A League of Their Own (Clark)
"Hello, sir," the waitress greeted me. "How many?"
"Table for seven, please," I responded. Alright, first one here. I texted everybody else the location, so I hope they don't get confused on the way here.
I've gotta say, Metropolis definitely looks way different from down here. The view from the ground level is absolutely breathtaking. The tall buildings, the modern and innovative architecture, and the bright atmosphere really made me fall in love with this city. The landmarks were a sight to see, from the vast Central Park to the towering LexCorp building and the Daily Planet adjacent from it. That's where I'm gonna work one of these days. I just know it.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"A Coke, please," I said as I pulled out a seat. The waitress quickly scribbled that down before leaving to wait another table. I leaned back into the chair as I checked for texts from the others.
"Hey, Clark!" I heard as a hand patted my shoulder.
"Arthur!" I smile, turning around to see the blond-haired boy. "You made it."
"Yeah, well, I do like to be early or punctual, at the very least," he smirked, sitting across from me. "So how've you been?"
"I've been doing well," I answered. "Took a nice walk around Metropolis and I gotta say, it looks amazing from down here."
"Never been to the big cities, have you?"
"Eh… I have, but I never really took the time to enjoy the surroundings," I shrugged. "Mostly just been sweeping through alleyways and dark streets, saving people."
"Well then, that's why," Arthur leaned back into his seat.
"How about you? How's the arm doing?"
"Still a bit sensitive," he answered, "I do get that pin-and-needles feeling from time to time, but hey, I don't need to amputate it or anything."
I chuckled at that. "I mean, I could help you with that if you want…"
Arthur stared at me for a moment before letting out a sudden laugh. "Ha ha! Jesus, Clark! That's- that's pretty dark, don't you think?"
And just like that, I burst out laughing as well. Gosh, where did that come from? "No, no! I mean- it's just-!" I kept on laughing as I tried to backtrack.
"God, you must have been hanging out with Bruce for way too long," Arthur remarked, trying to calm himself down. "It sounds like something he might do… he doesn't do that, does he?"
"No, no, he doesn't," I said, trying to control my own laughing fit. "He might threaten to, but he'll never do anything like that."
"I wouldn't expect him to, being a spoiled rich kid and all."
"A spoiled rich kid who managed keep up with the rest of us during an alien invasion," I added.
"True, true," he nodded. Glancing up, I noticed a very beautiful girl creeping up slowly behind Arthur. It was Diana. She had a very mischievous grin on her face as she stepped closer and closer to the blond boy. When she caught my eye, the Amazon put a finger to her lips to shush me. Hovering her arms around him and extending her fingers, she poked both of his sides in a quick motion.
"Gah!" Arthur jumped from his seat. "What the-! Diana!" She started to giggle and wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug. In turn, he lightly slapped her shoulder in annoyance.
"Hello, Arthur," Diana greeted him warmly. Taking the seat next to him, she greeted me with equal tenderness. "Hello, Kal."
"Hey, Diana," I waved back at her, "How are you?"
"I am doing fine, thank you. How are you?"
"I'm doing good, thanks."
"Yeah, Clark and I were just having a lovely conversation about cutting my arm off," Arthur said jokingly.
Diana crinkled her nose at me. "Kal!"
"Look, honestly, I don't know where that came from!" I put my hands up in defense. "It was just a dumb joke."
"I mean, I don't mind that; it's just I'd never expect to hear it out of you," Arthur explained.
"Ah, ha, yeah…" I chuckled nervously.
"Well, I would hope so," Diana said, "I wouldn't want you hurting our friends again, Kal."
"Don't worry, I don't plan on doing that ever again," I noted. "But hey, thanks for snapping me out of that. I really appreciate it."
"You're very welcome," she smiled at me. "Though if you don't mind, I would like spar with you some time."
"Me? I don't know about that; I don't really know how to fight…"
"I can teach you!" she offered, "As Ares' minions grow stronger with every confrontation, I do need to train with someone of equal strength."
"Uh, sure," I agreed. "Just give me the heads up whenever."
"So Clark, when's everyone else showing up?" Arthur asked.
"Uh, let's see…" Pulling up my phone, I skimmed through my texts to see everyone's statuses. "Bruce said he'll be here soon, Hal said he'll arrive around 10:50, J'onn said he'll show up later since he has work, and Barry said he'd be here ten minutes ago, but he hasn't shown."
