Trapped

[3rd Person POV]

"Hey! Let me down!" cried the 14 yr old boy.

Barda, still in shock over the recent turn of events, drops the teenager onto the floor.

The others are also in shock as they watch on, the heroes are also baffled at this revelation. Granny Goodness attempts to make use of this newfound opportunity rushing towards the vulnerable boy. But before she can reach him, Superman tackles her, preventing her from reaching the boy.

The boy, Billy Batson, initially startled by this turn of events, regains his composure and attempts to rejoin the battle. In an alarmed tone he, shouts "SHA-"

But before the words can come out of his mouth, he is suddenly grabbed from behind and two clammy hands cover his mouth. Billy tries to escape, but he cannot break free from his captor.

"Now now, you BRAT. We can't have you making any more trouble for us." said Desaad in a venomous tone, now holding Batson captive.

He continues talking, with him now holding a knife to the boy's face "And the rest of you… give up right now, or the brat gets his throat opened."

"Put down the KID" says green lantern, this time making a sledgehammer construct, but Desaad reacts aggressively and brings his knife closer to the kid's neck, this time scratching it slightly, which draws blood.

"WAIT!" yells Superman, clearly not liking this outcome.

He decides that he has no other choice than to surrender, and thus says "We'll surrender, just don't hurt the kid."

Then Superman, Green Lantern and Flash, raise their arms as the furies come in to restrain them.

On seeing this, Billy becomes even more desperate, but to no avail, as in that form, even a weak new god's strength was too much for him. After all of them have been completely subdued, Desaad injects a serum into each of them, as they pass out.

"Move them to the re-education bay. We will begin with them immediately." Desaad tells the furies as they lift up all of the heroes.

All except one, as Barda hesitates to pick up the unconscious Billy Batson. Granny Goodness notices this and questions Barda's actions "Barda dear, why are you so hesitant, perhaps that oaf's lightning strike earlier injured you?"

Barda responds "No, I'm well Granny. I am recovering as we speak. I was merely winded." in an absentminded tone.

"On dear, that won't do! You can't serve lord Darkseid with an ill mind,can you. Come to the medical bay after dropping them off, and we'll have a look at you." she instructed.

After this, both the heroes and the villains move out of the room. But none except Barda were aware that another presence was secretly watching them from the shadows.

_________________________________

"Uhhh" moaned Billy Batson, waking up from his delirium. Then, remembering the situation he was in, he quickly focused and looked around his surroundings, trying to figure out his situation. He found himself tied in a weird x-shaped contraption, and his hands and feet were encased in metal that was inches thick.

He looked around to find the other heroes present as well, similarly trapped besides him. As he sees his heroes in such a condition, he is suddenly overcome with a large wave of guilt, for putting his idols in such grave danger.

He thinks to himself 'This is all my fault, I should've never come here. I've just put them in so much danger and now so many people including my friend remain trapped because of me. I'm the worst.'

As these thoughts run through his mind, he begins to tear up.

His thoughts spiral further 'Aw man, now I'm crying as well. I'm causing even more trouble for them. They must hate me by now.'

He tries to hold back his tears, but to no avail as he starts crying. Soon his sniffing voice reaches the ears of the other heroes and they turn their heads to focus on Billy.

"Hey kid, what happened? Why are you crying?" asked Superman.

"I… I… caused all of you… to get trapped here. I'm the reason you couldn't save the hostages as well… All because… All because I decided to play the hero. I'm so sorry… This is all my fault." he says, still crying through his words.

"Hey kid, it's alright!" reassures the Flash.

He continues in a relaxed tone "We're heroes. Being taken prisoner isn't new to us. We deal with it all the time. Right GL?"

Green Lantern speaks to him as well "Yeah, yeah, I'll tell you what, I was captured by Sinestro just a month ago. And I'm right here, aren't I? Trust me, the other team will get here to rescue us and we'll get out unscathed."

Superman finally speaks again "See, it's alright. We all make mistakes sometimes, we just need to make sure we don't repeat them. Plus, you are young, when will you mess up if not now? Don't put yourself down. Most kids your age would be selfish and use your Powers for themselves. I couldn't even figure out how to use my powers properly when I was your age, much less help others. And here you are trying to save the world. Trust me kid, you're more of a hero than I am. So stand proud"

On hearing this, Billy was stunned. His idol, Superman, had just acknowledged him.

He couldn't believe this was happening, and questioned the validity of the statement "Really?"

"Yeah it is. Plus it looks like we won't be here much longer. Isn't that right?" Superman asked, looking at a corner.

Suddenly a man appeared exactly where Superman was looking. He was wearing a red and yellow costume, with a green cape."You sure are astute, my friend. My name is Scot Free, but you can call me Mister Miracle."