a dream, or a movie. He was basically holding onto the metal pole for dear life as the train went at what basically felt like hyperspeed while frost completely covered the window as lights whizzed past them. Colin really started to regret trusting a stranger to take him on an empty subway train. "Stop the train! Stop the train!" He fearfully exclaimed as he shut his eyes and held onto the pole tightly while shaking, expecting the train to crash or something. He was rather surprised when the train eventually slowed down, and soon came to a stop.
"We're here." Billy said as the doors opened on their own. His red hoodie and grey jeans were now gone, and he was currently wearing a red robe with a golden stash along with a dark red undershirt that had a weird lightning symbol that glowed.
Colin slowly opened his eyes, and started to look around the now defrosted windows. This felt so surreal to him as the train was currently in some sort of weird cave area. Even though he was still shaking a little, he slowly let go of the metal pole and stood up from his seat. "What are you even wearing? And why are you barefoot?" He asked Billy, to say he was confused about everything was the understatement of the century.
"Oh these. These are just my usual clothes." Billy said as he stepped out of the train to this mysterious new location. He levitated slightly off the ground before motioning the other teen to walk out of the train as well.
Colin hesitantly walked out of the train, and started to look around his strange new surroundings. This felt like a dream to him. Between the weird dark tunnel location, the transporting train, and the weird kid who is currently floating above the ground, he wondered if he accidentally slept in this morning. He pulled up his hoodie sleeve and proceeded to pinch himself, only to flinch in pain. "Great. I'm not dreaming." He thought as he followed the raven haired teen.
Billy led the way across the cavern halls. There wasn't really anything that interesting surrounding the walls besides the occasional fire torch lighting the place. "They have to be near." He muttered to himself.
"Billy!!" A mysterious woman's voice called out from down the hall.
"Hey Mary!" Billy said as he waved his hand and raised it to the sky. He could tell the other teen wasn't sure who the other person calling out for him was.
Mary quickly floated towards Billy and hugged the raven haired teen. She had the same robe as the levitating boy but it was white instead of red. She had dark brown hair, bright blue eyes, and nice red lipstick. "You got me and the others worried sick! You shouldn't sneak out without the wizard's permission." She scolded him after letting go of the hug.
"Wait, others? Wizard? There are more floating people?" Colin's mind was running wild thoughts of if this wizard was their boss, dad, or leader. He really felt like needing a nap after all of this was over.
"I just got impatient. Not my fault Freddy was taking forever finding a possible champion." Billy remarked to the older girl, not really caring that he snuck out without the permission of their elder. "Oh, speaking of, I was able to find myself a champion right here." He excitedly said as he levitated next to the other teen.
Colin looked away awkwardly for a few seconds, not sure if he should be formal or casual when introducing himself. He decided to do the former since the other two seemed to talk like regular people. "Um.. Hi. My name's Colin. It's nice to meet you I guess." He said in a somewhat polite way as he looked at them both.
Mary looked a little confused at the teen before looking back at Billy. "Did he save you from a mugging?" She asked, knowing that was the younger teens' method of trying to find anyone worthy of the powers the Wizard would give.
Billy nodded enthusiastically at the brown haired woman's question. "Not just from one person, but two people. One of them had a knife and everything. It was so cool when he punched one of them in the face! He was way too eager to fight though." He told Mary, punching the air as he told her about the ginger punching the one with the knife.
"Wait wait wait. Let me get this straight. You purposely let yourself get mugged so I could meet some wizard guy?" Colin asked the two in confusion with a little hint of irritation. He kinda felt offended that the raven haired boy just let himself get mugged on purpose.
"We'll explain later once we get there." Billy assured as he motioned the other teen to follow him and Mary before going back to levitating down the hall.
Colin hesitantly followed them, still a little peeved about the implications of what Billy did. As the younger of the floating people led the way, the orange haired teens mind started to wonder what they would do to him. He just hoped that they wouldn't sacrifice him or something like that. "How long is this hallway my gods." He impatiently thought to himself as it seemed to go on forever. Thankfully, the hallway ended and led into a room which amazed Colin.
