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Post by Countess on Aug 31, 2024 22:46:34 GMT
Diana gives a smile to Wally, picking up even more speed. She has flown with Barry before- he should be fine once she breaks the sound barrier. His connection to the speed force even protects them a little from the wind, making it possible to speak with each other still. But, she is still careful, just in case. The last thing she wants is to hurt him.
A difference? Such a large one? She wonders if he would be willing to speak to Oracle on these discrepancies... Might be interesting for her. "He was one of the members of the Fantastic Four. Fire powers, can envelop himself in flames and fly. He is an engineer, a flirt, and says Flame On when he activates his powers," she says, chuckling warmly.
"Bruce is no longer affiliated. He is a senator now," Diana says carefully. There have been... bumps without him. It is for the best. There are many ways to make change. "I miss him," she adds.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 1, 2024 2:01:44 GMT
"Flame on?!" He sounds aghast, eyes widened and mouth open in shock. Then, he snorts and laughs hard, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. This is the lightest she's seen him and he does nothing to hide his entertainment. "Oh my god. That's almost as bad as Barry saying 'Back in a Flash' or 'This is a job for Superman' or 'I'm Vegance. I am the night.'"
He ends the last sentence with one pointer finger at either side of his head like pretend batears. Wally even pitches his voice lower, adding gravel to the sound. It almost sounds like he's mocked Batman on more than one occasion. Considering the first Robin was his best friend, this would make sense.
"Senator? Your Bruce is different from mine. Bats woulda sold his soul before leaving the cape behind." Wally thinks on this for a moment, fingers idly tapping where they rest against his chest. "Do you think they'll accept me? I should be honest, right? Or maybe I should talk to Barry first. I'm sure we'd get that over in a flash."
"May I come to you if things go poorly, Diana? I don't have much here and I find myself trying to gather people into my corner." The Speedster looks up at her again, hopeful despite himself. "And what about you? Are you an envoy for the island? Are you one of the big three here?"
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Post by Countess on Sept 1, 2024 18:54:18 GMT
Diana laughs a little. "No worse than "Great Hera"," she says, willing to laugh at herself in her youth. "If it make shim happy... I think it is cute. I used to do it, too," she continues, as loving and understanding as ever. She has a soft spot for the guy, it seems. Well- she has a soft spot for everyone. It is one of her most endearing qualities.
Diana can feel her frown form when Wally divulges what he does about his Bats. It makes her heart ache. He had once told her that Batman wasn't the mask- Bruce was. She isn't sure which is better for him... crucifying himself on the altar of Gotham, or giving up the part of him that feels real.
"I think you should speak to Bartholomew first," Diana says, nodding through that thought process. "I do not doubt they would accept you- but he may provide you more insight than I can, considering your unique circumstances," she says sagely. It may go very poorly if too many people know he is from another place both like and unlike this one. Not because it would change their perception of him, rather, it might give them ideas of their own...
"Strange," Diana suddenly says, looking down to Wally. "I need to take you to Doctor Strange- he is the authority on the multiverse," she says, smiling, thankful. They had just rekindled their friendship. The timing could not have been better.
"Of course, you have a place with me," Diana says. "I left my island eight hundred years ago. Yes, I am their envoy, and I am one of the founders of the Justice League," she continues. There is a moment of hesitation. "Does your Diana... does she have a love? Does she have a Daughter?"
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Post by Nomz on Sept 1, 2024 19:35:43 GMT
"Right. Uncle Barry. Okay. I'm sure it'll be okay. You like him, so he can't be all crazy and coo-coo like some other Speedsters." Wally shakes his head to clear the thoughts, mind racing well and far ahead of his mouth. "Unique circumstances make it sound like I'm terminal, ma'am."
Is there a hint of sass on 'ma'am'? No. Of course not. Wally would never sass Diana.
"You want me to see a Strange doctor? Diana, I super promise I'm not sick. I'm sure I don't need to see a doctor or someone who might try to send me back," Wally says slowly, trying his best to not let his nerves leak into his voice and only having mild success. "Diana. I don't want to go back. You can't let him send me back, okay? I can't go back to where I know everyone and no one knows me even though they're supposed to."
