Luthor's assassination is a turning point and the war that he had been plotting to cause did not transpire yet not all of Earth took his demise in stride especially not his cabinet, but Congressional hearings later prove that he had indeed been attempting to cause a war. It could have taken billions of lives worldwide if not for the Justice Lords' intervention. The presses and the media paint it as such, but there are still misgivings about the method, but the Lords including Wonder Woman had been expecting that fact. Diana had also seen things start to deteriorate between the six of them as J'onn becomes more of a Watchtower overseer than a proactive force on the planet like Superman or Green Lantern.
Batman hardly left Gotham anymore. He sticks close to home yet Superman's intervention against Batman's rogues cause an upset especially between Batman and the Batclan. Batman attributes it towards what Superman did to the Rogues, but Superman still leverages that now they can no longer harm anyone. Batman counters that declaration is beside the point and then Superman brings up the fact that a revolving door policy is useless especially after what happen with Luthor. The two had grown apart as Superman's tactics had become more aggressive, more direct while Batman pursues relentless vigilance, justice to all. They sound the same, but they are not as Superman does not go after civilian troublemakers, that sort of thing is more common to Batman.
Superman did tend to be more threatening in appearance with the costume change because there is no red in the design except in the S emblem. The body suit is solid black with white stripes on the sleeves and the legs. The cape is also white, which perhaps reflects his slant that all is black and white. The new look causes her to aspire to subtle changes in her own at first and the first thing to go is the bottom, which Flash humorously referred to once as being something called hot pants. She is unsure about what to with the top aside from keeping the breast plate yet halfway through she decides to go with a full body suit with short sleeves. She incorporates Superman's triple stripes into the look, but keeps the bracers. The tiara is put away with the rest of her old Wonder Woman look and she decides to show the new look to Batman first.
He tells her to stop coming around and she notices he is the only one still at the Manor these days. When he steps into the light after getting out of the Batmobile, she takes a step back noticing his costume is also different yet she had not seen it until tonight. Since from the shadows it looks the same as the old one yet she tilts her head back to see the old one along with the rest of his former partners' costumes in their transparent storage racks. She goes over to kiss him, at first he tries to push her away yet then he surrenders for some reason though it tastes different than it used to her. It didn't taste like she was kissing Bruce, it tasted like kissing a stranger, and she turns to leave though feels the Batglare on her.
She feels his gloved hand on her shoulder and she turns to punch him. She had no idea why she did that, but he dodges it. She swings again, he dodges again, and this continues until she slashes the cowl with her bare hands. The rip reveals a different Bruce like face beneath. It felt like looking at a dead man that had taken Bruce's place. She pins him and they do it on the stone cold floor of the cave. He repeatedly told her after each time that they did this that she should not return yet it did not deter at least not at first. The night finally comes when she realizes that the act is merely happening for her to get lost from these new looks of theirs, to give into the raw energy of ravaging each other, and to finish her new look she chops her flowing hair to a shorter trim.
She had to keep cutting it to maintain the shortness and eventually she thought about killing Batman because Batman had in his own way appear to kill Bruce leaving her with a man with his face. However she decides against for what good would it do to kill him for that grievance?
Diana pursues a rigorous training program and in doing so becomes increasingly angular, more masculine thus less feminine. It occurs to her that her new look looks blood red as well as the fact that she had taken to appealing to Ares instead of Hera as of late too. The time eventually comes that being near Batman has almost no effect on her and he shows no signs of having trouble either, but then if anything he can hide things well and she gotten that from him. They hid in plain sight with their feelings and thoughts while both saw how much closer John and Shayera had become since Flash's… since Wally's murder at the hands of Luthor.
She had gone along with Superman and J'onn to travel to the Batcave after Superman had gotten the summons to venture down there because of something Batman had found though what he could find down there in the cave to bring them together. The six of them barely could last in a room together for five minutes unless they spoke to each other as little as possible. Batman shows them what he refers to as an alternate reality and in particular one that is distinctly different theirs.
