10 Chapter 10: Gala 3

I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING, other than my created character, DC belongs to Warner Bros, and Marvel belongs to Disney, which almost owns the world.

"talking"

'thoughts'

....

Paris, France, Louvre Museum, December 22, 19:00 UTC, 2014

"You're certainly not what I expected," Diana commented to Edgar as they walked along. Diana was holding Edgar's right arm, in order to support him because of his disability. It had been a shock to Diana when Edgar informed her that he was Patricia's guest, but after the realization, she continued with her work and led him on a tour of the museum.

Most people were already taking their seats at their respective tables so the different sections were slowly emptying out, leaving Diana and Edgar with a good deal of privacy.

Diana certainly wasn't expecting someone like Edgar, since they had walked in they hadn't stopped talking. Edgar had a rather infectious sense of humor, if a bit dry, Diana certainly liked his attitude, because he hadn't stopped smiling since he started his tour. Diana, too, was surprised by the knowledge Edgar possessed.

Diana knew that she was a very knowledgeable person in history, her people had been an important part of the past events in Greece and Rome, besides, the Amazons, despite being an isolated people, had not been kept out of the world news throughout the years, therefore, Diana had studied all this history since she was young. However, Edgar also had a lot of knowledge, sometimes even contributing curious facts that Diana herself did not know, mainly from World War II and the Cold War, certainly this was pleasing to our favorite princess.

"Knowing Patricia and her humor, She certainly keep my appearance and circumstances from you... but if you were expecting an old pervert, I think Mr. Richardson who showered you with compliments a few minutes ago is apt enough for what you are looking for, don't you?" Edgar commented humorously.

"Stop it, I asked you to forget that," Diana said a little embarrassed at the memory of her old assumption as she gently smacked his arm to stop him from arguing with her.

"Speaking of Patricia, how did you two meet," Diana asked, genuinely curious.

"When I was young my parents died, then I was raised by my uncle who was a priest, in Spain and when I came of age, I got my inheritance from my grandparents, who were certainly somewhat wealthy. They had several warehouses with many antiques and I, seeing it a bit useless to keep them, decided to donate them to this museum," Edgar commented. The story was mostly a lie, but it was the story he used as his identity at the moment, if anyone looked into it, this is what they would find.

"Patricia and I got along very well, she really helped my sense of appreciation for beauty, something I thought I had lost, I consider her a good friend, she is what I would expect if I had had a grandmother looking out for me," Edgar commented with a slight tone of fondness, certainly Patricia was a person who had left a big mark on his heart. "She has been urging me for a long time to come to this event, but I had never been able to come because of my obligations. When I told her I had time this year, she didn't wait for a no for an answer and well... here we are," Edgar finally commented, to which Diana could only chuckle, a single thought popped into her head 'that certainly sounds like Patricia's attitude'.

"I'm curious what you said about losing your sense of appreciation, what do you mean by that?" asked Diana, she had more questions about Edgar's life, but she didn't want to be too invasive either, so she reserved those for later.

"Mmm how to explain it...look, I wasn't born blind, I had an...accident that made me blind. When I was a child I read about several quite famous works of art or sculptures, some of them are even here, in this museum, nowadays. But I can't see them Diana, of course I have heard of La Gioconda, but even though I know it is so close to me, still, I won't be able to appreciate it. That was the sense of beauty I lost, all the visual art, it just became useless to me not being able to appreciate it. Until Patricia made me realize that there are many ways to appreciate beauty, not just with your eyes."

"At the time I didn't understand it, but now, I really appreciate her lesson. This lesson I can take it to other things, like people. For example, I have learned to appreciate people for their true beauty, by knowing the person's personality and their experiences, I can see their inner beauty and that is why I know for sure that you are beautiful inside Diana," Edgar said with a genuine smile. In reality, this was a partial lie, certainly Edgar could see that, although she was a kind person and full of goodness this did not reflect her inner beauty or anything like it, he needed to get to know her more to get a better idea of her personality. In fact, Edgar was sure that Diana was good because of her soul.

Her soul, in Edgar's eyes was a beautiful thing to see, there was so much purity, so much brightness, that, for a moment, Edgar thought he was in the presence of an angel, he didn't think a 'normal' person like Diana let alone of an adult age would have so much goodness and righteousness in her heart. (If only Edgar knew who she was, he probably wouldn't be so surprised.)

This comment brought Diana a lot of joy, plus Edgar's story certainly made Diana respect him a little more. By the end of the evening Diana hoped that this was not the last time they would see each other, clearly she was getting a little attached to this person. She hoped that when the event was over they could be called friends.

Diana thought for a bit and, after some deliberation, smiled and said with a tone of joy, "I want to show you something."

Edgar was surprised by Diana's change of tone, she looked like a little girl trying to show her Christmas presents to her friend, Edgar smiled a little at this thought, "Well, lead the way pretty lady", arm in arm Diana led Edgar towards the Greco-Roman section.

When they arrived at the section, Diana said "We are in the Greco-Roman section, my department. I don't want to brag, but there has been remarkable growth over the years in this section, and I want to take you to my favorite work," they continued walking until they came to a six foot tall statue depicting a figure of a woman fighting in armor with wings on her back, and an eagle helmet.

