Steve spent the next morning surfing through different channels that focused their daily programming on the hearing and the subsequent press conference. Different commentators meant different opinions on the effectiveness of his intervention. Those on the liberal spectrum were more inclined to favor various points of his speech, many found his humor one of the greatest weapons in his arsenal but also praised the the solidity of his thesis, while on the other hand, the more conservative commentators were more inclined to attack him for the use of humor and inappropriate jokes, and called his stance based on anecdotes rather than physical and substantial evidence.
One online newspaper, one that according to Lois had always kept a very critic stance on superheroes in general, while praising his earnesty and the passion he put into it, thought that the presence of the whole League instead of a representative would have cleared more doubts. Another hoped for the appearance of the League, one day, for a press conference, but felt like having a representative in close relationship with them could be considered more than enough, surely a sign of goodwill on their part.
And then there was Lois and Clark's article divided in two parts, the report and commentary of the hearing and the exclusive one on two interview they had done soon after.
There were tons of articles, blog posts, TV shows or people on YouTube that were discussing the events and Diana, apparently very bored on a dull day at the office, kept sending him links, screenshots and other things from all around the web. She even made a quick translation of the article wrote on the major French newspaper. One of the best was from a website he had learned to love for their not so serious articles but that at times was the source of great commentary to major events in the world. It had published a delightfully funny recap with photos of the hearing and the comments were just hilarious.
Captain Steven Trevor, former US Navy, held his own in front of a skeptical committee with wit and the perfect dose of humor, revealing tiny details about our beloved superheroes lives we never knew. Who wants to know Wonder Woman's recipe for the spanakopita? Read one of the comments. FML, I had no idea Superman had a higher tolerance to alcohol. And he has a girlfriend? Or that Batman had a son? Now I feel sorry for him, knowing he lost him. Another one was a little more of a personal opinion from the editor. Damn if a man like Steve Trevor would say something about priding himself to be called someone's husband I would marry him right away. Come on, he looks like that guy that plays Captain Kirk in the new Star Trek movies, with a beard! He's too pure for this world. And hot AF!
In the end, he was pretty satisfied with his job. He had stirred something in the members of the committee and in the public. It wasn't one hearing that would change the mind of those that were scared of the metahumans, but at least depicting them as more human, showing the people around the world that in the end they were normal people with normal lives, just a little spiced up with superpowers of various natures, could help steering the public opinion towards acceptance of their existence.
Sure, the JL and most if not all metahumans could defend themselves without his interference, but he had no special power, if he didn't count the immortality the Gods had granted him as a token of gratitude for having helped Diana defeat Ares, he could be a public face much more than Bruce Wayne. If he started promoting the League's actions someone could have linked him to them, maybe someone could have seen past the thick curtain of lies he put up with the public so he could be Batman without being associated to him.
Steve? He was a simple clerk in a huge corporation, a work emigrant that lived in France with his girlfriend… soon to be wife… he had nothing to lose. No one questioned his story of how he came to know the members of the League, it was built to be simple and easy to relate to so no issues about that, but in any case Steve had nothing to lose. No superpower, no secret identity. He was just a nobody, just one of the many soldiers coming home from the recent wars the United States Of America had started. They didn't even ask for more credential, they just trusted him about his military career. After all, he was the correct age for discharge, not everyone wanted to pursue a career in the military.
He sure didn't want anything like that. He hadn't wanted it back in his own time, he didn't want it now. He was more than happy to be an advisor, a spokesperson and strategist at times. If that meant he was going to spend the rest of his now indefinitely extended life with Diana, it was more than enough. He was more than happy to be just that. No need to be a hero, no need for action. He was ready to be a stay at home husband, if the situation required him to be.
As he checked different programmes and websites to keep track of the evolving opinion about the Justice League, Steve kept a close track on his phone. It didn't ring. Bruce sent a congratulatory text, so did Flash and Cyborg. He didn't hear from Aquaman, but he wasn't really sure the King of Atlantis had any interest about what the US government thought of the League.
He spoke to Diana on the phone she walked home from work, each recounting their day, but nothing big had happened other than some texts and a couple of emails, his day was pretty boring. So he decided to go out for a walk. The sun was setting behind the tall buildings and skyscrapers, but for a January late afternoon it wasn't too cold. He wandered around, with no specific destination, just watching the people around him. One foot in front of the other, he felt the adrenaline still lingering in his body from yesterday slowly fading away from his system.
