Shazam suddenly said to Eric, "Today is your birthday. You wouldn't trick me into some place and force me to celebrate your birthday, would you?! Although I'm very interested in attending parties, I'm usually only responsible for dealing with delicious food, I'm not good at creating atmosphere!"
"Alright."
Eric interrupted his complaints and said, "Put aside your baseless birthday fantasies for now. You need to transform into Shazam now, not talk to me in this teenage form."
"Of course."
Billy nodded and said to Eric, "But you have to stay away from me. I'm afraid you'll be hurt by the lightning. Only if you hide far away can I release my lightning."
"No need."
Before Billy could react, Eric let go of his hand.
"Ah ah!"
After a scream, Billy fell downwards.
With the whistling wind in his ears and the sensation of rapid descent, Billy's face turned pale with fright.
He had never experienced such a feeling of weightlessness.
Seeing the ground getting closer and closer, and his face about to make intimate contact with the earth, Billy closed his eyes, spread his arms, and shouted, "Sha—"
"—zam!"
As the last word was shouted, a bolt of lightning suddenly appeared in the sky and struck Billy.
Struck by the lightning, Billy immediately activated his transformation.
From a teenage state to the adult Thunder Shazam!
Spreading his arms, Shazam stopped his downward plunge and "whoosh" flew into the sky.
Shazam flew to Eric's side, glaring at him angrily.
"You shouldn't have thrown me down, Homelander!"
"Didn't you tell me to stay away from you?"
Eric deliberately put on a surprised expression.
"Ugh!"
Shazam was immediately speechless by Eric.
"What I meant was, you could have put me on the ground, instead of just throwing me down like that. What if I hadn't shouted the spell because I was scared or for some other reason? Wouldn't I have been splattered like a piece of paper?"
"Didn't you shout it?"
Eric continued to fly forward, speaking without looking back.
"That's true, but—"
Shazam scratched his head, unsure how to refute Eric.
"Or are you not confident in your own abilities?"
Eric continued to ask him.
"Forget it."
Shazam shook his head dejectedly, deciding not to argue with Eric about this.
He found that he could never win an argument with the other party.
He was just a teenager; it was normal to be played with verbally by the other party.
He comforted himself in this way.
"What kind of dangerous creatures do you think we're going to deal with?"
After dispelling his gloomy mood, Shazam asked Eric.
"Are they still alien creatures or something?"
"To some extent, they are indeed dangerous alien creatures, but their names are—Green Lanterns!"
Eric said something that stunned Shazam.
"Green Lanterns? Aren't Green Lanterns your subordinates?"
Shazam thought of Hal Jordan, who always acted cool!
"Hal Jordan is indeed a Green Lantern, but he is just one of many Green Lanterns."
After Eric finished speaking to Shazam, he immediately accelerated his speed, rushing out of the city's boundaries in an instant.
Shazam, meanwhile, was pondering Eric's words, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Countless Green Lanterns like Hal Jordan, all rushing over—it seems like something I can't stop."
He had a clear understanding of Hal's strength; he had sparred with him before, and the endless array of constructs the other party conjured gave him a headache.
If he weren't so tough, he might have been driven into the ground by the pile driver created by the other party.
"Alright, it seems like I'm in for a headache. I hope I can finish by tomorrow afternoon, or else Teacher Moni will definitely call my parents."
Shazam sped up, quickly catching up to Eric.
"Um, can I know how many Green Lanterns are coming to Earth?"
He asked Eric.
"A lot!"
"Then what do they want?"
"Me!"
"If there's one thing that gives me the biggest headache, it's choosing gifts for others!"
Metropolis, a shopping mall.
"Detective Queen" Betty said helplessly to Hanna, who was holding her hand.
She was originally at home, writing her novel, but was forcibly dragged to the mall by the other party.
"It's just choosing a birthday present. That shouldn't be difficult for you, so, Betty, you need to give me some suggestions."