The room was circular with a set of a few stairs that led to a platform where five people were sitting and talking to each other. There were seven tall stone chairs surrounding a roundtable with a light shining in the middle of the table. The five people were wearing the same robes as Billy and Mary except for the old black man whose robe was a dark red color with gold outlining along with a dark scarlet sash. The old man also has long and curly grey hair, which made him stand out from the others. The other people were a brown haired and blue haired boy in a blue robe who looked about Billy's age, an Asian boy with black hair and light brown eyes in a grey robe, a rather chubby Mexican boy with brown eyes in a green robe, and a small black girl with black curly hair in a purple robe.
Colin wasn't sure what the people at the table were talking about as he stood next to Billy and Mary. He didn't really want to interrupt the robed group since he knew that they would probably notice him with the other two people eventually.
The brunette in the blue robes looked over at the trio and gestured to the others to stop the conversation. He quickly floated towards them. Something interesting about the teen is that his left leg seems to be floating a little higher than the right leg, and can't really move on its own.
Billy excitedly waved hello to everyone before looking over at the brunette. "Missed me Freddy?" He rhetorically asked, already knowing the answer.
"Of course we did bro. We were worried about where you went off to." Freddy stated before his eyes drew to the ginger haired boy next to Mary, and his worry from before turned into excitement. "You found a champion?"
"Yeah! He was so cool!" Billy quickly nodded at the other's question, but before he could gush in the same way he did before, Mary quickly stepped in front of him.
"We don't need you to explain to Fred what happened. Let's just introduce him to the wizard." She said matter of factly while looking over at him. She motioned Colin to step up and introduce himself to the other oracles.
Colin hesitated for a second, yet decided to step closer to Freddy and nonchalantly waved hello to him. "Hey, the name's Colin. Your brother or something dragged me here to see the wizard I guess." He said while shrugging softly.
The other people besides the Wizard quickly floated towards the group. They stared at Colin in awe. Before any of them could start bombarding the teen with questions, Freddy quickly stepped in. "I should probably introduce them to you before they start prodding you. The green one is Pedro, the grey one is Eugene, and the purple one is Darla." He said as he pointed to each corresponding kid as he said their names.
After the blue robbed boy stopped talking, the trio started to excitedly ask Colin a bunch of questions.
"How many people did you fight off?" Pedro curiously asked.
"Did you fight back?" Eugene asked in a concerned tone.
"Do you like this place?" Darla excitedly asked.
Colin started to feel somewhat overwhelmed by all the questions they kept asking him. He wasn't used to this many people speaking at the same time. Before he could say anything to the trio, he heard someone clearing their throat which shut up everyone and had them move out of the way.
The Wizard walked down the platform while holding a staff in his right hand that had a clear gem on it. He tapped the staff on the ground before looking over at the teen his oracles were crowding around. "So, this is the hero you brought here?" He asked as he turned his attention to the red robed oracle.
Billy nodded in excitement. "Yeah! He passed my test and everything! He even fought back against two people! He's definitely worthy for the powers of Shazam!" He exclaimed, barely able to contain his excitement that they'll finally be able to give someone the legendary powers after so many years.
"Come forth young one." Colin heard the old man calmly tell him. He noticed just how he held himself up with such poise, which made him feel like a larger than life figure. Considering how everyone acted about him, that was a fair assumption to make. The teen took a step forward and held his head high, awaiting for what was going to happen next.
The Wizard raised his staff off of the ground and pointed it at the area where teens' hearts would be. He closed his eyes, and the crystal on the gem started to glow. He started to look through the heart of the supposed champion, wanting to really see if he was pure of heart. After a few seconds, the gem stopped glowing. "I'm afraid his heart is impure. Billy, transport him back to his home and wipe his memory." He stated as he held his staff like usual and began to walk away, expecting his oracle to do what he said.
Billy was angered by the magical elders decision. He went through all that effort to go to Earth without anyone's permission to find someone worthy of the powers only for it to be all for nothing. He couldn't stand this. His patience has snapped at this point. "Enough! Look, we've been doing this shtick for one thousand years, and we haven't been able to find anyone who could defeat Teth if he ever comes back here! Why can't we just give Colin the powers?!" He yelled at the elder, causing the other oracles to be silently shocked by what he died.