"Hmm. Okay then. Did you order anyth-?" Arthur cut off mid-sentence as Diana rested her legs on his lap. "…Really?"
"What?" she shrugged innocently.
"If you guys don't mind me asking, but are you two, like…?" I motioned between the two to get my point across.
"Oh, no," Arthur denied. "We're not a thing; she's just really friendly."
"I've noticed. But you two kind of act like a couple," I said. "You two really close or something?"
"You know, you are sending some really mixed signals right now," Arthur said to her, vaguely acknowledging my question.
"My sisters and I usually act this way towards one another; it's just our way of showing our comfort and affection with each other," Diana defended. "Is there something wrong with that?"
"There's nothing wrong with it; it's just people are going to mistake us for dating if you keep on doing that," he said, "Plus, to answer your question Clark, I don't think she swings that way."
"Says who?" she argued.
"Well, I mean, living on an island full of women, I would assume that you were a lesbian."
"That's not completely true; I love everyone, including men!"
"Let's just say from the few times I've hung out with her, Diana's like a little sister I've never had," Arthur said to me.
"Technically, I am your senior by at least thousands of years," she refuted.
"Okay, well it definitely shows," I nodded. "How'd you two meet?"
"Oh, I washed up on her island, saved her from drowning and we beat up a god that threatened to flood everything," he answered.
"It was a little more intimate than that," Diana suggested. Again, I started to question how deep their relationship actually was.
"That's… not really the word to describe it, Di," Arthur corrected her. "If anything, me seeing you naked and giving you mouth-to-mouth is about as intimate as we're ever going to get."
"Ooh, please, do go on," someone commented with peaked interest. Looking up, I saw that it was Hal. "'Sup, guys?"
Diana and I politely greeted him, but Arthur was a little less enthusiastic. "Hey, dickbag; good to see you," he said flatly.
"Supes, Wondie," he paused to take off his jacket and sit down, "Aquafresh." He took the chair on my side; the one closest to the wall, just one seat away from me.
I could see the blond's eyes roll into the back of his head at that comment. I tried to diffuse the situation; the last thing we need are these two breaking out into a fist fight in the middle of the diner. "Hey, guys, I know you two got off on the wrong foot, but could you at least play nice with each other? Not to sound rude or anything-"
"I'm sorry, Clark, but first impressions are lasting impression for me…" Arthur said dryly.
"Geez, all that ocean water must have made you really salty, hasn't it?" Hal quipped back. Not helping at all…
Arthur sharply inhaled through his nose and exhaled back out in exasperation. He then looked at me and telepathically told me what he thought of Hal. Very colorful and descriptive language there, Arthur…
Hal must have been able to tell that we were having that private conversation. "Are you guys like, having a telepathic conversation or something? What, don't mind sharing it with the rest of us?"
"How would you know if we were doing that?" Arthur asked snidely.
"I've met telepathic species before; I could tell when they have mental exchanges," he explained. "Plus, you two staring at each other for five seconds without saying a word is kind of a dead giveaway."
"Great job, Hal; you are smarter than you look," the blond clapped sarcastically.
"…Diana, tell your boyfriend to stop being a salty little scrub."
"Oh, uh- we're not dating," she corrected him.
"Really? Hmm, figures. You are leagues beyond this guy, anyways," Hal snickered. Arthur looked like he was about to pounce across the table and strangle him.
"Hal, please," I jumped in, "you're not helping at all by acting really antagonistic towards him. Could you please stop?"
"Look, I thought we were past this," the brunet raised his hands in defense. "He started it by calling me a dickbag, even after I apologized to him."
"You never apologized for anything, you assclown!" Arthur retorted.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry for falsely accusing you and punching you in the face and dangling you ten stories above the ground," Hal apologized, though I couldn't tell if it was really genuine or not. "You wanna let bygones be bygones?"
"Screw your apology…" Arthur muttered under his breath.
"Hey, at least you can't say I didn't try," Hal said to me. How does this guy have any friends at all…?
"At least he can say that you're a complete tool, Jordan," Bruce commented. Everybody else jumped at the playboy's sudden appearance while I wasn't fazed that much. I shouldn't be surprised that he'd pull something like this, but yet I still am. He used to do this to me all the time back in Smallville; it freaked me out every single time. I could hear everything within a hundred-mile radius, yet I couldn't hear him sneaking up on me or disappearing mid-conversation. Oh, how do you do that, Bruce?