Her new question draws his brows high up on his forehead and he just barely bites his tongue in time to prevent himself from saying something that might hurt her. Instead, he reveals, "You have so many children, Diana. You'll adopt any kid that so much as looks like they could use a mother figure in their lives. You spread so much love and understanding through all of us. Heck, I saw you and Bruce get into it once because you tried to take Jason under your arm. Dick thought it was funny until you looked at Damian."
"That boy was basically his child."
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Post by Countess on Sept 1, 2024 20:55:37 GMT
"Terminally silly," Diana says, then laughs. She has a high opinion of him already. Even with his bit of sass, she meets it with smiles.
"That is his name- Doctor Stephen Strange," she tells him, but doesn't hide the amusement in her tone. It is a funny name. "He is the Sorcerer Supreme. He does magic-" she starts, but Wally cuts in with his extreme fear of going back. Her heart breaks a little for him. "I won't let him. Its okay, Wally. You're safe, now," she says, giving a promise she can already tell she may come to deeply regret. She will talk to Strange on her own, figure it out that way first. he does need to know about this, this is his area of expertise. If she hides it, it will only hurt him. It isn't the right thing to do. But... if Strange deems him a risk of some sort, this could get... complicated.
"I do?" Diana says, a bit breathlessly. A tear falls from her eye. "I only have one, here. Elizabeth, Lizzie," she tells him.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 1, 2024 21:36:27 GMT
She calls him terminally silly and he dashes that away with fear without meaning to do so. He doesn't know how badly he needs to hear that he is safe until Diana says it and it's like a warm sense of piece tucking around him. Wally scolds himself for letting his mind race too far ahead with thoughts and scenarios that will not come to pass. Not as long as he has her by his side.
He reaches out as a tear falls from her eye, quick enough to catch it and wipe it away. His hand stands there, waiting to see if another falls as well. The overwhelming urge to comfort overrides the anxiety twisting around his chest, threatening to crush that delicate flower of hope.
"Of course you do," he says gently like she is the one that needs his help now. "I know Lizzie. Knew Lizzie? Doesn't matter. She's amazing and alive and well there. She's a little tyke who follows Damian around like he's her mother hen and Jon watches over both of them, trying to interject that Kent spirit into the mix. Those three? They're terminally silly."
He pauses before smiling like they're sharing a secret. Like they're two parents gossiping about their children, "She used to call herself Wonder Robin."
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Post by Countess on Sept 1, 2024 21:57:03 GMT
Diana smiles, brightly. "Lizzie is older than Damian, here," she says, then sighs. "I wish should could of had that happiness here- but that isn't how fate works, sometimes. Maybe, if we are lucky, she will be an older sister to him," she says, smiling. "You can meet her, if you like. She will be out of Themyscira for a while. She is... a fine young woman. Her father-" she starts. "-he was a good man."
Heartbreak. It was like that in the other world, too.
"I fear I have so many questions. Too many. I don't want to make you melancholic in your nostalgia," Diana says, very aware of how too much lingering in the past doesn't really help the present. "Instead- you ask me. What do you want to know? I am afraid there are some hard truths, but happy ones, too."
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Post by Nomz on Sept 1, 2024 22:16:34 GMT
"Older than Damian?" He lets out a small whistle, shaking his head and letting his hand drop from her face, fingers trailing for a second. "Yeah, I think I would like to meet her. She'll be grown, which is crazy to think about."
His arms snake back around her in a hug, patting the spot between her shoulders slowly. He knows enough. Not alot. But, most of them knew enough. It was hard not to know enough when all of their lives ended up so intertwined.
"I am open to your questions. You can always ask me anything," he promises so easily, knowing that there were things he would prefer to never go over with anyone ever. "As for me, do you all really only have one young hero team? Also, what's your favorite thing to eat? How are the bats handling no Batman? Is Oracle in the JL?"