"My favorite work is called 'εκλεκτός' or 'chosen one' in Greek. It is a depiction of a rather famous Amazon legend. The legend tells that Hephaestus created an armor so powerful that only that chosen warrior can wear it, this warrior will bring peace in the darkest times of the world." Diana began to explain all the history and details of this sculpture, although she made it sound like a legend, to her, who was the princess of Temyscrira, it was quite true, the armor was one of, if not, the greatest treasure that her people harbored. Many of her sisters who had trained hard and who had passed many difficult trials, had tried to don the armor, but failed, the armor was such a powerful magical object that it had a huge ego, clearly there was much truth in that only she who is worthy could wear it, there was even a rumor that her mother had tried and failed, though her mother never confirmed or denied it.

"This story is very interesting Diana, although, to my perspective, I just hope that the supposed chosen one never arrives ever, at least not soon" Edgar commented at the end of Diana's excited explanation, removing her from her excitement.

"Why do you say that?" asked Diana confused, clearly all her sisters saw it as a goal to achieve, a symbol of justice and greatness, to be chosen by this armor was a great honor for her people. But Edgar had seen it differently, clearly this made him very curious and uncertain.

"You said 'The armor will choose its wearer to bring peace in the darkest times', it scares me to think how bad the world will be if these times come...", Edgar explained his reasoning and Diana opened her eyes wide when she heard that, clearly none of her sisters had used this story as a translation towards future bad omens, but seeing it from his perspective, Diana realized how right Edgar was, she would tell her mother about it when she saw her again.

When Diana was about to ask him what he wanted to do next, they were interrupted by a series of footsteps coming towards them. Approaching them they could see a rather attractive man and woman, these people were Bruce Wayne, and his companion, the famous dancer, Natasha Ivanova. When they were close enough Bruce, who had heard a bit of the history of the play in question, commented.

"That was a great explanation Miss Prince, certainly this section deserves to be praised as one of the best in the museum," Bruce commented to Diana.

"Do you two know each other?" asked Natasha with a somewhat surprised and slightly annoyed touch, she knew she was very beautiful but compared to this black haired woman she paled quite a bit, a slight feeling of jealousy came over her, but she didn't show it superficially.

"Yes, those of us who are investors in this museum clearly know the great reputation of Miss Prince, someone who has brought this great section back to life, she has made it one of the best in the museum," Bruce commented, which provoked several reactions, in Diana, a slight touch of embarrassment, as she was still not used to praise like her civilian counterpart, admiration from Edgar, and more jealousy from Natasha.

"Thank you Mr. Wayne, I'm glad to hear I've done my job well...but how forgetful, let me introduce you to..." but before Diana could introduce Edgar, Bruce interrupted her

"Edgar Bones, yes I know him, I am a great admirer of his work," this brought surprise to everyone in the place. More on Diana and Natasha, Natasha because she knew most of the guests here and this dark glasses person was no acquaintance of hers, 'will he be another successful businessman?' she thought. There was also a lot of surprise on Diana's part, as they had not yet talked about what Edgar did for a living, the conversation was more on general history topics, fun facts and light banter, which the opportunity had not arisen to ask.

"Bruce Wayne, correct, although you already know me let me introduce myself, Edgar Bones," said Edgar stretching out his hand, "a pleasure, I'm Bruce Wayne," commented Bruce giving Edgar the knob for a strong and firm handshake, perhaps too strong for Edgar's liking, but with his enhanced strength this caused no discomfort.

"Where do you know him from?" commented Diana genuinely, she still didn't know many things about Edgar and, this brought up more questions she wanted to answer

"Don't you know where Mr. Bones works?", to which Diana and even Natasha shook their heads.

"May I comment Mr. Bones", "It's certainly not a secret, I just hadn't told Diana because the conversation hadn't come up" Edgar spat, "Well, Mr. Bones is one of the heads of the Revenger group, and one of the greatest scholars in the area of biotechnology and genetics, I was at the Metropolis expo last year, it was brilliant his presentation on mutations I must say".

"Glad to hear that Mr. Wayne, the Revenger Group prides itself on being on the cutting edge of science and helping humanity reach the future" Edgar commented appreciatively. When this was commented, both Diana and Natasha opened their eyes wide, clearly they were aware of the famous research and development group, mainly in medicines, even Diana admired the effort they were making to bring medicines and vaccines at low cost to poor communities in South America and Africa. This made Edgar admire her more, he would ask her more questions when they were at dinner.

"Certainly, although I must admit you hide yourself quite well, I have not been able to find out much about your life Mr. Bones," Brunce commented with a disappointed tone, "I did not know you were interested in someone like me Mr. Wayne, certainly if you intend to make me a job offer I will have to politely decline, I am happy in the position I am in, but if I may ask, what made you look into me?"

