The Birthday Present
Chapter 1
Hal Jordan Is Not a Pig
"You are a beautiful man, Hal Jordan. You are tall, and strong and fearless. I think I could fall in love with such a man. Would you like to fall in love with me?"
Hal stared unbelieving, at Wonder Woman. He could not believe what he was hearing. He had always suspected that she and Superman were in love, the way they looked at each other, the way they spoke to one another, and about one another. They seemed to act and think as one.
Whenever they were in battle, the two of them fought like a well-oiled machine. They seemed able to read each other's thoughts and could act without hesitation, knowing the other understood their actions. Their connection on the mental and emotional level was simply amazing. They simply lacked the physical connection to make them complete.
He always wondered why he, or others in the league, as far as he knew, had never seen them holding hands, kissing or touching in any way that would indicate that they had finally moved on from, hopelessly in love friends to lovers. Sure, they had all seen some tender, physical moments between the two, but their touch had been timid and chaste. They had been maddeningly careful not to cross a line.
The rest of the League, with the exceptions of J'onn, Batman and Zatanna, constantly talked and whispered about how crazy the two were. What were they waiting for?! They were best of friends, they could finish each other's sentences, whenever one was not present, a deep sadness could be seen in the others eyes. There was absolutely no question in anyone's mind that they were in love. All the signs were obvious. And yet they wouldn't take the next step.
Hal had been completely shocked when he had learned just last week that Superman was married, and not to Diana.
The news had been quite shocking. It had also made everything he had witnessed between the two make perfect sense.
It also meant that she was fair game. Hal wanted a chance. But he didn't know how he would go about it. He didn't want to offend her or Superman for that matter.
Maybe when they were done with their mission. It seemed that Circe was up to mischief. According to Diana, she had taken Ares as her lover and had promised him that she would humiliate, and destroy Wonder Woman. She also planned on humiliating the Amazons as a nation.
Queen Hippolyta had allowed Diana and the League to come to Paradise Island to investigate and use their considerable powers and resources in an attempt to discover what Circe was up to.
Hal had been stationed high above the island. It was his job to scan all parts of the island with his ring. If he detected any signs of magic he was to contact the others immediately.
Hal had no problem with his assignment. Superman may have been better for it, what with his super peepers and ears and nose, but he was down at Doom's Door with Wonder Woman and a company of Amazons, just in case the attack came from there.
Aquaman, Mera and ten thousand soldiers of Atlantis were spread out in the waters surrounding the island and Amazons gathered on the beaches prepared for any kind of attack from the sea.
Fellow Green Lantern's John and Kyle waited at the edge of the enchanted forest with another host of Amazon warriors.
Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Powergirl, Geo-force and Jade, along with one hundred Amazons, waited by the small mountain range south of the Palace.
The Flash, Donna, Zatanna, Batman and J'onn were at the Palace with the Queen and her general Phillipus. The Queen, Phillipus and Batman were discussing strategy and options. Zatanna was trying to detect any large concentration of magic in the area. This was difficult for her since much of the Island was magical in nature. J'onn focused on trying to sense the minds of their enemy. Donna did not want to let her mother out of her sight. The Flash waited impatiently for the go ahead to go into action.
Hal knew everyone was in place. His ring told him so. He couldn't see Doom's Door at the moment, but for some reason it didn't seem too important. Diana was talking to him.
As badly as he wanted to get her into his bed, as a friend he refused to give in to his normal tactics of seduction. He knew instinctively, that if he were ever to have her in his bed it would have to be because she loved him and thought that he loved her too.
While Hal had no problem convincing a woman to surrender herself to him for a night of sexual bliss, he had never pretended to be in love in order to have sex. He had always been honest in his desires and passions.
Many women had come back for more and Hal had been more than happy to comply. He had a very large sexual appetite and he was a skilled lover.
This was different. This was not a pretty face he had run into at a club or on the beach. This was his friend. She was a friend who was new to the world of men. She came from an island of fearless Amazon warriors. She was a friend whose mother and sister Amazons had been betrayed, captured and brutally raped by Heracles and his men.
Wonder Woman was also much stronger than he. Hal had no super strength, or speed. He was just a normal guy gifted with a power ring. According to the Guardians, it was the most powerful weapon in the universe.
Hal didn't believe it. His ring couldn't defeat Superman or J'onn. In fact, he had found it to be pretty much useless against any of the handful of Kryptonians that frequented the Watchtower.
He had held his own against Wonder Woman in the past, but victory had generally been hers. While he was somewhat confident in a battle against her, he was not so confident that he would survive a sexual encounter with a woman who could lift cars and trucks and stop falling helicopters.
But he was very willing to try. Maybe he would even fall in love with her, and she with him. His wild days would be over.
He felt sad, as the thought of becoming exclusive to one woman danced in his head. He wasn't sure if that was something he could do. It was one of the many reasons he had never proposed to anyone before. He didn't want to make a commitment he wasn't sure he could keep.
Hal was brought back to the present by a lovely hand touching his ring hand and another touching his face. He looked down into Diana's eyes. He had always thought she had lovely sea blue eyes.
That was strange. For some reason they didn't look blue right now. They looked violet. Hal thought it curious but his mind couldn't focus.
Diana was standing so close to him now, her face was just inches away from his. She had such lovely violet eyes. He could feel her lips brushing against his, and he could hear, and understand what she was saying, but all he could see were her violet eyes.
He felt lost in them. He felt as if he were detached from his body.
"I want you to teach me what it is to be loved by a man. Superman refuses me, but I know that you will not, and that you are a skilled lover. I have heard the women who boast of having spent a night with you. I want you to show me your skills. Kiss me and make me a true woman."
"Well, I can kiss you now if you like, but you'll have to wait for me to make you a woman for a little while longer. Right now I…I have to…" Hal was speaking thickly his mind couldn't seem to focus. He could see Diana's violet eyes and wondered if this meant that he was in love.
"What must we wait for? What are you doing?" Diana brought his face down to hers, and kissed him tenderly and deeply.
Hal felt like he was burning. He also felt like he was shrinking. That or Diana was getting larger. That was strange. He was standing in the palm of her hand and she didn't look like Diana anymore.
His head was swimming. He realized that he no longer had his ring on his finger. He was suddenly standing on a hillside. Diana was nowhere to be seen. There was lots of green grass and just at the bottom of the hill there was a forest.
He hurried down. He was certain that he would be able to find food there. Just as he reached the edge of the forest he saw a large wolf emerge several yards away. The wolf saw him and immediately ran silently towards him.
With a frightened squeal, the small pig sped away as fast as his little legs could carry him.