(Billy's P.O.V)

What is that smell?

I groaned, reaching out to my glasses only for my hands to land on nothing but empty air.

Drops of water hit the sink periodically, the sound almost too loud despite the roar of traffic outside the building. Wait, that's odd. I didn't live anywhere near traffic.

Immediately, I sat up in alarm. My heart sped up. I didn't recognize this place. The walls were filled with peeling wall paper and the overhead light was dim and kept on flickering.

A window with old blinds was drawn up and past it I could see skyscrapers piercing through the skyline. 

I wasn't new to life in the city. Before moving back to the Suburbs to take care of my aging grandma, I had worked valet at the Burlington Cape, a hotel in Vermont, so I wasn't a stranger to the city.

But this skyline was different. I recognized nothing. My head was also Killing me. I got up, swinging my legs over the bed and wore the crocs at the foot of the small bed.

Getting up, a wave of Vertigo slammed into me. My balance felt off. 

The same feeling you get once you step out of a roller coaster. I leaned on the wall before stumbling to the bathroom and hurling everything into the toilet bowl.

A few minutes later, I was staring wide eyed at the teenage face in the mirror. 

A face that did not belong to me. At all. Where I had retained the rich brown skin from my Dad's indian descent, the teen who looked to be about 17 was Caucasian with blue eyes and black hair.

His build was medium. Something you would expect from a typical teenage boy who did little exercise but was still healthy. It. Was. Not. Me.

My breath started coming out in panicked and uncontrolled exhales. The walls of the room seemed to be shrinking into me.

"Focus on feeling."

I whispered a mantra my Grandma had taught me.

"I am one with myself. I am one with the world. The world is within me just as I am within it..."

My breath evened out.

"Thanks Grandma."

I whispered, habitually going for my necklace. My hand lowered, there was nothing there. This wasn't my body. Whoever this kid was, I had probably killed him.

I felt nauseous again and elected to leave the bathroom. Panicking over my situation wasn't going to help. What I needed to do was take stock. 

Survive.

As I closed the door behind me, I couldn't help but note that the bathroom floor was a bit flooded with water. The sink seemed to be blocked as well. 

I will jump the gun and assume this is probably my new home. 

If I was to stay here however, I needed to see what I could do to fix a few things. 

Walking out into the 1 bedroom apartment, the air inside seemed to be more oppressive than earlier. The light outside the window had dimmed as well. I must have been there for more than an hour.

I cast my eyes around the small apartment to see if I could spot anything that would answer a few of my questions. For starters what was this Kid's name? There was a dishwasher, a stained couch, a small lazy fan on the ceiling, the bed and...wait.

I approached the bed, staring at the white thick envelope lying on it. 

That hadn't been there when I had gone to the bathroom. I reached out and opened it, flipping the contents onto the bed.

My face twisted into a confused frown.

The only things inside were a roll of cash that turned out be about 200 bucks when I counted it, a small swiss knife and a black smartphone that had a very recognizable logo at the back.

"Stark tech?" I ran a finger above the logo.

"Are you kidding me?"

I muttered, this being the first time I had heard this body's voice.

I stopped.

I need to start thinking of it as my body now. 

While I wasn't exactly thrilled with taking over someone's life, I needed to be realistic and act as the person I saw in the mirror. 

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

It would be dangerous if someone thought the kid was possessed or crazy if I started panicking over my situation or slipped up and said something suspicious.

I flipped through the final item on the bed, a worn black wallet. Looking into it, I found a single piece of paper.

"Your new name is Billy Batson. You are in Marvel. Say the word."

I reread the note. Billy Batson as in Shazam? DC's Captain Marvel? And I was in Marvel?! She-Hulk twerks Marvel? God I hope not. 

What is happening? The note said to say the word. The only word I could think of was...

I dropped the items on the bed and walked back a couple of paces, not wanting to risk burning my mattress when I only had 200 dollars to my name.

"I should do it on the Rooftop. Less chance of anyone getting hurt."

I mused. 

However, the prospect of going out there when I had no idea what to expect was daunting.

I released a short breath while closing and opening my palms gingerly. 

No, it was smarter to stay in the apartment.

Here goes nothing.

"Shazam!"

There was a sudden rumble from the sky. Lightning flashed and crackled in the clouds outside my window... then nothing too eye-catching happened. 

I wasn't suddenly a 6 foot massive muscle man wearing a red costume with a lightning symbol on my chest.

I was still me. Kinda.

That didn't mean nothing happened at all. Before my eyes was a blue text box with electric flashes around the edges.

~~~~~

(You have been chosen to become a Champion. The Divine Essence of the gods flows within you. Are you worthy?)

~~~~~

That's it? 

