Work Text:
Bang!
"@!# Flat!" Scott slowed the bus to a halt at the road's shoulder. First week into his new gig as a bus captain, driving the overnight shift from Fawcett to Connecticut, and this had to happen.
"My heart!" Oberon clutched his chest, colour drained from his ruddy face, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
Vera, Oberon's sweet wife flailed her hands, crying, "is there a doctor here?"
They were in the middle of the wilderness that stretched between Fawcett and Connecticut. The nearest hospital was at least five hundred miles away.
"Please," Vera locked eyes with Scott. If Scott or Barda did anything, they would blow their cover. The horrendous consequences would be unimaginable.
In a fully packed overnight bus, there had to be at least one doctor among the passengers.
Scott could only hear Crickets.
The balding white-haired dwarf, Oberon, slumped forward.
Unconscious.
That did not look good.
Humans are fragile creatures and this aging one did not take care of his health.
Then a tiny voice broke the tense silence.
"I can help. I'm a med school student," an itty bitty little boy in an oversized red sweater stepped out of his seat. His raven black hair was mussed up, as if he had just woken up. There was something strange about the boy's brilliant blue eyes. Scott could have sworn he saw sparks of lightning dance within them. The tiny boy flashed a charming dimpled smile.
Then again, it could be a play of light.
The self proclaimed med school student looked no older than ten. As he made his way towards Oberon, Barda, Scott's big, beautiful wife, obstructed the boy's way.
"Let me through. Time is of essence," the boy protested.
"Child, this is no place for games," Barda chided. "This man needs a real doctor, or someone who is medically trained."
Sighing, the boy pulled a matriculation card out of his wallet and handed it to Barda.
"Billy Batson. Thomas Wayne Medical Institute," read Barda. She returned the card to the boy. "It's legit, but how? You are nine at most."
"I'm thirteen," the adorable little boy pouted as he snatched his matriculation card. "I passed the entrance exam. Happy?"
Barda stepped aside, allowing Billy through.
With practiced ease, the tiny doctor in training pressed his fingers against the side of Oberon's neck, his little brow furrowed with concentration. "No heartbeat."
"Cardiac arrest!" The child announced, shifting his position, with his hands under Oberon's arm pits the boy struggled to carry the dwarf. The child lifted him by half an inch only to drop him back in his seat.
"Someone, help me get him out and on the floor," the boy squealed. Though Oberon was a head taller than the boy, the dwarf was heavily built, especially around his belly.
"Allow me," Barda lifted Oberon effortlessly out of the seat, through the door, and placed him face up on the ground
"Thanks Ma'am," the boy seemed too polite and old fashioned for his age. He had to be a Fawcettite.
Positioning himself beside Oberon, Billy placed his hands flat against the dwarf's chest. "One and two and three," he sang Staying Alive, pumping Oberon's chest to the beat of the song.
Scott scratched his head. Is that what they teach in Earth's medical schools?
Billy pinched Oberon's nose and blew into his mouth, watching his chest rise.
Then nothing.
"C'mon Mister," the boy pleaded, desperate tears welling in his eyes.
The mini doctor in training resumed chest compressions on his patient. This time, when Billy pressed Oberon's chest, tiny barely visible sparks flew.
Suddenly, Oberon jerked under Billy's hands. His chest heaved on its own. His wide-open eyes, dazed.
The boy's dazzling smile radiated joy and relief. "You'll make it. Hang in there, I'll get an ambulance."
Before Scott could stop the kid, he ran off.
Thunder roared while lightning tore through the cloudless sky, striking the woods Billy had disappeared into.
Scott had a tyre to change. As he retrieved the spare tyre, an ambulance flew through the sky. When it approached, he could see Captain Marvel's dazzling grin as he carried the vehicle.
Why was that smile so familiar?
The Big Red Cheese was said to know all the residents in Fawcett personally. Do Fawcettites have some secret way of contacting their local hero?
"Captain Marvel!" The entire bus full of Fawcettites erupted in cheer at the sight of their resident hero.
The Big Red Cheese waved back.
"Hi Jim, how are Wendy, Sandy and Sammy?" Cap addressed a middle-aged man.
"Wife and kids are good. Thanks to you," the dude patted Big Red's ridiculously muscled arm.
"Mandy, how is your arthritis?" He asked an elderly lady.
"Good! The remedy you recommended works!" She pinched his dimpled cheek.
Fawcettites treated Captain Marvel with such familiarity that jealousy pricked Scott.
The bus captain focused on his job at hand, changing the tyre, while Cap chatted with his passengers, and the EMTs carried Oberon into the ambulance, with Vera accompanying her husband.
"Okay Cap," an EMT waved Captain Marvel over. "We're ready."
"Great chatting with all of you, but I gotta go," the Captain gave the passengers a two finger salute and strode to the ambulance.
With great care, the Big Red Cheese lifted the ambulance and flew off, presumably to the nearest hospital.
The tyre replaced, Scott was ready to continue the journey.
"Everyone, board the bus now. We're leaving in fifteen minutes," he announced.
He counted the passengers and found he was one short. The little medical student, Billy Batson.
"We can't leave the kid in the middle of nowhere," a passenger pointed out.
"He could get eaten by wild animals," a worried mother added.
"We should form a search party in case he's in trouble," said a third passenger. "We forgot the tell Captain Marvel about him."
"Knowing Big Red, he probably picked up Billy Batson along the way. They are pretty tight," a blonde woman chewing gum, shrugged.
Lightning struck behind them.
When the light faded, little Billy Batson came running to the door.
"Sorry I'm late," squeaked the boy. He flashed a dimpled smile identical to Captain Marvel's.