Hippolyta had been pacing back and forth in her personal library for the past 20 minutes. Phillips sat in a nearby chair half reading a book, and poking fun at Hippolyta for acting so anxious. "Wearing a hole in the floor won't make this decision any easier you know."
"Neither does your jesting Phillipus." Hippolyta said sourly.
"Very well my queen. Ask yourself this, which one will best protect you from harm? Kara or Donna?"
"Either one will do equally as well, of that I am confident. There is no difference between the two." Hippolyta stated flatly.
"Which one is most knowledgeable of Man's World?"
"Neither one knows very much of it. You're aware of this, why are you asking me?"
"I'm helping you come to your decision. Now, they are nearly equal in power, and equally ignorant in their knowledge of Man's World. The question you must ask yourself is which one can you best control?"
Hippolyta stopped. The decision was practically made for her, there wasn't anything else to do.
"Very well, Phillipus. My mind is made." Hippolyta was confident in her decision, but she was in no way happy about it. She then stormed out of the room, with much less grace than a queen was supposed to have, directly towards her daughter's rooms.
Donna was laying in bed eating grapes when her mother entered. "Donna."
"Yes mother."
"Prepare yourself, very soon you will escort me to Man's World."
Donna jumped up, very excited. "What?"
"I want to explore the world that this 'Clark Kent' comes from, and I wish you to accompany me, as my daughter, and as my protector."
Donna was so happy she couldn't contain herself. In her excitement she began slowly rising from the floor. "This is going to be so incredible. I can't believe I'm finally going to see it."
"Donna! Calm yourself, we must travel inconspicuously. There are perils of this world I do not wish to meet, you are only to use your power when I allow you, is that clear?"
"Yes mother."
After her mother left, Donna jumped up and down in excitement, the flew as quickly as she could to Kara so she could tell her the news.
Diana was excited for her date. She tried to get him to clue her in on what he had planned, but he refused, only saying it was something special. She stood in her closet trying to decide what to wear. It didn't matter all that much, because if her attire wasn't appropriate it would take all of 30 seconds to return home and change. Regardless of that, she wanted to look good. Diana settled on a yellow halter dress that showed off a little bit more leg than usual, and black flats for her feet. Grabbing her glasses and her handbag she stepped outside her balcony, and discreetly flew down to a secluded spot in the park not far from her building. Clark asked her to use his apartment entrance, so she had to walk part of the way.
Clark asked Diana to be at his apartment at 5:00, looking at the clock, he saw that she should arrive any second now. He was excited to see her, and excited for the events of tonight. He started fidgeting and checking around the apartment to make sure everything was in order. Not that it mattered, they wouldn't be spending more than a few minutes here anyway.
He listened for her as she spoke to the door man and came up the elevator. Before she could ring the bell he opened the door for her.
"Hi Clark."
"Hi."
He quickly closed the door and quickly pulled Diana in for a passionate kiss. She didn't resist and gave in immediately, almost like she expected him to do it.
"I think you're happy to see me." Diana finally said after breaking away.
"I think I've been waiting to do that all week."
"You've been thinking about me. Good." Diana then took notice of Clark's casual clothing. He was wearing blue jean shorts and a tank top. "Are you ready to go?"
"Almost. But you're not, that outfit isn't going to work." She was just a little too fancy for where they were going.
"What should I wear? Where are we going anyway?"
"I got you something, and where we're going is still a surprise."
Clark disappeared into his bedroom while Diana stepped further into the apartment, setting her bag down on his kitchen counter to wait. He returned a few seconds later, with a shipping box. He also had on a different shirt, now wearing a white short sleeve button up shirt with red two stripes down the center and a old english script 'M' on the left side of the chest. He handed her the box and she removed the contents, there was a blue denim skirt and a similar button up shirt to the one Clark had, but hers had a 'Metropolis' written in fancy script across the front, and the back was embroidered with the name Prince and the number 21. Also in the box was a cap with the same 'M' that was on Clark's shirt. Diana examined the clothes, then Clark, and it suddenly dawned on her what was happening. He was taking her to a baseball game!
