It was a hot day in Metropolis. Stengel Stadium was packed to its limit. Not a seat was open in the football stadium.
Of course it was a sold-out game. Two of the country's biggest rivals were playing and both were undefeated this season. Tickets were hard to come by. Unless you were, or were friends with, a billionaire playboy.
That's how Diana Prince found herself squished between two of her closest friends in the packed arena. She had only mentioned her confusion of the American sport to Clark in passing, but as usual, he took that as a challenge.
He'd tried to explain the game to Diana any chance he got. Sometimes even calling her when she was taking her lunch break to talk about which teams would be playing and why he thought one would win over the other.
Bruce was no better. Whereas Clark would explain to her about the fundamentals of the game such as tackling, interceptions, and fumbles, Bruce went into heavy detail about the strategies of different teams' offense and defense.
It all flew right over her head. Which annoyed both men greatly. They each said that the only way she could truly understand the "complexity" of the sport, was to watch a game herself.
Diana had better things to do with her time than sit down and watch a sporting match she didn't even understand.
The opportunity finally presented itself though. The Gotham City Knights would be playing their archrivals, the Metropolis Meteors. Bruce casually mentioned the tickets to Clark and Diana after they had helped him stop a gang of superpowered thieves that migrated out of Gotham.
When Clark saw where the seats were, he immediately made Bruce change them to somewhere a little more 'not so above everyone else', as he put it.
So here she was, stuck between Clark Kent, who was wearing a blue Meteors shirt and his signature glasses, and Bruce Wayne, who wore a black Knights baseball hat and sunglasses that were too expensive.
The game was in the second quarter and Clark was trying to explain what was happening.
"So, they're trying to get the ball to end of the field, but can only do it in ten-yard increments?" Diana asked with some confusion in her voice.
"Yeah! Well, kinda," Clark began with his eyes still focused on the field, "if they get the chance to go to the endzone without using all four downs, they'll take it."
"If they have a decent wide receiver." Bruce huffed. He already described to Diana why the Knights needed to trade their #82. Apparently, he already ruined a few plays for Gotham today.
"Okay, so they get four tries to move ten yards, but if they're lucky they can do it in less. Got it." Diana said with confidence.
"It's not only through luck Diana. There's a lot of strategy that goes into this sport." Clark explained calmly as if he were talking to a child. Diana decided to not comment on that right now.
Instead, she said, "Well, it looks like the one who gets the ball from the leader just keeps running straight down the middle into the pile. How is he supposed to go ten yards doing that?"
Before either man could respond to her, a yellow cloth was thrown into the air and everyone around her groaned. Judging by the words Clark muttered, it was against Metropolis.
"Of course they'd make that call, Gotham always plays dirty."
Bruce turned to Clark and replied, "Gotham doesn't play dirty, Metropolis plays too soft."
Diana knew where this was headed, and rolled her eyes, behind her glasses. The sun was beating down on them through the open domed stadium's roof. The heat didn't bother her, but the reflection certainly did. She should've worn a baseball cap like the guys suggested. Both had brought an extra for her, but in the spirit of being unbiased, she refused to wear either team colors.
She realized how much of her wardrobe consisted of black, red, and blue while trying to pick her outfit this morning. She needed to go shopping soon.
Back to the action on the field.
It turns out that the flag being thrown wasn't a big deal, because the half was almost over. Fifteen seconds later, which was actually a full minute, both teams existed the field.
Clark turned to his friends and said, "Now it's halftime."
"The players get to rest now?" Diana said to which Clark nodded.
"And strategize." Bruce said from her other side.
"If you need to use the restroom or want something to eat or drink, now would be the time to do it." Clark told her. She thought about it but wasn't particularly hungry, so she declined.
"Sometimes they have performances during halftime to keep the fans entertained." He told her. Diana liked the sound of that, and she perked up a bit.
"I could've got us better seats you know." Bruce said.
Clark rolled his eyes, "What's the point of watching the game from a box? You can't even see what's happening down on the field." He paused for a second and said, "Well, I can see, but these seats are better anyways."
Bruce opened his mouth to respond but music started blasting all around the stadium. A wrestling ring was rolled onto the center of the field and a man wearing suit and carrying a microphone stepped onto it.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN OF METROPOLIS AND GOTHAM! WHO'S READY FOR THE SMACKDOWN OF THE CENTURY?!"
The announcer was using a classic WrestleMania voice.
