Caterpillar

A new Beginning

Seconds after Wonder Woman finished her telephonic conversation with Green Arrow, the spaceship exited the planet's atmosphere. Standing alone in the quarterdeck of the spaceship, she gazed at the blue planet in the distance through the large window at the back of the ship. The image of Earth from space was not a new sight to her. During her tenure as a member of the Justice League, she had gazed at the planet from the Watchtower countless times. However, now it was different. She was leaving the Earth behind for good. Mixed feelings clouded her heart.

She was a bit startled when two arms wrapped around her from behind. It was Naruto. Shinobi habits ingrained in him for a lifetime have made him stealthy without him consciously trying to be. She had not sensed him coming.

"Penny for your thoughts?" he asked and rested his chin on her shoulder as he hugged her.

Diana leaned back into his embrace and sighed.

"I don't know what I would have done without you by my side." she said.

"Maybe you wouldn't have killed Maxwell Lord if you hadn't met me before? I mean, since you met me, you've always had the option to leave the Earth. But if you hadn't had anywhere else to go maybe you would have been reticent to snap his neck like that?" Sensing her disagreement, he added with a shrug: "I don't know, I'm just saying..."

The princess shook her head and said categorically, in a tone that left no doubts about her stance on the matter:

"No. I would have killed him regardless. That's exactly why I'm wondering what I would have done if you hadn't been by my side, because I know myself: I couldn't let someone that had complete control over Superman's mind live. I was still on Themyscira when Darkseid invaded the Earth and brainwashed Superman a few years ago but I've seen reports and footages from back then. Thousands of casualties and a large part of Metropolis left in ruins... An evil Kryptonian would be too destructive, too dangerous. Maxwell had to die for what he did. It was either him or the lives of many innocents."

The tone of her voice changed, becoming melancholic: "With the entire Justice League trying to arrest me and the people of Earth actively protesting against me and demanding for me to be thrown in prison... Alone and abandoned by my friends, I would have probably returned to Themyscira and lived together with my mother and my Amazon sisters, never to leave the island again."

She turned around in his embrace and buried her face into the crook of his neck.

"Thank you for standing by my side, Naruto...thank you for not abandoning me like the rest. Thank you for loving me."

She was speaking quietly, her words muffled by her proximity to his neck, but he heard the subtle trembling in her voice.

"I have your mother's blessing. I ain't going anywhere. Now you're stuck with me for the rest of your life." he joked, trying to lighten up her mood.

Though he could not see her face he felt her smile. He ran his hand through her hair and caressed her scalp gently.

"It's not like you're leaving the Earth forever. We can return for visits anytime you want."

She blew air through her nose.

"And have the Justice League gang up on me to arrest me the moment I enter the Watchtower's detection range?"

He chuckled at her retort. "We can always do a few bounties and buy a new ship, capable of cloaking itself, like the one I had before. I can shapeshift myself easily and nobody knows how you look now either. If you put some civilian clothes on, nobody will recognize you with your white hair."

She hummed noncommittedly. Then, she broke their hug and said:

"You haven't told me."

"Tell you what?"