Clark took the exit off the freeway and began to make his way towards the entertainment district of Metropolis. Since the major sports arenas were constructed, the area had become the unofficial second downtown for Metropolis. There were many bars, restaurants and retail outlets in the area to take advantage of the sports crowd. It became a hub for successful small business, but outside that district the area was still down. Tonight was a big night, so Clark and Diana had to park somewhat far from the stadium. He pulled onto a street with what looked like abandoned houses on each side, but the edges of the street had cutouts specifically for parking. They'd have to walk about eight blocks to join the crowd outside the field.
"Why didn't you park closer? There's a parking structure over there?" She asked as they exited the car and began the trek.
"Because I'm not paying $30 to park."
"This doesn't look like the safest neighborhood."
"We'll be fine."
"I know we'll be fine, but what about your car?"
"Nobody breaks in unless there's something valuable inside, thieves usually target SUV's anyway. It'll be fine."
"So who is playing?"
"The Metropolis Titans vs. the Gotham City Flyers. But first pitch isn't for another hour and a half, so we're going to live it up out here for a while."
"Ok."
Clark and Diana walked around for a little while, the bars and restaurants were mostly full, many were trying to get their fill of food and alcohol before going into the stadium. Most everyone seemed in good spirits, there were lots of people talking and laughing in groups, there were people on the street buying and selling tee shirts and scalping tickets to tonights game. There was even a man playing Stevie Wonder's 'My Cherie Amore' on his saxophone, several people dropped money into the open case next to him. Diana could feel the atmosphere, there was something coming, everyone was anticipating it. They walked around hand in hand, mostly in silence until Clark spotted a hot dog stand.
"You want a hot dog?" He asked.
"I guess so."
Clark and Diana made the short walk to the hot dog stand.
"What will you have, what will you have?" A woman working at the hot dog stand asked as Clark and Diana got up to the front.
"Can I get two burnt dogs and two regular?"
"Two burnt, two regular." She said to the man working the grill, before turning back to clark. "That'll be $6."
"They're good right? He asked, handing her the cash, plus a few extra dollars as a tip.
"You know they're good, We're from the countryside we know how to cook."
"Is that right? Which countryside are you from?"
"Florida."
"Alright, I'm from Kansas."
"So you know what I'm talking about."
"That's right."
Diana stood silently, as Clark carried on a silly and mostly superficial conversation with this woman, until the food was ready.
"This is good, lot of carts like this just give you a boiled hot dog and send you on your way, but they had onions and relish, and they put the crisp on it."
"Why did you ask for a burned hot dog?"
"It's better like that, just a little bit of crunch, it's perfection." He said with his mouth full. Clark suddenly turned, and stared at a statue in the center an open park. "They rebuilt this. I didn't realize that."
"What?"
"This statue, Superman broke it in a fight with Atomic Skull, I had no clue that they rebuilt it, last I heard they didn't have the money. Hmm, who knew?"
"What happened?"
Clark waited for several people to move further away from them before continuing. "He threw me into it, then picked up the statue and hit me with it until it broke apart."
"How did you beat him?"
"Same as always."
"Punching match?"
"Yep."
Diana couldn't help but laugh. "You know one day you might not be able to do that. You're going to have to use technique to win a fight."
"That's what I got you for." Clark said with a smile.
They got to their seats a few minutes before the game was scheduled to start, the starting pitcher was on the mound getting in his final warmup pitches. They were seated in the lower outfield box in foul territory down the first baseline, about 7 rows back from the field. Many fans wouldn't be in their seats for at least another inning, but Clark and Diana's section was already somewhat full. Diana looked around, there were men and women of all ages, sitting near them. There was a young family behind them, with a boy and a girl, the boy who was maybe about 10 years old was very excited, and patting his baseball glove like he was ready to make a catch, the girl had on Wonder Woman bracelets, which made Diana proud. In front of them was a group of middle age men, wearing jerseys like Clark's. To her left was a group of high school or college age boys, and sitting next to Clark was an older couple, who looked to be in their 70's.
