Asteria's Truth

"Lord Maxwell, I hear you can grant wishes."

He appeared shocked at her sudden arrival, and her armour, but shook it off. "You look familiar, have we met? Of course, I would remember a beautiful face like yours-"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, we have met, but that matters not. I have a wish."

"Ah, then you have come to the right place, my dear. What is it you wish for? Wait, wait, I'm sensing it... I can see it... Yes, yes - ah, a broken heart..." She was taken aback - she hadn't known sensing one's wish was part of the stone's power, but it made sense. Drawing out of people their one, true desire.

"Yes - I wish for a love like Diana's."

"Ah, ah, you must be specific. And sure. You only get one wish." He took both of her hands in his.

She was about to pull away, but then remembered the Latin inscription on the stone's edge Diana had told her about: Place upon the object held...

If Lord Maxwell had indeed become the stone somehow, then in order to grant wishes he had to be touching the person making a wish. So she didn't pull her hands from his grasp, thinking hard, concentrating - how could she phrase this?

"I wish for the Diana I knew back, the old Diana, the Diana I knew back on Themyscira. I wish for that Diana's love."

"Very well - I grant your wish." He groaned and gripped her hands tighter for a moment, before his grip loosened and she pulled away. His breathing was heavy, and it looked as though he was in quite a bit of discomfort - the power of a god taking over a mortal. "And from you I take your new friendship."

It was done.

Finally his breath steadied some. "I can sense that you are quite the warrior - you know, I could use some extra forces in my security team-" But she was already gone.

It was done. She had made her wish, and her wish had been granted. Now she would see what happened from here.

Part of her needed proof, extra proof that these things were really happening, and in the World of Man no less.

But the wishing itself had been all too tempting.

"Aikaterine, there you are!" cried Diana, immediately wrapping the redhead up in a tight hug when she stepped into the apartment. "Oh I was worried! It's becoming chaotic out there."

"I'm fine, but thank you." Aikaterine returned the embrace. When she tried to pull away, Diana held her there in a very extended hug. This attention was new, but nice. "Did you discuss what we should do?" she asked when they finally pulled away, looking between Diana and Steve.

"Uh, no," Steve admitted, running a hand through his hair, looking deeply confused.

"I know what we need to do-" Diana disappeared down the hall. They heard a door open.

"Uh, she's been suddenly acting very distant, talking about you a lot. She was really worried you were lost out there in the chaos," Steve told her.

"Oh..." Aikat scrunched up her nose in confusion. Diana had been so focused before. Unless...

"Here we are-" Diana emerged from her TV room - a wide closet where she kept multiple screens and radios in order to keep an eye on the city. She emerged baring her shield and sword, as well as Aikaterine's set of weapons. "Suit up, warrior." She tossed the second sword and shield to Aikaterine, who caught them expertly.

"I thought you said you didn't want to use these anymore." Aikaterine had not seen them in ages. Well, her own yes, but Diana's no. Diana had taken to using only her Lasso as much as possible.

"This is war," Diana insisted. "And we must be ready for anything." With that, she strode back into the TV room.

Aikaterine and Steve shared a wary glance before she went and followed Diana into the room where the demigoddess was turning on all the screens. "Alright, Max Lord, where are you and what are you up to now?"

Steve must have sensed Aikaterine wanted to have a moment for a discussion woman to woman, and for that she was thankful. Hesitantly, she reached out and rubbed Diana's back - Steve had been convinced the price of Diana's wish for him to return was her losing her powers. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Diana stopped her work for a moment and smiled up at her from where she was seated - she stood taller than Aikaterine, so usually it was the redhead looking up at her - and took her hand and pressed a tender kiss the back of it. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you. So much better now that you're back safe and sound."

Aikaterine's stomach churned. "Diana, did you figure out what to do about your wish, about Steve?"

Diana didn't look away from the screens this time. "No, and I don't think that is our main concern right now."

Well you certainly thought it was important before...

It was becoming abundantly clear - her wish had worked.

"But Diana, what about Steve?"

"What about Steve?"

"Y-you love him. You've been heartbroken over him for the last several decades."

"Aikaterine, what are you talking about? Steve is just a friend. I couldn't have fallen in love with him that quickly."

