4713/The Other Diana

The Other Diana
Date of Scene:	13 January 2021
Location:	Diana's Office: Themysciran Embassy
Synopsis:	Donna tells Diana and Cassie that there is no evil Diana Doppelganger - but DoppelCassie remains on the table. As does the bobble-head Cassie doll.
Cast of Characters:	Donna Troy, Diana Prince, Cassie Sandsmark

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Donna Troy has posed:
    It's a little known fact that Amazons actually often wear pants. This was a better-known fact in the old days before the Amazons left the World of Men for the island of Themyscira, when many of those ancient Greek types believed that pants were an invention of the Amazons, but this was no in fact the case. That was the Scythians, and it was a habit the Amazons picked up because they're simply a lot more comfortable and practical when you are riding around on horseback.

    On the streets of New York or Metropolis, horses aren't the favored mode of transport even for Amazons, but Troia at least seems to have taken to that modern equivalent of the horse, the motorbike. For such relatively indestructible types, the advantages of leather biker pants are not as clear-cut, but Troia has taken to those too. She arrives at the embassy in black boots, black biker pants, black leather jacket - the red hoodie worn beneath it is her only splash of color. Perhaps the goth sorceress she has been spending time with has been an influence.

    Donna enters Diana's office so-clad, and wearing an expression that makes Diana's normal insight into Donna's moods and tides unnecessary. She's bothered by something, and making no effort to hide it. Not so bothered she doesn't break into a smile on seeing her sister, and stop to give her a hug before settling into one of the seats and broaching the subject of her visit rather quickly.

    "So uh... Diana... this business with doppelgangers. In case you were worried, there's no evil doppelganger of you to be concerned about. I don't think there's likely to be one of me, but..." she holds her wrists out across the desk. "Diana? You should make sure. That I'm really me, I mean. So I can tell you what I know without there being any doubts."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana had been entertaining old friends who had come in to town for the holidays, but were on their way back out in the morning. They'd finally had a chance to come to the Embassy to see Diana and the three of them had spent the morning and afternoon together here.

When Donna arrives to the office, Diana is standing beside one of the book shelves off to the side of her desk. She's sliding a few books away back in to their proper places. Dressed in a blue sweater with long sleeves that go down to cover her palms, with her thumbs extending out little slits in the sides of the sleeves, black trousers and shoes, Diana looks over to Donna with a smile.

"Well hello." She tells her sister before they end up back at her desk, sitting back down in her seat across from the other. "Donna." She says with a smile. "I don't need a lasso, or any such tricks, to see you are not a 'doppleganger from another world'." She tells her, leaning back in her seat and folding her hands across her lap as she crosses her legs at the knees.

Her eyes are on Donna though, and she takes a second to stare at her sister before continuing. "How are things at the tower?" She asks, being that when she was last there, the incident with DoppleGar was unfolding... so to speak.

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie lives here, so it's not much of a trip!

Well, Cassie lives lots of places. Including, recently, the fancy hotel Dick has been paying for. Not because she's worried about security at the tower, but because Dick is paying for a fancy hotel, and who is she to turn down the free luxuries? Not everyone is born a Princess, or part of the Gotham elite, or a Manhattan socialite slash mob something-or-another. Weirdly, she knows a lot of rich people. It can give plain old fairly normal upbringing with a single mom Cassie a complex!

But today she's been here, having come by after classes, not having to travel cities always something of a bonus. Since Di had company, she got out of her hair for a bit, probably in her room on her phone or something similar. As soon as Diana's friends leave, tho, she's quick to come and pounce. Because, frankly, she likes spending time with Diana and often ends up not enjoying enough ot it.

"Better check, Di! She might really be Queen Dopplepopolis or some nonsense!" this is said with a teasing laugh from behind as she comes in after Donna, catching the tail end of the convo.

Donna Troy has posed:
    Donna keeps her eyes fixed on Diana for a few moments before lowering her wrists and sighing a little. "Tense, sister. But we have good news. Gar has been found alive. His double is still on the lose, but we know our friend survived the attack. He is back at the tower recovering now. He was badly injured but Catilin is confident he will make a full recovery. I have been working through the team one-by-one to ensure they are the real... that they are actually our friends, not doubles, but I haven't been able to clear everyone yet. Those that I have been able to be sure of have a secret mark so that they can be sure of each other too, but... but there is tension because of this. That's another thing I wanted to talk about."