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Post by Countess on Sept 1, 2024 22:37:54 GMT
Diana always has the same look on her face when she is talking about any of her children. "I am deeply proud of her," she says. "She wants to be a hero, too. Has a lasso of her own, gifted to her by the Goddesses along with her powers like me," she says, smiling. "I never thought I would have a child. They aren't... There are no children in my home. Everyone was overjoyed," she says, thinking so very fondly on so many memories.
"Mmmm... Do you have Philly Cheesesteaks?" Diana asks, opting for silly. "If not, I will have to rectify that, immediately," she tells him, but believes she will feed him regardless of his answer. She knows how the speedforce works with Bartholomew... he must be starved.
"There are other, smaller teams, sure. But the Champions is the only one recognized on a global scale," Diana answers easily. "My favorite thing to eat is pita and naan," she says, humming. "It goes with so much, it is a simple thing to make, and so much of what I love is paired with it. Olive oil, garlic, hummus, cheese, meat~" she says, absolutely happy talking about food. Everyone loves food. "They are coping. There are.... bumps along the way. As for Oracle... she is one of our members, yes. She is very beloved, and integral to our operations."
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Post by Nomz on Sept 1, 2024 23:07:51 GMT
"That sounds just like her. Those three were inseparable. I'm curious to get to know her." He turns his attention to Diana.
"Philly Cheesesteaks," Wally asks in something that is almost perfectly sincere and he turns those big green eyes on Diana. It's almost too easy to imagine a little halo above his head. "Would you take me to your favorite spot? I would love to try it."
Wally West has had Philly Cheesesteaks before. Of course, he has with the amount of times he's booked it through PA to get to NJ and NY. However, he's never had them with Diana and that makes this different.
He's not lying. Totally.
"Champions. Well, at least it's better than Young Justice or Titans or Teen Titans. I told Dickie that we could have had a better name." He shakes his head as Diana moves on to food and he tries very hard to ignore a pang of hunger in his stomach. Without all his degrees and additional pay from the JL, it's been hard getting enough to eat. Almost every dollar he earns goes to food.
"Oh man, I haven't had freshly made naan or pita in so long. Or even fresh baked bread. I could probably eat an entire bakery out of business if I was given the chance. That's without any toppings. Add in the cheese or hummus or any assorted meat. Ugh, I would bend the knee to anyone who had such an offer." Wally places the back of his hand on his forehead as dramatically as he can.
"I'm glad she's in the JL. Of all of us, the team always needed her. She just kept everything woven together and working no matter how hard it got." He taps his chin, trying to think of more questions. "Is the Watch Tower in space here? Do you live in DC? If Barry is mean to me, I'ma tattle on him to you, just so you know."
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Post by Countess on Sept 2, 2024 12:50:12 GMT
He truly must be hungry, to be so "innocent". There isn't a lie- because he never really answered her. That's alright, Diana got the real answer she needed out of it. "Yeah- it is close to my place in DC. Not the best- but my favorite," she says, now picking up speed. They are somewhere over the midwest, approaching the east coast. Not much further.
"Titans?" Diana gasps, and it would make sense to Wally instantly. Titans are a feared menace in her upbringing, locked away in Tartarus, ate their own kids, horrible war of god-like proportions... "I am glad they are the Champions, too," she says, shaking her head. "Though- Young Justice has a nice ring to it, too," she says thoughtfully.
Diana steers the conversation away from food. Sometimes talking about it just makes you hungrier.
"Oracle truly is our glue," Diana says, fond. "Whether she knows or means to," she adds. It seems so natural to the woman. "Yes, it is in space. Oracle and Iron Man were the main architects- though, the latter declined invitation. He is a bit of a solo act, after all," she says, laughing a bit. Tony is... Tony. She should check on him... or have Oracle do so. It has been a long while.
"I live in DC fulltime, yes. I have a few other homes, small things I share with the rest of the Justice League as sort of... semi-safe houses. Zatara, in all his wisdom, placed spells to keep them fresh and clean," she says, a little wistful. She could have used that spell growing up.