But you did.

"Aikaterine, I have everything I could possibly want and need right here." Diana finally turned away from the screens, reaching out and taking both of Aikaterine's hands in her own, holding them tight. She gave them a squeeze before turning back to her work.

A tap at the door sounded then, and Steve peeked in.

"Come on in," Aikaterine offered.

"Thanks." He cleared his throat. "Uh, Diana, did I do or say something to make you upset?"

"Hmm?" Diana pulled her eyes away from the various screens. "Oh, no, no you're fine."

"Oh, okay, um, good..." He nodded to the screens. "This is impressive."

"It's how I kept my eyes and ears out for trouble - especially before I had this one to help me." Diana reached out and playfully poked Aikaterine, chuckling.

Yup, she had definitely changed.

"I'm glad to help you."

"I know, and I'm so glad you're here," Diana told her.

"Thanks..."

"What's that?" Steve was looking at the large item wrapped in cloth leaning against the back wall.

"From our culture. The armour of an ancient Amazon warrior," Diana explained.

"Our greatest," added Aikat.

"One of our greatest," Diana corrected, smiling at the redhead.

"Huh. It's huge. What's it made out of?"

"Here give me your hand, I'll show you." Steve protested, saying that he hadn't lied.

Aikaterine snorted with laughter. "The Lasso does more than just make you tell the truth."

"It can make you see it too." Diana wrapped the Lasso around his wrist and it glowed to life. "Her name was Asteria. She was our greatest warrior. When mankind enslaved the Amazons, my mother freed us but someone had to stay behind and hold back the tide of men as the others escaped to Themyscira. Our people gave up all of their armour to make her one suit strong enough to take on the whole world. And Asteria sacrificed herself for a better day for others. The other Amazons tried to convince her otherwise, that there must be another way, but she already saw her fate, knew what would happen if she didn't make her sacrifice. She saw the difficult truth, and accepted it, letting us survive."

"It is because of her that the Amazons live on," Aikaterine finished. "But we have opted to stay hidden lest we fall to mankind again." She saw the difficult truth...

"That's, incredible," he breathed.

"When I came here I searched for her, but all I could find was her armour," Diana said. "It's all that's left of her."

"Besides the memory of her we hold," said Aikaterine.

"Yes," Diana agreed, reaching out and taking her hand, giving it a squeeze. "That's very true."

She held Aikaterine's hand for a long, lingering moment, holding her gaze before dropping her hand and turning back to the screens. Dazed, Aikaterine slowly backed out of the room and strode through the apartment right out onto the balcony.

The noise from outside carried up to meet her, but she barely heard it, hardly took any notice of it. She gulped mouthfuls of the fresh summer air.

She hadn't realized how uncomfortable this situation would make her feel. But here she was, wildly uncomfortable.

"Are you okay?"

She had let someone sneak up on her, and a mortal no less.

"No," she admitted. "Not really."

"I'm sorry, I know this must be hard for you," Steve said. She wasn't exactly sure what part he was referring to.

"Thank you. But it is difficult for us all." She sighed. "If she has to renounce her wish, which it seems as though she will have to, I will be sorry to see you go," she admitted. It was the truth after all. The difficult truth, but the truth nonetheless. "You make her very happy."

"Thank you, that means a lot. Has she really seen no one else in seventy years?"

"No one."

"Wow," he breathed.

"Yes."

"You are a good man, Steve Trevor," she told him. "I truly believe that."

"Well, thank you, I'm glad." He held out his hand. She took and squeezed it.

She had hated Steve Trevor for so long, but only for the fact that he had brought invaders to her peaceful home and stolen Diana away for good. But, now she realized he was a good person, and her hatred of him had been deeply rooted in prejudice. She was glad to have those ill feelings finally settled.

"I think we need to find Barbara as well as Lord Maxwell. She seemed very against stopping the wishes."

He nodded. "I agree."

"I'll go and try to find her - you and Diana stay here and search for Lord Maxwell. I'll meet you back here - watch over Diana, she's losing her strength."

He nodded, agreeing to her plan. "Of course."

"Thank you."

And just like that, they were working together.

Hope you enjoyed this twist to the story! Thanks so much for reading! :)