    The arrival of Cassie brings a grin to Donna's face, and she stands to hug the youngest Amazon. "Hey Cassie! Good to see you. Been enjoying Nightwing's hospitality, I hear! Don't get too comfortable though, hopefully we will have security sorted out for the tower in the next few days.

    Donna turns back to Diana, a hand resting on Cassie's shoulder briefly. "Cassie is right though. I'm not a doppelganger, but... well it would be a serious matter if I was. If any of the three of us was. This should be out in the open. I mean... I'm about to explain how I know you're not a doppelganger, Diana. But my word is only worth anything if I am really me. I can assure Cassie that you are really you, but what good is that assurance if she does not know that I am really me? She could be in a room with two doppelgangers."

     Donna sits back down again and gives a frown. "The hardest one was Raven." Donna folds her hands in her lap and looks down, as if studying her fingers intently. "Raven is powerful, sister... but that's not the biggest concern. Her father is... he's an existential threat to any universe he enters. Raven keeps him out of ours. If there was another Raven -- I didn't think there would be, because if that world had a Raven of its own, it is unlikely that world have survived. I had to... make sure though." This is clearly one of the things that's bothering Donna, and it's obvious she's not telling the entire story. "She's... she's okay. No problems."

    Donna looks up again, her espression studiously neutral. "Sister... I know that we have no reason to worry about your double, because I have already met your double. Kara has been closely involved with the... with what was going on in that other universe. When I returned from space I had missed much of what happened, but I knew my friend was suffering. I accompanied her into that other universe to help defeat her own double and the monster Zhed'Zhud'Ger'Uth that caused all the problems in the first place. We uh... we went to Themyscira. I mean their Themyscira. They had not succumbed to evil."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's eyes go over to Cassie when the young woman approaches with a quip of her own. This gets an open smile from the Princess who then looks between the two of them, she and Donna, as they exchange greetings.

"Well..." Diana starts, her eyes going across the office to the lit-up display area where her armor and weapons are stored. The Lasso of Truth is resting right there amongst the displayed items, coiled-up and glimmering beneath a light shining down from above it. "Feel free to test one another." The Princess indicates, should they so wish.

Her stare goes back to Donna then, as she reveals a number of interesting facts and updates about all of this business. "I couldn't be more relieved to hear about Gar, for all of you, for Terry, and for Gar himself. I will have to come see him, once he's recovered some."

At the subject of her own doppleganger, and Donna's involvement in meeting her, Diana's first question is a simple one. "How are these duplicates getting between worlds, so seemingly simple now? Is there an open gateway? I... will admit, I am curious to see this other world where they are coming from..."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie does the thing all teenagers do when their trolling is met with such calm reason. Also when they're required to do something even remotely inconvenient: she rolls her eyes.

But that doesn't stop her from glancing over at Donna and giving her a shrug, permission to go ahead if she feels like it's worth the bother. "Sure, if you want. I'm pretty sure EvilCassie wouldn't even know how to unlock my phone," she points out, while of course still scrolling on said phone through all of this. There's a certain disdain that seems to mark these dopple-creatures as less than what she considers a world-ending threat. How dangerous can someone be if they don't even know how to tweet?

"Come to think about it, I'd be surprised if there's even a dopple-me. Or if she's anything other than some boring loser who got eaten by an alien years ago. Cause, like, I'm pretty sure they don't have art museums in the alien apocalypse, right?" She goes into a whole schtick, then, mimicking a museum tour guide: "Ah, and here we have a fine example of period work, a painting entitled 'Cthulu Crossing the East River.'"

More eye-rolls!

"So like, no job to send her off to Greece on the company dime, probably no meeting you-know-who giving swans everywhere a bad name, and thus, no me. Right?" Sounds plausible.

Donna Troy has posed:
    "Things have gone differently in their world than they did in ours, Diana," Donna says with a frown. "I don't think going there would be... a good idea. The protection of the goddesses kept Themyscira safe from the monster's influence. It was the one place on that Earth that resisted. But... the less our two worlds have to do with each other, the better, I believe."

     Donna gets to her feet and crosses to the armor display, standing there staring at the Lasso of Truth. "Someone in their world discovered how to make portals to come across to ours. They wished to find a way to let Zhed'Zhud'Ger'Uth through to conquer our world too. With that creature's influence gone this becomes less and less of a threat, but it's suspected that some five thousand people have crossed over already. Some of them came some months ago."

