Diana lie on her back, staring at the ceiling as she absentmindedly fiddled with her necklace. She still remembered the day she got it. It was a gift from her father for her tenth birthday, roughly a year before things really seemed to change. Seven more would see the disaster that forced her into Handler's Corner's to begin with.

Diana was at the kitchen table working on the last of her homework when her father came in from the garage. Even from her place across the room, she could still smell the motor oil on him as he crossed the threshold.

"How's my little birthday girl doing?" he asked as he went to the sink to wash his hands.

"Ready to party," she replied, turning round in the chair to flash him a big grin. "I can't wait for tomorrow!" Her birthday party had been planned for early Saturday afternoon and she couldn't wait to have all her friends over. Her parents even let her pick out some fun activities to do.

Damon chuckled as he dried his hands. Ruffling her hair, he said, "Well, you can't speed through time, so I'm afraid you're gonna have to wait." He laughed as she mock-pouted, arms crossed and shoulders raised. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a box.

Diana watched with childish curiosity as he held the box in front of her.

"I know you've got a full day before you officially hit the double-digits, but I figured you could get this early. Ten years is a pretty big deal, after all."

She took the item, which was carefully wrapped in metallic blue with a green bow on top, and gently tore it open. When she lifted the lid off the simple black box she gasped.

Inside was a bright blue crystal diamond on a silver chain. It was such a vibrant color that it looked like it was glowing. She carefully lifted it out of its container and admired the way the light played off it. It was beautiful.

"I take it you like it," Damon said to his awestruck daughter.

"Yes!" She held her hair up so he could secure the clasp. Once it was in place she twisted it around in her hands. It was a wonderful sky blue, like it was taken from heaven itself. She ensnared her dad in a tight hug and thanked him for the gift.

Damon chuckled again, giving another playful ruffle to her hair. "Anything for my little girl," he said, hugging her back.

Diana inspected the necklace she still wore to this very day, one of the last few meaningful mementos from her father. After all these years, it still looked just as magical as it had back then. While the chain needed periodic cleaning, the crystal never grew dull or tarnished. Back then its illustrious glow had charmed her; now she was left curious as to how it never lost it. She'd always wondered where and how he'd gotten it.

A knock on the door startled her from her thoughts. She stared at it for a moment before telling whoever it was to come in.

The door slid open to reveal AJ, who stepped inside and let it slide shut behind him. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling awkward.

"Hey," Diana said tentatively. She'd never admit it aloud, but so far AJ was her favorite. The blonde Canadian had always been outgoing and friendly to her, and while that may have just been his disposition, she greatly appreciated it. He was the only one to treat her like a new teammate, not someone who needed to be watched closely. A random visit from him was odd, but not unwelcome. Especially after what had just transpired.

"How you holding up?" He knew it was a stupid question before he finished speaking.

Diana didn't mind in the slightest. "I'm… alright."

"Doesn't sound like it."

The wall across from her become a lot more interesting.

"Listen, I know this is hard on you. It was hard for me too."

"Was it? Everybody seems to like you. Weren't you Vert's friend before all this?"

"Well, yeah, but that's not-"

"AJ, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up—really, I do. But this isn't something you can fix with a good attitude." She crossed her legs and glowered at the floor. "You guys don't trust me. Vert thinks I'm in over my head and Tezz thinks I'm a voluntary lab rat or something."

"They don't think that," he said after a long pause. He thought about moving over to her but decided against it. She seemed like the type who enjoyed her space and not a friendly pat on the back. He leaned against the wall next to the door.

Diana snapped her gaze to him and huffed out a sarcastic laugh. "Coulda fooled me. You saw the way Vert spoke to me back there. And the worst part about it is that he had every right to. I am in way over my head. I haven't given any of you a single reason to trust me."

"Yeah, but you haven't given us any reason not to trust you either." At the curious look on her face he continued. "You could've easily ratted us out by now. Or sabotaged us. Or bailed on us. But you didn't do any of that. You even came back after Tezz ransacked your car. Maybe the others don't see that as much reason to trust you like they do each other—and that's fair because you guys hardly know each other—but that makes you A-okay in my book."

Diana felt a small smile tugging on her lips. "Unfortunately, the entire team doesn't consist of just you, AJ."

He grinned. "It's a start."

"Yeah, I guess it is," she said with a grin of her own. It faded as she clasped her hands in her lap. "But after everything that's happened, I'm not so sure Vert's gonna trust me with anything important."

"Aw, c'mon. If that was the case, he wouldn't let you have free roam of the Hub." He hummed in thought for a moment.

Diana let the silence settle as her mind wandered. She couldn't help but feel hopeless. She needed to be on this team if she wanted to do good and get answers, yet she was only giving them reasons to kick her off. Though AJ siding with her was a nice consolation, it wouldn't do much good in the face of all the others. It was clear what Vert thought of her, and the others no doubt shared his opinion.

"You wanna know what I think?" AJ said suddenly.

Diana twitched and looked over at him in surprise. "What's that?"

"I think part of the problem here is that you don't know anyone well enough to get on their good side."

He looked so proud of his apparent revelation that Diana felt the need to tone down her next words so as not to kick him. "Um, yeah? That's literally what we were just talking about earlier, remember?"

"I know. What I mean is, you haven't really spent any time around anyone outside of missions. You played video games with me and Zoom, and we're having this talk right now, but that's it. You haven't hung with Agura for a girls' night or something, and you haven't really talked much with the others either."

"So… What you're saying is, I should go have one-on-one time with the rest of the team in an effort to get them to open up to me?" She watched AJ nod once and thought about it. "I mean, I guess that logic makes sense."

"It totally makes sense," he said with enthusiasm.

She had to chuckle at his energy. Despite the situation, she had to admit; AJ had a knack for cheering people up with his positive attitude. She just couldn't find the energy to even be annoyed. It helped that he was bringing up a fair point too. The others saw her as some random civilian that got sucked into their multi-verse saving mission. Aside from proving herself useful in a fight, the only other things they knew about her was that she liked to hold her cards close and that she was somewhat standoffish. Perhaps it was time she changed that.

"You know what, AJ?" she said to his knowing smile. "That does make sense. I think I'm gonna take your advice."

"And here you thought I couldn't make things better with just a good attitude." He saw her stand and made to leave.

"Hey, AJ?" She wore a genuine smile as he turned back to her. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it!" He left the room beaming.

Diana took a deep breath as she debated her next move. Vert was out of the question, which likely made Agura out of the question as well. They seemed too close to let things go in spite of the other. Sage still made her nerves itch, the alien being too surreal for her to accept so casually. Stanford… Well, she didn't really feel like putting up with his clearly insufferable attitude right now. Sherman and Spinner perhaps. They both seemed well-rounded and kind, if a bit uneasy around her. Still, they were better than Zoom in that regard.

With her new goal in mind, she set off to find the Cortez brothers.