The train trip outside the city to Disneyland took about forty minutes. The Marne-La-Valleè station was modern and bright, with high ceilings and big glass windows and skylights. It was crowded but not overly so, with the majority of the people in there being families with young children. Many of them worn fuzzy Mickey Mouse ears over their heads and sported the brightest smiles as they toddled around their parents. In smaller quantities there were also young couples and larger groups of friends, all heading to the large square just outside the train station. There, it was a continuous coming and going of busses and even more people.
"Damn this place is crowded!" exclaimed Steve, his nose stuck up to the sky and his head moving left and right as he took in his surroundings.
"It's one of the biggest amusement parks of Europe, a major tourist attraction, it's normal. Actually, I've been here many times and this is actually not a big crowd. In summer and during the holidays… that's when this place gets crowded."
They followed the small river of people, passed through a checkpoint where they were made walk through a metal detector and then a couple of cops asked them to empty their pockets. As they moved away from the security checkpoint, Diana took a moment to explain to him that in the past three years Paris had been subject of a number of terrorist attacks, some deadlier than others, and law enforcements wouldn't take any risks with a place full of children like Disneyland.
From his very confused point of view, Steve noticed a slight change in Diana ever since he had agreed to go to Disneyland with her. Suddenly, all the doom and gloom had left her, like a cloud blown away by a strong wind. They sky above might have been grey and sullen, with little hope for a little bit of sun later that day, she was beaming, like all the bad memories and the doubts stirred in her by the fire just a day ago had been washed away.
"Now, Steve, you watched a number of Disney movies, right?" she asked and he nodded. "Alright. Now, understand that through the century, these movies have reached a popularity you can't even imagine. It's… these films teach something to children and allow parents to remember what it's like to be a child again. Sometimes I have the feeling that adults enjoy them more than the little ones."
"Well, those that I watched were quite entertaining. I didn't have much time to watch the ones from the past thirty years though. You think I will like this place?"
"Let's say it's the easiest way to make you relive your days as a pilot, so yeah, there's a chance you'll like this place."
"How can it be possible?"
With a smile, she leaned closer and kissed his cheek. "You'll see."
They got their tickets from an automated machine. For good measure, Diana bought a ticket valid for two days, so in case they want to go back another day in the next year they could without having to buy another one. Then, as they walked beneath a passageway and approached the ticket barriers, Diana grabbed his hand and hald it tightly in hers. "Ready?"
WIth a slight frown, Steve looked down at the small piece of paper with the character he had come to know as Goofy printed on one side and nodded. "As ready as I can be."
And yes, the moment they walked in, he suddenly understood why she suddenly changed mood. As soon as he set foot in the plaza he felt a change in the air, something magical pervaded the place and he had no idea what it was. Maybe it was the sparkling lights, all the themed shops, maybe it was the joyful laughter of children and adults alike, he would never know. All he knew was that Diana was smiling brighter than any lights in the place and she looked truly happy.
"My God what is this place?" he muttered, completely disoriented and taken by surprise.
"Welcome to Disneyland Steve!" she announced as she dragged around the tree in the middle of the square to show him the huge castle down the road.
He felt a smile forming on his face, unconsciously. The structure, painted in pink and with shiny blue roofs on the towers looked like it was taken straight from a child's imagination, and the rest… well, the rest was, simply put, magical. The early '900 look of the small village they had recreated made him feel incredibly at home, it was like jumping back in time to his own childhood. Even the banners and the way the shop windows were arranged reminded him of… of home.
He felt his throat constrict as a sudden wave of nostalgia hit him like a freight train. "God this is…"
"Is it too much?" asked Diana pulling him closer to her. "I mean we can…"
Steve shook his head. "No, it's alright. Just… just a little bit of a trip down the memory lane. I'll be fine, just… show me around, you seem like an expert."
"Eh, coming once or twice a year for the past twentyfive kinda makes me an expert. How's your stomach? You think you can handle some hoops and loops, twist and turns at high speed?"
"Uh, Diana, that's what I used to eat for breakfast during the war. What do you mean?"
Without much of an explanation, she grabbed his hand once again and pulled him towards a gate where they entered a queue line. "Be ready because it gets fast. Oh, by the way, this is a Star Wars themed attraction."
"Wait, is it that series of movies you forced me to watch because you wanted to see the newer one in the theaters and didn't want to leave me at home?" he asked as they waited in line.
"Exactly that one. And admit it, you liked it."
"Yeah, a lot actually! I don't mind the others too, I mean… the other Star something movies…" He couldn't really remember the full title, but he remembered loving those too.
"You mean Star Trek right?" she prompted. "There's also the TV show, it's one of the most important TV series of all time, if not the most important of all!"