    Donna listens in silence during Cassie's art museum tirade, only breaking into a quick giggle at the concept of 'Cthulu Crossing the East River', which Themysciran or not, is a reference she gets! "You know, I kinda want to visit that art museum, that would be something to see. Oh! Cassie, talking of eldritch monstrosities, I brought you a gift. I'll show you in a sec."

    She takes a deep breath, picks up the Lasso of Truth, wraps it three times around her arm then turns to face the others. "I am not from the other world, I am from this one. What I am telling you both is the truth." Rather quickly she unwraps the lasso from her arm and puts it down, before heading back to her seat. When there, she starts fishing in her bag.

    "Remember that place that sold the Diana bobble-head, Cass? Well you'll never guess." She pulls out a small box and tosses it to Cassie, grinning far too widely. The box has a Titans 'T' on the packaging, and the blonde bobble-headed figure inside has a lasso at her hip and is wearing jeans and a Wonder Woman T-Shirt.

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana's laptop makes a quiet beep noise as a notification from her phone hits the system. She leans forward to sit on the edge of her chair and key the notification to see the message from her friends who'd been here throughout the day, smiling and boarding their plane. Diana had asked them to message her when they were successfully out of the city and on their way home, and this garners a smile from the Princess before she looks over to Cass and Donna again.

"Do not be so sure of that lack of existence in a world of chaos, Cassandra." Diana tells her sister. "If anyone could survive such a terrible deviation to the world's timeline, it would be your mother, and if anyone is consistent in his ... attentions ... toward women, it would be our father." She smirks, at the Swans reference too... something world-renown in Zeus' past, whether it's true or just a myth.

Diana watches Donna move to the lasso to 'test herself' and this test gets a slight smile at its inevitable revelation of Donna being Donna. "Five thousand is a lot." Diana says then with a vaguely grim tone to her husky toned voice. "And if they have been here that long, it is ... well they could have done quite a lot of heinous things. Though I imagine many of them are just here to escape the sorrow of their sieged world. For that... I sympathize with them."

The reveal of the bobblehead toy has the Princess tilting her head to show a smile, as she leans back in her chair. "That is adorkable." Yes, Diana said adorkable, and she had trouble enunciating it too, so it comes out sounding even weirder!

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
The whole thing is kind of like a bunch of your friends getting together and doing a dare. Maybe everyone kind of scoffs at first, but once one person goes through with it- what, are you gonna stand there looking like a loser? Nah, you gotta be cool. So, while her eyes have gone so far back they threaten a retreat into her skull, Cassie still makes her way over nearer to Donna and reaches out for the lasso before she's let go of it herself.

"Blah blah, won't the real Cassie Sandsmark please stand up?" She looks around. "No one? No one? Oh look, what a shock, that's me! So, yeah, definitely not an alien cultist weirdo." The other two get a 'happy?' look. Well, especially Donna. Diana is so trusting and gullible!

Though, as the Princess makes that point about her mother, it's not clear whether she looks at all thrilled with such an assessment, particularly given how it brings up their dad's 'tendencies.' "Ugh. Yeah. Probably." Maybe mirror-Helena would be better off single!!

She then turns to make a predictably Amazon-quick catch of the box Donna throws her, opening it with a laugh. "Oh jeez, I've got merch now? Guess that's the real big-leagues." She peers in closer, though her scrutiny is broken by a laugh at Diana's odd appraisal. "Yeah, it's kinda cute I guess. Tho it's sorta weird having, like, a toy of myself."

Donna Troy has posed:
    "It is possible what Diana says is true," Donna says with a nod to Cassie. "There may be another you. What is woven on the tapestry of the Fates will find a way to come to pass. And if there is another you on that world..." She looks away and gives a quick shrug of her shoulders. "There was no Cassie on Themyscira in that world. So be on your guard."

    Donna leans forwards, pinching the bridge of her nose. "There was no Troia on Themyscira either. Diana, you... your duplicate, did not recognize me. Nor did... nor did mother. I was a stranger there, a mystery to them that they did not know me but I knew our... their... ways. That - that was painful. However it means there is no duplicate Troia to worry about." She leans back, rubbing the back of her head. "Well. There may be a duplicate of... who I was before I became Troia. The child washed up on the shores of Themyscira. Unlikely, but possible. However without Amazon training or the blessings of the goddesses, that's nothing that we need to be concerned about. If she lives, she's just an ordinary person."