Diana laughs at his admission, nodding rather seriously. "I doubt he would be, but... Just in case, you can always toss my name around to get him to behave."
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Post by Nomz on Sept 2, 2024 16:34:28 GMT
Wally holds his hands up when Diana gasps about the Titans because she had a very similar reaction the first time around. "I told them that it was a terrible name, but no one wanted to listen to me. And, yeah. Young Justice does have a decent ring to it. We were a team meant to take on equally important, but more stealth-based missions. The things that the Justice League just didn't have the manpower to cover. Batman was our main liaison while Red Tornado watched over us and Black Canary trained with us in hand-to-hand combat."
"I've heard of Iron Man. He's like a 24-hour version of Brucie while also being a public hero, yea?" Wally grows quiet for a moment. His next words are determined and yet uncertain. "This world has many public heroes and I was thinking of not going with a secret identity. I mean, I'm not tied to anyone here, so the risk feels less."
Red brows rise as she mentions Zatara and his demeanor changes. It's almost...hopeful. "So...Zatara isn't possessed by Nabu in this world? I don't exist here, so I was hoping that was the case, but does that mean he still has a hold on Mr. Kent?"
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Post by Countess on Sept 2, 2024 17:09:40 GMT
All of those are names Diana knows. Does she only have more heroes, and he has less? She hasn't figured out this Venn diagram, but it seems less like partially overlapping and one smaller circle contained within another.
"Yes, Tony Stark. He, like myself, is public about his identity. I think he is because he likes the reputation," she says, smiling. She doesn't mean it rudely. "And the accountability," she adds, thinking on it a bit further. "I enjoy it. I have never regretted my public identity. Lies- I cannot do them. Masks... aren't for me. I stand for something, and I want to always be that person, in and out of the armor," she says, giving her perspective.
"No, he is not. Kent is occasionally possessed by Nabu. They have an agreement, it seems," Diana answers, brows furrowing. To think of Zatara as the keeper of Nabu- more than that, the way Wally talks about it... it seems permanent. That would kill Zatanna. His suggestion also makes her think he was, or at least feels, responsible for it.
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Post by Nomz on Sept 2, 2024 19:23:25 GMT
"That's how I feel about it. I kept myself secret because that was what Uncle Barry and Dickie had done. It felt wrong to expose them," he says, shaking his head and putting his head back on her shoulder. It is quickly becoming one of his favorite places. As a Speedster, he's always the one carrying other people. "I want to be public. I want people to know me."
He seems to relax further into her hold as she tells him about Doctor Fate's...fate and he nods slowly. It is a relief to know that Zatanna did not need to feel that pain and, for a very brief moment, Wally wonders if this world didn't fare better because he wasn't here. Faster than the Flash, he tosses the idea into a gutter.
Those kinds of thoughts are the ones that tear a person apart and, honestly, Wally feels like he's suffered enough. He isn't going to add to his continuously growing pile if he can help it. There's a deep cut about some batkids in there.
"You don't sound like you're going to pry," Wally mumbles, looking out at the world around them. He's not sure he wants to share. "How much further, dearest Diana? I fear I may parish at any moment."
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Post by Countess on Sept 2, 2024 19:39:01 GMT
Diana starts to dip, angling them down back towards the Earth. So many plans are running through her mind, ways to make sure this young man out of his universe has a place to be. Food is the first task. It is always the first task with Diana. She smiles a little at that.
"I will pry- in time. We've got a great deal of it, now," Diana says, and she starts to slow her descent out of reflex alone. DC doesn't particularly care for fast flying objects to suddenly appear. Best is she approaches low, slow, and carefully. Makes everyone feel better.
"So- those cheesesteaks, you eat like Bartholomew?" Diana asks, making sure. "Or more?" she adds, giving him the option. "I promise, they are speedster approved," she continues, laughing a little.
You are going to be okay, Wally. Everything is going to work out, and while it may not be better, some day it might be home.
END THREAD
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