"What the f-! Where the hell did you come from?!" Hal gasped, his back against the wall.
"Did none of you see me coming?" We all shook our heads in response. "Good," he said, pushing up his Ray-Ban and sitting next to me.
"…What's that supposed to mean?!"
"Hello, Clark. It's good to see you," Bruce greeted me, completely ignoring Hal's question. "Diana. Arthur," he nodded at them, purposely not acknowledging the Green Lantern's presence.
"Hey, dude, I'm talking to you!"
"I see your lips are moving, but all I hear is shrill child whining like a brat," Bruce snarked in a brief glance. Arthur snorted out a laugh while Hal glared and cursed under his breath.
"Kal, is this how get-togethers are like in Man's World?" Diana asked inquisitively. "It seems to be much more hostile than I would imagine."
"Yeah, it's usually not supposed to be like this," I answered, rubbing the back of my neck. I'm starting to wonder if it was a bad idea to do this; there was already a lot of tension when we all first got together and these three are about a hair away from fighting in the middle of the diner. "Can everyone just try to act nice to each other before someone throws a punch or something?"
"No promises," Bruce responded. Oh, boy…
"Here you go, sir." The waitress came back with my Coke and put it on the table. "Are you ready to order?"
"Um, do you guys want anything to drink?" I asked around. Arthur ordered a glass of water. Diana asked for iced tea. Bruce ordered a plain cup of black coffee and Hal wanted a Sprite. "Alright, what will you be having today?"
"Oh, we're waiting for one more person," I told her. "Just a few more minutes." She nodded politely and left us alone to wait another guest. "Speaking of which… where's Barry? He said he'd be here twenty minutes ago."
"Oh, don't worry about it; he's always late," Hal chimed in.
"What?"
"Yeah, I know, a guy with super-speed is late to every occasion," he shrugged. "I don't even know how or why, but he just is."
"Tardiness isn't a very good trait," Bruce noted. "You should tell him to work on that or else no one will want to be friends with him."
"Do you feel the need to insult people like that?" Hal said in defense of Barry.
"I'm not insulting him; I'm just criticizing his habit," Bruce responded aggressively. "Learn the difference, you half-cocked moron."
"Bruce…" God, why does he always do this?
"Oh, is that so?!" Hal spat back. "Take off your sunglasses, you freakin' douche; it's not that bright inside here."
"Unless you want the whole diner to swarm our table, I'd advise against that," Bruce said condescendingly. "But of course, you wouldn't know anything about that since you're a short-sighted, insufferable-"
"Bruce, stop it," I told him sternly. Well, this is going great so far…
The Gotham playboy silently agreed and sat quietly in his seat, thinking to himself. Diana spoke up, trying to diffuse the tension and started small talk. "So Bruce, I see you healed very nicely. How have you been?"
"I've been doing well. Just been resting at home with Alfred to take care of me."
"Alfred?"
"My butler," he answered. "Or caretaker. He's a very good man and I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Hmm. I'm glad to hear that," she nodded.
"Oh, by the way, I never got the chance to thank you for saving me," Bruce mentioned, "I appreciate it."
"You're welcome, Bruce," Diana smiled back at him.
"And Arthur, I wouldn't have survived if it weren't for you. So thank you, too."
"It's no problem," the blond replied, "Just doing what I could."
"Wow, Bruce, you're awfully thankful today," I smirked. "Did I hit you too hard during our fight?"
He let out a very brief chuckle in response. "And finally, thank you Clark for not killing. I'm sure that took a lot of restraint."
"What, no thank you for Hal?"
"Oh, yes…" he started, "Thank you Hal for managing to botch simple orders and cause thousands of dollars' worth of collateral damage. If it weren't for you, hundreds of families would still have jobs and homes." Aaand I should've kept my mouth shut…
"You know what, asshole-" Hal started, but Arthur, of all people, stepped in to defend him.
"Hey, Bruce, just chill out. I mean, I don't get along with him too well either, but it just seems like you're trying to provoke him into a fight."
"I don't see why not," he replied nonchalantly. "It seems like he could be knocked down a couple pegs; it'll teach him humility, for one."
Before anything could escalate further, a friendly voice popped in to break up the tension. "Whew! Hey, guys," Barry panted, out of breath. "Man, you guys would not believe the traffic on the way here!"