    Awkward. Diana knows the real story of Donna's birth. If there is a Troia on that other world, who was never given to the Amazons to raise, what does that say of the relations between the Titans and Olympians of that world? Was there an alternative arrangement, or none at all? Such an alternate Troia could be just about anything.

    Cassie gets a broad grin from Donna when she does the lasso thing. "Thank you, Cassie. But you didn't have to... I just wanted you to know I am me. I already know that you are you. Let's face it, if there is a DoppelCassie out there, there's no chance the fake would be as funny as the real thing. I just need to hear you speak to know it's you."

    The grin is followed by a wink and Donna settles down in her seat, a little more comfortable now that the big issues have come out. "Yeah, it's weird Cassie. I remember the first time I saw any Troia merch. Well, Titans merch. It was back when... oh, I guess we'd been going about a year. A few of us had just finished dealing with a bank robbery, and I noticed an unofficial Titans calendar on sale in a store window, with a picture of me right there on the cover. I wanted to go in and confront the shop owners, but Cait wouldn't let me." Donna smirks a little in Diana's direction. "Well the photo was... it wasn't the most flattering."

Diana Prince has posed:
Cassie's revealing herself not to be a duplicate of evil-or-otherwise-intent garners a smirk from the Princess at her place behind her desk. She looks between Donna and Cassie before folding her arms together on the edge of said desk and sitting with her back straight. "You are both very powerful by your nature, and if your would-be-doubles are not associated with Themyscira, in this alternate reality, then that means that your power has likely unfurled in new ways. They could easily be dangerous ways. Amazon training has been imperative for you both, in our world, to help keep you on the right path of knowing when and how to use this power... in a world where chaos is reigning supreme? Well... yes, it is an unsettling thought what might become of any potential mirror-versions of either of you, even if I am confident that your hearts are pure... we have seen Gar's double, after all, and we all would say his heart is just as pure. Desperate times, as they say."

With an exhale, Diana smiles at their conversation of 'merch'. "The more you two put yourselves out there, the more you will find like that. My social media is filled with fan-made outfits, good and... very bad." She huffs out a soft laugh before taking a moment to bite down on her bottom lip in thought.

Her eyes go back to Donna then. "Your dealings on this 'other Themyscira'." She focuses. "Are they completed then? I would offer help, if it is needed. The thought of even a different universe version of our people in trouble, is one that will not sit easily within me if I do not try to assist them."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
"C'mmmmon," Cassie echoes back at Donna, with mild disbelief. "If you were standing there holding it and boldly announcing your true self, while I was standin' over here like 'naaaah dog I'm good'? You KNOW that'd be all kinds of sus." Cassie is also apparently playing that game like all the youngins! So she is well versed in the etiquette of not getting your friends to immediately suspect you of alien impersonation and treason against Earth!

Still, she grins that her humor seems to get a pass as a back-up method of identification. "Prolly not a lot to laugh about where they're from, you gotta figure." As for the continued possibility that she might exist, it's something to ponder, and she bobs her head at the effort both women make in getting across the need for cautious about this potential other version of herself, however it might have come to be. "Yeah, I'll keep an eye out, and tell my mom the same. Tho maybe she'd be like the -best- weapon against evil me? If everything mirrors." She gives her shoulders an expressive roll.

Then, still fooling around with the bobble a little, she ambles over, and puts it down on Diana's desk with a ceremonial flourish. "Since I keep YOURS in my car, only seems fair you get to keep one of me," she declares, and even reaches out to give her own head a little finger-flick to set it a bobble'n. Then she looks back over her shoulder at Donna. "'Unflattering' bad or 'unflattering' MUCH too flattering?" she wonders, finally fully turning and briefly cupping the air in front of her chest to demonstrate what she means, if it somehow wasn't clear.

Which quickly has her turning back to Diana: "Lucky for me, I'm easy to cosplay. I've actually got some uh- well, some pretty weird fans, but you know, comes with the territory I guess."

Donna Troy has posed:
"Sister, you forget..." Donna's smirking. "You have been here in man's world much longer than I, but I have been in the public eye longer than you have. Believe me, I have seen it all. The cosplay stuff... Hades, that's /fun/ to see. Even the bad ones. Perhaps especially the bad ones. I used to worry about what Pallas would think if she were to see the fine craftwork of her armor reproduced in flimsy plastic and cardboard, but there is a pleasure in seeing the ingenuity people put into it, even when their execution is... less than spectacular. No, it is the 'fanfic' that should worry you. Especially the slash subgenres. I recommend you both steer clear of such websites. Especially you, Diana. Maybe when you are older..." BIG smirk.