"Yes! Those! Those were so funny, I mean… the engineer guy sounded like Charlie, it was awesome! I think I watched some episodes of the show, the old one, it was interesting but I didn't like the pacing too much. Maybe I still have to get used to the concept of serials. Well, except for books of course. We had series of books even in my time."
"Could be," she added. "Well, see it this way. A film is like a short story, or a short book. A series is like one of those big tomes it takes days and days to finish."
"Uhm…" They walked up a staircase and then into another, narrower corridor behind a turnstile. "I see your reasoning. Maybe I can learn to appreciate even that kind of storytelling. And now?" He asked her as they were directed to another set of barriers, two at a time this time. He was completely lost in the situation, but he could hear the people scream inside the ride and the noise of gears and rails in action. He was getting excited each minute more.
"Now you wait for the carriage to arrive."
Steve followed her instructions, and those of the workers of the park, down to the letter and sooner than he could think he found himself sitting in the constricting space of the carriage, strapped with a rigid bar that hugged his chest and bracketed his head. "Hold on tight," said one of the workers as he checked that the protective gear was firmly in place and he quickly wrapped his hands around the handles, mimicking Diana.
"Is this thing safe?" he wondered.
"As safe sa they can be, surely safer than that thing you piloted back when we met."
He was caught a little off guard when the carriage moved, but he felt the singe of the adrenaline coursing through his body already. "Wood and canvass, what were you expecting?" he commented. The train went uphill for a long while and Steve felt the excitement grow even more, the anticipation seeping out of his skin like sweat, despite the cold nip of the January air.
"Hold on tight now!" screamed Diana as the train of cars suddenly turned downhill at a ridiculous speed, with twists and sudden turns he couldn't see in the dark, while bright flashes and loud noises were projected in hidden ways in front of him. It was like being inside one of those amazing dogfights in the Star Wars movies that Diana loved so much. He could barely keep his eyes open so fast they were going, and he felt his body being tossed around despite the constrictive protective gear, and strange enough he found it liberating. It was absurd, completely out of his mind and damn it was so much fun!
And over too soon. A minute or so later the train car suddenly came to a stop exactly where it started and the protective gear was lifted off his chest. Short of breath, he staggered out of the car and onto the platform, soon followed by Diana. He felt her pushing him towards the exit and he followed her lead, still out of his mind with the adrenaline rush.
Once finally outside, he couldn't stop himself from letting out a scream of joy and a little jump just to release some tension. "That was so cool!" he yelled. "Let's do it again!"
Chuckling, Diana shook her head. God, he loved when she bit her lower lip that way. "There are other rides, you know?"
"I get it, but this was…"
"Oh believe me, there are others that go just as fast. Come with me, we have two parks to explore!"
The rest of the morning was spent running up and down the park, inside and outside rides, chasing each other in the nearly deserted Alice In Wonderland themed maze, getting new rushes on the Indiana Jones ride or enjoying a quieter stroll inside the castle, where there were amazing stained glass panels dedicated to the Sleeping Beauty.
It was just as they were heading for something to eat that caught a wrench in their gears. A little fair haired wrench called Georg. They were walking towards one of the many food stalls when they heard a muffled cry behind their backs and immediately turned towards the sound. A little boy, tucked in a thick coat and with bright yellow muffs covering his chubby fingers was sitting on the short wall that circled the hedge decorations and was customarily used as a resting place by a myriad of tourist. Both Steve and Diana rushed to the little boy and tried to communicate with him.
Given her versatility with languages, she quickly managed to understand what he was trying to say and find out he spoke German, that his name was Georg and he had lost his parents and older sister in the crowd. Steve felt his heart constrict when the little boy finally let out a loud sniffle and started a liberating cry, because finally someone had noticed him. God knew how long he had been sitting there, alone and afraid in the cold January air. The boy launched forward in his arms extended and wrapped his little arms around his neck. "Oh boy, don't cry!" he tried to console the little boy in his native tongue. Finally he got to speak German for a good reason and not to deceive someone. "We're going to find your family, don't worry. Now," he looked up at Diana, who was already trying to locate one of the park workers so they could look for his family. "Don't cry. We're here to help. Look at me." The boy obeyed, his eyes bloodshot and his little puffy face streaked with tears. Steve found a clean paper tissue from a packet in the pocket of his coat and helped the boy dry his face and blow his nose. "I'm Steve, and this here is Diana. She's a princess, you know?"
"Like Cinderella?" stammered the boy.