"Clark, could one of the players hit a ball to where we're sitting?" She asked, worrying slightly for the people seated next to him.
"Oh yeah, especially left handed hitters, they can hit rockets over here. It's why so many people are wearing gloves."
Diana looked around, and sure enough many people, mostly the young kids were wearing baseball gloves just like the players on the field. "Are you allowed to keep them?"
"Of course. Why do you think people buy these seats?"
Diana silently conceded the point, then asked. "Is this a big game? People seem excited."
"This is a huge game, this is the first of a three game series, that will determine first place in the division. On top of that Jason Voelaker, Metropolis' best pitcher is facing off against Jack Poovey, the best pitcher for Gotham. This has the makings of an epic game."
"I see." Diana said. "Do you come to games often?"
"Once or twice a year I try to make it out. With hectic schedules sometimes its tough, but I don't have to tell you that."
"No you don't." Diana stated, knowing he was talking about the Justice League.
The first half inning went by without incident, three consecutive strikeouts. Diana only had a basic understanding of the rules, but she knew this was good for Metropolis. So far the crowd had been rather lulled, there was no explosion of cheers or jeers as Diana expected. However that could change very soon, the stadium was beginning to fill up.
"Leading off for the Titans, the center fielder #21 Frederic Prince!" The PA announcer said. Now the crowd began to get loud, rooting for their player.
"Prince! That's the jersey I'm wearing." Diana shouted.
"Thats right... Captain obvious." Clark joked with a smile. "I bought you that jersey for good reason."
"Shut up. What does your jersey say?" Diana turned him around to look at his back, and saw it had no name, only a number 19.
"This is the throwback jersey of Melvin Clark, he played back in the 60's. There's a statue of him out in front of the fountains in center field." He pointed to where the statues were, without taking his eyes off the field. "Base knock!"
Diana looked down to see the Gotham outfielder closest to them fielding the ball that was now rolling on the grass in front of him, while the Metropolis player was crossing first base. "What happened?"
"You didn't see it? Prince got a base hit, a ground ball between the first and second basemen. You were looking for the statue?"
"Yes."
"Well, one of the good things about baseball is that there are lots of stops and starts, you have plenty of time to look around between pitches and innings."
The second batter was now at the plate, the second pitch he saw was hit high up in the air. Diana watched the ball in the air, but she had a hard time determining its trajectory, it looked like it was going to drop right in front of her! She fidgeted in her seat, preparing herself to try to catch it. Then she suddenly realized it was clear on the other side of the field, landing on top of the dugout on the third base line. What was that all about?
"I could have sworn that ball was going to land right here!" She told Clark, who hadn't made any move toward the ball at all.
"It's like that sometimes at field level, it's hard to track the ball at first, it kind of tricks your eyes. It might take you an inning or two to be able to track it. But wait until they turn the lights on, then it'll be really hard to follow."
"WILSON!" Someone shouted from several rows behind them, both Clark and Diana turned to see who it was, then ignored him. It was just a fan heckling Gotham's right fielder Wilson Calle.
The next pitch was a line drive caught by the first basemen, the baserunner Prince had to dive back in order to be called safe. One out.
"Batting third for the Titans the first baseman #24 Montero Callero!" Latin hip hop music blared on the loudspeakers underneath the PA announcer's voice. The crowd immediately perked up.
"This guy, Callero, the best right handed hitter in the league bar none. Matter fact, he's about to hit one out right now." Clark said to Diana.
"You callin the shot? I'll take that!" Said a man sitting in front of Clark. "That sounds real good to me!"
"Clark, how do you know he's going to hit a homerun?" Diana asked.