It is one where Flash and Luthor are still alive as well.
J'onn baits the seven of them into coming back with him and then the trap is sprung. Their reaction is instant as if they were reacting as one to this trap and she starts to wonder how she went from being like that Diana to what she is now at least until she looks to the other Lords as a visual reminder. Batman would stay behind to look after the League except their Hawkgirl had to be sent to Arkham because of her getting a point blank blast from Stewart's ring. He simply went over to the breach and shot her point blank. She had seen the look in Shayera's eyes when seeing her other self resist the trap's stun field emitters.
She is the last to enter the vortex after the six of them transport the League to their cells at a facility that is setup of specifically to hold the League. It did not surprise her that Batman had ways to restrain them and figures he had these ideas for a long time though never went through using them until today. He could have taken them all down if he had the means, but he did not, it struck her as odd yet she shakes it off. The hesitation on Batman's part did not seem at all like the Batman she had seen since they both changed their costumes.
The five of them had made a timely arrival with the city under attack by a rather brutish looking monster, but his durability and strength are no laughing matter at all. However they must all cover that they are somewhat out of practice after being token symbols to quell civil riots throughout their world in the past several months. Her recall is broken by a monorail train speeding towards a section that had been weakened by the fighting between the Lords and the monster. She flies straight up and then puts herself in front of the engine car in an effort to bring it to a halt before reaching the gap in the tracks.
It is barely in time on her part yet her gaze shifts back to the street level where only Superman is still on his feet and trading blows with the monster. The longer it drags out, the more damage it will inflict, and eventually in the middle of a rant, Superman lobotomizes the monster. Superman drops to the ground as the police surround them. The monster is no longer a threat and then the press including this reality's Lois Lane close in for an interview. The other four including her rejoin Superman as the questions continue including Lane's statement about him lobotomizing the attacker.
Some of the press approves, but clearly Lois Lane, no matter what reality she is in, still views such an act as morally reprehensible.
After the interview, the five head into space to check the League Watchtower, which is very expose and poorly armed in her view. It is easily rectified yet it does take time though they had plenty to upgrade the defenses here.
She took the time to check out the room kept by her counterpart and found it almost exactly how she used to keep her own. However events likely did play out differently here, there is at first seem no signs that this Diana had any attachment to this world's Bruce Wayne or Batman. However photographs, magazine articles, and news pictures are like a knock to gut as they are of the other Diana dancing with the other Bruce just like she had done during her first visit to Paris when she met Audrey. She had not seen Audrey in as almost as long as she had not gone back to Themyscira.
It appears this Diana also met and became friends with the Audrey in this reality. She plops down flipping through every bit of visuals she could find of this Diana and it made her feel sicker with each passing moment that this Diana had a life she could envy, but then she reminds herself that her life is her doing, there is no changing that. However she could not help, but wonder if she could have done things differently.
On the way out, she peeks in this Diana's fridge and finds she still drinks Iced Mochas. A temptation to drink had come over her and she did until she catches her reflection in a mirror that her other self kept. She chucks the Iced Mocha at the mirror, it cracks yet does not shatter, and she trembles before straightening herself out. She shuts the lights off and strains to maintain her composure.
Once back in the Monitor Hub J'onn alerts them to this reality's Luthor escaping from prison again. However once upon encountering what appears to be Luthor, he reverts back to the other J'onn and she like the others got a taste of a trap similar to the one used against the League by them. The pain is foreign to her except Shayera remembers how her other self resisted the charge then busts out except she is shot down albeit reluctantly by the other Stewart. The Stewart she knows goes after him in frenzy and so she turns her attention to the other Diana.
It is almost too easy to take down her counterpart despite that Diana using the lasso against her. She however did not see the punch coming, but she had learned a few things from her training that help her dull the ache in her jaw as she clenches it before smashing the other Diana into the concrete floor below. She is about to finish off her other self yet senses the other Batman trying to get the jump on her. She spins around catching him by his throat. It would be a simple matter of squeezing his windpipe yet instead she decides to hurl him across the room before ripping a chunk of concrete from the floor to use to bludgeon him to death.
