i ✪ video

[mythically]

( diana is seated at one of the consoles in a café when the video feed begins. it seems she’s already gone a bit native—there’s a kedan-style cloak draped around her shoulders, apparently all she needs to keep warm. still, the glint of gold from her armor is perfectly visible, as is the tiara set amongst her dark curls. she’s making no pretense of who she is, should anyone be able to recognize her.

she lifts a hand in simple greeting, smiling. she’s perfectly calm, though anyone who knows her well can probably sense just a bit of tension in the set of her shoulders, the way her eyes are focused. )

There’s many of you here that I know. And many more that I do not.

My name is Diana, and while I’m newly arrived I believe I’ve gotten most of the basics of the situation. It seems you’ve all been busy, recently.

( there’s nothing mocking about her words, and her smile is genuine and honest. she pauses, for a moment, as though to give her audience a breather. then, she continues— )

I’m sure there’s a lot to be done, and I’m willing to offer my assistance to anyone who should need it. But first, I would like to be better acquainted with all of you. If we’ve met before, I’m sure you’ll come and say hello. And if we haven’t, it’s never too soon for introductions.

( both before and after this broadcast and subsequent conversations, diana will be flying over the same café. in effect, she’s using herself as a beacon. feel free to run into her in person if you’d prefer. )

Comments

[mythically]

Hello, Kal.

_{( she is never going to say no to a superhug. )}

I don't know whether it's a good thing that we're both here, but I'm glad to see you.

[andaway]

Sorry, I just- [An awkward laugh. These past months have not been kind to Kal and his family. Or the place in general, if he stops to look at the bigger picture. And hearing her voice again had just been too much, for a second.]

I don't know either, but I will allow myself to be selfish for a second and say I'm glad to have you here if you'll forgive me. And Rao [An awkward laugh as he breaks the hug, placing a hand on her shoulder as if to ensure she won't poof away.] You recognize me, you know who I am. That's such a relief as well.

Just ask whatever you wish to know, I'm sure I'll get over it eventually.

[mythically]

_{( she reaches out to cup his cheek with her hand, looking very much concerned. )}

You'd be pretty hard to forget. Why wouldn't I recognize you?

_{( she takes a deep breath, shakes her head. )}

There are a lot of questions. But first-- am I right to think that there's nothing openly hostile about this place, right now? The Kedan seem... different, but it's nothing I haven't seen before. _{( where's the danger, kal, she knows it has to be here somewhere. )}

[andaway]

[He smiles, reaching to squeeze her hand gently with his own. One thing he's always appreciated about Diana is how she understands how much he related physical contact to comfort. Hugs, a gentle squeeze of the shoulder... sometimes those got to Kal faster than words would ever get.]

It's not openly hostile, no, but it has a to sneak horrible things on us when our guards are down. It's not the Kedan's fault, though- this ocean can be a really dangerous place. And we were brought here to fight a war. Sometimes we aren't brought from the same universe, and a Diana was once brought here that did not recognize me. Or anyone. In her universe she was still new to men's world.

But I digress. You should expect the unexpected from this place, and that goes for both good and bad.

[mythically]

_{( it's an unsettling thought, a younger version of herself. she doesn't know how well she'd handle all this if she didn't have her experiences behind her, especially her experiences with the league. she tries for a smile. )}

It's already proved to be unpredictable. But I think I can handle it.

_{( that she says teasingly. )}

The Kedan didn't seem so bad, but I've heard they aren't always friendly.

[andaway]

[His lips twitch upwards. If there's someone who can handle whatever they throw at her, that's Diana.]

There was a time, not long ago. The turtle got sick, the entity we were brought here to fight made it ill. It got so sick we even lost our powers, since apparently they are tied to it in some way... and our resources diminished dramatically.

The Kedan didn't appreciate that.

[mythically]

...so whatever else, we're all in this together now.

_{( because if their powers and the turtle's resources are connected, she's willing to be they just can't write off one side of that equation. )}

It's probably worth keeping them on our side, now.

[andaway]

[He nods] And they were nice to us, as well. They have us a home and food even when we're basically invading their homeland and they have no saying on the matter.

I can't blame them for being reluctant to see us steal their resources. [Kal is always willing to adapt to native's costumes, and accept their laws and culture. But the layer of misplaced guilt has also made him be more ready to accept the Kedan's attitude, even when they aren't the most friendly.]

[mythically]

Let's see if we can't make it a trade, rather than theft. See what we can do for them in return.

[andaway]

That's the angle most people have been going for, but it's hard considering how much they are giving us to begin with. But since we were brought here to stop a war our best bet would be to do just that.

[mythically]

Any luck with that, so far?

[andaway]

One of us foreigners actually murdered the last Emperor, our best chance at dealing with the menace magically. So, honestly we're kind of going backwards.

[mythically]

And what became of that foreigner?

[andaway]

He was brought to justice, and the Emperor had him killed. He's assured us if he comes back again he will do the same.

[mythically]

I see.

So he could come back, but the murdered Emperor can't?

[andaway]

That's because when we're brought back it isn't really us. Have you been told what the current theory about the cloning is?

[mythically]

Only vaguely, and at superspeed. _{( thanks bart. )}

[andaway]

[A soft chuckle. Speedsters...]

We think our minds are ours, that our... energy, or soul or whatever you wish to call it was pulled from our world at the same time we were cloned. Said cloned bodies were used to host the energy, and that's why we have the same memories.

[mythically]

_{( one of her hands instinctively goes to her lasso; if something had toyed with her soul, wouldn't she have known through it? but she can't doubt the truth of kal's words, either. he wouldn't lie to her. )}

That can't have happened without consequence.

[andaway]

I'm telling the truth, but I don't mind you testing it. [Because he knows the moment Diana thinks he isn't himself and he's lying he'll have the lasso on him anyway. Might as well give her permission and do it the right way.]

We agree on that point. So far, the only consequence that has been found is our bodies- they are apparently destined to degrade.

[mythically]

I believe you, Kal.

_{( and she does, as much as it's hard to wrap her head around. )}

...and what happens, when they do?

[andaway]

We don't know. We just- disappear, and somehow the Kedan know and they clean up wherever we were living.

But we think the spirit simply goes back home, picking up where we left of. And so far everything tells us we don't really keep our memories of this place.

[mythically]

That's illuminating. But not very encouraging. Souls are hard to break, but they always carry scars.

Even of things we don't remember.

[andaway]

So far no one seems to have any consequences from coming here. Bruce is from my future, and nothing that happened here seems to have changed anything.

[mythically]

( she nods. )

Then we can focus on this world, and not worry about ours until we get back to it.