The Wizard stopped walking and turned back around at the red oracle. He sighed as he turned the rest of his body around. "Billy, please. I know it's a disappointment, but he isn't pure of heart. His heart has been tainted by the evils from his world. Giving him the powers won't end well." He explained to the oracles, hoping they can understand where he's coming from.
Billy simply pinched the bridge of his nose, getting impatient with the old man's reasoning. He soon calmed himself down and took a deep breath before speaking yet again. "Look, I know having a pure heart is supposed to be important when you're Shazam, but I hate to break it to you, but people with pure hearts don't really exist. Just because no one is "pure" doesn't mean they aren't bad people. He still saved me from those two brutes. He still passed my test. If you keep relying on this myth, then we might not be able to find someone before it's too late." He explained, desperate in convincing The Wizard that the teen is indeed worthy.
Colin was honestly surprised Billy was standing up for him like this. He wouldn't have really minded not having powers and going back to living his normal life, but he did always love superheros and being one sounded cool to him. He wasn't used to anyone standing up for him, especially some stranger who can float. He started to feel a little warm inside when the raven haired boy said people don't have to be pure of heart to be a good person. "Maybe this kid ain't half that bad." He thought to himself, wondering if he'll see him again after this.
After thinking for a little bit, the Wizard eventually decided it would be for the best to give in to his young oracle's plea. "Fine. We'll give the young man powers." He sighed before walking back to the platform. "Shall we get ready for the ritual?" The old man asked as his staff glowed, which caused the stone table and chairs to vanish in a flash of lightning.
The oracles excitedly rushed over to the now empty platform. They couldn't believe that the day had come where they could finally give someone the mighty powers of Shazam. After so many years of searching, it would finally be worth it.
As the rest of the robed assistants quickly floated up the stairs, Billy lent out his hand to the ginger haired teen. "You want me to lead the way?" He asked, thinking it would be rude to just yank his hand without permission.
Colin nodded as he let his hand be held by the robed teen and followed him up the stairs. Billy soon led him to the middle where both he and The Wizard were standing there while everyone else was in a circle around them. He looked over at the raven haired one last time before they floated over next to Darla, and looked over at the old man.
"Colin Wilkes, it is an honor for me to give you these legendary powers many have sought. You shall carry my name and with it, you carry all of the powers me and my oracles have." The Wizard explained as the gem on his staff shined bright, and six mini staffs that correlated with each oracle appeared in their hands.
"The wisdom of Solomon!" Eugene exclaimed as he slammed his staff down on the floor. His fellow oracles followed suit as well.
"The strength of Hercules!" Pedro exclaimed, his eyes glowing with electricity after he slammed his staff onto the ground as well like the others.
"The stamina of Atlas!" Mary exclaimed, her gem on the staff glowing the same color as her wardrobe like everyone else.
"The power of Zeus!" Freddy exclaimed as lightning shot from his staff as the staff glowed, doing the same as everyone else.
"The courage of Achilles!" Billy excitedly exclaimed, absolutely ready for Colin to get the powers of Shazam.
"And the speed of Mercury!" Darla cheerfully exclaimed as she followed suite with what her siblings were doing.
Colin was amazed as the lightning that came out of the six staffs circled around him and the old man. Grey, green, white, blue, red, and purple colors surrounded him in a cyclone shape that reached high to the ceiling. He was in utter awe at what was happening.
"I open my heart to you, and in so doing, I choose you as champion. With the sound of my name, the powers may flow through you." The Wizard stated as his eyes glowed as well, not phased by the lightning surrounding him and Colin. He raised his staff up in the air as it glowed.
"SHAZAM!"
And with the staff being slammed down back into the ground, all the swirling lightning combined into one quickly before striking down the human teenager.
Colin closed his eyes when the lightning struck him. As the smoke started to clear, he slowly opened his eyes. "Wait, why does it seem like I'm taller?" He thought to himself before looking down at how he looked. He was shocked to see his hands were bigger than how they usually were.
"Perhaps we should let you look at yourself first." Mary remarked as her staff glowed, and a mirror poofed into existence right in front of the ginger.