I guess we were supposed to laugh at that since he was waiting for a response. But no one was laughing; we all just stared at him while he looked at us for some kind of reaction. His smile slowly faded from his face and the speedster quickly excused himself to the last seat, next to Diana and across from Hal.
"Nice of you to show up, Barry," Hal greeted his friend. "You missed out on all the banter."
"Oh, really?"
"No, it was just us pissing each other off; you didn't miss a damn thing."
"Explain this to me, Barry," Bruce started, "how is it that you're the Fastest Man Alive yet you still manage to be late?"
"Er, I dunno. Force of habit, I guess," Barry shrugged meekly. "So… is everyone getting along? From what it sounds, things seem…"
"…shaky? Yeah…" I groaned. "I was expecting us all to have a nice brunch, but so far, it's just been us trying not to kill each other."
"I don't mean to sound pessimistic, but when you put six radically different personalities into one place together, it's bound to happen," Bruce said.
"Very reassuring, Bruce." God, why do I even try…?
"So… how are you, Barry?" Diana asked, still trying to keep up the mood.
"Eh, I've been okay," he shrugged. "I've been trying to find some more material to make more of my suits; I'm down to my last good one."
"You actually wear a suit?" Bruce raised an eyebrow. "You don't conjure up one using magic or some kind of technology?"
"No, I store it in this tiny ring," he answered, tapping the piece of jewelry on his finger.
"How exactly does that work?"
"Well…" Barry started, "My suits are made up of highly compressible synthetic silk with ultrasonic welded components, in addition to a bonded outer layer of ultra-smooth Teflon. This helps with the high-speed passage through atmospheric pressure and makes it thermally stable enough for travelling at my speed. Now how it fits into the ring is…"
I'm not sure when, but I checked out at some point. Barry kept going on in detail about the mechanics of his suit and ring and while I do admire his enthusiasm, I don't think it's for me. Diana tried keeping a polite front, but she spaced out as well and started having her own conversation with Arthur. Hal just stared eyes-glazed over at his friend, waiting for him to finish. Bruce did seem very interested in what he had to say though, so at least someone was listening.
"…now the heat from all those folds compresses the suit into a partial vacuum, which when cooled, creates a seal against the release stud of the ring. Therefore, when I press on the opening, the synthetic silk molecules uncoil and absorb atmospheric gases and expands rapidly, shooting the suit out to full size and allowing me to change quickly into the Flash," Barry finished with an keen smile.
"That's very impressive," Bruce nodded. "You know, WayneTech could make some very innovative applications with what you've come up with. If you ever want to share those ideas, you can contact Lucius Fox; he's the current CEO of that division. I'm sure he'd love to listen to what you have to say."
"Wow, Barry, that was… quite some tangent you went on," Hal yawned. "As if I almost forget what a giant nerd you are."
"Yeah, well this 'giant nerd' can at least keep a stable relationship," Barry retorted.
"Oh, you wanna go there? Well, I'm surprised why she's stuck around for so long; dating the 'Fastest Man Alive' wouldn't be very satisfying, now would it?"
"What does that have to do with-?" As soon as he understood it, the speedster shot his friend the dirtiest look while he hid his huge smug grin behind his hand. "You know, I can undress you and leave you naked in front of this entire diner, right?" he threatened.
"You're not going to do it."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah, because you threatened to do that the last ten times and still, nothing happened."
"You don't know that!"
"Um, yes, I do."
"Please, go right ahead," Bruce suggested. "It'd be the most entertaining thing I'll see all week."
"You, stay out of this," Hal hushed him. "Look, I know you, Barry, and you're not going to do jack to me."
"Oh, God, not you guys, too…" I groaned. Was I too optimistic about this? Is this my punishment for this?
"Hey, Clark, it's okay," Hal tried to reassure me, "we're just busting each other's balls; this is how we normally banter."
"Yeah, don't worry, me and Harold do this all the time." Harold?
"Wait, Hal, your real name is Harold?" I raised an eyebrow.
"…you just went there, didn't you?" He's clearly not fond of his full name.
"Yep," Barry smiled victoriously.
"Alright then, you win this round… Bartholomew." The speedster's smile quickly disappeared and his cheeks grew red.
"Your real name's Bartholomew?" Bruce inquired in surprise. Everyone at the table stopped to stare at the now flustered speedster.
"…my mom really liked that name…" he muttered timidly.
