Orbiting far over the planet Earth sits a space fortress that watches over the people below, manned by the greatest heroes known to humanity. It is the Watchtower and it is the headquarters of the Justice League, protectors of the worlds. Home to heroes such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman, along with hundreds of other heroes who help to protect the world. At the moment, however, the number of heroes on hand was in short supply as a great evil had surfaced on the far side of space, requiring a great number of leaguers to be sent out to combat it.

"...And that is why I have asked you here to assist me," J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, told to a very impatient Captain Marvel as he typed away on the teleporter while Marvel stood on the teleporter platform, arms crossed and bored out of his mind.

"And why do I have to stand here while you type away on the computer? I want to be helping Superman and the other heroes battle the evil that threatens the galaxy," Marvel said with a bit of a whine, sighing at the fact that he was being held back again when he was clearly needed at the front lines.

"Because, Billy," Marvel flinched when J'onn used his real name and not his alter-ego's name, "Due to your lying to us about your age, the League has had to question the morals of sending a ten year old boy into battle with some of the most evil forces across the galaxy. The hero business is very dangerous and you could lose your life at any time. You are still young."

"But I can help! You of all people...Martians...whatever, should know how strong I am and how valuable I can be on this sort of mission! Give me a chance!" The Martian held up his hand, silencing any more protests from the young hero. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, not sure what to say.

"Billy...you are a great asset to the Justice League, no one can deny that. But you are also a child in a hero’s body, not yet mature enough to handle some of the darker sides of crime fighting. In a few more years...yes, you will be put on more missions. But for now, please just take pride in the fact that you're helping to fight the good fight," J'onn said, trying to reason with him.

"This is so not fair. Fine...What am I doing for 'the good fight' this time?" Captain Marvel asked in a mocking tone, rolling his eyes as he said it. J'onn sighed again and for the second time, went over the mission.

"When we were transporting some of our more dangerous supervillians a week ago, the convoy moving them was attacked by someone wielding a boom tube. While the heroes escorting the villains were able to fend off the attackers, one of the more dangerous inmates was lost in the boom tube. The league has spent a week tracking him down, finally locating him in a far off world," J'onn explained, entering the coordinates into the teleporter and starting it up.

"Oh goody, I'm going to be catching a criminal for the good fight instead of assisting the others in a fight for the universe. Glad to be of use," he said with a grumble. "So, who’s the villain that I'm going after? Riddler? Captain Boomerang?" After a moments silence, Captain Marvel looked over at J'onn, who was looking down at the floor with a strange look on his face.

"Doomsday." Marvel's jaw hit the floor.

"Doomsday? As in, THE Doomsday? The Doomsday that has killed thousands of people, destroyed half a city and practically beat Superman to death in an all-out, winner take all battle? THAT Doomsday?!" Captain Marvel yelled in disbelief. "That's who I'm going after?!"

"I was hoping you'd react in a calmer manner," J'onn muttered, watching Captain Marvel freak out.

"A calmer manner? Doomsday nearly killed Superman, SUPERMAN! He'll mop the floor with me and that's IF I'm lucky! Argh, I always knew you guys hated me, but I never thought it went this far!"

"Calm yourself, Billy. No one at the League hates you nor are we punishing you for something that you said," J'onn reassured him. "Also, Doomsday was bound in restraints and placed in a cryogenic sleep so powerful that even Superman had a tough time staying awake. He'll be quite incapacitated for you." While the words were said to calm Billy down, they had the opposite effect.

"HA! If I remember correctly, Doomsday gets stronger every time something kills or incapacitates him! And you incapacitated him, which will only make him stronger! Why in the name of Solomon are you sending me after him?!" he half screamed, griping his hair with his hands.

"Because Billy, you are the only hero on standby that can possibly match Doomsday in speed or strength. I need you to handle this," J'onn said in his most serious tone, which managed to snap Marvel out of his panic attack. "You just said that you wanted the chance to prove yourself to the League, now you can."

"So are you going with me? I mean, it's only Doomsday."

"I'm sorry, but I must stay here and monitor the battle on the other side of the galaxy. Do not worry though, this will be an easy mission for you," J'onn said with a smile, "As long as you remain...mature." He entered the final numbers into the teleporter and started it up, beams of light starting to circle Captain Marvel.

"Yeah, you have a fun time sitting here with nothing going on, I'll go and get myself killed fighting one of the strongest monsters known to man. Sounds great," Marvel complained with a mock smile. J'onn smiled as the teleportation start up nearly finished, giving the Captain one last bit of advice.

"I'd suggest that you do your best to get along with the locals. From my studies I have learned that they are not...what you would expect. But maybe they will be able to show you a little bit about yourself." The teleportation process finally began, but allowed Captain Marvel for one last remark.

"This is so unfair." And right before Captain Marvel vanished, the Watchtowers alarms went off.