Then he reached a known place. A pub, to be specific. Hades' pub.
With a wry smile, he pushed the door open and walked in. The establishment was nearly empty, but it was still early, most people were just getting out of work right in that moment. Lifting his eyes from the bar, Hades saw him and smiled. "Welcome back Steve."
He gave him a curt nod. "Sir…"
"Oh come on boy you're almost family, stop with the formalities."
Steve sat at the bar, took off his coat and placed it on a stool nearby. "How should I call you then? I doubt you go by your true name."
"Well, unlike my brother, none of my classic epithets survived and were turned into common names, so I usually go by as Jack or any variation of said name, depends on where I am. Common, normal… makes me a nobody."
"Strange choice but if that's how you go by… thanks for helping me, yesterday, Jack."
"No problem at all. Now, Steve, would you like something to drink?"
"I wouldn't say no to a pint of that beer you served me and Clark back in November."
He nodded. "Ah, a pint of Arrogant Bastard, good choice." He moved to the tap, washed a glass and started pouring. "So, you're the hero of the hour."
"For what it's worth, I guess I am." Steve folded his arms on the bar and sighed. "I'm just… I don't think I'm a hero." Hades set the full glass in front of him. "Not of this hour, and surely not back then."
"Ah my dear Steve, there are so many definitions of hero, you probably could fit two third of them. Being a hero doesn't necessarily mean that you fought in a war. Sometimes standing up for something means more. At least in my opinion."
"And what I stood up for?" He grabbed the glass and drank a long sip of beer. "People who can do it on their own? Probably way better than what I've done yesterday?"
"Oh yes they can, but what good would that bring to them? More exposure, in a world that can't really accept them unless something bigger than all humanity comes to conquer it? Superheroes are cherished when the need comes, but in after the battle, not so much. Not because they don't want to help rebuild, but because sometimes humanity as a whole is too proud to accept help from someone superior. Why do you think we Gods walked away? Why Diana walked away, after the war?"
"Because we didn't want you anymore."
Hades nodded. "You got it, son. We weren't welcome, other religions and other means of worshipping I didn't like were on the rise… after we stopped Ares' rebellion and Zeus had made sure we'd have a weapon to stomp any possible uprising in the future, we decided to retire. And we were happier that way, considering how the world got torn upside down by religion wars in the later centuries, eh… I'm kinda happy we did."
"What about other religions though?" asked Steve, genuinely curious. "I mean, you seem real enough to me, but what about other gods that are worshipped around the world?"
"Ah… how can I put it… let's say that different religions are different declinations of worshipping the same gods. The Greeks called me Hades, the Romans Pluto… the Norse populations actually worshipped my wife Persephone, or Hela in their language… monotheistic religions usually identify their God with Uranos, my grandfather and… well, I guess any offspring of his could be called angels and demons of sorts… I think at least, since I've been called Satan for the past couple of millennia. You know Steve, religion is a tricky subject, even for those that are worshipped, and I don't really like talking about it. As I see it, no religion is intrinsically right or wrong, mostly they're there to provide solace in people in need. Or at least they should be. The problem rises when someone decides he's worth more than the others and starts calling him or herself the sole depositary of all truths. Fanaticism comes from that type of person, and I never liked fanatics."
The explanation was quite satisfying, to Steve at least. "And with the growing atheism? Don't you feel… forgotten?"
Hades shrugged. "Nah, not really. I mean… I was never one that was worshipped that much I mean, you don't worship the god of Underworld unless you want to get someone out of there. We are fine. After all, immortality has its perks. Also… again, considering how bad religious wars became, I was happy I retired before anyone started killing people in my name. Thanks for the additional work, punks!"
"Hey, I was curious, how does the whole Underworld thing works?"
Hades chuckled. "You asked me the same questions about ninetynine years ago, you just don't remember it because to you it never happened, but I do. You were fun enough to be around that when I came downstairs I used to hang around with you, when Persephone was out on her six month leave and you were asking all kinds of questions, like this one."
"Oh…" Steve was surprised. He had no memories of it, because like he had said it never happened to him, but for a long while his soul had truly resided in the Underworld. "I had no idea."
