15257/Smoak and Mirrors

Smoak and Mirrors
Date of Scene:	29 June 2023
Location:	Vasquez Home
Synopsis:	Billy meets and greets Overwatch, not nearly as scary as she sounds.
Cast of Characters:	Billy Batson, Felicity Smoak

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Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson has learned there is a certain discipline required to work for yourself. Having graduated, started streaming, and making money at it he'd been overworking. Not that it slowed Shazam any but as Billy he'd been missing sleep. So 11 am still found him in bed, where he woke up. 11:05 found him making coffee eagerly and wondering if he could get some breakfast from mom. Probably. Despite aging out of the foster system, Rosa and Frank said their home was always going to be his home. He moved next door and put some money aside for them every month. A knock at the door stopped the progress of coffee. Probably one of the sibs, needing money or a ride. He grabbed his red bathrobe (with the yellow collar) and went to answer the door.

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Billy wasn't the only one losing sleep. Felicity had run so many tests on the tanooki costume she'd been left in after the unexpected visit to see Mojo that was sure it qualified as some sort of world record. There wasn't a fiber left on the thing that she hadn't carefully analyzed, and she'd gotten so paranoid after the lack of conclusive results that she'd actually accused her boyfriend -- a man who puts his life on the line on a nightly basis -- of drugging her.

She's flown from Starling City to New York earlier that day, and while she was /supposed/ to be relaxing in a penthouse, the feeling that she wasn't following up on all of the available leads gnawed at her. So, she'd done some more digging. Not into the costume (which was safely tucked back in the lab), but into Shazam and the boy he had been before he transformed (who she only knew as Billy).

But that was enough. Some searching found Billy Batson's streaming show, and then all it took was tracing his IP traffic back to the source. Here. An apartment over the garage.

Just past eleven in the morning, a black sedan had pulls into the driveway of the house and the back door opens. Out of the back? A well-dressed blonde wearing rectangle-framed glasses, a high, tight ponytail, and a blue sheath dress with hot pink pumps. The driver (though the door had briefly cracked open and then closed again) stays in the car.

Felicity's heels click up the concrete, thud gently up the steps, and after a moment of gathering her courage, she knocks. And waits. And waits a little longer. And then...

"Hi." She smiles faintly, lips only a slightly darker shade of pink than her shoes. "I know this is probably unexpected, and I promise I'm not some kind of crazy stalker.. even though that's exactly the kind of thing a creepy stalker would say. But, I promise I'm not. I saw your show, and I traced the IP address back through the streaming service, ISPs, and VPNs... which, I know, probably isn't really helping my case right now. But, I'm trying to figure out if I saw you in a dream or in reality, and wow I sound crazy right now." She pauses, hand coming up to touch her glasses. Her smile softens apologetically. "Do you recognize me?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson stands mouth agape for a moment, coffee filter in hand. Then he runs his fingers through his hair. Then he cinches the robe better, the better to hide the lightning bolt motif boxers. "Uhm... please come in." He steps aside and opens the door wider. "I don't need the neighborhood to know my business... if you are what a stalker looks like, every man would want one... and some women. Want some coffee, Ms...?"

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Relief crosses Felicity's features when the reaction to her nervous ramblings isn't outright rejection or, frankly, worse.

"Thank you." Her smile warms and she nods, stepping through the threshold and taking a look around the place while Billy's still commenting on her. She's not carrying a purse, but she does have her phone in her hand, which she brings up in front of her to tap at rapidly for a second before lowering it again.

The compliment elicits a nervous laugh, and she turns to face Billy more directly. "Well, historically you might be surprised," she muses, tone self-deprecating. "Smoak-- um, Felicity. But you can just call me Felicity, and only if it's not too much trouble."

She pauses, then. The burning question was still there at the forefront of her mind, and it's obvious once she's inside that she can't help herself.

"You were there, too, right? We were there together? Wherever /there/ was?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson shuts the door. "You should tell your driver not to block the driveway. My par..." His phonE buzzes and e answers it. "Hello... yes, for me. Yes, business related. Okay. They can stay? Thank you, mom." He shuts the phone. "People are very territorial about parking here." He gets Felicity a mug of coffee and one for himself.

"First I'm going to ask you what you remember about this dream. Okay? And why would calling you 'Felicity' be too much trouble? It's your name. A pretty name in fact. Have a seat. Relax."

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity already has her phone half-way up after the mention of blocking the driveway, but she hesitates when Billy answers his own phone. Crisis averted, she lets it go, just offering a little smile at the exchange.

"Thank you," she says for the coffee, bringing it up to her lips for a sip and then quickly shaking her head at his last question.

"Oh! Sorry -- trouble for the coffee, I meant. Not my name. I mean, you /could/ abbreviate it if you really wanted, but most of the shortened versions just make me sound like a poodle.. CeCe, Fifi.."

It isn't until the end of her rambling that the 'pretty name' compliment seems to sink in, and a light blush touches her cheeks. "Thank you.. again."