{\/}

"This is so unfair," Spike grumbled to himself as he helped Twilight pack the rest of her suitcases onto the back of a carriage. Twilight had been invited to the Canterlot Royal Party, in which the greatest and most well-known ponies around the world would gather to celebrate the Elements of Harmony's latest victory over the forces of darkness. Pinkie was in charge of the party, Applejack would be providing the food, Rainbow Dash was handling entertainment and Rarity made the girls dresses. All had been invited to the party, except...

"This is the third time this month that you have gone somewhere really awesome and haven't brought me along. Do you secretly hate me or something?" Spike grumbled to himself as he finished loading the rest of the bags.

"Spike, I can't believe you would say something like that! You are my number one assistant and are more precious to me than any other dragon in the world," Twilight said, turning to face him with a smile.

"Yeah , precious dragon that never gets invited anywhere," he grumbled under his breath, passing more bags to Twilight.

"Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

"Look, I know you want to go, but I'm pretty sure you would be bored out of your mind. All we ponies are going to do is sit around and talk about recent events. Nothing that would interest you in the least."

"Like that meteor that crashed here a week ago?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Exactly!" she responded with a smile, finishing packing and hoping into the carriage. "You know, it is odd that we found the crater that it created but no trace of the meteor was left. Anyway, have fun while I'm gone, don't forget to dust the books and keep the place tidy while I'm away!" she said waving as the carriage took off into the sky.

"Yeah, Celestia knows how much you hate it when I let one book out of place," Spike grumbled as he waved back, watching the carriage sail into the now darkening sky. With a sigh, Spike turned and headed inside the library, slamming the door behind him as he did so. The noise awoke Owlicious from his nap, which he was about to wake up from anyway.

"Hoo?" he asked, gently opening one eye half way.

"Sorry for waking you, I'm just mad. Twilight goes off to some big party or event and just leaves me behind again! It's like they don't even care about me anymore!" he yelled, kicking a chair in frustration. It was a bad idea and Spike spent the next minute hopping around on one foot while holding the other.

"Hoo?"

"Yeah, I know it was a bad idea, but I'm just so...frustrated!" he growled, stomping up the stairs and into his room. Owlicious hooted and flew up the stairs after him. He flew into the room to find Spike siting on near the window with his head resting on both hands. Owlicious hooted again and landed on his shoulder, looking at him with concerned eyes.

"Hoo."

"Oh, you're still here. I'm sorry for acting this way, but I just wish that sometimes I could have a friend that I could spend time with and go on adventures with. The girls are nice but...I wish I could have a friend like me." He looked up at the stars, making a silent wish upon them. 'I wish I could have a friend that I could go on adventures with."

As if the heavens above chose to answer him, a massive flash of light appeared in the sky, starling the young dragon right out of his chair. After he picked himself up, Spike looked to the sky and watched with widened eyes as a massive circle of light appeared in the sky. A burning meteor of sorts emerged from the circle of light and headed straight for the Everfree Forest. Spike stared at where the burning object had vanished for a second before he flew down the stairs and out the front door to the library, heading off to the forest. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he would not let this chance pass him by. His chance for an adventure. Owlicious watched him go, hooting once and following after him.

{\/}

Billy slowly opened his eyes, feeling the pain coursing through his body. He groaned and noticed that he was lying face down on the ground, mud covering his face. A tried to push himself up, only to find that a tree trunk had somehow fallen onto his back. Billy tried to call out the word that would allow him to escape this situation, but his voice failed him and he fell back into the mud.

'Augh...what happened? The last thing I remember was the teleporter activating, the alarms going off and then that explosion that interrupted the...' He winced as another wave of pain washed over him, breaking his train of thought. A warm sticky feeling was running down the side of his head and he realized that he was bleeding. Odd, wasn't he Captain Marvel when he had gone into the teleporter? How had he changed back?

Billy moved his head as much as he could to look around him, trying to see where he had ended up. He was surrounded by bushes, trees and the overwhelming smell of nature. Well, he was defiantly in a forest, but not a forest that he had ever seen. He was about to try and call out SHAZAM again when a voice reached his ears.

"I think it landed somewhere around here, Owlicious," a voice said through the darkness of the forest. He heard the sound of running feet which came to a dead stop the moment they reached where he lay. He heard the sharp intake of breath and the feet took a few steps back.

"W-what is that?" the owner of the voice asked in terror.

"That," Billy began weakly, pain in his voice, "is trapped under a tree and can't seem to free himself. A little help, please?" While he couldn't see what they voice was doing, he could hear it argue to itself.

"I don't know what to do. I mean, I know I should help him, but what is he?" the voice argues with itself.

"Hoo." The voice has an owl with it?

"Yes I know it shouldn't matter, but I've never seen anything like it."

"Please make up your mind quickly. I'm not feeling so hot," Billy moaned, starting to lose feeling in his legs.

"Oh...alright, let's get this off of you." The voice walked over to Billy and slammed its back up against the trunk, it groaned and started to push, with the astounding effect of actually moving the tree off of him. This guy was strong. After a few more pushes, the trunk finally rolled off of Billy's legs.

