billy batson (sirzapsalot) wrote in noexits, @ 2021-07-15 21:58:00 |
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Billy had been a kid unleashed for the first 48 hours inside of the Disney World parks. Thanks to his powers, and a general sense of over crowdedness, he was able to zig and zag through the parks in a blink of an eye; reaching attractions in a matter of moments and maximizing his ability to partake in the rides. He didn't have to wait for the park transportation to take him between the parks. He just went on his own. The only thing that truly slowed him down was his sense of fairness and how he wouldn't cut to the front of a line once he reached an attraction. That would have been wrong of him. So instead? He downloaded the Disney World app, he watched the virtual queues and he jumped from ride to ride based on how quickly he could get them under his belt.
And he'd had an absolute blast.
The only trouble was that Billy wasn't inherently irresponsible. He'd paid attention to what he'd been told on the first day, both from talking to others and from the welcome letters, and he knew that he was getting dangerously close to this being over. And if he wasn't careful? It would end and Billy would have nothing but the clothes on his back. And while he'd been in that position many times before in his relatively short life? He didn't want to have to leave it to chance that he could find clothing elsewhere once they were pulled from Orlando. Plus, admittedly, he was starting to want to just blend into the crowd more. People's heads turned when a man that was well over six foot walked through a crowd wearing vibrant spandex, after all. They barely paid attention to a sixteen year old in hand-me-down clothes.
He'd left his hotel room and moved back to the campus earlier that morning. It'd been his first time back to the campus since his arrival, and after finally figuring out where his key actually went, he'd slipped into what looked to him like one of the dormitories they'd seen when they'd gone with Mary to check out schools. Interesting. Being certain no one else was in the room, he moved to set down what purchases he had accumulated thus far in a corner. With it safely deposited, and certain that it wouldn't be accidentally left in the hotel in a couple days, he double checked again that no one could see him before he finally spoke the magic words he'd not said in two full days.
"Shazam!"
A crack of thunder and flash of lightning later, and he was back to his true self. He opened the door, glanced up and down the hallway, before quickly rushing out. He didn't want to be seen anywhere near the room in case people had somehow known it was meant to be Mr. Philadelphia's. Bolting down the hallway, he burst out of the dormitory onto the open green. "Alright, let's get to the mall," he said to himself.
In hindsight, it probably would have been smarter to go as Shazam but...eh. Live and learn, right? He moved to pull his phone out of his pocket and began thumbing in coordinates, his focus pulled entirely down to the screen, and looking incredibly out of place and uncomfortable in the winter clothing he'd been wearing the night of his last robbery.
***
John was enjoying Florida though he was disappointed to realize it wasn't his universe so he didn't have access to his bank account. He had dragged Rodney around the Magic Kingdom, picked up some supplies, and taken a road trip to Cape Canaveral. He was on campus at the moment and trying to decide if he wanted to hit the world showcase at Epcot or do Hollywood Studios when he spotted an unfamiliar young face.
It bothered him that who or what was responsible for this place brought kids here. "Hey," he said, giving the kid one of his trademark lazy grins and hoping he wouldn't come across as a tough authority figure. "You a new arrival?"
***
Billy froze, thumb hovering above his keyboard for a moment, before he lifted his head and turned his attention towards the man. He didn't technically know anyone but he hadn't spotted this man at all the past two days. "Hey," he parroted back and quickly locked his screen.
Reflex.
It slid into his pocket in a smooth motion. "Uh, yeah." He definitely was, after all. He shifted to give the man his full attention. "Kind of crazy, isn't it?"
***
“That’s one word for it,” John said. He noticed that the boy seemed startled and made sure that he was in a relaxed stance in an effort to put him at ease. “I’m John. Been here about two months. You got anyone here with you?”
If he didn’t, then John would make it his mission to keep an eye on the kid.
***
"It's the polite word," Billy said with the slightest flash of a grin. He had a more colorful array he could have used if he was in the company of his peers. He slipped one of his hands into the pocket of his coat before lifting the other in greeting. "Billy," he quickly responded.
Two months seemed like a long time but the welcome letter had mentioned people had been around for that long so it didn't throw him too much. "Is that regular? To have people here with you?" He raised a brow at the other man. It wasn't an answer but in a way the omission of one could be interpreted as an answer itself.
***
In his line of work, John was very used to people avoiding questions, though he didn’t call out the young man for doing so. Honestly, he was a little impressed by his ability to dodge since he was a stranger. “Depends. Some of us have people we know from home. Some don’t. I’ve got one of my teammates here.” Who also happened to be his best friend, though he didn’t often say that.
“Where you from, Billy?”
***
"Roll of the dice, then." Billy gave a nod of his head as if considering this before he proceeded to shake it back and forth just once - as in 'No, I do not.'
He took a moment to think about the question. He'd told others his name was Mr. Philadelphia when he was in his magical form. Would they connect the dots? How many people were likely from Pennsylvania?
"Near DC." A beat before, "Earth. If that needs to be stated."
***
John nodded. “I grew up in Virginia, though I’ve done a lot of traveling for work.” He didn’t really know where he’d call home these days. Probably Atlantis. That’s where his family was, the chosen family at least.
“There are people here from all different times and places,” he explained. “It was only 2009 for me at home, but there are people here from centuries after that.” He assumed the kid was from a fairly modern time since he knew what Disney World was and didn’t seem to be struggling with the tech around here.
***
"Cool." Billy hadn't been to Virginia before but he wasn't about to say that. He didn't know if that would be unusual if John was expecting that his statement must have meant Virginia or Maryland. "I don't travel much," he added after another moment.
His head gave a slight tilt. He reckoned that wasn't that unexpected after he'd talked to literal gods just a couple of days prior. "That was over ten years ago. It was 2021 back home." Shifting, he moved to pull off his coat finally. With a complete lack of care or precision one would expect from a teenager, he tied it around his waist before looking back up to John.
"Did you arrive with your friend? Or did they come later?"
***
“We got here around the same time,” John said. “This place can be a lot to deal with sometimes, so if you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to shoot me a message, okay?”
Despite never having children of his own, he had a soft spot for kids and was pretty good with them, even though they tended to prefer Rodney for some reason. “Have you met your roommates yet?” he asked, hoping that he was with someone responsible and not that old crazy guy Rick.
***
"That's lucky," he commented. Billy wasn't certain if he wanted any of his family to show up. Or, rather, he knew that he did but he wasn't certain if it would be good for them to do so. Everything people were saying made it seem like this place could be dangerous and even though all of them, outside of Victor and Rosa, were capable of taking care of themselves? Billy didn't exactly want them to be in danger. Still, John offering to lend a hand reminded him a bit of Victor and he smiled. "I'll keep it in mind. Thanks."
"No." Billy had barely been in his room at all. He really hoped the roommate was someone chill. "Does everyone have one?" He hadn't done any snooping to see if it looked like someone lived there. He probably should have.
***
Having Rodney here was mostly lucky, though John wouldn’t admit that where the man could hear him. As much as Rodney drove him crazy, they were friends and he was glad to have him here to deal with whatever insanity this place threw at them. They’d managed to survive five years on Atlantis together, so he figured they could survive this.
“I don’t think everyone does,” he said. “I don’t at the moment.”
He glanced at his watch. “I should get going, but feel free to message me if you need anything. Or stop by, I’m in Room 502.” He would make it a point to check up on the kid after the reset to make sure he was okay.