"He's got that look, I can just feel it, he's about to go deep."
"If you say so." Diana was skeptical, extra sensory perception was never one of his powers, she seriously doubted baseball could bring that out of him. This may be her first baseball game, but she couldn't imagine him being able to tell what's going to happen just by looking at someone.
The first pitch was a curveball in the dirt. Ball one. The second pitch was a fastball outside, the umpire called it a strike but the crowd booed their disappointment. The third pitch however, was swung on and belted, deep to left field, that ball was gone! As soon as the ball hit the bat, the whole crowd knew it was a homerun, and they exploded with cheers. Hi fives were shared all around. Metropolis had just taken a 2-0 lead.
"You called it my man, you called it!" The man in front of Clark turned around and gave him a hi five. "That's what I'm talking about!"
"What?" Diana was astonished. "How did you do that?"
Clark turned to her with that smug smile he got sometimes. "Magic."
"WILSON!" The man behind them shouted again.
"Really? So what's going to happen next?" Diana knew magic wasn't how he knew that, he couldn't do it again.
"I don't know, it was just a lucky guess."
The next few innings were mostly uneventful, Metropolis scattered a few more hits, but couldn't push across any more runs. However whenever Metropolis was on defense the crowd got on edge, they got more and more excited with every out recorded. By now, Diana was familiar with the rules but had the feeling there was some nuance that she was missing. Whenever Metropolis was at bat, the crowd seemed only somewhat interested, except for the guy behind them who kept screaming.
"WILSON!"
"Why is he still screaming like that? He's been doing it for 6 innings!" Diana finally asked Clark.
"Wilson Calle, he's just getting heckled." Clark said pointing to the right fielder. "It's pretty common practice, the guy hasn't said anything bad, he just wants him to mess up. What's funny about it is that Wilson keeps looking over here." Sure enough, Wilson again looked over in the direction of the screaming man, usually opposing players ignore the crowd completely.
"Is there a reason he's singling out that player?" Diana asked.
"Oh yeah, Wilson pretty much single handedly knocked us out of the playoffs last season, so the dude behind us harboring some anger."
"I understand that the game is coming to an end, but why is everyone so excited for an out?"
"I can't tell you what's going on, but Voelaker is having a great game."
"What's so special about this game?"
"We're not supposed to talk about it, you're a smart girl you'll figure it out eventually. And when you do, whatever you do, do not say anything!"
When the top of the 9th inning came around, the entire crowd was on their feet, living and dying with every pitch. Diana was too, though she still couldn't figure out why. Neither Clark nor anyone else would tell her what was happening, it was like he turned them against her somehow. Back on the field, the Gotham player hit a soft ground ball to the shortstop who gunned his man down at first base. One out.
"Clark are you alright? You seem really tense. Please tell me what's happening." Diana asked concerned.
"Everybody is tense Diana. You're probably the calmest person in here. If I were you I'd be happy about it."
Diana didn't feel very happy. She didn't like being kept out of the loop. It felt like a big joke that everybody was in on against her. Swinging strikeout, the crowd went nuts. Two outs.
"I'll tell you in two minutes, I promise. No matter what happens." Clark pulled her close and kissed her forehead, and turned back to the action. He then wordlessly grabbed her hand and held it in a iron grip.
The batter worked the at bat to a full count. 3 balls and 2 strikes, then fouled off three consecutive pitches. The windup, the pitch... swing and a miss strike three!
"He got it! He got it! Oh yeah!" Clark shouted, jumping up and down, still gripping Diana's hand. "He just threw a perfect game!" He then pulled Diana into a bear hug and squeezed seemingly with all his strength.
Diana was certainly thankful to the gods for her strength just then, because he wasn't holding back at all. It wasn't painful, but he was beginning to cut off her breathing a bit. She had to tap him on the shoulder several times to get him to let up.
"Sorry. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Diana assured him. "So is this what you couldn't tell me? A perfect game? I don't understand."
