Wonder and Legacy - Wonder Woman

Hidden in Plain Sight

"A bus spun out of control while en-route this afternoon, and there would have been a lot more damage had our mysterious heroine not jumped in to save the day. Witnesses state this woman was wearing her signature red and blue, only this time she had red hair, while previously witnesses say it was a dark-haired woman. This begs the question, is it the same woman switching up her appearance, or is our mystery woman not working alone?..."

Diana was just wrapping up at work when she saw the news broadcast. It made her sigh. Like herself, Aikaterine could not just stand by while bad things happened - the way they had been raised to believe in good and justice prevailing.  But having refused to adopt a civilian identity like Diana had, she was always in the open, while Diana had taken to doing this more undercover. And, of course, it didn't go unnoticed. 

"Aikaterine?" she called when she arrived back home at the apartment. "Aikaterine?" She found her standing out on the balcony. "I heard what happened today."

"I figured you would. News travels fast here."

"You did the right thing."

"I know, but you're still upset."

"I'm not upset, but I really think it's time you tried to blend in more." She withdrew something from the paper bag she had in her hands.  "I picked up these clothes on my way home from work - I think they will fit you."

Aikaterine scrunched up her nose.  "They're horrible. They're so ugly."

"They're the latest trends."

"Can't see why."

"Please, just try them."

Aikaterine's jaw clenched. "Fine. But I will wear my armour underneath."

"Okay." Diana shoved the clothes into her hands.  "Now go try these on."

"I look absolutely ridiculous," Aikaterine stated a few minutes later through the closed guest room door.

"Let's see."

"No way! You'll hate it!"

"I will not, please just show me."

The door opened, and out crept Aikaterine, looking completely different - and very uncomfortable.  "See, they're horrible."

A smile grew up Diana's lips.  

"See, you're laughing."

"I'm not. I like them." Diana gave a nod of approval. 

Her friend rolled her eyes.  "You're just saying that."

"I'm not, I'm being honest. The new you, I like it."

"I don't want a new me," Aikaterine muttered as she went to go change.

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"Oh, I'm so sorry-" Aikaterine cried when she collided with someone in the museum hallway.  She had been too busy looking down trying to straighten her new billowy top. It was a bit heavy with her armour underneath the clothing, but she wasn't about to go without the armour. 

"Oh, that's okay, no harm done-" Barbara's handful of books and files remained safely tucked in her grasp despite them bumping into each other.  "Oh, Aikaterine, it's you! I didn't even recognize you. Wow!" 

"I know, I look horrible. It was Diana's idea-"

"No, no, you look great, that colour really suits you!" Barbara insisted.

"Really? You think?"

"Yeah, for sure. I was thinking, 'who's that stylish redhead over there?'"

"Well, thank you. See you later." 

"Yeah, see you." Barbara couldn't help but chuckle a little as Aikaterine walked off, stiffly and awkwardly in her new clothes.  

"Aikaterine!"

Maybe an hour later, the red head jumped at the voice hissing from behind her. Turning, she saw Barbara's head peeking out of her office door. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yes, of course."

Barbara closed the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to you about yesterday, and the bus accident-"

"Oh, yeah, that..."

"How did you do it? I've been going over it in my head constantly since then and haven't been able to figure it out."

Aikaterine shrugged and tried to play it casual.  "It was fight or flight response.  I pushed you out of the way, and then jumped out of the way myself."

"But you got hit, I saw it - I heard it. Then you stopped the bus with your hands."

"I think you were in shock." She hated denying the other woman the truth, but she had to keep that truth hidden. "I'm sorry, I really have to go, Diana's put me to work."

"Yeah, yeah, okay... See you."  

Luckily, Barbara didn't seem too deflated after their discussion and Aikaterine's resistance to her questions.  "Aikaterine! Are you coming on Friday?" she asked when Aikaterine joined her and Diana in the main lab.

"Where sorry?"

"The museum is hosting a gala this Friday."

"Oh, no. No I won't be going to that."

"Oh, come on you two, it'll be fun!" Barbara cried. "Who  doesn't love a good party? And this is my first work party."

"I'm sorry Barbara, but I just don't enjoy those things very much," Diana said.  "But I think you should go. Definitely, if you want to."

"Okay, yeah, that's okay. I guess I can go myself..." Now Barbara looked so deflated, and it was really sad. 

So, swallowing her distaste for the World of Man, Aikaterine spoke up.  "No, you don't have to go by yourself. I'll go with you." 

"You will, really?"

"Yeah, sure. I used to love a good party. A chance to dress up and have fun. It's been a long time since I've done anything like that." She gave the other woman a smile, a smile which she found wasn't quite as forced as it could have been. She had nothing against Barbara, only the world in which she lived. 

The brightness returning to Barbara's expression was worth it. "Okay, awesome! This will be so fun! You can be my guest of honour!"

"Very well."

Diana smiled as she watched them. "Have fun you two."

"Yay! I was excited before, but I'm super excited now!" Barbara gathered her notes and headed back to her office, a new bounce in her step. 

"I think it will be good for you, exposure to civilian life," Diana said.  

"Perhaps. But she looked so sad, I didn't want to crush her excitement." Again, that genuine smile played on the redhead's lips.  "I like Barbara, she's very sweet." 

"She is."

"You're sure you won't come with us?"

"No. But it's fine. You go and have a good time.  Like I said, I think it will be good for you."

Aikaterine was excited to spend more time with Barbara. She even found herself looking forward to spending time with the passionate blonde - just the two of them. 

(So I saw WW1984 and it was fantastic, I loved it! :D And so inspirational! So you can expect more regular updates on this story from now on - yay!

Thank you for being so patient for updates! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed and that this chapter was worth the wait! :))