"Ugh, thanks," Billy groaned, trying to get back to his feet. But he was still too tired and hurt to stand. Spike walked over to him and placed Billy onto his shoulders, dragging him away from the tree and out of the forest. Owlicious hooted and flew after Spike, watching the two curiously. Billy noticed that his entire body seemed to fit over the persons shoulder perfectly, indicating his savior was smaller than him.

"You're strong for such a little guy," Billy muttered.

"Don't underestimate us dragons, we're strong even when we're young," Spike said with some pride, flexing his muscles.

"Wait, you're a dragon," Billy asked, opening his eyes half way. Sure enough, the person that had come to his aid and pushed a tree off of him was actually a small purple dragon with big eyes and a forked tongue. Billy did what most other ten year olds in his situation would do: he panicked. He screamed in a high pitch and rolled off the dragon to the ground, trying to get away.

"Hey careful, you're still hurt!" Spike yelled, chasing after Billy. Billy tried to run, but was still to injured, and fell again to the floor. Spike ran over to him and shook his head.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I'm not going to hurt you," Spike said calmly, offering Billy a hand. Billy wasn't sure whether he could trust the dragon, but after he thought about it he did realize that he owed the dragon for helping save him. Besides, it wasn't like the dragon could even hurt him if he said SHAZAM.

"Alright," Billy said, taking Spike's hand. "Sorry about that, it's just in my world most dragons try to eat me instead of help me. They also don't talk where I'm from."

"Well, I guess that if most dragons tried to eat me instead of talk to me, I'd react the same way," Spike agreed, helping Billy to hobble along. Billy was maybe two feet taller than Spike, but he was still able to help support Billy's weight. The two of them started to head to the edge of the forest, neither saying anything, but both observing the other. Billy noted that Spike still looked like an older dragon despite calling himself young. Did that mean there were other dragons that were larger? He hated to think what would happen if he ran into one of those. Spike was noting all of Billy's odd choice in clothing and his hair. A red shirt, blue pants and no fur anywhere except on his head.

"So, what's your name?" Billy asked, breaking the silence.

"Spike."

"A dragon named Spike? Seems a little generic," Billy said with a shrug.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, I mean it's like a dolphin named Flipper or a dog named Lassie. You know, generic."

"And what kind of name do YOU have?" Spike asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm Billy Batson." Spike surprised a laugh.

"Billy BATson? But you look nothing like a bat," Spike said with a chuckle. "Seriously, what's your real name?"

"I told you, Billy Batson." Spike raise his eyebrows at him. Spike rolled his eyes.

"Billy Batson...well, it may sound stupid, but at least it not as generic as Spike," Spike said with a laugh. Billy rolled his eyes, but the two exited the forest and walked into a small clearing. A solitary tree stood in the center of the clearing with a tree house in it.

"That's where you're taking me?" Billy asked. Spike nodded and half dragged Billy over to the tree house, helping him up the steps and inside. While Billy couldn't see much because of the faded light, it looked awfully girly to be Spike's home. Once Spike had helped Billy over to a corner, he tossed him a pillow to rest on. Owlicious flew into the room with a hoot, landing on Spike's shoulder. Now that he was safe, Billy had a few questions for the dragon.

"First off," he said with a small groan, pain flooding through his head, "why did you help me?"

"Well...mostly because it looked like you needed help," Spike responded with a shrug. "That and Owlicious here wouldn't stop pestering me until I did." Owlicious hooted with some pride and Billy chuckled.

"So does that mean I should thank the owl instead of you?" Billy asked with a grin before almost immediately falling over. Spike rushed over to his side while Owlicious started looking around the tree house for a first aid kit. Billy was still bleeding a bit and was losing consciousness. Owlicious found the kit and with a hoot, flew it over to Spike, who pulled out the bandages and started to wrap them around Billy's head.

"Wow you took a hit to the head. How'd you even survive that fall anyway?" Spike asked while appling aid.

"I'm tougher than I look," Billy muttered, trying to push himself back up.

"I can't believe that we've had two meteors fall to Equestria in the span of a week," Spike muttered, shaking his head, Billy's eyes snapped open at the news, sitting back up and startling Owlicious.

"Did you say another meteor?" Billy asked weakly. Spike nodded his head with a confused look, wondering why this would have gotten Billy all riled up. Billy tried to stand up, but sunk back down with a groan, clutching his bandaged head.

"Take it easy, it might be awhile before you're able to stand again," Spike said, helping Billy back onto his seat. Spike looked out the window, realizing how dark it had gotten. "Look, you can stay here for tonight. I'll explain everything to the owners in the morning. Right now, you need to rest. I'll check up on you in the morning." Spike climbed out of the tree house and down to the clearing, running back to the library for rest. Billy rested his head against the wall and tried to piece together what Spike had said through the pounding pain. Another meteor had crashed here a week ago? That must be Doomsday, but he had failed to ask Spike where it had landed. He should transform into Captain Marvel and go searching for him, but at the moment he was simply too tired. So with a yawn, Billy leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, wondering what tomorrow would bring.