The Rock of Eternity. 1938
Billy Batson was terrified. He'd been trotting gaily down Deacon Avenue, when suddenly there came a terrible boom, and a flash of light, and now he was in this... castle, was it? He couldn't tell, but he was sure he didn't know of any place like this in Fawcett City. He was in a great, lengthy torchlit hallway. Some ways ahead, statues lined either side of the hallway's walls and it thinned out. He could hear thunder outside the building, but inside it was quiet as the grave, aside from the crackling of several torches on the wall. Billy stepped forward gingerly, scanning the stone walls for a door of some sort. So far, he hadn't seen any. Creeping down the hallway at a tentative pace, he headed toward the place where the hall thinned. It seemed right, and he could make out a light at the end of the tunnel.
As he entered the hallway, his cautious tip-toeing gave way to an awed stumble as he took in the statues on either side of him. To his left, seven statues, terrible to behold sneered down at him, their monstrous visages causing a chill to run up his spine. To his right, however, six heroic and godly figures stood proud and tall, some smiling benevolently, and one even winking cleverly down at him. What was this place, to have such unusual and exotic decorations? Without warning, the extensively long hallway began to contract, shortening from about two-thousand feet to somewhere between twenty and thirty from end-to-end. The change happened so suddenly and swiftly that Billy didn't have time to feel nauseous, instead he just gaped, wide-eyed at the room on the other side of the hall, which was now much more in focus than it had been before. The room was massive and round, with a domed ceiling so large and high up that Billy couldn't even guess how big it was. The middle of the room was taken up by what looked like a miniature (but still enormous) mountain, above which a thundercloud hovered, occasionally zapping the peak of the mountain with lightning. Billy stepped into the room, eyes wide, attempting to take in the scale of it all.
"Gosh. Is this a new high-tech museum or did I fall over and hit my head?" Billy pondered aloud as he walked further into the huge chamber.
"Neither, William Batson. You are in the Sanctuary of the Rock of Eternity. The font of the power of the Gods, source of strength for their chosen champion." The booming voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, reverberating and echoing throughout the cavernous chamber, but Billy could see its point of origin, though he could've sworn nothing had been there before. Situated halfway between the entrance to the hall he'd come from, and the mountain in the center of the room, was a large and ancient looking throne of stone, gilded in golden lightning-bolts and heroic imagery. An old man sat on the throne, white haired and long-bearded, and robed elegantly with a high collared cape to round out his deep purple ensemble. A golden bolt of lightning stood out on the chest of the man's robes. In some remote part of his mind, Billy thought of Merlin from King Arthur.
"Uhm... You know my name, sir?" Billy asked, speaking up to cover the distance between them, though that was apparently unnecessary, given the old man had heard his quiet mumbling earlier. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up now.
"I know many things, William. Forgive me for keeping you at a disadvantage, I am the Wizard Shazam." As the Wizard spoke that final word, the storm-cloud above the mountain in the center of the room rumbled violently, spewing lightning in several directions, striking the walls of the room in great, bright arcs. The Wizard turned one hand toward the ceiling, and suddenly the lightning from the cloud redirected itself into the old man's open palm. Billy was worried for the man's safety for a moment, but was too awestruck to hold the thought for long, and the Wizard clearly wasn't harmed. After a few moments of the brief demonstration, the rumbling subsided and the old man lowered his hand back to the arm of the throne.
"Golly! You're like a living Tesla Coil!" Billy exclaimed.
"No, William. I offer much more than a brief light show. You are here for a reason. You have been chosen to receive the power of the gods. Should you accept this responsibility, you will become a force for justice and righteousness, a champion of magic, Earth's mightiest mortal." "Err, mister Shazam, sir? I'm just a kid from Fawcett city. There's nothing special about me. You must have the wrong guy, I- I can't be-" Billy stammered in disbelief, but the Wizard didn't let him finish the thought,
"The Gods do not make mistakes, William. You have been chosen because, despite the adversity you have faced living without family in a hard city, your heart remains good and pure. You are a hero within, what I offer is the power to become that hero on the outside as well." The Wizard rested his chin on his right fist casually, as if this conversation were rather ordinary, but Billy felt like he had wandered into a dream or a fairy-tale. Stuff like this just
didn't happen. Did it?
"This world will need you in the coming years. Do you accept, William? Will you be my force for good? Will you become the Champion of the Gods?" The Wizard asked, leaning forward in the stone throne and peering at the boy intently.
"Had I known, would I still have said yes? I honestly can't say for sure. I suppose I would, I think I've made a difference."
"Then step forward, William Batson. Raise your hands to the heavens, and call my name!" The Wizard said, the storm cloud above him rumbled in anticipation of the transference of power to come.
Billy did as he was told, the whole thing felt like a ritual, a ceremony, everything had a place and a purpose, including him. He didn't want to ruin it. He took one step forward,
S
For the Wisdom of Solomon Another step forward, the hair on his head and the back of his neck was stiff, standing on end. A chill ran down his spine,
H
For the strength of Hercules He raised his hand, and so did the Wizard, the thunder roared in excitement, the room shook at it's foundations now
A
For the stamina of Atlas Though the room shook, Billy couldn't feel it. His feet weren't touching the floor. The air crackled with lightning, electricity all around him. He was too terrified to speak the name, though he knew he had to.