    "Well... flattering or unflattering can be a matter of perspective," Donna says. "Let's just say it was an action shot when I was leaping over a truck, and it is lucky I had already learned to wear cycling shorts under my armor, Cassie," Donna fishes around in her bag again and comes out with a sharpie, which she hands to Cassie. "Please put a small dot on the inside of your little finger at the third joint. This is the sign we are using in the Titans so we know we are speaking to our actual team-mates. Those who I have cleared already have one. There is also a private encrypted channel on the T-Coms, I'll hook you up to it. And if anyone asks you for a code phrase, the code phrase is 'there is no code phrase'. "

    "Yes Cassie. You are right. If you had not shown us that you were truly you with the lasso, I would have been forced to throw you out of the nearest airlock. However it was not necessary because Diana is most trusting, and I know you were telling the truth when you said you didn't think there was a doppelganger of you."

    Donna raises an eyebrow to Diana. "There is probably not one of me, but remember that if there is, she never received the blessings of the goddesses. I always pictured her running a bed and breakfast place on one of the Greek Islands. If she is evil, we probably only have to worry about badly-made beds. Anyway Diana I uh... may I borrow your lasso one day soon? I would like to test all the Titans... openly, in front of each other. So that all may trust each other without doubts."

Diana Prince has posed:
While the two of them speak together, Diana turns to her laptop to send off an e-mail to her friends in response to theirs that they sent her. Diana is multi-tasking now! But she's also grinning at what she hears them saying. "Oh, I have all the best fanfiction websites bookmarked, do not worry." She teases Donna in response to THAT bit, whether it is true or not, who knows!

When she finishes sending the e-mail, the Princess turns back to them to see the bobble head jiggling around merrily on her desk's edge. This, of course, gets a big grin from the Princess as she glances up to Cassie. "I will protect it with my life." She says in earnest.

Her stare then drifts back over to Donna, as she watches her brandish that marker to tag Cassie, which gets a grin from her... as it just amuses her, for whatever reasons that she doesn't elaborate on it.

The lasso, gets a look, when it's spoken of again. "Of course." She tells Donna. "Take it to the tower, or bring them here, whichever is easier for you. When I saw the... impostor Gar, I did not even have to put it on him to know he was lying. The mere question of asking him to put it on was enough to make him reveal himself."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
Cassie makes a bit of a scrunchy face regarding this 'saved by the bicycle shorts' incident of Donna's. A hand is held aloft. "Say no more." She is familiar with this variety of 'journalism,' no doubt! And while her own instagram has no shortage of shots just as pinup calendar worthy, the very fact they're on -her- social media racking up the likes and follows... and not making some rando Times Square souveneir shop an unlicenced buck? Well, that is definitely a line of distinction between the two. Thus her ire on Donna's behalf remains undiluted. "I kinda think tights and a skirt is a cute look, anyway." It's one that's made it into her rotation of non-costumes.

Offered the sharpie, she does raise her eyebeows, but like all the rest of these tests and procedures, she goes along on pure peer pressure, popping the cap off and making a careful little dot. "Isn't this kinda- its pretty easy for these to rub off, yeah? I guess we could get tattoos..." Her mind has probably wandered off the actual purpose of them by that point, though. Focus!

Here, she turns and hops up to sit on the edge of Diana's desk, facing back out. "If we're all gonna have a big old lasso party, well, we should make it a real party," she finally suggests, following on Diana's offer. "Like, it'd be a fun excuse to all play some truth or dare or something. Assuming the whole thing doesn't turn into a giant brawl as a bunch of the people reveal themselves to be dopplefreaks, anyway!"

Donna Troy has posed:
"Thank you sister," Donna says with a smile, apparently unperturbed by the suggestion Diana has those sites bookmarked. Possibly because she doesn't believe Diana, possibly because she assumed Diana has only the *nice* fanfic sites listed, or perhaps because she just assumed Diana would spend her time browsing all the really weird stuff anyway.

    "Yes, it seems that other world is a harsh place and that drove that other Gar to be a harsher and more cruel soul," Donna says. "He couldn't maintain his pretence for long because he did not know how to be a good person. My bigger concern is if any of the duplicates have been made more cunning by the harshness of their world. It may be when I bring out the Lasso of Hestia that any duplicates in the room will panic and show themselves. But if it were me, I would hope that others panicking were a distraction and the fact I had not made people more willing to trust me, and would hope it was possible to bypass the test."

