[center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/486b167e474e3de106cc39dfccf7f8a9/tumblr_oxiqjx9JhY1w14pp3o3_500.gif[/img][/center][indent][sub][COLOR=FDE384][I]Lancaster, Ohio[/I][/COLOR][/sub][/indent][indent][sup][right][COLOR=FDE384][i]Present Day[/i][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][hr][indent][sup][COLOR=FDE384][b]Issue #3.01[/b][/color][/sup][/indent][center][color=FDE384]𝗪𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥 𝗪𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗡[/color][/center]
[indent][indent]Diana flew as fast as she could until she realized that she was back home. Lancaster, Ohio was the hometown of Steve Trevor and the place that she called home. It was a large town with a population of thirty thousand and forty minutes' away from Columbus. And it became their home after the Second World War ended. They brought some land away from the town and built a two-story house along with a small farm. For forty years, Steve lived in peace and retirement while Wonder Woman was saving someone's day. Diana found comfort in the fact that she had a permanent home in man's world for the first time with someone she loved. Even if she was all over the world. 

It was when Steve died that Diana started to appreciate her home. She spent thirty years improving it and transforming the farm into her garden. It was designed to match with the surrounding forest with its unique characteristics. Eventually, the world needed Wonder Woman after the September 11 attacks; however, it meant leaving behind her isolation from the public. Despite being all over the globe, Diana tried to make time to visit regularly to maintain the garden. Her house, on the other hand, didn't change since the 1990s. 

Last year, she spent time off to modernize it. It even had a panic room for guest in the plausible case that her enemies decided to visit Wonder Woman. 

Now that she saw the house, Diana slowly landed in front of the house and walked inside. Once the lights came on, she sat on the couch and sighed while taking off her crown. Diana wondered what her mother would have said about the mess that she got herself into. Something that involved her going into a rant about how humanity was always wicked. But that didn't mean Diana wished she was here now to comfort her.

Diana grew tired of this stressful day and headed to bed for the night. Of course, her attempts to fall asleep failed because she was disturbed about Aladdin. She replayed the encounter in her head over and over, trying to understand what kind of magic he was using. It wasn't her first time dealing with magical users, but something about Aladdin's magic felt odd. And there was the matter of Doctor Poison and what she was doing working with him. Usually, Marina Maru worked alone since killing off the former Doctor Poison, known as Francis Lowe, and his colleagues.

Now, she had partnered up with someone capable enough to be considered a threat. 

Diana put her hands through her hair and sighed. She knew that lying in bed wasn't going to help. Aladdin planned on releasing footages of Wonder Woman fighting to turn public opinion against her. But, the question was why would he care. Sadly, she didn't have the answer. For now, Diana needed to focus on the committee and their investigation. No doubt that the senators had already made their plan regarding the footages. So, she had to create one herself. That meant watching the committee interviews from day one.

She got out of bed and headed towards the living room to start working.[/indent][/indent]
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[center][i]Six Hours Later[/i][/center]
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[indent][indent][quote]Senator Russell Abernathy: ...According to investigators of the Nashville Police Department, they found Wonder Woman to be innocent of your son's death because "he was reckless and unaware of the dangers within a recently abandoned factory." Is that what the detectives told you, right?

Bella Cizko: Yes. But... I have doubts about the investigation.

Senator Abernathy: Would you mind explaining what you meant?

Bella: Well, I always thought that the investigators did not treat my son's death with interest because of his criminal background and his last... crime. Before I go on forward, I want to express sorrow for the hostages and Wonder Woman. My son's actions and behavior towards them will always be inexcusable, unforgettable, and cruel beyond imagination. 

[Bella takes a deep breath]

When I saw my son's body hours after his death... 

[Bella takes a moment to collect herself]

...when I saw my son's body, he was unrecognizable. His face was so severely beaten that we had to have a closed casket funeral. It looked like someone punched my son hard enough that it either killed him or seriously wounded him. And I believe that someone... was Wonder Woman given the circumstances that she had been dealing with. After she managed to free herself, I do not doubt that she wanted payback and struck him as hard as she could. When I told the detectives that Wonder Woman killed my son, they immediately dismissed it and moved on.

Senator Abernathy: Thank you for sharing that with us.

[Bella drinks the cup of water beside her]

Bella: I decided to come here today to bring closure. I hope that Wonder Woman didn't kill my son. But, she should be held accountable for her actions if she did. My son deserved a fair trial for his actions on that night. Instead, he's buried in a graveyard with no tombstone since it got destroyed.[/quote]
Diana paused the recorded interview with Bella Cizko, the mother of Edgar Cizko, aka Doctor Psycho. Edgar Cizko was one of the few sworn enemies of Wonder Woman and even managed to capture her. Cizko adopted the name Doctor Psycho after killing several of his peers that bullied him with his telepathic powers. Eventually, he was able to create convincing illusions that were influential enough to damage or kill his victims. She considered him to be one of the most powerful telepaths in the world until his death. 

She was already stressed because he watched several other interviews with the committee. Bella's discussion was the one that she decided to take a break. Plus, it forced Diana to relive the last encounter with Edgar, who tortured her and the hostages from a nearby wedding. When Edgar learned that she escaped, he grabbed the wife and held her at knifepoint. Once Wonder Woman confronted Doctor Psycho, he cut off one of her ears because she fought back against him. 

Realizing that he had nowhere to go, Edgar used his mental powers to create an illusion that drove her insane and nearly killed herself. Wonder Woman was forced to respond, and it ended with him falling to his death. Even know Doctor Psycho was a terrible person, she had planned on turning him into the authorities for his arrest. But, a part of her felt satisfied that Edgar was gone for good because it meant peaceful nights. The world was better off without him. 

Diana finished writing down some notes on her notepad and threw it beside her. She got up from her couch and headed towards the garden. It was sunny outside and Diana felt the wind while walking towards one of the flowers. Diana was surprised that she managed to keep the plants from dying while maintaining their beauty. She kept on walking around the garden to relax for a minute. It was peaceful here compared to the rest of the world that was waiting to ruin her life. People like Aladdin and Doctor Poison made her miss the good old days where the biggest problem was the Nazis, and the simple solution was to kill them.

Then, she noticed that the pink roses from Greece had bloomed. Diana was focused on them that she didn't notice that someone made their way into the garden. Steve Rogers slowly approached his old friend, hands tucked in his pockets. He was taking in the sights and admiring the garden that Diana seemed so intent on maintaining. When he was a few feet away, Steve planted his feet. 

[color=00aeef]"Hey, Diana. Mind if we have a little chat?"[/color][/indent][/indent]
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