"C'mon, what is this, the 14th century?" Hal remarked. "Was she a historian or something?"
"Tell me how you two are friends again…?" I get that close friends go back and forth with one another all the time, but how is it that these two are even together in the first place?
"Long story short, he dragged both of us into an intergalactic deathmatch and I had to bail him out at the last minute," Barry recalled.
"Okay, I think I need more context than that…"
"Well, my little brother got abducted by a group participating in that tournament, so I went to investigate," Hal began to explain. "Barry just so happened be at the same spot where I was looking, so I thought that he was behind it-"
"Oh, don't you just love jumping to conclusions?" Arthur quipped.
"Reasonable. Suspicion," he sniped back. "Anyways, after we cleared up our misunderstanding-"
"-after threatening to squeeze me like a grape-" the speedster interrupted.
"-we went to rescue all of the kids held hostage and trained to fight in the deathmatch-"
"-after which, you went and negotiated for us to take their place without informing me-"
"Do you want to tell this story, Barry?"
"No, go ahead; I'm just filling in the details."
"…anyways, we fought against all of these tougher opponents without killing them, of course-"
"-then you got tied up and left me alone to face the previous champion-"
"-who you managed to beat with my help-"
"-which left both of us lying on the ground, nearly exhausted and open for attack-"
"-after which, the rest of the Green Lantern Corps showed up, arrested everyone involved and got us back mostly in one piece," Hal concluded.
"Um… that's… interesting," I nodded awkwardly.
"So Barry, how does it feel to bust one of the biggest intergalactic crime rings in the galaxy?"
"Surprisingly indifferent," the speedster replied flatly.
"Oh, c'mon, why do you always act like you have a stick up your ass?" Hal complained.
"Because hanging out with you is kind of like Russian Roulette with three bullets," Barry compared. "I'm not sure if we're going to have a fun time or if we're going end up dead."
"C'mon, that's really drastic."
"Yeah, maybe, but you get my point."
'I see all is well among you all,' I heard J'onn's voice ring through my thoughts.
"J'onn!" I said in surprise as the disguised Martian arrived at our table. "I thought you had work to do?"
"I managed to get my partner to cover for me," he responded, taking off his coat and sitting at the center end of the table. "I didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend time with you all; it has been quite a while since I have had this kind of contact," he lamented. "Now, are we all getting along?"
We all collectively shrugged and made vague sounds of agreement. J'onn just chuckled in return. "I sense that there is much tension and awkwardness amongst you all. I understand that that is very common in first meetings among humans. Perhaps I can ease those feelings. Have we ordered yet?"
We called the waitress over to get Barry and J'onn some drinks and finally to get our food. Hal and I ordered the regular breakfast platters with toast; sunny-side-up eggs and wheat for me, scrambled and sourdough for him. Bruce got a medium-rare sirloin steak with mashed potatoes and buttered broccoli; typical rich boy. Arthur, predictably, got the fish and chips while Diana got some Belgium waffles with syrup. Barry ordered himself a large Portobello mushroom burger with seasoned fries and a root beer on the side. Finally, J'onn just ordered a simple Oreo cheesecake and an Oreo milkshake.
I've got to say, that Martian is great conversationalist. He managed to streamline all of our conversations and involve us all, with everyone getting a chance to talk and nobody having too little to say. He also managed to break the ice and get us more comfortable with each other than initially; there was definitely less bickering and arguing, that's for sure.
Diana, who I could tell felt really left out of the loop, got to talk about her experiences in Man's World. She compared it to fighting a Minotaur; incredibly nerve-wracking and unexpected, but also exciting and thrilling. Quite some analogy, but whatever works for her.
She also talked about her culture with us; something she never got to share with anyone since she got here. Diana went on about the differences in our society, what kind of activities and games she played back on her island, her duties as a princess, and how the Amazons worshipped their gods and all. All of us listened intently to her and I gotta admit, it was really cute seeing her get excited about sharing these things to her new friends.
Bruce talked to us about all the business meetings he'll have to attend within the next few months. He's needed on behalf of Wayne Foundations along with the company board members to negotiate with other companies to help with relief efforts for Happy Harbor; something he's not too happy about. Along with that, Alfred also "grounded" him from being Batman for nearly getting himself killed fighting, well me, so he has nothing better to do. Next week, he's supposed to meet with Queen Industries and their heir, Oliver Queen. Good luck, Bruce; you're going to need it.