I pressed a finger on the text box and a slight tingle went through me. Then I dragged the box to the sides. The text box collapsed, minimized to a lightning bolt icon at the edge of my vision.

Huh.

That...

Another text box immediately took it's place.

This one was very clearcut.

~~~~~~

(Mission)

(Take a walk. Learn about where you are.)

(Reward:- Unlock more missions)

~~~~~~

Oookay.

I dismissed that particular text box as well, clicking on the accept button as I sat down to go over everything.

First things first. I'm in the Marvel universe. Which one I had no clue. It could be the M.C.U with all of it's wokeness. God, living in the modern world is exhausting.

It could be the Ultimates universe in which case, give me the M.C.U any day of the week or it could be any of Marvel's comic runs, alternate timelines, parallel universes...

I stopped myself from falling into that rabbit hole. 

Secondly, I was in Marvel as Billy Batson. And that meant, although I hadn't gotten the powers of Shazam yet, there was a possibility that I soon would, though it was frustrating to have to wait however long that would take.

Maybe I should try it again.

"Shazam!"

I yelled.

Nothing happened. So it wasn't a fluke, I really couldn't access his abilities.

~~~~~~

(Nothing is free in the world. Especially THIS world. Carry out the missions and you will grow more powerful.)

~~~~~~

Another text box said. Could whoever was controlling this read my thoughts?

"Hey, if you can hear me... I'm not sure you know what you're doing. You took me out of my life..." 

I said, scratching my arm in that nervous tic I could never seem to get rid of.

"It was a good life. I can be persistent. Very very persistent. And that can make anyone dangerous. So take me back."

No one answered.

My Grandma's face flashed infront of my eyes. At least my cousins were there to take care of her. She was the closest family I had, ever since my parents died in a skydiving accident. Yeah, what are the odds?

"Fine."

I sighed, rubbing my chin like I always did when I was deep in thought.

So to recap, I was in a world of Gods, Superpowered individuals, monsters and cosmic entities with the power to rewrite the very fabric of reality.

If that wasn't enough, I had to work to gain the power to protect myself in this crazy world where a warmongering Tyrant could simply decide to come for the few infinity stones on Earth, which would inadvertently fuck half the universe.

Not to mention all the world ending attacks that struck the world every few months.

God...get it together Vi...no Billy. Get it together Billy.

I had a Stark phone, with that at least I could research a few things to better understand where I was in the timeline. 

I could probably stretch the 200 bucks over the week and a few days before I thought of something else.

Let's hope this apartment's rent is already paid for. I also had to consider the fact that maybe I hadn't taken over Billy's body. 

Shazam was a character from DC; one of the few ones who could go toe to toe with Superman but that's besides the point. 

Basically, he didn't exist in Marvel. This body might have been made especially for me.

Now then. Time to face the music. If I wanted to survive here then I had to learn about my environment quickly.

I searched through the closet and found a few cheap clothes, they looked new, never having been worn, further adding to my theory that this body might have been created recently.

For someone to have that kind of power...I shuddered in both trepidation and hunger. I wanted that for myself too, just to make sure I didn't die...and to go after the one responsible for bringing me into this death world.

I went through the closet to take stock and managed to find a few interesting things. Some high quality but average looking boots and a cool leather jacket that screamed Bad Boy from the 80's that I thought was cool.

The jacket fit me well and the boots also turned out be my size and we're pretty comfy. Now dressed, I left to complete my first mission.

The door to the apartment was jammed when I tried to open it. It took a few tries but I managed to push through, revealing a similarly dreary hallway.

20 minutes later and I was seated inside a coffee shop a few blocks from my apartment. 

The hot coffee was something familiar. A burst of energy sweeping through my body and easing the headache that had plagued me ever since I waking up.

Most of the 20 minutes was spent scrolling through the smartphone, using the Wi-Fi in the Coffee shop to learn about my new world.

It was the year 2015. So the Avengers were already a thing. Oh and not only that so was spiderman too. He had started a couple of months ago and the backlash from one J.Jonah Jameson was swift. 

You had to wonder why the man only harassed Spiderman when the Avengers destroyed more public property than the the Friendly Neighborhood Arachnid.

The roster of the Avengers was also familiar. There was Tony Stark as Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Pretty standard. 

Falcon had also recently joined them. A bit earlier than in the M.C.U. 

They also looked similar to their actor counterparts but only slightly. Thor was huge and Black Widow...holy crap was she hot.

A few news articles spoke of a black monster that swung through buildings but that was in San Francisco.

And then by accident, I stumbled on a research paper, titled 'Men of power and consequences' written by one Charles Xavier. If the name was not indication enough...

I placed the Stark phone down with a sigh, rubbing my eyes. 

Mutants were a thing. 

Fuck.