Colin was shocked at the sight he saw in the mirror. He looked like he was a buff guy mid twenties and had so many features that were so different from his usual look. His hair was a little bit of a darker orange shade, he had some stubble, and he wore a red spandex suit that had a lightning symbol. It had arms, a gold belt and arm bracelets, and a white cape to complete the look. He kind of screamed out in utter confusion, which increased when he heard an adult voice coming out of his mouth. "Why am I an adult?!" He exclaimed to the old man, knowing that he'll probably have answers for all the questions that were running in his mind.
"It's a part of the powers. It turns the user into the strongest versions of themselves to say the least." The Wizard explained to the transformed hero as he made the mirror disappear.
The oracles surrounding Colin were of course excited. They finally had their champion that could stand up to the forces of evil. "Congrats! Can't wait for you to go out there and show the city your heroics!" Billy excitedly cheered as he floated over to the ginger.
Colin started to think about the city when the robed teen mentioned it to him. He then remembered the reason he was out of the orphanage building in the first place. "Oh crap! I forgot to get Mandy her newspapers!" The realization hit him with shock. He quickly rushed over to the Wizard. "You gotta teleport me back to the subway! I don't care if I don't get to learn about my powers! You can teach me later!" Colin basically begged the wise old man.
The Wizard nodded as he made the rest of the staffs beside his own staff poof in clouds of smoke. "If you say so. We'll make sure we meet again to teach you about your repertoire of abilities." He stated to Colin, kind of hoping he would teach him now yet he could tell that it was important for the teen to leave right away. He slammed down the staff on the ground, and lightning struck the champion which quickly teleported him out of the Rock of Eternity.
Colin felt relief when he saw that he was back in the empty subway tunnel from before. He quickly looked around the area to make sure no one was there before turning around. He knew he had just gotten this new form, but he would use it way later. "Shazam!" He exclaimed before lightning struck him, and transformed back into the teenager he is. "Where did the lightning even come from?" Colin thought to himself before quickly sprinting out of the subway station.
After running his way over to the grocery store, he dug through his right hoodie pocket and was thankful to find eight quarters. He put them in the newspaper vending machine, and made sure to get one for himself and one for Mandy. He held them tightly before rushing over to the orphanage building. He rang the doorbell as he stood by the doorway, worried that curly haired caregiver would be angry at him for being out for so long.
The door quickly opened the door, and the caregiver was relieved to see the orange haired boy was safe and hugged him tightly. "Where have you been? I was worried sick about you! You were gone for 30 minutes!" She asked while letting go from the hug after a little while.
Colin wasn't really a big hugger so he was kind of uncomfortable when Mandy hugged him so tightly, and he couldn't really hug back if he wanted to because he was holding onto the newspapers tightly. He was just happy the hug didn't last long. "There was this kid getting mugged, and I had to save him. We hid in an empty subway tunnel for a while until the boys left the area." He explained while handing over one of the newspapers to the woman. He was of course lying and making sure not to mention the whole getting powers thing.
Mandy nodded as she quickly led the teen inside, and closed the door behind him. "I'm just happy you made it in one piece. Are you hungry right now? I can ask Brandon to make some lasagna." She asked as she opened up the newspaper.
"I'm good ma'am." Colin responded to the question as he sped walked up the stairs and into the boys room. He sat down on his bed, and flipped through his newspaper. He didn't bother trying to talk to the others in the room since he was older than them by about two to four years. Only one of the younger boys that he remembered from when he first got here hasn't been adopted yet.
After about an hour or so, the boys in the room were all huddled around the window. Their eyes were locked at what was outside, and they were excitingly whispering to each other about what this could mean.
Colin poked his head away from the newspaper when he noticed all the whispers. He placed what he was reading down on the bed, and walked over to the crowded area. "What are you guys looking at?" The ginger asked, not being able to see what they were looking at due to everyone blocking the window.
One blonde haired boy who looked about eleven looked over at the teen. "Two people came out of a car, and walked inside the building. This is our chance!" He eagerly explained before looking back at the window. Some of the other boys were busy making their beds in excitement.
Colin simply shrugged it off, and walked over to his bed. Due to his rocky history with parents, he wasn't really excited at the possibility of getting adopted yet again. He went back to reading his newspaper. As he skimmed through the article about some superhero, it felt surreal for him that he was basically one of these heroes now. Cool costume and all.