Hal and Barry, in the meantime, continued their banter. I swear those two act like an old married couple. The two shared funny and embarrassing stories about their adventures, like how Barry forgot to vibrate his molecules one time and ran straight into a wall or how Hal's ring ran out of charge mid-flight and he fell into a pile of cow manure. They also started keeping count of each other's screw-ups to rub in the other's face; for how many times Barry's tripped and fell on his face while how many times Hal's constructs shattered or blew up in his face. They definitely had the whole table laughing and smiling the entire time, even Bruce (though mostly at Hal's expense, I think).
Overall, the experience was pretty fun. J'onn and Arthur had their own telepathic conversation while we ate, Diana and Barry kept stealing everybody else's food and for me, while the food was okay, nothing beat Ma's home cooking. Afterward, Bruce paid for everybody's meal since well, he can and he also left a hefty tip for the waitress. I'm pretty she almost had a heart attack when she found out who signed the receipt, judging by how loud her gasp was.
"So guys, I got a joke for you," Barry said to us as we left the restaurant. "Now that we have a King Arthur and a Princess Diana, should we be expecting a Queen Elizabeth soon?" He plastered on a cheesy smile as he waited for a reaction, but again, no one laughed. "…nobody? Come on, that was clever."
"I… I don't understand this joke, Barry, I'm sorry," Diana responded.
"Oh. Oh, I get it," Arthur said after a few moments.
"So…?" the speedster waited timidly as if he were waiting for a laugh.
"Mmm, it was alright." Aw, that was harsh, Arthur. I felt kind of bad for Barry; that response seemed to crush him.
"Oh, Barry, never stop being dork," Hal snickered at his friend, "That way, you don't have to try so hard; you're already a walking punchline." Barry just glared and frowned at him in return. Yep, now I really feel bad for him.
Oh hey, that reminds me. "Hey Bruce, mind if I ask for a favor?"
"Sure, Clark. What is it?"
"I was wondering if you could be one of my references for my resume; I want to apply as an intern for the Daily Planet."
"The Daily Planet?" he raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm not sure about that; LexCorp and Wayne Enterprises are very bitter rivals and as of now, Mr. Luthor owns the property, so I don't know if he'll just reject you out of spite."
"Oh…" I said dejectedly. "Okay then…"
"But then again, the staff there is one of the most honest groups of people I've met, plus they hate Luthor as well, so you might have a chance," Bruce added. "After all, I do owe you one."
"Thank you, Bruce," I sighed in relief. "I really appreciate this."
"No problem. That's what friends are for," he smiled. "Well, I think it's time for me to leave."
"Wait!" I stopped him as he turned around. "Why don't we all take a group picture together?"
Bruce's face shifted in hesitation and reluctance. "Clark, you know I don't like photos."
"Come on, you're not a vampire, Bruce. Just one photo."
"No thank you," he said, trying to leave again. So I pulled him in and quickly got everyone into the shot. I gave my phone to J'onn since he had longer arms and we all got ready to take the picture.
"Smile everyone!" I said gleefully. Before that, I pulled Bruce's sunglasses off, who was trying to wriggle free from my grip.
"Clark, everyone's going to recognize me!" he tried to object. But Diana cozied up next to him, sandwiching the playboy between me and her.
"Oh, please, Bruce, have some fun!" she countered. J'onn then snapped a few photos of us; a couple normal ones and one silly one.
All of us had our own unique smile for the normal one; Hal had his cocky smirk, Barry's open-mouth one, J'onn's polite closed-mouth smile. Arthur had kind of a shy one; Diana had her adorable, dimply beam and I just had a happy grin on my face. Bruce forced out a believable half-smile, but he clearly wasn't enjoying himself.
Now the silly one was a lot of fun. J'onn more or less kept his normal smile. Arthur showed a toothy grin while giving Diana and Bruce bunny ears. Hal and Barry were in the back fake-fighting and choking each other. Diana stuck her tongue out while I puffed my cheeks and went cross-eyed. And Bruce… well, he looked about ready to kill me.
We all went our separate ways after that. We had a rough start at first, but I'm sure it will improve as time goes on. I look forward to working with them again; they all seem like they have more to them than just their initial impressions. I know it sounds cheesy, but in time, we'll all grow into a league of our own.
To be continued... in "A League of their Own"