She hears a whirling sound and notices that her counterpart had whipped the tiara at her. She felt it impact against her skull then fell from the shock rather than the impact. She did not expect such intensity or precision aiming for that matter. As she lies prone for the moment, she almost feels sorry for herself, for becoming this.
Superman is the first to fall to Luthor's weapon and one by one each of the remaining four are hit including her. As she falls she is caught by her counterpart. She is uncertain as to her demeanor as she really looks into the eyes of the other Diana for the first time. The ache from the tiara hit still lingers and causes her to remember what loves feels like... to be willing to die, to hurt, and to suffer for all of it.
You wonder how I got to be willing to kill. You wonder what could make me want to kill Batman or rather kill Bruce. I could have put him out of your life forever; he would disappoint you as mine had with me. I could spare you the misery. I already saw what happens when he loses everyone that matters. Without compassion, without heart then he becomes a walking dead man, but no you'll have be to shown the hard way… you really are just like me except you are still in love with him.
I almost feel sorry for you, but somehow I feel sorry for me too even when I believe I did right things after Kal killed Luthor.
She joins her fellow Lords when they are taken to separate holding cells not unlike what the Lords had done to the League, but unlike the League, the cells did not need to account for powers thanks to the device that shut off their powers.
"It appears as though the Gods are not without a sense of irony," comments Diana.
"You tricked us, held us against our will and now we return the 'favor'. You could have left our reality alone and this would have never been necessary. I don't even want to know how I could become like you," hisses Wonder Woman.
"Only time will tell, which one of us was right tonight, but some things are only found out the hard way in Man's World Princess," retorts Diana.
"If you are trying to goad me it won't work," snaps Wonder Woman.
"We did what we thought was necessary to save our reality and help yours."
"You call lobotomizing criminals helping? You call killing necessary? I wonder how Mother reacted when she saw you dressed like that."
"I haven't been back to Themyscira in two years besides I doubt I would be welcome with all that I have done since preventing a war that Luthor was Tartarus bent on causing."
"There are other ways to prevent a war that don't include killing."
"I wouldn't count idealism to save you when it happens to you."
"Apparently you made your decisions if your costume means anything."
"I used to dress just like you, but more than a costume change redid my life… and my heart."
"What are you talking about?"
"Do I really need to connect the dots for you?'
"You are talking about…"
"Obviously Princess…"
"You can't be serious."
"I am quite so."
"It doesn't mean the same will happen here."
"He isn't that different from mine except the two of you have it written all over you."
"Some don't see that, he is one of them."
"I suppose you could try to show him otherwise, but I wouldn't count on it working."
Diana settles into her cell and watches Wonder Woman walk away leaving her to consider their chat as well as how she and the League had gotten back in time to pull that trick off. She believes that her Batman had something to do with it, but not all of it. She had seen some amount of reaction in a few faces when they saw Flash alive though unconscious in his cell back in their reality before coming crossing over. The other Batman and Flash did something to change his mind, to break him from his reclusion, and had given him cause to send them back here.
The costume would have to go because it is not who or what she is anymore yet that is all she knows clearly aside from the idea that a certain dark knight had a change of heart because of this crossover.
It appears I was wrong about you Batman… and about Bruce.
There is far too much think about and for once she yearns for a dreamless sleep except it feels extremely unlikely to have that kind of sleep again for a long time if ever. As she lies de-powered in her cell, she remembers something she read once...
"Sooner or later, everyone has to answer for what they have done in their lives, mortal or immortal."
A/N 1: A take on how Wonder Woman's costume changed among other things.
A/N 2: The hair cropping 'ritual' is meant to be more of a metaphor for how she is denying her femininity as a way of distancing herself from her feelings for Bruce. Similar idea with the Iced Mocha being chucked at the mirror.
A/N 3: Her argument is meant to be a parallel to the one between Batman and Lorder Batman.