There was a knock on the door from Mandy, who opened the door and poked her head into the room. "Boys, we have some people coming here." She said before fully opening the door and stepping forward into the room.
When the door opened, two people also walked in. One was a blonde haired dude with a beard wearing green flannel, and a tan skinned Japanese girl who looked about nineteen who had her hair covering her right eye. Both walked over to the bed the orange haired teen was on.
"Hello. My name's Oliver and the girl is my half sister, Emiko. We're here to adopt you and bring you home." He awkwardly explained to the boy, not really being used to this since this was his first time adopting a kid.
"Neat." Colin nonchalantly said as he ignored the two for now as he began to pack up his stuff. As Mandy led the two out of the room for the extra paperwork, the teen ignored the excitement from the other boys in the room. As he folded the newspaper into the box, he kind of wished he stayed back at the place where The Wizard was. At least there, he wouldn't have to deal with the disappointment of adoptive parents.
.
Once the bearded man drove to the house, he quickly led Colin to his empty bedroom upstairs. Oliver had bought the room a few months ago because he had to make the proper preparations to adopt. He just hoped he did a good job, and that the teen would like it.
Colin spent the rest of the afternoon and night in his room, only coming down for dinner. He didn't have that much stuff to put in his room. He just had his childhood blanket, a portable DVD player with the charger, a couple of DVD's in disc holders, a sock monkey, a bunch of newspaper pages with superhero articles, and a few neat little art toys he got second hand. He was kinda surprised that Oliver didn't really try to bother him at all that day. He didn't even try to ask him that many questions or hug him. The teen started to worry that he might have done something wrong that might have turned the blonde man away. A long while after breakfast, he walked over to the room of the nineteen year old, and knocked on the door.
Emiko stopped practicing on her drum set as she got up, and walked over to the door. When she opened it, she was surprised to see the younger boy at the door. She started to think about if she should consider him her nephew, and if he considered her his aunt. "Anything you need?" She nonchalantly asked.
Colin started to doubt if he should ask the punk girl about this, but he eventually decided he had to ask. "So, I kinda noticed that your half bro hasn't been really talking to me that much. Did I do something wrong? Does he regret adopting me or something?" He awkwardly asked. He wasn't used to this since his past parents would be like this as a sign that they don't want him anymore because he might have gotten a little violent or a little rude in their eyes.
Emiko was kind of surprised he seemed kind of worried about something she had dealt with before. "You didn't do anything wrong. He's just giving you space for a little bit. Wants you to get used to us and the new home." She explained reassuringly.
Colin was genuinely surprised by the answer. He appreciated the fact that his new dad was actually giving him personal space unlike the other adoptive parents from the past. It wasn't something he ever dealt with before, but he could get used to it. "Thanks." He said while fiddling his thumbs, not sure what to do now.
"Colin! Emiko! Come downstairs! We have new neighbors!" Oliver called out from downstairs before he walked out of the house, excited to meet the new people who moved in.
"Sweet." Emiko said as she quickly made her way down the stairs. The left house next to theirs has been up for sale for months. She was just happy that at least someone was moving in, even if she might not have liked them.
Colin didn't really have anything to do so he decided to follow Emiko and Oliver to meet the new neighbors. When he got outside, he saw that the blonde man was already talking to the neighbors.
While his half sister was on her phone nearby him, Oliver stopped talking as he looked over behind him, and motioned the ginger over to talk to the neighbors. He hoped he would get along with at least one of the five kids that were either about his age or younger.
Colin walked over to where he was, and stood besides them. Now that he got a better look at the neighbors, they seemed oddly familiar. There was an old black man in some kind of hippie clothing carrying a box, and six younger people. He then realized why they looked so familiar. The colors of red, yellow, white, green, purple, and blue each person was wearing. The ages of everyone. The hair, eye, and skin color. All of these were like people he met before. "These are the people that gave me these Shazam powers." The teen thought to himself as he was in shock.
Oliver soon finished talking to the old man about why he moved here, and noticed how silent Colin was. "You okay? You look like you saw a ghost." He asked, hoping he didn't do anything wrong.
"He's fine, promise." Freddy chimed in, knowing that the orange haired boy recognized him and the others. "He actually met my bro before. He saved Billy from some bullies in an alleyway. Isn't that right?" He explained before the brunette with the walking stick looked over at the raven haired teen, who nodded.