"So.. I'm sure it wasn't a dream," she says, moving over to take a seat with her coffee. "For one, my boyfriend literally saw me vanish and then reappear. And second... I was wearing a tanooki costume when I got back. Which I still have. I mean, not /with/ me, obviously..." It definitely seems like nerves, but the longer it goes, the more likely it seems that Felicity was just this rambling and maybe giving her even more caffeine was a bad idea.

"But, you and I were there. In tubes? And.. there was an arena with a crowd. And they were all chanting Mojo.. and Mojo-ing? Which I don't understand. But, regardless, you.. stood up for me. And then you.. changed." She hesitates here, cringing a bit as if expecting some blowback. "..into Shazam. And then there was a robotic triceratops that breathed fire -- Slag -- and the Street Sharks. Is.. any of this making sense?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson nods his head and get a hint f a rueful expression. "Oh, you saw that change? I'd appreciate you keeping that to yourself. Yes, I was there and I became Shazam. Well I couldn't let you get killed! Those sharks looked mean," he says taking a long sip of java. "I don't know what a tanooki is... you were wearing a raccoon onesie. Then you... spun the tail with your behind and took off." He takes another sip. Stop talking! Be professional. She could be your mom! You have a girlfriend!

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity nods, one hand coming up off of her mug, palm out, as she crosses her legs. "Oh. It was amazing. Thank you -- really -- for sticking up for me. I was kind of scared out of my wits, and being in the tanooki costume wasn't making it any better." Here, she asides, "That's what they called it in Super Mario Brothers 3, it turns out. I had to look it up. Slag? The dinosaur? Also a toy from the 80s. And the Street Sharks? Well, from the 90s, but you get the idea.."

She blinks, though, as if remembering something. "Oh! And you don't have to worry about me. I have /plenty/ of experience keeping secrets. I actually know someone that might really appreciate knowing you. Well, Shazam, I mean. Not that /you're/ not great. I'm sure both of you are. Are there two of you? I'm not really sure how that works, but, we can sort of come back to that..."

Speaking of talking too much.

"Do you know where we were? Or why? Or how we got there?"

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson looks a little embarrassed to confess, "There are five more Shazams at full strength... and sometimes a talking tiger. Then franklin and his sister and others are among our friends. I'm just the first one. Oh me and Shazam... no I'm the same person as both... but I may see things differently as Billy or Shazam. Shazam is kind of like a suit I wear. Aaaaand you're very welcome. I mean I took on the role, I have to rescue people and such, but it's my favorite part of the job... usually. I got this one lady, I was flying over the beach and her grandson went under , caught in an undertow. I scooped him up and brought him to her, no harm done and she says, "He had a hat!"

"Anyway not a problem anytime... do you want to thank Shazam?"

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity blinks, her smile turning more genuine. "She complained that you didn't get his /hat/?" Her eyes widen for a moment and she shakes her head. "You've got more patience than I do, then." Well, that may not be /entirely/ sincere, but she does seem grumpy about it on Billy's behalf.

Then the question about Shazam has Felicity tilting her head a little, obviously having a hard time following. "Wait.. is he /different/? Like.. are you /all/ of the Shazams? Or, I mean, you can /be/ all of the Shazams? Sorry." Her eybrows knit slightly. "My superhero experience is mostly limited to either people that are exceptionally talented or can run really fast. The whole having powers thing is still a little hard for me to get my head around."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson claps his hands and sets the mug aside. "Oh I know a Flash! Kid Flash. The cute redheaded girl with the green eyes! Not the guy. Aand no, I can't be all the Shazams. They're different people who also transform. I just meant I could transform if you wanted. It's pretty cool and I'm going to need to do a patrol soon anyway. I'm a little behind. I went into business for myself with my show and between that and rescues I keep odd hours lately."

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity's smile softens, setting her own mug aside, too.

"I'm sorry. I'm taking up a lot of your time. And I -- believe me, I get that it's /really/ cool. I would total rock a superpower that let me change into a different person and be..."

She shakes her head.

"Sorry. I keep getting off track. I actually came to see if you knew anything about where we went or how we got there? I was teleported -- or whatever happened -- out of somewhere, and I'd really like to know how to stop that from ever happening again."

Billy Batson has posed:
Billy Batson nods and gets up. "Tell you what, the other guy there, Franklin Richards, nows more about this stuff than me. I'll go look for him after patrol. Could you leave m your number? Stopping this from happening sounds like a good idea. Who knows how many times that creature has done this?"

He probably should havee done that in the first place,

Felicity Smoak has posed:
Felicity stands when Billy does, and she brings her phone up in front of her at the suggestion. Tap, tap, tap. Swipe, swipe. Tap, Tap.

And then Billy's phone buzzes with a new message.

"Once I figured out your location I sort of ran a search on the cell towers in the area and... well.. you have my number, now," she explains. It was a total invasion of privacy, but she only seemed a little sheepish about it, like it was the kind of thing that she did routinely.

"Thank you. For inviting me in, but.. mostly for trying to help me, wherever we went. If there's ever anything I can do to return the favor, well.." She lifts her phone again and wiggles it a bit. He has her number, now. And then she's crossing to the door.

"Oh! Good luck on you patrol. Be safe. Don't.. forget any hats. It was nice to actually meet you."

There's a final, pink lipped smile, then, and she's heading back out to her waiting car.