Hanna changed into a light grey knit cardigan, paired with slim-fit casual pants. With her face and figure, she became the most eye-catching presence in the mall, just like Betty.
"You can do it yourself, and with Eric having already clearly stated he doesn't like celebrating birthdays, why do you still want to buy him a birthday present?!"
Betty felt that her best friend might have already fallen in love with Eric.
"I just feel that if even I don't prepare a birthday present, Eric might seem a bit pathetic."
Hanna said to her best friend while pulling her hand forward.
"Uh, I think he's probably the last person who needs your pity! Generally speaking, he's the one who pities others! After all, in others' eyes, he's like a god!"
Betty said to her best friend, "If you like him, you can confess directly to him. That might have a higher success rate, instead of preparing a birthday present for him on his birthday. That won't help your strategy much."
Hearing Betty say this, Hanna's face turned slightly red.
"I just... I just don't want his birthday to be too lonely. After all, for a person, it's one of the most important holidays in his life."
Betty clearly didn't believe Hanna's words.
"Come on, Hanna, anyone who isn't a fool can guess what's on your mind now."
"Maybe so."
Hanna sighed and said, "But Eric said he has X-ray vision and microscopic abilities. A human woman's face has no beauty in his eyes; it's all uneven, like hills and valleys. He generally has little interest in human women; only someone like Wonder Woman can attract him."
"Oh my god!"
Betty exclaimed to Hanna, "Don't tell me you're not confident in your own face."
"You are a rare beauty. If I weren't a woman, I might even pursue you."
Betty praised Hanna.
"Thank you for the compliment, but that won't make me a woman like Wonder Woman."
Hanna sighed, saying dejectedly.
"Wonder Woman?"
Betty blinked, "She claims to be an Amazon princess, the vice president of the Justice Society, clearly a woman skilled in combat. If you try to compare yourself to her, you'll definitely get a rather unpleasant result, because you're not a combat-oriented character, but a clever secretary. So that's the difference between you two; you're just different types. There's no need to compare yourselves out of envy and then conclude that you're inferior to the other."
Betty perfectly fulfilled her role as a good friend, comforting Hanna.
"As for gifts, like this!"
She then pointed to the shop window next door, which was filled with various character models.
Various classic film and television character figures were vividly displayed before their eyes.
Hanna even saw superhero figures among them.
"Look, this is a Superman model!"
Betty pointed to a character model with an "S" symbol on his chest and a red cape draped behind him, saying to Hanna, "This is Eric's older brother's character model. Although some details are a bit rough, it accurately depicts Clark's features! There must be an Eric model in here, let's make this the gift!"
"Huh?"
Hanna hadn't even reacted before Betty pulled her into the store.
Looking at the dazzling array of models displayed in the store, Hanna was almost overwhelmed.
Seeing a customer enter, the boss immediately came over to greet them.
"Do you have a Homelander model?"
Betty asked directly and to the point.
"Uh..."
The boss pondered for a moment, sizing up the two, somewhat unclear about their background.
He organized his words and said, "Because we haven't obtained authorization for the President's image yet, we don't have it for now. Sorry, customers!"
"Is that so?"
Hanna showed a disappointed expression.
"Are you sure you don't? Boss, we are loyal fans of Homelander, members of his fan club since college. If we could buy a Homelander model, we would be very happy."
Betty said, while pulling Hanna's sleeve, showing a pitiful expression.
"Today is Homelander's birthday, and also my best friend's birthday. Can you really bear to see a fan leave here disheartened?"
"Uh..."
The mustachioed shop owner thought for a moment, seeing that the two didn't seem like people trying to trick him, so he gritted his teeth and decided to do this business.
"Follow me!"
The boss led the two to a hidden counter in the back, and said mysteriously to them, "I actually have a treasured Homelander model—Battle-Damaged Homelander!"
"Battle-Damaged Homelander?!"
Hearing this name, Betty was also taken aback.
The boss was very satisfied to see their shocked expressions. He used a key to open the cabinet and took out his treasured Battle-Damaged Homelander model.
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