"Uhm, yes, sometimes she's like Cinderella, sometimes she's more like Mulan." He mentally thanked Diana for giving him a very quick rundown of the concept of princesses and a quick description of all of them, to fill in the blanks left by the movies he hadn't seen yet. "She's great at finding things, you see, it's her job to find them and make sure they're safe."
"But princesses don't work!" he cried.
"Oh boy, sometimes they do. You know, Diana's not really one to sit all day and let others do things she wants to do. Listen here, do you know Wonder Woman?" The boy nodded, vehemently. "She's a little bit like her, she even looks like her, just she doesn't have the armor and the tiara." The boy nodded again. "Now we're going to follow her and we're going to find your mom and dad. Do you remember their names?"
Georg nodded. "Dad is Kurt and Mom is Liesel. My sister's name is Maria."
"And your last name? Do you remember it?" asked Diana with a bright smile and a kind caress on his cheek. "So we can find them sooner."
"Klose. My last name is Klose."
"That's fantastic, Georg. That way we're going to find them sooner than you can think."
In fact, they managed to locate one of the workers who immediately radioed the situation and had someone relate the news to the family who had gone through a similar route as they looked for the boy. Escorted by one of the security agents of the park, Steve and Diana brought the boy to his parents, who were sitting, distraught and worried out of their minds in one of the hidden security booths that peppered the whole park.
The reunion was a the happy ending the family deserved and the parents wouldn't stop thanking them for five minutes straight as they held tight on their boy they thought they had lost.
"There's no need, Mrs. Klose," said Diana shaking her head. "We just wanted to help you all. Now go and enjoy the rest of the day." Then she kneeled to look at Georg in his bright blue eyes. "And you, little man, be careful, alright? I know it's Disneyland and you've been dreaming to come here for a long while, but try not to get lost again. Got it?"
He nodded, solemnly. "I will, Diana. And thanks for helping me." He looked up at Steve. "And thanks too you Steve."
"You're welcome kid. Just be careful, from now on, okay?"
They said their goodbyes and went on their own separate ways. "Well, Wonder Woman got to be Wonder Woman even on a day off," said Steve, wrapping his arm around her shoulders as they walked the way they had come.
"Oh come on, there was nothing wonderful in what we've done. Also, you did most of the job, you were the one that consoled Georg. I just looked for a security guard."
"Please Diana, stop undermining yourself so much. We came here to stop your moping this morning, don't start it again. To those people we were saviors. To Georg, you were Wonder Woman. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm starving and thirsty. Shall we eat and then continue with our tour of the other park? There's another rollercoaster there, and I want to try the Tower Of Terror ride."
"You're really enjoying the place, uh? How about we watch a couple of movies when we get home? You still haven't seen many of them and there are quite a few that I liked a lot. What do you think?"
"Let's see how tired I am when we get home. With all the adrenaline going up and down, I'm starting to feel a little bit of jet lag," he explained. "But I'm all for it."
Her phone shrilled in her purse. "Please let it not be work…" she murmured as he fished it from the bag, but she smiled as she checked the ID and swiped the screen to pick up, then turned the speakerphone on. "Hey Lois, what's up?"
"Just checking on Steve, he didn't pick up. Is he alright?"
"I'm fine Lois," he replied, scrambling to find his own phone in the inner pocket of his jacket and realizing he had four missed calls he hadn't seen because the vibration wasn't strong enough for him to feel through the thick layers of his clothes. "Sorry, I didn't feel the vibration. The flight was just fine, no delays. How's Metropolis?"
"Same old, same old. Nothing's changed in the past twentyfour hours. "But… guys, what's this noise in the background? Where are you?"
Diana chuckled. "Would you believe us if we told you we're in Disneyland?"
"Oh come on!" whined Lois. "Diana, you promised me you could go with me!"
"I promised we would go to Disneyworld, in Orlando! Hey, I had a bad day yesterday, I needed a distraction and we live not forty minutes away from the park."
Steve could almost imagine Lois pouting on the phone. "I guess you're talking about the fire. Caught a few images on the news here. Everything alright?"
"Oh she's just fine," said Steve. "She was just a little mopey this morning. She's fine now."
"Got it. Alright, Clark's ready to go out, I just wanted to check in with Steve. Send a message to Bruce too, he was a little worried. Have a nice day guys."
"You too Lois. And I'll text Bruce right away. Say hi to Clark!"
"Will do. Oh by the way, when are you coming back to the US?" asked Lois.
"No idea Lo," replied Diana. "I'm kind of swamped with work but I bet Steve will have to travel there quite often, I guess I can join him. Anyway, I have a conference in town in early December, so I'll surely be there around that time. Unless something really big comes in and the world needs Wonder Woman."
