The Bridge

Chapter One

He'd gotten a tip from Mera that San Francisco could see a little trouble from his half-brother. Her tone had been urgent, and she used phrases like 'many casualties' and 'widespread devastation' but when he arrived most of the residents of the city had already evacuated to higher ground, and any large vessels had gone out to the deep water where the wave could not affect them. The tsunami warning system had beat him to the party.

Arthur studied the unnaturally low tide. He probably had enough time to survey the shoreline from the ocean before the wave hit, especially after he delegated some of the work to a local pod of dolphins.

*The danger zones appear to be completely clear of walkers,* one informed him.

'Huh,' he said, a little disappointed as he bobbed up and down in the briney green water, 'I guess I should stick around to make sure…' he trailed off. The bottlenose grinned at him. 'To make sure.' he said again. He glanced up at the golden gate bridge. It was a beautiful summer day. 'Hey, would you mind giving me a boost?'

He dove down and felt the snouts of two dolphins nestle into the soles of his feet, plunging him deeper into the ocean. They levelled so close to the bottom of the bay he could almost touch the drifting kelp and the (hopefully still sealed) barrels of toxic waste with his fingertips. They swung upwards, the dolphins put on a burst of speed and they broke the surface. The sunlight dazzled his eyes as he hurtled through the air. Their aim had been perfect. He caught hold of a suspension cable in the bridge and held tight with a calloused hand.

'Thanks guys!' he shouted to the pod as they flipped and chattered below him. 'You should probably go somewhere safe,' he said, glancing out at the bulge on the horizon. It wouldn't be long now. He climbed hand over hand until he reached the walkway and swung his body over, shaking the seawater out of his sun-bleached hair. One of the pillars of the golden gate would make a good vantage point to watch the ocean come back in. He reached the top of the pillar and froze. He wasn't alone. At the top of the next piller was a lady. She was facing away from him so all he could see was her powder blue coat and matching hat.

'Ma'am?' he called.

She turned her head slightly so that he could see her profile.

'Ma'am? Are you okay?'

She turned back away from him. He approached her quickly.

'Are you at a loss, Arthur?' she asked when he was close enough to see the wisps of hair that had come loose from her bun. It should have made him uneasy - how did she know his name? She hadn't used it as a threat or a taunt the way others who'd learned his identity had in the past. There was a fastidious tone to her voice, making him feel suddenly sheepish of his dripping hair and bare feet. He clasped his hands together and walked around the platform to face her.

Her face was calm and observant. He realised she was waiting for him to answer.

'I guess I am,' he said.

She smiles. 'We know it's a good thing when they don't need our help anymore. When they can take care of themselves. But we also have to shoulder the burden of obsolescence,' she said.

'I wouldn't call myself…' he trailed off. He realise the offense had distracted him from the strange reality of the situation. He was standing on top of the Golden Gate Bridge, waiting for a Tsunami to hit with a strange woman who knew his name.

As if reading his thoughts she cast her eyes to the horizon.

'I think I can see the bulge approaching.'

He saw it too. A distortion of the horizon as the ocean began to roll back in. A strange roar increased in volume as the wave picked up speed i their direcino. It was like the sparkling of a freshly poured club soda, but amplified to an unthinkable volume. She rose. He was used to towering over people but this lady could meet his eyes without even tilting her head back.

'You're going to miss it, he said, watching as the green wave began to crest below her, like a velvet curtain.

She placed her cool hands on either side of his ribcage and as the wave crashed against the suspension cables she kissed him. Her lips were as cool as her hands. The platofrm shook and their air was full of salty mist as his lips melted into the icy softness of hers.

She drew back, and suddenly became a foot shorter. Had she been standing on something? He looked down at her feet. They were turned out in a balletic pose, and planted firmly on the even surface of the platform. He opened his mouth to try and form a question about her sudden change in height.

'Close your mouth, Arthur, we are not a codfish.'

He obeyed. He considering cracking a joke about all the codfish he'd met being decent company, when he heard the softed impact reverberating off the hills.

'I think some choppers are coming,' he said.

'We'd better go. They'll be press helicopters, no doubt.'

The lady primly snapped open a bag made of some kind of thick corduroy and drew out an umbrella. It must have been packed cleverly, cause it looked a little too long…

'Hold this please, Arthur,' she said, handing the bag to him. She popped the umbrella open and put her arm around his waist. The sleeve of her coat was just as cool against his bare skin, as if she'd been walking in the snow. His feet rose from the platform and they ascended into the air. AS they left the bridge behind Arthur watched a fog rollin across the bay. The news choppers wouldn't be able to record a thing.

He had a couple of friends who could fly. There was Clark, and Diana… of course! This lady must be an amazon. Although her accent was different. She sounded more like princess Kate than Diana princess of Themyscira.

'Cat got your tongue, Arthur?'

'Are you an Amazon, Miss?'

'Mary. And no. Although the ladies do let me summer on the island from time to time. The climate is lovely, but the sun is a little too strong for me.'

'Great,' Arthur said, remembering to close his mouth this time. 'So Mary, where are we going?'

'Back to my flat,' she said, 'given that you're at a loss, perhaps you'd like to stay for the afternoon.'

His usual response to an invitation would have been something along the lines of, 'sure,' or 'no, thanks anyway,' but he felt like this lady was used to being spoken to more formally. He borrowed a phrase from his mentor, 'I'd be delighted to spend the afternoon in your flat, Mary, he said softly.

She smiled.