Colin soon snapped out of his shock and quickly nodded at what Freddy said. "Yeah. I just thought I'd never cross paths with him again. After all he was just a stranger I happened to help." He assured the man in plaid.
Oliver was proud to hear his son doing something as kind as helping a stranger from bullies. "Good job sport." He said to him, wondering if calling him "sport" was awkward.
Colin simply nodded at the compliment. "You mind if I help Billy and his siblings put the boxes inside?" He asked, wanting to talk to them to ask why they're even here.
"Of course. Make sure not to be gone for too long." Oliver said while nodding. He looked over at Emiko, who simply gave a thumbs up as a sign of approval for the teen to help the neighbors.
"Thanks." Colin said as he quickly grabbed the medium sized box from The Wizard's hand as he walked inside of the house. With some help from Billy, he placed the somewhat heavy box on the ground gently. After a little while of helping put boxes inside the house, he looked over at Billy and Darla who had walked inside earlier. "Okay, first question. Why are you guys moving next door to me? I know you wanna teach me about how these powers work, but why this?" He asked, expecting him to be teleported back to where they were yesterday.
Just then, the old man walked into the house after Oliver finished talking to him, carrying a heavy box on his shoulder. "Well, I was already interested in staying on Earth more often and we decided that being here to keep an eye on you along with teaching you about what you can do would be the best idea." He explained as he gently placed the heavy box on the floor like it was nothing.
Darla eagerly nodded at what was explained. "Yeah! It was Billy's idea! This is gonna be so cool hanging out with you!" The girl in the overalls exclaimed.
Colin looked over at the other teen, kind of surprised by how Billy was fond of him, even if they haven't known each other for that long. "Thanks." He told the teen in the dark red hoodie before turning over to The Wizard. "And I'm happy to have you get used to this new status quote Sha...?" He said before getting stumped on what to call the elder.
The old man chuckled softly at the confusion. "That's not my name. It's merely a You can call me Mamaragan, or Mar for short." The old man explained to the teenage boy.
Colin nodded as he walked out of the empty house, and stood by the doorway as he watched his dad introduce Emiko to Mary. As he waited for them to finish talking, he started to wonder if The Wizard and his assistants still trusted him with these powers. Once they finished talking to the girl, the teen quickly walked inside of the house with the two. When he got to his room, he stared up at the window. He didn't know how to feel. It was a weird mix of excitement and anxiousness about what was going to happen. Perhaps he was going to succeed as a hero, perhaps he wasn't. He had no clue and just hoped things would turn out okay.
About a few hours later in the evening, Emiko knocked on the door of the ginger teen, who was busy rereading his old newspapers like usual. "Wanna go out to buy us some groceries? The store is about at the end of the block. If you don't know where to go, ask the other people at the block." She asked as she held the list Oliver gave her. The punk girl had been given grocery duty for a long time, and wondered if her nephew would be interested in doing it for her.
"Oh, sure." Colin said as he placed the newspaper down, and quickly got up. He opened the door and grabbed the list from Emiko's hand, getting a thanks from her. "Promise I'll be safe." He assured the older girl as put on his shoes, and walked out of the house. He made to follow the directions she gave him since he didn't really feel like talking to strangers today. When he was nearing the store, he was shocked to see some guy in a ski mask trying to break into a parked car. "I need to step in!" Colin thought to himself as he shoved the list into his hoodie pocket, and ran to the back of the store. He breathed a sigh as he prepared for the transformation. "SHAZAM!" He yelled out before the bolt of lightning struck him.
The loud noise of lightning startled the carjacker, and he held his crowbar close to him. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" He called out as he frantically looked around.
The now transformed superhero jumped up high, and landed next to the car. He was rather surprised by the ability, and how he made a small little crater when he landed. But now wasn't the time to question his powers, Colin had a carjacking to stop. His eyes glowed with electricity, which caused the criminal to drop the crowbar and run away from the area in fear of being brought to justice. The orange haired hero was surprised by this, but felt a little confidence boost from this as he headed back to where he transformed. "I can't believe it did it." He said to himself before doing a heroic pose.
"Look out criminals, Shazam is here!"