    Donna follows Diana's eyes to the bobble head, watching it bobble with a grin. "When we go to Themyscira for Caitlin's test... I am bringing mother the bobble head of you, Diana. I will just hope that she does not exile me for the deed." It's not exactly likely, but Donna intends on presenting the gift /in private/, just in case.

    "Ah... let's just concentrate on getting the test done and then have a party when we all know we can trust each other, Cass," Donna says with a smile. She doesn't want to spoil anyone's fun, but the idea of using such a holy artefact, a gift of the gods, created by Hephaestus himself doesn't make her feel comfortable. "The dot... just give yourself a new one when it starts to fade, but I hope to have a more high-tech solution ready for when we do the lasso thing."

Diana Prince has posed:
Diana is quick to exhale and softly shake her head. "Parties... tattoos..." She says as she starts to rise up from her chair, gathering up another book that was left on her desk, though this one is a picture binder, filled with lots of pictures from back in the day when they were not digital, and *gasp* printed on real photograph paper. "What are my young baby sisters becoming..." She adds with a disapprovingly-teasing voice as she starts to stride across the room to the cabinets mounted on the walls on the far corner of.

"I look forward to that event on Themyscira." Diana says of Caitlin's test. "I look forward to it for a wide variety of reasons, from observing Caitlin throughout it all, to the support and reactions she will get from our people." Diana opens the cabinet doors and pulls a large drawer out to put the photograph book back where it belongs. "The training and tests that the both of you went through were... quite the celebratory events back home, it will be no different for Caitlin, and whomever else is to follow there-after."

As she closes the cabinet back up, she flashes another soft grin. "Let us not forget that Queen Hippolyta has come to the United States now. You both should know by now that she has an official Barbie in production." Her grin grows larger as she strides back toward them. "Perhaps I will counter the bobble head with one of those to her."

Cassie Sandsmark has posed:
OK, it's true, with her mention of all these things that Diana catches on to - tattoos and parties and such - that Cassie is clearly at least in some kind of mood. The world is being invaded by doppleclones, and she just wants to party. Still, is this not the essence of being a teenager? Even for one who has seen the world hang on the balance of a blade's edge, her natural inclination is not to take things so seriously, but indeed, ever the opposite. Even as Diana walks around the desk, she idly swings her legs while balanced at its edge.

"I guess we oughta just get it done," she finally agrees with Donna, yielding to the sensibly boring approach after a bit, as she usually does. Not that she doesn't get her chance to sound a bit underwhelmed. "We getting microchips like puppies?" she counters, falling back on comedy (... probably?) about the possible improvements that could be made on the sharpie technique.

Finally, she pushes forward and hops off her only very recently-claimed seat, landing softly as the other two discuss Caitlin's upcoming trials. "I guess at least that'll give us ONE excuse for a big party coming up, right?" Big grin. There's no denying her on this one. Parrrrrrrrty!

Donna Troy has posed:
    "She's becoming one of /them/, Cass. It was bound to happen," Donna tells Cassie with a smirk. "Now she's over nine hundred years of age and is past her prime, she can't help seeing us as babies. I remember when she was only eight hundred and ninety something, telling me - 'Troia, I was probably a hundred when the others finally realized I had grown into an adult. I know just how you feel, sweet sister, but don't worry - I shall never make that mistake with you'." She tuts loudly, but gives Diana a wink. "You realize what this means, Cassie? Now she is in her dotage, she will have to think about retirement. That means that /you/ will have to become the next Wonder Woman." Cassie gets no wink - perhaps Donna means it.

    "I think mother is rather looking forwards to Caitlin taking the test. Yes, I already discussed it with her. Cait will go to the /naos pantheion/, as I did. Mother is quite fond of her, you know. She will insist on there being feasting, and a celebration tournament. It would not be proper for Caitlin to compete in the full tournament, but perhaps we can persuade her to enter the wrestling. That would be fun to watch."

    "And then... back here. A formal presentation at the Arts Center. A media blitz. Show the world of men some of our rituals and ways, celebrate Caitlin's ascension to our ranks - a child of America, entirely foreign to our world, without even an Olympian to call 'dad', becoming one of the sisterhood. It will be a momentous day. Then... when the press and all the public have gone home... then we party for real! No entry without a microchip. Or a puppy. We'll let people in if they bring puppies instead."