[center][img]http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20140114225435/wonderwoman/images/c/c6/Wonder_Woman_Volume_4_logo.png[/img]
[b]M E T R O P O L I S[/b]
[sub]C E N T E N N I A L  P A R K
[color=gray][b]January 1st, 2016[/b][/color][/sub][/center]

Diana Prince, otherwise known as Wonder Woman, was indeed shaken by the events that had occurred. She thought back to her childhood with her martial arts instructor— to her time in the military as she was conditioned by some of the best in the Special Forces— and to her trials as an awakened amazon and demi-goddess. She had been taught to be rigid, emotionally blank, resilient, and strong… but she felt none of those things at the funeral of her closest and most valued friend. The [i]funeral[/i] of [i]Superman[/i]. The concept still didn’t fully register in her brain as she kept having flashes back to the battle with Doomsday; could she have fought harder and faster? Could she have died instead of Superman? The world needed him more than it needed her yet she was left as the one who lived; though she felt the opposite of “alive” at this moment. Diana had felt dead ever since she came upon the corpses of Doomsday and Superman.

[i]The Corpses.[/i]

Diana nearly quivered as the thought went through her mind.

Her eyes glanced to her right as Supergirl carried on with her speech, her eyes catching the empty seat that was meant for Batman; a man that stood as Diana’s silent ally, and one she considered as another of her few close friends. The Dark Knight had thought the ceremony they were doing here was “pointless” and a waste of time when there were no answers about [i]who[/i] was [i]responsible[/i] for Doomsday. The sentiment was understandable and Diana felt compelled to agree yet she felt she [i]should[/i] be here… she should be standing tall even in her sadness as Superman would’ve wanted her to be. She was trying to do that, much like Supergirl herself who was standing before everyone trying to inspire them to carry on by Superman’s standard.

A difficult sentiment for many, she was sure. Diana found it admirable and she knew she would have to [i]try[/i]. But it still wasn’t fair, though.

It was never fair.

She had lost Steve only months before she had lost Kal. She had lost Donna before that and her mother before that. She felt so utterly [i]alone[/i] despite standing alongside other heroes and even her wards that she had trained. The hollow feeling in her chest ached like no pain she had ever felt and it had been growing for months until Kal himself tempered it with his kindness. A kindness that she reflected on; after Steve had died she had went to Kal for moral support, to get her focused and back where she needed to be.

[i]“You’re not alone, Diana. You’ll never be alone. Look at all of those people down there, all those people that depend on us. That’s hope. That’s what keeps me going when I’m at my most desperate, it’s what inspires me to be the hero they need me to be. Whenever you are falling into despair, just look down and smile. If that doesn’t work, then you can always come to me for reassurance. I’m your friend. I’ll always be your friend. That will never change.”[/i]

Diana clenched her fists as she fought back her emotions whilst she recalled his words. She looked down at the floor as she began to contemplate her thoughts.

This could not be happening. 

This had to be a nightmare.

[b]“—but I’m here to say it doesn’t have to. As long as we continue to fight together against the evils in this world, and keep that hope alive in our hearts, Superman’s death will not have been in vain. Together we can keep his spirit alive, and together, as he believed, we cannot be defeated.”[/b]

The words spoken bravely by Supergirl seemed to knock Diana out of her own sense of despair, a fact that made her nearly smile. She moved her head up and back to the podium and to Supergirl. 

[color=aba000][i]“If Kara can stand unbroken, I can do the same.”[/i]  [/color]

Diana took a light breath as she regained what little composure she had.