Z
For the power of Zeus The Wizard was saying something, but Billy couldn't hear him over the deafening crash of the thunder, and the crackling and popping of the lightning. The room had visibly darkened, the torches on the walls grew dim. Billy realized faintly that the Wizard was chanting something, not talking. He knew he had to say the word, but he was too astounded by the spectacle of it all to make his mouth move.
A
For the courage of Achiles The Wizard was looking at him, waiting for him. The Gods themselves were waiting for him to say the word. Abruptly, his mouth opened wide and he threw back his head to shout the word, though his throat felt dry.
M
For the speed of Mercury
Shazam! The boy called, and his voice echoed throughout the chamber, magically amplified to carry over the roar of thunder and the zapping of lightning.
The electricity that had been crackling around him now moved through him, into him. It was
changing him, he realized distantly. The gooseflesh on his arms receded, and a new strength and confidence flowed through him, along with a new understanding of the spell the Wizard had just cast, the bond they now shared. The rumbling quieted, and it seemed to Billy that his body had soaked up all of the ambient power in the room, as well as much of the power in the Wizard himself. As he looked to the old man, the Wizard slumped back down into his throne, and nearly toppled forward.
Billy was there in an instant, however, and he caught the old man. He wasn't shocked by the swiftness of his movements, he knew he had Mercury to thank for them. He understood so much now.
"Are you alright, Shazam?" He asked the Wizard, his voice now considerably deeper than it had been, the voice of a young man, just in his prime, rather than that of a boy of nine. This too, he took in without surprise, because now he
understood.
"That name belongs to you now, William. Let it be your shield against prying eyes, and ears with ill-intent. None should know your true identity but those you trust most deeply. The world at large cannot know of The Rock of Eternity either. We have enemies beyond counting, and should the sanctity of this place be destroyed, your powers would fall with it." The Wizard sounded weak, and truly old now, but he put a bony hand on Billy's (now quite broad) shoulder,
"Stay here for awhile, William. Learn your new abilities, become accustomed to your body, but don't take too long. The world stands on the brink, and you will be needed soon. When you are ready, you will know where to go. Now, I must rest..." The Wizard trailed off and collapsed back into his throne, snoring loudly and rather comically.
The Skies Above London. September 7. 1940
The Earth's Mightiest Mortal floated alone high above the city, and though his vision was mostly obstructed by clouds, he could hear the engines of the bombers, and the scurrying of the soon-to-be defenders below, readying themselves for the coming storm. Oh, there would be a storm alright, and he, not the planes, would be bringing the thunder.
"By the Power of Zeus, and the Speed of Mercury." He whispered in quiet deference to the deities whose aid he would most need in the coming battle. As the first of the bombers came into view, the skies gradually grew dark as the mighty Shazam focused his many magical blessings, and at the first roar of thunder, he flew forward toward the oncoming planes as if shot from a cannon. The fighters swarmed in response, apparently taking note of him, but in the skies he was far more maneuverable, zipping through their defensive lines, taking a bullet here or there, but not enough to cause him any true harm. That would require larger ordinance, he knew from his training with the Wizard. The civilians below, however, didn't have the Endurance of Atlas. He knew he wouldn't be able to stop all of the bombs from falling on the city. Still, if he could save even one innocent life...
He reached the nearest bomber (the fighters had to disengage or risk shooting down their own now) and alighted menacingly on the plane just outside the cockpit. The pilot inside stared up at him, wide-eyed, and reached for a holstered pistol at his hip. Shazam shot his arm through the glass of the cockpit and grabbed the man's arm, pulling it easily away from the firearm and pinning it above his head. Pausing for a moment to search the inner pool of knowledge granted by Solomon's wisdom, Shazam looked briefly for the translation of the words
get a parachute and jump. Though he never intended to kill the man, the obvious threat of the mystical titan spurred the pilot into action.
"Holen Sie sich einen Fallschirm und springt!" Shazam shouted at the man in perfect German. The man did as he was told, and soon the others followed. The bomber had to be disposed of before it could do any damage. Shazam took flight again, zipping around gracefully to the underside of the aircraft, and arcing it upwards further into the sky. As soon as he was high enough that he was sure the explosions wouldn't harm the city below, he called down the lightning.
"Shazam!" He roared to the heavens, and the boom of mystical thunder echoed in answer, as the lightning of the gods shot down to meet him. The bolt was interrupted by the plane he was holding, and the explosives within detonated all at once in a massive fiery explosion in the sky. He managed to clear the blast radius- barely- before any of the fire could reach him. He looked back to the encroaching wave of enemy aircraft, and his heart sunk just a little. The bombs were already falling, and he couldn't stop the destruction. Nevertheless, had had no choice but to fight on.
"One at a time." He muttered under his breath, then shot toward the next bomber.