"TODAY EITHER THE KNIGHTS OR THE METEORS WILL GO HOME AS LOSERS, AND THE OTHER TEAM REMAINS UNDEFEATED."
The crowd erupted in cheers.
"BEFORE WE GET BACK TO THE GAME, WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL FIGHT IN STORE FOR ALL OF YOU."
The music started to pick up and Diana could feel the crowd's anticipation rise.
"ALL THE WAY FROM GOTHAM CITY, THE ONE WHO STRIKES FEAR IN EVERY CRIMINAL WHO DARES TO BELIEVE THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH THEIR CRIME. EVERY GOTHAMITE GIVE A HUGE WelCOME FOR…. THE BATMAN!"
The Gotham Knights fans erupted in loud cheers, as the Meteors fans booed. From somewhere dark, Diana couldn't exactly see where, a man dressed in a Halloween costume of Bruce's other identity walked onto the field and jumped onto the ring.
Without thinking, both Diana and Clark looked to Bruce to see his reaction. Even with his face covered by a hat and sunglasses his scowl was unmistakable.
Diana tried to hold her laugh in, but all that did was cause it to be more noticeable. She put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. She glanced at Clark who was barely containing his own laughter.
"DON'T YOU WORRY METROPLIANS! WE'VE GOT SOMEONE WHO WILL FIGHT FOR YOU!"
Diana instantly knew who would be coming out next. Even Clark knew, which is why he suddenly went silent, and Bruce snickered.
"IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, NO! IT'S… SUPERMAN!"
A man wearing a poorly designed Superman costume came flying in on a harness. His arm has outstretched in a fist, and he was trying to mimic a heroic look on his face.
Then Diana heard something crazy. Bruce laughed. Out loud. Hearing him laugh, Diana couldn't contain her own. She clapped along with the rest of the stadium.
"THAT'S RIGHT, WE'VE GOT BATMAN VS SUPERMAN TODAY! BUT WHO WILL WALK OUT OF THIS STADIUM WITH THEIR CAPE STILL FLOWING IN THE WIND?"
The crowd was pure insanity at this point.
"NOW, IF YOU THINK THAT SUPERMAN IS GOING TO WIN LET ME HEAR YOU CHEER!"
Half of the stadium erupted in screams. Diana politely clapped. Clark clapped and hollered for himself.
"NOW IF YOU THINK THAT BATMAN IS GOING TO WIN, THEN SCREAM!"
The other half of the stadium cheered loudly. Again, Diana clapped, as to remain unbiased. In another surprising move, Bruce clapped and let out a small cheer.
"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"
The two costumed men went at it. It was clearly choreographed. It gave both men a chance to shine and beat on the other. They looked evenly matched.
"I wonder who is going to win?" Diana asked.
Bruce scoffed, "They'll probably find some way to end the fight without either one winning or losing."
"It's not exactly a fair fight. I mean, come on." Clark said.
"What do you mean? It's not a fair fight? For who?" Bruce said.
"Bruce, please. You can't actually think that y- that Batman can beat Superman?"
"Actually, I think it's very possible. With enough prep time-" Bruce was cut off by the announcer's voice.
"UH OH. DO YOU HEAR THAT?"
The crown instantly quieted down and the costumed men, who had each other in a headlock, stopped wrestling.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS EITHER FOLKS. BUT IT LOOKS LIKE HELP HAS ARRIVED. ALL THE WAY FROM GATEWAY CITY."
Gateway City, that's where Diana lived and worked. Both of her jobs.
"Oh no." she heard Bruce mutter.
"Wait, really?" Clark said.
But Diana ignored them both. Her face had a huge smile, and her hands were clapping wildly.
"HERE SHE IS! THE AMAZING AMAZON… WONDER WOMAN!"
A woman wearing a costume party store recreation of Diana's red and blue armor began to walk through the crowd opposite from the trio. A spotlight was directed at her and she high fived everyone who held their hands out. She even stopped to take a picture with a kid. When she made it to the ring she stepped in and pulled the two men apart.
"LOOKS LIKE WONDER WOMAN IS HERE TO SAVE THE DAY!"
The crowd erupted in cheers louder than either team had gotten the whole game.
Diana was so giddy. She began to hit Clark's arm in excitement and kept gesturing to herself on the field. She even turned to Bruce and poked his arm just enough for him to feel it, which his shook off.
The three heroes on the field left, with Wonder Woman basically dragging Superman and Batman.
Diana, still clapping and cheering, said to her two closest friends,
"I think I like football."