"Yeah, it's superstition to not talk about it while it's happening. It's why nobody would tell you. They didn't want to be the one to jinx it."
The crowd stayed to watch the on field celebrations in which the team mobbed the pitcher, before allowing him to tip his hat to the crowd, then many fans began filing out.
"Ladies and gentlemen please remain in your seats, in just a few minutes time the lights will go out and we will begin our Friday Night Fireworks Special!" Said the PA announcer.
"Fireworks?" Diana asked excitedly.
"Yeah, they do it for Friday night home games. I figured if you didn't like coming to the game, at least you'd enjoy the show."
Diana just smiled at him, he hoped she had been at least somewhat entertained by the game. He had to admit with the perfect game, he didn't do nearly as much conversing with her as he'd expected when he bought the tickets. If she wasn't amused by the ballgame, hopefully the fireworks would save him.
The lights went down and the show began, Diana didn't look at him, she just marveled at the colors. He could barely look at the fireworks, he marveled at her. "This is beautiful. I've never seen fireworks so close before!"
"This has always been a pretty good show. This isn't your party store fireworks set, this is legit."
Most of the people around them had left, and with the sounds of the fireworks being held in by the stadium, no one would be able to hear them talk. "I wonder what they look like from above." Diana said.
"Pretty awesome. I flew over these once, the crowd went wild." Clark smiled.
Diana just rested her head on his shoulder for the rest of the show. Content being next to him.
"I hope you had a good time." Clark said as he prepared to merge onto the freeway.
"I did. In spite of everything I enjoyed myself."
"Well good, because perfect games don't happen very often. There have been less than 30 total in major league history. This was a spectacular event."
"I see. Maybe next time we go, I'll be more into the game."
"Maybe." Clark smiled, she would go back again.
"I was more surprised by the atmosphere. The feeling of community, it's the first time I've felt that since I've been here when there wasn't some sort of disaster."
"What do you mean?" Clark asked.
"Every time something bad happens, there is always an out pour of love and support, but those bad days are few and far between. On most days many people are bitter and angry towards each other. This was different. For three hours we were best friends with perfect strangers."
"Yeah, that is kind of cool. Sports has a way of doing that."
"It was almost like being home."
"Really?"
"Yes. On Themyscira we're all sisters, we're family, we're a community. More than just a neighbor who helps you clean up your yard after a storm. We support each other every day. In good times and bad. I had that feeling today, that just for a little while, everyone was like that."
"Awesome. I gotta be honest with you, I talked these 'special plans' up to you for the last couple of days, having no idea how you'd react. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Clark said with a smile. "So it's still pretty early, the no hitter shaved about an hour off the game time. You want to do something else? You talked about dancing before, you want to do that?"
"No. We should do something alone, just the two of us."
"That sounds good. What do you want to do?"
"Something relaxing. The baseball game was fun, but it was a little stressful." She said.
"Yeah that's true. So, first let's get some food, and then we'll see where the wind takes us."
"Ok."
Clark and Diana gathered a nice spread of different foods from several places across the country. After a quick stop in Keystone City to borrow from Wally's extensive movie collection, they spent the night in Clark's apartment eating and watching movies. They spent nearly the entire night together in laughter. Apparently Diana had an affinity for romantic comedies. Clark hadn't expected her to get most of the jokes, but she did. She was definitely learning. She eventually fell asleep on his sofa, he spent several minutes just watching her. He didn't think he'd ever get over how beautiful Diana was. Not just her physical beauty, but her loving heart and strength of spirit.
He could have watched her all night, but he decided she would be more comfortable in her own bed. So he pulled her sleeping body into his arms and flew her across the night sky to her own apartment. She didn't even stir when he removed her shoes and placed her gently into her bed and covered her up. She must have been tired out from all the work she'd been doing. Before he left, he placed a light kiss on her forehead.
"Goodnight Diana." He whispered.