"Got it, girl. Now go and have fun, Clark and I are going to follow a lead on some strange things about LexCorp. Not exactly the best way to spend our Saturday morning but, you know… Bye guys."
When they finally arrived home, about an hour and half after the park's closing time, they were exhausted but wired enough that they went through with their original plan of watching a couple more of Disney movies. They got a quick shower, slipped into something more comfortable, prepared a good bowl of popcorn and settled on the couch, with Diana in charge of the remote and thus of the choice of the movie.
"So, what are we watching?" asked Steve as he grabbed a handful of popcorn and stuffed some of it in his mouth.
"Oh, you'll see," she replied with a gleeful grin. She was navigating through the titles selection and she finally stopped when she reached a small box with a colorful image and a bright yellow writing that read Hercules.
"Wait, they did a Disney version of Hercules? Is it any good?"
"It's great when you make yourself forget the myths and the stories. It's a favourite of your beloved uncle of mine, or so it seems. He even quoted the movie, when we spoke on the phone."
"Oh I can totally see him quoting a Disney movie. Let's see how this goes."
Less than fifteen minutes in and he's gasping for air for too much laughter. After half an hour he was breathless. The way they had portrayed Hades was so off from the real thing, he couldn't really hold himself back because despite the stark difference, it worked. It was funny as hell. Even the other gods were great, but Hades stole the scene. The voice actor was just so perfect for the role!
"Does your father even look remotely like that?" he asked after the scene in the temple.
"Not at all. Maybe the height. He looked as tall as Clark, when I met him. And his hair and beard are more gray than white. And he has dark eyes. He actually said that I look like my mother but I got all my colors from him, I guess he meant eye and hair color. How does Hades look?"
"Not like that!" he laughed pointing at the screen. "But the flaming blue hair is a nice touch, it adds something more to the character. Anyway no, your uncle looks like a pretty average person. Long straight dark brown hair and beard, blue eyes. Skin looks a little pasty but not sickly. Tall and lanky, You would never think of him as the ruler of the Underworld. Oh my God what is that?" he nearly screamed when Hercules pulled a half goat half stubby man out of a bush and he started making dirty jokes about nymphs. In a children movie.
"That's Phyl and he's very important."
"By the way, have you noticed how the story of Hercules getting taken away from his home and sent to live with adoptive parents and having some kind of superpowers sounds a lot like Clark's early life?" he asked her.
"Eh, it does ring a bell or two. Now concentrate, there's one of the greatest musical numbers in recent Disney history here."
As the film went on, Steve actually hurt himself for too much laughing. The muscles in his abdomen were straining, he could hardly breathe when the Muses appeared on screen - he also happened to like the music a lot - and found himself really dragged into the story. He could hear Diana chuckle anytime he jumped in his seat. And he was doing it a lot.
Then came the song about Megara falling in love but denying it and it almost brought him to tears. "That is so me with you, you know?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"I mean… Gods… Alright, I'll be honest. I started falling for you pretty early, a couple of days after we left Themyscira. But I kept telling myself it was nothing, just a quick infatuation that would go away soon, that it was only lust and it wouldn't last long. I was so wrong, Etta got it right away that I was getting head over heels in love with you and damn she was right, but I kept denying it like a fool." He shook his head. "Then Sameer, Charlie and Chief joined the choir. I was like Meg, only there weren't sassy women with great voices singing to me how stupid I was, it was a bunch of dirty, smelling hardened soldiers with less than desirable voice tones."
"And that makes me the super strong but naive warrior?" she said with a slightly scolding tone.
"Nah. I mean, you were certainly naive, but you were also mostly right. Now that you make me think of it, you only got Ares' true identity wrong. Oh well and the extent of his corruption, but from your point of view, you were right. And you know what? Your point of view was pretty embraceable. You just wanted to do the right thing, you were just… rushing it. Which is not always a bad thing, to be honest."
"Uh… nice save Steve. Nice save."
"What can I say? I'm a spy after all, I need to be good at saving myself without resorting to violence."
As the film went on, they reached the part where Meg dies to save Hercules and he travels down to the Underworld to retrieve her soul. "So many times I wondered if there was a way to do the same thing and take you back with me, like Orpheus with Eurydice," she commented, eyes still glued to the screen. "Even before I saw the movie in 1997."
"Hades can do it, he told me he could and that he sort of did it with Clark. He actually said that he kicked him out of the Underworld. Thing is, he needs a body. And before Barry came to my rescue, there was no body to throw my soul into after that bomber exploded."
"Don't remind me, thank you. Well, I might not be a Disney princess, but I got my happy ending after all," she said grabbing his hand. "Even if it took me one hundred years."
"Hey, better late than never!"