He shrugged. "Of course you don't, it never happened! Anyway, I'll explain it again. It's pretty much an automated process. You die, your soul gets in my realm. You go through some sort of judgement and that sorts you to your destination, I rarely have to settle disputes, I mostly stay down there when my wife's home. You were good in your life? You got a nice seat in a nice place. You were bad in your life? Sorry pal, it's going to get worse. You were supposed to be my niece's companion for the rest of her immortal life? You get to hang around with me."
Steve laughed. "I can think of worse fates than hanging around with Hades and Cerberus."
"Ah, you two got along quite nicely. He has just one head, by the way, and he's quite a playful dog for a molosser. He was always happy to play fetch with you."
Steve raised the now half empty pint in front of him. "Glad to see even dead I could be useful… not like right now…" he added, in a whisper.
Hades shoved a thick rimmed glass beside the pint and poured him an unidentified dark liquor in it, from a green glass bottle. "Good Scotch for your thoughts."
"I proposed to Diana on live television," he replied, bluntly, then emptied the pint. "And she said yes."
"Well about time! Congratulations, live long and prosper and whatever else you younger generations say in these situations. Now remind me how this makes you even remotely useless?"
"Because I had other plans and they didn't included doing it while she was on the other side of the Atlantic and in front of millions of people!"
"Oh come on Steve, don't be such a killjoy! The woman you love wants to marry you! Not to mention she's a woman that has lived for centuries in a civilization that doesn't even know what marriage is, who cares how you asked! The important thing is that she said yes! It's 2018 Steve, I'm kind of inclined to think she wouldn't have said yes if you had proposed the traditional way, you know… all the kneeling stuff and the overpriced rings. I bet she appreciated the spontaneous proposal more than whatever you had planned."
"Yeah, maybe." He downed the Scotch in the glass and grimaced. "Now I just need to find her father and ask him if I can marry his daughter."
Hades snorted, loud, trying not to suffocate with laughter. "Oh please no, don't do that. She'd hate that. And Zeus' fine, you don't need to ask him anything. I'll vouch for him. Now, about her mother… that's another matter entirely."
"Yeah, I know. I heard she hates me."
"Maybe hate is a strong word but yes, I bet she doesn't have a very high opinion of you though. Now… out of curiosity. Is Lois Lane as much as a shark in real life as she looks from her articles?"
Steve shook his head. "No, not really. I think she becomes a shark when she sees something wrong and realizes she can do something about it, but people interfer. In many ways she's like Diana, you know? She fights for those who can't, only her battles are different than those of a demigoddess."
"Would you consider her a heroine, in her own way? Or would you think what she's doing is useless?" asked Hades.
"Uhm… yeah, I guess I would consider her a heroine, in many ways. I mean, I read her works on Superman after he died, battling against Doomsday. She was able to convey many emotions while also remaining detached from the subject, even though Superman was her partner in life. That alone is more than remarkable, her work is never useless."
"She fights different battles, right? Just like you. So please, don't ever think you're useless. No one is useless in this world. And you can be a hero in your own way, just like her. And don't believe we don't know about how you handled that thing at the GCB, you managed to guide the League through such a menial task as a bank robbery when they're not used to that type of event anymore. Stop undermining yourself. We wouldn't have given you that little boost, if we hadn't thought you could be… above average."
It made him chuckle. "I'll try. Can I ask you one more thing?"
"Shoot."
"What happened to me after I died? I know you said you hanged around with me a lot, but… what did we do?"
"Uhm…" Hades sighed. "You see, time moves differently in the Underworld. Souls don't feel the passing of time, you never realized that time moved forward. But you knew that outside things moved on and each time I came back, or when Persephone did, you always asked about Diana, and your friends. When they died, I made sure you would meet them for one last goodbye at least, and you reformed the clique as it was before. They were fairly relieved when you suddenly disappeared, back in November, and Persephone had to explain you had been saved from the explosion. Anyway, to answer your question, life in the Underworld, for those worthy, it's nothing less than idyllic if you were a good person. And very shitty if you were a bad one. Simple as it is. Dante wasn't that far away from Tartarus, with his Inferno. It's just… less complicated and more direct in its way of punishing people."
"How direct?"
"Uhm…" Hades scratched the back of his neck, thoughtful. "How are you doing with your musical re-education? Have you encountered a band named Twisted Sisters?" Steve nodded. "Well, to put it simply… you're gonna burn in hell."