"Just out of curiosity, we have long wanted to associate with the Revenger group, all the big businessmen have sought out the mysterious owner, however, since he cannot be communicated with, then most decide to go the second way, investigate the heads of the board and you certainly are the one that intrigues me the most Mr. Bones. Orphaned at a young age, you lived in Spain and graduated in Madrid and then did your masters and doctorate in England, after working in Europe for a while, you made your way to National City and became one of the department heads, quite impressive I must say, your accomplishments are to be admired. But I am curious, as much as I researched I could not find anything related to the death of his parents or how he got his disability, I am curious...."

"Mr. Wayne, I don't like them talking about my private life, if you like to talk about business then you can make an appointment with the board, as you decide on partnerships together, however, you and I are not close enough and certainly this level of harassment makes me uncomfortable" Edgar abruptly cut off, this conversation was becoming quite invasive and, if there was one thing that Edgar did not tolerate is that they wanted to find out about his life, he certainly has not spent all these years trying to hide his tracks for someone to come along and want to find out with a couple of questions.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cause you any discomfort I just thought you were a little curious...", "That's enough Bruce", this was said by Diana in a strict tone, the same tone she used at League meetings and so many thought she was quite serious and fierce.

Diana had begun to see that Edgar was becoming uncomfortable with Bruce's harassment, some of the questions were quite personal and if he didn't want to talk about it, they shouldn't force him, Bruce is certainly pushing the limit and this she would not allow, least of all to someone she had recently become attached to.

Bruce was surprised by Diana's outburst, clearly there was something else at play here and he would look into it when he got home, but for the moment he would not press any further, it was not smart to antagonize Diana. "Forgive my attitude, I will take my leave, I hope to see you at the banquet, and I certainly hope to dance a piece with you Mrs. Prince." Saying this he took his leave walking with Natasha with his hand on her waist.

"Sorry about that, Bruce shouldn't have...", "It's not your fault Diana, I decided to answer the questions, now come on, I think the banquet has already started" with this they continued walking towards the banquet and continue having fun.

...…

After the delicious banquet, Diana, Edgar and Patricia, who joined them at their table, were having a pleasant conversation. They were talking about many things, from politics, economics, even a bit of celebrity gossip, clearly the smile on their face was giving away how much fun they were having. After a while, Patricia had to continue entertaining the other guests and see that everything was going well with the event, especially when the time for the dance was approaching, leaving Diana with Edgar, which was not a bad thing since little by little they were getting to know each other more and more.

Thanks to the conversation, Edgar had told her about the nature of his work and his recent research, although some of it was barely started, he also commented on his hobby for motorcycles, and even talked about his dog, although thanks to this topic, Diana was now having almost a laughing fit.

"So, are you worried about your dog having a party in your absence?" asked Diana amused.

"Hey, when you go on a trip and find all your furniture destroyed due to a dog gathering, clearly you start to put your priorities in place... don't laugh Diana this is serious," said Edgar as Diana was laughing over the conversation of her dog Duke, she just hoped that one day she would get to meet this peculiar dog.

After this conversation Diana asked something more serious, a topic that she really wanted to ask and know Edgar's opinion

"Hey Edgar, what do you think about superheroes?", "Are you talking about the league and everything that's happened since the invasion?", "What about the league and everything that's happened since the invasion?"," asked Edgar which led to a nod from Diana. Edgar asked, which led to a nod from Diana.

"I certainly have respect for the heroes, they do a job that few would deign to do and that is admirable...but their ways sometimes I feel are wrong," "What ways are wrong?", "When they catch criminals, they put them on trial and put them in jail...but then they escape and go back to committing trouble. I know that the league should not be executioner or justice, clearly that's not what they are for, but I still think they should have more... forceful means to be able to fight these evils, and not just be playing cat and mouse."

This statement made Diana think hard, she was a warrior and while she was coupled with the League's methods, she clearly also saw certain problems due to these very square and 'just' methods. There were villains who deserved second chances, of that there was no doubt, but then there were others who were monsters who deserved more severe punishment... like the Joker.

As she was about to comment on her answer, she was interrupted by Bruce, "May I have a dance?" Diana accepted and went to the dance floor where, with grace on both sides they practically made all the people stop dancing or chatting and start looking at them, when they finished there was a loud applause from the audience present, clearly they had been impressed by the grace of these dancers.

When Diana returned she did not find Edgar at the table, when she looked for him she saw him chatting with Patricia and after several words were conveyed, a hug and a sad expression from Patricia, Edgar started to head for the exit with a tapping of his cane.

Diana doesn't know what prompted her, but quickly walked to intercept Edgar, "Are you leaving already?", "Yes, I had commented to Patricia that I wouldn't be staying for the dance, but it was still very pleasant the evening, thank you for keeping me company", Diana was saddened by this, she had hoped he would stay a little longer, but they had just met and she didn't want to impose, so she said nothing.

"I thought the time with you was great too...hey Edgar, maybe we can go to breakfast tomorrow before you go back to National City?"

"I would love that Diana, there is a very good cafe on the main avenue, where they sell some very good breads, I don't know if you would like it?"

"Yes!, I mean... emm, I'd like that very much, see you at 09:00."

And with that she said goodbye to Edgar with a quick hug, heading towards the table, although she wouldn't stay long either, she was very exhausted from this big night and wanted to go get some rest soon.