Wonder and Legacy - Wonder Woman

Wonder vs. Legacy

Diana had knocked her out of the way of the bullets, but she didn't care. 

She got to her feet, and turned to Diana. The two Amazon-Goddesses  faced each other for the first time in years, in decades. 

Aikaterine had always thought she would feel relief when this moment came, when at last she would be reunited with her friend and the woman she loved. But no, all she felt was angry. Deep, burning rage, spreading rapidly through her like wildfire. 

"TRAITOR!" So much anger - she hadn't even fully realized it herself just how angry she was with Diana for leaving and abandoning them, and now it was all coming to light.  "DESERTER!" She lunged forward in an attack, leaving  Diana with no choice but to fight back in her own defence.

It started out just as combat fighting, fist to fist, sword and shield against sword and shield - Amazon against Amazon.  But Aikaterine's rage continued to grow, fuelled by the fight, and soon it became power against power - goddess against goddess. 

Aikaterine conjured the Flames of the Underworld, Diana forced to conjure her own lightning in response. 

Fire and lightning met, creating a massive blast with an intense force. Windows all around shattered, and people and cars were thrown back. 

"Aikaterine, stop!" begged Diana.  "Can't you see the destruction we're causing? This is between us - it's not fair if people get hurt!"

"Not fair? Not fair?! What wasn't fair was how you left - you abandoned us! Your home, your family! And what do you have here? These people here do not deserve you!"

"You sound like my mother."

"I just agree with her."

"And I do have something here, that which I never had on Themyscira: a purpose.  There, I was a sheltered child who was lied to about who I really was.  Here, I can help people, strive for peace and justice. I feel fulfilled here like I never felt back home.  I have a life here."

"You had a life there, too."

"Maybe, but it was also holding me back."

"You had a life, a good life!  That man stole you away!" The image would never leave her: that fateful night watching Diana sail away with the man off to fight the war, never to return. 

"He wasn't just any man," Diana protested. "His name was Steve - Captain Steve Trevor. He sacrificed himself to save many lives. He was a good person."

The way she spoke of him, so fondly, so lovingly... It was clear to the other woman.  "You loved him?"

Diana nodded. Aikaterine nodded too - she had already known the truth, but had clung to hope for too long. "And he loved you too?"

"Yes." Diana gave a sad smile. "He did. He told me so. Right before he died."

"And you made each other happy?"

"Yes. For the short while we had together." I wish we had had more time together, her tone said. 

Aikaterine nodded. "Then that is all I ask, and I am glad for you." Then she asked, "What happened?"

"He sacrificed himself in the war."

Ah, so he had been gone a long time then. Almost as long as Diana herself had been gone from the island. 

"And are you happy here then? Doing what you do?"

"Yes, very happy.  Like I said, I never felt this fulfilled on Themyscira.  I am doing good here."

"Very well. Then I cannot argue with that." Aikaterine lowered her weapons, all her previous anger gone and replaced by - well, she wasn't quite sure what yet. A sense of closure, she supposed. "All I wanted was to bring you back. I missed you."

"I missed you too. I thought about you often."

"I thought about you every day." She sighed.  "I cannot return home empty-handed."

"Maybe you don't have to," Diana said. Then she added, to clarify,  "Return."

"And what? Stay here?" The red-haired goddess scoffed but Diana was serious. "I would rather stay in Atlantis."

"Aikaterine-"

"And what would I do here? I have no place here."

"And neither did I when I first arrived here, but I found a place, made a place for myself. And you could do the same, and I will be here to help you.  Just think, you know the legend - Wonder Woman and Lady Legacy were meant to be the greatest of allies, working together for the good of all. Help me uphold peace and justice here. It is incredibly rewarding, I promise."

"I said I would bring you home no matter the cost. I promised, it was an order."

"There does not have to be a cost." Diana, always so peaceful. 

Silence fell upon them until Aikaterine spoke.  "You did what none of us were brave enough to do: to venture out, seek a different life, to discover what lay beyond the borders of our island paradise."

"Themyscira is the home of the Amazons - I'm not just an Amazon, and neither are you."

Aikaterine regarded her, Diana, her old friend.  The woman she loved - the woman she still loved... "Will you promise me something?"

"Of course."

"If I agree to this ridiculous scheme of yours, will you at least return home for a short while, to check in. Your mother misses you terribly - we all do."

Now Diana appeared terribly conflicted at her proposition.  "Perhaps when my work here is done, I will return."

She didn't know exactly what Diana meant by that, but Aikaterine accepted her answer. 

Diana approached her, and, when she was close enough, reached out to grasp the other woman's hand in her own.  Aikaterine wanted her never to let go.

"I never meant to hurt you," Diana said. "That was never my intention, and I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too.  But it doesn't matter now." 

"Yes, it does."

Aikaterine made herself let go of Diana's hand.  "We cannot change what happened. The past is the past. Now we must move forward."

"Together, I hope."

Aikaterine gave a nod.  "Together."

---------------------------------

"Father, I need you to send a message from me to Queen Hippolyta." The ground where she was kneeling rumbled, and she knew her father was listening from down in the Underworld.  "I need you to tell her that there has been a change of plans - I will not be bringing Diana back home, but instead have chosen to stay with her here in the World of Mortals. Now that I've found her, I'm not letting her out of my sight again." She paused.  "Tell the Queen that Wonder Woman and Lady Legacy shall stand together once again."

(So unfortunately, like with my  'Black Widow' story, since 'Wonder Woman 1984's' delay, I'm not sure I'll be able to update this story much :( I'm sorry! But based on what's going on in the world right now I think it's understandable.  I can try to piece together some story from my ideas and what I've seen in the trailers, but just wanted to let you know. 

I am hoping to update this one at least once more though - I wanted to have the ladies meet Barbara in the next chapter! :)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :))